Aliens

Language underpins everything in our society. The very pillars of communication have formed over years of linguistics evolving from society to society. All of life has a way to communicate and if one could understand the language of other living things, who knows what lies in the future. This is Arrival.

When strange large extraterrestrial ships appear dotted around the globe as if by magic, it is up to the greatest minds in the world to make contact. There's theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and there's also the best in American brute force in army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker). Like twelve other ship landing (or more accurately, hovering) sites around the world, they team up to try to get the life onboard the vessels to answer one question - what is your purpose?

There has been a recent resurgence of quality science fiction films, taking a strong, socially applicable concept (see the need for fuel in Moon or the uninhabitability of Earth in Interstellar), a talented cast, and a director with a bold and cohesive vision. When these elements are combined, the film makers tap into a societal nerve and make something special. Arrival is no exception. In a world where military force is the first port of call when anything happens, Arrival poses a counter argument between brain and brawn, brilliantly represented in one scene where Louise analytically dissects the question the army want to ask, highlighting the necessity of patience and learning. Here, director Villeneuve proves his range and firmly establishes himself as the next big thing, following 2013's Prisoners and last year's Sicario.

Part of the beauty is no doubt in the cast. Once you can get around the notion that Renner is the coolest leading theoretical physicist ever, everything slots neatly into place. Whitaker is in familiar territory too as the authority figure and manages to be a good middle man between the academics and the military. But this is Amy Adams' film. Her performance is intelligent and emotional and is foundational to the film. We feel the fear in her nightmares, we share the joys in her success. It may feel to some like Merck Streep stole Adams' place on the Oscar ballot this year and Arrival (and last year's Nocturnal Animals) is evidence of her talent and her worthiness of further reward.

One part The Day The Earth Stood Still, one part Interstellar, one part E.T., Arrival encapsulates everything a good Sci-fi should. It also hops around back and forth in time through apparent flashbacks and memories, all of which serve to build the climax of the film, to finally reach understanding. It's complexity in the final third causes it to stumble occasionally or drag a little too long, but for the most part it's an exciting, fresh and innovative addition to science-fiction cinema and one that will no doubt provide inspiration to keep the trend of quality sci-fi on the rise.

Hair And Hustling.

Everyone loves a story that keeps you on your toes. Everyone loves a loveable anti-hero. Everyone loves a tale FBI agents and conmen. So will a film that has all of these aspects deliver? This is American Hustle.

Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a hustler, a conman. He makes people pay him $5000 in investments which they will never see again. When he meets Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), they start a booming partnership with her alter ego, Lady Edith, drawing in the marks. That is, until FBI agent Richard DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) gets in the way of the operation and, rather than simply bust the hustlers, he offers them a deal. Help him drag down the big dogs and the corrupt political parties particularly Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). Irving is left with the choice between jail or balancing Sydney, DiMaso, and his wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) as he attempts to bring down those after his own heart.

Irving has a strong sense of smell.
It is pretty handy.

It is amazing that the man behind Irving's hair, glasses, and belly is the same man that was Dicky in The Fighter, Trevor in The Machinist, and Batman. Bale has been known to starve himself for the above roles, but here we see a whole new side to him. Fat, furious, and forced into a job he does not want to do, Bale's Irving is somehow made vulnerable and accessible to the viewer, unlike the egotistical DiMaso, the lying Prosser, or the corrupt politicians. Really, despite being a crook that scams innocent people, Irving is a likeable guy but mostly through the lack of likeability for the rest of the ensemble - except Louis C.K.'s brilliantly funny Stoddard Thorsen. Adams forces you to constantly question Prosser and her motives, Cooper is enough of a jerk to Thorsen that you cannot help but be annoyed by his arrogance, Lawrence's Rosalyn is so irresponsible that sympathy for her becomes nigh impossible. Sure, Irving is a lying bastard, but he is smart, responsible, and level-headed. The other redeemable character is in terms of likeability is Renner's Polito, but he is a corrupt politician and we all want to see them crash and burn to some extent.

That's it. That's the film.

Everything about the the film screams big and glamorous. From the loud, jazzy soundtrack, to Irving's hair-do. The latter, too, leads into an example of the brilliant writing and directing team that is Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell. The opening of the film is Irving setting up his elaborate hair with heaps of care and attention, only for DiMaso to come in and ruin it. Within minutes, Russell and Singer have shown us a strong dynamic between the leading characters, an extremely difficult achievement. However, there is a lack of weight to the story. Viewers familiar with the British show 'Hustle' will understand how important it is to balance the set up and release to create a decent pay off around the actual hustle. American Hustle feels a bit more like someone accidentally revealed the punchline to their joke but thought no one noticed so carried on telling it. The simple fact of the matter is there is no surprise to these tricksters. It leaves the audience going '...and? There has to be more to it, surely?' But alas, there is not.

A terrific piece of ensemble work. All the performers are at their best, particularly Bale. A barrel of fun, occasionally hilarious, and a decent ride, it just lacks the pay off that one would expect through out the film. But this only dampens it; it fails to destroy it.

