THOR: THE DARK WORLD: A Marvel Mess Of A Sorry Super Hero Sequel

Now playing at multiplexes in all of the 9 realms:

THOR: THE DARK WORLD

(Dir. Alan Taylor, 2013)

One thing certainly hasn’t changed for me in this follow-up to both Kenneth Branaugh’s 2011 origin story, and Joss Whedon’s 2012 super hero ensemble smash THE AVENGERS:’s Thor, portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, remains my least favorite member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


However Hemsworth, who showed some decent chops in Ron Howard’s RUSH earlier this year, isn’t the one to blame. It’s the fault of screenwriters Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who fail to make the Norse God into much of a compelling character. They also don’t succeed in creating much excitement in their unwieldly plotline, which I struggled to follow through tons of nonsensical exposition and a bunch of boring set pieces.

This installment deals with Thor being forced to team up with Loki (Tom Hiddleston, reprising his villainous role from THOR and THE AVENGERS) in order to stop an ancient race of Dark Elves led by Malakith (Christoper Eccleston) from conquering the 9 realms, of which Earth is one. Threading through this is the threat of a floating red fluid life force called the Aether that infects Thor’s love interest, the returning Natalie Portman.

Also reprising their roles from the first one are Anthony Hopkins as Thor’s father, Idris Elba as Norse God Heimdall, Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Erik Selvig, Rene Russo as Thor’s stepmother, and for comic relief there's Kat Dennings, taking a break from her trashy sitcom Two Broke Girls.

So there’s a likable cast caught up in all this mayhem, and fans of the formula will surely appreciate the surprise appearance from one of the other Avengers, the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, and the requisite after the credits stinger, (sadly Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson doesn't pop up as he’s busy with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. these days), but these elements just don't have their usual zing here.


No matter how high they try to make the stakes, what with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, it never really seems like Thor or anybody or anything is in any danger. 



As you’ve probably seen in the trailers, Thor obliterates a ginormous rock monster into tiny boulder bits with just one swing of his mighty hammer and then casually tosses off a standard action hero one-liner: “Anyone else?” This got a big laugh at the screening I attended, but I groaned. The scene is intended for us to be impressed by the power of our protagonist, but for me it perfectly displays that the indestructible Thor is one smug douche. And people say Superman is boring.

Of course, we don’t trust Loki to begin with so none of the twists in their scenario have any impact, but there’s a little fun to be had with Hemsworth and Hiddleston’s bickering - a little. 



Unfortunately again there’s zero chemistry between Hemsworth and Portman, who acts like she’s an awkward lovesick character in a fluffy rom com, except when she’s in an alien space junk-induced trance in strained close-ups.

THOR INTO DARKNESS, sorry, THOR: THE DARK WORLD doesn’t even try to be bigger and better than the first one. It’s just another big ass CGI-saturated sequel outfitted in useless 3D – seriously, I can’t recall a single instance of the imagery being helped by the tediously trendy device.

The only real surprise for me was the odd bit of casting of Chris O’Dowd, the Irish comic actor who comedy fans know as Kristen Wiig's love interest in BRIDESMAIDS and Roy in the British sitcom The IT Crowd, as a guy who goes on a blind date with Portman early on in the movie before Thor returns to earth.

O’Dowd is only in two scenes: the date scene which gets interrupted by Dennings, and a later bit in which O’Dowd phones Portman for a second date, and his signal somehow helps her and Thor reconnect to another realm or something, I can’t remember exactly how.


O’Dowd is on the sidelines disconnected from all the chaotic events, with no character being straight with him, or caring that he has no idea what’s going on. In the mist of this Marvel mess, I so know how he felt.



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The Soulful Warmth of THE SAPPHIRES

Now playing at an art house near you: 

THE SAPPHIRES (Dir. Wayne Blair, 2012) 

The Irish comic actor Chris O’Dowd, best known to British audiences for his role as Roy on the TV show The IT Crowd, and by American audiences for his part as the flirty cop in BRIDESMAIDS, gets his chance to carry a film as the lead in THE SAPPRIRES, a late ‘60s era band biopic about an Australian girl group, that at times comes off like a spirited mixture of THAT THING YOU DO and GOOD MORNING VIETNAM. 

Deborah Mailman, Miranda Tapsell, Jessica Mauboy, and Shari Sebbens play the young indigenous women whose soulful singing of country songs encourages O’Dowd to manage them for a tour to entertain the troops in Vietnam.

The scruffy lush O’Dowd (playing a Melbournian), convinces the spirited but mouthy group to drop what he calls the “country shite,” and take up soul music by way of a montage in which he coaches them into being a more polished and presentable act, with choreography, matching dresses and a new name: the Sapphires.

As O’Dowd and his new singing sensations travel the rough terrain of Vietnam, the film can feel pretty montage heavy, but the string of short scenes flows amusingly enough. There have been many many movies that have covered the same 1968 ground, i.e. the escalation of the Vietnam war, but that’s mainly backdrop here as the focus is on the relationships of these women.

