It’s hard to believe anyone hasn’t heard of this movie or have some idea of what it’s about. Easiest way to boil down this overstuffed epic is that Tony Stark (with an assist by Bruce Banner) crams his hubris down everyone’s throat (again) creating a world threatening robot take over (again).

There’s a lot going on in Avengers 2 and that is it’s greatest weakness. It’s packed with characters and everyone has to get their own screen time to justify their existence. This means that the pace of the movie is shockingly fast. You just whip from scene to scene with very few breathers. Stuff just happens to happen. Tony and Bruce work for awhile on creating the Ultron Artificial Intelligence program and give up on it for the night to go to a party. Right after that (literally, a few seconds), despite making very little headway, the thing kicks off on it’s own and builds itself. Then there’s the stuff that makes little to no sense (like the physics of a moving train) and Thor’s heavily edited subplot where he disappears on a side mission for a bit and then flies back into frame just in time for an integral moment that couldn’t be done without his powers.

Two new characters, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, are brought in resulting what I thought were apathetic results. I didn’t care for either despite some valiant attempts (namely Hawkeye, who everyone rolls their eyes at when the heavy hitters like Hulk and Captain America are standing by) to make them fun and useful.

I think my biggest problem is that it much of the movie felt like a retread. Despite the scale being much bigger, it checks all the boxes. Teamwork fights, Tony Stark causing the central conflict, a big action piece solely for Hulk to be Hulk. A finale consisting of another disposable swarm getting shot and mangled. Having Hulk and Thor is actually rather redundant, because they both fill the heavy hitter role. You need something massive moved or punched? Either one can do it. Plus, just about everything is computer generated so once the action gets going, it’s just pixels running into pixels. There’s little weight to the movie.

With that out of the way, there is some great stuff too. It’s got a few great jokes and character flare ups that are well executed and perfectly placed (CA trying to pick up Thor’s hammer, Tony picking on just about everyone). Ultron and Vision look really good and Watching Hulk go bezerk is a blast (despite me ragging on it a bit in the paragraph above, it was my favorite action scene). The times when things slow down and everyone gets to interact are often great (Nat and Bruce is a neat and thoughtful dynamic). Hell, Hawkeye gets to actually do things! Avengers gets a lot of the summer blockbuster movie parts right.

Too much of a good thing applies most to Age of Ultron. With so much to juggle it’s easy to get distracted and lost. A streamlining of things is in order I think. Despite pulling in over a billion dollars at the box office, I hope the powers (the ones that wear dress attire) at Marvel recognize that they have to tend to their garden before it gets unmanageable and fans shy away.

I love it when I’m surprised by a movie. I mostly knew about this movie because it was James Gandolfini’s last movie. I put it in my “watch when I get around to it” pile and forgot about it as I made my way through my Netflix queue.  The Drop has many of my favorite elements with a small cast of well defined characters played by strong actors, a tight, localized crime story topped off by a great ending.

Bob Saginowsi is a quiet guy working in his cousin Marv’s bar. There’s a long history of organized crime in the neighborhood and the bar is occasionally used as a money drop location for sports betting run by the Chechens. One night, the bar is robbed by gun point for $5,000. The mob want their money back and the police are called because one of the employees gets his head cracked open by the fleeing criminals. Bob ends up giving the cops some identifying information he should have kept to himself which draws a lot of unwanted attention from both the police and the Chechens. From there, the history of Bob, his cousin and the neighborhood gets dredged up with shocking revelations.

First, Tom Hardy as Bob is amazing. He changes his mannerisms and speaking patterns to fit this character perfectly. He’s never Tom Hardy on screen, only Bob Saginowsi, I loved this guy from start to finish. His morals, how he interacts with people, the way he handles things that come at him. You can tell he’s seen a lot in his life, but he hides it so well that you can’t figure out exactly what’s going on with him. Noomi Rapace plays the damaged Nadia to perfection (I kept seeing Marisa Tomei in her performance) and is the perfect anchor for Bob. Their relationship is really well developed. James Gandolfini as cousin Marv holds it down as the shady relative with bitter dreams of grandeur. I was really blown away by Mattias Schoenaerts as Eric Deeds, who is the main antagonist to Bob. I’ve never seen Mattias before, but he’s perfectly cast to play against Tom Hardy (and Bob). He’s physically intimidating and plays the unstable type really well. Eric is bad news, the neighborhood boogeyman as he sulks about with his hood up and his reputation dragging around behind him.

