Rampage Of A Mad Scientist

Mad Scientist Holds Allegorical Figure Hostage, Makes Demands

Toronto (CP) It has been two weeks since the escape from prison of the mad scientist Magnus von Malice from an Austrian prison. Two weeks in which rumour and conjecture about his whereabouts rushed around the world. Two weeks in cryptic brief podcasts claiming the world would soon belong to him. Claims of having had constructed a death ray he would use on the first person who heckled him. Law enforcement agencies across the world have been on the lookout for the convicted supervillain. As seems to fit the madman, he turned up in the most unlikely of places this week.

What could have drawn von Malice to a suburban mall? A shopping run for groceries? Funding the next stage of his schemes by robbing a jewelry store? Buying the latest iphone? Whatever the reason, the mad scientist turned up at a mall in the suburbs of Toronto this week, was confronted by mall security, and things got progressively weirder from there.

Von Malice turned what might have been an unpleasant confrontation into a hostage taking, grabbing the nearest convenient human shield. It was Fred Argyle, the mall’s Santa Claus, who just happened to be passing by when it all happened. Von Malice wrapped an arm around Argyle’s throat, according to witnesses, aimed a futuristic looking gun at his head, and started making demands.

“One hundred trillion dollars in gold plated latinum, or I kill Santa!” he started. An onlooker called out, informing the mad scientist that latinum was a science fiction mineral, and not a real one. “Shut up!” he replied.

The police were called in. Mall security kept people back, including children traumatized at the sight of who they assumed was Santa being held at gunpoint. Argyle himself was a nervous wreck. “Please, I’m just a mall Santa. I’m not the real thing. My name is Fred…”

“Shut up, fat man!” Von Malice warned.

“I’m not fat… it’s body padding,” Argyle tried to explain.

“What part of shut up do you not get?” Von Malice asked.

And so it went on. Mall security, not being paid enough for this sort of thing, waited on the arrival of the police. And among their number was a legend of the law enforcement community, off duty and in the city visiting family. He was already familiar to Von Malice- it was this very man who had foiled previous schemes by the megalomaniac super villain and who had put him behind bars.

It was the legendary and grumpy RCMP Inspector Lars Ulrich. Witnesses described him as looking typically irritated, which is his default setting in life. Ulrich emerged among the crowd of responding officers, glaring at Von Malice, clenching his hands into fists. Von Malice saw him, gasped, and began to rant, a ten minute monologue aimed at the very man responsible for his imprisonment. There were declarations of war, threats of using the ultimate weapon on Ulrich, and more demands, including that Starbucks keep their pumpkin spice latte on the menu all year.

“Are you done?” Ulrich asked when the mad scientist went silent for a moment.

“There is no such thing as done,” Von Malice said with a characteristic sneer. “Now are you going to get in my way? Because if you do, the fat man gets it, and millions of children will wake up on Christmas without a present.”

“I told you, I’m not Santa,” Argyle protested.

“Shut up!” Von Malice ordered.

Ulrich sighed, shook his head. “Look, Mags….”

“Magnus!” the villain countered, seeming to become more unhinged. “Magnus Von Malice! That is my name, and you will address me in the proper way. For I am the destined master of the world, the greatest mind this world has ever produced. And I will not be disrespected by you of all people! The very man who’s foiled my grand overtures at world domination. What use do I have for the Metallica drummer, after all?”

Witnesses to the confrontation reported that Ulrich seemed more irritated at those words. His voice went low, barely audible, but there nonetheless. “I am not that Lars Ulrich,” he told the mad scientist.

Von Malice seemed puzzled. “Are you sure?”

What happened next was a blur, according to witnesses. One moment von Malice was holding a hostage. The next he was being clobbered and falling across the corridor, deprived of his weapon (later confirmed to be a mock up). And the next after that, Ulrich was tossing him off a second story balcony into a cappuccino stand.

Von Malice was taken away by ambulance, under heavy police guard, heard to be ranting about leviathans in red serge. It was reported that he had sustained several broken ribs in his fall. Inspector Ulrich took his leave of the scene before entertainment reporters could show up and ask if Metallica was doing a Christmas album.

And Fred Argyle, having had endured time as a hostage, held at gunpoint by a gun that wasn’t actually operable, went back to his mall Santa gig, reassuring children that he was perfectly fine, and that no matter what he had said earlier, ‘Fred’ was just an alias Santa used every once in awhile when he wanted to go off to Vegas and didn’t want Mrs. Claus to know.

And so it was that a grouchy lawman saved Christmas. Or close enough, anyway. Though he might be more of the temperament to say ‘get the hell out of my face’ as opposed to ‘Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.’

