Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

4/5

Avengers: Age of Ultron is just another cog in the Marvel moneymaking machine and lacks just about any element of individual charm. It exists entirely within the context of a larger goal and throws everything that might make it unique or memorable by the wayside. Although directed by Joss Whedon, it allows for none of the clever dialogue, unique characters, or genre-defying storytelling that made him who he is. If anything, we see sarcastic side remarks that permeate the background like a whiny kid who doesn't get what he wants. And I wish Whedon could have gotten what he wanted, so he could have turned this unwieldy behemoth into a truly spectacular film.

As the movie started, it felt like there was too much going on and not enough depth to do the story justice. The plot is way too complex and confusing to figure out. But it manages to expand on characters and relationships in ways I didn't expect. For the most part, the movie succeeds. It gets your blood pumping and your heart racing. It's well-paced and thrilling. It's filled with entertainment and laughs.

But it has a large number of problems. The CGI is competent but overwrought. It allows for some cool slo-mo shots and striking visual compositions, but it also turns what should be exciting action scenes into boring, anemic exercises in computer animation. There was no physical action that made Captain America: The Winter Soldier so great. And the overarching plot is just so predictable. We've seen this all before time and time again in all the Marvel movies that preceded it and we'll see it time and time again in all the movies that follow, too. It's just different actors in different suits, but the same things happen every time. Perhaps the biggest problem is that this movie has no heart, just a wallet. I need to learn to stop giving it my cash.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/

Godzilla (2014)

3/5

Gareth Edwards's Godzilla reboot is not really a monster movie; it is a surprisingly well-constructed and engaging story that just happens to have some monsters in it. The acting is first-rate, the camerawork is top-notch, and the computer-generated creatures feel believable. But for all the things it got right, it got one big thing wrong.

The most glaring problem with this movie is the same one I found in The Shining: there's a lot of build-up without any follow-through (until the last few minutes of the movie anyway). It's exhausting and frustrating, not exciting and tense. Imagine thinking, "Something's gonna happen, something's gonna happen, something's gonna happen," and then nothing happens. Over and over again. I can't imagine watching it again; I'd just be skipping through the first 75 minutes because it's a lot of nothing followed by more nothing.

A pretty good movie otherwise.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831387/

Anna Karenina (2012)

3/5

Joe Wright's Anna Karenina is a stunning reinterpretation of the Tolstoy novel. No, I haven't read the book, but I imagine it doesn't all take place within a theater. And I'll bet money that it doesn't contain some of the most gorgeous, luscious cinematography ever laid to film. So for that, I must give Joe Wright credit, as he has once again constructed a visual masterpiece. But unfortunately that is where the accolades must end.

I really didn't think there was much here. It's not deep, it's not profound. It's not even a love story. It's basically a story of a selfish person with no self-control in a society whose rules are not so different from our own. Like I said, I haven't read the book, but I imagine it's not as famous as it is unless it contained a little more depth than what I was able to extract here. The acting, the story, and the pacing all failed to impress me (although getting such a behemoth of a book down to 130 minutes is an achievement in itself). While I was able to enjoy the beautiful set pieces and costumes, the astounding cinematography, and the clever directing, that is not enough to carry this movie to the great heights it hopes to achieve. For that, I guess I'll have to read the book.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1781769/