Captain Marvel

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: A few galaxies, away, on the Kree Empire’s capital planet of Hala, Vers (Brie Larson), a member of Starforce has a regular dose of nightmares every night, and it seems to be related to her memories, most of which she doesn’t have any more except in the form of quick shots. She is trained by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) who hopes that she can keep her emotions under control, and use her special powers only when needed. The same is asserted by Supreme Intelligence, an Artificial Intelligence which had command over the empire. At the same time, a war is going on, between the technologically advanced Kree and the shapeshifting Skrulls, happening on different planets. This war which has been going on for centuries, had Kree at the advantage, calling the Skrulls terrorists who are trying to take over different planets by force and leaving a trail of mass destruction and brutal murders.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: During one of those missions assigned to the Starforce, Vers ends up being captured by them. A memory probe is conducted on her, and the Skrulls find many of the lost memories, but don’t exactly find what they were looking. As Vers manages to escape, she lands on the planet called Sector 53, Earth. Her presence in Los Angeles attracts the attention of SHIELD agents Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). The Skrulls lead by Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) continues to chase her, and she discovers that she was an airforce pilot, and was working on developing an experimental engine with the famous scientist, Dr Wendy Lawson (Annette Bening) before she was presumed dead in the failure of the effort and resulting explosion. But it is not the only secret that she would be bringing to light.

The defence of Captain Marvel :: There is some nice world detail in Captain Marvel, and the action immediately catches our attention. The journey through different planets, as well as the trip through the United States in the 1990s remain a joy to watch. There is also the presence of a lot of humour in this one, and that involves more of the unexpected. There is also a lot to expect with the new movie in the Avengers series, Endgame, with this new character being introduced into the scene. With this type of a strong superhero added to the roster like a Superman without Kryptonite, there are wonders waiting to happen. There are also some interesting questions being asked in the movie, about war and the need to end it. This movie could also go a long way with its main idea, and the journeys through different planets with more species to be there.

The claws of flaw :: Captain Marvel is no match for Wonder Woman, and that is indeed strange, considering the fact that even Black Widow and Scarlet Witch showed signs of doing that early – the female characters of Marvel had a certain amount of charm, but this new superhero who gets the first Marvel movie with a female hero lead, trails. She is also very late to arrive here, as a movie set in the 1990s. Captain Marvel should have been there before Avengers: Infinity War, and along with Ant-Man and the Wasp, these movies are not helping the upcoming big one that much as one would have expected. Regarding the introduction of such a powerful superhero late is not helping, and too much strength is also not bringing any advantage. This one needed a Kryptonite to keep the titular hero in control, as we no longer live in the age of invincible heroes, as we need the flawed ones more; it is not Superman that can do the job these days, but Batman and Aquaman.

The performers of the soul :: Brie Larson is indeed the person to look out for, and she handles this too strong a superhero with such skill that we feel closer to the character – the distance becomes less. You remember her playing a kidnapping victim in Room, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. The 2017 movie Kong: Skull Island was the one movie for which she has been known the most among the common audience around here. She doesn’t have the more close to life superhero like Gal Gadot had with Wonder Woman – that one had her closer to us with the role, and it is the presence of too much superpower that keeps this one away. Also having a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe, this one comes as no challenge to her, and it is her who makes sure that the superhero gets to the masses, and we can only be glad about the same creating a huge effect in the next Avengers movie.

Further performers of the soul :: Jude Law as Yon-Rogg here reminds one of Patrick Wilson’s character in Aquaman, as he goes on doing more and more in the name of the empire. He makes one strong villain here, even though the villainy is let down by having too strong a superhero at one end. From what he has displayed, we can be sure that there was more to be done if the villain was given some powers to match the glowing superhero. Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury is too good once again, and we have him handling the humour with a great amount of skill. Ben Mendelsohn as Talos on the other side of the war also has some fine moments to go with. Gemma Chan and Djimon Hounsou are notable as other members of the Starforce who tries to make things happen for Kree, but doesn’t have the power – once again the problem of too powerful a superhero and the absence of good enough supervillains comes up.

How it finishes :: It can be seen that Captain Marvel remains an entertainer throughout its run, with great visuals all around, and it even has a cat to steal the show along with those common humans. But with the overpowered superhero, there is a limit to how entertaining this one can be, and we all know how this will end, right from the beginning itself. A super powerful hero to use against Thanos is not that great an idea because that leaves whatever in Earthly, and whatever is human, out – we don’t want something like what happened with the final moments of Justice League, which had everyone other than Superman to be a waste. But we hope that Marvel can fix that well enough making this less repetitive next time, and until then, this one is a very entertaining movie set on different planets and between different species. The good 3D also helps the same, even though the world is no match for that of Aquaman and Thor: Ragnarok.