A Cosmic Marvel Of Two Different Worlds

“You are just one victim of the Skrull invasion that has threatened our civilization for centuries. Imposters who silently infiltrate, then take over planets.” ~ Supreme Intelligence

“I know a renegade soldier when I see one.” ~ Nick Fury

“Does announcing your identity with branded clothing help with the covert part of the job?” ~ Carol Danvers

The Marvel Cinematic Universe rolls along without a hitch with a new addition to the fold. Captain Marvel tells a tale set a couple of decades in the past, featuring a mysterious woman, cosmic conflicts, familiar faces, and ties to what lies ahead for the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe. Brie Larson joins the growing cast of heroes as the title character, and the direction is done by a pair of filmmakers whose work is collaborative- Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The film that results is a highly satisfying cosmic thriller with strong characterization, grounded in a solid performance by Larson.

The film opens with Vers (Larson), a member of Starforce, an elite team of soldiers for the Kree empire. She’s having recurring nightmares of a woman. She has abilities- flight, superhuman strength, and energy projection. Her mentor Yon-Ragg (Jude Law) is training her, and an organic artificial intelligence called the Supreme Intelligence, which rules over the Kree, urges her to keep her emotions in check. Vers and her team engage the Skrulls, a shape shifting enemy race to the Kree, and Vers is captured by their commander, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). An escape leads her to Earth, where she encounters two fresh faced S.H.I.E.L.D agents, Nick Fury and Phil Coulson (Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg), and discovers that she is in fact Carol Danvers, a military pilot who was presumed dead and whose biology was altered in an explosion.

The idea for a solo film was already in the works back in 2013 for Carol Danvers, at a time when the character was still using the long-term codename Ms. Marvel in the comics. Five writers are credited with the script (aside from the character’s comic book creators). Two are the directors. Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve worked extensively on the film story during development, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet picked up where they left off. Usually that many writers is a sign of trouble, but not in this case.

The story is an origin story, but dispenses with the need to tell how the protagonist gained her powers by starting things off with her already powered. And the story as it unfolds, with its grand, cosmic stakes, nonetheless grounds itself in strong characterization, not only in its leading characters but in those around her, both good and bad. It also makes good use of established characters like Fury and Coulson- here years younger than when we first met them in Iron Man- and of established races in the comics universe like the Kree and the Skrulls. The Kree have been seen before in the MCU- in Guardians Of The Galaxy and on the small screen in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., but this is the first we’ve seen of the Skrulls, a shape shifting race that are so often the villains of a story, and first tied to the Fantastic Four in the comics. The story presents the Skrulls one way and then takes it in a different direction, which I liked.

To this point, production values in Marvel Studio films have been exceptional, so that hasn’t been a worry in terms of world building, special effects, or other aspects of filmmaking. That continues here, as the sequences set both on Earth and amid the stars and distant worlds feel real and integral alike, as opposed to green screen hell as you might expect in a different studio’s film. One of the tricks that’s been used to a smaller degree in some of these films- the de-aging of characters like Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark or Michael Douglas as Hank Pym for short set in the past scenes- is used to great effect here. As the bulk of the story is set in 1995, Samuel L. Jackson spends the whole film looking a lot younger than he actually is (while Clark Gregg’s Coulson gets some of the same treatment). The technique looks natural, as if the actor filmed their scenes back in the day as opposed to when the film was actually in production. The look for Captain Marvel feels very much like it is at present in the comic books, which is a welcome thing, as her present costume design is a particularly good one.

Boden and Fleck have worked together as directors and writers on character and indie films like Half Nelson, Sugar, and Mississippi Grind. It says a lot about the MCU that directors who are often not previously involved in blockbuster action thrillers, but character films, do so well with these films. As directors they have a rapport with actors that a blockbuster director might not have (imagine Michael Bay being let loose on a comic book film, and, well… you’d have a Michael Bay film). Instead, the directors can focus on the story, the acting, and the flow of the film and just trust that the production crew knows what it’s doing. Such is the case here. Boden and Fleck’s directing style keeps the film balanced between the scope of the story and the intimate and richly drawn interaction of characters. It’s paced well, never feeling like it lags.

We’ve seen some of the cast before. Lee Pace and Djimon Housou appeared in Guardians Of The Galaxy as Ronan the Accuser and Korath, two ruthless Kree warriors who were among the villains of that film. They reprise their roles here, years before the events of that film, and play the roles differently. Pace’s Ronan is not yet the zealot he will become in the years to come, but still a force to be reckoned with. Hounsou’s Korath is a member of Starforce, second in command of the group and lacking a whole lot in humour. Clark Gregg, who started out in Iron Man as the calm Agent Coulson and has taken that role into other films and into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., appears as his character, something of a rookie in the job in how the actor plays him (and de-aged thanks to the CGI).

