What I'm watching

#352/#69 The Avengers/Avengers Assemble

When Earth comes under threat from alien invasion, Earth’s mightiest heroes, the Avengers, must band together. Comprised of Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) this team has to deal with Thor’s trickster brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his army of minions. 

I’m finding it very hard not to just geek out and say ‘Seriously, just go see this film now. 5/5’. You can believe all the hype; this film is actually just that good. Regardless of whether or not you’ve seen all or none of the other films building up to the avengers, you’re probably going to enjoy this film anyway. It helps that the other films have come out by assuming you already know about these characters, letting it get right into the story and the action right away, but it does take the time for some small introductions given that a lot of the different members of the team itself have never met.

Downey is just pitch perfect in this film as Tony Stark once again. He was always good but when you give him Joss Whedon dialogue and direction it’s on a whole other level. Evans and Hemsworth both slip back into their roles effortlessly. Maybe not the most interesting members of the Avengers but filling their roles well. As the only newcomer, Ruffalo was always the giant question mark in this film but he is as good as, if not better than, Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/the Hulk. There’s something about him that just makes you believe his barely contained anger as well as his melancholy about the whole thing.

Additionally, Renner and Johansson were much better in this that they were in their previous support roles in Iron Man 2/Thor. Johansson didn’t have a purpose for being in IM2 other than one fight scene and Renner amounted to a little more than a cameo in Thor. In this they are fleshed out and given more personality. Putting a kickass female character in the hands of Whedon again can never be a bad thing and he makes the Black Widow feel more like a real person rather than just the token girl of the team.

Lastly, someone who I think will be overlooked by a lot of people upon first watch, is Hiddleston as Loki. He has to hold his own against 6 other actors while still coming across as menacing to the audience and he pulls it off spectacularly. He’s one of the best villains I’ve seen in a film in a long time. His presence, his motivation, his continued back story from Thor and that wonderful shit-eating grin just made him the perfect bad guy for the Avengers to have to face. While I loved every performance in this film, I honestly think his was my favourite of the lot.

Add on top of this some amazing action scenes, some wonderful in team fights and an actually worthwhile reason for all of these superheros to come together and you begin to see why I might be fanboying out a little in this review. So as I began this; Seriously just go and see this film now. 5/5.

#296/#13 War Horse

Following the life of the horse Joey and his original owner (Jeremy Irvine) as they make their way through World War 1.

We see through the eyes of the horse for most of the movie, seeing owners come and go and their interactions with Joey. It’s more like a selection of short stories really, with the horse linking them all together. My favourite section was when Joey was being used as a cavalry horse because Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch just do such a good job as the stiff upper lip army toffs. That or the bit in no-mans land with the barbed wire. My least favourite was probably the little french girl section. It just felt a little too twee and slowed the movie right down.

It’s sort of a weird one to review because it is such an ensemble effort. You can’t really praise any particular person for a wonderful performance because they’re all good enough and you don’t stay with any of them long enough to really form a connection. There’s some good horse acting though.

It’s well directed with a great score but then it’s Steven Spielberg with John Williams; that’s sort of par for the course at this point. I quite liked that the horse was owned by both German and British soldiers. The film didn’t pick a side, it just sort of showed some of the elements of war from both perspectives and that was nice to witness.

There is an element which I think might bug some people about this film though. It was a little heavy handed on the ‘…and now we will have the scene in which you’re supposed to cry/feel’. Sometimes they worked, sometimes the felt really quite artificial and manipulative. Usually that would feel pretty ham-fisted, but I was kinda expecting them in a horse war movie by Spielberg so it wasn’t a deal breaker for me but I can see how it could be for others.

It was a nice film but it’s not one I’m going to be rewatching any time soon and I wouldn’t say you need to rush out and see it. 3/5

#293/#10 Midnight in Paris

Engaged couple Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) are staying in Paris as Gil attempts to write a real work of literature after a long career of writing fluff screenplays for Hollywood. Gil would be content to stay in Paris but Inez wants to live in the States. One night, after some wine, Gil wanders the streets at midnight only to be whisked back in time to the 1920’s to mingle with such literary influences as F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston) and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) as well as meeting the lovely Adrianna (Marion Cotillard). Increasingly drawn to the past, can Gil ever be truly happy again when he returns to the present?

