Captain America: Civil War (2016, dir. The Russo Brothers)

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It is an inevitability that you’re going to immediately compare Captain America: Civil War to Batman v Superman. Their core is simply heroes fighting heroes, but it is fascinating how differently they tell their stories. The obvious winner in the clash of these films is Civil War and the reason is apparent: An ideological distinction between sides is developed and debated so that when the fists fly there is an actual reason.

If you haven’t watched the previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) then it would make Civil War a fairly impenetrable film. Like the comic books that inspired these films, they are essentially soap operas in spandex. Despite the perilous possibility of falling into high camp, Civil War balances its over the top battles with well written and developed discussions on the nature of responsibility and consequences.

After a long run of 9/11 scale battles, the governments of the world wish to reign in the Avengers. A plan is presented that would tie the team to the United Nations. This means they would not act unless the UN passed a resolution allowing them to do so. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) has been feeling guilt over his role in the Ultron debacle and wants to sign right away. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is hesitant to give his autonomy over so quickly. It makes sense, Steve is the product of a nation’s desire to create a human weapon. Everything goes south when Steve’s old partner turned Hydra killing machine, Bucky is implicated in a terrorist attack. The heroes choose sides, battles take place, and the film turns the superhero formula on its head by ending not in a battle through a city but in a brutal, and surprisingly emotional, battle between three heroes in Siberia.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that Spider-Man name drops Empire Strikes Back mid-way through the film. In the same way that Empire served to disrupt and reshape the status quo of the Star Wars universe, Civil War is out to accomplish the same goal. The purpose of the Avengers is in question. The relationships of heroes that joined together under tenuous circumstances are torn apart. The film sets up many questions but doesn’t provide answers. I suspect those answers will be the next two Avengers films the Russo Brothers are set to direct.

There are so many new and interesting elements introduced in this film. What I liked about them was that they didn’t come across as shoehorned by the studio to set up future films. Think of the Thor vision scene from Ultron and how it hamfistedly worked to get us thinking about his next film, rather than add to the film we were currently watching. Black Panther, played brilliantly by Chadwick Boseman, has a full character arc that affect the plot of the film in an important way. Helmut Zemo changes up the big bad supervillain formula the films have follows thus far. By the end of the film, it’s hard not to have conflicting feelings about his actions and their reason. Plot threads have valid conclusions while still hinting at future stories.

The one issue a film like Civil War can have is the feeling of character bloat. While new faces like Spider-Man feel like they get enough attention and development in relation to their purpose, I was a little let down by how little we learn about Scarlet Witch. Scarlet’s role in the story is fairly crucial, her actions are the inciting incident that lead to the conflict in the film. She’s fresh to the MCU, having only seen her in Age of Ultron previously. It would have been nice to see her character fleshed out more, but that would have been hard to do because of the previously mentioned overflowing cast list.

Civil War is a step in the right direction for the MCU. Critics and viewers has begun speculating as of late that the franchise’s luck was going to wear out soon, but I think there is a lot of story potential still left. The Russo Brothers are a great replacement for the Whedon-led Avengers. They directed the best Marvel film to date, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and I feel confident in their ability to give a different, more grounded take on these characters. Previously, the next two films were planned to be the two part Infinity War, a massive coming together of all the franchise elements. Recently the Russo Brothers announced the two films would not be directly connected and I think that was a smart choice. Keeping each film’s plot tight and singularly focused will keep them from falling into the trap of Batman v Superman, where previewing the next films became more important than telling a good story in the present.

Why Lost Worked And Its Wannabes Don’t

While its finale brought out strongly differing opinions, its impossible for anyone to say that Lost didn’t have a massive influence on the television landscape. It was the kind of television show that encouraged you to obsess about every last detail. Every episode left the viewer with questions and hints at the truth that laid at the end of the entire series. While, the writers decided to focus the ending on wrapping up characters’ emotional arcs instead of combing over the minutiae of the mystery, I felt very satisfied. What the rest of the television producing world took away from Lost’s success was that they needed to cram their shows with as much mystique as possible.
Continue reading “Why Lost Worked And Its Wannabes Don’t”

2012 – 10 Movies I’m Looking Forward To

With 2012 comes a deluge of new films. I’ve noticed that as summer movies top the anticipation list for me, they are never the films that make my favorites list. Its likely because we’re made aware of the big budget films and have to actively seek out the smaller films that this is so. Well, here are films that I think have the potential to rise above the rest of the garbage.

