Thank God it's Thor's Day

I’ve been meaning to write about Thor for about a month now, and seeing as I’m due to be seeing X-men First Class this week, now seemed like the ideal time to do it.

I’ll set my stall out early by admitting that I’m a massive comic book fan and sometimes enjoy comic book movies more than they deserve (I’m actually quite keen on the first Fantastic Four…yes it’s light and fluffy but then so are the comics). That said, I really enjoyed Thor and think it stands up on it’s own.

The people I saw it with ranged from massive superhero geek (me), to a comic book fan who’d never read any Thor, to my wife who had no real idea who Thor was outside of Norse mythology. The fact that people from both ends of this spectrum enjoyed it highlights it’s broader appeal as a movie. Whilst the girls got to enjoy looking at Chris Hemsworth (who I’m reliably informed is quite tasty), I got to feel superior for noticing the references to Bruce Banner and Dr Strange (at least I think that was the Eye of Agamatto I spotted in the Asgard Trophy room).

The comedy element worked in the same way that it did in Iron Man, with my personal favourite being the throwaway line “is that one of Stark’s”. Although the repeated slapstick worked during the first part of the film, I was glad they dropped it once Thor’s character had developed a bit more.

Being a massive geek, I loved the Hawkeye cameo, even if it did feel INCREDIBLY tacked on – to the point that it became obvious it had been added after a later reshoot (or it at least felt that way). That said, it was a good way to introduce the audience to a character that will have a much bigger role to play in The Avengers…it’s just a shame that he didn’t get to have as much screen time as Black Widow did in Iron Man 2.

Speaking of The Avengers, I really think that it’s setting up to be a great film. Making Thor work in the same universe as Iron Man was always going to be the biggest challenge, as effectively you’re going from a normal guy in a suit to a God, and hoping that they fit together. The inclusion of Clark Gregg as Coulson helped to bridge that gap, and I can definitely see how it can work. Comparatively Captain America is now fairly easy to do, all that has to happen to him is to be frozen at the end of his film and thawed out by Shield/Stark (although having The Hulk accidentally break him out of the ice might be a good way to remind the audience that The Hulk is still around and will have a role to play next year).

Back to Thor, I thought the supporting cast was equally strong. I can always do with more of the awesome Idris Elba, and whilst I enjoyed seeing The Warriors Three, my brother-in-law (who had no idea who they were) didn’t think they were fleshed out enough (which I can’t argue with, I was seeing them with prior knowledge of their back stories). I thought the stand out performance was Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and think he’ll make an excellent villain for The Avengers (I personally hope it sees him masterminding a Skrull invasion).

As for the “sting” at the end of the film, I think having an appearance from Fury helps tie everything together for next year, and the reference to “unlimited power” is more subtle than the stings of previous films, but is infinitely more ominous.

Now to see what they do with Cap…

Because let's face it, these days ya gotta have a sequel

So Scream 4 then. Being a massive fan of Scream, I wasn't really sure what to expect going in to number 4. It'd been over a decade since I saw the first one, and a lot has changed in horror movies since then (for the worse in my opinion, with torture porn become more prevalent).


All in all, I really enjoyed number 4. It was entirely predictable and utter enjoyable. Not a patch on the first one but nearly as good as the second one and WAY better than the third. I worked out the killer in the first act, but that didn't detract from it at all. Also it was nice to see Courtney Cox slip back into her Gayle Weathers character as, with the exception of Randy who they never should have killed off, she was always my favourite. Neve Campbell and David Arquette were solid too, but you got the impression they needed the money more.


I liked the in jokes about Cox and Arquette's marriage and I loved that they recaptured the post modernism that made the first one so great. I also thought the best thing about it was Hayden Panettiere (no idea if that's the right spelling) as she always annoyed me in Heroes but she's obviously grown up as and actress and is the best thing in all the scenes she is in.


Ultimately this did just make me want to watch Scream again (which I did), the opening scene with Drew Barrymore (love her) is amazing, and the scene where Jamie Kennedy is watching Jamie Lee Curtis on TV, screaming "he's behind you Jamie" whilst Ghostface is behind him...got to be my favourite part of the film (albeit a little on-the-nose).


So if you like the franchise, then I think you'll like Scream4. I just wonder how long until they resort to a Scream 5? Here's hoping it's a while...too much of a good thing and all that.

On Stranger Tides

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is a bit like having sex with someone you don't particularly like. You get through it and there are moments you enjoy, but ultimately it leaves you feeling unfulfilled, slightly guilty and wanting to get the hell out of there as soon as possible.


That said, it's still better than the third one.

Too many films, too little time

I haven't posted in a while, largely due to the fact that I've "found my mojo" somewhat with my creative writing, so have been working on getting my book and one of my scripts ready for sending (roll on the barrage of rejections).


I've also been back to my old socialable self and have been enjoying drunken bbqs, trips to the beach and general hangage. I've also dragged my sorry arse to the cinema several times for a couple of really good films (and one terrible one!)


Starting with the bad, I cannot insult "Priest 3D" enough. It was rubbish, nonsense and actually quite boring. The stuff that was OK was all scenes that felt like they had directly been ripped off from other films (see Star Wars, The Matrix and even Goldeneye). Between that and "Legion", I've no idea what happened to Paul Bettany's career. And why Karl Urban, who in my mind was the best thing about the excellent Star Trek reboot, got involved I have no idea. I hope they paid him well. The film was made even worse by the fact that the sidekick's love interest looked about 14, unintentionally adding an unnecessarily creepy element to the whole thing.


