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Sunday, May 20, 2012

"Battleship"

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Battle-awesome. The spoof in the beginning, seen from a security camera footage, will have you ROFL (chicken burrito, anyone? :-D). The penultimate battle scene that puts navy veterans on the forefront and its turnaround strategy is worth cheering for. This Transformers-on-water swims pretty nicely as a summer blockbuster.  

Monday, May 7, 2012

"The Avengers"

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Have you imagined what it would be like if the iconic superheroes share a universe? "The Avengers" turns that fantasy into reality. "The Avengers" astounds its way through the hearts and minds of the geeks around the globe and kicks off the 2012 summer blockbuster into high gear.
Catching a flash of "The Avengers" logo and its star performers at the 2010 Comic-Con whet my appetite for a bigger treat. While DC has lagged far behind with its superheroes ensemble, "Justice League," clearly, we're in for something extraordinary with Marvel. A culmination of superhero movies, which started with "Iron Man," and continued with "The Hulk," "Thor" and "Captain America." I was cautiously optimistic. Director Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Firefly") would attempt to go where no man has gone before and he's pulled it off with a superhero aplomb.
Each of the main characters is unique is its own way and strong enough to carry a movie on its own, so pulling them all together, and bringing in more characters would be a gargantuan task. A lot could have gone wrong. Fortunately, a lot goes right.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the disturbed brother of Thor, makes his appearance past the galactic portal, steals the Tesseract, a source of infinite energy, from the S.H.I.E.LD base, an international peacekeeping agency, and leaves the ground crumble and destructions behind.
Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who may also have a hidden agenda to regain the cosmic cube, knows that it's time to activate the Avengers Initiative, a remarkable team of superheroes uniting forces to save the world. It's hard to conjure up a villain who would pose a credible threat to the Avengers, but Loki is not to be dismissed. He promises to unleash Chiaturi, an extraterrestrial army, to aid him in conquering the earth and carrying on his vengeance against Thor.
The eclectic ensemble of superheroes is made up of brilliant industrialist in armored suit, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.); recently thawed from ice WWII all-American patriot, Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans); God of Thunder, Thor (Chris Hemsworth); Jekyll-and-Hyde scientist, Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); superspy and assassin Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson); and master archer, Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). They all gather inside a Helicarrier, an invisible, flying fortress lifting up from the sea.
The team goes off to a rocky start. Big egos and personalities, mixed with superpowers, clash. These larger-than-life characters are used to the be the center of attention and don't always play by the rules. The interactions among the alpha characters are the highlight of the movie. Plenty of dead-on, fantastically funny one-liners. Eventually they realize that they need to set aside their differences and work together as a team.
There are a number of memorable scenes. RDJ is still a wisecrack standout and has the coolest entrance as Iron Man, lands on the Stark Tower and unzips into Tony Stark, and later skydives back into the suit. Thor's late appearance latching onto the aircraft amid thunders and lightning is pretty grand. Captain America takes an integral role as a leader worthy of the captain title. He's more impressive here than in his own solo flick last summer. Black Widow showcases her combat agility by managing to escape out of an impossibly tight situation, and toward the end utilizes Cap's shield as a springboard, leaps into the air and pursues a flying alien. Hawkeye falls down hundreds of feet, shoots an arrow, swings into a building and lands back on his feet.
If there's a surprising scene stealer, it's the Hulk. Ruffalo, replacing Eric Bana (2003) and Edward Norton (2008), plays the role to the hilt, both as a nerdy human and monstrous beast. There are outrageously hilarious scenes, separately involving Loki, Thor, Iron Man, and all that smashing.
As much as I'd love to see a deeper story, it's typically reserved for a singular superhero film, "X-Men: First Class" notwithstanding. "The Avengers" forgoes complexity for spectacle, by equally shining the spotlight on each character who serves a purpose, spectacular set pieces and special effects, amazing actions and rolling-on-the-floor humor. It's incredible to see all of these superheroes heroically banding together in one scene. The final battle in Manhattan concludes with a selfless act from an unexpected character.
At nearly 2.5 hours, it doesn't feel like it. And it's originally longer. It's been said that a lot of Captain America's scenes ended up on the cutting floor. I'd be interested in seeing more of his scenes as initially filmed, coming to terms with his past, awakening and adjusting to the modern world. Stay past the credits for two additional scenes, the first one as a spoiler for the geeks and the second appeals to the general audience.
"The Avengers" delivers what it's meant to do. This all-star superhero extravaganza is fun entertainment at a grand scale.


http://www.sdentertainer.com/arts/reviews-arts/movie-review-the-avengers/

Friday, May 4, 2012

Free Comic Book Day: May 5

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On the first Saturday in May, dinosaurs, superheroes and talking animals rule: it’s Free Comic Book Day.  And it gets bigger every year.  When FCBD began in 2002, only four publishers participated; this year more than 40 free titles will be offered at participating stores, put out by everyone from Marvel and DC (the Coke and Pepsi of the comics biz) to independents like Red 5 Comics and Boom Entertainment.

Check out the full article on MSN:

To find participating stores near you, go to: 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Upcoming Movies: May 2012

May 4
"The Avengers" (http://marvel.com/avengers_movie) - When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, the director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team of super humans to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (http://www.thebestexoticmarigoldhotel.co.uk/) - British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel.  Less luxurious than its advertisements, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.

May 11
"Dark Shadows" (http://darkshadowsmovie.warnerbros.com/index.html) - An imprisoned vampire is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.

May 18
"Battleship" (http://www.battleshipmovie.com/) - A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.

"What to Expect When You're Expecting" (http://whattoexpectthefilm.com/) - A look at love through the eyes of five interconnected couples experiencing the thrills and surprises of having a baby, and ultimately coming to understand the universal truth that no matter what you plan for, life doesn't always deliver what's expected.

May 25
"Men in Black III" (http://www.sonypictures.ca/english/movies/meninblack3/) - Agent J travels in time to MIB's early years in the 1960s, to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.

"Chernobyl Diaries" (http://chernobyldiaries.warnerbros.com/index.html) - Six tourists hire an extreme tour guide who takes them to the abandoned city Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.  During their exploration, they soon discover they are not alone.