Best Bit? There is a wonderful scene with a cameo from Robert De Niro that is tense throughout. THAT scene gets the pay off it needs.

Which Avenger Is Best ? (Part 2) Hawkeye and The Hulk (Spoilers)

I'll throw a SPOILER ALERT right here again in case you missed it. Below I review each Avenger and some other important characters to decide who the best is. There will be several systems of voting including:

• Badassness - How badass are they? I need some DAYYUMM moments. 
• Wit - Can they make you laugh or banter brilliantly?
• Intelligence - What smarts do they have?
• Heart - Are they a team player? What is their limit? Would the sacrifice themselves for the world?
• Style -  How good do they look while they do what they do?
• Hotness - Hotness impacts how much we want to watch them...

This will hopefully determine the Best Avenger.

Hawkeye/ Agent Clint Barton

• Badassness- Using a bow instead of another weapon makes you a badass from the go. Using arrows that explode or grapple or other such interesting, unconventional arrow uses is another thing you learn in badass 101. Taking out half of a flying aircraft carrier just with arrows is pretty badass. Not looking where you're shooting and still getting a direct hit is commonly considered as badass. Jumping backwards off buildings is badass, I guess. Oh, and taking out Loki even when he thought he'd beaten the arrow... Badass. Badass rating: 9/10
• Wit- Unfortunately, Hawkeye spends most of his time on screen brainwashed or not speaking. When he does finally get involved in the action, he has a couple of moments that show his wit but mostly he sets up for other people. However, he seems to enjoy hearing the other people being witty which shows he's not devoid of it. Wit rating: 4/10
• Intelligence- A smart soldier. One must be to have the concentration and capability that Hawkeye shows with his archery. Only a smart man could work out the how to take out a flying aircraft characters with limited arrows. ARROWS. That being said, he's not the brains behind any operation, more of a tool in everyone else's war. Intelligence rating: 6/10 
• Heart- Considering for half of the movie he's brainwashed by Loki, we see Clint's heart when he comes back to the good side. His friendship with Natasha. His immediate jumping into the deep end. His regret and self hatred after he realises what's happened. we can see all these things come from his heart being in a good place. He's a dedicated agent and he does not want to slip back into a darker world. Heart rating: 7/10
• Style- Clint has style. As mentioned earlier in the badassery section, he dives out of buildings backwards with only a single arrow to save him, he doesn't always look where he's shooting but he still hits. He even fired at Loki when no one else could get at him. Hawkeye is one stylish mutha effer.  Style rating: 9/10
• Hotness- Hottest when he's doing is frown/scowl. When he smiles it can seem a bit odd. All the cool stuff he does is hot too... Also, when brainwashed, his eyes don't match the rest of him and that is unattractive and somewhat spooky. Without the weird eyes he'd get a eight, with the eyes he gets a six. And so...  Hotness rating: 7/10

The Hulk/ Dr. Bruce Banner

• Badassness- Bruce Banner is a calm guy. Well, he's always angry, but he seems calm. He represses whatever monster is inside of him. Sure, he's a genius but that's a bit rubbish in terms of being a badass. However, The Hulk destroys planes in seconds. The Hulk can make even the bravest people hide. The Hulk smashed Loki into the ground and called him a 'puny god' after using him as a rag doll. The Hulk saved Iron Man's life. The Hulk is almost the definition of Badass. Considering both sides of his personality...  Badass rating: 8/10
• Wit- As Bruce Banner is deeply troubled and angry, he's not the sort of man to participate lightly in jokes. The Hulk, also, is not one to participate in the banter around the office as...well... he's not invited and doesn't talk. Though, Bruce does trick Black Widow into thinking he's gonna blow and he has the occasional dead pan comic line... Wit rating: 2/10
• Intelligence- Well, there's not really a lot to discuss here. Bruce Banner, as described by Agent Coulson, is like Stephen Hawking... A very smart person. No one knows gamma radiation like him. The only reason he's involved with The Avengers is because he's so intelligent. No one understands what he says most of the time... Well, except Stark. Intelligence rating: 10/10 
• Heart- The first time we meet Banner in The Avengers, he's nursing people back to health. He rushes across a town at the whim of a little girl. He then goes to help save the world with his intelligence. He never (really) mocks anyone. He saves Iron Man's life but he doesn't mind smashing the hell out of other good guys as The Hulk. His heart is in the right place when he's banner and sometimes when he's The Hulk.  Heart rating: 8/10
• Style- The Hulk smashes. That is all. Banner gets his work done. That is all. Admittedly, when he controls his transformation into The Hulk, he does it with style and when he is found in a warehouse naked, he handles it with dignity.  Style rating: 3/10
• Hotness- He's getting on a bit. Greying hair and so on. But he's still got those ruggedly good looks even if they're ageing. However, The Hulk is not attractive. Not at all. So, Banner is smart and a bit of a silver fox. Attractive but also has one of those old-enough-to-be-your-dad vibes.  Hotness rating: 6/10 (Hulk - 1/10)

