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Captain America: The Real Hero Lies Beneath the Mask

If I just act like nothing is blowing up behind me, maybe it will all go away.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Yes, this is yet another comic book superhero movie. Yes, this is another Marvel comic big-budget franchise trying to get off the ground. You might start to wonder why you should bother seeing any of these if a new one just hits the screens one month later. First off, it definitely helps to be a comic book fan from the start, but beyond that, in terms of pure movie magic and box office trending, this newest chapter gets a little boost from being the last in a long line of films leading to a culminating epic fanboys have been frothing over for years now…The Avengers! But, I’ll dip more into that later, for now, let’s look at the throwback hero of the group who takes us back to a time when heroes were not only cheered for their strength, but also for their conduct.

Captain America: The First Avenger details the transformation of a skinny kid named Steve Rogers into the national icon (and medically-induced super-soldier) known as Captain America. Rogers is created into this new evolution of man in order to combat Hydra, the deep science/black arts division of the Nazi army, led by a ruthless tyrant named Johann Schmidt, who is more frighteningly referred to as The Red Skull (you know, cause his face fell off and such). Captain America must prove to the people who gave him his powers, and to himself, that he was the right man to do the job of saving the world from utter annihilation.

I had fairly muted expectations going into this movie, mainly because Captain America is essentially a retro-hero, a classic clean-cut good guy with no character flaws. He always does the right thing, or at least attempts to, no matter the cost to himself. It flies in the face of everything we have been seeing in terms of comic book heroes over the last decade. The grief and anger of Batman, the drunken power trips or Spider-man, the ego and pride of Thor; all these traits give the characters layers that assist in making them human, someone the audience can try to relate to. Captain America really doesn’t have any of those flaws, but here’s the surprise…they made it work anyway. The opening thirty minutes of the film we see Steve Rogers pre-magic-roid-juice, where he is a ninety-pound poster boy for the “Before” shot in workout ad campaigns. In those early scenes his struggle is how to find a way to match his frail muscles outside with his unbreakable drive inside. We find ourselves in the hopeful spot of routing for the little guy (and I mean really, really little, like me in high school) and those opening scenes help pull the crowd in, hopefully holding them there through what comes later.

Once we lose the physicality of the “before” picture and it’s replaced with superhuman “after” shot, it loses a bit of the charm. Chris Evans should take no blame for this, in fact I think he was cast perfectly. He held on nicely to the innocence of his smaller self and truthfully brought to life the heroic nature of those comics from the late 40′s and early 50′s. The real downfall was that he didn’t face any real obstacle after he got his new physical form. We never really felt he was ever in any real danger because he could basically accomplish anything that came to mind, no matter how insane.

On the topic of the shield, our iconic piece of comic book memorabilia, I was torn on it. I liked the design and the fact it could get scuffed up, dirtied and otherwise sullied, but I would have appreciated one scene where we got to see him learn to throw it. Within one scene of him picking it up for the first time, he was chucking it around like a world-class discuss champion, fully expecting it to return to him, instead of wondering how the hell that worked. The minor flaw sort of mirrors the bigger issue that the latter half of the movie was really just a long montage of Captain America jumping, swinging, shield tossing and otherwise being heroic (lots of it in slow motion). The heart fell out of it and the movie descended into flashy colors and catch phrases.

In terms of the cast, as I said before, Chris Evans did a hell of a job and I look forward to him building up the character even more, hopefully with more internal struggles in movies to come. Sadly gone after the first thirty minutes, Stanley Tucci was wonderful as Dr. Abraham Erskine , the scientist behind the super-serum, which made the man out of the molehill. Tucci worked in such charm and natural flavor into his German accent and characterizations, I really wish he could have stayed on screen much longer.

Getting back to the real buzz around this movie, the next film in line for Marvel Studios is The Avengers, the first time any studio in the recent decades has tried to tie together a handful of other movie franchises into one single film. The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury, Hawkeye (who Jeremy Renner cameoed as in Thor) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2) will all assemble on screen for the eagerly anticipated culmination of Marvel’s long term film plan. The genius inside is they are using all the original actors who made these roles so popular (with the exception of Hulk, who was played by Edward Norton in the franchise film and now replaced by Mark Ruffalo). For me, as a movie junkie, this is where the franchise will become something truly special. Just to see all those actors on screen playing off of each other is immediately worth the price of admission (and maybe a box of Raisinettes too).

The End of the Page recommendation: Captain America is a light-hearted throwback to the heroes of before, but the back half of the movie doesn’t hold up the charm and warmth of the opening. Matinee on the big screen could be valuable though, just for the special effects.

Thoughts? Are you looking forward to The Avengers?

Transformers – Dark of the Moon: Some Things Never Change

This was when they stopped asking Shia to bring his friends to Show-and-Tell at school.

Rating: 3 out of 10 (adult rating)

Rating: 8 out of 10 (12-Year Old rating)

I’m going to commit what to many will seem like film geek treason, I will now connect Michael Bay and Terrence Malick into one theory of filmmaking.

