And Now For Something Completely Different: A Review of The Help

I have 42, the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, waiting for me at home.  I had wanted to see it in the theaters, but never got around to it.  I'll be watching it soon and will have a review up after.  But, in the meantime, I thought I'd share an older review of mine about a very similar subject.  This is not the sort of movie that is normally reviewed on this site and I thought it may be a nice change. 

A few months ago, my girlfriend mentioned to me that she was reading “The Help”, a book about a young, white woman’s relationship with two black maids in 1960’s Mississippi.  She ended up loving the book, and told me that they were adapting it into a movie.  Therefore, I pretty much accepted the fact that I’d be seeing this movie whether I wanted to or not.  To my surprise, I actually really enjoyed it.

I’m not going to go into plot details, but I will say that Viola Davis, who plays Aibileen, deserves some sort of nomination for her performance here.  She is absolutely pitch-perfect.  I haven’t read the book, and knew next to nothing about the story going into it, but it took less than five minutes for me to realize that this actress was going to carry the film.  The “it” girl of the moment, Emma Stone, who seems to be in everything short of a biopic on Hulk Hogan, was very good as the main  character, Skeeter.  She is a writer at heart, who gets a job at the local paper as a "homemaker hints" columnist.  She is then able to parlay that into an idea for a book about The Help based on the lives of the maids who have spent their entire life taking care of white children.

As one can imagine, this was a very controversial stance to take for a book at the time.  I really thought that Skeeter showed great courage continuing through with the book, even though she knew that if she and the maids were ever discovered writing down any negative stories regarding white families, the consequences would be disastrous.

I’m not really doing a good job of hitting the points I wanted to in this review, as I have made it sound like a typical race relations story set in the early 60’s in the south.  Take my word that the film is anything but.

There are few things that get under my skin as much as racism and that could be why I had a strong emotional response to this movie.  Once again, it’s not as simple as “Blacks are good and whites are bad” and if that’s the main idea you walk away from this review with, blame me.  The film makes you think on several levels and what is most striking of all is the fact that it really wasn’t that long ago that the treatment of blacks as second class citizens was commonplace.  I would be remiss, if I didn’t mention that there were several lighthearted, comedic parts as well that helped break up the heavy ideas explored.  Octavia Spencer portrays Minnie Jackson, whose outspoken ways have put her in a tough spot.  What really drives her actions and character home, however, is the fact that she is responsible for being both serious and fun, all within a moments notice.  

The audience that has found this website so far may not be the audience that would normally appreciate a film like The Help.  One of my goals as a writer here is to hopefully open some readers up to experiencing films outside of their comfort zone.  If you see this film, and I recommend you do, don’t see it to help fulfill your chick flick quota with your significant other.  See it for the performances and for the real life situations that may help open your eyes beyond what things are like in your own world.  I think the inward trip the film takes you on is well worth the two hour running time.

An Oldie but Goodie : Demolition Man Review

So, I was bored this afternoon and decided to go fishing through my Netflix queue and came across a film I had always meant to watch but never made the time for, Demeolition Man.  

I am, what I would call, a casual Sly Stallone fan.  I haven’t seen many of his films, outside of the Rocky films which I find brilliant, (well, except for 5 really) but I have always heard this is one of his better movies.

Quite simply, Demolition Man is everything I heard it was.  There’s action galore of course, but what really surprised me about the film was how funny it was.  I don’t want to go through and explain the plot of the film, that’s what search engines are for, but I will say that it’s often very hard to find a film that is able to balance both action and humor at the same time.  Sometimes, all a film needs to provide are some explosions and some great one-liners and this film has both in spades.

I’d heard that Wesley Snipes is about as close as you can get to The Joker in The Dark Knight here, but I didn’t get that vibe from him.  Sure, he’s all about causing havoc, and he does seem to react with no regard for consequences, but I never got that sinister feel the way I did with Joker. Not to say he wasn’t good, I totally bought that Stallone was the only guy capable of bringing him down.  The chemistry between the two is what really sells the film.  

Sandra Bullock is here mostly to provide comic relief, which is alright by me.  Her fascination with late 20^th century culture leads to quite a few hilarious lines, as she can never get her point across quite right.  There is also a “sex” scene which is among the strangest things I’ve ever seen in a movie.  I believe Stallone’s facial expressions here were what led to the invention of screencaps. 

Demolition Man is not a perfect film by any means but for a fun romp that doesn’t take it self seriously and one that is still able to make you think, you can’t find one better.

