A Who Dunnit For the Ages... "Knives Out"

Knives Out (2019)

Rated PG-13

Starring Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer

Written and Directed by Rian Johnson

On the night of his 85th birthday, Harley Thrombey (Plummer) gathers his family at his home to celebrate. However before the night is over, Harley is dead and everyone in his family is a suspect!


You can start with the old standbys when discussing Hollywood:

They're out of new ideas.
They don't make them like they used to.

Then Rian Johnson effectively says, "hold my beer" and dusts off the all-star murder mystery of days gone by and sends you on a twisty turvy ride that grabs your attention and doesn't let go.

Will you solve the whodunnit before the reveal?

Quite likely.

Will you still remain engaged throughout?

Absolutely.

I would almost dare to defy a movie lover to not enjoy this film.

I've bemoaned bloated running times and how many movies could/would have been much better if they had left 30 minutes (or more!) on the cutting room floor.

This film is precisely the opposite.

So well paced, it never feels like it stretches over the 2 hour mark, and I don't think I would have been bothered if there had been more scenes left in or extended.

It's a testament to Johnson's script and the assembled cast that they flesh out every character from the leads to the bit players and give everyone on a screen a fully realized three dimensional person.

The movie never cheats the audience or itself in the slow reveal of the entire story, and that in itself is worthy of praise.

A sequel is reportedly in the works, most likely centering on Benoit Blanc (Craig). If it's half as good as this first adventure, it will be a rollicking good time.

Don't Spoil "Avengers: EndGame"

Avengers: EndGame (2019)

Rated PG-13

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Josh Brolin, Brie Larson,

Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo

The Story:

After the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War, what remains of Earth's Mightiest Heroes attempt to go after Thanos, retrieve the Infinity Stones and snap everyone back to life.

Buckle up for the 22nd installment of the greatest ride in cinema history.

No other franchise, no other studio has been able to do what Marvel Studios has done, 22 movies, 11 years of sustained excellence that have proven to be successful with audiences AND movie critics.

It all culminates here.

Go see it in theaters now, and prepare to have your list of favorite Marvel films be re-ordered.

Again.

:)

A Review With No Spoilers..."Avengers: Infinity War"

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Rated PG-13

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Everyone Else! :)

Directed by The Russo Brothers

The Story:

Thanos (Brolin) is on his quest to unite the 6 Infinity Stones and wipe away half of the universe. Can the combined forces of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy stop him?

The answer may surprise you!

Buckle up true believers for the 19th installment in a 10 year ride that is the biggest emotional roller coaster of them all.

It comes out of the gate swinging and doesn't let up until the screen goes dark and the house lights int he theater come up.

You'll laugh.

You'll cry.

You'll repeat as necessary.

When it's over you'll want to see it again, and you'll also feel like the wait to get to Infinity War was nothing compared to the wait to see what happens next. 

As fans, we have invested 10 years of our lives in these characters.

So too have the actors invested nearly as long in portraying them on the screen.

We've been lucky to have them, and however this all ends, I'm glad to have had the chance to see all of these films with my kids.

I said at the start of the year that barring some surprise, I would be penciling in Avengers: Infinity War as my favorite movie of 2018.

I think we can put the pencil down, and grab the big black Sharpie.

Don't miss this one.

Final Grade: A+

Guardianship Matters..."Gifted"

Gifted (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Evans, McKenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan, Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer,

Directed by Marc Webb

The Story:

Frank (Evans) has been taking care of his niece Mary (Grace) for the last seven years after his sister died. However Mary is now old enough to go to school. The only real problem, Mary is a math genius, and the public school curriculum is a bit... redundant for her. That's when the grandma (Duncan) shows up and demands custody of little Mary, so she can put that brain to use and become famous.  Sounds like this one is heading to court.

Ah, contesting guardianship...

That's a fun subject for a film! : /

That's the underlying theme for this film though as the grandmother who has never been there shows up demanding what she deems best for the child.

On the other side, the uncle who has been by her side the entire time, trying to make sure that she isn't just some "weird kid" because he already knew what that was like growing up, and he wants Mary to be as close to normal as possible.

Would this even be necessary if Mary were any less than a mathematical genius?

I think you'll figure out that answer long before the credits roll.

It's a sweet, caring film that is carried by Grace and the subdued performance of Evans. Proving that he's more than just a guy with a shield, Evans carries a weighty burden on his shoulders as he constantly doubts whether what he's doing is right or not, but always erring on the side of what he believes to be the best interests of Mary, and honoring what he believes his sister would have wanted.

