Man of Steel: the Superman We Didn’t Expect but Still the One We Needed

Man of Steel.

50% of the nerds in the world reading this just threw something through a window, and the other 50% will be lost for a bit in thoughts of sights and sounds unexpected.  Even within my circle of friends and family, who often agree on most things nerdy, there is division.  Myself, I find the film surprising, emotional, complex, beautiful, and many other words that could go on and on, but let me be a little more precise and break it down.  Maybe I can get through to some, and maybe others who may still dislike the movie might dislike it just a little less.

First, let us start where most things do, at the beginning.  Superman is born.  More to the point, Kal is born.  This is no pain-free, clap-your-hands-and-fairies-appear magical birth.  This is a sweaty, painful, screaming birth like billions of moms have gone through in mankind’s existence.  Mom is going through hell.  Dad is worried about his wife and son.  Monitors are tracking the health of both, but it is a constant fine line between happiness and horror.  Hand-held cameras track the faces and motions of everything in the room, placing you front row to what is happening.  This is how “Man of Steel” opens and it defines what this movie is.  Right away, I can see people not knowing what they are seeing.  We grew up with Richard Donner’s fantastic, I will repeat, fantastic first Superman movies.  Those deserve write-ups all their own, a couple of which I have already done myself, but in their shadow, a real, in-the-moment picture of Superman being born feels maybe awesome, but still weird at first.

As Kal sits crying in Jor-El’s hands, we then move outside and see a Krypton like never before.  Gone is the Crystal Hoth look and in it’s place is an old and beautiful planet full of worn but astounding technology.  It paints a picture of a place we would want to visit in a heartbeat if it was not about to explode.  For the first time in a motion medium, Krypton feels older than anything we can even consider to exist in a civilized state.

We have passed through step two of a different kind of Superman.  As Krypton falls, you are either in or out.  Jor-El is the smartest man in the room as he tries to explain to politicians that politicians are stupid (universal and poetic, really) and the planet is doomed beyond repair.  Lara-El is clutching her son tight, knowing she will never see him again.  These parents are having to say goodbye to their only son forever and the audience feels it.  We may be looking at a different planet, but the emotions before us are real and human.

The second part of “Man of Steel” that makes the movie what it is but may have hit people unexpectedly is the non-linear storytelling used.  Other than the beginning and the final act, the rest of “Man of Steel” jumps around Superman’s life to some of the points that, in no better terms, made him Superman.  Each point touched upon shows some facet of why Superman is better than the rest of us, why he is the hero and leader that everyone should try to be.

A couple of these moments have been points of contention with a friend or two of mine.  They feel that the big reveals of Superman and his powers were not grand enough, but I believe that it is not the point in this movie to make such grand gestures as gestures can end up feeling empty and emotionless.  For my dollar, (because I would buy that for a dollar, screw you Robocop remake), the power moments in the movie that show what the Big Blue Boyscout can do are there to build character and not just to be big moments.  He saves workers on an oil rig because they are going to die without him.  He could have stayed on the crab boat and let them die but he did not.  He, being Superman and all, had to save their lives because his powers allowed him to and his morals pressed him to.  Later, or earlier, when he saves his classmates on a bus, he could have swam out, saved himself, and called it a freak accident that they all died and he survived, but he could not.  Again, his morals stepped in and their lives had to be spared.

In these moments, the script writes us along, getting to know Superman in a logical way.  We see him trying to do good and trying to connect to a humanity that he may never fit into.  We see him as a confused child one moment and then as a powerful but still confused adult a scene later.  There is connection, and it takes us beyond what a linear story could do.  Told in order, he would be a kid with a childhood full of love from his adoptive parents but terrible because of the amazing things his body can do that he has to learn to deal with.  Then he would be an adult trying to hide from everyone.  In the order presented, we connect more just like we do when we think of our own lives.  Every day, it is possible to have a smell or a song or a movie hit you in a perfect way that sends you back to some long-gone time with an ex-girlfriend, a passed relative, or just a great day with an old best friend.  What we see and experience through Superman is just like memories of our own lives.  It draws us in and connects us to this new Superman in a way that we have not seen before, but again, I think many were ill-prepared for the jumping around.

Third on my list would be the main characters themselves and how they exist in this new world, as well as the performances that bring them to life.

Starting with Zod, we see a man bred for one purpose: to lead Krypton’s military and ensure the survival of their people.  Everything he does is for this purpose, which would logically seem to mean a lack of depth, but Michael Shannon brings more to the screen.  He brings a respect for the brilliance and purpose of Superman’s dad and a desire to work together with Superman himself to bring Krypton back to life.  Superman choosing Earth over Krypton is impossible to Zod, so they are instantly at odds with each other.  He is a personality to be both feared and respected and all of that is on screen.

Amy Adams as Lois Lane is brilliant in every sense.  She pulls no punches, is just as plucky as she should be, and connects the dots like no other incarnation has before.  She’s beautiful, yes, and vulnerable to, you know, falling from high heights, but she really only falls and needs saving after kicking major ass.  I would find it difficult for anyone to hate this Lois.

Superman’s parents are all perfect, which I did not expect to the level achieved.  Ayelet Zurer, who apparently by name was actually born on Krypton, plays Lara-El as the strong wife and mother that she deserves to be shown as, having given birth to Superman.  Russell Crowe plays Jor-El with the power and wisdom that even Brando did not get the chance to show.  He is brilliant but able to kick ass at the exact same time.  Diane Lane is the loving and wise Earth-mom Martha Kent, and Kevin Costner is her husband Jonathan.  These last two are possibly the most important of the side characters and performances because they present the loving parent relationship and the fear of losing the son they love perfectly, to the point of tears in the viewer’s eyes.  Costner, whom I rarely like outside of westerns and baseball movies, has two of my favorite scenes in the entire movie and reminds me of my amazing step-dad.

Let us finally get to Superman.  Henry Cavill is tortured, though somehow less so than Brandon Routh, but he has life behind those eyes and, most importantly, a desire to help people.  He feels for the lives lost (more on this later) and wants humans to trust him.  He doesn’t take up the same physical space as, say, Wolverine and all his muscles, but that doesn’t have to be the point with Superman.  He is not strong because of muscle size, he is strong because of what our yellow sun does to his cells.  His body should look fit, and he does just fine with a little bulk to back it up, but he is not the biggest guy out there.  Still, when he walks through a fiery door or fights a duo of Kryptonians, you believe that he is strong and capable.  Personally, I do not feel it necessary for The Rock to play Superman, though I do wish he would leave some muscles for the rest of us.  Go ahead and watch the last couple Fast and Furious films.  The man is massive.

Characters out of the way, the big Kryptonian in the room is the fights that make up the third act of the movie.  Starting in Smallville, things start exploding very fast, but we will walk through what we see on screen and what I think it should mean to us beyond the shock.

In Clark’s hometown, he steps in just as things are getting rough with Ma Kent.  Being the good son that he is, no one is going to mess with his mom.  His temper is a little high and he has no idea what his powers are capable of in an unbridled fist fight, so destroying most of his small town is sad, but things happen.  He tries to fly away several times, but gets thrown back into the fight, usually quite literally.

In Metropolis, the Kryptonians start the fight again.  No question about that.  The destruction from the gravity machine is massive and terrible.  It is supposed to be.  When it comes down to it, the entire story of Superman being revealed is Close Encounters, First Contact, ET, it is Earth not being alone in the universe.  These aliens are supposed to be exposed as powerful and destructive to show what Superman could be.  If he wanted, he could wipe out anyone that disagrees with him and rule with glowing eyes and an iron fist.  But he does not.  He fights along side us and helps us.  He tries to stop Metropolis from being completely flattened.  The audience is supposed to be awestruck as buildings are smashed to the ground.  This is what the power of Krypton can do.

As Superman and humans fight to win the battle, Zod and Big Blue are finally left to finish what was started.  They are thrown through buildings, buildings collapse, destruction is terrible, but watch again and you’ll see most of the fighting happening in an already-evacuated city.  The buildings are mostly already beginning to fall from destruction out of Superman’s control.  Some of the fight happens in population, but minimal since most were already trying to get out and those seen are most likely coming out because they see the worst is over.  In the final scene with Zod, the people there appear to have been hiding and not expecting supers to crash through the ceiling.

More on the last Zod scene and the ramifications of all the destruction: I refuse to spoil everything, but I see it all as Superman learning hard and early the lessons that will make him a better hero.  In “Man of Steel,” not only is Superman learning his powers, he is learning to connect to a people he has never actually belonged to.  He does not share our weaknesses and fears and is far more powerful than he or anyone else really knows.  The entire third act is Superman learning what he can do and what he can feel.  He finds someone to connect with outside of his parents with Lois as he realizes that he does not want to see humans die by anyone’s hand.  She gives him a hope to connect with and shines a light in the darkness that maybe, just maybe, he could use his powers to help humanity, that Earth could learn to accept and trust him.  This will carry over, but at the same time I feel it is still contained.  This movie does not have the “to be continued” tag at the end because it does not need it, but the story here is built to carry Superman forward with the lessons he learned.

Those are the main points, but then there are the other touches that make “Man of Steel” a beautiful movie apart from performances and writing.  There are shots that mean more, like Clark sitting in the church talking to a priest with stained glass of the Garden of Gethsemane behind him (thank you Catholic school).  There are shots that kick unholy nerd ass, like Superman slowly descending in front of a load of army guys, tanks and all.  There is Zod’s announcement transmission, shot like a world-affecting horror movie.  There’s Hans Zimmer’s score that, though completely unlike John William’s best score in Richard Donner’s set of Supes, fits the action perfectly and translates emotion beautifully.  All this without mentioning the skill behind the handheld look of the film and the polish given to every shot to make Superman real.

This movie makes me emotional.  Every note is different than what we’ve seen, but every note, to me, is perfect.  Superman wants to be good but lacks connection.  When he finally finds that connection, I feel it in every part of me.  Earth has been invaded, but because of Superman, there is hope.  The last shot of Clark and Lois cuts to credits and I want to watch it again.  In fact, I have done that a couple times since it came out on bluray.  I would have watched it again today during my writing, but we just watched it yesterday and my wife doesn’t have the same nerd-repeat tolerance that I do (my record is watching the most recent “Rambo” three times in a row while my wife was at work).

