Thor: The Dark World (2013) Film Review

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is back in his world, miserably obsessing over the girl who got away, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Then something happens to her that makes her weird and disappear and come back and stuff, and he has the excuse to see her and take her to his world. And then the bad guys come. And all nine realms are lining up and the other professor man, Erik (Stellan Skarsgard) is nude at Stonehenge. And then they all have big fights and (spoiler alert – or is it really?) the good guys win.

It’s ok. It’s not terrible, but it is far from being good. Natalie Portman has made a lot of good films, and played some pretty interesting characters, but this ain’t one. She’s apparently extremely smart but is so wussy and uninteresting. There are some big explosions and cool effects but really, I don’t care. At least Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was in it a bit. He’s a great character – I could watch him all day.

 

Black Swan (2010) Film Review

Nina is a very fragile young lady, a ballet dancer, extremely controlled by her mother, who scores the role of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. She has no problem dancing the innocent role of the White Swan, but struggles to find the darkness and depth of the Black Swan.

I’m not great with scary movies. They scare me. Lots. I’m also not great with suspense and anything that involves sudden shocks and loud noises. However, much of this film is very slow-moving and dark in a documentary style, and so the shocking parts are that much more shocking. Some parts that are absolutely horrible; violent, sudden and unexpected. It seems an odd film choice for Best Film Oscar, though Natalie Portman is fabulous as the extremely meek and soft-spoken ballerina.

Black Swan won an Oscar for Best Performance in a Leading Role (Natalie Portman) and was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Best Achievement in Directing (Darren Aronofsky), Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Achievement in Film Editing.

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) Film Review

What’s happened to Eric Bana? In my youth, he was a stand-up comedian who was huge on a sketch comedy show, then he started making films and ended up in a few fabulous Hollywood films. And now? Come back, Eric. Looking at IMDB, there are a few projects in the wings for him for 2013. Good.

But back to the film. If you know anything about your Henry VIII history, you’ll know that he wasn’t the best guy to be married to. Especially if you were Anne Boleyn. She got her head chopped off. This film follows the relationships between Anne, Henry and her sister, the other Boleyn girl, Mary.

I am always concerned to take history from films; of course, things are dramatised to make a good story and to keep the audience interested. Apparently, she was the lover of Henry VIII and had considerable influence.

Regardless of the exact truths of the film, it’s a good story. The film is not just about the relationships that the king had with these two women, but is about the politics of the time, with various fathers and relatives maneuvering the women into the favour of the king. It’s worth a watch. For sure.

Thor (2011) Film Review

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.