AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (Rated PG-13)

The summer season has arrived in early May and if there is a guaranteed box office hit, both for domestic and global audiences, it’s director Joss Whedon’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” a spectacular action film impervious to the opinions of film critics.

Just three years, Marvel Studios delivered the ultimate comic-book film in “The Avengers,” tying together for a single purpose mission such awesome superhero characters as Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye.

An organization named S.H.I.E.L.D., headed by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), assembled these various Marvel superheroes into a shaky team to take down Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s megalomaniac adoptive brother, and to defend Earth from an alien attack.
 
This time around in the “Age of Ultron” S.H.I.E.L.D. has been dismantled and is out of the picture, though its fearless leader Nick Fury is still lurking in the shadows. He’ll show up at an opportune time, but regrettably the raving lunatic Loki is nowhere to be seen.

It may not count for much where things left off the last time, or that “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” came along after 2012’s “The Avengers.”

But there is the matter of the Avengers having to dispense with the wicked Hydra organization holed up in Eastern Europe.

With an assault on Hydra’s mountainous retreat, the Avengers encounter two new adversaries, the twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Aaron-Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olson), known as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch respectively, possessing the psychic powers to induce mind-altering visions for their enemies.

After an arduous battle, the Avengers take refuge in a bunker, celebrating their victory with one of the very few moments of merriment and down-time. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) amuses himself with a challenge to his heroic colleagues to lift his mighty hammer.

Romantic interludes are rare for our busy heroes, but there’s a tentative relationship developing between Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, and Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha, aka Black Widow. The tricky part is to keep Bruce Banner’s emotions in check.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, proves his worth financing operations and delivering the humorous quips and barbed observations.

On the other side of the spectrum, Chris Evans’ affable Captain America gently chastises his colleagues for any off-color remarks.

The most fallible member of the team is Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton, known as Hawkeye for his sharpshooting skills with a lethal crossbow.

In the heat of battle, Hawkeye is obviously more vulnerable than his comrades, which is clear after the first skirmish in the remote forest.

The clash in the Eastern European mountains looks like a breeze in hindsight when the creation of artificial intelligence known as Ultron (voiced with eerie menace by James Spader) lets known his evil plan to bring global peace by eliminating every trace of mankind.

It was supposed to be this way. Tony Stark invested heavily to jumpstart a peacekeeping program, but recovering Loki’s powerful scepter from the clutches of Hydra yielded the surprise of an artificial intelligence in Ultron that developed an army of robot warriors.

Entering the fray against the villainous Ultron puts the Avengers crew at a significant disadvantage in the early goings, so much so that they repair to Hawkeye’s farmhouse in the Midwest to lick their wounds and regroup for the inevitable showdown with Ultron.

Along the way, a new character to help the Avengers arrives with the appearance of Vision (Paul Bettany), an artificial life form that, as far as I can tell, is an android designed by Ultron for nefarious purposes, but turned out to have a sweet soul with a soft spot for humans.

Globe-trotting adventure is the name of the game as the Avengers bounce around several continents before settling back to the climactic fight in the fictional Eastern European country of Sokovia, where the war-torn streets provide an exciting backdrop to the epic final battle scene.

The climactic action puts the Avengers in a difficult bind as the robot army seems nearly indestructible. With Tony Stark in over his head, his old pal Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is once again ready to bring some military hardware to the fight.

Though “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” filled with great battle scenes, could benefit from more judicious editing to cut down the running time a tad, director Joss Whedon delivers the action goods that fans of this emerging franchise (two more films are in the works) are gleefully expecting.

What does it matter if, by chance, this second “Avengers,” in the mind of doubters, shines no brighter than a distant meteorite?

All of the elements of success for a superhero franchise are in plain view, and “Age of Ultron” is an action-packed juggernaut that won’t be derailed.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center invites the public to attend its second opening reception, “Innovative Landscapes,” on Saturday, May 9, from 6 to 8 pm.