Annette Bening gets more than one role in the film, voicing the Supreme Intelligence (which in the comics has always been somewhat creepy and certainly plays out that way here). The Intelligence is the sort not to be disobeyed, a brilliant organic program that rules the Kree with authority and a measure of ruthlessness, which Bening invests into her performance. And yet that’s not quite all she does, appearing in a double role as a scientist, Wendy Lawson, whose true form is that of a renegade Kree with a benevolent agenda. In this capacity, in flashback, the character is sympathetic and very much a hero.

When the film was still in production, the expectation among many was that Jude Law would be playing Mar-Vell, the predecessor Captain Marvel to Carol. That isn’t the case in the movie, though he starts out as a mentor to Vers/ Carol. His Yon-Rogg is based on a comic book version, an enemy of Mar-Vell among the Kree. He starts out in one way, as an authoritative and capable commander, but there are hidden secrets beneath the surface, which Law plays to throughout his performance. It’s a character who proves to be quite different by film’s end, and one that I’d like to see again.

Lashana Lynch plays Maria Rambeau, a former Air Force pilot and colleague and friend of Carol Danvers who happens to be a single mother to daughter Monica (who in the comics has quite a history of her own). The character is resilient, likable, and independent, with a lot of strength and just the right kind of attitude that you might expect out of a pilot. She provides some of the emotional grounding that Carol needs to find her way back to herself, and the actress makes her really come to life through her scenes.

Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn has played a whole lot of different roles down through the years, and in recent years was noted for his take as King George VI in Darkest Hour and for the villainous Imperial official Orson Krennic in the Star Wars spinoff Rogue One. Here he plays the Skrull Talos (and since he’s a shapeshifter, other characters) in more than one way. The comic book reader expects the worst out of a Skrull, and so we expect the villain. Instead his Talos starts out deemed the enemy (and given that he seems so relentless in the pursuit, we just accept it), but there’s a different angle on the character that shows up as the film progresses. Mendelsohn gives Talos a somewhat laid back approach in how he plays him. It’s a complicated role, but he handles it well.

Samuel L. Jackson has been a regular force in the Marvel cinematic universe as Nick Fury. Here he gets a lot to do as a younger Fury, before the general state of perpetual crankiness and the eye patch. Fury is essentially in a bureaucrat’s role at this point in his life, more affable and less cynical in his general approach. For the character, this is his first time dealing with a superhuman threat, and it forces him to change his mindset. Jackson plays to that, and his take on the character is that of someone who needs to learn to trust this superpowered being he’s come across. It makes for what ultimately becomes something of a buddy film between Fury and Danvers in terms of their rapport.

Brie Larson gets the main role as Carol Danvers/ Vers/ Captain Marvel and makes the most of it, becoming the bedrock of the film and showing how good she can be. Previously I’ve only seen her in the thriller Kong: Skull Island, so this is the second go around for me with the actress. Her take on Carol Danvers matches the best of the character that we’ve seen in the comics. She’s strong willed, sassy, smart, and has a whole lot of fortitude. Even without power, she’s courageous, ethical, and refuses to quit. Larson gives the character a tremendously sympathetic, compelling take with a lot of depth, making us empathize with her. I’m looking forward to more from her, both in the upcoming Avengers film and in another solo film. While the character’s existence was teased in Infinity War, this is a splendid introduction to her that’s done in the right way by the actress.

Captain Marvel establishes the character in a big way in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but gives her a chance to shine on her own. The film balances in the right way the cosmic stakes of the larger story with the characterization that is needed to ground such a story. With a cast that is well chosen, either in returning or new character roles, the film has the ideal players in their roles, especially so with its protagonist. Brie Larson firmly establishes a place for Carol Danvers in the wider Marvel universe, and in her performance, the film finds its greatest strength. I look forward to more down the line. And I haven't even mentioned the cat stealing the show.

Never Call The Raccoon A Raccoon

Some links before I get started today on this film review, which Norma has reviewed as well. Shelly has a new grandson to celebrate. Check out this museum at Krisztina's page. Yesterday was a Square Dog Friday at Parsnip's blog. And The Whisk asked a pressing question of the gravest importance. 

