Review: "Captain America"

Marvel Studios' lengthy build-up to next summer's The Avengers began in 2008, with the release of the first Iron Man. A surprise hit of sorts, it finally gave Marvel the confidence to go forward with establishing the other key heroes (and villains) to make The Avengers a reality on screen. However, ever since Tony Stark, the road has been a little bumpy. Immediately following Iron Man was The Incredible Hulk (also 2008), with Edward Norton (now replaced by Mark Ruffalo), which received rather dismissive reception and only did decent box office. Flash forward to 2011 (we'll skip over Iron Man 2), and the last pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place. In May, Kenneth Branagh gave us Thor with oddly unsatisfying results. That leaves only Captain America, and thankfully director Joe Johnston and crew have saved the (second) best for last.

After an opening designed to tie the film into The Avengers (but only vaguely, at first), we jump to Norway, where insane Nazi (and leader of science division Hydra) Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) storming through villages in search of a deus ex machina, er, important artifact of the Norse gods. We then jump to America, where scrawny Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is trying his hardest to gain entry into the US military. By chance, he's overheard by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), who thinks Rogers may be cut out for a different program, one designed to create "the next breed of super soldiers." Long story short: he gets in and becomes significantly taller and more muscular. From there, we follow Rogers' attempts to stop Schmidt as he goes rogue.

Yet for whatever silliness there is in the premise, director Joe Johnston executes the Captain's origin story in a surprisingly effective way. There's a sincerity to the characters and story that, however simple it may be, rings true. The good guys are good, and the bad guys are bad, but the film resists the urge to beat us over the head with overly patriotic nonsense. Instead, it focuses on giving the audience a good, Indiana Jones-esque adventure, which it delivers on, albeit with less memorable results. Depth isn't exactly something Johnston's film is striving for, but it does have some nice touches that keep it from being an all-out action bonanza. A sequence involving Rogers being used as a propaganda figure for the war effort adds a fun angle to the story. It may not explore anything about Rogers' feelings and motivations (which are all established before his transformation), but it's entertaining and presents him as an alternative to the other, cockier comic book heroes (Tony Stark, Thor, Hal Jordan).

So when the good Captain finally charges in against Red Skull, we as an audience have something resembling investment, as minimal as that investment may be. This is only helped by the clear establishment of the tone and world that Johnston and crew have created, that of a pulpy, Saturday morning cartoon/adventure serial. Whereas the slightly better-reviewed Thor struggled to fully involve me in its mythos, Captain America grounds you in its reality right from the start, and it aids the viewing experience tremendously. Even the romantic subplot is more effective here, though it's hardly given proper attention; Evans and Hayley Atwell have a simple, but believable chemistry with each other, one that makes you wish the film had been more invested with the relationship.

Because even though there are explosions galore, the action-packed final act of Captain America, though good fun, is a bit of a letdown. The staging of the fights is rather uninspired, and there's a rather heavy reliance on shots of characters driving vehicles amid rather obviously CG backdrops and surroundings. And even though Weaving completely sells the Red Skull character, he's undermined by the writing, which doesn't do nearly enough to make his character truly interesting or fearsome. The film's tone, while engaging and fun, also conflicts with things like the romantic subplot and character deaths; we aren't given nearly enough to care when the film wants us to care.

Disregarding Harry Potter, 2011 could easily go down as the summer of Marvel, even if the quality of the films (or box office performance) hasn't exactly been stellar. And even though it may not be the best superhero adventure of the summer (I'd still give that title to X-Men: First Class), it delivers on what it promises: a good, old fashioned adventure where a guy in red, white, and blue beats up some Nazis.

Grade: B-/C+

"Burlesque" - REVIEW

In the long line of star vehicles for singers, it's rare to find one that isn't a train wreck. Remember Glitter? I'm still trying to forget that one. And then there's work like Showgirls, which lacks the singer-turned-actress angle but is just so plain bad that it's driven some people to the brink of believing that it's actually a satiric masterpiece. So where does Burlesque, which had all of the potential to be campy and trashy beyond all belief, land? In a surprisingly decent place, actually.

