The Incredible Hulk is pretty awesome. Sure, it takes 1 large misstep over the course of its running time; but all-in-all, it’s a stellar piece of comic-book-popcorn-cinema that has more adrenaline, heart, and humor than alot of other “chase” movies that have hit in the last few years. I call The Incredible Hulk a chase movie because that is exactly what it is–it’s not your typical origin story or your standard hero-vs-villain tale. This is the story of a super-powered-being on the run, of a haunted hero who sees the potential evil in his power and wants to rid the world of it, while being pursued by those who wish to exploit his power for their own ends.

In a way, it makes the entire saga of the Hulk one of the more interesting in comic-book lore. He is not Batman, driven to heroism by a thirst for justice; nor is he Spider-man, who sees great responsibility in his being given a great power. Rather, Bruce Banner (a.k.a The Hulk) is a reluctant hero who views his power as a threat to man rather than a blessing, and his heroism comes from necessity to undue a greater villainous presence–wherein the risk of his being the Hulk is outweighed by the risk of letting the larger danger exist. Hulk’s existence is, therefore, much more complicated than the average hero (or above average hero for that matter), and it’s inherently fascinating as a result.

But enough with the underlying character stuff, this flic also serves its audience’s base need for excitement. Listen, Hulk is one heckuvan action picture, with fantastic set-pieces and adrenaline-pumping thrills. I don’t know if I’d call it the best comic action I’ve ever seen, but I will say that I loved it despite the extensive use of CGI (a factor in most comic book movies that drives me batty with frustration).

Now, the level action and excitement, contrasted against the quieter character exploration I mentioned above makes for a slightly uneven picture. You get your heart rate up, only to have it lulled, over-and-over; but herein lies a great strength to the HULk character in terms of onscreen interpretation. This uneven pacing, this up-and-down tonal confusion works exceedingly well for this film. It really does. The very identity of the HULK himself is in constant confusion, tonal disparity, and overall imbalance, so having a film to match said characteristics not only works but is arguably fitting for the character.

Writing this, I kind of fell in love with the movie all over again, but again the one major misstep keeps this from being a perfect comic book movie. To fully explain the problem, I must get into spoilers, so I have written the analysis in white font. If you want to read it just highlight the text, but I don’t recommend this for those who have not seen the movie: SPOILERS BEGIN NOW: Hulk does not kill the villain at the end. In order to show that he is not “all monster”, the filmmakers chose to have the Hulk restrain himself from destroying the villain. Not only was this wholly irresponsible on the part of character as the hero, but it really did not make sense for about a dozen reason, a few of which I’ll mention. First, it was not true mercy; for the villain will now be kept imprisoned by the government and used for endless testing, or he’ll be murdered by them through his food or whatever. Second, the villain merely got choked about before the Hulk ran away, and he could have easily awoken from his asphyxiation-induced slumber to destroy the city–not a good move for the hero to run off. Third, basically this guy had become the villain simply to destroy the HULK, so killing him would have been what we on the streets call “justifiable”. Fourth, it seemed like a real cop-out on the part of the filmmakers to not let him unleash in this justifiable form. The character seems like he would have thematically made the kill amidst the thrill, but they seemed to just pass that honest choice off for the “heart-to-heart” moment. Fifth, it was pretty anti-climactic just see the Hulk kinda “give up” in the midst of an incredibly tense situation, simply because his lady told him to. Sixth, even I accepted the mercy bit, Hulk should have at least bound the villain in a series of chains or a giant steel tank or something, but he doesn’t, he just leaves. END SPOILERS.

Because of the above explored problem, I can’t give The Incredible HULK that perfect film, “6″; nor the coveted, Stunk-favorite “7″; however, I will give it the still-excellent 5 (out of 7) for its many strengths, and I can’t wait to grab it up on DVD and watch it again and again.

P.S. - Sorry, that was really a long-winded meview.

Okay, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a fine third (and, at one point, final) adventure for the famed archeologist, and it has plenty to love. The new femme fetale to the Indy series is excellent. The addition of Sean Connery is cool; and the further involvement of Sallah the Great and Marcus Brody is loads of fun. The theme that a lost relationship is of greater “value” than a lost treasure is a welcome, family-friendly one. The opening train sequence is fantastic, and the tank chase is phenomenal. The jokes are plentiful, and the gags successful. Taking all of this into account, however, I am only gonna give Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade a 4 (out of 7).

