HERE'S OUR NOVEMBER 26, 2017 RADIO INTERVIEW WITH MATT AND COREY ON MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY'S LAKE CHARLES' BEST SPORTS SHOW ON KBYS.FM (88.3). THE MORNING SEGMENT STARTS EVERY SUNDAY SOMETIME BETWEEN 9 AND 9:30 AM, EXACT TIME DEPENDING ON THE SPORTS NEWS HEADLINES.
THIS WEEK WE DISCUSSED:
WONDER
COCO
OLAF'S FROZEN ADVENTURE
STRANGER THINGS SEASON 2
NEXT WEEK'S SHOW – OUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES
My sister and I just finished binge watching both seasons of Stranger Things over the last week. And if you gentically spliced together: Alien, Dean Koontz and……….Pretty in Pink – you would end up with this show. NOT that Stranger Things is derivative. By no means. S.T. is one of the most creatively original shows I’ve seen since Fringe. But it is POPULATED by and decorated with homages to practically every blockbuster movie of the 1980's and the early '90's.
At turns Stranger Things is funny, charming, whimsical, nostalgic, terrifying, grotesque, suspenseful, intriguing, and as addictive as Hershey bars.
The premise is that in a small Indiana town a group of three just pre-pubescent boys –
Will (Noah Scnapp) Byers, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) Henderson, and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) Sinclair bike home from the house of the fourth member of their group Mike (Finn "It" Wolfhard) Wheeler, after a game of D&D (Dungeons and Dragons – role playing, interactive board game involving mages, wizards and demigorgons). This is the ‘80's when there was a reasonable assumption that children could make their way at night safely this way. Like any other night the smallest – Will – bikes a shortcut through the private property of a local research center. Unfortunately his timing is astronomically and cataclysmically poor as on this same night "something" gets out of the research center’s secret lab at the same time a little girl dressed in a lab gown with a shaved head and supernatural powers, 
Eleven (MillieBobby Brown), 
runs into the boys on their forbidden venture to help find their missing friend.
The show revolves around the meaning and consequences of Will’s disappearance.
Without giving any but the smallest of spoilers: one of the things that makes this STRANGER things so watchable is the characters. The kids act like kids – they speak with the rhythm natural to kids – blunt, with a short cut language specific to their group. They spearhead the acceptance of the dangers they face with an openness born of a creative mind. The adults have flaws and blind spots like any other humans but they are caring, attentive and good people.
For example the Sheriff, 
Jim (David Harbour) Hopper, is a burnt out boozer suffering from a crushing past tragedy but is always there to do his job with judgement, calm and fairness and is both incredibly and recklessly brave.
Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), grows from narcissistic jealous jerky boyfriend to the
best and worst babysitter ever and becomes one of the group’s big brother figures.
The parents of the other kids are distracted in their own ways but involved and generous with their time and attention, providing for their kids with a loving home.
The teachers genuinely care and are interested in their students' welfare and generously take time to help them when they can, 
especially Mr. Clarke who is always providing much needed expositional information, though he is not "in the know".
Even many of the smaller characters have memorable scenes – like 
Murray (Brett Gelman) Bauman the alcoholic snarky cynical investigative reporter who can see right into the heart of people. On for about 5 minutes but I wouldn’t mind if he popped up again in season three.
As most of the characters come from the same small town and grew up together, went to the same school and know each other they have a shared history reflected in their interactions which pull you into the story with a three dimensional feel that makes you a part of their group, just as Eleven is included in the group of nerdy boys.
And homages abound. The tribute references of situations, character personality traits or habits, items, set ups and visuals reads like a list of every iconic and blockbuster movie of the ‘80's and early ‘90's: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Goonies, Poltergeist, Alien, Carrie, The Excorcist, Stand by Me, Firestarter, Jaws and……….Pretty in Pink. Bikes and hiding the unusual creature from your parents, empty creepy halls full of monsters and 
unseen terrors that yank people into the dark. Other dimensions and super powers. 
Pre-pubescent crushes and coming to manhood and responsibility teens.
