So a little while ago, the combination of constant heat advisories and crappy window air led me to take in a matinee of just about any movie, simply to escape the beastly weather. I didn't really care what movie it was, but there was one that had caught my eye based on it's cast alone. All I needed to know was that Jason Bateman of Arrested Development and Charlie Day of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia were two of the main characters to get my kiester in the seat. I figured between them and Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Colin Farrel, Jason Sudeikis, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, and even Steve Weibe of Fistful of Quarters fame, how could you go wrong?
You may have noticed that I rarely cover comedies on here. In fact, this might be the first straight comedy movie I've ever touched on. There are a couple of reasons, first being that I very rarely see comedies in the theater. I always end up inevitably let down by the theater experience when it comes to comedy, no matter how funny the movie is. I find myself wondering why a Will Farrel flick would need digital sound and a screen that huge as much as laughing at the jokes. The other reason I haven't talked about a comedy here is that, probably more than any other kind of movie, Comedy is highly subjective. What's Rolling-in-the-Aisle hilarious to some is eyerollingly lame to others. That said, Horrible Bosses is right up my Aisle.
The basic plot of the film involves three friends who are stuck in No-Win scenarios at their jobs. Nick (Bateman) is a dedicated wage slave who gets stiffed on a big promotion because his boss (Spacey) wants a bigger office. Kurt (Sudeikis) is the right hand man to the owner of a chemical company (Sutherland), until he dies of a sudden heart attack and his cokehead buffoon of a son (Farrel) takes over. Dale (Day) is a dental assistant and engaged to a beautiful woman, but he works for a sexually voracious dentist (Aniston) who is attempting to blackmail him into cheating with her. The three friends meet up at a bar after a particularly rough day, and in their drunken desperation, begin to concoct a scheme to eliminate the people ruining their lives. Permanently. After a chance meeting in a bar in the rough part of town, a former con named "Mother-Fucker" Jones (Foxx) opts out of taking care of their issue, but becomes their "Murder Consultant."
To say that the plot is dependant on the bosses being unbelievable charactures of what a bad boss might be is an understatement. However, it's easy to forgive the over the top nature of the targets in this film when the chemistry between the 3 leads gets going. Jason Bateman and Charlie Day play off each other excellently, and Jason Sudeikis rounds out the crew nicely, particularly when Dale complains about his bosses sexual advances and Kurt comments on how his problem dosen't sound nearly as bad as his or Nick's. And while the bosses are ridiculous, it bears mentioning that they play it so well that it works pretty hilariously well. Kevin Spacey plays the self centered jealous corporate fat cat to a T, Colin Farrel is a convincing drug addled comb-over sporting douche-bag, and perhaps most amazing of all, I actually thought Jennifer Aniston as a sexual deviant and manipulative man-eater was a highlight of the film. And that's saying something, since I normally don't think much of her one way or the other. Jamie Foxx split my sides every time he was on screen, like the days of In Living Color had come again.
As is to be expected in this kind of over the top comedy, the ending of the film is fairly ludicrous, but by the time you get to it, if you are like me, you will be laughing too hard to analyze it. In closing, if you want a good gut laugh and don't mind crude humor or language with a dark streak a mile wide definitely check out Horrible Bosses.
8 "Throw Momma From the Train" References out of 10
So here we are, the series of Avengers Origin films is complete, and we have plenty of time to wait and contemplate the merits of them before the Avengers Film itself arrives next May. The Iron Man films are well documented successes, Thor surprised a lot of people and confirmed my belief that a well done film about the character would be packed with awesome, but how has Cap's film turned out? Did the future leader of (arguably) the Marvel Universes Premier Super Hero team have as strong a showing as his counterparts? For the most part, I have to say yes.
Set primarily in the early 1940's, Captain America is the story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a young man of diminutive stature who desperately wants to enlist in the US Army at the outset of World War II. Due to his size and history of illness, he is turned down several times, as he falsifies his identity to try over and over to be accepted. His determination to do his part attracts the attention of a Scientist (Stanley Tucci) who offers him a chance to join the army if he participates in testing his Super Soldier Serum. Rogers agrees and after being put through his paces by a highly doubtful Colonel (Tommy Lee Jones), he undergoes the Super Soldier procedure, which remakes him into a Super-Human, the height of human potential. Even as the procedure proves successful, a spy in the midst of the government officials gathered to witness it detonates a bomb, shoots the Scientist, and escapes with a vial of the Super Soldier Serum. However, Rogers chases the man on foot and apprehends him, in spite of the fact that he flees via a stolen taxi and a submarine. As the spy crunches his Cyanide Suicide tooth (Classic!), he taunts Rogers that two will rise to take his place, and says "Hail Hydra!" in his death throes. As the film progresses, Rogers becomes a house hold name selling war bonds as Captain America, and is ridiculed by front line troops when he is sent to Italy, but gains their respect when he single-handedly rescues an entire unit of captured soldiers, including his old friend Bucky. The film culminates in an epic showdown with the Hydra forces and a one on one fight with their leader, the Super Soldier prototype, Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).
