• Tag Archives Samuel L. Jackson

  • Canister X Movie Review #90: Unbreakable (2000)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

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    Unbreakable (2000)
    Written by M. Night Shyamalan
    Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
    Runtime 106 min.
    5 out of 5

    Ordinary David Dunn (Bruce Willis) has a failing marriage, a son who needs him, and a job as a security guard. However, all that changes after a severe train wreck and he is the only survivor. Even more miraculous, he is completely unharmed. When confronted by a man named Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), who suggests David is invulnerable, David shrugs it off but eventually begins to test himself and discovers that maybe he’s not that ordinary after all and soon learns he can do things no other man can. At Elijah’s insistence, David explores his abilities even more and soon begins a journey that reveals maybe he is indeed unbreakable.

     

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love superhero origin stories and Unbreakable is just that. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan of Sixth Sense fame, Unbreakable is a story deconstructing the superhero, and suggesting a possible real life origin for these amazing people, while keeping your interest from start to finish.

    Using the real-life medical condition osteogenesis imperfecta as a springboard, suggesting that if someone with such frail bones can exist, is it not possible someone with unbreakable bones—even body—can exist? And thus is the story as we follow Elijah Price as he searches out this amazing possibility in the person of David Dunn.

    This movie also heavily references comic books, Elijah posing the idea that comic books are modern day retellings of stories of times past and of real people who once were able to do things other people couldn’t.

    Each moment of this movie is an in-depth look at what makes the superhero tick, everything from the discovery of his power, to his motivation in using it, to the doubt that such a possibility could exist in a person, to finding a possible weakness, to balancing having this special ability with the demands of everyday life, and more.

    This movie is a drama and not an action flick. While there is some action, namely toward the end, it’s a life and times superhero story that makes you stop and think about what being a person with an extraordinary ability might actually be like, if it would be easy or hard, or a bit of both. What kind of challenges would you face? What kinds of benefits?

    Apparently, M. Night Shyamalan came up with the idea following the standard three-part structure of a superhero story: the origin, the rise to being a hero, then the final confrontation with the villain. The movie has all these elements, but because he found it the most interesting, Shyamalan spends most of the time focusing on the origin. As a result, there is such depth surrounding David Dunn and Elijah Price that as the hero and villain, they rival characters that have been around for decades in terms of richness. Very well done.

    This movie is just so, so good and is one of my all-time favorites. It’s one of those flicks to throw on on a rainy day, get under a blanket, and get swept up in the world of the superhero only to be inspired to look for the spectacular in one’s own self.

    Highly recommended.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #72: The Spirit (2008)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

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    The Spirit (2008)
    Written by Frank Miller
    Directed by Frank Miller
    Runtime 103 min.
    3.5 out of 5

    Denny Colt was one of the best cops Central City has ever known. After being killed in the line of duty, he returns from the grave as the Spirit and fights evil as a masked crime fighter. Enter the Octopus, an evil villain bent on gaining immortality and will do anything and stop at nothing to achieve it.

     

    So basically this is Sin City meets an old pulp superhero, the Spirit, who was created by Will Eisner. We can thank Frank Miller for the Sin City spin on this flick as he was the man behind it. Which, to me, is fine. I thought Sin City was the breath of fresh air movies needed and adding that kind of style and storytelling to the world of the Spirit is cool with me. Granted, I never read the comics so I can’t comment on if that was a smart move for an adaptation or not. I can comment that the costume change—going from an all-blue suit and fedora with a red tie, to an all-black suit and fedora with a red tie—was a cool move as a guy in a blue suit, a non-spandex one, wouldn’t translate to film very well.

    This movie is big time over-the-top, so leave your expectations for a realistic comic book movie at the door. The characters take a ton of abuse and keep on kicking. I mean, the Spirit taking a toilet to the head and still standing after? Come on. But if you go in not expecting a realistic superhero movie, then this won’t bother you.

    On a visual scale, this movie is aces. The black and white, the spot coloring, the glows, the different animated scenes thrown in—again, like Sin City but a really cool way to do a super flick and it makes me wonder how it might look if it was done with some of the more major franchises—i.e. if Captain America had a couple slick, three-or-four-second animated scenes as part of the movie. You never know.

