"San Andreas" Review

First look at San Andreas will make you think that it's just explosions, carnage, and another step in a man's conversion from The Rock to Dwayne Johnson. For the most part, you're right. The film mainly revolves around the destruction surrounding an earthquake, but don't look at The Rock as the gimmick he was in his Disney days. He has become a full fledged movie star and a great actor with strong performances.

Johnson stars as Ray Gaines, an LA Fire Rescue Pilot. When the San Andreas fault begins shifting, earthquakes spread all across the west coast, and Gaines teams up with his estranged wife to rescue his daughter in San Francisco.

In terms of plot, don't look too far. It's a bare basics action disaster movie, and despite it's best efforts to instill itself with depth, it doesn't crack any new eggs. But I didn't hate it. The simplistic nature of the plot immediately calls to mind the wave of action films from the 80's and 90's. The scientists, the estranged wife, the daughter, elements that make the film seem as though it was written for a Stallone or a Willis. There's nothing noteworthy here, but it's still an enjoyable experience simply for the way it feels. If you're a fan of action, you'll be happy.

What saves this from being nothing more than a mindless, generic destruction piece like Transformers is The Rock...err...Dwayne Johnson. Johnson has a magnificent presence in the film, giving off the aura one would find in a classic action star. He very well may be the next Schwarzenegger. He has a likability that was missing from some of his earlier films such as Get Smart or The Game Plan where he seemed to be cast based on his stature. Now, Johnson is giving top notch performances full of heart, charisma, depth. He is truly a drawing factor now. And one that's not wasting your time.

All in all, theres not much to San Andreas other than being a fun action film and a showcase for what it's lead actor has become. It's not a great film. But it's enjoyable. He's known as The Rock. He's known as Dwayne Johnson. But to me...he'll always be...Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

B-

"Mad Max: Fury Road" Review

I won't bother lying. I've not seen the original Mad Max trilogy. I just never got around to it. (Quite honestly, I'm not a huge Mel Gibson fan.) I went into Mad Max: Fury Road knowing only that it had Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and a post apocalyptic setting. Pretty much mentally blind to what I should expect. The one thing I hadn't considered is that it would reinvigorate my love of cinema in a time when I was growing weary of the blockbuster culture.

In a post apocalyptic earth in which water and gasoline are commodities, cult leader Immortan Joe reigns supreme. When Imperator Furiosa rebels to free Joe's enslaved wives, a chase begins on the Fury Road. Caught in the middle is Max, a man haunted by his past, and who wants nothing more than to survive and be left alone.

The story doesn't shove exposition down your throat, instead opting to thrust you into this world at full speed and taking you along for the ride. It trusts the fact that you will pick it up along the way. It doesn't need to be all about Max for it to show him off. It's about women taking control of their lives, and the way in which it packs that punch is extremely effective. It's a thrilling narrative with spectacle and message, and it gets everything across without belittling the audience.

Mad Max: Fury Road packs as much art and story into a blockbuster as you possibly can. It's a large scale spectacle full of beautifully executed stunts that defy what was once thought possible. The film is essentially a 2 hour car chase, but easily one of the greatest of all time. The design of the film is remarkable too. Whereas most films set after the fall of civilization opt for the pale, beige, dust aesthetic, Mad Max has a fully immersive color palette which shifts depending on the stakes of the scene. 80% of the film is done with practical effects, and the end result is a gritty, graspable, realism. (Or as much as you can pack into a film with mutant cult members after the end of the world). Honestly, this movie is insane in the best possible fashion.

In a time in which when the lack of equality in Hollywood is as obvious as ever, Mad Max: Fury Road packs a wholloping punch for feminism in action movies. Despite Max being the title character, it's really Furiosa's story. Furiousa is a strong, capable woman who can kick an ass, drive a war rig, fire a gun, and own it. The other women in the story are not behind either, taking the offensive and showing that there really is no reason why women can't drive an action movie aside Michael Bay putting Megan Fox in short shorts and a tube top. (THE IRONY BEHIND THAT CLAIM: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who was god awful in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, is outstanding in her role here.) And the best part is that giving the female characters strong roles and developed personalities outside of sexualization is that it does nothing to lessen the power of Max himself. He is just as strong of a character.

Tom Hardy seems to love wearing a mask (in this case a cage) and putting on a voice, but it's something that he does so very well. He does have the arc of the loner who changes their mind, but it's done with that limited speaking and physicality that only Tom Hardy can seem to pull off. There's a meat to his role. He's the lead, but he's comfortable not being the center of attention. He's mad, but not out of his element.