"The fate of twelve billion people is in your hands." ~ Nova Prime Rael

"So here we are. A thief, two thugs, an assassin, and a maniac. But we're not going to stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy." ~ Star Lord

Guardians Of The Galaxy is the latest in the series of films from Marvel Studios, a space faring romp through the cosmos with a gleefully anarchic sense of fun. Director James Gunn helms the film, working with fellow screenwriter Nicole Perlman in telling a story of a group of misfits out among the stars confronting threats and learning to work together. The roots in comics reach back decades, when a team by that name was first formed in the pages of Marvel comics, having adventures a thousand years in the future. The configuration of these characters, however, goes to the writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who several years ago were heavily involved in writing the cosmic side of things at Marvel. Abnett and Lanning took a group of star faring characters who had been around at Marvel for years, joining forces and taking the name of the previous team. The core of that group helm this movie, and the film's story owes much to Abnett and Lanning's work. There is an ongoing series being published at the moment with the team, though I advise you to avoid it entirely- it is being written by the worst writer in the industry, a man who just happens to be the best friend of Marvel's head honcho.

The film opens up in the past, when we meet Peter Quill, a boy whose mother has just died. He is abducted by space pirates, led by the alien Yondu (Michael Rooker), and taken into the stars. Years later as an adult, Quill (Chris Pratt) has taken to calling himself Star-Lord and is in the midst of stealing a mysterious orb when he is intercepted by another alien, Korath (Djimon Hounsou). The orb itself, it turns out, happens to contain an Infinity Stone, something that can tend to be very dangerous in the wrong hands. His theft attracts other attention beyond Korath: Gamora the assassin (Zoe Saldana) is dispatched after him.

Two bounty hunter partners, a genetically altered raccoon called Rocket and a walking tree called Groot get mixed up into the mess. The interstellar peacekeeping Nova Corps arrest the lot and throw them into a cosmic prison, the Kyln, where they encounter another entity, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). Drax has a grudge or two against Gamora, because of her association with a big bad named Ronan (Lee Pace). Ronan is a particularly nasty fellow (at least in this movie; the comics version has tread the line from acting as an antagonist to an ally). Gamora, however, isn't loyal to Ronan, and the group find themselves banding together, first to escape, and then to deal with the grave threat Ronan and his allies pose against the galaxy as a whole.

Gunn and Perlman's story leans heavily on the influences of Abnett and Lanning, and yet tells a story that stands on its own quite well. It stands apart from the previous Marvel films in that it sets its story out among the stars, and it infuses a sense of humour into the proceedings. This reflects itself in the makeup of the team, who are brought together not particularly in a voluntary way, and bicker with each other all along. It reflects itself in small ways- the incredibly bad taste of music on Quill's Walkman (his mother's musical inclinations, was, in a word, awful), or the way no one takes Quill's personal nickname seriously. Quill himself is written as a rogue, a fish out of water with an influence of Han Solo about him, a snarky and sarcastic character. The snarkiness certainly extends to another member of the team, the cranky Rocket, a motormouth voiced by Bradley Cooper. The story, over all, builds on the classic cinematic notion of a Maguffin (the heretofore mentioned mysterious orb) that everyone wants, and while it has all of the sci-fi action you would expect out of a comic book adaptation, the story has fun with itself, in the way that a good sci-fi film ought to be.

The special effects serve the story well. Having a story set out in the stars offers a variety of realms, and special effects and CGI render these realms in different ways. The world of Xandar, home of the Nova Corps, is an orderly- somewhat too orderly- world, clean and sterile somewhat. Other places are murky, particularly the Kyln or Knowhere, a refuge the team take to. That gloom extends to the lairs of Ronan, or his patron Thanos, who we've seen before. By contrast, the archives of the Collector is a place of the bizarre, and that comes across in the special effects. At times, of course, and that's to be expected in a comic book adaptation, the action can overwhelm the story, with the explosive pyrotechnics you'd expect, but it didn't become tedious at all to me.

Where the CGI and special effects particularly come out so well are in the renderings of two main characters. Groot and Rocket certainly come across as inhabiting the same space as the actors. Part of this might involve motion capture, the techniques being used in The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit films to such good effect. The snarky raccoon very much feels like he's scurrying about on gangways and in starships, just as much as his lumbering partner Groot comes across as a cohesive, real presence in the shots. Best of all- neither of the pair come across in the same obnoxious way as an infamous certain Star Wars character (Jar-Jar Binks, I'm looking at you). 

