The Avengers

 The Avengers (2012)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joss Whedon

Written by Joss Whedon

Click here for my (current) Letterboxd review

Click here for my previous RyMickey Review

The (current) RyMickey Rating: B-

Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Josh Brolin, Danai Guirra, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Letitia Wright, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Tessa Thompson, Tilda Swinton, Hayley Atwell, Marisa Tomei, Rene Russo, Taika Waititi, Angela Bassett, William Hurt, Winston Duke, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Natalie Portman, and Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Arrival

Arrival (2016)

Starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

While Arrival is most definitely a science fiction film, it doesn't feel like any science fiction film we've seen grace the movie screen in a long time.  Eschewing action or scares for a surprisingly humanistic approach, Arrival continues the intriguing streak of director Denis Villeneuve who has crafted films over the past three years that are varied in their subject matter and approaches, but place humanistic drama front and center.  Villeneuve has yet to helm that "amazing" film for me, but his work is never dull or boring and he has become a harbinger for quality cinema.

Aliens have arrived on Earth.  Across the globe, twelve extraterrestrial spaceships have positioned themselves at various locations, opening their hatches a few minutes a day never leaving their ships, but allowing humans to enter.  Linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is summoned by US Army Colonel GT Weber (Forest Whitaker) to come to Montana -- the US location of the alien spacecraft -- to help decipher the language being utilized by the foreign beings.  Almost ink blot-esque in its design, Louise and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) try to bridge the communication gap with the alien creatures who are seemingly peaceful, but, seeing as how they are intruders, are a cause of great concern with the US government headed in Montana by David Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg) as well as agencies around the world.  With time ticking on an attempt at diplomacy with the extraterrestrials, Louise struggles to put her past behind her -- she lost a child to cancer a few years prior -- and help save the world from what could be intense warfare.

The most shocking aspect of Arrival is the simplicity of the Eric Heisserer-penned and Denis Villeneuve-directed film.  With nary a jump scare or frightening alien imagery, the film still manages to be oddly captivating as we in the audience utilize Amy Adams' eyes as our own.  As she sees the aliens for the first time, so do we.  As she communicates with them for the first time, so do we.  As she fights the government for more time to determine the purpose of their arrival, we're right there by her side.  Adams carries the picture and she does a great job of conveying Louise's intelligence and perseverance, as well as her growing connection to the extraterrestrials.

This is a human-driven story as opposed to an alien-driven one as is often the case in films of this ilk and Denis Villeneuve keeps the drama high by placing the focus squarely on Adams as opposed to the creatures with which she is communicating.  Beautifully lensed, Arrival is always a visual treat.  Unfortunately, the film takes a twist in its final fifteen minutes that while legit and comprehensible feels a bit tacked on and perhaps unnecessary.  It disappointed me a bit to be honest because up until that point the film had felt "real" and "possible" and then in its final chapter, the script shifts to something a bit implausible for this viewer.  I've discussed this conclusion with others and I'm seemingly alone in my assessment, but the ending concluded things on the tiniest bit of a sour note for me.  I still think Villeneuve is one of the brightest directors working at the moment and this is one of Amy Adams' best roles in a while, but the end just made Arrival a bit of a disappointment for me.  Your mileage may certainly vary and the film is still well worth a watch.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Bourne Legacy

***Movie #4 of BOURNE Week***
The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach, Oscar Isaac, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Donna Murphy, Corey Stoll, Zeljko Ivanek, and Joan Allen

Directed by Tony Gilroy

As we discovered in the previous Bourne films, Jason Bourne was just one of many men recruited by the CIA to violently act out missions for the agency.  The Bourne Legacy leaves Matt Damon behind (likely because they couldn't offer a big enough paycheck) and focuses on one of the other men -- Aaron Cross -- part of another black ops group Bourne and Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) were trying to uncover in earlier flicks.

The Bourne Legacy opens with many of its scenes running concurrently to the final moments in The Bourne Ultimatum.  Director Tony Gilroy (the co-screenwriter of the previous Bourne films as well as this one) picks up the reins from Paul Greengrass and nicely ties Aaron Cross's story into Jason Bourne's timeline with this concurrent opening.  Smartly, Gilroy plants Aaron Cross (played by Jeremy Renner) into a different CIA black ops program -- one that forces its recruits to take pills in order to maintain their stamina, strength, and intelligence.  This allows for a different background and starting point for Cross than Bourne and it plays well throughout the film, feeling like a somewhat different animal...which is a good thing.

The repercussions of the actions of Bourne and Landy, however, permeate throughout The Bourne Legacy, as Cross finds himself being hunted down by CIA agents as they try to cover their tracks about the government's black ops agencies.  This leads Cross to Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a biochemist who has medically tested him in the past and who Cross uses to help him evade those coming after him.

The Bourne Legacy works really well as a continuation of the overarching political conspiracy story that runs rampant throughout this cinematic series.  Where it falters, however, is in a few of the film's action moments, including a very ill-conceived final action sequence with some laughable reaction shots from Weisz that ends things on a decidedly disappointing note.  Renner is more chipper than the dour Bourne (at least as chipper as one can be when being hunted down by the CIA) and his interactions with Weisz, while more generic than Bourne's interactions with his female contacts, are pleasantly conceived.  However, Renner is actually a little too high on charisma -- a fault that I almost can't believe I'm writing.  He didn't quite sell me on the "operative on the run" aspect of his character.  Still, it was pleasant to put a different face front and center in the series even though it didn't quite match the success of its immediate predecessor.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, and James Spader

Directed by Joss Whedon

Back in 2012, everyone fell head over heels for The Avengers -- everyone except for me, that is.  I didn't dislike the film as my C+ review attests, but I found it overblown and a bit underwhelming with the action sequences working, but many of the dialog and character-driven moments disappointing.  Oddly enough, Avengers: Age of Ultron has just the opposite problem with its character-based scenes working surprisingly well and its action aspects sorely lacking.  Considering both films were written and directed by Joss Whedon, the contrasting differences are a bit startling and, as the rating below will attest, end up being about equal in terms of how I felt overall about the flick.

Once again, our Avenger crew bands together to fight something gigantically evil.  Rather than aliens, though, this time it's a form of advanced artificial intelligence that Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) created in secret in order to try and assist should the world face another huge attack as occurred during the first film.  After a bit of a tête-á-tête about the necessity of AI to help, Tony, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) head out to find Ultron (James Spader), the AI that has created a robot body for himself and set out to destroy humanity with the help of two Russian twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen) who want to bring down the Avengers due to an incident from their childhood caused by one of our fearless fighting crew that changed their lives forever.

Story-wise, I think the film is actually more successful than its predecessor.  I enjoyed the camaraderie between the heroic crew which I felt was sorely lacking in the first film as well as the deviousness of Ultron and the twins.  Knowing nothing about the comics upon which the films are based, Ultron was deliciously snide and humorously villainous.  Perhaps that isn't his demeanor in the comics, but on film, Spader voiced the character with such over-the-top charisma that I couldn't help but long for the character to appear again to liven things up.  Plus, I think it helped things that Ultron's villainous intentions stemmed from the chaos inflicted in the first film.

Unfortunately, the film's action set pieces just didn't work for me.  During the opening scene which includes slow motion AND seemingly sped up moments, I found myself vehemently annoyed, feeling as if I were watching a poorly conceived video game as opposed to a movie.  Fortunately, things got a little better after that, but I still went through the whole movie thinking that the action sequences felt less integral to the plot than nearly any other Marvel flick and were put into place simply because "we need an action scene now."  Whereas Whedon seemingly had control of these moments in the first Avengers, he disappointed here.

Overall, though, Avengers: Age of Ultron works.  The flick is briskly paced and despite disliking the more "intense" moments, I never found them overblown or overlong.  The interplay between the core group of Avengers is growing more natural and I'm oddly looking forward to what the Marvel Universe has in store for these characters.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

-- Mission: Impossible Week --
Please note that all Mission: Impossible Week film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, and Alec Baldwin

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

As we come to the end of our Mission: Impossible week, I've come to the determination that the Tom Cruise-led series is a solid entry into the American cinematic action pantheon.  Does that mean that the series is full of overly amazing movies?  No, but what is intriguing (and I'm spoiling my rating for this newest installment with this sentence) is that with the exception of the second film (which, as you'll recall I found absolutely abysmal), all of the films in the M:I series rank in the "B" range.  I'm not sure there are many other film franchises that have gone on for so long that manage to maintain that consistent quality throughout.