The plot set-up is almost identical to Showgirls: small-town girl heads to a big city in hopes of being a dancer/performer. This time, the small-town girl is Christina Aguilera, who, even with her ups and downs over the years, is already light years more bearable than Elizabeth "DIFF'RENT PLACES!" Berkeley. Aguilera plays Ali, who moves from Iowa to LA, and struggles to find solid employment. When she chances upon the fading Burlesque Nightclub, she's entranced by the performers and sets out to work her way onto that stage. Along the way, she has to prove herself to the club's owner, Tess (Cher), who's struggling to keep the club out of the hands of sleazy mogul Marcus (Eric Dane). With help from Jack (Cam Gigandet) and a little conniving, Ali begins waitressing at the club, while constantly fighting for opportunities to show what she's made of.

As a story there is nothing, and I mean nothing, new here. Steve Antin's script seems to be simply checking off the boxes of various events and relationships, without ever putting too much into them. For the first chunk of the movie, it was hard not to feel just a little bit antsy; we know that the "star is born" moment is coming, and after a while you just want the film to arrive at that point. And as far as villains go, the film's two antagonists, Marcus and Nikki (Kristen Bell), barely register as threats. Bell especially is used more as a verbal punching bag for just about everyone. Yet the film avoids the plot pitfalls of Showgirls, so Burlesque is never sleazy. The club where Ali dreams of working isn't a strip club; it's a performance club. Yes, there's the occasional strip tease, but it's relatively innocent and never out of control (only one fan dance).

So how does Aguilera fare in her first real acting role? Not bad, though not especially good. She's got a nice presence, but at times she can feel either too blank or like she's trying too hard to show us that she's "ACTING." In an early scene where she looks for work while wandering the streets, you can practically feel her over thinking her looks of confusion. That the character doesn't offer her too much to work with doesn't help, though she gets a few good zingers in there. However, she can sing, and Burlesque offers a wonderfully balanced array of songs for her to fully demonstrate her mind-blowing vocal range. Already a performer, it makes Aguilera's musical numbers that much more believable, and even when certain performances are over-edited, they're still hugely enjoyable to watch. Costumes, art direction, some cinematography, and sound design are all aces, to the film's benefit.

Cher and Tucci, meanwhile, work their roles like old pros, and their chemistry is charming. Cher in particular, puts her all into it, namely in a down-and-out number titled "Last Of Me." As for the rest of the cast, they're all fine, save for Alan Cumming, whose glorified cameo conveys a delightful amount of mischief with so very little. And even as the plot moves through its required stages, is becomes less and less of a distraction as the number finally kick into high gear. At times you'll wish that they would just show an entire song uninterrupted, instead of cutting between conversations and song, but for the most part, it works (just barely). There's never any doubt as to where this story is going to go; not a bit. And the non-singing scenes lack the bite or all-around acting strength of musicals like Moulin Rouge! or Chicago. But Burlesque isn't concerned with making us sweat about stuff like plot or deep characterization. It gives us just enough to qualify as a movie (and not a string of music videos), and takes us along for an empty but surprisingly satisfying ride.

Grade: B-/C+

The "Burlesque" trailer is here...

And I still have no idea what to make of this movie. The next Cabaret? The next Showgirls? The next Glitter? While it looks goooooooorgeous (if I hadn't known anything about the film, I would have guessed that Nine and Chicago DP Dion Beebe was the cinematographer here), some of the set-ups and dialogue look a little weak, especially that "Alice in Wonderland" joke at the end. But the most unsettling part from what little can be determined from the trailer, is that apparently the showrunners felt the need to simply let Christina Aguilera use her voice for over-extended "WHHHHHAAAOOOOOAOAOAOAOAOAAAAOOOOOOOAAAAA's" instead of doing some more, er, singing. Burlesque hits theaters in November, so we still have some months to go before we find out what sort of masterpiece/trainwreck it really is...

"Burlesque": Oscar-contender, trainwreck...

Or something in-between? On one hand, you have what look like stellar production values, with a sort of 21st century Chicago-meets-Moulin Rouge! vibe. On the other hand, the setting is a wee bit too close to Showgirls. Then there's the unwieldy Christina Aguilera, who really has a jaw-dropping voice, but often over-sings the living hell out of lyrics. There's also Cher, who looks great, albeit in an "I've obviously had tons of work" sort of way, and the always reliable Stanley Tucci. Are we in for a lush musical story of showbusiness survival, a decent, entertaining singing showcase, or an unbearably campy, trashy train wreck? The film hits theaters November 24th, just in time to get demolished by Harry Potter and the Epic Box Office: Part I.

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