Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

DIRECTED BY
Joss Whedon

STARRING
Robert Downey, Jr. - Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/Captain America
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Scarlett Johansson - Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk
Jeremy Renner - Clint Barton/Hawkeye
James Spader - Ultron (Voice)
Paul Bettany - Jarvis (Voice)/Vision
Elizabeth Olsen - Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch
Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver

Genre - Action/Adventure/Science Fiction/Fantasy/Comic Books

Running Time - 141 Minutes


PLOT
During a battle with Hydra leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann), The Avengers encounter two beings who were given power through Loki's scepter - Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), who have the power of speed and telekinetic reality warper respectively. After Wanda messes with Tony Stark's (Robert Downey, Jr.) mind, he and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) decide to create an army of artificial intelligence robots to replace the Avengers so they can live normal lives and protect the Earth at the same time. However, the AI creation wakes up learning about a cruel world created by humans, feeling that the human race needs to be eradicated to achieve peace. Calling itself Ultron (James Spader) and using the Maximoffs to manipulate the Avengers into facing their fears and causing dissension within the team, the AI plans on making his dream come true with the help of his Ultron Army.





REVIEW

HITS

- The action sequences were stronger this time around than in the first AVENGERS films. Joss Whedon, who claimed directing this film almost killed him, pretty much put his blood, sweat, and tears in creating some awesome action sequences. The opening scene was nifty. The Hulkbuster vs. The Hulk scene was bad ass. And the final sequence in Slovakia was like a comic book come to life with The Avengers working together against an army of Ultrons. The first film had some great action, but Whedon seemed to be more confident in directing them this time around.

- I like that AGE OF ULTRON doesn't really take itself all that seriously, while setting up serious stuff for future films. Whedon's dialogue is very funny, with great one-liners for much of the cast, that creates a fun experience for the audience. I thought a lot of the jokes worked, especially when they winked to fans of the comics. It's also great when characters interact in a way that you find believable, understanding why all these people would want to hang out together in ridiculous clothing just to save the world. That Mjornir scene is a great example of humor done right.

- I read some people hated the cool-down moments of the film where characters were reflecting, or just having human moments that didn't involve action of any sort. I actually felt these scenes helped with good pacing away from the action, giving us character moments that were necessary to reveal backstories we hadn't seen yet [Black Widow], to sequences that were obviously there to foreshadow future events in Phase Three [Thor and Iron Man]. I'm okay with Captain America not getting much focus in terms of his mind-warp, since he's had two solo films to establish his feeling of not belonging in his new world. I'll get into Thor in the opposite section, but I felt the quieter moments were pretty great and revealed some good stuff within the context of the film, and for the future.

- The new characters are pretty great. Even though I prefer the Quicksilver of X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST due to his personality, I did like that this version was more faithful to the comic book version. I wish he had more to do honestly, but I thought the major scenes he was involved in were cool - especially near the end. Vision was awesome to see in a live-action setting. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever believe the character could be pulled off. But I'm pleasantly wrong. I thought Vision was used great and truly felt like his comic book counterpart. Scarlet Witch was a bad ass lady who made a great impression in this film. Of the two Maximoffs, she was the highlight as she got to manipulate people and use her powers in cool ways. Plus, I liked that Whedon gave her a sense of mental instablity that could lead to interesting things down the road. Plus, that scene with Vision saving her from danger put a smile on my face.

- Ultron. Yes, Ultron is not as good of a villain as Loki. But Ultron made for a fine edition to the rogues gallery, with great one-liners and a clear mission that most villains in action films seem to lack these days. You understood where Ultron was coming from in terms of his views on the world, making you wonder if he was right about things even when his methods were malicious - even if it happens way too fast. And while his creation was completely changed from his comic book counterpart, I thought the change was handled well. It gave us a glimpse of Tony Stark's bad side, which should lead to some great stuff in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR next year.

- While it came out of nowhere, I dug the Hulk/Black Widow romantic subplot. It got time to blossom and build to a logical place. And it never overshadowed other things going on in the film, which was appreciated.

