Lucy

Lucy - Dir. Luc Besson (2014)

Say what you will about Luc Besson, but he's one of the few filmmakers who has regularly showcased strong female protagonists. From a waifish Natalie Portman in The Professional to Anne Paurillaud's street urchin turned assassin in La Femme Nikita to the genetically superior Leeloo in The Fifth Element, Besson has a strong track record even if he's become a one man factory churning out cinematic junk food. His latest work stars Scarlett Johansson, who has become a bankable action heroine thanks to her portrayal of Marvel's Black Widow. Interestingly enough, Marvel has yet to capitalize on her popularity by giving the Widow her own solo picture. Other studios aren't as hesitant, DreamWorks has snatched ScarJo up to headline their live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell while the box office success of Lucy further cemented her star status.

Besson has so much fun with the concept of Lucy that it doesn't matter to him in the slightest that it's built on a complete fallacy. His screenplay hinges entirely on the myth that human beings only use ten percent of their brain. Ten percent is about all you need to enjoy this one.

Johansson is the eponymous Lucy, a gorgeous American studying abroad in Taipei, Taiwan. Her sleazy boyfriend ropes her into delivering a suitcase to a Korean gangster by the name of Mr. Jang (Choi Min-sik). Next thing you know, the boyfriend is dead and Lucy is forced to become a drug mule. The suitcase contained pouches of an experimental drug called CPH4, one of which is sewn into her stomach. If that weren't enough, a particularly volatile henchman repeatedly kicks Lucy in the gut causing the drugs to leak into her body.

Rather than overdose, Lucy gains increased intelligence and enhanced reflexes, which allow her to quickly dispatch her captors. As she accesses more of her higher brain functions, Lucy gains further abilities including telekinesis, telepathy, and the power to travel through time and space. She has no qualms in shooting a surgery patient because he wouldn't have survived anyway. Lucy also needs to inject the rest of the CPH4 as her body begins to lose molecular cohesion.

Considering how ludicrous Lucy gets, it makes absolute sense for Besson to cast Morgan Freeman as Professor Exposition. Okay, his character's actual name is Samuel Norman, but his sole purpose of being is to explain Besson's shaky science with some semblance of credibility. Sometimes that means positing the theory that dolphins access more of their brains to gain the ability of sonar. Also along for the ride is Amr Waked as a French police officer assisting Lucy in rounding up the drug dealers. There's not much to his character though it's cool to note Waked got the call from Besson while he was hip deep in the Egyptian protests of 2013. The ethnically diverse ensemble is complete by the always entertaining Choi Min-sik, best known for his intense performance in Park Chan-wook's Oldboy.

The role of Lucy suits Johansson well and it's one that is a wild departure from her more critically acclaimed turn in Under the Skin. Although both are steeped in science fiction, Under the Skin is about an alien trying to understand humanity while Lucy is about a woman slowly losing her humanity as she evolves. Besson helpfully keeps track of Lucy's power with intermittent percentages. Perhaps, an energy meter out of a Nintendo game would have been more visually interesting. Either way, the film drops any dramatic tension as Lucy edges closer to omnipotence. When she can render a roomful of men unconscious with a wave of her hand, what danger do a bunch of mobsters with machine guns pose?

Bonkers is the best way to describe Lucy, a movie that goes from shootouts and car chases to a wacky amalgamation of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Akira. Throw in a healthy dose of Luc Besson's pseudo-philosophy an hour and a half of dumb, Euro-trash fun.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

Under the Skin

Under the Skin – Dir. Jonathan Glazer (2014)

Jonathan Glazer made a name for himself directing commercials and music videos for bands like Radiohead and Jamiroquai. His video for "Virtual Insanity" earned four MTV Video Music Awards. His feature-length debut was 2000's Sexy Beast, a remarkable crime film dominated by an award winning performance from Ben Kingsley. His follow-up, Birth, met with mixed reviews and even received boos at the Venice Film Festival. Almost a decade later, Glazer has finally released his third picture, Under the Skin, a minimalistic sci-fi flick with Scarlett Johansson in the lead.

As a member of the Avengers, Johansson is the sultry Black Widow, but in Under the Skin, she plays a different sort of black widow. She is an unnamed alien who has taken human form. She trawls the streets of Glasgow, Scotland luring men into her van. These unsuspecting males are so enamored by this otherworldly beauty that they don't sense anything amiss. Not even when they are taken to a room with jet black walls and they sink into a viscous liquid. What happens next is quite horrifying.

Under the Skin is loosely based on a novel by Michel Faber. The source material was a satire and the irony of the human race treated as cattle for an alien species was emphasized. For the film version, Glazer scrapped away any trace of humor for an eerie story with an air of mystery. Glazer wisely avoids delving into the origins of the extraterrestrials. There is no voiceover narration or internal monologues to spell out every emotion or motivation. Exactly why they collect the humans is never explained, but it's clear they view us as nothing more than hogs to be led to the slaughter. This becomes particularly clear in a chilling sequence in which a crying baby is left alone on a beach, completely ignored by Johansson and her male handler (professional motorcyclist Jeremy McWilliams).

The country of Scotland is equally portrayed as equally otherworldly, a realm of perpetually gray skies and inhabitants with indiscernible accents. The gloomy landscape is effectively scored by Mica Levi who utilizes a recurring theme of creepy and screeching violin strings.

