HITCHCOCK - mr. macguffin

Meet Hitch. Hold the cock.

As an autodidactic cineast I can safely proclaim to entertain a morbid love affair with Mr. Hitchcock. He happens to remain one of the most well loved and remembered British film directors of all time—sort of...

Hitchcock directed nearly 70 films in a prolific career spanning five decades. He is most well known as a horror enthusiast by the general public for The Birds, Rear Window,  North By Northwest, Vertigo, Rope, Dial M For Murder and of course, Psycho. Students of film with be familiar with his earlier work that is oft praised like The Lady Vanishes, Strangers On A Train, Shadow Of A Doubt, Spellbound, Notorious and The 39 Steps to name a few. Personally, I am a fan, albeit scattered. I have viewed 35 of his works and am happy to stop there. In my view, The Master of Suspense really doesn't hold up all that well except, of course, for a handful of masterpieces, aforementioned and a number of indelible sequences. 

I cannot verify the truthfulness of this new film. I can only presume that the caricatures put forth are based on seeming fact and that the period was represented with the upmost detail and verisimilitude. It felt about right. Yet, this movie is intentionally playful and hyperbolized. The double narrative follows the doppelgänger of Hitch's psyche with pleasing but not utterly satisfying results. Helen Mirren and the great Anthony Hopkins steal the show. Both superb. The rest of the cast was properly chosen as well. Ever since A Serious Man, Michael Stuhlbarg shows up everywhere. I shall not complain. 

There are enough references to the bizarre obsessions of Hitch to keep fans happy but nothing too new or novel. He liked birds, blondes and bloody deaths. Earlier this year Tobey Jones also characterized Hitchcock in the HBO film, The Girl. It may as well be the sequel to this movie, however, it was a much darker look at his inappropriate advances toward Tippi Hedren and his sometimes abject, loathsome nature as director. Apparently, if two movies are going to be released about the same character in the same year, just call in Tobey Jones for the independent version, as evidenced in Truman Capote. :)

It may be said that I have underestimated Hitchcock's multitudinous gifts of manipulation, voyeurism, suspense, shock and devious surprise. To that end, perhaps it is possible that we all still quiver in his ever looming shadow—that most famous of all profiles—the corpulent, witty, irascible genius, Alfred Hitchcock.    

Recommended Viewing: Rebecca - Shadow Of A Doubt - Marnie - Lifeboat

              Bob Scale: The Critic: 6.9   -   The Fan: 7.6

             MetaCritic: 56

 Rotten Tomatoes: 67

                    IMDB: 7.3

THE AVENGERS - fanboy paradise

Joss Whedon has done it (with much help, I suspect). The Avengers was loads of fun, action packed and genuinely amusing.

For those out there that could care less about superheroes, comics and the plethora of blockbuster movies with their sequels over the past decade, this one is for you. If you don't leave the theater appreciating superheroes and their relative appeal, I much doubt that you ever will.

This film will surely please anyone even remotely interested in comics and their celluloid counterparts. The Avengers contains a number of little inside jokes, cameos and marvel esoterica that will likely appease the hardcore fans as well as catering to an audience of fresh recruits.

All the characters, old and new, converge in a rather simple yet perfect story for platitudinous display - good vs evil. The movie takes place on virtually only 2 sets - a giant flying airship and Manhattan. Both of which are summarily destroyed - rightly so. The Avengers is unsophisticated in scope and execution but this is not really to its discredit. You have heroes, some supernatural, some not, who have some initial qualms about linking up as a team but ultimately they must overcome their own internal conflicts and come together to combat the unambiguous evil that pervades. The humor gives the entertainment value even higher points and doubtless charm. The Hulk and Iron Man are case in point for a perfect comedic pair. I hope they make a movie together! Loki's helmet and Samuel L. Jackson's robotic acting are about the only complaints I would muster. The special effects were great, nonstop and perfectly suited to this heroic extravaganza. A great movie? Depends on your definition. Probably No. A great super hero movie? A definitive Yes. One of the best.

Recommended Viewing: X-Men II - The Punisher (1989) - Batman (1989)

              Bob Scale: Objective: 7.9   -   Subjective: 8.6

             MetaCritic: 69

 Rotten Tomatoes: 93

                      IMDB: 8.8