Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

The only reason I chose to accept this Mission was and is Jeremy Renner. I’ve never been a fan of Cruise, but there has to be a point at which a film can have enough other assets to outweigh the distaste of Tom Cruise. I decided that Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg as co-stars, with J.J. Abrams producing, and Brad Bird directing his first live-action action film.

Let’s face it, Tom Cruise is not only the most senior member of IMF, but clearly the most senior member of the acting ensemble. I guess that’s why they had to break him out of prison before pursuing the next mission. Somewhere in his contract, it must say that no Mission goes on without him. Cruise is starting to look like a little like Christian Bale, but without the gravitas. Maybe an action figure version of Bale, slightly plastic. It doesn’t matter - he’ll never be as crazy or tough as Jeremy Renner was in The Hurt Locker. Which brings us to the team. I really can’t speak for Simon Pegg’s role in M:I III, but it should suffice to say that his presence is always welcome. He’s immensely more interesting than Cruise - even more than Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt. Before picking up Renner’s character, Cruise leads Pegg and lady agent  Carter (Paula Patton) on a mission to retrieve intel from the Kremlin. One small relief is the fact that the screenwriters have wisely kept Carter out of any romantic entanglements with the characters. It’s nice to have a female character that’s not a total bitch and not just pretty. She kicks some serious butt, too.

Ah, Jeremy Renner. Renner’s character is an analyst whose only hope for a normal life is to help IMF clear their name - Ghost Protocol being the procedure for unofficial mission to reveal the true culprit of the bombing at the Kremlin and the theft of nuclear launch codes. Did you know Renner is funny? It seems to be something of a surprise to the filmmakers; either that, or he was asked to be less amusing so as not to overshadow Simon Pegg as the obvious comedic presence. I much prefer a solid action/comedy, so it’s disappointing that so many laughs suffered because of an attempt to focus on another actor. Or maybe I just expected that the real plan for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was to open the door for Renner to take over the franchise. He’s already got the Bourne reboot, why not M:I too? With any luck he’ll get his own film as Hawkeye of Avengers fame, and then he’ll be set for life.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is rough and tumble entertainment, it’s almost unfair to comment on it. The most interesting aspect of the film hit me after it was over, reading the cast list. Our villain, our nemesis for the last two hours was none other than Michael Nyqvist, leading man from the Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series. Not only is Nyqvist unfamiliar in his villainous role, but his talent is wasted in quick cut-away shots and a lifeless, cookie-cutter role.

Needless to say, all the actors in M:I - GP have done better. It’s all Noelle Stevenson’s fault for making me watch this... her and her obsession with Jeremy Renner... but seriously? Check out her tumblr for witty and/or amusing Avengers comics. And if you haven’t seen Jeremy Renner in The Avengers, do that instead.

Lady Antebellum's We Own the Night tour stops in Hartford, CT

Friday night’s concert event at the Comcast Theater in Hartford, CT featured three acts at very different points in their career. The music was great, the artists clearly had fun, and the mixed crowd seemed to enjoy themselves too. What was branded to me as a country concert seems to have been something entirely different where Lady Antebellum is concerned. The cross-over success to the pop market of their emotional songbook seems to have struck a chord (pun intended) with a fair range of audience members. Rockabilly couples, families, teenage girls, middle-aged women, country fans, and pop listeners were all present at the concert, and each act delivered quality performances.

Husband and wife duo Thompson Square took the stage first, driving through their adorable first hit “I Got You.” The duo does well with songs about togetherness, making the most of their real-life love story with “Getaway Car” and “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not,” though the giant inflatable lips were a bit much. The set was lively even through their current hit, “Glass.” Has “Glass” played on Grey’s Anatomy yet? Because it may well get there. The set felt very short, even for a band that has only released one LP - it would seem that their name is bigger than their catalog.

Darius Rucker is the most experienced of the performers and takes the stage with a casual comfort that only a seasoned performer can exude. Even his t-shirt and jeans is less of a costume and more like his own wardrobe, and if his Nike hat is product placement, I don’t think anyone could care. He’s just too cool. The way he handled the rhythm actually made me think of a playful otter, twisting and surfacing in just the right places, making his way through the music like swimming through water. With five number one hits from his solo country career, he’s done better on the charts as a solo country artist than he ever did as front man for Hootie & the Blowfish. That’s not to say that Rucker has tried to outrun or outshine his past in anyway - Rucker revisited the Hootie-hit “Hold My Hand,” taking it at a slower tempo and hitting a smooth groove. His earlier inclusion of “I Only Wanna Be With You” in his set list rather proves that the only difference between a pop hit and a country hit is an electric banjo. Rucker’s musicians are exceptional, and he's even got a down-home name for them, The Carolina Greyboys. Their cover of “The Joker” fit perfectly with his recent country hits; no wonder he's had such a seamless transition between genres.

