Brian's Thoughts on Movies

I am deliberately avoiding lumping these reviews with the specific Phases used by the MCU.   I put Captain Marvel in my first batch as my memories from it were pretty fresh and it took place before all the other films.   Nonetheless these entries will probably stay pretty close to that template.   As always spoilers abound so I suggest watching the films first. Iron Man 3 (2013) Iron Man 3 is a superior sequel than Iron Man 2, with a clear theme and better plot.   Initially I was a little mixed on it, feeling that there were too many suits in the climax and I was less than intrigued by the Extremis effects.   I still agree with a lot of these concerns, in fact I wonder how they even manage the logistics of the sequence of not only this, but each Marvel climax which requires actors to react in odd ways to all kinds of things happening in the air to and around them.   There was a controversial decision to have the popular Mandarin villain from the comics be a decoy for the actu

Ezekiel 25:17   “The Path of the righteous man……. In October 1994 I went to the cinema to watch The Specialist with Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone and James Woods.   The film was a dreary thriller enlivened only by an atmospheric John Barry score and Woods’ energetic performance.   In the opening sequence there is a scene in which Woods pistol whips Stallone and kicks him a couple of times while he is on the ground.   Test audiences hated seeing Stallone lose a fight so an addendum was added in which Stallone gets up, attacks Woods and beats him up badly.   However the second portion of the fight was shot with each actor in different locations and Stallone has a different haircut.   The use of doubles is obvious and as you would expect the result looks jarring.   I found it appalling that something so sloppy could go into a major release.   I have so much affection for the Rocky character that I always route for even non-Rocky Stallone movies.   Stallone’s two movies from the p

I have enjoyed the Marvel movies for the most part but have avoided writing about them until now because the task seemed daunting with over 20 films out to date even though I have seen them all.   A series this established can afford an occasional misfire but while there are some films I enjoy more than others I think each Marvel film is a strong experience.   Also the series has used a lot of directors of different sensibilities.   For example a Russo brothers film is very unique to a Shane Black or Kenneth Branagh film but they all fit into the series the way a family has different types of members. Marvel films each tell its own story while fitting into the whole.   An example would be Thor Ragnarok, which tells a comic yet cosmic tale of a battle for the throne of Asgard and has an ending that sets up the beginning of Avengers Infinity War, which is a very different story with a much darker tone.   The individual films in particular spend time developing each character and hi

I just saw the film Destroyer which stars Nicole Kidman, who plays an LA cop named Erin who as a young deputy goes undercover with a gangs and suffers an experience which affects the rest of her life.   About three quarters of the film focuses on Bell about 17 years later, which is more age appropriate for Kidman, who is 51.   At this stage Bell is weathered and very disillusioned and obsessed with catching the head of the gang who had gotten away.   There have been many films and shows about male cops who have been beaten down by life but this is the first time I have seen it from a female perspective.   Kidman is equally convincing playing Bell in both time periods without the digital de-ageing process used in the Marvel movies. As I watched the film I started thinking about Kidman’s career and how she, despite her leading lady looks and talent, often gravitates toward challenging material.   For many years she was known as Tom Cruise’s wife and the accompanying stardom may hav

“Only the Second James Bond thriller Film can be more exciting than than the first”  So said the tagline of the release trailer for From Russia With Love.   If you have not seen the film I recommend you skip it, along with the all the trailers of the early Bond films.   They express great enthusiasm but show all of the movies’ set pieces without cutting in from other scenes so, even more than today’s spoiler filled trailers, you are watching a highlight of the film.   The trailer for From Russia With Love is especially offensive as its opening shots reveals how Bond gets out of his most precarious predicament in the film. Nonetheless, I utterly agree with the trailer’s tagline.   Dr No, the first film in the series, is a more low key (and budget) introductory adventure that establishes the Bond, M, and Moneypenny characters and has a memorable villain and, leading lady, but is dated with obvious backscreen projection during a car chase and a melodramatic score by Monty Norman