Release date: 8th March 2019
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Jude Law

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

King Arthur

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: This is a tale which is only loosely based on Arthurian legends, even though the base pillars remain the same. For years, humans, the masters of the sword, and mages, the masters of magic have lived together in peace at the island of Britain, helping each other at times or adjusting to one another when there is a chance of conflict. But soon there is a shift of power and Mordred (Rob Knighton), a corrupt sorcerer alligned to pure dark magic decides to change this forever after commanding great power. With an objective which is nothing less than having complete dominion over mankind, his huge army that includes monsters and consistent spells lay waste to the settlements that stand before his powers of dark magic, and they attack the last human stronghold, Camelot. As the forces lay siege to his castle, the king of Britons, Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana), manages to break into Mordred’s lair of magic and behead him, causing the end of his magically summoned creatures and the retreat of other mages.

So, what happens next? :: Even though the people of the kingdom are relieved, Uther’s brother Vortigern (Jude Law) is not a happy man, as he wishes for all mages to be hunted and killed, something which Uther doesn’t agree. This angry and jealous brother decides to get rid of the king and sacrifices his wife Elsa (Katie McGrath) to the sea witches who had promised to help him in return. As Vortigern’s men seize the day and unleash chaos, a demon knight kills Uther in combat, after killing the queen, but he misses a young boy who drifts away and is found by prostitutes who raise him. The boy who is named Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) grows up to become a strong young man skilled in fighting, and loved by people around. One day, Arthur and his friends come up against a group of Vikings who had mistreated on the prostitutes, and they make the northmen pay for what they did. But as the Vikings were guests and under the protection of the king, it brings the king’s men to their small world.

And what follows the events? :: As a criminal against the king and his laws, Arthur tries to escape, but is caught by the troops who have been forcing young men to try and pull a mysterious sword known only by the name Excalibur from a stone, something which nobody was able to do successfully. When Arthur makes the attempt, manages to pull it off, only to be captured by the soldiers and brought before the king, who tells him that he is the son of Uther, and decides to execute him in public to make sure that there is no rebellion in the name of his dead brother or any prophecy related to a sword. Meanwhile, a girl, identifying herself as a follower of the great wizard Merlin (Kamil Lemieszewski), meets with Uther’s former general, Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou) with whom she plans to save the future king of Britons – the plan is successful, as they take him to their hideout.

So, where are things heading to? :: But Arthur is reluctant to claim that he is the one true king destined for greatness. Despite being told the same again and again, he only wishes to go back to his life as it used to be. Whenever he takes the sword and fights with it, he only has the nightmares of his parents’ death and he collapses. It is then the girl who is known only as the mage, comes up with the idea to send the future king to Blacklands, where mages reigned, and where the greatest of wizards, Merlin destroyed Mordred’s tower battling against his dark magic. There, Arthur witnesses and battles more, and has more of his visions of that day, with his father, mother, the sword and the demon knight who battled the king. He would return wiser, but can Arthur really believe in himself and his destiny, follow the path and come out victorious?

The defence of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword :: Well, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword might be one of the most beautiful and stylish movie you will get to see on screen with its CGI and the surroundings, even though the same is not always there. It is evident from the first scene itself when the evil sorcerer attacks Camelot with his supporters and creatures. The 3D is also the best used in this scene; the effects make sure that watching this movie in 3D will be the right option. There are those action scenes which has stones, arrows, swords, ashes, fire, ember; all things that keep flying on and off the screen – the demon knight is the one who looks the best in this movie, and the whole design of him is the pick right here, and then there are the sea witches joined into one, another creature that will have your attention along with the less explored ones from the trees. There is also the highly sincere performances from Charlie Hunnam and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, the former continuing the good work from Pacific Rim and Crimson Peak; there is even a strong villain in the form of Jude Law’s evil king. The music is great.

