Thor: The Dark World

 

Expectations:
As "Phase 2" of Disney's never-ending Marvel overload continues, expectations for stand-alone, superhero movies have plummeted, because we know how great it is when all these guys get together. People used to get genuinely ecstatic about each and every superhero film, but, now, people are just waiting around for the next Avengers film. Personally, I have even more excitement for the new X-Men film, but most of my excitement can be attributed to the great mass of superheroes and great actors that will be featured in the film. However, for the moment, let's pretend that The Avengers never happened. What are my expectations for the Thor sequel, now?... Well... they are even lower! I'm sorry, but I didn't care for the first Thor film, and he was easily my least favorite Avenger. So, with that being said, my only motivation to see Thor: The Dark World was to avoid missing something crucial in the Marvel universe. Also, Loki is kinda the man...

Plot:
My least favorite part of this sequel was the insignificance of the bad guys, Malekith and Algrim. Of course, their existence meant the end of the earth, but their motivation and power came off as a bit ambiguous, in my opinion. Basically, it was as if they needed someone to take the evil attention away from Loki, but, in the end, it just fell flat. Aside from that, the plot wasn't too bad. However, two weeks after watching the film, it is kind of hard to remember many details. So, maybe it wasn't so great either. I do remember that I was impressed with the way that Loki's return to Asgard was dealt with, and the ending was much less abrupt, compared to the first Thor film. Additionally, I enjoyed the story surrounding Thor and Jane Foster, played by Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, a lot more than in the first film. It wasn't quite as forced.

Characters:
Loki is easily Thor's saving grace, and there was no doubt that Tom Hiddleston carried The Dark World farther than any other character. Unfortunately for us, Loki is expected to be absent from the second Avengers, which will make it interesting to see how the development of a bad guy may engulf the second Captain America film, due out in April. Aside from Loki, mediocrity was the name of the Thor character game. Below are a few exceptions...

Negatives:
As I said before, the bad guys, played by Christopher Eccleston and Mr. Echo (I'm not going to try to type out his real name), were pretty much pointless, and I highly doubt that anyone truly enjoyed their presence in the film. Also, Erik Selvig, played by Stellan Skarsgard, continued to become less and less important in the grand scheme of the Thor storyline. To me, this reduction of importance is quite disappointing, as he was one of the few characters that I enjoyed in the first film. My final negative is the big man himself, Thor!, who is the stupidest and most awkward of all the Avengers, yet he manages to be the only thing that ties every super's story together. Regardless, I can't stand him! Seriously, if you took Chris Hemsworth and put him in Troy or Clash of the Titans, you would realize just how ridiculous this character turned out to be.

Positives:
Loki is the man! This film would have been more appropriately titled Loki: The Cooler Brother. I mean, is there any way that we can get Loki in The Avengers 2? I'll let you keep Thor, Joss! Just give me a little Loki. I predict a bright future for Tom Hiddleston, and I can't wait to see what's in store for him. As was the case with the first Thor film, I really enjoyed the character of Heimdall, played by Idris Elba. His wisdom and loyalty is a great accent to the various rebellious characters throughout Asgard, and I really wish he would find his way into an Avengers movie.

Conclusion:
In comparison to its preceding Phase 2 project, Iron Man 3, I would put Thor: The Dark World on exactly the same level. The film was better than Thor's last stand-alone film, just like Iron Man 3 was better than Iron Man 2, featured a lot of hearty laughing moment, just like Iron Man 3, and contributed very little to the overall, Avengers-based storyline (with what we know at this point), just like Iron Man 3. I don't know how everyone else feels, but, after seeing Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, I am afraid that these Marvel films are going to become a bit too generic. Don't get me wrong... I enjoyed the story, some of the acting, and, of course, I will go back to see Thor 3. However, as the movie wrapped up, I had that same underwhelming feeling that came after Iron Man 3. It was that same feeling you get after you watch any plot-twisting, action-filled, depth-lacking movie on the big screen. You know what I'm talking about! At this point, I just hope that The Avengers: Age of Ultron has something unique and exciting in store for Marvel fans. If not, Phase 2 may turn out to be the highest grossing and least exciting of the infinite future Marvel phases. I give Thor: The Dark World 3.12 out of 5 stars.

Great Expectations: November 2013

Marvel and Disney may have done a great job with The Avengers franchise, as a whole, but there are very few sequel-meriting movie characters that I have come to despise as much as Thor. It could be Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of the character. It could be the fact that he doesn't fit in with the other Avengers. It could even be because of those long, flowing locks, featured in the picture above. Regardless, I don't like him, and I don't really expect my opinion of him to be changed by the upcoming Thor: The Dark World. The movie would be way more interesting if it centered on Loki or Heimdall or whoever it is that Mr. Echo is playing! I mostly just want us to all take a moment to realize that Marvel is not quite perfect, and, even though I will be watching Thor: The Dark World, I highly doubt it will live up to the previous three Disney-made Marvel films (Captain America, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3), each of which were absolutely amazing. Here are the films that I am actually looking forward to in November:

 

Last Vegas

(November 1)

 

 

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

(November 22)

 

 

Delivery Man

(November 22)



A Look Ahead to 2013

Yet another year of blogging has come and gone, and I can't quite believe it. When I started this thing in 2011, I didn't really know how much I would enjoy it. I mean, come on, what college kid actually wants to write MORE. However, I have greatly enjoyed it, and my hope is that you have as well. So, until people stop reading or I get sick of writing, I'm gonna keep on going.

