Film Review: MEN IN BLACK 3 (2012)

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Writers: Etan Cohen, Lowell Cunningham (based on the Malibu comic by)
Running time: 102 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

Genre: Action/Comedy/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 25^th May 2012

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 24^th March 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I very much enjoyed the first MIB film, the second was still good, but had lost a little and so we come to the third. I guess I watched it in the hope that the critics were wrong; maybe I’ll disagree with them on this one (it does happen). Well I’ll tell you at the end; for now I can tell you its very slick with your two favourite MIB agents back doing what they do best. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

When badass alien Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from a maximum security prison on the moon, it can only mean trouble for the MIB. In particular he has a grudge against the man who put him there, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones). In order to get his revenge he travels back in time to 1969 and kills the young Agent K, erasing him from history. The trouble is, his partner, Agent J (Will Smith), can still remember him. Realising there’s a time rift problem, their new boss, Agent O (Emma Thompson), sends Agent J back one day before the young Agent K was killed (with me so far?). Back in 1969, Agent J meets up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) and a being called Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg), the last of his species, who can see all possible futures. They use his ability to track down Boris… but is it too late? Guess I’d better leave it there or I might say too much!

It’s very well made, very slick and everything we’ve come to expect from an MIB movie. It has been said that Tommy Lee Jones plays the part like he really didn’t want to be there and I can see what they mean; he seems to be just going through the motions in many of his scenes. I thought Josh Brolin did a decent job as the young Agent K and Will Smith played Agent J with his usual panache. I did feel they went for a few too many cheap laughs, but it was good to hear ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ by Status Quo in the Andy Warhol party scene. Maybe not as good as the first one; about on a par with the second… Worth a look if you’re a fan of the franchise; otherwise, I’d give it a miss.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED (just)

My score: 6.5/10.

IMDb Score: 6.9/10 (based on 142,538 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1409024/

MetaScore: 58/100: (Based on 38 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 70/100 (based on 255 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 72/100 (based on 435,194 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/men_in_black_iii/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Agent J: I'm looking for K, have you seen him? Sort of a surly, older gentleman, smiles like this...
[J makes a poker face]
Agent O: K's been dead for over forty years.

[a tasered J wakes up in 1969 MIB headquarters]
Agent J: You have got to turn the voltage down on that thing, I can't feel my tongue!
Young Agent K: How do you know my name?

Young Agent K: Who are you, and what do you know?
Agent J: I'm an agent of Men in Black, but I'm from the future. We're partners, twenty-five years from now you're going to recruit me. And 14 years after, the guy you DIDN'T let me kill at Coney Island he escapes from prison, and jumps back in the past and unleashes a full-scale invasion of Earth. We have about 19 hours to catch him and kill him, so really we need to go right now!
Young Agent K: [deadpan] All right.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/meninblack3/
Trailer:

Film Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)

Director: Joe Johnston
Writers (Screenplay): Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Writers (Comic Books): Joe Simon, Jack Kirby
Running time: 120 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 29^th July 2011

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 28^th April 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I deliberately avoided this film when it came out last year because it didn’t really interest me. I don’t mind anyone using mythology or fictitious events as a background to their stories, but when they start playing with events that are still within human memory then I begin to feel uncomfortable. I guess it’s because the fiction can so easily be confused with the facts and a new version of events becomes accepted. However, I put my prejudices aside and decided to give it a look anyway and I must say it’s not all that bad a film; certainly better than I was expecting. But more of my thoughts after this brief summary.

