Smith's Verdict

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

Hey, guys! Wanna see Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the Incredible Hulk banding together, in a summer blockbuster, to fight evil?

I do too! And this movie has been built up for about four years, since the original “Iron Man” was released to success in May 2008. It began simply with a credit cookie featuring the one-eyed Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) telling billionaire/genius/hero Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) that he plans to start the Avengers. And a month later, “The Incredible Hulk” was released, with a scene at the end that featured Tony Stark mentioning the Avengers. 2010’s “Iron Man 2” had a little more input to the idea (for those who don’t know the Avengers’ history in comic books), as 2011’s “Thor” and “Captain America” introduced two new candidates, as well as setting up certain plot elements for…2012’s “The Avengers!” And the verdict is that this inevitable summer-blockbuster lives up to its hype.

I’m not a comic book reader, per se, but I was still intrigued when hearing the basic storyline for “The Avengers”—Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America band together. Having seen and liked all of these characters’ earlier movies (particularly the first “Iron Man”), I was hyped. There’s no way I wouldn’t be interested in seeing this movie.

Well, first, we get a introduction featuring the story’s McGuffin (a story’s catalyst)—a device that opens a tesseract (a portal through other dimensions)—and the arrival of our main villain, which turns out to be Thor’s adopted brother Loki (reprised from the earlier movie by Tom Hiddleston), who plans to use the tesseract to unleash an army of monstrous beings from his own world in order to conquer the Earth. This leads to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, of course) planning to assemble a team of superheroes in a race to stop him from carrying out his plan. Now, while I have to admit this introduction is somewhat tedious in the way it plays out (with certain “techno-babble,” exposition, and…well, the very idea of another villain planning to take over the world—of course), it is necessary to set up the rest of the movie.

We’re met again with those intriguing Marvel characters introduced in earlier film adaptations of their comic books. We have the rich, bright, and constantly wisecracking billionaire/hero Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) a.k.a. Iron Man, complete with flying iron suit. We have weakling-turned-superman Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) a.k.a. Captain America, who has a costume that is essentially a bulls-eye, but a shield that deflects bullets—now that’s cool. We have Norse god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) with his mighty hammer. And of course, we have Natasha (Scarlett Johansson), a feisty femme fatale introduced in “Iron Man 2” and also known as Black Widow, as she is told by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg, reprising his character from earlier movies) to enlist the help of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo, taking over for Edward Norton)—for those who don’t know, let’s just say Bruce Banner has a condition that comes with some serious anger issues.

As these heroes are teamed up together and planning out their next move, they also have to face each other. There’s a struggle between Iron Man and Thor when they first meet, Stark and Rogers banter a lot, and mostly, they don’t seem to want to rely on each other as much. But they realize that they’re all in this together and they’ll stand and fight Loki’s invading army on the battlegrounds of Manhattan, turning it into a disaster of epic proportions.

I’m just going to come out and say it—I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Loki as a villain in this movie. In “Thor,” I didn’t find him charismatic nor did I find him particularly interesting, and here, that feeling’s kind of the same. But there were a few scenes where I found myself laughing at his expense, rather than being menaced by his continuing plan. There’s a scene in which he gathers people in the city and orders them to “kneel” before him and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing so hard because all I was thinking was, “He’s turned into General Zod!” Yeah, remember how “menacing” that villain was in “Superman II?” That’s Loki for “The Avengers” for you. And there’s another scene that got the biggest applause in the screening I attended—it involves a showdown between delusional-with-superiority Loki and damn-angry Hulk, and gives new meaning to the phrase “punch line.”

And speaking of which, “The Avengers” does indeed have a sense of humor. In fact, this movie maybe has the funniest moments I’ve heard in a movie so far this year. It’s self-aware, but that doesn’t mean it condescends to its iconic characters or its target audience. I wouldn’t dream of giving away the film’s best moments, so I won’t. Sure, there is a lot of humor in “The Avengers,” and that keeps “The Avengers” from getting too serious—that’s not a criticism, mind you, because it’s a masterstroke when it doesn’t descend itself into campiness.

There’s great action in this movie—it’s involving, features top-notch special effects, and showcases some pretty nifty fight sequences. Two sequences in particular stand out—one is an attack from Loki’s minions on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s flying, camouflaged ship, and the other is the battle in the streets (and rooftops and skies) of Manhattan, which takes the final half-hour of the movie. That final sequence is jaw-droppingly intense, and we’re involved because we like these characters and we admire the stages of action and special effects. But what’s also important is that each character has moments to shine in the midst of the action.