Cloud Atlas (May 4th)
The Wachowskis (Matrix, Speed Racer) and Tom Twyker (Run Lola Run, Perfume) have teamed up to put David Mitchell’s Booker Prize winning novel on the big screen. Coincidentally, I am about a quarter of the way through the novel and am interested in seeing how they adapt it. The book consists of six narratives that telescope out to the middle of the book, and then telescope back in, making the first narrative the bookends. Each narrative is revealed to be read or experienced in some way by the main character of the following narrative (i.e. Story 1 is a diary, which the character in Story 2 stumbles across). Should be a mind blowing experience.
Continue reading “2012 – 10 Movies I’m Looking Forward To”

End of 2011 Part 4 – Miscellaneous Favorites

Favorite Album – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming/M83
Runners Up: Bon Iver/Bon Iver, Helplessness Blues/Fleet Foxes, Father, Son, Holy Ghost/Girls

In a world where the phrase “epic” is often overused on pieces of art not worthy of it, M83’s latest double album is just that. EPIC. I’ve frequently had this writerly idea of the fictional interpretation of Los Angeles as a perpetual neon twilight glow spread out to the ocean. This album is that in the form of sound. This is the culmination of the best of Depeche Mode and the gaudiest French synth-pop. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming was the most inspirational album to me in terms of writing this year.

Favorite Gadget – iPad 1
Runner Up: X-Box 360

I bought my iPad at the end of last year, and it has become the most used gadget I own by far. As a teacher, it is an invaluable tool for ease of access. There’s a laptop assigned to me, but that stays in one place, while the iPad lets me send the daily roll in the morning, no matter where in the room I am. When the class goes into the halls and we have to stop to wait for our turn at lunch or PE, I keep the kids quiet and focused with a Math problems app. During grade level meetings, I pull out my capacitive stylus and take handwritten notes. Best device ever.

Favorite Console Video Game: Batman: Arkham City
Runner Up: Torchlight

Much like Arkham Asylum, Arkham City makes you feel like Batman. The combat controls are perfectly smooth, so even a novice gamer can pull off amazing strings of combos. The story is very cinematic and the voice acting is perfection. It helps that Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill returned to voice Bats and Joker respectively. My hope is that Rocksteady Studios is given the full DC Comics license and can develop more games like this one.

Favorite App (Game): Order and Chaos Online
Runner Up: Sword and Sorcery

I was a World of Warcraft junkie from 2008-2009. Ever since I had to suspend my account to focus on school and work, I’ve an MMO itch. Gameloft, a developer notorious for simply ripping off popular console and PC franchises for the iOS, released this game in the spring and it works. Not as detailed and rich as WoW, Order and Chaos has enough customization that is provides a mobile fix for loot and level addicts like me. While it seems Blizzard will never port WoW to the iOS, this will be a welcome reprieve.

Favorite App (Non-Game): Kindle/Stanza
Runner Up: Zite/Read It Later

There’s some naysayers about the rise of the ebook, but I think its a great thing. There will always a be a market for physical books, but digital books are so much better. On my iPad, I am carrying around about 400 books. This ease of access has gotten me back into reading much more than when I was limited by one book to carry at a time. This time next year, thanks to the iPad, I’ll have a top 10 fiction list.

End of 2011 Part 3 – Top 10 Favorite Narrative Films

As I have done every year since 2005, I keep a list of every film I watch for the first time in a year. Here are the ten films that topped my list:

10) Super 8 (2011, dir. J.J. Abrams)

This was my most anticipated summer movie and it definitely delivered what I wanted: a return to the  wonder filled Spielberg-ian cinema of the late 1970s/early 1980s. It wasn’t a perfect film in terms of an tightly written script, but it was a technically strong film. It also showed Abrams deft hand at recognizing the core elements of a style of filmmaking. I’d like to see him attempt to recreate other iconic mainstream directors’ styles in the future.

9) Blood Simple (1984, dir. The Coen Brothers

This was the only Coen Brothers film I hadn’t seen and I had avoided it for a long time. From production stills I was wary due to the very 80s specific production design. Being so used to a more stylized approach in their modern work, I assumed Blood Simple would be an inferior work whose purpose was more to develop what would be their future style. Was I wrong! Its as if these two men were born with an inherent ability to make perfect films.

