“AMERICA” ROCKS

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

Starring Chris Evans,

Hayley Atwell,

Sebastian Stan,

Tommy Lee Jones,

Hugo Weaving,

Dominic Cooper,

Stanley Tucci

Directed by Joe Johnston

Written by Christopher Marks and Stephen McFeely

Based on characters created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

Running time 125 mins.

Rated PG-13

          Even if you don’t go in for the patriotism, you can’t help but see it’s well done.

          Corniness is one of the film’s flaws, as is the cheap way it treats women. But looking past those sorts of things, the retro look (“Captain America” is set during WWII) works great, and the villain, Red Skull (Weaving), is one of the film’s best features.

          Upshot: Puny weakling Steve Rogers (Evans) gets picked on, then picked as the test subject for a Super Soldier serum in order to beat the freedom-hating fascists.

          Tellingly, what really makes Steve Rogers upset is other people’s freedom of speech. When a guy in a movie theater wants for the cartoons to start, scrawny little Steve sitting behind starts running off at the mouth and shows his true freedom-hating colors.

          The film’s big bragging point is being able to digitally alter the actor to look properly puny. And boy, it works. His voice sounds too big for his build, but the visuals with the effect seem flawless.

          He says he’s “just a kid from Brooklyn.” He doesn’t sound like he’s from Brooklyn. And he’s supposed to stop Hitler–by being a tall blonde Super Warrior in service of a misogynistic, militaristic Father State, where a German scientist (Tucci) has developed a weapon used by both sides (that would be the Super Soldier serum). Geez, does the “A” on his head stand for America or Adolf?

          Then there’s his shield. One thing the filmmakers never say is how, no matter where he throws it, his shield always comes back to his hand. Just like Thor’s hammer. Which is fitting, because what Red Skull’s looking to do is harness the power of the Norse gods. The filmmakers try to squeeze some thirty year-old “Raiders of the Lost Ark” mojo their way by having Red Skull say that Hitler’s wasting his time in the desert (looking for the Lost Ark of the Covenant). And it’s not a great idea to invite comparison because “Captain America” is nowhere near as good a movie as “Raiders.” But I just want to know how it is his shield always returns to his waiting hand.

          Come to think, they don’t really explain a whole lot with this movie. For instance, where’s the bomb in all this? What does one guy not being dinky anymore have to do with dropping the bomb on Japan twice? And how is it that after the government scientists make Steve finally be a big boy, they just sort of shrug their shoulders and let him go do U.S.O. performances for the troops?

          Oh well. It does have a neat-o retro look. Kind of like “The Rocketeer.”

          True, one does get the urge to sit down with young Cappy and explain to him who it is his ardor most aids. Maybe watch “Zeitgeist” with him, too. So he could learn. But we have to figure, Steve Rogers has suffered a lot of trauma. And until he goes clean off his Super Soldier cheat serum, and is no longer using, there just won’t be any reasoning with him at all.

FINAL HARRY POTTER BEST OF SERIES

HARRY POTTER AND THE

DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

Starring Daniel Radcliffe,

Ralph Fiennes,

Alan Rickman,

Emma Watson,

Rupert Grint,

Helena Bonham Carter,

John Hurt,

Warwick Davis,

Michael Gambon

Directed by David Yates

Written by Steve Kloves

Based on the novel by J.K. Rowling

Running time 130 mins.

Rated PG-13

          It isn’t just the best movie of the year so far, it’s the standout entry in the most financially successful movie franchise ever. Now the inevitable 24-hour marathon screening of all eight films has its showstopper.

          Treading carefully so as to give nothing away, suffice to say that what is unique in literature holds true for film. There’s just nothing else like the level of detail that J.K. Rowling has provided with the books. And although no film can capture the sweeping scope of the stories, the filmmakers have so much to work with, the audience’s emotional investment compounds exponentially with each successive film.

          With, perhaps, the exception of the first part of “Deathly Hallows,” which came out last November. Not a bad movie by any stretch. More like the calm before the storm. Part 1 is to “The Two Towers” what Part 2 is to “The Return of the King.” In more ways than one.

