La La Land

A struggling actress and a struggling Jazz musician meet and fall in love over the course of a year in a throw back style of movie musicals. It's an affair that is hanging on by a piano string to begin with and when dreams and reality are entered into the mix, it becomes even more of a challenge to maintain. But true love concurs all, right?

Cast

Ryan Gosling as Sebastian Wilder

Emma Stone as Mia Dolan

John Legend as Keith

Rosemarie DeWitt as Laura Wilder

Finn Wittrock as Greg Earnest

Jessica Rothe as Alexis

Sonoya Mizuno as Caitlin

Callie Hernandez as Tracy

J. K. Simmons as Bill

Tom Everett Scott as David

Who will like this

Although this may have all the markings of a "chick flick", don't be fooled by its romantic storyline or the fact that it is indeed...a musical. The heart and soul of this movie is taken from movies such as "Rebel without a Cause", "Casablanca" and "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". It also has parallels with "Moulin Rouge".  It's a good date movie and definitely a must watch for lovers of classic movies.

Phantom Thoughts

La La Land is a movie I didn't have a lot of knowledge about going into it. But I do now. I had to do some research after seeing it. Let me explain: as I sat watching it, it brought me back to when I was a kid, watching old movies with my Dad on the weekends. Although this was a totally new and unique movie, it still was like watching something familiar. Something I've seen before. And as it turns out, that was done on purpose.

Damien Chazelle wrote the screenplay in 2010, but couldn't get it off the ground. However, after the success of Whiplash which he also wrote and directed, La La Land finally landed the backing it needed. His vision for his movie was uncompromising, thankfully so. And that vision is so clear to me: Ryan Gosling's character, Sebastian is obsessed with jazz music the way it's meant to be played, the old style of the music, which is dying. But he sees the beauty in it. In order for others to see the beauty in it, it has to be changed. It has to evolve. The film mirrors this in a beautiful way. It's shot with all the similarities of an old movie, from the wipes to the edits to the pacing and styles to the all-in-one-shot scenes (or at least the illusion of one shot. Some of those are done with almost seamless editing.) It is a remarkable achievement. There are shots that could have been easier to do in the studio that were shot on location with the perfect lighting. They did these dance scenes as many times as they could with that light all in one shot to get it just right. Simply amazing.

Ok. Enough love. Let's get down to it. Ryan Gosling, although the perfect actor for the part of the brooding, closed off Sebastian, for a musical where you have to sing and dance....his performance was a little....flat footed.

 

 

And while I give him credit for learning how to play the music on the piano for the role, not knowing how to even PLAY the piano, maybe he should have had someone sing for him.

 

 

Emma Stone is tremendous. Seriously. She owned this role like no one could imagine. Her acting is so on point, it seems like she is just living the life we see on screen. It's effortless. And although her singing is not spectacular either, it's just the right amount of emotion for the part of Mia.

 

 

Could there be a spoiler for a movie like this? Surprisingly .. yes. And if you haven't seen it yet, stop reading as I will now get into the SPOILER. The ending. I've heard some people bicker about not liking the ending of the movie. But it was brilliant in this regard: as the movie is rolling along in it's classical way of boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl break up and then boy and girl get back together and live happily ever after....the movie throws a curve ball at the last scene. They don't actually end up together. They move on with their lives in separate directions....because THAT'S what happens in real life. People change, things change and not every love IN your life becomes the love OF your life. There's a whole "Dream Sequence" if you will, that maps out how the typical movie ending SHOULD have played out. (Did you notice that the set they were looking at when Seb first meets Mia in the coffee shop was the set of the dream sequence at the end? No? Hmmmm...maybe you should watch it again then) And that's the same feeling you get when you see an old lover from long ago. It's brief and emotional, but in the end, you are living your life and can't turn back time. Just move forward.

 

I may sound like I'm praising it a little too much...and maybe I am....but I thought it was brilliant and wonderful and nostalgic all at once.  

 

 

Until next time, see you in the center seat!

Ghostbusters

Three paranormal scientists reluctantly come together to form a group that investigates and ultimately ends up catching ghosts during an increasing upturn in spiritual manifestations. The women are joined by an MTA worker who adds a knowledge of New York City that helps the group out. They run into a few roadblocks along the way, but eventually find out about a plot to unleash a myriad of ghosts upon the city. They are the only ones equipped to stop it, if they can get to the cause on time!