If you watched “Man of Steel” once and did not quite feel it, I beg you to try again with a fresh set of eyes.  Greatness is there.  For my money, it’s up there with the superhero bests, and with those I mean, by name, “Superman,” “X-Men 2,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Watchmen,” “Avengers,” “Dark Knight.”  Give it another watch.  Maybe you will feel the same thing I feel.  Now I will go try to hold back the urge to watch it again.

The Avengers (2012) Review

Well done, Marvel.  Well done.  Anyone who wants to know how to create a great universe in movies needs to look no further than two places.  First, Harry Potter and the Numberous Series, and now, the Marvel Film Universe.  With so many characters and, in honesty, several different realities, maybe it should not have worked.  Ever.  But it does.  Possibly perfectly.

Everything here started with “Iron Man” in 2008.  For the last four years, audiences have seen characters in their own movies, with events starting to cross over with “Iron Man 2.”  From one to the next, the universe has expanded and improved.  The next film improves those that came before and visa versa.

If a group of heroes are going to unite, you have to have villains bigger than any of them have faced before.  For Joss Whedon, this is not a problem.  Take Loki, fantastically played by Tom Hiddleston, and throw in big and powerful alien invasion, and you have a fantastic threat that will really mess some stuff up.  The problem has to be something that none of the heroes could do on their own, and this is solved many times over.  Giant worms and hundreds and hundreds of aliens?  Check and check.  Iron Man isn’t going to get himself out of this one.

With the badness in motion, Joss has to bring all the characters back in, and this is not only brilliant to watch, but proves immediately that there is an understanding of the characters that permeates every scene and every line.  Tony Stark is funnier and livelier than ever, Thor speaks Shakespeare, Captain America is lost in time but naturally inclined to lead, and Banner is brilliant while Banner, smashing while the Hulk.  Each character is their own through and through, and each character reacts to the characters around them perfectly.  This is key to the entire movie, and the most likely reason that the movie works as well as it does.  Without the personalities of the characters being exact, they would respond to each other awkwardly or just plain wrong.  But none of that happens.  Stark toys around with everyone just as he should, making you want to be his drinking buddy, even as he shows he is the smartest guy in the room, possibly the world.  Banner makes you and everyone in the room nervous because of the “other guy” inside him.  Captain America takes time to adjust to his new surroundings, but he still wants everyone to be at their best, for the good guys to win.  Good god.  The interactions could be gone over and over again and again and again.  And again.  The interaction is brilliant almost beyond description.  You have to see it to understand, really.  I can say it’s good.  It’s great.  It’s some of the best ever written for screen, but that still doesn’t do it justice.  It truly is that good.

As the brown hits the spinning blades, the action never takes away from the movie.  Just as good action should, it is earned from strong storytelling, but continues that story telling even while blowing up everything in sight.  Every character, even the small Black Widow and Hawkeye rolls, get great moments.  Bad guys die in fantastic ways and heroes perform amazing feats like it’s their job.  Whedon keeps the action tight but always interesting.  There is one shot that I was especially fond of that followed every hero around the battlefield.  Just like you would want, the teamwork is what you walk out remembering most about the action scenes.  I’m very happy to say that the trailers have not ruined everything.  Not even close, really, and that is because the creativity for the fight scenes can’t be shown in short little bursts like a trailer needs.  It seeps out of every corner of every frame.  Captain America helps Iron Man, Iron Man helps Thor, Thor helps Hulk.  Round and round and unendingly entertaining, especially for people that have watched all of these movies and couldn’t help but think of what would happen if Thor and the Hulk got into a fight.  That happens.

As stated before, these characters are from different worlds, and the films themselves come from different directors, effects companies, actors. . .   Whedon has taken care of the writing, but the actors and crew cannot be missed either.  Robert Downey Jr. is ever-dependable as Stark with ILM taking armor duty again brilliantly.  Chris Evans is so Steve Rogers I can’t even say who else could have ever played him.  He plays him with the perfect level of innocence and gung-ho leadership that he is Captain America, and somehow transplants the fun, swashbuckling spirit of Joe Johnston’s WWII-era movie into the modern setting of “The Avengers.”  Chris Hemsworth is Thor, but a more ass-kicking Thor without the distraction of having to adjust to being on Earth.  Mark Ruffalo is new to the team, replacing the overly-hands-on Edward Norton (as I explained to my wife, even the chance of Norton creating an Avengers filming experience that people would not want to come back for was too much of a financial gamble to Marvel.  Smart move, really).  Without missing a beat, he steps in and creates a perfect Banner, but also, thanks to motion capture ala-Avatar, a perfect Hulk as well.  Banner is a brilliant scientist who is weary and nervous about the world around him.  He is in control of his beast side, for the most part, but it takes its toll.  Ruffalo shows that struggle, that beating that he puts himself through every minute of every day.  His performance, fantastically, shows that he is pained, but as the bonds with the other Avengers grow, his confidence grows as does his comfort level.  His Hulk, when he does arrive, is at first horror, even filmed like a horror, but then later scary and funny at the same time.  Explain that one.  It’s a dynamic performance that I can’t see Norton pulling off with the same ease, nor with the same chemistry with everyone around him.  Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye gets much more time than he did in “Thor,” thankfully, and shows why a guy with a bow and arrow can be an absolute badass.  Scarlett Johansson is Black Widow, again with more meat than her previous showing in the universe, and has an introduction scene that impresses as much as it calls back to Whedon’s “Buffy”-style girl power.

