Samuel L. Jackson

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Director:

Jon Favreau

Starring:

Robert Downy Jr.

Mickey Rourke

Gwyneth Paltrow

Don Cheadle

Scarlett Johansson

Sam Rockwell

Samuel L. Jackson

Clark Gregg

Plot:

With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father’s legacy.

Review:

Iron Man 2 starts with a giant celebration of Tony’s, Robert Downey Jr.’s, awesomeness. There are Iron Man Rockettes dancing, a massive adoring crowd, followed by him giving a speech about how truly amazing he is. The whole thing is outside because no building could hold his ego and that is ultimately why I don’t like Tony. He desperately needs therapy, he’s gone through some hugely traumatic shit at this point, on top of daddy issues, and yet he doesn’t seek help because who could possibly help him? His diagnosis of narcissism is not a surprise later in the film.

One of my least favorite tropes is conflict due to lack of communication, which drives most of this movie. Tony talks a LOT but it’s mostly without substance and refuses to open up to the people that love and support him. Eventually, Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson, forces his help upon him and Tony is finally able to solve the issues he’s facing. If there’s a lesson to be learned here it’s that you should talk to the people in your life, share your troubles, and maybe they’ll be able to help you. At the very least they could point you in the right direction.

There are a lot more hints at what’s to come in the Marcel Cinematic Universe. We’ve got allusions to Captain America and Thor in one scene alone. S.H.I.E.L.D. is also more of a presence with Phil Coulson, Clark Gregg, and Natasha Romanoff aka. Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson, having more prominent roles. We’ve seen Coulson before, but Black Widow’s addition honestly shows just how far we’ve come. She is eye candy, Happy, Jon Favreau, is constantly making stereotypical assumptions about her, being demeaning and treating her as nothing more than a pretty face. Time and time again she proves that she’s a badass and each time he’s in shock, and yet he keeps doing it. Happy was really a creep in this, more so than the first movie.

I’m not a fan of Black Widow, mainly because of her action scenes. This movie probably had her best one, or at least one of them, but for the most part they’re always filled with lots of cuts and shaky cam because a stuntwoman does Johansson’s stunts. At least in this movie her hair is long so as long as it was in her face they were able to show more.

Anyway, Iron Man was a return to the Marvel superhero movie feel I’m used to, and it set the stage for everything that’s to come in a very solid way, but I believe it was a small dip in quality from the first movie.

3/5

Captain Marvel (2019)

Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel (2019)

Director:

Anna Boden

Ryan Fleck

Starring:

Brie Larson

Samuel L. Jackson

Ben Mendelson

Lashana Lynch

Plot:

Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.

Review:

So I have managed to see this movie twice in theaters, which is unheard of for me, now. I was not a huge fan of the Wonder Woman movie and ever since Black Panther I’ve been excited and scared for Captain Marvel. I hoped so much that it would be everything I wanted in a female superhero movie, but after years of disappointments I was afraid they wouldn’t be able to deliver. Oh boy did they deliver.

SPOILERS

Carol Danvers, Brie Larson, has her own sense of humor, which is a bit sarcastic and loveable annoying. She’s pushed the limits since she was a child, refusing to allow others to tell her she can’t do something, especially if it’s because of her gender. For most of the movie she is missing large chunks of her memory and because of that she has a moment of doubt unsure of who she is, but it doesn’t take much from her best friend to remind her. Even under the control of the Cree who she is shone through.

The fight scenes are always the scenes I’m most disappointed in with Marvel movies and sadly Captain Marvel wasn’t an exception. They were cut fast and shaky so it was hard to tell who was doing what, or just to see anything cool looking. It’s a common trend with the movies though so at this point I don’t expect anything else.

Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson, looked incredible. Based on quick math I estimate that Fury was around 51-54 at the time of the movie. I know that there was some CG done with him but it was so well done you could hardly tell. He was younger, and a bit more silly, but he was still very much the intelligent and quick thinking Nick Fury you expect.

Maria Rambeau, Lashana Lynch, was Carol’s best friend and the one that grounded her when she needed it. I was so glad that she had her own moment to shine and was not just a sidekick to Carol. Her daughter was precocious and the possible hints at Maria’s relationship with Carol were exciting.

Captain Marvel did not have a romance and I really appreciated that. I feel like there might have been a possibility with Maria, but since Captain Marvel has been missing for the last twenty-four years I’m not sure if that’s still viable in the current timeline. The main point of the movie was Carol becoming a superhero, answering questions about future plot points, and setting the stage for Endgame.

