My Thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War

Oh boy. 18 films leading up to this moment. Whatever your stance on the MCU is, you've got to admit that few films have been set up quite like Infinity War. I mean damn, so much effort has been put into putting this thing together, and I feel like that (mostly) pays off. Now, before I get started: SPOILERS ARE EVERYWHERE IN THIS POST. Seriously, stay away from this if you don't want to know what happens in the film. I know that I generally avoid spoilers here, but I can't do it with this one. I'm sorry, but I just can't. So if you need a quick recommendation off the bat, I say see this movie. It's very good. Not perfect, but good. Now, without further ado....

First things first. I find it so impressive how all of these plots and characters were brought together. It could have been messy, but they make it work. They never lose focus, and they juggle the plots quite well, with minimal sloppiness. That's no small feat, and even if you hate this franchise, you can definitely admire it for how well they pull it off. It's the culmination of 18 movies, and it's a pretty good payoff for the buildup they've laid down. They do it as well as they could, even with the odd moment when they lose focus.

The actual plot is good too. It centres around Josh Brolin and his rock collection. Okay, so maybe there's a little more to it than that. Thanos, the mysterious warlord who's been kind of there in the franchise up to this point. It's a good payoff to what these movies have set up, and it is fairly epic. I mean structurally it's not great (more on that in a bit), but the plot that we do get is actually pretty good. It's a simple concept done well, and conflict is drawn out of it. I mean, you're lost if you don't know who these people are, but it's unlikely you'd start at this point anyway. That's an inherent issue with a film like this, but they do it in a way that minimises alienation.

The character interactions are the highlight though. When these characters come together, there are funny moments, and moments of pathos. Characters that seem very different play off each other well. I especially love Thor and Rocket. That's my favourite thing here. Even more so than the action and the fighting and the CGI. How each of these characters bounce off each other just puts a smile on my face. There's some good development going on here too. The dynamics allow for story beats and character developments that mightn't have happened without certain character combinations. That's nice, and some of the pairings are really great. Some characters do inevitably get pushed aside, but the focus on most of these people is really impressive. It'd be easy for most of them to get lost, but generally it's handled well.

Thanos is great. Josh Brolin is great anyway, but here he had a ball. He's a soft spoken, sometime sympathetic evil. As we get to know him, his philosophies start to sound like good ideas, and his ultimate victory makes him a legitimate threat. He does lose some of that personality when he gets the infinity stones, but up to that point he's a pretty complex and intimidating villain who you fear, but also kind of understand. He's probably the best part of the film, and never fails to be engaging and threatening. Marvel does have a problem with their villains being bland, but Thanos gets as much development as one of the heroes. He's probably one of their best antagonists yet.

The action is epic and on a large scale. The fight in Wakanda is huge, the attempt to stop Thanos is well put together, Spiderman getting on the ship is a fun setpiece. The action here is good. Having these characters together is a lot of fun. Not only are their personalities different, their powersets are varied too. Combining these characters results in some fun scenes, with impressive scope. When all of the heroes are fighting in Wakanda, you do get swept up in it. When Thor enters with his new axe, it's a legitimately awesome moment. And that's another highlight, the cool moments. They're designed to engage the audience and draw them in, and it's hard not to get swept up in the sheer spectacle of it. It's a great blockbuster, with the huge action that you need from a movie like this. It's a really awesome piece of popcorn.

But.

It has some issues. First of all, I find it hard to judge this one on it's own merits. It feels incomplete. I know it's a first part, and that it's going to be concluded in the second part, but it just doesn't feel like it actually finishes. There's no third act. Even the final fight scene isn't really a climax. The story doesn't get brought to a reasonable stopping point, which I feel a movie like this needs to do. When the characters disappear, that's it. There's nothing after that. The movie just ends after that, and it feels like something's missing.

And speaking of. When the characters disappear, I find it hard to care. Is it sad to see some of them get turned into leaves? Yeah. But it's obvious that they're coming back. So just when it looks edgy and unpredictable, you realise that it's not permanent, so I find it hard to be too invested. Some of the deaths are well done, and do generate some actual emotion, like Loki or Gamora. But everyone at the end? They're definitely not staying dead. I mean, it'd be cool if they did, but the fact that they won't feels kind of redundant. Even for a first part, that's a weak set up.

Also the last shot is unintentionally hilarious to me. Seeing Thanos take a breath of victory should be awesome, but honestly I was just waiting for the EastEnders drums at the end. It's a deliberately incomplete ending. Because they just want you to see the next one. I wouldn't even mind that, but it's so transparently manipulative. And the manipulation does work (which is actually okay), but it's so obvious that that's what they're doing, that it just doesn't feel organic. That's an unfortunate by-product of a cinematic universe; everything feeds into something else. So nothing is just singular in this movie. It's all just going to carry over into part two. That's my biggest problem: that I have to take this as a chunk of a film, instead of just one thing. I don't need it to be completely independent (that'd be impossible), but I think a story like this needs a stopping point. A point where we can leave the characters for now. I don't mind and ambiguous ending, but at least make it an ending. Because it just feels unfinished. And with the messy structure, it makes these issues more noticeable.