Yep, deal with it.

Malick and Bay share one important thing and that is a completely unabashed tunnelvision for the type of film they want, damn the naysayers, critics and crowds. They both make movies mainly for themselves and in truth, there is nothing wrong with that. As an audience member you need to know going in exactly what you are going to get. It is the only way to really enjoy anything that falls from the cameras of these two (and some other notables). With that said, let’s dive headlong into the metallic masterpiece of summertime popcorn, Transformers!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon continues the story of Sam Witwicky and his Autobot friends. While Sam struggles to gain a purpose in life outside of Decepticon attacks, the Autobots are off helping the government on secret missions. Then everything is torn apart by the discovery of the original Autobot escape ship, known as The Ark, and the captain of that ship, Sentinel Prime. He alone holds the key to technology that could either help reshape the Transformers home world or completely destroy ours. The Decepticons, completely aware of this discovery, make an immediate power play and the war is back, bigger than ever.

Kids buying the Transformer toys today only want one thing, huge robots in spectacular 3D slow motion destroying each other and every building in sight. From this narrow viewpoint, Bay delivers in bulk. The highway fight sequence brought back memories of other high-speed terror scenes like in Matrix Reloaded and The Island (maybe a little too reminiscent of that last one according to some eagle eyed movie nerds). Since Bay actually filmed these scenes in the latest and greatest 3D technology, it was admittedly pretty amazing to watch. In other scenes, some of the CGI was so intensely crisp that it actually started popping too far from the live footage, making it stand out, which ruins a little of the illusion.

So the special effects is where it was at. Big robots, big explosions, big buildings falling down. Those were the high points.

The low points were pretty much everything else.

Standing in the center of all the toys-on-roids insanity is Shia LaBeouf, who in my opinion is a really good actor banking inside really bad movies. I can’t fault him for taking parts in some of the biggest franchises in movie history (Transformers and Indiana Jones) because the exposure and paycheck are nearly impossible to pass up, but in terms of showing his skills as an actor, those hefty titles have done him nothing but a painful disservice. He made his big splash on the scene in the Disney TV show Even Stevens and then on the big screen in the Rear Window update, Disturbia. Many people also don’t remember one of my personal favorite performances in the Project Greenlight-sponsored film, The Battle of Shaker Heights. Shia has the chops, but gets surrounded by weak emotional performances, both from CGI and real people. In this outing, Megan Fox‘s eye candy character was replaced by Victoria Secret’s model (and current Jason Statham girlfriend), Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Whiteley was an improvement in sense of acting ability, but the part was written levels below what Fox was given. The original love interest had layers, depth and some edge, while Whiteley was given virtually no background, no emotional outlet and nothing to do but stand there and be hot. Sure, the 12-year old in the audience doesn’t want or need more, but to them I say, “Go grab a Victoria Secret’s catalog from your parent’s bathroom and stay out of my movie.”

Beyond the magical pair of leads, Bay brings back the regular tough guys, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson, to keep on keeping on. They both do fine jobs and don’t try to make this more than it is. Coming in for the first time in the franchise is Frances McDormand, an Academy Award winner to class up the joint. While she was amusing and brought a little more skill to the screen, her part was borderline over-the-top, even in a movie with three story tall robots, because she had to balance out John Tuturro who drifts somewhere off to Hunter S. Thompson land. As if they weren’t enough, Bay decides to bring in an unusual amount of big name cameos, including John Malkovich (who does a decent job in his few scenes) and Ken Jeong (who seems to be acting in a completely different movie, possibly thinks he’s filming Hangover 3). I saved the best for last though, my personal favorite and the only person I was actually thrilled to see appear on screen, Alan Tudyk (who plays Tuturo’s assistant/bodyguard). Tudyk is a cult TV and film legend to his legions of fans spanning from the days of Firefly, Dollhouse and other projects not created by Joss Wheedon. Tudyk was the one person I actually cheered form when he magically appeared on screen.

I could go into a section now where I talk about the story, the plotlines, the connective tissue of the writing, but in reality, Bay didn’t really care and neither do the younger members of the crowd, so let’s just skip it.

The End of the Page recommendation: Transformers: Dark of the Moon starts slow, goes out with a bang and delivers surface entertainment for the middle school crowd.

Green Lantern: Shines Dimly Behind Reynold’s Charm

This suit is powered by sheer will (and a fanny pack of 9-volt batteries)

Rating: 5 out of 10

Every trend in the movies goes through the same motions. They come out of left field when no one thought it would be a viable idea, then instantly becoming the most watched genre in years, finally over-extending itself to the point of pure silver screen saturation and the profits nose dive off the celluloid cliff. You can usually mark the first movie going over the edge by how far it pushes the genre out beyond the norm. For fans of the comic book genre, even knowing that Iron Man 3, Captain America and The Avengers are still on their way, this weekends superhero offering gave many pause, wondering if this was one spandex’d crusader too many. Did the curtain begin to fall?