Rucker’s set was fantastic, but Lady Antebellum is the headliner, and this is the We Own the Night tour, after all. I get cynical when an artist or band arrives at the level of seemingly unbridled success that Lady Antebellum has, but most of their music is quite excellent. Despite the fact that most of their songs use the same three to four chords, the melodies are strong, and what makes this trio work is their friendship and their ability to create lavish harmonies together. I’ve always thought Dave Haywood looks like one of The Monkees, Hilary Scott is the daughter of singer (and one-time Reba McEntire duetist) Linda Davis, and Charles Kelley’s brother Josh hit mainstream music first with his single, “Amazing,” so they’re destined for music careers. Charles Kelley must be the music industry's answer to Ryan Gosling (not that Gosling can't sing, in fact he can), any picture of him on the projector screens is ready material for a “Hey Girl” meme. While his white shirt is not actually tight, you can tell he’s sculpted - I kept thinking of Emma Stone in Crazy, Stupid, Love: “It’s like you’re photoshopped!” Whereas Gosling maintains an element of gawky, Kelley clearly thrives on the adulation of the crowd and is adrenaline in cowboy boots. It’s even adorable when he flubs the lyrics to the group’s “Just a Kiss.” At 6’ 6” he’s the tallest man on stage all night so if his personal magnetism didn’t catch your eye, his height certainly would. I’m sure leading lady Hilary Scott was enjoying herself, but she doesn’t quite radiate the energy that Kelley does. Lucky for Haywood, the band has stuck together as a trio and he manages to carry an equal share in the staging and remains central to the group, if not the vocals. Lady A, as they are affectionately known, writes most of their own music, and while I can’t say exactly which songs they wrote, only one of them struck me as disingenuous, and that was “Honky Tonk Women.” What has made Lady A popular is their avoidance of cheesy backwoods stereotypes, their modern country style without a trace of redneck. “Honky Tonk Women” violates that precedent.

Otherwise the concert was a night of rambling fun, especially when all three acts joined together for one big number. It’s a jam session, simple and thankfully not overproduced. Once their guests departed, Lady A had time for one more song - but when that song wasn’t “Need You Now,” most of the crowd knew there would be an encore. The megahit was given the dramatic treatment; the bass and drums reminded me of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” It’s the only costume change for Hilary Scott, but the song is just as good as ever, soaring in the massive arena.

It may be Lady Antebellum’s We Own the Night tour, but if you ask me, the night truly belonged to Darius Rucker. All the same, check out all three bands online. Thompson Square’s funky twosome really shines on “I Got You,” Darius Rucker’s “I Got Nothin” is my favorite of his, and Lady Antebellum’s newest single “Wanted You More” offers a powerful chorus that played really well on-stage... but if you don’t believe me, try to see for yourself sometime.

- Thompson Square: “I Got You”
- Darius Rucker: “I Got Nothin”
- Lady Antebellum: “Wanted You More” on NBC’s The Voice
- Lady Antebellum: tumblr - check out their dressing room cover of “Good Life” by OneRepublic

Thor

Chris Helmsworth may have the richest speaking voice in American cinema since Heath Ledger - Australian roots not excepted - but it’s not quite enough to carry Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. My own interest in the film is based on the success of The Avengers as well as the presence of several cool actors.

I won’t lie, I’ve been in a ‘mood’ the last few days so maybe I’m predisposed to harsh criticism, but Thor also has the disadvantage of coming after the witty Iron Man films and after I have already seen The Avengers. Though I will say that reading the behind-the-scenes lore helps the movie make more sense, if only because I can empathize with Branagh. The sad truth is that while The Avengers proves that Joss Whedon understands comic books and superheroes, Branagh does not. I may not have much experience with the medium, but I know enough to recognize an impostor when I see one. Taking a comic book film and making into something it is not... I made similar mistakes in my theatre career.

When was the last time Branagh lived up to his ego, let alone his Shakespearean idols? It’s hard to say. I would have guessed that Branagh’s attraction to the project was based in myths and legends, but Branagh reportedly saw something more: Henry V. How could he turn down the chance to revisit the play that saw him pronounced a wunderkind? Branagh brings with him composer Patrick Doyle, whose knack for dramatic scoring has served him well in his many collaborations with Branagh. It seems, however, that Branagh is trying to bring his Harry Potter experience to the Marvel universe, crossing wires with Shakespearean plays and his own brand of English acting.