From the technical side, effects are beautiful everywhere.  Iron Man looks great and like he has been established.  Thor seems more grounded this time, which is weird to say about a guy that swings a hammer and flies away.  Captain America’s shield is shinier, but still something I wish I could throw at people and bounce it back to myself.  The Hulk is, good god, great.  He smashes things, he jumps, he takes bullets like a lead sponge, and moves realistically with those around him thanks to Ruffalo actually providing the motions.  He’s big, but you believe that he’s standing next to Iron Man on the streets of New York.  The 3D, possibly a star on its own, is probably that best I’ve seen since “Avatar.”  I’ve seen a couple good uses here and there, “Transformers” and “Drive Angry” come to mind, but I also try to avoid movies not actually filmed in 3D.  “Avengers” not only uses the cameras, but also places people and objects in interesting points of view to look at, which is the entire point.  There was a simply beautiful shot in a mirror that I couldn’t help but want as a poster.  Also, Whedon doesn’t point things at you.  I hate it when 3D directors do that.  I don’t need a spear shoved in my face to remind me that I am watching a 3D movie.

I am reminded of my feelings towards the recent “Cabin in the Woods” in that there is little more to say, except this is for a different reason.  “Cabin” can’t be talked about because of everything needing to be virginal for every viewer.  With “Avengers,” there is little I could spoil because everyone knows how heroic movies end.  Still, to talk about the movie makes you want to talk about every single frame and fight and line.  Before long, you’ve ruined it for the person that hasn’t experience it yet.  Anyone that has even kind of liked the Marvel Universe movies thus far needs to see this movie and thank Joss Whedon for giving us one of the best in the genre ever.  As my wife said, there was never a moment during the entire film when we weren’t having fun.  Fun oozes from this movie.  There’s enough fun to hand some out to other movies that can’t afford to have real fun.  It’s the rare epic that gives you massive explosions, great jokes, and lovable characters, and a story worth telling.  I can’t think of anyone that I would steer away from this movie.  Go for it.  See the next showing in your town.  Then maybe see it again.  This is one of the best, if not the best, superhero movies released to date.

The Cabin in the Woods (2012) Review

Very rarely do movies have prerequisites, but “The Cabin in the Woods” is a 400-level class in horror movies, specifically the kind that kill off groups of teens.  So, before sitting down in the theater, you need to see a few films outside of class.  Please, make sure they’re all the originals unless otherwise noted.  “The Hills Have Eyes,” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Evil Dead” and “Evil Dead 2,” “The Ring” (go with the quality, Gore “Pirates are Best When Filmed Artisticly” Verbinski-directed American remake here), a few “Friday the 13th”s and a couple “Nightmare on Elm Street”s, and you’ll have enough of a background.  Without that, the jokes probably aren’t going to hit at a very high percentage rate.

It takes big brass ones to make a movie that many may not truly understand.  Even the casual viewer of a couple “Scream” movies and a “Saw” here and there may feel lost, but it’s a strength to “The Cabin in the Woods” more than a weakness.  Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard are smart guys who love horror.  They know how to write, no question.  Whedon has “The Avengers” coming out in a few short weeks, but has also written “Buffy,” “Angel,” “Firefly,” and the often-forgotten credit of the script for the first “Toy Story.”  Goddard worked with Whedon on “Angel” and “Buffy,” but also wrote the script for the much-loved “Cloverfield.”  The boys are brilliant and it pours out of every scene with fantastic lines from every single character and a story that flips and turns till the very end.

So, the point comes when everyone outside wants to know what the movie is actually about.  Well, I can say a few things, but very few.    Performances are strong all the way across with no weak links, giving all the characters exactly what is needed to make them real and easy to connect with.  With the right education going in, the movie will indeed be more comedy than horror.  There are scares here and there.  After all, it is a movie about teens going to a cabin where bad stuff happens.  What kind of stuff?  I can’t tell you that.  Not without ruining everything for you.  To see this movie without any outside influence or prior knowledge is perfect.  I don’t think the trailer gave up the game, but I still feel it shows too much.  You’ll find no links to trailers from me, that’s for sure.  Clean slate is the way to go.  I can’t say much about the story within, beyond it being fantastic.  Teens.  Bad stuff.  What film-goers know as horror gets ripped apart and put back together how Whedon and Goddard see fit within their world, but even saying that feels like too much.

For my money, I enjoyed the heck out of “Cabin in the Woods” start to finish.  I may feel obligated to keep my mouth shut as much as possible, but that will only help everyone that reads here and then goes to the theater.  Still, I am lost trying to find fault with any part of this movie.  I need to see it several more times, and there are several frames that I want to pause on bluray to count all the little details.  I want to take my wife to see it.  I want all my friends to go see it so I can actually talk about it.  Alas, for everyone else, I can only say that “Cabin” is creative, original, hilarious, and intelligent.  Horror?  Yes.  Comedy?  Hell yes.  Great?  Absolutely.