In Rogue Nation, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team have uncovered a seedy agency known as The Syndicate that attempts to take down world leaders and governments by creating situations that look like accidents yet cause a great amount of havoc.  Just as IMF head William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) attempts to fund Hunt on a mission to take down the group, he is told by CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) that due to the numerous close calls that IMF missions have come under as of late (meaning the numerous close calls of the last two films), the US government has decided to defund the organization.  Not only that, but the CIA is under strict orders to now take down Hunt who refuses to return to the US, hellbent on finding the head of The Syndicate on his own if necessary.

Perhaps most interesting about Rogue Nation is that it's the least action-driven film since the first installment in the M:I series.  That isn't to say that there aren't some BIG moments filled with action, it's just that the film finds itself a little more focused on "talking" and duplicitous manipulation than big budget action sequences.  It's actually a bit of a relief and it works well for the film in an attempt to be a little different than its predecessors.

Part of the reason for the talkiness is due to the villain of the piece -- Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), head of the Syndicate and a Steve Jobs-ish lookalike in his turtleneck and glasses.  Lane is evil, no doubt, but his ability to keep his emotions in check and his temper under control makes him even scarier when he's got a gun to your head because you'll never expect him to shoot...and he will.  Lane is matched by Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), an undercover British MI-6 agent who may or may not have disavowed her homeland for Lane.  Surprisingly, the film does a very good job at keeping the audience guessing as to whether Faust is good or evil and this creates a nice amount of tension throughout the film as Lane matches wits with Hunt.

Tom Cruise has been the one through-line in the Mission: Impossible series of films and he's certainly captivating as the big screen action star.  This film perhaps gives him the least amount to do -- not in terms of stunts, but in terms of an emotional arc.  Rather than focus on aspects of his personal life, Rogue Nation places its emphasis squarely on taking down The Syndicate and I must say that I missed seeing Hunt's character grow...because he doesn't do any of that here.  Additionally, while I liked Jeremy Renner's newly introduced character in the last film, he's rather squandered here spending most of the film essentially sitting in a control room.  Seeing as how he is receiving second billing in the film, I expected a bit more from his character and didn't really get it.

Still, Rogue Nation is a solid entry into the M:I franchise -- I'd rate it second of the five.  [Ghost Protocol takes the top spot, M:I III takes third place, the original M:I fourth place, and M:I II an incredibly distant fifth place.]  Overall, the franchise is a winner in my book.  Should they make more, I'd definitely be along for the ride.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

-- Mission: Impossible Week --
Please note that all Mission: Impossible Week film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor, and Léa Seydoux

Directed by Brad Bird

***The review below was originally published on May 27, 2011.  Reading it over, my feelings are pretty much the same now as they were then.  Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is a really solid film and the best film in the Mission: Impossible series.  By far the funniest flick of the bunch (I laughed out loud when the machine that makes the famous Mission: Impossible face masks broke down), Ghost Protocol is also filled with great action sequences -- some of which should be noted for their surprising lack of weaponry and combat, but instead for their ability to create tense moments from something as simple as a desert dust storm.  Enjoy my original review below.***

Although Mission: Impossible II was one of my least favorite movies the year it came out, I don't utterly detest the Mission: Impossible series of films.  Maybe it's just the catchy theme music -- which really is one of the best tv theme songs ever created -- but it's probably more that I like the gadgety spy vibe that runs throughout.  I had heard really good things about animation director Brad Bird's first foray into live action filming.  Fortunately, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol did not disappoint and is probably the best action flick to come out of 2011.

Part of the reason for its success is that this Mission: Impossible has an odd joyfulness to it that I don't remember at all in previous incarnations in this series.  There's a humor here that I wasn't expecting and it added a breath of fresh air to the typical explosions and chase scenes that are part and parcel of a film of this ilk.  Certainly much of the chuckles come thanks to Simon Pegg who is the gadget guru Benji, part of the special team headed by Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, who after being rescued from a Russian prison finds himself on a mission (impossible) to hunt down a Swedish nuclear weapon expert (Michael Nyqvist) deadset on starting a world war.  Aided by Jane Carter (a very solid [and sexy] Paula Patton), Ethan and his team travel from Moscow to Dubai to India tracking down the baddie.

