CAPTAIN MARVEL Review

Captain Marvel, notable for being the first female-led Marvel Cinematic Universe film after twenty-one movies, is a fun and sometimes unique take on the super hero origin story that unfortunately never finds its groove enough to the point it's somewhat fearful the character won’t be able to get her groove back when it comes time for Avengers: Endgame. For all intents and purposes, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s (Half Nelson, Mississippi Grind) MCU debut is your boilerplate Marvel origins story which, by virtue of where we’re now at in this universe, makes it feel small in comparison to even the most recent additions. Falling somewhere in between the muddled middle of Doctor Strange and Black Panther, Brie Larson's Carol Danvers isn't a riff on an origin story we've seen before, but neither does it have the added elements of magic as in Strange or the advantage of introducing us to a new world a la Panther. In a Phase Three world, a mostly Earth-set origin story was going to have to give us a little something more than also doubling as the origin story for Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury or-at least-it was going to need to find a really cool, really fresh way to convey that story. For example, in the opening twenty or so minutes of Captain Marvel, we are treated to what is essentially a Star Wars or Star Trek-like space opera with the full-on introductions of the Kree and Skrull races we've heard whisperings of for years as well as to the Kree home planet and their military force for which Danvers has been trained by her mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). Such introductions lend the film something of a Guardians of the Galaxy-vibe, but the tone is different enough that this could simply be yet another facet of the MCU we haven't yet seen. Were Boden and Fleck, who also wrote the script alongside Geneva Robertson-Dworet (2018's Tomb Raider), to harness the momentum of this initial set-up and action sequence, executing it in the fashion of a genre flick of this type that was released in the decade their film is set, the film might have proven to be a more unique and odd side venture for the MCU, but unlike the flavor Taika Waititi brought to Thor: Ragnarok or the subversiveness James Gunn infused his GotG films with, Captain Marvel ends up being a perfectly serviceable, but highly average entry in the ever-expanding MCU; a movie that feels more like the pilot of a nineties spin-off series that never hits the same strides as the series that inspired it rather than the explosive debut it could seemingly have so easily been.

First Trailer for Marvel Studios' CAPTAIN MARVEL Starring Brie Larson

Marvel Studios has released the first look at Captain Marvel, the first female-led flick in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There have been about eight different characters known as Captain Marvel over the years, but the movie will follow the Carol Danvers storyline who first appeared in the comics in 1968. In the comics, Danvers was an Air Force pilot and CIA agent recruited by NASA and more specifically, by Dr. Philip Lawson, with whom she struck up a romantic relationship before learning of his true identity of Mahr Vehl from the alien race known as the Kree or the race of blue aliens we first saw in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. Mahr Vehl blocks an explosion causing his genetic template to meld with Danvers' DNA turning her into Ms. Marvel. It wouldn't be until July of 2012 though that Danvers would take on the mantle of Captain Marvel after Mahr Vehl dies (spoiler alert!). Described as the most powerful super in the MCU (maybe even more so than Thanos) Captain Marvel has super strength, tons of military training, absorbs energy and returns the blasts from her fists as well as being able to fly six times faster than the speed of sound. This is all without mentioning the fact she apparently has a seventh sense that allows her to subconsciously anticipate the moves of her opponents and to connect with the cosmos. This cavalcade of powers will no doubt come in hand as the character's first film will be set in the nineties and deal with the ongoing galactic war between the Kree and the Skrull-a race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters. In the film, Brie Larson (Room, Kong: Skull Island) plays the titular character while Jude Law will appear as Lawson. Samuel L. Jackson will return as a younger Nicky Fury and Clark Gregg will be back as Agent Coulson. Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou will also reprise their Guardians of the Galaxy roles as they are Kree warriors. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Mississippi Grind) were tapped to write and direct and while the screenplay is credited to both Boden, Fleck, and a host of other writers including Liz Flahive (GLOW), Meg LeFauve (Inside Out), Carly Mensch (Weeds, Nurse Jackie), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (2018's Tomb Raider). And while this will largely be our introduction to Danvers if not your typical origin story it still has the responsibility of clearing up where Captain Marvel has been this entire time and how the character will play into Avengers 4. Needless to say, Boden and Fleck have their work cut out for them, but if the MCU train and this trailer are any indication, it doesn't seem the MCU will be getting off track anytime soon. Captain Marvel also stars Gemma Chan, Ben Mendelsohn, McKenna Grace, Annette Bening, Pete Ploszek, and opens on March 8th, 2019.

