Thor: Love and Thunder

   

     Taika Waititi returns as director and co-writer of the next chapter in Marvel's Thor series. This time out he borrows heavily from the recent comics run of Thor but instills his own brand of wacky humor into the script.

      Chris Hemsworth returns, of course, as Thor who still seems to be finding his way in the Marvel universe. After a prologue with new addition Christian Bale,  the film begins with Thor traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy (great to see this group again, even if it is just a cameo). He soon receives a message from Sif, played again by Jamie Alexander, that someone is murdering Gods and that New Asgard is in grave danger.

      At the same time, we are reunited with Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, who sat out the last film. Jane has cancer but Thor's hammer transforms her into a female Thor and she is temporarily cured as she gains his powers. Director Waititi also again does the voice of CGI character, Korg. Tessa Thompson also returns as Valkyrie and King of New Asgard. Mr. Bale is Gorr, the God Butcher, the main villain pulled directly from the comics. As usual, he completely disappears into the character and manages to inject a dose of humanity into the role. Russell Crowe has an extended cameo as Zeus, the Greek God. Although why he plays him with an Italian accent is beyond me.

      Mr. Waititi, besides using "Lady Thor" and Gor, also brings Thor's giant goats from the comic to life, and their bleating screams are funny every time. Upping the humor ante from the last film, "Love and Thunder" is filled with humor and  absolute silliness at times. While fun, it does make the film uneven between the serious threat of Gor and the many verbal and visual jokes.

       The music is great with much use of "Guns & Rose" material. Overall, if you don't take it very seriously, you'll enjoy the ride. Of course
what would a Marvel movie be without a mid-credit scene (which introduces a surprise character) and an end credit scene (a fitting coda). There is also a final welcome message to the fans..."Thor will return".

Nope

           

          The third film from Jordan Peele owes a great deal of gratitude to Steven Spielberg.  Written, produced and directed by Mr. Peele, it's an original plotline that borrows heavily from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Jaws". While the trailer promises thrills and chills, the final product, while suspenseful, rarely produces actual scares or horror.

          Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer play "OJ" and "Em", brother and sister ranch owners who train horses for movies and TV.  When their father, played by Keith David, dies from a bizarre accident, the ranch starts to fall on hard times. Discovering what they believe is a UFO in the sky above their ranch, they decide to try to capture it on film for a profit. They enlist the aid of an electronics store employee, Angel, played by Brandon Perea and later a famous cinematographer, played by Michael Wincott to get pictures and video of the UFO.

           A subplot involving a TV sitcom chimpanzee begins the film and Mr. Peele returns to it later to expand on the backstory of the other main character, Ricky "Jupe" Park, the former star of the sitcom,  played by Steven Yeun. Jupe has built a strange theme park nearby the horse ranch trying to capitalize on his former TV fame. While a fascinating character, Jupe and his backstory seem completely out of place in "Nope" but certainly lend an element of additional weirdness to the story. It's as if Mr. Peele had fragments of another film project that he abandoned and stuck into this one.

          Mr. Kaluuya is the understated, stoic, older brother to Ms. Palmer's outgoing personable younger sibling.  Ms. Palmer is a standout in the film, injecting energy, comedy and a hip presence to her character even in the face of danger. Mr. Yeun is also quite good, even if his character seems to belong in a different film.

          Without revealing to much about the UFO, I can say I was very unimpressed when all is finally revealed. What did impress me though is the wonderful cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema. The film looks fantastic. The music by Michael Abels, is also quite good, adding a level of much needed suspense to the story.  It is especially effective during the brief shots of the UFO, much like Mr. Spielberg used music to heighten the suspense  during the early glimpses of the shark in "Jaws". 

          There is a sequence when Em and Angel are trapped in the main house while OJ watches, trapped in a truck nearby that was the highlight of the film for me. Other than that, I was underwhelmed by the lack of thrills and chills that were so promising in the trailer.

Elvis

    

    Baz Lurhmann  tells the Elvis Presley story adding his own bombastic glamour and glitz to a story most of us already ready know.  In an original twist the story is told from the point of view of "Colonel" Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks under heavy makeup.

    Austin Butler stars as Elvis and he is remarkable. The perfect actor to play the part, he does his own singing (for the most part) and has the right looks and moves to accurately portray the music legend. The Colonel and Elvis were joined at the hip (shaking and otherwise) once Parker became his exclusive manager. Mr. Hanks and Mr. Butler bring that same chemistry to their on-screen relationship. To say Mr. Hanks's performance is accurate is hard to say, as "Colonel" Parker was an enigmatic character, hard to pin down. A schemer, a con man, sharp businessman and a marketing genius all rolled into one.

   The first half of the film moves at frenetic speed cutting back and forth through various parts of Elvis's life. The music is, of course, terrific and Mr. Lurhmann does a faithful, colorful and over the top job, recreating the rise of rock & roll in the 50's and the turbulent 60's. The script touches on almost all of Elvis's career highs and lows.  The story slows down a bit in the second half as it concentrates on the Las Vegas years and the eventual end we have all come to know. But in between, it's a blast.