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011) Review

Before I get too far into this, there are many, many brilliant points to the new Mission: Impossible movie, not the smallest of which being directed by the skilled hand of Brad Bird and his perfect track record (“The Incredibles,” “Iron Giant,” “Ratatouille,” some of the best years of “The Simpsons”).  Having him as director is a brilliant move, and the vision he brings makes the forth M:I not only the best of the series, but also one of the best action films of the year.

Beyond Bird himself, the film’s biggest asset is being set in an imperfect world.  As you sit and watch, you come to the realization that this movie, even in its most epic moments, has a sense of reality, and all because things can and will go wrong.  I will not go into details too much on this point, but if I am going to talk about this movie, I see no way to start the conversation without at least pointing out what I feel is the game-changer, the piece that sets this one apart from the rest in the franchise.  It is not uncommon in film heists for everything to go right, and even when they don’t, for it all to be “part of the plan.”  It is refreshing, then, to be presented with a movie that may not have everything happen exactly as it was drawn up on paper.  Sometimes, it may work out and everything will play beautifully.  Others, not so much.  Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol plays with expectations and eventually leaves the viewer with no way of knowing what may come next.  Very few people in the film industry seem to understand this, but Bird uses the viewers’ own expectations to surprise and twist, and it is a great big breath of fresh air, rarely seen in new movies, let alone the forth in a series.  I cannot go too much deeper without ruining the surprises for the virgin viewer, but reality being the film’s biggest strength, I had to get it out and done.  Now, moving on.

Continuity has never been a M:I strong point from one to the next.  In the first M:I, it was a very “trust no one,” noire feel under the direction of De Palma.  Great stuff, but the team around Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) wasn’t really the point.  M:I2 came from the dove-happy Woo and gave the world a love-it-or-hate-it, straight-up action flick that starred Tom Cruise doing cool things in slow motion.  Now, with M:I3 from J.J. Abrams and M:I Ghost Protocol from Bird, we have the most cohesive the movies have ever been from one to the other, with plot points carrying over as well as a general feel.  Ving Rhames has always been around to show that it’s not simply Ethan Hunt moving alone from one M:I universe to another, but up until this forth, there was nothing else to tie them together.  Now, Ethan has a wife that has transferred from one movie to the next, Benji (Simon Pegg) is back as the fantastic and funny computer geek of all accents, and events that have happened previous are, oh my gosh, spoken of.  A continuing world is new but feels right.  Remember when Anthony Hopkins was Tom Cruise’s boss?  Neither does anyone else.

Moving out into broader strokes, Bird has picked up where Abrams left off and made the team and the gadgets the central point of everything that happens across the board.  No more is Ethan left to his own devices.  He may still be the go-to guy when it comes to climbing, more on that later, and chasing people, but Protocol allows entire scenes to shift Ethan into a more background character as others take center with their own style of bad-assery.  It adds to the reality of the universe and cuts down on the super-human factor in Ethan’s character that has been seen many times in earlier films.  And the gadgets. . .  Oh, the gadgets.  Gloves that electronically stick to surfaces, magnets for levitating people, contact lens cameras, face-tracking 3D screens. . .  The technology is beautiful, but not overly far-fetched, the creativity on display being some of the best seen in movies.  James Bond better watch himself.  Brad Bird may have just made the next Bond movie look foolish.

What kind of movie would you have without fantastic action, and Bird knows action.  Watch the big set pieces of any of his animated efforts, and you can see that the man knows how to move a scene along but keep the viewer abreast to every detail of the action.  Watching these scenes play out reminds me of other great, non-stop actioners.  “Aliens,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Die Hard 2,” movies that start the ball rolling in the Rocky Mountains and don’t let up till the Gulf of Mexico.  As soon as the team hits Dubai, the tension is steady through the entire act and pushed to the end.  Ethan, with stunts done reportedly by Tom Cruise himself, is climbing outside on the glass of the Burj Khalifa, the camera is instilling both vertigo and awe at the same time, slipping, sliding, falling, fists are flying, dust storms are rolling in, things are going wrong. . .  The list is long, but it never feels without purpose.  The story moves forward and the audience can only hold on.  It is a tense and beautiful series that defines both balanced action and great photography, and it is simply one in a two-hour-plus movie jam-packed with awesome.

Performances are strong, but that has never been a problem with this franchise, so needs little said.  Though the action is tight, it is not without enough room for some laughs.  Most any scene having to do with Simon Pegg’s Benji bring a levity to the proceedings and even a couple genuine laugh-out-loud moments that are well-earned.  Paula Patton as Jane is sultry but damaged, though definitely not weakened, female teammate.  Jeremy Renner is the most interesting addition, his character showing, and I’ll start this rumor right now, a direction this franchise could go without Cruise.  I don’t think it would be necessary if Cruise continues to be up for the bruising, but it gives the fiction options.

