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Captain Marvel (2019)
Come as you are, down to earth, to fight evil aliens. Pet the cat, fly some jets, and drops refereneces...
There has been a lot of buildup and hype leading to the release of Captain Marvel, the MCU's first female helmed solo film. There has also been a large and very loud pushback in certain quarters of the internet. Depending on who you listen to, this movie is either a bold new chapter for Marvel, unlike anything that's come before, or the worst thing the studio has ever done. In reality it's neither. It's a perfectly good, highly entertaining popcorn flick, but maybe not the groundbreaking, genre shifting epic it was sold as.
I'll say up front that Brie Larson's titular performance is probably the best thing Captain Marvel has going for it. Maybe it's the hair, or maybe her pluckiness and irrepressible energy, but throughout the movie she really reminded me of Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec. I don't know if that was intentional, but if anything, it really enhances the experience. Her cheerfulness and (over)confidence in every situation are infectious and breath life into a lot of the material. And though this is one of her first forays into action, she handles herself quite well in the fight scenes.
Samuel L Jackson is great too as a younger, less experienced, but no less badass Nick Fury. It's really interesting to see him genuinely shocked by something, or even momentarily wonder if he's in over his head. And we may not have been asking for the story of how he lost his eye, but boy do they ever give us a good one. I was a bit disappointed that Ronan the accuser didn't have a bigger role, but at least he's set up as a major villain the inevitable sequel. I also thought Phil Coulson could have used a bit more screen time, though he does a good job with the rookie schtick in the time he has.
J really liked what they did with the cat. Goose gets a lot more screen time and way more plot significance than I was expecting, and it is glorious. There are few things better than watching Nick Fury cuddle and sweet talk a cat, except for the aliens' reactions upon meeting it. On second thought, the cat may be the best part of the movie.
Plot wise there are some huge surprises. So huge I didn't believe them at first. Purists might complain about how far some of them stray from the source material, but it's hard to argue with the impact. The movie also doesn't waste any time getting started, throwing us- and Carol- into the action almost from the get go. If you've seen the trailers then you probably already know that she doesn't have the clearest memories of her previous time on earth, which drives much of the plot for the first half and generates some excellent fish out of water comedy.
The soundtrack is quite good, featuring some of the best of the 90's, from Nirvana to TLC, always used at just the right time. The 90's nostalgia is also played off well, but there's not as much of it as the trailers would suggest. Most of it is packed into the first act, after which it just drops off, along with a lot of the humor to be honest.
The movie isn't trying to be dark and gritty or anything, but for much of the middle act it mostly stops trying to be funny. Or deliver any action. Which is okay, because this is where it focuses on character development and the big plot twists, but somehow, they never quite generate the level of pathos or shock that they should have. Honestly, most of the time we're in Louisiana, the pacing and the direction just feel kind of slack.
Thankfully the humor and the action pick back up for the third act, leading to a rousing battle and a very satisfying beatdown of the bad guy, even if it never quite reaches the heights of the first act. Which is a real shame. As fun as this movie is, and as many good ideas as it draws on, too many of them are never fully developed, leaving the unshakeable feeling of missed opportunities. And I was honestly expecting the project to bring more originality in terms of narrative structure and tone. Not every superhero movie is going to reinvent the genre, but several of Marvel's recent entries have each put a new spin on the formula, beyond "this time the hero's a woman."
But like I said earlier, the action is good, the acting is better, there are some good laughs, and the cat is awesome. So even if Captain Marvel doesn't live up to the hype or mark a clear step forward for the studio, it's still a fun and mostly satisfying action blockbuster. And definitely stay through the credits.
Daimajin (1966)
In the Hands of an Angry God
Daimajin represents something truly unique and original in the annals of cinema: the fusion of those two most quintessentially Japanese genres, the samurai period piece and the daikaiju eiga, or giant monster movie. More surprising than the juxtaposing of these two genres is that the film actually works quite well as an example of both.
For most of the runtime the movie belongs firmly in the first category, as it tells the story of a feudal lord violently overthrown by his scheming chamberlain Samanosuke, his children's flight with their bodyguard, Kogenta, and their exile to the top of a nearby mountain said to hold an evil spirit, or Majin, sealed inside by an imposing statue of a god. Ten years quickly pass as the children grow into adults and the new lord cruelly exploits his unwilling subjects.
When this finally becomes too much for the young prince to stand any longer, he and Kogenta begin preparations to start a rebellion and overthrow the evil Samanosuke. Sadly, their plan goes badly from the start, and both are soon captured, leaving the princess with no allies and no way of rescuing our heroes- except for prayers to the angry god within the mountain.
Alright, the story is rather broad and predictably, but also quite compelling for all the care and skill with which it's told. The prince is as naive and cocky as they come, but in a relatable way. Kogenta serves well as the dashing, slightly grim hero. And the princess is so beautiful, serene, and utterly selfless that you can't help but sympathize with her plight. The imposing Gomi Ryutaro makes an even stronger impression as the villainous Samanosuke, leering and hamming it up not quite to the point of cartoonishness, but enough that we really want to see him get what's coming to him.
Moreover, the production values and filmmaking techniques are excellent throughout. This movie is filled with impressive sets and beautifully colorful and ornate costumes. There are well staged sword fights and impressive effects sequences, well before we get to the giant monster action. And the filmmakers have a real way with lighting and composition. When the priestess of the mountain god confronts Samanosuke, the scene is arranged simply, but is incredibly striking and dreamlike in the sharp contrasts between the characters and the surrounding shadows. The open scene in which dancers perform a sealing ritual against the Majin is equally dreamlike and rather unnerving as the dancers twirl around one another in their garish masks and costumes, flaming staffs held aloft. The effect is reminiscent of the fire festival from Hidden Fortress, only with more foreboding.
So this would be an above average entry in the samurai genre even if it didn't have a giant monster. But that's exactly what we get in the final act, when the evil Majin indwells the statue and proceeds to lay waste to the evil lord and his fortress. And this is when Daimajin truly comes into its own. The effects that bring the monster to life aren't just good, they're outstanding for the time, easily on par with Toho's best. The heavy, ponderous motions are exactly those you would expect from a statue come to life, yet filled with an unmistakable anger, while the consistent use of low angle shots give it an imposing stature well beyond its already impressive size. More impressive, the rear projection and other process shots are so good that the statue legitimately looks like it's in the same shot as the men it's fighting.
Nor is it just the monster that's impressive. Throughout the entire sequence the blood red sky and howling winds and clouds of dust straight from a Kurosawa production give it an even more ominous feel, as if the world itself is coming to an end, while a dramatic score by Godzilla regular Akira Ifukube lends it even greater tension. And when the monstrous god finally takes its vengeance on Samanosuke, the results are supremely satisfying.
If this film has a real fault, it's that it is, at its heart, an old fashion morality play, and a somewhat predictable and heavy handed one at that. The story of the the tyrant oppressing the people, ignoring repeated warnings to repent, and receiving punishment from the gods could just as easily have been written in ancient Greece. And if the wrathful god's presence wasn't so keenly felt and frequently mentioned through the movie the ending would feel like one hell of a deus ex machina.
But as it is, every part of the film is so well crafted, and the disparate elements combined in just such a way that it works wonderfully and stands as one of the greater achievements of Japanese cinema of the period. It's a real shame that this film and its sequels have remained so obscure outside Japan.