The Avengers : How A DC Fan Attempts To Make Nice With Marvel's Big Team-Up Film.

So I searched The ThinkMcflyThink site, and I didn't come across a review for The Avengers.  Thinking I must have just missed it, I searched again, and still found nothing.  So, I am fixing this issue by publishing my own review of the movie.  Considering how Man of Steel turned out, some readers may find my "letter" to Zack Snyder at this end of this review quite spot on.

So The Avengers eh?  Not being a Marvel guy myself, I can say I was curious how this would turn out.  I don’t have any ties to these characters per se, other than enjoying Iron Man and Captain America.  The First Avenger especially was a very nice surprise.  It was great to see a so-called “old-fashioned” character pulled off so well in a modern movie.  

There were no apologies made for Cap, he was presented straight from the pages of the comic complete with stars and stripes and a clear sense of right and wrong.  I really respected what the filmmakers did with him, especially amid all the talk about changing Superman in the future movies to fit a more cynical, jaded age.  This was very much a “take it or leave it” take on Captain America and that excited me on its own.

I always thought that if there were one character I would really take to in the Marvel universe, it would be Captain America based solely on his heroic qualities and strong moral compass.  He’s very much the Superman of the group, a leader who takes charge when the moment calls for it and can also be a bit naïve and headstrong as well.  Imagine my surprise when I found myself loving Iron Man just as much.

As I mentioned earlier, before seeing the first Iron Man film, I knew next to nothing about the character.  I didn’t except much from it, but I thought the casting of Robert Downey Jr. was an interesting choice.  Sure, the villain was pretty weak, but it had this sense of fun (and who am I kidding, he flew!) that made me overlook nearly every other problem I had.  Downey nailed the role and really elevated the material.  To this day, I have a hard time deciding which film I like better, so I just call it a tie.

But enough about the set-up films, this is an Avengers review right?  It’s with this background, that I sat in the theater this weekend and watched what many comic book fans have waited their whole lives to see.  A team-up of the greatest heroes in the Marvel canon (sans Spider-Man for reasons I still don’t understand).  I knew the bare essentials; Loki, Thor’s brother and main antagonist from last year’s Thor, was once again, the main baddie in this one.  This was a good decision in my opinion because Thor was a nice surprise as well and Loki as the villain was outstanding and really conveyed a sense of menace and dread.  If there’s one complaint I can level at all recent superhero movies, outside of the recent Batman films, is that I’ve found almost all of the villains to be uninspiring.  When I watched Thor for the first time a few weeks ago as preparation for Avengers, I found Loki to be the best villain in the Marvel films by far.  

I actually find this movie to be hard to review simply because I view it as a piece of a much larger whole, the culmination of something that was started back in 2008 with Iron Man.  Even as a DC guy, there was a part of me that always wanted to see Marvel pull this off, simply because it had never been done before.  My questions always were; how will they manage having four main characters in one film and treat them all equally?  The script, I was sure, would be a giant mess, juggling the action and trying to have enough character moments to try to keep fans of all four happy. There was no way this would be any more than a curiosity, a stepping stone to show the next wave of superhero filmmakers what not to do.  Well, I was wrong.  I can say, as a DC fan at heart, Marvel pulled it off and they pulled it off big.  I LOVED this film!

I’m not going to rehash the plot, because I’m sure most of you reading this have already seen it.  The character interaction is what sells this movie for me.  Seeing Steve Rogers and Tony Stark go at it, where you can see their conflicting ideologies so clearly, and yet still root for both of them, was amazing.  During that scene, all I could think of was that I was watching the Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne of the Marvel universe and how perfect each actor had nailed their respective characters.  

Chris Evans was spot on in Captain America and I thought he was even better here.  I’m not a religious man in the least, but his line about how there is only one God and “I don’t think he looks like that” was perfect.  That’s exactly how Cap would respond and it put a big smile on my face.  The scene in Germany where he references the last time he was there, what he had seen and how he will never stand for it, the whole subplot with the trading cards, the giving of orders to a NYC policeman, this was a Steve Rogers willing to do whatever it took to win, a true leader.

Downey Jr. was all aces again in the role of Tony Stark.  I can say that outside of Chris Reeve as Superman, Downey is my favorite piece of superhero casting ever.  He steals nearly every scene he’s in, which in this movie is no small feat.  He’s the comic relief, but if things get serious, he can be counted on to do what needs to be done.  The scene where he threatens Loki alone is worth the price of admission.  I still find the Iron Man flying effects a sight to behold.  It just looks like so much fun and again, not since Reeve have I seen that on film.