The group show features work by 14 local and regional artists that stretch the tradition of landscape to include innovations in format, medium, technology, process, concept or vision. Functional ceramic, glass, and metal pieces by local artists are also on view.

Art works on view include John Hanses’ large format landscape photographs, shot on film and printed using pigment inks, Ricia Araiza and Michal Leventhal’s collaboratively painted abstract landscapes, Mary Mattlage's monotypes in concertina-bound handmade books, Lisa Kaplan’s relief paintings using colorful earth-clay from various elevations in Lake County, and Renata Jaworska’s metal works, bent into soft organic forms.

Alana Clearlake, William Martin, Laura Kennedy, Peter Shandera, Anthony George, Graham Lloyd, Geoffrey Huckabay, Rojax, and Uriah Mills present other intriguing visions, dreamscapes, observations, formats and media that explore “Landscape.”

Recently established by local art professionals for residents and visitors to enjoy, MAC is a vibrant hub for art, art activities and cultural enrichment.

“We look forward to bringing the arts into more people’s lives with each exhibition, event or class” said Renata Jaworska, one of MAC’s founding artists. “It was amazing to meet so many great people at our gala opening in March. Art lovers and visual and performing artists from all over the county came to welcome more art culture into our communities. I am excited to meet more of them on May 9.”

Compelling artwork, friends old and new, musical ambiance courtesy of David Neft, and organic and biodynamic wine poured by Beaver Creek Vineyards, promise a delightful evening of culture and community not to be missed.

MAC is centrally located at 21456 Highway 175, at the junction of Highway 29 and Highway 175 in Middletown, the gateway to Lake County.

MAC is open Thursday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

To learn more about classes and events, to become a member or support Mac with a donation, visit www.middletownartcenter.org or call 707-809-8118.

UKIAH, Calif. – The Mendocino College Theatre Arts Department will present the 12th annual Festival of New Plays on Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, at 8 p.m. in the College’s Little Theatre, Room 710 on the Ukiah campus.

The festival features 10 new plays by local playwrights.

Each play is approximately 10 minutes long and will be presented at both performances.

Some of the plays were developed in English professor Jody Gehrman’s writing classes; others were submitted by writers from throughout Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties.

Gehrman also is the production’s dramaturge, helping develop the scripts.

The plays are directed by Mendocino College directing students under the guidance of theater professor Reid Edelman.

The short plays cover a wide range of topics and performance styles. This year, the festival also will feature original lighting designs and scenic assistance by students in the college stagecraft class, under the direction of instructors Steve Wilson and David Wolf.

According to Edelman, “This annual festival is one of the college theater program’s most exciting projects, and this year’s line-up of plays is a very exciting mix.”

In “Skirt Steak Surprise,” by Kristin Hills, the year is 1958 and a couple is celebrating their anniversary, but there’s more to this “surprise” dinner than meets the eye. The director is Maria Monti; the cast includes Monique Marmon and Charley Sawyer.

Melany Katz is directing Jacquelyn Wells’ play “The Perfect Part,” a look behind the scenes at the inner workings and entangled relations in the theatre. Add in some lost love and a bit of painkillers, and this play is nothing but fun. The cast includes Garrett Schofield, Laurie Cipriani, Jason Davis and Stacey Sheldon.

In Maureen Studer’s play “The Hook Up,” under the direction of Amanda Katz, a suspense-filled comedy ensues when a couple gets a mysterious box delivered to their door. The cast includes Maxwell Hovland and Melissa Chapman.

Set in the late 1980s, Ian Stigliani’s play “Struck by the Love Truck” is a funny, heart-warming look at the innocence of young love and the complications that arise as young Collin learns that being yourself is the first step of attraction. Jason Davis directs a cast featuring Megan Regan and Todd Hale.

“Disturb the Universe,” written by Ukiah High School creative writing teacher Michael Riedell and directed by Chelsea Lovell, involves two men on a roof, each one convinced he needs to save the other. The cast includes Will Schlosser and Zeek Hadar.