Johansson might not seem like it, but she is perfectly cast as the seductress from outer space. However, this isn't a 1950's drive-in movie. She doesn't vamp it up and though there are a handful of nude scenes, there's nothing sexy or erotic about them. Through her character, Glazer explores the hot button topics of gender politics, sexual identity, and body image.

One of the reasons for the long gap between films was Glazer's need to wait for technology to provide hidden cameras of the highest quality. Clad in a fur coat and black wig, Johansson would drive through Glasgow picking up random pedestrians. Many of these men had no idea they were the woman twice named "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Esquire. Glazer had them and other non-actors sign agreements to appear in the movie. Let's face it; if a man attempted to flirt with unsuspecting women while behind the wheel of a serial killer van, it would not end well. There would be flashes of Silence of the Lambs, followed by frantic calls to the police. Yet, men seem to have no problem hopping into the van with Johansson, regardless of the horrific fate awaiting them.

Make no mistake; Johansson won't be confused with Natasha Henstridge in Species. There's nothing overtly sexual about her character nor is there any malice in her actions. She is simply performing a duty that seems necessary for the survival of her kind. Yet, there is a prevailing discomfort she feels while trapped within her gooey flesh. She never quite grows accustomed to her new body and many people will probably sympathize. Of course, she'll eventually start to question her question her purpose as the pangs of human emotions seep through. The turning point comes when she encounters a shy, young man with facial disfigurements, played by Adam Pearson who suffers from neurofibromatosis.

Many reviews have brought up Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in comparison to Under the Skin. However, I'd liken Glazer's picture to Nicholas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth on a shoestring budget. Glazer has essentially crafted a B-movie with haunting, arthouse aesthetics. Under the Skin is easily one of the best films of 2014.

Rating: **** (*****) 

Chef

Chef - Dir. Jon Favreau (2014)

Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is the head chef of a trendy bistro in Venice Beach and things are looking up for him. He's about unveil a brand new menu to herald the arrival of renowned food critic Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt, whose brother, Adam, is a food critic for New York magazine), the blogger who raved about Casper's work a decade ago. Alas, the restaurant's owner Riva (Dustin Hoffman) demands Casper stick to the regular menu, which includes caviar-topped egg and a chocolate lava cake. It backfires as Michel lambasts the stale food and manages to insult Casper's weight, "…he must be eating all the food sent back to the kitchen."

Casper storms into the restaurant when Michel returns and launches into a heated tirade that is captured by numerous cell phones and uploaded to YouTube. He becomes persona non grata in the LA food scene just as he becomes an internet sensation. Looking for a fresh start, Casper reluctantly accompanies his ex-wife, Inez (Sofia Vergara), and son, Percy (EmJay Anthony), on a trip to Miami. Once there, he purchases a decrepit food truck and turns it into the snazzy El Jefe, serving up cubanos and arroz con pollo. This new venture reinvigorates Chef Casper's passion for cooking as well as repairing his strained relationship with Percy as they make the cross-country trip back to the west coast.

The plot of Chef draws immediate parallels to Jon Favreau's own career as a filmmaker. He made a splash as the writer and producer of Swingers before following it up with his directorial debut Made. Since then, his profile in commercial films has grown with Elf and the runaway success of Iron Man, which set the foundation for Marvel's cinematic universe. However, it was clear Favreau was not the primary decision maker anymore for Iron Man 2 and Cowboys & Aliens met with tepid reactions from audiences and critics alike. With Chef, Favreau has returned to his indie roots and created a comedy/drama driven by rich characters rather than expensive CGI.

At the heart of Chef is the relationship between father and son, the latter of whom is played without a hint of precociousness by EmJay Anthony. To Favreau's credit, he doesn't go the easy route by painting Casper as an insensitive prick. He's just a workaholic and a little oblivious from time to time. Watching the two together is just one of the joys of Chef, along with Casper's interactions with other characters, such as Bobby Cannavale and John Leguizamo as two of his kitchen comrades or Scarlett Johansson in a small role as a comely hostess. Sofia Vergera gives a more natural performance as compared to the over-the-top antics we usually see from her on Modern Family. Favreau also made sure to call in Iron Man for assistance as Robert Downey Jr. pops in for a cameo as Inez's eccentric ex-husband. He makes everyone who visits his office wear surgical booties over their shoes, including his leggy assistant's six-inch stilettos. Amy Sedaris should not be overlooked for her cameo as an overly tanned publicist trying to get Casper to sign on to a cheesy reality show ala Gordon Ramsay.

Of course, what would any self-respecting chef movie be without mouth-watering cuisine? Chef is food porn cinema right up there with Eat Drink Man Woman, Tampopo, and Big Night. Chef Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ fame not only served as a consultant, but tutored Favreau in gastronomical ways. The director lovingly preps, cooks, and plates numerous delicacies and these sequences are intricately shot and cut, even for something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich. You'll want to toss those stale movie theater concessions to the sticky floor when you watch Favreau slice into a juicy, rare steak or curl pasta around his fork. Chef brings the local flavor by shooting on location in Miami, New Orleans, and Austin with El Jefe tailoring their menu to each city. You'll get fresh beignets in the French Quarter and beef brisket for you fanatics of Texas barbecue.