That brings us to Hulk and Thor.  Hulk has had two films previously, both of which failed to ignite the box office.  Marvel hopes his inclusion in this will spark resurgence on film.  While I am not of the belief that he steals the film, this is the best version of the character since the 70’s TV series.  Mark Ruffalo makes a very believable Bruce Banner and I loved how they built up to showing the Hulk.  Ruffalo did a great job of showing remorse for his actions and trying his best to look out for the other members of the team.  When he does finally switch to Hulk form, the audience, while excited, feels bad for him.  Therein, lies the greatness of the Hulk; he’s a Frankenstein’s monster like character sure, but he has a real heart, something that can be hard to translate to the screen and I think the scenes with Bruce Banner do a fantastic job of bringing that point home.

Thor is someone I had no interest in, only getting around to seeing his solo movie a few weeks ago, but now I’ve done a complete about face.  The movie was better than it had any right to be and most of all, Chris Hemsworth in the title role made me believe.  Yes, Thor is a God among men when he lands on Earth, but by the end of the film he has all but transformed.  Being introduced to love and truly seeing what an ego can do how it can separate family members and above all, how important siblings are, whether right or wrong, was something I didn’t expect from the film.  Hemsworth delivered a performance; really taking what could very easily be a one note character and making him much more.  In Avengers, with his brother causing the destruction, you really see the fine line he walks between caring for his brother and being disgusted by him.  Granted, he doesn’t have as much to do in the film as Cap or Iron Man do, in my opinion, but when he is on screen he commands it.

In all honesty, I haven’t enjoyed a superhero movie this much in years.  This hit all the right notes for me and really has persuaded me to take more of an interest in these characters and their worlds.  Well done Marvel.  You got a DC fan to admit to loving the holy hell out of your big team-up film.  

 Now, if I may close with a note to Zack Snyder:

You see this Zack?  You see the excitement surrounding the film?  How fathers are bringing their sons and daughters, how it’s crossing generations?  This is what I need you to do with the best superhero of all time next year.  Make them believe, show them something they have never seen before, and make sure Superman is the only guy who can make everything all right again.  Help everyone remember why they loved Superman in the first place.  I don’t want to see moping around, a Clark Kent full of uncertainty, and a threat the Avengers could fix in 45 minutes.  I want to see a take charge Superman, with a threat that only he can solve.  Do that and you’ll have a winner on your hands.  I want to see excitement, lines stretching around the theater, like I saw this weekend.  Superman can make all this happen.  It’s your turn Zack, don’t let me down.  

Love, Adam

"Man Of Steel" Review - A Fan's Take

The perspective of the fans is just as important as those of critics or the general public, especially when pertaining to comic book related films. When I found out loyal THINKMCFLYTHINK.COM reader and Superman fan Adam Davis was going to provide his thoughts and write a review after seeing Man Of Steel I immediately wanted it to be published on the site.

~Peter Georgiou

“We’re approaching this as if there are no other Superman movies.”
~~Zack Snyder~~

With that rule in place, Man of Steel is off and running.  Director Zack Snyder paints with a large brush, deftly handling all aspects of one of the most well known origin stories and updating it for today’s ever demanding and critical audiences. Beginning with the birth of Kal-El, who will grow to become mankind’s savior, the film does a great job of showing Superman fans  a scope and scale they never thought possible.

Watching it for the second time earlier today, I realized just how happy this film makes me.  I can’t remember when I first saw the original Superman, it’s one of those movies that has always been a part of my life.  Christopher Reeve has not only been my Superman, but a role model in the strongest sense of the word.  As I grew older, I began to not only realize the flaws the four original movies have, but also the fact that Reeve himself elevated the material.

That realization helped me come to terms with the idea of a rebooted Superman franchise.  Seeing Spider-Man and Batman experience huge success on the big screen over the last decade or so drove home the fact that it was time for the king to reclaim his throne. I’m sure that everyone reading this knows the story of the film, the hiring of Zack Snyder, the casting of Henry Cavill, Amy Adams and the rest of the cast.  There is also no reason to re-hash the plot.  What I wish to focus on instead is how the movie makes me feel.  It’s one thing to walk out of a movie thoroughly entertained, happy you spent the money.  It’s another to feel as though what you just spent the previous two and a half hours watching is the realization of a cinematic dream.