All the actors are game and their characters are still strong. Tony Stark, again played perfectly by Robert Downey, Jr., keeps his unique personality—constantly cracking one-liners even in the face of danger. (In a talk-down between Stark and Loki, it’s obviously who the cooler person is, even if you could take Loki seriously.) He’s great in this movie. Rogers, or Captain America, is a likable guy and is reasonably strong, though that costume still looks somewhat ridiculous. Thor is as awesome as ever, with his barbarian manner that contrasts heart of gold. Natasha, or Black Widow, is still sexy and shows some feisty moves. We’re also introduced to a new recruit midway through the movie, a sharp-shooter nicknamed Hawkeye (played well by Jeremy Renner), whose bow has laser scope for his arrows to never miss—awesome. As for Bruce Banner, with Mark Ruffalo’s vulnerable performance and upgraded CGI “Hulk” form, this is the best representation of the Incredible Hulk I’ve seen.

And like I said, it’s absolutely great that these heroes are all here, like the toughest kids on the block who learn to work well with others. It’s also great that Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury has something better to do than spew ominous foresights (as he did in the earlier movies, to annoying effect).  

“The Avengers” has been built up for four years—it was worth the wait. It’s exciting, entertaining, and a lot of fun.

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

“Testament” is a heavy family drama about the aftereffects of a nuclear war, as experienced by a typical suburban American family. It’s not a science-fiction thriller and doesn’t resort to nonsensical action climaxes—there are no special effects in this movie at all; we don’t even see a mushroom cloud. It’s just a tragic tale about a small-town family trying to get by after a nuclear catastrophe has destructed outside civilization.

The film starts with routine scenes involving the family, letting us see what their lives are like before the disaster. We see the father Tom (William Devane) racing his middle child Brad (Ross Harris) down the street in the morning on bicycles, to get the kid into shape. We see the oldest child Mary Liz (Roxana Zal) practicing piano. We see the loving mother (Jane Alexander), making sure everything is under control in her household, that the kids get to school on time, and that her husband is home on time after work. And we see the youngest (and oddest) child Scottie (Lukas Haas), protecting “treasure” in his bottom drawer and wearing earmuffs to keep from hearing constant bickering. Everything seems fine and normal for this family. But the next day, while the father is out of town, the mother and the kids are watching TV (or trying to get a good reception with the antenna) on a sunny afternoon when suddenly, static appears on the screen and it’s followed by an emergency broadcast with the chilling line, “Ladies and gentlemen…this is real.” And then a bright light flashes, the terrified family huddles together, and when it’s over, everyone is wandering the street in confusion and fear.

The rest of the movie is about how this town, and particularly this family, deals with the effects of the disaster. Soon enough, gasoline is sold out, batteries are important necessities (not just for the kids’ electronic toys anymore), there’s some looting for food and supplies on occasion, town meetings are held at the church asking what they should all do, and life just keeps trying to go on, even when the grade-school play is decided to be held. However, death is constantly overshadowing this town—radiation poisoning is wiping out more than half of the population. The cemetery is filling up fast and pyres are even set up to burn the rest of the bodies. What it really comes down to is that the central characters—this family—are led by the mother to try to keep things positive, even in the most dire of situations.

If there’s a problem I have with “Testament,” it’s the lack of development with the supporting characters that come into the family’s lives and then are killed off by the radiation. In particular, there’s a kid who is left to the family and is so obviously doomed, and we hear that he has become part of the family, but we never see him really interact with them. One exception is a community leader (Leon Ames) who uses a ham-radio to make contact with places outside of town. I felt for this man right to his tragic end. And there’s also a mentally-challenged boy that, again, I didn’t want to see bad things happen to. But everyone else outside of the family is uninteresting.

Jane Alexander is great in this movie. Playing this mother as one of the more gentle, loving people in this fall from society, cherishing her children’s and her own life to the possibly bitter end, Alexander turns in a great performance and provides as the heart of the film. She shows graciousness even in the face of certain doom, making her the emotional center.

“Testament” is a film with a great deal of credibility that makes it all the more tense. There have been many movies about the very threat of nuclear war—this is about a nuclear war that has already occurred and how everybody deals with it. It’s the worst crisis in their lives, and yet there’s a certain sense of hope that things will turn out all right for everybody that’s left. What will become of the rest of these people? The movie doesn’t merely end with the answer to that question, but with a powerful scene expressing what some would consider small optimism.

