Elizabeth Olsen – People Talking

Movie Review – ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ – The Gang’s All Here

Directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo

Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (screenplay), based on the comic book story by Jim Starlin, George Pérez, & Ron Lim, based on characters created by Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, and Jim Starlin

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Peter Dinklage, Benedict Wong, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Jacob Batalon, Isabella Amara, Florence Kasumba, William Hurt, Terry Notary, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Carrie Coon, Michael James Shaw

Soundtrack: Alan Silvestri

It all comes down to this.

(Until Ant-Man and the Wasp comes out in ten weeks, which I’m actually more hyped for, but whatever.)

Eighteen movies in ten years have all been building up to the conflict to end all conflicts (until the next one).

The Infinity War.

So, what do we got?

Well…that kind of depends on the question.

As far as its purpose, which is the joining together of multiple sub-franchises to form, more or less, a single, cohesive story, I think this film does an admirable job of hammering the puzzle pieces together, but it’s not seamless enough to transcend the limitations of adapting one medium to another.

To put it another way, there’s very little about Infinity War that’s bad on its own; pretty much every scene unto itself works just fine, but I don’t think it cuts together well. Frankly, I found the whole thing rather overwhelming (perhaps a second look would be worthwhile, but I’m not sure).

One big problem is that the audience is expected to carry too much into the movie (metaphorically speaking). I’ve seen every MCU film, I assume most people who are going opening weekend have as well, but most of the emotional payoffs in Infinity War rely on you to remember why they’re important, and, as good a memory as I have, I just don’t have that kind of RAM for this, and as such a lot of the emotion of the movie fell flat for me (not to mention there haven’t been many real consequences in the MCU to this point, so…yeah, I’ll just leave it there).

Second, and I know I’ll be in the minority here because it’s the point of all of this for a lot of people, but there’s too much mind-numbing action, which I don’t normally find myself saying about these films. I like action fine, I can even enjoy nonstop action when it’s done right, but let me ask you this:

If two CG characters are fighting each other, why does the camera need to shake so much?

One positive I will mention, because I didn’t hate this movie and want to end on a good note, I actually liked Thanos as a character. Sure, he’s a villain who must be stopped, but at least he has an ethos and isn’t just another bitter revenge dude.

Other than that, hardcore fans will probably eat this one up, but I’m not convinced it has that much staying power for general audiences. Check it out if you want, especially if you’re pot committed to the MCU, but don’t feel bad about seeing it at a discount.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

P.S.
Shoutout to Alamo/Mondo for the swag.

Movie Review – ‘Wind River’ – Frontier Justice

Written and Directed by Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Kelsey Asbille, Julia Jones, Teo Briones, Apesanahkwat, Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal, Eric Lange, Gil Birmingham, Tokala Clifford, Martin Sensmeier, Tyler Laracca, Ian Bohen, Hugh Dillon, Matthew Del Negro, James Jordan, Jon Bernthal, Blake Robbins
Soundtrack: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

In a span of less than two years, Taylor Sheridan has proven himself to be one of the great screenwriters of this decade, having previously penned Sicario and Hell Or High Water; and now he proves himself to be a fine filmmaker as well.

Equal parts harsh and beautiful, like the cold western landscapes it so revels in, Wind River is a quiet, mature thriller with genuine emotional depth and down-to-earth characters.

The story is not particularly complicated, a girl’s been murdered on an Indian Reservation and we need to find out who did it, but I don’t mind in this case. Sometimes overly twisty plots can take you right out of the movie if they’re not done with the proper touch, so I applaud the restraint here (aka not everything needs to be The Usual Suspects).

In terms of performances, I’ve had a soft spot for Jeremy Renner since I first noticed him all the way back in 2003’s S.W.A.T. He’s a fine actor who does well with everything he’s given, but he hasn’t gotten many opportunities to truly shine. Wind River is one such opportunity.

Given its August release, I’m not sure how much faith the studio has that Wind River will be major awards bait, but make no mistake, this is the best Jeremy Renner performance we’ve seen in some time. True, it’s very much in his usual understated fashion, but let’s just say he carries a lot of weight in this one.

Naturally, Elizabeth Olsen puts in a good shift as well (what a delight she’s been since seemingly coming out of nowhere in 2011; even if she was in that awful American Godzilla…), and the supporting characters really help fill everything out, particularly Graham Greene and Gil Birmingham (the scenes between he and Renner are among my favorite in the film).

I also give this movie a lot of credit for its realistic and darkly beautiful portrayal of grief (I put it up there with the original Edge of Darkness mini-series), which is something we don’t get enough of in our media across the board (too often it’s played way up, either melodramatically or for comedy’s sake, depending on the context).

Wind River is also remarkably successful at being laid back but never boring, which I attribute to Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay and story structure, dolling out information at a steady enough rate to keep the audience constantly engaged.

Other than that, I don’t have much else to say, good or bad, but if I do have one small criticism, it’s that I felt like this movie could have been more cinematic in its look (sometimes I got a real TV vibe from what I was seeing), but that’s about it.