Why a 4? Well, I’m not sure really. It’s hard to quantify. maybe I feel like the gags and jokes are far too on the nose and calculated as opposed to being organic. Maybe I feel like the tank chase (as amazing as it is), is nothing more than a rehash of the truck chase in Raiders. Maybe I wished for the darkness of Temple of Doom or the grit of the original. For some reason that I just cannot pinpoint (or at least translate from my brain into words), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade just doesn’t do it for me like the others did. That’s not necessarily a negative against the film, just a personal reaction to it, which again is what the meviews are for. So, yeah. I guess this is pretty much the worst article ever since I basically say, “Yeah it’s great, but I give it an average rating, why, I’m not sure, it just didn’t do it for me.”…

…

Yeah, I’d pretty much be the worst critic ever, good thing I’m just doing this for fun.

It’s no secret that Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first adventure of Indiana Jones, is now a beloved cinematic classic, in the same vein as the first Star Wars and Jaws. Arguably, it’s a perfect film that employs incredibly effective, standard three-act structure, wonderful characters, and a fantastic pace and tone. It’s really an exemplar of the action-adventure genre; and I am hard-pressed to think of anything NOT to like about it.

The story is simple enough, an American archaeologist races against the Nazis to find the ancient “Ark of the Covenant” as spoken of in the Bible. He is accompanied by a feisty femme and pitted against not only the German facists but his French rival as well. Like any good “Chase the McGuffin” movie, Raiders constantly lets the ark change hands, making for a constant conflict with no certain outcome. The ending which does occur is fully rewarding, and the last moments of the picture are now some of the most known in the lexicon of pop culture cinema.

This movie really is fantastic, and I don’t know what else to say. Seriously, it’s textbook perfect stuff. The way in which these characters are drawn, from the evil Nazi interrogator Toht to Indy’s friend, Sallah, makes the world of Raiders not only more rich and vibrant but also more enjoyable. This is truly a great film, a classic film, and I give Raiders of the Lost Ark a 6.

I love Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and it is my favorite of the series. I know, I know. Raiders is one of the best movies of all time, and Crusade has Connery; but Temple of Doom just rocks all over the place. I think the reason for my loving the film is really odd and inarguably idiotic, but it is what it is–I just think it’s bookended perfectly. In fact, the opening sequence with Loa Che, and the closing sequence on the bridge are two of my top three sequences in all of Indy Lore. They are just so danged entertaining I get giddy watching them–particualry the end with the bridge. Hot dang do I love that sequence.

For those who haven’t seen this Indy flic, it follows the archeologist to Bangcott Palace, wherein he encounters a crazy cult enslaving children and practicing voo-doo like tribal witch doctors. From these villains, Indy must not only rescue the children but also recover mystical stones. IN the process, a man’s heart is ripped out and catches aflame, Indy is forced to drink cursed voo-doo blood, Data from The Goonies burns a snoody prince with a log, and their is an amazing battle involving a bridge. It’s pretty much awesome all over the place, even though it is a bit slow at points in the middle.

Overall, I gotta give Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom a solid 7. It’s not only my favorite Indy flic, it’s one of my all-time favorite films.

This is a tough call for me. There are elements of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that I love. The fight between the greasers and the jocks is hilarious. The car chase on the college campus is great. The jeep sequence in the jungle was loads of fun; and if I am honest about it, there were definitely strong aspects to this latest Indy adventure.

However, there were other things that I hated, and I don’t mean “disliked a little”, I mean HATED. First, the opening shot of the movie tells you right off that the movie has its priorities out of whack and is going to be a disappointment. The shot is of a CGI gopher, that’s all I’ll say. Second, the beginning is wayyyy off-course for an Indy Movie. Until Crystal Skull, the opening of each Indy movie has been exceptional, building amazing tension (or in Last Crusade’s case, moderate tension) before exploding into fantastic action.This one tried to do the same, but took FAR TOO LONG getting to that initial action sequence, which was terribly sad, because the sequence is fantastic. Third, the new “femme” in this Indy movie has no chemistry with Indy, which is really disappointing considering the tried-and-true formula from the first three films. I loved the relationships of Indy to the various women he encountered in the prior installments, but this film’s “new leading lady” in Indy lore did nothing for me (this, however, is juxtaposed to a positive in that Karen Allen’s return was not only welcome but rather wonderful). Fourth, the whole ending–basically everything after they return the skull until the final denouncement, is pretty awful–not bad, not “oh well that was kinda bizarre.”– no, it was “Oh, come on, what is this.”-level-of-awful. Fifth, too many CGI critters. Sixth, Too much of the action handed off from Indy to Mutt, his young greaser sidekick–who was a fine character but not as fun or charismatic as Indy himself. This sixth qualm I have is a bit unfair though, for the delivery of some of the best action sequences required a younger hero, so perhaps it’s not so much something I hated. IN fact, I’ll say it’s even, young hero=better action, okay, I’m down.