It's quite likely you missed this in theaters during the winter.

Now's the time to make up for it.

Final Grade: B+

Here's Your Spoiler-Free Review Of "Captain America: Civil War"

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olsen, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland

Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

The Story:

Following some recent disasters where the Avengers have caused damage and death of civilians, the United Nations wants the Avengers to operate under their jurisdiction. Tony Stark (Downey) agrees. Steve Rogers (Evans) does not. Lines are drawn and friends are about to throw down.

You've seen the trailers, and odds are if you're reading this, you've either seen the movie, or plan to see it.

So here goes:

It is a Captain America movie. I've heard many say it's Avengers 2.5, but it's not. The best comparison I could give it would be for those that grew up reading comics, this is a crossover where the story starts in the pages of Captain America and when the issue is over, it's continued in the pages of Iron Man or the Avengers.

The tone, the direction, it's all deftly handled by Anthony and Joe Russo. The Avengers franchise is in great hands going forward. They have given us, in my opinion, the best of the superhero movies that Marvel Studios has produced.

Better scripts, better action than either of the Whedon directed Avengers, they show how to balance a cast of players, giving everyone their moment (or several) but never at the sacrifice of the overall story.

Spider-Man (Holland) and Peter Parker were fleshed out more in this short foray into the actual Marvel Cinematic Universe than nearly all of the previous iterations combined. And I actually liked the reboot. :)  We're hitting the ground running with no new origin, it's on, and I'm looking forward to next year's adventure.

The Black Panther gets introduced and is great from the start. You're told everything you need to know, and I don't know that an origin movie is in the cards. Maybe a rehash for those that may have skipped Civil War.

:: cough cough fools cough cough ::

Marvel continues to set the bar high, and just when you think they might stumble, they soar over that thing with all kinds of clearance, and you wonder why you even had doubts.

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll sit on the edge of your seat.

Bravo.

Oh, and sit through the credits people.

ALL the credits.

Final Grade: A+  I think you'll see this again at the end of the year honors as my favorite film of 2016.

Friday Archives... "Push"

Push (2009)

Rated PG-13

Starring Dakota Fanning, Chris Evans, Camilla Belle, Corey Stoll, Cliff Curtis, Ming-Na Wen, Djimon Hounsou

Directed by Paul McGuigan

The Story:

In a world where people with abilities are utilized as weapons, The Division is looking to create a drug that will enhance these abilities. Until today, all test subjects died when they received the drug. However, Kira (Belle) is the first patient to survive, and she has escaped. Now being tracked by Henry Carver (Hounsou) and his cohorts, her only hope seems to be a young girl (Fanning) who can see the future and Nick (Evans), a telekinetic who she can't remember.

I think I last this film in 2009, so watching it again was almost like watching it again for the first time.

I remembered little bits and pieces, but that's like watching a trailer for a movie, and then seeing that part played out in the movie itself. A little deja vu, but nothing that ruins the experience overall.

Had this movie starred anyone other than Chris Evans, I likely would not have watched it the first time, and since I own it, apparently I liked it enough to pick it up from Blockbuster in the previously viewed movie sale.

Sidenote: I miss being able to pick up used DVDs at Blockbuster for a good deal.  ::sigh::

So this takes place back when Evans had already been Johnny Storm, wasn't yet Captain America and seemed to be taking parts in movies that had a superhero feel to it.

The man has been typecast, but I'm grateful for it, because he plays the parts very well.

Amusingly as we watched the film last night, it was fun to see how many actors would go on to the Marvel Universe in the future.  Apparently, they were just testing the waters for it on this film.

Taking place in Hong Kong, the city itself gives the movie a gritty, crazy comic book feel.

The special effects themselves aren't too bad, and really for a modest budget B movie, this film succeeds on that level.

Worth a look if you missed it the first go-round, or if you vaguely remember it from 7 years ago.

Final Grade: B-/C+ range

'Fantastic'? Not Even Close... "Fantastic Four"

Fantastic Four (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey

Directed by Josh Trank

The Story:

Child genius Reed Richards (Teller) gets a scholarship to attend college so he can work on an experiment alongside Susan Storm (Mara) and Victor Von Doom (Kebbell). They get help from Johnny Storm (Jordan) when he has to pay off some debt to his father (Cathey). When the transporter shows that it works, the kids decide to send themselves to see what's on the other side. Reed invites his best friend, Ben Grimm (Bell) to tag along. When they arrive, things go horribly wrong, the teens are imbued with powers that change them into the team that would become...The Fantastic Four.

