Matt Reviews "Tomorrowland"

Matt here!

As I went to the local theater with my wife and two young daughters to go see Disney’s Tomorrowland (loosely based on its theme park), we awaited the start of the film with the usual trailers for upcoming film releases. One of them was a disaster film called San Andreas, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, about the destruction of California due to a major earthquake along the San Andreas faultline. As we watched that trailer, set to a haunting, slow Sia cover of The Mamas & The Papas' "California Dreamin'," I could see the awe and dread in my daughters’ eyes and, for the first time, thought the trailer alone was pretty intense and gratuitous. Even the end of the trailer has a public service announcement/advertisement stating: "You never know when disaster may strike. Be prepared. Visit _____." This summer’s film release schedule appears mostly full of death, destruction and havoc – and don’t get me wrong, I love plenty of those films – but, from time to time, it’s great to see something inspiring, something full of hope, and something magical … but without causing me to roll my eyes!

Thankfully, Tomorrowland – by director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, Mission:Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and screenwriter Damon Lindelof (ABC’s Lost), with an assist from former Entertainment Weekly Online columnist Jeff Jensen – has delivered all of those things! The story starts with boy genius inventor Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson, later George Clooney) who, in 1965, invents a jet pack and is given a secret “key,” in the shape of a lapel pin, to a world in another dimension where all of this world’s inventors, musicians, scientists, writers, mathematicians, engineers, and other creators are brought to make a better world. Flashforward to the present time as we are introduced to Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), an optimistic, curious teenager who “just knows how things work” and is given the same “key” by Athena (an impressive Raffey Cassidy), the same unaged little girl who invited Frank when he was a boy. What sounds like a regular ragtag buddy road movie soon takes a serious turn as a group of overly-polite cyborgs are sent after Frank and Casey to kill them. 

The audience catches its first glimpse of the amazement of Tomorrowland, as seen through the eyes of protagonist Casey Newton (Britt Robertson).

I won’t say anymore than that as Disney was right to show mostly teaser trailers before this film’s release, but what follows is an action film with plenty of exposition but not too much of either. The film reminds me of two things. The first is one of my most favorite Disney animated movies: 2007’s Meet the Robinsons – a movie about time travel and setting your own course when it comes to your future. The second is a clip of filmmaker Kevin Smith speaking a few years ago, talking about the death of his father. It’s a touching, poignant story he tells and Smith goes on to say how there are too many people who are “Why? People”: people who always ask why. Smith goes on to say we should be “Why not? People”: people who are up for trying anything creative and productive to society. He says there are a lot of cynical people out there and we should surround ourselves with the “Why not? People.” This same message exudes from the overall message of Tomorrowland. Athena says, “Dreamers need to stick together.” And this is the film in which will bring said dreamers out of the woodwork!

There is a nice twist of a villainous plot – no matter how gratuitous – and the reasoning for the plot involves the reason for the cynicism pushed so frequently nowadays. Some may find the villain’s overall motivation a bit preachy – and if you do a Google search, you’ll find those reviews – but I found it all a clever spin on how hate and destruction begets hate and destruction … no matter how good the intentions … of anyone. There is a definite connection between this concept and all of the cable news channels today – especially when it comes to the “news” stories of which these networks choose to report on. One scene sees Casey in school, listening to teachers give a barrage of all that is wrong with the world -- or will be wrong -- but Casey brings up the quintessential question that no cable news or even politicians can answer (even though they pretend as if they can): How do we fix it? In fact, the film gives great social commentary by making brief mentions of real-life issues such as the decreased numbers of NASA manned space exploration missions, climate change, 9/11, cable news reporting via pushing a political agenda, and being yourself in an age of conformity. 

Athena (Raffey Cassidy) is the guide to Tomorrowland and proves that appearances can be deceiving!

One of the breakout stars of this film is Raffey Cassidy, who joins the ranks of her co-star Britt Robertson, as well as Interstellar’s Mackenzie Foy, as one of the great, promising young actresses out there right now. A lot of the emotional resonance of the story rides on her character and she pulls it off effortlessly. She, along with Robertson, also contribute a growing list of brilliant young female characters in today’s films – something which I only hope continues on to become normal in cinematic storytelling. Clooney does a good job, bringing on the cool-yet-grumpy tones to the character, but where he really shines are in the highly emotional scenes – one being near the end of the film, focusing on the loss of childhood friendship. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda is not quite the household name amongst cinephiles yet, but with this film – along with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Tron: Legacy, Life of Pi, and Oblivion – under his belt, he soon will be! He plays a major role in taking us from the modern world to this classic 1950s world of sci-fi that most of us born before 1985 all grew up believing. One of my favorite early moments in the film is when the boy Frank Walker is asked why he invented the jet pack. He says something to the effect of, “Can’t an invention just be … fun? … This jet pack will make people believe in a better world. Believe that a better world is possible.” That is the child-like fun and simple genius of Tomorrowland.

