Captain America: Civil War

**Spoiler Alert**

Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo/Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Don Cheadle, William Hurt, Daniel Bruhl, Marisa Tomei, Tom Holland and Frank Grillo

Geez, the cast list alone for Captain America: Civil War could almost be a posting in itself. It's fairly impressive. All those bodies have to share screen-time, which makes the film's 146 running time an imperative.

Watching the latest Captain America movie, the audience might be deceived into thinking the latest Avengers was playing instead. If I'm not mistaken, more superheroes have been assembled for CA: CW than all other Marvel adaptations, including the X-Men movies--and I'm not even factoring in Thor and Hulk, who are absent from this story. No fewer than twelve superheroes fill the screen for directors Anthony and Joe Russo's dizzying but entertaining action extravaganza.

In the opening scenes, we find Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Secretary of State, Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) gathered at the Avengers complex to listen to Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) discuss the issue of vigilantism. As Ross explains, the U.S. government and world leaders are concerned The Avengers have become a destructive force operating without oversight and without restraint. Citing The Avenger's operation in Sokovia (remember The Avengers battle with Ultron?), which caused untold carnage and death, Ross proposes the crime fighters deploy only with UN consent; an idea Iron Man and most of the gathering are receptive to with the exception of Captain America, who finds the proposal unreasonable. The plan is formalized in what Ross explains is the Sokovia Accords; a proposal that grants the UN the control they seek, thus preventing unnecessary destruction and loss of life. Following Ross' departure, the members discuss the issue further as Iron Man and Captain America lock horns in a disagreement over whether the Avengers will cede control of their organization.

During the Sokovia Accords, which take place in Vienna, the King of Wakanda addresses a gathering of world leaders. Unbeknownst to the attendees, a terrorist act takes place outside the building, which comes to the attention of the King's son; T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman). Powerless to stop the bomb detonation, the blast destroys much of the building and takes the life of T'Challa's father. Blame for the blast is assigned to Captain America's old friend; Bucky Barnes or as he is commonly known; The Winter Soldier; a Soviet-trained assassin and soldier. Aware of the shoot-to-kill order issued in the manhunt, Captain America finds his friend; hoping to save his life. After a scuffle, The Winter Soldier loses his friend on a motorcycle chase through the city streets. As Captain America follows in hot pursuit, he finds someone else has joined the hunt; a character known as Black Panther; T'Challa's alter-ego, who wants nothing more than to kill Winter Soldier to avenge his father's death. The violent chase, which takes place on the city street, is kind of an all-against-all fight; each party trying to stop or destroy the other.

But Captain America's effort to save his friend is complicated by the Accords he has violated, which make him an international criminal in the eyes of the law and the other Avengers. Shortly thereafter, Iron Man manages to catch up with Captain America with the intent of bringing his friend to justice. Iron Man finds the plan is easier to conceive than execute.

Another party interested in Bucky's capture is a shadowy figure by the name of Zemo (Daniel Bruhl); who is after information regarding Winter Soldier's training; a special project conducted by the Russians in the early 1990s'. How and why the project is of interest to Zemo is revealed later.

Before long, tensions between Captain America and Iron Man escalate, which draws Avengers members loyal to each side into a war of sorts. Black Panther joins the fray on Iron Man's side; his commitment to the Accords his father helped establish being one of his motivations. A surprise visit to Queens by Tony Stark brings another fledgling superhero into the fray while Ant Man (Paul Rudd), is brought into the fight on Captain America/Steve Roger's side. The ensuing battle is a carnival of mayhem as a dozen superheroes unleash their powers, weapons and martial arts skills on one another in exciting and sometimes humorous ways.

In time we learn Zemo has been searching for the location of five other Winter Soldiers; a secret he manages to pry from Bucky. We also learn of his culpability in framing Bucky for the Accords bombing.

A showdown with Zemo and a brutal battle between Iron Man and Captain America makes up the film's third act. The end doesn't come with a neat resolution but minor dissent within the hero ranks. No rapprochement but no permanent split either.

