From cb84cb53fb07a74fe469ff54973a33238d1432dd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Bronson Carder
If you're anything like me you know these people, and the characters they play. So, this will be brief, and I'll try to focus on the newer characters. First,
- Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shutter Island) replaces Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, better known as the Hulk. I am not, or should I say
+ Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shutter Island) replaces Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, better known as the Hulk. I am not, or should I say
"was not", a fan of Mark Ruffalo. But, he really proved himself in this film, playing a very nuanced, smart, and witty Bruce Banner. That guy can deadpan an insult
- like nobody's business, and gets in several verbal sparring matches with Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark (as does pretty much everyone else... What can he say, its
- what he does...). Also, for the first time in any Hulk production, Mark Ruffalo also plays the Hulk. They used Avatar's stop-motion capture technology to record
+ like nobody's business, and gets in several verbal sparring matches with Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark (as does pretty much everyone else. What can he say, its
+ what he does). Also, for the first time in any Hulk production, Mark Ruffalo also plays the Hulk. They used Avatar's stop-motion capture technology to record
Ruffalo's performance, and then adapted the body of a bodybuilder (and stripper) named Steve Romm onto the frame. He played these scenes with a truly believable
- ferocity. Also, Lou Ferrigno returns to voice the Hulk. I guess he's the only person Hollywood trusts to do it... they're gonna be fucked when he dies. lol ::knock on wood::
- Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later, the Hurt Locker), briefly seen in Thor, returns as Hawkeye, the "greatest marksman in the world" with his bow. He's the fierce warrior,
- through and through. Stoic, hard-assed, and mostly quiet. Probably for the best, as, while he's not a bad actor, he was acting amongst greats. Comparatively, some of his
+ ferocity. Also, Lou Ferrigno returns to voice the Hulk. I guess he's the only person Hollywood trusts to do it.
+
+ Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later, The Hurt Locker), briefly seen in Thor, returns as Hawkeye, the "greatest marksman in the world" with his bow. He's the fierce warrior,
+ through and through. Stoic, hard-assed, and mostly quiet. Probably for the best, as, while he's not a bad actor, he's' acting amongst greats. Comparatively, some of his
lines didn't come off as well as they could have... but, remember, this is "comparatively" to Robert Downey, Jr., so the fact that he can hold his own at all is great praise.
- Scarlett Johansson (The Island, The Spirit, The Prestige) returns as Black Widow, who appeared in Iron Man 2, but couldn't really have been said to be the Black Widow yet...
- or really a fully fleshed-out character at all. Here she's a femme fatale badass, all charming deceit and ass-kickery. She's a girl with horrors in her past ("red in her ledger",
+ Scarlett Johansson (The Island, The Spirit, The Prestige) returns as Black Widow, who appeared in Iron Man 2, but couldn't really have been said to be the Black Widow
+ yet... or really a fully fleshed-out character at all. Here she's a femme fatale badass, all charming deceit and ass-kickery. She's a girl with horrors in her past ("red in her ledger",
as she puts it, frankly an annoyingly large amount of times), who means to redeem herself.
The others you know. Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark, the "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" and Iron Man, is as sharp as ever, but even brings in a slight bit more
- nuance to the performance this time around, some real humanity. Probably due to expert guidance from Joss Whedon (who, btw, makes the whole thing a total Whedon-esque thrill ride).
+ nuance to the performance this time around, some real humanity. Probably due to expert guidance from Joss Whedon.
+
Then there's the leader of the Avengers, Chris Evan's Captain America, a man out of time. Subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) hints of how little he understands the new time period
he finds himself in brings believability to the character. He's the moral center of the group, the greatest tactical mind, and the most fit to lead. When he steps up and gives orders,
not even Tony Stark questions it.