I've got Thor and Scream4 to cover as well, but I'm off to see Pirates 4 now for Mum's birthday, so they'll have to wait.


But seriously, avoid Priest 3D at all costs...

The high cost of fame

I was at my friend Alex's birthday BBQ at the weekend, and before I managed to get so drunk that I thought I would share my karaoke version of "Baby Got Back" with the room, I had an awesome time. To be fair, I continued to have an awesome time throughout my drunkenness, it was just the next morning that I cringed with embarrassment.


Before I did I met Alex's new band, a five-piece, all female pop-rock group called "My Heroine", who were absolutely lovely (expect big things from them). One of the band members was convinced that she knew me, and seemed slightly affronted that I didn't remember her. After we established that I had never met her before, and had no shared friends except for Alex, she remembered that she had seen me from the "Jane to the Future" video that Jane's friend Ed made us as our wedding present. Obviously Alex had shown her it at some point, but it was my first ever encounter of being recognised by someone I didn't know (and to be fair, it will probably be the last).


Anyway, it made me think of how fond I am of that video, so decided to post again in it's entirety here.


Good times...

Getting ready for Thor's Day

I’ve been thinking about this summer’s big comic book movies, and Thor is far and away the one I’m looking forward to the most.

Be it the predicted tease introduction of Hawkeye, Anthony Hopkins thesping it up as Odin or the needlessly controversial appearance of Idris Elba (its 2011, surely we’ve moved beyond caring about the colour of a character’s skin?), there’s lots to look forward to. Speaking of Idris Elba, I can’t defend him enough. He was the biggest revelation in the wholly amazing “The Wire” and has recently been excellent flexing his deadpan chops in The US Office.

So for me, bring on next week.

I’ll happily watch the other three, with Captain America being the neat companion film to Thor to set up Joss Whedon’s 2012 “Avengers” movie, which I could not possibly be more excited about. Especially now it’s got How I met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill – really glad to see they’re bringing in another strong female character. Plus I do wonder if Alyson Hannigan introduced her and Joss, as she seems to be the missing link in their six-degrees of Kevin Bacon game.

Captain America’s also got some excellent looking CGI (skinny Chris Evans looks great on the trailer) and Hugo Weaving is always a top choice for a bad guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if the film ends with Captain America saving the day but in the process falling to his “death” in the frozen artic, only for the post credit sequence to be Samuel L Jackson / Robert Downey thawing him out in the present day.

X-Men: First Class is a bit of a weird one for me, as I love the X-men comics, but have yet to see a film that has properly reached it’s full potential. It’s either too much about Wolverine, or there’s too many needless characters running around (and not enough Gambit). I’m not convinced about James McAvoy as Xavier either, but am happy to be proven wrong. Michael Fassbender should be a good Magneto, and January Jones is inspired casting as Emma Frost. If any actress screamed “cold beauty” it’s her. And it’s always nice to see Kevin Bacon again.

Finally we’ve got Green Lantern, which I’m most dubious about. Partly because of the ropey trailer and partly because of the needless “complete CGI” effect when Ryan Reynolds becomes Green Lantern. I get that they want him to appear fantastical, but surely he could just have a costume! I just think it seems a bit pointless, which is exasperating as the character / Green Lantern corps have great potential for future films, and I think DC will probably red light / green light Wonder Woman and The Flash based on it’s success. And that’s a shame, as DC have got some great heroes that are worthy of their own franchises, and they need to start doing something other than Batman and Superman reboots if they’re going to keep up with Marvel, who are steaming ahead with three blockbuster films a year at the moment.

But that’s all speculation at the moment. We’ll see what Thor is like and go from there. And there’s less than a week to go until that.

Ultimately I wonder if I’ve been over-thinking all this? I say thee nay...

From Eighties With Love

Last night I watched "From Paris with love", which for my sins I really enjoyed. I think that this was largely due to my fondness for ‘stupid action’ movies, of the ilk that they rarely seem to make any more.

Everybody wants to see the gritty realism of Bourne or Daniel Craig era James Bond, but being a child of the eighties I miss the Arnie/Sly/Bruce school of action. Give me "Tango and Cash" or "Red Heat" any day.

Perhaps this is why I was so vehemently defending "Welcome to the Jungle" at work recently. I’m not saying it’s "Citizen Kane" but I do think it’s one of the best action comedies produced in the last decade. 2010, saw some excellent ones, see: "The A-Team", "The Losers" and "The Expendables", but before that, there was a bit of a dry spell.

"Welcome to the Jungle" (or "The Rundown" in the US), embodies everything I loved about the genre: Self-concerned muscle-bound hero who gradually realises he needs to look out for others, annoying sidekick solely there for comic relief, panto bad guy in the form of the impeccable Christopher Walken and the entertaining sub-plot of The Rock refusing to use guns.. Throw in a female lead that actually has some substance and you’ve got all the ingredients of a film I love. Plus bonus points for this being The Rock’s breakthrough film, including the memorable ‘passing the torch scene’ between him and Arnie.

Like I say, I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but for an eighties action comedy fan like me, it does everything right.