Review of "Men In Black 3" - Worth the wait

Can you believe it's been 15 years since we were introduced to Agent K, his new recruit, Agent J & the world of MIB? And 10 years since the horrible sequel, MIB 2? Yea, you forgot about that one, didn't you? No worries, I think most of us either forgot about it or wish we could forget about it.

As a huge fan of the first movie, I was very disappointed with MIB 2. So, I was a little skeptic when I heard the news of a third MIB. My first thought was "They can't do any worse". And they didn't. In fact, the great cast & overflowing humor made the movie worth the wait.

Forget that MIB 2 ever happened. All you need to know before going to see this movie is that Agent K (played by Tommy Lee Jones) is back at MIB headquarters with his wise-cracking partner, Agent J (played by Will Smith). The movie starts off like its just another day at the office for our favorite agents. Some rogue alien is terrorizing the neighborhood & MIB show up with their cool guns & neuralizers. The film takes a somber note as we are informed that Agent Zed (previously played by Rip Torn) is no longer around. One has to wondered if Torn's recent legal problems made him too much of a liablity issue for the production. Nonetheless, the humor picks up and the audience says "Zed who?" when we are introduced to Agent O, (played by the delightful Emma Thompson).

Without giving too much away, Agent J goes back to 1969 to save a young Agent K, (played by Josh Brolin), from Boris, the last member of an alien race that Agent K helped destroyed. And he has to help save Earth from imminent attack in his present time, 2012.

If the time travel story line seems confusing, don't worry. The script's explanation of time travel is successfully presented by a new character addition. Griffin (Michael Stuhlbard) is an alien who is capable of viewing multiple iterations of reality. It may not be the best way to explain time travel but it's the shortest and humorous version audiences can understand.

Like the first movie, the dynamic between J and K, coupled with tried-and-true alien gags, aren’t stale. The late 1960s setting offers a lot of fresh ideas. Especially for Agent J. Being a black man in 1969 was tough but it was communicated humorously, which made the encounters less awkward and more eye opening. Also, the script uses a lot of the 1960s 'dated' technology as gags for our heroes.

As seen in the previews, Josh Brolin plays an excellent young Agent K. He completely subsumes himself into the style and sound of another. The performance works like an optical illusion - we see Brolin but we are fooled into seeing Agent K, making Jones youthful again. In short, it's a bait-and-switch but because it is so well-crafted, it works!

The one thing different about this movie is that it feels more intense and grown-up than the first two. There is more violence & death than the first two movies put together. The film is rated PG-13 but I feel it barely stays within that rating.

Overall, I like it. It was a fun ride. Not as good as the first one but then again, they never are. It has an ingenious plot, bizarre aliens, a cliff-hanger and a ending that I think all MIB fans will appreciate. The only thing I believe it was lacking was a catchy Will Smith song that you can sing all the way to the parking lot. Rating: B+

Does it really matter???

I'm not one to draw things out in public. I like to keep my personal disappointments to myself. It must be my "weak" complexion because there's something about talking about my problems out loud that makes me cringe. Also, I believe it's a deep rooted issue I have that goes all the way back to high school. (Yes, a lot of my issues stem from those 4 years of hell on Earth).

Anyhow, when I'm disappointed or hurt, I usually ponder what went wrong for a few hours or days (depending on the severity of the situation) and then move on. Sometimes, something else will remind me of that hurtful moment and then I'm drawn back into the past for a bit & then snapped out it. But there's just one thing that bothers me from time to time. I come back to this situation quite a bit.

Last fall, I tried expanding my circle of friends by looking on CraigsList. Yes, I know, probably not the best place to find decent human beings. But I did find my friend Sasha there and there's tons of postings "looking" for friends on there. Besides, LA is the hardest place to make real lasting friends. Especially if you're in your 30's. And poor.

I found this really cool chick named Jessica in September. We went dancing, did some photography together and hit the bars a few times. She was a few years younger than me, had done more traveling but we had so much in common. She enjoyed doing the same things I love to do. She actually kept up with me. I had thought this was a best friend in the making. At first, I didn't tell her I was married. I mean, what single chick wants to hang out with a married one? I had thought that once we hung out enough, being married wouldn't matter. Especially since I helped her pick up a couple guys at the bar. I'm like the best wingman someone could have. I like flirting. I like men. But I don't want any of them. Competition eliminated. (Although I would give her a run for her money).

Then in late October, I invited her to Lucha VaVroom with Ryan and Brad. I had an extra ticket and I knew I was the 3rd wheel so why not invite her? I debated introducing Ryan as my husband to her but held off. Then half way through the event, I felt comfortable telling her Ryan was my husband. She acted like it was no big deal. She said it made sense since I didn't take any phone numbers from the guys at the bar. So, I thought we were cool.

Nope, we weren't.

It started with she was working a lot of overtime at her job in preparation for the holidays. She didn't have time to hang out. Then, she stopped returning my calls and emails. Then, my emails were being bounced back to me as undeliverable. By Christmas, I had given up. Chucked it up to her lost. But was it really her lost?

I'm only thinking about her now for 2 reasons. I found a picture of her at the only photography event we did. And that I was begging people to go with me to the Dodger game this weekend. Not only was I begging my friends but I was begging people on Craiglist. How sad is that that I couldn't find anyone in LA to go with me to a free Dodger game?