TIFF 2015: THE PROGRAM Review

There is something to a Stephen Frears picture that is always appealing. I never expect much from them, but I typically end up with something pretty great. I've probably watched Philomena a handful of times since 2013 because I tend to show it to people who have never heard of it. The same could be said of The Queen or High Fidelity. These aren't major, milestone pieces, but they are always quenching in a way only Frears can seem to deliver. Maybe I should have went in with those same non-existent expectations to the English directors latest, but either way The Program would probably be something of a minor letdown. This isn't to say the film isn't good, in fact it has a lot of positive things going for it and I honestly wasn't ready to see it come to an end when it did, but the typical pop that comes with a Frears production just isn't at play here. Given Frears had painted a moving and somewhat revealing picture of Queen Elizabeth in his Oscar-nominated 2006 film I thought he might be up to something similar with his Lance Armstrong biopic, but alas there is no alternate version of Armstrong's life that the news reports haven't already divulged. Instead, Frears recounts the highs and lows of Armstrong's career with a compelling flow and solid performances, but nothing to give it that extra oomph to make it something truly special.

First Trailer for THE PROGRAM Starring Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong

It's been a while since we've heard anything about the Lance Armstrong biopic starring Ben Foster as the famous cyclist, but today brings us the first trailer for Stephen Frears' new movie that we've learned (via the trailer) is now actually titled The Program. While I never followed Armstrong or his sport too closely one would have had to have been living under a rock to not know about the performance enhancing drug scandal that climaxed with Armstrong's appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show in January of 2013 where he admitted that the accusations against him were true. Frears' film documents the rise and fall of Armstrong focusing in large part on the doping scandal. The film is based on David Walsh's book, Seven Deadly Sins, with an adapted screenplay from John Hodge (The Beach, Trance) and will no doubt touch on the fact the cyclist won the Tour de France seven times and survived his battle with cancer, but not without the looming fact of the drug scandal hanging overhead further examining how things changed in the minds of those who adored and supported him once it was exposed he was in fact taking performance enhancing drugs. Along with Foster, The Program also stars Chris O'Dowd, Guillaume Canet, Lee Pace and Jesse Plemons. As of now there is no U.S. distributor, but the film will hit theaters on September 23 in France and in Germany on October 8. Here's hoping those of us stateside are granted the opportunity to see the film sooner rather than later.

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES Review

I have become less and less enchanted with Peter Jackson's prequel trilogy the more and more we get of it. Thankfully, The Battle of the Five Armies will be our last trip to Middle Earth (if at least for some time) for the more Jackson and company string out their financially successful series the more he seems to discredit the genuinely engaging and handsomely made films that started it all. There was always great hope for an adaptation of The Hobbit given it would return Jackson to a place he clearly has a passion for, but a lack of care also seems to be the source of trouble with each new chapter in this prequel trilogy. It feels as if each movie hinges on one or two major set pieces allowing it to deliver what audiences expect while the remaining hour and a half is left to be filled with subplots that are either unnecessary to the main narrative or feel forced in so as to simply extend the running time. Is it required a film must be two and a half hours for it to feel epic? Peter Jackson seems to think so, but as Battle of the Five Armies comes in at two hours and twenty-four minutes it is by far the shortest installment and at the very least, feels like much of a relief because of it. I didn't like a lot about this final chapter. I wasn't impressed with the structure of the story or the organization of the titular five armies (if you haven't read the book you'll be left wondering who exactly the fifth army even is) and more than anything it was frustrating to see a maguffin as obvious as "Dragon Sickness" pit Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) against seemingly everyone else in the entire movie, even his fellow dwarves. Certainly, some of the blame for this can be placed on all of the rules, worlds and ridiculous names that author J.R.R. Tolkien originally came up with, but with as much of a beast as Jackson has turned this small, three hundred page introductory novel into I'm willing to place most of the blame on he and the studio for compromising much of the stories merit for greed. I understand the reasoning, I realize there is a business aspect to it all and that by splitting the planned two films into three allows this third films box office to generate pure profit, but that doesn't mean I sympathize with the decision because while they get extra cash on their Christmas bonus, audiences everywhere are short-changed by this insufficiently justified chapter.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Review