Nope. Not quite yet.

Green Lantern tells the story of Hal Jordan, a reckless flyboy who is chosen by a magical ring to protect his planet from destruction. Never one to follow through on anything, Jordan must struggle to discover the hero he never imagined was waiting inside.

I was going to start with some of the struggles and hardships that this story and script had to work through, but really, let’s get down to the green, glowing tacks here…Ryan Reynolds. He is not just playing a superhero, the man actually is one. No matter how bad the dialogue, no matter how convoluted the script, no matter what crazy situation you put him in, his charm and nearly flawless ease on screen allows him to raise that bar a little higher. I’m not saying that all these things were necessarily terrible here, but they could have been and Reynolds still would have found a way to make it work. Following his career since the Van Wilder days, Reynolds has never failed to enliven each and every project and provide at least one or two solid moments of wit and enjoyment on screen. For his generation of actors, I believe he is the closest they will get to George Clooney, a man who can truly balance comedy, action and drama all while looking like he was born to play that part.

Now that we have that out of the way, back to the problems. With all the comic book movies capturing the audiences recently, most are earth-bound or at least set mostly in an environment we can all easily recognize. Thor was the first in the new battalion of superhero flicks to test the waters of magical landscapes and far away universes and it succeeded fairly well. Without that preceding it, Green Lantern might have suffered more by spending so much time in outer space, but Thor built a bridge to that arena (and then busted it at the end of the movie…*in-joke*) so Green Lantern flew right over and pushed even farther out into the cosmos. Instead, the surrounding characters and subplots became the weakest links. Sadly the first half of the movie had to do so much of the heavy lifting: establishing the universe, literally, and giving some foundation for all these new and outlandish creatures, while still getting enough time to bring in their human counterparts back home. Peter Sarsgaard pulled out some decent angst and rage, but was never given enough time to really fuel the fire. Even worse was Blake Lively, who was given absolutely no room to breathe in a virtually lifeless character. Her introduction as a fellow fighter pilot was painfully unnecessary and forced her to try and work her way back into relevancy, which might have worked if given time, but she really wasn’t. As for the arch-villain CGI cloud creature, Parallax, the effects were impressive, but the story behind him felt flawed and unstable, so he never brought a whole lot of weight or tension to the scenes.

Overall, I still give this a five rating because it brings us back to those true summertime carefree flicks that didn’t try to give more than we bargained for. People who say this is a failure because it isn’t Dark Knight are making unfair and outlandish comparisons. Director Martin Campbell (who helmed two of the more successful recent Bond chapters, Goldeneye and Casino Royale) wasn’t going for grit and bones, he wanted light, fun and entertaining for the few moments he had you trapped in the theater. In that context, and with the effortless abilities of Ryan Reynolds, they achieved their goal, albeit one set far lower than what audiences may have envisioned.

The End of the Page recommendation: Green Lantern may hold a little more light for the comic book enthusiast, but for the mainstream moviegoer, this is only a mildly flickering flame, not a bright light of the summer.

The Tree of Life: Movie? Maybe. Art? Maybe. Pretentious? Absolutely.

It shows here that your flip-flop lines are good, but you will struggle with future high heels.

Rating: 1 out of 10

Many movies have gone down in history as pushing the envelope, changing the way critics and audiences perceive movie making as a whole. Citizen Kane, Psycho and A Clockwork Orange are only a few to raise the bar on how effective a film can be on a viewer. Sometimes those filmmakers go down in history as visionaries, decorated time and again by journalists, historians and movie fans alike, but pushing the envelope can also bring about the opposite reaction. Every now what comes along is something that few understand and even fewer care to try. For the reclusive director, Terrence Malick, he doesn’t seem to care which category he falls in and maybe that’s the best way to play it. He makes his movies as a personal statement and they represent exactly what he wants to say, never mind what people want to hear. Lofty and admirable as that outlook may be, it can make for an incredibly risky movie-going experience. There are already heated words being tossed all over blogs and movie sites everywhere, so here’s my two cents in the debate.

The Tree of Life is a visual and ethereal poem about loss, despair, God and the search for faith and reconciliation.

(I usually write much more about the basic plot of the movie for the review, but honestly, there wasn’t much of a plot or story to speak of.)

From the opening whispers of narration, I knew that we were in for something a little off the beaten path, which in itself is not automatically a bad thing. Challenging the norm should be done on a regular basis, but that comes with its own risks. With only a few precious moments of actual characters to speak of, The Tree of Life launches into a 45 operatic display of the birth of the universe. Within the first few minutes I felt I thoroughly understood the director’s point of view, which admittedly may have been wrong, but either way I definitely got what we were witnessing. The main issue here is there was absolutely no need to witness it for 45 minutes. While listening to a tremendously overblown and self-indulgent score, nearly a dozen people walked out of the theater in that opening sequence. After twenty-to-thirty minutes of something more akin to a Discovery Channel special on the universe, the audience began feeling like there was no point being made and an actual narrative story was nowhere to be found. I’ve made a promise to myself never to walk out of a movie, but I was dangerously close. I knew Brad Pitt and Sean Penn were cast in this for some reason; I was waiting to find out what that was.