8) Dogtooth (2010, dir. Giorgos Lanthimos)

I only became aware of this film with his Oscar nom in the Foreign Language category and was a bit apprehensive at first. What I discovered was a dark allegory that perfectly captures life in a “free” society. Depending on your perspective the film is about governments or the church or authority in general. Its also a great example of the strength of quiet European cinema. The events that unfold in the final minutes will linger with you longer than the majority of films coming out in your local cineplex.

7) Melancholia (2011, dir. Lars von Trier)

I am not a von Trier fanboy, more I admire the idea of what he attempts. I enjoyed Antichrist but didn’t fall in love with it. Melancholia is a different story. I expected a subversion of the sci-fi genre, but what it is here is actually a more faithful ode to science fiction literature than film. This is a short story made film, a perfect example of the fantastic being used as an overlay for a human story. It also has some of the most beautifully composed shots you’ll see in a film this year, particularly the opening montage.

6) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978, dir. Steven Spielberg)

This is another of those films that got away from me for a long time. I was very glad I watched this mere days before Super 8, as it got me in the perfect mood for that film. It also reminded me of what an amazing filmmaker Spielberg can be. Since the 1990s, he seems to have become a different filmmaker. While the work he does now isn’t terrible, there is a nostalgic side of me that misses the cinema of wonder. His films now seem more horrific (War of the Worlds, Minority Report, AI) or experimental (The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, War Horse). Part of me would like to see this Spielberg come back one more time.

5) Rubber (2010, dir. Quentin Dupieux)

You will not see another film like this in your life: A tire comes to life and proceeds to go on a telekinetic killing spree in a world wherein the inhabitants seem to know they are fictional. There is very little to say about this film other than, just got to Netflix and watch it.

4) Red, White, & Blue (2010, dir. Simon Rumley)

This film is the perfect antidote to the mindless torture porn horror craze that seems to be a large part of cinema these days. The opening acts of the film are torturously slow and methodical. But there is a reason why we are introduced so completely to the three main characters. When the violence begins it doesn’t let up and it devastates the audience. Everyone is guilty, yet everyone could plausibly claim innocence. A horror film that will truly haunt you.

3) Amer (2009, dir. Helene Cattet & Bruno Forzani)

This almost wordless homage to the Italian giallo horror genre is one of the most beautiful looking films I saw all year. The film follows one woman from childhood through adolescence to adulthood using the framework of classic 70s European horror. Its incredibly interpretive and hypnotic. I popped it on one Sunday afternoon, expecting something that would simply serve as background noise. I quickly dropped everything I was doing and was fully absorbed.

2) Drive (2011, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)

I first became familiar with Refn when I saw Bronson (2008) and was fairly impressed. Little did I expect a film of this level of style to emerge years later. Drive was able to capture the atmosphere games like Grand Theft Auto pray they can. Everything about the film felt exactly right, as if all LA Noir type films must be set in an 80s synth inspired environment from now on. It was particularly nice to see Bryan Cranston and a highly out of character Albert Brooks.

1) The Tree of Life (2011, dir. Terence Malick)

Tree of Life is a perfect example of film as art. First, its an incredibly personal work that shows how, as an artist becomes detailed and specific, they in turn become universal. Secondly, it has produced highly passionate and differing reactions. Its the sort of film that upsets some viewers because it asks them to participate on an intellectual level, something many films today do not. It does this, because it respects the audience’s intelligence. Malick is almost more of a composer than a narrative filmmaker, and he produces some very sweet music.

End of 2011 Part 2 – Favorite TV I Watched

I watched a lot of television this year. If you’d like to know my thoughts about the first half of the year, that’s right here. Here’s what I thought about what I saw during the second half.

5) Enlightened Season 1 (Created by Mike White and Laura Dern)

I started out more excited over Bored to Death’s return to HBO, but ended the year anticipating what came next in this Laura Dern-led dramedy. Enlightened is a very difficult concept and I completely understand viewers who might be turned off. However, I think staying with the show pays off. The set up is that Amy, a cosmetics company executive, has a totally nervous breakdown in the wake of an affair with her colleague. Amy is the sort of character that is mocked and put into the background of most shows, but here we follow her in the wake of the breakdown. Enlightened succeeds in present a balanced view of the self-help society we live in. Its comedy is subtle and its characters are nuanced, a nice change of pace overall.