    Gabriel Macht did just fine as the Spirit—was tough, suave and able to hold his own on the action scale. Samuel L. Jackson as the Octopus—well, he’s SLJ so you got SLJ. I love the guy but he’s the same guy in every movie despite what he’s supposed to be. Granted, there are a few exceptions (i.e. The Caveman’s Valentine).

    Bottom line: this is a crazy ride and cool detective story blended with superhero action and mayhem. It won’t change your life, but it certainly might add to it in a little way.

    Good movie.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #46: Iron Man 2 (2010)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Iron Man 2 (2010)

    Iron Man 2
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    Iron Man 2 (2010)
    Written by Justin Theroux
    Directed by Jon Favreau
    Runtime 124 min.
    4 out of 5

    Taking place six months after Iron Man, old shellhead is using his armor to maintain world peace and keep things right as rain for the world. Enter Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), aka Whiplash, who has a vendetta against Tony Stark and wants to see him dead for the wrong he believed Tony did to his father.

    Meanwhile, Tony’s dealing with issues of his own, namely that the very tool he’s using to keep himself alive—the arc reactor in his chest—is actually poisoning him, and time is quickly running out.

    Can Iron Man defeat a foe hellbent on grinding him to dust while also saving his own life?

    Iron Man 2 is a solid sequel. It’s not as smart as the first one, but it’s certainly not bad by any means. The idea of the arc reactor slowly killing Tony is brilliant. I mean, really, what do you do, right? Just wait it out? Unplug? Tell someone? Good stuff.

    A lot of people gave this movie grief and I don’t understand why. You got superhero action, superhero struggle, relationship tension, introduction of a new hero—War Machine (Don Cheadle, who plays James Rhodes; the part was originally played by Terrence Howard in the first movie)—and a new villain with a simple but decent origin story. Adding to that you got the breadcrumb trail that will eventually lead into The Avengers. The cool part is this subplot—complete with appearances by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)—don’t detract from the main story. Of course, I won’t fail to mention Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, who’s an amazing actor and becomes whatever role he is assigned. I love that about him.

    As before, Robert Downey Jr. continues to amaze me as Tony Stark. He is that guy. End of story. Never thought I’d like a self-absorbed hero, but he proved me wrong.

    Anyway, back to the action: Iron Man 2 has got loads of it, right from Iron Man’s first encounter with Whiplash, to the big fight at the end where it takes Iron Man teaming up with War Machine to take out robots and a newly-armored Whiplash. What I liked was the realistic—as you can get, anyway—portrayal of what a suit of robot armor would most likely do and fight like if it was real. It was fluid, yet appropriately clunky and moved as such accordingly. The flight sequences were exciting, same with the weapons used.

    What was also good was the humor. Aside from the here’s-how-I-pee-in-the-armor joke, which I found dumb, every other bit of joking around totally worked and still maintained that this was a serious movie with a serious hero fighting a serious villain.

    What makes this third movie in Marvel’s Phase One plan great is that while it had its own self-contained story, it was part of the overall Avengers plotline. I loved how the two worked together but weren’t dependent on each other.

    Do I watch this movie when I’m going through my super flicks in my DVD and Blu-ray collection? Every time.

    A major iron thumbs up from me on this one.

    Recommended.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #43: The Incredibles (2004)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Incredibles (2004)

    Incredibles
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    The Incredibles (2004)
    Written by Brad Bird
    Directed by Brad Bird
    Runtime 115 min.
    5 out of 5

    Superheroes used to span the globe, saving people from all sorts of calamities and stopping numerous supervillains from taking over the world. However, after an incident in which Mr. Incredible saved someone who didn’t want to be saved and the superheroes were sued for not only that but all the collateral damage their superheroic exploits caused, the government forced the superheroes to go into hiding and created a superhero relocation program for them.