In Jane Futcher’s “Oogitty Boogitty,” leaping to conclusions, missed connections and mistaken identities lead to amusing and mind-altering events in a hospital room shared by two older women. Virginia Hanley and Gabriel Suddeth are the co-directors. The cast includes Janet Denninger, Libby Guthrie, Ari Sunbeam, Marco Orozco and Sierra Alexander.

Don Samson’s “The Blind Date” shows what might happen when a no-longer-young woman snares a much-younger man using her much-younger photo online. Jonathan Whipple directs a cast featuring Jan Michele, Thomas Kenney, Pete Winslow and Gabriel Suddeth.

“The Bone Key: A Fractured Fairy Tale,” by Roseanne Wetzel, is a sequel to the Hansel and Gretel story – eight years later. The witch has changed the ending; she is still holding them captive, and has switched bodies with Gretel, who is determined to escape. The director is Mary Buckley. The cast features Ayla Decaire and Ellen Weed.

In Virginia Guleff’s “The Wellness Motivational and Proactive Living Hotline,” a distraught man calls a suicide hotline and is connected to a girl on the first day at her job. The play is both humorous and heart-breaking. The director is James Blake. The cast includes Jason Edington and Melany Katz.

Finally, the play “Auction Day,” by Scott Lummer, is a roller coaster (with its wheels about to fall off) ride for the headmaster of a private school, trying to keep standards high while keeping parents happy on the day of the school’s biggest fundraiser. The director is Jason Edington. The cast features Will Schlosser, Meghan Baker, Brad McClanahan and Kristin Hills.

Tickets are available for purchase in Ukiah at Mendocino Book Company and the Mendocino College Bookstore, and online at www.ArtsMendocino.org .

This production is recommended for ages 14 and up, as some of the plays are for mature audiences and include disturbing themes.

Admission is $10.

This production is expected to sell out quickly, so audience members are encouraged to purchase tickets soon.

For more information, call Reid Edelman at 707-468-3172.

Mendocino College is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Unitarian Universalist Community of Lake County will hold a musical fundraiser on Saturday, May 30.

The folk and Americana coffee house concert will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Kelseyville Senior Center, 5245 Third St.

The event will feature performances by Don Coffin, Andi Skelton, Three Deep, Andrea Blair, Jim Williams and Joel Diamond.

There also will be a special guest – Lake County Poet Laureate Casey Carney.

The cost is $20 per person. Tickets will be available at the door only.

Seventy years ago, when I entered Beardshear Elementary in Ames, Iowa, the school employed a custodian, Mr. Shockley, who had for an office a closet under the stairs.

I wish I could thank him for mopping up all our vomit and helping us buckle our galoshes.

Here’s a fine poem about custodians by David Livewell, from New Jersey, whose most recent book of poems is Shackamaxon (Truman State Univ. Press, 2012).

Custodians

Retired from other trades, they wore
Work clothes again to mop the johns
And feed the furnace loads of coal.
Their roughened faces matched the bronze

Of the school bell the nun would swing
To start the day. They limped but smiled,
Explored the secret, oldest nooks:
The steeple’s clock, dark attics piled

With inkwell desks, the caves beneath
The stage on Bingo night. The pastor
Bowed to the powers in their hands:
Fuses and fire alarms, the plaster

Smoothing a flaking wall, the keys
To countless locks. They fixed the lights
In the crawl space above the nave
And tolled the bells for funeral rites.

Maintain what dead men made. Time blurs
Their scripted names and well-waxed floors,
Those keepers winking through the years
And whistling down the corridors.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2014 by David Livewell, “Custodians,” from Southwest Review (Vol. 99, no. 2, 2014). Poem reprinted by permission of David Livewell and Southwest Review. Introduction copyright 2015 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

There’s debate about what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when advocating “the pursuit of happiness” along with life and liberty.

The answer won’t be found in Showtime’s dark comedy “HAPPYish,” an almost depressing affair by any measure.