@@ -502,7 +506,7 @@ ^yCW*I3{OJ6WeTQcARmMNge=!1w$hM
delta 187
zcmZoT!qjktX@UVG!$d=AM#jk>S%fzx@UXEKv|JN5*<8rBo-y%15b!ZDF#H43B0w6%
zX93dOKr9TzoIorI#8N;k3dCGMEC9qHb@D)39Ecr(7^EKrB!FywAO^7&fV2?E(uoN=
zlMk@CFv@IZ<^0XJN$3Y7lMM6bUy@>cn+2pkFfP(!nj|H#SwIiS)MHs>$F#^K4*-z(
BI@16E
diff --git a/reviews.html b/reviews.html
index 4ac6a2a..264440c 100644
--- a/reviews.html
+++ b/reviews.html
@@ -474,24 +474,28 @@ Avengers
Acting - 92%
Acting - 92%
he turns in a good performance, though he obviously doesn't have much experience with green screen acting (see "Visual Effects" below).
- Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury becomes a full character here, a man with a mission: to save the world, without destroying it in the process. It's Samuel L. Motherfuckin Jackson, + Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury becomes a full character here, a man with a mission: to save the world, without destroying it in the process. It's Samuel L. Motherfuckin' Jackson, what more do I need to say?
@@ -520,16 +524,17 @@
At the start of the movie, Loki returns from he exile, and steals the tesseract. Nick Fury assembles the Avengers in preparation for the coming war... and, I won't give you any more than that, as this is a story best left to unfold in the proper order. Suffice it to say that what comes next is one biggest, most badass battles of all time. But, when the Avengers aren't doing some - avenging, they're just being them. Bruce Banner and Tony Stark get into some intense conversations about the Hulk and what he represents for Banner. Steve Rogers does his whole "moral compass" + avenging, they're just being themselves. Bruce Banner and Tony Stark get into some intense conversations about the Hulk and what he represents for Banner. Steve Rogers does his whole "moral compass" thing. There are some truly great scenes in there that don't have any action or explosions in them. This is, and I'm sure this will be said many many times by many many reviewers, a superhero - flick with true heart, and not just another throwaway morality tale. + flick with true heart, and not just another throwaway action flick.
However, one small complaint: in all the character introductions (and rebuilding of old characters), and in those characters trying to figure out how to interact with each other, - there's not a whole lot of time to set up emotionality for the film (and it's a two and a half hour movie... there was just a lot of ground to cover), and so some scenes that should be - emotional fall flat a bit. But, this is a minor complaint, and maybe even for the best for the most part. + there's not a whole lot of time to set up emotionality for the film (it's a two and a half hour movie... there was just a lot of ground to cover), and so some scenes that should be + emotional fall flat a bit. But, this is a minor complaint.
-All in all, Whedon does his thing, and lets everyone else do their thing, and what comes out the other side is not just one of the greatest thrill-rides ever, but also just a masterpiece of cinema.
+All in all, Whedon does his thing, and lets everyone else do their thing, and what comes out the other side is not just one of the greatest thrill-rides ever, but also just a masterpiece + of cinema.
The effects were amazing. Scratches and dents on Iron Man's armor, the creatures from another dimension, even the Hulk (most of the time), all looked real, and believable. I say @@ -551,18 +556,19 @@
- Truly a great movie, even from a non-geeky standpoint. It stands as a testament to raw storytelling potential, wherein action movies don't have to just be about explosions, and super heroes can + Truly a great movie, even for people who aren't nerds. It stands as a testament to raw storytelling potential, wherein action movies don't have to just be about explosions, and super heroes can just be people too.
- Fans of this movie (and if you're not, you aren't my friend anymore lol) will be happy to know that Whedon has signed an option for future Avengers films. It's very possible that we will have a - second, at very least, though not until "Phase 2" of the Marvel entertainment cycle completes, starting with Iron Man 3 and including a Mark Ruffalo Hulk movie somewhere in there. Everyone gets a - sequel, and the fans rejoice. + Fans of this movie will be happy to know that Whedon has signed an option for future Avengers films. It's very possible that we will have a second, at very least, though not until "Phase 2" + of the Marvel entertainment cycle completes, starting with Iron Man 3 and including a Mark Ruffalo Hulk movie somewhere in there. Everyone gets a sequel, and the fans rejoice.