I want repeat viewings of this movie.  With ticket prices as they are, people have to choose carefully where to spend their cash.  It’s a telling sign when I can honestly say that I believe it’s hard to see this movie only once.  The plotting is tight, the twists are unseen but natural when revealed, the visuals are gorgeous, and the hits are hard.  If you have enjoyed the series up to this point, see this one.  If you haven’t liked any of them, I would still say give it a go, especially if you can snag a ticket for IMAX.  Dubai by itself will make your eyes bleed and your head spin.

Oh, and Mister Bird?  Please stay in live-action for at least a little bit.  Your animated stuff is some of the absolute best, but live-action is better for it with you behind the camera.  Thank you.

Staind – Staind Review

This right here.  This is what we have been missing.

To start off, some of us, me included, were not Staind fans before “Break the Cycle,” but then, before “Break the Cycle,” the mainstream rock scene had not given us a group that could be melodic and rip-your-ears-off heavy in the same song, at the same time.  Sadly, after that breakout album, their following albums were often either trying to reproduce the magic that “Cycle” had stumbled on, or were simply a band taking the steps to make sure the album would make them money.  I will not fault them for either, because how could you?  You want people’s responses to be positive like they were for your previous work, and you have to put a roof over your head and hope not to go the way of MC Hammer.  Yes, there were ballads that all sounded the same, and “Illusion of Progress” was probably not even close to the album fans wanted, but it showed a move forward, or backward, depending.  It was an album with new melodies, a few reused ideas, some softer approaches, and, oh my god, solos.  Everything before has been leading somewhere, and all we could do was wonder, until yesterday, where.

With the release of their new album, the simply self-titled “Staind,” all that was before has come together in an album that may be the one to beat for my favorite of the year.  No longer are we experimenting with Pink Floyd styles and country tinges.  “Staind” is flat-against-the-wall-from-sound rock, in your face and not holding back.

The album as a self-titled piece says it all.  What Staind has done, accomplished, created, has all come together here. The ridiculously-heavy guitars that birthed their popularity at the turn of the century are back at the front of their sound, with distortion that will curl your mother’s hair.  Aaron Lewis still croons more than most any other rock singer out there, but he has also brought his scream back to the point that your father will most likely put his fist through a wall and recall the glory days of Conway Twitty.  This is not your uncle’s soft rock.  This is hard rock, often pushing into straight metal territory.  Still, with every scream, there is a melody.  With every wall of chord, there is still a flowing riff.  The years they have put into song-writing are coming through, leaving the listener with songs that are balanced, perfectly structured, powerful, gentle, and loud, all at the same time.

With all this, the album is never over-produced.  There is always a raw energy to everything that many groups who made it big from around 1999 and 2000 have not been able to hold onto.  The opening guitar riff from “Now” sounds like something from the new Journey album, but Staind weaves it into their own sonic personality.  The solo (solos being covered more later) on “Not Again” is a slow-burner, but builds to such a fantastic pitch that even the most Staind-jaded rock fan may very well nod their head in approval.  “Failing” channels classic Alice in Chains harmonies to create something familiar, but something still new, still decidedly Staind.  “Wannabe,” possibly the most creative song of the great batch, brings in Snoop Dogg for the verse, resulting in a sound that sounds almost synthesized, but is actually a perfect meshing of Snoop rapping and Lewis singing the verse tight in with the hip-hop vocal rhythm.  The final product is a unique rock moment that looks laughable on paper but ends up being epic and something you wish you could see live.

Coming back to solos, this is a point that cannot be missed or ignored on this record.  Staind was, sadly, one of the groups that went the “no solo” direction with most of their early albums.  I have never been able to explain any group’s obsession with removing such an integral part of rock from new rock, but thankfully, it seems the lead guitar amp has been plugged back in for the world of heavy music.  In the last couple years, we have seen the rise of great guitar solo bands like Avenged Sevenfold with their Nightmare, we’ve seen Metallica, the biggest of the Big Four, release their return-to-form Death Magnetic, and we’ve seen Cory Taylor return rock to its roots with Stone Sour’s Audio Secrecy, fantastic solos and all.  Staind played with solos on “Illusion of Progress,” that an integral part of the illusion; Staind being a group that never really soloed previously, it was a change, but it was actually a turn back towards the roots of rock.  Now, on “Staind,” they have let loose with solos on most every song.  They are never forced, making you feel like there is only a solo because they shoved one in.  Each time the lead guitar, Mike Mushok, steps to the forefront, the song was working towards that point and keeps rising through it.  The solo is a payoff, a show of skill and musicianship, and gives them the ability to build a song to an even higher level of energy.  What better place to bring in that chorus just one last time, than at the end of a screaming, fast solo?  That is rock, my friends, and Staind are back at the front.

There were worries, previous to this album’s release, that Staind would become another Disturbed, who only seem to manage to re-release the same album over and over again.  Even after “Illusion of Progress,” it felt as if Staind may fade into shadow and be remembered simply for that one good album when I was younger.  With their self-titled release, they have me wanting to see them live again.  Most of all, they have me hoping that they have more of this inside.  Hope is restored.  This is a great album, start to finish, possibly their best yet.  It is so good it makes me greedy for more.  Three years ago, I could have gone either way on wanting another Staind album.  This year, I am excited for what they have given and excited for what will come.  Easily a must-buy for any fan of Staind or hard rock.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Review

“Captain America” is beautiful in such a classical sense, it’s almost hard to really describe without breaking it apart like a play.  We’re not even talking sitcom breakdown, here.  We’re talking Shakespearean, five act structure.  So, let’s get into it, act by act without spoiling anything for you.