I wouldn’t say Tomorrowland is flawless, and some may not agree with my praise of it. I can say there are predictable reveals for a seasoned filmgoer such as myself; however, unlike most films, the predictability here is very much welcomed and nice to see play out. Some may think the optimism too sappy or pretentious, but the same could be said for classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, or any other feel-good movie. Nevertheless, Tomorrowland works! It takes me back to being a kid, going to the movies to see films like Back to the Future, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T., The Goonies, and not only feeling the unabashed joy, hope, sadness, and terror myself … but also seeing it (and hearing it) from the people around me. 

Getting ready for the trip to Tomorrowland!

In the end, Tomorrowland is easily one of the best all-around films I’ve seen in a long time … and, so far, it’s a heavy contender to be my pick for best film of 2015. It’s a fun ride the entire family will enjoy and also one of the very few films I can’t wait to see again simply because there is so much to take in and love. It’s everything a truly good film should be: fun, entertaining, emotional, thrilling. Also, the hope and inspiration Tomorrowland instills by the time the end credits roll is what Disney has always been about! And in an age with mostly realistic, gritty drama, it’s a welcome sight to behold! 

Jay Reviews George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road"

"If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die historic on a fury road!" - Nux

Jay here.

It's been a little over twenty-four hours since I saw Mad Max: Fury Road and I still feel like someone scrambled up my brains, baked them in the hot desert sun, and put them back in my skull. It was such a visceral experience seeing it on the big screen, in beautiful Dolby Atmos sound no less, that I don't even know where to start this review.

First and foremost every discussion on this movie must begin and end with its creator, George Miller, who decided to forego the talking pigs and dancing penguins to come back to the genre and series that made his career and show all of these other action filmmakers how this shit is done. And, by the way, he's 70 years old too. Miller doesn't miss a beat, returning us to this familiar world and presenting us with a film that literally hardly ever stops to breathe for its two hour runtime.

Tom Hardy finds the core of the shattered psyche of Max Rockatansky.

Placed next to the previous entries in his Mad Max collection (1979's Mad Max, 1982's The Road Warrior, and 1985's Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome) this, the first entry in 30 years, feels so similar and yet also stands on its own as a more fleshed out and emotive work. It has most in common with The Road Warrior (check out my recent appreciation of that classic here), but it is also a Mad Max film like none we've ever seen. Miller is giving us a more deeper look at this world and this broken man than we've ever had before. 

The movie opens with Max (Tom Hardy taking over for original star, Mel Gibson) standing by his infamous car, the V8 Inertceptor, chewing on a two-headed lizard as he flashes back to the memories that haunt him and have driven him insane. Almost immediately he is run down and captured by the soldiers of the warlord, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne playing the big bad again after he also played the "Toecutter" 36 years ago in the original Mad Max). They take him to the Citadel where they plan to use him as a "bloodbag" hooking him up with an IV that transfuses his blood to one of Joe's "War Boys", Nux (Nicholas Hoult).

The tyrannical warlord, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) marshals an army of metal and wheels in order to hunt down Furiosa and Max and bring back his women.

Meanwhile, the main plot of film unfolds when one of Joe's most trusted lieutenants, the Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), makes off with one of his giant war rigs, secretly housing five women who were his most prized possessions. Her mission is one of redemption, to free these girls from their cruel bondage and lead them to the fabled "greenlands" where they may start life anew, free from the wastelands and a life of sexual slavery. Max manages to free himself from his chains and joins Furiosa and her female fugitives on their quest to escape the enraged Immortan Joe who rallies a small army, comprised of his own "War Boys" and the neighboring settlements' gangs as well.

Trust me when I tell you that Fury Road is at once both familiar and like nothing you've ever seen before. It's essentially one long car chase that expands over the entire course of the movie, with only a few scenes that actually involve characters stopping to talk to each other. Miller, always a filmmaker who has eschewed exposition and hates to explain things, has embraced the stylistic approach of such great directors like Sergio Leone and John Ford who also favored moving a story forward through action and faces that emote with a glance or a stare. It doesn't really matter that we know everything about these people and who they were before these events unfold. All we need to know about who they were and where they are going is explained through a tightly choreographed orgy of crashing metal, balls of flame and screams of pain and/or joy.