To be honest, I think the first shot of the flick sums up the entire experience for me. The shot to which I’m referring involves the paramount logo becoming a mound of dirt, which is excellent; but then a CG gopher pops out of it and dodges an oncoming car, which was crap. That’s pretty much how the movie goes, good-stuff-then-crap, then good-stuff-then crap, and so-on-and-so-forth. I was discussing the film with some folks at work, and I likened it to a CD that has both solid, killer track and awful, filler tracks. If you listen through the whole album, it’s not all that great, but there are definitely some singles worth checking out now and again. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had some moments and stuff I loved, but it also had things I hated. So, I am going to let it even out to a 3 (out of 7).

Let me just start with this. I am giving Iron Man a 6, because I honestly feel that it is the type of movie that best exemplifies the origin story in the genre of comic-book-adaptations; and frankly, the only improvements I can think could have been made were extensions to the fantastic action sequences.

The movie is similar to one of my favorite comic flics, Batman Begins, only with a much lighter-tone and more insane special effects. The plot is very similar in structure to the Batman film, with trauma effectively driving a man to heroism; and while Batman takes to the streets in a fantastic suit of ninja armor, Iron Man fights evil in a badass suit of steel alloys implementing the latest in weapons and energy technology. Both characters in these movies are awesome, as are the films–if for different reasons.

For, as I said above, Iron Man is a much more light-hearted affair; and in many ways, it is that sense of humor and good-natured fun that makes Iron Man more than just an average super-hero film. Rather, it’s just an overall incredibly entertaining summer flic with loads of laughs and energy–not unlike last Summer Transformers or the first Spider-Man (Though I do think Iron Man may be better than either of those).

Not much else really needs to be said. Iron Man is stellar summertime, blockbuster entertainment; it’s got a great origin storyline, entertaining laughs, cool characters, and great (though brief) action sequences–It’s a really enjoyable film, and a wonderful way to start their summer movie season.

Inside Man is a tour-de-force robbery movie directed by the talented Spike Lee. This description, however, really does the film no justice., for Inside Man is more than simply a heist movie. It’s a layered thriller with clever turns and fantastic characters. While Spike is the obvious orchestrator of the performances and picture itself, the screenplay is an excellent piece of story crafting. The film also features a wonderful score by regular Spike collaborator Terrance Blanchard.

I don’t want to give anything, so I will be careful in giving any more description. All I will say is that the film in a non-linear, bank-robber caper wherein the robbers have put together a heist that has everyone guessing, even the hostages. Clive Owen stars as the lead burglar, while Denzel Washington is the hostage negotiator brought in resolve the situation. Jodie Foster plays a third wheel thrown into the mix by a board member of the bank, and all the characters interact as though they are in control, when in fact, none of them are—well, one might be.

I really dug Inside Man. It was a good flic from Spike and a solid thriller overall. While the ending seems to drag, the bulk of the movie is near perfect genre fair, with all the elements of the film—the acting, the cinematography, the sound—coming together rather well. I really dug it, and I look forward to seeing it again, just to catch the many, many things I am sure I missed.

I am giving The Inside Man a very solid5. It’s not one of the best genre pictures I’ve ever seen,but it is in the upper echelons of heist movies, and I totally dig it.

The Insider is Michael Mann’s film about whistle-blowing and the tobacco industry, and it features Mann’s signature attention to detail as well as electrifying performances from its dynamic leads, Russell Crowe and Al Pacino. Crowe plays Jeffrey Wigand, a scientist working for the tobacco industry whose findings cause him to come forward with the harmful affects of the industry’s products. The outlet to which he turns is 60 Minutes, and the reporter he trusts is the vivacious Lowell Bergman (Pacino). The film follows the tribulations of both men as they attempt to provide the public with truth.

Michael Mann is one of my favorite filmmakers, and this film did not disappoint. It’s technically impressive, well-crafted, and fully realized with the various story elements not only balanced but also blended with perfect cohseion, as if the events of one directly affect and dictate the other. Mann has a way of creating this sort of interplay, and it was fully at work here.

