03.07.19

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CAPSULE REVIEWS
BY CARL KOZLOWSKI
•FILM•
BY CARL KOZLOWSKI
Almost ‘Marvel’-ous
‘CAPTAIN MARVEL’ PROVIDES SOMETIMES TOO MUCH FUN AS THE FIRST FEMALE-LED MCU FILM
Nearly 20 movies into the superhero movie madness that is collectively
known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel
Studios and its parent company Disney feel the need to keep
topping themselves in terms of action, spectacle and noise. On Monday
night, this insanity crossed over into the real skies across Los Angeles
when six actual Thunderbird fighter jets raced across the city as part of
the world-premiere hoopla for its latest offering, “Captain Marvel.”
This show of extreme military force over a movie might seem a bit
much, but it’s nothing compared to the dizzying mayhem unleashed
onscreen at the height of this film’s frequent action sequences. The big
difference this time is that this marks the first Marvel movie to feature
a standalone female hero, finally catching up to DC Comics’ “Wonder
Woman” a couple years back.
It’s not quite likely to induce “Wonder” or make you “Marvel,” but it’s
a fun escapade enough of the time to please fans of bombastic popcorn
flicks and it sets up lots of key elements for the April 26 release of The
Biggest Superhero Movie of All Time, “Avengers: Endgame.” That and
the fact that she’s expected to be the great savior of the many Avengers
who were wished out of existence at the end of their prior adventure,
“Avengers: Infinity War” make this essential viewing for those planning
to see “Endgame.” But for the average person, these are starting to get
interchangeable and slightly annoying.
“Marvel” opens in a trippy, almost psychedelic fashion, as a woman
named Vers finds herself trapped in a nightmare in which she’s trapped
in a landscape decimated by battle and soon veers into and out of a
reality that reveals she’s part of the Kree civilization on another planet.
She spends her days training in hand to hand combat and assorted
Jedi-style tactics under the supervision of Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), with
her biggest obstacle being the fact that she can’t control her temper —
yet wants to master the ability to shoot ultra-powerful photon rays at
will.
When a mission to retrieve a Kree spy from enemy Skrull territory
goes awry, a frantic (and frankly confusing) battle ensues that leads to
her hopping in a pod-style spaceship and jetting off to a planet called
C-53, aka Earth. Crash landing through the roof of a Blockbuster Video
store in 1995, she finds she’s quickly forced into battle with a Skrull that
has also crashed and has the ability to morph into anyone it touches.
This leads to both a funny and rousing high-speed battle on a
subway train between Vers (who soon takes on the Earth alias of
fighter pilot Carol Danvers) and the Skrull in the form of an old woman.
Seeing an old lady both throw down and get slammed around the inside
of a subway car is certainly one of the most inventive and entertaining
things I’ve seen in quite a while, and the mayhem also draws the
hot pursuit of government agents Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and
Coulson (Clark Gregg, who also stars as Coulson in the ABC/Marvel
offshoot series “Agents of SHIELD”).
As the agents force her to admit what’s going on, Fury is surprised
to learn that both Vers (who winds up getting called Captain Marvel)
and the Skrulls are in pursuit of an invention made by an Air Force
scientist named Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Bening) that can enable
movement at light speed. As they engage in their quest, they find that
almost no one is what they seem on a surface level, and Vers learns
that not only can she be powerful as a woman hero, but that sometimes
keeping control of and channeling her emotions can be the greatest
power of all.
“Marvel” stands the strong risk of feeling like a “been there, done
that” proposition considering how many MCU movies there have been.
But in hiring the quirky independent-filmmaker team of Anna Boden
and Ryan Fleck — who have previously built their careers around
indie, character-driven dramedies — as its writing-directing team,
Marvel has found a way to look at this from some fresh angles.
The 1995 setting enables all sorts of nostalgic pop culture gags
throughout, and for action scenes to be set to the strong pool of femaledriven
rock that was available at that time. Larson, an Oscar-winner for
the harrowing indie drama “Room,” also brings both emotional depth
and a great deal of fun sass to her turn as the heroine.
It also provides the fun of seeing Jackson as his younger self, thanks
to the ace effects team digitizing Jackson’s actual image from that
year into life atop his current body – resulting in him looking 25 years
younger and starting the film without the eye patch that has become
Fury’s trademark.
In fact, the most fun part of the film lies in its moments that answer
questions including how Fury lost an eye in the first place — trust me,
you won’t harbor anywhere close to a decent guess. Plenty of other
Easter eggs abound throughout, but the only wish I have is that this
and future MCU movies remember to keep the human side as strong as
the super heroics and not devolve into murky mayhem when the action
hits. n
“CAPTAIN MARVEL”: B
GLASS
Stars: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James
McAvoy
Length: 129 minutes
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: PG13
A hybrid sequel to both “Unbreakable” and
“Split,” “Glass” fulfills fanboy fantasies. All
three leads are terrific as mortal enemies
Willis and Jackson have to contend with the
unstoppable monster criminal The Horde,
played by James McAvoy, in a battle of
wits and later brawn while kept under the
mysterious watch of a shady psychiatrist.
Grade: A
THE FAVOURITE
Stars: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel
Weisz
Length: 119 minutes
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Rating: R
This twisted, wildly original historical comedy
makes England’s Queen Anne secretly gay,
while following the battle of wits and bodies
between her prime assistant and a ruthless
maid who will stop at no trick to come out on
top. The film looks gorgeous, is shockingly
funny, and the three Oscar-nominated
actresses are clearly having a blast. So will
you. Grade: A
ROMA
Stars: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego
Cortez
Length: 135 minutes
Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron
Rating: R
Nominated for ten Oscars and beloved by most
critics, this slice of life look at a year in the life
of a poor maid working for a wealthy family
while facing the prospect of single motherhood
is gorgeously shot. But aside from that, it’s
slow as molasses and will bore most normal
folks to tears. Grade: D
THE UPSIDE
Stars: Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Nicole
Kidman
Length: 126 minutes
Directed by: Neil Burger
Rating: PG13
This incredibly inspiring dramedy kicks the
new movie year off right, as Kevin Hart plays
a struggling man whose life changes when
he becomes the caretaker for a paralyzed
millionaire with a death wish - and winds up
restoring his will to live. Terrific performances,
and filled with laughs and (no pun intended)
heart. Grade: A
VICE
Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve
Carell
Length: 132 minutes
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: R
Bale is utterly amazing in this off-the-wall
biopic of Dick Cheney, who manipulated his
way into having more power than any Vice
President in history. Writer-director McKay
brought the 2008 financial meltdown to vibrant
Oscar-winning life in "The Big Short" and
makes this nearly as engaging. Grade: B
24 PASADENA WEEKLY | 03.07.19