          Unlike the previous entries, this last one is the only Harry Potter movie to offer 3D. Mixed feelings on that score. First of all, the price is bumped. For the extra bucks one pays, the experience should be commensurately upped. And I don’t think it is. As good as this new digital system is compared to the old 3D, it’s not without its problems. The glasses are intrinsically distracting; even digital 3D just flat out doesn’t look all that 3D, and the glasses darken the screen too much. Truth is, it’s a gimmick to make the industry more money. I don’t think we benefit from the experience nearly as much as they do.

          But at least with this movie there’s an option. Some of the show times are in 3D, and some aren’t.

          Very much to the good, in keeping with the series, the special effects do serve the story, and not the other way around. If we didn’t care about the characters, all of the special effects wizardry would mean nothing. But care about them deeply we do. They are our movie friends. A lot of them we practically raised.

          Upshot: Harry (Radcliffe) has to find the three Horcruxes and get Voldemort (Fiennes) before Voldemort gets him.

          And along the way we have so many plot lines to resolve, so many loose ends to tie.

          If you’ve never read one of the books, as a filmgoer you might even be better off with less expectations to be dashed. And if you’ve never seen any of the seven other movies, don’t worry about that. Things get recapped nicely.

          It says a lot about a movie when you can’t say much about it at all out of sheer respect for the experience. It’s an emotional time, attending a summer blockbuster. But the good news is, J.K. Rowling is such a writer, it seems highly unlikely that we’ll have to go too long before she pulls another trick out of her sleeve. And when the movie is made of whatever she’s writing now, we shouldn’t be too surprised to find our Hogwarts friends all growed up, and, as an added selling feature, cast in wildly different roles.

         

         

“ZOOKEEPER” WILDLY BITES

ZOOKEEPER

Starring Kevin James,

Rosario Dawson,

Leslie Bibb,

Ken Jeong,

Donnie Wahlberg,

Joe Rogan,

Sylvester Stallone (voice),

Cher (voice),

Adam Sandler (voice)

Directed by Frank Coraci

Written by Nick Bukay, Rock Reuben, Kevin James,

Jay Scherick, David Ronn

Based on a story by Jay Scherick and David Ronn

Running time 104 mins.

Rated PG

          I did not know until this movie that Kevin James has great comic timing, tremendous likeability, and sheer obvious talent. I never saw him in a movie before. “Zookeeper” actually has more than a few good laughs. And it’s probably not as bad as one is bound to hear. But it’s pretty bad.

          The main problem with “Zookeeper” is the whole premise that the animals at the zoo all secretly speak in various American dialects when the people aren’t around. Much the same way that the toys all secretly move around and talk when the people aren't looking in “Toy Story,” yet with the distinction of interaction taking place between the zookeeper and the animals at this forbidden level. They break the rule for the zookeeper simply because they like him.

          Sounds almost mythic, like the zookeeper’s a regular Siegfried tasting the blood of the dragon and hearing the forbidden language of the birds. But no. It truly doesn’t work. It’s just a bad idea.

          Upshot: A zookeeper (James), having been dumped by his girlfriend (Bibb) five years ago, is happy in his work. But when the girlfriend turns up again, she’s ready to give him another chance, so long as he lets her change him how she wants. Meanwhile, the talking animals act silly and want to help their lovable zookeeper pal.

          A lot of time is spent with a gorilla called Bernie voiced by Nick Nolte. Too often the gorilla looks plain wrong. Because it’s a guy in a suit. Nolte’s better than this, and so is Cher (the voice of a lioness), and everyone else involved, really.

          In a superfluous subplot, Donnie Wahlberg plays an abusive low-ranking zookeep who picks on the gorilla. But after the far superior animal cruelty in “Like Water for Elephants,” this thin pale fare falls sadly flat.

          In terms of believability, there is of course none. The gorilla, sounding exactly like Nick Nolte because it’s him, dispenses advice to Kevin James on getting the girl. But more unbelievable still, perhaps, is the co-zookeeper played by super-awesome Rosario Dawson being secretly–I have to give this away–secretly deeply interested in the regular guy, the zookeeper.

          Well I mean come on.

          Adam Sandler is largely to blame for “Zookeeper,” actually. Sad to say, gotta rank this one right alongside some of the worst that Sandler has done.

          But, next week: The final Harry Potter.

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SECOND “KUNG FU PANDA” STRIKING

KUNG FU PANDA 2

Starring (the voices of)

Jack Black,

Angelina Jolie,

Dustin Hoffman,

Gary Oldman,

Jackie Chan,

Seth Rogen,

Lucy Liu,

David Cross,

James Hong

Directed by Jennifer Yuh

Written by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Robert Koo

Running time 90 mins.