While not one of my favorite films of all time, The Insider is certainly a successful one. It’s a project of poignant criticism, large ideas, and strong execution. Michael Mann continues to show himself a master of film style and craft with the picture, and I give it a very strong 5, leaning toward a 6–Meh, you know what, I give it a 6. The Insider is a sensational piece of work with a consistent dramatic tone that perfectly suits the material, and it’s another incredible film in Michael Mann’s increasingly-impressive portfolio.

I am Legend is a pretty good flic. It is. However, I foresee many people hating it. So, as I venture further with my meview, just take into account, again, that I am not recommending or “reviewing” this movie. I’m simply discussing my personal response to it, and that’s all.

I dug it. The pacing of the story is well balanced between a solid script, an excellent performance by Will Smith, and some startling good camera work. I was impressed by all three of these elements personally, for I went into the flic expecting very little from the script and directing departments and was pleasantly surprised by both. The pacing I mentioned earlier is perfect for the piece. In my opinion, any type of zombie/vampire/end of the world type flic should have a decent amount of tension–things are bad, and at any moment they can get worse, even catastrophically awful. I Am Legend delivers this tension perfectly. It always feels as though their is a threat around every corner; and when the movie gives you the slightest sense of security, it rips it from you–just like an apocalypse would.

Kudos to Will Smith for carrying the picture so well. It’s incredibly difficult to accomplish such a task, particularly in a movie like this that is slow in its build up–and make no mistake it is slow. I thought the movie had a solid 2+ hour running time, but it was less than two hours. They really delivered alot of story in a condensed time frame, which was great. Anyway, yeah, Smith=good, and he looked as good as anybody in 300

Now, I’ve talked about what I liked–Will Smith’s performance, the direction, the pacing–but I had mentioned earlier that I think some people are really gonna hate this flic. Well, the reason I say this is that their really is very little action, which I was fine with but the lack of action was noticeable to me, even while watching the movie. It’s not like the recent trend of zombie movies at all. It’s much, much more akin to a slow and plodding indy flic than an action blockbuster. Sure, it’s got thrills, but I can only remember three real action sequences in the whole thing. Now, they were good. Don’t get me wrong; they were good. But I don’t see many people enjoying the long lulls in-between them. I liked the lulls because the idea of post-apocalyptic living fascinates me, and I enjoyed studying the camera movement, but those wanting another Dawn of the Dead will be unsatisfied, I think. Maybe I’m making too much of a judgment call, but I remember specifically thinking, “So-and-so is gonna hate this movie”.

My goodness, I’ve gone on and on. All this to say, I give I am Legend a hearty 5. I’m not sure how it will replay on repeat viewings, but this first one was excellent. Oh, I really wanted to give a shout out to the director. Kudos, to you Francis Lawrence. Most known for Music video work for Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, and J-Lo, Lawrence directed Constantine, a movie I couldn’t stand, and he really stepped up his game and craft in I Am Legend. Good job.

Not everyone knows this, but the 2006 Oscar-winner for Best Picture, The Departed, is a remake of an Asian import entitled, Infernal Affairs, a film which won scads of awards in Asia and stands as one of the better imports of the last ten years. The original, however, is very different than Scorsese’s outing, in that Affairs is a more subtle, faster paced, and reserved. I’m not going to spend time here with comparisons, though that’d make for a great podcast at some point.

Today, I’ll just look at Infernal Affairs on its own terms, and you know what, it is an excellent movie. The premise is one full of intrigue and promise; and while I don’t think the movie maximized the potential of its concept, it still does a wonderful job engaging, entertaining, and immersing the audience in a cat-and-mouse story of betrayal, honor, and courage.

The story follows two long-term sting operations, one by the Asain gang know as “Triads” and another by as special police task force. As the leaders of each of this organizations attempt to stay one step ahead of the other, they both make a dangerous ploy—to use a loyal youth to infiltrate the opposing sides ranks. Yep. A teenage undercover cop goes in deep as a criminal, and a criminal climbs the ranks of the police force. This game goes on for 10 years, until each organizations realizes they have a mole, and everything comes to a head. In the end,. . .yeah, like I was gonna spoil it. You’ll have to see it for yourself.

And you may enjoy it. I would say that content-wise, the movie is maybe a PG-13 flic, and the epic nature of the story, the wonderful acting, and the constant tension, make for truly engaging experience with the film.

Infernal Affairs gets a solid 5 from me. It’s not one of my all-time favs or even one of the best cop movies I’ve ever seen; but it’s fantastic premise and adequate execution make for a great time at the movies.