It also helps matters that the story is very straightforward -- read: easy to comprehend.  Sometimes spy films like this tend to throw more info at you than you really need -- red herrings here, ridiculously convoluted background information there.  MI4 doesn't do that at all and I don't mean this as an insult to it.  Don't think that things are overly simplified -- it's just that Brad Bird and his screenwriters have pared things down to be exactly what is needed to make this story fly by.  Bird also crafts his action sequences without the superfluous quick edits and nonstop explosions that are so prevalent in movies today.  There are some genuinely exciting moments here that rely on tension rather than rapid movement to succeed and that's often a rarity nowadays.

Unfortunately, I think the film falters a tiny bit in two areas.  One, Jeremy Renner's character of a government official who is forced to become part of Ethan's team seemed to simply be there to attempt to craft future movies around him.  He isn't really given a lot to do and although he's fine in the role, this is the one point in the movie that probably could've been fleshed out a bit more.  Secondly, the final act of the movie seems almost unnecessary.  When the team moves to India, I couldn't help but think things could've ended in Dubai to much greater effect -- not all movies need to be two hours and ten minutes long.  The final action sequence (which was genuinely tense and exciting) could so easily have taken place in Dubai that the move to India only screamed "Look at our budget!" to me.

Still, those are actually minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things because Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol really excels in all areas -- acting, directing, writing -- where most action movies nowadays fail miserably.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Kill the Messenger

Kill the Messenger (2014)

Starring Jeremy Renner, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Oliver Platt, Ray Liotta, Tim Blake Nelson, Barry Pepper, Michael Sheen, Paz Vega, and Andy Garcia

Directed by Michael Cuesta

For full disclosure's sake, I nearly stopped Kill the Messenger at the forty minute mark, thinking that this true story about journalist Gary Webb's uncovering of CIA involvement in drug trafficking from Nicaragua to the US was a tad too slow moving and a bit too by the book in terms of the way it was handling Webb's investigation into the government conspiracy.  However, I'm actually quite happy I stuck it out because as the film progresses, it becomes much more than an investigative journey and instead begins to live up to its title as Webb (played by Jeremy Renner) becomes the target of news reports aided by CIA leaks (or lies?) that strive to bring him down by revealing secrets from his past.

The problem with Kill the Messenger is that the film's first half isn't all that interesting.  As Gary moves from location to location meeting a variety of characters uncovering minor details concerning the CIA's cover-up, the whole affair feels very rote and bland.  Fortunately, the change in tone in the second half works to the film's advantage creating a much more well-rounded character in Gary Webb who is essentially hung out to dry by his employers after the CIA and other media outlets go on a mission to discredit the reporter and the tiny newspaper for whom he works.

The performances here are all fine, but there aren't any real standouts which also doesn't help elevate the otherwise boring start to the piece.  In the end, Kill the Messenger tells an interesting story that I was certainly unaware of, but it doesn't quite elevate to a point of consistent interest.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Immigrant

The Immigrant (2014)

Starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jeremy Renner

Directed by James Grey

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

It's a shame that the nice, reserved performance from Marion Cotillard as Eva, a Polish immigrant arriving to the States in The Immigrant isn't matched in quality by the film itself.  Instead the onerous bleakness of James Grey's film creates a heaviness that's almost impossible to climb out from under, providing a none too pleasant experience that lost me about halfway through.

When Eva is turned away from entering the US after an erroneous claim is made that she willingly subjected herself to prostitution while on the ship to the mainland, she is forced to await return to Europe.  Separated from her sister who was quarantined upon arrival, Eva is devastated until Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix) sees her plight and, noticing her beauty, decides to help her out.  However, Bruno's seeming benevolence isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Bruno runs a burlesque hall which also happens to serve alcohol -- a hot commodity in 1921's prohibition era times -- and Bruno convinces Eva to use her feminine wiles to make money to help get her sister out of quarantine to see a legitimate doctor.  The strong-willed, former nurse Eva finds her steadfastness wear down quickly as she sinks into a world unknown to her.

I was with The Immigrant until this point about forty-five minutes in.  Sure, it was a bit depressing, but I could accept the interesting story and the solid performance from Ms. Cotillard.  However, the film then shifts into a love triangle between Eva, Bruno, and a magician named Orlando (Jeremy Renner) and the love story feels ominously uncomfortable and restrictingly heavy.  For the next seventy-five minutes, no one's happy, there's a lot of talking about how no one's happy, and this viewer wasn't happy either, finding himself zoning out and caring very little about any member of this trio.

Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for such a hefty piece.  That's entirely possible.  However, I can't help but think part of the issue lies in James Grey's direction which plods the film along at a glacial pace and becomes a bit unsure of itself in terms of what kind of film it is when the romantic triangle rears its head.  As mentioned, Cotillard is good here and is positively the only reason to watch.  Renner tries, but his character often seems like a caricature -- not as much as Phoenix's Bruno, however, which feels like a mash-up of typical 1920s gangster-y stereotypes.  Unfortunately, Phoenix doesn't bring anything new to the table from an acting perspective either.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - American Hustle

American Hustle (2013)

Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Jack Huston, and Michael Peña

Directed by David O. Russell

Quite simply, American Hustle is the most overrated movie I've seen as of yet that's gained prevalence during this awards season.  (Captain Phillips is a close second.)  For a movie that is inherently about backstabbing and thievery, there wasn't a moment of tension or excitement and the characters failed to make any impact on me whatsoever.

David O. Russell who directed and co-wrote the picture was also behind the lens and put the pen to paper for last year's Silver Linings Playbook, another film I found to be incredibly overrated and undeserving of the heaps of praise thrown its way.  There's something about Russell's writing style that just doesn't grab me in the slightest (and would also explain why I enjoyed his previous film The Fighter seeing as how he didn't write it).  Silver Linings Playbook felt like two disparate halves that failed to come together.  Similarly, American Hustle is a mishmash of different genres, none of which resonate.  When the comedy is culled from jokes about people's perms or comb-overs or the sassiness of a "New Yawk" broad, it makes me wonder if Russell has any original ideas.

But perhaps Russell wasn't going for original.  Much has been said about American Hustle being Russell's ode to the 1970s films by Scorsese and while that very well be true, that doesn't make this worthwhile.  While the film itself is fictional, it has its basis in true events.  Back in the 1970s, Atlantic City was looking to rebuild its name as the gaming capital of the world.  In order to do so, Camden mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) tries to bribe other politicians to help the city flourish.  You'd think that'd be the basis of the film considering it's a story that could have some depth to it.  You'd be wrong.

Instead, Russell (and co-writer Eric Singer) place the emphasis on Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), a slimy owner of a collection of dry cleaning establishments who has a side business in offering fake loans to people.  At a swinging 1970s shindig, Irving meets Sydney (Amy Adams), a gal from New Mexico who moved to New York looking for a different lifestyle.  She immediately falls for Irving and shows him that she's quite game to help him with his "loan" business, willing to go so far as to create a new identity for herself -- Lady Edith Greensley whose English accent will instinctively make her seem more important to Irving's clients.  One of these clients just happens to be Richie DeMaso (Bradley Cooper), an undercover FBI agent, who manages to catch Irving and Sydney in the act of fraud.  After he arrests the couple, Richie agrees to free them only if they'll assist him in helping him track down even bigger folks committing fraudulent acts.

Throw in some love triangles, a brassy wife for Irving (played way too over-the-top by Jennifer Lawrence), and Robert DeNiro as a mafia kingpin, and American Hustle is just a mess in terms of story.  Much like Silver Linings Playbook, this film just doesn't know what it wants to be.  [I criticize Ms. Lawrence there, but her character's brashness was at least a breath of fresh air in this story, and her scenes, despite not having much to do in terms of advancing the film, were some of the film's best.  However, Lawrence is the one person that I felt you could "see" acting whereas the others embodied their characters more or less.]

Granted, I'll give Russell credit that he does manage to get some nice performances from his group of actors, but overall, the film is a mess.  The costumes were groovy, though!

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

Starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Jannsen, Peter Stormare, and Thomas Mann

Directed by Tommy Wirkola

In a movie like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, you have to give in to the complete absurdity and ridiculousness of it all or else you're never going to be able to enjoy it.  Unfortunately, after a pre-opening credits segment in which the traditional Hansel & Gretel fairy tale is depicted and a young Gretel throws a horrid-looking witch into a burning fire followed by uttering the line "Is that hot enough for you, bitch?", I was nearly ready to check out.  While director-screenwriter Tommy Wirkola manages to craft something infinitely better than the similarly themed Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement and despite trying to scream "fun" all the time, Hansel & Gretel doesn't have enough substance for its unique spin on the traditional fairy tale story.

Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton are the title brother/sister pair and both are actually quite good playing their characters as if they were seemingly self-aware of the corniness, cheesiness, and insanity that goes on around them as Hansel and Gretel attempt to save a European village from the evil witch Muriel (Famke Jannsen) who is snatching up children in order to complete some massive supernatural spell that will give her incredible control.  Unfortunately, there are a few additional subplots thrown in the mix that bog things down, taking focus away from the main crux of the flick.

