Iron Man 3

Posted on May 2, 2013 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout and brief suggestive content
Profanity:	A few bad words including a crude insult to a child that is slang for private parts
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, scene in a bar
Violence/ Scariness:	Extensive comic-book-style action violence with a few graphic images, terrorism, guns, explosions, characters in peril, references to suicide
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	May 3, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	September 23, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00CL0J99K

Good for Marvel/Disney in keeping the title simple. No fancy Roman numerals, no colon, so extra words about the return of this or the revenge of that. But if there was a second title for this third in the “Iron Man” series, it could be “The Rise of Tony Stark.” The first two films were about the man who describes himself as “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist,” (and also says, “I am volatile, self-obsessed, and don’t play well with others”) literally losing his heart and becoming something between a robot and a rocket ship. In this one, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) loses almost everything else and begins to find himself.

Jon Favreau, who directed the first two films, turns over the reins to screenwriter-turned-director Shane Black, who showed a sensibility ideal for bringing out the best in Downey in the breakthrough film, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” And Downey’s best is as good as it gets. Black, who co-wrote the film, has a darker humor and a more twisted take on the story, and it works very well, even bringing in Favreau for a small but important part as Happy Hogan, Stark’s loyal head of security, a tough guy with a soft spot for “Downton Abbey.” Don Cheadle returns as Colonel Rhodes, whose iron suit persona has been re-branded from War Machine to the more family-friendly Iron Patriot. And the repartee with Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow) is dry as a martini, knowing, sexy, and harking back to the sublime banter of “The Thin Man.”

It begins with a flashback to New Year’s Eve 1999, where we see the old Tony, careless in both respects. He does not care about what happens to other people and he does not care what happens to him. He leaves a note for a woman with whom he shared a one-night stand: “You know who I am.” But even he does not know who he is. He barely notices anyone else, which turns out to be a major mistake personally, professionally, and in terms of setting off some very bad consequences for the future of the planet.

By the time he figures that out, he will be more vulnerable than he has ever been before. He has allowed himself to open his arc reactor-fueled heart to Pepper, so he has much more to lose. And he is struggling to recover from the trauma of the fight against Loki (“The Avengers”), so it will be harder for him to respond. He does not sleep. He barely notices what is going on around him. He just works furiously to perfect his iron man suit, his only companion in the lab the artificial intelligence butler/sidekick Jarvis (impeccably dry delivery voiced by Paul Bettany). “I’ve also prepared a safety briefing for you to entirely ignore,” Jarvis says briskly.

Outside, it is December and Christmas celebrations are everywhere. But a villain who calls himself The Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley, clearly having a blast) is causing damage and unrest. “Some people call me a terrorist,” he says to the world. “I consider myself a teacher.” He explains that he is acting in the tradition of a notorious American attack on an Indian settlement when they knew the warriors would not be there, killing the unprotected women and children.

Happy is critically injured in an attack, and it is too much for Tony, who implusively gives out his home address and dares The Mandarin to come after him. Invitation accepted — target destroyed. Everything he has worked on is gone. So is every place he feels safe. To keep Pepper safe, he goes underground, allowing the world to think he is dead. But that removes him from his money, his home, his power, his equipment, and his iron flying suits. He has to fight The Mandarin — and a more powerful enemy he does not even know about — with some supplies from the local hardware store and a little girl’s Dora the Explorer (limited edition) digital watch.

There’s a lot to process. I haven’t even gotten to the giant stuffed bunny, the beauty pageant, the secret experiments, and the attack on Air Force One. And, of course, the stunts and special effects.

The plot is a bit cluttered, though it helps that the detours include unexpected help from “Happy Endings'” Adam Pally and a mechanically-minded latchkey kid (Ty Simpkins). Not so much the cameos from Bill Maher and Joan Rivers, which feel tired and superfluous. The stunts are fine. The script has some clever lines and some cleverer digs at messaging and brand strategy. What matters, though, is Downey’s total commitment to playing Stark as a flawed, complex, but greatly gifted character.