We start with the Prologue which the end of the movie will get back to, but it serves as the device to catch Captain America up to the rest of the heroes.  Our main story here, though, is back in the always-dependable time of World War II, because nothing feels as good as knocking Hitler down a notch or two.

Rewinding our time, we find a weak, fairly useless Steve Rodgers, a young man who wants nothing more than to help his country.  He hates bullies, and what better bully to beat up on than Nazis?  It’s here that we find four of my favorite parts of the movie.  First, we have Chris Evans as Steve Rodgers, a perfect performance of Captain America if there ever was one, but even better and completely relatable as the head on the skinny body.  He is the weak man that we all feel like sometimes, but all we want is to make the world better.  The body may not be Evans, but the performance is still what sells both the character and the effect.  This brings the second part being the subtlety of special effects at play through the entire movie.  You never see a character Hulk out like, well, the Hulk, or fly through the air like your Iron Mans, Thors, and Supermen.  Everything serves the purpose of the story, and the skinny effect at work here is absolutely brilliant.  It’s some of the smoothest I have seen, and I hope will get some nominations, even though Harry Potter will most likely deservedly win.

Moving on, we have three and four, which are a couple performances and characters built by old guys so beautifully that all you can do is be happy that Marvel got these guys to work with them.  First, you have Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine, the brilliant brain-father of the American Super Soldier project, and the reason the Steve Rogers goes from a tiny guy to the perfect specimen of testosterone-infused godliness.  The performance is small and human, but it’s perfect, and its importance drives Captain America’s actions without question for the rest of the movie.

Forth, and the second of the old guys, though not in stature, is Tommy Lee Jones playing the awesomely gruff Colonel Chester Phillips.  What is created with the two old guys is a perfect balance of fatherly wisdom.  If Erskine is the quite, thoughtful father that teaches the heart, Phillips is the other side of the fatherly coin, being that kick in the pants and the knock off your high horse to get down to business and kick some ass as ass needs kicking sometimes kind of father.  We’ve seen a character much like this in movies like “Men in Black” and, in a much more broken-down way, “No Country for Old Men.”  That doesn’t make me love the character any less, especially as he says, “you’re not getting a kiss from me, son.”

First act done, we have the second act as the newly-massive Steve Rogers tries to find his place in the world.  It is here that we see more sides of the Evans performance, with a hero that loves helping his country, but is still lost in a world that is so much harsher than he ever imagined.  When the chance comes to make a difference, Rogers steps up to the challenge and, not even knowing what he’s doing, he puts his new powers to use.  Every superhero movie has the scene where the hero proves to himself and the world what he can really do, and this is right up there with the best of them.

Act III brings us another brilliant turn in the script, and that is the Men on a Mission section, in the vein of “Inglorious Basterds” and “The Dirty Dozen.”  Our boys in green, lead by the big boy in blue, kick ass and look good doing it, with many fantastic hero shots, and some of the most fun Johnston has had blowing comic book stuff up since “The Rocketeer.”  Mixed perfectly with the explosions, you have a perfectly structured friendship between Rogers and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).  Though their relationship and cooperation in the heat of battle could have taken up an entire film on their own, the script and performances give us a reason to care with minimal screen time, and helps the viewer connect with Captain America through the rest of this adventure.

Act IV allows our villain, Red Skull, played by Elrond, Megatron, and Agent Smith himself, Hugo Weaving, with fantastic fervor.  He steals the screen from anyone and anything else on the screen, and again, the special effects of removing a man’s nose just blow my mind.  Red Skull on screen with Voldermort would simply melt the eyes.  It is a great piece of this movie to take the time period of World War II and make you ask, “what could be worse than Nazis?”  The final pieces of all the puzzles being built fall into place, and our hero looks into distance at the evil he must face, kisses the strong-but-gorgeous Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), and rides off to save the world.

Act V ties back to the beginning and we are left with Captain America in the Marvel universe that Joss Whedon will take over with “The Avengers.”  There is loss, there is pain, but that is the life of a hero.

The look and feel of “Captain America” is a throwback to simplicity, and I loved it.  Again, there aren’t in-your-face effects here.  I did avoid the 3D version of the movie because I’m really not that interested in movies that should be better left 2D.  As 2D, I was reminded of so many adventure movies from when I was growing up that I can’t name them all.  “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is easily the big one.  Note to all you Indiana Jones fans, listen for the direct reference to that first Indy movie.  It’s a happy thought to know these movies seem to be written to happen in the exact same universe.

