Extraction: I had a couple of positive views about the 2020 Chris Hemsworth in my circle and decided to see this on Netflix. I note that there is akready Extraction 2 out as well. I will further note that I haven’t watched a lot of Chris Hemsworth movies. I certainly haven’t sought him out in the Marvel series of movies as Thor.
In this film, he plays a single ex-military mercenary who needs money and seeks out dangerous jobs in order to make a living. He carries with him some baggage which the viewer better understands as the movie carries on. The life of Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) is complex, but his motives are simple enough. Do a job, if he is sober enough, and move on. This job involves finding the son of an East Indian imprisoned drug lord, who has gone missing. The drug lord has threatened his own right hand man that if his son isn’t found straight away, that the guy’s own son would be at risk.
Rack is part of a team that is charged with obtaining the young man. Let the fun begin with all of these armed folks trying to deal with this young man. Interestingly the same men who are very careful not to be killing children, don’t seem to have any issue with killing the father of many children. In many ways this is similar to a John Wick film with the carnage of those involved. Like John Wick, Rack can seem to take a beating and still continue on. One wonders about all this effort and all these lives impacted for the sake of one child. Of course there is a tie in with Rack and his own story. Family is a big part of the underlying theme. There are plenty of action sequences, lots of shooting, chases, helicopters and the whole ball of wax. Is this worth watching? For me it was okay. Alison told me that she couldn’t stay with it and I can understand why. I cannot recommend in the same way that it was brought to my attention. I feel no need to seek out the sequel. The emotional hook that I read about wasn’t really there for me in the motivation and ultimate choices of Rack. So, as a viewer, one gets to make their own choices.
The Secretary: James Spader before his career on TV as Red Reddington in The Blacklist was known for more quirky roles. Among them included the 1989 Sex Lies Videotape with Andie McDowell. He had some less than mainstream sexual appetites, but he was a troubled soul. Other roles like Bad Influence or White Palace, have similar stories for him. So he is familiar with the territory with 2002 film on Netflix. His co-star in this movie is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who plays a young woman looking for a job. Spader plays Mr Grey who is a sole practioner lawyer. Maggie plays Lee, who lives with her mother and just wants to have some independence.
Mr Grey (no relation to Shades of Grey) is a man who seems to go through secretaries with regularity and he is looking to bring on someone new. But he is a lonely guy. He develops an attachment with his secretary, and she for him. Things unfold.
This smaller independent film shows that people, in whatever desires that they have, can find one another. They don’t have to conform with societal norms. Spader shows his own vulnerability while Gyllenhall is able to channel the woman able to better asset herself and recognize who she is and where she belongs. Lee turns that assertiveness into better understanding herself and her value. She becomes more confident, and it shows in many aspects of her life. This movie isn’t for everyone. It can be a bit slow. Not a lot happens, but then again life for most people doesn’t have car chases and gun fights. It is filled with routine, work, weekends, and everyday interactions. We meet people, I think, under the saying for “a season, a reason or a lifetime”. Certainly this can be true in romantic relationships. Sometimes it takes some time to figure just which one that someone may be for you.
Mondays With Robbie 