CAPTAIN MARVEL

Brie Larson     Gemma Chan     Ben Mendelssohn    Samuel L. Jackson     Lee Pace

Jude Law     Annette Bening     Djimon Hounsou     Colin Ford

     This female Captain Marvel lights up the screen—literally, in brilliant bursts of light—and in her noble beliefs in truth and justice and her aim to be a bridge between Earth and space.

     The story opens with her/Carol Danvers (Larson) as a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot suffering from unexplained amnesia when Yom-Rogg (Law), member of the notable Kree military group known as Starforce, rescues her after a plane crash.  He gives her some information (leaving out significant bits), and informs her that he will be training her to be a Kree warrior subsequent to her DNA being fused with that of a Kree during the accident.  This has given her superhuman strength and other super powers, such as photon blasts from her hands.  He puts her through rigorous fight maneuvers, attempting to train her away from her human emotional reactions to become more like the unemotional Kree.  The Krees are in the midst of a war with another alien group, the Skrulls.

     When “Vers”—the name she is to go by—is ready for her first mission, she is visited by the Krees’ Supreme Intelligence (Bening), who tells her she is ready to be a warrior, gives her instructions and then disappears.  At this point, she can’t really recall her own history.

In her mission, Vers will encounter the bewildering, green-skinned Skrull shape shifters led by  Talos (Mendelssohn) to keep them from stealing a light speed engine invented by the Krees and banish them from the universe.  It gets complicated because the characters and the viewers cannot always tell who is really who they say they are, which also provides the opportunity for humorous scenes in which characters are asking one another factual bits and incidents in their past that a shape shifter wouldn’t know. It also means that who are the “good” guys and who are the “bad” guys frequently shifts.  Since the viewer is in the dark too (unless well informed about Marvel comics), this becomes a teaser in the film, which may capture your interest or seem tedious.

     Brie Larson in a completely new role for her has just the right mixture of sassiness, bravado, playfulness, and fierceness to be convincing as an action figure, Captain America.  It was fun seeing a woman in that role, like it was with Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman, although Captain Marvel doesn’t seem as bad-ass as Wonder Woman.  Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, and Annette Bening are all comfortable in complex roles where their characters are seen in different lights at different times.  The arc of Gemma Chan’s role as Minn-erva, Carol Danvers’ best friend/sister, and an ace pilot is gratifying to see.  

     Boden/Fleck as writers/directors (and their co-writers) can be pleased with their new Captain Marvel, which entertains, is well paced, and sustains suspense with brilliant special effects, music (Pinar Toprak), and cinematography (Ben Davis) that complement the story and the characters.  

The emergence of a female Captain Marvel and the war between two alien groups make for an exciting, colorful ride, with a revealing twist toward the end.

Grade:  B+                                 By Donna R. Copeland

THE BOOK OF HENRY

Naomi Watts   Jaeden Lieberher   Jacob Tremblay   Sarah Silverman   Dean Norris   Maddie Ziegler   Lee Pace

      This is a very different version of the single mother bringing up two boys on her own than we usually see—either in real life or in the movies.  Susan (Watts) is unconventional in her being consistently late in picking up her boys from school, whistling to them from the car, playing videogames, and so on; but she is quite conventional in her “good mother” role of warmth and nurturance and being able to play and have fun with her kids—the more important things, really.

     Henry (Lieberher, previously in Midnight Special) is a very (unbelievably, maybe?) precocious child who not only knows more facts than most adults, but reasons at an adult level.  In addition, he has a keen sense of fairness and ethical principles.  He’s not obnoxious, though, because he’s so sincere and thoughtful of others.  His younger brother Peter (Tremblay, previously in Room) is a great counterpart in his sweetness, but it’s nice to see his spunk and competitiveness with his older brother. 

      So this family is tumbling through life, mostly enjoying it, and trying to be helpful to others.  Susan has a co-worker at a coffee shop (Silverman), who clearly needs her support.  Henry has to rescue his brother from bullies at school.  But what puts the intrigue of the story in motion is Henry’s observation of his schoolmate Christina (Ziegler) next door with her stepfather, Mr. Sickleman (Norris), the city’s police commissioner.  From what Henry can glean from his online searches and books, Christina is suffering from abuse.  There has already been an incident in the grocery store observed by Henry and his mother, where a man was being abusive to a woman, and Susan advises Henry not to try to intervene by telling him, “It’s not our business”; it could provoke more violence.  But Henry is not convinced, saying that apathy, not violence, is the worst thing in the world.  He then proceeds to devise a plan whereby Christina can be rescued.

      Something happens, and Henry cannot enact his plan, but he has given Susan the most detailed instructions as to how she can see to it that Christina gets the help she needs.  This is the action of the story, filled with suspense, and keeping the audience on edge.

Director Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World, Safety Not Guaranteed) knows very well how to direct movies with drama that have some thrill to them.  His team of Michael Giacchino (music) and John Schwartzman (cinematographer), along with others, add measurably to the production. 

      Although the script is very good in terms of entertainment and capturing the imagination, I think Gregg Hurwitz made a mistake in putting adult words and concepts into a child’s role, and making him, in psychology parlance, a “parent child.”  This doesn’t usually work out so well in real life as it does in this film.  The script is also weakened by the gaps in Henry’s story.  I can’t say more, but that was jarring to me.  On the other hand, the insertion of precursors like Susan’s whistle, her penchant for videogames, and Henry’s class report on legacy are clever in their prescience.

      Naomi Watts is a solid performer who consistently gets good reviews, and she deserves it as well for her work here.  She’s such a natural in relating to children, and her tremulous standing up to Mr. Sickleman is outstanding.  To be commended are the two boys playing her sons, Jaeden Lieberher and Jacob Tremblay.  They seem to understand intuitively what is called for, and they produce it naturally.  Dean Norris knows very well how to play the villain (“Under the Dome” and other TV series), and his portrayal of the bully and reactions of surprise and concern ripple through his face so tellingly.  I’m not sure why the Silverman character was included; although she played her part very well, the character seemed extraneous to me.

     Although I liked The Book of Henry in many ways (directing, music, cinematography, actors, entertainment), there are parts of it that seem over the top.  For instance, I mentioned the portrayal of children.  The most galling was catapulting poor Henry (basically, a wonderful boy) back in the traditional role of a dominant husband over a submissive wife.  “I must tell you exactly what to do and you must follow my instructions implicitly.”  “Pay attention to our finances!  You don’t even know what we are worth.  I’ve made all this money so you don’t have to work any more.”

      This movie will be applauded by those taken in by the romantic story that children can be as wise as adults, but don’t you believe it.  Even the writer of this script hedged on that.

An entertaining—even exciting—movie, if you don’t think too hard.

Grade:  C+                          By Donna R. Copeland