Vin Diesel – 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 – ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ – But Wait, There’s More!

Written and Directed by James Gunn
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan
Soundtrack: Tyler Bates

On a personal note, I suppose I should have titled this ‘The People Talking 200th Review 3-Year Anniversary Special’, because it’s been three years since I started this blog, and this is the 200th movie I’m discussing and giving a rating to, but that would be a bit long-winded.

It’s also fitting that Guardians of the Galaxy was my favorite movie of 2014, and still my favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a surprise hit (certainly a surprise to the studio, who, based on the marketing, clearly had no idea what they had or what to do with it) that benefited from strong word of mouth (similar to another 2014 movie which just had a sequel). In all honesty, it wasn’t until The Force Awakens that any other movie gave me the same vibes as watching the original Star Wars trilogy when I was a kid; Guardians was that magical.

Enter Vol. 2. This one can’t sneak up on people. They know what it is, the studio knows what it is, and with proper hype comes the weight of expectations, unfair or not.

Basically, what I’m saying is that if you’re going into this one expecting it to be “as good” as the first one, you shouldn’t do that, as you’ll likely not have your expectations fulfilled, though all of this is not to say that Vol. 2 isn’t a very good movie in its own right, because it is. I’d say just don’t expect it to be the exact same movie, because it isn’t.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is eminently entertaining; filled with humor, action (though seemingly less so than other films of its ilk, which I’m okay with), emotional depth, and humor. Did I say humor twice? You bet I did. It’s the funniest movie I’ve seen in a while (so funny that I have to see it again because we were laughing so much), though, again, that’s not to say everything is a joke; it tugs at your heartstrings plenty.

If I have one legitimate criticism in comparing it to the first movie, it’s that the pacing and structure feels a bit clunky at times, but there’s not much else I can complain about. It still has tunes, the performances are still on point, the story is fine, it’s different and weird (which we know to be a good thing for Marvel), and it’s FUN (and it’s well-written enough that you can still understand it even if you’ve never seen a Marvel movie before, unlike another recent Disney product). AND, it takes a page out of the Fast & Furious playbook with the whole #FAMILY thing (which is fine by me).

Vol. 2 is not a perfect film, and it doesn’t necessarily improve on anything, but it is very well crafted; top notch as far as sequels go. It’s not likely to be my favorite movie of the year, given what’s come out already and what’s yet to be released, but it’s more than good enough to get a full theatrical recommendation.

Kudos to James Gunn for keeping the magic going.

Rating: ★★★★☆

P.S.
You won’t be leaving at all during the credits.

And thanks to Alamo and Mondo for the sweet glasses.

Movie Review – ‘The Fate of the Furious’ – Stylistically Designed To Be That Way

Directed by F. Gary Gray
Written by Chris Morgan based on characters created by Gary Scott Thompson
Cast: Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Luke Evans, Elsa Pataky, Kristofer Hivju, Scott Eastwood, Patrick St. Esprit, Olek Krupa, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Helen Mirren
Soundtrack: Brian Tyler

I can’t imagine all the way back in 2001 when Rob Cohen was directing The Fast and The Furious that he had any idea his little “Point Break with street racing” movie would eventually evolve into a series of roided-out Italian Jobs (fun fact: the 2003 remake was also directed by F. Gary Gray), let alone whatever The Fate of the Furious is (not to mention F&F is the most successful franchise in Universal’s history). At this point we’ve gone past full-circle and have left orbit on an entirely new trajectory, one that, frankly, I’m not entirely comfortable with.

Again, “Most movies have problems unless you’re Ghost Busters or The Rocketeer,” but The Fate of The Furious has some deep issues.

First of all, I said in my review of Furious 7 that I hope the series doesn’t continue on without Paul Walker, and I now feel completely justified. His absence is painfully obvious, and a reference to him by the characters is only salt in the wound. It’s a tough spot to be in, but, I can’t help thinking it should’ve been handled better.

Secondly, this movie finally manages to go too far in a few places (in a bad way), namely shakycam, magical hacking, and scenes that just make you wonder, “How did we arrive here with this franchise?” I mean, I’ve looked the other way on certain square pegs being hammered into round holes to make these movies fit together, but there’s a limit, and F8 reached it. I don’t mind hand-to-hand combat and gunplay in my action movies, but there was an inappropriate amount of it for this crew.