Now, if everything great about Mad Max: Fury Road stopped at how great the car chases and explosions are (and they are seriously "off the chain") then you would simply have what amounts to a fantastic summer movie, but Miller has a whole lot more to say with this tale of heroism in a blighted place. His movie also happens to be one of the most feminist action films ever made. In a way it is a firm indictment of the notion of a patriarchal society and the group of women who rebel against it. Led by Theron's Furiosa, who establishes herself as the real hero (or heroine, if you will) of this tale, she is easily the equal of Max. The South African Oscar winner gives her best performance since she won the gold statue for Monster, and she does it mostly with her eyes and determination to survive in world that treats women as property. This is truly her movie.

The Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) gains the upper hand on Max (Tom Hardy) while the women she's trying to save look on.

Yes, I couldn't help but think, as I watched Immortan Joe and the leaders of the other tribes helping him, "Wow, even in a post-apocalyptic wasteland old white men still end up running things." Not much has changed since the world died when it comes to the controlling power of religious fanaticism. Joe's "War Boy's" are brainwashed into believing that if they die in service to their master they will join him in Valhalla. One of these misguided boys, Nux, has his own journey to make through the film and it is a moving one. Hoult's portrayal of Nux goes from bombastic to nuanced as the young man slowly comes face to face with the untruths he has been fed his whole life. One cant help but think of his story as an allegory for what we see today in the Middle East with suicide bombers and the indoctrination they go through to die for their cause. It can't be coincidence.

Cinematographer, John Seale has managed to make this crazy roller-coaster ride one of the most beautifully shot action movies ever. With all of the violence and destruction taking place all over the place Seale makes every image gorgeous and dynamic. Colors pop off the screen and assault your eyes as they lie in stark contrast to endless desert landscape. Some of the action shots in Fury Road left me scratching my head wondering how they were accomplished. For example, in one early scene we are given a wide shot of Max being chased down in his car as he is sent flipping, over and over until the camera zooms in, without cutting, into the overturned car window to show us Max climbing out. Ok, so I know there is no way that Tom Hardy pulled off that stunt by flipping that car, so how the hell did they get that shot with him getting out of the car? There had to have been a cut there somewhere that was somehow edited out, similar to the technique used in Birdman last year, I guess. Otherwise, I don't know how they did it.

Insane stunts + amazing shots = awesomeness

This movie is a master-class in how to shoot action with practical effects and stunts, heightened by selective usage of CGI to add to the overall visuals. Like its predecessors, Fury Road has some stunts that make your jaw drop. One scene involving bad guys swinging down on our heroes on poles was ridiculously choreographed and had me turning to my girlfriend saying, "It's like Satan's, Cirque de Soleil". And I will not finish this review without mentioning the audacity of having our villain's need to bring a heavy metal guitarist along for his trek, who spends the entire movie wailing on his ridiculous instrument that shoots fire from its neck. If you weren't convinced before, that alone should sell it for you.

Yes, this happened . . . .

Mad Max: Fury Road is the new standard for action movies. In a world of superhero extravaganzas it stands high above all of the summer blockbuster fare of recent years. In fact I would call it the best since 2008's The Dark Knight, for sure. It's a masterpiece of post-apocalyptic destruction made even more accomplished by its daring photography, a smart script with more than car crashes on its mind and the direction of a filmmaker whose unique career has brought him to a true high point that everyone needs to experience in the biggest, loudest theater they can find.

The Brilliance of . . . . "The Road Warrior"

"Greetings from The Humungus! The Lord Humungus! The Warrior of the Wasteland! The Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla!!!"

Jay here.

With Mad Max: Fury Road just a little over a month away I thought it would be a good time to catch up with one of the greatest action/stunt movies ever made . . . . George Miller's masterpiece of post-apocalyptic mayhem, The Road Warrior.

 

When I was a kid, growing up in the 1980's the Mad Max movies held a special place alongside some other well-known franchises like Star Wars, Aliens, Indiana Jones and other movies about quiet loners kicking ass (see Harry Callahan and I'm talking to you Snake Pliskin). They were darker, though, and much more adult. Now, you may be asking yourself, "Mad Max? Really??" What makes those movies so great? Wasn't Tina Turner in that? Well, yeah? But that was the third movie, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, and, well, let's just say it is not as good as its predecessors. Although, it does have Master/Blaster . . . . . yeah . . . . . Master/Blaster . . . . .

