Tangled up in Strings - A Review of Avengers: Age of Ultron

The problem with sequels is that they are always compared to the titles that preceded them. Occasionally, you get sequels to films and games that are that much better than the older siblings in the series. Toy Story 3, Terminator 2, and as an example within the Marvel cinematic universe, Captain America: The Winter Solider. These are all examples of sequels that many consider to be the better, if not the best movie of their respective series. So the question is, where does the much-hyped Avengers sequel fall? Unfortunately, in that very comparison to the last film; The Avengers, we see the flaws in Age of Ultron. Avengers: Age of Ultron is still a great film,  but while I felt excited and satisfied when I left the theatre watching the first one, I couldn't help but feel unsatisfied with the sequel.

Let's start off with the stuff that works. Where the film works very well; as is to be expected of Marvel movies, is the action sequences. Actually, action sequences doesn't sum up what you see on screen. More akin to "epic battle art",  the film hits the ground running (or in this case fighting) from the moment the Marvel title card fades to black. Fights are incredibly well-choreographed and every Avenger retains their badass status with some truly impressive combat scenes. From the the opening assault on Baron von Strucker's Hydra fortress to the literally earth-shattering final fight with Ultron, you get the sense that Joss Whedon definitely understands what the word "awesome" means. But fights alone do not a movie make, well at least not a great one. Thankfully the actors playing those doing the fighting do a great job bringing them to life outside the battlefield.

The original Avengers once again prove that the chemistry is still there and is a pleasure to watch. Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr are still my favourites, but Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johannson, and Chris Evans all provide great performances. Newcomers Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Wanda and Pietro Maximoff; otherwise known as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, also give good performances, though slightly limited due to their role in the story. However you can't have an Avengers movie without a good villain, and James Spader as Ultron definitely delivers. Unfortunately even a great cast can't save a mediocre story and slightly forced jokes, which is the core of Age of Ultron's problems.

The premise is simple enough, The Avengers recover Loki's sceptre which is then used by Tony and Bruce in an attempt to create Ultron to protect the planet. While they seem to fail in even creating an AI, they accidentally create one with some homocidal tendencies. Ultron teams up with Mutants "Enhanced" humans Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to bring down the Avengers. What follows is a predictable storyline very reminiscent of the first film. In fact the similarities are what make it that all the more obvious that the writing and jokes just aren't up to snuff with the film's predecessor.  Yes, there are still very funny moments but what we see is a movie that is trying way too hard to recapture the magic we saw three years ago. In addition there are some odd storyline elements that don't really make sense when everything is put together. I will give them credit for making a Hulk and Black Widow romance see plausible, or at least as plausible as it could have. Perhaps the movie was doomed to be lackluster in this area, however you can't but feel that it all feels a bit forced.

Is Age of Ultron worth seeing? Yes, absolutely. It's still a ton of fun and the awesome fights are alone worth the price of admission. Is it a sign that we need new avengers? Also yes. One of the reasons why Guardians of the Galaxy was so successful was the introduction of characters we'd never seen before. As much we love our current roster, it's better to change up now then hate them while they're still here. Without spoiling too much we do see a new Avengers line up at the end of the film, and I'm more excited about that prospect that I was throughout most of the entire duration of the movie.

Score 7.5/10

Oscar Nominated Shorts 2015 (Live Action & Animated) - Short but Not so Sweet

Part of my award season ritual involves going to see both the oscar nominated live action and animated shorts. It's something I view as a tradition as I've watched the nominees in these categories for the past five years. As I said in my review of last year's nominees, the amazing thing about short films is that their greatest strength is their brevity. However, in order for a short film to be successful it has to make an impact. Quite frankly in comparison to last year's nominees, this year's just aren't as good. Not to say they aren't bad but compared to the variety and brilliance of last year's films they simply don't impress as much. With that said though, below are my short reviews for these short films. All are still worth watching at least once.

Live Action

Aya

An interesting concept, the story follows a woman who is mistaken for someones else's hired driver from the airport. However rather than trying to correct the man's mistake, she revel's in the attention. The film is well shot and like I said the premise is interesting. However despite the film's strengths it feels slightly too long, and also by the end there isn't really a conclusion that makes the entire experience feel justifiable.

Boogaloo and Graham

The comic relief of the nominees, the film was the TIFF's pick during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It follows two Irish boys who get chickens as pets, totally changing their lives for better and for worse. It's a nice light-hearted movie and has some good laughs, but it's also incredibly predictable. Side note, why they use subtitles for the boys is confusing as their accented english isn't by any means incomprehensible.