Sometimes I enjoy doing these odd little posts even more than the usual reviews, because I get to really say whatever I want about whatever I want. But, I do try to make each of them have a purpose, and the purpose of this post is to look ahead to what will be happening in movies and with the blog in 2013. Firstly, there will be no Great Expectations for January, because there are really no new movies coming out that I am planning on watching. In January, I will be focusing on catching up on some movies I have been wanting to rent. However, there may be a review or two, because there are a few movies that I haven't yet been able to watch, due to the busy nature of the Christmas season. Also in January, look for my Notscars list, which should be up early in the month. This list will highlight the worst in movies from 2012 but will be much different (and shorter) than last year's list. My Above Average Awards (I think it clever), which is a list of the best in 2012, will likely be out in early February. I know most people have already forgotten about 2012 by February, but, if I give you that list any earlier, I will feel like it is incomplete, because of the number of movies that I want to watch between now and then. The more movies that I watch, the more accuracy I will have in my list of best actors/actresses/movies.

After I take a nap from all the writing for The Above Average Awards, I will then proceed to review more films, as February and March roll around. Depending on what I do during the summer months (internship?), I may have to take a break from blogging, but I certainly hope not. I gotta keep my people informed! I believe that is all I have for now, so here are a few lists for you (release dates and my excitement are subject to change):

Top 5 movies that I can't wait to see in 2013:

5. This is the End (June 14)

4. The Hangover Part III (May 24)

3. Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17)

2. Elysium (August 9)

1. Man of Steel (June 14)

Other huge films out in 2013:

Warm Bodies (February 1)

Oz: The Great and Powerful (March 8)

Carrie (March 15)

The Host (March 29)

Oblivion (April 19)

Iron Man 3 (May 3)

The Great Gatsby (May 10)

After Earth (June 7)

Monster University (June 21)

Despicable Me 2 (July 3)

The Wolverine (July 26)

Enders Games (November 1)

Thor: The Dark World (November 8)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (November 22)

Anchorman: The Legend Continues (December 20)

Summer Recap

In my opinion, last Friday was the final big release date of summer 2011 with The Smurfs and Comboys & Aliens tying atop the box office. I am not a big fan of the Planet of the Apes series and The Change-Up just looked dumb, so I chose to write this rather than wasting my time at the movies this weekend, but don't worry, next week I will have a review of 30 Minutes or Less.

The past three summers have brought some of my favorite movies of all time. There was The Dark Knight and Iron Man in 2008. There was Star Trek, District 9, and The Hangover in 2009. And everybody loved Inception and Toy Story 3 in 2010. With those films in mind, the summer of 2011 seems very very weak. Maybe it's not fair to compare these, but the truth is that this was just a bad summer for movies. Many people whined about the abundance of super hero movies, but I don't think this was the problem. Sure, Green Lantern really sucked, and Thor was just ok, but X-Men and Captain America were each high points in a low summer. Many people whined about the abundance of sequels. Once again there were lows such as Pirates 4, but there were many sequels loved by many. I personally loved The Hangover Part II, Transformers 3, and once again X-Men. Harry Potter, Fast Five, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Cars 2 are other sequels that many people loved. So what do we blame the aweful summer of 2011 on?

The problem with the summer of 2011 is the lack of big, original movies. Every movie that I mentioned from previous summers, except Toy Story 3, was a movie that really made itself or its series famous. The two biggest money making movies of 2011 will undoubtedly be Transformers 3 and the final Harry Potter film, but both of these were sold by the success of their previous films. A lot of critics don't care for summer movies because they aren't very Oscar worthy, but, in my opinion, the problem is the lack of original storytelling ability in the film industry these days. My favorite movie of the summer was Super 8, a movie that did a great job of being itself. The biggest surprise of the summer was definitely Horrible Bosses. It may not have been as good as The Hangover, but the storyline really made for many many laughs. Each of these films were certainly original stories, furthering my point.

If you are one that hated the super hero movies or the sequels, you will also be hating the summer of 2012. The biggest films of 2012 will be The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, and The Amazing Spiderman, all of which fall into those two categories. But, there is still hope for next summer to be a good summer for movies. The best thing it has going for it? It will be compared to the summer of 2011.