But, hey, I'm here to write about why the second film in this series, The Road Warrior, is one of the most underappreciated action movies of all time. It really is an amazing movie in several ways, and with this being one of our "Brilliance" columns here at The Culture Cave, I am going to share with you the reasons why . . . . .

1.) George Miller, Max Rockatansky and the "Toecutter "

I won't make any bold statements and proclaim Australian filmmaker, George Miller as one of the greatest directors of all time. That would be a ludicrous statement. He does, though, fall into that category of artists who may not have an overall impressive body of work, but produced one or two gems that gained him notoriety. The Mad Max films did this for Miller. In 1979 he made the first Mad Max, a very good film in its own right, but flawed in some ways. With only $350,000 he had raised in part from his job as an ER doctor in a local hospital, Miller set about making what he thought would be the greatest car chase/biker movie ever made. One could argue he accomplished just that.

We are given the story of Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), a young police officer who is part of a unit tasked with bringing down the assorted villainous biker gangs that rule the roads in this decaying society.  In the beginning of the film, Max manages to take down the vicious "Nightrider" (Vincent Gil) in an epic opening car chase. Killing the "NIghtrider" earns Max and his police bothers the ire of the evil "Toecutter" (Hugh Keays-Bynre) and his biker brothers who take their revenge on Max's best friend Goose (Steve Bisley) and also kill the our young hero's wife and infant child in a particularly heart wrenching scene.  After having lost everything Max takes his supped-up V8 Intercepter and goes after the men who did this and kills them, one by one, including the "Toecutter" himself.

MGM handled distribution in the U.S. and Mad Max tanked at the box office, even though it was a huge hit in its native Australia and in Europe as well. The studio even dubbed the Aussie accents Gibson and his co-stars spoke with in order to try and make the film seem more American. The dubbing is pretty awful and some parts and only serves to highlight the lack of money invested in this thing. Audiences here in the States mostly didn't see it so when Miller decided to make a sequel, reaching far to come up with the title Mad Max 2, he and new distributor, Warner Bros, opted to change the title in the U.S. to The Road Warrior.

Miller brought in cinematographer, Dean Semler, whose experience in shooting on location would prove invaluable. He gives the film a dusty glow that lends to the whole idea of a "western on wheels". There are scenes in this movie shot at "magic hour" (dusk) that are as gorgeous as any Oscar-caliber. The handheld camera work, shot from the side vehicles moving at high speeds, is phenomenal to say the least.

The Road Warrior is a master-class in efficient, economical action moviemaking. After a short prologue covering the events of the first installment (this was added for American audiences who had never seen the first Mad Max), we are dropped literally into the first chase sequence as Max is being pursued by Wez (Vernon Wells) and some other unsavory types, trying to get his car and gas no doubt. The rest of the movie moves at a very fast pace, wasting no time at all. Miller has always maintained that you don't need to explain things to an audience, they are smart enough to figure everything out through the language of film.

 

2.) Mel Gibson and the Lone Gunslinger Archetype, Perfected

He was 23 years old when Mad Max was released in 1979, and I guess for many of us it is difficult to reconcile the guy who played such a bad-ass with the reality of the Mel Gibson we know today. When he auditioned for the role of Max he actually wasn't there to try out, he had only accompanied a friend who was. The story goes that Mel had been in a serious bar fight the night before and his face was so swollen and bruised, black and blue, that Miller asked him to come back in couple of weeks to try for a part as an extra because they needed "freaks" to fill out the cast. When the 22 year-old  returned his face was no longer messed up and George asked him to read for a major part instead and ended up casting him as the lead.

By the time The Road Warrior would be released stateside, Gibson was on the verge of becoming an international star and honestly if it hadn't been for him I don't think this series of movies would have been as big a success. Borrowing heavily from similar characters like Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name", Gibson's Max is sold as a hollow man who, having lost his family, has no soul or anything to live for. Somewhere along the way he found a canine companion to keep him company. Seriously, this dog gets my vote for coolest mutt ever in a movie. He owns every scene he is in!

The Road Warrior would depict his gradual and reluctant shift towards compassion again as he agrees to help a the residents of an isolated gas refinery besieged by a horde of vicious marauders. The evil bandits are led by a muscle bound mystery man who wears a hockey mask, calling himself the Lord Humongous (Kjell Nilsson). He wants to force his way into the refinery to get the gas, so precious to everyone in this post-apocalyptic world.