However, the good name of one of founding fathers is subject to a tirade during the voiceover monologue of the first episode of “HAPPYish” by none other than the show’s protagonist, middle-aged advertising executive Thom Payne (British comedian Steve Coogan).

Dissatisfied with his professional life at a New York ad agency, Thom expresses his frustration that Jefferson has kept us guessing at the meaning of happiness. Thom’s rant ends with a profane insult to Jefferson, followed by flipping his middle finger.

The opening monologue of discontent is soon followed by Thom’s 44th birthday party, where Thom’s wife Lee (Kathryn Hahn), who happens to be a neurotic Jew and wants everyone to know it, proves to be as profane and foul-mouthed as her husband.

The birthday party also involves conversation with another couple equally annoying as the Paynes, where the topic of discussion revolves around surgical procedures that, well, involve the tightening of certain genital parts that are not worthy of further elucidation.

Within minutes, “HAPPYish” has delved into a range of sexual topics that might even be a bit too much for the porn films cranked out at private homes in the San Fernando Valley.

Yeah, if it’s not already clear, this new half-series ranks along with “Shameless” as unsuitable for family viewing.

About 10 minutes into the show, after commuting into the city by train, Thom is off to work at his office where he exclaims “I work for Satan” and then slams “Mad Men” and claims that there is nothing cool or interesting about advertising.

It gets even worse when the agency’s executive creative director Jonathan (Bradley Whitford) marvels at the marketing power of Al Qaeda, considering that they were unknown prior to 9/11. Then he expresses amazement how ISIS has expanded the market.

Thom informs his creative boss that Al Qaeda is not a brand, it’s a terrorist organization. And Jonathan glibly replies that everything is a brand. This observation is soon followed by Jonathan’s assertion that “thinking is not as important as tweeting.”

That Thom Payne despises the industry in which he has toiled for twenty years bubbles to the surface in full angst-ridden splendor when his agency’s fortunes are put in the hands of Gustav and Gottfrid, a pair of platitude-spouting Swedish millennials who are basically clueless about anything other than social media.

Truth be told, I found it rather difficult to make it through the first half-hour episode. Nothing would surprise me more than if more than half the audience for “HAPPYish” would tune out altogether before the end of thirty minutes.

For the sake of duty, and perhaps a slightly perverse interest or foolish notion to see if things could improve, I hung in for episode two, not fully realizing that my initial impression that the unlikable nature of the characters was not going to somehow magically change.

Oh no, it only gets worse. The high-strung Lee, who dabbles in artistic endeavors inspired loosely by Marc Chagall, has a complete meltdown after picking up a package sent by her mother as a gift to her grandson. We are treated to the unenviable spectacle of Lee having imaginary conversations with her meddling mother.

To his credit, despite having to come off as a miserable self-loathing misanthrope and still saddled with spewing a lot of drek, Steve Coogan manages to deliver a few moments of comic relief. One of his better moments is when he gets worked up about the absurdity of a Pepto-Bismol ad that suggests people should follow the product on Twitter.

Despite his best efforts, Coogan still can’t make his character likable or admirable in any real sense. But then none of talented actors, from Kathryn Hahn to Bradley Whitford, or even to Ellen Barkin as a hardened executive headhunter, is able to come across as an appealing person of rooting interest to the viewers.

The smug millennial workforce doesn’t come off any better than their elders at the agency. It’s a groan-worthy moment when one of them, pitching new ideas for Coke, has a presentation entitled “How do we sell happiness in the Age of Disillusionment?” A good question that lacks an answer!

“HAPPYish” was originally intended to be a starring vehicle for Philip Seymour Hoffman. His unfortunate shuffling off this mortal coil can only leave us wondering if this talented actor would have brought a different tone and tenor to this show, though it would not seem likely if he had to read the same dreadful lines.

The pursuit of happiness, at least for television viewers for the most part, would require tuning out of “HAPPYish” not more than a couple of minutes into the first episode.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.