Still, Branagh’s attachment to the project certainly must have helped Anthony Hopkins’s decision to sign on to the project. Hopkins is the perfect choice for well-respected and beloved patriarch, idolized by his sons and responsible for keeping the peace. Tom Hiddleston, having worked with Branagh on a play in London’s West End, originally auditioned for the lead role but is a much better fit for the tortured sibling Loki. Knowing more of his backstory certainly contributes to my understanding of The Avengers, though he is not quite a fully-developed villain in Thor. It doesn’t help that there are too many secondary characters overall. Not only do we have the mortals Thor befriends on earth, but Thor’s buddies from Asgard keep coming up as well. Who are all these people, and why do we need them? Natalie Portman as a poorly-written love interest is completely unnecessary, not to mention Kat Dennings as an inexplicable intern. Dennings is woefully misused on her tv series 2 Broke Girls, but perhaps might have brought some believability to the Portman role. A rather surprising discovery is the realization that Thor’s Asgardian friend Fandral is played by Josh Dallas - who plays Prince Charming on ABC’s brilliant Once Upon a Time series. (Yes, that’s a shameless plug for my favorite show. Shoot me.) Carrying the film is Chris Helmsworth, who sadly is not as good as he is in The Avengers. It seems that the filmmakers did not trust the script enough for the film to get by on its own, rather felt that it needed to be bolstered and held together on the strength of Helmsworth’s good looks and powerful voice. There’s no doubt that he’s exactly what a Norse god should look like, but there’s no need for the constant reminders, whether they’re in the form of dialogue or admiring camera angles.

The good news is that the upcoming sequel is slated to reunite the actors from the first film in their same roles. This includes Helmsworth, Hopkins, Hiddleston, Portman, and Dallas. One can only hope that the characters see some real development in the sequel, which thankfully will have a different director. Interestingly, the next film is set to be directed by Alan Taylor, whose credits include Game of Thrones, Mad Men, and The Sopranos. Maybe there’s hope yet for this mighty franchise.

The Debt

Jessica Chastain is suddenly everywhere. I wonder if she and Michael Fassbender have followed the same trajectory... In any case, a girl could do worse than to play the same role as Helen Mirren, albeit in flashback. Mirren is the big-name attraction to The Debt, a story of intrigue from years ago. Based on the Israeli film Ha Hov, Mirren plays Rachel, a retired Mossad agent whose career was made with the capture and death of the man known as the Surgeon of Birkenau. It was Rachel’s first field mission when she joined David and Stephen in a leaky two-bedroom apartment in 1965 Berlin. Together the three of them planned to infiltrate the Nazi’s new life, take him captive, and bring him to Israel to stand trial. Of course, the best laid plans... don’t always work out.

Directed by John Madden (who showed us Shakespeare in Love), The Debt is a remake with a solid story that gets a little lost in the translation. Part of its trouble is the poor casting - not that the actors are without talent, quite the contrary - but flashback films are best served by performers who resemble one another. In theatre this is less of a problem, where the actors are more represented by their movement than their big-screen faces, and often connected through costume choices. Cinema is more about facial expression, dramas dominated by close-ups and middle shots that focus on the look of the scene. It’s easy enough to align Mirren with Chastain (the only woman, and with a scar across her right cheek), but the men are poorly matched to their older/younger selves. Particularly Ciarán Hinds, who is a brilliant actor wasted in this film, and hardly the man to play the 1997 version of David, whose 1965 counterpart is Avatar star Sam Worthington. As for the suave but volatile Stephan, Martin Csokas (whom I enjoyed so much in The Tree) shares the role with Tom Wilkinson. I had a difficult time discussing the film with my companion as I was unable keep the men attached to the right role. It was easy to identify the actors - less simple to tie the actors to a character. I have a feeling that The Debt would work much better as a novel.

There’s no doubt that the performances themselves are excellent, Mirren being the unspoken leader of the cast. Her Rachel is unusually passive for Mirren, reserved but with purpose. Chastain, who was pitch-perfect in The Help and Oscar-nominated for Tree of Life, is lovely even as Rachel lacks the confidence of a more experienced agent. She’s also not a spy of the Angelina Jolie ilk - in mid-60s Germany, she’s still more identifiable by sexist stereotypes than anything else. Still, the mission requires a woman - the Nazi surgeon’s post-war career is as a gynecologist. The men are of little use in this case, and the cause of all the trouble. Perhaps The Debt is actually a feminist film? (Probably not.) Anyway, Worthington is the thoughtful and sensitive one, Czokas channels a little bit of Brando.