The evil Humungus takes aim at Max with the biggest hand-cannon this side of the Wastelands.

Max wants the gas too. His V8 Interceptor is pretty much bone dry, and without wheels he is pretty much dead here in the wastes. He manages to get into the refinery with the unwitting help of a strange man who calls himself The Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence). Once in he discovers a group of, for the most part, friendly people trying desperately to defend their treasure trove of gas from the butchers on the other side of their walls. Max offers to help them out if they will help him fix his car and give him as much gasoline as he can carry to speed him on his way. His plan will involve a huge tanker truck and probably the most ridiculously awesome chase sequence ever captured on film.

The Road Warrior would prove Mel Gibson's leading man star power to the world and also pave the way for studios to cast him in American action movies like the Lethal Weapon series which made him one the biggest and most bankable action stars in the world. These days it is safe to say he is not as bankable as personal issues that have been made very public served to critically damage his image.

3.) Cars Go Fast and Go Boom ....

The Mad Max movies, for the most part, are essentially car stunt movies. Professional drivers were hired to go out to a remote location in Australia, near a town called Broken Hill, and do things that would probably make their mothers cringe. There weren't a lot of rules back then for stunt drivers in a foreign made picture, so the attitude was very much "anything goes". The film would cement its reputation with some of the greatest and most dangerous stunts in cinema history.

 

The car crash sequences in The Road Warrior are, simply put, insane. Miller and his producer, Byron Kennedy went to great lengths to orchestrate practical, realistic action sequences that would make audiences' jaws drop. Max Aspin was the stunt coordinator behind all of this madness. He had done mostly television work before and Mad Max 2 would be his crowning achievement. The final tanker chase, in particular, is a text-book example of how to stage and film such a scene. For the moment when the tanker crashes and rolls, filmmakers told the driver to not eat for 12 hours in case he would need to be taken immediately to surgery. The truck had to be re-built for the epic crash to be filmed.

Another scary moment involved on stunt that went very wrong and could have resulted in a death. Stunt driver Guy Norris was supposed to jump from his bike before crashing into one of the hot rod cars. He jumped a moment too late and because of this his body leg hit the vehicle and he was thrown end over end. The production team had set a cushion of cardboard boxes to break his fall. That's right, flattened cardboard boxes. That's what we call safety on the cheap. Watch the video below to get an idea of how crazy these stuntmen were.

 

4.) "The Last of the V8 Interceptors"

After Max probably the most recognizable co-star is actually the hero's car which made its debut in the first Mad Max film in '79. In that movie it is called the "Pursuit Special" but here in The Road Warrior one character calls it the "last of the V8 Interceptors". The car is actual a 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe, and it was only sold in Australia. The one in the films is a limited edition GT351 version. It is outfitted with two huge gas tags that rest, in full view, in the back end of the vehicle.  Now, I'm no car guru, but whenever he flips that little red button on his gear shift it kicks the car into turbo mode . . . . which is bad-ass.

This model Ford Falcon has become a largely sought after vintage automobiles for collectors due to its place in pop culture. You could easily set it next to the likes of Knight Rider's K.I.T.T., The Dukes of Hazard's "General Lee", and Steve McQueen's Mustang from Bullitt as one of the most famous automobiles from the movies or TV. But, for all of its popularity, Max's car is constantly getting crashed, bashed and yes, even blown up.

5.) The Influence of The Road Warrior Today

The style and themes George Miller created with The Road Warrior can still be seen today in popular media. I would argue it single-handedly created the post-apocalyptic  "look" which is seen in movies like The Terminator, The Book of Eli and The Road.  James Cameron has claimed it was a major influence on his work on his time-travelling, cyborg series. There have also been video games that have not even tried to hide their ties to Miller's masterpiece. The Fallout series, in particular Fallout 3, owes almost its entire existence to The Road Warrior.

A lone wanderer walks through a blasted landscape with his trusty dog in Fallout 3. Familiar?

Whenever there is a story that takes place after a cataclysmic event, often it looks just like Max's world.

