Movies I Watched in April, Part 3

At long last...


I’ve been disappointed by some of the 1980s horror movies I’ve re-watched recently (I’m looking at you, “Creepshow” and “Silver Bullet”), so when Amy suggested we introduce the kid to 1985’s “Fright Night,” I didn’t have the highest of hopes. I saw it in the theater way back when, but the most memorable part of that evening was the sneak preview of “Return of the Living Dead” that played afterwards. Still, with nothing better to watch, I fired up the Amazon Prime and returned to that timeless (and recently remade) tale of a kid who discovers his neighbor is, in fact, a vampire.  And, thankfully, not only did it hold up, it was better – much better – than I had remembered. Maybe it was just that “Return of the Living Dead,” with all its nasty humor, copious gore and naked Linnea Quigley, made “Fright Night” look like pretty tame stuff, but whatever the reason, I missed just how clever and well made it is. The plot is simple: Charley (William Brewster) realizes his new neighbor (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire, and no one believes him (of course). Together with his girlfriend (Amanda Bearse) and pal (Stephen Geoffreys), he contacts ex-actor and current horror movie host Peter Vincent (a perfectly cast Roddy McDowall), and they try to defeat the ultra smooth bloodsucker next door. Like I said, it’s a by-the-numbers story, but writer/director Tom Holland (not the current Spider-Man, another guy) includes plenty of smart twists and stages the whole thing in an unpretentious but impressive way. Best of all, and I cannot stress this enough, Sarandon is great as “Jerry Dandrige,” bringing humor, charm and a genuine sense of menace to the role. If you haven’t seen this in decades (like me) or haven’t seen it at all (like my kid), by all means give it a look. Take it from me – it’s miles better than just about any other ‘80s horror movie you would otherwise be watching.

And here we are, at the end of a journey that began more than a decade ago, when Marvel couldn’t get the movie rights to the X-Men, Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four, and instead had to make do with a bunch of second bananas like Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and Thor. I haven’t seen every one of these movies (sorry first Hulk, first two Thors, second Iron Man and first Captain Marvel), but I’ve seen enough of them (and I’ve written enough comic books myself) to know that merely reaching this finale, let alone creating something that manages to be both coherent and entertaining, is an impressive feat. So congratulations to the millions and millions of people involved. You did well. Now take a rest.
Since “Avengers Endgame” is well on its way to claiming the all-time box office crown, I’m assuming most of you have seen it, so I won’t go into any sort of detailed recap. Instead, I’ll share a few things I liked. Spoilers abound, so beware:
      I liked the beginning, both with its quick, brutal victory over Thanos and the twist that victory really didn’t change anything. Thanos is a fairly extraordinary villain, a mass murderer who somehow, against all odds, manages to be someone we can (sort of) identify with. In this movie, after he accomplished his goal of wiping out literally half the universe, he didn’t move on to some new grand plan, he retired to a distant planet to raise crops and seemed to sadly welcome the death that the Avengers (specifically Thor) were happy to bring him.
         I liked “fat Thor,” and didn’t think he was a cheap joke. Sure, there were laughs during his first appearance in New Asgard, but he was st heart a tragic figure, shattered at what had happened that he, a genuine god, couldn’t fix. His scenes with his mother on (actual) Asgard were touching, but even better was the moment when he was telling some story and couldn’t keep it straight, and Iron Man gently told him it was OK. All that struggle made his eventual rebirth in the big battle (including a moment I’ll get to in a second) all the more rewarding.
      I liked all the time travel – and why not? I’m a big fan of “Back to the Future II,” where Marty returns to the first movie (something that blew my mind when I first saw it), and in “Endgame” our heroes return to the scene of several movies, with Cap even having a battle with his younger, less cynical self. It all worked for me: the “Hail, Hydra,” Tony reconciling with his dad, Banner talking with the Ancient One, Thor getting Mjolnir back and Cap observing that, he does in fact have “America’s ass.” The fact that it barely makes any sense makes it all even more fun, I’d argue.
      And, above all, I loved the moment when – with Thanos seemingly triumphant, all odds against our heroes and death and doom mere moments away – Thor sees Mjolnir fly past him, turns around and sees what we all knew we’d eventually see: Captain America holding his hammer. His expression as he shouts “I KNEW IT” is the wonderful punchline of a joke that was set up four years earlier, and if it’s not the sort of joke that makes you laugh, it’s definitely the sort that brings a big smile to your face. The audience I saw it with on opening weekend went bananas at that moment, and it was a great feeling to be among them. Corny? Sure, but it’s exactly the sort of goofy, glorious, oddly powerful moment you want from a movie like this.
      And I loved the immediate aftermath, too. Falcon says to Cap “On your left,” and Cap – and you – realize that this means the ones who vanished are coming back – every single one of them. With “Avengers: Infinity War” ending on such a bleak note, you knew they’d redeem it with an over-the-top victorious moment in this one, and with the heroes popping back and Cap saying “Avengers, assemble!,” that’s exactly what they did.
So what didn’t I like? Well, I thought the meaningless scene of all the female heroes gathering as one for no apparent reason was more than a little forced, and, speaking of forced, I thought the almost random appearances of Captain Marvel made virtually no sense. (If she’s that powerful, why wasn’t she always part of the action? This, after all, was a mission to SAVE THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. Or, half of it anyway.) It would have been nice if Black Widow’s sacrifice could’ve had more time and attention paid to it, and though I know this is a cosmic level battle requiring all the firepower that can be mustered, I prefer Spider-Man in his own, simple costume. All that Stark-tech gets away from his scrappy, friendly neighborhood essence.
One more thing I liked that I haven’t seen anyone mention, maybe because it’s such a subtle moment in the midst of all the chaos: When Tony snaps his fingers and the missing universe is restored, there’s a sound of birds chirping, which we haven’t heard for the entire movie. Now that’s something a lesser superhero movie wouldn’t even consider. And that’s why I think the Marvel movies, at their best, are really special. They remember that the big moments work best when contrasted with the small ones.