- Hawkeye's character development was a great showcase for the character. After his misuse in the first film, I dug that the character was given his just due. His fleshing out in terms of his personal life [which was a great little nod to the Ultimate universe] and his sarcastic wit made me love the character for once in this franchise. I wouldn't mind a solo movie, or at least one with Black Widow, at some point.

- The acting was phenomenal. The old cast worked their magic again, especially Downey Jr., Renner, Johansson, and Ruffalo. James Spader was fantastic as the voice of Ultron, giving the character so much personality and charisma. Elizabeth Olsen was awesome as Scarlet Witch. And I'm glad Paul Bettany was giving the spotlight as first J.A.R.V.I.S. and now Vision. Good work by the cast.

- Won't spoil anything, but I loved the cameos and the new additions to the Avengers team. How Whedon handled all these characters, I'll never know. No wonder the film tired the guy out.

- Mid-credits scene. Oh yeah, I'm ready for INFINITY WAR.


MISSES

- Thought the story was a bit bloated in the sequel, compared to the first film. That's due to introducing new characters, while giving the old ones something new to do. I read the original cut of this film was over three hours, which doesn't surprise me. I thought Whedon did a good job cramming a lot of stuff in. But you can clearly tell some things were left out due to sloppy editing at times, which gave certain characters and subplots the shaft in terms of development and storytelling.

- I kinda felt the first film felt more epic than this film did. It's not really a MISS honestly, but I felt AGE OF ULTRON was a commercial for the stuff in Phase Three rather than its own self-contained story at times. Maybe it's because the freshness of the superhero team up is gone now, but the sequel felt like it repeated itself in terms of certain beats - just with different players this time around.

- The real issue I had was with Thor's detour half-way through the film. The character doesn't get much substance in this film, and while his visions seem to reflect what will happen in THOR: RAGNAROK, his pool scene to understand what was really going on felt a bit forced and happened way too quickly. I believe Whedon edited a lot of Thor's scenes out of the film, which is a shame. I thought Thor realizing what the gems were and the power they possessed was important to the plot, but it just came to the character way too easily and shoddily edited to boot.


THE FINAL HOWL

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is a great popcorn movie that also happens to be a sequel worthy of 2012's THE AVENGERS. The chemistry of the actors and Joss Whedon's script and direction create an entertaining experience for fans who love these characters and their comic book roots. The action sequences were handled extremely well. The character development was helpful for future events for the most part. And I thought the new additions to the franchise added a different flavor to the status quo, especially Vision and Scarlet Witch. Plus, Ultron was pretty bad ass and James Spader was the perfect actor for the job. I still prefer the first film, but AGE OF ULTRON is a great comic book film that promises some interesting and dark things for Phase Three and THE INFINITY WAR. Not the best MCU film, but definitely in the Top 5 in my opinion.



SCORE

3.5 Howls Outta 4

The Watchtower of Justice: The Avengers (2012)

By Mike Huntley

When Marvel decided to form their own studio and started building solo superhero movies that existed in the same universe, fans were pumped for the inevitable Avengers team up movie that would be the icing and cherry atop an already delicious cake. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in summer 2008. Iron Man 2 in summer 2010, which was basically a prelude to The Avengers. Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger in Summer 2011. And now the moment fans old and new had been waiting for: The Avengers in an already packed superhero movie summer in 2012. Going up against both Batman (The Dark Knight Rises) and Spider-Man (The Amazing Spider-Man) is never an easy task to pull off. But The Avengers was the highest grossing film that summer and beat out The Dark Knight, which before Avengers was considered the best superhero movie of all time. Now, fans are kinda divided on which one deserves that mantle. While I do love The Avengers and it is the best Marvel Studios movie aside from Thor and Iron Man 3, I still prefer The Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel, and The Amazing Spider-Man for personal reasons. I didn't grow up with The Avengers the way I'm sure many kids who loved superheroes did. Yes, I had heard of Iron Man and Captain America, but aside from the outfits and names, I didn't know shit about them. Yes, I knew who The Incredible Hulk was, mainly due to the short animated series. But all the others? Nope. Growing up, Batman and Spider-Man were and still are my top two favorites in the costumed hero department. Superman was popular on TV. The X-Men were a hit in animation. So, while I still love The Avengers and am a new fan, I will always have Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman closer to my heart. But that's not to say that I wasn't super excited to see Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye take on aliens and the God of Mischief! 

