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"The Avengers"
Have you imagined what it would be like if the iconic superheroes share a universe? "The Avengers" turns that fantasy into reality. "The Avengers" astounds its way through the hearts and minds of the geeks around the globe and kicks off the 2012 summer blockbuster into high gear.
Catching a flash of "The Avengers" logo and its star performers at the 2010 Comic-Con whet my appetite for a bigger treat. While DC has lagged far behind with its superheroes ensemble, "Justice League," clearly, we're in for something extraordinary with Marvel. A culmination of superhero movies, which started with "Iron Man," and continued with "The Hulk," "Thor" and "Captain America." I was cautiously optimistic. Director Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Firefly") would attempt to go where no man has gone before and he's pulled it off with a superhero aplomb.
Each of the main characters is unique is its own way and strong enough to carry a movie on its own, so pulling them all together, and bringing in more characters would be a gargantuan task. A lot could have gone wrong. Fortunately, a lot goes right.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the disturbed brother of Thor, makes his appearance past the galactic portal, steals the Tesseract, a source of infinite energy, from the S.H.I.E.LD base, an international peacekeeping agency, and leaves the ground crumble and destructions behind.
Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who may also have a hidden agenda to regain the cosmic cube, knows that it's time to activate the Avengers Initiative, a remarkable team of superheroes uniting forces to save the world. It's hard to conjure up a villain who would pose a credible threat to the Avengers, but Loki is not to be dismissed. He promises to unleash Chiaturi, an extraterrestrial army, to aid him in conquering the earth and carrying on his vengeance against Thor.
The eclectic ensemble of superheroes is made up of brilliant industrialist in armored suit, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.); recently thawed from ice WWII all-American patriot, Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans); God of Thunder, Thor (Chris Hemsworth); Jekyll-and-Hyde scientist, Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); superspy and assassin Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson); and master archer, Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). They all gather inside a Helicarrier, an invisible, flying fortress lifting up from the sea.
The team goes off to a rocky start. Big egos and personalities, mixed with superpowers, clash. These larger-than-life characters are used to the be the center of attention and don't always play by the rules. The interactions among the alpha characters are the highlight of the movie. Plenty of dead-on, fantastically funny one-liners. Eventually they realize that they need to set aside their differences and work together as a team.
There are a number of memorable scenes. RDJ is still a wisecrack standout and has the coolest entrance as Iron Man, lands on the Stark Tower and unzips into Tony Stark, and later skydives back into the suit. Thor's late appearance latching onto the aircraft amid thunders and lightning is pretty grand. Captain America takes an integral role as a leader worthy of the captain title. He's more impressive here than in his own solo flick last summer. Black Widow showcases her combat agility by managing to escape out of an impossibly tight situation, and toward the end utilizes Cap's shield as a springboard, leaps into the air and pursues a flying alien. Hawkeye falls down hundreds of feet, shoots an arrow, swings into a building and lands back on his feet.
If there's a surprising scene stealer, it's the Hulk. Ruffalo, replacing Eric Bana (2003) and Edward Norton (2008), plays the role to the hilt, both as a nerdy human and monstrous beast. There are outrageously hilarious scenes, separately involving Loki, Thor, Iron Man, and all that smashing.
As much as I'd love to see a deeper story, it's typically reserved for a singular superhero film, "X-Men: First Class" notwithstanding. "The Avengers" forgoes complexity for spectacle, by equally shining the spotlight on each character who serves a purpose, spectacular set pieces and special effects, amazing actions and rolling-on-the-floor humor. It's incredible to see all of these superheroes heroically banding together in one scene. The final battle in Manhattan concludes with a selfless act from an unexpected character.
At nearly 2.5 hours, it doesn't feel like it. And it's originally longer. It's been said that a lot of Captain America's scenes ended up on the cutting floor. I'd be interested in seeing more of his scenes as initially filmed, coming to terms with his past, awakening and adjusting to the modern world. Stay past the credits for two additional scenes, the first one as a spoiler for the geeks and the second appeals to the general audience.
Free Comic Book Day: May 5
On the first Saturday in May, dinosaurs, superheroes and talking animals rule: it’s Free Comic Book Day. And it gets bigger every year. When FCBD began in 2002, only four publishers participated; this year more than 40 free titles will be offered at participating stores, put out by everyone from Marvel and DC (the Coke and Pepsi of the comics biz) to independents like Red 5 Comics and Boom Entertainment.
