Wednesday Whatever - Thor: Love and Thunder

 Ray chose Thor: Love and Thunder to see on his birthday. It was zany, silly, slapstick movie fun. We expected nothing less.  I won't discuss plot. Doesn't matter. 

Chris Hemsworth as Thor is in on the joke and plays him to perfection. He's just a fine specimen of a man. 'Nuff said. 

Natalie Portman as Jane/Female Thor is always a good actress.  Christian Bale as Gorr, the villain, was suitably creepy (though yes, Ralph Fienes as Voldemort was even creepier. Their looks are similar),  Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie gets her due. And Russell Crowe as Zeus - hilarious casting and stole the show. 

It's summer in Texas. We are crazy from the heat and do not need deep plot right now. Do we want  to laugh? Yes. Be entertained? Yes.  Did we enjoy Thor: Love and Thunder? Absolutely.  Pure movie joy with no useful purpose in life. Easy to forget...sure. Does that matter? NO.  It's summer, folks!

December Movie Review Madness - Ford v Ferrari

Strap in. Put your helmet on and gird your loins. Ford v Ferrari is an A-rated movie with a  lot of zoom.

Henry Ford II (the incomparable Tracy Letts) has been insulted by Enzo Ferrari and he’s opened his check book. He wants a Ford race car to win the Le Mans 24 hour race. Who’s the man to do this? Carroll Shelby (perfect performance by a spot on Matt Damon) is a racing genius. He won the Le Mans. He designs cars. He has a vision. Who can drive a winning car? Shelby vouches for the “difficult” Limey  -Ken Miles (another genius role done by Christian Bale). Miles breathes the air of racing. He can sense one tic, one engine miss, one esoteric nuance that embodies a vehicle.

But within Ford you have the suits and Josh Lucas plays the biggest jerk of all. He wants the marketing power,  he wants the limelight. Shelby says this can’t be done by committee and he takes Henry Ford II for the ride of his life. The man is crying and gives carte blanche. Miles wins races and proves he’s worthy of being on the team. Shelby keeps him reigned in just enough.  The movie keeps us on edge with lots of oomph as we enter Le Mans.

Ford v Ferrari is really good and you don’t have to know or care about racing. It’s about art vs. commerce, devotion vs. cynicism, inspiration vs. deadness, and it involves some crazy. Men who can’t help but be outside the box with a passion. And wow – the acting chemistry works. The cinematography works. Your heart will accelerate as Miles shifts through some nutso driving. And you’ll root for Ford Motor Company (America!) to win the darn race.

It’s holiday movie season and this one is a winner. Zoom Zoom

Movie Review Madness - Vice

Vice is snarky good fun.  If you liked The Big Short written and directed by Adam McKay, then this film is for you. It’s sharp, clever dialogue and structure cracked me up. Who knew that a film about Dick Cheney could be so amusing?  It’s about an average guy in Wyoming who got a wake-up call from his fiancée – Lynn.  Stop drinking, get your act together, or I’m leaving you. Sure enough, Dick truly got straightened out, went  to school, made connections, and was in the right place at the right time.

Christian Bale gives a genius performance. It’s uncanny. Amy Adams as Lynn is spot on – she’s the Lady Macbeth behind the scenes control. Steve Carell as Rumsfield is a power tool.  And Sam Rockwell as George W. is a bit cliché as the bumbling dude. The movie, from the beginning, is full  of fact and fiction….just roll with it. No matter what, we know what did occur under the Bush presidency, and a whole lot of it was thanks to Vice President Cheney.  This is a movie about power, power grabs, control, and it’s a tad scary as to what did occur – even if it was only fifty percent true.  Crazy times that affect us even today.

But scenes with focus groups manipulating vocabulary. Scenes in regards to the military. Scenes about consolidation of powers.  OMG. It’s sad. It’s a hoot.  I admit I lean left and have despised Cheney. But I had to say “Kudos” to what the man accomplished. And yes, it’s taken with a grain of salt. I like a good chuckle and I laughed out loud a bunch.  I’d say that Christian Bale should start preparing his Oscar speech. Vice is a film. This is NOT a documentary.  It is well done and I’ll use the snarky word again. I like a smart sharp film – this totally entertained.

Movie Review - The Big Short

The Big Short is an excellent movie. Who knew a movie about the housing bubble could be hysterical? This movie is frenetic, serious, comical, fast paced, irreverent, and brilliant in its scathing wit. Michael Lewis wrote the book – it is calm and clearly incisive in explaining how making bets against the housing industry seemed insane, and that banks were too big to fail. The movie throws calm out the window and with a wide range of characters played by Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, and more – we see math and economics come to life as certain individual investors calculated the folly of the subprime mortgage industry.

This movie explores the folly of humans and the trust they put into the financial system. The hubris of Wall Street and the billion dollar money flow proved explosive. The movie explains some of the more esoteric terms (collateralized debt obligations or synthetic CDOs) with examples by chef Anthony Bourdain creating a new stew from three day old halibut, or Selena Gomez at a Vegas gaming table. The movie is splashy and scary as we hear Melissa Leo (an official at Standard & Poor’s) explain away ratings because she can’t have the customer go down the street to Moody’s. As the Wall Street Journal movie review says, “high dudgeon gives way to heightening disbelief, followed by horrified belief, about rampant deception, self-deception, and the system’s frailty.”

Great acting all around. Clever film making about a darn tricky subject. The Big Short is smart and sharp, and as a movie will not sell you short.  Expect to see a lot of Oscar buzz on this one. And unfortunately do we learn from our mistakes? Alas, money makes the world go round, and up and down, and bubbles burst. 

Movie Review Madness: American Hustle

American Hustle kicks butt. Everyone is scamming somebody in this flick. It's just a question of who can outlast the contenders. Christian Bale gained 40 pounds for this role along with a bad combover. He keeps his cons low key until he meets Amy Adams. With those innocent blue eyes, she lures him into bigger money deals and even though his (big) gut says no, he can't help but say yes. Unfortunately Bradley Cooper's FBI character uncovers this duo, arrests them, and sees larger prey in store. 

It's 1978 and the movie is loosely based on the Abscam scandals. Using a fake sheik and a whole lot of potential money, the FBI nabs congressmen, senators, and a lot of greedy folks looking for the quick buck. Bales's wife, played by the incandescent Jennifer Lawrence (what can't she do on screen) knows he has a girlfriend, but she's the one with the ring on the finger. There's some classy (!) Jersey catfights going on. Jeremy Renner is the mayor of Camden. With his pompadour and frank innocence - he gets caught up in the money laundering scheme.  

This is an adult movie full of a lot of nuanced moments. Some folks might think it moves slow. This critic was along for the ride and enjoying every second of the buildup to the final, final con. The soundtrack adds to the cinema experience. Enjoy the disco music, the polyester clothes, the Jersey accents, and the sheer power of David O. Russell's directing. Do the American Hustle.