Thelma Adams: Novelist, Critic, Oscar Expert

Thelma Adams, Oscars, Playdate, Marie Claire, Movie Reviews, Interviews, New Releases, New York Film Critics, Celebrities, Personal Essays, Parenting, Commentary, Women, Women\'s Issues, Motherhood

MENUMENU
  • HOME
  • BOOKS
    • The Last Woman Standing
    • Playdate
    • Bittersweet Brooklyn
  • WRITINGS
  • MEDIA
  • EVENTS
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT

Is ‘Mad Max’ Furiously Feminist — or Just the New Normal

May 30, 2015 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Hardy, Theron: jerky tough., no words wasted.

Hardy, Theron: jerky tough., no words wasted.

I am among the first people to wave the feminist flag. I believe in female empowerment, the right to choose, and even our right to choose and make mistakes. The simple definition. I pay my tab. But I’m uncertain whether it’s a step forward to hail the futuristic sci-fi film Mad Max: Fury Road, which I reviewed here, as a feminist film. I agree with the Guardian’s Jessica Valenti to a point. And she made many good ones Including this:

The movie, as has been said by others, is glorious: beautifully shot, fun, fast-paced and, yes, feminist. And if the popularity of the film is any indication (global cumulative box office is already $227m) this iteration of Mad Max shows that movie audiences are thrilled by its female action heroes, a plot that shows the necessity of dismantling patriarchies and its “leading” man who supports the real hero – the leading lady.

What I would like to argue, both with and against my colleague Valenti, is that the film has taken a step toward normalizing the images of women we see on the screen. That isn’t just feminist, it’s humanist. (Oh, and good business, too.) Charlize Theron, who plays the female heroine Furiosa opposite Tom Hardy’s burly Max, has a three-dimensional role with a past, present and hopefully a future. That she has one arm suggests a story that remains largely untold here, a past hinted at and shaping the character she reflects in those steely blue eyes beneath the damn-it-all buzz cut.

It is like we have become so starved for strong, full female characters in the desert of Hollywood mainstream movies that we jump on Furiosa as feminist. And, of course, she is and kudos to (male) director George Miller and screenwriters Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris for normalizing their stories. I embrace this, although we live in a ridiculous pop cultural amnesia zone that forgets that Hollywood gave us the great Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire, or Claudette Colbert in The Palm Beach Story or Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind or Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz or Joan Crawford and Bette Davis and ….

And we don’t want to overlook the fact that while there is a small posse of crones (those invisible women over 45) that supports Furiorosa in her battle against, well, ok, the Patriarchy (or just the yukky bad guys), there is also a harem of bulimic, bee-stung lipped supermodels to satisfy the core audience. Lord knows where these chicks got all that conditioner in that futuristic wasteland but I’ll accept that lack of continuity. But remember how Miller introduces the breeders in a male fantasy display as these stunners of many colors wash their long, skinny limbs (and, for some, sensually bulbous pregnant bellies). The dystopic wet-T-shirt scene reminded me of the supermodel gas station frolic in Zoolander.

So, yes, Jessica Valenti and the many more women  including my sisters at the feministmadmax Tunblr who stride up to call Mad Max a feminist film. For me, it’s another step toward normalizing the images of women on screen to reflect the badass beings that we are — from the time we are young fillies to our wise crone-ship.

 

 

Filed Under: Essay, Movies & TV Tagged With: Action Adventure, Bulimic Supermodels, Charlize Theron, Crones, Dystopia, Feminist, Mad Max: Fury Road, Misogyny, Tom Hardy

Hardy Boy Drives ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ to Fast and Furious Action

May 15, 2015 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Hardy, Theron: jerky tough., no words wasted.

Hardy, Theron: jerky tough., no words wasted.

The original Mad Max, the 1979 nihilistic low-budget death derby starring a beautiful yet crazy Aussie unknown, Mel Gibson, was the movie that first turned me on to action. This was testosterone, baby, and I was an estrogen-pumping college student in Berkeley catching Manhattan and Meatballs and Mr. Hulot’s Holiday. Enter Gibson and Director George Miller, angry and furious and driving the rusty old engine of cinema into the dusty dystopic future. I was exhilarated. And I was hooked. Blame them, or own it, I became an action junkie.

The Max madder-than-hell, I’m angry and I’m not going to take it any more sequels always overstretched the simple premise of the original, going to Thunderdome and beyond. I’ll leave it to the diehard online list-makers to rank these films like so many kindergartners sitting on mats learning their numbers for the first time. And, so, it is with relief and joy that I pick up with Hardy, an absolute favorite of mine, with his manly-man Max a pussycat compared to his Bronson performance.