 Loki survived his fall into a black hole and has come to Earth to steal the source of power that S.H.I.E.L.D has in their possession. First, Loki puts a spell on Dr. Selvig and Hawkeye to help him open a portal that could damn our world. This causes S.H.I.L.D's director Nick Fury to take action by assembling a team of the most powerful people on this planet. Those powerful people are Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Thor, and Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk. Together they form a super fighting force to stop Loki from letting aliens destroy New York City.

 

 I will never forget my theatrical experience with The Avengers. I went with my Dad opening night and the showing we were going to see was already sold out, so we went ahead and bought tickets for the next show. We sat around in the van for a little bit till it was close to time for the movie to start. Just about every damn row from the very front to the very back was jam packed full of everybody from the elderly to parents taking their children.  I remember getting the distinct pleasure of sitting next to some big guy who had serious B.O. and having some boys sitting in front of me giggling and texting during the show. But, once the lights dimmed and the movie began, I forgot all about those annoying little boys, or my nose begging me for Oxygen. You know why? Because I was having a total blast watching Iron Man and Captain America stand side by side, Thor knocking Iron Man across a forest, and who can forget Hulk giving Loki a professional ass whoopin'? Yep, that was The Avengers. A total blast of fun, excitement, amazing visual and special FX, Hulk/Bruce Banner finally done to perfection, aliens crashing through a city, explosions, Scarlett Johansson giving me a nice boner, Tony Stark making me laugh my ass off, and just being the definition of a summer blockbuster. It's that roller coaster that you want to catch the thrill again and again. Yes, I am not as attached as I am a Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man, but it doesn't matter. I had a great time at the movies despite the unpleasant theater conditions. 

When I first heard that Joss Whedon was set to write and direct The Avengers, I was more than happy. This is the same man who gave me two kickass TV shows during my childhood with Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. Sure, he had not had much movie making experience outside Serenity, which was the movie version of his short lived TV series Firefly. But, I always knew that Whedon had the potential to make it huge beyond the small screen and 2012 was the year of Joss Whedon with The Avengers and the horror film that he co-wrote and produced, The Cabin In The Woods. Whedon directs The Avengers with honor, respect, and love for these characters. The film never misses a beat, and Whedon's outerspace stuff looks frickin' phenomenal. If he hadn't already played in Marvel's toychest, I would have said that he would have been the perfect filmmaker to bring that Justice League film to life. Still curious who gets that gig unless Zack Snyder jumps up and decides to, or maybe Ben Affleck, although I have a feeling he will get to direct the solo Batman films.  Whedon also handles the screenplay well. We get that classic Whedon humor like when Stark tells Banner that he loves it when he turns into a giant green rage monster. And Hulk kicking Loki's ass certainly made me cheer and giggle in my seat, even though I had to hold the breathing part thanks to B.O. guy.  Nick Fury making a flying monkeys reference, and Captain America picking up on it made me chuckle. Speaking of Captain America, I LOVE his new suit. It's very classic Captain America whereas the suit in his solo film was more a military war suit. And that finale in New York City has gotta be one of the single greatest scenes in superhero cinema history. Words can't describe how awesome it was seeing all these characters come together as a team. 

The cast was spot on in their respective roles. Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark/Iron Man. The dude has enormous humor and tons of charisma that you just love. He's the kinda dude you just want to chill with. Chris Evans was a great pick for Steve Rogers/Captain America. Finally, that 1990 movie is wiped away from the character's identity. Chris Hemsworth is still thunderously awesome as Thor. The man is the definition of a superhero.  Mark Ruffalo replaced Edward Norton, but ended up giving us the best portrayal of Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk applied to film. Ruffalo was a nice surprise. I hope he eventually gets that Hulk movie that he deserves. Scarlett Johansson is smokin' fuckin' hot as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. Plus, she can kick a lot of ass. My kinda woman! Samuel L. Jackson is great as the slick and cool eye patched Nick Fury. Clark Gregg is great as always as Agent Phil Coulson, who is most likely not dead and is sadly on that God awful Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D television series that failed to capture the awesomeness of these movies in every way. Jeremy Renner is really good as Agent Barton/Hawkeye. But, Tom Hiddleston just about steals the show in his reprisal role as Loki. I love Hiddleston's menace as a villain. You can tell that the guy is having a major blast playing this character and us audiences are therefore having a blast watching him having fun. Hell, the man even came to Comic Con in character and talked to the fans as Loki. So awesome, this guy. 