I know that more than a few people have complained that timeline wise they felt Captain Marvel should have been done at a different time that it slowed everything down, and to that I can’t roll my eyes hard enough. An incredibly common story telling technique is to take a step back, before the climactic conclusion, and do a flashback. Explain some things and maybe even introduce an element to the story that’s going to help in the final battle. It does slow things down, but it gives the viewer/reader a chance to breath. It answers questions that wouldn’t necessarily have been answered with the conclusion. It expands on character development. It gives everyone a small break from universal consequences.

We’re going to get Endgame very soon but I am beyond thrilled that we got Captain Marvel when we did. Finally, getting to see a female superhero movie done by Marvel was incredible and I am so excited for what’s to come.

4.5/5

 

HIGHER. FURTHER. FASTER.

The Incredibles 2 (2018)


The Incredibles 2 (2018)

Director:

Brad Bird

Starring:

Holly Hunter

Craig T. Nelson

Sarah Vowell

Huck Milner

Samuel L. Jackson

Plot:

Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) is left to care for the kids while Helen (Elastigirl) is out saving the world.

Review:

This is the first movie I took my daughter to see in theaters, because of that I did miss parts of the movie because I was focusing more on her and she does not know how to plan a bathroom break lol.

The Parr family is back and just as good as before, even after such a long break. This time around instead of a husband trying to relive the glory days he’s trying to take over the job of mom so that Elastigirl, Holly Hunter, can prove to the world that supers deserve to be able to fight crime.

I loved that Elastigirl got her chance to shine. She’s smart and capable and a total badass. In the first movie she was mostly a mom, just trying to keep everyone safe and on track, while Mr. Incredible, Craig T. Nelson, got to go out and save the day. She saved him, which was nice, but it was more of a mom thing than a superhero thing. In 2 she gets to have that superhero spotlight and you see why she was a beloved hero.

Mr. Incredible was very much in the traditional father role in the first movie. He went to work, backed up his wife’s parenting decisions (when he wasn’t accidently undermining them), and tried to find ways to hold on to his hero persona. The role reversal in The Incredibles 2 was a relief. He started out dismissive of what his wife did, learned he was wrong, and figured out the best way for him to handle things. He loved his kids and of course rose to the occasion.

Naturally, it took the whole family to save the world from the villain. We also got to see a whole new group of superheros as well as the most important superhero of all, Frozone! He’s my daughter’s favorite so she was super excited when he showed up.

There were some dark moments, but I wouldn’t say as dark as Toy Story 3, and a very long warning at the beginning about possible seizures, still I had no problem with my four year old watching the movie.

5/5

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)

Director:

Patrick Hughes

Starring:

Ryan Reynolds

Samuel L. Jackson

Gary Oldman

Salma Hayek

Elodie Yung

Plot:

The world’s top bodyguard gets a new client, a hit man who must testify at the International Criminal Court. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time.

Review:

Alright this review is under maintenance. I watched over Christmas while I was wrapping presents so I wasn’t able to give it my full attention. I watched most, but I want to see it again because what I did see was really good. Planning on purchasing it based on what I saw.

Loved the action. I thought the little bits of comedy really set a good tone for the film. It was serious, but not too serious, it was funny, but not too funny. A hard balance to achieve.

I liked the women in the movie too, they were capable and kicked butt.

Until I watch it more I’m not going to go into anymore.

4/5 *subject to change after another viewing

The Hateful Eight (2015)

The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Starring:

Samuel L. Jackson

Kurt Russell

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Plot:

In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.

Review:

I was lucky enough to see this movie in 70mm during my holiday travels. We weren’t actually in a city that was playing it, but we were close enough to drive.

The visuals were great and it was kind of sad that this medium isn’t used much anymore. The score was excellent and I thought it was cool that Ennio Morricone, the dude that did The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, composed it.

Apart from those two things, though, I didn’t think this was as good as Inglorious Basterds or Django Unchained.

The movie had almost no action until the very end and a lot of dialogue. I know you’re saying, “But it’s a Quentin Tarantino film, what did you expect?” I expected better pacing, I guess. I don’t need lots of action in his movies, but I needed something other than gorgeous shots to break up all the dialogue. There were also little things that were kind of stupid about the plot, plot holes I guess. Maybe they’ll make more sense after a second viewing.

I thought the ending was a little bit lacking. I kind of hoped that they’d do a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid thing, but oh well. It was fine, just kind of there.

I loved the roadshow experience and would do that in a heartbeat and I enjoyed the film more right after I got out of it, but the more I thought about it the less I liked it. Oh well, if you’re a fan of Tarantino see it, if not I would recommend some of his other works.

3/5