4) Workaholics Seasons 1 & 2 (Created by Anders Holm, Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, and Kyle Newacheck)

I brushed this one off as another shitty Comedy Central attempt to appeal to the idiot demographic. Then I heard it mentioned by comedian Jimmy Dore in a favorable light and began to see friends online also praising it. That was enough to pique my curiosity and three days later I was kicking myself that I hadn’t been watching this from the beginning. Workaholics is the post-grad equivalent of Always Sunny or The Whitest Kids U Know with a plot and structure. Its not a work of comedic genius but it is a more enjoyable comedy than 99% of what is on the television these days. Despite what the ads would have you believe, this is a modern day Marx Brothers, three absurdist goofs becoming involved in ludicrous situations. Its surprisingly lacking in sexism as well, a VERY rare element in comedy these days.

3) American Horror Story Season 1 (Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk)

I hate Glee. I didn’t care for Nip/Tuck. So I was shocked that a new series from the men who created both of those was so damn enjoyable. Yes, the season had its moment of ludicrous behavior and some contrived ways to stretch the plot out. There were episodes where nothing of significance happened. But, when I stand back and look at the season as a whole, I see an amazingly ambitious project. The announcement that Season 2 will be a completely new cast, new locale, and new type of horror has me loving it even more. The series is essentially a season long anthology or expanded mini-series. Each season will be one complete and singular horror story. The story possibilities can’t help but make me drool for news on what is waiting for us in the Fall.

2) Boardwalk Empire Season 2 (Created by Terence Winter)

The first season was a slow burn, but season two seemed to aim higher from the start. We appeared to be seeing the rise of Jimmy Darmody and the American mafia, while Nucky Thompson fell from grace. All the while, Irish immigrant Margaret Schroeder had a crisis of the soul. When everything came to its conclusion, I was left stunned. While Game of Thrones feeds the high quality soap operatic side of me, Boardwalk Empire is there for the more ambiguous and literary side of me. The penultimate episode of the season, which focused on flashbacks to Jimmy’s short lived stint at university, was painfully devastating. Coupled with the events of the finale, the season overall is a bleak set up for what will come next.

1) Breaking Bad Season 4 (Created by Vince Gilligan)

Breaking Bad is still the strongest show out there. Its the perfect combination of great writing and solid acting. I had never really joined the Aaron Paul/Jesse fandom till this season, but I found the character to really grow as a complex person. Walt almost seemed to take a backseat for a lot of the episodes this season, which payed off in the final two of the season. The moment that stands out for me is not the season ending reveal, but the moment where Walt lays in the crawlspace, having just learned a devastating detail and laughing insanely as the camera zooms out. That single moment packed more of a dramatic punch than some whole seasons of television.

Book Review – The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western

The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western by Richard Brautigan (1974)

Since college, I have developed a greater appreciation of the Western genre in film and literature. In particular, I enjoy the modern deconstructions of the genre (McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Once Upon a Time in America, Blood Meridian, etc.). I had never felt inclined to pick up anything by Richard Brautigan, having foolishly discounted him as a post-hippie literary author. While the novel is strongly post-modern and experimental, its also a pretty straightforward Western. Because there’s that rich layer underneath of deconstruction it makes the main story that much more interesting.

The plot is very light and concerns two guns for hire, Cameron and Greer, who are enthralled by a mysterious Native American girl, Magic Child whom leads them back to her family home in the Great Plains. There, they meet Mrs. Hawkline, the owner of the house and some strange blurring of identity occurs between Magic Child and Hawkline. The two gunmen are also told they are being hired to kill an unseen monster that lives in the ice caves that run underneath the house. All the while, Brautigan refers to a presence that moves through the house unseen.

The story is a fantasy that is concerned with the idea of doubles. There are characters that act as doubles and conversations routinely repeat, with characters entranced and unaware. The result is that our protagonists feel as though they are not progressing through the story. The expedition into the ice caves is constantly on the precipice of happening, but there is always a coincidental distraction that pulls them away. The result is an intentional frustration in the reader that ultimately pays off with the unconventional epilogue. This is not a novel for a casual reader, but for someone who wants an intellectual challenge.

End of 2011 Part 1 – Favorite Comics I Read

This was a big year in comics, particularly for DC which relaunched its entire line of books, meaning they cancelled everything and started over from issue one. As a result, I ended up becoming distant towards the company that used to dominate my list for favorite comics, and moving over to more Marvel fare.

