Thor: The Dark World

I loved the first episode of this series and I loved this turn to the “dark” side.  It’s been awhile and you’d think that Jane had moved on, what with her first superhero boyfriend going back to his planet on the other side of a big ass wormhole.  You know what they say, though.  True love is true love and ain’t no way that doom and destruction can stop that.  Incredible fun, exciting, lots of hammer time with the big guy.  Brotherly love and sleight of hand play is key to the way things work out.  Please people, wait until the end of the film to get up and leave.  I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, it’s not over until the fat lady sings.  Brunhilde doesn’t even hum here, but yours truly was the only one who stayed and found out how the film ends.  And yes, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) still reminds me of Jonny Weir’s evil alien twin.  Rating:  4 moons over Asgard

Inequality For All

Feeling bummed out that you don’t have a spare 300 billion dollars to live life carefree and happy?  Yeah, me, too, but yah know, I’ll get over that as soon as I start making a livable wage, get health benefits that don’t eat up my wages, start working hours that don’t leave me sleep deprived and having to start my day with pain pills.  Bitter, not bitter, I’m just hopeful that somebody in government listens and acts accordingly, because history has been repeating itself.  This documentary is eye-opening for some and reaffirming to the rest of us.  Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, explains it all in a relatively short amount of time.  If you don’t agree, that’s fine, but at least listen to someone who’s been there, done that, and knows what he’s talking about.  As a part of the “Powder Blue Collar” workforce, I can see both sides of the issues and the forecast is not looking great for us unless some serious action is taken to provide for the people who really run the economy, i.e., the 99%.  Rating:  4 Stars at $24.95 an hour.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Many years ago, a light and frothy Mia Farrow was Miss Daisy Buchanan to Robert Redford’s Jay Gatsby.  I have waited close to a year and a half to see this remake of what I consider to be one of the better versions of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic about the lives of the veddy, veddy rich and the desire to possess what was never theirs in the first place.  Carey Mulligan and Leonardo diCaprio are the star-crossed/class-defined lovers.  The sets, the narration, the music (which is a combination of classic 20’s jazz and the perfectly matched remixes of hip-hop, pop, and crying ballads) and the supporting cast are blended in a nouveau flapper fresco that invokes another time.  It rings in the desperation of crawling out of the craziness that was the end of the Flapper Age and the beginning of the Great Depression.  Yes, folks, this is what excess looks like and the lunacy of love.  Baz Luhrman has created a world just as fantastic as Long Island, the Hamptons, and Manhattan, but did it in New South Wales.  Amazing costumes, make-up, and the cars…yikes…everything is perfect and follows the book to a “T”.   Supporting cast is excellent…if nothing else, it will get nominated for costumes, but I think it’ll take many more of the awards.  Rating:  3.5 stars and the piercing “Eyes of God” looking down upon us all.

Star Trek Into Darkness

If any of you remember, from the 60’s and 80’s, “The Space Seed” episode of Star Trek and the film, “Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan”, and you can’t stop talking about it for whatever reason (say Ricardo Montalban’s hair, bare chest, and beefy “guns” got you all hot and bothered), then this is not the film for you.  It’s more like “Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith” with stunning CGI futuristic views of Earth, Space, and San Francisco.  Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Zachery Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, and yes, a cameo, but a very important one, by a pointy-eared Vulcan, are once again on hand and change it up.  So much has been culled from the original story, but it’s all good.  Who are the good guys, who are the bad guys, and how fast will you be able to figure it out?  This is Star Trek, Voyager, Enterprise, and a New Generation all rolled into one.  It’s in the future, but retro at the same time, so “Beam Me Up Scotty” isn’t what you hear every 5 minutes.  Tension abounds throughout the film and some of the outcomes are predictable, but then again, there’s always that underlying element of surprise that keeps you on the edge of your seat in the climatic scenes.  (For those of you who have never experienced The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across The Eighth Dimension or the original Robocop, I suggest you also check these out).  I see this as being a “popcorn tosser” and definitely collectible when the film’s available.  Rating 3 dilithium crystals and a tribble for your thoughts.   

Ironman 3

This franchise just keeps getting more and more inventive and fun.  I didn’t grow up reading the “boy” comic books, but I’m sure if I had, I would have loved this series.  Stan Lee’s Tony Stark is at once infuriating, arrogant, brilliant, sarcastic, and completely wonderful as a weapons monger turned hero/avenger.  We see a really human side of the character and Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow bring their relationship to a new level as Tony and Pepper forge into a new venture involving old wrongs, new technologies, and burnt bridges.  Some things/people to note, Shane Black has taken up the gauntlet from Jon Favreau and has done a crack-up job of directing, Guy Pearce, Sir Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle and Rebecca Hall round out the cast quite nicely.  The whole film made me feel like I was watching a comic book and I liked it.  To paraphrase the Governator—Tony Stark will be back and I’m ready.   Rating:  3.2 stars and a really brilliant way to use a remote control.

Django Unchained

Quentin Tarentino’s films have won all sorts of accolades from the Palm d’Or in Cannes to Oscars for his writing, films, and the actors involved.  In fact, this year, Django Unchained was among the Best Picture nominees and won for Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay.  Sometimes I wonder why this director/writer/ex-video store clerk gets so much recognition for “cheesy spaghetti-type chop-socky 60’s / 70’s genre riffs”.  In this instance, we see Jamie Foxx as an unfortunate slave, named Django, gaining a new profession through an unlikely alliance with a German “dentist” played by Christoph Waltz.  The good doctor is the mentor and the slave is the willing student.  Carnage abounds and we’re treated to a lot of gun battles, the vicious and horrific death of not one, but two men who are unlucky enough to be the property of one very nasty plantation owner played by Leonardo diCaprio.  Quentin, of course, adds a very eclectic soundtrack, Ms. Kerry Washington, as a German speaking house slave and Django’s long lost wife, and Samuel L. Jackson as one messed up and very dangerous head house slave to Mr. diCaprio’s character, Calvin Candie.  Christoph Waltz is exceptional in his portrayal of the doctor and the supporting cast is diverse and well appointed.  The only thing I would say to Mr. Tarentino about his films and future endeavors is to not cast himself in his movies, even in cameos.  The man may have a “vision”, but he really can’t act his way out of a paper bag.  Rating, 3 stars and a really big hot Bowie knife.