Dustin Hoffman makes an excellent point when he tells Casper that people would riot at a Rolling Stones concert if Mick Jagger didn't sing "Satisfaction." While Favreau clearly enjoyed the freedom of independent film, he never lambastes the idea of playing it safe or sticking to the hits. Chef is comfort food, a pleasant, lightweight comedy. There are no high stakes and very little conflict, which isn't a bad thing though the ending is too pat and hews too closely to Ratatouille.

Rating: *** (*****)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Dirs. Joe & Anthony Russo (2014)

The merry Marvel movie making machine chugs along as Phase 2 is fully underway. Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World scored at the box office as they capitalized on the runaway success of The Avengers, the third highest grossing film of all time. If you had told a comic book fan decades ago that Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America would be at the center of a billion dollar franchise, they would probably think you were crazier than Deadpool. Despite being integral parts of the Marvel Universe for nearly half a century, they were considered B-list characters while Spider-Man and the X-Men were the publisher's big sellers. The landscape of the comic book and movie industries has changed.

Captain America: The First Avenger wasn't as critically praised as some of Marvel Studios' other releases, but it stood out in the deluge of superhero movies thanks to a period setting and a strong nostalgic feel courtesy of director Joe Johnston, who also helmed the underrated Rocketeer. Since then, Captain America (Chris Evans) has been thawed from his icy slumber, joined the Avengers, and emerged victorious against an alien invasion. In The Winter Soldier, he still finds himself acclimating to a modern world where black and white has merged into shades of gray. After rescuing a freighter ship from a band of pirates, Cap is disgusted to learn that the vessel was a SHIELD installation covertly spying on other nations. He's even less pleased when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his superior Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) drop the bombshell of a new operation that will launch additional Helicarriers into a connected network of surveillance and devastating weaponry.

Cap's concerns are validated when Fury is attacked by a masked mercenary known as The Winter Soldier, who is revealed to be best friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), left for dead after a raid on a HYDRA train. Barnes has been brainwashed by the secret organization that has infiltrated SHIELD at the highest levels. Hunted down by nearly every resource at SHIELD's disposal, Cap must rely on a skeleton crew of allies that includes Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), and pararescue trooper Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) aka The Falcon.

Marvel made a risky choice when they selected Joe and Anthony Russo as the directing team. The only substantial credits on the resume of the Brothers Russo were several episodes of Arrested Development and Community. Despite a background in sitcoms, the Russos excelled at creating a vibrant superhero film. Unfortunately, Winter Soldier suffers from an overreliance on shaky cam and rapid editing when it comes to hand to hand fight scenes. Luckily, the camera is allowed to breathe during many of the more elaborate set pieces and there are plenty of them. This time around, Captain America proves why he is a super-soldier during the opening prologue as he takes down a team of mercenaries before a showdown with MMA fighter Georges St. Pierre as Batroc the Leaper. Cap sends a man flying into the air with one kick while slinging his trademark shield off parts of the ship to knock out numerous opponents. He also fights a dozen HYDRA agents inside an elevator and single-handedly destroys a quinjet. Cap's supporting cast also gets their chance to shine with Black Widow kicking ass and the Falcon soaring through the sky with a winged jet pack. Mackie, by the way, is exceptionally charismatic.

Samuel L. Jackson gets more to do here than in past pictures, including an exhilarating car chase through the streets of Washington D.C. Even the use of technology has added to the cool factor with Fury driving an SUV with a heads-up display and automated driving system. There's also a face reveal that puts anything in Mission: Impossible to shame.

Make no mistake, Winter Soldier isn't a hollow series of explosions, there's a lot of heart and gravitas underneath all the CGI. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have imbued the film with the gritty nature of a 70's political thriller. The casting of Robert Redford from All the President's Men and 3 Days of the Condor will certainly attest to that. The geeks have truly won when you have Robert Redford in a Marvel movie saying, "Hail Hydra." Hot button topics like the war on terror, the use of drones, government surveillance of its citizens, and Edward Snowden have inspired the crux of the plot.

In the face of all this turmoil stands the unwavering integrity of Steve Rogers. It's refreshing to see a protagonist who is so earnest and filmmakers who do not shy away from those traits. This is a stark contrast to Warner Bros' attempt to darken the image of the Big Blue Boy Scout, Superman. Though there's an added dimension of humor to Cap through his banter with Widow and Falcon, Chris Evans has truly grown into the role of the super-soldier. The most heartbreaking moment where Cap visits the bedside of an elderly Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and you discover that she has Alzheimer's. Evans and Atwell are excellent in the scene and the CG used to age Atwell is utterly convincing, light years ahead of the shoddy make-up in Prometheus or J. Edgar. At the same time, producers have not forgotten this is a comic book movie. The story takes a turn for the bizarre when Cap and Widow find a hidden chamber containing an archaic computer system housing the consciousness of Arnim Zola (Toby Jones). Thanks to a little voice modulation and a cartoonish accent by Jones, the scene becomes a distinctive method to dump exposition.

Without a doubt, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the best film rolled out by Marvel in the second phase of their slate. It could easily be considered one of the best overall, right alongside Iron Man and The Avengers.

Rating: **** (*****)

The Avengers

The Avengers - Dir. Joss Whedon (2012)

"You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become a part of a bigger universe…I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.