Also, I called this coming out of the theater, and I'm writing it here as proof: the words "Avengers, Assemble" were never once spoken in this movie, so they will be either some of the first words spoken in the second one, the tagline for the movie, or maybe even the name of the movie itself. Officially called.
+UPDATE 2024: Man it's crazy reading this now. Lots has changed since then. Mostly I'm writing this update to say... We STILL haven't gotten that Mark Ruffalo Hulk movie. (Also, I was completely wrong, + though Cap did finally say, "Avengers Assemble" at the perfect climax of 23 films, of which I believe the Avengers was #10 or so?
Back to Top @@ -573,43 +579,68 @@- As always, there may be minor spoilers below. (Note: This was written immediately after my first viewing, for which I used no guide [there are many timelines for the movie on the internets], and so may be based off of a flawed interpretation of the movie... But, I won't be going too - into specifics anyway, so it shouldn't matter that much... The point is, this is a confusing movie, and will take several viewings to fully understand...) + As always, there may be minor spoilers below.
- Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) are two fairly ordinary dudes. They know their engineering and physics through and through, so it's safe to say they're pretty smart ordinary dudes. Both men play their parts well; Abe is the - reserved and cautious one, and the wiser of the two. Aaron is pretty much his opposite; he's the intelligent risk-taker, smart enough to know why he should be cautious, and, in the end, ballsy enough to not care. Each plays the foil of the - other, though both can be said to be the protagonist of the story. + Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) are two fairly ordinary dudes. They know their engineering and physics through and through, so it's safe to say they're pretty smart ordinary + dudes. Both men play their parts well; Abe is the reserved and cautious one, and the wiser of the two. Aaron is pretty much his opposite; he's the intelligent risk-taker, smart enough to + know why he should be cautious, and, in the end, ballsy enough to not care. Each plays the foil of the other, though both can be said to be the protagonist of the story.
- Besides them, other characters float in and out of Aaron and Abe's story, but none are ever extremely important, and in fact the only other character that gets any good amount of screen time is Aaron's wife, whose name I don't even - remember... + Besides them, other characters float in and out of Aaron and Abe's story, but none are ever extremely important, and in fact the only other character that gets any good amount of screen + time is Aaron's wife, whose name I don't even remember...
- At the start of the movie, from what I gathered in the mix of techno-babble, Aaron has an idea for a device - well, it's not really his idea per say, but he knows how he can make it better than the company (I think it was Russian) that - originally makes it does. There's a lot of talk about using Platinum instead of Palladium... I don't really know, though I've heard every bit of it actually makes a lot of sense if you know what they're talking about. + At the start of the movie, from what I gathered in the mix of techno-babble, Aaron has an idea for a device - well, it's not really his idea per say, but he knows how he can make it better + than the company (I think it was Russian) that originally makes it does. There's a lot of talk about using Platinum instead of Palladium... I don't really know, though I've heard every bit + of it actually makes a lot of sense if you know what they're talking about. +
++ Anyway, so they build their machine. They put weight on a disc, cover it with a box, and fill the box with Argon. The weight measures 7.7 decigrams before it goes in... after a moment in + the machine, it weighs 6.6 decigrams. But they very quickly begin to realize that this machine has properties that they did not anticpate. They realize that what they've actually built is... A + time machine. +
++ What follows that is a puzzle that is not easy to solve, but doing so is extremely rewarding. Aaron and Abe have very different ideas of what this technology means for them, and the + ending is ominous and bleak.
-Anyway, so they build their machine. They put weight on a disc, cover it with a box, and fill the box with Argon. The weight measures 7.7 decigrams before it goes in... after a moment in the machine, it weighs 6.6 decigrams.