While the beginning twenty minutes or so on Krypton is very sci-fi heavy, it never feels like it’s gone overboard with it’s complexity.  In my opinion, that has a great deal to do with Russell Crowe as Jor-El.  He grounds the film in believability from the very first frame and adds a new dimension to the character, played previously on the big screen by Marlon Brando.  Within the first few minutes on screen, it’s easy to feel his desperation and the love he feels for his newborn son.  The film needed an actor of his presence for the role and he handled it flawlessly. His interactions with Kal later on and especially his scene with Lois are among the best parts of the film.

At it’s core, this is a movie about fathers and sons, destiny and choice and being comfortable in your own skin. Sure, the action is great, and it’s a sci-fi superhero film, but it’s really the heart of the piece that transcends the genre.  The early scenes deal with a young Clark who is trying to get a handle on his powers.  Whether it’s learning how to control his x-ray vision or his super hearing, they add a new layer that’s never been explored on the screen.  The autism overtones are very apparent, intentional or not, and it made me consider for the first time, just how hard life would be for young Clark Kent.

This is driven home in an exemplary way by Kevin Costner’s heart-wrenching turn as Jonathan Kent.  When all is said and done, he may be my favorite character in the film.  He has one goal, to keep his son safe and that goal colors every decision he makes.  The scene where he shows Clark the ship he was found in contains a line that encapsulates all that Pa Kent stands for.  When Clark asks if he can just continue to pretend to be his son, Jonathan replies “You ARE my son” and his voice cracks as he pulls Clark close.  It was at this point that any fear I had going into the film melted away.  They had me by the heart and the movie never let go.

I’ll be honest.  When Zack Snyder was announced as director, I was scared.  I’ve never enjoyed any of his previous work, and I even considered walking out of Watchmen.  I thought that he was the absolute worst choice for a job as important as Superman.  This was a property that deserved to be handled with care and reverence and I was afraid Snyder, with his constant slo-mo and overly masculine take on cinema would rip the heart out of the character.  I have never been more happy to be wrong in my life.  As perfect as Richard Donner was for the ’78 version of Superman, I feel Snyder is the perfect director for this take on the character.  It may seem to be hyperbole, especially from such a huge fan of the original, but there is nothing I would change when it comes to the style of the picture.

Is the film perfect?  Not at all, but I feel as though I have reached a point in my life where I can no longer pick apart every detail of any film.  As I mentioned at the beginning, I never thought I’d get a Superman film of this magnitude.  I sat in the theater during the midnight showing and couldn’t get my head around what I was seeing.  In a sense, Man of Steel is the cinematic equivalent of Superman The Animated Series.

I couldn’t imagine any actor taking up the cape in this story other than Henry Cavill.  He’s able to embody the strength and majesty of the character while also infusing the Last Son of Krypton with a tremendous human heart.  Reeve was  Superman for an entire generation and his performance will never be forgotten.  That said, I’d put Cavill’s take toe to toe with Reeve’s when it comes to being strong enough to carry the character on his shoulders.  Cavill is able to be incredibly caring and understanding but also strong and forceful.  He’s very serious but also balances the ability to allow his human side to shine through.  I immediately bought him in the role  and believed in every action he took. His immediate reaction to taking a life at the end of the film sells the moment as being one of horrible regret.  It’s handled with incredible care, he makes a choice which is the only one he feels he can make.  It doesn’t bother me that he doesn’t have everything figured out.  As humans, we are not perfect, and I expect him to learn and grow as the series progresses and I cannot wait to see more of him in the role.

Amy Adams is truly my favorite Lois Lane.  It’s fantastic to see her as an actual headstrong reporter that stands for something.  I love that she is willing to give up her entire career to protect Clark.  As her reaction to Kal’s story of losing his father shows, there is a genuine feeling of empathy she has for him. I’m not sure what it is about Adams, she’s adorable, but I totally buy her as a tough, investigative reporter.  Much like with Cavill, I couldn’t imagine anyone but her in the role.

I could go on and on about Michael Shannon’s General Zod and his multifaceted performance.  I love this movie with all my heart and Zod is one of the main reasons why.  From the beginning, it was easy to understand his motivations, even in the twisted way he approached it.  A hero is only as good as his villain and Shannon is just perfectly cast.  He always plays an odd, slightly off putting character and there is so much going on behind his eyes.  He is able to convey so much emotion with only his facial expressions.  It was nice to finally have a villain who I feel is worthy of Superman on screen and not another land grab real-estate scheme.

It’s fantastic that Superman is back on top of the box office heap and I’m glad to see that audiences have responded in large numbers. The sequel cannot come soon enough for me and I hope to have a chance to talk more about the movie and this review in the future.