Echo Two

In general the film is a model of racial representation (although the white guy is still at the top, even in the future). On the other hand I was thinking about how the film fairs when it comes to the Bechdel test.

There are two women characters in both the Earth team and aboard the spaceship.

Those on the Earth team didn't seem to interact, instead making their contribution to a male character who was mediating the overall conversation.

On the spaceship the women do interact but aside from exchanging orders and confirmations the only other conversation I noticed is when the crew is discussing whether to force the ship into the slingshot orbit or not. While this is notionally an exchange of views about the the mission it's actually a discussion about whether the women should risk themselves to save Watney. So the conversation is ultimately about their relationship to a man and hence fails the test.

I thought the first Captain America film was pretty dreadful so I was surprised to see how well reviewed the follow up was.

The addition of Black Widow (Scarlet Johanssen) to the cast brings some quippy dialog between the leads that creates a spark that was lacking in the first film.

It is an interesting film in that it is stylistically very indebted to the language of comics and the plot is so formulaic I couldn't imagine anyone being surprised as it unwinds.

What does make it interesting is the layer of contemporary comment that runs through it. Captain America (Chris Evans) feels out of sync with the modern world but the film has sympathy for his old-fashioned values of liberty and freedom in the face of the technocratic plan for world order advanced by SHIELD and (ho hum) the UN.

Banding (and bonding) together with Iraq veteran Falcon (Anthony Mackie), an excellent take on a not very interesting member of the Marvel Universe, strikes a blow for individual liberty against the state and gets his groove back under the Stars and Stripes and via massive property destruction.

By interrogating the spy state, the imperatives of national security, the nature of a soldier's service and the limits of their loyalty the film engages in a way that only the best pop culture can.

Essentially when the film isn't featuring driving then it is pretty bad, even some of the driving sequences are absurd, such as vehicle to vehicle refuelling. The dialogue clunks along like the actors are hitting it with spanners. The leads are good but they are given nothing to work with. Imogen Poots and Aaron Paul have good chemistry, Dominic Cooper broods in his villainy, but it's mostly about cars and men looking grim as they steer them. Like dance-off movies the reasons why people have to race cars are very contrived, even when they are given a way to resolve their goals they choose to ignore it in favour of driving... very.. fast.

Despite this there is some interesting screencraft, the one time that the heroes are in genuine jeopardy is when they are being shot at in a scene that calls back to the end of Easy Rider.

The relationship between the male and female lead is curiously chaste until you realise that they are almost literally id and ego. Julia is Tobey only without the grief and remorse, they like the same things, they can do the same things, you're almost expecting a Fight Club resolution at the end.

There's some silly sexist behaviour and this is a script from before the Bechdel test so don't hope for much on that front.

However when it comes to cinematography for street racing this film does actually move things along.

One of my Christmas presents was a copy of Whedon's take on Much ado about nothing. Shot in black and white and featuring a lot of Whedon's regular television collaborators the entire film was shot in Whedon's (large) house and nearly in chronological order.

I like the play, it's one of my favourite Shakespeare pieces, but I was also curious to see how Whedon would handle it.

I wasn't disappointed the film is clever and makes great use of the Californian environment and stellar talent Whedon has access to. The performances are universally great and while the language is a little laboured at times the flying barbs and mockery flows well.

Of the interpretations of the material, I liked the idea that Borachio is in love with Hero but felt that the idea that Benedick and Beatrice had a one-night stand prior to the play doesn't really fit in with the idea of Hero's public "shaming".

One absolute standout is Nathan Fillion's performance as Dogberry. It is one of the best I've ever seen and almost crying with laughter funny.

It was a great present and I think this version of the play stands equal to any of its predecessors.