Overall, I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the story, particularly how they incorporated Captain America's classic Golden Age origin into the film in the form of his USO stage show, to hilarious effect. Also of note, Red Skull is very well fleshed out (pun intended) and he makes a delightfully wicked foil to Cap's selfless heroism. I also really enjoyed the treatment of tertiary characters, Bucky and "Dum Dum" Doogan, for example. The inclusion of Howard Stark, Iron Man's grandfather, could have been a simple Cameo, but they made him a very important character, flying Cap in on his first combat mission and designing his suit and, perhaps most importantly, the iconic Vibranium Shield. Cap's relationship with Agent Peggy Carter, while obviously meant to be the romantic inspiration for Cap, as he is seen with her picture several times, is refreshingly conservative in a world of super heroes always getting the girl, and adds another layer to the character and the ending of the film. The only problem I had with the story was, ironically, with Cap himself. While they do a lot to show how he progresses from being unsure of his new abilities to kicking copious amounts of ass and leading an elite group of soldiers hand picked to fight Hydra, I couldn't shake the feeling that his leadership abilities that will make him the obvious choice to lead the Avengers one day were not very well demonstrated. Maybe that's just me though.
Another note, and one I pointed out to my cousin Daniel during the movie, was that they managed to make Captain America's universe less believable than Thor's. While it must be said that the inclusion of some Real-World future tech vehicles and weapons that the Germans were actually working on during WWII lent believability to the concept of Hydra being Hitler's "Deep Science" division, some of the other devices have to be described as Ultra Tech by 1940's standards. It lent a futuristic feel to some of the later combat scenes, which seems odd for a movie set in the past. And while energy weapons could be explained away by the fact that Red Skull was harnessing power from the same Cube we see in the Stinger at the end of Thor (Dun Dun Dun!), powered armor, Tanks the size of houses, and a massive Flying Wing took me out of the movie a bit.
That said, the visual effects were extremely impressive and well implemented. Of particular note was the effects used to make Cap look like a scrawny weakling before the Super Soldier Procedure. Costuming is excellent, from the period outfits, Cap's hilariously authentic comic book outfit, or his actual combat outfit, not to mention Red Skull and his varying and menacing outfits. Sound is well done, and the plethora of period accurate propaganda songs is delightful. As far as direction goes, Joe Johnston does a fine job of finding great framing for scenes. There are not really any of the "What the Hell is Happening, all I can see is Camera Shaking" fight scenes that drive me bonkers, and overall, the action is entertaining and never too over the top (For a Superhero that is). Oddly enough, one of the most effective scenes is actually the end credits, which is an animated montage of WWII Propaganda posters. And if anyone left the theater before the end of the credits, big mistake. Not only do we see a bit of Cap and Nick Fury, but also a teaser trailer for the Avengers film which was downright awesome.
All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed Captain America, it was a perfect Penultimate Avengers movie. And while I have to admit that I enjoyed Thor a bit more personally, it really is an excellent film and worthy of the franchise.
Okay, my procrastination is reaching critical mass here, I'm now writing a review for a film I saw weeks ago. So if I get some details muddled, forgive me.
Any Old How, Green Lantern. It's another in a long line of Summer Superhero movies, including notable releases this year such as Thor and X Men First Class. Green Lantern is a long on storied DC Comics series beloved by fans. And while several humans (and countless aliens) have donned the mantle of the titular character, Hal Jordan is probably the best known. I've never personally kept up on Green Lantern lore (I'm kindof a Marvel / Manga guy) and in all honesty, I had to look up the character on the interwebs to remind myself what his powers were when I heard a movie was in the works way back when. Still, the previews looked pretty solid and I'm a fan of Ryan Reynolds (He was the only good thing about the Wolverine movie, for example), so I determined to give it a shot, even after a few professional reviewers were less than kind to it.
The film features Hal Jordan, a Jet Fighter Test Pilot who encounters a crashed alien spaceship. The dying pilot of the alien craft bequeaths a Green Ring and Lantern to Hal, saying that he has been chosen as his replacement.When a confused Hal puts on the ring and touches it to the lantern, he is suddenly clothed in the Garb of the Green Lantern Corps, an interstellar police organization that has agents that wield the Green Power of Courage as a weapon, manifesting green matter in the form of whatever the Lantern can imagine.. Even as Hal is adjusting to his new outfit, he is brought back to planet Oa, the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, where he begins training to be the Lantern assigned to Earth's galactic sector. Meanwhile, on Earth, the dead Lantern's body is being studied by a socially inept acquaintance of Hal's who becomes infected by the force that killed the alien, a super-being known as Parallax, which once devastated the galaxy at large by spreading the Yellow power of Fear.
