Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca Suit, screen, and studio > Aleks Paunovic talks ‘Blackway’ & ‘Planet of the Apes’ Adam Tatelman Arts Editor t 6 feet 5 inches, Winnipeg- born actor Aleks Paunovic has no trouble towering over the competition here in Hollywood North. Some would even call him intimidating. But his easygoing demeanour and love for his work show him for what he is—a performer dedicated to his craft, and a man with nothing to prove to anyone. Recently, Aleks worked ona film called Blackway, which premiered on June 2 at the Enderby Cliffs in the North Okanagan. “The town was nothing but loving and giving to the people who want to shoot there,” Aleks said of his experience shooting the Aleks Paunovic Image via imdb film. “It was a really fun time.” During the shoot, Aleks worked with acting legends Anthony Hopkins, Ray Liotta, and Julia Stiles. “My character A house divided > ‘Captain America: Civil War’ film review Adam Tatelman Arts Editor OOOSOS urrently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to occupy a strange ethereal plane that shields it from traditional film critique. Dislike the films? Youre obviously not a fan of the comics. And ifyou are, then youre just a whiny fanboy who hates change. Civil War isn’t an awful film, but thanks to this peculiar mentality, it has no shortage of staunch defenders who refuse to admit to the existence of its structural flaws. The plot is similar to that of Batman vs. Superman; following a fiasco in the third world that resulted in the deaths of many civilians, big daddy government decides that the Avengers need to be regulated by the U.N. Some, led by Captain America, fear that they will be used for political agendas under pain of imprisonment. The Avengers split into two factions as a result. Though the comparison is unfavourable, Civil War does a better job of exploring the conflict because the Avengers have had several films in which to bond. Seeing them fractured sells the movie by itself because, unlike BvS, the stakes are clear and the conflict feels earned. However, the dissimilarities end there. Civil War falls into the same trap of trying to set up too many future projects at once, leading to a lack of narrative focus. Tom Holland is pure gold as the new Spider-Man, but his presence in the film is a glorified advertisement for his reclamation by Marvel Studios. Ant-Man lends a comedic element to had a couple scenes with Anthony Hopkins,” Aleks said, “I’ve developed a great friendship with Anthony, not just during the shoot but after as well. Julia Stiles—who is a phenomenal actress—sadly | didn’t have any scenes with her, but we did become friends.” Even those who haven't heard of Aleks Paunovic have likely seen his work without knowing it. He has worked as a motion capture performer for high-profile game developers such as Epic Games, best known for the mega-hit shooter franchise Gears of War. So if you've ever indulged in the soothing, therapeutic act of chainsawing some locust grubs in a round of Horde Mode, you can bet that Aleks provided you with the animations to do so, likely saving a nation’s worth of anger the otherwise heavy-handed proceedings, but he’s really just here to remind us that there will totally be an Ant-Man 2. As if that weren’t enough, Black Panther joins the fray to plug his upcoming solo film. Chadwick Boseman is perfect for the role, but despite a crowd- pleasing reveal, his character feels superfluous. This is because the film insists on cramming in a villain character to manipulate the Avengers against one another, (Y Blizzard’s new heroes (¥ Chairman of the Board: Kids’ stuff (¥ Comic Corner: Breathing new life into the undead And more! management bills in the process. “People don’t really know there’s a significant amount of acting in motion capture,” Aleks said of his work in the mo-cap studio. “I just finished War for the Planet of the Apes, we had a good month of rehearsal, just getting the emotionality and the physicality down.” Aleks regards his work on Planet of the Apes as an exploration of the physical aspects of acting, in addition to a rare opportunity to share the screen with mo-cap icon Andy Serkis. “Sometimes when you don’t know exactly what youre doing you kind of put yourself in a box,” he said. “Tt was challenging but very rewarding. I think it made me a better actor in general.” Aleks is set to take on the when the heroes’ ideological conflict should be the driving force of the film. Without this villain, Black Panther has no one to seek revenge against, and thus no stake in the battle. Together, they serve only to distract from the main plot. Without giving too much away, the villain in question wants to destroy the Avengers for their past misdeeds. This connects him to the debate at Image via Marvel Studios Syfy channel with his next project, a TV series called Van Helsing. For contractual reasons he wasn't able to give much away, but what he did share sounds interesting. “It’s gotta stay zipped for now, but what I can say is, I play a vampire named Julius. He’s quite brutal and extremely fun to play.” Though some have already written the show off as vampire shlock, the pedigree of the writers attached to the project is eyebrow-raising—not just for viewers, but for Aleks himself. “The best part was working with Neil LaBute. He’s one of the most reputable playwrights out of New York,” Aleks said. “It was such a blessing to go to work every day and know that that’s who youre going to be creating with. I can’t wait for people to see it.” hand, but his actions cheapen the film. Rather than seeing the heroes come to blows over their opposing stances on superhuman regulation, it happens because of a contrived reveal so that the writers can have an easier time getting everyone to kiss and make up for Avengers 3. Even the civil war itself feels cheapened by this. The only real casualty of the film happens by accident because everyone’s pulling their punches. And since Iron Man’s pro- regulation stance clashes with his established character, it feels contrived. Guilt over his mistakes in Age of Ultron didn't manage to give him a change of heart, so why does the incident in this film sway him so easily? The obvious argument to be made is that, while the Avengers do make mistakes, they save far, far more lives than they endanger. Yet this is never even mentioned in the requisite heated debate scene. Without that point of view, the film loses any allegorical bite it might have had. It could have been Captain America the libertarian versus Iron Man the nanny- state advocate, and what we got is “Cap’s in the right because his name is in the title.” That’s simplistic, even for Marvel. Shape up, guys. You're better than this.