Cast

Melissa McCarthy as Dr. Abigail "Abby" Yates

Kristen Wiig as Dr. Erin Gilbert

Kate McKinnon as Dr. Jillian Holtzmann

Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan

Chris Hemsworth as Kevin Beckman

Cecily Strong as Jennifer Lynch

Andy García as Mayor Bradley

Neil Casey as Rowan North

Who will like this

Well....it's been over 30 years since the Original "Ghostbuster" was a Summer Blockbuster. But fans of the original will still want to check it out, as well as their kids who may have grown up hearing their parents recite some memorable lines from it. The Millennials, especially young women, will be drawn to the prospect of the talents of the cast. As well as a good special effects disposable movie to just sit back and enjoy.

Phantom Thoughts

Buckle up, kids. It's gonna be a bumpy ride in the Ecto-1.

If you're a faithful Phantom Phollower....you already know my love of the original Ghostbusters. If not, you can get some background on my post here: Ghostbusters 30th anniversary Blog . So, that being said, I may be a bit more critical on this one. To be fair though, I have had a few friends who went to see it and their impression of it was going in not expecting much, but coming away saying it was funny and enjoyable to them.

I'll say this...if this had been a sequel instead of a reboot, I would have enjoyed this a HECK of a lot more. In my opinion, sometimes you just don't have to reboot a movie (like in the case of Willy Wonka- which was just horrible) , and sometimes it is necessary (as in the case of The Incredible Hulk- where the Edward Norton reboot was so much better than the Eric Bana disaster).

I understand Paul Feig's reasons for doing it. he wanted to re-introduce the franchise to a new audience. To bring them through a journey of these new characters in an environment that is not familiar with ghosts invading NYC, as a sequel would have been. But even though they wanted this to be it's own movie, it was PACKED with references and nods to the 1984 film. Not to mention cameos from almost EVERY actor from that movie. Including a bust of the late, great Harold Ramis seen outside Kristen Wiig's office early on in the movie.

The above mentioned references are way too many to mention. But, I will mention that the ghosts Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man are back to cause havoc with the new team. You can see the new Ecto-1 in the trailers which is very similar to Dan Aykroyd's Ecto-1. The theme song has been re-done, but Ray Parker Jr's is still featured throughout. And remember all those "memorable lines" I pointed out that parents may be reciting to their kids? Yeah.....they're all in there....sometimes multiple times. This reboot just didn't want to be a reboot. It wanted to BE Ghostbusters. But it was only a ghost of the original. (Too corny? Nah....)

I also have to say...I was extremely disappointed with the second trailer that came out for this movie. Let me refresh your memory:

So why was I so pissed about his? Because as I stated on my Facebook page months ago (Not a fan of that page? Why not? Go follow me now! Film Phantom Facebook Page ) I stated that I think I had figured out the plot of the movie from it. And you know what? I was right. That annoys the shit out of me. I almost didn't watch it just based on that fact alone.

There were a few bright spots in this slime covered mess. First off, props to Leslie Jones for doing what a lot of us wanted to do for a long time.....slap the shit out of Melissa McCarthy for making un-funny comedies for years now.

And Chris Hemsworth as the 'Himbo", eye candy receptionist. A little over the top at times, but he still has some funny lines and good moments that shine through.
But the under-rated star of this one without a doubt is Kate McKinnon . Her portrayal of the Egon Spengler role, "Dr. Jillian Holtzmann" had a mad scientist vibe that was entertaining and funny. She had the best lines by far. Her quirkiness mixed with wise-ass attitude is a winning combination.
Plus, there was good banter/funny lines thrown about during the final battle scene.

I can't really say stay until the end of the credits, because you really can't help it. A little bit like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off",  the movie kinda continues through them. But the final end credit scene sets up the next movie of course....and surprise, surprise....SPOILER....it seems like the carbon copy of the original one will continue as we hear Jones ask the crew after listening to an EVP, "What's Zuul?"

Ahhh well....

Until next time, see you in the center seat!

