What I’m Watching: ‘Thor Ragnarok’ is great escapist fun

Date: 11/10/2017

This is what I’ve been watching:

In theaters: Thor Ragnarok

As a kid I only read the Thor comics briefly and I must admit the first Thor movie was passable but not very memorable to me.

Clearly though the brain trust behind the Marvel superhero move adaptions have figured out how to best use the Norse God of Thunder and that is on ample display in this new movie.

The character of Thor has evolved from a stiff demigod and heir to the throne of Asgard coping in a strange world to a good-natured goof. Star Chris Hemsworth has keen comic timing, which is the perfect counterpoint for the character’s heroic side.

In this film, Thor is initially in search of his father Odin who has been hidden on earth by his brother Loki, played with considerable oily charm by Tom Hiddleston. When he find him, he and Loki witnesses Odin’s death and the subsequent release of their sister, Odin’s first child, Hela, the God of Death, from her prison.

Hela, played by the marvelous Cate Blanchett, is not only a bit peeved at her dad, but intends to take the throne and wage war on other “realms” in order to enslave the universe.

Hela packs a mean punch – she breaks Thor’s hammer into little pieces – and send both of her brothers off to a planet on the other side of the galaxy where Thor becomes an imprisoned gladiator.

Inexplicably he has to fight The Hulk  – “We’re friends from work,” he gleefully proclaims – who has also wound up on the planet. Thor must get off the planet, return to Asgard and defeat Hela.

Director Taika Waititi is perhaps best known for his work on the acclaimed vampire comedy “What We Do in the Shadows,” and he brings his comic sensibility to this film. He is also capable of delivering the goods – fight scenes and an epic chase sequence – that are required with this type of movie.

The result is perhaps the funniest Marvel superhero film since “Deadpool,” which was not produced by the Marvel team. “Thor Ragnarok,” like “Spiderman Homecoming” and the two “Guardians of the Galaxy” films has a firm grasp on the human potential of its heroes, both for clobbering bad guys and for laughs.

There are two extra scenes, so for true fans stay in your seats until the lights come up.

On Blu-ray: The Creep Behind the Camera

My friend and fellow movie guy Frank Lapointe has kiddingly – or perhaps not – referred to my interest in “crap” movies, low budget genre films.

For me someone who is able to create a motion picture that is entertaining on its own terms without a lot of resources should be celebrated. It’s a heck of a lot more difficult to do so than to have a multi-million budget and an army of technicians.

Personally knowing producers who had made a career as independents, I was intrigued by the very dark side of that life that is told by  “The Creep Behind the Camera.” This documentary is about the making of one of the world’s worst movies, “The Creeping Terror,” a micro-budget science fiction film shot in the early 1960s by A.J. Nelson.

“Mystery Science Theater 3000” featured the film as it was deemed almost too crude to be released in the 1960s. The monster is essentially a creation made from a carpet and plastic hose, with several people inside of it grabbing its “victims” through a hole that supposedly was its mouth.

Nelson was more than just another dreamer pining for success in Hollywood. He was a psychopath who committed a number of crimes, including rape, domestic violence and fraud. He literally allowed nothing to stand in his way to complete his misguided monster film.     

Director Pete Schuermann not only staged recreations of Nelson’s life and the shooting of the film with interview footage with Nelson’s wife, his investor and members of the crew. They paint a picture of a mentally unstable criminal who was not just addicted to alcohol and drugs, but to the concept of fame.

Josh Phillips gives a bravura performance as Nelson while Jodi Lynn Thomas is very effective as his wife.

Schuermann should be congratulated for his unique approach and for his unblinking look at the subject.