Honestly, there's part of me that wants to hate Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters because I'm well aware that it's utterly ridiculous.  However, it was enjoyable enough that it's worth your time should it ever start to stream on Netflix.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stellan Skarsgard, Paul Bettany (voice), and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joss Whedon

Yes, I'm about sixty days late to the party here...and unfortunately the raves that I've been hearing for two months concerning The Avengers set expectations that were too high to be achieved.  While this is a decent comic book flick, it's still a part of a genre that I'm unable to really relate to because on a purely cinematic level I rarely am able to feel any modicum of tension for the formidable, unflappable, and nearly immortal main characters.

Seeing as how everyone has already seen this third highest-grossing movie of all time, I'm not going to waste time detailing a summary except to say that this gathering of Marvel's Superhero Elite does prove to be successful once it brings its cadre of power players together, but the round-up of these heroes is where the film lacks.  I must preface my "complaint" by saying that i watched The Avengers at the end of a three-movie, seven-hour marathon so that may have something to do with my lack of excitement for the product, but I do also think that I'm maybe using that simply as an excuse for my disappointment in the movie since everyone else seems to be fawning over it.  The whole thing eventually comes together rather nicely and the final ninety minutes really does seem to fly by, but I couldn't help but find myself in a state of ennui during the first hour.

It doesn't help that Robert Downey, Jr., is as annoying as heck in this.  His egotistical Tony Stark plays fine in a movie on his own where he's the main player, but when you put him amidst a group of other more unselfish folks, his character rings obnoxious more than anything else.  [Yes, I realize that's probably the point -- he's kind of a jerk unlike these other guys -- but it still didn't make his character any more tolerable to watch for extended periods of time.]  The less said about Chris Hemsworth's Thor the better (fortunately, his part was minuscule).  Oddly enough, it's the Iron Mans and Thor flicks that I found most successful in the Marvel universe so not caring for those characters here was a bit odd for me.

Mark Ruffalo kinda steals the show with his Bruce Banner/Hulk.  It's a shame the Hulk movie didn't star him as opposed to Ed Norton.  Surprisingly (considering my disdain for his movie), I found Chris Evans' Captain America a big improvement over his eponymous film.  It's also nice that a bit of the focus went to Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow as she's not only pretty on the eyes, but has a storyline that's at least a bit intriguing.

In the end, the whole thing is silly nonsense, but director and screenwriter Joss Whedon is able to at least direct action sequences without relying on Michael Bay-esque nonstop camera cuts and his script has a few witty moments which provide a needed boost.  Some may call this the greatest comic book movie of all time, but coming from a non-comic book fan, I didn't find it as impressive as the millions who did.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Town

The Town (2010)

Starring Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Pete Postlewaite, and Chris Cooper

Directed by Ben Affleck

It's not as if there's anything new story-wise in The Town, but somehow director and co-screenwriter Ben Affleck manages to craft a taut thriller that succeeds in all aspects.  He isn't re-inventing the wheel, but Affleck proves to be a director with a keen eye for knowing how to move a film along at a brisk pace, while developing what could have been stereotypical characters into multi-dimensional personalities that help elevate the film to a whole other level.

Best friends Doug (Affleck) and Jem (Jeremy Renner) like to rob banks...and they're very good at it, eluding the FBI and covering up all of their tracks.  One bank robbery goes a little awry, however, and they need to take the bank manager, Claire (Rebecca Hall) hostage in order to escape.  While they let the hostage go, it's soon discovered that she lives a mere four blocks from Doug and Jem's home.  The highstrung and uptight Jem wants to do away with Claire for fear of their crime being uncovered, but Doug, the calmer and more caring of the two, tells Jem he'll watch over Claire and make sure she doesn't speak to the FBI.  Soon, a relationship forms between Doug and Claire with Claire completely unaware that she's dating the very man who took her hostage.

Let's call a spade a spade here -- there are clichés abounding in this movie.  We've got the bad guy with the heart of gold, the beautiful girl who causes the crook to question his "career path," and the need to pull off one last heist to name just a few of the commonplace stereotypes we come across.  Still, somehow, everything works in The Town and the reason is that the actors are all top notch, completely embodying these characters...even if we've seen these same characters before.