Independance Day :Resurgence

20 years have passed since the aliens first attacked the Earth on Independence Day. Since then, the World has been united in peace and taken the alien technology and made it their own. Creating vehicles, spacecraft and weapons. We've built stations on the Moon, among other celectial sites in anticipation for another attack. The question is....have we done enough? Some familiar heroes, along with new ones come together in an epic battle to save humanity.

Cast

Liam Hemsworth as Jake Morrison, a U.S. pilot serving as a lieutenant in ESD, Patricia Whitmore's fiancé

Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson

Jessie Usher as Dylan Dubrow-Hiller, the son of Jasmine Dubrow-Hillier and stepson of the now-deceased war hero Steven Hiller

Bill Pullman as Thomas J. Whitmore, the 42nd and former President

Maika Monroe as Patricia Whitmore, the former First Daughter

Sela Ward as Elizabeth Lanford, the 45th President of the United States

William Fichtner as Joshua Adams

Judd Hirsch as Julius Levinson

Brent Spiner as Dr. Brakish Okun

Patrick St. Esprit as Reese Tanner, the United States Secretary of Defense.

Vivica A. Fox as Jasmine Dubrow-Hiller, the widow of the late war hero Steven Hiller

Who will like this

20 years is a long time to go between sequels. And fans of the original will want to check out how they decided to continue the story. Younger viewers, however will probably have to download the movie from '96 to get caught up to speed. Although parts are explained, you really do have to see the original to follow this one. It's a Summer Sci-fi movie. Lots of special effects. The late teen/twenty-something crowd may relate this to a Pacific Rim.

Phantom Thoughts

Oh....guilty pleasures. Some movies are just bad and you don't care. You love them anyway. For whatever the reason, they make us happy. In 1996, Independence Day was one of those for me.

Mind you, it WAS 20 years ago and it didn't take a lot to make me happy. There were issues with it, of course. Most people point to the fact that Jeff Goldbum's  character hooked into the alien tech using just his laptop. But if you think about it, that can be explained. See, the ship he "hacked" into was a crashed ship from the Roswell incident. They had over 50 years of experimentation on the thing to figure out how to hook into the control panel. Who's to say the scientists working on it didn't figure it out during that time and then David just used human computers that were already in it to run his programs?

So if you suspend belief a little bit with the original (and remember that you're watching an alien invasion movie, after all. You should ALREADY be suspending belief) then you can enjoy it that much more. It had a slow start, and by that I mean that it built up to a crescendo. You knew what was coming, but you were intrigued and curious on what would happen next right up to the point of the first spectacular attack.

This one....not so much. They did try though. They tried to really tie itself to the original....but maybe more so than you might think. FOR EXAMPLE: in the 1996 movie, we learn that Jeff Goldbum's character punched the now President Bill Pullman back when they were younger. In this one, Will Smith's step-son punches Pullman's daughter's fiancé. Did you follow that? It got a little confusing. Which is how I felt watching . There was no build up, no crescendo, no story flow.

I know what they were trying to do...bring back as many original characters while bringing in new blood. But they just couldn't meld the two together. Dr. Okun is back....turns out he didn't die in the original (Oh c'mon....that wasn't a spoiler! He was in the trailers, after all) He was in a coma this whole time and wakes up on the eve of the new attack. Sorry....but some characters should just stay dead. They also used the "alien-in-a-glass-prison-communicates-through-a-human" bit again but this time it's Ex-President Whitmore who is the vessel of choice. Same gag. Different character. Ho Hum.

Speaking of President Whitmore....Pullman delivered the greatest Sci-Fi Presidential speech in history in the original.  Let's face it, it's greater than most political speeches in real life today. Whitmore for Pres. 2016!!!! That speech couldn't be topped, and they knew it. So instead of trying, they just inputted quotes from that one anywhere they could. It felt forced. And it was.

Ok...here's an ACTUAL spoiler for you: ID:R also took notes from a far more successful alien sequel- Aliens 2. Just like that one, they introduced the idea of a "Queen" alien that controls all the others. Same as that one, this Queen is MUCH bigger and tougher than the others we met before. Bonus ENDING SPOILER: once they defeat her, the others all just give up, and the massive ship that covered the entire Atlantic Ocean (Yeah....that wouldn't cause cataclysmic effects just by it's presence on our planet, would it?) leaves. Why? Once we defeated the aliens 20 years ago, all the ships crashed to the ground and humanity had to rebuild from that. Why would THIS ship leave? I didn't understand that at all.

