Deadpool

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Tim Miller/Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Stefan Kapicic (voice) and Gina Carano

If you're like me and suffering from super-hero movie asphyxiation, you'll be pleased to know that first-time director Tim Miller's Deadpool is a lively and welcome addition to the genre. One of the movie's greatest strengths is its humor and satirical edge; qualities sadly lacking in most super-hero flicks.

In Miller's film, his anti-hero, played with comic verve by Ryan Reynolds, delivers a thermonuclear barrage of smart-ass-isms that keep the film from sinking into a morass of earnestness. One might notice that the rating for the film is R. This is a significant fact worth mentioning, being that this is hardly family viewing. Unless I'm mistaken, Deadpool is the first superhero movie strictly for adults. Unbound by family-viewing imperatives, the film freely employs adult humor and even some nudity to free itself from manacles that often bind the genre.

The opening credits are an inspired bit of drollery. Rather than merely post directorial or producer credits, the titles tell us personnel are "tools" or "asshats" or some other insulting term. One immediately feels the film is poised to break rules and do the unexpected.

Starting with a taxi ride, we immediately meet Deadpool; a costumed superhero who climbs from the back seat to the front to chat up the driver; an American-Indian named Dopinder (Karan Soni), who isn't shy about sharing his romantic woes. As the taxi crosses over a city overpass, we see the beginning of what will be a fun action sequence. But as the action commences, the hero uses the moment to catch the audience up to speed on why the movie has begun in the middle of the story.

Formerly a member of the special forces, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has become an urban mercenary dedicated to "helping the little guy;" which means undertaking assignments like ensuring a stalker leaves a young woman alone by issuing a forcefully persuasive threat. He and his fellow mercenaries hang out in a seedy establishment, where Wilson's best friend Weasel (a funny T.J. Miller) tends bar and runs a daily deadpool, where patrons can bet on who will most likely die during a given assignment.

Seemingly content with his shabby existence, Wilson meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), a beautiful woman whose sense of humor is entirely compatible with his own. As their relationship becomes serious, Wilson suffers a collapse, which necessitates a hospital visit. The doctor's prognosis is grim: terminal cancer. And while Vanessa and Wilson try to find a way to cope with the horrific news, a mysterious man arrives at the mercenary hangout, requesting a meeting. The man wastes little time in offering Wilson a cure for his cancer and better still; a way to give him abilities beyond his imagination. Wilson's response is typically smart-alecky but he is also skeptical of the offer, which causes him to walk away. Later, realizing his survival means happiness for both he and Vanessa, Wilson calls the number on the card. In doing so, he receives treatment in a mysterious facility presided over by a man named Ajax (Ed Skrein). Strapped and trapped on a gurney, Wilson learns that the treatment entails becoming a super being to be auctioned off to unscrupulous bidders who will employ his heightened abilities to whatever ends they devise. Ajax is quick to point out that the treatment will leave him virtually invulnerable with an enhanced regenerative constitution. Unable to free himself, a serum is injected into his body but in order for it to take effect, his body must undergo a series of tortures--all administered by Ajax and his powerful assistant; Angel Dust (Gina Carano).

In trying to free himself, Wilson manages to destroy the lab in a fiery blaze but in doing so, he literally emerges from the ashes (Phoenix symbolism, anyone?); alive but with his face burned and disfigured. Knowing Ajax has the means to mend his face, Wilson sets out to find him. But his condition also renders him freakish and unable to face Vanessa. He goes into hiding; taking up residence in an economically depressed neighborhood with a blind, black woman named Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), who is also a recovering coke-addict. Her relationship with Wilson becomes one of humorous contention.
In his quest to find his nemesis, he dons a costume and begins a vigilante spree that draws the attention of the X-Men; particularly the Russian-accented Colossus and the young Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), who arrive at the bridge just as Deadpool is unleashing his lethal array of weapons and fighting abilities on Ajax and his henchman. This brings the narrative full circle to the beginning of the film.

As Colossus and Negasonic try to stop Deadpool and coax him into their fold, the superheroes engage in some funny repartee, though Ajax manages to escape in the process. Some of the movie's best moments are Deadpool's encounters with the X-Men, who he calls "a boy band." His quest to find Ajax runs afoul the X-Men's non-vigilante code but it also serves as the movie's plot.

For the film entire, we're treated to Deadpool's non-stop, jokey motor-mouthing, which almost proves to be too much. Rarely is he serious and only really becomes angry when Ajax kidnaps Vanessa in an attempt to capture Deadpool himself. Nevertheless, it is quite fun.

Some of the film's funniest scenes involve Wilson's interaction with Weasel, particularly the moment his friend first glimpses his facial deformity. Rather than offer Wilson sympathy, Weasel riffs picturesquely on all the different things his friend's face reminds him of, which induced some hearty guffaws.

Miller's film refuses to be PC, which helps unshackle the humor's edginess. During a scene where Wilson bids farewell to Blind Al, his cocaine-addicted roommate, he offers her faux, heartfelt, parting words: "somewhere in this apartment is 110 pounds of coke...next to the cure for blindness."

I was astonished to learn Deadpool is Miller's first feature film. His camera work and flair for staging action scenes betray a startling precociousness. Due credit goes to screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick for finding a joyous medium between action and comedy.

Part of the film's charm is its kooky self-awareness. We're always in on the joke and laughing with Deadpool. He even makes funny asides to the audience, making us his sidekick.

