A blockbuster as the pick of the week, who’d have thunk it?
Movie of the Week
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
The forgotten one
- The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017): A good if not completely enthralling movie by Noah Baumbach, who keeps exploring themes around family and art. It’s one of those odd movies starring Adam Sandler that are actually worth a go, in spite of my usual aversion to anything partakes in. He plays one of three Meyerowitz children who are still struggling to find some sort of resolution in the relationships they have with their aging father. Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Marvel, Emma Thompson and Grace van Patten round out the familial cast. If you’ve seen any Baumbach movies (and there are quite a few out there), you know what kind of witty, incisive observations to expect from another profoundly character driven story. If you haven’t then start with The Squid and the Whale (2005). 7/10
Please stand up comedy
- Jack Whitehall: At Large (2017): The Netflix produced stand up featuring Jack Whitehall is moderately amusing. Honestly, it’s only been a week, but I’ve forgotten most things about it. So it’s that kind of gig, mostly running on Whitehall’s charm. 6/10
The disappointment
- Ingrid Goes West (2017): I was excited to watch IGW, but it ultimately turned out to be not my cup of tea. My aversion towards anything that’s excessively awkward, usually stories built on deception, such as this one, makes my skin crawl. Ingrid is an obsessive instagram stalker whose MO is to attempt to befriend her stalkees at whatever costs necessary. The movie builds up to a big, snarky charge at the antisocially media famous, as well as the veneer that belies the perfect lives that social media captures. It’s nothing new, nor is it spectacularly executed. I did enjoy Elizabeth Olsen’s character though, who really manages to pinpoint the fleeting nature of depth-less relationships, as well as how routined people can be in portraying a certain first image of themselves and of their dreams. 6/10
I’m blocked, buster!
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017): Director Taika Waititi is a pretty awesome dude and everything he touches seems to shit gold. After the hilarous What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and the equally memorable Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), directing a huge movie like Thor was going to be a whole different challenge. Waititi proved up to the task and by infusing the dry Thor-verse with much needed levity, he managed to produce a distinctive and utterly enjoyable superhero movie. It helps that the likable brother-frenemies duo of Thor and Loki fight on the same side, with all cameos along the way proving to be more than just casual plugs. I have no idea if you need to have seen the previous movies in the franchise to enjoy this, but as it stands, I can’t help but recommend it. 8/10
Charliiiiize!
- Atomic Blonde (2017): It had been a while since my last Charlize Theron movie – Mad Max, was it? Anyway, she takes on a power-woman role in this comic-book based production timed around the fall of the Berlin wall. Unfortunately, in spite of some cool fight sequences, I failed to really get into the movie, especially due to the weird construction and Theron’s character’s lack of rapport with her antagonist. The two hour long runtime does do the film any favours either. 5/10
tributarystu 