Review PLUS: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

Up to the point of Thor: The Dark World, the current incarnation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been, almost entirely, pop entertainment. Awesome pop entertainment, yes, with some wonderful character arcs and relationships, but anything that transcends beyond? Not much. 

The one aspect of the series that has been challenging with regards to modern society and politics has been S.H.I.E.L.D. - the organization that out NSA's the NSA. The organization's director, Nick Fury, is so shadowy and ethically questionable, he rides the fascism line HARD. Dealing with such a group must be a trial even for someone as strong as The Hulk.

The star spangled hero Captain America, a man left over from the WW2 generation, is especially uneasy with this group, and even more so with a world that accepts it as necessary. THIS is what he fought for?

Review: "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"

There is much I can (and have already) said about America's post 9/11 attitude towards global politics. Despite term limits and all, Dick Cheney's empirical plan for perpetual war appears to still be in effect, and worst of all, wholeheartedly believed in and endorsed by a populace frightened over another attack. Through all of the preemptive bravado and violent rhetoric (and bombs), there was a sliver of time when fighting felt, gasp, like the right thing to do.

In Hollywood's latest prequel/continuation/reboot/re imagining, this gung ho spirit is infectiously presented and executed.

Review: "The Purge"

One night of unrestrained, perfectly legal violence. For this future version of America, this Purge is a Holiday in the vein of the 4th of July. We faced the collapse of our country, and our leaders "solved" it all - by allowing us to bludgeon each other during a 12 hour period once a year. Low unemployment, low crime, no government debt. Clearly, this works.

The Purge is not about how this night came to be, who implemented it or how it should be taken down, but instead what could potentially happen during it. A well off white family attempts to go through the night, guarded with what has been billed as a tight security system, in peace. Unfortunately, the young son lets a poor black man, who is being chased by psychopathic hunters, in. The hunters threaten the family, causing them to confront the morality of the nights events directly.

Review: "Zero Dark Thirty"

Just the other night, I watched the ending of "Inglourious Basterds". While it was a television edit, it was still pretty graphic: people burning to death, Hitler getting machine gunned to pieces, a movie theater exploding, etc. My dad channel surfed to it, but kept searching as he didn't like the violence in it (this coming from a guy who would go to sleep while watching "Red Dragon"). However, my father is in the minority, as most people really got a kick out of this rewriting of history. In real life, Hitler committed suicide, thus robbing the world of inflicting brutality on him. How unfair.

It's not enough that this monster is dead; he MUST be killed Charles Bronson style, and we MUST be able to experience that. I'm not suggesting that Tarantino made his film solely to cater to our lust for satisfying revenge, but we do eat up that kind of stuff, whether it's reality or a movie. It's like addictive fast food; catharsis on demand!

I got to see "Zero Dark Thirty" recently. You want to revel in some sweet payback? Wait for "Inglourious Basterds" to come back on.

Unlike what happened with Hitler, we actually got to kill bin Laden. And, of course, a movie would be made about the operation. I thought about a WWE Studios flick, where pro wrestlers would star in an 80's throwback men on a mission style story. Don't judge me for going primal... I know you wanted to see his death, even if its just a recreation. The movie Kathryn Bigelow gave us - a based on actual events style retelling of the hunt for the most wanted man in the world -  works as an indictment of us wanting to cum to a climax. Any climax. Wow, did I just type that? Yes, and I don't regret it.

The story takes place over the course of a decade, following the character of Maya, a CIA agent promoted to this investigation. Played with a stone cold determination to close the case by Jessica Chastain, our protagonist is wanting that climax as much as us. But, as the movie progresses, I wonder if Maya is capable of achieving satisfaction. She is a pale skinned loner, with nothing known about her other than her job. A desktop wallpaper on her computer shows an image of her with a child, but it is so distorted and blurry. We never learn her last name, and it's possible she is working under an alias. Does she have a personal reason for finding bin Laden, like a family member who died in 9/11 or something? All we know is that this is her task, and she must complete it.

