11/22/17 Thor: Ragnarok, not yet nominated, 2017
Is it just me, or did it take forever for this movie to come out? Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Norse god of thunder, returns after 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, trying to find the Infinity Stones. Unfortunately for Thor, but lucky for us, it's not quite that easy. Thor lands in Asgard looking for Odin, only to learn that mischievous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) put Odin on Earth. As Loki and Thor have wonderful warm brotherly moment, we are introduced to Hela (Cate Blanchett), who they learn is the elder sister who has been imprisoned for being very naughty. Let's just say she has a helluva temper. She is set on destroying Asgard and Thor can't let that happen, but he faces an unexpected delay and detour in Sakaar, a world ruled by the Grandmaster (played wonderfully by Jeff Goldblum who was one of my picks for Dr. Strange). Grandmaster has gladiator-type fights with hapless lifeforms that have been picked up around the galaxy. His current champion is...well, if you haven't seen the previews, I'm not going to ruin it for you. One of my favorite new characters is also a gladiator, Korg, who kind of resembles The Thing (Korg is voiced by director Taika Waititi), and he's a fighter, but also kind and a little obtuse. You're wondering about "Ragnarok"? That pretty much means the end of the world, but you'll have to see for yourself. My brother saw this first and told me I would like it, but he thought parts were too jokey. I like a little humor with my comic book movies, but I agree, there were times it seemed to interrupt the momentum, but I got over that. I really enjoyed the movie. Cate Blanchett was AMAZING as Hela (I watched her at home the next day as Queen Elizabeth I and she was fabulous there as well), totally enjoying the life of a super villain. The story introduced the Valkyries (not quite as famous as the Amazons, but fierce women warriors) and gave Heimdall (Idris Elba) more of a role rather than just as a sentry. It was great, and it might even be super in 3D. Ohio native and member of Devo, Mark Mothersbaugh did the musical score. There is also a version of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" which I seem to like better in the context of movie soundtracks (I also heard it recently re-watching Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Super hero movies always have the possibility of being nominated for special effects, production, costumes, hair and makeup, sound editing, etc.
11/23/17 Justice League, not yet nominated, 2017
I love the Justice League and its different incarnations in the animated world; the collection of characters and their super powers and the different personalities. So, I was cautiously optimistic at the mention of a live action version, until I learned which characters they were going to include and watched Batman v. Superman. Oh, this could be bad. I was not thrilled about the inclusion of Cyborg (as anyone heard of him outside of the Teen Titans on Cartoon Network?) and Aquaman (according to Raj from "The Big Bang Theory", "Aquaman sucks".). Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of the King of the Sea, but it seems to me hard to build a film around the aquatic world, and you're introducing three main/sort of main characters without a backstory. One of the big pluses, I think, was the incredible success of Wonder Woman this summer, it may have given some of us a reason to be hopeful if the new film focused on Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. The movie opened a week ago to reviews that ranged from tepid to awful, but I decided I wanted to see and judge for myself while it was still on the big screen. Was it as good as Thor: Ragnarok or Wonder Woman? Nah. Was it horrible? No. The movie picks up after Superman was killed in Batman v. Superman, and the world is in chaos, and it's more than Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman can handle on their own, and they go about assembling a group of gifted humans/meta humans (we got a glimpse of them in B v S), including Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). They are joining to fight Steppenwolf, an ancient being who was vanquished millennia ago by a joint force of Atlantians, Amazonians, Green Lanterns and men of Earth (kind of Lord of the Rings - Two Towers) who returns to claim the mother boxes (similar to the Infinity Stones in the above-mentioned Thor/Avengers movies). I'll start off with what I didn't like: Aquaman (have I mentioned that?), he was mostly on land, what's the point of that? Since they mentioned the Green Lanterns, they could have re-introduced that element, which is such a rich universe to draw on. I wasn't thrilled with the time spent with Lois Lane and Mrs. Kent; Amy Adams, reprising her role, looked uncomfortable, like her shoes didn't fit or something. She is a great actress and this didn't seem worthy of her time. What I liked: the time spent on Themyscira with the Amazons, fierce and fearless; Wonder Woman stepping up as a leader and mediating force between the different egos (male) of the new team; I apologize for my dissing of Cyborg, who added a lot to the team with his different skills and strengths; I liked the Flash and the way they portrayed his speed. I am not sure why Ben Affleck attracts so many haters for portraying Batman; I think he's fine, he's subtle, subdued, restrained; I think the problem is he is on the heels of Christian Bale and that's why people get so irate. Some critics didn't like the plot, or the lack of one; eh, I was entertained, which is what I ask for in my super hero movies: action, some good quips, and good effects. Danny Elfman. who has done the musical scores for several Batman, Spider-Man and many other action/super hero films, did the score.