Amid all the noise and destruction and the film's breakneck pace is the issue concerning the moral and ethical applications of power and how its unbridled use can be as pernicious to the world and society as the destruction unleashed by criminals. The film's perspective on this issue is hardly black and white. Various shades come into play as Stark realizes power cannot always be contained and can be a detriment even in the service of good while Rogers sees the the application of power as a positive absolute if used for the greater good. Stark has firmer argumentative grounds. Early in the film, he meets a mother whose done died in the Sokovia operation; a loss for which she holds The Avengers culpable. The Sokovia incident is also the catalyst for Zemo's wrath, for he too blames the costumed crime fighters for the destruction visited upon his country.

Captain America: Civil War is an entertaining movie and a comic book geek's delight. Crowding the screen with superhero bodies is a great way to keep the fans turned on and a sly way of introducing characters who are sure to have franchises of their own, like Black Panther.

The story isn't bad and action is guaranteed every few frames so there isn't much to gripe about, though there isn't much that resonates either. What more can one say about a Marvel movie? It delivers what we've come to expect and leaves room for more, which is sure to come.

I Saw the Light

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Marc Abraham/Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Bradley Whitford, Cherry Jones, Maddie Hasson and David Krumholtz

I don't know if the world needs a narrative film on country music great Hank Williams but you can be sure it didn't need a sloppy, clunky and junky biopic like director Marc Abraham's I Saw the Light. If a film features a name cast but opens only in one local theater, you can be pretty sure industry folk know something you don't and what they know they deliberately withhold. They only hope you'll overlook the stench wafting out of the theater and throw caution and greenbacks to the wind. A what a reek Abraham's film generates! If you didn't know the subject was Hank Williams, you might think the movie was about any philandering, drunk musician. But its single greatest flaw is its casual regard for Williams' music, which the story treats almost as an intrusion; a pesky interloper that keeps getting in the way of the seamier side of the singer's life.

The trendy aesthetic the film adopts is the black and white to color imagery seen in another current music biopic; Born to Be Blue. We see and hear two men from William's life; filmed in the recollective black and white of the present while their memories--depicted in color--represent the past. One of the men; famed music publisher Fred Rose (Bradley Whitford), shares facts of Williams' life with an unseen interviewer (documentarian?). Rose appears periodically throughout the film as a kind of narrator and purveyor of tragic details though we never learn just who he is talking to.

We see Williams (Tom Hiddleston) just before he achieves super-stardom; playing radio gigs and honky-tonks in his Alabamian home-state with his band and wife Audrey (Elizabeth Olsen), who lends her vocals to the performances. Shortly thereafter, we see the couple exchange vows at a gas station in Andalusia, Alabama, as the proprietor performs the service. Though the couple shows outward signs of marital bliss, Audrey experiences frustration as she tries to share the stage spotlight with her husband. But she finds her marriage trying for other reasons; one of them being her mother-in-law Lillie (Cherry Jones, who is continually upstaged by set props), who she battles constantly for influence in Hank's life. Another glaring issue is Hank's drinking, which threatens the marriage and becomes a professional liability.

Eager and ambitious, Hank's dream of playing at the Grand Ole Opry hits a snag when the legendary venue's director tells him to come back when he has achieved more success. Undeterred, Hank is able to record a single, Lovesick Blues, over Rose's protestations about the song's suitability. The single becomes a hit and before long, Williams receives an invitation to perform at the Opry.

As Williams' sordid behavior on the road becomes habitual, Audrey begins to express her disgust with his womanizing and before long Hank finds himself barred from their home. Soon after, divorce proceedings commence.

When not enthralled with the dramas offstage, the film manages to devote some time to Williams onstage; performing some of the songs for which he is known. Hiddleston does a respectable job performing the songs and doing his level best to appear Williams-like. As with every music biopic I see, I had hoped to see some scenes of song-craft, giving us a sense of the artistry behind the music but I guess directors consider such scenes un-cinematic.

We see more of Williams relationships and his marriage to Billie Jean Jones (Maddie Hasson). We do see him achieve his dream of playing the Grand Ole Opry, which is followed by his return to Alabama as a country music hero. He is able to accomplish both in between pissing women off and his passion for the bottle.

