This past week was spent in Florida, but on the way there I had a chance to watch Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. In truth, this was watched over a couple of trips. And in both cases, it really didn’t come together and make much sense. The relationship aspect with two agents where he had proposed earlier didn’t work with two people with zero chemistry. Not sure whether that was a “her” or a “him” issue, since they both have their challenges; he is delivering dialogue in his best Keanu Reaves imitation with no inflection, while she just doesn’t seem to give a shit about anything, but with a smirk on her face. The three little annoying aardvark-like creatures were looking to be like the trader in early Star Wars (Ani’s boss). In the end, right up to including when Rhinanna shows up it is a mess, with a strange story and less interesting characters. Did I for a minute think Clive Owen was in any way a good guy? Ummmm no. Incidentally Roger Ebert site gave this a 4 Star rating.
I also watched I Tonya, and there is a part of me that wonders about who is getting paid and how much for this story. Credits seem to indicate we have cooperation from Jeff Gillooly and also with Tonya Harding herself, who isn’t afraid of doing anything necessary to make a buck (like box in Celebrity Bouts). What they provide, as initially advertised, is the self-serving perspective of each of the characters. As they say, truth is one’s perspective on the facts. This is shown in spades here, and quite humourously as well. People know the story from the tabloids, and the Olympics from Albertville and then Lillehammer just two years later. There is the equally well known Incident, where competitor Nancy Kerrigan has her leg whacked after a practice session. Allison Janney deserved full marks for her performance as the scene stealing Mom of Tonya. A chain-smoking, profane, waitress from Nowhere Oregon with a chip on her shoulder and attitude to burn. She is steadfast in her pushing and abuse of her daughter from early age. Tonya may want to come off as a victim, but all the “it’s not my fault” aspects of this don’t resonate. The overall sentence given out for the Incident to her, also shows that others don’t believe her nor her explanation of what she knew and when. But this was an entertaining film. I was astounded at the level of stupidity of the people that surrounded her, and especially the bodyguard. Gillooly tries to portray himself as a “good guy” whil denying the fact that he physically abused Harding. I guess all the restraining orders that should be public record also lie about the “good guy” as well. But in the end, it was Janney who was the most entertaining, even in the film itself when she pointed out that she had been ignored for too long with her storyline.
Mondays With Robbie 