Upcoming Movies: May 2012
Summer Blockbusters 2012
"The Raid: Redemption"
If you're wowed when Luc Besson's "District B-13" (French) came
out years ago and launched Parkour to the world, or even simply
enjoy John Woo's movies, get ready for another level of
'wow.'
"The Raid: Redemption" is the first Indonesian movie
internationally released and gained rave reviews at film
festivals, among critics and audience alike. Originally titled
"Serbuan Maut" or "The Raid," Sony Pictures added the word
"Redemption" when it acquired the rights, in hopes to make it a
trilogy and a Hollywood remake.
Set in Jakarta with largely an Indonesian cast, "The Raid" introduces Pencak Silat, an Indonesian style martial arts. There's not much of a story, but there's a clear hero that you would root for and a vicious villain who puts most villains to shame. A secret tie to someone in the building named Andy (Doni Alamsyah) is also revealed.
The hero, Rama, (Iko Uwais) is a rookie cop with a pregnant wife, and part of a SWAT team being tasked to take down a cruel crime lord, Tama (Ray Sahetapi), and its thugs-occupied, high-rise apartment building. When the sergeant, Jaka, (Joe Taslim) who heads the task force goes down, Rama must find a way out to survive and lead a few remaining members of the team out of the death trap. Aside from the head mob, his right-hand, Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian), has a penchant for dragged out, in-your-face combats, as opposed to easy killing with guns.
"The Raid" is a non-stop, violent rush, filled with no-holds barred, head-bashing, throat-slashing, heart-stabbing, gut-kicking, and all that gory goodness - in close quarters. Weapons include rifles, guns, knives, swords, machetes, axes, and even makeshift ones such gas tank-stuff refrigerator and light bulb.
As a native Indonesian speaker, it's actually harder for me to focus because of my divided attention between listening and understanding what the actors are saying, and observing, noticing, and comparing with the recurrently mismatched subtitle. Also, having 'grown up' with Pencak Silat (which is as common as Karate in the U.S.), the level of amazement is not the same for me.
That said, I can highly recommend "The Raid." Welsh-born director, Gareth Huw Evans, skillfully executes and maintains the hold-your-breath thrill and tension with complex choreography of fight sequences, performed by real-life fighters, at a breakneck speed throughout the duration of the movie. No shaky cam, no cutaway shot, no slow-mo. There are multitude of memorable scenes, but the single, most nail-biting scene involves Rama crouching with a wounded cop behind a slim wall trying to avoid getting sliced by a sword.
If you're an action movie or martial arts fan, "The Raid" is a must-see. Once in a blue moon, comes a genre-defining picture. "The Raid" is one of them.
http://www.sdentertainer.com/arts/reviews-arts/movie-review-the-raid-redemption/
"The Hunger Games"
Hook, line and sinker.
WonderCon 2012: Feature Film Highlights
With Anahein hosting the 2012 WonderCon this year since the San Francisco Convention Center is undergoing renovation, I seized the opportunity and had the pleasure to attend the event this Saturday.
WonderCon is a smaller convention, Comic-Con's little sister, if you will. Although, using last year's figure, WonderCon is 50,000-attendees strong. It's funny how your perception gets skewed when you're used to a behemoth 130,000 of attendance of Comic-Con (check out the full article from last year here).
Atmosphere-wise, typically, Comic-Con is absolutely electric. WonderCon was noticeably far more docile. In general, downtown Anaheim and its convention center almost looked like every other weekend; it wasn't transformed or taken over by the event.
With more manageable number of attendees, shorter days, less programming and star-wattage, much smaller exhibitions and freebies, WonderCon was also a lot more predictable. No parade of stars making surprised appearances and no extra footage that would induce mass-hysteria. At the same time, it's also nice that the lines weren't nearly as long, no expertly engineered arrangement that would make the lines appear much shorter, no ever-present guards guarding those lines, floors and seats.
***
Here are the feature film highlights of the day:
Trailer Park
***
WonderCon was certainly wondrous and worth driving through slick roads and standing in line for the shuttle in wind-whipped rain. Stay tuned for Comic-Con!
Future of Blog: Posterous Acquired by Twitter
"Perfect Sense"
Smell. Taste. Hearing. Sight. Touch. What would happen if we were to lose our senses?
It all starts with the loss of the sense of smell. It grows and becomes an epidemic. Proceeded by an episode of inconsolable grief and regret, people gradually lose the ability to smell anything. Yet, it's not time to panic and there's hope that this ailment is merely temporary or curable.
