"Thor"
Richard's Review: 3 stars
It's hammer time at the movies this weekend. Thor, the sledgehammer superhero feels like an amuse-bouche for the big "Avengers" movie coming up next year. But with its rippling muscles, crazy mythology and giant Frost monsters, it's still a bit of fun. Not "Iron Man" fun, but more of a good time than you'd imagine a superhero movie directed by Kenneth Branagh might be.
Based on the Marvel comic book, the action in "Thor" really begins with our hero about to be named king by his father (Anthony Hopkins). Seconds before daddy says the words, "You are king," Frost Giants from an enemy realm interrupt the ceremony. Furious that his big day has been marred, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) disobeys his father and skips realms to confront the invaders. The punishment for his reckless, arrogant behavior is banishment to Earth and the arms of meteorologist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), which isn't so bad, but he misses his home planet.
Branagh brings a Shakespearean feel to the story, blending all the bard's universal themes --love, deception, death and daddy issues -- with the stuff of superhero movies. Classing up the joint a little bit is Anthony Hopkins, although the way he chews the scenery it's like he hasn't eaten in a month.
Unlike its star, however, the incredibly buff Chris Hemsworth, the movie is a bit soft in the middle. It starts off well, slows to a crawl midway, but as soon as Thor gets his groove back... er... gets his hammer back the movie gets back on track.
The big problem here is the love story. Natalie Portman may be the hottest women in Hollywood right now, but the pirouettes that propelled her to Oscar glory this year are noticeably missing here. I think she's miscast, a feeling reinforced by the presence of Kat Dennings in a throwaway role that she turns into a charismatic supporting part on the strength of her quirky comic timing. This movie would have more zip in the deadly mid section if she was the lead.
As for Hemsworth, initially I didn't know if he was going to cut it with his oh-so-serious line delivery, but later, when he's on earth he seems to be having fun as "The Mighty Thor" slow to realize he's lost his powers. The dramatic delivery brings a laugh when he goes into a pet store demanding to buy a horse so he can continue his journey. The movie actually is a lot funnier than I thought it would be, which, for a movie featuring costumes that wouldn't look out of place in a Chippendale's show is saying something.
"Thor" is a good popcorn movie, but be warned, it's thunderously loud. Louder than Thor's snores after a Busgrogg binge. Take earplugs.
"Something Borrowed"
Richard's Review: 2 stars
"Something Borrowed," a new romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin as best friends, has all the hallmarks we've come to expect from this kind of film but somehow manages to be both more and less than the sum of its parts.
Darcy (Hudson) and Rachel (Goodwin) are lifelong friends and polar opposites. Darcy is a bubbly blonde, Rachel a brunette brooder. The thing they have in common is Dex (Colin Egglesfield), Rachel's college crush and Darcy's fiancée. When long-buried feelings arise, questions like, "How come you never told me how you felt in law school?" are asked and some unlikely people become cheaty-cheaters.
"Something Borrowed" comes complete with the usual ingredients for this kind of film. It's set in New York City with the standard cast of characters -- the goofy friend, the lovesick friend, gay friend (at least he pretends to be gay) and the best friend. There's the typical lifestyle porn -- great clothes, cool apartments, Heineken product placement out the ying yang -- the obligatory romantic rooftop scene, an epiphany in the rain and even a dance number. The only things missing are Julia Roberts and a fake orgasm scene.
What "Something Borrowed" adds to the romantic comedy genre is an infidelity angle. It's not unheard of for people to do a little rom-com cheating from time to time, but rarely do they venture into "Fatal Attraction" territory (without the boiling rabbit) and offer up such potentially toxic side effects.
This is what I mean when I say that "Something Borrowed" is both more and less than the sum of its parts. The betrayal storyline sets the movie apart from the regular rom-com, but then plays it safe. It's a daring choice to have two main characters lie and cheat and become unsympathetic along the way, but its handled in such a way that by the end it's hard to care about who cheated on who and why.
This might have been a better movie if the cast was shaken up. Dump the dull Dex character and have Rachel get involved with Ethan ("The Office's" John Krasinski). As it is now he's a glorified Greek chorus who comments on Rachel's life. But make him the love interest and you'd have a movie with some natural charm, spunk and more heart than the lovesick Dex brings to the party.
"Something Borrowed" tries to be a different kind of rom com but ultimately plays it too safe to be unique.
"The Beaver"
Richard's Review: 3 ½ stars
Stand aside Oprah. Jodie Foster must be the most powerful woman in Hollywood, possibly in all the world. Not only did she get a difficult script, long thought to be brilliant but unfilmable, to the big screen but then got the movie released in spite of the disgraceful shenanigans of her star Mel Gibson. Gibson's recent notoriety threatened to derail "The Beaver" -- three release dates have come and gone -- but Foster fostered on, and the film about a depressed man who communicates through a beaver puppet hits theatres this weekend.
Not since Anthony Hopkins grappled with a vicious ventriloquist dummy in "Magic" has a puppet been such an effective dramatic device.
