Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Album Review: The Staves - 'Motherlode EP'
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Album Review: Beach House - 'Bloom'
Monday, May 21, 2012
Summer Kickoff - The Avengers
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| Chris Hemsworh and Chris Evans in The Avengers. Courtesy of Image.net |
Film Grade: A-
Summer movie season has arrived, and looking at the lineup,
it won’t disappoint. The Avengers serves a strong kickoff. The film is
packed with A-listers including, but not limited to, Robert Downey, Jr.,
Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Scarlet Johansson as the comic
book characters. Having so many well-known stars in one film is risky, as chemistries often
don’t transfer well on-screen, but Avengers proves to be a rare exception.
The plot is a simple one. Bad guy steals valuable power, runs off, plans to take over
the world, and lets his native alien family destroy Earth. Naturally, when a
juggernaut of a villain like Loki arrives, Nick Fury, the creator of The
Avengers, enlists the aid of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and
Captain America.
Chaos and hilarity ensues, mostly from heroes, as
their personalities could not be more opposite. The result is a 2.5 hour movie
with more laughs than any other superhero flick I’ve seen. Where The Dark
Knight movies are a serious exploration of the moral themes in Batman’s world,
The Avengers provides a colorful explosion of action and fun – just like a
comic book.
Besides being enjoyable, the movie is well-made. The acting and chemistry of the
on-screen personalities jibe well together; none of the heroes outshine
each other, and each is given his own spotlight and dialogue. The dialogue is
probably the best I’ve seen in a superhero film. Rather than being predictable
and cheesy, it’s clever and witty, much like the banter in Golden Age films –
which is most fitting, considering Iron Man’s character. Some of the funniest
scenes were when Iron Man and Captain America argued. Where Iron Man is
narcissistic, egotistical, arrogant and progressive, Captain America is self-sacrificing,
traditional and humble. Their interaction is a gift from filmmaker to viewer,
extracting at the very least, a pleased smile.
Is there a deep, meaningful lesson to be learned in The
Avengers? Not really, except that if we’re to be “good” or heroic, sacrifice is
necessary, and that sometimes, we will have to work with people we'd rather not associate with in order to bring about a common good. Other than that, Avengers simply keeps you entertained the
entire time. Like Captain America, which was released last summer, it is a respectable film that brings the
comic book to life, with lots of action and witty banter in between. The perfect formula for a summer movie.
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