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

“The Bad News Bears” has been copied several times into deplorable children’s sports underdog stories. But really, only the gimmick is copied. The gimmick is this—a children’s sports team, made up of the usual loser stereotypes, starts off the season as the underdogs and slowly but surely make their way to the championship, leading to the Big Game. “The Bad News Bears” has something more than that. For one thing, this film has a ton of laughs, none of which have to do with bodily functions. But also, it’s more a story of the adults, acting as a social commentary. It’s mainly about the coaches of opposing Little League baseball teams (one of which is a boozehound) and how competition is a staple of their jobs. They want to prove to each other which is the easiest advantage, and with the Little Leaguers actually competing, that notion rubs off on them.

“The Bad News Bears” is an entertaining, funny movie about the worst Little League team in the state, if not the whole world. They’re unfocused, untalented, and uncoordinated. These kids wouldn’t have had a chance to play on a field if it weren’t for a lawsuit filed by the father of one of the kids, stating that every kid should get the chance to play baseball. The team includes: a fat kid who eats chocolate a lot, a little loudmouth always looking for a fight, a kid with glasses who knows more baseball statistics than anyone else, an African-American kid obsessed with being like Hank Aaron, a couple of Hispanics, and a shy kid whom the loudmouth describes as a “booger-eating spaz.”

Their coach is Buttermaker (Walter Matthau)—an alcoholic, loner, former minor league player who cleans pools for a living, and is being paid to coach this team, called the Bears. He brings booze to the dugout, gets one of the kids to mix him a cocktail at one point, and even passes out right there on the pitcher’s mound during practice. Even the kids can see he’s a real loser. The first game comes along and of course, the Bears get humiliated, and even more so when Buttermaker calls it quits in the middle. Starting to care, Buttermaker stays on the job and does what he can to improve the Bears’ playing.

Along the way, he finds two more kids to bring to the team. One is Amanda (Tatum O’Neal), the 11-year-old daughter of Buttermaker’s former girlfriend who has a mean curveball. She becomes the Bears’ pitcher. The other is a juvenile delinquent named Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley), who always hangs around the field with his motorcycle and cigarettes. Turns out he’s a natural athlete. With these two new recruits, the Bears win their first game and continue an impressive streak, making their way to the championship, and of course, bringing Buttermaker to ask more from the other kids (like having one of the kids take a hit from a baseball just to get on base). And need I also mention that the opposing team is the same team from that disastrous first game, led by the heavily competitive coach Turner (Vic Morrow)? Buttermaker is now stooping to his level, but Turner has his more extreme levels, pushing his son—the star player—to the point of actually hitting him right there on the field.

I won’t give away the resolution of the Big Game, but let it be said that “The Bad News Bears” has an ending that is not about winning or losing, but how to play the game and how to deal with the outcome.

The baseball sequences, while telling this parable of competition, are pretty solid and entertaining. I can think of sports movies where I get tired after a while. But not here. I’m not just saying this because I’m an admirer of baseball, but because these scenes are well-shot and look like actual baseball games, only we’re put into the action.

The comedy of “The Bad News Bears” works well. Walter Matthau is an always-appealing performer and has a distinct personality that fits this role of the weary Buttermaker. There are great one-liners in the movie, some of which said by Joyce van Patten as the league manager, and most of which delivered by the kids. But the grand slam of “The Bad News Bears” is how the director Michael Ritchie portrays these kids. Their stereotypes are consistently funny, but they talk in a way that most kids that age talked. They yell, they shout, they complain, they spout profanities (everything except the F-word). These seem like real kids. They even say “no” to athletic supporters because they’re “uncomfortable.”

Most of the kids are very good actors—in particular, Jackie Earle Haley is winning as the local troublemaker and Chris Barnes steals many scenes as the little tough guy. But I have to admit, Tatum O’Neal, despite being a good young actress and playing a credible girl character in this movie, really annoyed me. It just seemed like she was trying too hard to make Amanda more sophisticated than she needed to be, or should be. She’s just sort of peculiar that way.

“The Bad News Bears” is a cynical look at competition in America, told through Little League baseball, but it’s shot and acted with a real positive attitude that it’s hard to hate it. It’s an entertaining movie and a true underdog story.

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

Walt Disney’s “Old Yeller” is not merely a movie about the friendship between a boy and his dog. While that is a basic element in the movie, there’s more to it than that. It’s a movie in which a boy takes charge and becomes a man, even if it means to endure upsetting hardships.

“Old Yeller” takes place shortly after the Civil War, centered around the Coates family on a small Texas farm. While the man of the house, Jim (Fess Parker), sets off on a cattle drive for the summer in hopes of bringing back money to support the family, his oldest son Travis (Tommy Kirk) is left to take charge, in exchange for a riding horse—“You act a man’s part, and I’ll bring you a man’s horse,” his father promises. (Although he argues what the boy needs worse is a good dog.) Travis helps his mother Katie (Dorothy McGuire) on the farm and looks after his rambunctious little brother Arliss (Kevin Corcoran), who does nothing except play in the outdoors.