Though CGI is always necessary for superhero movies, here it doesn't overpower the story, nor does the sound effects, which are usually punishing to the ear drums in other superhero flicks, like The Avenger's.
After a string of duds, Reynolds finds himself with a solid franchise opportunity. This series could be good for five installments. Deadpool, like Ant-Man, mines the comedic possibilities of the characters, which seems to work better than the humorless Thor and Captain America franchises.
The audience with whom I saw the movie seemed to be having a good time. Ample applause followed, which is always a good sign. I too was enthusiastic, walking through the lobby afterward with a big smile draped on my face. Miller's film will no doubt be a hit. May the Spring and Summer blockbuster sludge be as inspired as this film...or at least half as good.

Note: I didn't wait for the end credits so I missed the clips that followed.

Woman in Gold

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Simon Curtis/Starring: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Bruhl, Katie Holmes, Jonathan Pryce, Frances Fisher, Antje Traue, Max Irons, Tatiana Maslany and Elizabeth McGovern

Maria Altmann, niece of Adele Bloch-Bauer; the subject of artist Gustav Klimt's masterpiece Woman in Gold (originally titled Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I) attempted to reclaim the painting which was stolen from her family's home by the Nazis during the 1938 annexation of Austria.

A reluctant Austrian government was unwilling to part with what it considered to be a national treasure, and vigorously resisted her efforts. This in spite of the Austrian government's late 20th century push to return stolen artwork to their rightful owners. Altmann pursued the painting by legal means, enlisting the help of a Los Angeles lawyer named Randal Schoenberg but the two found the Austrian legal system formidable. Just as the situation seemed impossible, Schoenberg discovered a way to sue the Austrian government by way of the American court system, which paved the way for a hearing before the Austrian court. Altmann's Sisyphean quest then gained a glimmer of hope after many setbacks and disppointments.

The story of Altmann's pursuit is the subject of director Simon Curtis' new film Woman in Gold.

One would think a real story such as Altmann's would only require minimal effort to be compelling onscreen but somehow Curtis' film simmers but never seethes, leaving the audience with something only adequately told and performed. How could this be, when Altmann's early life in Austria meant being in the company of a beautiful aunt who has since become an icon in the history of art? How could it be when Altmann faced persecution under the Nazi's and narrowly escaped its destructive agenda? Lesson to filmmakers telling "true" stories: riveting history doesn't necessarily mean riveting cinema; powerful intercession is required.

Helen Mirren plays Maria Altmann while Ryan Reynolds is lawyer Randal Schoenberg, grandson of the famed composer Arthur Schoenberg. Altmann and Randal meet in Los Angeles following the news of the Austrian government's restorative gesture. Randal's assignment as a newly-hired attorney in a prestigious law firm is to look into the feasibility of representing Altmann, which entails flying to Austria to examine files and records pertaining to her family. Complicating Randal's task is Altmann, who refuses to return to the country that is essentially responsible for her family's demise. After careful deliberation, Altmann reconsiders. She locks up her L.A. dress shop to join Randal in Austria.

In Austria, Altmann and Randal meet a journalist (Daniel Bruhl), who takes a special interest in her problem.

While Altmann's efforts are hobbled by bureaucratic resistance, her memories of her stunning aunt Adele (Antje Traue) mingle with her grim recollections of Nazi terror, which visited the Jewish population of Austria in the 1930s' and 40s'. Though Adele never faced Nazi oppression (she died in 1925 of Meningitis), Maria's parents, her Uncle and her husband Fritz Altmann all suffered a variety of humiliations, including the confiscation of property, particularly Klimt's famous painting of her aunt.

The film is really a diptych of Altmann's past and present, which also serves as its narrative structure. The closer Altmann comes to realizing her dream of repossessing the painting, the more we learn of the subject of Klimt's masterwork and her special place in Altmann's memory. And as the process of reclaiming the painting becomes an almost hopeless nightmare, we see that Altmann also seeks redress from a nation that abetted her family's destruction.

But the film is also about Randal and what he sacrifices to help Altmann reclaim the painting, namely his family's happiness and his career, which are jeopardized in the process.

The various stories should translate into a powerful film, but too often Mirren's Altmann comes off as a loveable senior with cute witticisms. I give Reynolds credit for taking on a role that doesn't resemble anything in his usual repertoire. He has some moments where he shows surprising range but he is mostly Altmann's straight man/sidekick, leading the legal struggle. Frances Fisher and Katie Holmes are the movie's furniture and little more than that. I wish Bruhl had been given more to do other than remind Altmann how hopeless her cause is. He is better than his very limited, short-shrifted role.

Curtis' film is interesting and if you find that word criminally tepid, then know that I use it deliberately, for that's as much praise as I can award it. I'm a bit weary, nay, very weary of Holocaust-related stories. Though the film is also about other things, it is essentially a story about how the Nazi's devastated a family and robbed it of one of its prized possessions while suppressing the Jewish identity of the woman in the painting Woman in Gold. I feel I've seen Nazi malice portrayed so often on screen, it's lost its ability to shock or make me feel outrage.

And though the young Maria Altmann's (Tatiana Maslany) escape from Nazi operatives gives the film a temporary pulse-quickener, it does little to bestow any vigor on the proceedings. What should be a powerful film is really just an okay film that could have been an AMC, HBO or Netflix production for streaming or television. As the story carried on, my eyelids began their inexorable pilgrimmage toward leadenness. I cared about Altmann's struggle but I could already anticipate the end titles that would inevitably say something about what became of Altmann's efforts.

Funny how many people I met at the local theater rolled their eyes when I asked if they had seen the movie. "Geez, the trailer looks bad, doesn't it? seemed to be the most frequently heard question/comment.

I implore you to see the trailer and skip the flick. If you find a two-minute trailer insufferable, the 109 minute version won't alter your perception much.