The claws of flaw :: Too many things in this movie seems too modern than classic, and the ancient tale would seem rather twisted in favour of modernity. There are no costumes or armour in the way that we had expected to see, and the story itself is so strange; it never really seems to get anywhere after a fine start. The quick talks and even quicker flashbacks don’t really help at all. The old classics shouldn’t give in to modernity, and if it does, there has to be a better story to support the same. Also, a more colourful world would have helped to elevate the level of 3D, or even a better distribution of darkness would have been nice. The tendency of the protagonist to keep running away, is also rather strange considering the circumstances – we shouldn’t really be judging a king, but for a strong young fighter, he runs too much from responsibilities and battles. There is also not enough of Merlin, and more display of creatures and huge battles like the beginning scene could have easily stolen many hearts.

How it finishes :: There was so much that King Arthur: Legend of the Sword could have achieved, for it had Excalibur, a Round Table, the Knights of the Camelot, the mages and creatures. But this one manages to give in to modernity, and be less connected to a rather classic side. This one does have its does of action and thrills, and an undoubted strength of style and visuals, and should work for a good section of viewers, but the possibilities are endless with this one, and we hope that the same can be achieved with upcoming sequels, if there will be any. Getting Petyr Baelish right out of Game of Thrones doesn’t bring the quality of the story in any way despite him being effective. There is not much that the actors could do to raise the level of this flick which will have a tough time ahead against not just Alien Covenant, but even when facing rather simpler movies. This is a tough box-office battle for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword from which no Excalibur or Merlin can save the king. A better sequel will do this one a lot of good, as long as it is really that better – with the reminder that this is no Sherlock Holmes.

Release date: 12th May 2017
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Jude Law, Eric Bana, Tom Wu, Freddie Fox, Craig McGinlay, Mikael Persbrandt, Lorraine Bruce, Hermione Corfield, Annabelle Wallis, Katie McGrath, Poppy Delevingne, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Neil Maskell, Millie Brady, Michael McElhatton, Kamil Lemieszewski, Rob Knighton

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Rise of the Guardians

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Tennyson

There was a movie of the late December 2012 which belonged more to 2013 than 2012, and as the 2013 Movies List does include a movie which was released in the previous year, but was watched in the theatres later, including this story of the wonderful guardians and getting another special, honorary position for it shall do no harm. This might have arrived earlier in the United States, but in India, it came late for good – for Christmas, which made the occasion even better. This animated movie tells a story about the popular characters of the ancient beliefs, here referred to as the Guardians – Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Sandman, who are forced to enlist a much less interested and not-so-caring about the world, the seemingly selfish Jack Frost due to the advice of the Man in the Moon, to stop Bogeyman from immersing the world in darkness and change all the dreams of children into nightmares, with the first step being the destruction of all sources of belief, faith and hope. The movie is supposed to be based on the American author William Joyce’s The Guardians of Childhood book series and the short film The Man in the Moon by Joyce and Reel FX.

The spirit of winter, Jack Frost is raised from a frozen lake by the Man in the Moon with superpowers, but he is unseen in the world and shall remain so as he is not believed in, and all of his memories from his former life are gone. Only his name is known to the world and to him. Jack Frost has been popularly known to be the personification of frost and cold weather and his roots might be in the Norse or Anglo-Saxon system of beliefs. The most well known presence of Jack in literature might be in L. Frank Baum’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. This work by the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz might be the closest depiction of this character to the one in the movie. The other depictions can be left behind for now, and the stress is to be kept in what he is in the movie. He is a playful spirit who is hidden from the sights of people as he is not believed in, unlike the other guardians. But he plays pranks with the kids and lives as mysterious spirit with control over snow and ice. He is haunted throughout the movie with an identity crisis and his sadness and anger is not just because he is not seen by others, but also because he doesn’t know who he is, or his purpose. It is as if he never existed and never makes a difference.

It is the Man in the Moon who changes that life, for he instructs the Guardians to induct Jack Frost as a new Guardian in order to combat the threat of the powerful Bogeyman. There would be the question who this divine presence might be, and the answer could not be restricted to just one. It is just the moon that is shown, and there is the divine power which never hesitates to show the signs. From raising Jack Frost from the dead, to giving him his extraordinary powers and making the spirit a Guardian – all these is planned by that supreme power. But the person never speaks or make a direct impact on the world below on Earth, and it is with silence that the man speaks, most of the time. He is both the observer and the decision maker. His impact is not temporary, but permanent, and his power is not easily visible, but hidden. He might be one of those images and faces you see on the moon every day. He is surely no Neil Armstrong or Edwin Aldrin. As one finds it easy to believe what the science say about moon and all the details about it without being seen, it is not that hard to believe in a man in the moon – it is simpler and more believable than all the theories of science. May be that round thing you see every night on the sky is not really a natural satellite, but just some random lie invented by science just to make a good fictional story out of a white dot of heaven, and so might be the solar system, galaxies, meteors, comets, planets and whatever they might be.