Sadly, there really is no reason. There are a small handful of poignant moments from the various cast members, but they could never separate themselves from the poor cinematic experience or even truly showcase why they were cast. In the end I felt like any actor could have played these parts because each scene was only tangentially connected to the next, a feather-light spiderweb string trying to keep some type of flow or momentum, but it continually snapped under the hot air blown by Malick.

The real debate here is whether or not this even qualifies as a movie (or “film” for the pretentious). Even farther down the philosophical debate is whether or not movies are “art”, which this piece clearly strives to be. For me, this would have made a much better impression and found a more receptive audience if it was screened in the MOCA or LACMA or any museum. It felt completely out of context shown in a normal movie theater. Some people will point to this winning the Palme d’Or at the legendary Cannes film festival as proof of its value and credit as a great movie, but I would pleasantly remind those people that it was also roundly booed by half of the audience afterwards, something only reserved for the most detested of films in the festival. The Tree of Life is being hailed by critics everywhere, who mostly can’t put into words what it is about or why they liked it,  but in turn reviled and railed against by audiences, who walk out by the dozen and request their money back (true story, happened in my screening and in each of the ones attended by friends of mine). If anything this will help remind movie lovers everywhere, don’t listen to critics, including me. Make up your own mind, at your own risk. In the end we are all critics, just some are louder than others.

The End of the Page Recommendation: The Tree of Life wilts under the scrutiny of any audience not sitting in a museum or on hallucinogenics.

Thor: Branagh Brings Out the Human in the God

By kissing this hand, I hearby make you Queen of Comic-Con.

Rating: 7 out of 10

With comic book movies sweeping across the cinematic landscape like a dust storm across the Sahara, there was bound to be a point where the phenomenon was going to hit a gorge, somewhere the storm would falter and fizzle out. During the last golden age of comic book flicks, that Hindenburg failure was The Phantom (although personally I think most of the audience missed the tongue-in-cheek humor of it). This time around, we haven’t quite picked the rotten apple out of the planned line up yet, but there were many early on who cast their votes against this tale of a Norse god with magical roofing equipment. I was even on the fence myself until they attracted legendary Shakespearean Kenneth Branagh to the helm, which lent a sense of credibility really unseen in this recent comic crop. Did it work? Read on and see…

Thor is the fairy tale of a tempestuous prince (Thor) and his brother (Loki), both waiting for the day when one will become the new king of Asgard and protector of the Nine Realms. Thor is a fierce and bloodthirsty warrior longing for the days of battles gone by, where his father staked his claim in the legends of yore. Loki, on the other hand, is more mischievous and plays the games using his trickster magic instead of his fists. After once again rushing headlong into battle without thinking, Thor angers his father to the point of being banished to Earth with none of his godlike powers, where he meets Jane and her crew of storm chasers. Odin (Thor’s father) then collapses under the stress and anguish into a deep sleep, leaving Loki to run the realm. Now the tables are turned and Loki unfurls his true plan for Asgard and all the Nine Realms, including Earth, where Thor must stand up and reclaim his birthright.

Now that description has one major flaw, which really was part of the reason many were so skeptical before about how this film would turn out. A good deal of the story takes place in a magical kingdom far out in the universe above sparkling star clouds. All the comic book films were are used to in this go around have been about people with extraordinary powers, but all living here on our world, basing everything in our reality.  Thor is the first in recent history to yank the audience back out to the realm of Superman and mythology. Some film critics were worried audiences wouldn’t follow the trend into the magical wonderland and lose connection with the characters. Well, that was a valid fear, but once the project fell into the more than capable hands of Kenneth Branagh, he did exactly what was needed and found a way to ground pieces of the film in more relatable themes; family discord, paternal acceptance and of course, true love. Sounds simple on paper, but I think it was an impressive effort to balance those themes with scenes of shiny kingdoms, multi-colored armor and big blue Frost Giants (who reminded me of angry background actors from Avatar). Bringing the movie together from that vantage point, the writers and Branagh were able to save Thor from becoming the first real stumbling block for the comic book genre this time around.