While two men fighting over a woman (and an adorable puppy) is nothing new, I became completely enamored with how it’s handled in The Drop. The build up comes through the entire movie and doesn’t reach a climax until the end. Eric is introduced subtly and slowly and becomes a bigger and bigger threat with each passing scene. Bob and Eric’s conflict never breaks into a simple fist fight or screaming match at the drop of a hat. Eric is a menacing presence and the question of when he’s going to blow up and how Bob is going to (or even if he can) handle it is asked and amped up with each escalating confrontation.

Bob reminds me a lot of Driver from the movie Drive (which I also loved). They lead their respective movie as stoic hero. A rather poetic character with old school machismo and motivations to do good. They both don’t want any trouble, but if forced, they protect themselves and others as necessary. Such a great movie, highly recommended.

Birdman: Or (The Needlessly Long Title) is a trip of a movie.  It received a lot of buzz just before release but didn’t draw a very big audience. More stunning in it’s presentation than anything else (not to belittle the great actors), Birdman can take a lot of aspiring (and established) filmmakers to school.

In the late 80’s, early 90’s actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) played the title role in three “Birdman” comic book adaptation movies. They were massive movies and despite the fame and fortune it brought him, he declined to make a fourth movie. His career subsequently hits the dirt after making that decision. Having lived in the shadow of Birdman for so long, Riggan tries to reinvent his career and public image by writing, producing, directing and starring in the Broadway show, Raymond Carver’s “What  We Talk About When We Talk About Love.”

The pressure to make a successful show squeezes Riggan as he fights back mounting problems during the three preview shows leading up to opening night. He needs to find a replacement for a bad actor, who then threatens a lawsuit after getting hurt on stage. Then, the replacement actor is a complete nightmare to work with and threatens to steal the spotlight from Riggan. His flailing family relationships continue to erode right in front of him and a Broadway reviewer is sharpening her blades to help flush his career down the toilet. Riggan’s stress also comes to frightening life when he starts having discussions with the Birdman character in his head about all of his insecurities.

The movie is presented as a single long take which is rarely seen. Everyone director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu told of his plans before filming must have told him he was nuts for even considering it. It’s incredibly taxing to do for everyone on set, eliminates just about every freedom that editing can provide and if not shot right, simply doesn’t work. I have to say Inarritu simply knocks it out of the park. Edits are tough to see and the fly on the wall presentation lends a certain amount emergency and legitimacy to the story. Transitions are beautiful to watch and the blocking feels natural. The movie flows from each event and day, it’s a really engaging way to go through Riggan’s troubles.

I really like the setting. Behind the scenes of a Broadway play isn’t done much so the environment was interesting to see with the playhouse’s dressing rooms, narrow hallways and interesting lighting. The movie briefly goes outside and even that looked cool (my favorite being the tiny liquor store, props to the production designer and cinematographer on that one).

The script is razor sharp too. Considering how the movie was shot (in order too, which is also almost never done), it has to be. Since there is no room for heavy editing, it’s important that every single character, scene and bit of dialog be important and effective. Inspiring writing.

The all star cast consisting of Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianaskis and Naomi Watts must be equally praised for pulling off what almost feels like a beautiful documentary. Everyone is believable and perfectly cast and it’s especially great to see Keaton strut his stuff. He’s one of the best actors and that we don’t get to see much. I hope we see more of him from here on out. Bonus points for Keaton and Norton’s characters for having shades of their real careers woven in.

As much as I like Birdman, I recognize it’s not for everyone. It’s a serious and heavy story, but I think there is a lot to like about it. It won a few Oscars for good reason.

I think Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the most under appreciated actors today. He seems to be stuck somewhere in the middle of the fame and starpower list until a movie he leads shows up and blows people away. Then he kind of slides back into the deck only to repeat it again. Nightcrawler puts him front and center again with another unforgettable and brilliant character performance.

