Avengers: Infinity War Lives Up To The Hype

 "I'd like to talk to you about The Avengers initiative."  With one simple phrase, the face of Hollywood entertainment changed forever.  It launched the most intricate, well-thought out, series of interconnected films in cinematic history.  The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has become the gold standard that all other franchises try (and fail) to live up to.  A decade (and 16 films) later, it all boils down to this.  The fate of the universe is at stake, so assemble your group of Avengers and head to your local theater... you're in for a hell of a ride.

The MCU is coming to the end of its third phase.  Phase 1 was the set up.  Phase 2 was the expansion.  And Phase 3 has been spiraling towards this moment.  The moment our favorite heroes (well, except for 2... no spoilers, though!) team up to face the Mad Titan, Thanos, as he attempts to destroy half of the universe.  I'm not going to spoil any plot points or give any hints at who may or may not be with us after this film, but I will discuss why this film works.

Contrary to other cinematic universes (looking at you DC), the MCU took its time.  It developed characters and stories with the intention of creating a sense of familiarity with the movie going audience.  Every time there was a team up, the MCU didn't waste time developing pre-developed characters.  Instead, it took the time to develop any new characters who may appear.  For instance, in the first Avengers film, it was the Hawkeye show.  In Age Of Ultron, we get to know the Scarlet Witch and Quick Silver.  Since we had already met the main Avengers, they could do their thing in these team up films without needing to waste time on showcasing another side of their characters.  The same holds true for Infinity War.  Its Thanos' movie.  As the mayhem rapidly expands, we are treated to bits and pieces of what makes the Mad Titan tick.  I really liked that this film took the time to develop its villain... almost to the point of making us sympathize with him.  Contrary to the generic CGI villains of the DC universe (some of whom I can't even remember the names of), this film unravels the layers and intentions of Thanos before our eyes.  It creates a fully realized character over the course of two and a half hours.

Going in, I was worried that Infinity War would crumble under the weight of its many, many characters.  However, I'm pleased to report that it never felt like any character was being neglected.  Each Avenger was given time to shine as the many moving pieces seamlessly moved around the puzzle board.  This film moves at a break neck pace, but the Russo Brothers do their best to direct each scene so that nothing feels too quick or forced.

The final battle also didn't feel too fast or forced.  It wasn't filled with eight gazillion Michael Bay like edits.  I was quietly refreshed that it took its time to develop top notch action and adventure.

I don't want to ruin or spoil anything more.  Needless to say, there are shocking deaths and surprise returns.  Get out and see it!

I'm giving it 3.5 stars out of 4.  I had a couple bones to pick with it.  Namely, The Scarlet Witch just dropping her Russian accent without explanation.  Thanos' goon squad are a little underdeveloped for my tastes, but I understand why they did that.  There's only so much room to work with, and Thanos was definitely the most important.  It also feels like only part of a larger movie, but it definitely has a stopping point.  We will see the continuation of this story in next year's Avengers conclusion.  I can't wait!

There's one scene after the credits that sets up further adventures of Earth's mightiest heroes.

Super Troopers 2 is a worthy successor to its cult comedy brother

I'm fully on record as hating most comedy sequels.  In fact, there's only a handful of them that I'd qualify as decent.  Most, like Anchorman 2 or Zoolander 2, are made about a couple years too late, and just re-hash the original to diminishing returns.  I think I went in to Super Troopers 2 with pretty low expectations.  I'm happy to report that I laughed way more than I thought I would, and Super Trooper 2 was a decent follow-up to the original film.

Like most people, I missed the original Super Troopers' theatrical run.  It came and went with little to no fanfare during its brief, forgettable run.  I caught it on home video when I rented it randomly at my local Blockbuster Video (remember those?).  I laughed my ass off that night, and it's been in regular rotation ever since.  It was infinitely quotable (littering and..., meow, liter of cola, etc.) , and its stature only grew over the years.  However, for some reason, it never spawned a sequel... until now.  After one of the more memorable crowd funding campaigns, we're here.

I'll skip the plot of Super Troopers 2 (essentially the same as the first, only set in Canada), and get right to what I liked about it... namely the cast.  Broken Lizard hasn't changed their style of humor much in the past 16 years, but they have a chemistry with one another that makes me laugh again and again.  I guess my comedy tastes haven't changed much either since I graduated college.  I found myself laughing out loud more than I care to admit.  The guys are still goofing on each other throughout this film, and it was just what I needed.  Kevin Heffernan's Farva is still the butt of the joke, but he plays a douchebag better than most comedians.  All the gags you enjoyed in the first one are all present here, but they don't feel like cheap knockoffs.  They appear, but are never distracting.  The Broken Lizard gang genuinely feel like cherish these characters and it shows in this film.  They had to beg and borrow to get this one made, and they made sure to do it right.

I'm giving this one 2.5 stars out of 4.  There's not much in the way of plot, and this film basically boils down to a series of skits strung together.  However, it's a joy to be back in their world.  If you're a fan of the first one, definitely see it right meow!  If not, I'd probably skip it.

A Quiet Place Is A Must See Film

 For those complaining that Hollywood is nothing but a sequel/remake/reboot machine, the new film A Quiet Place is here to cure your retread blues.  Directed by John Krasinski (Jim from TV's The Office), it tells the story of a family struggling to fend off an alien invasion that has wiped out most of the world's population.  At least that's what I can glean from the subtle clues sprinkled throughout the background of the movie.  Like any good "end of the world" monster movie, the origins of these beasts are not explained.  You see snippets of newspaper clippings on walls.  And, since this film is mostly silent, you're not given any unnecessary voiceover work to explain things as you go along for the ride.  The only thing we know is that these monsters will kill you if they hear you.  The family at the center of this film goes to extraordinary lengths to keep quiet.  Oh, and did I mention that Emily Blunt's character is pregnant?  This creates a nice sense of upcoming doom throughout the first two acts.

Speaking of rides, this film is one hell of a scary-yet-fun adventure.  I was surprised that John Krasinski directed this, since he's best known for his comedic chops.  However, he delivers on both fronts on this film.  He strongly plays a father struggling to keep his family together without veering into cliches.  He also does a hell of a job directing this film.  It comes in at a brisk 90 minutes, and not once did it feel like the pacing was off, or that there were many unnecessary scenes in it.  Yes, there are a few horror blunders by the cast (knocking things over to create noise, for example), but they are mostly forgiven as necessary moments to bring in the baddies.  Without spoiling anything, I will say that the very ending is a little too "Hollywood" for my tastes, but the journey to that moment is totally worth it.

A Quiet Place is a very well-done original piece of horror.   It's well-acted, shot, and directed.  I see big things for Krasinski in the future.  I'm giving it 3 out of 4 stars.  Go see it!

Ready Player One Is Pure Nostalgic Fun

As Mugatu in Zoolander would say... "The 80's are so hot right now."  From the runaway success of Stranger Things to the recent return of sitcom titan Roseanne, the decade of Ronald Reagan is very much in demand.  So it's almost appropriate that 1980's titan, Steven Spielberg, is directing the film adaption of Ready Player One.  He delivered some of the biggest hits of that decade, and for better or worse, created the blockbuster genre.

Ready Player One tells the story of 2040's America, where the major world currency is the virtual reality universe called The Oasis.  The Oasis is a place where anything can happen (as is told to the audience through our protagonist Wade Watts), and imagination is key.  If you can think it, you can do it.  It's the only place where people can escape from their crappy lives and dire living situations.  The creator of The Oasis (played by recent Spielberg muse, Mark Rylance) has died, but before he died he created a contest that would give full ownership of The Oasis to the winner.  Three keys were hidden deep within The Oasis and can only be unlocked by completing the tasks attached to them.  These keys were so hard to find that most people have given up trying to find them.  A small group of Gunters (short for Easter egg hunters) continue the search along with the evil IOI corporation, who seek to monetize The Oasis.  The group of Gunters are led by Parzival (The avatar name of the lead character), and have essentially formed a resistance group to fight against the IOI corporation.

This film strips away a lot of the social commentary from the book and gets the audience straight into the chase, and the results are a thrilling albeit slightly flawed film.  There are some genuinely exciting sequences (the street race in particular) with incredible visual effects.  Spielberg does his best to film an unfilmable book, resulting in a piece of pure popcorn movie fun.  He had to switch some things from the book, but the sequences he changed totally work (there's a sequence involving a horror classic that is hands down the best part of the entire movie.).  Ready Player One was pure escapist fun, and I had a great time sitting through it.

That being said, I feel like there was a better movie buried in there.  The horror movie sequence gave us a glimpse of its great potential.  There was also a tacked on ending that tried to make a statement about disconnecting from our electronic devices that felt forced.  Had Spielberg tried to establish that earlier, it would have been a more effective ending.  In a movie about people escaping their daily lives and living vicariously through their digital avatars, I couldn't help but think that Spielberg was playing a role in his direction.  This film felt like a Michael Bay film with better characters and direction.  Some of the sequences were so frenetic that I had a hard time focusing on what was on screen.  The third act, like a lot of modern action films, dragged a bit. 

I'm giving Ready Player One 2.75 stars out of 4.  It's a good movie that had the potential of being great.  I'd recommend it to anyone hoping to escape to the movies for 2+ hours.

On a final note, there's a lot of pop culture Easter eggs sprinkled throughout.  Some are obvious (Jurassic Park & King Kong), but others (Robocop, Street Fighter and countless others) appear in a blink and you'll miss it sense.  I spent the first quarter of the movie trying to find them all, and I found it distracting to the story.  I'd recommend just focusing on the story and letting the Easter Eggs happen naturally.  I also wonder if younger audiences will get half of these pop culture references since the 80s happened 30+ years ago.  The 80's are so hot right now, so your guess is as good as mine.