The songs conjure up my early college days: "Heroes" as sung by Peter Gabriel, "I Melt With You" by Modern English, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash, "Hazy Shade of Winter" as sung by the Bangles, "Sunglasses at Night" – Corey Hart.
Even some of the actors themselves are nostalgia incarnate:
Winona (Heathers, Edward Scissor Hands and here she thought Beetlejuice was scary??!!) Ryder plays Joyce Byers, Will’s desperate mom and I thought her performance was painfully spot on. As a mother of six it was wrenching to watch her go from mild concern to terror fueled panic as she discovers her youngest child missing then MISSING.
Paul (Diner, Beverley Hills Cop I and II, Mad About You, Aliens) Reiser is Dr. Sam Owens the head of the research facility on season two who has murky motives.
Matthew (Full Metal Jacket, Birdy) Modine is Dr. Martin Brenner – pretty much…a mad scientist.
Sean (Rudy, Goonies, Toy Soldiers) Astin is Bob Newby, the Byers family friend.
Charles Heaton plays Will’s older brother Jonathan Byers, beaten down from having to shoulder the responsibility of the "father" figure in his abandoned home but is kind and gentle. While he does not have the historic pedigree connection to the ‘80's the older actors do, he looks so ridiculously much like a young Stephen King I thought it must have been one of the audition requirements.
Like a treasure hunt in a haunted house escape room, the writers have placed little scenes and moments lifted out of other movies and positioned like decorations all over the movie. One example and a very SMALL SPOILER: Paul Reiser appears in the second season and during one crucial moment watches a radar making a distinctive noise that I KNOW goosebumped the hair on every inch of him with some SERIOUS Deja Vu. There are secret labs with evil government henchmen, horrifying monsters, alternate universes and —– humor.
One of the biggest charms of the show is its unpredictability. The characters are funny – not like a comedy but in the way only people can be funny in their day to day decisions, mistakes and the way personalities bounce against each other with familiar interactions born of long acquaintance. The secretary who snatches a donut out of the hand of the Sheriff Jim Hopper (David Harbour) to replace it with a carrot. The clueless but well meaning and harmless deputies who come to useless conclusions. Eleven’s favorite food. The nicknames even the adults have for each other (Hop, Bob the Brain). The extreme adorable nerdiness of the boys. Dozens of moments defuse this otherwise very suspenseful show in healthy ways to create the ebb and flow necessary for a successfully scary watch. Otherwise the tension gets too much and you will numb up.
The kids are wonderful and adorable. The adults lend a relatable genuineness to their roles, 
not minding looking ugly or awkward if the moment requires it. People often either are not completely what they appear to be or genuinely learn and grow from their extreme experiences to become better people. Willingness to self sacrifice in many ways, generosity, loyalty, family/friend bonds are generously demonstrated by all but the most unredeemably evil characters. These are good, decent and plain old nice people – both adults and children – from a small town banding together to face the extremity of bizarre with courage and grace under pressure.
The show has some bad language and tastefully referenced teenaged intimacy. Much of the violence takes place off screen but you do see some aftermath, the suspense is intense and there are graphic scenes of characters being psychologically experimented upon, especially Eleven.
Obviously we are talking mid teens and up. Younger kids should NOT watch this show unless you want them sleeping in your room with the lights on until they move to college. But for those of you with even moderately stout hearts this is a show well worth your time – it's smart, scary, and surprisingly warm of heart.
SHORT TAKE:
Justice League is an amusing and entertaining excuse to unite the DC comic book characters into their version of Marvel's Avengers but requires some parental supervision because of two short but poorly chosen off hand political and anti-Christian polemics which should require discussion between younger viewers and their parents.
LONG TAKE:
Writing an origin story isn’t easy. You have to deal with a lot of exposition and expectation all while trying to find a new way to tell an established or sometimes even cliched story line. Sometimes it works spectacularly well – 
like the Chris Reeves’ Superman or 
this year’s Wonder Woman. Sometimes not so well,
like Wolverine or 
Eric Bana’s Hulk. And when you’re trying to do a team effort that issue becomes exponentially more difficult.