Back in 2008, moviegoers patient enough to sit through the end credits of Iron Man heard those fateful words. Marvel Comics laid out the foundation for a shared cinematic universe that would bring to life some of their most iconic creations. Marvel was doing the unprecedented by launching their characters into their own franchises while building to one uber-franchise in The Avengers. Though it's been five years in the making, it seems like a comic book fans have been waiting a lifetime for Marvel's premiere super-team (sorry, X-Men) to finally arrive. Iron Man director Jon Favreau was given first dibs, but couldn't reconcile how to unite such disparate personalities. Luckily, Marvel found their man in Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. He's also had previous experience working for Marvel as the writer of Astonishing X-Men and The Runaways. Indeed, his geek credibility made him a popular choice with the notoriously picky fanbase.

Be warned, The Avengers may be difficult to follow if you haven't seen the previous films. It wastes no time in kicking off the plot.

When last we left him, the Norse god of mischief, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), plummeted into the never-ending abyss of space. Rescued by a mysterious cosmic puppet master, Loki arrives on Earth seeking the Tesseract. With it, he hopes to open a portal to transport an alien race known as the Chitauri to conquer the world. SHIELD Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) gathers together the only force capable of stopping him, the Avengers, comprised of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Loki's job may be easier than he imagined since none of the heroes can get along.

The Avengers is exactly the type of widescreen action expected from a big-budget summer blockbuster.  Fanboys will drool at the chance to watch Iron Man clash with Thor, the SHIELD Helicarrier lifting into the air, and the Hulk attempting (and failing) to lift Mjolnir. The third act of the film features a spectacular battle as alien invaders lay waste to midtown Manhattan. While the idea of extraterrestrials flooding through a portal into a crowded city is reminiscent of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Whedon is able to craft an exciting action sequences in a way Michael Bay never will. It's not just visual noise and empty spectacle, but a thrilling series of mini-battles. Thor and Cap fighting back-to-back as hammer and shield fly back and forth. Iron Man and Cap tag teaming against the Chitauri with the Armored Avenger bouncing his repulsor rays off the Sentinel of Liberty's shield. Whedon even breaks out a tracking shot done in one uninterrupted take that rivals the intro from Serenity. The camera glides through the air and up the side of a skyscraper as it follows each of the Avengers in their struggles. Most importantly, Whedon makes sure you are emotionally invested in every character.

The majority of superhero films make the mistake of bogging down the narrative with too many characters and The Avengers could have fallen into that habit. But, Whedon is no stranger to working with a large ensemble and nearly everyone brings something unique to the table. No doubt, Robert Downey Jr. is one of the highlights of The Avengers, his quick-witted demeanor is the perfect match for Whedon's jokey, pop culture infused sensibilities. As Tony Stark, Downey gets off some of the funniest lines from calling Thor "Point Break" to pointing out a SHIELD agent is secretly playing Galaga. Iron Man is the most well-known and most successful of the heroes and there was a danger that The Avengers would devolve into the Iron Man Show. Instead, Whedon finds the right balance and plays everyone else (especially the straight-laced Cap) against Stark's snarky demeanor. It's also nice to see Gwyneth Paltrow for a little while as Pepper Potts, especially when she's padding around Tony's penthouse barefoot and in jean shorts.

Chris Evans gives his best performance yet as Captain America. Much like Ryan Reynolds, Evans was known more as a good-looking guy able to pull off comedic roles, but lacking dramatic chops. Unlike Reynolds' flat turn as Green Lantern, Evans gives Cap the pathos of a man, who has lost his family and friends after spending seventy years on ice. He possesses a commanding presence that makes you believe he can bark orders at his teammates and they will follow without question. Cap really is the heart of the film. 

Mark Ruffalo takes over the role of Bruce Banner from Edward Norton. Ruffalo is credited by many critics and fans as giving the best interpretation of Hulk/Banner yet and it's hard to disagree. Here, Banner isn't on a quixotic quest to find a cure, but has embraced a fatalistic acceptance of his curse as the Hulk. Ruffalo is warmer and fuzzier than Norton and brings a dry wit. He shares some fantastic scenes with Downey. As Banner and Stark, they are the two smartest guys on the planet and you can tell they enjoy finally being in the company of an intellectual equal. The Hulk, meanwhile, is the unstoppable engine of destruction and the source of two great punchlines.

Whedon manages to make the Black Widow even more interesting here than her appearance in Iron Man 2. This shouldn't be surprising as Whedon is the master at writing strong female characters. He hints at an intriguing backstory to the former KGB assassin with only a handful of scenes. Unfortunately, her counterpart, Hawkeye, doesn't get anything meaty to do until the final act. Still, Whedon makes you believe a girl with a gun and a guy who shoots arrows belong on the team. Then, there's Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, who has been the glue uniting the film series. He's mostly been a run-of-the-mill man in black. In Avengers, Coulson is humanized as a giddy admirer of Captain America, gladly bragging about his complete set of vintage Cap trading cards. They are in near mint condition, except for some "slight foxing around the edges."

