Lukewarm Off the Presses: Beyond Ragnarok & Huppert Fever
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 10:45AM Reheating some news we never got around to! But perhaps it's news to you...
Cate Blanchett will be playing Thor's next big bad "Hela". We assume she's the antlered one in this concept art so we cautiously look forward to that costume. But confession: I don't trust Blanchett in villainous mode (*dodges tomatoes*) since she overdid it in both Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Hanna and nearly so in Cinderella and I don't mean overdid it in a fun comic-book kind of way but just too much overall. Plus the Thor movies are easily the worst part of Marvel Studio's work to date. Other new players in Thor: Ragnarok will be Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie (a character I loved as a kid so yay, Tessa). And of course Mark Ruffalo as the not jolly green giant and Chris Hemsworth as the guy with the hammer. For some reason they are forcing Sir Anthony Hopkins' Odin back on us (I thought he died in the ssecond movie?) and Tom Hiddleston is back under Loki's horns which is a pity because he deserves to use his time on other things, now, come on. They've wrung that character dry, they've leaned on him so much.
Apparently the villain in Star Trek Beyond looks like this. It's actually Idris Elba underneath all that makeup. LOUD SIGH. First Oscar Isaac gets buried in ugly latex for Apocalypse and now Idris? Idris Elba is, and I think the internet will back me up on this assertion, one of the most attractive people on the planet. So why won't Hollywood show us his face? It is really pissing me off. This year he's onscreen as a tiger (Jungle Book) a buffalo (Zootopia), a sea lion (Finding Dory), and this alien but not as a human man you can actually look at. As a pasty white boy I am fully aware that there are people who think I shouldn't talk about race... but as a human person stuff like this is really getting to me. I am not one to jump on every perceived racial slight and proclaim racism (As I said much to the internet's displeasure this past season, I think #OscarsSoWhite was oft-misguided because the actor's branch is not the correct target for such things given both Hollywood and Oscar history) but I can't look at Idris Elba's career, and Zoe Saldana's career (note how she's always blue or green in her movies... until she was a black woman doing blackface -yikes!) and Lupita Nyong'o's career post Oscar (a CGI alien and a CGI wolf so far, but not an actress you can gaze at despite her considerable beauty) and not KNOW that Hollywood's race problem is dire and also, I'd wager, subconcious.
This is not complicated, really, if casting directors, directors, agents, executives, managers, and maybe even the actors on occasion would just think decisions through a little more, especially in regards to the optics. FACT: People like to look at beautiful actors. They always have. Stop hiding them from us!
Isabelle Huppert is having a good year. I missed a lot of articles on Elle and Isabelle Huppert's time in front of the press at Cannes. In a new interview at the Guardian about Elle and her latest stage performance in Phaedra there's a lot of fascinating tidbits including her repetitive unwillingness to talk about other famous actors but her chatterbox response to questions about directors. She also wants to do more comedies...
Viewers do tend to think of her on-screen persona as a full-on neurotic, steeped in psychosexual anguish.
“Yes, but you can be a comic neurotic too.” So does she feel underrated doing comedy? “I certainly do feel…” she hesitates a moment; I take that as a yes. “That’s why I’d love to work with Woody Allen or Noah Baumbach – to do comedy in that New York vein.” But her serious roles, she insists, often contain more humour than is apparent. “Even The Piano Teacher – although I wouldn’t try to persuade anyone that was an out and out comedy…”
Whew. I was worried for a second. That film is not a knee slapper. As for Huppert in comedy. Can you handle that? I liked her in I Heart Huckabees and especially in 8 Women but in both she was working with or riffing on that dramatic neurotic performance so her comedy was stemming from perceptions of her as an actor, just as much if not more than her actual performances.
Reader Comments (23)
She's supposed to be comedy gold in Elle, and it's a rape-revenge movie. A lot of reviews mentioned Huppert's fierce irony. The Guardian and Telegraph even called the movie a comedy.
But you all must see her movie in South Korea, with Hong Sangsoo, In Another Country.
She's light, sweet and A D O R A B L E
@Nathaniel - There's actually a vulture article talking about exactly what you're talking about in terms of Alba, Saldana, etc: http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/hollywood-black-actors.html
Anyway, I'm probably one of the few people that's looking forward to Thor: Ragnarok. The first Thor was probably my favorite of the solo Phase One MCU movies; and while Thor: The Dark World was a step down in terms of story, I thought it had strong moments, was a better looking film than the first and I enjoy it as a simple/straightforward action/adventure film, overall.
The Thor series definitely pales in comparison to most of the Captain America trilogy - most things in the MCU do - and I absolutely think there's room for improvement with Ragnarok. In saying that, I think these films aren't the worst the MCU has to offer by a long shot.
Hollywood often (wrongly) mistaken that persons of color should be top choices to play person of COLOR (Green, Yellow, all shades of Blue, you name it). It's disastrous. Beside Idris, Zoe and Lupita, you'll also have Paula Patton in Warcraft. What's happening?
Hmm, I hope Cate comes out unscathed, but the comic book genre is generally not kind to actors.
The point you're making tied to obscuring race is an important one. But from a less socially-concerned angle I simply find it curious that you'd go to the trouble of casting very attractive people like Oscar Isaac and Lee Pace if you're going to cover their faces with heavy make-up.
Thank you for acknowledging that Cate is not perfect. She overdoes it more often than not. But when she nails it.....perfection.
I don't remember much of her work in I Heart Huckabees very well, but thought she was hilarious as the neurotic aunt in 8 femmes .
I Heart Huckabees is a horrible introduction to Huppert. Which was the case with me. Because someone said her performance in The Piano Teacher is equivalent to Joaquin Phoenix in The Master I had to see it. And they were correct but she was also so much more.
Verhoeven has a lightness of touch for most of his movies. There is humor in the explicit sex and excessive graphic violence. The resurgence of Paul Verhoeven is an absolute godsend. This will make his back studio category a priority when the time comes from 4K scans and HDR color gradings. Hopefully someone will find the alternate violent footage from Total Recall. It is the only American movie of his not available in a more explicit and uncut version.
Isabelle Huppert has been a joy to watch for years. And yes, I do think she has an untapped comedy vein in her. She reminds me a lot of Judy Davis in that way. I can see why she'd be attracted to Woody Allen as a director and it's surprising he's never used her before, but then, he doesn't seem to fancy Judy either. Maybe they're too old to inspire him?
Technically I'd agree the Thor Series is worse overall than Iron Man and CA, but not by very much. I'd say I prefer Thor to The First Avenger when compared side-by-side. Loki is BY FAR the most complex and interesting villain in the MCU, so I say keep it coming.
"I can be funny" is the funniest thing Isabelle Huppert has ever said.
Your right Cate can't play villains she always goes Full Skeletor.
Cate nailed the Evil Step Mother in Cinderella. Was I right when I said in early summer 2015 that her performance was definitely going to be more memorable and better well-rounded than at least one of the eventual Supporting Actress nominees? Yes, I was right.
The Marissa Wiegler performance has some massively great moments, and in Crystall Skull she is just SO HOT!
Gurl, please! Cate Blanchett was the least of Crystal Skull's problems. Even the ridiculous title is more of an issue. It's not like anyone came out of that mess of a movie saying "what a great film, too bad Cate Blanchett overdoes it!"
You're right about Idris Elba, though. He is definitely one of the most attracrive actors out there, and deserves a better career.
Yes, that's perfect. Huppert is the French version of Judy Davis. Perfect!
So is Isabelle going to get that overdue Oscar next year?
Rampling received her elusive Oscar nomination Huppert can definitely follow suit.
You can't have a Thor movie with out Loki...and yeah why cast good looking actors and bury them under makeup ?!
So, I guess I really need to see The Piano Teacher. I adore Isabelle Huppert, but I am far from well-versed in her filmography. She'd be a great fit in an Allen or Baumbach film!
Also, I loved Blanchett in Hanna, but I love that movie more than most people do.
Indiana Jones was my only bad Cate performance. she just wasn't right for it. I however loved loved loved her in Hanna. She was such a bitch. And she looked perfect doing it. The scariest Cate performance remains the cluelessness of Sheba Hart. I'm kind of disappointed she's doing a Thor movie but I'm keeping an open mind. Let's see what she does with it. I m more optimistic because of the director.
Let's all stop for a minute and remember that Cate and Isabelle were in 'The Maids' together, and I missed out on seeing it. Tragic.
Also, Cate's nickname for Isabelle is 'The Hoop'. I want to marry both of them immediately.
Blanchett gave the most inspired performance in Crystal Skull.
Cate Blanchett is incredible in Hanna, I don't care what the naysayers say. The movie itself is generally underrated too, and features a fierce performance from Saoirse Ronan and a masterclass in style and mood from director Joe Wright.