Such is the challenge facing Justice League, especially when three of the characters have only appeared in cameos in Batman V Superman: 
Flash/Barry Allen (Ezra "Fantastic Beasts" Miller), 
Cyborg/Victor Stone (Ray Fisher), and 
Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason "Drogo from Game of Thrones" Momoa).
The premise is that Bruce Wayne/Batman, in the wake of Superman’s untimely demise, has discovered that the void left by his super-colleague is attracting 
very ugly aliens called parademons who look an awful lot like 
larger flying version of the dwergers from Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing.
To prepare for the invasion by the parademons master, 
Steppenwolf (super villain, not the ‘60's band) who seeks to remake the world in his own image, Bruce and Wonder Woman/Diana set out to recruit other supers. 
Bruce to seek the Flash and 
Aquaman, 
Diana to convince Cyborg. All three of the newbies have troubled pasts (Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman can put their baggage in the closet with the steam trunks from the traumatized Batman and grieving Wonder Woman) but eventually agree, only to find out that their considerable combined efforts will not be quite enough to even create a stalemate with Steppenwolf.
A nice little theme of not putting your light under a bushel, of being able to overcome your fears of failure or worse, dread of the responsibility in leadership, is interwoven in the storyline, but only as light embroidery, not as sustaining warp and woof of this cinematic costume quality fabric.
Other reviewers have complained the story felt disjointed and somewhat disconnected. By necessity this is what happens when you try to introduce three major players into a five "man" mix with a story intended to propel them together and still try to keep the movie less than 15 hours long. A few things have to be cut and you have to edit down a bit.
While Justice League isn’t as lighthearted as 
Guardians of the Galaxy nor near the apex of the genre that is 
The Avengers, or 
Wonder Woman, it’s an engaging enough flick. And isn’t that good enough?! I mean, come ON, it’s a live action comic book!! If you want Shakespeare then you could watch…..well, OK 
Branagh’s Thor….
But seriously, there are at least four compelling reasons why I liked Justice League and can forgive them a lot of plot and presentation weaknesses because of them:
1. 
We get the return of Wonder Woman in a vehicle which did not require a three year wait as many other sequels are glacially cranked out. It was very nice to see Gal Godot don the Amazonian one piece and watch as she balletically beats up bad guys again.
2. DC has managed, as with Wonder Woman, another transformation I would never have thought possible. 
As a kid Aquaman was on the top of the list for the lamest of super heroes. Mostly a Ken doll who could hold his breath for a very long time he didn’t even make a blip in my Superman-loving radar.
But in Justice League 
Aquaman is a whiskey swilling, tatooed, long haired Norwegian-ey good ole boy who looks like a wrestler and acts like a rock star. This guy is just fun to watch 
as he exudes the kind of joy battling parademons we haven’t seen since 
Woody Harrelson’s delightful walking dead killing spree in Zombieland.
3. We see the return, albeit in cameos, of 
Jeremy irons as Alfred, 
JK Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, and Cyborg's father 
Silas Stone played by Joe Morton, whose pedigree with sci fi dates back a lot further than you might think – through a stint on Warehouse 13, to a key role in the 
Terminator franchise all the way back to 1984's quirky sci fi indie 
Brother from Another Planet.
4. And most importantly, which reason would have been enough to get me to see this movie all by itself……..well……I’m not going to tell you, but you’ll know it when you see it.
That being said, there are also three reasons I have to take exception to, which are largely unrelated or at least unnecessary to the story or comic book characters per se:
1. GLOBAL WARMING PROPAGANDA:
Bruce shoehorns a throw away comment to Aquaman about global warming as though it is an established fact rather than the cock and bull fantasy of environmental wackos who want an excuse to tyrannically limit First World progress into the 21st century in order to feather their own Al Gore-jet flying coffers.
