Posts tagged right
“Thor” Deus ex Machina to the Max
Jun 9th
“Deus ex Machina to the Max”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Thor is from the Marvel Studios, which is an obvious indication that it is based on a comic book, even though its roots go all the way back to Norse mythology, in which the title character was the Norse god of thunder, might, and war and who had a magical hammer that returned to him.
So, if you are not a teenager, don’t care for comic books, and not all that interested in Norse mythology, you can skip this one even though it was directed by acclaimed actor-director Kenneth Branagh and stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman.
No, Hopkins doesn’t play Thor. He plays Odin, the supreme god and the father of Thor.
So, if you do see this movie, don’t be surprised if you recognize elements of Norse mythology, Christian mythology, Shakespearean stories, the legend of King Arthur, and every cliche in the book from bad government agents to the use of “bad cop, good cop” in the form of “bad god, good god.”
Oh, yes, the story switches back and forth between the realm of the gods and here on earth, where Thor becomes banished for his bad behavior.
In other words, he has to redeem himself and learn not to be so obnoxious.
And once that Thor lands in New Mexico, he runs into Dr. Jane Foster and her team of astrophysicists. Or, rather, she runs into him. Twice.
Jane is played by Natalie Portman, and if you think that this role is beneath her after winning an Academy Award, you would be right.
Thor’s hammer lands in the desert, too, and so the story cuts back and forth between the treachery up in the realm of the gods and Thor’s trials down on earth, not to mention a budding and implausible romance with Jane.
For an action movie, there is way too much talk, too, from the narration at the beginning to set up the story to the exposition in the middle that makes you just want to say, “Blah blah blah, already!”
And the title gives critics the chance to say the movie is “Thilly, thorry, thtupid, thuperfithial, and thimplithtic.”
Thor even has an ending that would embarrass the gods, because it is one of deus ex machina to the max, assuming that anyone in this simplistic day and age gets that.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Win Win” Winner Winner
May 4th
“Winner Winner”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Win Win is the third film written and directed by Tom McCarthy, after the 2003 The Station Agent and the 2007 The Visitor, and if you saw those two films, you have a good idea of how excellent this one is, also.
You might not 
have seen those films, because low-budget, independent films don’t have extended runs in theaters, no matter how excellent they are.
So, see this one as soon as you can.
Paul Giamatti stars as Mike Flaherty. He is a husband and father of two girls, but the twist is that he is a struggling lawyer in New Jersey and the coach of a high-school wrestling team that, for lack of a better word, is awful.
Mike is struggling with problems in all aspects of his life, starting at home with a dead tree in the front yard. His wife, Jackie, makes him promise to call someone about it, because she says, “I don’t want it coming down on the house.”
But when Mike gets to his office in an old residential house, he has other problems to worry about. He is going to need $6,000 to replace the boiler in the basement even though it was repaired three months ago.
Also, one of his clients, Leo Poplar, is in the early stages of dementia, and a judge wants to appoint a guardian for him. So, Mike volunteers to be Leo’s guardian, even though Leo wants to live in his own house, and he hasn’t seen his daughter in over 20 years.
However, Mike tells Leo that the court has ordered Leo to live in a retirement home, puts him in one, and then pockets the money that Leo gets every month.
Complicated, right? And maybe even illegal.
But wait. There is more. Leo’s 16-year-old grandson, Kyle, suddenly shows up, having run away from home in Ohio and wanting to live with Leo, because his mother is in a drug-treatment program and they don’t get along at all.
So, Jackie takes pity on Kyle and invites him to stay with them.
But, wait, there is still more. Kyle is an excellent wrestler, which solves one of Mike’s problems, but then Kyle’s mother shows up, which causes even more problems.
Win Win brings to mind “Winner Winner, chicken dinner,” as the kids like to say.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Hall Pass” Mixed Messages
Mar 21st
“Mixed Messages”
HALL PASS is the latest attempt at humor from the Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby, who previously were responsible for the 1994 DUMB & DUMBER, the 1998 THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, the 2000 ME, MYSELF & IRENE, and the 2001 SHALLOW HAL, to name a few . . . too many.
So, to send you a mixed message, don’t waste any time seeing this movie.
However, if you are forced to see it now or accidentally see it later, be prepared for a load of crap, to be crude, and literal, and not funny.
Also be prepared for the movie to take way too long to get started, just as this review is taking.
It stars Owen Wilson as Rick and Jason Sudeikis as his best friend, Fred. Respectively, they are married to Jenna Fischer as Maggie and Christina Applegate as Grace.
Like all men, Rick and Fred take long looks at beautiful women whenever they can, and like all wives, Maggie and Grace take personal offense when their husbands do.
So, on the advice of a friend, Maggie decides to give Rick a chance to get his wanderlust out of his system. She says to him, “I’m giving you a hall pass. One week off from marriage.”
Grace does the same with Fred, and together Maggie and Grace take the kids and travel to Cape Cod to spend a week with Maggie’s father, leaving Rick and Fred in Providence, Rhode Island, to do whatever they want for a week with no wives around.
Then we get a day-by-day account of the expected horndog hilarity, which we know is going to end with a message, right? The movie also cuts back and forth from Providence to Cape Cod as we watch the wives encounter some unexpected situations, as well.
On Day 6 Richard Jenkins shows up in Providence as Coakley, a mentor and hero for Rick and Fred, and he shows them what he does that makes him succeed with women, especially by throwing a big party at his house with a lot of women and a lot of opportunities for Rick and Fred.
Well, I won’t spoil the movie for you by telling you what you can already guess, but I do suggest that you stay until after the credits.
HALL PASS contains mixed messages, some funny and others not at all.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