- Not really a lot to say here, actually. The movie is more about ideas presented than it is the visuals... still, I don't think this movie would really work as a book, mainly because a lot of the clues to what's really going on in the story - are visual or audial. I gave this a relatively high score despite the lack of interesting visuals, because I felt that that absence of any CGI time-travel visuals set this apart from other time-travel movies, and let the viewer know that this - is a serious, realistic movie about time travel theory. I greatly respect both the courage to do that, and the skill to pull it off, which they did. Oh man, did they ever... + Not really a lot to say here, actually. The movie is more about ideas presented than it is the visuals... still, I don't think this movie would really work as a book, mainly because a lot of + the clues to what's really going on in the story are visual or audial. I gave this a relatively high score despite the lack of interesting visuals, because I felt that that absence of any + CGI time-travel visuals set this apart from other time-travel movies, and let the viewer know that this is a serious, realistic movie about time travel theory. I greatly respect both the + courage to do that, and the skill to pull it off, which they did. Oh man, did they ever...
I'm changing the name of this category to "Sound Production", as my "Soundtrack" sections usually give fairly poor scores, and that should not always be so; and to make these reviews much more comprehensive.
- The soundtrack to this movie is mainly silence. However, sound in general is used to great effect. For instance, the Narrator is unknown in the beginning, and somewhat difficult to decipher throughout, due to a slight distortion of the - voice. You will pick up on it quickly, but sometimes he says things that disorient this assumption... + I'm changing the name of this category to "Sound Production", as my "Soundtrack" sections usually give fairly poor scores, and that should not always be so; and to make these reviews much + more comprehensive. Some films lack soundtracks or have intentionally "bad" soundtracks to increase tension or set specific moods. Sound production is a much more complex topic than just + the sountrack. +
++ And this is a great example; the soundtrack to this movie is mainly silence. However, sound in general is used to great effect. For instance, the identity of the Narrator is unknown in the + beginning, and somewhat difficult to decipher throughout, due to a slight distortion of the voice. You will make an assumption quickly, but sometimes he says things that disorient this + assumption...
- A fucking awesome film, and by far my favorite time-travel movie to date. It's the first time-travel movie I've ever seen that displays a realistic portrayal of the concept, while keeping with all of it's own internal rules. It's a movie - designed like a lateral thinking puzzle; all of the logical pieces are there, it's up to you to figure out how they all fit together... It's a puzzle I look forward to solving, preferably over several re-watchings... maybe I'll do a - full-spoiler review, or just general rant, about it after I've figured out everything... as it stands I only have the most basic concept of what I think happened... and this is one of the few time's I've ever actually been okay with that... - actually, now that I think about it, it's a feeling I haven't had since I first made the effort to really figure out Donnie Darko (itself a very fun puzzle to pick apart). + A fucking awesome film, and by far my favorite time-travel movie to date. It's the first time-travel movie I've ever seen that displays a realistic portrayal of the concept, while keeping with + all of it's own internal rules. It's a movie designed like a lateral thinking puzzle; all of the logical pieces are there, it's up to you to figure out how they all fit together... It's a + puzzle I look forward to solving, preferably over several re-watchings... maybe I'll do a full-spoiler review, or just general rant, about it after I've figured out everything... as it stands + I only have the most basic concept of what I think happened... and this is one of the few times I've ever actually been okay with that... actually, now that I think about it, it's a feeling + I haven't had since I first made the effort to really figure out Donnie Darko (itself a very fun puzzle to pick apart). +
++ UPDATE 2024: Due to the extremely confusing nature of this film, I highly recommend planning to watch it at least twice (don't worry, you'll want to anyway). Watch the first time + going in blind, just enjoy it and if you notice things you don't understand, just accept it and move on. Then, watch a breakdown video or read a timeline. Keep these handy to reference as + you watch through again (no, not the same night, that would be crazy...) +
++ Also, I want to note that this review has been fairly heavily edited from the original. I don't know if part of it was lost or what happened, but the original plot section stopped at describing + the weights of the materials in the machine (which I'm not even sure why I felt the need to describe so explicitly anyway. I left that part in so as not to remove too much that was already there, + but I added the entire plot summary after that'
Back to Top @@ -623,23 +654,27 @@As always, there may be minor spoilers below.