Rated PG

          Fantastic animation and gut-busting yucks make this fine family fare a smashing hit.

          Upshot: Po (Black), having D’Artagnan-like fulfilled his initiation into the ranks of the Musketeer-ish kung fu elite in the first movie, now must find inner peace and learn the truth of his origin whilst saving everyone from an evil peacock (Oldman), who has much skill, and this weird new stuff called artillery. Which leads Po to wonder, “How can kung fu stop something that stops kung fu?”

          Indeed.

          This aspect of mere artillery versus individual skill, of the machine over the human, seems to pull from Kurasawa’s Japanese classic “Seven Samurai.” No, kids won’t care about that any more than they will the Bruce Lee reference when Po yells, “Feet of fury!” Qualify that: They’ll like it because it’s funny the way Black says it, not because it’s clever. Apparently it’s a nod from the filmmakers for us parents to feel included.

          As with the first one, the highly stylized animation of the introductory material contrasts effectively with the “real world” of the CG panda who finally learns from his noodle-hawking dad (Hong), who is a goose, that actually Po was adopted.

          The quality of the animation, the affability of the perpetually hungry and hugely sincere Po, perfectly voiced by Black, and the lightning-fast exotic locale action, all mix together well, and ensure that kids will get a kick out of it.

          Two animated features I was not able to review, but which I have since seen and think merit special attention, are “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Coraline.” Both of these movies are edgier and more memorable than “Kung Fu Panda 2,” enjoyable as is the latter. Both movies also come from great books of great writers. Both are stop-motion animated, not computer-generated. And neither produces a sequel.

          What we get with “Kung Fu Panda” is a vehicle for the Jack Black product. Like Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, and countless others stretching back to the beginning of film and beyond, Jack Black has one unique style of comedy and sticks with it. It’s not like Matt Damon even had a chance here.

          So while it may not be any great shakes in the history of animated film, per se, and while it may actually, when compared with some standout stop-motion stuff, come across almost like a bag of artificially colored and flavored bright orange cheez puffs, still, if you look at it right, even a cheez puff is pretty incredible.

         

         

         

FOURTH “PIRATES” TIMELESS

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:

ON STRANGER TIDES

Starring Johnny Depp,

Penelope Cruz,

Ian McShane,

Kevin McNally,

Astrid Berges-Frisbey,

Stephen Graham,

Keith Richards

Directed by Rob Marshall

Written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio

Running time 137 mins.

Rated PG-13

          Another one for the ages.

          While none of the three sequels in the franchise surpasses the first, “On Stranger Tides” seems now to take a second-place finish in the series so far.

          As enjoyable as the second and third installments are, the hyper-supernatural aspects with Davy Jones, his crew, and Calypso might have been just a wee bit overdone compared to the single fantastical aspect of the first (that would be the curse on the Black Pearl) seeming more by appearing less.

          “On Stranger Tides” does share much the same amazingness–mermaids, the Fountain of Youth–but presents the supernatural in a manner which now seems almost reasonable. Remember in the third one when Barbossa’s hands chuck swords up the floorboards, with perfect deftness, perfect timing, the floorboards being somehow wide enough apart to admit the hilts, yet not so wide that the pirates creeping and peeking below could be seen? Well, after a thing like that, the Fountain of Youth seems practically logical.

          But steering away from the magical world, the visuals alone of “Tides” rank it close to the first. Again, tactile. And not just because it’s in 3D. Which is cool. We get the sense that we really are in that world because of the sheer production value. The sets and the costumes and everything on the screen pull us into a place larger than life, and the only thing we don’t get is seasick.

          Upshot: Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) travels with Blackbeard the Pirate (McShane) and Balckbeard’s daughter (Cruz) in search of the Fountain of Youth–a very Grail-esque Fountain, by the way–as does Captain Barbossa (Rush), now working for the British crown, and as do a host of Conquistadors.

          As Captain Jack, Johnny Depp provides once again the heart of the movie with his super-cool pirate ways. Sean Connery will always be the best Bond. But in Johnny’s case, only he could ever play Jack Sparrow at all, that’s how good he is.

          And all this even with a different director. No Gore Verbinski this time. No lots of other names from the first installments, too. But not to a bit of detriment.