But the most disappointing and confusing part was the appearance of a different alien species. This one remains a mystery until about half way through when it is discovered that the orb is a warning of the attack and has the answer to defeating the "bad" aliens. That ship and message delivery system is in the shape of a sphere....which looks like a mixture of another sci-fi movie ship and character:

 

 

Turns out the answer to defeat them is "42". No...not really. But it could be. See, they came to warn us, but can't TELL us how to beat them. It's not until we do on our own that this globe says it can share with us the secrets of the universe now that we proved ourselves. It was just completely unnecessary and too broad a "reward" for fighting for our survival.

 

To sum it up, it was confusing and disappointing for the most part. But a special effects delight with moments of humor and action. I would probably watch it once in the theater.....then maybe catch it again once it works it's way to Spike or FX.

 

 

 

Until next time, see you in the center seat.

Finding Dory

A year after the events of "Finding Nemo", absent-minded Dory has an arrant memory of her Mom and Dad. That memory sparks her desire to find them and be reunited with her family. With the help of old friends, Marlin and Nemo....and also a few new ones, the adventure begins in a trek across the ocean to find them.

Cast

Ellen DeGeneres as Dory

Albert Brooks as Marlin

Hayden Rolence as Nemo

Ed O'Neill as Hank, a cranky East Pacific red octopus

Diane Keaton as Jenny, Dory's mother.

Eugene Levy as Charlie, Dory's father.

Kaitlin Olson as Destiny, a near-sighted whale shark

Ty Burrell as Bailey, a beluga whale

Idris Elba as Fluke, an easygoing sea lion

Dominic West as Rudder, a sea lion

Bob Peterson as Mr. Ray

Who will like this:

This one is a little tricky. It's a kid-friendly Pixar movie, but not as kid friendly as the first, considering it is rated PG as apposed to the G rating of "Nemo". And because of the 13 year gap in in time, little ones who liked the first are a bit out of the age range of this one and not quite old enough to have little ones of their own to take. So it's really a "Finding Nemo" for the next generation.

Phantom Thoughts

This movie is a bit special to your favorite Phantom. See..."Finding Nemo" was the very first movie I took my daughter to see in the theater when she was only 3 years old. And the Pint-Sized Phantomette sat through the whole movie in amazement. Only once climbing onto her Daddy's lap during the part where the screen went completely dark as the characters there sank into the deep abyss. I took my daughter, now a 15 year old young lady Phantomette to see it and complete the circle.

But that's the issue. She is on the very fringe age of enjoying the two movies. Very young when the first came out, and a bit too old to fully enjoy the second. The 13 years between movies is too long and not long enough at the same time. I guess the next wave of little ones can watch Nemo on Netflix or Blu-Ray before going to the theaters of course, but it's not quite the same. So let's just focus on the movie itself.

This whole thing came about at the persistence of Ellen DeGeneres wanting to play the character again. And why wouldn't she? With over 25 million likes, Dory is the most liked character on Facebook from any Disney or Pixar film. That's quite a statistic if you think about ALL the different and loved characters Disney and Pixar has created.

All the standard Easter Eggs found in Pixar movies can be found here as well. Such as the Pizza Planet Truck (found sunken in the wreck where the Giant Squid battle takes place), The "A113" (on the tags of Fluke and Rudder) and of course the voice talents of John Ratzenberger (who goes from a school of Moonfish to a crab named Bill). Just to name a few.