Parents should know that this film has non-stop comic-book-style violence including terrorism, with chases, explosions, and shooting, intense but only briefly graphic, some strong language, some alcohol, some sexual references, potty humor, and references to suicide.

Family discussion: How do Tony’s actions in 1999 set the movie’s events in motion? How do we see both the heroes and villains think about the importance of public relations? How can desperation be a gift?

If you like this, try: “The Avengers” and the first two “Iron Man” movies

Upside Down

Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:48 pm

Argentinean writer-director Juan Solanas has created a work of bracingly singular imagination that is sheer visual pleasure, with some mind-bending ideas and a deeply romantic sensibility.

We are told by Adam (Jim Sturgess) that throughout the universe, there is only one solar system with “dual gravity.” He lives in the “down” side of mirror-image parallel worlds. Interaction between the two worlds is strictly forbidden, with the exception of a tightly controlled transfer of energy by a vast, soulless, and predatory corporation. The laws of physics in this world also impose a barrier. Matter from one side quickly heats up and burns when it is placed in the other. People carry their gravitational pull with them, so that anyone who visits the other side will give themselves away by floating back toward their home turf.

Adam was orphaned following an industrial accident. His only family is his Aunt Becky, who sends him into the mountains to gather a very rare pink bee pollen that stands out in the wintry gray and blue of the bleached-out color scheme. On the highest peak, he glimpses a girl named Eden Moore (Kirsten Dunst) in the mountains of the up world. They are close enough to talk to each other. Within a few years, they are in love. He pulls her down on a rope and with her back up against a protruding crag to keep her from floating back up, they kiss.

But they are tracked down and she is badly hurt trying to escape. Ten years later, Adam learns that Eden has survived the accident and works for the corporation. He has to find her again. But it turns out the totalitarian regime and gravitational barriers are not their biggest obstacles.

Solanas has created two worlds of vast and stunningly intricate detail. Identical desks extend endlessly across both floor and ceiling in cavernous offices. Eden likes to drink upside-down cocktails, blue liquid served in a stem-up glass and slurped from below. And the consequences of reverse gravity are imaginatively (if not always consistently) explored. Adam remembers to use hairspray to help him pass as a top world resident, to make sure that his hair won’t hang the wrong way (up instead of down) when he goes to see Eden. But when he hides out in the men’s room, he does not think about the fact that his pee will hit the ceiling, not the urinal. His early experiments to help him pass for an “up” have a limited time span that adds a Cinderella quality to the story.

Timothy Spall provides zesty comic relief as Adam’s “up” world colleague and Dunst and Sturgess have a swoon-worthy chemistry that makes the story feel, well, grounded. The daring originality of Solanas’ vision more than makes up for some narrative lags and makes this one of the most promising debuts in recent memory.

Parents should know that this film includes peril, chases, and some violence, including shooting, with some characters injured. There is a fire and there are references to sad deaths and a brief image of hanging. A character smokes cigars and some drink cocktails and there is brief potty humor.

Family discussion: What kind of government is in place in this movie? Why is there income disparity between the two worlds?

If you like this, try: “Looper” and “Solaris”

Oz the Great and Powerful

Posted on March 7, 2013 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for sequences of action and scary images and brief mild language
Profanity:	Brief mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Fantasy action/peril/violence, scenes of desolation and loss, scary monsters and jump out at you surprises, some disturbing images
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 8, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	June 10, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00C7JG0KG

A prequel to one of the most beloved films of all time is a daunting challenge, but Disney’s prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” manages to balance respect for the original with some fresh and appealing insights into the story. But the real star of the story is the enchanting, rapturously imagined setting, brilliantly designed by Bob Murawski and directed by Sam Raimi. From the captivating opening credit puppet theater, we are immediately in the world of magic and mystery — and hokum.

Like the 1939 Judy Garland classic, the movie opens in black-and-white. The screen is shrunken to the proportions of the 1930’s. And, like the Garland version (but not the books), the characters and themes of Oz are echoed in the scenes set back home. Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, known as Oz for his first two initials, is a showman and a con man, a magician in a small traveling circus. Personally and professionally, his life is about fooling as many people as possible. He is constantly either trying to impress a pretty girl or trying to avoid any personal entanglements, romantic or friendship.