But Branagh’s success was not only in finding those relatable themes, but his casting of Chris Hemsworth as the legendary Norse god worked better than I could have expected. Stepping into those shiny boots and grabbing the magical hammer would be terrifying for any actor because it would be incredibly easy to be written off as a joke, but Hemsworth really brought something human out of the myth and played a tender balance between over-confident warrior and gracious visitor. For much of his screen time I felt Hemsworth pulled heavily from old films about King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, their valor, chivalry and bravery. By giving glimpses of those well-known archetypes, he helped overshadow the magic and spectacle of Asgard and its myths. Riding high in the clouds with Hemsworth were Anthony Hopkins (as Odin), Idris Elba (as Heimdall, the gatekeeper) and Tom Hiddleston (as Loki), among others.  Hopkins again helped to lend some dramatic weight to the film and shined a little brighter than he has in his past few projects. He admitted in an interview to phoning it in recently, giving Branagh credit for forcing him back into pushing his limits. Elba was a controversial choice early on because some die-hard comic fans felt the changing of the original character’s race was kowtowing to political correctness or unneeded diversity, but whatever the original reasoning was, Elba brought a real stoutness and stoic resolve in each scene, proving his casting as worthy. Tom Hiddleston also did a commendable job as the mischievous Loki, balancing his devious nature with the true pain of someone who felt they had been betrayed as well, but the writing of his character left many holes and setups which never truly paid off.

Helping to keep things grounded back on Earth were Natalie Portman (as Jane), Kat Dennings (as Darcy, Jane’s sister) and Stellan Skarsgard (as Erik, Jane’s teacher and physics partner). Portman has shown once again she will not be typecast as the indie darling and consider herself above the big budget blockbusters. She is adorable and relatable with an real ease on screen, but this was also not a big stretch for her talent. Dennings chimed in mostly  as the comic relief and delivered line after line in her classic sarcastic style, helping to set a less serious tone for the rest of the film. As for Skarsgard, good stuff, but he wasn’t really given a whole lot to work with.

The true success here is that on the walk out of the theatre I mentioned to friends the numerous plot holes and unresolved questions, but when they asked, “So what did you think?” I was still able to respond, “I liked it.” The fun was there and the balance of comedy, action and drama was handled well, to which I give much of that credit to Branagh. In a lesser man’s hands, this film could have easily fallen into Fantastic Four territory, and let’s be honest, we all know how that came out.

The End of the Page recommendation: Thor is worthy of a good matinee viewing for big screen afternoon enjoyment. Don’t worry about the story too much, because it’s seems they didn’t either.

What did you think of the winged god of thunder? Let me know.

Unknown: Completely Known, Neeson Still Shines

Why do I keep eating at those damn sidewalk taco stands?

Rating: 7 out of 10

A new age is coming, or maybe just returning to its once proud form. The age of the action hero who isn’t ripping through his tank top in post-pubescent fury, but instead seething with a controlled rage only found in those with a few years to their name. Faces grizzled by battles both won and lost, voices scratched by the screams of sorrow and victory and hands that know the feeling of breaking a nose, not just the squeeze of a trigger. We had it once with John Wayne in the west, but then it moved into the city and we found our urban cowboys in Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood. Now, a new maturity is reigns with one man sitting firmly on the throne, Liam Neeson, and he’s back on a somewhat familiar ride, but he makes it enjoyable nonetheless.

Unknown is the fractured story of Dr. Martin Harris (played by Neeson), on his way to a Biotechnology summit in Berlin when his car careens off the road and into the icy waters of a German river. Awakening four days later in a hospital, he embarks on a fervent attempt to reconnect with his wife, who not only doesn’t recognize him upon their reunion, but has another man next to her claiming to be the very same man. Trying to tie the loose ends of his spindling memory, our original Dr. Harris finds himself embroiled in a plot much larger than he could ever imagine, winding around a foreign prince, an immigrant taxi driver and a secret many people are willing to kill to control.

**PRE-SPOILER WARNING – PLOTS SECRETS REVEALED SOON**

Last time we saw Neeson running through the streets fighting with people it was in the freight-train momentum film, Taken. Neeson drove through the movie with an unwavering determination that in other cases might have made the character seem one-sided, but he was able to make the single-point laser focus still seem layered and interesting. Neeson didn’t miss a beat as he walked onto the set of Unknown, he still carries the mack truck mindset of barreling through anyone and everyone to get what he needs, but here the layering is more upfront since his character is dealing with fractured memories and a wife who won’t even acknowledge him anymore. On the writing front, the script is well done, but seems to miss out on some key moments that would have helped to deepen the motivations in a few scenes later in the film.

**ACTUAL SPOILER WARNING – HERE COMES THE GOOD STUFF**

I can’t really talk about the missing moments without mentioning the plot details surrounding those particular scenes. Once it is revealed that Neeson actually is a secret agent and the people trying to kill him are actually members of his old team, the story does ring a little close to the Bourne franchise, but that actually didn’t bother me too much. What falls a little flat is the emotional connections between Neeson and his old team, specifically with January Jones‘ character (who we originally believe to be his wife) and Aidan Quinn (who originally is touted as the “real” Martin Harris). There is an interesting layer that is never explored about how January Jones really feels about turning on her undercover partner and also how Aidan Quinn feels about stepping into his shoes. The final fight between Neeson and Quinn could’ve inserted some nice interplay, but just went for the action, while Jones never got to have a final meeting with Neeson because she went out in a somewhat unclimactic explosion. I’ve said it before, you can win or lose your audience in the last five minutes and this came dangerously close to losing me.

