Page 6 November 9, 2017 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Politically Speaking
One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion
Film Review
Thor: Ragnarok Brings Fresh Perspective to Marvel Universe
By H. Nelson Tracey
for www.cinemacy.com
Covering the Marvel Cinematic Universe
from a critical perspective is always interesting:
the behemoth franchise never missteps
or whiffs, but often fails to leave us with an
individual film to be remembered. The most
inarguably flat film of the entire franchise
may be Thor: The Dark World. While we
all have our favorites (or least favorites), this
cold, heartless sequel is never brought up in
conversation since its release. With the first
outing of Thor, a compelling character arc
was put in place: our hero went from being
a brash, arrogant and clueless character to a
more grounded hero by the end of the film.
It’s a great journey, but it only lasts for one
film--so by the second Thor movie, there
was no place for him to go forward and the
writers didn’t even bother to attempt it. This,
more than any other reason, is what made
the second film so stale.
So where to go from there? If there is
ever proof that anything can be great under
the guidance of the right person, it is Thor:
Ragnarok. Entrusted in the hands of indie
favorite Taika Waititi--whose last two
films, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What
We Do in the Shadows, are some of the best
comedies of the decade--it was anyone’s
guess what a massive scale blockbuster
would look like under his influence. To our
delight, the film more closely resembles the
work of Waititi than a conventional Marvel
film, and we are all able to benefit from it.
From the very get-go when we see Thor in
action on some brooding, otherworldly setting,
there is a juxtaposition from the grandiose visuals
of the Thor universe met with the oddball
Waititi humor that never fails to deliver. For
the first time in a while, it feels like a director
has taken command of the reins of a Marvel
movie. Mind you, unlike most sequels to bad
movies where they attempt to revise history or
scrap previous entries, this film embraces all
the story points from the last film but chooses
to have a lot of fun with them.
The plot on its own could be a more straightforward
tale: An evil villain (Cate Blanchett)
Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston in Thor: Ragnarok. Courtesy of Marvel Studios.
who has a history at Asgard, enters into the
fray with the intention of ruling over the entire
galaxy. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), meanwhile,
is thrown off guard again and lands on a
junk-pile planet where, in order to escape,
he must serve as a gladiator. Borrowing cues
from throughout the decade, I’m struck with
how well employed this ‘80s homage is– by
setting it on a specific planet, it gives the
entire universe a more layered feeling where
certain places have different atmospheres than
others. The balance between the two planets,
the regal Asgard and the synthesized ‘80sinspired
second planet, is a great contrast
and the variety makes the whole adventure
a delightful romp.
Of the Marvel movies, the only one I
can actively recall re-watching is the original
Avengers. After viewing this film, I can
safely say I’d be thrilled to relish in Thor:
Ragnarok again. With its humor, vision and
sincerity, the bar has been raised for what
Marvel can accomplish, and I hope its look
continues to invite more brilliant directors
to jump into the fray.
Thor: Ragnarok is rated PG-13 for intense
sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and
brief suggestive material. 130 minutes. Now
playing in theaters everywhere. •
Brazile’s DNC Allegations Indicate
More Than Unethical Agreements
By Cristian Vasquez
Excerpts released from former Democratic
National Committee interim chair Donna
Brazile claim that an unethical agreement
between the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s
2016 presidential campaign was reached in
an attempt to keep the DNC alive financially.
While it is no surprise to hear that Clinton is
being accused of something unethical, it is
alarming that the DNC would resort to such
actions, for any reason, and to the degree that
Brazile claims. These actions are more than
just a shakeup within the Democratic Party’s
establishment--and lifelong supporters of the
party should be angered and need to either
clean house or abandon ship.
In all fairness, it was announced in 2015
that a joint fundraising effort between the
DNC and Clinton’s campaign was in place.
Furthermore, by 2016 the two had signed an
agreement to fundraise together under the
guise that the agreement was no different
from the ones President Obama’s campaign
used in 2008 and 2012. Yet, Brazile’s claims
that Clinton’s campaign pumped money into
the DNC for control of its finances one year
prior to Clinton becoming the official nominee
shows a level of corruption that justifies the
President’s “Crooked Hillary” chant. The writing
is on the wall is clear: Clinton dangled
the carrot in front of the DNC for her power
pursuit. The DNC took the carrot and at the
end of the day, they both got what they deserved:
a failed campaign. Unfortunately, the
American people will pay for their mistake
for the next four years, if not eight.
