Thor - Review (plus a little something extra)

I love ancient history, myths and legends. Since primary school, hearing the stories of Theseus and the Minotaur, Beowulf and the monster, these tales have fascinated and enthralled me. I have the encyclopedia at home and even have Jim Henson's take on these ancient fables (The Storyteller!). I love when a new film comes out with its interpretation (with the exception of the 2010 Clash of the Titans), I even own a few TV specials, such as the 2000 Jason and the Argonauts starring Jason London. I think it was little over a year ago since its release that I heard about the production of Thor, however, I must admit I was a bit disappointed to hear it was a Marvel adaptation rather than taken from the history books, but I enjoyed Spiderman 1 and 2 so I was looking forward to watching the film.

I have to admit when I heard that none other than Kenneth Brannagh was directing I was a bit confused but the luvvie in me quickly realised that this could be a very good thing indeed. I had seen and enjoyed some of his earlier directorial efforts (Much Ado About Nothing 1993, Frankenstein 1994, Hamlet 1996) so was looking forward to his touch of drama and tragedy. Whilst watching the film, especially in the scenes in Asgard, I could see Brannagh's impression. There was a good tension, the acting was suitably grand and theatrical, but when Thor is banished to Earth, the dialogue and flow is casual, with several great comedic moments. As for Asgard  itself, what a visual feast! An ancient city of the god made out of beautifully curved and melded slabs of iron and bronze, both industrious and magical, particularly when watched in IMAX 3D will really stay with you. All of the rooms, halls and roads which we visit are vast but not overly plush, maintaining a minimalist grandeur. This film was beautifully designed!

Of course this film is not devoid of cheese, after all it is a mainstream American superhero film! A stand out moment being when Thor storms (haha) into a pet shop demanding a horse, these corny comedic moments aren't too many and are done well, but only really appear in the middle section of the film. There is also not too much of action for actions sake, which is refreshing, and I was surprised to see how much of the original myth is in the film! Mjollnir and the Bifrost, check. The frost giants, check. Many names of gods, giants, weapons and places were kept and correct and for that I was happy. Even the relationships between Thor, Odin and Loki were almost exactly the same, with these characters all possessing the characteristics that the Norse mythology had given them (I checked in my encyclopedia).

There are a few typical superhero movie moments within the film, the quick springing from almost nowhere romance, the oh no he's dead, oh wait no he's not moment. I thought the betrayal of Loki could have been handled better, he seemed to very suddenly become mad and evil, having not a lot to prompt it most of the time (the occasional "he's jealous" being thrown about now and then), and I may have misunderstood or missed something along the way but (SPOILER AHEAD) I don't quite understand the sudden double cross near the end of the film. One minute he 's wanting to side with the enemy and vanquish Odin for lying to him, the next he's loving Odin again and wanting to destroy the enemy again...?

Besides a few weaknesses this film was better than expected. Natalie Portman did at a few times get a little bit annoying with her nosiness , but was adequate. Co-stars Stellan Skarsgaard and Kat Dennings made good moral and comic support. Tom Hiddleston was well cast as the conniving and silver tongued Loki, Anthony Hopkins magnificent as the King of the Gods Odin (maybe in the film because of Brannagh?) and of course Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Not really known until his role as the doomed father of Kirk in Star Trek 2009, he has more than proven himself in this role. Dedicated to the role physically(!) and performing the mighty god perfectly, suitably fierce and brutal, which is contrasted brilliantly in the scenes on Earth, and someone you actually want to root for. I am looking forward to seeing more of this character.

So well done Mr Brannagh, you have brought a good dramatic balance to this American take on a Germanic god and I recommend everyone give it a watch.

Oh yeah the little something extra. Well it came out two days ago and I just had to post it on my blog because I am sooooooo excited about it! It's going to be the most majorly epic film and I literally can't wait, especially after seeing this long awaited trailer. It's the final Harry Potter film! Enjoy!!

Another post, same day!!

Oh my gosh, could it be...yes it be! I’ve written another post and it’s on the same day as the previous post, woohoo! See I’m getting so much better at this regular posting thing. As you may have seen from my previous post titles I have dispensed with the number 1,2,3... thing as the posts decided to rearrange themselves and other technological things that just make simple blogging a pain in the bum, so I have decided to lose the numbering system.

Onwards now to my next review which is about the eagerly awaited and much overdue sequel to that well known slasher horror movie franchise Scre4m (see what they did there, because it’s the fouth sequel, get it).

I’ve slightly depressed myself with the start of this review. I Imdbed Scream and saw that it was released in 1996, when I was eleven years old! Oh boy that was a long time ago. The follow up sequels were released in 1997 and 2000, over ten years ago. Jeez, time has flown by. And now we have number four and it’s NOT in 3D! Although here’s betting number five will be ( I don’t actually know if there is going to be a fifth film but the way Hollywood id churning out remakes and sequels and it’s current love of 3D...).

