Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

I’m not sure how much cache a ten-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival has to the world at large, but to me it says that a film is worth a look. And while a ten-minute standing ovation is difficult to fathom for most anything (I put more stock in rewatches and DVD sales), Hacksaw Ridge is a compelling war film that seems primed for a place of prominence when the Oscar calendar closes in a few weeks.

Andrew Garfield stars in the true story of Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector who nevertheless enlists in World War II as a combat medic, refusing to carry a rifle and earning the ire of his commanding officers (Vince Vaughn and Sam Worthington). Throughout, Doss refuses to compromise his values, even amid the challenges of his Great War veteran father (Hugo Weaving) and new bride (Teresa Palmer).

What surprised me most about Hacksaw Ridge was the way that director Mel Gibson unites two very disparate tones in a way that’s surprisingly compelling and which makes the second half all the more effective. The film begins feelings very much at home in the 1940s, reminiscent of something like Sergeant York or The Best Years of Our Lives, with a very simple romantic plot arc that’s almost syrupy sweet. This nearly naïve worldview is thrown into stark contrast to the horrific fog of war in the film’s second half, in which Doss’s wide-eyed beliefs are tested in the most intense crucible imaginable. That the film doesn’t feel like two disparate halves is perhaps Gibson’s greatest achievement here.

When it comes to directing combat footage, Gibson’s no slouch, either. In this respect, the film has been compared to Saving Private Ryan (which, full confession, I still haven’t seen), and there’s a certain brutality to the war scenes that succeeds all the more because of the false sense of security into which the film’s first half lulls us. But even taken in isolation, Hacksaw Ridge has a grisly intensity in its war sequences that is both disconcerting for its gore and frightening in the number of jump moments Gibson manages to navigate. We truly feel, as Doss must have, that we are out of our element.

Garfield’s earnest portrayal of the peaceable country boy goes a long way toward selling the central conceit of the film, and I have to wonder if we’ll be looking at a Best Actor contender when the next Academy Awards roll around. (I also wonder if Gibson’s cactus-hugging days are behind him and if he’ll be up for Best Director, as well.) Garfield plays Doss as a man of conviction, a man for whom his decisions don’t come easily. When his father chastises him for wrestling with his conscience, it’s not a revelation for the character; we’ve already seen these conflicts play out on Garfield’s face and in the quaver of his voice. Even if he’ll always be a Spider-Man to me, Garfield proves himself capable of a range wider than my typecasting gives him credit.

It’s really a Gibson/Garfield show through and through, although the film wisely cedes the floor to the real Desmond Doss just before the credits roll, letting us see the real soldier on his own terms and revealing that the film doesn’t exaggerate much about his humility and his religious devotion. It’s these real-life clips which confirm the truth of the story that the film tells us, and in so doing it solidifies my belief that Hacksaw Ridge is one of the most powerful war films in recent memory. Uncompromising in both its wartime gore and its dedication to the true story of a remarkable hero, Hacksaw Ridge is a strong contender for early award buzz, and it’s entirely well-deserved.

Hacksaw Ridge is rated R for “intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including grisly bloody images.” Directed by Mel Gibson. Written by Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight. Based on a true story. Starring Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Teresa Palmer, and Hugo Weaving.

The Grand Marvel Rewatch: Captain America: The First Avenger

Face front, true believers! Welcome to the next astonishing addition to “The Grand Marvel Rewatch,” designed to get us all sufficiently amped up for Captain America: Civil War, which comes out May 6, 2016. Each Wednesday, The Cinema King casts his eye back upon the twelve films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and offers five salient observations about the caliber of the films and the way they might play into Marvel’s latest installment in America’s favorite franchise.

Today’s fantastic feature film takes us to 2011 for Captain America: The First Avenger, for some good old-fashioned Nazi-punching.