    Now, many years later, Mr. Incredible is married to Elastigirl, has three superpowered kids, and is just trying to lead a quiet domestic life while also being unable to help himself but sneak out now and then to do good deeds for people along with Canister X Movie Review #43: The Incredibles (2004) his buddy Frozone. When an opportunity arises from a private party for him to once again don his tights, Mr. Incredible jumps at the chance and gets to be a hero once more. The only problem is this private party is not who they seem and has a deadly agenda against not just Mr. Incredible but against all former superheroes.

    The bonds of family and friendship are tested to their limits as Mr. Incredible must try and stop this threat without getting his family involved.

    Except, it might already be too late for that.

    Wow.

    Every so often a superhero movie comes along that does everything right. Great characters, great story, great presentation. In the case of animation, great voice talent, a great tale, great effects, great rendering. The Incredibles is an utterly amazing movie and is in the top ten superhero flicks of all time. In my personal top five, easy, and very close to the number one spot.

    This movie hits all the high notes on every level. Superhero action? Check. Awesome heroes and an A-plus villain? Check. Completely relatable characters? Check. A solid story with an interesting plot? Check. A stellar cast? Check.

    Ah, where to begin? That’s the thing with this movie: there is so much right with it that it’s hard to decide where to start.

    Okay, how about looking at a superhero story without the super heroics? Before you throw stones because I know there’s lots of superhero-ing in this movie, the majority of it doesn’t have that stuff, but instead focuses on the lives of a family of superpowered people and what they have to go through to keep their powers a secret thanks to the government making it illegal for superpowered individuals to show themselves. You got Bob Parr (Craig T. Nelson), who’s just itching to relive the glory days and finally does albeit covertly; you got the homemaker wife, Helen (Holly Hunter), who’s just trying to hold down the fort against a husband she discovers is out gallivanting with his buddy (Lucius Best aka Frozone played by Samuel L. Jackson) while also juggling kids; Dash Parr (Spencer Fox), who’s frustrated he’s got to keep his superspeed under wraps; Violet Parr (Sarah Vowell), who’s frustrated in being in a family that can’t be who they truly are; Jack Jack (Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews), well, he’s just a baby and does baby stuff . . . but with a super flare, of course. Throw in a supervillain who’s motivation for being one is totally plausible—proving himself to the one hero who let him down—and, yeah, the heart of this movie lies in the people versus just simple superhero action.

    When it does come time for the Parrs to don their new gear and become the superteam the Incredibles, they take all that character development with them and bring it to the streets as they fight Syndrome (Jason Lee) and put a stop to his evil plans.

    What’s great, too, about this flick is the immense amount of world-building thanks to the backstory as to how the heroes—or the “supers” as they are called in the flick—used to be all over the place and then how and why they were suddenly banned from doing their job with Bob right in the middle of it. It was actually his case of saving someone from suicide that caused the whole thing. (And suicide, by the way, a pretty dark subject for a kids movie.) You also got to see many of the other heroes that inhabit the Incredibles’s universe, giving you a sense of scope that adds to the believability of the story and enhances the character depth even more.

    Thematically, this movie is about many things, some of which are dealing with poor self-esteem, sacrifice, being true to who you are, doing the right thing at all costs and, at its heart, the strength of family against all odds.

    The Incredibles is a movie that is highly recommended, a genuine timeless classic, and there have been rumors of a sequel for years. Director/writer Brad Bird has hinted at it repeatedly, but is also waiting for the right story to come along. To be honest, a part of me hopes a sequel doesn’t happen because I understand the power of a good solo flick and how hard it is to do a follow up that tops the original. At the same time, we seem to have come to a place in superhero cinema where the sequel often is better than the first.

    What do you think?

    While you mull that over, go back and watch The Incredibles again.

    And again.

    And again.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #3: The Avengers (2012)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Avengers

    Avengers
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    The Avengers (2012)
    Written by Joss Whedon
    Directed by Joss Whedon
    Runtime 143 min.
    4 out of 5

    When Thor’s mischievous brother, Loki, makes a deal with the alien race the Chitauri to help them secure the Tesseract Cube so they can conquer the galaxy, the Earth suddenly falls into great peril. With even the powerful top secret agency S.H.I.E.L.D. having difficulty containing Loki, there is only one call S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury can make: Avengers Assemble!