I'm perhaps sounding a little down on the flick and I don't want it to come off that way at all because The Town is, in fact, one of my favorite films of 2010 thus far.  So, instead of being negative, let's discuss the positives.

The acting across the board is great.  The Hurt Locker's Jeremy Renner is playing a completely different character here than his role in last year's Oscar-winning flick.  His Jem is a nasty guy -- not a likable thing about him -- but he's a treat to watch.  Rebecca Hall is also pretty perfect as the innocent Claire.  Anyone who's read my blog knows I like it when characters seem "real" and this her Claire is a perfect example of that.  From the way she moves her eyes to the way she spoke her lines, I kind of forgot I was watching an actress and not a real person.  Plus, you've got great turns from Jon Hamm as the FBI guy searching for Doug and Blake Lively as Doug's drug-addled former girlfriend.

And I didn't even talk about Affleck.  Yes, he was great in the film, but where he really shined was behind the camera.  This is definitely a step up from his previous directorial effort Gone Baby Gone, which, while a good film, lacked oomph.  In The Town, Affleck shows talent in the character-driven scenes, but really excels in the cleverly crafted action sequences.  Affleck manages to make each bank robbery scene seem fresh, never repetitive, and surprisingly nerve-wracking.  I can't imagine that the chase scenes he filmed were easy to capture and I was thoroughly impressed.

Don't think that I'm just giving Affleck props because he's "an actor" and did an admirable job directing "for an actor."  No, he did a good job for any director and I look forward to seeing whatever he tackles next in the directing department.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - The Hurt Locker (2009)

Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, David Morse, and Ralph Fiennes
Written by Mark Boal
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Whether you support the war in Iraq or not makes no difference to the filmmakers behind The Hurt Locker. They simply want to present what really happens to our courageous soldiers who risk their lives daily. It was a rather refreshing take and it made the flick play out as an action-suspense thriller rather than a message movie. [As surprising as this may be to those who know my Republican leanings, I'm not opposed to message movies, by the way. The two-year old In the Valley of Elah was a stunningly good look at post-war depression told in a fascinating way.]

Jeremy Renner is Staff Sergeant William James who is one of the army's best bomb diffusers. James and the two other soldiers in his Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit who serve as James's help and protection -- Sergeant JT Sanborn (Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Geraghty) -- go out on seemingly daily missions across Iraq diffusing a variety of different explosive devices. The flick is essentially a series of the various missions this EOD unit undertakes, but we also get glimpses into the different personalities of these three men.

Renner is fantastic. His James appears to be the strong one in the unit, but he's addicted to the adrenaline rush of diffusing bombs and also finds himself emotionally involved in helping the Iraqi people. There's one scene in particular where he breaks down after being so resolute that really got to me. Anthony Mackie is also great as Sanborn who doesn't take well to Sgt. James's approaches to diffusing EOD's. Similarly, Brian Geraghty's Eldridge is certainly emotionally unstable after having witnessed the death of a fellow soldier, and Sgt. James's gung-ho and reckless techniques don't sit too well with him. Geraghty was absolutely my favorite supporting character here. There wasn't a bum note in his performance which had to range from courageous to utterly frightened. I really loved it.

The star of the show, though, is Kathryn Bigelow's stellar direction. This flick is edge-of-your seat exciting and Bigelow is the one responsible for that. While she employs the shaky cam that has become so popular as of late, she doesn't overuse the method. In fact, my favorite scene of the film -- an hours-long showdown in the Iraqi desert that occurs about halfway through the flick -- is full of long pauses and absolutely has the feeling of tedium and weariness thanks in part to Bigelow's direction (and it's also helped immensely by the three actors I mentioned above).

I don't really want to ruin the movie for anyone, but I did have a problem with one particular vignette in the film. Sgt. James seeks revenge after a particular incident occurs and I honestly didn't buy it completely. It's not that I didn't understand the motivation behind it (I certainly understood it), but I just have my doubts that it would ever really happen. Without the extra ten minutes depicting this "event," the flick would've been a little more taut and would've been as close to a perfect movie as one could get.

Despite that one flaw, the film, as I said above, is nearly perfect. With spot-on performances, believable dialogue, three great performances, and some of the best direction I've seen in a long time, The Hurt Locker is an exciting piece of filmmaking that shouldn't be missed.

The RyMickey Rating: A-