All-in-all, Wind River is an impressive “debut” from Taylor Sheridan, on par with the classic Coen Brothers noirs (just played a little straighter, as most Coen films are dark comedies at heart), and a fine addition to what continues to be one of the best movie summers I can remember for a long time.

Check it out.

Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)

Movie Review – ‘Ingrid Goes West’ – Thumbs-Up Emoji

Directed by Matt Spicer
Written by David Branson Smith & Matt Spicer
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Billy Magnussen, Pom Klementieff
Soundtrack: Jonathan Sadoff and Nick Thorburn

I’ll say this right up front.

I don’t know if this movie works for people over a certain age, and I don’t know if it will hold up five, ten, twenty years down the line, but, for right this second, it’s exactly the dark comedy we need.

Good art often pushes, challenges, and makes people uncomfortable, and that’s exactly what Ingrid Goes West is and does.

The film is a no-holds-barred examination/take-down of Insta-culture, and all that goes with it: “curated” lives, phony relationships, sacrificing what matters for what’s fleeting, the insistence that everything is amazing, avocado toast, etc. The conceit of the movie is that Ingrid has mental health issues (which are set up and which she acknowledges), but most of what she does is only a half-step removed from what millions of Instagram users do every day, which is the core of the film’s resonance.

(Not that I think social media is inherently evil. God knows I use it everyday in my personal life and to promote my writing, but every so often you need to hold up a mirror to yourself, which Ingrid provides.)

However, despite the high percentage of social commentary, the movie is still an effective piece of entertainment, mostly working in cringe comedy territory (a la The Office UK), but with enough spoonfuls of sugar along the way to not be completely overwhelming (there’s a subtle running gag about what Ingrid eats which I found quite humorous).

It may not have made me laugh the most of any movie I’ve seen so far this year (I think that honor goes to Spider-Man: Homecoming), and I don’t know that it’s supposed to, given its comedy-drama classification, but Ingrid works in both premise and execution, thanks largely to the handful of performances that really drive it.

Aubrey Plaza in particular jumps into her character in a way I personally have never seen from her before (performance of her career so far?), Elizabeth Olsen (so hot right now) is her usual rock-steady self, O’Shea Jackson, Jr. threatens to steal the movie, Wyatt Russell provides some necessary down-to-earth energy, and Billy Magnussen is an absolute fire-cracker.

Whereas most comedies these days, even ones intended to be taken a little more seriously, often cross the line in terms of suspension of disbelief (which usually doesn’t matter too much, as long as its funny), Ingrid Goes West does a good job of keeping everything fairly reigned in. There are a couple of small plot holes that I could nitpick if I wanted do (but I don’t really do that here because I don’t really believe in it), but overall the movie never jumps the shark.

Of course, with a film of such quality, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention writer/director Matt Spicer. This is a remarkably impressive debut feature, and I hope he can keep up the good work in the future.

So, there you have it. A dark, dramatic comedy that’s actually funny and makes you think.

Well worth seeing.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Ingrid Goes West opens in select theaters in NY and LA on August 10, presumably followed by an expanded release on August 17.

Movie Review – ‘Captain America: Civil War’ – Counting the Cost

Directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (screenplay), based on the comic book by Mark Millar & Steven McNiven, based on characters created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Florence Kasumba
Soundtrack: Henry Jackman

I’m not going to spend too much time on this because the reality is you’ve most likely made your mind up already, and that’s fine.

Captain America: Civil War is the latest offering in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is now up to 13 movies (and counting) since Iron Man first hit the screen in 2008. It’s basically another Avengers movie because almost everyone is assembled except for Thor, Hulk, and Nick Fury, though the plot does mostly focus on the eponymous Captain. Marvel also wisely brought back the Russo Brothers to direct the film, after their successful turn with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which I highly rate in terms of the MCU).

I do have some issues with the movie. For one, it’s overly long. I’m not even saying it drags, though many may have that opinion, but I do have a problem that all the big Marvel movies are becoming 2.5 hours long. It’s not like the Nolan Batman series where it’s a closed trilogy and you need to pack in as much as you can, Marvel has these planned out til Infinity [Wars]; maybe they could find a way to be a little more economical with the storytelling? ‘Winter Soldier’ wasn’t that long.

Also, and this is likely related to the previous point, there are some scenes that I suppose are in the movie to connect it to future movies, but in the movie at hand they feel like superfluous vestiges (like your appendix, you can live just fine without it). Dare I say, we may be seeing the first real signs of fatigue from the MCU, but then Dr. Strange might revitalize things a la Guardians of the Galaxy, so I don’t know.

Overall, Civil War holds a good balance of fun, action, and more serious themes of power, friendship, and the intersection of the two. It has a great cast giving solid performances (though some appearances are little more than cameos), and I actually found myself invested in the story outside of the action set pieces. Most importantly, there are no giant blue lasers shooting into space.

If you’re already into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ll probably like it quite a bit. If you’re coming in fresh, I don’t really know what to tell you, but I’m sure you’ll get something out of it.

Rating: ★★★½

P.S.
These pint glasses from Alamo Drafthouse are incredible.

P.P.S.
In terms of new characters, I was underwhelmed by Black Panther, but I loved Spider-Man.