In the late summer of 2006 a friend and I went unsuspecting into our local dollar theater to see a few movies we'd missed earlier that year. One we had no idea of what we were getting into, but were interested in due to the fact it featured Elizabeth Banks in a starring role was Slither. It was one of those experiences you walk away from as a nineteen year-old kid and wonder what the hell you just watched. At that age everything needs to fit squarely into a category, it has to have some semblance of order for you to think it is acceptable in the adult world and this was an R-rated horror film so that was what we expected, or at least that is what had been advertised. What Slither actually turned out to be was a literal gross-out comedy that played on the several homages it contained to horror films of days past and was more in the vein of Evil Dead than anything else. I say all of this not only to reference my introduction to the work of director James Gunn, but more to put into context the kind of non-expectations I'd set for Guardians of the Galaxy. I didn't want to know what to expect, I didn't want to understand the universe and I certainly didn't want to have any preconceptions about who these characters were given their ridiculous appearance. I'd walked into Gunn's strikingly strange Slither with zero expectation and walked out fully appreciating it for its wackiness and ability to transcend genres while clearly doing whatever it wanted. I hoped for the same thing from Guardians despite the fact Gunn had submitted himself to the powers that be at Marvel. I don't look at Marvel as this monster who assumes creative control and only hires directors willing to do their bidding because it is clear they have a plan for where they want all of this to go and they are looking for those willing to work with them on that ultimate goal, which anyone should be able to appreciate. What I do worry about with each Marvel film is the lack of any original voice coming through in conveying these necessary stories. The stories can be cohesive without the tone or style being the same and while the earth-bound Avengers began to feel more serialized in phase two, Guardians is able to break that mold not only by taking place in the cosmos but by brimming with creativity in every scene of its execution.

First Trailer for THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

At this point, is anyone besides those either deep in Tolkien lore or who have seen the other five films interested in Peter Jackson's last journey through Middle-Earth? It is hard to tell as even the trailer for the final chapter in The Hobbit trilogy feels somewhat exhausted. The newly minted Battle of the Five Armies will surely run almost three hours and feature plenty of giant battle sequences, but the whole thing just feels rather tired at this point. I was never a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings trilogy though I certainly found appreciation in each of the films and while I feel like I'm in the minority who enjoyed An Unexpected Journey more than The Desolation of Smaug I don't know that I'm exactly looking forward to what the final installment has to offer. They are visual wonders, to be sure, but I certainly feel the overwhelming sense of CGI and extension of the story has turned this second trilogy into more of a financial than artistic endeavor. Don't get me wrong, I hope Jackson has something up his sleeve and proves my pessimism wrong, but if the trailer is any indication they may go out with more of a whisper than a bang. The first full-length trailer for the film is the same that premiered at Comic-Con over the weekend and is slow-paced, again featuring “The Steward of Gondor”, which was also used in The Return of the King. The film is being touted as the defining chapter of the Middle-Earth saga and so we will have to wait and see if the final product lives up to this claim or if the marketing simply hopes to cash in on the finale. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Orlando Bloom and opens in theaters on December 17th.