A stray “yeller” (yellow) dog causes some trouble on the farm. While Travis takes a disliking towards “Old Yeller,” Katie and Arliss welcome the canine into the family. But soon enough, Yeller proves to be brave and special to have around after protecting Arliss from a bear, and standing up to whatever other animal that becomes a nuisance. Travis grows to become closer to the dog than he would have imagined.

“Old Yeller” is somewhat episodic—it features the setup in which the father tells his oldest son to take responsibility; the central story in which the family gets the dog and learns that he can be very useful and extremely loyal; and the heart wrenching final act in which everything pays off. This is an effective coming-of-age story centered around this young boy who becomes a man by taking responsibility and having to deal with great loss. It’s no secret that by the time Papa comes home, Old Yeller will have died and Travis will have to learn to move on. He gets some encouraging words from his father—it’s a very strong moment when the father tells Travis, “You can’t afford to waste the good part frettin’ about the bad. That makes it all bad.”

The scene in which Old Yeller must die is one of the most heartbreaking dog-death I’ve seen in a movie of this sort, if not the most heartbreaking. Travis already had to deal with shooting two animals that were sick with rabies—the family cow and an attacking wolf. But Yeller has been infected by the sickness by fighting off the wolf, and Katie knows that eventually Yeller will become mad and endanger the family. Travis can’t face shooting him, and so he keeps him locked up in a wooden shed to wait about a month. Eventually, he sees the awful truth. The dog that was his best friend is now gone and Travis has to perform the unpleasant task of ending his suffering. The reason this is so tragic is because Travis, now learning to become a man, has to face the ultimate responsibility, and also because we as an audience have grown to love Yeller and appreciate his and Travis’ friendship. How can you not whimper when Travis hesitates to go through with it, before ultimately doing it?

Though, for me, it started in the scene in which Travis looks into the shed and sees a completely different Yeller. I know it was supposed to happen, but I was almost as shocked and dismayed as Travis was.

But “Old Yeller” isn’t entirely a downer. The scenes featuring the family and the dog are adventurous, good-natured fun, as Yeller stands up to a stampeding mother cow and aids Travis in marking wild hogs. And there is time for humor, particularly with the occasional visits by two neighbors, Bud Searcy (Jeff York) and his daughter Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn). Searcy is the most unreliable man to ever come across. He’s a lazy bum who does nothing but eat and talk. What’s funny about him is how he says he’s left to take charge of the womenfolk and the “young’ens,” even though he constantly has Elizabeth do everything for him. For example, Katie asks Travis to pick corn for dinner, and Searcy assures her that it’s a two-man job. Pause. “Elizabeth, go along with Travis.” Hilariously lazy.

The cast members deliver first-rate performances (with one exception, but I’ll get to that). Dorothy McGuire is completely convincing and brings warmth to her role as the mother. Fess Parker has a small role, showing up at the beginning and the end, but he makes the most of it and delivers the aforementioned (memorable) speech. Jeff York is a delight, Beverly Washburn is fine as Elizabeth, and Chuck Connors has a nice brief role as a friendly passerby who gives Travis some helpful advice. But the biggest roles go to Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran, and of course Spike the dog. Well first, let’s get the dog out of the way (please don’t read that the wrong way). Specially trained to perform the task of stealing scenes as the title character, Spike is completely charming. Tommy Kirk is perfectly believable as Travis, managing to create the transformation from boy to man flawlessly. But the “one exception” I mentioned earlier is Kevin Corcoran as the kid brother Arliss. I don’t say this because he isn’t convincing as a rowdy, excitable little boy, but because he is incredibly annoying. His constant screaming and yelling of every single one of his lines makes him immediately unlikable. I never really liked this little brat in most of the Disney movies he appeared in since then.

But even with Corcoran’s obnoxious performance, you can’t fault the true gem that “Old Yeller” is. It’s a neat frontier-fun movie as well as a very touching coming-of-age story. It’s sincere, good-natured, and delivers some convincing, emotionally-involving drama. It’s far from simple as some think it is. It’s a well-put-together family film with good acting and memorable scenes.

Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2

Reviewed by Tanner Smith

Admittedly, I thought that “Light of Day” was going to be a rock-n-roll fable about an aspiring rock band hoping to make it big. Seeing that rocker Joan Jett was one of the leads, and that the title “Light of Day” refers to her featured song (co-written by Bruce Springsteen), can you really blame me?