As we now know that there is no moon as the science describes it, lets go to the next big character, the Bogeyman, also known as Pitch Black – the king of nightmares all set to become the emperor of all dreams, both good and bad. Wasn’t he the one nocturnal creature whom you feared without hesitation during your childhood? Didn’t he force you to look under the bed each and every time you wake up? No it rarely happened to me, as I had chosen to fall on the floor and sleep at times. Meanwhile, our villain is a strong and powerful one who has become better and meaner as he is powered by the fear of the children, and his nightmares cover all the good dreams of the world. His strives not on belief of love, but belief of fear. He feeds on the fear and thus on the souls of his victims, creating better nightmares every time. His aim is to destroy the Guardians one by one, by first getting rid of the faith and belief of children in them. He chooses them one by one and with his ever-increasing power driven by the dark horses of fear, he goes through his mission of darkness and pure evil which was hidden under an underground bed for a long time.

The Easter Bunny is the angry young man of the story and the short-tempered star of the Guardians – in simple words, and in ancient beliefs, that one rabbit bringing Easter eggs. This one is not the cute little one though, as he is a fighter who is always ready for action. He is not that friendly with Jack Frost in the beginning either. Well, he still brings the Easter eggs, and so that should be okay. Our Santa Claus, also referred to as North, is the more likable of characters, with his tattooed arms and funny dialogues. He is more of the leader of Guardians and he lives as a happy old man in his castle in the North Pole with Yetis and Christmas Elves. He has all he needs for Christmas including the flying reindeer driven chariot, and the gifts. He would deliver the presents, including toys and candy to all of the nice children in the world, as long as he can keep the Bogeyman away. As the movie was released just a few days before Christmas in India, the importance of Santa is further more – well, he is the most well-known of the team for sure, and the only one who can claim to be known enough might be the Bogeyman, and Easter Bunny can only claim the third place.

Then comes the Tooth Fairy, the mythical tooth collector. She is half human and half hummingbird and is assisted by a large number of little fairies who are just like herself, only incredibly small. According to the popular beliefs (which I came to know about only a decade ago) when a child loses a baby tooth and places it beneath the bed pillow, the Tooth Fairy will visit while the child sleeps, replacing the lost tooth with a small gift. Here in the movie, she collects the children’s teeth, and they hold their most precious memories during their life on Earth. She also has the role of storing them in her palace to return them when they are needed the most. She and her minions have an instant liking for Jack and his teeth. But her palace is the place which is first attacked by the Bogeyman who finds the memories very interesting. Well, I have always wondered where the dentists keep all those tooth which are taken out. May be they are given to the tooth fairies. I wonder if they keep that half-a-tooth of mine which was broken while eating “Chakka Varuthathu” in a special bottle. The Sandman is the next Guardian – according to the legends, the one who brings good dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto the eyes of children while they sleep. Here he does not speak, but communicates through sand images that appears above his head. He is the exact opposite of Bogeyman, as the master of all good dreams.

These are our five guardians, one villain and the one divine element. Other than destroying evil, what the movie suggests is the importance of belief and saving the magic of childhood, both being destroyed by modernity. It tells the need for the power of wonder, faith, hope and belief in an artificial world where it is slowly, but surely disappearing, and are replaced by a void which can be filled by the wastes of hell, as inferno’s own dumping yard where no recycling of souls or bad deeds takes place. The machinery of the movie is without rust, as the magical 3D and beautiful animation tries the best to keep it working and to make this my favourite animated movie watched in a theatre – no disrespect to Kungfu Panda, but this one hit me better, in a good way. The Polar Express did a good job in re-affirming faith and belief, and Rise of the Guardians have done the same in an even better way. On first look, this might seem to be for kids, and there is no denying the fact that it could be a combination of X-Men and The Avengers for kids, but one can’t also deny that there has never been a more suitable animated family movie which is enjoyable to people of almost any age – not to forget the philosophical undercurrent which has its morality element running.

Release date: 21st November 2012 (USA); 21st December 2012 (India)
Running time: 97 minutes
Directed by: Peter Ramsey
Starring (voice): Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, Jude Law