As Thor, Chris Hemsworth doesn't get as much screen time as his co-stars, but he does give another solid performance as the god of thunder. His "brother," Tom Hiddleston, has a lot more scenes and he chews them up every chance he gets. Loki isn't as nuanced here and he's given a lot of corny supervillain dialogue ("I am burdened with glorious purpose") Yet, Hiddleston is a good enough actor to make it work.

The Avengers isn't a perfect film. There are weaknesses if you search hard enough for them. Though he's revealed to be more of a shady manipulator, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury hasn't grown much since his initial cameo and Jackson is somewhat stiff. Marvel also introduces How I Met Your Mother's Cobie Smulders as Fury's second-in-command, Maria Hill. Unfortunately, she's not given much to do other than spout exposition or have exposition spouted to her. The opening prologue doesn't exemplify the greatness that would come later. It's a clunky beginning with some stiff dialogue. The alien menaces aren't the most compelling villains and are only there as cannon fodder for the Avengers. It's obvious they needed something for the good guys to fight without taking away too much screen time or too much demand from the audience. The score by Alan Silvestri is generic and slightly disappointing after his excellent work on Captain America: The First Avenger. The Avengers was going out for a memorable score in the vein of John Williams' theme for Superman or Danny Elfman's Batman theme.

In Joss, we trust. The Avengers isn't just the best Marvel movie made thus far. It's the best comic book ever and one of the best blockbusters in recent memory. Whedon brings the action and his trademark knack for lively dialogue and unexpected twists. Marvel has accomplished an incredible feat and I cannot wait for the next series of movies. Maybe then, we can finally hear the war cry of "Avengers assemble."

Rating: **** ½ (*****)

We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo - Dir. Cameron Crowe (2011)

The holidays are usually a great time for Hollywood to unleash schmaltzy, family friendly entertainment to the masses. This past Christmas was no different with the release of Steven Spielberg's War Horse and Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo. Both directors had been incognito for several years, but have returned with a vengeance.

Crowe wrote and directed one of his most critically acclaimed films in Almost Famous, based on his experiences as a teenage journalist for Rolling Stone. However, Vanilla Sky, his remake of Alejandro Amenabar's Open Your Eyes, met with mixed reactions and his rom-com Elizabethtown was a critical and commercial flop. Crowe's recent output includes a documentary on Pearl Jam and one on Elton John and this drama based on Benjamin Mee's memoirs, We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Changed Their Lives. A columnist for the Guardian, Mee, purchased the troubled Dartmoor Wildlife Park in 2006, which he ran with his wife (who later passed away from a brain tumor), brother, two children, and mother.

For the first time, Crowe isn't the sole credited writer. He rewrote the screenplay originally penned by Aline Brosh McKenna, who also adapted The Devil Wears Prada and I Don't Know How She Does It. Crowe transplants the story from foggy England to sunny Southern California and casts Matt Damon in the role of Benjamin Mee, a writer who has just lost his wife to cancer. Benjamin is left alone to care for his young daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), and teenage son, Dylan (Colin Ford). Dylan deals with the death of his mother by drawing gruesome pictures in art class and is eventually expelled for stealing.

Looking for a change, Benjamin quits his job and purchases an 18-acre farmhouse outside the city that actually houses a ramshackle zoo. The zoo is maintained by a skeleton crew led by the spunky Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) and is home to a variety of species including tigers, peacocks, a lion, and a depressed grizzly bear. Rosie predictably falls in love with the place while Benjamin sees it as a new adventure, but Dylan hates it there, despite a budding romance with Kelly's shy cousin Lily (Elle Fanning). Kelly isn't enthusiastic either, seeing the new owner's lack of knowledge and experience as a severe detriment. Benjamin has to mend his broken family and rally everyone together in order for the zoo to pass inspection. Can they pull it off or will the zoo be shut down forever?

If you have any doubts in your mind, then We Bought a Zoo must be the first movie you've ever seen. Crowe sticks to a well-worn formula with characters drawn in broad strokes. Rosie is precociously precocious and Dylan is the typical angry and brooding adolescent. The supporting characters are similarly thin with Angus Macfadyen as the angry Scotsman, John Michael Higgins as an unctuous zoo inspector, and Almost Famous lead Patrick Fugit as the guy with a monkey. Seriously, that's his character, he has a monkey.

Music has always played an important role in Crowe's films. Aside from a serene score by Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi, Crowe's soundtrack selections are way too obvious, just as obvious as a subplot involving a tiger with failing kidneys that's meant to echo Benjamin's spousal loss. Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More" comes on when Dylan gets kicked out of school while a rain soaked montage is set to "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" by Randy Newman. "Don't Be Shy" by Cat Stevens becomes the theme for the awkward and budding romance between Dylan and Lily, which comes close to replicating the iconic love stories of the 80's that Crowe became famous for.

We Bought a Zoo has some strong points. Matt Damon is infinitely likeable in the lead role, Elle Fanning gives another solid performance, and Thomas Haden Church injects some much needed wit as Benjamin's brother. You'll definitely get a warm and fuzzy feeling thanks to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (21 Grams, Brokeback Mountain), who gives the film a bright, sunny sheen. However, it doesn't feel like a Cameron Crowe movie. There are no "You had me at hello" or John Cusack holding up a boom box moments. In the end, We Bought a Zoo is an innocuous little picture that might have aired on the Disney Channel on a lazy weekend afternoon.