Butter Lamp

This was an interesting piece. The premise is simple, it's merely two photographers taking pictures of tibetan villagers in front of different backdrops. It's effortless and powerful, showing that even the most basic of ideas can stir a myriad of emotions from the viewer. Even the ending is striking and in some ways completely changes the audiences understanding of the film.

Parvaneh

While watching Parvaneh, I thought I had the film's story figured out. It starts out like so many films where the protagonist is trying to make a new life in a new country and struggles to make ends meet. As a result I was pleasantly surprised when the film took a twist and became an interesting commentary on friendship, loyalty, and a reflection on how so many of us treat outsiders. It's a well written film and the performances are understated but excellent. I'm sorry for misjudging you Parvaneh.

The Phone Call

A bittersweet short that deals with themes of death and suicide, The Phone Call is a piece that has some absolutely astounding performances. Heather is a suicide hotline worker who receives a call from a very troubled caller. What plays over the rest of film is an emotional and powerful dialogue between the two. Without giving too much away, my only complaint of the film is the latter half of it's ending. It feels a little out of place with the rest of the film.

Oscar Pick: The Phone Call

I'm not exactly sure what it says about me, but I really liked The Phone Call. I think its dialogue and the themes it deals with are why I think it's worthy of an academy award. Butter Lamp would be a very close second, as in a way it's the opposite with its "show, don't tell" approach.

Animation

The Bigger Picture

A multi-dimensional stop motion film, The Bigger Picture shows the story of two adult siblings trying to take care of their ailing mother. The progression of the film feels almost dream-like and disjointed, with scenes jumping forward and backwards in time in a surreal manner. It's not a very interesting film overall, but it is very interesting to look at.

The Dam Keeper

Incredibly beautiful, The Dam Keeper is a film about a young pig that is alone in his town as the sole dam keeper, who keeps the dark miasma at bay from the town. Over the course of the film he meets a young fox who helps him learn that he doesn't have to be alone. A very nice piece, even if it is a little on the childish side.

Feast

Disney's entry for the academy awards, I've seen it tons of times and after a while like day-old bread it gets a little stale. The animation is amazing and the story is cute, but it's only worth seeing once. And if you went and saw Big Hero 6 last year, you've already seen it to.

Me and My Moulton

I'm not exactly sure what is up with the Canadians and slice of life animated films, but here's another one. But, unlike the others this one is far more entertaining. Animated like a child's drawing, it's simplistic style is combined with a very funny story. It follows the story of a Norwegian family with three young daughters whose parents are modernist architects. It explores the age old story of what happens when your family is so different compared to anyone else's, and in the end accepting those differences.

A Single Life

Only two minutes long, this short is a prime example of how a well-executed short film can convey so much in such a such a short time. This darkly comic and clever cartoon combines music, time travel, and mortality in a very entertaining way. And all in two minutes! Did I also mention that the music is fantastic

Oscar Pick: A Single Life

A Single Life is what every short should aspire to as it is the perfect combination of length and impact. As odd as Me and My Moulton was at times, it was incredibly fun to watch and would be a close second for the award.

The 72nd Golden Globes

Because I’m actually trying to legitimize myself as a “pop culture” critic, I attempted to multi-task and play Civilization: Beyond Earth while watching this year’s Golden Globes awards. I also felt compelled to watch as this was the last show to be hosted by the near-perfect when it comes to comedy, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Or as they put it, “The 72nd and final Golden Globes.” Obviously there were good jokes, bad jokes, and speeches that went on too long, but who won what awards is ultimately the focus on any award show. And like every year, there are there choices you agree with, disagree with, and ones you are indifferent about.

Couldn’t have picked better myself

To my surprise the HFPA and I were thinking along the same lines this year about which films, shows, actors, and creative professionals deserved to be called the best in their category. Normally I find that for the bulk of the award season, the awards go to films that I don’t think deserve them or deserved them but I didn’t quite like them as much as another film that was nominated. This year, whether it was because of the high quality of films or because I think they almost all deserve to win, the HFPA  and I actually agree on our choices for the most part.

In my end of year blog, I expressed my hopes that Boyhood would win the accolades that it deserved. It certainly did that. Winning Best Picture for Drama, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress, it won all the categories that I thought this masterpiece was worthy of. Sure it didn’t win best supporting actor or best screenplay, but considering the other nominees this year they had really tough (and good) competition.

