Deadpool

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a wisecracking Special Forces veteran turned thug for hire, is all set to marry Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin) when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Desperate for a longer lease on life, he signs up for an experimental cure, which ends up being an illegal program for developing super soldiers. After being tortured by program alumni Ajax (Ed Skrien) and Angel (Gina Carano) to activate latent mutant powers, Wade ends up horribly disfigured, insane, and not only cancer-free but virtually indestructible. Donning a red costume and calling himself Deadpool, he sets out for revenge, but the X-Men Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hillebrand) try to steer him toward heroism instead.

Deadpool’s insanity affords him an absurdist sensibility and the ability to break the fourth wall, both of which make him a much-beloved comic book character. Unfortunately, those qualities also make him a very difficult character to adapt to film. A previous attempt – a neutered appearance in X Men Origins: Wolverine – was widely and rightly derided, and it took overwhelming fan approval of a test-footage trailer for Fox to greenlight this production. The fact that an R-rated superhero film was made at all, let alone with a greatly reduced budget compared to similar fare and by a first-timer director (visual effects artist Tim Miller) to boot, is quite a triumph in and of itself.

Of course, it also helps that Deadpool is extremely entertaining. Make no mistake about it: this is not a movie for children or for easily offended adults for that matter. It is violent, profane, and frequently crosses the boundaries of good taste. But as with many Tarantino films, those who fixate solely on the excess and the transgressiveness miss out on the artistry. Let’s start with Reynolds, who bulked up and threw everything he had into this role. His natural smarminess and ability to handle the script’s fast-paced verbal repartee make him a great fit for Wade Wilson, but his biggest achievement is lending pathos to a psychotic killer.

In addition, Deadpool is shot, edited, and scored impressively well. Whether it’s a visual pun – like Wade taking a page from Monty Python’s black knight in a failed bid to attack Colossus – or an action set piece, there is always something going on to hold the audience’s interest. The music, courtesy of Junkie XL, offers an ironic counterpoint to the shenanigans.

While there is a lot else to love here – the film mercilessly skewers Reynolds’ acting career and prior hero roles as well as its own lack of more prominent X-Men and the franchise’s confusing continuity – there are also some fairly sizable faults. Baccarin adds a splash of personality to a fairly one-dimensional role. Not giving the character her comic book powers (hint: she’s nicknamed Copycat) is one thing; not giving her more complexity makes for a waste of talent. Also, between the brutality of the torture scenes to jokes at the expense of Wade’s blind roommate, even thick-skinned viewers are likely to reach a point where the experience shifts from fun to downright unpleasant.

Despite these shortcomings, Deadpool is a riotously funny bloodbath with moments of surprising poignancy. If you have even the slightest admiration for the Merc With the Mouth or just enjoy a good slice of irreverent entertainment, this will not disappoint.

 8/10

Thai Bangkok Restaurant

Located at 3935 Brian Jordan Place in High Point, Thai Bangkok serves Thai cuisine for lunch and dinner every day except for Sunday. Beer and wine are available, and specials change daily.

On paper, Thai Bangkok has a lot going for it. The location is reasonably spacious, the menu offers plenty of choices, and pricing on rice, noodle, and stir fry dishes is fairly reasonable. The actual experience, however, is decidedly uneven.

I arrived shortly past the 5 p.m. opening time to place a takeout order and was acknowledged promptly. The woman working the register appeared to be a bit flustered, but she placed the order correctly. My food was prepped very quickly, but whether this is due to an efficient kitchen or a lack of other customers is anyone’s guess.

For my first time out, I went with steamed dumplings ($6.95 for five), shrimp pad Thai ($12.95), and beef Thai fried rice ($10.95). Pricing was in line with competing establishments, and portion sizes left no room for complaint.

The presentation and flavors, however, were decidedly hit or miss. The dumplings (ground shrimp, chicken, pork, and garlic) had a similar flavor profile to Thai Corner Kitchen’s, and while they couldn’t quite compete, they were still quite tasty. The pad Thai, upon first glance, seemed to be a case of pad dry, but there was actually a fair bit of sauce: it had merely settled toward the bottom of the container. The results, upon mixing, were satisfactory. While I’ve had the dish better elsewhere, it didn’t underwhelm. The same could not be said for the fried rice, though. Between poor knife cuts that yielded large chunks of vegetables to bland flavoring, this dish was quite a disappointment.

Thai Bangkok has enough menu diversity (they offer duck and several intriguing seafood dishes) for me to consider a do-over if I’m in the High Point area again, but it doesn’t compare well to Greensboro’s best.

7/10

Blue Denim

Located at 217 South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro, Blue Denim offers Cajun and Creole cuisine for lunch and dinner. Beer and wine are available, and there is occasional live music.

Since Devall’s closed and New Orleans ceased to be a good value, the cuisine of Louisiana has been sorely underrepresented in the Triad. Enter Jody Morphis, former chef/owner of Fincastles next door, who previously found success putting out an annual Mardi Gras menu. His latest venture, Blue Denim, offers satisfying, sometimes idiosyncratic takes on Louisiana classics.

Like many Elm Street eateries, Blue Denim is narrow but deep, not by any means large, but more capacious than the storefront suggests. The décor is a high-low mix. There are worn brick walls and butcher paper atop the tables but also some classy artwork and neat blue trim. The resulting look may not scream Bourbon Street, but it does stand out.

Our initial visit occurred a few days before Mardi Gras, so we got a chance to sample the annual recurring menu. Familiar gumbos and po boys hobnobbed with less expected fare like Chinese ribs and a sweet potato veggie burger. My fiancée and I settled on a starter of boudin balls followed by chicken and andouille gumbo and crawfish etouffee. All of the food delivered on both flavor and texture. The boudin played well with the accompanying spicy mustard, the gumbo’s dark roux was smooth and smoky, and the etouffee was creamy with a good amount of crawfish. None of the dishes was particularly spicy, but an accompanying house made hot sauce (with sweet carrot accents) filled in some missing heat.

Both service and pricing are favorable but not without blemish. Our server was attentive, and our food came out relatively quickly. The gumbo was initially served lukewarm though, an error that was quickly remedied. Given the respectable portion sizes, $14 for etouffee and $12 for gumbo seemed reasonable for entrée-sized bowls. The $8 charged for two boudin balls, however, was a stretch.

For a new-ish restaurant, Blue Denim is off to a reasonably auspicious start. Its concept and location are easy draws, but rather than rest on its laurels, it puts out satisfying and inspired food. If the rest of the menu was as well-executed as our initial visit suggests, a return is in the future.

8/10

More Reunion Cinema: Aging Rock Star Edition

A few months ago, I noted that movies have an insulting tendency to treat frayed familial relationships as something that can be fixed during a long-awaited trip home. The formula is predictable and transparent: tense/angry/awkward confrontation followed by somebody snapping followed by an epiphany followed by an apology (implicit or otherwise) and viola, things are different now. Two more films from this past year – Ricki and the Flash and Danny Collins – tried their hand at this premise, and while they showed some unexpected nuance in places, both still engage in some predictably shallow navel-gazing with regard to the complexity that is family.

The twist in both these outings is that the titular protagonists are past-their-prime musicians. Ricki (nee Linda, played by the always-great Meryl Streep) walked out on her family years ago to pursue her rock star dreams, ended up releasing one album, and now plays the bar circuit while working a register at a Whole Foods knockoff. She’s drawn back home when her ex (Kevin Kline) informs her that their newly-divorced daughter (Mamie Gummer, Streep’s real-life spawn) is having a rough time. Danny (Al Pacino, whose usual haminess suits the character for once and is balanced by a healthy dose of genuine affability), in comparison, hit both higher highs and lower lows, becoming a much more successful musician (one who can fill arenas with the AARP crowd despite not having written new songs in decades) albeit one with more vices and a son he never even got to know before abandoning. His reason for reuniting is also more aggrandized: his manager (Christopher Plummer) unearths a letter of encouragement written to him years ago by John Lennon, which prompts Danny to get his act together. As far-fetched as this premise sounds, it actually happened to singer Steve Tilston – life is strange.

While both movies follow predictably redemptive arcs, what sets them apart is the absence of loud, messy drama. Yes, Gummer’s character angrily confronts her absent mother, but blames her medication and reconciles (to an extent) relatively quickly. And Danny’s grown son (played by the usually hot-headed Bobby Canavale) is none-too-pleased to see him, but nary a window is broken nor a death threat muttered.

Avoiding histrionics helps to ground these films and show a broader range of reaction to parental alienation, but it also has some adverse effects. In the case of Ricki and the Flash, the end product is light to the point of fluffy at times, a disappointment given what the director (Jonathan Demme) and writer (Diablo Cody) are capable of. Danny Collins, on the other hand, fills the void by giving us Hope (Giselle Eisenberg), Danny’s hyper, high-pitched granddaughter. The character is meant to have ADHD and we are meant to sympathize and find her endearing, but she comes across as both unbearably annoying and a questionable representation of the condition.

It is unlikely that Hollywood will develop a take on family dramedy that doesn’t grossly oversimplify any time soon, but these two films at least don’t watch like retitled rehashes of forgettable fare. Both are flawed and both feature engaging leads, but Danny Collins’ superlative supporting cast (Plummer, Cannavale, Annette Benning, and a quick – but plot-important – Nick Offerman appearance) gives it the edge.

Ricki and the Flash: 6.75/10

Danny Collins: 7.5/10