Going into the screen to watch this film I was excited to see this new sequel but also expecting the worst as with (most) sequels the more there are in a franchise the worse they get. Sitting in my seat as the lights dimmed I was waiting to see a tired old formula of predictability, bad acting, dumb shock factor scares and stupid characters...and I got all that but in the best possible way. The beginning of the film is genius, I won’t spoil it but the self parodying is genius and very funny, it really sets the tone for the rest of the film brilliantly. There’s a who’s who of actors in the film (Hayden Panettiere, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Rory Culkin amongst others) as well as the return of the main three actors, Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox, who all play their characters just the way we remember them. Ms Cox steals the show, playing Gail Weathers as a desperate but feisty bitch you can’t help but admire, clamouring to get back to her journalistic roots. The supporting cast really go for it as well, playing it cheesy or really hamming it up, it’s all about the food method acting in this film (sorry). Marley Shelton, for example, who plays Dewey’s deputy, her acting is quite bad, like something out of a trashy soap opera but it’s down in such a way that it must have been purposefully bad, she really plays on the tone of the film.

All the familiar mechanics of the previous films are here, the characters referencing a lot of popular culture such as blogging and twitter as well as constantly talking about horror movies, it’s just so good! There’s plenty of the walking into a house unarmed and alone, standing in front of open windows and open doorways, running upstairs instead of outdoors etc. It’s all here. When the guilty party is revealed at first I thought "Oh dear" but it actually works out quite well in the spirit of the film, which is that it is all a bit ridiculous but still good.

I was delightfully impressed  with this film. It is by far the funniest film of the franchise, incredibly cheesy but it knows it and plays on it. This film wants you to laugh at it, sometimes to relax you before a scare and sometimes by the way the victim dies, which by the way is more grisly than the previous films. It may also help to not go in with high expectations and just allow the film to entertain you, rather than looking to deep into it. It’s funny, will make you shout “Don’t go in there!” and is great to take a very jumpy friend to! A great film to watch with friends. Well done Wes Craven, you still got it!

The much delayed latest post - Review of Sucker Punch

I know, I know. Bad me for not posting enough...again! I seriously am bad at this, or should I say was bad at this. Hopefully, now I shall, due to certain circumstances post more regularly. Writing about more topics (most film related). Starting with this...

You will be unprepared the tagline says. It was right. What was presented to my eyes and eardrums was incredible. I was sucked in. Then the next day came along and I realised “what the hell?” I had to see it again to understand what had happened, what this film was trying to tell me, and just what the f***!! Here’s my review of Sucker Punch.

Sucker Punch is the story of a girl who spirals into a depression after great personal loss and gets committed into an insane asylum by her sinister stepfather. Once there she goes into her fantastical imagination to help her and her friends escape their misery. Directed by Zach Snyder, king of the slow-mo, you are guaranteed a feast for the eyes. It is visually stunning; the guy knows how to film action. The camera never gets too close-up so you can’t tell what’s going on, the sets and surroundings are fantastical, the creatures are brilliant and the fight choreography is amazing, slick and polished. And the soundtrack…amazing!! From the start, the films open to the eerie reworking of The Eurythmics Sweet Dreams building up the drama to the tragic story of lead character Babydoll. A particular stand out song for this film being Bjork’s Army of Me, perfectly accompanying Babydoll’s first adventure, bringing a perfect tension and adrenaline to the film. Unfortunately the music takes over the film at times, and the action taking place during the track seems more like the music video for the song, rather than the music simply setting the mood.

That’s not the only problem with this film. The acting from some of the cast is not very good and seemed straight out of a soap opera. The plot is very thin, but I’m suspecting a majority of people going to see this film aren’t going for the plot, if you are you may be disappointed. I have to admit the first time I saw this film I was blown away, but after the film had finished I realised I had simply been swept away in an aesthetically pleasing mind warp. Upon further viewing problems were surfacing.

Within this film there are several sequences that are fantasies for the lead character, but these are all contained within another imaginary world, of the main character…why? I don’t really know. Whether or not Snyder just wants to disorient us further or wanted an excuse to get his female leads into skimpy dance wear is unclear, I’m betting the latter. And female empowerment, I really don’t think so. Yes, they are kicking butt to a rock chick soundtrack, but with full immaculate (and excessive) make-up and with no end of skirt-flying-up-crotch-shots (we know they’re women Snyder!) and what is with the outfits? They are allowed to kick butt but only if they look like Lara Croft wannabe computer geek fantasy sex objects. I’m all for quirky outfits but seriously, we all know what the purpose of those outfits were (a barely there warlock outfit, sailor outfit etc) and it wasn’t fighting. It would have been better if they were all a bit more like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill or even better Chiaki Kuriyama in Battle Royale, savage, psycho, fierce, scary and, in Chiaki’s case, the only girl not wearing the typical school uniform but a track suit. (Arguably) Not so visually pleasing but incredibly memorable and strong. Thurman is a bit more debatable as she used to be a model and so has the looks, though in Kill Bill she is never scantily clad and doesn’t use her sexuality to get ahead.

As for the message of the film, again I am confused. The first part of the film seems to say, if you have a strong imagination it can spur you on to do and achieve anything. Then later on the message seems to change to retreating into your head is the best way to cope with harsh reality, with the finale suggesting that the film is saying just stay in your head, it’s better there (especially if you are a victimised girl). This worries me a little, especially when you consider the film’s rating is a (controversial) 12A, and you can’t deny the fact that young girl’s minds are very impressionable. I love Snyder’s style but this guy would benefit greatly with teaming up with a great writer or a director who puts plot first.

Overall I would say this film is well suited for geeky fan boys and, well, just guys in general. Ladies if you’re looking for a female empowerment film keep looking, you won’t find it here. Awesome soundtrack though.