It is telling that his big trick is to select a pre-arranged “country girl” from the audience apparently at random, making her seem to float in the air, and then wait for the viewers to think they’ve figured out the trick by noticing the wires that appear to keep her suspended. This makes possible the dramatic flourish — he cuts the wires to reveal that he has not just made her float — he has made her disappear. Oz is eternally poised on the brink between reality and illusion, between connection and distance, between appearing (no one is more visible than those whose profession is to perform in public) and disappearing (he always seems to have a means of escape handy). At the same time, the “country girl” is discovering that he lied to her, the circus strong man is coming after him for flirting with his wife, and he receives a visit from the only woman we sense he has ever really cared for (Michelle Williams), who asks him if there is any reason she should turn down a proposal from another man. He tells her to accept, though it is clear that he has some regrets. And then, he does what he does best — he escapes, jumping into the circus hot air balloon, which is whipped into a twister, and which deposits him in a strange and wondrous land of lush and vivid color — Oz.

The first creatures he meets are nasty little water fairies with big teeth and a stunningly beautiful woman with a splendid brimmed hat named Theodora (Mila Kunis). She seems to think that he is the wizard from a prophecy — a man with the same name as their enchanted land, who would arrive to rule as king and free their people. Freeing the people does not have much appeal for Oz, but he is definitely intrigued by the notion of a palace, a throne, and a scepter. “Is the scepter made of gold?” he asks, to make sure that this deal is as sweet as it sounds.

We know that Oz will be come the wizard and live in the palace. We know he will become “a good man but a bad wizard,” hiding behind the curtain as he works the controls of a huge face with a booming voice. We know he will bestow gifts that show people the greatness that is already within them. And we know he will have to take a journey to get there. Writers Mitchell Kapner and Pulitzer Prize awardee David Lindsay-Abaire (“Rabbit Hole“) weave in characters and themes inspired by some of the other Oz books as well, including a girl made out of porcelain, rescued from her shattered “China Town.” Oz meets up with two other witches as well, including one who has a very bad reaction to moisture. And he is not the only one who has to decide which side he will be on.

The visuals are fabulously imaginative, consistently surprising and new and yet consistent with our ideas about Oz from the books and the 1939 film. That’s consistent but not identical — Disney had to be careful not to get too close to MGM’s copyrighted designs. So there are flying monkeys, but very different (and even scarier), a poppy field, and an Emerald City gatekeeper (who will be familiar to fans of Sam Raimi’s less family-friendly films). The 3d effects are effective, especially during the twister. Franco’s characterization wavers at times and he never quite persuades us that he is at heart a showman. The big reveal about what prompts a witch to turn evil is disappointingly under-imagined. Indeed, for a movie with three significant female characters played by three of Hollywood’s most talented women and the China Girl (voiced by Joey King), the film’s conception of women is unfortunately superficial, simplistic, and male-oriented. It is an enchanting journey — but at the end you may wish to click your heels three times to return to the peerless Garland version and the books. There’s no place like home.

Parents should know that this film includes extended fantasy peril, action, and violence, with scenes of devastation and loss, jump out at you surprises, and scary monsters, some disturbing images, brief mild language, a character who makes advances at many women, and scenes of jealousy, anger, and sadness.

Family discussion: What is the difference between being a great and a good person? Why did Glinda believe in Oz? How did the characters in the prologue relate to their counterparts in Oz? What elements of the classic Oz story are explained in this film?

If you like this, try: the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, and the classic film with Judy Garland

The Best Family Movie of All Time: The Wizard of Oz (and Other Versions)

Posted on March 5, 2013 at 3:52 pm

This week’s release of the prequel, “Oz the Great and Powerful” is a good reason to take another look at what may be the greatest family movie of all time, the classic MGM musical version of “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton, and Frank Morgan. The Making of the Wizard of Oz: Movie Magic and Studio Power in the Prime of MGM tells the remarkable story of how the film was made, including four different directors and a failed attempt to borrow Shirley Temple to play Dorothy.

It wasn’t until well into production that they realized they had something very special that could be an enduring classic. That was when they decided to drop a musical number that was timely when filming but would soon be out of date.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP5IcbwVhqI

This was not by any means the first or only attempt to film L. Frank Baum’s classic story. A very early silent version was made in 1910, just a decade after the book was first published.

Fifteen years later, silent star Larry Semon appeared in another version, with a Laurel-less Oliver Hardy as the Tin Woodman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2WFVpSeIfA

A sequel with Fairuza Balk was too creepy for kids, but is something of a cult classic.

“The Wiz” was a popular Broadway musical and a less popular movie, with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. “Wicked” is another Broadway musical, based on a book that tells the story from the witchs’s perspective.

The book and its sequels (by Baum and, later, two other authors) continue to be popular. There is a theory that the original book was an allegory of the political conflicts of the time. And there is a very active Oz Society for fans with an annual Winkie-Con.

Coming later this year is “Dorothy of Oz,” an animated film starring Patrick Stewart, Kelsey Grammar, Hugh Dancy, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Megan Hilty (“Smash”), Spongebob’s Tom Kenny, and Lea Michele, and based on a continuation of the story by Baum’s great-grandson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5kYCy7-xU

Jack the Giant Slayer

Posted on February 28, 2013 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for intense scenes of fantasy action violence, some frightening images, and brief language
Profanity:	Brief strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended fantasy and action violence, characters in peril, injured, and killed, some graphic and disturbing images, monsters
Diversity Issues:	Class issues, strong female character
Date Released to Theaters:	March 1, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	June 17, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00CFA222M

More action, more romance, more spectacle, a brave princess who wears armor and does not wait to be rescued, and lots more giants — this is a grand bedtime story 21st century-style. As a boy, Jack (“Warm Bodies” Nicholas Hoult) loved to hear the stories about the time that giants ruled the earth and the magical crown that keeps them confined to their home above the clouds. It turns out they were more than stories.

As a young man, Jack lives with his uncle, who sends him to town to sell their horse. The movie Jack is a bit less credulous than the one in the story. He does end up with magic beans, but not because he believes a story about them. He is given them by a man desperate to keep them from being used to bring the giants back to earth.

Jack is warned not to let the beans anywhere near water, but you know what happens. Pretty soon a beanstalk grows five miles up into the sky, taking Jack’s house with it. And, since Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) happened to stop by Jack’s house to get out of the rain, she is up the beanstalk, too. The king sends a rescue squad after her led by Roderick, his highest-ranking courtier and — despite her objections — Isabelle’s fiancé. Also making the climb are a group of soldiers led by Elmont (a gallant but under-used Ewan McGregor), and a volunteer — Jack.

And they find a big community of giants — all male, which may explain some of their anger issues as well as a disturbing lack of attention to personal hygiene. Production designer Gavin Bocquet and costume designer Joanna Johnston have created an eye-filling world that feels fairy tale fantastic but not musty or old-fashioned. Aside from a few clunkers in the dialog (in no fairy tale is it ever appropriate for a character to say “okay” or “pissed off”), it remains inventive and entertaining. The giants are imaginatively designed, with the leader a motion capture performance by Bill Nighy (as at least one of the two heads). Tucci clearly enjoys himself as the ruthlessly ambitious courtier and it is a nice twist to have the real bad guy be someone more close to home than the giants. Jack and Isabelle have a sweet and almost immediate connection, wasting little time on the usual back-and-forth of learning to trust themselves and each other. And that makes the idea of a happily ever after ending even more satisfying.

Parents should know that this movie includes a great deal of fantasy/action violence, with characters injured and killed and some scary monsters and disturbing images like skeletons and skulls and an eye that pops out — plus some giant nose-picking. There is also some gross/crude humor and brief strong language.

Family discussion: What is Roderick’s plan? How does he show that he cannot be trusted? What does Jack to to earn the respect of Elmont and Isabelle? What does Roderick mean by saying that they all think of themselves as the hero of the story?

If you like this, try: Disney’s “Mickey and the Beanstalk” and “A Knight’s Tale”