1. One small step for a man... There’s a surprising sense of scope in this film that never lets us forget that Steve Rogers is just one man in a much larger war, a much bigger conflict that spans all the way back to Thor (note the shared appearance of Yggdrasil, the World-Tree) and much further forward (see #2). And can we just say – what a man! (No, I’m not referring to his pecs, at least not exclusively.) Chris Evans is spot-on as the old-fashioned Steve Rogers, and I love that the movie never laughs at him for his antiquated notions about the world. Instead, he embodies an ideal of heroism that of which our world and his could frankly do with a little bit more.
2. One giant leap for Marvel-kind. As small as the film’s focus tries to be, it downright explodes the Marvel Universe and perhaps might hold the record for most spin-off material. It introduces Hydra and the Tesseract, who persist in the MCU to this day; it gave us Howard Stark and Peggy Carter, who’ve had their own show; and it brings us full-force into The Avengers. I’m almost prepared to say that Captain America: The First Avenger is the most important film thus far in the MCU, insofar as it’s introduced a lot of important elements that haven’t left the franchise.
3. Raiders of the lost tesseract. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is at its best when it’s mashing up genres with the superhero genre like Guardians as a space opera or Winter Soldier as a 70s conspiracy thriller. But The First Avenger does that twice over: it’s a superhero film, which is also a WW2 film, which is also an elaborate Indiana Jones reference. In fact, it’s somewhere between Raiders of the Lost Ark and director Joe Johnston’s second film, The Rocketeer (which you know I love). High adventure mixed with war exploits, it adds up to popcorn cinema, as in the best it is.
4. Such a waste, such a terrible waste! The First Avenger is really entertaining cinema, but it’s a real shame that it’s a world that we can never really revisit. With Cap (spoilers?) frozen at the film’s end and thawed out in the present day, we’ve pretty much resolved Cap’s arc with Peggy and the Howling Commandoes. While most of the supporting cast has surfaced over on Agent Carter, we’ve gotten a little bit of continuity on the WW2 era of the MCU, but Hayley Atwell is such a marvelous performer (no pun intended) that she deserves more big-screen heroics. Ditto for Stanley Tucci, who’s absolutely perfect as Dr. Erskine, but he’s shuffled off fairly quickly, meaning we don’t get to see more of this great screen presence. And don’t get me started on Tommy Lee Jones, who a) I always forget is in this movie, and b) gets the best line of the film with “I’m not kissing you!”
5. Many happy returns. There’s a beat in Thor where Loki lies about Odin being dead, but The First Avenger amps that up by three when it kickstarts the MCU’s refusal to kill most characters permanently. You have Bucky Barnes, who’ll turn out not to be dead; Arnim Zola, who’ll turn out not to be dead; and of course Captain America, who turns out not to be dead. It’s an old comic book cliché, of course, so might we wonder whether we’ll see the Red Skull at some point in the future? Hugo Weaving is not shy about his reticence to return to the role, but if ever a character could be recast it’s this one. Call it “the War Machine precedent” (in being replaced, would we say Weaving got Terrenced? or Cheadled?). In fact, his apparent demise at the hands of the Tesseract, a known Infinity Stone, makes an Infinity War return all the more plausible.

There’s so much more to be said about Captain America: The First Avenger, so be sure to check out my original review. Join me in the Grand Marvel Rewatch over the coming weeks, and hit the comments to share your thoughts about the MCU. And don’t forget to tune in next Wednesday for the next installment, in which we take a closer look at the big one, 2012’s The Avengers. Excelsior!

Top 10 Marvel Cinematic Universe Films: #8-6

With Guardians of the Galaxy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe enters the double-digits club.  The job of a Top 10 list in this case is especially difficult because I knew precisely which would be #1 and which would be #10, but the rest I don’t have much complaint about.  The Marvel brand has been very reliable, so assigning ranks becomes a somewhat arbitrary game of quibbling and comparing.  That said, I feel fairly confident in assessing “The Top 10 Marvel Cinematic Universe Films!”

8.  Thor: The Dark World (2013)

“Thor: The Dark World is so full of top performers giving their all ... that it almost doesn’t matter that the story doesn’t break much ground.” 