Oh. Dear. Heavens.

I believe this is a karmic payback for all who may have complained about the 2005 release of the Fantastic Four. That one is a cult classic at our house, we all loved it and shake our collective heads at the anger directed towards that film.  At least that movie got the majority of what made the Fantastic Four work, correct.

Evans and Chiklis made a dynamic duo of Torch and the Thing and much like the comics, that's my favorite part about the team.

Here, that banter and interplay is nonexistent and these characters are dull and uninteresting.

So too the dialogue.

Pedestrian acting by actors that can, and have, done better.

It's as if nobody wanted to be there, and for the audience, that relates to people that don't want to see the final effort.

Budget looking effects, a poor story where once again people feel the need to shoehorn Dr. Doom into the origin.

No.
No.
No!

He doesn't need to be there, and in fact, shouldn't be there.

And for heaven's sake, just put him in the armor and make him a despotic ruler of a small European country.

The Negative Zone. The Mole Man. ANYTHING but Doom at this point.

Or better yet, just give the rights back to Marvel and let them do things properly.

The Thing doesn't even wear shorts! How hard was putting CGI shorts on a model?

When Stan Lee won't do a cameo in your film, you need to realize: You're doing it wrong!

This is bad.

Not "oh my God, I can't watch" bad. Just wasted opportunity, and in the wave of amazing release after release from Marvel (and even Fox is finally on track with their X-Men franchise) this seems like a bargain basement offering for some small indie comic that should never have been made.

Not what you would expect, or deserve, from the comic that helped launch and keep Marvel Comics at the top for 60 years. 

Final Grade: D+  I'm feeling generous, and/or, bad for this franchise.   On second thought, the more I typed, the angrier I got about how they are failing us, and themselves with this franchise.

Revised Final Grade: F

There Was A Lot Of Hate Directed Towards "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle,

Written and Directed by Joss Whedon

The Story:

Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) enlists the aid of Bruce Banner (Ruffalo) to create a worldwide peacekeeping solution called the Ultron Program. However when the program becomes sentient and becomes Ultron (Spader), it decides that the Avengers are part of the reason why there is no peace on the planet and sets out to exterminate them.

Avengers, Assemble!

So, was Avengers 2 as good as the first Avengers film?

Absolutely not.

However, not for really a lack of trying.

Avengers was the first time that crazy concoction of teaming up all the characters had ever been done before, and it was lightning in a bottle.

But if you go back and look, you'll find glitches and plot holes abound in that one as well, fans were just eager to see the big-screen spectacle, we either didn't notice, or didn't really care.

This time around, the bar was already set too high, and it was bound to fail to reach those lofty heights, but you might as well try, right?

And they did.

And there is SOOOO much to enjoy about this film. The banter amongst the Avengers is wonderful, and it makes them human and it also foreshadows what's to come in upcoming films. There's a lot of different opinions and egos on this team, and it will come to a boiling point in the next film, and it should.

However, I happily watched this installment and walked away very happy.

The action sequences were well done, and the giant cast of characters seemed to share the screen and story in equal chunks so that everyone, and no one, is the absolute star of the film.

It was nice to see Hawkeye's (Renner) role fleshed out a bit more. I always enjoyed the Avengers that weren't super-humans, yet found a way to hold their own with the big boys, and Hawkeye and the Black Widow (Johansson) continue to shine in this role.

In fact, the only thing I didn't really care for was Ultron. Spader put too much personality or himself into the role, and it came across as...weird... I guess.

Ultron is a relentless program whose sole purpose is to upgrade, upgrade, upgrade in an attempt to be the best possible Ultron...and kill the Avengers...

Cracking wise... that's not Ultron.

My biggest gripe, but when he's the main villain, it starts to stand out as the film wears on.

Still, a good movie, but not the best Marvel film of the year.

Final Grade: B+

Celebrate Columbus Day By Rediscovering "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Rated PG-13 for action, violence and pure awesomeness

Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo

The Story:

A year after the events from The Avengers, Steve Rogers (Evans) is working for SHIELD, but he's not exactly happy about it.  He doesn't want to compromise his principles, yet it seems like all of the missions from Nick Fury (Jackson) are making Cap uneasy.  However, a far greater threat is lurking to undo everything that SHIELD stands for, and Captain America and the Black Widow (Johannson) may not be able to stop it.