While those story points did leave the ending slightly under par, the rest of the film holds up the overall experience and Neeson just continues to prove his dominance in the action/thriller genre. Also, not to be forgotten, Bruno Ganz turns in an excellent performance as the old ex-German secret service friend who comes to Neeson’s aid. It culminates in a truly magnificent scene between Ganz and Frank Langella, who is in the film for a woefully short time.

The End of the Page recommendation: Unknown is an enjoyable romp through the spy-ridden streets of Berlin.

Machete: Not Sharp Enough

Sorry, kid. I’m fresh out Rolex.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Every genre has rules and that includes homage, which is basically a genre impersonating other genres. Doing a send up of past movie styles, you must decide right off the bat whether you are going to run faithful to the original content or celebrate it with a sense of humor or possible mockery. Trying to do all of those can lead to a sense of confusion for the piece and leaves the audience wondering whether they should be taking anything they see seriously. With such an overwhelmingly positive lead-in, you might already get the gist of my opinion on this 70′s-style mexican-sploitation flick (Is “brownsploitation” a word? Guess it is now.) For more detailed reasons, keep on reading.

Machete tells the terrible tale of a former Mexican federale who witnesses his wife get decapitated by a notorious drug lord. Surviving the fire he was supposed to have died in, Machete makes his way across the border to try and make a new life for himself, but he soon finds the past hardly ever stays in the past. Colliding with the heated battle over illegal immigration, he finds himself a pawn in a much larger game, but one he is determined to finish.

My biggest issue with this flick is the one thing in the description that does not belong, actual politics. While some movies are built and bred for commenting on the real world outside the theater, exploitation movies parody that world instead of making serious commentary. Machete dives way too deep into the political firestorm of immigration policies and finds itself trying to make a real statement, while still keeping the boobs, blood and blades. That kind of balancing act throws the entire experience for a loop and derails the silliness that should’ve been running through every moment of the script. The opening five minutes were great and emblematic of what the following ninety should have been, but for some reason a decision was made to attempt a meaningful plotline. Wrong move.

Also, this movie was basically an experiment in growing something for a very specific fan base. The original trailer for Machete was created as a fake movie trailer in the Tarantino/Rodriguez double feature, Grindhouse. The context and application were perfect back then, but splitting it out and creating a new feature film out of it might have been one step too far. Parts of it felt like Machete director, Robert Rodriguez, just had so much fun making the trailer that he didn’t want to let it die there. While I fully support people working on stories and projects they have a passion for, sometimes there needs to be more reason to do it than, “It was fun.”

For those who read even deeper between the lines in the Hollywood lexicon, this film also was supposed to represent the inevitable and well deserved top billing of Danny Trejo, a character actor who so many know by face, but so few know by name. I fully stand behind finding a leading role that Trejo could finally take to the screen and get some hard earned credit for, but Machete felt thin and hollow in comparison to his earlier cameo and side appearances. I hope Trejo gets another shot at taking the starring role, but if you are looking for that great stepping out into the spotlight moment, it’s not here (try The Visitor instead, where the amazing Richard Jenkins got his starring shot and received incredible amounts of nominations, all well deserved.)

Surrounding Trejo was a handful of random names, each meaning to drive the audience further into a novelty frenzy, but as the scenes wore on, very few really made any real impression. Jeff Fahey (who many know as the virtually insane Lawnmower Man), Steven Seagal (from numerous martial arts actions movies bearing three word titles, Marked for Death, Above the Law, Hard to Kill, etc…), and Jessica Alba (if you don’t know her, well, you probably don’t own a computer), they all make an effort to keep the tongue-in-cheek mentality alive, but when Alba makes her big “the border crossed us!” speech in the movie, the rising tide crests and breaks against the shores of overdone filmmaking. The worst of the bunch was Lindsay Lohan, which has now become a perfect example of what happens when your off-screen infamy distracts from your on-screen fame. Her entire role was a joke commenting on her real life, which only made it worse. If she wants to get back into the good graces of the movie watching audience, she needs to take something with a bit more meat to it and prove she’s more than just a faded child star. The only person who actually got some good screen time out of this was Hollywood rebel chic, Michelle Rodriguez. She really did embody a revolutionary leader persona and it made me wish Steven Soderbergh had found a place for her in his biographical epic, Che, about the Cuban guerrilla revolutionary leader. While she might have had some rocky times in the shiny city of Hollywood, Rodriguez is beginning to remind people what she is capable of (which if you are one of those in need of reminding, please go watch Girlfight.) Maybe she could teach Lohan a thing or two?

The End of the Page Recommendation: Machete cut itself down with too much politics and not enough limb-chopping. For a better example of exploitation homage, check out Black Dynamite instead.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Truly Hip to be Square

When he learned all his sounds appeared in ghostly writing nearby, it made trips to the bathroom much more nerve wracking.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Could it really be possible? Could one movie company really release two movies in under two months deserving of my greatest accolade: a perfect score? I don’t give them out easily, many times feeling at least one little thing was out of place or lacking in the overall composition of the film, but almost in back-to-back form Universal Studios has made their mark on the summer with the release of one of the most anticipated comic book adaptations of the summer (at least by a small group of fanboys and fangirls).

