The Many Worlds Theory

 

I have been dabbling lately in the current state-of-the-art in Quantum Physics - a little thing I like to call the "Many Worlds" theory. Ha ha.

I have been reading, though, about Everettian mechanics, and getting my head pretty blown. Basic idea is that given the messiness of Quantum Physics, the only way to fix it is to posit that measurement of anything, including sub-atomic particles, creates an infinite number of branches, or worlds. Not necessarily "timelines" as SciFi likes to theorize.

So, what a diversion this ambitious, yet somewhat confusing take on, well, Reality is. Critics ranged from raving praise to dubbing Belgian helmer Jaco Van Dormael's perhaps overlong meditation on time, space and love a complete waste of time. But, with Many Worlds, time can't really be "wasted". See how I did that?

Oscar-winner Jared Leto is pretty good as Nemo Nobody, a 118-year-old man reflecting on his life, and most importantly on the decisions he made that created his own "branch". Most of this in an unchallenging heteronormative fashion involves which girl he chooses, or doesn't chose to spend his life with. Nobody, you see, is the last living mortal person alive at a time when mortality has been nearly wiped out by infinite cell regeneration. But, that's for another film. Really, as Dormael spends literally no time explaining how the world got to where it is.

The risk of such a far-reaching premise is that it collapses under its own weight -- which the film ultimately doesn't -- or that you never get "everything explained" in the end, as in the Big Reveal. Did Nobody actually live two, or even three simultaneous existences? Is it possible to wind Time backward once the Universe reaches its fullest Big Bang expansion?

Alas, these big questions aren't really answered. But the Ride is pretty entertaining thanks to some of best Film Editing you'll ever see. A team of Editors (I think including Dormael) must have worked for months to splice together the multiple threads of the story. If, a la Christopher Nolan, you are a fan of film technique then Mr. Nobody is for you. If you want your stories a bit more well-explained, and wrapped up, then you might pass on this one.

Or, maybe the Branch You doesn't pass on it. Ha ha. Sorry...

Love and (Not) Rockets

Well well well. Perhaps the long-in-the-tooth Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has some life after all. I have read recently that Disney has milked the legendary comic book-cum-film franchise, quite literally, to death. In the name of profit, perhaps.

Once again, the great Taika Waititi saves the day.  It wasn't that long ago that the MCU -- with Disney only recently having bought Marvel Studios -- was gasping a bit for air. Enter half-Maori (Te-Whanau-a-Apanui) creative Waititi who sends us Thor-Ragnarok, which was not only a stunning visual entertainment, but funny in only the way Taika can do funny. I can't even say "Korg" without laughing.

Thor: Love and Thunder has perhaps toned down the dire stakes and visual feast of Ragnarok, in exchange for an intimately personal story about love, family...and of course Thunder. And it is damn funny. Who else would have one of the central narratives of the story be a a God weapon that is jealous of another God weapon, so much that its God-owner, Thor, has to coo to it to make sure it doesn't emit a "janky Bifrost" (LOL) at a key moment in the story.

And the story here is that Thor, wherever he is on the rather complex timeline of the MCU has been languishing and growing a "Dad bod" as he pines for his lost friends, and most importantly, is lost girlfriend, Jane Foster. All is certainly not well, but to steal a phrase from a Shakespeare professor I had at Cal State Northridge, we do need a real "threat" to move things along.

Enter a God Assassin, played with scenery-chewing relish by Christian Bale. Purely out of spite against Gods, he not only threatens the Universe, but does so while kidnapping a bunch of kiddoes from the village/themepark thingy that Ragnarok has become after its destruction in...well, I forget which MCU entry managed that neat trick. That's it, that's the setup.

The storylines mostly concern those that have loved, and lost. In particular Thor and Jane. What Thor doesn't know -- what he can't know -- is that Jane has Stage 4 something-Cancer and is not well. But, she manages to get Thor's Hammer to reassemble and literally becomes Thor, while Thor himself settles for a second rate weapon, nonetheless forged out of a dying star, or some such MCU nonsense.

Following a brief, and perhaps unnecessary detour to visit the rotund Zeus, played by the rotund Aussie actor Russell Crowe and steal Zeus's Thunderbolt (oh, I see what you did there, Taika) the apocalyptic scene plays out in due course. And, things end in both a satisfying, and sad fashion. No spoilers.

Overall, Thor: Love and Thunder delivers the kind of action, visual spectacle and humor that we have come to expect from some entries in the series (Guardians of the Galaxy, anyone?). And of course it has Korg, which is worth the price of admission.