What I also did in my end of year blog is forget that Grand Budapest Hotel existed, which is (even though I didn’t write it) one of my favourite films from last year. So when it won for Best Picture for Comedy/Musical I was absolutely thrilled. While I may not have 100% agreed with their choices for Best Actor for Drama and Best Animated Film, considering how great all the nominees were this year I can't really disagree with them either. 

Changed the Channel

While I definitely didn't miss the big awards, I got bored during a majority of the television awards. It's not that I didn't watch any of the shows nominated this year, I just didn't watch most of them. Playing Civ: BE probably didn't help, but as I talked to friends about this year's show and read tweets by fellow viewers, the Golden Globes did often lose its steam. Whether due to video games, lack of interest, or lack of laughs, I'll admit that I didn't watch the entirety of show with interest. But for what I was interested in, I definitely stopped playing and started watching.

End of an Era

As I said earlier in the post, one of the reasons to watch this year's event is for the spectacular hosts. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler once again brought the laughs to the Golden Globes. What makes this all the more special is that this will be indeed the last Globes to be hosted by incredible duo.  Funnily enough, during the Golden Globes countdown on NBC prior to the start of the award show, the hosts speculated that the Tina and Amy would hold nothing back. Well, the Bill Cosby jokes were definitely evidence of that. That said though, the jokes were great. Not only from Tina and Amy, but from the presenters as well (Ricky Gervais was surprisingly good). But the creme de la creme were definitely in the monologue. Especially the joke about George Clooney's lifetime award and the game of "Who'd you rather" as well. 

Part of my interest in any award show apart from the nominees is whoever hosts it. With Tina Fey and Amy Poehler moving on to other things, who knows who will take on the daunting task of hosting. Some have suggested Kristen Wiig and Bill Mader, which would hopefully keep the same type of humour in the show. Only time will tell. But with the 2015 Golden Globes now over and Margret Cho no longer costumed as a disgruntled North Korean, we congratulate the winners and thank Tina and Amy for a phenomenal job these past three shows. You will be missed.

Hooked On A Feeling: A Review of Guardians Of The Galaxy

When the Guardians Of The Galaxy movie was announced immediately after the success of the first Avengers movie (Pretty sure it was Comic-con 2012), I was skeptical to say the least. While Rocket Racoon is one of my favourite characters in the history of comics, creating a movie about a fairly unknown team of superheroes felt like a desperate ploy. Marvel, it seemed to me; was trying and get as much money as possible, at the expense of quality. It seems strange saying that a comic-book movie has become fine film, and yet Marvel over the last 6 years has created some pretty great movies, with The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Solider standing out. Now while it's true that Marvel studios is of course making movies which are expected to rake in millions if not billions of dollars, just attach your name to a project doesn't make it a good movie to watch. Just look at the superhero movies from 2000-2007, most were terrible. So when that first trailer came out for Guardians, I felt bad for ever doubting Marvel Studios. After watching this fantastic movie, that feels even more the case.

Set Amongst The Stars

 The story of Guardians Of The Galaxy shifts the story away from stupid earth to the other side of the, well, galaxy. We follow Peter Quill (aka Star Lord) who after being abducted from earth as a kid, has grown up to become an outlaw treasure hunting across the stars. He inadvertently stumbles upon the plot of  the evil Ronan and ends up meeting the rest of his soon to be motley crew of anti-heroes. Gamora the assassain, Drax the destroyer, Rocket Racoon (a genetically modified talking racoon), and Groot (A sentient Tree, think the Ents from Lord of The Rings but on a smaller scale). Once they get together, the chaos ensues. The audience is taken for both an action packed and truly hilarious ride.

Now you'd think with all these new characters being shown to many people for the first time that they'd have to go through a ton of exposition to get everyone up to speed. But the beauty of the film's writing is that no one character particularly dominates, all of them have back stories that are fed to us in nice bits rather than massive chunks at any one time. They're all broken, angry, and tired of being alone. Though the way I've described it makes it sound the breakfast club of Marvel movies, its refreshing to have an origin story for a team that doesn't involve good people, they're all wonderfully, and sometimes seriously; flawed.

A Barrel Of Laughs (and Bullets)

As I mentioned previously this movie is funny. In fact funny doesn't really do it justice, because despite the films dramatic and action-filled moments there are tons of great jokes and lines. While none of the jokes are particularly original, the timing and use of them in this space opera keep you laughing through out the movie. In fact I'd recommend the movie first for it's comedy, then its action, then the drama. Because once the laughs are over, you're treated to a beautiful display of combat and gun fights. At times there can seem to be a lot on screen, but the fighting is tight and clever, each "Guardian" is skilled at what they do and it shows, much to our delight. Now, while there are serious moments in the movie, they're tinged with the films bright optimism. Now matter how bad things get, you know that in the end they're going to be ok. For some that might be a bit boring. But when so many movies, especially now with comic book movies; are bleak and gritty, it's nice to see something simple and wholesome. The kind of wholesome that involves spaceships, swearing racoons, and lots of explosions.

Awesome Mix Vol 1

Peter's walkman, his sole possession from his time on earth; is both a fantastic plot device and the catalyst for a fantastic soundtrack. Now, it's not like this mixtape by his mother is the best hits of the 70s and 80s, some of the tracks are wonderfully bad. And yet once you watch this movie and how each track is used, you can't get enough of them. In fact each scene that uses a particular track either uses it in an expected way, playing Escape (The Pina Colada Song) when, well, escaping... or sometimes in ways that are poignant and emotionally powerful. A mixtape with a lot of soul, no pun intended. This soundtrack blends in beautifully with the stunning world that James Gunn has helped bring alive. Combined with the stellar (again no pun intended) performances by everyone in the cast, you'll want to see more.

In Conclusion

In case it was already evident, Guardians of the Galaxy is a fantastic movie that you need to see immediately. There is something for everyone. In a strange way it feels like familiar and nostalgic, and yet is brand new and different for Marvel.  As there's already been an announcement of a sequel, it will be good to see more of the Guardians of the Galaxy. While I worry that the Avengers may get over-crowded back on earth, I don't have that fear when it comes to Star Lord and his friends. Perhaps that's because when it comes down to it Guardians of that Galaxy has one thing that most summer blockbusters don't have, heart.

Verdict: 10/10

UK vs US: Television Format

While the third series of Sherlock was running, I had recurring conversation with a number of my friends and family all revolving around the same topic, British television versus American television. It probably had to do with the fact that most of friends are firmly in the US TV camp (ie that’s what they predominately watch) so a show like Sherlock is very different from what they view as the standard format. But the more I thought about the talks I had; especially with my Mum who is British herself and more of an expert on the subject than I am, the more I thought about those strange seemingly inconsequential differences that create two completely different markets of entertainment. So I’ve decided as something that will be recurring for a little while is some interesting difference between the two areas and if it really makes a difference.

This post is going to be focusing on formatting and structure, and you may surprised what a big difference that can make.

Series versus Season

Based on the heading for this subtopic, you might think that merely focusing on the semantics and vocab, but the word choice in a way goes beyond a simple title for a portion of a program’s lifespan. Any one who watches both British and American television will tell you that a little difference in terms of jargon is that while in the states a television “series” is made up of seasons, a season in a British program is dubbed a series (hence my not calling the most recent run of Sherlock its third season).

Now while for the most part it’s trivial, you can dissect it into slightly deeper meaning as to how these shows are written. I talk a little bit about why the mini-series is in many ways more satisfying for this post I wrote two years ago for a intern blog at IBM, and I won’t go into too much detail but the main argument remains the same. Because much of British TV is more compact and stand-alone; closer to a mini series, a lot is cleaned up and not left hanging come the finale of that particular series. Now obviously there isn’t a guarantee that a British show will end smoothly, especially if it ends abruptly (I’m looking at you The Hour Series 2). But there’s something far more pleasing about closure with a show that’s been around two years as opposed to a show that they kept going for eight because that’s how the market works. The Brits just seem a little more sensible.

Don’t get too attached

I’ve recently been re-watching the entirety of BBC 3’s Being Human and it’s definitely struck home something that it, Misfits, and MI-5/Spooks do in their show. They are not afraid to kill off or get rid of very important characters (especially Spooks). You just don’t see that same kind of banality (or done casually I guess I would say) with American shows. Sure deaths and departures happen but they are really big deals…  even more than they are across the pond. If you’ve watched Spooks then you know what I’m talking about.

While haven’t watched most of the US version of Being Human (simply because I’m being snobby and refuse to), reading the various plot summaries shows that while the show is different (thankfully) from it’s British big brother… it definitely doesn’t seem to hold the same gravitas that the original had. The show is going into it’s 4th season and all the main characters are still alive and mostly the same (give or take some moments of being human, which would never happen in the British one). By the end of first episode of the 4th series of the original program, three quarters of the original cast were dead… and then Annie was gone by the end leaving the show with a completely new cast of supernatural housemates.

My mum speculates that maybe it has something to do with contracts and other commitments that American actors just don’t seem to have, which I’d be inclined to agree with her but can’t talk too much about as I’m not really knowledgeable of this realm of the acting world. But there may be something to be said about American actor’s picking up TV show gigs and sticking with them and being famous for that rather than the diversity that a lot of British actors have.