Not only that the sense of smell disappears permanently, taste begins to evaporate, proceeded by a primal hunger that results in bizarre behaviors. People uncontrollably grab and gorge anything in sight like hot sauce, gallons of cooking oil, raw meat, fresh whole fish, bouquet of flowers, or worse.
The scenes shockingly unfold and elicit your sense of fear. What would happen if you couldn't tell the difference between what you eat and drink? Without smell and taste, people initially stop going to restaurants because foods have no smell or taste. But humans adapt. Meals are cooked and prepared more boldly, emphasizing extreme flavors, temperature, texture and appearance. A lot saltier or sweeter, freezing cold or scorching hot, spongy or crispy, artful shapes and colors. People begin to savor the sound of trickling wine or clicking of glasses, or nature outside. It heightens the other senses and thus awareness of the world around them.
Hearing loss is next, proceeded by a period of inner terror and outward rage. Collectively, the compounding loss of senses lead to destructions, death, misery and anarchy. Those who have lost their ability to hear are quarantined in their homes. Government officials ask that they turn on their televisions to stay tuned for directions, which appear on the screen like subtitles, on what to do.
Eventually, people find ways to accommodate their hearing loss through posting symbols on the walls and learning sign language to communicate to one another. With powerful mind and heart, humans are resilient beings. While the quality of life has diminished, people deal with the new reality as best as they can and they evolve to survive. Life goes on.
By then, however, everyone is all aware of what's coming. And it is inevitable. The loss of the mighty sight. Social structure and order would continue to collapse, and civilization will forever be lost. Before the world descends into darkness, an event of euphoria is experienced to the fullest. Joy, happiness, sense of togetherness with loved ones are truly felt and cherished.
We don't know what the global impact of the final loss of sense, touch, would be, since the story ends. Suffice it to say, you could use your imagination... imagine the world inhabited by humans without senses.
Throughout these gradual slaughtering of senses, striking images from around the world are shown. While the story also focuses on the two central characters, chef 'Michael' (Ewan McGregor, "Haywire") and scientist 'Susan' (Eva Green), as a whole, the film is larger than their relationships, chemistry or lack thereof.
Like breathing, we take our senses for granted. While the use of emotional episodes of grief, regret, horror, rage or euphoria may seem gimmicky, but there's no mistaking that our senses make us who we are. They protect us from harm and make us feel alive. If there were any doubt, none would remain after witnessing the incomparable disaster that results from the deterioration and loss of senses.
Academy Awards 2012
Billy Crystal was back as host for the ninth time after an eight-year break, coming to the rescue after Eddie Murphy bailed out and last year's younger hosts, Anne Hathaway and James Franco, received mixed reviews.
This year, without a juggernaut blockbuster such as "Avatar," widely loved "The King's Speech," highly popular "The Social Network," or stunners like "Black Swan" or "Inception," and with a silent and black-and-white film, "The Artist," as the frontrunner, it might prove to be challenging to attract more viewers.
The opening sequence with Crystal being CGI-inserted was entertaining enough. It opened with George Clooney planting a kiss on Cyrstal lying on a hospital bed in one of scenes of “The Descendants.” Justin Bieber had a cameo mixed in and self-proclaimed that he's there to attract the 18-24 demographic. One of the montages contained a nod to the ever-growing 3-D with Tom Cruise swinging in “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.”
It's no surprise the visually stunning “Hugo” wins cinematography, art direction and visual effects. Meryl Streep's uncanny look as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” earned the film a win on the makeup department. The deftly written “The Descendants” took home best adapted screenplay award and magical “Midnight in Paris” original screenplay.
Octavia Spencer made a genuinely emotional acceptance speech for winning best supporting actress in “The Help.” Christopher Plummer, awarded best supporting actor for his role in “Beginners,” quipped that the statue was merely two years older than he was and asked where it had been all his life. At age 82, he's the oldest actor ever winning an Oscar. Both received standing ovations from their peers.
Best buds Clooney, “The Descendants,” and Brad Pitt, “Money Ball,” both lost best actor award to Jean Dujardin, “The Artist.” The French actor started his speech by proclaiming, “I love your country!” With 17 nominations spanning over decades, Streep claimed her third Oscar in 29 years for best actress in “The Iron Lady.” She humbly remarked that this was the last time she would be standing on stage for winning.
Michael Hazanavicius, “The Artist,” beat Martin Scorsese, “Hugo,” for best director. The Academy once again followed the pattern of awarding best picture to the film in which the director was previously bestowed with the directing award. Although considering that “Hugo” towers in technicality but lacks in storytelling, it's not that surprising. “The Artist” becomes the first silent film to bring home the gold in 83 years. “The Artist” and "Hugo" each won five awards.