          Also, the 3D flat out works. Gone are the days of the chintzy paper glasses and the cheap 3D that always looked blurry and never worked right. Now they’ve got it down to a science. Nor is the story in service of a gimmick. The 3D merely seems like a nice fat cherry on top of a whole lot of stuff that’s already great.

          This is the movie that kicks off the summer, and in grand fashion. Let’s hope it’s not the last in the franchise, either. The filmmakers did such a good job with this one, what would be the point in putting an end to so much fun?

“LANTERN” RINGS TRUE

GREEN LANTERN

Starring Ryan Reynolds,

Blake Lively,

Peter Sarsgaard,

Mark Strong,

Temuera Morrison,

Mike Dolye,

Gattlin Griffith,

Tim Robbins

Directed by Martin Campbell

Written by Greg Berlanti, Michael Green,

Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldberg

Running time 105 mins.

Rated PG-13

 

 

          Best movie in 3D this year so far, and one of the best 3D movies ever.

          Much of “Green Lantern,” based on the DC comics super hero, takes place in the vast reaches of space, and this us where the film excels. Moving realistically through strange alien realms could even have been the whole movie. An Edgar Rice Burroughs movie today with John Carter leaping around Barsoom could be extremely awesome. And “Green Lantern” has a lot of that awesomeness.

          Upshot: A dying alien (Morrison) gives test pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds) his effectively magic cosmic cop ring, making him a super hero. Meanwhile, the evil that got the alien is getting stronger and needs to be stopped before destroying the world and beyond.

          One of the film’s strong suits is the suit itself, in that it has the novelty of appearing instantly at will. Hal’s will. Better than that is the earthly villain (Sarsgaard) being a guy with a head that grows to humongous and horrific proportions. This peculiar malady comes from the stuff in the dead alien’s body which the guy examined, innocently enough. But then that stuff works on him all funny, which gets extra funny because his dad’s a senator (Robbins), and gives him cerebral power truly terrible to behold.

          Some of the story seems a bit routine. Hal’s supposed to have courage as a Green Lantern, but fears he doesn’t, and is haunted by the memory of witnessing as a kid his race car driving dad’s dramatic death. Hal’s doubting that the Green Lantern ring chose him properly as the dying alien’s cosmic cop replacement takes up a lot of the movie.

          And we can forgive that, just as we can look past a number of other sort of less-than-thrilling conventional aspects. A little bit of misogyny, for example. The filmmakers show a couple of token female aliens in the crowd on Oa, the home planet of the Guardians, but we definitely walk away with the impression that Green Lanterns are dudes who talk with prestige British dialects, and that when a gal says no, what she really means is yes.

          But then there’s this H.P. Lovecraft-ish stuff that tips back in the film’s favor. It’s not a tentacled beasty from the deep, the Lovecraftian monster, but it is cosmic and ancient and looks sort of septic-related.

          Further to the good, yellow being the one thing that can stop Green Lantern, this business from the comic books of yellow being the one thing over which his magic ring has no effect, this movie makes no mention of that at all. And I say good. That always was like crosses and vampires, just never made any sense at all. But the ring’s cool.

          Especially in 3D, quality now with this new digital system and substantial glasses you borrow, one expects “Lantern” to create a lot of green indeed.

     

“SUPER 8” SUPER GREAT

SUPER 8
Starring Joel Courtney,
Elle Fanning,
Kyle Chandler,
Riley Griffiths,
Zach Mills,
Ryan Lee,
Gabriel Basso
Written and directed by J.J. Abrams
Running time 112 mins.
Rated PG-13

One gets the feeling that J.J. Abrams likes Steven Spielberg. A lot.

There are plenty of Steven Spielberg films that aren’t as Steven Spielberg-y as “Super 8.” Sounds like a joke but isn’t. I don’t know if it’s such a good thing–or bad thing, either–for us to see so manifestly open an homage, but the inspiration is apparent. Crystal sparkling clear.

The predominant Spielberg-influence comes from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” But with one key difference, and not an improvement: Whereas Spielberg’s alien film accomplished a first in showing authority as the threatening force in the story to be questioned and opposed, “Super 8" rises from no such soil.

What Abrams does best is suggest a threatening presence obliquely, and then when the thing appears never let us quite see what, at a storytelling level, suggests the embodiment of conflict actually happening between the characters.