First Trailer for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

In what has become increasingly more interesting and all the more mysterious as time has passed, Guardians of the Galaxy stands to either be a massive hit and a step in a new (likely right) direction for Marvel studios or a tragic misfire that may only give caution for the studio to regress back towards more mainstream heroes. As Marvel is a studio that likes to make plans well enough ahead of time though, I doubt they'd be putting as many eggs in the GotG basket if they didn't have a good amount of trust in it. Personally, I am really excited to see both what director James Gunn (Slither, Super) does with a big budget action flick and how comic book movies may change with this release. While Marvel has ventured into the cosmos before with Thor, this will be the first time we have a film taking place completely outside of our own planet with a scale all its own. The sequels as of late have felt more like additions to a long-running mini-series than feature films and have given us beats where we know what to ultimately to expect each time out. What is exciting about GotG is the opportunity it has to re-define the super hero film and turn an unexpected corner. I have never been a big comic book reader, but have always enjoyed films adapted from them and while I've never read a GotG story (I hadn't even heard of them until the film was announced) I am very much looking forward to what this swashbuckling team of space explorers bring to the table. As for the trailer itself, Gunn has assembled an all-star cast that look to be in fine form and while the visuals are stunning I was interested to see how they would pull off making a gun-toting, talking raccoon legit: so far, all looks well. Guardians of the Galaxy stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, Peter Serafinowicz, Benicio Del Toro with the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper and an opening date of August 1st.

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Review

Usually, I'm rather fond of middle chapters in these serialized movies that seem to come in more than threes these days, but there is something distinctly offensive about this second installment of Peter Jackson's return to middle earth. First off, and I stated this in my review of last years An Unexpected Journey, we knew at some point that the fact a trilogy of movies, at three hours a piece no less and drawn from a 300-page book and its appendices as well as further Tolkien notes was going to begin to feel a bit drawn out and if anything re-enforces that fact better it is the last half hour of this film. It literally felt like the first two hours flew by; it had my attention, my appreciation and even my interest (for the most part), but when our heroes finally reach the mountain and encounter the dragon whose name plagues the subtitle it goes on, and then it goes on a little more, and then it continues. It is over-indulgence at it's finest and seems to exist solely for the fact that Jackson and his team of writers might feel they've placed a large enough action sequence near the end of the film to serve as the big climactic set piece when in reality all it does is feel like they're really trying to make you feel that two hour and forty minute runtime. If they'd only just teased the entrance into the kingdom under the mountain and been fine with a just over two hour movie all would have been better off, though the cliffhanger even more ridiculous, I admit. Which brings us back around to the point that there was no need for more than two films based off this book in question. It is what it is and we can't change the greedy minds in Hollywood now that they will have plagued the credibility and artistic achievements of Jackson's Lord of the Rings films with these sub-par prequels. It is simply spreading the butter too thin and though I assume many of the fans of Tolkien's work might find it enthralling to be wrapped up in not only what was on the original page in The Hobbit novel, but to see that world fleshed out with his later writings that built a further and more dense mythology for middle earth might be ecstatic and find these to be on the same level as Jackson's previous trilogy, but as pieces of individual cinema this second installment fails on the most basic of levels.

First Trailer for THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

If you read my take on the first film in Peter Jackson's second trilogy that concerns itself with Middle Earth then you know I'm not a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's universe and the novels that have inspired these films. I might be if I were ever to take the time to read them, but I've simply never been as fascinated with the fantasy world that includes such things as elves, dragons, dwarfs, and hobbits as many others so clearly have. Still, I am more than willing to watch the films and The Lord of the Rings trilogy proved to be a monumental achievement in cinema. With last years An Unexpected Journey I warmed up to the idea of the film and especially Martin Freeman's turn as Bilbo Baggins along with several of the new and returning characters. Still, the picture so highly relied on special effects that half the time I felt as if I were watching a video game and that trend seems to have continued here in The Desolation of Smaug. Granted, they still have until December to perfect some of these shots, I simply hope the digital aspects of the world help compliment it rather than define it this time around. We also get our first look at Orlando Bloom's return as Legolas with this trailer and a first ever look at Evangeline Lily as Tauriel, Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman and Lee Pace (who was underrated in the overcrowded Lincoln last year and will show up in Guardians of the Galaxy next year) as Thranduil. Though I'm a bit disappointed they show so much of the titular dragon here rather than a simple tease as they did in the first film I'm still anxious to see how this turns out based on its high profile status alone. Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, James Nesbitt, and Andy Serkis also star. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens in 48 FPS and in 3D on December 13th. Hit the jump to check out the trailer and let me know what you think.