The show was peppered with commentaries from a number of actors about their feelings on movies. Best actor and actress nominees were individually introduced with praises for their work. Crystal made references to the recession by referring to the Kodak theater as “Chapter 11” theater since Kodak filed for bankruptcy, and a parody to millionaires receiving golden statues. With the camera panning to the faces of select actors, he also poked fun of them by verbalizing their thoughts in a twisted fashion.
Aside from the "Viva la France" moments, nothing much stood out this year. If anything, Cirque du Soleil, as always, gave an award-worthy performance. The red-carpet fashion was a parade of bold colors; forest green, tangerine orange, fiery red, silvery blush, deep burgundy, copper bronze, ice blue, pearly white, black-and-gold. Overall, however, it's a pretty subdued show. Here's to a more exciting 2013!
http://www.sdentertainer.com/arts/events/academy-awards-2012/
And the winners are...
Best Picture: "The
Artist" - Thomas Langmann
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius - "The Artist"
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin - "The Artist"
Best Actress: Meryl Streep - "The Iron Lady"
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer - "Beginners"
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer - "The Help"
Best Original Screenplay: "Midnight in Paris" - Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants" - Alexander Payne, Nat
Faxon, Jim Rash
Best Visual Effects: "Hugo" - Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben
Grossmann, Alex Henning
Best Art Direction: "Hugo" - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo
Schiavo
Best Cinematography: "Hugo" - Robert Richardson
Best Sound Mixing "Hugo" - Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
Best Sound Editing: "Hugo" - Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty
Best Editing: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" - Angus Wall,
Kirk Baxter
Best Makeup: "The Iron Lady" - Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland
Best Costume Design: "The Artist" - Mark Bridges
For a complete list of winners, please visit the Academy Awards' official website at http://oscar.go.com/
"Safe House"
No one is safe. It's an appropriate tagline for “Safe House.”
Denzel Washington ("Unstoppable") is Tobin Frost, a rogue ex-CIA agent on the run for selling intelligence secrets to the highest bidder. When he finds himself cornered in Cape Town, South Africa, he turns himself in to the U.S. Consulate, which leads him to be transferred and interrogated in a safe house guarded by a young, rookie agent, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds).
Action thriller is a fail-safe genre for Washington and he doesn't disappoint. It's Reynolds (“Green Lantern”), known for his comedic talent in lighthearted romcoms, who surprises the most. When the safe house is stormed by armed thugs, he's left with no one to trust and in charge of the dangerous traitor. Outrageous car chases, brutal hand-to-hand combats, nonstop shootouts, he gets down and dirty with the best of them.
Washington and Reynolds never develop the kind of rapport that we would expect, but their interactions are enjoyable, and frankly, a relief in between the super-charged, high-body-count violence. With choppy cuts and chaotic closeups, sometimes it's hard to tell what's going on.
"Journey 2: Mysterious Island"
Wondrous adventures in a mythical world, bursting with colors, filled with lush landscapes, towering waterfalls and fantastical creatures.
"Journey 2: Mysterious Island" sweeps us away to a lost island in the South Pacific. Witness the grandeur of an ancient palace carved from stones, volcanic mountains spewing molten lava and gold, underwater caves, and real creatures with sizes that defy convention. Elephants as small as puppies. Lizards as big as dinosours. Colossal flowers and mushrooms. Giant birds, bees and ants.
Loosely based on Jules Verne's novels and a continuation of the 2008 hit "Journey to the Center of the Earth," 'Journey 2' answers a simple question, "Who's up for an adventure?" It leads to a dazzling discovery and epic exploration. Predictable feud mixed with family humor. 'Journey 2' is simply magical for those with adventure spirit and young at heart. See it in 3-D if you can!
Upcoming Movies: April 2012
"Mirror Mirror"
[Originally posted on 4/01/12]
Visual master, director Tarsem Singh ("Immortals") is back. True to form, the retooled fairy tale is fantastic to look at. From the vast view of the castle perched atop a precipice protruding out into a lake to the outrageously ornate regal dresses. The script is sometimes too campy for its own good, but Julia Roberts has the best lines and costumes and looks like she's having a ball. Compared to the other rendition of Snow White, "Snow White and the Huntsman," "Mirror Mirror" is targeted towards kids, but it's also something that adults would enjoy. "Mirror Mirror" is lighthearted, whimsical and wickedly hilarious.
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