So back during my Birthday weekend, Marvel Studios was nice enough to release this film.
That review, many of you have already read right here:

Cap 2

So, what has changed since April with finally seeing it again in the fall?


Not much.

I still maintain that The Winter Soldier is Marvel's answer to a spy thriller with a 70s feel, and they nailed it.  The spies have super-powers, but hey, didn't it always seem like Bond was a little more than human back in the day?

This is a smart action thriller that just so happens to also have some costumed heroes running around in it.

Take out the costumes, the movie still would work.


It just works better as a vehicle for Captain America.

This is still the movie to beat for Best of the Year honors.

We will see if the awesomeness of Guardians of the Galaxy is able to dethrone it.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: There are 2 movies on my Christmas list. Both are mentioned in this review.  I'm counting on you Santa.  :)

S.H.I.E.L.D. - The Early Years? "The Nanny Diaries"

The Nanny Diaries (2007)

Rated PG-13 for language

Starring; Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti, Chris Evans, Nicholas Art

Directed by Shari Springer Berman

The Story:

Annie (Johansson) has graduated college, but is unsure what to do with her life.  When she saves a little boy (Art), she is mistaken for a nanny and employed for the summer by Mrs. X (Linney).  A demanding, east-side New Yorker, she demands much from Annie as they prepare the boy for a privileged life that Mr. X (Giamatti) demands.  But Annie isn't sure that the X's have the best interest of their son at heart, and with the eye of the Harvard Hottie (Evans) in the building as well, Annie's life is spiraling out of control.  However, before the summer is over, a lot of people are going to learn a lot about life, all thanks to Annie's being a part of it.

I hadn't seen this film since it was released.

I remembered it was pretty cute, but not much else.

Watched it recently again, and yep, it was a pretty enjoyable experience.

Based on a book by the same name, the storyline seems a bit extreme in a few instances, and yet...

This is New York.  So perhaps, it's not nearly as out-there as we might like to imagine.

:)

From what I gather, the book spanned a year, the movie-makers wisely condensed it to a summer.

Johansson and Evans make a wonderful pair.  If they aren't friends in real life, then their onscreen chemistry is really good acting, as the duo have worked together in several different films, long before they donned the spandex and saved the world, in the Avengers.

All of the cast does a great job.  It's hard to feel any sympathy for the New York socialites who use nanny's to raise their kids for them while they shop. 

Must be nice, if you don't want to interact with your children.

Nanny's meltdown at the end is pretty powerful stuff, and changes the lives of all the characters for the better.

The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime if you are a member.

Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I would have no problems adding this to the library, or watching it again in the future.  Like I said, pretty cute film.

Spoiler Free Review Of The # 1 Movie In The World... "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Rated PG-13 for action, violence and pure awesomeness

Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo

The Story:

A year after the events from The Avengers, Steve Rogers (Evans) is working for SHIELD, but he's not exactly happy about it.  He doesn't want to compromise his principles, yet it seems like all of the missions from Nick Fury (Jackson) are making Cap uneasy.  However, a far greater threat is lurking to undo everything that SHIELD stands for, and Captain America and the Black Widow (Johannson) may not be able to stop it.

Marvel Studios has done it again.
Not content to sit back and let the "summer movie season" begin early in May, they decided to just give April a shot at kicking off the season.

Of course, as Marvel has proven since pretty much the beginning, these aren't just mindless popcorn films.

The story of Captain America provides continuation of the story of Steve Rogers, man out of time, but also serves as a vehicle to showcase SHIELD and the Widow as well.

When Thor: The Dark World came out last year, and ended the year as the Best of 2013 on my list, I was impressed on how it improved on the original film and surpassed it.  I also noted that it was also a competent Science Fiction film feeling to it, with superheroes.

Now, The Winter Soldier is an updated look at Bond/Bourne... but with superheroes, not just spies.

This is the everyman action film filled with car chases and fights to fill the action quota easily.

I haven't decided yet if The Winter Soldier surpasses The First Avenger or not.  If nothing else, they are close equals, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I would say with 2 films, Captain America is now my favorite of the 3 solo hero franchises.