While that would have been an interesting film to see, and I think it would have, “Light of Day” is more than I expected. It features rock music and a rock band led by a character played by Joan Jett, but it’s really a serious drama in which problems are introduced and handled, and music seems to be the best way for the characters to compensate for them. It’s a quite effective movie, with great acting and intelligent writing.

Jett plays Patti Resnick, a rebellious young woman who sings for a rock band every night. In the meantime, her life means nothing to her. Only two things matter most to her—rock-n-roll and her six-year-old son Benji (Billy O’Sullivan). But because of her love for the music, her home is not a very healthy environment for Benji, who was born out of wedlock.

Patti and her mother (Gena Rowlands) haven’t been on good terms for a long time. The mother is a Christian woman who doesn’t approve of her daughter’s lifestyle. She resents Patti, while trying not to show it. But it comes through in the more subtle ways, such as an early scene where we’re introduced to this wedge between mother and daughter. It’s a scene in which Patti, due to the wishes of her brother Joel (Michael J. Fox) who wants to make peace between the two, goes to her mother’s birthday dinner and the situation has already been somewhat uneasy for the family, and the mother says grace at the table as her prayer slowly but surely becomes something more specific—she asks God to forgive her daughter.

Patti storms out and we see the tension that’s always present between the members of the family. The mother resents Patti’s behavior and lifestyle and is especially resentful of Patti having a child out of wedlock (though she does love the child). Patti is obsessed with rock-n-roll, but has a lot of anger that she takes out on the stage. She also finds herself wondering how her life would’ve turned out if she had had an abortion. This is one of the strongest scenes in the movie—Benji has been taken away to live with Patti’s mother for his own good, and Patti tells Joel, “You know, I could’ve had an abortion and Mom would’ve never found out.” Pause. Then she wonders what would’ve happened with her music career if she had—“I’m a good singer.” But then she states that she just wants to hit herself for thinking that way, because she does love her son.

Joel, who also performs in the band and works in a factory during the day, is the reactor to these expressed feelings (some straightforward, some subtle) by his mother and his sister. He tries to make peace between the two, but it’s not easy. He doesn’t want to risk hurting the people he loves, but he can’t really help them much either. And then Joel becomes more of a father than an uncle to little Benji, because of how he always has to make sure that he’s given proper care. He even objects to defiant Patti taking the kid on the band tour—cheap motel rooms, free beer—but Patti won’t listen. This is also quietly tragic in that Joel used to idolize Patti’s spirit.

How about the father (Jason Miller)? He’s a wimp, basically. He stands by while everyone else goes about their problems and feels it’s best not to be involved. (In the dinner scene, he stays on the couch in the living room before dinner is served, so that he doesn’t start anything beforehand.) He’s a sensitive man who should be the peacemaker in the family, but alas, it’s his son that is doing the job for him. He’s in the background quite a lot in this movie until later when he gives an insightful speech about what is going on with this family.

The family aspects are very well-handled by writer/director Paul Schrader. He effectively tells a story about a family that has fallen apart, but maybe could have a chance of reconcilement. Rock-n-roll music may be a good element in compensation for these issues, but the family elements are the backbone of the story. Things get more serious and more effective with the news that the mother is very ill with cancer and most likely not going to make it. This provides the payoff between her and Patti, with strong, effectively done bedside scenes between the two.

The acting is across-the-board solid. Michael J. Fox is very good as the quiet reactor to most of these situations and it’s heartbreaking to know he’s doing what he can, but can’t do enough. Despite given top billing in the credits, however, he isn’t the lead. That notion belongs to Joan Jett, who makes an excellent acting debut. Jett brings to her performance a great deal of depth and weight, and completely sells the film’s stronger scenes, including that scene I mentioned about the abortion, and especially the bedside scene involving her mother. This scene means everything to the film and the superb performances by her and Gena Rowlands, as the mother. This is the payoff in which the two set aside their differences and have a real talk about what has happened in their lives. This is the best scene in the movie—it’s heartbreaking, excellently-acted, well-handled, and downright effective.

There’s something else I should bring up, since there is quite a lot of rock music in “Light of Day.” The soundtrack—Patti and Joel’s band, in particular—is pretty memorable. (The title song Light of Day” is a pretty good song.)

“Light of Day” is a well-acted, well-made movie that would probably satisfy those who appreciate well-crafted family dramas, such as “Terms of Endearment” which people would probably think of. Who wouldn’t like it? Probably those who thought this was just a movie about a rock band. To be clear, “Light of Day” is a lot more than that. It was a pleasant surprise for me.