Steve Rogers is a weakling, he has many medical problems but he more than makes up for that in spirit. When America joins the Second World War he is one of the first in line to enlist but he is turned down at every attempt. His best friend, James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes has got in and is about to deploy. They go out for one final night where Steve meets Dr. Abraham Erskine who enlists him into a special unit led by Colonel Chester Phillips. The training is conducted by British officer, Peggy Carter, and she takes a special interest in Steve. Meanwhile, in Europe, a rogue scientist, Johann Schmidt (aka the Red Skull) and his assistant, Dr. Arnim Zola, are drawing up their own plans having successfully retrieved a very powerful artefact. With training completed, Steve is chosen to be the first of the recruits to be ‘enhanced’ using Dr. Erskine’s procedure. It’s a success but one of the Red Skull’s agents, Heinz Kruger, destroys the equipment before Steve chases him half way across the city in an effort to capture him. He is seen as a hero and a Senator asks him to go on the road to promote war bonds. He becomes very well known for his costume and his new title, ‘Captain America’. But when his friend is captured by the Red Skull, he decides to go into action for real. I won’t say any more or the Spoiler Police will be performing a ‘procedure’ on me… not a pleasant one either.

As with all of these films the effects are first rate, I particularly like the way the character of Steve was made to look really weak and scrawny in the early scenes. All the performances were pretty good; Chris Evans did a decent job as Captain America/Steve Rogers, as did Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. I really enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine and Toby Jones as Dr. Arnim Zola. I’m afraid I was a little disappointed by Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt/Red Skull, but I think that had more to do with the character than his performance. Also worthy of note were; Sebastian Stan as James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes, Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark (doing a great impression of Howard Hughes by the way), Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger and last but not least, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Although I did enjoy this film up to a point, I did find the focus on America a little off-putting. Yes I know they did try to make it look a little international by drawing in a team made up from other nations that were also involved in WWII, but that didn’t quite cut it for me. The bad guy didn’t work either I’m afraid; he didn’t offer enough threat and so turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Now I know this is just another stepping stone towards the ‘Avengers’ movie, but I expected a lot better.

My Score: 6.7/10

IMDb Score: 6.8/10 (based on 131,716 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0458339/

MetaScore: 66/100: (Based on 36 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 79/100 (based on 216 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 75/100 (based on 126,843 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/captain-america/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[a body is discovered in the Arctic]
Search Team Leader: Get me the Colonel! I don't care what time it is! This one's waited long enough...

Abraham Erskine: Do you want to kill Nazis?
Steve Rogers: I don't want to kill anybody. I don't like bullies; I don't care where they're from.

Col. Chester Phillips: General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but are won by men. Our goal is to create the greatest army in history. But every army begins with one man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldier. We are going to win this war because we have the best men. And they, personally, will escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell.

Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan: Are you sure you know what you're doing?
Steve Rogers: Yeah. I punched out Adolf Hitler 200 times.

Howard Stark: Once you think you have figured out a dame, you sir are... boned.

Peggy Carter: Wait!
[she kisses Steve]
Peggy Carter: Go get him.
[surprised by the kiss, Steve looks at Colonel Phillips]
Col. Chester Phillips: I'm not kissing you.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://captainamerica.marvel.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: THE COMPANY MEN (2010)

Writer/Director: John Wells
Running time: 114 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama
UK Release date: 11^th March 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 26^th February 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember when this film came out it caused a few ripples in the pool of critical acclaim. Not enough for it to be a massive hit, but enough for me to take notice. Of course it got added to ‘The List’ and the long wait for a TV airing began. It finally landed on my TV screen this week and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out far better than I was expecting; quite a convoluted plot with several threads that have to be followed. I must say I did find it quite an enjoyable watch after a while. I will tell you more after this brief summary.

When three men get made redundant due to companies down-sizing after the financial crash they each deal with the fallout in different ways. We first follow sales executive Bobby Walker, in his mid-thirties with a young family. He seems to spend a long time in denial; convinced he will find another job in a few weeks. When, eventually the hard truth hits him, he finds it hard to adjust. His brother-in-law, Jack Dolan has to help him out by offering him a job and teaching him a few life-lessons on the side. We next follow Phil Woodward, a senior executive who is older and finds it even harder to adjust. Finally there’s Gene McClary, a CEO who tries his best to save jobs when all around him are acting ruthlessly. Of course, eventually he becomes a victim of it himself, but is he made of sterner stuff? I will leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be writing up my redundancy notice (again).

