Movie Review: Thor- The Dark World

Christmas came early folks. Thor: The Dark World is everything my inner seven year old wanted to see and more. If you didn't already know, Thor Odinson has been my favorite comic book character for the last two decades. Watching the first Thor movie on the big screen was surreal. Sure, he spent half the film trapped in mortal form on Earth, but the Asgard scenes and the finale on the rainbow bridge were exquisite. Also, the fight between Thor and Hulk in Avengers remains the greatest thing I've ever experienced in life. srs bro.

So Thor 2 has more of Thor being Thor. He's learned from his experiences in Marvel's phase one films and is no longer seeking his father's approval and trying to earn his stripes. No, from the first moments of The Dark World he's established as Asgard's #1 ass kicker extraordinaire. He controls the elements, flys with mjolnir at breakneck speeds, dukes it out with super strong baddies, woos the ladies and lays the smack down across the nine realms. It's glorious.

Speaking of glorious. Loki is back. Yes, the coolest villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Thor's pesky brother (albeit, adopted) returns and once again, almost steals the entire film with his nefarious grin and treacherous schemes. He's like Hannibal Lecter and Health Ledger's Joker combined, but with better hair. Lady Sif has a slightly larger role than in the first film which is good because Jamie Alexander is gorgeous and I'd love to see them explore the love triangle between her, Jane and ol' Goldilocks himself, but alas, she had to go and damn near break her break back while filming the movie. I'm sure that nasty accident put a damper on her screen time. The Dark Elves are worthy successors in terms of villains but are still a bit underwhelming.They're as menacing as the Frost Giants from the first film, but seem more like disposable enemies ala the Putty Patrol from Power Rangers.

I guess my only gripe with Thor 2 is that it's not all that original. Some of the Dark Elf tech looks straight out of Prometheus, even their leader Malekith looks like an Engineer with a ponytail. Also, many of the films gags (and there are tons of them) although hilarious, feel a bit recycled. I'm guessing the Marvel/Disney overlords decided to play it safe with this one and expand upon the safest elements of Thor's mythos. There's more special effects, more interplay between the realms, more action, more comedy, more (February 2012 Female Obsession honoree) Natalie Portman & Kat Dennings, more more more of everything.

Deep down, I was hoping Thor: The Dark World didn't suck, because the last thing I wanted to do was sacrifice my cinephile street cred for my knee jerk comic book fanboy love at first sight reaction to Thor wrecking shit with his hammer. I mean, I saw how pathetic those Man of Steel defenders looked trying to vouch for such a horrible film. I didn't want to be that guy. Thankfully, Thor 2 is a wickedly fun movie. No it's not perfect and suffers from pacing issues as well as something I like to call, CGI overload, but overall it's a good action/adventure/comic book movie. It's the type of summer blockbuster we should have got earlier in the year. I mean, how serious can a film about a caped god who swings a magic hammer really be? Thor: The Dark World knows exactly what it is and continues the awesome intergalactic soap opera that is the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe....duh) in fine fashion. For Asgard!

Movie Review: The Avengers

Words. Words can't describe how much I loved this movie. The first time I saw The Avengers, I quietly muttered, "Joss Whedon...I love you," under my breath as the credits rolled. I say, the first time because I saw The Avengers TWICE last weekend. Yes, I was on the frontlines of geekdom on the film's opening night at the Arclight in Pasadena. The theater was like a giant club house. We hollered, laughed and sat awestruck with mouths aghast (at least, I did!) over the miracle that unfolded before our eyes. That was the first screening.

20 year dream come true!

Round two happened the next night, i.e. Saturday...less than 24 hours later, with my girlfriend at our local movie theater. She's become quite familiar with the Marvel universe after having viewed all the previous Marvel films leading up to The Avengers (plus years of listening to my geeky rants about mutants, Celestials and Thor kicking Superman's ass) but even if she wasn't tainted by my Marvel fanboy-ism, like our friend who came along and had never seen any of the other films before, they both loved it! Not only is this the pinnacle of comic book movies, it's also a totally rad summer popcorn blockbuster that doesn't blatantly insult your intelligence (take that Michael Bay!).

So the movie, it's amazing. Joss Whedon's script and direction are superb. The film's pacing is exhausting but in a good way. I'm sure you've all seen snippets of commercials for movies that say "So and so from the Daily Bugle calls it, 'a nonstop thrill ride!" Well, that's how The Avenger's is. Whedon's film is a legitimate nonstop thrill ride. It's the fastest 2 hours and 15 minutes of your life, trust me. Not only is the action and special effects mind bogglingly awesome, but The Avenger's is also one of the funniest movies I've seen in ages. There are several L-O-L moments throughout the film that had the entire audience in stitches.

Of course something must be said about the cast. They're phenomenal. All of them. Even Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner (as Black Widow and Hawkeye) who did jack shit with their roles in Iron Man 2 and Thor, even they brought it home with their performances in The Avengers. All praises due to my boy Loki! Again, after stealing the show in Thor he's like super smooth evil asshole perfection in The Avengers. Also, The Hulk....never has he been more awesome than in this movie. NEVER!

Hands down, the raddest movie of the year. I don't care how great The Dark Knight Rises might be, nothing compares to the 20 year nerd-gasm I had watching The Avengers (twice!). 

Movie Review: Thor

FINALLY!