A Group Of Freaks... To Save The World

2012 was always going to be a year for highly anticipated movies. Batman, The Hunger Games, Men In Black, The Hobbit, Spiderman. But there was one movie that the superhero fan world were preparing for. They'd been preparing since Iron Man 2. They got super excited with the release of Thor. They practically melted after Captain America. Why? Because soon, all of these movies would combine to create the superhero super-team known only as The Avengers. (Well, the film is known as Marvel's Avengers Assemble over here in England)

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), and their team at S.H.I.E.L.D have been trying to harness the power of the The Tesseract which they rescued from the sea when they picked up Captain America. However, it starts to misbehave. Agent Coulson and Nick Fury order an evacuation as The Tesseract opens a portal in space and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the god of mischief, appears in it. Within seconds several men are dead, Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and Agent Clint Barton - aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - brainwashed onto Loki's side and The Tesseract in the hands of the mischievous god. Loki plans to unleash an army on Earth so that he may rule it. Fury resorts to a desperate method, a project that was abandoned: The Avengers Initiative. With the help of Coulson and Agent Natasha Romanoff - aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) - Fury begins to round up his super team to take down Loki. His team consists of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Dr. Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Chris Evans). Thor(Chris Hemsworth_ also decides to join the team but because he believes Loki and The Tesseract should be back in Asgard with him. They name themselves The Avengers and go out to stop Loki and protect the Earth... Or at least make damn sure they avenge it.

hothothothothothothothot (for both genders)

As far as action/superhero/adventure movies go, this one had some solid acting. There were some moments that really stood out. Tony Stark's tears, Hawkeye's realisations, Cobie Smulders  not being Robin from How I Met Your Mother. Some honestly great acting from all involved, but mostly, it was at a level that you would expect from a blockbuster. Tom Hiddleston's Loki takes a step up from Thor in all senses. He's more evil, more delightful, more dastardly, and better acted. He's a joy and a pleasure to watch; everything a superhero should be. Jeremy Renner and Robert Downey Jr. reprise their roles as the two coolest people in the universe with Hawkeye and Iron Man respectively. They both just drip with coolness. Downey Jr.'s laid back response to everything and Renner's pure badassery... Or should I say badarchery? No? Some of the best acting, continuously, comes from Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner who seems genuinely pained by his power and what he becomes. It seems like it eats at him and that it is constantly inside him. Scarlett Johansson and Cobie Smulders as Black Widow and Agent Maria Hill respectively both have their moments of excellence, awesomeness, and sexy badassery. They're just hothothothot chicks. And Chris Evans does wonderfully, reprising his role as Steve Rogers. The good guy heart pumps inside him all the time and his extremely funny reactions to modern things are priceless. ('It seems to run on some sort of electricity...')

It was only now, suit in front of him, that Steve realised it...
'How do I get into it?'

Now, there is a layer of brilliance to this film that other blockbusters don't have. It dives straight into it. It's a very short time until people are dying at the hands of Loki. What I love about this is it gives you no time to get bored. It straight away jumps into the action and keeps you engaged the entire time without letting off. just as one action scene is over, another is beginning. And not a small one either, they're big ones.. Massive ones. But don't think it doesn't have a coherent or decent plot line. It tells a great, if not simple, story but it doesn't try to be anything more than that like other movies can try to. As far as action goes, Joss Whedon has found a pretty perfect balance. It's funny, it's touching, it's epic, it's engaging, it's action-packed, it's thrilling, and did I mention it's epic? A brilliantly witty script too with plenty of 'banter' to keep you engaged. A couple of small complaints though. The almost needless 3D is one. Yes, it looked nice at points. However, with so much going on on the screen, it can be difficult to follow and some things looked... well... a bit crap and out of place, visually.  It gave me a bit of a 3D headache, something I've never had a problem with before. The other issue I had was the (very occasional) flat jokes. The things that were obviously thrown in to be funny but so obviously it seemed wasted. A close up shot of a worker changing back to playing games on his monitor when Fury isn't looking is my main example. Someone noticing that in the background is funny. When a whole shot is deditcated to it, it seems immature and a desperate attempt for laughs in an otherwise hilarious script.

When Stark asked, 'What's up?' the two not from
 modern Earth took it a little too literally.

A solid action movie. A solid superhero movie. A solid adventure movie. Funny, action packed, intelligent, and fast paced. It's the sort of movie you could watch again straight after seeing it.  A well written script with great actors. It also is the sort of movie that has so much you can talk about afterwards. I heard people claim it was the best superhero movie ever? I personally disagree. It's excellent. It's the best of it's kind. I personally prefer The Dark Knight as a superhero movie, but each to their own. Don't get me wrong, I will almost certainly buy this on DVD the second it comes out. Also, see my next post for a break down on each of The Avengers and who is the best.

Best Bit? So many good bits. Personally, I adored Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America's fight near the beginning of the movie. It cracked me up and was visually incredible.