Review: Marvel's The Avengers

The new superhero movie, officially titled Marvel's The Avengers, is unlike anything else in history. Never before have five summer blockbusters been made over the course of four years to set up the characters for one super-blockbuster. Fan anticipation has been intense, ever since IronMan and The Incredible Hulk hinted at the idea in 2008.

Now The Avengers is here, and, in many ways, it out-blockbusters them all.

The crucial element is writer/director Joss Whedon, best known for his beloved cult TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly." Whedon has an affinity for extraordinary misfits and affectionate humor, and a touch for balancing ensembles. This widely mismatched cast starts with the excellent thespians Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and touches on the awesome star power of Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury). 

Toward the bottom, there's Chris Evans (Captain America) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor), both of whom were arguably cast more for looks than for personality. Among several other familiar faces in walk-on parts, Whedon has made the sublime choice of shaggy, wounded Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner (and The Hulk), replacing Edward Norton. Whedon then works his magic and makes them all equals. If Downey steals one scene with dialogue, then Hemsworth gets a complementary scene of passionate rage. 

Of the five previous movies, last summer's Thor had the best villain, the impish Loki, and Whedon has effortlessly relocated him here. Loki's new plan is to use the "Tesseract" -- a glowing cube -- to invite evil alien armies to help take over the earth. The Avengers are called upon to stop him, but unfortunately, they don't yet know or trust one another.

Thus we get our very simple theme: all of these outsiders, each given a "terrible privilege," can become something greater by learning to work together. Whedon conjures up some beautiful moments of teamwork in the thick of battle, including one of Hulk slamming a piece of shrapnel into the neck of a giant monster, and Thor hammering it home.

This movie has it all: gorgeously clear action, humor, suspense, and even passion. It's not going too far to guess that no other summer movie will touch it. Yet The Avengers takes place in a dark world of heightened military fear, wherein a nuclear missile is launched as effortlessly as making a piece of toast. Fury admits that he has assembled the team as a form of stockpiling weapons against as-yet-unimagined threats, which ironically is a threat in itself. Oddly, this is quite the opposite of the themes in the two Iron Man movies. Whedon's reasons for treading this paranoid path are ambiguous and slightly puzzling.

However, the world needs its heroes for many other reasons. During their trials they find their true selves, coming away ever so slightly stronger than they were as individuals. And all those misfit audience members -- shy, awkward, uncertain... i.e. most of us -- know exactly what the movie is really about.

Review: The Deep Blue Sea

The English filmmaker Terence Davies is best known for movies set in the past, reflecting memories of life and memories of movies. His feature debut, Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), was a masterpiece with a unique form. It moved in recollections and snatches of feeling, but shown fully frontal, in tableau, often accompanied by popular songs.

His new movie, The Deep Blue Sea, is likewise great, but in a more traditional, accessible way. It comes from a play by Terence Rattigan that was already filmed once, in 1955, with Vivien Leigh. It's a deeply felt romance, filled with longing and pain, but also with a small victory. Yet, though Davies is paying more attention to plot here, this is still a personal and monumentally artistic achievement.

In post-WWII England, Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz) is married to a judge (Simon Russell Beale), but has fallen in love with a former Royal Air Force pilot, Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston) and has embarked upon a passionate affair with him. But Freddie is stuck in the glories of the past and is unsure how to define himself in a country without war. Hester begins to fear that she's losing him, and she attempts suicide. Having failed, she tries to hide this information, but he finds out, leading to the simple and profound ending.

Surprisingly the judge, Sir William, turns up as well, and he's not a villain, or a cuckold, or a third wheel. He's a bit older than Hester, but he's a genuinely good man, and genuinely loves his wife. He's understandably hurt, but that's as far as it goes. He comes to see her and offers his love and support.

Davies takes out the play's talky bits and relies on a potent emotional throughline, balancing the present with flashbacks, as well as canny staging, lighting and cutting. He even includes a very biographical flashback, with Hester and William enduring a London bombing in the subway, with one vocalist mournfully and gorgeously singing an echoing "Molly Malone" as the camera tracks alongside the citizens. (The shot could have been borrowed from Distant Voices, Still Lives.) Another new sequence includes an excruciating visit to Sir William's mother, and her many terse exchanges with Hester. (Davies had a strong relationship with his own mother.)

Finally, a word about Ms. Weisz: to these eyes, she has always worn emotional shields onscreen, playing tough women and very concerned with the reactions of others around her. This is the first time she has shown up unguarded, fragile, and totally open. It's a heartrending, honest performance, and easily her finest hour; I can't imagine there will be many other performances this good all year.

To many viewers, The Deep Blue Sea will seem hopelessly old-fashioned and/or out of date, or perhaps dry, creaky or inert. But I'd rather call it timeless. It's the cinema at its best: highly personal, and recording and releasing the most powerful of emotions.