Louis Bloom (Gyllenhall) is a man desperate for a job in Los Angeles. Struggling to make ends meet, he’s not afraid to hustle, steal and negotiate to get what he needs. He stumbles across the world of crime journalism one night and throws himself into the field, studying and learning as fast as he can to stake his claim in this dirty and lucrative line of work. He finds something that he not only loves to do, but he’s really good at it. With such fierce competition and deadlines, Louis becomes more bold with each passing night. It gets to the point where he starts manipulating crime scenes to give himself an advantage.

Gyllenhall is absolutely amazing as Louis Bloom. He just disappears into this sociopath. His mannerisms, his intensity, his weird and striking cadence. Bloom can talk his ass off. He can spin an interview like a master, but if the person knows off the bat that he’s too shady to trust (the scrapyard owner who turns him down because he knows Bloom is a thief), he never succeeds. He has to keep people at a distance. Despite being a loner, he knows how to manipulate people. Watching him work and spin conversations is some mesmerizing stuff. Writer/Director Dan Gilroy must have been over the moon to land Gyllenhall. He delivers his dialog with absolute perfection.

Riz Ahmed as Bloom’s first employee, Rick, also needs to be mentioned. He’s around Bloom the most out of anyone and pulls it off well, which is not easy. Bloom is such an intense character and Rick is really the opposite which creates a  bizarre working dynamic. Their story arc (and interaction) is a major highlight of the movie for me.

Loved the look and feel of this grimy story from start to finish. Great direction, well framed with smart camera movement. Wasn’t expecting any action, but the final crime we watch Bloom and Rick cover is simply brilliant. Topical, perfectly paced, many great characters with the right actors to pull them off. Go watch Nightcrawler.

The joy and insanity of stop motion animation! Possibly the ultimate culmination of craft and technology. The folks at Laika Animation Studios (Coraline, Paranorman) have made a stunning looking piece of art.

The Boxtrolls is the tale of a boy raised by underground creatures that people call, you guessed it, BoxTrolls. They’re considered to be like vultures, monsters who come out only at night to scavenge and steal babies to eat. The whole town is terrified of them and Archibald Snatcher has taken it upon himself to exterminate the whole lot of them…for a price. He wants a white hat, the signifying accessory of the ultra elite. With that he’ll be a real class act, able to join the town leaders in the cheese tasting room in Lord Portley-Rind’s mansion.

The BoxTrolls are far from monsters though. Rumors and lies have painted them as such. They’re actually very smart and caring creatures. When Eggs is orphaned as an infant (named after the writing on the box he was left in), they take him in and raise him. With Snatcher trapping every BoxTroll he can, the already small population of BoxTrolls gets smaller and smaller. Soon Eggs must stand up for them all, with the help of Lord Portley-Rind’s daughter, Winnie.

The BoxTrolls reminded me of a Ronald Dahl story a bit. It is a kid’s story/movie but there’s a lot of grown up themes and scary imagery (it’s rated PG for good reason). The cast of characters is great, most notably the character design.

My main adoration for this movie is how amazing it looks. It’s the highest quality stop motion animation around the just dazzles at every turn. The backgrounds don’t look like their props on elevated tables, but full scale stages. The lighting and effects are incredible. One of the first scenes where Snatcher first shows up with his cronies in his extermination vehicle is mind boggling. The depth added by the lighting and shadows from the headlights coupled with the fantastic character animation is unparalleled. There’s many scenes like this. The set pieces are gorgeous and varied, the town of Cheesebridge is greatly realized.

With a large cast of humans and various BoxTrolls (who all have distinct designs and personalities with animation to match so you can easily tell them apart), the stand out is Archibald Snatcher. He stands up there along side of Disney’s greatest villains. He looks like the living, breathing relative of Cruella de Ville. His long, skinny legs, rotund gut, gaunt face, busted smile and stringy hair make him an imposing figure. His spindly fingers and ultra detailed costume (look at his boots!) make him pop in every single frame he’s in. He’s just a rotten SOB, bad news down to the marrow of his bones. The perfect antagonist if there ever was one, I love him.

On the other side, Eggs is a great protagonist. Really likable kid, heart of gold and many of his interactions with Winnie bring much needed laughs to the movie  (her interrogation of him being a boy, not a BoxTroll and teaching him how to shake hands when greeting people in particular).

I’m a sucker for stop motion animation (among a few other types of movies) and I liked The BoxTrolls more than I thought I would. Had everything I wanted, I recommend it.