Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: THOR (K. Branagh/2011)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Ottawa Canada
    Posts
    5,656

    THOR (K. Branagh/2011)

    THOR



    Marvel studios have got another winner.
    Another Marvel Comics Legend has made it to the big screen and it was done right.
    I thoroughly enjoyed Kenneth Branagh's Thor, even though it can be criticized a little.

    I was hoping when I went into the theatre that this movie wouldn't stink. The potential was there.
    Pleasantly surprised is an understatement. Thor has awesome special effects, great costumes and nice camera angles (geared more toward 3-D, but I opted out of seeing it in 3-D). The acting is good. Good, believable cast here, with Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins (flawless as ODIN) and new guy/star Chris Hemsworth.
    Hemsworth is perfect for Thor.
    He's got the height and build a man should have to play that role. Ideally Thor would be even taller and have bigger biceps than Superman, but given it's a human being playing him, you can't argue with who was cast to play the Norse God of Thunder.

    The movie moves at a fairly brisk pace, opening with Portman's Jane running over Thor with her vehicle after he is banished to earth by his unhappy father Odin for being arrogant. Part of the fun of this movie is seeing a God from another "realm" mingle with hu-mons.
    (and his buddies- referred by earthlings as "Xena, Jackie Chan and Robin Hood")

    Basically, the story is:

    God of Thunder is banished by his Old Man Odin to earth. His hammer is rendered inert and is also thrown to earth, creating a massive crater in New Mexico that soon has the federal government all over the site.
    His diabolical brother Loki seizes power, the Rainbow Bridge figures prominently, and Thor must get his hammer once again, find a way back to Asgard, make peace with Odin and go back to fighting baddies in realms of his choosing. All the while trying not to fall in love with mortal Natalie Portman....

    Kenneth Branagh should direct every Thor film. He's struck the cinematic template for the character and it's well done.

    The biggest flaw for me was when Thor tries to get his hammer back at the federal/Shield crater site.
    He beats the shit out of all of the Federal security guys (makes them look like "a bunch of mall cops" was the quote), gets captured, only to be let go within minutes! Because his new human "friend" says that Thor is misunderstood! He's not who they think he is!
    OK....
    No assault charges? No holding him? At all? He just walks out of the compound! WTF?!?
    No way that would happen in real life, whether Thor was an alien God or not. He beat the crap out of serious security personnel and no one raises an eyebrow...

    But it takes nothing away from the movie, I guess. Stranger and more bizarre shit has gone down in other movies and people let it slide, and this is a comic book adaptation...how "critical" can you be? This is summer blockbuster stuff.


    Thumbs up for Thor.
    I will be buying the DVD and I'm looking forward to his further adventures, in sequels and in the AVENGERS, a highly anticipated movie for fanboys. The trailer for Captain America was Awesome. And Green Lantern looks Great too, even though I do not like Ryan Reynolds in the Lead.
    Clive Owen should've been given that role.
    Last edited by Johann; 05-18-2011 at 11:03 AM.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    15,840
    We'll see if Dominique Strauss-Kahn gets out as easily as Thor at the federal shield center.


    I can see Thor could be good fun. Some might on the face of it think Branagh has sold out. Nothing arty or Shakespearean about this. And Anthony Hopkins? He's picking up another paycheck. Natalie Portman is illustrating her tendency to pop where you least expect her. But it looks like a good cast. I was somewhat convinced by Anthony Hopkins in The New Yorker
    The year's most divided movie to date; everything that happens in the higher realms, vaguely derived from Nordic legend, is posturing nonsense, whereas the scenes down here are managed, for the most part, with dexterity and wit.
    The Nordic legend part sounds truly silly to me, and I don't usually like nonsense. There are lots of good comments by different reviewers, howeer, despite the only very so-so Metacritic rating of 58 (some 58-rated fims can be actually fine).

    Ryan Reynolds is an up-and-comer, and his recent role in Buried was a winner. I don't think Clive Owen would be at all what they had in mind, if they cast Reynolds. They wanted a comic/cuteness factor. Didn't we discuss this before? I've seen the trailers and I'm up for Reynolds.
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 05-19-2011 at 04:41 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Ottawa Canada
    Posts
    5,656
    I know exactly why they cast Ryan Reynolds. To get both boys and girls into theatre seats.
    He's got a youthful, handsome face.
    I want some MANLINESS in my Green Lantern! LOL
    Some ruggedness! Some aggression bubbling beneath a handsome face!
    Reynolds looks like he's never shaved in his life.
    And the green lantern costume/cgi leotard is wonky. What's wrong with the white/green/black one-piece and boots?
    Sinestro looks perfect. Hector Hammond looks perfect, all the other lantern corps members look perfect.
    Why does the main man, the MAIN QUARTERBACK look wonky?
    I don't understand. maybe I'm being too nitpicky.

    Anthony Hopkins is reliable. He always earns his paycheck. Never disappoints.
    Nothing arty or Shakespearean in THOR, that's right. Maybe more a dash of Lord of the Rings perhaps. But arty or the Bard isn't needed. Branagh ensured that the acting was better in THOR than in most Super-Hero movies.
    Last edited by Johann; 05-19-2011 at 11:28 AM.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    15,840
    One can hope the new Green Lantern (whatever that is) will be better than the lame Green Hornet produced by Seth Rogen. But it seems to me obvious from the trailer that this version ain't manly but has a comic side. Fresh-faced Ryan might get me into a seat, if I'm desperate. I've had enough of Clive Owen. For now, I'm happier with new French films and Cannes competition films freshly opened in Paris.

    I just entered my comments on Monte Hellman's Road to Nowhere in my PARIS MOVIE REPORT.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Ottawa Canada
    Posts
    5,656
    Paris. Again. *JEALOUS*!

    I'd be happier too, soaking up all the art and culture and Cannes buzz in the City of Light.
    Monte Hellman has been promoting Road To Nowhere on Facebook and elsewhere for a while now.
    Looks excellent.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    15,840
    I've never been here during Cannes and never seen such glorious weather here. I have usually come in the fall, but came last April, which was nice but not this nice weather. Monte Hellman's movie is gone now. It was a limited showing. I think I may have missed an avant-premiere of a new Christophe Honoré film but I have to check.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Ottawa Canada
    Posts
    5,656
    Take photos of the glorious weather!
    Aim at the clouds!
    Jealous green...
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •