After Hours #2 – In Your Eyes

Its time for the next Movies and Tea Podcast episode as Elwood and I sit down to look at my After Hours pick: In Your Eyes. Its one of my favorite movies ever so it just made sense to pull in some romance (a good one) into the show. Head over to Movies and Tea to check out the episode! If you’ve seen it, also leave us your comments and thoughts on the film. If you enjoyed, give us a follow and hit the like button. It helps us out a lot.

Movies and Tea

Join us for another After Hours special as this time Kim picks out this Joss Wheldon scripted romance with a twist “In Your Eyes” to discuss in which two strangers Rebecca (Zoe Kazan) and Dylan (Michael Stahl-David) discover they share a psychic connection which enables them to see and experience the world through each others bodies.

Come join us in the booth!!

Further Viewing

Flipped
Before We Go
Ruby Sparks
Chocolate (Masters of Horror)

Music on this episode

Keith Mansfield – Funky Fanfare

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Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Captain America: Civil War is just around the corner, having its theatrical release on May 6. In the whole Marvel universe, Captain America’s movies has got me intrigued the most.  Its not saying I don’t enjoy the others also but you know, less so. I’m on the record since its one of my earlier reviews to have really liked The Avengers as many people are, but the one thing I didn’t agree on was Loki was a good villain. Even though I still had a lot of fun, somehow it is not enough that I’ve had the desire to see it again, oddly, now that I think about it.  Agree to disagree, right? You can read the review HERE, if you’d like.  Regardless, in preparation for Civil War, I decided to catch up with both the Marvel movies, I missed last year.  I’m guessing it’ll open up or set the stage of this movie and I think in the trailer I spot Antman, so I’m going to give that one a go soon also.

Let’s check this out! 🙂

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Director: Joss Whedon

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elisabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle

When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it’s up to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.-IMDB

The market is completely saturated with superhero movies nowadays.  Its why I didn’t care enough to go see Avengers: Age of Ultron in theatres.  And why I didn’t see all those other ones including TV series.   Thinking about it, I took a nice one year break (most of 2015) from it.  Maybe there was like one or two older ones but I skipped most of the new stuff and its helped to maybe feel more into the mood of seeing it.  Plus, The Avengers did so well that I wasn’t sure how Age of Ultron would do. It turns out Avengers: Age of Ultron is better in some ways than The Avengers. Thinking back and reading the review I wrote for it, its missing a lot of components that I felt was lacking in the first one the more I thought about the movie and Age of Ultron remedied it quite a bit. I won’t go into talking about the story components quite so much because to me, superhero movies are pretty formulaic and simple.  They are entertainingly predictable and that’s okay because we want our superheroes to come out on top.  We’re there to watch them struggle in taking down those pesky villains who just keep on coming around and causing destruction, but no matter what, they usually manage to take it down even if it comes with a few consequences.

 

One of the first issues I had with The Avengers was that they were a six person team, except Black Widow and Hawkeye always got cast in the background a lot seeing as they never got their own movies like the other four.  Of course, Black Widow also did get a little more attention and she was then in Captain America: Winter Soldier so it made up for her lack of importance, in a way.  But Hawkeye almost always was neglected and to me, I liked his character the best. Its nice to see that in Age of Ultron his lack of importance is remarked on and remedied.  In Age of Ultron, he turns into something of a glue to the team and he knows that.  It elevates the loyalty and trust he has to this team that he literally fights life and death on any mission. We got to see the two sides of him: Hawkeye and Clint Barton.

What Marvel does do best is to create a superhero that is not only an action film with spectacular CGI effects and all those crazy larger than life action scenes focusing on Avengers as a team and fighting those villains and getting out of trouble.  The team dynamic is still there even under all their bantering and different views.  Age of Ultron also managed to give a better balance in the importance of the character and really show their weakness and the fears they have turning them maybe more human but also giving them their own stories.  Much to my expectation, the difference between what Tony Stark and Captain America start diverging and with Thor, who floats in and out of scenes links us to what the next Avengers will probably about and what all this means in that mid-credits cut scene.  However, despite the heavy bits of the movie when the plot of flowing and danger is surrounding them and all those action scenes, there are still lots of moments tucked in between to give the audience a little laugh.  That is the heart of Marvel: knowing when to let the audience just remember that this is a superhero movie and a fun one with a little humor.