Worst of all though, this movie got too dark for me (sometimes literally), at least in terms of what the franchise is. For sure, serious things have happened before in the F&F universe (characters have been killed, family members threatened, etc.), but, again, this one went too far. I’m a little tired of the dark, gritty Nolan-ization of Hollywood in general (not that I don’t love Christopher Nolan, but not everything has the be The Dark Knight), but I never expected Fast & Furious to go that hard in the paint. At a certain point, I actually said to myself while watching F8, “I’m not having fun anymore. Remember when these movies were fun?”

All that said…

Just when I thought I was out, THEY PULL ME BACK IN.

Despite all of its flaws (including a lackluster performance from Charlize Theron, though I don’t necessarily blame her), I think I did enjoy this movie overall. I certainly didn’t feel ripped off in the end. It’s obviously flawed, and it’s on the bottom end of Fast & Furious movies, but there’s enough total entertainment value (aka things that are over the top in a good way) for me to give it more than a non-recommendation, provided you know what you’re getting into going in.

Catch it on a matinee if you want to be safe, but I won’t talk you out of seeing it.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

Quick Thoughts – Winter Round-Up

Winter is cold, but luckily most movie theaters have heat. Although it’s basically Summer now, so…

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

If you ever played the Grand Theft Auto games Vice City and San Andreas and ever wondered what was going on in the latter during the events of the former, then To Live and Die in L.A. is the movie for you.

Another underrated William Friedkin special to go alongside 1977’s Sorcerer, To Live and Die in L.A. delves into the true calling of the U.S. Secret Service: cracking down on counterfeit cash.

William Petersen (now of CSI fame) plays a Secret Service agent determined to take down a notorious counterfeiter who killed his partner, and he’s going to bring him in BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Similar to last year’s Man From U.N.C.L.E., what Live and Die lacks in substance, it [mostly] makes up with style, including a sensationally 80s score composed by none other than Wang Chung, as well as the usual William Friedkin hallmarks: gorgeous photography, profanity, and an insane car chase, not to mention some well done foot chases to boot. It’s also great to see actors like Willem Dafoe and John Turturro before they hit it big.

Honestly, it might be more of an interesting time capsule than outright entertaining, but it’s still a gem more than worth pursuing.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Iron Giant (1999)

I’m rather ashamed to admit that I was asleep to this movie for a very long time (not entirely my fault, apparently, as Warner Bros. grossly mishandled the initial marketing). I mean, I’d heard of it, I’d seen part of it on TV, but I’d never given it a proper viewing.

After having seen it on the big screen, I’m willing to put it among the best films of the past 20 years.

Directed by Brad Bird (who has since directed The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which are both fantastic), The Iron Giant is the story of an unlikely friendship between a lonely young boy and a massive robot from another world (voiced by Vin Diesel in a proto-Groot performance), the lengths they go to in order to keep everything secret (especially from a government agent voiced by Christopher McDonald, in arguably his most nefarious role), and one teaching the other what it means to be human (or “not a gun”). Beyond that, it’s a beautiful and thought-provoking 1950s period piece with deep emotional resonance (so many tears), but still enough laughs to balance it out.

In many ways, The Iron Giant is the kind of “family film” that we don’t see too much of anymore, in that it deals with actual issues (life, death, loss, sacrifice, etc.) and puts the characters in real danger. Perhaps the closest recent comparison would be Big Hero 6, although it’s not nearly as charming as Giant.

If you’ve never seen it or haven’t watched it in a while, go ahead and put a pre-order in for the Signature Edition, to be released on home format on September 6th. You won’t regret it.

Rating: ★★★★★

The Evil Dead (1981) & Evil Dead II (1987)

I can see how someone could watch these movies and think, “You know, that Bruce Campbell, he’s got some acting chops; I like his charisma.”

I’m less sure how someone could watch these movies and think, “You know, that Sam Raimi, he’s got some directing chops; let’s hand him a huge comic book franchise.”

Now, perhaps there are other Sam Raimi movies that I just haven’t seen that are actually worth my time, but I’m not impressed by what I’ve witnessed so far.

I know there is much debate as to which is better, The Evil Dead or its first sequel. For me, I prefer the original, because it does take itself seriously, and the attempts at horror slapstick in Evil Dead II don’t do anything for me. Either way though, I don’t have any plans to revisit one or the other. Labors of love as they may be, I just don’t get the cult surrounding them.

If you’re not already drinking the Evil Dead Kool-Aid, I don’t recommend it. There’s plenty of other stuff in the genre worth looking at.

Dual Rating: ★★☆☆☆