Overall, The Avengers is the best Marvel Studios movie to date. Love it and look forward to Phase Two going forward and leading up to summer 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. The team will be expanding and the universe getting even more fascinating than it already is!

GRADE

 A+

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

DIRECTED BY
Drew Goddard

STARRING
Kristen Connolly - Dana Polk
Chris Hemsworth - Curt Vaughan
Anna Hutchison - Jules Louden
Fran Kranz - Marty Mikalski
Jesse Williams - Holden McCrea

Genre - Horror/Comedy

Running Time - 95 Minutes


Normally, you would see the normal format with PLOT and REVIEW here. But it takes a special kind of film to throw that out entirely. And THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is that film. Reviewing it and discussing it in depth would just ruin it for those reading who are interested and/or haven't watched it yet. Let's just say that the posters and trailers really don't show you much of anything of what the film is really about - and that's a great thing. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is an experience and an interesting way to look at horror films past, present, and even future.

Even though I won't discuss the plot, I will say that Joss Whedon has done it again with his screenplay [which was co-written by director Drew Goddard]. I went into THE CABIN IN THE WOODS expecting a pretty normal horror-comedy with the usual twist at the end to cap it all off. But I was pleasantly surprised by the twists, turns, and the usage of the cliche conventions horror films have grown stale by that were turned on their head to become witty, clever, and almost unrecognizable. Every time I thought the film would go one way, it went to a totally different direction I could not see coming. The film repeatedly does this and you realize that this horror film is a lot smarter and different from the usual suspects. The characters are stereotypical on paper, but due to the situation presented, are given a ton of depth and are very likeable. Even the antagonist(s) is/are really well-written. I also loved the homages to other classic horror films and characters. Sure it had plot holes here and there [supposedly done purposely for a planned sequel in mind], but they never really bugged me while watching. I was on a ride and I had fun. That's all that matters.

The direction by Drew Goddard, who also wrote CLOVERFIELD, is great. Lots of stylish shots. Cinematography by Peter Deming was great. The pace was fast, as the film just builds and builds until its finale. The editing was fantastic and clever, jarring the audience from going to one scene to a totally different one in form of juxtaposition. The action sequences are exciting, while the murder sequences [while not scary] are a bit creepy and tense. It's not an overly gory film [until the end] but it's more than enough to satisfy those who have a blood lust when it comes to horror. There are a lot of subtle fourth wall references that are visually presented as well, which makes the viewing audience a lot of fun. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS could have gone off the rails due to its complex narrative. But Goddard manages a tight ship and should be commended and respected for putting together a visual feast.

The acting is more than solid here. Each actor and actress play their part to a tee. There are definitely highlights, which I won't share due to this review being a non-spoiler. But all the people involved 'got it' and played to it extremely well. No one in this cast bugged me. They all had a purpose and were great in making it happen. There's also a great cameo in the final act as well.

THE FINAL HOWL
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is said by some to be the end of how we look at horror films. But I feel it's a new beginning of a genre that definitely needed a kick in the ass to make studios and audiences realize that there's still a lot of originality left to create something different for true horror fans. Whedon and Goddard have crafted an incredibly smart and inventive film with sharp satire that's clever. It didn't scare me in the slightest, but it sure made me laugh at how genius the premise was. The less you know about THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, the better you are. This film is an experience that will surprise you in a good way. I 'got' what this film was trying to express and I appreciated it. I don't think I could recommend a modern horror film as much as THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. Dammit, I want to visit this one again now. So, so good.




SCORE

4 Howls Outta 4