In the end, it doesn't really matter

Spooks Series 1 Cast: only one of them is in every series

You could spend an entire media studies course dissecting the differences in terms of structure of these two very different television markets. While I have an obvious preference of one over the other, there’s no clear right choice when it comes to what you should watch. There are a lot of long running American shows that are staples in the history of television on a global scale. But it’s fascinating that these two countries that speak the same language have fundamentally different approaches to how to structure the same medium.

Sherlock Series 3: Thoughts On The Empty Hearse & Sign of Three

Warning: There are Spoilers, so if you haven’t watch this series yet, you shouldn't even be here you should be watching it right now.

While I was excited as the next Sherlock fan for the new series, I was; as I often am when comes to things I hold dear to my heart, incredibly nervous of what was to come. How on earth do you top the awesome spectacular that was Series 2 with both Irene Adler; played by the astounding Lara Pulver, introduced to the Sherlock universe and Andrew Scott’s award-winning and absolutely brilliant performance as Jim Moriarty. Series 2 was also for many what helped make Sherlock a huge international sensation, heck when I watched series 1 apart from a strong following in the UK there didn’t seem to be this massive global following that there is now. So many things could have gone wrong with this series, and with one episode left, there still is a chance that we all might flip the metaphorical table in rage, or more appropriately pull an Anderson and start tearing stuff of the walls.

So with two absolutely fantastic episodes out of the way and the finale upon us this upcoming Sunday, it is time to summarize my thoughts on the series so far and consider what we might see in the next episode.

Acknowledgement of the Fanbase

 A minor caveat, Moffat has never actually acknowledged in writing the craziness that is the Sherlock Fandom. But there have been several moments in the last two episodes that feel oddly like fan service. As odd as it sounds, I feel like a lot of what has made the last two episodes so enjoyable are the moments of sheer insanity that in many ways could only rival some crazed fan girl’s fan fiction. The theory of how Sherlock survived by one girl in “The Empty Hearse” that ends in Moriarty and Sherlock kissing is right out of something on Archive of our own or live journal, not exactly something I pegged for Mark Gatiss or Stephen Moffat to come up with. Followed by what I think is worthy of more exploration… Sherlock and Watson Lightweight Drunken Adventures was a refreshing and wonderfully charming way to make these characters even more interesting and fun (Especially the bit where Sherlock and Watson trying to work a case while drunk). There’s a lot more in these episodes that feels a giant thank you to the fans, but still in a way that is their own and not actually pandering to any group. Keep up the good work writers.

Sidenote: buzzfeed has a hilarious summary of what happened on tumblr after the series premiere. It is quite a joy to read… to say the least

The Magnanimous Mary Morstan

Probably one of things I was the most nervous of was the introduction of John Watson’s wife, Mary Morstan. Time and time again, television and movie adaptations often don’t do this character justice and often end throwing her in as the third wheel (but shouldn’t be) to the Holmes and Watson dynamic. So I too thought that this was not going to end well for anyone

Boy was I never so glad to be wrong

Not only is Mary Morstan a fantastic addition to the series, she’s possibly my new favourite character. She’s not some clingy fiancé, she seems to truly understand how both these men work and seems to want them to still be besties (pardon the term) despite John and her beginning a new chapter in their lives together. Plus her intelligence, wit, and humour are so refreshing for a show where the recurring female characters seem a bit overshadowed and one-dimensional (although Molly is now an even greater pleasure to watch, as she isn’t just some simplistic, shy pathologist)

Now my current fear is that either this all too good to be true or something truly terrible is going to happen… as is often the case with Sherlock finales.

End of an Era

Now we approach the end of the series and our new main villain, Charles Augustus Magnussen. Now while many Sherlock fans are already attempting to piece together what’s going to happen based on the references in characters and title of the finale “The Last Vow”; based on “The Last Bow”, I just know that in typical fashion of Sherlock, shit will probably hit the fan. And with Mary’s apparent pregnancy also now a factor, who knows what could go horribly, horribly wrong. All I know is that it will probably break my heart again and I will still love every minute of it. That, and it will probably change things up considerably for the next series, that is if there is even going to be a series 4 with the way the show has been going. Since there was a cameo of Irene Adler in the last episode, I’m hoping that she comes back somehow in a bigger role, but maybe that was just another red herring in a show that can sometimes be full of them. Here’s hoping it’s another hat trick for the third series. The final episode of the third series airs on Sunday January 12^th on BBC One.