Ryan says I ruin the friendship by telling Jessica I was married. But does it really matter? Is it really that big of a deal? Can only single people hang out with other single people? I don't care for kids but I hang out with adults that have kids. And besides, how long could I have really gone on not declaring my status?

So this train of thought takes a wicked turn towards me. I know I'm difficult. I don't adjust well. I have a high standards for people. And I have a lot of hatred for pop culture things that most people like. (I'm looking at you Twilight, Uggs and Pinkberry). I know I distance myself for others and I have trust issues (again - I have high school to thank for that). But am I a hard person to be friends with? Maybe it wasn't being married that chase Jessica away. I like to think I have the qualities of a good friend - loyalty, honesty, compassion, somewhat intelligent, humble, strength. But maybe I don't.

I think back to some of my past best friends. There were those two bitches from high school. Best friends since 6th grade. I did everything I could to salvage those friendships but it wasn't enough. Amy slept w/ my then-boyfriend when I was out of town to get back at me for something petty. With Colleen - I don't know where to start with that. There were so many issues. Loyal to the end got me nothing but misery.

Then there's Tom, who I thought was my friend but he was just being a guy. So I can't get mad at him. Not that it does any good to get mad at him.

And there's his sister, Tinie, who is my oldest friend. But being 3 time zones apart is hard. I would say she is my best friend but that's because she's the closest that fits that description.

And that's my list of my best friends - past & present. Really sad. I get that people are going to come and go during your lifetime. But why is it so damn hard to find a best friend? I'm 33 years old and I'm starting to think maybe it is me.

Review of "Avengers" - Entertaining but predictable

Last night, I saw a midnight screening of Avengers with my husband and his mantress.

(It's hard to be the third wheel in a bromance). My husband brought tickets to an open seating, non-3D, version of the movie. Buying tickets to a 3D movie is a waste for me as my eyes don't see the 3D format like everyone's else. So, the argument that "it's much better in 3D" doesn't work for me. With that said, here's my review of this long awaited film -

Avengers is probably the most anticipated Marvel action/comic book film since Iron Man. Ever since Samuel L. Jackson was introduced as Nick Fury, movie and comic book fans alike have been counting down the days to its release. I was one of those many fans. I don't consider myself a comic book geek but I'm well diverse in the Marvel universe to understand the back stories, characters & plots. (I'm actually more of a DC fan and my favorite Marvel superhero team is X-Men). Nonetheless, I was excited to see Captain America & Thor in one movie. Unfortunately, I thought the film was missing some key items.

Without giving too much away, Avengers definitely delivers on the non-stop action & slapstick comedy. I felt that some of the lines were written for the male race between the ages of 12 and 30. The witty banter between characters is enjoyable to watch even if you don't know the back stories. But don't look for any character development or arches. The usual character arch you see in most films, i.e. meet-a-jackass-hero-that-learns-a-valuable-lesson-and-becomes-a-better-hero arch, is as flat as Chris Evans' abs. Which to many may not be a big deal. Unless you trying to figure out what happened to that subplot they were all talking about 10 minutes ago. There also seems to be lacking real drama and danger for the protagonists. I must agree with The Guardian in their review, "The hero-against-hero slugfest that the comics have been trading on for decades is entertaining at first, but the various combinations of Hulk v Thor v Iron Man quickly blow themselves out. Perhaps it would have helped if they had a properly combative adversary."

The movie runs 2 hours and 30 minutes long. But then again, it's essentially six movies in one. Just be prepare for a slow beginning. After the first 30 minutes, the movie plays like it's on fast forward. Especially in the climatic battle where I felt these scenes could have been lifted from any of Michael Bay's Transformers films. I felt the final fight scenes were lacking the originality found in the middle of the film. Nearly every Hollywood action film can do a damn good job of blowing stuff up. Maybe it's just me but I'm tired of watching a major city reduce to rubble as aliens invade on their cool jet-ski like machines.

But I have to give credit where credit is due. The hero I worried the most about was The Hulk. The last few incarnations have been disappointing. (No offense Eric and Edward. It wasn't entirely your fault). But Mark Ruffalo pulls off some of the best gags in the movie. Although the Loki/Gamma Ray/Hulk subplot fell to the way side, Ruffalo gives us a much more fun Hulk without losing the rage/smash angle. And the best part, the Hulk's CGI effects were spot on.

On the flip side, Loki was probably the weakest character in the movie. He wants to take over the human race but we never really understand why. We know he has daddy-issues and he's jealous of Thor. But that's it. He does have some memorable moments but his story line was predictable and he never seems to pose a threat. Like Thor proved - just beat him senseless & he gives up. Other than holograms, what exactly is Loki's power? He seems like he needs an additional power source just to go head-to-head with Thor. Not much of a villain.

The immeasurable passion of writer/director Joss Whedon is obvious. The film works and is pure entertainment. He has created a serious cash cow for Paramount Studios despite the imbalance story choices. It is unlikely that it will win any Oscars but the success should be enough for multiple sequels. I've read that comic book geeks agree that the film is the "purest comic adaptation ever". My opinion: it's not the best superhero movie but it's definitely the funniest. Rank: B-