At one point, a superior tells her that she is "chasing a ghost". I think that Maya is, herself, a ghost. Not literally, but she certainly acts like a spirit doomed to walk the planet until her purpose is fulfilled. When her job is done, she boards a plane as the only passenger. When asked where she would like to go, she has no answer. With a moment to herself, she sheds a tear, but I don't think it is from exhaustion or happiness; she has no one left to chase, and is finished. The fact that she got her target isn't enough; what's next?

Now, our hero didn't get that tingling sensation from the conclusion - what about us?

The raid sequence is dark, quiet and full of unparalleled tension. But, much like the style of the film, it is presented with no fanfare. Don't expect slo mo shots of bin Laden getting shot or superimposed images of American flags; it goes off in a straight forward procedural manner. The highly anticipated moment comes and goes in a flash. The seals execute their job and leave, almost as if they weren't even around. Kinda like a ghost.

The protagonist, her investigation, the raid itself and even the torture bits - which are not shown in a positive light, but rather used to establish our governments' wanting of revenge as extended to interrogation tactics (quite a mouthful) - all point to exposing and questioning our individual and collective craving for catharsis, no matter the cost. To do such a thing through such a high profile movie is nothing short of bold.

I ought to get around to reviewing Tarantino's latest, "Django Unchained". In it, we get revenge on slave owners. "RoboCop" style blood spurts are plentiful. Did your pants just get tighter?

5/5 *'s

For Your Consideration

In the midst of preparing this blog, I came across an old essay I wrote a few years ago, but for some reason left it unpublished. So, in lieu of a first "official" entry, I give to you what I consider to be a prologue of sorts for this blog:

Phone calls. Handshakes. Gift Baskets. Screener copies. "Good" reviews.

Almost like clockwork, awards season brings with it a wave of wanting. "For Your Consideration" notices plague websites, blogs, insider magazines, newspapers and so on. But, out of all the people fighting for a chance to at least be rumored to be getting an Oscar nomination, only a select few will actually go all the way.

I, for one, am not well known or important enough to be bribed with decorative soaps and expensive chocolate(or straight up cash, which I prefer), but I DO have a keyboard. And with that alone, I would like to formally ask for the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences to consider, for the Best Supporting Actor category...Joe Fleishaker.
 

Image via Wikipedia

 Call it a longshot, call it a darkhorse, I call it deserving. Though, it might be more deserving for Troma Studios than anyone, but since there is no Best Casting award...Not to say that Joe's performance in Troma's Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (3-Disc Collector's Edition) doesn't warrant recognition - it is one of the single funniest performances I've ever seen on film.

And Director Lloyd Kaufman knows funny. "I like fat people more than I like thin people, things are always a lot more funnier when they happen to fat people" He has said, and if there is ONE thing that Joe Fleishaker IS, it's a funny fat man.

Look at the brief scene under consideration: Jared(Joe Fleishaker) has pain in his stomach(hunger and intestinal problem). Refusing to let his food wait, He takes his tray with him to the toilet. While eating, He shits out(what we assume is) a baby chicken zombie, which promptly flies back up into his ass, causing poor Jared to not only shit like an Rhinoceros, but to stop eating.

When I first watched this, I felt myself almost tear up in excitement and laughter at this mass exodus of excrement, as I had once as a kid tried to set up a similar special effect for a video. The scene is believable enough in it's disgusting propulsion of poop, but what sends it over the top is Joe Fleishaker's screams of confusion, fear, pain and then joy - it is revealed that the shitting was so powerful, He shit himself skinny!

Ok, so maybe this is, indeed, a longshot for an Oscar nomination, or even to be rumored in the running for a nomination. But to all the voters out there, keep this in mind; is there ANY movie in the past year that has featured a scene as funny as or one that so exemplifies Americans image issues and relationship with fast food(and Americans in general) than an obese man literally shitting himself inside out, then running away in joy, leaving a poor fast food worker to clean it all up? For Your Consideration...

A short entry, yes. I hope it serves well as a preview. 
Image via Wikipedia