Since we’re talking about the cast, its hard to not lead into the involvement of the new Avengers in the twin siblings that are known as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.  I personally like Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen quite a bit.  I think they both have the acting needed to do this and their careers will do well.  But then, I kind of like Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kick-Ass and its hard to be like, “oh, but he’s also Quicksilver? Now you’re confusing me.” But, I like them and these two characters a lot and well…let’s keep this spoiler-free even if the majority of you have seen it. On that note, I can’t wait to see Scarlet Witch in Civil War.

The last bit I want to touch on is the villain.  I’ve always had an issue with villains in superhero movies, except The Dark Knight trilogy. Like that dude in Thor: The Dark World comes to mind.  I can’t even remember his name because he was so non-existent.  I didn’t think Loki was a good villain even if some of you might think he was in The Avengers.  Now, we come to Ultron.  I mean, he’s AI, a robot and can pretty much infect the grid by implanting himself, at least thats what I understood.  I want to say Ultron was successful and I don’t know, villainous.  He is villainous but was he ever a villain that made you fear for the superheroes life even if you knew they would come out on top, even just slightly? He didn’t.  Ultron is entertaining and even a little goofy and c’mon, not even the character design was scary after he found that robot to fit himself into.  I mean, the first broken version in the trailers was a little bit more effective but this one, not one little bit. He reminded me of the villain in Robots, a fantastic animated film that you should see if you haven’t. But then, he wasn’t scary but I guess the excitement is in the vibranium making the planet fly and then the superheroes swooping in to save yet another nearly impossible day, right?

Before I enter into more spoiler territory, I’m going to end this write-up.  Overall, Avengers: Age of Ultron was fun and entertaining. That’s what I’d expect. The action and humor was good.  The story was cool.  The characters, old and new Avengers and the sequence of events were nicely developed.  Its nothing groundbreaking but I think I liked this one more just for Hawkeye having a bigger part and the addition of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. We spend a little more time learning about the characters that didn’t get their own movies pretty much and that is great. I liked it quite a bit. 🙂

Have you seen Avengers: Age of Ultron? What did you think of it?

Netflix A-Z: In Your Eyes (2014)

Moving along with the Valentine’s movies! The next Netflix selection is going to be a little sci-fi romance called In Your Eyes.  Well, I guess the premise is sci-fi but its really a romance for a good part of it.  I find it funny that this coincided with the fact that I had rewatched Cloverfield for The Random Chat Show and it had the same actor playing the main guy.  I never see Michael Stahl-David in much and suddenly I watch two back to back movies with him in it.  In Your Eyes has been on my mind since it landed on Netflix.  It looks like a really fun story and with Joss Whedon as a writer, it shows great promise.  I lie though because I didn’t know that until the movie started playing and the credits were flashing around the screen (I think), then I started fearing about how things would turn out…

Let’s check it out! 🙂

In Your Eyes (2014)

Director: Brin Hill
Writer: Joss Whedon
Cast: Zoe Kazan, Michael Stahl-David, Mark Feuerstein, David Gallagher, Jennifer Grey, Steve Howey, Nikki Reed, Reed Birney, Steve Harris

Two seemingly unconnected souls from different corners of the United States make a telepathic bond that allows them to see, hear and feel the other’s experiences, creating a bond that apparently can’t be broken.-IMDB

 In Your Eyes is a romance with notes of science fiction, mostly because its about a telepathic connection where the two can see and feel each other as well. I’m all for the premise.  It called for fun moments of just how having someone else in your head and not being able to remove that voice and how it becomes a crucial part in your life.  However, its not only about that.  Its about finding yourself when someone else can see and live the life that you are living and see it in a different light.  Its a clever story and one that I found builds on the connection really well especially since the two main characters acted out the scene by themselves.

I did some research on how they filmed it and it was the female lead, Rebecca (played by Zoe Kazan) that filmed her parts first and then the male lead Dylan (played by Michael David-Stahl) would do his part.  While they would be on set together, they were never on the scene together.  Its an interesting concept and seems like a truly challenging task. However, what more could you expect when the script is written by Joss Whedon, right? Originality is a strong suit in his work. The story is special and its one that usually we don’t quite ever think about (at least I haven’t). We’ve seen telepathy and romance and voices but combining the fact that there’s this mysterious phenomenon that two people never really know that they are connected since they were young (but we do) until later on in their life when they truly need each other.  They don’t only connect, they can see and feel everything around them.  That just takes it to another level and one that I love so much. While its about a connection being built between Rebecca and Dylan, there is an undeniable romance going on in the background but I thought the idea that they saw more out of each other was the key here and sending a message that others can see what our judgemental selves don’t usually see.