Mauboy may be the lead singer, but Mailman, who O’Dowd says is “mama bear,” to the “little baby cubs” of the others, has the most affecting presence, especially in a monologue detailing her family’s strife fraught back story. Tapsell brings amusing feistiness to her underwritten role, and as the light-skinned cousin who feels she has the most to prove, Sebbens gets to have a likable bit of romance on the side with Tory Kittles.

Based on a popular Australian play by Tony Briggs, which was loosely based on true events his mother and aunts experienced, and co-scripted here by Briggs and Keith Thompson, THE SAPPRIRES is a colorful charmer with a top notch soundtrack.

Songs by Creedence, Sam & Dave, and are in abundance, but the film is at its most toe-tappingly tuneful when Mauboy takes the mike and belts out superb renditions of Motown and Stax standards, as well as the winner “Gotcha,” a new original (written by Mauboy with Louis Schrool and Ilan Kidron).

Sure, there are the predictable “based on a true story” trappings like overused archival footage, and the obligatory photos of the real folks with tidy sum-ups of what became of them, and when Googling the original band you’ll find that O’Dowd’s character is completely ficticious, and only two of the women from the original group went to Vietnam as backup singers for other artists, but I was so won over by the film’s soulful warmth that I could put those things aside.

Starting Sunday night, May the 12th, O’Dowd will be starring in Christopher Guest’s new HBO series Family Tree which looks to be right in line with Guest’s classic ensemble improv comedies WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, BEST IN SHOW, and A MIGHTY WIND. After seeing his ace chops on ample display in THE SAPPHIRES, it’s now a show I’m looking forward to even more.

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FRIENDS WITH KIDS: The Film Babble Blog Review

Now playing in Raleigh at the Rialto Theater:



FRIENDS WITH KIDS (Dir. Jennifer Westfeldt, 2011)

With its generic title (not to be confused with FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS or FRIENDS WITH MONEY), its recognizable cast, rom com premise and New York City setting, this looks from the outside like yet another commercial chick flick, but it’s better than that. Much better.



Jennifer Westfeldt, who starred in and co-wrote KISSING JESSICA STEIN, makes her directorial debut (she also wrote, produced, and stars), in this comedy drama centering around a couple of long time friends (Westfeldt and Adam Scott), who decide to have a baby, but not a relationship.



Westfeldt and Scott’s friends, 2 couples consisting of Maya Rudolph married to Chris O’Dowd, and Kristen Wiig married to Jon Hamm (Westfeldt’s boyfriend since 1997), are doubtful that this will work, and so are we. I mean when you walk into this movie, you know that Scott and Westefeldt will realize that they love each other and become a real couple in the end, but it’s the way it plays out the chemistry of the leads that got to me.

So what that it hits all the standard rom com story beats when it has as sharp and witty a screenplay as this, and this particular group of extremely likable and funny folks (including most of the cast of BRIDESMAIDS) making it pop?



A soundtrack with songs by The 88, and Wilco (no escaping the label “Dad rock” here) helps the flow of the film, which often feels like we’re hanging out, dining, and drinking along with along with the ensemble.



Scott and Westfeldt have difficulty dating other people, of course, but Scott gives it the old college try when he meets Megan Fox, as a Broadway dancer, who every male in the film remarks about how hot she is. On Westfeldt’s side, she’s seeing Edward Burns, who everybody (more the men than the women actually) comments about how hot he is.



Despite dating Burns, Westfeldt finds herself falling in love with Scott, of course, but he’s getting serious about Fox – for the time being we all well know.



This is all predictable rom com fodder, but the sharp dialogue and energy of the acting often made me forget that.



Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm have less screen time than the rest, but they stand out at a dinner table scene at a cabin the couples are vacationing at (See? Another rom com story beat).



It’s obvious to the others that Wiig and Hamm are miserable and on the verge of divorce. Wiig, who certainly isn’t comic relief in this film, mainly drinks copious amounts of wine, but Hamm lashes out at Westfeldt and Scott in a menacing manner that even Don Draper would be intimidated by. It’s a effectively edgy scene – Hamm is trying to cut through the crap to reality, and as heated as he is, we all know that his criticisms are true.



There’s a bunch of humorous moments and a lot of honesty in FRIENDS WITH KIDS, even though some stuff about such an arangement are glossed over.



For example, we cut from Scott and Westfeldt’s wonderfully awkward sex scene to Westfeldt giving birth. Surely, something notable between these 2 happened during the 9 months she was pregnant, right? I guess not.



But that, and a few short scenes that fall short of hitting their mark, don’t keep FRIENDS WITH KIDS from being an enjoyable, tasteful film. Now I’m not saying that Jennifer Westfeldt is the new Woody Allen, but she just entered the ballpark.



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