Super Sunday: Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

I am going to warn you that if you were not one of the lucky ones to see the film Avengers: Age Of Ultron in the opening weekend and if you do not want any spoilers, then you need to stop reading the article because there may be spoiler alerts. For Super Sunday, we wanted to continue with one of the most anticipated films of this year if you are into the comic book movie scene with the Avengers: Age Of Ultron film that sees our supergroup of heroes Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) in a battle that they never dreamed of as they take on the artificial program created by Stark and Banner called Ultron (James Spader). After a retrieval mission for the Loki’s Tesseract Septor, Stark gets the wild idea of creating an A.I. program to shield the world, but what he didn’t expect was that it was going to turn against him to destroy the world. Now, the Avengers have to stop him before it’s too late, but it could be a mission that they may not comeback from. The film also stars Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla) as Scarlet Witch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick Ass) as Quicksilver, Samuel L. Jackson (Goodfellas) as Nick Fury, Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) as War Machine, Paul Bettany (Priest) as Vision/Jarvis, Anthony Mackie (Pain & Gain) as The Falcon, and the film was directed by Joss Whedon (Avengers).

What can I say about the film that probably is’t going to be said other than you need to get your behinds to the theaters to check out the film as soon as possible because it’s well worth it. Joss Whedon does an excellent job of mixing comedy with the drama in the film much like he did in the first film, but he turns it up to 11 in this film and its simply masterful. The interactions between our heroes and sometimes the villains are priceless and very hysterical. First, I want to say that James Spader does an excellent job as Ultron and while I liked the combo of Taylor-Johnson and Olsen (they played husband and wife in Godzilla) who play the twins Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, their accents were a little weak as you can tell they were struggling with it. One thing I will also say about the film is that this was Jeremy Renner’s shot to shine as Hawkeye had a lot of screen time and it was awesome. What the movie does do is that it sets up the films that will follow as Whedon gives you clues to Marvel’s Phase three films that are still to come especially as to which Avenger will meet his untimely death in the future. Nevertheless, they keep turning up the heat and they keep lifting the bar that I don’t know how DC is going to bounce back considering they took a whole year off. There is plenty of action, drama, and a new relationship that hangs in the balance, so go out and see the film. I am giving Avengers: Age Of Ultron an A+ for a final grade.

Super Sunday: Iron Man 3 (2013)

For this week’s Super Sunday film, we are heading back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe because Avengers: Age Of Ultron is less than a week away. So, we decided to review the last film that was made in the Iron Man realm as we tackle Iron Man 3. In the timeline of events, the world now knows who Iron Man really is thanks to the attack on New York City by Loki and the alien forces. The only problem is that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) hasn’t been handling what happened very well as he is now the victim of anxiety attacks. Though, something else is about to happen that rocks Stark’s world. A new and formidable opponent known only to the world as the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is causing enough damage that it sets Stark on a quest of rebuilding and retribution. The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man) as Pepper, Jon Favreau (Swingers) as Happy, Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential) as Aldrich Killian, Rebecca Hall (The Town) as Maya, James Badge Dale (World War Z) as Savin, Paul Bettany (Priest) as Jarvis, William Sadler (Hard To Kill) as President Ellis, Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) as Iron Patriot, Ty Simpkins (Insidious) as Harley Keener, Miguel Ferrer (Robocop) as Vice President Rodriguez, and the film was directed by Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). The film also features cameos from various news anchors and political analysts like Bill Maher, Josh Elliot, Joan Rivers, Thomas Roberts, George Kotsiopoulos, and more. 

Is this my favorite film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Well, I can’t answer that because every time they come out with a film, a better and more bad ass one comes out not too long afterwards. Marvel and Disney have been hitting home runs with all of their films whether it be Iron Man, Avengers, or even the Guardians Of The Galaxy. They are dominating the box office for a reason and what more can you say about the film other than the fact that Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man. Do you want action well than this film has it. Do you want melodrama well then this film and any of the others are great sources of it. Do you like Robert Downey Jr.’s Charisma then you’ll enjoy every last drop of it in this film as it oozes out of him. I have to say that I also enjoyed seeing Guy Pearce as the villain and the origin story that builds it up is great as well. I cannot wait to see what the future holds when the new Avengers film comes out this Thursday (April 30) because I know it’s going to be epic. I was kind of hoping for an Iron Man 4, but I’ll take whatever we can get out of Robert in any of the films. Robert deserved the award he received at the MTV Movie Awards because he has had the most epic comeback of a career that cultivated with these Marvel films. That is why I am going to give this film an A for a final grade.

Based On A Truesday Story: Hotel Rwanda (2004)

There is no denying that a true story is a lot more interesting to watch because it really happened even though sometimes it seems like the most unthinkable thing. That is why I started the Based On A Truesday Story (a play on the words True and Tuesday). This week’s film is the compelling tale of tragedy in Africa in the country of Rwanda called Hotel Rwanda. Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) was a manager of a hotel called the Hôtel des Mille Collines when war all of a sudden breaks out in the country of Rwanda between a militant group known as Hutu Militia. The Hutu are hunting down a group of Africans known as Tutsi and they are slaughtering them in an act of genocide. So, Paul will do his best to protect thousands of Tutsi from falling victim to the genocide by hiding them in his hotel in hopes that they can escape. The film also stars Hakeem Kae-Kazim (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as George Rutaganda, Nick Nolte (48 HRS) as Colonel Oliver, Fana Mokoena (World War Z) as General Bizimungu, Sophie Okonedo (After Earth) as Tatiana Rusesabagina, Antonio David Lyons (American History X) as Thomas Mirana, Joaquin Phoenix (Her) as Jack Daglish, David O’Hara (Braveheart) as David, and the film was directed by Terry George (In The Name Of The Father).

George Santayana once said, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” and quite sadly the man is correct. We have seen it time and time again throughout history and it’s very sad. In the 1940’s Adolf Hitler blamed all of Germany’s troubles on the Jewish Community and in Rwanda the Hutu’s did the same when they sought out to massacre millions of Tutsi’s which they did in 1994. The film has often been compared to 1994’s Schindler’s List due to the fact that Oscar Schindler protected hundreds of Jewish people from massacre like Paul Rusesabagina did in Rwanda with the Tutsi’s. One of the things that struck me as sad is that this was happening all over Africa whether it be in Liberia, Rwanda, or even Darfur. You see the struggle within the film that Paul goes through along with his family as they struggle to protect so many while trying to protect themselves. They risked their lives and basically were able to bribe their way to freedom. It’s sad when you see all the abandoned children due to the causality of the madness that ensued. The acting is superb and the movie is gripping, it is definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in real life stories. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.