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a&e | FILM REVIEWS
FOR THE SANTA BARBARA ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW’S
50 th Anniversary
ArtificiAl intelligence
Avengers: Age of Ultron. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson star in a film written and directed by Joss Whedon, based on the Marvel comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Reviewed by D.J. Palladino
S
ooner or later, the truth about Joss Whedon had to emerge. He’s the poet of pulp, the godfather of television’s new golden age, and the best toughguy dialogue person working since Howard Hawks. (Watch an episode of Firefly if you don’t believe me.) But, as this Avengers sequel makes abundantly clear, Whedon may not be the shepherd Marvel wants to lead the fanboy flock from meadow to cash cow. He did the job, made some money, but clearly his heart was not there. And it’s not like it is beneath his dignity. Whedon’s done vampire slayers, space-horse operas, and even an episode of Glee, but it feels like he’s working too hard here at making a shopworn theme seem compelling. He keeps the screen, though often dark-toned, full of surprises, including dazzling, overcomplicated battle extravaganzas orchestrated with more players than a Mahler symphony orchestra in a story of heroes confronting a foe Tony Stark (Iron Man, Robert Downey
Celebrations!
OLD GLORY: Chris Evans returns as Captain America in writer/director Joss Whedon’s half-hearted Avengers sequel.
Jr.) created while dabbling in God’s workshop. Moviemakers seem to think artificial intelligence is the latest McGuffin, but by now, the paranoia seems pat, running from Terminator to Ex Machina to exhaustion. The villainy of Ultron, though, absolute seems puny, as the Hulk might say. The film may have a dazzling finale over a floating city — it certainly has a nice romantic twist — but it doesn’t have much Whedon in it. There are some touches, and the movie’s high points are all his signature moves: the banter, for instance, concerning Thor’s magical hammer, or the running joke about Captain America’s prudish disapproval of strong language. But Whedon’s forte has always been making you feel good about feeling bad, and this stuff is far too upbeat. (The big film bummers glide by.) It’s not a bad film, like, say, Ang Lee’s Hulk, but Whedon is trying to make too many people happy. What’s left is the feeling that he lost his own interests in the bargain. n
SHOW MEMBERS’ ART EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTION Friday, May 8, 5:00 – 8:00PM
Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center, 1118 East Cabrillo Blvd.
ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND FUN Saturday, May 16 – Sunday, May 17 10:00AM – DUSK both days Along Cabrillo Blvd.
Find out more about the Santa Barbara Arts & Crafts Show and our anniversary events at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/ArtsAndCrafts and Facebook.com/SBArtsAndCrafts
Unorthodox Félix and Meira. Martin Dubreuil, Hadas Yaron, and Luzer Twersky star in a film written and directed by Maxime Giroux. Reviewed by D.J. Palladino
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W
hen it comes down to it, this is weird filmmaking. It’s the story of a Hasidic married woman (the beautiful Hadas Yaron) made crazy by the one-two combo of a monotonous Montreal apartment and a sense-experience-denying religious husband. They sleep in separate beds, art is outlawed, and music, outside of religious chants, is ODD COUPLE: Hadas Yaron (left) plays a married Hasidic woman strictly verboten. Cut to self-indulgent, who forms an unconventional romance with a secular loner (Martin Dubreuil) in Félix and Meira. nonreligious Félix (Martin Dubreuil), also depressed. Bring these two gentle malcontents together, and worlds are about to be obliterated. eyeing a mouse in a trap, and suddenly it’s easier to Or maybe not. Meanwhile periodical music videos pop sympathize with his divine purposefulness. Likewise, in to visit, including the lovely, unexplained footage of Félix seems nobly humanistic until we realize that Sister Rosetta Tharpe singing “Didn’t it Rain.” In the sometimes his empty face isn’t hiding any secrets. Relationship woes mixed with music craziness was middle of an uneventful city walk, we hear the whole of Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat.” I’m not explored better in Sarah Polley’s Toronto marriagecomplaining: It’s in my top 10 favorite songs. Except, oh busting film Take This Waltz. Instead of religion, yeah, it has no bearing on the plot or themes of the film. though, Polley used sex and food as male obsessions. On the other hand, when director Maxime Giroux This film may stay in your mind for movie reasons; isn’t courting Zen-like juxtapositions of marriage Giroux gives us a cosmic view of Venice and a sparkling maladies and hipster melodies, he keeps his cinematic vision of New York to remember. But the main conceit, eye beautifully dispassionate. At times, he seems to be the impossibility of either marriage or cheating to bring mocking the Hasidim with their pillbox hats and over- happiness, seems like bitter cynicism. It might be true, earnest godliness. And then he springs a surprisingly but it’s not much fun to watch. No wonder they added touching moment. We see Meira’s tragicomic husband videos. n
EARTHQUAKE IN NEPAL
More than 1 million children need immediate aid. UNICEF is on the ground providing lifesaving supplies. Help now: Visit unicefusa.org independent.com
may 7, 2015
THE INDEPENDENt
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