Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron officially kicks off the summer movie season.  Box office records for Marvel's eleventh entry to its venerable cinematic universe are insured.  After all, the Marvel brand is such a finely oiled, storm-weathered machine that it's nearly irrelevant to put much serious thought or intellectual weight over whether or not the movies themselves are good or bad.  Analysis is besides the point-- the approval ratings and billion dollar global business dictates Hollywood investments rather than artfulness, originality and aesthetic value.  This may sound horribly cynical-- the corporatist, overstuffed Age of Ultron can't not be iced with a little cynicism-- but that's certainly not meant to imply that there aren't pleasures to be found in Joss Whedon's second go as captain of the ship.  Nor is it meant to imply that there shouldn't be a place in the cinematic marketplace for the adventures of this rag-tag group of superhero misfits-- Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)-- learning how to form a team.  There's value in that, just as there is in Richard Linklater's effortlessly insightful 18-year spanning Before-trilogy.  I just wish slightly more people flocked to the latter and slightly less blathered endlessly at the former.

Hiring Whedon was Marvel's smartest move.  When he came aboard to write and direct the first Avengers, the Marvel universe was still an unsteady, risky venture.  Yet with Whedon's verve as a writer and willingness to work within the iron-clad Marvel infrastructure as a director, it was clear way before the iconic 360 money shot near the end of the 2012 film that franchise/brand was going to take over the world (whilst simultaneously showing the destruction of it in every movie).  Whedon already established on the great television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer a way to deconstruct, mold and sharpen genre pieces by attaching humanity, levity and relatable anguish while still respecting and holding true its mythology.  The first Avengers film was hardly a work of art but it was zesty and chock full of small, human-sized moments to savor on thanks to Whedon's sharp one-liners and gift with performers.  Avengers: Age of Ultron at times feels like a heated divide between Whedon's untethered imagination and Marvel's eternal task to retain the status quo.  Which again, isn't to say the movie is altogether bad (devotees will probably be happy, agnostics may continue to shrug), but perhaps marks a blessing that Whedon is handing directorial duties moving forward.

Thanks for Sharing

Stuart Blumberg's Thanks for Sharing, a smart, Shame-lite ensemble dramedy centering around three men in recovery for sex addiction is one of the more surprising films of the year.  In its affably low-key, albeit slight way, Blumberg has fashioned a film that's nearly better than it has any right to be, showcasing the daily struggles of recovery with a refreshing honesty and earnestness, infusing it with a nimble and disarming charm and rarefied sense of humanity.  Thanks for Sharing also points the surface the problematic ways in which movies are often marketed-- the trailers and promotional materials gloss over the heavier weight of the subject matter in lieu of pretty movie stars like Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow bantering drolly with the tease of naughty, R-rated imagery and words flutter about-- it was presented as a disposable sex comedy about sex addiction.

And yet the movie, which Blumberg co-scripted with Matt Winston, is a sobering and melancholy ensemble comedy of manners that vibrates in the convivial camaraderie of the men in different stages in their Twelve Step process.  The most refreshing component of Thanks for Sharing is in its sharing, where the group of addicts circle around and openly talk, and yet it feels different here than in the countless iterations of the recovery process that's been canvased throughout the decades on film and television.  The acting is never IN ALL CAPS big with whooshing and histrionic fits, the writing isn't punctuated with big moments and clever word plays to mash everything together-- it's quiet, it's low-key, slightly humorous and impacting because it isn't played to the last row.  In short, it may be the least heavy-handed showcase for the most heavy-handed of subjects.  All of which makes the characters, their evolutions and struggles all the more surprising, alert and nearly moving.

For Your Consideration: Mark Ruffalo

I know it's a long time until the awards season comes back in full throttle, but I think I've already seen one the best performance of the year and pray that a loving, tender, merciful God will remember.  It's courtesy of Mark Ruffalo in Lisa Cholodenko's sublime The Kids Are All Right.  I've already fussed about my awe of the film before, but it's worth reiterating, because it's far and away one the 2010's best, at least so far.  This warm, generously spirited, sexy comedy-drama works on a handful of levels, and exceeds expectations because of the committed cast.  Much has been fawned at them already-- Annette Bening being the one singled out the loudest, but Ruffalo is awesome as donar dad Paul.  This criminally underrated actor, who first got attention in his breakthrough a decade ago in You Can Count on Me, has unfathomably never been nominated before, and that's a crying shame, but it makes perfect sense, as sad as it is to here.  He's such a subtle actor, never one to lay on actorly tics, always infusing his characters with a naturalism, that too often goes unnoticed.  The Academy likes 'em big.  With a decade of enviable performances in many terrific films (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, You Can Count on Me, The Brothers Bloom, Collateral), it's an honest to god shame that he's never gotten the recognition he deserves.  But there's something perhaps a bit more special about Paul.  Here Ruffalo gets a play up his immense charm and gives one of his freshest, warmest performances yet.  Paul's a bit of a ladies man, and could easily have been seen as a flakey too-smooth operator in lesser hands, a cad, even full of himself.  But Ruffalo nails ever nuance, especially the first half, which delves from one awkard scene to the next.  You need an actor with incredible integrity and charisma for it all to work, and Ruffalo is the perfect fit.  In my own world view, Ruffalo should be on he's third or fourth nomination, but I'll settle for a first, and possible win.  Here's hoping that The Kids Are All Right remedies that come next February.

The Brothers Bloom

Here's a really cool poster to The Brothers Bloom directed by Rian Johnson, who three years ago made a terrific little oddity called Brick. Attached is a trailer that looks diverting. The film was supposed to open last year after making its rounds in the 2008 festival circuit, but was pushed to spring. It's not an awards film, but here's hoping it's still something special-- love the cast.