Thor: The Dork World I was a fan of the Thor comics long ago. I was a big fan of the first movie, directed by Kenneth Branagh, too. So I was really looking forward to this (supposedly deeper, darker) follow up. Expectations. Oh how you disappoint me so. This movie was a big mess, despite being a fan of nearly everyone involved, including director Alan Taylor. But I was talking to a friend about it this evening and I discovered I could actually distill it's awfulness into one element. Everybody acts like such a complete tool. People do nonsensical things all the time. Thor has no direction. Odin has completely changed character since the first. The warriors Three are nothing more than bad comic relief. Darcy is annoying with every line being a quip. Jane Foster, who is supposed to be a scientist with three degrees spouts stuff she MUST know is absolute nonsense. I didn't want a Dark Knight. I know it's a comic book film. It will have a certain amount of silly. But it still didn't have to be insulting! I'm just so confused how something that had such a strong technical crew could turn out so rough. I wish I had the energy to write much more on the film. Usually I would. But I feel pretty bummed out about the whole thing. Please, please and please let Thor 3 be good. 2/5 for this one, and that was pretty much for the effects, Loki and the part where Thor hangs up his hammer!
Not that anyone will care, because I think I'm the only person left here who still enjoys classic films, but I watched a movie called "Bigger Than Life" today. It stars James Mason, Walter Matthau and Barbara Rush. It's a bit dated, seeing as it's over half a century old, but ends up being one of the most authentic films to deal with the horror that is bipolar disorder. In the film, Mason is given Cortisone pills to deal with a condition he's developed, but ends up abusing the drug and turns into a very terrifying and dangerous individual. Cortisone was known to have some pretty serious risks, and was not very clearly understood back in the day. There are some issues with JFK and Cortisone as well. But the fact of the matter is that his actions and behavior are spot on for someone with Bipolar Disorder who has been given a standard anti-depressant. It's an insanely dangerous mix, and while his actions might seem extreme, it can be pretty spot on for someone having a hypomanic episode. It's a fantastic movie. Maybe a bit slow in spots, but I was never bored (and I tend to get bored fairly easily) and the subject matter is incredibly timely. If you like classic cinema, check it out. I think it's available through Hulu, as it's a criterion film.
I've not heard of this one but thanks for the review. I think I will check it out. As someone who suffers from the subject disorder myself, I find most films detailing the subject to be both painful and somewhat comforting (when dealt with fairly). I will check it out and give my thoughts here. Thanks again.
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship! I don't get to talk art house/old films with many people, especially here (which isn't a slight, this Isn't the blu-ray.com criterion forum full of pompous corn cob pipe smokers) so if you're into older movies, foreign films, etc, I will be very excited. But I adore awesome fun films too. Super Troopers is still one of my favorite films, as are the Lethal Weapon movies, etc. Another suggestion that BtL reminded me of is Night of the Hunter. It's old, and terrifying. It's hard to explain, but crap that movie could truly unseat a person, I know it did me.
Not to barge into your conversation, buuut... I suspect you would LOVE "Video Port" in Portland, ME. It was easily the hardest thing for me to give up when I left home. Imagine a Blockbuster-sized store with a wall approximately 6x5 devoted to "new releases," and the ENTIRE remainder of the store's shelves devoted to less common, rare, obscure, artistic, and Indie films, foreign (LOTS of foreign) and domestic... Heaven. "Super Troopers" is the example of a stupid movie that is hard not to appreciate. The whole, "he's already pulled over" bit? OMG, EVERY time I see that, I laugh 'til my sides hurt... "Silly" most certainly does not have to imply low quality. Good ol' Bob... yikes, was that ever a ride... Generally speaking, I'd have to agree with the notion of "reality vs. fiction" in films handling the subject of Mental Health. It seems we are continuously progressing (albeit rather slowly) toward an undoing of much of the stigma around MH, and I appreciate seeing films that take some of the "drama and mystery" out of the equation. Don't get me started about the differences between people I've worked with who have schizophrenia and those portrayed in most films... Ugh. Sounds like I might have to check out "BtL," and besides, I do love me some James Mason and Walter Matthau... Again, apologies for the intrusion, but the subject(s) interest me, so I couldn't resist... DBC
