Eye Candy #598 - "Act of Valor"

Act of Valor:  Some may try and dismiss this film as a blatant piece of pro-American propaganda, but I think that’s dismissive to a fault.  Yes, the film focuses on the exploits of Navy SEALs traveling around the world, chasing a terrorist from Colombia to Africa to Mexico.  And yes, the bulk of the main cast is actual serving SEALs, so the level of acting ability is sketchy at best and some of the dialogue is crap.  But as an action film (which we seem to get fewer and fewer of these days), it’s well-staged, believable, and fairly easy to follow (sure we get some POV and night vision stuff, but it’s never so jerky that you can’t follow the action).  In addition, the director manages to create a very effective sense of tension as the mission continues to build through the hunt for the terrorists.  Does it make the SEALs look invincible?  No, but when you put them up against drug gangs, backwoods militias, and the unarmed, there is a skill level apparent that the nonprofessionals don’t have.  And it certainly makes them look scary-good at what they do.  Compared to other SEAL-based films, like the Charlie Sheen classic (which I dearly love) or other various way-low-low-budget pictures, this one actually fares better.  Sure, you don’t get a ton of trite, catchy dialogue, but if that’s your hang-up, it’s a lame one.  They aren’t trying to make “Rambo” here.  And I have seen many, many, many movies that were less coherent, less technically sound, and less entertaining.  Woodchuck sez, “Worth a look.”

Eye Candy #597 - "The Avengers" (2012)

The Avengers (2012):  Director Joss Whedon delivers in this big budget, big thrill comic book fan wet dream that is still accessible to the general public.  Building on the ground laid by Marvel Studios films over the last 4 years, SHIELD’s Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) pulls together a team of superheroes, the “Avengers”, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), along with ace-in-the-hole The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to combat the machinations of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his otherworldly allies, the Chitauri.  The Tessaract, which has made appearances in two other Marvel films, is captured by Loki, which he uses to open a portal to allow the Chitauri to invade New York City and then the world.  It’s up to the Avengers to stop them all, while bantering wittily amongst themselves.  The support cast includes Stellan Skarsgard, Clark Gregg, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cobie Smulders. This is a very dynamic film that starts with a bang and doesn’t let up for over 2 hours, as the Avengers grate against one another other almost as much as they fight the bad guys, as they figure out what it is to be a team.  The dialogue is great, the action vignettes are well-staged, particularly the Hulk/Loki fight, and for the most part, everyone in the very large cast of leads is given time to shine (the exception being Hemsworth’s Thor, who isn’t given a whole lot to do), with Downey, Ruffalo, and Johansson acquitting themselves the best.  There are also enough easter eggs and comic nerdery (such as the helicarrier and the villain hinted in a post-credit scene) to keep the die-hards happy.   I really have no complaints about the film.  I’d rate this at the top of the Marvel movie list, above the first Iron Man flick and Spider-man 2.  It’s a different kind of flick than Nolan’s Batman movies, less psychological and cynical.  It is, all around, a very good picture.  Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”

Eye Candy #596 - "Prometheus"

Prometheus (2012):  Ridley Scott’s return to the franchise that helped put him on the map, a related prequel that asks as many questions as it answers as Scott endeavors to give us an idea of what the alien creatures really are and who is responsible for them (and in the process, invalidating some of what came before in various sequels and spin-offs).  Set over 80 years in the future, a group of researchers have discovered a series of pictographs, thousands of years old and collected from around the globe, showing a celestial grouping and oversized humanoids they dub “engineers” communing with normal humans.  Assuming this to be an invitation for contact with accompanying directions, the Weyland Corporation launches a multi-year expedition in a spaceship called Prometheus to a planet described in the ancient starchart.  Upon arriving, they discover several large artificial structures, full of foreboding, Lovecraft-inspired unpleasantness and ruined expectations, as the humans come face to face with their ‘gods’ and find them wanting.  In addition, they accidentally re-start what led to the engineers’ downfall with fatal, catastrophic results.   Good cast here with standouts Noomi Rapace as scientist Elizabeth Shaw, Idris Elba as starship captain Janek, and Michael Fassbender as the Peter-O’Toole-channeling android David.  Charlize Theron is here mostly in support (in a fairly wasted role) as ice queen Vickers.  The production design and execution are the real stars here – there is some beautiful, beautiful photography going on here, particularly with the outside shots.  Iceland never looked so good.  This feels like Scott’s attempt at creating his own “2001” and elevating the franchise beyond mere chase pictures that it devolved into.  It’s more sci-fi than horror, though there are some gruesome elements, with a definite final nod to the existing franchise (don’t expect to see aliens running around though).  Some have compared this to the HP Lovecraft story “At the Mountains of Madness” and plotwise, it is very similar in a general way – an advanced civilization losing control of their technology and weaponry.  This is the best of Ridley Scott’s recent efforts.  Woodchuck sez, “Me likey.”

Eye Candy #595 - "John Carter"

John Carter:  Being one of those people that actually read “A Princess of Mars” way before ever watching the movie, I was pleasantly surprised by this film and it’s not nearly as bad you have been led to believe.  John Carter is a Civil War veteran who is pursued into a cave by Apaches out in Arizona.  Inside he encounters a strange-looking man and, after a brief fight, he finds himself transported to Mars (it’s more like he is “copied”, with his original body remaining behind on earth in a death-like state).  Mars, instead of being a dead world devoid of life, has several cultures at war with one another, including red-skinned humans and green four-armed Tharks, who Carter is captured by shortly after arriving.  Dejah Thoris, a red-skinned princess (played by the lovely Lynn Collins, who really is deserving of more and better parts), is seeking to protect her people that live in the city of Helium from the military predations of the city-state of Zodanga, led by Sab Than (played by Dominic West).  Dejah and Carter find themselves on the road together – him to find a way back to Earth, her to save her people.  Hijinx ensue.  James Purefoy, Ciaran Hinds, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton, and the ubiquitous Mark Strong are here in support.  We get several well-staged action set pieces (CGI-heavy, but not too busy to follow), decent dialogue (the potential for cheesy dialogue is huge), and they flesh out the exposition fairly efficiently.  Simplistic?  Sure, but it never pretends otherwise.  The original story was sci-fi pulp all the way, with tinges of western and swashbuckler thrown in, and it’s not even great sci-fi pulp at that – some of the dialogue and plot points are silly and the main female character prances around mostly naked all the time.  So while it is considered a seminal classic, it is hardly a work of great depth and feeling.  Expecting the film to be so is just setting yourself up for failure and this is a better film than other recent pulp-derived films like “Green Hornet” and “The Shadow”.  It’s a good time-waster, well-produced, and certainly watchable.  This should have done better in theaters.  Woodchuck sez, “Worth a look.”