I’ve been thinking about this one a lot over the last couple of days and not necessarily for good reasons. I’ve been trying to understand why I just don’t get Woody Allen’s style of film making and I think I’ve come to a conclusion. It’s because I’m not a creative person; I’m just not. It’s not a good or bad thing, it’s just the way I’ve always been and it means I do not get the ways of those who are. This is not to say I can’t appreciate the artistic merits of other. On the contrary, I’m as moved as any by literature, films, television, plays, musicals, songs, etc if it resonates with me but it does mean that I don’t seem to be able to fathom the mentality of those who created them. They’re entirely too ’Oh woe is me, I’m so full of emotions that someone needs to pay attention to me or I can’t go on’ and overall whishy-washy that makes me think ‘Aye alright, want to try pulling up your big girl pants and getting on with it’.

So when I watch a film about people trying to find themselves or striving towards being in the now to better their art, as this one does, I am incapable of putting myself in that person’s mindset in order to enjoy the movie. I respect those who do work from that mindset and greatly enjoy their finished endeavour (most of the time) but I personally just don’t work that way.

All that was a long way of saying I don’t care for this film. I think pretty much every character, although well acted, comes off as, at worst, assholes and at best, that person at a friend’s party you specifically try to avoid. Nicely shot film as well but, again, the 5 solid minutes of Parisian landmark shots at the beginning of the film was very artsy and had me hitting the fast forward button at about 2 minutes in.

A little less reviewy than normal but I did always say this was my thoughts and feeling on a film rather than a clear cut review. I’m glad I watched it for the fact that it lead me to this moment of clarity about myself but in it’s own right this is not a film for me. 1/5

#119 Thor

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is about to obtain the throne of Asgard when some Frost Giants break in and try to retake their source of power which Odin (Anthony Hopkins) took from them in the last war. Mad, Thor attacks their home world against Odin’s orders and begins war once more. For his stupidity, Thor is banished to Earth where he must prove himself worthy before being allowed back to his realm and control of his magic hammer, Mjollnir.

Usually superhero films either fall into the very good category (i.e. The Dark Knight, Iron Man, X men) or they fall into the very bad category (i.e. Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Elektra). It’s almost odd to have one which falls so squarely in the middle between the two. This is where Thor lands however.

All of the actors are really well cast and good in their respective roles. Hemsworth is a strong main character, Hopkins a good elderly adviser (as he should having played the same role for the last 10 years) and Tom Hiddleston is good as the lamentable villain Loki (as we are shown the rationale behind his motives). The humans (Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings) weren’t really given that much to do but Stellan Skarsgard as the older scientist and Idris Elba as the gate keeper are probably the most interesting characters overall just because they’re a little cooler and gets a couple of good comedic lines. All of Thor’s friends are really pointless.

The story is very basic and almost paint by numbers. I wouldn’t call it boring but its just been done a hundred times before so you know which character is going to do what and when.

The fight sequences are ok but there are a lot of really close up CGI fights which (and I’m not sure if this was just because I saw it in 3d) were very like the transformers fight scenes. A lot of moving parts and the overall feeling of something happening but looking really crap. The static visuals of Asgard were in complete contrast to this however. They were fantastic and really helped to build the idea of a different world.

It also peaks a little early in terms of action having the big Frost Giant battle early on so that when we finally get to the giant robot battle (during which all I could think of was The Day The Earth Stood Still) you’re left feeling unimpressed.

If it weren’t for the actors all working so well I don’t think it would have been a strong enough film for the amount of hype being put around it. Seeing as they are however, it brings it up to just ok but I definitely felt it was the weakest of all the avenger films so far (even behind the Incredible Hulk).

Meh is pretty much how I would describe this film if I could only give a one word review. Not bad but nothing that great about it either. 3/5