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World brings to life the tale of an adorably square hipster/bass player named Scott Pilgrim. While trying to mend his broken heart and shake his unwelcomed status of ‘dump-ee’, he dreams about a punk-chic on roller blades and his world trips down the rabbit hole when he finds that the dream girl is real. Compelled to court her, he discovers that to win her companionship he must defeat in battle her seven evil Ex’s, each still equally enchanted and desperate for the love of this oddly endearing young girl.

While so many things came together in perfect harmony here, for the first time in a long while, first credit and top billing for the success needs to go to the man on top of the totem pole, director Edgar Wright. Erupting from the mind that brought us Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (plus the equally amazing, but woefully less well-known, Spaced), Scott Pilgrim displays the same skill and amazing amounts of research into the genre, which helped transform his earlier efforts into trophy case pieces of what makes a great film. So many tiny moments, pixelated pop-ups and even audio reminders of the original Nintendo generation helped shape the universe of Pilgrim into one we not only believed in, but recognized from our youth. The tone, the atmosphere, even the overly romanticized quest, it all hearkens back to the roots of comic book caricature mixed with action hero devotion. Without diving into too much more detail and turning this into a novella of wonderment about Wright and his talents, I will just say that as the captain of this ship, he steered brilliantly and I would very much like to see him awarded for it, even if that seems unlikely (although with a 10 movie Best Picture category, it’s not impossible).

Moving on to those lucky souls who got to inhabit these wonderful characters, it is a pantheon of young Hollywood elite who earn each and every second of their on-screen glory. Michael Cera, once dangerously on the verge of over-exposure and being perennially typecast, has surged back with his touchingly awkward, yet awesomely heroic rendition of the lead, Scott Pilgrim. This time Cera really feels like he is fully in touch with his capabilities and embraces the geek charm which many were beginning to feel was holding him back and turning him into a cultural antique before its time. What was also great is no one would really find a fight scene with Michael Cera truly believable in a normal world, but the world of Scott Pilgrim is legions away from normal. Blending comic book candor, anime stylings and 8-bit video game action gave Cera a universe he could truly become the nerd warrior of our fantasies. As the woman of his quirky and vivid dreams, Mary Elizabeth Winstead delights as Ramona Flowers, creating one of those tragically cute girls all men want to win and make happy for the rest of their days. She also tiptoes down that tightrope between confidence and cowardice, showing humanity in its most simple and pure form. Peppering the outskirts of this incredibly creative world, much can be said about the co-stars and side characters. Amazing on all counts, they helped firm up the reality of the world by embracing their individual quirks and all playing in that same wonderful tone. A special mention needs to go out to Kieran Culkin, who played Pilgrim’s sexually voracious gay roommate. His darkly comic timing and constant calling of ‘bullsh*t’ to the rest of the characters helped keep the story from spiraling off into a cartoonish purgatory.

The End of the Page Recommendation: Anyone who owned the original Nintendo should love this film. This is made specifically for you. As for the rest of the world, there is heart and humor to be had, but it might get lost on you behind the screen of random quick edits and constant cultural in-jokes. It has not gotten its due in the box office, but I guarantee this will become a cult classic on the DVD market. I’m already dusting off a space on my shelf for it.

Step Up 3D: Dance, Dance and… DANCE!

Both men decided too late that the Ultra-Mega-Burrito was not a good idea right before dance practice.

Rating: 8 out of 10

3D has become the banner of a film industry looking for anything to spark the box office back to its previous high water mark, but many films use it only for the monetary bump, not to enhance the viewing experience. A few rare choices in the last year have actually made the extra dimension worthwhile, like Avatar, Despicable Me and How To Train Your Dragon, with an honorable mention to the short film in front of Toy Story 3. Even going back to the beginning of the recent 3D craze there was My Bloody Valentine, which truly catered to the technology in the way it was originally intended. So, it was with a true touch of skepticism that I entered the theater, high-tech, battery powered 3D glasses strapped to my head and waited to see what the world of hip-hop and dance could do with their extra dimension.

Step Up 3D has very little to do with the previous two films in the franchise. Moose, the lone holdover from Step Up 2 The Streets, has traveled to N.Y.U. to fulfill his parents dream by getting an engineering degree and leaving all that silly dance stuff far behind. He finds that extremely difficult since on his orientation tour he accidentally enters himself into a dance battle and wins, making himself enemy number one on the hip-hop hitlist of a local dance crew known as The Samurai. Luke, the lead hero of the movie, takes Moose under his wing and initiates him into his own crew, The Pirates, as they attempt to win the upcoming World Jam and earn enough cash prizes to buy the building where they all live and train.

