Film Review: Captain Marvel

Samuel L. Jackson helps an amnesiac badass.

Some minor spoilers...

Captain Marvel is another sturdy entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Brie Larson is this charismatic, low-key superhero whose past and powers are slowly being revealed to her. We get great action sequences but, like Black Panther, there's a lot of backstory to get through.

What bothered me most is when you boil it down, it's just another hero-with-amnesia story. Amnesia hardly exists in the real world, yet we get movies where amnesia is the main plot point all the time. The character has the "now I remember who I am," moment in the last ten minutes or whenever it's most convenient for the plot.

In fact, Samuel L. Jackson already made a film where he's on a road trip with an amnesiac badass when he co-starred with Gena Davis in "The Long Kiss Goodnight." If you look at some of their plot twists, this is close to being a remake. And I knew Jackson was in the film, but I just thought he'd be making a cameo. Putting him in the entire film just brought more attention to its "Long Kiss Goodnight" parallels.

And since this film takes place in the 90s, we get a de-aged Nick Fury so he's not as much a badass as he is in the other Marvel films and this kind of takes the fun out of it. Speaking of the '90s, why is the film set in the '90s? We get a '90s soundtrack, a Blockbuster Video joke and a Radio Shack joke, and that's it. There was nothing in the film that demanded it be set that long ago, nor do they press it. It could have easily started with a title card that said, "Five years ago..."

I wasn't too keen on the end when she escapes the clutches of death. She pretty much wills herself out of it.

I was also bothered by Goose the cat. He plays a prominent part but it's never explained where he comes from exactly, or how they found him where they found him.

It's a good night at the movies, just don't think too much.

Movie review: Thor: Ragnorak

Spoiler in the one-sheet

It's another winner from the Marvel factory. It basks in its own silliness without ever disrespecting the characters. (Maybe this is the problem with DC movies. Maybe DC's contempt for its characters is why the movies are so divisive.)

Thor must return to  Asgard when his sister, the God of Death, takes over. Before he can do this, he and Loki get sidetracked to a gladiator planet (this used to happen to Capt. Kirk a lot), where he's matched up against the Hulk. This was supposed to be a big surprise but since this scene was in every trailer and commercial it turns what should have been the biggest surprise in the film into the lamest.

Not a dramatic speech goes by without some heckling, and no heroic action takes place without some self-deprecation. In a funny set of sequences, Thor plays the Hulk and Bruce Banner against each other.

Tom Hiddleston again becomes the spotlight hog. Such a great character, sometimes good, mostly bad, but always captivating on screen. Why hasn't this guy been signed up to be the next James Bond?

Jeff Goldblum plays the most powerful nebbish in the galaxy. Closure for the character doesn't come until the closing credits.

Minor quibbles:

This film and "Age of Ultron: both end with the heroes evacuating a city while fighting an army of drones.

The sequence with Doctor Strange is fun, but entirely gratuitous.

When Mark Ruffalo broke out in movies he was compared to a young Brando. Watch the scene where Thor debriefs Banner and you'll think, 'is he intentionally channeling Brando?"

Movie review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The mention of Peter Quill's parentage at the end of the first movie was a clumsy attempt to set up the sequel, but it paid off because the sequel is very good.

CGI is evident in every frame, but the best special effect is de-aging Kurt Russell in a flashback scene. I was astounded, it's as if they scored some unused footage of Russell from a Disney film from the 70s, it's that convincing. See it for that alone.

But plenty of reasons abound to catch it, we see the dysfunctional family dynamic play out again and it's just as much fun as the first time around. The plot is a throwback to 50s horror movies: Travellers are welcomed to a scientist's remote castle and everything seems OK, until they find the zombies in the basement.

My only real complaint is the 70s music selection is not as nostalgic, kitschy fun as from the first film. With the exception of "Brandy," (which ties into the plot), "Mr. Blue Sky," and "The Chain," I only have vague memories of the other songs.

RIP: Carmine Infantino

Another childhood idol gone. I saw him at a comic convention in Philly. He was signing his book. Why in the world did I not pick up the book and get him to sign mine?

Oh well.

He had an interesting career. He drew for DC in the '40s, '50s, '60s, mostly the golden age Flash and various JSA members, then the silver age Flash and Batman. By the '70s, DC made him publisher. He wasn't drawing as much, but I enjoyed his reprints in the 100 Page Super Spectaculars.

In the mid-70s DC gave him the boot and replaced him with some woman in her 20s with no comic book or artistic experience at all. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Anyway, imagine my surprise later on when I instantly recognized his work on the cover of Nova, a Marvel book. Holy cow!  He also did the interiors and that was pretty much the only Marvel book I bought regularly. Then of course there was Star Wars and Spider-Woman.



Then the big surprise. He went back to DC for the Flash. Once again, for a comic geek like myself, this was nirvana. I spent hours comparing his '60s and '80s art. The style looser, but still dynamic. Characters seemed to jump off the page.

Pick up Justice League of America #200 for a real treat. Golden Age greats Infantino, Joe Kubert and Gil Kane return to draw the Flash, Elongated Man, Hawkman, Green Lantern and the Atom.