Musings on "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)

This isn't exactly a review, but more of just me putting my thoughts and feelings about the movie down someplace.  Also, I will probably post stuff that could be considered spoilage.  Movie has been out for like a month now, so I figure if you're going to see it, you've had your shot, and if you haven't seen it and still care about spoilers, you can just not read this post until you're done, right?

I went to see Avengers: Infinity War again today.  Second time.  First time, I came out feeling like I'd been run over by a steamroller.  Just wrung out and hung up to dry.  So emotionally exhausted.  My best friend had the opposite reaction:  she came out feeling like she was ready to conquer the world.  This intrigued us.  It always fascinates us when we have opposite reactions to things, or similar reactions for opposite reasons.  So I'm sure we're going to ponder and discuss this for a long time.

Anyway, I spent lots of time thinking about the movie, listening to her reasons why she loves it, reading other people's thoughts, and generally wrapping my head around the story Marvel Studios unleashed on us here.  I have a deep desire to like the MCU movies, mostly because I've got these characters so tangled up in my heartstrings now.  And, for the most part, I do like the movies.  I don't love all of them, but I love a lot of them, and I enjoy just about all of them in some way.  Enough so that I own every single one of their movies so far.

I'm not sure I like this one, though.  I respect it.  I appreciate it.  But boy, howdy, it is a hard one for me to like.  Why?  Because it's filled with sadness.  I realized this afternoon that I need a healthy dose of happy in my MCU.  Which is why my favorites are The Avengers (2012), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Iron Man (2008), Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Black Panther (2018), Thor (2011), and Ant-Man (2015).  I can watch those ones (especially The Avengers and Thor: Ragnarok) over and over and over.  And many of the others too.  That's why I own them on DVD -- so I can do just that.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm sure I'll buy this one and rewatch it multiple times.  Possibly not until after the next Avengers movie comes out, though. 

It's entirely possible that the next movie will make me reverse my feelings on this one.  Put together, they might form one glorious whole.  But right now?  Nope.  I'm not sitting here eating brownie mix straight out of the bowl because this movie made me happy, I'm doing that because I need to be consoled after it, and brownie mix is a good source of consolation.

Although I don't like this movie, I can appreciate it.  It's incredibly well-made.  The writing is breathtakingly good.  Tight, focused, single-purposed, and inspiring.  The acting is never less than excellent, and sometimes astonishing.  Robert Downey Jr. and Josh Brolin in particular really wowed me this second time through.  Alan Silvestri's score is so good that I'm thinking I'll buy the soundtrack, which is kind of rare for movies I don't actively like/enjoy. 

So right now, you're thinking to yourself, "But Hamlette... you love Hamlet.  That's sad."  True.  But it's a good sad.  And I'm trying to figure out how to define the difference.  Because I can fiercely love and even enjoy desperately sad stories like Hamlet and Logan (2017) and Rogue One (2016).  And I think the difference between them is that, the sad movies I love are sad because someone dies for a reason.  Hamlet and Logan and Cassian and Jyn and other tragic heroes I love -- they die to accomplish something.  And yeah, Heimdall and Loki do that too in this.  I mourn them, but in a good way. 

But everyone else?  Died because a homicidal monster snapped his fingers.  And that makes me angry.  And being angry about an MCU movie makes me sad.  So it's a TOTAL different kind of sadness.  And not at all the enjoyable kind.  And that's why I don't really like Infinity War very much.

I've Seen "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)

But I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I can't actually talk about it in this post.  Sorry. 

Instead of a review or a reaction or my initial thoughts, here's a picture of me before the movie, being all annoyed with my phone because the camera kept switching to video instead of photo.

My Thor shirt is still all awesome, though, even if my phone was being dumb.

And this is a picture of the cool Avengers IMAX thing they had in the theater.

Seriously, that's all you're getting from me.

I mean it, I'm not spreading spoilage.  Lips are sealed.

Oh fine, here's a picture of my Thor-scented candle.  I swear that's not a spoiler.  There aren't any Thor-scented candles in the movie.  It's just something my brother and his wife gave me for Christmas a couple years ago.

If YOU have seen Avengers: Infinity War and want to discuss it in the comments, I'm all for that.  If you haven't seen it yet, prolly just avoid the comments here until you have.  Or be really smart and stay off the internet until you've seen it.  That would be best.  There are jerks out there who like to spoil stuff.

"Black Panther" (2018) -- Initial Thoughts

And just when I think I've kind of figured out where the MCU as a whole is steering, they throw something utterly new and different on the table.  Cuz wow, this movie?  Not like any other superhero movie I have seen.

And I'm not saying that because this one is full of black faces instead of white ones, or because it takes place mostly in Africa instead of the US or Europe or a distant planet.  But because this movie is not afraid to explore some pretty deep issues facing our world right now.  And it does that simply by doing what superhero stories do best:  it uses superpowers as a metaphor for the problems we all face at one time or another.

In this case, the problem of adulting.  Which sounds silly, I'm afraid, but I don't mean it in a silly way.  I look around me at the people in their twenties and thirties who keep talking about how weird it is to have to do this adulting thing, or how adulting is hard, and I think... wow.  This is a legitimately troublesome thing for a lot of people.  There's this sense that the up-and-coming generation has been somehow unprepared for the business of being grown-ups, and they resent this.

In a sense, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman, a man who needs to make more movies so I can watch them) is facing the same issue.  He's been thrust into the role of king, a role his parents have done their best to prepare him for, and yet, he doesn't feel ready to step out from being a son into being a leader.  But he must.  And unlike the people around me, more than a massive credit card debt or a failed romantic relationship or the ignominy of living in his parents' basement hangs in the balance.  The fate of a nation rests on his (delightfully broad) shoulders now.

And so T'Challa does what the people around me are discovering they must do:  he accepts his new responsibilities.

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On the flip side, we have Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan).  He's angry, he's vindictive, and he wants to take power however he can.  He says he also wants to help the masses rise up and fight off their oppressors, but really he just wants whatever power he can grab for himself.  Like a twenty-something who wants the advantages of adulthood without the responsibilities, he pushes his way into T'Challa's world, wrecking and ruining anything he sees as a threat.

And yet, he was surprisingly sympathetic in the end.  I empathized more with him than I ever expected to.

So, that's one thing Black Panther has going on.

But there's more.  It also faces up to the idea that, to borrow a phrase from another superhero, with great power comes great responsibility.  The nation of Wakanda has wealth and technology that they have hoarded over the years, worried that by sharing it, they will weaken themselves and endanger their people.  Pretty hard not to see the parallels here that the filmmakers are drawing.  The United States has wealth and technology other countries lack.  And we're very worried right now about who we share them with.

What the film points out is that hoarding can also be damaging.  But that helping others, holding out the hand of friendly assistance to someone regardless of what they look like or where they come from -- that is not damaging.  That is healing. 

In fact, as a Christian, it is my calling to do just that.  To help others, to show God's love to them.  Not to hoard the good news of salvation, but to spread it.

So yeah... Black Panther has some deep stuff to say.  But it's also very exciting and fun -- my fellow theatergoers and I laughed together many times.  We also clapped at the end.  And again after the first "stinger" scene during the credits.  Which scene, by the way, made me cry.  Cuz wow, it was great.

(And the second stinger -- you have to stay for that, okay?  Do not be like the vast majority of the people at my theater who just walked out after that.  The second stinger is worth sitting through alllllllll the credits for.)

Anyway, like most of my "initial thoughts" posts, this is a little scattered cuz I haven't had a lot of time to consider this movie.  I'll try to wrap it up here with a few thoughts on the film overall.  The storytelling was nicely streamlined -- once in a while, I'd be like, "okay, where is this going?" and then that scene would tie right in with the storyline just like it should.

The acting was superb -- I expected to enjoy Chadwick Boseman and Lupita Nyong'o and Martin Freeman, but I didn't know I was going to like Letitia Wright so much!  She was sassy and smart and fun.

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The first action scene was a lot of darkness and shaky-cam and I was worried that the film as a whole would be that way, but it wasn't.  The rest of the fight sequences were perfectly watchable, and in retrospect I can see that one was supposed to be disorienting and choppy because of what's going on in it.

I saw somewhere that the film's director, Ryan Coogler, said that Black Panther is going to be the MCU's James Bond, and wow, that was a really apt comparison.  There's even a casino-set scene that made me think of a similar one from Skyfall, plus T'Challa's sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) is basically Q.  Here's hoping they make more Black Panther films, cuz I definitely want to see them!

EDIT:  I forgot to say whether or not this movie is family friendly!  I'd say it's on par with the other MCU movies.  There's non-gory violence involving guns, knives, spears, and imaginary weaponry.  There's maybe a dozen bad words, though they're more vulgarities rather than profanities.  There's what MPAA calls "a brief, rude gesture," and you can probably guess what it is.  There's a little bit of kissing, but no love scenes, no nudity (unless you count shirtless men as nudity, cuz there be shirtless menfolks here).  So yeah, it earns its PG-13 rating but doesn't step beyond what the MCU has basically set up as their boundaries.

This has been my final post for We Love Superheroes Week.  Check out everyone else's entries here, and don't forget the giveaway is open through the end of today!  I was going to post the answers to all the games today too, but I think I'll hold off until tomorrow because people are still entering those.

The Marvel Heroes Movie Tag

While filling out the Disney Princess Book Tag for my other blog recently, I thought to myself, "You know what would be even more fun than this?  A tag that compared stories to the Avengers."

And the more I thought about that, the more fun it sounded, so... I created one!  With a little help from my best friend on some of the categories. Like that princess tag, this isn't a tag devoted to superheroes, but rather one that uses attributes of the various characters to create categories that you then fill in with other movies.  Make sense?

Also, I got kind of carried away with adding characters, and so now there are like twenty categories.  What can I say?  I'm enthusiastic.  (Probably because I'm still riding the wave of giddy joy that is Thor: Ragnarok.)

Captain America: Name a movie with a "fish out of water" theme.  I love those!  Ball of Fire (1941) is a wonderful one.

Thor: Name a movie about learning to use power for the good of others.  I think King Arthur (2017) fits that theme nicely.

Iron Man: Name a movie about an inventor.  I get such a big kick out of The Absent-Minded Professor (1961).

Incredible Hulk: Name a movie with a main character who has two sides to them.  How about Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), where nerdy Dr. Jones is also a devil-may-care adventurer?

Hawkeye: Name a movie that involves archery.  Doesn't get much better than The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) when it comes to archery in a movie!

Black Widow: Name a movie about spies.  The Man from UNCLE (2015) is always going to be my choice for this one.

Black Panther: Name a movie about royalty.  I really like Roman Holiday (1953) and its look at the pressures and responsibilities of being royal.

Vision: Name a movie involving androids or robots.  How about I, Robot (2004)?

Spider-man: Name a movie about teens.  Not a huge fan of teen movies, but I will always love Ten Things I Hate About You (1999).

Ant Man: Name a movie about thieves.  Doesn't get much better than the original Ocean's 11 (1960).

Scarlet Witch: Name a movie with powerful female character.  Giant (1956) has two powerful women in it: Luz (Mercedes McCambridge) and Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor).

Dr. Strange: Name a movie where a character learns to be a better person.  I'll go with Gentleman's Agreement (1947).

Falcon: Name a movie with a great sidekick.  Raise your hand if you adore the sidekicks in A Knight's Tale (2001)!  Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk just kill in their roles.

Loki: Name a movie with an antagonist/villain who steals the show.  You already know I'm going to answer 3:10 to Yuma (1957) for this.  I watch it primarily for Glenn Ford's Ben Wade, who is the antagonist and so fantastic I can hardly stand it.

Agent Coulson: Name a movie where an ordinary character faces an extraordinary situation.  I love how Sarah (Mary Louise Parker) in RED (2010) handles having the nice guy she's crushing on turn out to be a retired (extremely dangerous) spy.

Peter Quill: Name a movie with a character who is more than they appear to be.  I'll go with Cars (2006).  At first you think Doc Hudson (voiced by Paul Newman) is just a cranky old coot, but he's so much more.

Gamora: Name a movie with a character who changes allegiances.  John Reid (Armie Hammer) does that memorably in The Lone Ranger (2013), going from a law-spouting lawyer to a law-flouting vigilante.

Drax: Name a movie with a physically powerful character.  How's about Hercules (2014)?  I mean, I could basically go with any movie Dwayne Johnson is in, but that seems like the most logical choice.  And it's probably my fave of his movies.

Groot: Name a movie with a character who doesn't talk much.  In The Magnificent Seven (1960), Britt (James Coburn) only has 7 or 8 lines.  It's pretty fascinating to see how much he conveys with body language and facial expressions only.

Rocket: Name a movie with a talking animal.  It's a Dog's Life (1955) is all about a dog named Wildfire, voiced by Vic Morrow, and his travails as he goes from living on the streets to fighting other dogs to finally finding a home.

I hereby tag the following bloggers:

Coffee, Classics, and Craziness
Sidewalk Crossings
Through Two Blue Eyes
And Anybody Else Who Wants To Do This Tag!!!

Micro Movie Reviews

Last night, I was opining to my best friend that I've been trying to write a review of Captain America:  Civil War for a couple of months now, and it's just not working because I can't seem to find a good balance for it -- I could either write 50 words about it, or 5,000.  She laughed and agreed that was a problem, then asked what my 50-words-or-less review would be, anyway.  Which led to me writing tiny reviews of a whole bunch of movies I've watched over the past few months that I haven't reviewed here.  Most of them I've only seen once, and am waiting to see again before I review them.  But here, just for fun, are my micro reviews of seven movies.

At first, I didn't like this movie at all. Then I saw it three more times, and now I love it. You should see it too. Also, I finally got the Spider-man I've always wanted. The End.

I didn't hate this as much as I expected to. Chris Pratt made me laugh.  I wanted to punch the bad guy repeatedly so he'd land in the hospital and not annoy me anymore.

Alicia Vikander is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses. Sometimes I even stopped staring at Matt Damon long enough to notice she was in this movie. Also, Tommy Lee Jones needs some hugs, but am I really brave enough to offer him one?

Who cast Oscar Isaac as a bad guy and then covered up his handsomeness with so much paint and prosthetics that he could barely speak, much less act? And who said it was okay to make me cry over Magneto multiple times?

Why am I continually surprised by how much I like Marvel's movies? You'd think I'd have learned by now. I didn't see this until after Civil War, which was lame of me -- don't be like me! See this.

So much fun, I want to go read the books now. There's not much higher praise I can give a movie. I did not expect to totally, thoroughly dig it. But seriously, who tells Tom Cruise to put a shirt on? Get real, people.

Is this over yet? Oh, we're smashing more buildings? Didn't we smash that one already?  Guess not.

"42" (2013) -- Initial Thoughts

Go see this movie.  Just go see it.  I'm serious.  Even if you don't usually go to the movies, go.  Even if you don't like baseball movies, go.  If, for some extremely legitimate reason (lack of money, lack of a diver's license, or lack of a theater within 100 miles that's playing it) you can't see it in the theater, rent/stream/buy it as soon as it comes out.

I don't know that I've ever said that about a movie before.  I mean, I like a pretty crazy mix of movies, and I know everyone has their own tastes, so I don't usually tell people to go see a movie just cuz I like it.  But I really, truly think most people should see this movie.  (Due to strong language, racial slurs, and a little mild innuendo, it's PG-13.)

Okay, in case you didn't know, 42 is the story of how Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) became the first African-American player in Major League Baseball.  It begins with Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), the Brooklyn Dodgers' General Manager, announcing he wants to add a black baseball player to the team, and selecting Jackie Robinson as the one he think can handle the job.  It's the mid-1940s.  World War Two is over, but segregation and Jim Crow laws are not over.  Rickey needs a man who can stand up under all the torment and abuse that will be coming at him, and he believes Robinson has the courage needed.  Robinson isn't so sure, but he can't resist the challenge, so he signs on.  Then promptly calls his girlfriend back in California and proposes to her.

The rest of the movie is about how he proves himself as a ballplayer and human being, gradually winning over  white fans and teammates alike.  I clapped, I bounced with joy, I cried, I clapped some more.  I can't wait to buy this and see it again.  It's the best baseball movie I've seen since The Natural (1984).

But this is so much more than a baseball movie.  It's a movie about Americans, some choosing to do what is right, some choosing to do what is accepted.  And some changing their minds and learning to follow their hearts and consciences.  It's a movie about how we became a better nation.  (Not that we don't still have room for improvement, of course.)

Speaking of The Natural, I read on imdb.com that Robert Redford was the first choice to play Branch Rickey in this.  I'm so glad that didn't work out, and not just because Harrison Ford is my second-favorite actor ever.  I think Robert Redford would have been too sweet, too kindly.  Not that Harrison Ford wasn't kind, because he was.  But he had this underlying steel that made me sure he would never back down no matter how much heat got turned on.  Not to mention, this movie has some of the finest acting I have ever seen Harrison Ford do.  He wasn't a grouchy old guy.  He wasn't an angry, vengeful action hero.  He was a proud, determined baseball lover.

Ford's Branch Rickey has a growly facade, with a phlegmy voice and stooped shoulders, a shuffling walk that makes you think he's harmless, just a nice old guy who means well.  But over the course of the movie, you come to see that this isn't just a schtick on Ford's part -- it's Branch Rickey the character bamboozling the world.  In a very pivotal scene where Rickey finally explains his decision to Robinson, his shoulders gradually straighten.  His voice clears and rings deep and true.  And after he's explained himself, the mask slips back on, and he's back to being the forward-thinking old coot.  It's masterful.  I want him to get an Oscar for this, I really do.

Okay, enough rhapsodizing about Harrison Ford -- I need to talk a bit about Chadwick Boseman's performance.  First, I think he's a lovely match for Robinson, physically.  They both have boyish faces, a bit of a mischievous twinkle in their eyes, a contagious smile.  He's got a lovely voice, and a very natural, engaging, thoughtful style.  He's got an athletic build and that controlled grace that comes from all your muscles working together (something I lack and envy).

Jackie Robinson

Chadwick Boseman

Nicole Beharie played Rachel Robinson.  A relative newcomer, like Boseman, she exuded confidence and love.  It was obvious from her first scene why the dynamic Jackie fell for her.  I hope to see her in more things!

And finally, I'm going to mention Alan Tudyk.  He plays the closest thing to a Bad Guy that this film has -- Ben Chapman, the vitriolic, bigoted, loud-mothed manager of a rival team who insults and heckles Robinson and his teammates, leading to a moment where Jackie thinks he might just have to quit this whole idea.  I love Alan Tudyk, I really do -- he's phenomenal and memorable in everything, even if he's just voicing a robot like in I, Robot (2004).  Here, he's despicable and disgusting... and indispensable.

Okay, time to talk costumes!  They were unobtrusive, and by that I mean, I didn't really think of them as costumes.  I thought of them as clothes, real clothes worn by real people, and I don't think there can be any higher praise than that for the wardrobe department on a biopic.  The men wore suits and ties (or bowties, in Branch Rickey's case), and there were lots of suspenders, which I loved.  The women wore dresses or skirt ensembles.  The baseball players wore baseball uniforms.

Extras... only some of which are alive...

Is this movie family-friendly?  Like I said at the beginning of this review, not necessarily.  But what is there is there for a reason, to make a point, not just to add shock or raunch to the movie.  There's no nudity, no sex, no real violence other than a bunch of guys trying to get in a fist fight a few times.