Rating: ** (*****)

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 - Dir. Jon Favreau (2010)


”If you make God bleed, people will cease to believe in him. There will be blood in the water and the sharks will come. All I have to do is sit here and watch as the world consumes you.”

Iron Man was never Marvel’s premiere superhero on the comic book page, but on the big screen he’s their centerpiece. 2008’s Iron Man was a rousing success and set the foundation for creating a singular cinematic universe where Marvel’s heroes exist side-by-side. As with the majority of sequels, Iron Man 2 ups the ante with more action, more FX, and more characters as Marvel Studios marches ever closer to the magnum opus of The Avengers.

Set a mere six months after the original film, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is riding high on a wave of newfound fame as Iron Man. He’s more than eager to feed our ultra-modern society’s hunger for celebrity. He stages the Stark Expo, an elaborate science fair, appearing in front of thousands of adoring fans and backed up by a bevy of gorgeous Ironette dancers. But, underneath that flippant, care-free demeanor, all is not well in the House of Stark.

The power core within Tony Stark’s chest is keeping his heart pumping, but is also poisoning his blood, the toxicity levels increasing with each usage of the Iron Man armor. A government subcommittee headed up by the officious Sen. Stern (Garry Shandling) demand that Stark turn over the Iron Man technology to them. Meanwhile, in Russia, a downtrodden physicist named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) builds his own miniaturized reactor feeding energy into a pair of tendrils. Turns out, Vanko’s father Anton helped Tony’s father, Howard (John Slattery), build the original Arc reactor before being deported back to Russia to live and die in abject poverty.

Vanko fails to kill Stark on a Monaco racetrack, but manages to attract the attention of rival industrialist Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). Hammer desperately wants to be Tony Stark, except he lacks the smarts. So he hires Vanko to build him an army of armored warriors and make Iron Man “look like an antique.” Taking hits on all sides, Tony shirks responsibility, handing the company over to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and finding solace at the bottom of a bottle. After Tony shows up drunk in full armor at his birthday party, his best friend Rhodey (Don Cheadle) steals the Mark II suit and turns it over to the military. Fanboys will giggle with glee as it’s pimped out with an arsenal of weapons into War Machine.

Bolstering this cavalcade of characters is Scarlett Johansson as Tony’s new personal assistant who is actually an undercover SHIELD agent. Fans will know her as the Black Widow. Scarlett busts out an array of MMA and Lucha Libre maneuvers while almost busting out of her skin-tight leather leotards. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury (who first appeared in a post-credits scene in the preceding film) gets a meatier role as does director Jon Favreau as Tony’s driver/bodyguard Happy Hogan.

Clark Gregg returns as SHIELD Agent Coulson as do Leslie Bibb as reporter Christine Everhart and Paul Bettany as the voice of Tony’s artificial intelligence, JARVIS. Kate Mara makes a one scene appearance as a federal marshal and not as Bethany Cabe as previously rumored. Plus, there’s the obligatory cameo by Stan Lee (one of the best yet).

An ensemble of A-list actors were gathered together for the Iron Man and Iron Man 2 is no different. Mickey Rourke already looks like a comic book character so casting him as Ivan Vanko (a combination of supervillains Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo) was a no-brainer. A tried and true method actor, Rourke researched his role by visiting a Russian gulag and speaking with gangsters and criminals. As Vanko, he’s covered in tattoos and sports a shit-eating grin full of gold teeth. He just may be the most bad-ass physicist to walk the planet. Yes, even more than Stephen Hawking.

Sam Rockwell, who was once in the running to play Tony Stark, is another welcome addition. A master of the art of the smarmy, Rockwell absolutely excels as the underhanded Hammer. He’s one of the few actors who can go tit-for-tat with both Downey and Rourke. Also thrown into the mix is Don Cheadle, replacing Terrence Howard amidst rumors of dissention on the set and an escalating salary. Cheadle fits seamlessly into the cast, confronting Tony at the senate hearing with the meta-textual line, ”I’m here now. Deal with it and move on.”

The excellent performances are not just due to a talented cast, but also to a talented director. As a writer/director/actor, Favreau cut his teeth on the independent film Swingers, which he starred in and wrote. Owning to those indie roots, he knows the importance of story and characters above all else. Favreau has also cited Robert Altman as an influence for giving his actors free reign to improvise during filming. The improvisation is never more evident than in the Howard Hawksian interplay between Tony and Pepper. That freedom has allowed Robert Downey Jr. to bring Tony Stark to life as a deep and fully realized character. He’s also kept Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux on their toes with both men having to rewrite the script on the fly throughout production. Theroux is also an actor turned writer. He made a memorable appearance playing a filmmaker in David Lynch’s mindbender Mulholland Drive. He also co-wrote Tropic Thunder which impressed Downey enough to bring him on to the sequel.