Based on Brazile’s claims, Clinton and
her campaign had the blessing of the DNC
and at least a one-year advantage over every
Democratic Party candidate and still failed
miserably. Will people now accept how horrible
of a candidate she was? Her supporters
probably won’t, and many will likely resort
to Russian interference or dirty campaigning
to justify the loss. The reality is that Clinton
and the DNC personify what the Democratic
establishment has evolved into: a movement
without structure, without leaders and without
substance. We can point to Democrats
who are considered the future of the party
(Newsom, Harris, Castro or Kennedy III), but
what kind of future can registered Democrats
expect when the DNC leases its powers to
one candidate to pay off massive debts?
One of two things will happen: the young
Democrats climbing the ranks will either
cooperate with the DNC playbook, hence
becoming part of the problem…or, they will
simply never shake off the label of potential
leaders and get stonewalled by their party.
Politics is a dirty game and learning about
these accusations comes as no surprise, but
Democrats need to be more than outraged--if
not by the lack of ethics behind this agreement,
then at least by the lack of coherent
leadership from the party. At the end of the
day, it was Clinton and the DNC that lost an
election to a candidate who had never held
public office, despite all the advantages granted
to Clinton via an unethical agreement. •
House of Cards Continues to
Crumble in Libcentric Hollyweird
By Duane Plank
Shocked to see a push-back last week
against the latest Plank diatribe in the letters
section. Egads!
Did you fill up your gas tank in the last
week? If so, say thank you to the extra
money that you forked over to the soon-tobe
termed out Cali Governor Jerry Brown,
whom I pretty much like, by the way. The
guise is that they will take the billions that
they are lifting from our wallets and fix the
crappy roads and remedy other transportation
issues that have plagued the great state of
California for more than a few years. Sure.
Not that the extorted money will be used
to help fund the Brown-backed boondoggle
of a bullet train, right? A bullet train that
is headed god knows where and will cost
tens of billions. Or maybe the Dems and the
next Governor, who undoubtedly will be a
Dem, will funnel the extra gas tax and car
registration fees that were rammed through
by the Dems who run the sanctuary state of
California into trying to lessen the incredible
pension funding problem that has plagued
our state as politicians have continued to
kowtow to unions in their effort to win election
after election.
And kowtowing to the unions has worked,
if working is jamming the political positions
in this state with left-leaning pols. Who were/
are trying to enforce some kind of insanity
that was termed the “Road Diet.” Choking
off the commute in our neighborhoods as
we steam to and fro from work every day.
Hoping that we will bike to work, walk to
work, or take the very inconvenient public
transportation options to work, or to our
other destinations of commerce or recreation.
That is a great thought--biking to work.
Save the environment, save this, save that.
Climate change and all. Do you think the
corpulent Al Gore, alleged mastermind of
the global warming diatribe, or the sweaty,
somewhat chubby actor Leo De Caprio-
-another alleged protect the environment
wacko--have ever biked to work? Or taken
public transportation?
For me, that would mean biking to the See’s
Candies distribution center on Alameda Street
in Carson. Yeah, that would be a great idea.
At 5:30 in the morning, I will jump on my
crummy bike, ride it 20 miles to Carson and
feel good because I have saved the planet. I
am sure that my co-workers would love to
sit next to a guy who just sweated his way
through a 20-mile bike ride.
No showers at See’s Candies, at least that
I am privy to, so I can arrive drenched in
sweat…if I don’t get killed on the way, riding
my tricycle in the dark. And then--after
putting in an incredibly tough day of working
with our fundraising and business partners,
cajoling them and utilizing my incredible
sales talents--hop back on my crummy bike
and navigate my way back to the safety and
sanctity of El Segundo.
Yeah, that seems like a great option. I am
starting to warm up to the option of being
taxed even more and saving this planet. •
Entertainment
“Every great film should seem new every time you see it.”
– Roger Ebert