Post – RED, Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) has well and truly hooked up with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) and they are living, well, some kind of a life. He’s fearful, she’s bored. Then Marvin (John Malkovich) turns up dead; at least for a moment, and Victoria (Helen Mirren) is charged with killing them, and it’s on. Awesome times. And then add in Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) and you’ve got a fabulous romp.
I absolutely and totally loved this. I love the humour, I love the action, I love the casting, and I kind of hope they made more, but I suspect they won’t. Wait… According to IMDB, Red 3 is in development. Yes!!!
Detective Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is about to graduate into the FBI but is targeted by her boss to talk to Hannibal the Cannibal (Anthony Hopkins), to gain an insight into the identity of the current killer on the loose, Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine).
This is a fabulous film. Yes, the style has dated – especially Agent Clarice Starling’s very big hair. But the film is so intense and compelling, it is very easy to ignore the stylings. I remember watching this at a slumber party in the nineties – there were four of us, two of us had not seen it and the other two (I was one of them) had never seen anything like it. And we screamed and laughed and screamed. I haven’t watched it since, but I recalled so much of it that the impact was lost. Yet, it was still an intense experience.
Silence of the Lambs won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jodie Foster), Best Director (Jonathan Demme) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced of Published (Ted Tally) and was nominated for Best Sound and Best Film Editing.
There is a realm, Asgard, where the Norse gods live and rule. They have beaten the Frost Giants from another realm and live safe from them. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is the natural successor as leader from his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), but he proves to be too headstrong and cocky to take over. After taking his friends to the other realm to destroy the Frost Giants, Thor is banished to Earth and has his powers removed. There he encounters Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), her father Erik Selvig (Stellen Skarsgard) and sidekick Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) who are studying natural phenomenon, including the storm that accompanied Thor’s arrival on Earth. When Thor’s hammer is discovered, the secret government organisation, Shield, step in. Meanwhile, back in Asgard, Thor’s father is in a coma and his half-brother Loki has taken over. A big battle must occur before Thor can regain his powers and return home.
There was way too much other-world stuff for me to appreciate in this film. I was somewhat confused about who was doing what, despite skipping back to watch some sections again two or even three times. Hemsworth was fabulous as Thor, with all of the old-timey talk and generally being strong and handsome, but I found it odd to have Natalie Portman cast as the geeky and idealistic scientist.
The fights were great, even if I was not totally across why they were happening, and it definitely cleared up a bit about what was to come in The Avengers. I think it has potentially set-up a future film to explore the love interest between Thor and Jane, but I won’t be hanging out for that one.
Watch to the end of the credits – there’s a teaser for a future Marvell adventure.
ireckonthat 