Some people might wonder how I could rate a dance movie so high, only one down the totem pole from Inception, which some would think of as a travesty even being mentioned in the same long, run-on sentence, but my ratings are based on what type of movie it is and if it fulfilled its main objective. Dance films have one driving force – to showcase dancers and their incredible talents. If they can pull together a coherent story and make an audience feel something beyond the rhythm in their seats, then they have moved beyond the grade of a common genre flick. Step Up 3D definitely showcased the dancers, and by default the incredible choreography, by really paying attention to the movement of the camera during the various dance sequences. There is nothing more that I despise than quick, unmotivated MTV-style cuts during dance sequences, fight scenes, highly technical action sequences and the like. All you end up seeing is a lot of limbs flying in front of camera with no context or character. Here, they locked the camera center stage numerous times and only moved back to open up the frame even more, truly featuring the talent on display.

Also, the 3D element did not feel like a last minute add-on for a couple bucks per ticket increase. There were very specific moments in the film where the dancers popped out from the screen and it enhanced the experience of watching their highly technical moves. Even in the non-pop-out moments, the extra depth into the screen really provided a sense of place and character to the dance sequences that I feel would have been lacking otherwise.

As for the acting, where most people don’t expect much, I was shocked by the power and passion displayed by one of the films co-stars, our one man connection to the previous film, Moose, aka Adam G. Sevani. Born into a musical family and dancing since he was a wee toddler, Sevani filled his moments with heart and passion where many others just filled the frame. He stole each and every scene with a touching sense of honesty and a purity towards dance which poured out of the screen. His plotline was technically the ‘B’ story, but he yanked it out of the background and made the entire movie revolve around him. The saddest part of the film ending is wondering whether Sevani will actually keep working on acting, along with his amazing dance skills. Dance as a part of our culture is becoming bigger and bigger every year, with help from numerous TV hits like Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance (the latter featuring Adam Shankman as a permanent judge, who also helped produce Step Up 3D). You never know whether another Step Up could be in the future, but if it does find its way onto the big screen, they better bring back Sevani or they can count on my rating being much, much lower.

The End of the Page Recommendation: Best all-around film of the franchise so far, but if you don’t like dance flicks, this will not put the spring in your step.

Thoughts? How’s it compare to other dance flicks?

Salt: Meet Bourne’s Missing Sister

You said the popcorn had free refills, now you tell me that doesn’t include more butter? Would you like to reconsider that arrangement?

Rating: 6 out of 10

Right off the bat, I want to publicly denounce anyone heard using the joke, “So the sequel to this will be called Pepper, right?” or anything that resembles it. Those people should be terribly, terribly ashamed of themselves.

Thank you. Now I will move from that soapbox to my other soapbox.

Salt follows the dramatic chase, catch and escape of an American CIA agent named Evelyn Salt. A Russian defector gives up secret information which claims Salt is a deep undercover mole, thereby sending her into a cat-and-mouse game played throughout the halls and caverns of American secret agencies. She is forced to cleverly evade and attack her enemies, her friends, even her former boss in an effort to prove who and what she really is.

Salt blasts into action incredibly quickly, which works well for its rather small 100-minute time frame, but in their efforts to hit the ground running, they left out one incredibly important portion of the common hero/anti-hero story – we – the audience, need to care. Angelina Jolie brings the razor’s edge to her intensity and the constant use of her powerful stare, but she gets precious little time to try and makes us feel anything for her character. There are tiny flashbacks here and there to expose a loving relationship between her and her husband, who is kidnapped early in the film, but it never quite rings true and feels like it was dropped in only by necessity. As I noted in the title, there are glaring and obvious comparisons between this film and the Bourne franchise, but Matt Damon was given great opportunities to bring the audience into Jason Bourne’s dilemma and struggle through it with him. Also, the romantic aspect to that original movie was one we got to witness growing on screen, unlike the momentary recalls in Salt, which failed to generate any flutters of the heart.

Yet, for what Salt lacked in the emotions department, they valiantly tried to make up for in the action arena. Jolie gets chased through nearly every type of structure known to man (sewers, church bunkers, packed highways, etc…) and shows herself to be quite the athlete when it comes to jumping off of nearly every set piece in the film, moving and stationary. Brief glimpses of déjà vu attacked me through the screening as I recognized the same Jolie we all rallied around in her Tomb Raider days. There were also a couple Matrix-ish moments of her using the now popular “jump-push off the wall punch-kick” maneuver, which made me wonder what it would have been like if Jolie had donned the black pleather jumpsuit of Trinity (after a few moments I realized she probably would have overwhelmed any scene she was in, so Carrie-Anne Moss was indeed the better choice). There was an attempt to bring a little more weight and depth to the film by using continuously solid actors like Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but while Liev gets a bit more meat packed into his role, Chiwetel ends up very much on the short end of the stick, saddled with one of the only story-changing arcs in the story, but absolutely no time to bring it to a full and believable fruition.

The End of the Page Recommendation: Salt delivers high-paced action, but fails to combine it with real meaning.

What did you think? Does it end up on your list of ‘Top Female Action Flicks’?