The use of such a multitude of actors and characters may be a little worrisome. The downfall of many superhero sequels (Spider-Man 3, X-Men: The Last Stand) is throwing in too many characters and too many plotlines. Thankfully, Iron Man 2 isn’t muddied up by an unwieldy amount of personalities. Each character and subplot is melded into the central narrative and converges towards the climax and resolution. They do not all get the appropriate screen time they deserve, but it works. Well, for the most part…

If Iron Man 2 has any faults, they lie in the saggy middle section. After a rousing racetrack battle between Iron Man and Vanko, the film pumps on the brakes for the second act. Tony alienates those around him while dealing with his illness and issues with his later father who appears in vintage film reels like a hybrid of Howard Hughes and Walt Disney. Whenever superhero sequels come along, those involve always mention how the second movie will be even better because they’ve gotten the origin story “out of the way.” However, Iron Man deftly weaved the origin story into the picture thus making the hero’s journey of Tony Stark making it every bit as important as the action scenes. With the origin out of the way, it seems the filmmakers were unclear as to where to go with Tony Stark. The second act of the sequel treads familiar territory as Tony works in his lab while his enemies scheme behind his back. It unfolds a little too much like the original film.

Favreau may not have the greatest command over action, but what he does here gets the job done. For a big-budget spectacle, Iron Man 2 is surprisingly light on action with only three major set pieces in the film. The opening fight on the racetrack is pulled off well and the final showdown is a wondrous multi-tiered battle with a picture perfect melding of practical and CG effects. The only drawbacks with each sequence are the anti-climactic endings. They build and build then fizzle out at the finish. Iron Man has yet to face a foe that is on equal footing. I suppose we have to wait for inevitable debut of arch-nemesis, the Mandarin, in Iron Man 3 to finally find someone who can really menace our hero.

Iron Man is the crown jewel of the Marvel movie oeuvre. Along with The Dark Knight, it made 2008 the pinnacle year for the comic book movie. If it is all downhill from there, Iron Man 2 makes sure it isn’t a steep drop, but a slight stumble. By the lofty standards of the original film, the sequel doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor. Iron Man 2 feels more like a stepping stone to further the Marvel’s movie universe (which I’ll spoil below) rather than a film to stand on its own. However, it’s still damned good entertainment. Damn, damn good entertainment.

Rating; *** ½

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Want to find out what all that talk about New Mexico meant? Stick around until after the credits for a glimpse of Mjolnir, the mighty hammer of Thor.

There are more Easter Eggs to be found in Iron Man 2. The most obvious is the appearance of an incomplete version of Captain America’s shield which could be glimpsed very briefly in the first film.

Look closely at the news report Tony Stark is watching in the SHIELD briefing room. It’s the same report from The Incredible Hulk following his clash with the army on the college campus. Even better, re-watch Hulk and you’ll notice the reporter mentions something about thunderstorms. Hmm…

The Spirit

The Spirit - Dir. Frank Miller (2008)


I wouldn´t presume to know what the late-Will Eisner would think of Frank Miller´s adaptation of his most renowned character. Suffice to say, I´d wager he might have the same befuddled expression on his face as I did as this bizarre concoction unfolded across the screen at my local multiplex.

Eisner is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of the comic book medium. The Spirit began life in 1940 as a Sunday newspaper comic strip. It was part-film noir, part-adventure with dark and lighthearted moments throughout its run. Eisner never dumbed down his creation, aiming for an adult audience. He revolutionized comic composition by freeing the strip from the confines of the typical panels used by other cartoonists. Eisner even coined the term ´graphic novel´ (used so frequently nowadays) to describe his semi-autobiographical book, A Contract with God.

Comic book fans know Frank Miller best for his magnum opus, The Dark Knight Returns, which many list as one of the greatest comics ever written and is mentioned in the same breath as the equally heralded Watchmen (which was released the same year). Miller´s work on Daredevil was largely the basis for the character´s much-maligned feature film while his Batman: Year One was certainly influential on Batman Begins. After a poor experience writing the scripts for Robocop sequels, Miller personally stayed away from Hollywood until Robert Rodriguez called to co-direct the big-screen adaptation of Sin City. Hot on its heels, Miller´s 300 was faithfully recreated by Watchmen director Zack Snyder and met with equal success. So it was only a matter of time before somebody gave Miller a chance to go solo.

Miller considered Eisner a friend and mentor. Conversations between the pair were published in Eisner/Miller, a comic book equivalent to Hitchcock/Truffaut. Miller took on the daunting task of bringing the Spirit to life mostly because he didn´t want somebody else ruining the character. A previous version filmed for television in 1987 was so bad it made Eisner´s "toes curl." From then on, Eisner was staunch in his refusal to allow anyone else to do it again. He rejected proposals to give the titular character superpowers or put him in superhero tights. Miller vowed to remain faithful and was even going to title the film, "Will Eisner´s The Spirit." I have no idea what changed his mind, but this is "Frank Miller´s The Spirit" all the way.

Our hero, played by Gabriel Macht, is Denny Colt, a beat cop who is gunned down, but somehow comes back to life. In the comics, Colt allowed everyone to still believe he was dead and adopted the alter-ego of the Spirit. He put on a blue three-piece suit, matching fedora, and a domino mask in order to fight crime in Central City. His origin remains mostly the same except he wears all black with a blood red tie. The Spirit´s arch-enemy is the Octopus, a mysterious crime boss whose face was never revealed in the strips. He was only recognized by a pair of purple gloves with yellow stripes. Here, he´s Samuel L. Jackson who wears a variety of outlandish outfits in his attempts to conquer the world. He constantly talks about eggs for some reason. Don´t ask. Oh, have I mentioned both men are invincible? Through some sort of cockamamie science project, the Spirit and the Octopus are rendered virtually indestructible. This is evidenced at the start of the film when the two engage in a one-on-one fistfight that´s usually saved for the climax. It isn´t just a fight, but a Looney Tunes horror show as the Spirit punches the Octopus in the face about two dozen times to no effect. They smash each other with several large objects including (literally) the kitchen sink. The battle culminates in the Octopus braining the Spirit with a toilet, then gleefully cackles, "C´mon, toilets are ALWAYS funny!"