2. ANTI-CHRISTIAN CHEAP SHOT:
Lex Luther takes a gratuitous stab at Christianity which I, for one, didn’t appreciate. Granted, he is a bad guy, but his comment stepped right over offensive into blasphemy. When a statement is so over the top that it shocks you out of the suspension of disbelief it does nothing to promote the storytelling either. It neither served the plot or character well nor will endear it to any Christian audience members, and was just plain rude. I continue to be annoyed by the singular targeting of the Judeo-Christian faith by a Hollywood which used to produce movies like Going My Way and Schindler’s List.
3. As I have alluded to in the earlier part of this post there is an awful lot of derivatives, echoes and dopplegangers between the two rival comic book universes DC and Marvel. Along with the ones I have already mentioned like parademons, there is 
Steppenwolf (DC comics) who looks a LOT like a combination of the fire demon 
Surtur who appears at the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok (Marvel comics) and 
Thanos from Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel). Further Steppenwolf’s goal is to bring together three 
"mother boxes" (DC) which are not explained well but when glowing look like red versions of 
the blue Tesseract from The Avengers (Marvel), and when joined will reshape the Earth with tentacle transformers made of Element X (DC) which look an awful lot like the tentacles from Thor: The Dark World set loose by the Dark Elf Malekith from the Aether (Marvel).
See what I mean? After a while they all kind of blend together. In addition, the are a LOT of other counterparts in each world. I have made a short list below of the most noticeable ones. (And the years they first appeared in order to put to rest any debate about who predated whom. In short – DC and Marvel took turns being "first".)
For the most part Justice League is an airy simple romp. Lots of cartoon violence, super powered heroics, and over the top demonic bad guys. Bringing the "old band back" is a hoot to watch and like the first Star Trek movie, or the first waffle off the griddle, they are entitled to "warm the pan up," so to speak, for future efforts. Besides, they should be able to pull off pretty much anything now that they have Wonder Woman and………you'll see.
I have seen a lot of filmed murder mysteries from drama to slapstick: 
Thin Man series, 
China Town, 
Minority Report, 
The Usual Suspects, 
The Maltese Falcon, 
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Clue, Rear Window, Scoop, Murder by Death, even the occasional 
Dr Who and the TV shows 
Columbo, 
Grimm and Perry Mason. There’s something truly satisfying about solving a puzzle with the end result the protecting of the innocent and the meting out of justice. But my favorite has always been Murder on the Orient Express. A group of strangers stuck on a snow bound train with a murdered man and a famous detective and one of them a murderer. A bit like Christie's Ten Little Indians but, to me, Orient Express has more pinache.
I’ve seen the 1974 version many times. Knowing the ending does nothing to undermine the enjoyment of watching the mystery unfold like a beautifully formed rose bud – all the parts slowly falling into place. Who wouldn’t like it?! With the star studded cast including the likes of 
Albert (Bourne franchise) Finney, 
Sean (James Bond) Connery, 
Lauren (Humphrey Bogart’s wife) Bacall, Ingrid (Casablanca) Bergman, SIR John Gielgud, Anthony (Psycho) Perkins. The list goes on – it is a BIG cast. 
But as good as the 1974 version was, it is only the amusing movie hors d’oeuvre to the cinematic banquet that is 
Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 Murder on the Orient Express. Not only is this the best rendition of a murder mystery I have ever seen, it is one of those rarest of birds – a perfect movie. Branagh brings brilliance to anything he undertakes – from 
Thor to 
Cinderella to 
Hamlet* (ALL of which he directed). He is one of those auteurs, like Orson Welles and Woody Allen who can both star and direct in the same movie and create masterpieces.
Prudence, by defintiion, is the virtue of knowing the right thing to do at any given time. When you are someone who sees the subtle imperfections of the world this virtue becomes an obsession. In a detective this can be a superpower…and a curse. Such is the struggle of Branagh's Hercule Poirot. 
This kind of complex personality overlay onto an already brilliant screenplay is an example of what makes Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express special. It could have been refilmed as another lovely remake with modern celebrities. The last theatrical version was in 1974, as I have said, so it is due for a remake. But true to his genius and his respect for his audience, Branagh is not content with merely revamping an already rich treasure of a story but like Gershwin's ability to create a timeless song from a simple catchy line of music, Branagh takes a classically fun tale and reworks it into a presentation worthy of a Shakespearean telling.