It’s hard to say much more about the movie without breaking what makes it fun to watch, and that is being surprised and entertained all at the same time.  The trailers, for once, have not given everything away, and letting these characters and relationships grow on you as you watch them grow feels good.  It feels like an old movie that will stick with you and that you want to talk about.  I’m glad they picked this as the lean-in for Whedon’s “Avengers,” because I have faith in that man, but I will say right now that the bar is set high.  I have liked all of the Marvel movies set in this cohesive universe, but between this and “Iron Man,” expectations are extremely high.  “Captain America” ranks up there with “The Dark Knight,” “Superman,” “Spider-Man 2,” and “Iron Man” as one of the greats.

Bridesmaids (2011) Review

The problem with movie comparisons is that you can often sell a movie short or offer too much for what it actually is.  Either way, it’s unfair to all involved.  I remember a point when “Starship Troopers” was being compared to “Star Wars.”  Seeing “Starship,” that side-by-side immediately makes no sense at all.  Both are great movies all by themselves and for very different reasons.  These days, studios are constantly trying to recapture those money makers through these same types of comparisons.  Much of the sudden flux of awful 3D movies stem from “Avatar” making island-sized piles of money.  The difference is that “Avatar” is a great movie made by a brilliant filmmaker.  Not too long ago, the world loved “The Hangover,” so of course, this summer, studios are trying to cash into the “crazy weekend” film.  In one corner, we have “The Hangover 2,” which is really nothing more than a more-of-the-same affair.  In the other corner, we have “Bridesmaids.”  The problem, though, is that “Bridesmaids” is its own movie, and a very good one at that.  “The Hangover” was all about the adventure of trying to remember a crazy night, and earned many laughs through that premise.  “Bridesmaids” earns many laughs from a few crazy events, but most of the similarities stop there.  People seem to insist on calling this the female “Hangover,” but I feel like that robs “Bridesmaids” of what makes it fantastic.

Kristen Wiig has some big brass ones to create this movie and her character Annie.  Here is a movie that is bluntly honest from the female side, something that is not often seen.  Studios feel like audiences don’t want honest females.  Women don’t puke, they don’t fart, and they only curse and talk about sex when they’re the overly-sexualized minx that the hero of the film is going to bed before the credits roll.  Yet here we have “Bridesmaids,” a movie where the females in the audience can look at the screen and scream, “exactly,” because they talk and act like that every day without any cameras to document.  Those of us like myself that are married are looking at the screen thinking exactly the same thing.  You are not a real man until your eyes are burning from wife farts.  That is the real world.  Women talking about blowjobs and weird sex and cussing is real, yet so often hidden from the silver screen.  Wiig writes and acts like a real woman, and it is fantastic.

I do not want to be mistaken, though. Iin the correct situation, I like the fantasy woman with boobs smashed into a tiny tank top, she needs saved from demons by the hero, all the while her tiny little shorts are barely staying on, her lips are always shiny, and hair always flowing perfectly.  “Bridesmaids” is comedy, not fantasy.  Comedy feeds on reality, and with Judd Apatow producing, you can expect no less.  Apatow is the man that has made virginity, pregnancy, and cancer all avenues for solid laughs, so I am glad it was his eye that caught this one and pushed it through.

Beyond the honesty, what sets “Bridesmaids” apart more than anything is the performance from Wiig herself.  Maya Rudolph has already proven her dramatic chops in “Away We Go,” so she is more evidence of what is known rather than proving the unknown.  All the other actors do a great job, but Wiig is above and beyond what I think many would have expected from her, especially with the weight of an entire film on her skinny shoulders.  Wiig has been funny before, but never this dramatic.  She plays a woman who has lost everything but has not yet hit rock bottom.  With every look and every reaction, she is Annie and the audience feels what she feels.  She makes real decisions that we all understand.  There is a scene where Wiig is on the edge of vomiting that is beyond believable.  I’m pretty sure that when it comes time for the DVD special features, they’re going to tell us that she ate actual rotten fish for the scene.

The movie unfolds naturally and has several characters that you’ll remember, as well as those life-lessons, even if they are subtle and blend perfectly with everything around.  To delve too much into the specifics of the plot and jokes would take away from the experience, though.  “Bridesmaids” feels fresh because it is.  You don’t know what is going to happen next.  Even when you think you’re at a point that you can guess the next turn in the plot, it goes another direction, but not unnaturally.  If anything, it all feels more real because of the directions that are taken from start to finish.  Corners are not cut, feelings are not spared.  The finish line for most of the characters feels like something that was earned, and it makes everything all the more gratifying.

Going back to “The Hangover,” the differences are deep, and my reason and frustration for such direct comparisons revolve around the knee-jerk reactions of compartmentalization.  “Bridesmaids” is a realistic movie about a group of women surrounded by great comedy and huge hearts.  Saying that it’s “The Hangover” with women is pandering.  It’s like saying women aren’t funny on their own, that female comedy has to originate from something manly.  “Bridesmaids” is proof that it’s all bullshit.  Women are damn funny all on their own, and their version of “The Hangover” is better, more human, and leaves you feeling more human.  I have nothing against “The Hangover” on its own.  I thought it was hilarious.  I simply become frustrated with the comparison game.  Let a movie exist on its own merits.  You might be surprised.  Women with big, brass comedy balls is what “Bridesmaids” is, and I hope that next year maybe we’ll see a “Bridesmaids” with guys, only it won’t be nearly as funny.