By Robin E. Simmons
There’s a long list of movies vying for your attention (and wallet) over the next few months. Here are three to look for that are guaranteed fun and satisfying. How rare is that?
THE AVENGERS
Opening as a certified hit, THE AVENGERS somehow works as a big superhero story that may or may not have deeper meaning but always hits the bull’s-eye as an epic action adventure. It makes real and believable the intermingling of Marvel comics’ heroes Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. The core story is built around the rise of an enemy that threatens global security and Nick Fury’s attempt to create a team to save the world. Director (and one of the five credited writers) Joss Whedon keeps it fast-paced and works wonders with the great cast that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany among others). The dialogue is exceptional with just enough exposition to make things urgent. The action sequences are eye-popping with cutting edge effects that serve the story and characters. Mark Ruffalo is a standout and perhaps the best of the big screen Hulks. Now playing.
THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS
A great voice cast and unhinged, over-the-top stop-motion animation is on display in Aardman Animations’ crazy pirate movie for all ages. Adults will appreciate the absurd, Monty Pythonesque riffs that permeate the words and images and kids will relish the crazed, clever, slapstick action. The plot revolves around the cheerful, self-absorbed and inept Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) and his dubious quest to be named Pirate of the Year. Along the way, Charles “Chuck” Darwin is kidnapped and there’s a visit with a pirate loathing Queen Victoria. Peter Lord expertly directs the mayhem and madness. Gideon Defoe’s screenplay is based on his anarchic comic novel. I usually hate 3D, but here it works and adds immensely to the fun movie experience. The best thing about well-done stop-motion is the lovingly intimate and personal handcrafted feel that is diametrically opposite of the cold, remote slickness that CGI often imparts. Now playing.
BERNIE
The director and star of SCHOOL OF ROCK team up to bring us an inspired but sordid tale of small town murder that reminds us how wonderfully entertaining real life is when compressed and looked at through whimsically askew cinematic lens.
The darkly comic film, directed by Texan Richard Linklater and written by Linklater and Texas Monthly writer Skip Hollandsworth recounts the strange friendship of beloved assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) and rich widow sourpuss Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine).
Bernie Tiede’s seemingly selfless offer to help widow Nugent surprises no one in Carthage, Texas. After all, everyone knows Bernie as a kind, friendly and generous man who teaches Sunday school and sings in the Methodist church choir to say nothing of comforting the bereaved. Soon, Bernie is managing Marjorie’s finances and is often her traveling companion. But when Marjorie becomes fully dependant on Bernie, he grapples with the near impossibility of meeting her increasingly overwhelming demands. And when months go by without the good people of Carthage seeing any sign of Marjorie Nugent, dearly loved Bernie Tiede keeps up the impression that his dear friend is still alive. After more months pass and there’s still no sighting of Marjorie, Bernie is charged with Nugent’s murder: her body has been found residing in Bernie’s freezer for more than a year. Everyone in Carthage is shocked. But, what’s most amazing, hardly anyone accepts the obvious, undisputed facts of the killing even when Bernie confesses. This terrifically entertaining movie is not about who did it, or even what happened, but about a town gleefully siding with the killer of a widely despised woman. The only lingering question is how should Bernie be punished. The movie’s filled with wonderful, regional faces, some of which play themselves or composite versions of locals who knew the principals. The mixed, meandering style of both the filmmaking and storytelling allows Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine to register a weirdly magnificent chemistry that is utterly, totally real and reminds of the many ways we deal with loneliness. Jack Black is superb here. It’s his best work by far. Matthew McConaughey, another Texan, plays a local district attorney who hogs the spotlight during Bernie’s trial. I grew up in rural, small town, Texas; I recognize the quirky setting and the naked, God-loving souls here on display. This film reeks with our shared, surprising and sweetly bizarre humanity. Coming locally May 18.
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