What makes it amazing in this one other than the story itself is the chemistry between Dylan and Rebecca.  Michael David-Stahl and Zoe Kazan are fantastic in their roles capturing the wounded selves they are and just what has lead them to where they are.  Finding each other kind of saves them because they bring a new hope even though its not right next to each other physically.  It feels like there’s a statement somewhere here about how knowing someone is there is much stronger than a person physically being there.  Knowing how this was filmed after watching it makes me feel that they both are excellent actors and deserve much more opportunities. On a side note, there’s a minor supporting roles with Nikki Reed and Jennifer Grey.  They had rather simple roles but helped move the story along a little also.

Overall, there isn’t much to say about In Your Eyes! It was a great premise and a beautiful storyline acted out with a fantastic chemistry between Michael David-Stahl and Zoe Kazan playing Dylan and Rebecca respectively.  Its not all about romance but more the connection of having someone with you and the message it sends is one that deserves some thought.  On top of that, there are a ton of great moments in this one and one that just blew my mind. From the contrast in their life and how they relate to each other, and even just watching how the world reacts to them in public when they are in their world looking like they are talking to thin air, it even shows how the outside opinion from people around is really influential but at times also very fun. This isn’t a conclusion anymore if I continue.  Point is, I love this movie. Its been a while that I’ve seen a modern day  romance that truly blew my mind and just made me fall in love with the characters. Its an amazing feeling! 🙂

Have you seen In Your Eyes? What did you think about it?

We have one more Netflix A-Z movie in this Valentine’s Marathon for letter J! Any guesses?

My Newest TV Addiction: Dollhouse

Also, the reason for the lack of movie reviews lately…

It seems that TV series binging has done me no good. Before it was 90210. Now, its Dollhouse….

Last week, I decided to start watching Dollhouse. Some of you may know because I posted about it briefly in one of my weekend posts HERE.  I just finished Season 1 and then after some debate, continued on with Season 2 last night. There is only two seasons, so I’ll be done soon enough.

Right now, I’m deciding between praising Joss Whedon and punching him in the face for causing me to dream and think constantly of the show.  The questions revolving in my head especially after that Epitaph Part 1. Apparently, I read that that episode was added on afterwards and only on the DVDs. I don’t know, anyways, Netflix has it as the final episode in Season 1.  Seriously, if you saw Dollhouse and you didn’t see that episode, I’m telling to go check it out because its really amazing.  Adds this amazing story and (extra) meaning to the whole series. There is a lot to think about with the concept of letting technology go too far or playing God.

Dollhouse cast

The Dollhouse itself was already a pretty crazy idea but man, to think what the possibility of a future with some crazy technology is totally out of the world.  I don’t want to go all spoilers just in case you’re in that same boat as me and haven’t seen this.  I know that I’d hate it if someone starts telling me what happens.

As much as the main girl playing Echo is super awesome and kick ass, a good part of the story revolves not only around her but the other “dolls”.  However, as much as the dolls themselves have their own story mostly connected to their past, I think the people running the Dollhouse is what makes this super cool.  This is what makes it so addictive because every character develops in their own way, better or worse.  My absolute favorite is the character of Topher Brink.

Topher Brink (actor: Fran Kranz)

 

Imagine your superior telling you this about the reason you get hired

Adelle: [to Topher] The cold reality is that everyone here was chosen because their morals have been compromised in some way. Everyone, except you. You, Topher, were chosen because you had no morals. You have always thought of people as playthings.

Thats pretty harsh.  Topher’s character development is definitely the most interesting to me.  A person with no morals has so much room to grow, right? Anyways, that Epitaph episode really makes you wonder about what happens to him specifically…

I’m sure tons of you recognize him but this guy was in Cabin in the Woods.  Its making want to pull that out to watch soon…maybe I’ll review it after I finish this 🙂

Everyone else has its place and it just fascinates me how Dollhouse story was written so well.  Its hard to find series where everyone has an important part to the turnout of the series.

Maybe I’m overthinking a lot but I just find there’s so much to look forward to in this.

I’m at Season 2 Episode 4.  Now that I’m feeling less guilty about posting much, I’ll head back to watching it 🙂

Hopefully I’ll have a few posts drafted for tomorrow….something a bit more meaningful..