As in the original, the premise is that a murder takes place on a train, which locomotive is almost immediately and Providentially caught in an avalanche of snow. The manager of the train, a good friend of Poirot's, implores Poirot to solve the mystery for him before the train is freed and the killer has an opportunity to escape. As well as catching a killer, he also (by the way) wishes to avoid the shame of scandal to the Orient Express from an unresolved atrocity committed aboard this regal moving institution.
Of all the movies I have ever reviewed this is the one about which I would be most loathe to commit a spoiler ……. so will not.
But I will say there are a few minor tweaks to the story, re-imagined by Michael Green from, obviously, the Agatha Chtistie novel of the same name. These changes work well, and add depth of character and intrigue to even Christie's fascinating creation. 
One such contribution is Branagh's Poirot which, while I will not go into detail, is a brilliantly satisfying choice which makes the usually taciturn and ascerbic character more approachable and likeable, aware of his own shortcomings and has a character arc which dovetails beautifully with the theme and complexities of the story.
If you have not read the book or seen the 1974 movie, which by the way is very good, and are then fortunate enough to be able to see this 2017 version with virgin eyes, do NOT watch any trailers, see any interviews, read any opinions but go straight to the movie with childlike delight. If you ARE familiar with the story then go to revel in the brilliant directing. 
Branagh stages the film like a fairy tale with all the exotic detail that was Stamboul (Old Istanbul) in 1934 and the extreme elegance of the Orient Express which in its day was host to Princesses and Counts. The colors are bright, the costumes splendid reflections of the complex suspects. And enjoy the sheer artistry of Branagh direction as he shoots with elegance equal to the time and place. 
He uses mirrors, windows and framing to fracture images hinting at characterizations; overhead shots to both reveal and hide clues at the same time. Dramatic events are bold and large as life; intimate scenes feel almost intrusive into private tensions and personal conflicts. 
At turns I laughed out loud and was brought to tears.
And Branagh knows how to work an ensemble cast. From the musical rendition of Shakespeare's 
Love's Labours Lost to the light comedy 
A Midwinter's Tale to 
Hamlet with its massive star studded cast, he knows when to shine and when to hold back and always gives every member of his cast ample opportunity to be memorably in the forefront.
Every one of the actors does a superlative job. 
Not suprising as any director who could inspire a good Shakesepearean performance out of Keanu Reeves in Much Ado About Nothing could get a good perfromance out of even a dust mop. But most of these guys do not need such inspiration as they are already accomplished actors.
It is my honor and delight to mention each of the main performers:
Kenneth Branagh, director and lead, plays Poirot himself. I have seen enough Branagh to know that if he thought someone else could have done a better job he would have hired him. I'll tell you this is the best Poirot or classic detective of this genre I have seen anywhere.
Johnny (Jack Sparrow) Depp plays Edward Ratchett, American gangster and suspicious ne'er-do-well who brings a frightening intensity to what otherwise could have been a cookie cutter stereotype.
Sir Derek Jacobi – friend and collaborator of Branagh in a number of previous outings from the aforementioned
Hamlet to Henry V to Cinderella, plays Edward Henry Masterman, British manservant to Ratchett. Jacobi is a knighted Shakespearean thespian who lends a graceful sympathy to Masterman.
Josh (Beauty and the Beast) Gad plays Hector MacQueen, Ratchett's assistant, lends a surprisingly effective though odd combination of Bogart and Peter Lorre from Casablanca into this character of questionable motives.
Daisy (Rey from Star Wars) Ridley plays Mary Debenham, stepping away from her interstellar Jedi to bring a singular classy elegance to her role as governess.
Leslie Odom portrays Dr. Arbuthnot, a man of many surprsing talents with skill and credibility.
Dame Judy Densch – M, Shakespearean actress of tremendous dignity and comportment – continues to demonstrate her command of her art in even one of the smaller roles as the elderly Princess Dragomiroff.
Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin from Spiderman, Platoon, Odd Thomas, voice of Gill in Finding Nemo) equally at home in comedy or drama, as villain or hero, brings his many talents to bare for the German professor Gerhard Hardman.
Olivia Coleman is solid as Princess Dragomiroff's personal maid.
Manuel Garcia (Magnificent 7) Rulfo is charming as Biniamino Marquez the Italian born newly Americanized citizen car salesman.
Marwan Kenzari is Pierre Michel, the ubiquitous conductor.
Michele Pfeiffer redeems herself from her awful participation in the terrible Mother! as the wealthy manhunting widow, commanding and entertaining in every scene she's in.
Luc Boynton portrays the fragile ephermeal Countess.
Sergei Polunin is almost comic relief in his intensity as the tightly wound Count, protective and attentive husband of the Countess.
Tom Bateman plays Bouc, playboy, friend of Poirot and ultimately responsible representative of the owners of the Express with style and contagious enthusiasm.
Penelope (Pirates of the Caribbean, Nine) Cruz, in a surprising turn plays Pilar Estravados, the intense missionary with an unexpected tough streak.
So go see this masterpiece of film making. Whether you have never heard of Agatha Christie before or if you've got the story memorized from a previously favorite version, you will more than be rewarded for your time in viewing this crown jewel retelling of the ultimate murder mystery.
* Branagh's Hamlet is the most spectacularly filmed Hamlet ever to grace the screen and the ONLY filmed theatrical unabridged Hamlet so far in existence.
The fellas at Lake Charles' Best Sport Show on McNeese University's radio station kbys.fm on your radio dial at 88.3 have been gracious enough to take my call about movies every Sunday morning between 9 and 9:30 am for the last few months. This week we talked about Thank You For Your Service and Murder on the Orient Express.
My daughter copied it and sent it to me as an M4A download.
I still plan to publish written reviews but ————
——— here it is – our first audio review!!!
KBYS AUDIO REVIEWS: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
SHORT TAKE: Do NOT MISS the opportunity to see THE 39 STEPS at Lake Charles Little Theater – November 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 2017 – a hilarious send up of the famous Hitchcock spy thriller of the same name.
LONG TAKE: As I have oft told our kids – it’s not necessarily WHAT you say but how you say it that makes all the difference. This is brilliantly demonstrated in the current offering by Lake Charles Little Theater, THE 39 STEPS.
Set in 1935 England, The 39 Steps, in its original incarnation as a spy thriller, is about Richard Hanney, an every man suffering from a severe case of ennui, who attends a theatrical performance of a man with a prodigious memory. While there he is entreated by a mysterious foreign woman for help. The woman is murdered in his apartment, and Hanney becomes the prime suspect,
thus kick starting the misadventures of Richard Hanney "accidental hero". 
Beginning life as a novel by John Buchan along the lines of Ian Fleming’s Bond series, The 39 Steps was made into a movie several times, 
the most famous of which is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 entry. However, in 2005 Patrick Barlow got the bright idea of turning it into a comic play.
The Hitchcock movie, while employing Hitchcock’s trademark bit of tongue in cheek, is a drama. The author of the play,
Patrick Barlow, included the original material, most of the dialogue, and all of the plot convolutions but has presented them as would an ambitious Alfred Hitchcock fan might with a minimalist amount of props and an extremely limited pool of actors.
Four actors portray all of the many characters. This is just one of the aspects of the play that turns an intriguing drama into an irresistible comedy.
In the brilliantly funny rendition at Lake Charles Little Theater, 
Clay Hebert and his toupee play the lead Richard Hanney. Whether narrating to the audience, 
reluctantly falling in love with his female protagonist, or
performing slapstick maneuvers required of his character, 
Clay’s Hanney is the anchor that keeps the production steady as insanity reigns around him. Clay provides just the right amount of tongue in cheek, committed to his "serious" role in one moment then
feigning exasperation at having to deal with the limitations of the set and ensemble the next.