And though we see Williams sing Your Cheatin' Heart and Why Don't You Love Me, we get to hear precious few of his other classics. How does a film about Hank Williams not include even a snippet of Jambalaya? Or Kaw-Liga; songs that stand as tall as Hey Good Lookin', if not taller? Why must the music take a backseat to scenes such as one where a doctor diagnoses Williams' chronic back problems as spina bifida, a sequence that does little to shed light on the man except to explain his pain. Are we all dying to know about Hank Williams' lower back aches? Yes, two great country songs were preempted by spina bifida. As for the influences behind his music, Williams' love for gospel as a child is mentioned in passing.

When tragedy strikes late in the film, we don't feel a sense of heavy loss but relief that such a tepid film has mercifully come to an end. We don't even get obligatory end-titles telling us about Williams' musical legacy, just an abrupt cut to the closing credits. Maybe that's for the better.

Hiddleston and Olsen are fine in a flop. Too bad for Hiddleston; playing Williams' is a refreshing departure from his role as Loki in the Thor franchise.

The formulaic, music biopic narrative we've come to know: artist hungry for stardom--artist secures brass ring--artist womanizes and abuses substances--artist dies at young age--may as well be chiseled as a script blueprint on a bronze plate for unimaginative future filmmakers to follow. If you really want to know about Williams' life, you could do far worse than read a Wikipedia entry. But if you prefer to watch a flick about a musician who romances a few chicks, drinks lethally and sings a few famous tunes, then this is your stop. Just don't expect more.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Joss Whedon/Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, James Spader (Voice), Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders and Peggy Carter

Crash! Bang! Smash! Crack! Pow!--have I overlooked any other sound effect? With Avengers: The Age of Ultron, you get that and more. What carnage! What destruction! And unbelievable mayhem! And oh, yeah; the world somehow emerges intact though the real Marvel is how the world's greatest crime fighters manage to leave the rest of the planet rubble-free.

Joss Whedon is back with a super-hero assemblage whose popularity may soon eclipse the X-Men's. Though I've come to expect over-the-top, CGI wreckage and ear-punishing noise in the Summer blockbuster season, I find Whedon's variety to be quite fun. Of course it helps to have the Ministry of Mayhem: Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Nastasha Romanoff/Black Widow (the sensuous Scarlett Johansson) dispensing it in highly entertaining ways. But the group's peacetime bonding proves to be as entertaining as their violent outings.

It also helps that the cast has presence; a very necessary and indispensable super-hero quality, which helps sell the story and keep our eyes glued to the screen.

The film also has its share of funny banter, which ensures the movie doesn't stray too close to the too-serious, too-earnest precipice.

The new movie doesn't waste a breath plunging the audience into action as the Avengers find themselves assaulting a fortress where the baddie Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) hides out with two of his genetically-engineered creations; the super-powered twins Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Strucker is in possession of Loki's staff; a powerful and dangerous item Thor intends to return to Asgard; home of the Norse gods. Of course we get to see the Avengers wield their distinctive powers as they pummel and brush aside soldiers en route to the fortress. And as they enter the compound, we also see what the evil twins Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver can do. Scarlet Witch's ability to use people's greatest fears against them and Quicksilver's light-speed kineticism present considerable problems for the Avengers but though they present a formidable defense, the Avengers manage to retrieve the staff and escape to their Tony Stark-designed headquarters in New York City.

The Avengers previous battle with aliens (see the first film) inspires Tony Stark to employ the staff's dark power--very ill-advised--to impart artificial intelligence to a robotic unit he intends to use to defend Earth from another threat of an alien invasion. Stark shares his idea only with Dr. Banner; thus circumventing team oversight. Before he can complete a prototype for his new project, the unit assumes control of his own creation and in doing so, a malevolent entity is formed: Ultron. Before it can be stopped, it destroys Stark's hyper-advanced cyber-assistant Jarvis and escapes. When the Avengers team learn Stark is behind its creation, they are more than a little furious. Stark's brainchild, though altruistically conceived, unleashes yet another danger they must overcome.

