Movie Review Madness: Thor:The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World allows us to revisit Chris Hemsworth in all his glory. Wow, he is a Marvel. As the second film, it lacks the originality and freshness of the first Thor flick but this is still a lot of fun. Thor has brought a peace to all realms and life is beautiful. But there's one thing missing - Jane. Yep, Natalie Portman's on earth and Thor keeps an eye on her from his faraway land. Fortunately there are some weird disturbances that cause her team to find a portal. Soon she's yanked into another realm. A real bad creature comes back to life. And the party/battle is on.

As an added bonus, Thor needs to release Loki from prison. His knowledge and hidden places are needed, plus Loki (Tom Hiddleston) adds tension to the whole dynamics. The best scenes are when the brothers are on screen exchanging barbs. All in all, the filmmaking is rich, the battles are glorious, and a bare-armed Thor shines as he wields his hammer.

This is fall eye candy at its best. So round up the family, buy that tub of popcorn, and zoom to another realm for adventure. Thor brings light to a Dark World.

Movie Review: The Avengers

Happy Mother's Day!  My mom loved the movies. She did lean more toward romantic comedy, but she might have gotten a kick out of the characters below - here's a review I wrote for The Little Paper of San Saba (a town without a cinema).

What happens when you assemble a group of Marvel Superheroes - Thor, Captain America, Ironman, The Black Widow, The Hawk, and The Hulk in one movie? You have a screen filled with plenty of action and you have a lot of bickering. Yep - Joss Whedon, the director, has a wicked sense of humor and he brings it into the screenplay for The Avengers. So many egos, so many talents, and they tend to be annoyed at each other a lot of the time.

It's not Memorial Day yet, but summer movie season has launched into high gear, all in the name of fighting Loki (evil weenie brother of Thor) who's back causing trouble, stealing the Tessarac power cube, and creating mayhem. Nick Fury (Samuel L.Jackson) is in charge of SHIELD and this odd collection of fighters. He has a lot of talent running amok on the screen. We're lucky that they pull together and fight for America. New York City takes a beating, but survives. I won't go into any more plot details - it's fun to watch the action unfold and to laugh out loud at the sheer joy of the action on screen.

Here's the rundown - Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is mighty fine and wields his hammer well. Whew! Captain America (Chris Evans) might have been frozen in time, but he's catching up quick to the 21st century and is a strong leader. Stark's Ironman (Robert Downey, Jr.) is pompous and brilliant. Great performance as always from Downey,Jr. The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is new to me, but her spy skills and leather outfit balance out the testosterone in the room. The Hawk (Jeremy Renner) is aces with his bow and arrow. He wasn't his usual edgy self, but did his part. Finally - the big green guy, The Hulk, was played by Mark Ruffalo. Mild mannered Dr. Banner becomes the raging monster needed to smash anything in the enemy's path. He filled the screen with anger.

As you can tell, The Avengers pulled together star power, great effects, a bang-up script with witty dialogue, and an explosive story. Loki (Tom Hiddletson) is a very good creepy villain, yet as Captain America says, "He won't succeed. He has no conviction."

I paid full price for this film - I had conviction and was not disappointed. Go See The Avengers and kick off your summer right.