I don’t want to say much more, because the unexpected turns in the plot are what make the film truly work. As I said, it’s a good story - just a little lost in translation.

The Avengers

There was some ambivalence in the anticipation for Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. On paper, Whedon is absolutely the right man for the job - there are few other really dynamic creative minds for whom the Marvel epic would be a passion project. Whedon’s box office success has largely been dependent on his independent fan base of Whedonites. The man who brought us Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Angel, and Dollhouse has no shortage of fans - but his success as gauged by studios and critics has been... tepid? Serenity is something of a sleeper hit, popular with Firefly fans. So maybe it’s the mass audiences who have failed to live up to Whedon’s potential. With The Avengers, Whedon finally stamps his name on the big-budget action epic. He owns it. As many other reviewers have already said, The Avengers is a perfect comic-book action-hero film. The pacing is spectacular, the performances are well-rounded and unique, the action is intense and focused, the dialogue is smart - and since it’s Joss Whedon, you (should) know it’s also hilarious.

I’m no expert in the Marvel universe; I’ve never even read a comic book. I’m also not up-to-speed on my Marvel movies (I’ve only seen Iron Man, I think!). Still, I pride myself on knowing a good project, a good movie when I see one, and a good performance is a good performance in any genre. When a movie is as well-cast as this one, it’s exciting to see the performances build off one another. Chris Evans unexpectedly earns his Captain ranking as Steve Rogers, Scarlett Johanssen really moves like spider, while Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark still exemplifies everything that’s wrong with my taste in men. Mark Ruffalo makes no more (or less) sense than Ed Norton cast as The Hulk, but brings a really nice studiousness to Dr. Banner. Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye is sublimely effective - he’s no stranger to action (The Hurt Locker), but at least this time he gets to have some fun. Chris Helmsworth stirred up a storm when Thor hit theaters, and his presence here is grounding and passionate. As Thor’s brother Loki, Tom Hiddleston is absolutely unrecognizable from his charming turn in Midnight in Paris, where he brought F. Scott Fitzgerald to life. Here Loki’s selfishness and superiority complex is entertaining enough to keep the film light, and his shallowness - rather than an evil nature - staves off cliches of Good vs. Evil. But make no mistake: the threat he poses is real enough to require The Avengers.

Downey Jr. has found a renaissance in his career thanks to the sharp wit he’s been able to demonstrate as Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes - but that’s not to say that Iron Man is the film’s comedic relief. Each character has at least one really funny moment or line, and one doesn’t have to be a Marvel master to get the joke. There were probably a great many more references that I missed, but the ones that I did catch were entertaining.

Whedon is smart to assemble his team slowly, let it snowball and develop. Rather than create a different film for each character to explain where they’re coming from, he manages to collect them slowly, so that our heroes are not truly united until it’s nearly the end. Without giving away too much, I want to say that the sparring between Thor and Iron Man, then Captain America too, is like the best game of rock, paper, scissors I’ve ever seen. Captain America Shield vs. Thor hammer... not really sure what beats what. Especially impressive is the climactic action, which speaks to Whedon’s immense skill as a director. The battle is split among The Avengers as they work in teams or on diversionary solo missions to tackle alien invasion as a team.

The Avengers is so very good, it practically harkens back to the first Christopher Reeve Superman film. It’s old-school good, balanced filmmaking. The action is focused enough to remind us of classic battle scenes and not the overly computer-generated business that happens now. It’s an action comedy of epic proportions and on a tremendous scale. A criticism may have occurred to me somewhere in the middle of the film... but I’ve all but forgotten it. If there’s room for Nathan Fillion in the next Avengers, I think Whedon fans might literally break the box office.

Bonus trivia/links:

* Agent Hill is played by Cobie Smulders, whom you may recognize from How I Met Your Mother.

* A waitress in the film is played by Ashley Johnson - Chrissy Seaver from Growing Pains.

* Top 23 Things Joss Whedon Should Do After The Avengers, by Calvin Peat 

http://www.shadowlocked.com/201106241945/lists/top-23-things-that-joss-whedon-should-do-post-avengers.html

* The Man Behind The Avengers, from CBS Sunday Morning (featuring a brief clip from Whedon’s forthcoming Much Ado About Nothing - yay!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXcMLP3ozXs&feature=player_embedded

* Clip from Midnight in Paris - see Tom Hiddleston as basically the opposite of Loki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wekpRlmUDSM&feature=related
* Illustrator/cartoonist Noelle Stevenson's brilliant blog has loads of Avengers-related comics, but she also posted this fabulous gif of Tom Hiddleston.
* Nominated for Academy Award: Best Visual Effects