By “Cinema” Dave
http://cinemadave.livejournal.com
#ThanosDemandsSilence was Disney/Marvel’s serious marketing angle to promote Avengers: Infinity War. In early April, I had to sign an acknowledgement of a press embargo until Tuesday, April 24. On Wednesday, April 25, Wikipedia revealed the biggest spoilers of Avengers: Infinity War. [Don’t worry… no spoilers in this review].
Clocking in at almost three hours, this film features every hero (minus two, but there is another Marvel movie opening in July) from the previous 18 Marvel comic movies. Each hero is given their moment to shine, but the featured character is Thanos (Josh Brolin), a mad titan who believes it is time to save the universe by weeding out the undesirable humans. To achieve his genocidal goal, Thanos must complete his collection of the infinity stones that we have seen filtered throughout the previous 18 Marvel Comics movies.
With the search for infinity stones being as similar as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or Richard Wagner’s opera, The Ring of Nibelung, the actions of Thanos feel mythical and iconic. More so than the other 18 movies, the word “tragedy” is most used when used to describe this new Marvel movie. Joe and Anthony Russo (the brother directors) trust the fan base to close Avengers: Infinity War on a silent, somber note. Given the raised stakes of Infinity Wars, these directors have their work cut out for them next year when the “Untitled” Avengers opens in Springtime 2019. Will the heroes triumph over Thanos or will the fat lady sing at the last Avengers opera?
It is a little lady who enjoys opera that is the feature of the documentary RBG, which opens next week, on Friday, May 11. RBG is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Brooklyn-born from Odessa Russian immigrants, Ruth was taught to be polite and independent. Outwardly shy, Ruth was a listener and a thinker. Despite losing her mother at age 17, Ruth’s determination led her to Harvard Law School, where she met her future husband Marty. When Marty’s health failed, Ruth took a job at Columbia University.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s rise to power rose in conjunction with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as well as the women’s rights movement of the 1970s. In an age of televised screaming and public protests, Ruth worked quietly behind the scenes drafting legal briefs that led her to defend in front of the Supreme Court. Her clear thinking and concisely written prose created laws that American citizens take for granted today.
Produced by CNN, RBG presents a likeable portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
The documentary lovingly presents her domestic life and her unique friendship with the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Thanks to Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon’s comedic portrayal of the Supreme Justice, we learn how this 85-year-old authority figure has become the new counter culture rap icon – RBG.
With the 90-minute running time, RBG is a nice, sweet documentary. There is not much time to counter argue RBG’s continuous legal dissent, though the film does touch on her criticism of Donald Trump. There is still one week before RBG opens, but, in the meantime, don’t miss the opportunity to see Avengers: Infnity War, try it in the big screen at IMAX. With snappy dialogue, electric character interaction, mind-blowing visuals, Avengers: Infinity War deserves its blockbuster box office success on the big screen. You may want to see it before May 18 when [the next comic book film] Deadpool 2 opens.