Anthony Mackie makes a fine addition to the universe as Sam Wilson.  Still with the social worker heart, Wilson's origin works perfectly for the movie, and I don't have any problem if the Falcon never soars in a more traditional costume.  This scenario worked like a charm.

So welcome to the franchise, I have a feeling the 3rd Cap film will be called Captain America & The Falcon.  The comic had a healthy run in the 70s using that very moniker.

Also, as Marvel has been doing lately, they switched directors to allow the Russo brothers to tackle Cap, and they knocked it out of the park.  It was interesting to note that they had been selected to finish the trilogy, and I look forward to what they have to offer..

So much to see.

So much to enjoy.

Quit reading the review and go get tickets.

:)

This is the movie to beat for Best of the Year honors.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I will be owning this one, no doubt.  This is up there with The Avengers as one of Marvel's best films.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 3 ~ The Avengers

Welcome to the Greatest Comic Book Movie...Ever Made.

Yep, I'm still on a euphoric high from seeing it in theaters with my kids earlier this summer.

In fact, while it sits in my house since Avengers Day courtesy of Netflix... I have yet to watch it!

I know... terrible!

But I plan to.  Just been a little busy.  However, the kids have all watched it, at least once, and said it's still as good as they remember.

So that leaves me to wonder will this movie remain in the Top 5 of all time?

Or will time allow some of the other classics to slide back in front and push the Avengers back down somewhere else in the Top 25?

We'll see. : )

So for the few that haven't seen the film, here goes:

All of the heroes from the Marvel movies finally get together under Nick Fury's Avengers Inititiative to stop Loki from taking over the world.

Perhaps my most concise summary, ever!

Really, it's a chance for all of the Avengers we've seen in each of their own films to step up and branch out just a little bit more.  There is still character growth for some of them, and a chance to further hone their place in the Marvel Universe.  And then, it's a slobberknocker of a fight at the end of the film to save the day.

Robert Downey Jr. once again owns his role as Tony Stark.  Hemsworth and Evans both continue to grow their pieces as Thor and Captain America.  Hawkeye and the Black Widow each get more screen time this go round.  And then there is Mark Ruffalo playing the final, and best, version of Bruce Banner yet to grace the screen.

As for Agent Coulson...

In a world of Life Model Decoys, where the Vision still would need brainwaves, where unless you bury a body then they probably aren't dead...

I'm holding out hope.

: )

And then there were 2...

As everyone probably already knows my # 1... it will be tomorrow's reveal that will bring closure to this epic adventure.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 36 ~ Captain America: The First Avenger

Yep, you read the title correctly.

Captain America!

This was the movie that I requested (after the Avengers, natch!) when I was asked at Heroes Con after Iron Man as to what Marvel movie should follow the unprecedented success of Iron Man.

A Captain America movie, set during World War II would be the ideal way to introduce Cap to the Marvel Movie Universe.

Directed by Joe Johnston, who has had a long, varied, and not commercially a huge success at the box office... this and Thor showed that Marvel was moving forward... but at what cost?

Naturally, when the box office receipts were tallied... both were considered successes...until cast in the shadows of Iron Man, Spider-Man, or the Batman franchise.

However, the groundwork to achieve the Avengers was cast in stone, and the world is now a better place.

: )

Of course, when Marvel announced that they had cast Chris Evans as Captain America, I was skeptical.  For starters...that's the wrong hair color.  Plus, he had already made an excellent Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four franchise.

Say what you want, his Torch was great in those films.

That said, I am a huge fan of Chris Evans.  Have been ever since Not Another Teen Movie (which sadly just missed the countdown!).  Most of the time, if he is in the movie, I will definitely give it a whirl.  Heck, he was the best part of the movie The Losers as well, sticking with a comic book theme.

So anyway, Chris totally won me over in his portrayal of Steve Rogers.  From 98 pound weakling to Super Soldier, he handled both parts adeptly.  The two scenes that had me sold on this movie were both during his training:  Capturing the flag, and jumping on the grenade.

That IS Steve Rogers.

At that point, any doubts I had were gone.

Evans was surrounded by a wonderful supporting cast, including Tommy Lee Jones, quoted in the Facebook intro.  Who am I kidding?  I was sold on the film when I heard that commercial.

: )

I'm looking forward to the sequel, and very interested to see what they come up with next.


Tomorrow: A movie that Steve Rogers would have missed seeing in theaters while he was frozen on ice!