Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War, 2016

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, 147 minutes

Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Chadwick Boseman

Review by Katherine Scheetz

             

              Marvel once again orchestrates a star-studded ensemble as only Marvel can. It’s the same rapport Joss Weedon brought to the Avengers franchise, this time, with both new and improved faces.

              Bucky (Stan) returns as the Darryl Dixon of Marvel, Black Widow (Johansson) sports her best look yet, Black Panther (Boseman) debuts with reverberations throughout the fandom and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) seamlessly keeps pace with seasoned avengers whose balls have actually dropped.

             

With civilian causalities stacking up circumstantial to the Avengers missions, they are called out to answer for the loss. A UN doctrine for bureaucratic regulation ruffles feathers and rifts friendships when Iron Man (Downey Jr.) surprises by signing in agreement and Captain America (Evans) abstains.

              Insert the pressure of the Cap’s longtime friend Bucky – the Winter Soldier – being caught up in an assassination plot, as well as a sneaky Slovakian psychiatrist (Daniel Brüel) holding onto video footage and an agenda of his own.  The result is a snappy superhero plot peppered with quips among super-friends.

              A now-displaced Wanda (Olsen) and synthetic Vision (Paul Bettany) share a few human moments that far surpass the forced-out kiss between Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) and Steve Rogers. Sorry Carter, no matter how good you think his biceps look holding a helicopter aground, you two have no chemistry.

             

Marvel’s secret weapon here is a chatty Peter Parker, ousted by the ever snarky Iron Man Stark via hitting on his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Holland’s promise makes our Spidey-senses twinge for more.

              The battle sequences are well shot with low camera angles that give it a grandeur equal to the scale of the film. It’s clear the choreographers had a blast putting the sequences together, testing the limits and creativity of each superpower present.

              There is no way to prepare for what writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have created from Mark Millar’s comic, but hang on through the exposition for some serious power-punching twists.

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The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book, 2016

Directed by Jon Favreau, 105 minutes

Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito, Scarlett Johansson

Review by Katherine Scheetz

Director Jon Favreau takes us into the Seoni jungle of central India, with music and camera movements evocative of the classic 1967 animation. Favreau enchants us with the verdant visuals of “man-cub” Mowgli among the vines and moss, raised to be part of the wolf pack by alpha Akela (Esposito), mother Raksha (Nyong’o) and the tough-loving black panther Bagheera (Kingsley).

With smartly integrated monsoon season weather patterns, we observe how drought affects The Law of the Jungle and that when Peace Rock emerges from beneath the river, a truce between the jungle inhabitants must be obeyed. Elba makes his terrifying debut as the Bengal tiger Shere Khan here at Peace Rock, face scarred from man’s “red flower” and thirsting for revenge. With the return of the tiger and the monsoon (thus Peace Rock disappearing) Mowgli’s life becomes forfeit, forcing him and Bagheera to leave for the man-village in search of protection.

Along the way Mowgli learns his backstory from hypnotic rock python Kaa (Johansson), Bagheera teaches him about the reverence of the elephants and a tweaked King Louie (Walken) – with an accent from Queens, NY – brings about an Indiana-Jones-worthy temple chase scene filled with thick, filtered lighting. Sloth bear Baloo, voiced by the lazily charming Murray, embraces Mowgli’s inherent talent for invention or “tricks,” using them to his own ends ie: harvesting honey and singing “about the good life” alongside a goofy cast of supporting animals.

Composed by John Debney (who has a list of credits as long as my leg packed with rom-coms and Disney channel), the score intertwines the deep, time-honored melodies with the lift a modern audience needs. “The Bare Necessities,” “I Wanna Be Like You” and “Trust In Me” get a jazzy, New Orleans revamp, that call for bowling hats, smoky dance clubs and vintage microphones.

Mowgli’s coming of age story takes a different shape in all this – it’s about embracing yourself and your own “tricks.” Newcomer Neel Sethi’s compassionate performance evolves the character of Mowgli, and when you realize the kid did all of that acting with a green screen and his imagination – well, my hat is off.

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Hail, Caesar!

Hail, Caesar!, 2016

Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, 106 minutes

Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Jonah Hill

Review by Katherine Scheetz

This much anticipated golden-age-of-Hollywood comedy exceeds expectations with all the complexity we adore in the Coen Brothers films. Their attention to detail from green milk glass salt and pepper shakers to the Thacker sisters’ (Swinton) moles and layered storytelling keeps our minds working on subtext throughout the film.

Intelligent casting by Ellen Chenoweth made Michael Gambon’s trusted voice our narrator, guiding us through a day in the life of Roman Catholic Capitol Pictures executive Eddie Mannix (Brolin) as he maneuvers the eccentric fires of the film industry. This does not exclude the damn Commies or chatting with the wife about their son’s soccer game.

If we need a reminder that the Coen Brother’s know their craft, they let us know with their nod at an Alfred Hitchcock-esque car follow out to the Malibu coast. Additionally, the intentional decision to begin all their scenes taking place on sound stages without the audience knowing it makes for smooth transitions between the various plot lines. Tight shots let us invest in the scene before pulling out to reveal the director, crew, lights and production team. It’s a devilish play at our reality. The brothers’ seamless writing in Mannix’ diverse religious consult on the depiction of Christ leaves us in stitches.

Meanwhile, the promised sexual prowess between DeeAnna Moran (Johansson) and Joseph Silverman (Hill) is everything Moran’s yankee “fish-ass” demeanor can dream of. McDormand is positively bat-like, tucked into the editing department with a cigarette hanging off her lip. And our hats are off for Ehrenreich as Hobie Doyle, who manages to pull off a tongue-twisting accent-on-top-of-an-accent with cowboy charm. Lest I be remiss to mention the Tatum tap-dancing South Pacific ode to dames. His tan features are contoured to match the suave swing of his voice and we swoon to see him dance again on screen.

Carter Burwell cannot escape the chord progression that is immortalized as Twilight (2008) but with the old school westerns, big band scenes and Latin mass requiems it is easier to disguise. It ends up being a score that reflects its delightfully colorful story.

              This gregarious tribute to the real life Eddie Mannix (of MGM) is well done, memorializing the man as only the Coen Brothers can.

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