Thank you Marvel. Thank you oh so much. This could have been bad. I'm not talking Fantastic Four bad. I'm talking Ghost Rider/Daredevil/X-Men Origins: Wolverine bad. It could have been so easy to mess this whole Thor project up. He's one of least likable/identifiable characters in the Marvel universe. He speaks in old timey English riddles half the time and is so powerful, an action movie about Thor could have been the equivalent of watching Michael Jordan play basketball against kids from the Special Olympics. But no! Marvel and director Kenneth Branagh did the impossible, they made an awesome Thor movie and did my favorite superhero justice on the big screen!

So yes. I'm a little biased. But my love for The Silver Surfer and Venom and didn't stop me from cringing at their appearances in big budget abortions either. Unabashed love for a character does not a good film make. Now onto the movie:

Thor (Chis Hemsworth) is the big man on campus in his native Asgard. He's all set to inherit the throne from his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) when he royally screws things up (haha, get it?). Odin casts Thor down to Earth, stripping him of his powers, in order to teach the arrogant Thunder God some humility. Of course there's some shady back door conspiracy stuff going on and before long Thor is needed to lay the smack down with his mighty hammer Mjolnir and save the day.

First, the film is visually stunning. Yes, a large portion of the movie takes place in a boring ass desert, but all the Asgard sequences inter cut throughout the film are flat out amazing. I loathe this current 3D trend in Hollywood, so I can only speak for the regular 2D version I saw, but yes, I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome the visuals for the film came together. From the costumes, to the CGI baddies to the rainbow fucking bridge! I mean, how easy would it have been to make the rainbow bridge look like a complete joke? Thank you Marvel. Thank You Kenneth.

like the comic come to life!

Loki- MVP

Kudos again to Mr. Branagh for assembling such a wonderful cast. Known for his dramatic/Shakespearean films, Branagh easily handles the grandiose aspects of Thor that might have crippled a lesser director, while bringing out impassioned performances from his actors, even when they're wearing eye patches, capes and standing amidst an obvious CGI overload. I honestly think Tom Hiddleston steals the entire movie with his twisted portrayal of Loki, Thor's devious brother aka, the God of Mischief.

I only have two real gripes with the film. My lovely Natalie Portman does her best playing Thor's love interest, but even an Academy Award winner like herself can't save a barely written role like this. Lastly, I wished they showed the full extent of Thor's powers! Yeah we saw him kicking some Frost Giant ass and eventually summoning up a nice little thunder storm, but the dude has Superman level strength and is capable of tossing tanks around like baseballs. I really hope we get to see Thor unleash his full potential in the Avengers movie.

TLDR:
Thor rules. Best comic book movie since Spider-Man 2.

You Know What Day It Is.....

IT's FRIDAY! *ducks*
Yeah, I know that Rebecca Black is the antichrist, but this is a pretty rad/funny cover by the super awesome NICE PETER.
"Random black dude! Random black dude!"
haha.


Here's the REAL reason behind my giddiness. Today THOR hit theaters. Some of you might remember that Thor is my favorite comic book super hero, ever, and now I finally get to see him come to life (well sort of) on the big screen.

FINALLY!

Here's some Viking Metal courtesy of Amon Amarth to get everyone psyched for Odinson's big film this weekend.

THOR

So I was walking into some Hawaiian BBQ  place for lunch last week when this older fellow (late 40's/early 50's perhaps) commented on my shirt as we crossed paths in the parking lot. He said, "Now THAT's a hero." That's the shirt I was wearing ^^^.

Yes, the mighty Thor, the Odinson himself. He's been my favorite comic character for, oh close to 20 years now. My little 7 year old mind was forever changed when my older cousin let me read Marvel Comic's short series, The Infinity Gauntlet back in the early 90's. For you non-geeks, a quick summary of the series is this: a purple faced villain named Thanos gathers the six infinity gems that control all aspects of the cosmos and becomes GOD. The Marvel Universe assembles and tries to stop him. Of all the Earth heroes (Wolverine, Spiderman, etc), Thor was regarded as the most badass. Of course there was no way in hell they could stop Thanos but that sure didn't stop Thor from trying.

I hunted down all kinds of Thor related comics after that. I came to realize that Thor was Marvel Comics equivalent of Superman only, without the lameness. He's the most powerful dude that everyone else relies when SHIT GETS REAL. Hulk went crazy again and just tore the Fantastic Four & Avengers to pieces? Someone better call Thor. Galactus is trying to eat Earth again? Where the hell is Thor?!

Thor is the Asgardian God of Thunder. He possesses superhuman strength and near invulnerability while his enchanted hammer Mjolnir allows him to control the weather (Thunder God, duh), open inter-dimensional portals, and fly. He's been kicking ass for thousands of years and he's arrogant as fuck. Not only because he's one badass mofo, but because his father is Odin, ruler of Asgard and one of the most powerful forces around. Perhaps Thor's greatest trait IMO is his ego. He will literally fight himself to death just to preserve his and his father's honor...no matter what the circumstance. Thor always reminded me of Doc Holiday from Tombstone, or Sonny from The Godfather. Sort of crazy but always ready to kick some ass when needed. I never seriously collected any of Thor's monthly comics, since I was a kid with no real income aside from birthday/Christmas money, but always rooted for him whenever he popped up in major cross over events. I stopped following the comics world sometime in the early 00's, but I've never lost my affinity for Marvel Comic's resident Asgardian ass kicker. Here are some of my favorite Thor related comic book covers:

Cool Fight Bro

AWESOMENESS

So now Thor is getting his own movie. How will the Hollywood rape machine portray my favorite comic character on the big screen? Here's the official trailer below. I must say, I'm not too horrified by this and am crossing my fingers the movie is more along the lines of Spider Man 2 and not the godawful Spider Man 3.