Detective Comics #878 – 881 (Creators: Scott Snyder, Francesco Francavilla, Jock)

One of the few DC books I enjoyed was this final arc in the first volume of Detective Comics. Snyder really brought a sense of horror to the title and the sort of horror that truly hit home. While Gotham goes about its typical chaos, Jim Gordon Jr., the son of the Commissioner is hiding a dark secret. His cousin, Barbara (the former Batgirl, now Oracle) fails to convince Gordon about the sociopathic side of his son until its too late. Truly one of the best Batman stories of the decade.

Batwoman (Creators: J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman)

The only title from the DC Comics relaunch that has really clicked with me, probably because these stories were written pre-re-launch. The series follows Kate Kane, the Batwoman, an heiress who fights crime in Gotham and isn’t just a “girl partner” to Batman. The series is made great thanks to Williams’ layouts which are unlike anything else coming from DC right now.

Avengers Academy (Creators: Christos Gage, Mike McKone)

I was probably least excited about this title during the big Avengers re-launch two years ago but it has grown to be my favorite of all the titles. I think it reminds me a lot of the old New Teen Titans issues I got my hands on in the 1990s. Its a simple fun series about some interesting characters. It also features some older heroes acting as teachers so you can have classic Marvel elements included from time to time (Quicksilver is an instructor, so his pop Magneto shows up one ish. My favorite part of this year was the weight they put on killing. One student, Mettle, has to kill an enemy during battle and its a plot line that carries on for the majority of the year as he struggles to deal with his actions.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (Creators: Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli)

While the media tried to turn this into a surface level “Spider-man Iz a Blacks Spanish Person!!! OMGZ” story, they ignored the fact that it was also a classic origin story. This was the perfect move to make the alt-verse Ultimate Spider-Man his own character and not have to simply be a parallel to the standard universe. The art and story here is perfect and feels fresh. This is the story you could hand to a kid and immediately have him hooked the way kids got hooked on Spidey back in the early 60s.

Wolverine & The X-Men (Creators: Jason Aaron, Chris Bachalo)

Speaking of fun, Jason Aaron, who I associated with darker work, has produced the most fun X-Men comic I have read in ages. Wolverine has split the X-Men proper and left their San Francisco island to re-start the Westchester School. Following him are Beast, Kitty Pryde, and Iceman as headmasters to a cast of adolescent mutants. The series is chock full of crazy ideas and it makes you groan when you come to the end of an issue, wanting to desperately get the next one in your hands.

Locke and Key (Creators: Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez)

After Lost ended was despondent about what the next television series would be that evoked that same sense of mystery and questioning. Little did I know it would come in the form of a comic book series. Locke and Key is the story of a family’s dark secrets and house where a cache of keys each possess a magical effect. Looming over the family is a dark figure from the past who knows all the keys and how to manipulate them to achieve its ends, and is happy to kill whom ever gets in his way. One of the most exciting and intriguing comics published today.

Uncanny X-Force (Creators: Rick Remender, Jerome Opena, Robbi Rodriguez)

I never thought an X-title, much less an X-Force comic would top my favorites of the year list. Rick Remender, the mad bastard who came up with a Frankenstein-ed version of The Punisher last year,  managed to take decades of convoluted and difficult continuity and turn it into an epic saga that even a novice comic reader could read and enjoy. The culmination of Remender’s story focused on the tragic Archangel was the first comic I have read in years that made me emotional. He gives a perfect  superhero death scene that doesn’t go for crass shock and focuses on poignancy instead.

Watch Instantly Now!

Here are some great new films streaming on Netflix currently that you should check out.

The Trip (2010, dir. Michael Winterbottom) – Coogan and Brydon travel Northern England eating and doing impressions

The Last Exorcism (2010, dir. Daniel Stamm) – one of the few found footage horror films that isn’t completely terrible

Hell House (2001) – Docu about a church’s Halloween time religious fear based haunted house

A Town Called Panic (2009) – Bizarre French stop motion animated comedy

Nursery University (2008) – Docu about the ultra competitive preschool industry in NYC

Happy Go Lucky (2008) – Brit Mike Leigh’s character study of an unendingly exuberant young woman

Midnight Cowboy (1969) – Classic film starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman