Infinity Wars

Infinity Wars

I was skeptical that this movie would work. With the confluence of super heroes there were too many egos to manage. But the narrative worked and this was the glue that kept this movie together. The story shifted from different scenes and different battles but you could follow the connections.

There are too many super heroes to mention, but some featured more than others. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy had more leading roles. On one level the story is simple. The bad guy, Thanos, wants to collect the six mythical stones giving him tremendous power threatening the universe. Each stone is in a different location in the galaxy, including earth, and this is where the battles take place. Thanos is played by a computer generated avatar of Josh Brolin, nearly unrecognizable except for his voice. The movie does not take itself too seriously, with banter and good natured jabs contributing to the movie’s enjoyment. The film ties in prior movies giving it recognizable reference points.

The special effects were of course amazing. They had to be to maintain the nearly three hours attention span needed to watch the film. Honestly, it did not feel like three hours because the movie was well paced. The production budget is between $300m-$400m meaning they have to clear about $1b in box office to make a profit. I attended the 9:30 am Imax show and the theater was nearly full.

As for the ending, I am not even going to talk about the ending. When I got up to leave I noticed no one else was leaving. So I sat through the credits. There were so many credits it turned the screen white. The reward was coming attractions, albeit quite short but they portend a sequel.

For fan boys and fan girls a must see. For you civilians you could do worse.

A Quiet Place

This is a little movie with good suspense and moments of sheer freight. The movie is about a family that must silence all sources of noise to survive. There are monsters who attack upon hearing sounds. To quash noise the family walk in bare feet on sand, they eat their meals on leaves using their hands and play monopoly using crocheted pieces. They use sign language to speak. The monsters are hideous with huge ear canals and are mindless eating machines.

The family lives on a farm. The father is played by John Krasinski, who also directed the film. Emily Blunt plays his wife and they have three kids. They live in a state of pervasive fear.  Every motion has to be though out as life or death situation. This is especially hard with kids who unwittingly are prone to noise. One of those kids Millicent Simmonds, who is actually deaf, gives an outstanding performance. The entire cast is great. Emily Blunt has some tense scenes that will make you cringe.

My knowledge of directing is limited but I think Krasinski has done a fine job for his maiden outing.

The films has some plot holes. Where did the creates come from, where is everybody, how are corn fields still well tended, who keeps the electricity going? With a modest $17m production budget the film went to the heart of the story and peripherals are left to the audience’s imagination.

This movie is a spiritual successor to the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits. It felt more like a novella rather than a complicated script. I think Rotten Tomato was over generous giving the film a 95% (this is not the Godfather or Deer Hunter). That said the box office is to date $88m. Guess Kraninski will get more directing gigs.

At $15+ a ticket you may want to watch this On Demand. By all means, go to the movies if you wish, but keep the noise down.

Ready Player One

Ready Player One

I am not the right person to write this review. I do not play video games, nor do I know the culture. This movie is targeted to gamers and probably those under 40. The movie is based on a book of the same by name Ernest Cline. In the gaming/sci-fi genera it is a classic. The movie is like a video game. A super rich (first trillionaire) game creator hid a virtual Easter Egg in a virtual world called the OASIS. The winner gets his fortune and control of the OASIS.

The movie switches back and forth between the real world and the virtual world. Maybe I do not have the attention span of a teenager, but the swapping was disconcerting. The Lego movie was more enjoyable since for the most part it stuck to one reality. This movie gave homage to other some movie classics. Scenes from The Shining were prominent and the Iron Giant made an appearance.  The film is littered with other gaming icons which are above my head. For some reason every time a virtual bad guy losses a limb coins gush out him.  Mario was not in the movie; him I would recognize.

The plot is convoluted (in my mind) and simple. Win the egg and make sure the bad guys don’t and you get the cash and the OASIS, whoops spoiler alert. There are A listed actors and lots of B’s. Mark Rylance plays James Halliday the creator of the OASIS. Simon Pegg has a small part and not screen time. Other actors are recognizable and other not. This picture is not about acting, it about the “experience” which the aficionados buy in.

This is a $175m plus advertising (could be 50% of production cost) production cost. To date the box office looks OK, especially with overseas tickets. Spielberg needs a win and not another goose egg (The BFG).