Very well made with some really good, if understated, performances; not least was Ben Affleck, whose portrayal of Bobby Walker hit the mark, but I didn’t feel he really shone. Tommy Lee Jones was great, as ever, as Gene McClary, as was Chris Cooper as Phil Woodward. I must also give honourable mentions to; Maria Bello as Sally Wilcox and Kevin Costner, who I felt was a bit underused, as Jack Dolan.

Having been made redundant twice in my lifetime I know just what these characters were going through. Although I did find it a little hard, at first, to empathise with a Porsche driving, golf playing executive; I work in a lab calibrating moisture measuring equipment when I’m not reviewing movies. However, when I saw the impact his predicament had on his family life I began to understand. It is a film of two halves, I found. The first dealing with the initial shock of events and the second dealing with how they’re going to cope with it and the impact it has on their lives. It’s not a particularly easy watch with quite a complicated plot and several threads to follow, but well worth a look if you stick it out to the end… Recommended.

My score: 6.7/10.

IMDb Score: 6.8/10 (based on 15,101 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1172991/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 67/100 (based on 156 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 55/100 (based on 30,577 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-company-men/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Phil Woodward: You know the worst part?
[a beat]
Phil Woodward: The world didn't stop. The newspaper still came every morning; the automatic sprinklers went off at six. Jerry next door still washed his car every Sunday.
[then]
Phil Woodward: My life ended and nobody noticed.

HR Director: I'm confident all these dismissals will stand up under legal scrutiny.
Gene McClary: What about ethical scrutiny.
HR Director: We're not breaking any laws, Gene.
Gene McClary: I guess I always assumed were trying for a higher standard than that, Paul.

Phil Woodward: Dress code pretty lax around here?
Bobby Walker: You should see casual-Friday...

[last lines]
Bobby Walker: We work as hard in here every day as we did when we were trying to get a job, we'll be alright. What's the worst thing they can do, fire us?

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.companymenmovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: IN THE ELECTRIC MIST (2009)

Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Running time: 99 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

USA release date: 3rd March 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 18th July 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have recently watched a documentary about how the southern states of the USA are depicted by Hollywood. It mostly dealt with films up to the 1970’s, picking out the likes of ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘Deliverance’, to name but two. Then this one came up on TV so I thought it might be interesting to see a more modern film set in the south.

Dave Robicheaux is a detective working in rural Louisiana. He lives with his wife, Bootsie, and daughter, Alafair by a bayou where they also runs a fishing bait business. A film is being shot in the locality starring actor Elrod Sykes and his long-time companion, Kelly Drummond. When the body of a prostitute is found the finger of suspicion falls on Dave’s one-time baseball team-mate Julie ‘Baby Feet’ Balboni. Just to add a further complication, a sub-plot involving the remains of a black man, shot in the 1960’s, is also wound into the story. We know that Dave knows something about this crime, but we’re not sure what it until much later. It’s a very complicated plot so I will not go any further right now.

This film, like many set in the south, has quite a pedestrian pace. The story very slowly unfolds giving the viewer time to absorb the atmosphere surrounding it. Quite well made with quite a few twists and turns and a very complicated, and sometimes quite bizarre plot. Decent performances from all of the main cast, Tommy Lee Jones as Dave Robicheaux, John Goodman as Julie ‘Baby Feet’ Balboni, Peter Sarsgaard as Elrod Sykes, Kelly Macdonald as Kelly Drummond and the woefully underused (IMHO), Mary Steenburgen as Bootsie Robicheaux.

Now, I could cope with the slow pace, and even the slightly bizarre hallucination sequences (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it), but I did find there was little depth to the quality of both the picture and the sound. It almost looked like one of those 1960’s or 70’s films that were mentioned in the documentary I saw. Having said that, despite the strange plot twists and slow pace, after a while it became quite a compelling watch. So, if you have the patience, recommended, otherwise, maybe give it a miss.

My score: 5.8/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0910905/
Official Site (French): http://www.tfmdistribution.com/dans-la-brume-electrique/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2820932377/