Alexandra Landry shows her talents in triplicate to all three of the romantic female roles who cross Hanney’s path. She is great as Hanney’s side kicks – in turns 
the doomed German femme fatale, 
the reluctant English female romantic lead, and 
an unhappy Scottish housewife, lending accents and different body language to each.
The remaining dozens of other roles, including policemen, henchmen, evil doers, a milkman, fellow train travelers, a conductor, tavern owner, various passersby and 
minor female roles – oft without even changing clothes entirely from their previous character – are all juggled by the two "Clowns," Joseph 
Comeaux and Greg Stratton,
the latter who also wears the hat of the play’s director. 
Stratton and Comeaux do a magnificent job of filling in all the many and varied roles, bouncing from one supporting character to another, sometimes required to change clothes on stage due the exigencies of the story.
Comeaux and Stratton occasionally even have a different hat in each hand with which to do moment by moment changes right in front of us, deliberately stressing our suspension of disbelief in a humorous bald-faced dare to the audience to not be convinced. And every once in a while Hanney has to "correct" the two "Clowns" as their overburdened schedule leads to "miscues" and "mistakes". Of course these "mistakes" are all part of a complex and intricately timed and blocked play which is demanding for any cast, even one as experienced as the one here. But like a troupe of skillful magicians, they make it look easy.
There is no fourth wall. Hanney starts by addressing his audience and conveying his woes. Further, without giving anything away, I advise you to watch carefully as much goes on during and around the main action – small moments you won’t want to miss. Then there are the minimalist props, which are reused in a variety of ways
Steamer trunks serve as tables, beds, train seats and even in one especially memorable scene the ROOF of a train. 
Silhouettes and photos on a screen enhance the idea of 
large elaborate rooms and open air scenes…without actually HAVING large elaborate rooms … or use of the open countryside. 
How the cast deals with the prop aided pantomime is another comedic element of the play.
Although based on one of Hitchcock’s earlier movies, the comedy was written in 2005 and so features blatant references and 
affectionate homages to a half dozen other Hitchcock movies written after The 39 Steps.
And, of course, all this chaos is deliberately written into the play. I once read that it takes a lot of thought to appear glib. I’ve also noted it takes an erudite, thoughtful and intelligently gifted actor to appear a fool – note 
Jerry Lewis, 
Moe Howard and 
Charlie Chaplin were all highly dedicated and methodical men who planned out every lunatic action for maximum effect based upon years of experience and practice. Similarly it takes a tremendous amount of timing, organization and rehearsal to appear this daft and haphazard. 
But Stratton and company pull it off beautifully. And the result is a delightfully smart and funny play.
So call 337-433-7988 or log onto www.thelclt.com and order tickets for The 39 Steps. Appropriate for all ages. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to see it, maybe more than once at Lake Charles Little Theater, 813 Enterprise Blvd. November 10, 11, 17, and 18 at 7:30 pm November 12, and 19 for 2 pm matinees.
As a side note, I had puzzled over the title, The 39 Steps, for years. What relation does the word "steps" have to do with a spy organization? I finally got a tip from an article I read recently by Vanessa Thorpe of The Guardian. Apparently, while recuperating from an ulcer, Buchan would walk down from a garden to the beach using a walkway which had…you guessed it…39 steps. In the book, movies and the play the 39 Steps refers to a spy ring which seeks to steal away a "secret" vital to England’s national security (it really doesn’t matter what is, but is merely the "McGuffin"). Explained in the book, but not either the play or the famous movie, the 39 steps are the number of steps in a walkway which leads to the quay which holds the spy ring’s escape ship ….just so’s you know.
The wise and ancient Greek aphorism "Know thyself" which was said to hang in the forecourt at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi can apply to many things, even to movies. Movies of a particular genre are best when they adhere to the rules of their own known Universe. A romance should have long gazes and lovers who overcome obstacles. Horror movies should have jump scares. Disaster flicks should feature near misses and heroic self sacrifice. And movies based on comic books should bear the irreverent broad strokes of plot and illustration from which they originate.