Gibson plays Walter Black, a man crippled by depression. His business and marriage have fallen apart, but after a failed suicide attempt he discovers an unconventional form of therapy. He finds a furry brown beaver puppet in a dumpster, which becomes his alternate personality; his only form of communication with the outside world. The change in Walter is miraculous. Unfortunately one person's miracle is nothing more than another person's puppet and Walter's newfound state of wellbeing isn't appreciated by everyone.
Of course the big question here is: Will audiences be able to put aside Gibson's recent cycle of loopy, offensive behaviour and sit back and enjoy the film? If they can judge the art and not the artist they'll find much to like here, but if not "The Beaver" will wither and die because Gibson (and his hand puppet) hogs the spotlight.
In light of all the well-deserved bad press he's received lately, it's hard to remember that once Gibson was a top box office draw and a charismatic screen presence. The bad press hasn't diminished that. What it may have done is add a few worry lines to his face which are very effective reminders of Walter's state of mind.
Gibson is very good, but he doesn't steal the show. A side story to the puppet's spiritual journey comes from Porter (Anton Yelchin), Walter's eldest son. Porter is struggling not to be like his dad, and discovers a way out when he meets and falls for Norah (Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence), a pretty cheerleader with a perfect GPA but an imperfect life. Both hand in understated but effective performances, high on naturalism, which ground the more fanciful aspects of the story.
"The Beaver," despite some funny visuals in the trailer, is not a comedy. It is a dark exploration of mental illness and its effect on the family unit. Director Foster (as opposed to star Foster; she plays Walter's wife) occasionally struggles with tone -- it's hard not to when your star speaks with a cockney accent through an ever present Beaver puppet -- but in the end presents a unique and compelling look at a subject the movies don't usually approach.
"The Bang Bang Club"
Richard's Review" 2 stars
"The Bang Bang Club" would like to be an important movie about what happens to people when they've seen too much violence, too much inhumanity, just too much. In this case it's a group of war photographers documenting South Africa's struggle between the African National Congress and government-backed tribal factions. These men are up close and personal to the action, so why is it that the film and its message rings hollow?
Based on a book by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silver, two of the daredevil Bang Bang Club photographers -- so named because they get close to real gunfire -- the movie documents a year in the lives of Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe), Silva (Neels Van Jaarsveld), Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch) and Ken Oosterbroek (Frank Rautenbach). They are white photo journalists who prowl the townships looking for action. Photos are taken, Pulitzers are won but eventually they learn of the price they must pay for getting that close to the action.
"The Bang Bang Club" plays as though it is at cross purposes with itself. On one hand it wants us to believe that Marinovich is devastated after he photographs a brutal murder as it is happening. Fine, explore that. But just as he's going down the rabbit hole of depression—we know this because he becomes moody and argumentative -- he also wins a Pulitzer Prize for the resulting picture and suddenly, the moral push and pull disappears and he's popping the corks on champagne bottles.
It feels like every time the movie gets close to uncovering something that may feel authentic it shies away and goes for a Hollywood cliché instead.
It's too bad because there is a great story here. This just isn't it.
"Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold"
Richard's Review: 2 1/3 stars
Everybody knows when Iron Man drinks a Dr. Pepper it's not necessarily because he likes the taste of the soda, but because the good doctor paid beaucoup bucks to place the beverage in the superhero's hand. Ditto the reason there are Coke glasses lined up in front of the "American Idol" judges and it ain't to quench JoLo's thirst. That's not news. What is newsworthy is how those soft drinks ended up where they did. Enter Morgan Spurlock, documentary filmmaker and professional everyman.
Spurlock, who has previously documented his attempts to eat nothing but McDonalds food for a month (the "docbuster" "Super Size Me") and hunt down a terrorist ("Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?"), returns with a look into the murky world of product placement, or, as it is called now, brand integration. For ninety minutes we follow him, first person style, as he "goes on a quest to get some sweet Hollywood ad money." He wins some (POM Wonderful buys naming rights for $1 million), he loses some (Nike says no) and along the way ponders the moral and ethical problems of sponsorship on his art.
Spurlock is an engaging guy, which is a good thing because he inserts himself into virtually every frame of the movie. His easy charm and sense of humor lend much to the doc, but half-an-hour or so in are muted by the film's subject. This is essentially a movie about marketing. Marketing can be sexy -- sex sells! -- but the business of marketing by and large isn't.
The idea that Spurlock can finance a film entirely by sponsorship is a great one, but by the time he starts talking about "cultural decay rate" and identity versus brand the movie starts to bog down, despite its attention deficit disorder pacing.
Perhaps more insight would have helped. Spurlock is a sound bite documentarian, who can lift a great quote from Ralph Nader like "Advertisements which say they are lying are the only ones telling the truth," but then doesn't seem to know exactly what to do with it. Ultimately he simply sums up with the message that marketing works. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff.
That should have been the starting point, with more attention paid to why it works in the body of the film.
I wish nothing but good things for "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold." By contract with his sponsors Spurlock has to hit certain goals -- like $10 million box office -- and I hope he succeeds, but next time out I'd like to see some of the cleverness exchanged for insight.