This one fight largely sums up just about everything that is wrong with this picture. First off, any sort of suspense the audience might have is killed off because we know neither lead can be. Uh-oh, the Spirit just got pushed out a window. No worries, he can´t be killed. He just got stabbed with a sword? Riddled by a machine gun? The Spirit just shakes it off. Secondly, the fight runs far too long and the same can be said for the majority of the film. Some people love to hear the sound of their own voice. Frank Miller seems to be a man who loves to hear actors speak his lines. He packs in tons of dialogue leading to an overly talky film. Scenes and conversations go on and on with no point whatsoever. One minute, the Spirit is delivering a gruff, hard-boiled voice-over in the vein of Raymond Chandler, the next, he´s bantering with his colleagues in the style of a screwball comedy. Miller never seems to make up his mind whether he wants The Spirit to be a dark film noir, a frothy adventure or a campy comedy.

The film´s most infamous moment comes when the Spirit is captured and tied to a dentist´s chair, ready for torture. The Octopus emerges from behind a red curtain dressed in a Nazi officer´s uniform replete with monocle. There´s Nazi paraphernalia everywhere and the set looks like a commedia dell´arte remake of Triumph of the Will. It´s almost amusing in a WTF kind of way, but Miller drags the proceedings beyond the point of tolerance as the Octopus commits the cardinal super-villain sin. He monologues. Yes, this is the point in the movie where the bad guy reveals his origins and his detailed plans for world domination. I kept waiting for those folks from Monty Python and the Holy Grail to show up and scream, "Get on with it!" Ironically, the Spirit remarks that he's just plain "bored" by his nemesis. So am I, Spirit. So am I.

The crux of the story revolves around the Octopus´s endeavors to acquire the Blood of Herakles which will complete his transformation to immortality. By the time it´s all revealed, the audience has long since stopped caring. At least, there´s plenty of eye candy for the men. Miller has shown he has a strong predilection for sultry vixens and he makes sure there´s a wide assortment of beautiful ladies, each one falling head over heels for the masked protagonist. At the head of the class is Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), a world-class thief and the childhood sweetheart of the Spirit. However, the Spirit´s heart seems to belong to Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson), a doctor and daughter of the police commissioner (Dan Lauria). She´s the only good girl in the film. There´s Morgenstern (Stana Katic), an eager and earnest rookie cop. Working for the other side of the law are the Octopus´s girl Friday, Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), and a dagger throwing belly dancer assassin named Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega). Finally, Jaime King appears in several interludes as the spectral siren, Lorelei Rox.

The ensemble cast also includes an army of dim-witted clones (each played by Louis Lombardi) who serve as the Octopus´s henchmen. These goofs are like something out of Batman. I'm not talking about the Christopher Nolan version or the Tim Burton incarnation, but the cartoonish Adam West series. Remember when the Joker would show up with goons adorned in black shirts with names like ´Tee-Hee,´ ´Ha-Ha,´ and ´Ho-Ho´? Well, these guys have names like ´Phobos,´ ´Nervos,´ and even ´Huevos´ and ´Rancheros.´ I´d call them comic relief, except I didn´t find them to be funny at all.

Miller uses the same green screen techniques from Sin City to create a stylish world cut from the same cloth. He highlights bright colors, such as red, and sprinkles in silhouette shots. Taken individually, they look great, but there´s no flow from scene to scene, especially during action sequences. It looks like they strung together a bunch of comic book panels without bothering to create transitions in between.

The acting is all over the place. Some actors seem to take the film seriously while others just ham it up. Jackson chews through his scenes like a piranha and normally that´s entertaining enough, but (just like his director) he´s just far too excessive for his own good and working with such flat dialogue didn´t help. As the lead, Macht is far too bland to really be effective as the square-jawed hero. Sarah Paulson is the only actor in the entire movie that plays their character as an actual human being.

2008 was a big year for comic book films. They started out strong then fizzled out as time progressed. Iron Man and The Dark Knight were both faithful translations and did gangbusters at the box office. Wanted wasn't quite as faithful to the source material, but was still a fun action flick. By year´s end, fanboys only got lackluster efforts like Punisher: War Zone and The Spirit.

I would have been fine with Frank Miller turning The Spirit into a spin-off of Sin City. It wouldn't have bothered me too much if he decided to do the movie as a tongue-in-cheek camp cartoon. I just wished Miller would have made up his mind. The Spirit suffers from an inconsistent tone and a complete lack of direction. The film goes nowhere fast and comes off as a self-indulgent exercise of unrestrained lunacy.

Rating: * 1/2

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Dir. Woody Allen (2008)

Menage-a-trois of artsy fartsy Bohemian types.

Woody Allen riffs on material Pedro Almodovar covered long ago.

Dialogue is over-written even by Allen's standards. Feels forced and fakey.