Avengers: Age of Ultron

Posted on April 30, 2015 at 5:17 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, and for some suggestive comments
Profanity:	Some strong language and jokes about swear words
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Social drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Extensive and intense sci-fi/comic book violence, some disturbing images, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	May 1, 2015
Date Released to DVD:	September 28, 2015
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00WAJ8QXC

Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) sums it up best. Speaking pretty much to himself but also to us in the audience, he notes that he is on a floating city trying to fight off a robot army with arrows. “It doesn’t make sense,” he concedes. And yet, that is where we are, and we’re okay with it.

Writer/director Joss Whedon knows that we know that this is some superhero silliness, and once in a while we get to see that the characters know it, too. But he never treats the stories or the fans with anything less than respect. We get wisecracks. We get romance. But most of all, we get rock ’em, sock ’em, 3D action involving super-arrows, a super-strong shield, a super-heavy hammer, a cool bang-a-gong hammer hitting shield moment, a super-big, super-angry green guy, a super-assassin, and that genius arms-dealing billionaire philanthropist, Tony Stark.

In the first “Avengers” movie, we had the fun of seeing the team come together, a sort of Traveling Wilburys supergroup made up of heroes each more than able to carry a movie alone. Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), the Incredible Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow/Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) joined forces to defeat Thor’s brother Loki and retrieve the source of his power, one of the six infinity stones (yep, you saw another one in “Guardians of the Galaxy;” feel free to have your mind blown with Marvel universe awesomeness).

Then they had shwarma.

No time for getting acquainted here. We start smack dab in the middle of the action (thank you, 3D), as our merry band is battling the forces of Hydra, but of course not missing a beat in the quip department, even from the bad guys: “The Americans sent circus freaks to attack us.” Burn! (Both literal and metaphor.) Secret weapons hiding out with Hydra include twins who are very angry and damaged because their parents were killed (by weapons from Stark’s company). Now, thanks to some Hydra tinkering, they have superpowers, best summed up as “He’s fast and she’s weird.” He is Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and she is the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson). They both have bad Boris and Natasha accents and look like one of the Diane Arbus-like visions in “The Shining.” Her weird powers involve waggling her fingers and red smoke, with some sort of force field and the ability to impose what looks like a very bad acid trip on anyone with a biology-based brain.

But that’s not the problem. The battle with Hydra lasts just long enough to re-introduce us to everyone and not a few updates, especially a new tenderness between the Black Widow and Bruce Banner. Soon, they’re back at their clubhouse/headquarters and Tony asks for three days to investigate Loki’s stone before Thor returns to to Asgard. What could go wrong?

Pretty much everything, as Tony’s hubristic attempt to create a new artificial intelligence to protect humanity ends up as Ultron (James Spader, using that same tone of languid contempt we first heard when he played Blaine’s snooty rich friend in “Pretty in Pink”). Ultron takes one look around and decides humanity is in need of a major reboot, starting with extermination. Anyone who hates the Avengers has a couple of friends in the twins. And, given the little Hydra infestation problem in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” our group no longer has access to the massive government tools and technology, while Ultron is tapped into all digital data. It’s tough to come up with a bad guy who can be a credible threat to superheroes, but Ultron and the twins are scary and crazy, so they qualify. “Is this your first time intimidating?” Ultron asks with an arrogant robot sneer.

Yep, another big, big battle lies ahead, and yep, it includes a floating city and an army of robots and awesome stunts. It also involves evacuating civilians, often overlooked in superhero films. It also involves some group dynamic governance issues, as you might expect with so many Alpha males in the room. Shwarma, maybe, revels, now and then, but kumbaya, no, not even Robert’s Rules of Order or majority vote. “We don’t have time for a city hall debate,” Stark says as he doubles down on a bad decision. “I don’t want to hear a ‘man was not meant to meddle’ medley.” Perhaps only Downey could give that line the right zhuzh, but that’s why they pay him the big, big, big bucks, and he nails it.

The interaction is a treat, especially when everyone (with one notable exception) tries to lift Thor’s hammer and no one (with one notable exception) succeeds. There is sparkling banter with a refreshing Whedoneseque twist. Given the challenges of making sure at least nine lead characters get their due in dramatic arcs, quippy zingers, and superhero showmanship, it is inevitable that it will be cluttered. It is perhaps a little less inevitable that the ladies will be squeezed out, entirely off-screen Jane and Pepper dismissed with a couple of lines of dialogue about how busy and important they are, Natasha all nurturing and flirty and beauty taming the beast-ish, though she’s dynamite on a motorcycle. But his willingness to grapple with the existential dilemmas of superheroes and his ability to make those questions so much fun is what superheroes — and movies — are for.

NOTE: Stay through the beginning of the credits to find out who the villain will be in the next chapter. But you don’t need to stay after that as there is no shwarma this time.

Parents should know that this film has extended and graphic sequences of superhero peril and action-style violence with some disturbing images, characters injured and killed, some strong language, and brief crude humor.

Family discussion: How can the Avengers find better ways to resolve their conflicts? Why was Stark so wrong in his design for Ultron?

If you like this, try: the other Marvel movies and the original comics

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Posted on February 12, 2015 at 5:55 pm

“James Bond? Jason Bourne?” Our hero is being asked for the inspiration for naming his dog JB. “No,” he explains, “Jack Bauer.”

This is a cheeky, nasty, meta, po-mo update of the spy genre, self-aware enough to name-check not just Bond, Bourne, and “24,” but also “Nikita,” “Trading Places,” “Pretty Woman,” and “My Fair Lady.” I also caught a reference to the 60’s television show “The Man from UNCLE,” about to get its own big-screen reboot later this year.

Some of the core elements of the sophisticated spy story are here, from the elegant suits to the very specific cocktail order, as well as the super-cool weapons and gadgets we will have the fun of seeing deployed later on. And the villain has an assassin/sidekick who goes one, or maybe two better than iconic characters like Oddjob and Jaws. Spanish dancer Sofia Boutella plays the acrobatic Gazelle, who runs on Oscar Pistorius-style blades as sharp as scalpels. She can slice a man in half lengthwise with one slash of her leg. And does.

Other aspects of the usual spy story are tweaked or outright upended. That old favorite, the talking villain, who has such a profound need to explain the genius of his nefarious plan that it gives Our Hero time to thwart him, is explicitly disposed of. The look of the film is as sleek and sophisticated as the score from Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson.

Colin Firth is sleekly perfect as Harry, also known as Galahad, part of an elegant, upper-class cadre of international gentleman spies operating in total secrecy and using pseudonyms based on King Arthur and his knights. Their made to order suits are both exquisitely tailored and bulletproof.

He points to a wall of framed newspaper headlines about triviality — political squabbles and celebrity scandals — explaining that while these things were going on, he and his fellow Kingsmen were repeatedly saving the world. The person he is explaining it to is Eggsy (Taron Egerton), a possible new recruit. Eggsy is a smart, tough, brash kid who grew up in what the British call council houses and we call the projects, the son of a widow whose second husband is an abusive thug. Eggsy’s late father sacrificed himself to save Harry and other members of the team, so Harry feels a sense of responsibility — and a suspicion that Eggsy might have inherited his father’s courage and sense of honor.

While they had previously limited themselves to the wealthy upper class, Harry persuades the Kingsman’s leader (Michael Caine as Arthur) to allow Eggsy to compete for a spot on the team. The competition is tough and the tasks are tougher, the most imaginative and entertaining section of the movie. Then of course comes our supervillain, Samuel L. Jackson as Valentine, a lisping technology billionaire whose frustration with the failure of the world to reckon with global warming has led him to devise some drastic plans. Once he gets involved, the self-aware air quotes get less interesting and so does the storyline. “Bond films are only as good as the villain,” he says. True, and he is no Goldfinger.

In the last half hour, things really go off the rails. The carnage is balletic and portrayed as darkly comic but it is still disturbing, particularly the involvement of a specific real-life world leader. The humor is not just dark; it is crude for the sake of being crude and seems rather desperate. A film that began with a confident sense of sophistication, wit, and edge knows what it is not (“This is not that kind of movie”) but not what it is.

Parents should know that this movie is extremely violent, with hundreds of characters injured and killed and many exploding heads. Characters use very strong language and drink alcohol. There are explicit and crude sexual references and brief nudity.

Family discussion: Which of the tests would have been the hardest for you? What did they prove about the candidates?

If you like this, try: the James Bond films

Penguins of Madagascar

Posted on November 25, 2014 at 5:17 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for mild action and some rude humor
Profanity:	Some schoolyard language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic peril and violence
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	November 26, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	March 16, 2015
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00SK573RU

The most adorable characters from the first three animated “Madagascar” movies were the penguins, the seldom right but never in doubt leader Skipper (Tom McGrath), the often right but never listened to Kowalski (Chris Miller), the literally explosive Rico (Conrad Vernon), and the ever-loyal Private (Christopher Knights). They spun off into their own television series and now they star in their first feature film, a sublimely silly spy farce that has them globe-hopping through exotic locations with a cosmopolitan spy (Benedict Cumberbatch) in pursuit of a dastardly villain known as Dr. Octavious Brine, aka Dave (John Malkovich). It is one of the best family films of the year.

First, we get the origin story, hilariously narrated in the inimitable voice of director/documentarian Werner Herzog. It is Antarctica, and a film crew led by a cartoon Herzog (who did make a movie in Antarctica, “Encounters at the End of the World”) is there to shoot the march of the penguins. But Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico step out of line to rescue an egg that is rolling away, and the decision to think for themselves and to opt for adventure and loyalty to the team over tradition and instinct — plus a more-than-healthy dose of boundless confidence and optimism soon has them floating away from the frozen South Pole and on their way to uncharted lands, or lands uncharted by any penguins anyway. The egg they have saved finally hatches, and while they are a bit distressed to find that the miracle of birth is messier than they thought, they are charmed by the tiny hatchling and especially by the way they imprint on him as the only family he has ever known.

We next see the penguins years later, following the events of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. They are on a mission to break into that most impenetrable of fortresses, Fort Knox, repository of the US Government’s store of gold. But their goal is not what we might think. And the outcome is not what they expect. They are kidnapped by an enormous purple octopus, brilliantly animated, with every tentacle and crooked tooth creating comic menace. His human identity is Dr. Octavius Brine, well-known geneticist, aficionado of fine cheeses, and regular contributor to NPR pledge drives. But inside that lab coat is his real persona, the evil purple octopus named…Dave.

Yeah, I know, not too scary, right? And that is just one of the immense frustrations Dave has to confront, which is why he has created the green, ominously glowing Medusa serum. No one knows what it does, but it looks pretty evil.

It turns out someone has been tracking Dr. Brine. An international organization of crack spies called the North Wind, led by a wolf so deep undercover his name is classified (so the Penguins call him Classified) is trying to find him. The North Wind and the penguins stop in Venice, Rio, Shanghai (which the penguins think is Ireland) and other world capitals, sometimes working together, sometimes trying to beat each other to Dave and the Medusa serum. It turns out that Dave’s motive is one that will ring very true to kids, especially those with adorable younger siblings.

But of course, all of this is just an excuse for a never-ending stream of jokes. My favorite is Dave’s disastrously non-threatening Skype call as he tries to figure out how to transmit sound and picture at the same time. “It’s like trying to call my parents,” Classified says impatiently. The break-in at Fort Knox is very funny as the penguins roll over to camouflage themselves on a black and white striped floor. And a running joke featuring puns on celebrity names is delivered with such understated dry humor that it never loses its charm. If, as they say in the theater, dying is easy but comedy is hard, silly comedy may be the hardest of all, but here it is done to perfection, one more item to add to the thanks list on this holiday weekend.

Parents should know that this film has brief potty humor, and some comic peril and action (no one hurt).

Family discussion: Why was Dave so jealous of the penguins? Why didn’t Classified want the penguins to help him?

If you like this, try: “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” and the television series “The Penguins of Madagascar”

Dumb and Dumber To

Posted on November 13, 2014 at 5:52 pm

A poorly timed cameo appearance by Honey Boo-Boo’s sexual predator-consorting Mama June is dumb. Making a sequel 11 years after the original “Dumb and Dumber” and the best-forgotten prequel “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd” is dumber. Too. Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey do their best and clearly enjoy themselves, but 20 years after the original, it just isn’t as funny. It feels like those late-era Three Stooges comedies, past the Shemp era, even past Joe Besser, with Curly Joe. As Lloyd (Carrey) says, comedy is all about timing. And this one is too late.

Factor this into your assessment of this review. The movie relies heavily on the viewer’s familiarity with and affection for the original, which I do not share. Also, I do not find jokes about stupidity funny, don’t care much for slapstick, and I am not a fan of potty humor. If any of the following appeals to you, then by all means buy a ticket: naming a character after a crude sexual act, a snot bubble, feeding someone with fingers that have just been up someone’s butt, changing an adult diaper, holding a bag of urine with one’s teeth, jokes about lobotomies and shock treatments, a cat ingesting meth and swinging from a chandelier, slicing off a portion of the male anatomy, giving a young girl having her first period a cork, an elderly lady in a nursing home tricking a man into sexual touching (when he removes his hand, there’s dust on it!), potentially inscestuous thoughts, and a character who confuses lepers and leprechauns.

Like the first one, this is a road movie. Harry (Daniels) says he needs a new kidney, so he has to find a donor who is a match. His parents inform him that he was adopted. Someone else might have picked up on the fact that they are Asian, but of course that never occurred to our heroes. But Harry finds out that he has a daughter who herself was adopted by a Nobel-winning scientist. When Lloyd takes one look at her photo, she imprints on him like Renesmee on Jacob, setting us up for a little potential incest joke later on, only exceeded in its inanity by the discovery that our heroes are not exactly clear on what makes babies.

So Harry and Lloyd set out to find this girl and see if she will donate a kidney. She is representing her father at an event where he is to receive an award, and he has given her a package with his latest discovery to turn over to charity for the good of humanity. His wife Adele is planning to kill him and get the package back so she and her lover can sell the discovery and live happily ever after on the millions he tells her it is worth.

Carrey’s choices are always fascinating, even when the movie is at its grossest and most disgusting. He has a ferocity and fearlessness and a sheer joy in committing to the character that rises above the lazy material. Kathleen Turner, as the character with the filthy name, still has that magnificent husky voice and acerbic delivery. It is too bad that one of the jokes is about how she is a “Titanic whore.” Rob Riggle shows up not once, but twice, as identical twins. Even though he does not have much to do other than appear in some bizarre disguises and one really atrocious haircut, the movie picks up when he’s on screen.

I did appreciate a welcome (if gentle) parody of the TED Talks. And I admit that I laughed three times, which were pretty much the only three jokes that were not about bodily functions or substituting faux outrageousness for humor. It can be funny to be politically incorrect. But political incorrectness is not itself funny. There is a lot of great comedy in dumb characters. But not when the script is as dumb as they are. To.

Parents should know that this movie has material that would receive an R rating if it were not a comedy. The movie includes strong and crude language, drinking and drugs, extremely vulgar sexual references, extensive bodily function humor, brief nudity, and fantasy/comic violence including a murder plot, guns, poison, and ninjas.

Family discussion: How does this movie compare to the original?

If you like this try: “Stuck on You” and “Shallow Hal,” from the same writers/directors

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Comedy Scene After the Credits

Big Hero 6

Posted on November 6, 2014 at 5:59 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for action and peril, some rude humor, and thematic elements
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Cartoon-style peril and violence, sad death, grieving parent becomes destructive
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	November 7, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	February 23, 2015
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00O4ZC57

Hiro (Ryan Potter) is a super-smart kid who likes to hustle underground robot fighters with his deceptively cute-looking little bot. He has no interest in going to school until the older brother he adores (Daniel Henney as Tadashi) brings him to the robot lab at the university he attends. When Hiro sees all of the lovable nerds (and one non-nerdy slacker named Fred who dresses as the school mascot) making awesomely cool creations, he gets very excited about joining them. He has to invent something spectacular to get admitted, and so he gets to work and comes up with something extraordinary, a system of tiny bots who can form themselves into almost anything.

But then Tadeshi is killed trying to rescue his professor from a fire. Hiro is devastated. The brothers were orphans. While their aunt (Maya Rudolph) does her best, Hiro and Tadeshi were all that was left of their family, and now Hiro is devastated at being alone. He refuses to go anywhere or talk to anyone.

But Tadeshi left someone behind. It turns out he was working on developing a robot called Baymax, designed to be a kind, reassuring, gentle healer. Baymax is equipped with extensive diagnostic and treatment capacity but his look is intended to be non-threatening. He looks like a big, white balloon, or, as one character says, like a marshmallow man. He is as far from a weapon or fighter as it is possible to be. But when Hiro and the robotics nerds find out that Hiro’s invention has been stolen and will be used for destructive purposes, they get together to use their skills, their courage, and, most of all, their sense of what is right to save the day.

The film, loosely inspired by Marvel’s comic book, is filled with engaging characters and imaginative touches. The setting is “San Fransokyo,” a California/Japan mash-up that seems familiar and real but also intriguingly foreign. It is a pleasure to see Disney’s most diverse set of protagonists ever, race, gender, and even economic. The bending of stereotypes is done with an effortless flair. And it is great to see a movie for the family that acknowledges the fun and excitement of being smart and working hard. We get a lot of movies for kids about the importance of friends and family, following your dreams, and being yourself, and all of that is here, too. But we don’t get many about solving problems through study and experimentation. It’s very nice to see a film that recognizes that it is cool to be smart.

NOTE: Please stay all the way through the credits for an extra scene that is a lot of fun, especially if you are a Marvel fan. And be sure to get there on time as the Oscar-nominated pre-feature short film “Feast,” about a hungry puppy, is completely charming, hilarious, and sweet.

Parents should know that this film includes cartoon-style action, peril, and violence, very sad sibling death (off-camera), other characters apparently killed, grieving parent who becomes destructive, and brief potty humor.

Family discussion: What kind of robot would you like to build? Which of the characters is most like you?

If you like this, try: “The Iron Giant,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” and “Bolt”