Whedon's film keeps a feverish pace; we barely have enough time to process expository information before more comes our way. Though its hyper-active, the film's break-neck speed manages to be bracing.

The Avengers find themselves racing around the globe to thwart Ultron's quest to upgrade himself and achieve invincibility; a goal partly realized when he seizes a supply of Vibranium; the strongest metal known to man (and the key material in Captain America's shield); whose indestructible quality he manages to harness for his robotic frame. Ultron, with the help of Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver (the twins' beef with the Avengers has its origins in the destruction of their village; an unexploded missile bearing Stark Industries name killed their family), manage to fight off the Avengers and in the process, the Scarlett Witch is able to play on their respective fears. Another indignity is visited on the team when Ultron steals Loki's staff.

As the Avengers lick their wounds, they find themselves hiding out in Hawkeye's secluded, country home (after Ultron's violent renovation of the Avengers Mansion) to rest and plan their next attack.

Here the film takes a more tender turn (believe it or not) as we--and the Avengers--learn of Hawkeyes' family and his expectant wife. A taste of Hawkeye's domestic bliss makes some of the other members wonder if they'll ever enjoy the same arrangement. But inter-member romance is also in the air, as Black Widow and Dr. Banner/Hulk show signs of mutual attraction though he is quick to warn her that his condition makes a relationship impossible.

Before the team (and the audience) is allowed further inertia, the heroes are off again, this time to South Korea, where they learn Ultron is intent on creating a new version of himself. The would-be Ultron; a synthetic/organic hybrid, will only render him more dangerous and deadly. As Ultron loads his consciousness into his new self, the Scarlet Witch penetrates its mind and discovers what Ultron has planned for the human race: complete and utter destruction. Horrified, the twins turn against him while the Avengers arrive to steal the new entity before Ultron can complete the transfer.

After more car-crashes and building demolition, the Avengers manage to escape with Ultron's creation and in doing so, they find themselves with a new ally and superhero.

The film's final battle pits the Avengers, the Maximoff twins and the new super-hero against Ultron and his robotic minions, as he sets his apocalyptic plan into action.

There is much to like about Whedon's film. I liked the sequence where the Hulk runs amok; an issue Stark must address with his super version of Iron Man. I also liked the movie's human dimension; family, romance, etc, which the film sorely needs.

What meaning we can glean from the Summer's first blockbuster may lie in its cynical view of technology. The idea of its application causing as much harm as good is eloquently expressed as we see Ultron vent his wrath on the planet. It is also very interesting to see Tony Stark/Iron Man become a villain in his own right as he conceals his Ultron project from the Avengers before nearly becoming an agent in mankind's destruction. Very nice twist.

I do have one question for Whedon: how can so much destruction not affect city and town infrastructures and do the Avengers foot the bill for it all? Just wondering.

Whedon's film is just the beginning of movie Summer's CGI extravaganzas and though we may be sick to death of it all come August, at least here it serves a story and doesn't entirely overwhelm the human element. The final battle left me a little weary of the chaos; just when I thought all of Ultron's robots had been vanquished, more appeared to be torn apart. It was an unnecessary prolongation but the producers (All thirteen of them! Yes, they outnumber the Avengers) may have felt another pause in the action may have caused a riot in the theater.

My summation: The Avengers: Age of Ultron is great fun. And if you're wondering (anyone who has seen the series won't) whether the film sets up the next iteration, have no fear. Can this franchise stand five films? If they can entertain like Whedon's latest, why not?

Will Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk and Hawkeye return? We'll find out in two years time. See you there.

Note to viewers: you may not want to wait for the end credits to pass as has become the custom with Marvel adaptations; the next antagonist makes an appearance after the main action.