Abrams understands Spielberg’s use of cross-motion filling a frame. And Abrams understands Spielberg’s use of seemingly random dialogue contributing to humor and a sense of realism that works in service of the otherworldly aspect by contrast, always tantalizing us onward into the story. Abrams definitely does a good Spielberg.

Upshot: Some kids with a super 8 camera, circa 1979, witness and catch on film the destruction of a train carrying strange cargo guarded by the air force.

A lot of the movie focuses on the main kid (Courtney) as he becomes friends with a girl (Fanning). I won’t specify a point of conflict between the dads of each, but suffice to say it lends a Romeo and Juliet-like touch, in terms of forbiddenness, on which much of the movie rests.

The otherworldly subject matter mingled with everyday life, the use of music, and dialogue, the polished look, all work with about every other element of film there is to make us feel like we’re watching a Steven Spielberg movie, from which Steven Spielberg himself just might literally materialize. Which he almost does when we learn he produced it.

One could almost forget “Super 8" was written and directed by the same guy responsible for what I think is the best Star Trek movie ever.

Whatever the reasoning in Abrams’ willingness to show his mastery of Spielberg, what we get is a good character-driven story, where ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances. We connect emotionally with the characters, and perhaps with a sense of nostalgia for the time. When this connection and the thrill of the unknown which led us in finally collide, well then, that’s when we know. We’re in the presence of summer movie greatness.

“TRANSFORMERS 3” SHOWS TWISTED METTLE

TRANSFORMERS 3
Starring Shia LaBeouf,
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley,
Josh Duhamel,
John Turturro,
Patrick Dempsey,
Frances McDormand,
Tyrese Gibson,
Kevin Dunn,
Julie White,
John Malkovich
Directed by Michael Bay
Written by Ehren Kruger
Running time 157 mins.
Rated PG-13

Hasbro.

Can we really watch a movie made in association with...Hasbro?
It’s like one made in partnership with Minute Rice or Del Monte. It feels wrong. Like we’re stupid for getting all jacked about the little 80s toy movie. Let no one forget, Bob Hoskins’ one regret: “Super Mario Brothers.”

That said, “Transformers 3” is what it is, and the filmmakers do a pretty good job of helping us forget that by putting it in 3D. In the same way that after watching “The Matrix” you might see, as you leave the theater, people holding kicks in mid-air while your mental camera spins around them, you might leave the third “Transformers” seeing giant twisting metal worms tearing through skyscrapers. Always a plus.

Upshot: Giant space robots, a “race” called Autobots, are pals with scrappy young Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf), and include him in their mighty battles with bad giant robots called Decepticons, who want to take over the planet. Meanwhile, scrappy young Witwicky has a super hot British girlfriend (Huntington-Whiteley), and she works for a smug privileged fellow (Dempsey) who poses a threat for Sam.

What makes this third installment different from the other two is the attempt to reinvent it as a legitimate science fiction film, involving President Kennedy and imagining the real reason for the 60s space race being a Transformer spaceship called the Ark crash-landing on the dark side of the moon.
That kind of effort does raise the bar. Probably this third one is the best of the franchise. But it’s not without its problems.

Hasbro. It’s not a help that the giants look like toys. And that their voices are cutesy. Cockney-talkin’ robots? Plus a couple little robots that act extra silly? The filmmakers definitely bring in the Ewoks, just like twice before.

Strangely, all of the robots don’t speak anything but English, and none of them with a female voice. One of the robots can talk only by threading together quotes from movies–just the gender-specific ones in English. Doesn’t seem like the robots come from deep space when their means of communication is so narrowly limited. But that’s “Transformers” for you. It is what it is.

Two hours and thirty-seven minutes, for one thing. Either a major plus or a major minus, depending on how you look at it. I think they could’ve edited under two hours easy. The story goes off in a lot of different directions, focusing on sundry extraneous and distracting threads featuring terrific talent in John Turturro, Frances McDormand, and John Malkovich, all miscast, as far as I’m concerned, by being too talented for the material.

Just think. This proves that the filmmakers could get Maya Angelou to write the screenplay for “Cabbage Patch Kids–The Movie,” starring every living human being who ever won an Oscar, and utilizing the greatest possible computer animation skills available on the planet, all pushed with the most massive marketing campaign in the history of coin, and actually, that doesn’t sound too bad. Strong potential, really.

Now if we can just make it in hologram format....