The difference between Iron Man 2 and this sequel to Thor?  Tonal consistency.  As insubstantial as some critics said Thor: The Dark World was, it never felt like parts were grafted on.  Instead of attempt to pull closer to the larger franchise, this sequel takes the Norse god of thunder in his own thematic direction, closer to the action-comedy genre like Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean.  Fresh off The Avengers, Tom Hiddleston is still killing it as Loki, and his upgrade from pure villain to compelling antihero with mysterious motives is compelling enough to be its own movie.  It’s a good thing, because the primary antagonist is a little undercooked, and Thor’s own character arc leaves something to be desired.  What the film does have is a smashing score, an abundance of confidence, and a dexterity with fun action sequences that advance the plot without feeling like a narrative pause for a set-piece.

6 (tie).  Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

“I was always a fan of Joe Johnston’s other superhero flick, The Rocketeer, and Johnston channels his WWII nostalgia here, creating a perfectly retro atmosphere without feeling less than modern.” 

I will acknowledge the possibility of rose-tinted glasses in this case; as the quotation above attests, I grew up on The Rocketeer, and the idea of a version of that movie starring Captain America is positively dazzling to the child at heart.   This is such a feel-good movie, though, that it’s hard to imagine filmgoers not feeling those pangs of nostalgia that are so intrinsic to the character.  A man punching Nazis while literally clothed in the American flag will never get old, and Chris Evans shoulders the role of Steve Rogers perfectly, playing his patriotism in earnest.  The film is littered with great supporting players – Stanley Tucci, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell – in very memorable roles, but what keeps this film out of the Top Five is the same complaint I’ve had about a few of the Marvel Cinematic Universe entries:  a lack of a cohesive ending, largely because this film leads directly into The Avengers.

Come back Friday to see what tied for sixth place with Captain America as the controversial countdown continues apace!

Monday at the Movies - February 20, 2012

Welcome to Week Eight of “Monday at the Movies.” Between rewatching the first season of Alias (say what you want about subsequent years, but that was a hell of a freshman season) and reading Samuel Richardson’s 1,500 epistolary novel Clarissa (which, according to Ian Watt, birthed the English-language novel), I haven’t had a chance to watch a single movie this week. Instead, I’ll start something I’ve always been meaning to do – a few reviews to get you ready for the second-most anticipated movie of Summer 2012... The Avengers. Since I’ve already reviewed The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and Iron Man 2 on this site, we’ll look at the two most recent additions to the series.

Thor (2011) – Kenneth Branagh isn’t the first choice for a comic book movie director, but there’s a reason the Internet was disheartened when he announced he wasn’t returning for the sequel. Branagh brings his background in Shakespeare to bear in Thor, which blends perfectly the high theology and overwhelming pride of Asgard and the Norse deities with the restrained and comic scenes on planet Earth. When Thor falls from the heavens, we feel his pain, but angst is not the order of the day; instead, we’re treated to a never-too-ludic “fish out of water” narrative in which Thor finds himself unable to blend into human society. What’s unique here is that almost everyone is a scene-stealer: Tom Hiddleston as the trickster Loki, Anthony Hopkins as paterfamilias Odin, Kat Dennings as Natalie Portman’s sassy assistant Darcy, and Stellan Skarsgård as Swedish (and occasionally intoxicated) scientist Erik Selvig. Even Natalie Portman, who’s sometimes insufferable off-camera, is charming sweet, and intelligent as Jane Foster, Thor’s love interest. It’s a fantastic cast with a powerful story behind it, and it’s all grounded by Chris Hemsworth, whose turn as Thor is undeniably the centerpiece of a story which hangs together on his not-unimpressive shoulders. I’ve never read a Thor comic book, and what’s nice is that the film doesn’t assume you have; instead, there’s plenty of exposition and Norse mythology dabbled in without ever feeling too cumbersome. Even better, the film cues itself for a sequel without feeling unfinished, and the nods toward The Avengers likewise don’t necessitate another film to complete the narrative arc of this delightful movie.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) – The second Avengers film of 2011 takes us all the way back to World War II and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a scrawny shrimp turned super soldier by way of Stanley Tucci’s magic elixir. Rebranded as Captain America, Steve ventures overseas to fight the Nazis and their secret weapon, The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, who chews a bit of scenery but never fails to remind us why he’s perfectly cast as a villain). This is another Marvel flick with a wonderful cast, including Tommy Lee Jones, Toby Jones, the aforementioned Tucci, and the obligatory but still delightful cameo by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. I was always a fan of Joe Johnston’s other superhero flick, The Rocketeer, and Johnston channels his WWII nostalgia here, creating a perfectly retro atmosphere without feeling less than modern. Marvel fans may balk at the presence of Chris Evans after his lackluster Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four (the subject, perhaps, for another Monday at the Movies), but his Captain America is respectful and dignified, and I can’t wait to see how he handles the time disjunction that happens when Cap joins The Avengers sixty years after the events of this film. (Don’t worry, the logistics of how that works is covered in this film, although it’s governed by what’s known colloquially as “comic book logic.”) There’s more action in this than in Thor, making it a perfect popcorn pick with an emotional punch at the end.