This has been a great couple of months of blogging for me, and I have really enjoyed letting people know how I feel about each film. If there is ever anything that you think would better the blog, just let me know. I am very open to suggestions. I want to thank each of you for listening to what I say, and I ask you to please continue reading.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Expectations:
While I have enjoyed watching the pre-Avengers movies, the only one that has impressed me so far is Iron Man, which would have sucked without Robert Downey Jr. Thor was ok but should have been much better. Iron Man 2 just purely sucked. I have not seen the Hulk movie yet, but it just can't be that good. With that being said, I didn't expect much with Captain America. I knew it wouldn't be aweful, but Chris Evans is no Robert Downey Jr. and World War II is no 2011. Once again I must admit to knowing nothing about comic books, making it impossible for me to have accuracy expectations heading in. I also didn't understand why the first Avenger was the last one made. The timing kind of made me think that Captain America was going to suck more than the other pre-Avengers movies, but everyone was going to be forced to watch in anticipation.

Plot:
As most know, the movie is set during World War II, which gives the movie a bit of a classic film feel (except for the CGI). The beginning of the movie was a bit rocky. I personally think they should have waited a bit to bring Red Skull in, but the back story on Steve Rogers (Captain America) was fantastic. Rogers was small in stature but had a huge heart and of course was transformed into Captain America. Somethings went wrong in the process, and Rogers ends up with a role in the war that isn't that of a soldier. I really thought Rogers reacted strangely to this role, considering he is supposed to be a man with such a great heart. But he got back to normal rather quickly. Something that really impressed me with this movie was the final battle and eventually the final scenes. So many super hero movies have a final battle scene that lasts all of two seconds (cough cough THOR!). The film makers really embraced the end of the movie, rather than just focusing on the character build up. I thought the movie was very well arranged and had great balance between story, character, and action.

Characters:
Chris Evans was great in his role as Captain America. His likability really transferred over to the character, which made Captain America what I believe he is supposed to be--a figure that people can look up to. His nemesis, Red Skull, was played by Hugo Weaving who, with the help of a computer generated face, really freaked the crap out of me. I didn't really feel like Red Skull was the enemy of Captain America, but, instead, I felt like he was the enemy of the entire world. Maybe this was reinforced by Captain America's politically correct team, including a black guy, an Asian guy, and even a French guy. It was a bit unusual but good. The inclusion of Howard Stark (Iron Man's dad) was fantastic. From the previews it looked as if he would just make a quick, helpful appearance, but he really had a pretty big role in the movie and fit in quite well. It was not as awkward as the cameos that we are used to seeing.

Best Character: Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell, was fantastic as Captain America's love interest. She had a very big connection to the storyline, which is the one thing that Marvel usually does well. She was very tough and really showed up the guys often.

Worst Character: Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan, was very useless as Rogers's best friend. It was easy to tell that we were supposed to be connected to him, but I just didn't feel it. He was one of the few unnecessary pieces of the movie.

Conclusion:
Captain America was a great surprise. I can't decide whether I like it better than Iron Man, but it is definitely a close race. The ending was fantastic, as I sat there wondering "How will they get him to 2011?" Will I rush out to buy it, well... no, but I am more excited about The Avengers now. If you haven't heard, the first preview for The Avengers plays after the credits of Captain America, and the movie promises to be amazing. I am extremely hopeful that there will be more Captain America films in the future and cannot wait to see if Marvel can learn from past mistakes and make great movies. I give Captain America 3.001 out of 5 stars and am OFFICIALLY pumped about The Avengers!

Movie News for the Week of July 5, 2011

1. After taking a break from acting to obtain his college degree, Haley Joel Osment will return to the big screen in a Frankenstein-like movie. The movie, entitled Wake the Dead, will bring the story of Frankenstein to the modern world. This will be the first of many upcoming Frankenstein movies.

2. Will Smith is attempting to bring Hurricane Katrina to the big screen in American Can and wants Denzel Washington to play the lead role. Smith was originally supposed to star in his own production, but now he wants Washington.

3. I new idea called Movie Pass was recently introduced at a San Francisco movie theater and has many people talking. For only $50 a month, you can go to the theater as many times as you desire. This sounded amazing when I first heard it, and everyone was talking about it last week. Unfortunately, AMC frowned at the idea, which really hurts its chances of succeeding nationwide. Let's just continue to hope and pray that something comes through because I believe this is a great idea.

4. The second Thor movie has been given a release date for summer 2013. Marvel movies seem to be going nowhere, considering Iron Man 3 is also due out summer 2013.

5. The creator of Sex and the City has revealed one of her desired choices for the rumored prequel. Selena Gomez is now one of the front runners to play Charlotte, if the prequel becomes a reality. Another name that has been tossed around is Blake Lively.

6. Christopher Nolan is set to produce a secret supernatural thriller. Keith Gordon, known mostly for directing TV shows such as House and Dexter, will direct the film, based an an unknown novel. Details are certainly few and far between, due to Nolan's secretive nature.

A Little Something for the Potter Fans:
If Harry Potter were made into South Park character.