11/24/17 Murder on the Orient Express, not yet nominated, 2017
#whatweretheythinking I'm not an Agatha Christie fanatic, but I would say I'm very familiar with her main characters, especially Hercule Poirot; I have watched most of the films based on her books, as well as the television series that have featured Joan Hickson who is the only Miss Marple as well as David Suchet, who is also the only Hercule Poirot (in the 1974 film, Albert Finney was Poirot), and I am currently re-reading all of her works, including her Mary Westmacott stories. So, I feel a little invested. I only wish Kenneth Branagh, who starred and directed, and Michael Green, who 'wrote' the screenplay, felt the same. I really thought the worst part was going to be the horrid moustaches that Branagh wore, mais non. The story starts in Jerusalem where Poirot is working on a case in the holy city; in a move that smacks of disrespect (and I honestly do not recall this form the book) is where Poirot cavalierly jams his walking stick into the Western Wall (it had bits of paper that contain messages from pilgrims to God); I'm pretty sure he would have been mobbed had he really done that, and Poirot always seems aware of his surroundings and the culture. Poirot and a cast of characters are on the Orient Express, departing from Istanbul. The passengers on the train are a collection of stars, new and old: Dame Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacobi, Daisy Ridley, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leslie Odom, Jr., Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp, to name most of the cast. For the most part, Green sticks to the essence of the plot: Samuel Ratchett (Depp) is an abhorrent man, who lives by questionable means and is receiving anonymous death threats. Poirot declines Ratchett's request to find out who is threatening him; so it is a little ironic that Poirot becomes responsible to find the person who murders Ratchett, even as the train is stuck in the snow. Poirot interviews all of the passengers and uncovers bits about their past. Branagh has moments where he nails Poirot spot on, but not enough, and where he misses, to me, he misses by a wide margin. In the movie, Poirot is reading Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, which I have not read in a while, but I don't remember it being one of Dickens' knee slappers, but Poirot is seen reading it, and guffawing out loud. Soon after the train gets derailed, Poirot is walking along the top of the train. As Poirot often tells his friends, Japp and Hastings (not in this story), he does not need to go out and look for "the clues", he uses his little grey cells; there is no way in hell, Hercule Poirot is unnecessarily walking around on the roof of a snowbound train. There is a scene where Josh Gad's character, MacQueen, is running outside on a train trestle or bridge, and Poirot is chasing him? WHAT? And then falls through the floor and lands with a thump, and bounces right back up. To quote a friend of mine, AYFKMRN? On more than one occasion, Poirot is walking outside without his overcoat; he does not like to be cold, and yet, there he is, with no overcoat, no muffler, and no hat. Poirot does not get physical with suspects, that's not his thing; I also don't remember him waving a gun about, certainly nothing bigger than one of those little pistols that a lady might put in her handbag. Okay, enough bashing Poirot. The cast was fine; perhaps the most interesting thing was casting Leslie Odom Jr. as Dr. Arbuthnot. As I was mentioning to a friend, there are rarely people of color in Christie's stories unless they are servants or foreigners, so I didn't have any problem with casting Odom as a black doctor, and then having the uniqueness of the situation addressed in the script. I think Dame Judi had some of the biggest shoes, or white gloves, to fill, as Princess Dragomiroff, the role was originally played by Dame Wendy Hiller, who was amazing as the autocratic and unbending Russian Princess. Johnny Depp was fine (Richard Widmark played Ratchett in the 1974 film); it's a pretty limited role; Penelope Cruz as Pilar Estravados (in the same role, Ingrid Bergman was Greta Ohlsson in her Oscar winning role) was one of my favorite characters, she wasn't really as hysterical as the viewer might think. Apparently this ridiculous production and possible sequels have the blessing of Agatha Christie's great grandson, which is concerning. I recommend reading David Suchet's memoir Poirot and Me, and watch the other versions of Murder on the Orient Express.