So, Infinity War. Look, I liked it. Honestly I did. The dialogue is as sharp and funny as always, the scale is huge and impressive, and the villain is fantastic. But the way the film is put together just makes it kind of empty for me. Nothing feels permanent, because it's just a piece of another film. And for me, it's a little incomplete. Give me parts of a universe, just make sure they're finished. As it is, it's good. It's not quite as good as the parts that make it up, and it stumbles when it comes to telling it's actual story, but I can see why people do love it. A lot of MCU fans love it, I'm just not quite one of them. It's a good payoff, but I can't get past the structural issues. It's a lot of fun. But it's also really flawed. I'd still recommend it though. Just not before some other MCU movies. So awesome, but flawed.

My Thoughts on Isle of Dogs

I've talked about Wes Anderson on this blog before, and that's because he's kind of great. I've already talked about how much I love The Grand Budapest Hotel, and I'm gonna be honest.... it's not one of my favourite blogs that I've done. I love the movie, and I do think that the post reflects that, but I don't really think I expressed everything I feel about Anderson and his style. Because this guy would be one of my favourite filmmakers for sure. His films are deliciously and meticulously crafted, and his humour is so beautifully askew that you just have to love it. And God do I love it. I adore his style, and when the trailer for Isle of Dogs got released, I was ecstatic. It looked like the perfect blend of style, heart and humour. And when I got around to seeing it, it lived up to my expectations.

For those unaware, this is Anderson's second foray into animation. And his first, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, seems to split people. I like it. It's a great mix of deadpan, surreal humour, stylised sophistication, and beautifully detailed animation. It's not his best, but it's fun. But when I heard he was doing another animated film, I was very, very excited. Especially when I saw the cast, and the concept of Isle of Dogs. The core premise is that all of the dogs in Japan have been exiled to an island, on the orders of the mayor. His nephew, however, sets out to rescue his lost dog, Spots. He meets up with a gang of dogs on the island that they were sent to, the very aptly named Trash Island. From there it's a quirky romp across the island to find Spots.

Now, this being a Wes Anderson film, the cast is naturally excellent. Bryan Cranston is great as the gruff and aloof leader of the pack. His voice lends so much to the overall film, giving a viciousness and an odd kind of warmth to the character of Chief. The other dogs in the pack are well voiced too. Edward Norton gives a great poe faced (poe voiced?) seriousness with every line. Bill Murray makes his mandatory appearance in the film, and brings a good natured charm and silliness to the whole thing. Jeff Goldblum oozes charm with every rumour he tells, and Bob Balaban really sells the idea of a domestic dog out of his natural environment. They all act like actual dogs, and if dogs could talk, they'd probably say things like this. The way a dog behaves is perfectly anthropomorphised here, and that just adds to everything really nicely.

Everyone else contributes to the charm too. The characters that speak Japanese don't have subtitles, which is a very clever stylistic choice. Instead, the power of the Oscar nomination/ Oscar win translates most of the Japanese we hear. And yeah, Frances McDormand and Greta Gerwig add a really quaint, quirky charm to the whole thing. And it is strange how much mileage Anderson gets out of the use of language, but he uses it as an absolute hallmark of the film's style.

That style is a big draw for me here too. The film has a very distinct look to it. The design of the dogs is a great blend between realism and style, and the human characters have very quirky and odd designs that makes them very memorable (I'm a big fan of the Gerwig afro). The film has a real sort of jagged look to it, with the models being moved every second frame contributing to that in spades. The cotton wool clouds that erupt when they fight are an absolutely brilliant touch. And trash island looks great. It's run down, but oddly beautiful in it's own dilapidated way. It fits the style really well.

The plot as a whole is great. The idea of the dystopian island full of dogs is hilarious, but it's one that Anderson really sells. He was never one to do things by halves, and here is no different, turning an island full of dogs into an allegory for... something. And that's the beauty of the film. It can be read in a multitude of ways. The actual science fiction is done so well here that it actually just becomes part of the backdrop, so more room is left for the characters. And I love when a sci-fi film does that. We see how this affects each of the characters on an emotional level, and that results in some really sweet moments, particularly between Atari and Chief.

Unfortunately, I wasn't too keen on the subplot. I love Greta Gerwig, but the the storyline about her exchange student on a political crusade is a weak spot in the film. Some good jokes, for sure, and it does tie into the climax quite well, but it never becomes as emotionally resonant as the main plot. All of the satisfaction here only comes at the film's end, unlike the main plot, which continues to satisfy throughout, and then provides serious catharsis at the end. But it's not bad. Greta Gerwig keeps it charming, and as I said there are good ideas here. It's just not quite as interesting as it probably should have been. Which is a shame, but it's also the only major issue this film possesses.

So, Isle of Dogs. Wes Anderson's best?  No, but it's definitely great. None of the flaws that this film has can take away from the charm and humour of it. It's a well thought out, sharply scripted idea that will make you laugh and may even warm your heart. Wes Anderson views the emotions of his characters from a spectator's point of view in all of his films, and here is no different, making this a surprisingly enchanting tale of a boy and his dog that never feels mushy, but also never feels distant either. You can forgive it for the odd misstep, because when it works, it really does work. When it's funny, you'll laugh. When it's emotional (in a Wes Anderson way), you'll feel that emotion. And when it raises a point, you might just stop and think. And honestly, that's pretty special.