    The team is gathered—Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye—and they set out to do battle with Loki and his alien cohorts. If they don’t overcome their differences and learn to work together as a team, the Earth will fall and Loki will rule the planet.

    The Avengers brings together Earth’s mightiest heroes to combat a force of evil so great they either stand together or fall together, with the fate of the planet—even the galaxy—hanging in the balance.

    The Avengers is a difficult movie to review, more so, give a proper rating to because this movie is very much black and white between its story and its presentation, so that said, I’m going to quickly go over both and you’ll see where I’m coming from at the end.

    The story: This is a single-plot movie, very much an A-to-B narrative and incredibly simple—too simple. Aliens are coming, we need to stop them so we’ll get the Avengers to do it. That’s it. From a storytelling perspective, it’s too simple and too predictable. Big bad guy, big good guy(s), let’s fight, good guys win. The end.

    However, if you view The Avengers as an end cap/final act to all the movies leading up to it: Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America—then you have something that definitely serves its purpose and more or less lets each character shine for the same amount of time. In this case, a simple story works despite, um, the many continuity flaws from the previous movies (i.e. Thor is somehow now able to come to Earth, which renders the ending of Thor’s movie moot; Tony Stark called upon to be Iron Man in The Avengers despite being banned from doing so in Iron Man 2; the characters communicating to each other without earpieces or any communication devices. Maybe they’re telepathic?).

    The presentation: this movie is a nerd’s dream come true from start to finish. Assemble your favorite superheroes—of which each were spotlighted in their own movies, almost—put them together and have them go toe-to-toe with a larger-than-life threat that will squash the planet if they don’t come through.

    From an eye candy perspective, this movie nailed it. Huge battles, lots of explosions, combat action, hammer throwing, Hulk smashing, shield boomeranging, repulsors firing, arrows shooting, girl fists punching—yeah, it has it all.

    It’s also very important to point out that the casting of Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk was an amazing choice. I honestly wasn’t too thrilled with the news when I first heard it, with Ruffalo being more of a chick-flick romance guy, but he got the role done so well that if there’s a spin-off, I hope he gets the job. He’s definitely earned it.

    Chris Evans as Captain America—a Superman performance, which is good and brought a traditional superhero element to the team. As the running joke was throughout the movie, a little “old-fashioned” was what was needed.

    Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man—do I really need to talk about this? He’s the same Tony Stark from the first two Iron Man movies, the only difference being he’s mellowed out a bit because, despite his arrogance, he understands life isn’t all about him and there are other people out there, too. This bit really comes through in this movie.

    Chris Hemsworth as Thor—bold, poetic, commanding, everything his character is supposed to be so kudos to him for carrying on with a great performance from the stand-alone movie.

    Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye—I don’t know much about the comic character other than he’s like Green Arrow, but perhaps with a more military-mind-set, so I can’t comment. Renner did sell me on Hawkeye though, but why couldn’t they give him that awesome mask? Maybe in the sequel.

    Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow—she really comes into her own in this flick because in Iron Man 2, it was more a back-up appearance so we didn’t know much about her. I’m glad she got the screen time she deserved and, come on, her fight scenes were fantastic.

    Tom Hiddleston as Loki—he’s the bad guy you love to hate, the one that, even just looking at him, you want to punch in the face. I appreciated how Loki, to a degree, was a villain to sympathize with because of his exile, but you also get mad at him for being such a jerk about it.

    Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury—an excellent portrayal of Samuel L. Jackson being Samuel L. Jackson—but under a fictitious alias. Yeah.

    The Avengers is a solid good-times-turn-your-brain-off-action-fest that is great for escape and is recommended for that reason. As a spoiler warning, if you want just the action parts, start the movie around thirty minutes in.

    Honest assessment is 3.5 out of 5, but because it’s the first movie of its kind and because of all the building up to it that has been going on since 2008, I’ll give it a 4.


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