- Let me start off with saying that while I had my doubts with some of the casting choices going into it, literally every character in this movie performed their role flawlessly, exactly as it was in the book. Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone, - X-Men: First Class) stars as Katniss Everdeen, the unlikable, surly girl who's one hell of a hunter. She does surly, and she pulls off hunter... but, never quite reaches "unlikable", which I can't really hold against the director or her. The - star of the show can't be unlikable, especially when it's already hard for the audience to really connect with the situation. But, more on that later. + Let me start off with saying that while I had my doubts with some of the casting choices going into it, literally every character in this movie performed their role flawlessly, exactly as it + was in the book. Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone, X-Men: First Class) stars as Katniss Everdeen, the unlikable, surly girl who's one hell of a hunter. She does surly, and she + pulls off hunter... but, never quite reaches "unlikable", which I can't really hold against the director or her. The star of the show can't be unlikable, especially when it's already hard + for the audience to really connect with the situation. But, more on that later. +
++ John Hutcherson (Zathura, Cirque Du Freak: The Vampires Assistant) co-stars as Peeta Mellark, strong, well-spoken, and madly in love with Katniss. He plays his role flawlessly. + It's kinda funny: he was the casting choice I was most worried about before seeing it, and after seeing it I think he's the most appropriately cast person in the film... After, of course, + Woody Harrelson, who played a perfect, spot-on Haymitch. Gruff, drunk, and surprisingly helpful, the character as presented in the movie is straight cut from the novel. There were many, + many honorable mentions, so I'll just mention a couple of my favorites.
- John Hutcherson (Zathura, Cirque Du Freak: The Vampires Assistant) co-stars as Peeta Mellark, strong, well-spoken, and madly in love with Katniss. He plays his role flawlessly. It's kinda funny: he was the casting choice I was most worried - about before seeing it, and after seeing it I think he's the most appropriately cast person in the film... After, of course, Woody Harrelson (...You know who Woody Harrelson is...), who played a perfect, spot-on Haymitch. Gruff, drunk, and - surprisingly helpful, the character as presented in the movie is straight cut from the novel. - There were many, many honorable mentions, so I'll just mention a couple of my favorites. First of all, Rue was the cutest, sweetest little child I've ever seen. I want to adopt her. + First of all, Rue was the cutest, sweetest little child I've ever seen. I want to adopt her.
- Stanley Tucci as the talk show host Caesar Flickerman was just flawless. His scenes really had the feeling of a (more dramatic, and slightly more scripted) talk show. He reacted just like a host, covering for his guest's mistakes, or for - their silence, building a rapport, and generally helping them along through the process. Brilliant. + Stanley Tucci as the talk show host Caesar Flickerman was just flawless. His scenes really had the feeling of a (more dramatic, and slightly more scripted) talk show. He reacted just like a + host, covering for his guest's mistakes, or for their silence, building a rapport, and generally helping them along through the process. Brilliant.
- And, last but most definitely not least, Lenny Kravitz appears as Cinna, Katniss' awesome black person (ABP, everyone gets one)... I mean, her stylist. He played his role well. He didn't have a lot of room in the role (only three or four - lines to work with), but he actually did really well with what he had to work with. + And, last but most definitely not least, Lenny Kravitz appears as Cinna, Katniss' awesome black person (ABP, everyone gets one)... I mean, her stylist. He played his role well. He didn't have + a lot of room in the role (only three or four lines to work with), but he actually did really well with what he had to work with.