Saturday, May 31, 2014

MOVIE REVIEW...EDGE OF TOMORROW..DON'T GO THERE


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Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow... Don't Go There

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To see Tom Cruise play a schmuck is great fun. And he is good at it. Of course this is the beginning of Edge of Tomorrow ,but, sure enough, he redeems himself and becomes our hero. As Rage, an officer in a war against aliens, he is not eager to go to war and tells this to his commanding officer Brendon Gleeson who is not impressed and arrests him. It's a trip to see Rage arrested, but suddenly scenes begin repeating and repeating and you are told that Rage has an ability to see the future and to die and to be reborn only to begin his life back where he started.
If this sounds confusing, so is this film. Chaos has become plot and this is never a good thing according to an old chum, Norman Mailer. Frankly I got a bit dizzy with the whole thing, especially with the 3D glasses et al. The aliens are called mimics and make a weird squawking sound as they run into your special effect glasses. Doug Liman, director of the great Bourne films, directed this, but Edge of Tomorrow ain't no Bourne film. Rage could take a tip or two from dialogue of Jason Bourne in clarity and precision. Christopher McQuarrie wrote this bumbling script and, yes, Cruise does his acting in 'his you can count on me' bravura performance, but the script is the problem. And a leaning on special effects for plot. Give me an old-fashioned story line, you want to shout to the 3-D aliens. "I wanna watch Fargo on FX tv!"
Emily Blunt is her usual over-the-top damsel in distress with a tough exterior that gets cracked by the spidery aliens. But everyone is dying then coming back to life and then dying and then coming back to life, that you kinda want more popcorn to fiddle with while the plot finds itself.
Brendon Gleeson is top drawer in his tough guy General Brigham roll and Bill Paxton, as Master Sergeant Farrell, matches Gleeson's toughness to a T. You don't want to be in their army if you have a choice. And you don't want to linger too long while the credits role. A hasty getaway is called for and not much looking back. You could have had a more unpleasant evening, but then again, you could have a more pleasant evening. Miss this one.
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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

MOVIE REVIEW' CAPTAIN AMERCA...THE WINTER SOLDIER

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Author, Actress, Critic, malloryhollywoodeast.blogspot.com

Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

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Riveting. Stunning. Surprising. Curves are thrown at you at unsuspected moments. A great plot is filled with hair pin turns and witty one liners. Laughter erupts at unpredictable moments. In the very beginning when the logo Marvel is flashed on the screen, the audience goes wild. Everything about this film is about precision -- the tight bodies, perfect hairdos, impeccable timing of its actors, inventive sets.
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers aka Captain America has an innocence that should be patented. Cuddly and wide eyed, he has a kind of lost look that is rare in film today. A quizzical expression makes him -- while being the most viral man on the planet -- appear at times almost helpless. Until someone pisses him off.
And Robert Redford does. Redford shines as the villain, Alexander Pierce. It is good to see him go for a commercial film of this magnitude. And this is what Captain America: The Winter Soldier is about -- magnitude. Gigantic space ships, perfect women and then there is the always enchanting Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury who just does not want to die. You will fall in love with him if you are not already. He withstands one disaster upon another and you think this can't keep happening.
Jackson had never worked with Redford and to break the hero-worshiping-ice Jackson played golf with Redford and this eased their working relationship. There is ease between each member of this cast. Anthony Mackie as The Falcon glides through his part as a smooth and loyal witty friend of Steve Rogers while Scarlett Johannsen as the Black Widow does not miss a beat. Her acting is precision as is all in this film thanks to directors Anthony and Joe Russo and the stellar cast. The editing by Jeffrey Ford is tight as just when you think you've had enough of this scene the action moves to a new experience. You are held in the palm of this crew's technical expertise as this film is told in a series of layers that are peeled away, but we never see the core as there will be a sequel made apparent if you stay beyond the initial final credit role.
One complaint is that Captain America: The Winter Soldier at two and a half hours is too long. Perhaps cutting some of the early action scenes would have eased the desire to check your watch.
Portraying Councilwoman Hawley, Jenny Agutter has a meaningful role and it is a delight to see her after all these years. Her calm, friendly presence leads nicely to a contradiction that her character offers up.
Those familiar with the Marvel comic book series know the plot. Steve Rogers must battle a threat from the Soviets in the modern world in the form of the Soviet agent Winter Soldier. There are car chases, fisticuff scenes such a one in an elevator particularly memorable, motorcycle races, and an actual kiss that Rogers plants on the Black Widow. While the romance never actualizes, we are left with longing. Just as we are left with longing for the return of Captain America as soon as possible.
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4 people are discussing this article with 4 comments
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Jimmy D. (JimmyD)
  • 1
Great review! At 2 1/2 hours... I never felt it. Never had the urge to check the time. This is a near perfect movie!
7 APR 12:16 PM
Larry . (Lmoneyfresh)
Saw the movie last night and it was fantastic. Good story, good acting, great action. I don't know if I'd say it's the best Marvel movie so far but its easily top 3 in my book.
7 APR 11:25 AM
  • ARTICLE AUTHOR
Carole Mallory
With this cast and plot I won't be missing this!
7 APR 1:13 PM
Tamanna (tamannakhan)
Arguably the best Marvel film to date, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" really just takes everything you love about superhero films and meshes it together with every great thriller/action film ever made, and it makes for a fantastic time at the movies. With some great twists, and things you may or may not have seen coming that still come off as very effective. As always, Chris Evans plays his role perfectly, but Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johannsen get a lot of screen time as well and they do their characters justice. Anthony Mackie, a newcomer to the Marvel Universe, is a very likeable character and I cannot wait to see more of him in the future. Pulling from many aspects of the first film while still acknowledging the Avengers, this is one of the strongest stories that almost holds up on it's own. They are leaving so many options open for the future of this Universe and I cannot wait to see the directions they take. I had a blast watching this film, and really, aside from a few minor complaints, it's perfect for what it is.
9 APR 3:15 AM
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