Suffice it to say that Thor: Ragnarok understands its pedigree and is abundantly familiar with its own inner workings.
The premise, obvious from the title, is another in the line of adventures featuring Thor, Son of Odin and god of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth). Here he seeks to prevent the foretold, Ragnarok, the fiery destruction of Asgard, his home world.
SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THOR: THE DARK WORLD
Thor’s goal is complicated by Loki (Tom Hiddleson) who is hiding in the guise of Odin.
SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THE THOR: RAGNAROK TRAILERS
Thor is also hindered in his quest by 
Hela, the goddess of death, (Cate Blanchett) and by 
The Grand Master (Jeff Goldblum) who conscripts him into a gladiatorial competition against 
Hulk (Mark Ruiffalo).
This is a movie which THANKFULLY does NOT take itself too seriously. The colors are bright, the tale is full of 
creatures and fighting, 
narrow escapes and changing alliances, 
spaceships, and the most unexpected cameos in the strangest places and characters which are WAAAAY over the top.
Jeff Goldblum’s Grand Master appears often as a hundred story hologram to his city which is imagined as the world’s biggest gameshow.
Hiddleson brings back Loki, the favorite Avenger Universe character one loves to hate in all of his snarky, clever, quipping, never-quite-absolutely-sure-what-he’s-going-to-do-next, ever so fun unpredictability. And every once in a while you get the feeling he is the only sensible adult in a room of idealistic children.
Anthony Hopkins reprises his role as Odin – first, in a comic turn, as Loki pretending to be Odin,
then as the real Odin bringing to bear all of Hopkins’ Odin’s gentle dignity as a king and father.
Cate Blanchett’s Hela sports long dark hair which, when she brushes it back with her hands become enormous imposing deer antlers – a look, (much like Jason Isaacs’ ridiculously tall beaver hat adorning his 
Colonel Tavington in The Patriot), 
which only the likes of a great actor such as herself could sell as frightening.
As a side note, it is interesting to consider that Blanchett also played
Galadriel, another extremely powerful supernatural being – the Queen Mother of the elves in Lord of the Rings who, when offered the Ring by Frodo gave a terrifying vision to Frodo should she accept:
"In the place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!"
But who then musters heroic self restraint and refuses ownership of the treacherous Ring.
"I have passed the test. I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel. "
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeell just imagine if Galadriel had hungrily embraced the proffered ornament, eagerly put it on her finger, crushed Lord Sauron between her greedy fingers then you would get an idea of Hela – the flip side of Galadriel.
And Blanchett has a Hela-va (think about it) good time munching on this role. She chews scenery, mows down soldiers, blows up castles and mews theatrically about being so very unappreciated in magnificent anti-hero finery. Hela is a worthy counterpoint to
Thor’s beautifully strutting, splendidly self-aware position as the hero of the story.
But the story is not nearly as Wagernian as you might think, as characters, in very human fashion – make mistakes, trip, run into walls and annoy each other.
The screenwriters manage to run right up to that line in the sand between parody and affectionate homage and occasionally even plant one foot on either side. But they keep the ebb and flow between the comedy and genuine tragedy balanced as skillfully as a sword juggler at a PT Barnum circus.
Thor: Ragnarok is exactly what it should be: a live action comic book, brought to a gloriously larger than life by its director Taiha Waititi a New Zealand born child of both Maori and Jewish heritage, who also plays a wry rock monster gladiator named Korg.
Thor: Ragnarok is a perfect example of its kind. Like a two hour Disney ride it leaves you awash in eye-popping breath taking images, gentle humor which makes otherwise grandiose heroes familiar, and a plot which will carry you along like the Kali Rapids River Ride at Disneyworld. Thor: Ragnarok is, at turns, funny, heart-wrenching, heroic, endearing and ridiculous in only the way a comic book hero can come alive.
So grab your popcorn, turn your brain off and let Thor: Ragnarok take you on one of the most entertaining rides of the year. Had they been part of the same mythology, Thor: Ragnarok would have made Apollo proud.