George Miller returns to the character and genre that made him famous with his first Mad Max movie in over 30 years. It's called Mad Max: Fury Road and it stars Tom Hardy, who is taking over the role, and Charlize Theron. You've probably seen the trailers about a billion times on television the last few days. The trailers look amazing, I must say, and I will have my review posted quickly after I see it. Until then, if you plan on seeing it and you've never seen Mad Max or The Road Warrior . . . . first who are you and don't talk to me . . . second, go rent it and stream it because it is a Grade A, must-see flick and absolutely the pinnacle of action filmmaking. Or, at least of post-apocalyptic, car chase, anti-hero action filmmaking.

 

Jay Shares a Few Thoughts on Joss Whedon's "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

Jay here.

I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron last night at the Arclight in La Jolla. I'll refrain from writing a full-fledged review since Matt's review does a good job summing up many of my own thoughts on the first blockbuster of summer. Overall, I enjoyed it immensely and I think it does its job well, which is entertain the masses with high-quality comic book goodness. Now, Matt is a D.C. expert and will extoll the virtues of Batman, Superman and all the other Justice League characters, but I was always a Marvel devotee. Sure, I read and loved Batman just as much as he does, but I always preferred Marvels more gritty world, grounded in our own reality. So, I would like to highlight some of the parts of the movie I like the most through the context of someone who read these comics as a kid and is seeing them on the big screen in a way I never imagined I would.

Ultron

One of the strongest aspects of these Marvel films is the brilliant casting choices they have made, going back to the first Iron Man movie and the decision to put Robert Downey Jr. in the metal suit. Having James Spader voice the mad robot, Ultron in this Avengers sequel was an inspired decision. Spader's sarcastic and condescending tone is a perfect fit for Ultron and matches well with Tony Stark's similar snarky and narcissistic personality. Besides changing his creator from Hank Pym in the comics to Stark for this movie, they've stayed pretty true to the origins of one of the Avengers' greatest villains. Director, Joss Whedon did a good job trying to portray Ultron in more human terms. Even Tony Stark himself seems to have apprehensions about destroying his creation at first. He's a great villain.

The Scarlett Witch

Wanda Maximoff, played here by Elizabeth Olsen, is a complicated character to bring into the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Her powers don't easily translate and are difficult to describe. I mean how does one portray "probability manipulation" on screen? I don't know. To be honest, even when I read the comics I didn't know what the hell her powers did. Here they've basically made her Jean Grey, and I think it works well. Like Grey in the earlier X-Men movies they give hints at the enormity of the Scarlett Witch's powers and I'm sure they'll explore some of her reality warping talents in later films. I really liked Olsen in this movie. Every time she was on screen she was pretty freaking cool. Kudos to Whedon for making her more interesting than she was in the comic.

The Infinity Gems . . . . er . . . . Stones

I don't know how many years we're going to have to wait until Thanos finally gets his hands, or glove if you will, on all 6 Infinity Stones, but I hope its coming soon. All of the Marvel movies have been building towards The Infinity War, a storyline based on the popular 1991 mini-series called The Infinity Gauntlet. When it does get here (by 2018's The Avengers: Infinity War, I hear) it's going to be huge. Geeks heads everywhere will simultaneously explode when all of the Marvel heroes have to stop the Mad Titan, who basically makes himself omnipotent by collecting all six stones. Until then, we get teased and teased some more.

Black Widow

Scarlett Johansson ruled this movie. With each Marvel movie she's in the Black Widow becomes more and more of a fleshed out character. Her romance with Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is an emotional heart within what most would call a childish comic book movie. I totally agree with Matt that it is time to give her a film of her own, and not one like the one that SNL parodied when Johansson hosted the other night.

Iron Man vs. Captain America

It's coming and this Avengers sequel is laying the ground for the inevitable conflict between Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark. This all happened in the Marvel crossover event called Civil War which basically detailed what happened when the U.S. Government tried to force all super-powered individuals to register their true identities and powers. Stark thought this was a good idea and helped make it law and Cap thought it flew in the face of everything that makes America the land of the free and the home of the brave. I liked how Avengers: Age of Ultron showed how these two men have very different ideas about what's in the best interest for protecting the planet from future catastrophes. I'm sure this in no way is meant to be a funny-book reflection of how our real country is divided along political and partisan lines . . . . . yeah, just a coincidence.

There was lots more I enjoyed about Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was a lot of fun and did its job well. I do think it is good that Joss Whedon is moving on to other projects and leaving the MCU behind. It's time for him to try something original again, I hope. Seeing as how we will probably never get that Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie we're dreaming about, it would be good to see him get back to writing something entirely new and fun. Until then, go see Avengers . . . . that is if you're one of the five people who haven't seen it already.