Summer 2012 Movie Kick-Off: The Avengers

The Avengers

4 out of 5 stars

What do you do when you want to watch something about beloved, classic fictional characters made with disgustingly expensive special effects and starring at least five incredibly hot male models - I mean actors?


You go pay your future children's college money for a ticket to see The Avengers, of course!  


Is it worth it? I would say definitely.  They hired some pretty skilled special effects guys, because there is some sweet computer action going on here.  And then there's the wave of nerd euphoria that comes with seeing a whole group of your favorite childhood obsessions together in one movie.  Now if only I could get someone to put the Power Rangers, all the Nick Toons, and the Backstreet Boys together, they would be an animated crime-fighting musical group; we definitely don't have enough of those. I call the copy rights on this. 


I was expecting that Robert Downey Jr.'s sarcasm would have to carry the movie, but the others did surprisingly well.  And of course, the entrance of the Hulk stole the show.  I mean, when a huge, invincible green guy starts roaring and throwing stuff, he's got my attention (guys, take notes).  


Even that Hawkeye dude who fights super villains with a bow and arrows is hot enough to distract me from the fact that he's fighting super villains with a bow and arrows. 


Overall, Avengers is a win-win for everybody: the studio makes its money back, actors stay employed, and you get to ogle your one-film-wonder characters one last time. 


  

Quoth The Raven: "Meh"

The Raven

2.5 out of 5 stars

I was fairly excited to see this film - the subject of Poe is not yet horribly overdone, but alas, there were more weaknesses here than strengths.

First, I think it tried too hard to be the Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) movies, with that hyper-throwing-lines-out-like-everyone's-on-crack vibe.  Those movies are only Bs anyway, we don't need copycats.

Second, as much as I like John Cusack, he was the wrong choice for Poe.  He does not work the macabre well; maybe he's been typecast too long as that feel-good stereo-toting lover boy next door, but he really doesn't have a creepy bone in his body.  Unfortunately, that's a disadvantage when you're playing a famous historical creeper.  In the scenes where Cusack was supposed to be an arrogant a**hole, he just couldn't pull it off.  Why? Because he is too good; he's nice to the bone.

I hate to say it, but Johnny Depp probably would have been a better choice, or maybe Stanley Tucci - we know he's got serial killer down pat from The Lovely Bones.

Acting aside, it would have been just a fun movie if it weren't for the over-the-top violence.  Now don't get me wrong: I like my violent movies just like the best of them, but this was just excessive without anything to back it up (like a good storyline, memorable characters, etc.).

Final Cut: Maybe when it comes to Netflix it might be worth checking out if you have nothing else to watch, but otherwise, save your money.

A Room Without A View

Room

by Emma Donoghue

4 out of 5 stars

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

I first heard about this novel sometime last year when it was very positively reviewed by Entertainment Weekly.  I immediately downloaded the sample, but it ended up sitting for ages in my nook library as a lonely little sample, just waiting for me to give it some attention. 

Most people would probably be turned off by the dark subject matter, but I was drawn immediately to the uniqueness of the story.  It is told in the words of five-year-old Jack, so as an adult reader you gain information in little bits and spurts, as it is delivered to Jack.  

As Jack's narration continues, you get to observe how Ma and Jack have carved out an existence for themselves, and you feel right along with them as they transition between worlds.  The book definitely stuck with me for a while after I finished reading, enough for me to look up some of the relevant true-life cases that inspired the story - Jaycee Lee DuGard and Josef Fritzl, for example.

The novel's power lies not in the graphic details of the crime but in the human elements of the story.  It's a gripping, moving story that I wholeheartedly recommend for anybody willing to explore a nontraditional literary plot.

My Latest Obsession

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

4.5 out of 5 stars

 Last summer, out of curiosity, I read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  To be quite honest, I was intrigued by the story, at least enough to finish the book, but I wasn't overly impressed.  It was much more graphic than I was used to reading at the time, and I was left wondering at the choice of title, as it appeared to me that Mikael Blomqvist got much more screen time (and was more central to the story) than Lisbeth Salander.

So I left it at that. I did not continue the second book, nor did I bother to reread the first. I remained thoroughly unimpressed. 

And then the movie came out.

Rooney Mara bowled me over with the power of her performance. Daniel Craig supported her perfectly as Kalle Blomqvist. Lisbeth Salander finally came alive for me; at last I understand the enormous popularity of the series.  

I. Love. Lisbeth. Salander. 

I'm currently working my way through the final book of the triology, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, and will be posting some more in-depth book reviews, but for now, if you see nothing else this year,

GO SEE THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.