Charlize Theron still ranks as my favorite actress currently working in the business. Her commitment to the role is what truly steals the show. She takes control of a situation, leads the charge, and gives depth to Furiosa. It's a brilliant counter to Tom Hardy, and just as badass.

Mad Max: Fury Road is strong, fast, beautiful, artful, and alive. It's insane. It's fun. It's powerful. It leads the charge for gender equality. It's 2015's best movie to date and worth your time.

A

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" Review

Note: Whilst it is my policy to not leak spoilers in a review for a movie, I must include some from Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier in order to properly explain context and reactions to this film. But rest assured, there will be no spoilers from Avengers: Age of Ultron.

My affinity for The Avengers is about as much of a secret as Barry Bonds' steroid usage. The first movie was a huge leap forward in the world of Superhero films. It was an unprecedented move for movies to have such a connected and cohesive universe. The way that Kevin Feige and Joss Whedon brought together all of Marvel's heavy hitters into one film and gave them such a beautiful interplay was groundbreaking. Thusly, my expectations for Avengers: Age of Ultron could likely be found on the top of the Empire State Building. So did the sequel reach 102 stories?

Set after the events of Marvel's Phase 2 films, the Avengers are once again teamed up to retrieve Loki's scepter from the hands of Hydra. But Tony Stark and Bruce Banner have come up with another  plan in order to prevent the events of the first film from ever coming to pass again. An artificial intelligence named Ultron. But (as so often happens) Ultron isn't too keen on being a puppet and turns on the team. Now the Avengers must save the world from the threat they themselves caused whilst also dealing with two new enhanced humans: Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. 

In the films that followed The Avengers, we found our heroes in various situations in which we wondered why they couldn't just call the others for help. I think that is most likely the largest failing of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where was Captain America when Tony Stark's house was being blown into the water and the President was kidnapped? Where was Iron Man when Dark Elves came to London to cause havoc for Thor? Where was EVERYONE ELSE when S.H.I.E.L.D. was taken down by the infiltration of Hydra? Where were Hulk and Hawkeye period? While the first batch of films worked on teasing The Avengers, the second batch has left them without one another or an explantion as to where they are. It wasn't a major issue when they were setting up the heroes in their origins, but in a post Avengers world where they all know about one another, it raises more than a few eyebrows. And Avengers: Age of Ultron makes little to no account for any of these questions.  My biggest issue is that at the end of Iron Man 3, Tony Stark blew up all of his suits, took the shrapnel out of his chest, and said that he didn't need any of the technology to be Iron Man. Yet in the very opening of this film, he's in a suit again being a hero. No explanation of what happened or why he changed his mind. What the hell?

The parts involving Nick Fury feel rather extraneous to the story itself, and doesn't seem to accomplish much else besides giving Samuel L. Jackson an opportunity to knock a film off of his Marvel contract. Whereas he seemed to move the story forward in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, his part in this film carries about as much weight as it did in Iron Man 2. Just a pep talk and a reminder that he is still in the world. 

(Most issues in the film have to do with specific items and are quite spoilery, so I won't go into them here. I will do something separate on the show with multiple warnings.)

Despite minor failings in making the universe seamless, Avengers: Age of Ultron is a strong piece if not as good as the first film. The story arches a global scale, and certainly has a sense of impending doom. But it still feels a little smaller, more organized and much more intimate than it did the first time around. We really get a stronger understanding of who these characters are. 

 The development of Ultron as a villain is a far cry from the evil A.I.'s of the past where all it took was a calm voice telling you "I'm afraid I can't let you do that." James Spader's soothing magical machinations create a robot full of life and schemes that you don't mind the monologuing. It isn't a cartoon, it's a vibrant force of evil which mistakes it's own intentions as well. 

The normal players all function in a manner similar to the way they have in the past with a few notes. Robert Downey Jr. made more of an effort to show Tony Stark's humanity in Iron Man 3, even if the PTSD from the first Avengers movie made him seem a little less free-spirited. That same feeling returns in this film but mixed with the Tony Stark we have all come to know and love, and the way that it comes across makes it more believable that he would take the position he does in the future...

It's hard for me to really pick a standout because there were 2. Jeremy Renner and Paul Bettany. Renner's Hawkeye gets an opportunity to really shine and prove that he deserves to be here. And Paul Bettany brings something delicate yet strong into play that the film really needed.

Avengers: Age of Ultron succeeds as a film in it's own right, but never reaches the standards the first film set. That being said, i'm still enormously excited to see what comes in it's wake. I recommend taking the family at the end of this sentence.

B