The cast make the most of their parts. For some it's taking things more seriously (villains tend to be quite serious, after all). For others, they're having something of a romp playing their roles, even if they can't quite show it. Glenn Close turns up as the head of the Nova Corps, and she plays the role with authority, albeit little tolerance and patience for nonsense and backtalk. She certainly comes across as a believable leader, and it's a pleasure to see her playing a very different part from what you might expect. John C. Reilly is one of her lieutenants in the Corps, and he gives his character something of a more sardonic quality. Michael Rooker, a character actor who's been in movies and television for years, plays Yondu with a slightly shifty moral worldview and a gruffness that you'd expect out of the actor from previous roles- but I liked him regardless. Benicio Del Toro returns as the Collector, after an appearance in Thor The Dark World. He's an eccentric sort of character, an elder being of the universe who seems to have a bit of a Liberace flamboyance about him, and a fondness for odd items. He plays the part as the weirdo a comics fan would imagine the Collector to be.

Djimon Hounsou has been around for years as an actor too, playing in historical dramas, action films, and more, often in memorable character roles. He plays the Kree Korath as the capable subordinate to Ronan, and gives him a rather impatient quality. There's an appearance by Josh Brolin as well, doing the voice of Thanos (a villain we'll see again). The character is as menacing as he'll continue to be down the line, and it was a good touch to give him the role. Karen Gillan plays a particularly unhinged character named Nebula. She and Gamora have connections, but are at each other's throats. I haven't seen her in anything before, but she gives Nebula a formidable, manic quality that I liked. Lee Pace has been appearing in The Hobbit films as the elven king Thranduil, and here he plays Ronan with conviction and weight. Ronan as a character has often been a villain, but sometimes not, and Pace gives him a serious, determined, and ruthless quality that you'd expect in an antagonist. His Ronan feels dangerous indeed.

Vin Diesel voices Groot- which is actually an easy job. Probably because Groot actually only speaks three words (though Rocket understands the differing meaning of those three words). I found myself wondering if Diesel got into a recording booth, did a few takes, and was done with his part for the film, or if there was motion capture involved. Bradley Cooper does the voice for Rocket, who tends to chatter a lot. This is a mixed factor for me. I didn't mind Cooper back when he was a cast member of Alias, but at some point after that, when he became famous, I began feeling a profound dislike of the actor. Fame seemed to get to his head, and frankly, the guy comes across as a complete sleazebag. That said, however, I didn't find myself distracted by that dislike. Perhaps just having the voice was a factor in that; I was listening to the character instead of the actor. Had he actively been appearing on screen, I might have felt different, but he does capture the snarkiness and crankiness of Rocket as I would expect.

Dave Bautista comes from a background in professional wrestling, so we're not talking about a formal actor here, but he actually does well as Drax. The character is a blunt force of nature, a wall of muscle driven by the idea of avenging the death of his family. Bautista really does look the part, and gives the character a  threatening, physical presence. Yet there's also in his role a degree of sympathy that we can relate to. There is much tragedy in the man, and Bautista conveys that. It's actually a surprise, because I wouldn't have expected that of a wrestler.

Zoe Saldana has been doing quite a bit of sci-fi in the last few years. She was in that miserable wretched excuse for a blockbuster otherwise known as Avatar (what can I say? I hate Avatar), and she's been a key player in the two Star Trek reboots under director J.J. Abrams. She plays Gamora as I would expect. The character is a thoroughly dangerous woman, and yet with multiple layers. She keeps much to herself, and yet is driven by a conscience and awareness of the right thing to do. She guards herself closely, but acts with courage and without hesitation when the stakes are high. Gamora finds herself puzzled by her comrades at times, impatient at others, and Saldana conveys these qualities in her performance, grounding the role in the character's need for redemption. She also brings good chemistry to her role with the last of the major players.

This is actually the first time I've seen Chris Pratt in any role. He's been on the series Parks And Recreation for years, and a look at his filmography reveals that he was in the tense Zero Dark Thirty film, but I have never seen his work. He plays the part with sarcastic glee, starting off as a man out of his element, out for himself. Placed into a crisis, however, he seems to come into his own, finding a sense of meaning for himself. He certainly exercises some of the disdain for authority that you would expect in Han Solo, for example, and I liked that, but when push comes to shove, he gives Quill a sense of leadership that feels natural for the progression of the story. Pratt's performance becomes part of the fun of the film, and a nice revelation to the viewer who's first being introduced to him as an actor.

Guardians Of The Galaxy especially cranks up the sense of fun at the box office. It features a motley group of misfits thrown into cosmic stakes danger, moves the story along at a brisk pace, and brings a good sense of humour to the proceedings. I had fun with this film; I think you will too. Even if the post-credits sequence features an extremely unwelcome character that should be cast into a black hole with all possible speed.