New-look ‘Thor’ still can raise a ruckus
‘Thor: Ragnarok’
Meet the new Thor — well, the new-look Thor, anyway.
In “Thor: Ragnarok,” the latest unspooling of the Marvel universe, the former God of Thunder is shorn of his long blond locks — and almost as bad, his hammer — when Hela (played by, yes, Cate Blanchett), the goddess of death, steps in to take over and destroy Asgard.
His day doesn’t get better when he’s captured, hammerless, and forced into a gladiator match against none other than his “friend from work,” as Thor calls him, the Incredible Hulk. After they do battle, Thor recruits the big green guy and his alter-ego, Bruce Banner (Kenosha native Mark Ruffalo) to take on Hela, with a little help from his complicated brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and fellow warrior Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson).
Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Anthony Hopkins, Karl Urban and many more co-star.
For many critics, putting the latest Thor tale in the hands of New Zealand director Taika Waititi — whose comedies “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Hunt for the Wilder-people” have been among the best-reviewed movies of the past decade — was just what the superhero ordered.
USA TODAY critic Brian Truitt gave “Ragnarok” 3 stars, calling it “by far the best of the solo films starring Chris Hemsworth as the hammer-wielding warrior,” even though it’s sometimes “zany to a fault.”
“Thor: Ragnarok” is rated PG-13 for violence and brief suggestive material. It runs for 130 minutes.
‘ The Killing of a Sacred Deer’
In the movies, a seemingly perfect home is usually a sign of trouble.
And so it is in “The Killing of a Sacred
Deer,” the latest from director Yorgos Lanthimos.
Colin Farrell plays a doctor with a beautiful house, a beautiful wife (Nicole Kidman), two beautiful children (Sunny Suljic, Raffey Cassidy) and a big secret. Farrell takes a fatherless teenager under his wing, not realizing that the boy (Barry Keoghan), connected to him by his secret, is plotting dark, cruel revenge against the doctor and his entire family.
Like Lanthimos’ quirky comedy “The Lobster,” which also starred Farrell, “Killing of a Sacred Deer” is getting pretty solid reviews, even as it confounds/confuses some critics.
“It’s a gorgeously sterile film, fascinating to look at, sometimes painful to watch,” Arizona Republic critic Bill Goodykoontz wrote in his 31⁄ 2- star (out of 5) review. “… Why watch? Why do we ride the Zipper at the carnival? It’s fun to be messed with. And Lanthimos is definitely messing with us, from the first frame forward.”
“The Killing of a Sacred Deer” is rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content, some nudity and language. It runs for 121 minutes.
‘LBJ’
Before he was picked as John F. Kennedy’s running mate in 1960, Lyndon Baines Johnson was one of the most powerful men in Washington.
After they won the election, not so much.
“LBJ,” director Rob Reiner’s first real-president drama, follows Johnson, played by a heavily made-up Woody Harrelson, from power to official obscurity back to power — the latter, unfortunately, courtesy Kennedy’s assassination.
The movie centers on Johnson’s transition back to power, this time with the mission of using his political skill to get passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as a tribute to/legacy of Kennedy — and despite challenges on the left, courtesy longtime adversary Robert Kennedy (Michael StahlDavid), and the right, in his former mentor and now antagonist Georgia Sen. Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins).
Jennifer Jason Leigh is Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird.
Reviews for “LBJ” are mixed. Reviewing for The Hollywood Reporter, Deborah Young called the movie conventionally staged, but powered by Harrelson’s performance. “Though Woody Harrelson looks painfully unlike the 36th president despite tons of makeup, facial prosthetics and a toupee, his exuberant, foul-mouthed portrait of the powerhouse politician is the film’s main strength,” she wrote. “Ribald and vivid, he paints Johnson as an idealist by conviction and a skilled behind-thescenes manipulator out of necessity and inclination.”
“LBJ” is rated R for language. It runs for 97 minutes.