There is, however, the problem of movie flow.....pun intended. The first is the story plot, which gets a little spastic and convoluted at times. Finding Dory's parents took a few more twists and turns than it needed to. In "Nemo", the story was simple....it was the story of Marlin's journey to get to where is son is captured. It's a linear story that is as straight as the path he takes. "Dory" goes from the reef to California, into a Marine Biology Institute and then to different parts of that location and back into the ocean...all the while sprinkling in flashbacks of a young Dory to get her backstory. It just was a bit messy in my opinion. Speaking of flow.....in "Finding Nemo", Marlin lives on the Great Barrier Reef which is just off the coast of Queensland, Australia. To find his son, Marlin needs to travel to......Sydney AUSTRALIA! To be fair, the trip is over 1200 miles and the EAC (East Australian Current) does in fact run down the length of the country to make it a feasible story. However, in "Finding Dory", the gang travel from the reef to California...which is over 7500 miles! And as where the first movie takes the entire time on that voyage, THIS movie takes that 7 times as long excursion and condenses it to a mere few minutes.

I know, I know.....it's a KID'S movie. Who cares about the inaccuracy in the two trips? The Film Phantom. That's who. As a personal experience, it was a great time that I wouldn't trade for the world. But strictly from a movie experience, it was cute....but lacking.

Until next time, see you in the center seat.

Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass

Years after the original Alice in Wonderland, Alice is now the captain of her Father's ship "The Wonder". But when the ship, her Mother's home and basically her whole life is on the verge of being taken away, she finds herself returning to Underland through a mirror. She arrives to find the Hatter's health deteriorating. He believes his family is alive after they are presumed killed by the Jabberwocky. It's up to Alice to travel through time to find them....but Time is against her.

Cast

Johnny Depp as Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter

Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh

Helena Bonham Carter as Iracebeth of Crims, the Red Queen

Anne Hathaway as Mirana of Marmoreal, the White Queen

Sacha Baron Cohen as Time

Rhys Ifans as Zanik Hightopp, the Mad Hatter's father

Matt Lucas as Tweedledum and Tweedledee

Alan Rickman as Absolem, the Caterpillar

Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat

Michael Sheen as Nivens McTwisp, the White Rabbit

Timothy Spall as Bayard, the Bloodhound

Who will like this movie

With it's bright colors and wondrous effects and action, young viewers will certainly be entertained. Not too young, however because of it's sometimes dark themes. Fans of the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaborations may be disappointed by this, their 9th work together.

Phantom Thoughts

This review didn't exist when the original "Alice in Wonderland" came out in 2010. That's right....it's been 6 years since the last movie. That's kinda significant. But more on that later. And although I am quite the fan of The Depp, I was not really too impressed with that adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic.

Needless to say, I wasn't overly excited to see the "sequel" this past week. And I put sequel in quotes because Alice in Wonderland was already a mix of the two books: Alice Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. So when they wrote this one, they had to come up with a brand new story to tell with no reference to pull from. Add that to the fact that Tim Burton only produced this one, as opposed to directing it like he did the first, and it spells out failure from the start. Still, I've been pleasantly surprised before, so I gave it a shot. Seems my first thoughts were the correct ones unfortunately.

The story centers around the search for the Mad Hatter's family and looking for them through time. Time is personified as a new character and brought to life by Sacha Baron Cohen. Poor Johnny Depp has almost no lines that doesn't include the word "Family" in it....and it gets annoying really quickly. So rather than suffer through it, I suggest changing it into a drinking game.....everytime the Mad Hatter says "Family" while watching this movie, take a drink. You'll be hammered in 20 minutes and won't care that you're basically watching a colorful passage of two hours of your life.

 

 

 

The Mad Hatter is not as "mad" as he was before.....and Cohen is not as whimsical as most of his characters are. But there is one interesting twist on his portrayal of Time....see, he is first presented as most older people see him... a villain. But as the movie moves forward, you come to realize that Time is not bad or good. It just is.

 

One other small perk that the nerd in me found....the slight Doctor Who theme that rose for just a moment as Alice and the Hatter are racing through the time vortex.

Well played, Sir....well played.

 

I mentioned that they had to write a new story for this one, but they still needed some connection to the first. So references were written in to accomplish just that. Here's the problem...I told you it has been 6 years from that one, so for me at least, the references were lost. Except one. We do see the ironic fate of the Knave of Hearts who was played by Crispen Glover's disembodied head. For half of Alice in Wonderland, I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong with that character. Then I realized that his WHOLE BODY except for his head was CGI. I figure it was to make him look more comical and dream-like....but I just found it unnecessary. Oh....and the irony I referenced? The Knave of Hearts dead body is seen sitting in a chair at one point....and then his skull rolls off his body. Haha!