Come May you’ll see a full review of The Avengers when it’s released, as well as that “most anticipated” movie of 2012 from the Distinguished Competition.

That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” We’ll see you here next week!

V for Vendetta (2006)

Verily, I can only think of a few remakes that have been better than the original - 1941's The Maltese Falcon, 2006's The Departed, and 2007's Hairspray spring immediately to mind. Even sparser, though, are movies better than the source material (books, most voraciously) on which they are based. In fact, only one rests at the forefront of my consciousness.

Here is unveiled V for Vendetta. Director James McTeigue did a valorous job vindicating Alan Moore's eponymous graphic visitation now envisioned as a profoundly first-rate political thriller that vociferates considerably less voraciously than Moore's original vista.

What if Orwell's vision of 1984 vandalized England? That's the vicious venality that 2038 London finds itself enlivening, villified with an iron fist by venal Norsefire High Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt, verminously filling in for Big Brother - and Bush-era America? The vote is yours...). Vivified by sheeple-by-vocation like Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman - more on this casting later), England needs only a victor to shake them out of their stupor. That virtuous vigilante comes in the form of mysterious anarchist V (voiced by Hugo Weaving, of The Matrix fame, verbally expelling a delightful vichyssoise of verbiage), whose visage is cloaked with a vacant Guy Fawkes mask. Victor or villain? This vox populi dares to vindicate the votives of those who seek freedom in England once again.

My vocation being to review filmic visions the very better to aid your volitions, I vow to keep this vade mecum very far from verbose and shall continue to limit my verbiage to a vocabulary less than verbose. A vixen in her own right, Ms. Portman should not find herself the victim of a vicious villification; inded, her performance is virtuous - some might say commendable, though this vexes my otherwise vocabulary-based symmetry. Envision if you will a twenty-something British bon vivant, vitiated by a violating vermin! The verdict is that Keira Knightley ought have played Evey, though one must admire Portman's vitiation of vanity and emotive weeping as her head is shaved. On repeat viewings, one can more fully approve of Portman's vocation as an actress as the initial vice of not casting Knightley is removed from attention.

As an improvement on Moore's work, V for Vendetta unvexes a previously muddled and thinly veiled derivative of 1984, in which the protagonist was vigilant yet unconvincingly vocalized. Though Moore's ambiguous version of Adrian Veidt in his undisputed marvel Watchmen was enviable, V is less than convincing, part vigilante and part villain. Here the vanguard of liberation is given fair shrift, defending his land with vim and vigor. Ambiguity thrives in literature, yet sloppy ambiguation proves most vincible in analysis.

More vindicating than vindictive, McTeigue's version of V for Vendetta vehemently strives for victory in the celluloid realm, and as comic books go this re-envisioning of a predominantly virtueless work of a visionary soars. View it if you can, and remain vigilant. Because "a revolution without dancing is a revolution... not worth having."