Gifted

Review by Joseph Anthony

1997’s GOOD WILL HUNTING was the story of a genius with a tragic backstory played by Matt Damon. His future was the source of anxiety for those around him. While the well-meaning psychologist - played by Robin Williams - only wants Damon’s character to find happiness, the M.I.T. professor - played by Stellan Skarsgård - wants Damon to become a great academic mind and achieve full potential. And then there’s a motley crew that surrounds Damon.

GIFTED replaces Damon with a brilliant 6 year old girl, Mary (Mckenna Grace). Robin Williams is replaced with a caring Uncle, Frank (Chris Evans). Rather than Skarsgård, we have another M.I.T. academic (this time it’s Grandmother Evelyn played by Lindsay Duncan). Instead of a motley crew, Mary has support from loving neighbor Roberta (Octavia Spencer), school-teacher Bonnie (Jenny Slate) and the most adorable one-eyed cat, Fred.

Captain America: Civil War

Review by Bob Ignizio

After all the mass mayhem, destruction, and death of the previous Marvel Cinmeatic Univers movies, most notably the two AVENGERS films, some people in that fictional world are justifiably concerned about super powered individuals taking the law into their own hands. The last straw is an incident in which The Avengers fight a bad guy who sets off an explosion to kill Captain American (Chris Evans). Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) uses her powers to move the blast away from Cap, but several innocent bystanders are still killed.

The United Nations wants oversight of these costumed crusaders. Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), riddled with guilt after being confronted by the mother of another casualty of a super powered throw-down, thinks this is a good idea. Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans), while recognizing the responsibility the heroes bear for this collateral damage, doesn’t.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Review by Ric Nimrod

The first thing to cross my mind when I left the theater after watching Marvels AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON was ‘I cannot wait to watch this again’, but then again, I am that kind of nerd. I then looked at my 6-year-old son who had accompanied me and asked him how he liked it, and he replied with a smile and the word ‘awesome’. But after a moment of consideration he finished with ‘but it is not better than GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Marvels last big screen adventure). Out of the mouths of babes, the kid is right… but not by much.

Snowpiercer (now on video)

Review by Bob Ignizio

The post apocalyptic sci-fi scenario in SNOWPIERCER has to be one of the strangest ones ever conceived. Scientists trying to stave off the effects of global warming accidentally send the earth into a new ice age. The last surviving humans now live on a high speed, perpetually moving train. Those who bought their way on form an elite upper class that lives in the front of the train. Those less wealthy masses on board live in squalor at the tail end where they eat processed black foodstuff of questionable origin, get high on a drug made from the byproducts of the train's fuel, and occasionally mount rebellions that the elite put down with little effort.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Review by Pete Roche

Production for CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER snarled Cleveland traffic for an entire month last summer.  Directors (and Shaker Heights natives) Anthony and Joe Russo (WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD) clogged several main arteries and major intersections in hopes of capturing a bit of the superhero celluloid magic that’s become standard for Spring / Summer blockbusters over the last fifteen years.  Were the rush-hour headaches worth it?

Depends on who you ask.  The movie—the latest installment in Marvel’s ongoing AVENGERS-related saga (and third major superhero flick partly shot in C-Town, counting SPIDER-MAN 3)—won’t sway those who never cared much for cartoon heroes, comic books, or the lure of Hollywood spotlights in the first place. 

Marvel's The Avengers

Review by Bob Ignizio

Ever since 2008's IRON MAN, Samuel L. Jackson has been popping up in the Marvel Studios films as Nick Fury, leader of the government security agency S.H.I.E.L.D., to talk about his plans of putting together a group of superheroes. He finally gets around to it in MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS, bringing together Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to, as Fury puts it, “fight the foes no single superhero could withstand.”

The foes in question are led by Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the same guy who caused trouble in THOR. Still smarting from his defeat in that film, Loki returns using his powers of deception and manipulation to get his hands on something called the Tesseract. This glowing McGuffin has seemingly limitless power, but its main purpose here is to open a gateway to another dimension so that an army of CGI space aliens can come through and attack the Earth. After the obligatory fighting amongst themselves, partly caused by Loki's manipulations but mostly due to their own arrogance, the aforementioned heroes come together to face this threat as a team, tearing up large portions of downtown Cleveland (standing in for New York City) in the process.

Repost: Captain America: The First Avengers (January 27th at the CWRU Film Society, Strosacker Auditorium)

[CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER screens Friday January 27th at 7:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 12:00 am at the CWRU Film Society, Strosacker Auditorium]

Review by Bob Ignizio

In this summer of big budget super-hero movie overload, it's easy to forget the indignity comic book films often suffered in the past. It would be hard to find a better example of that than Captain America. One of Marvel's most iconic characters, Cap was the subject of two laughable made for TV movies in the late seventies, and a low budget feature film from schlockmeister Albert Pyun in 1990. Now that Marvel Comics is producing their own movie adaptations, they finally get a chance to do right by their star-spangled hero.

What's Your Number?

Review by Pamela Zoslov

Criticizing a romantic comedy for being dumb and commercial is a little unfair. What is a Hollywood romantic comedy but a crass, easy-on-the-brain product designed to get women to drag their reluctant boyfriends and husbands into the mall-o-plex? So pity the director enlisted to make one. Like the contestants on a cooking show, he is given a set of ingredients and asked to make something palatable of them. With WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?, the components include: co-stars Anna Faris and Chris Evans; story based on a “chick-lit” novel by a blogger-turned-author; giggling girlfriends planning a lavish wedding; copious drinking; edgy vulgarity and casual sex; an embarrassing bridal toast; a compulsive womanizer poised for reform; prominent product placement (Apple); and supporting appearances by fading luminaries (Blythe Danner and Ed Begley Jr.) as the parents.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Review by Bob Ignizio

In this summer of big budget super-hero movie overload, it's easy to forget the indignity comic book films often suffered in the past. It would be hard to find a better example of that than Captain America. One of Marvel's most iconic characters, Cap was the subject of two laughable made for TV movies in the late seventies, and a low budget feature film from schlockmeister Albert Pyun in 1990. Now that Marvel Comics is producing their own movie adaptations, they finally get a chance to do right by their star-spangled hero.