Hardy inhabits the titular hero – all scarred muscle and tortured eyes and more flashbacks than a habitual LSD user — in a movie that is as linear and relentless as the original. There’s birth and death and the question becomes how much torture, inhumanity and deprivation an individual has to survive until that final apocalypse (or Valhalla depending on your faith).
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Movies & TV Tagged With: Action, Blockbuster, Charlize Theron, Dystopia, George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mel Gibson, Tom Hardy

Oscar 2012: Best Actor Roundtable

September 21, 2011 By Thelma 15 Comments

Brad Pitt,Moneyball,Baseball,Sports Movies

Pitt catches awards buzz

Next up for our Oscar roundtable, Sasha Stone of Awardsdaily.com, and USA Today film reporter Susan Wloszczyna and I jaw about the early Best Actor frontrunners. While I began by posting a list of the serious contenders, Stone dubs this the year of the Oscar Hottie:

Thelma: Let me throw out the first pitch on best actor: George Clooney in The Descendants is the frontrunner, but even Clooney admits that’s a position that takes incredible stamina. You’re just asking to be knocked off the block. Still, if any one can campaign for this award like a politician out of The Ides of March, it’s George. And then there’s his old pal Brad Pitt, with the one two punch of Moneyball and The Tree of Life, and he’s a star that every one wants to come to their party. And then there’s the bad boy: Michael Fassbender. I’ve yet to see Shame, and he’s definitely the year’s rising male star, but is that, or his repressed Jung in A Dangerous Method, Oscar-able?

Susan: Clooney in The Descendants is the safest bet for now. And Pitt could easily be in there for Moneyball.

A Dangerous Method is proving to be a divisive film as some dismiss it as a talky bore while others embrace how it reveals the rift between these two fascinating men of the mind as they have a tug of war over a patient who is a key to both their theories. Still, Shame feels like the one that will place Fassbender in the race.

However, the more time goes by, the less The Ides of March feels like a generator of nominations. It’s well made but its script feels like it is five years out of date and its revelations about politicians are few.

So where will the other candidates come from? I wish Paul Giamatti could sneak in with Win Win but that feels like an Independent Spirit Award type situation. More likely is Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris, if the academy decides to reward Woody Allen‘s return to form — as well as Wilson’s own reawakening as an actor.

Leo in J. Edgar could go either way. I would feel more sure if this were a Scorsese film than an Eastwood. Tom Hanks in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? Daniel Craig in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? Gary Oldman — in the overdue club big time — for Tinker Tailor? All possible but mostly unseen.

And oui to Jean Dujardin for The Artist. He seems more likely than Ryan Gosling at this point.

Sasha: Hanks will be too small a part in Extremely Loud so, if anything, he goes supporting. And trust me, if the movie is as good as the screenplay it will rip your heart out.

The actors I’m thinking of right now are: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Celebrity, Movies & TV, Oscar Race Tagged With: Awards Daily, Brad Pitt, Coriolanus, Dominic Cooper, Entertainment, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, Moneyball, Movies, Oscars 2012, Ralph Fiennes, Rampart, Sasha Stone, Susan Wloszczyna, The Descendants, The Ides of March, Tom Hardy, Toronto International Film Festival, USA Today, Warrior, Woody Harrelson

Oscars 2012: Best Actor First Look

September 15, 2011 By Thelma 1 Comment

OK, we’re just out of Toronto (at least I am). It’s a crap shoot as to who will make the best actor shortlist — but it’s not as much of a crap shoot as it was a week ago. This is going to be one very hot race. So, let’s start off with the shoe-in:

1. George Clooney, The Descendants

2. Brad Pitt, Tree of Life or Moneyball

3. Jean Dujardin, The Artist

4. Woody Harrelson, Rampart

Woody Harrelson,Robin Wright,Cynthia Nixon,Ben Foster,Oren Moverman,James Ellroy,Hot sex,The Messenger

5. Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar

And don’t forget:

6. Michael Fassbender, Shame

7. Gerard Butler, Machine Gun Preacher

8. Dominic Cooper, The Devil’s DoubleDominic Cooper,The Devil's Double,Best Actor,Oscars 2012

9. Paul Giamatti, Win Win

10. Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

11. Ryan Gosling, Drive or The des of March

12. Tom Hardy, Warrior

 

Filed Under: Celebrity, Movies & TV, Oscar Race Tagged With: Brad Pitt, Dominic Cooper, Drive, Gary Oldman, George Clooney, Gerard Butler, J. Edgar, Jean Dujardin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Machine Gun Preacher, Michael Fassbender, Moneyball, Oscar Race, Oscars 2012, Paul Giamatti, Rampart, Ryan Gosling, Shame, Soldier, Spy, Tailor, The Artist, The Descendants, The Devil's Double, The Ides of March, TIFF11, Tinker, Tom Hardy, Toronto International Film Festival, Tree of Life, Warrior, Win Win, Woody Harrelson

Oscar Watch: Warrior

August 26, 2011 By Thelma 1 Comment

 

NIck Nolte, Mug Shot,Tom Hardy,The Wrestler,The Fighter, Joel Edgerton,Oscar Contender

Nolte knocks back another great performance

In this year’s The Fighter – a working-class martial arts movie that resonates with emotion —  Nick Nolte sets the bar high for a Best Supporting Actor nomination as the alcoholic father of two warrior boys. Every scene Nolte is in is emotionally true and hard won, inspiring manly tears and touching any one who’s ever had a rocky relationship with a parent, screwed up their relationship with their kids, or a history of abuse – or is not made of granite. Having powerhouse actors Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton playing the battling sons makes this a must-see.


Filed Under: Criticism, Movies & TV, Oscar Race Tagged With: Best Supportng Actor, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Oscars 2012, Tom Hardy, Warrior

Copyright © 2023 · Dynamik-Gen On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in