Godzilla

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Gareth Edwards, Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Brian Cranston, Juliette Binoche and Sally Hawkins

Gareth Edwards' Monsters was a strange, creepy aliens-invading-earth film that managed to make a political statement about illegal immigration and execute it with more nuance and drama than Godzilla, his sophomore film feature. Godzilla is more of what summer movie-fare has become: incoherent, thrill-free, CGI-drenched destruction and noise that you wish would end sooner than it does. What is more peculiar than the creatures plodding across the screen is the presence of Juliette Binoche and Sally Hawkins; two fine actresses more accustomed to more demanding characters and scripts. It's a real head-scratcher but actors have to make a living too and both Binoche and Hawkins are probably unaccustomed to earning salaries like those they earned here.

(Brian Cranston) and his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) are engineers for a nuclear facility in Japan (the initial shot of three nuclear silos I'm sure are meant to evoke an uncomfortable image of the Fukushima Plant) when he notices strange seismic readings that go unnoticed by everyone else. Before he can bring this data to anyone's attention, the nuclear plant suffers a major catastrophe; the three silos collapse into the earth. But Joe suffers a greater loss; the loss of his wife to radiation during the accident.

The story leaps ahead 15 years. Brody's son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has returned to his home in San Francisco after serving in the Army, where he is greeted by his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) and child enthusiastically. He isn't home long before he receives a call from his father, who has been arrested for trespassing on the premises of the former nuclear plant--now off-limits to the public. As Joe awaits bail, Ford flies to Japan to see his father, still haunted by the loss of his wife and still obsessed with the seismic anomaly he discovered years before. Ford, impatient with his father's inability to move on, asks Joe to accompany him back to San Francisco. The father insists he stay to unravel the mystery behind the nuclear plant. Donning protective suits, Joe and son wander through the former plant grounds. Joe then discovers the place isn't the radioactive site the Japanese government would have everyone believe after removing his headgear.

The two are eventually caught and incarcerated near where the government guards something top-secret: a "thing" not of this world, thrusting above the surface. The object begins to move and what it is connected to emerges from beneath the ground; a hulking, multi-storied creature that crawls on all fours (and sometimes flies), which embarks on a destructive ramble through the plant and beyond. In the carnage and chaos, Joe and Ford escape. Once the world learns of the rampage, the American Navy is alerted and assigned the task of confronting the creatures.

We learn the creature is a primordial, dinosaur-like beast who once lived deep in the earth but has surfaced in a figurative response to man's rapacious need for minerals and environmental plundering. We also learn the creature has a mate, who carries unhatched offspring in her glowing womb. The creatures feed on radiation and in their hunger for more, they turn to west-coast America, specifically San Fransisco (allowing Elizabeth Olsen to remain connected to the narrative). Why the creatures don't attack a nuclear energy-rich country like France is, I guess, beside the point. (It probably goes without saying that film-goers in this country need to see their own shores menaced; Parisians being crushed by monsters probably wouldn't elicit much sympathy from American audiences).

As the creatures arrive on the west coast, they begin their savage tour of destruction; the U.S. military powerless to stop them.

Meanwhile, the American navy tracks another large creature moving slowly under the ocean; its vertebrae riding ominously above the surface. The creature heads for San Francisco Bay and in due course it is revealed the creature is called Godzilla and has emerged to re-set the balance of nature and more to the point; kick some monster butt in San Francisco.

The characters all become part of the drama, save for those who perish along the way. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the movie-stud who becomes implausibly involved with the military in their various missions while Elizabeth Olsen is given little to do but stare with mouth agape at the gargantuan terrors kicking buildings around. Sally Hawkins seems lost in all commotion while Cranston often seems a little-over-the-top.

The battle commences, carnage becomes rife and what the hell it all means beyond mankind upsetting the balance of the planet not even Ken Watanabe's Dr. Ichiro Serizawa can answer. What it does mean for Hollywood is a franchise opportunity and employment for the legions of special effects crew hired to make San Francisco architecture look expendible and rubble-sexy.

I actually had to fight off the drowsies several times during the movie. I've noticed this has become a ritual for me during Hollywood blockbusters. That so much mega-decible racket could cause drowsiness means Hollywood may have developed an antidote to insomnia. Can't sleep? Godzilla just might challenge NyQuil for sleep-inducing supremacy.