Whoa, do NOT apologize!!! NEVER DBC!!! Not when we're on the same page. Bob? Hell yeah!! And Video Port sounds awesome! There need to be more stores like that. Sadly, as evidenced in the satirical portrait on Parks & Rec, no one cares for those movies. We're a dying bunch. I try my best to get my kids into the older films, but it's not easy work. Brains are... Just different now, it seems. I've had luck watching some of the more "fun" films like Safety Last and Modern Times, but they're fairly resistant to that style, as much as I may urge it. I THINK it will change as they get older. I absolutely cannot wait to watch some of my favorite Kurosawa movies with them, Yojimbo especially, as well as some of the more "family friendly" foreign films such as 400 Blows, and staple North American cinema like 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird and so on. I'm glad you joined in on the convo, it's nice to add someone else and mix things up a bit. Like I said, I have no problem with fun, simple films but being able to experience films that have a real impact, significant meaning and were created because of the deep love of cinema... it just doesn't happen now. Sure, there are some gems that pop up from time to time, There Will Be Blood and No Country are still in my top films, but even really awesome films like Pacific Rim and Django don't have that magic you'd find in older films. A few others that blew me away, The Hustler was amazing. Simply fantastic. No, Newman isn't the best actor in the world, but he sold that roll perfectly. He did the same in Cool Hand Luke, too. I'm still plugging away at Shoah as well as Fanny & Alexander (by the freaking awesome Ingmar Bergman) but both are VERY long. Shoah spans MULTIPLE Blu-ray discs, and is over 9 hours, I think. Fanny & Alexander is over 5 hours, as it was a TV series back in the late 80's. It sits up with Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal as his perfect trifecta. Oh, on a really weird note - The Phantom Carriage. It's a VERY old silent horror film made in Sweden, and Ingmar Bergman fell in love with the film and with Victor Sjöström, who plays the lead there. It was his dream to work with him, and that dream came true when he was cast as the lead in Wild Strawberries, 36 years later. I just miss that magic. It's so much about money, that the heart of films is missing. Can you imagine someone trying to launch a fairly slow paced film like The Hustler, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, or To Kill A Mockingbird? It would be a miserable failure. It makes me so mad. DBC, Charlene - maybe we should start our own thread?? Pompous movie lovers??
Andsoitoes, I would totally be up for our own thread! However, might that not be the final nail in our pompous coffin? Haha. I do wonder. And DBC, that store sounds like a dream! Sadly, here in South West UK there's no such thing. We are lucky if a town has a HMV with an overpriced and under titled World Cinema/Art House/Classic Film section. The trouble is, I bet there's not much demand too. When I lived with housemates I couldn't even get them to watch something like 12 Angry men. Which I consider to be one of the easiest classic watches there is. Our conversations basically went, get out a film pre 1999 (at one point I had the audacity to pull out a double bill choice of Lang's Metropolis and and Murnau's Nosferatu) and they all groan. Basically if it was black and white, they would sigh. If it had subtitles, they'd groan. Imagine their horror when I pulled out Onibaba (incidentally one of my favourite films of all time)!!! I worry we are digressing here. Am I going to get booted?! To stay on topic I recently saw We are What we Are. Which I later found out was a remake of a 2010 Mexican film (generally I don't feel much for such early remakes and intend to track down the original). It was actually very atmospheric and well played. For a recent horror film it was less blood and obviousness and more unsettling mood. Hard to say too much about the plot without giving stuff away but let's just say, despite the lack of gore, not for the squeamish. 3/5
I saw Ender's Game, and as a fan of the books, I have to say it's much better than I expected. They kept changes to a minimum (with most of them being things that make the story better suited for a film format (and changes based on real life events)- like the events of the story taking place in a year rather than several years, Ender being older, the Soviet Union not being an entity (in the original story, the USSR was still around, due to it being written in the 80's), but the movie could feel slightly rushed at times, due to them trying to fit so much in. My biggest disappointment was that they didn't have more battle room battles in it, and not too many space simulations (I get why though). It could have benefited from another 20-30 minutes. They also cut out the Peter and Valentine sub-plot. Overall, really good- acting is better than I expected, and the art direction is good. My biggest dislike was the soundtrack- I felt it was often too 'epic' sounding. Biggest changes were: Spoiler Ender finds the Bugger queen egg on Eros rather than on another old Bugger colony. Peter is not the Hegemon at the end of the story. Valentine isn't shown to have left with Ender to help establish colonies. There is no reference to any war occurring on Earth after the destruction of the Buggers. They basically left the whole aftermath out of the movie. I liked it though.
Yeah, I pretty much agree with you. The book is definitely superior, and the movie felt like a shell of the book, not as much depth, and it did feel rushed at times, but it was enjoyable.
The Desolation of Smaug was cool. Did not really follow the book, but connects The Hobbit to LOTR pretty well. The 3D was alright. Frozen looked awesome in 3D. Some pretty memorable characters in there too. Looking forward to seeing this week's releases too: Anchorman 2, Saving Mr. Banks, and American Hustle.
It was terrible. Completely butchered the book, and even as a movie, tried too hard to reach LOTR's style so much it couldn't come into it's own. Smaug was the only cool thing about it.
The Bourne Legacy was pretty terrible compared to the Damon films..was one of the many DVDs I grabbed on Black Friday.