 

The thing that disappoints me most is that THIS was the final movie of the great Alan Rickman, the voice of Absolem, the Caterpillar (the Butterfly in this version). He deserved such a better send off than this. Maybe I'll go watch his other winged role....Metatron, the Angel in Kevin Smith's Dogma. It would be a much better use of my...Time.  

 

Until next Time, see you in the center seat.

X-Men Apocalypse

One of the most powerful mutants to ever have lived is trapped for thousands of years, only to awaken in the year 1983. After he does, Apocalypse looks upon the world and is angered by how the weak have taken over the planet and worship "false Gods".  Having lived with immeasurable power for so long, he and his followers viewed him as a God and he intends to take back that title. Apocalypse recruits 4 powerful mutants to help in his quest. World domination is not in the cards with the X-Men, so the young students of Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted led by Hank McCoy, Moira Mac Taggert and Mystique take up the battle for the Earth.

Cast

• James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier
• Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
• Jennifer Lawrence as Raven / Mystique
• Oscar Isaac as En Sabah Nur / Apocalypse
• Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy / Beast
• Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert
• Tye Sheridan as Scott Summers / Cyclops
• Sophie Turner as Jean Grey
• Alexandra Shipp as Ororo Munroe / Storm
• Olivia Munn as Psylocke
• Lucas Till as Alex Summers / Havok
• Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff / Quicksilver
• Kodi Smit-McPhee as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler
• Josh Helman as Colonel William Stryker
• Ben Hardy as Angel
• Lana Condor as Jubilee

Who will like this Movie

  This is certainly not the "Hey, let's go see a movie" type of choice to make this Summer. If you haven't been following along with the prior X-men movies, you may be a little lost. Comic book fans will enjoy seeing this storyline unfold on the big screen. I also think if you were a fan of "Stargate" (the movie....not the TV show) you will find parallels that are interesting.

Phantom Thoughts

I have one word to describe this movie...............blue.

Holy Shit! I think they pulled out every blue character in the Marvel universe for this one! Mystique, Beast, Apocalypse, Nightcrawler.....even Professor X donned his famous blue suit at the end of the film! The only one they passed on (and I have no idea why....at this point, why not?) was Angel. With his metal wings, he was more similar to "Archangel" who had blue skin in the comics. They DID give him a blue light when he got those new wings. Maybe as a nod to the character.

OK. Let's put that aside for a moment. Something else that has made it's way around the internet is how similar Apocalypse looked to Ivan Ooze in the old TMNT movie. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice a similarity to a DIFFERENT Marvel villain in a more recent past:

 

 

Ronin from Guardians of the Galaxy was also Hell bent on becoming God-like with power, wanted vengeance on a World that he felt superior to....oh yeah.....he was also blue.

 

This was also the second Marvel movie to reference Star Wars in as many months. But this reference wasn't as appreciated by the Phantom as the one first brought up by Spidey in "Captain America: Civil War".  Here we find some young X-men exiting the movie "Return of the Jedi", where a comment is made that "....the third one is always the worst." In as much as this is a shot at the Holy Trilogy for Star Wars fans, it was actually meant as a reference to "X-Men Last Stand" which was criticized by many of it's fans. But someone should have reminded these youngsters that "Apocalypse" is the third movie for THESE X-men as well.

 

It has to be noted as well, that I have seen ALL the X-men movies (including the Wolverine stand alones and Deadpool) and I have to say that even I got a bit confused on the sequence of events. Between jumping around in time and the new timelines in "Days of Future Past", I don't know what I'm watching anymore. I think Deadpool said it best:

 

 

But was it a total disaster? No. Of course not. I'll tell you what saved it: Quicksilver. Played marvelously by Evan Peters, the scene in which (SPOILERS) Quicksilver saves almost everyone in Charles Xavier's Mansion as it is blowing up was brilliant. And seeing as that whole thing took 4 months to film, using 3-D Phantom cameras (not named after yours truly, but I'll take credit) traveling at near 90 mph, while shooting at 3100 frames per second, the effort paid off immensely.

 

A few good parts in this one was just out weighed by the bad and confusing. It makes me happy that this arc is over. I just hope they don't try and drag it out by making more. I'm kinda done with the X-men.

 

Until next time, see you in the center seat.

 



Captain America: Civil War

 

After the events all around the World showcased in "The Avengers" movies and "Winter Soldier", there is a rising concern that the "Enhanced" people in this Super Group are not held responsible for the fallout to innocent people who are hurt and killed while they are saving the Earth. The UN initiates a panel to oversee the actions of the Avengers. This causes a rift within the organization as some of the Avengers are opposed to the idea. A fact that is highlighted mostly between Captain America and Iron Man. All the while, a new threat has risen silently that may just destroy the Avengers for good.  

 

 

 

 

Cast

• Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America
• Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
• Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
• Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
• Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon
• Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine
• Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye
• Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther
• Paul Bettany as Vision
• Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
• Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man
• Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter
• Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
• Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow / Crossbones
• William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross
• Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo

Who will like this


Unlike many of the other Marvel movies which can stand on their own, I believe this to be geared more toward the fan of those movies and have watched at least the last few years releases. Obviously, with the action, explosions and fight scenes, the target is male dominated, starting in the older tweeners. But with strong female leads and just a touch of romance, the female demographic will have a slight interest as well.


Phantom Thoughts



Would it be too cliché to say "Marvel has done it again"? Well if it is, I don't care. They have. And in a big way....and in fact, a few DIFFERENT ways. Here's what I mean:

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown, they have implemented more and more characters in their movies. This may be a Captain America movie, but it could very easily be labeled "Avengers 2.5" due to all the "cameos". And yet, they have not fallen into the most common issue when a movie has so many characters, which is conflicting plot lines, scattered focus and confusing character development. Civil War follows the bar set with the first "Avengers" movie where everyone helps move the plot along, while still being individuals. I can't explain it. I've always been a fan of the less-is-more school of movie casts, but somehow....Marvel makes it work.

And unlike the OTHER comic book movie which pitted Superheroes against each other, this one has a crux that is believable and relatable to it's viewers. How much liberty should one be willing to give up in the name of freedom? Both sides are viable and there is no clear cut right or wrong. Which makes it that much more compelling.

Ok. Let's talk about some secrets....the worst kept secret of Civil War is the appearance of the new Spiderman. Marvel went to not-so-great lengths to keep him out of most of the trailers, but everyone knew he would make an appearance even before the last trailer aired. But that was not always the case. Actually, the Black Panther was slated to have a much smaller role than he ended up having. But when negotiations between Sony and Marvel seemed to be going nowhere, they expanded the Panther's role to fill in if they could not get the rights to use Spiderman. By the time they got those rights, The Black Panther was too intricate to the plot to scale him back again, so they left it in.

Speaking of Spiderman, that is another thing they got right! I have been a long time fan of the comics and all the movies of him thus far have had some lacking in one way or another. But Tom Holland not only nailed the shy, bookworm of Peter Parker, but also the wise-cracking playfulness of Spiderman. And even though the suit was not exactly as I would have liked it to be, it was a GREAT improvement over the first Andrew Garfield incarnation. Oh.....and Spiderman referencing "The Empire Strikes Back"? Can you say NERDGASM?!! The only thing I didn't like about it was the casting of Marisa Tomei. While a great actress (and still a hottie even at the age of  51. A fact that even Tony Stark himself remarks about in the movie) she just doesn't fit the description of frail, old Aunt May.

If I can say one other negative point about the movie, it would be that the fight scenes, although plentiful, had a shaky cam effect that I found distracting. It may have been done to give a more real feeling, cinematic effect and a trick to put the viewer into the middle of the action, but it didn't do that for me. Maybe I'm in the minority on that one.

But these are minor flaws in a 2.5 hour extravaganza. It gave a powerful message, while delivering some of it's famous comedic one liners. Truly entertaining on so many levels. Even including the iconic scene of Iron Man blasting Captain America against his shield from the cover art of the original Civil War Comic Book. As the start of Phase 3 to the MCU, I'm hopeful that this is an indication of great things to come. While many believe the comic book movie genre may be slowing down and the bubble could burst, Marvel looks to be just getting started. And that is exciting to anticipate.

Until next time, see you in the center seat!