Green Lantern is a Film that tries to get the Batman Begins mix. That is to say, it tries to please the hardcore fans, educate the novices, and set up a sequel that will move the series forward. Unfortunately, it fails to hit any of these points masterfully, and in fact fails to subtly hint at anything, sequels included.
If there is one way that the problems with the film could be fixed, I would say that it is Editing. Visually speaking, there is nothing wrong with the effects or casting, the acting is generally good, and the sound is well done. However, the pacing of the movie is badly in need to tweaking. The fact is that there are some scenes that hold the audiences hand too much, and there are others that force the audience to fill in imperceptible gaps.
For example, before any of what I spoke of in the plot synopsis up there occurs, we see Hal Jordan wake up late and ditch the lady in his bed, go to his nephew's birthday party, Pilot a Raptor Fighter in a dogfight with a computer controlled drone fighter, defeating the unbeatable drone fighter, freezing up when his risky maneuvers cause him to lose control of the fighter (an inexplicably long scene where he remembers his dad dying in an explosion after a failed test flight of his own), a lengthy debriefing with his superiors who berate him for his risky maneuvers and losing his jet in a test exercise, and finally a lengthy argument with the Love Interest character which establishes in great detail that they have known each other for years, had a rocky romantic past, and that her father designed the drone ship. As well as scenes of the Alien Lantern fighting and fleeing from Parallax and a few pointless scenes that incorporate the pointlessly un-funny comic relief character interspersed throughout. Most of these scenes needlessly hammer home points that were made either by the first line of several lines of dialogue or by simple inference. These scenes could have easily been tightened up in editing to improve the pacing and shorten the amount of time before Hal becomes a Lantern.
On the other hand, there was a scene during the birthday party that ends with Hal carelessly launching a Hot Wheels onto a loop track and off a ramp. It's literally a two second blip of film. No comment on how much he loved Hot Wheels when he was a kid or even an emotional response to seeing or launching the car. He simply presses the button and calmly leaves the shot. At the time, I thought "What was the point of that?" and promptly forgot it ever happened. It wasn't until I started contemplating this review that I realized that this momentary flash was meant to be the inspiration for one of the biggest action/special effects set pieces in the film, in which Hal creates a Life Size green Hot Rod and a track for it to run on out of Green energy. He created the first thing he could think of to avert disaster, but I could not for the life of me figure out why it was a car on a track. Couldn't they have included a momentary flash of the scene from earlier that inspired it to make sure the connection struck home? Like I said, Too Much or Too Little story telling, depending on the scene. Why do we spend so much time examining the Alien Corpse which stops mattering moments later, but never really get a solid explanation of what's happening to Space Mumps Bad Guy's mind?
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things done right in this film as well. Tension between Hal and Space Mumps is pretty well established, for example. Also, there is one great scene that really stands out as an example of comics movies not being limited by the rules of comics themselves. After a painfully unfunny scene with the so-called comic relief best friend character ends with the suggestion that Heroes "Get the Girl", Hal flies to the love interest's apartment and lands on her balcony in his Lantern suit, complete with "Identity Hiding" Eye Mask. It has oft been pointed out how ludicrous it is to assume a secret identity can be maintained with the application of a tiny mask that covers about 10% of the face. The more egregious example is the Clark Kent Glasses worn by Stupor Man, but I could write a whole paper on why Stupor Man sucks. When Love Interest (Seriously, does her name matter?) see's him, for a few long moments she looks at him as if she has no clue who this crazy person in a Green and Black body suit on her balcony is. I think I may have actually said "You have got to be Shitting me." for all the theater to hear when it looked as thought the old Eye Mask gambit had struck again. It would have been impossible to accept that she wouldn't recognize a childhood friend and love interest because he happened to be wearing a mask that Zorro would refuse to wear because it was too dainty. But as soon as I said it, her eyes flashed wide and she shouted "Hal?!" then proceeded to berate him for scaring her. Meanwhile, I proceeded to say "Oh thank god, she can't have been that stupid." It is really a great example, in my book, of what fans of comics and their related media are really looking for. Not the "It dosen't have to make sense, it's just a stupid comic" angle of Golden Age comics, or the "Gritty reality" of the Dark Age comics of the 90s, but the Silver Age feel. Believable People with Unbelievable powers in a believable modern world.
Overall, Green Lanterns faults are mostly on the technical side, some better direction and editing would have resolved most of the nagging issues, and a slightly better script would have fixed the rest. It's not perfect, but it far from terrible. It's one of the few movies I've seen in 3D that didn't make me want to take the glasses off 5 minutes in, and in the end it's a fun movie.
6 Obvious Future Badguys out of 10
Seriously, the stinger at the end of the film was pointless because A) Lantern Fans knew it was coming before the first teaser trailer was over and B) His Name/motivations/etc were a dead giveaway to everyone else.
