The first thing one notices about Extraction is the bizarre name of Chris Hemsworth’s character. Tyler Rake is clearly meant to be a punchy action-hero moniker, but there’s something off about it; it’s both too silly and not silly enough. The script attempts to get ahead of the criticism by making a knowing joke about it, but it remains a distractingly misguided touch. In short, the name doesn’t work, but at least the movie (mostly) does. Continue reading
It seems that every Marvel movie somehow manages to generate even more hype than the last, and Avengers: Infinity War is no exception. It’s the movie that the last dozen-or-so films of its universe have been leading up to, focusing on the titular band of superheroes doing battle with Thanos (Josh Brolin), the much-ballyhooed big-bad of the Marvel universe. Infinity War brings with it the creative challenges posed by its two predecessors: juggling a massive cast of characters, maintaining a brisk pace for a hefty running time, and keeping the stakes high in a franchise that has rather cheapened the threat of global destruction. Continue reading