Avengers: Age of Ultron

THE PITCH



The Avengers: Age Of Ultron Extended Official Trailer from CinepaxCinemas on Vimeo.

WORTH

$$$$$

THE VIEWING

"In a world this vulnerable, we need something more powerful than any of us."

            Avengers: Age of Ultron was really good, I mean extremely good!  It is hard to type a respectable review because I am still absorbing all of it.  One thing's for certain… I need to see it again.  So much was thrown at us in the regard of existing character developing to new character introductions and their respectable build ups and arcs. All the while all this… action going on, It was almost a bit much, not too much though [key word is ‘almost’].

    For the first The Avengers movie to set the bar as high as it did back in 2012, concern and doubt held me captive until the previews ended and the lights dimmed. Once the movie started all of that was cleared, in fact, the good people at Marvel studios has earned the benefit of the doubt.  

   So much happened so fast that I don’t even want to waste anymore of your time.  As I stated earlier not only do I want to view it again I most definitely want to experience it again as well.  

    Worth watching, worth EVERY dollar spent and every dollar to be spent watching it again.

letter grade:  

by now you should know to wait for bonus material at the end of the closing sequence... there is nothing after the credits though :(

Ex Machina

THE PITCH

'Ex Machina' Teaser Trailer from J.D. Funari on Vimeo.

WORTH

$$$1/2

THE VIEWING

"Isn't it strange, to create something that hates you?"

         The title Ex Machina[pronounced with a hard 'C'] is a spinoff from it’s latin parent “Deus Ex Machina” meaning ‘god from the machine’.  The phrase usually refers to a person/thing that presents itself when the main character has his/her back against the wall or is in a “no win”  situation, then defuses that situation.  Director Alex Garland’s directorial debut wasn't short of innuendos and contrasts between God and creation; humans and artificial Intelligence.  Blatant character Mise en scene: Ava= Eve, Nathan= wise prophet to King David, and Caleb= spy sent by Moses to scout the new land.... quotes and scriptures from all manners of books, philosophers, artists...

        EM was deep, not too deep where the story loses you. Just to the point where you feel like you picked up valuable ideas and material for debatable topics later.  This is one of the slower paced movies, which is a good thing for movie buffs that can sit there and absorb.  Maybe a bad thing for action junkies. Think The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons or even HER. Two very good films that you’ll probably only view once.  Having said all of that, EM’s rewatchability supersedes the latter two because of the incredible visual effects.  The post production work and CGI is just amazing to watch. The cinematography of the terra that facilitates the home/facility is candy for the eye even for the brief amount of time that we see it.

    I am giving it a very strong “B” grade.  I am highly recommending it for SCI-FI fans alike.  The tagline reads: “To erase the line between man and machine is to obscure the line between men and gods.”  I know what they meant but I prefer the phrase: To erase the line between man and machine is to obscure the line.[period]  This film is the best I’ve seen at blurring that line.

   Lasty, of course this film is worth watching. It could become a cult classic, even a masterpiece as time goes on and we rewatch and discover things that we’ve missed before. EM has that much potential.

letter grade: B+