Thor (2011)

I took the plunge of not putting myself through the squinty-fiddley torture of wearing 3D glasses and went and saw Thor in 2D. I really don't know why I waited so long. Oh yeah... I'm a sucker. Marvel are a really great force in Hollywood movies at the moment. They have a pretty great pedigree of turning out these great big hulking epics, year-in-year out. Okay, the ones made at Fox are pretty sucky but well pretty much every movie made by Fox is. Exceedingly better are the recent slate of in-house productions made by Marvel themselves and then are given back to studios like Paramount and Universal to distribute. It incredibly unusual for movies to be made like this, it's like the idea of JK Rowling paying to make a Harry Potter movie herself. She could probably afford to do that too... That said it's incredibly risky putting your own money up and I'm certain that has a positive affect on the writing and direction of these movies.
I guess the most curious thing about Thor is that it was directed by Kenneth Branagh but that's one of the strokes of genius, they do at Marvel- they get strong personalities to work on their movies like him and Justin Theroux who wrote Iron Man 2 and they're making the 3rd with Shane Black. It's good becuase these guys are not used to working in the comic book medium and that means it keeps the production line, fresh.
Thor is great example of this. It's completely different stylistically from Iron Man, obviously more fantasy-orientated. Branagh approaches the fantasy stuff in a very operatic way, where everyone bellows their lines and takes this comic book hero and turns into a broad fantasy environment like a Lord of The Rings. It's an entertaining story of the bratty Thor, spoilt and entitled who is banished to Earth by his pops, Odin and brother Loki starts setting his own sights on ruling. Meanwhile on Earth, a group of New Mexico scientists are trying to figure out who this Thor is and where he came from... Chris Hemsworth is lovely as this boisterous he-managed and the sort of stuff you're supposed to hate in movies like fish-outta-water humor, is fine because he comes across so well. Anthony Hopkins gets to shout and wear and eye-patch. Tom Hiddleson is actually really good playing a tricky character like Loki, who's equal parts spiteful and empathetic. I'm glad Ray Stevenson and Idris Elba are successful in this movie, Stevenson in particular, channelling Brian Blessed is great fun and a complete departure from what he usually does. We also get a sneak introduction to someone intergral to The Avengers movie, halfway through the movie. The girls inc. Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings don't get much to do but then they are girls and as such do smell. That's kinda the tone- this is the kinda stuff that 8-12yo boys love.  And though, I'm no Whedonite - I'm sure his The Avengers will be great not only but mainly because of the Ruffalo playing the Hulk. Think about it- Ruffalo riffing with Robert Downey Jr. Even I can bust out a fan-boy squee for that....

I watched Thor (2011) at the cinema.
My 2011 in Movies will return with Read My Lips (2001)...

You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (2010)

Sometimes incisive, sometimes plain old tut- the ouvre of Woody Allen will never be completely admired nor completely written off.
These days he churns out films with an almost reckless abandon. A diplomatic could only describe him as prolific. Me, i generally like the guy. I love Small Time Crooks and Sweet And Lowdown; i liked Vicky Christina Barcelona and Whatever Works recently but he doesn't hit every time and while I appreciate the need to be active and creative... i don't see why he has to maintain this almost yeoman-like production line of films every year. No one in the western film industry works like that, in writing and directing a new film every year since 1983 (?!) and i guess we wouldn't mind if some of them didn't seem so aimless but then next year, maybe he's back on form again- you can never totally write him off. Despite moments and a great cast, 'You Will Meet...' is one of those aimless ones.
Most of his films are about romantic couplings and this one is as one might gather no different. It covers the entanglements of 6 or 8people- newly divorced old couple Gemma Jones and Anthony Hopkins, their daughter Naomi Watts and her husband Josh Brolin as well Freda Pinto, Antonio Banderas and Lucy Punch, who variously represent new starts for the 1st four.
One of the strange things about Woody Allen films is his voice and style are so unique to him that it bleeds through and you start hearing it in other male roles on his films; Michael Caine in Hannah and Her Sisters, John Cusack in Bullets Over Broadway amongst others. It can be curious and/or jarring. But when it's coming out of the mouths of Brolin and Hopkins it just seems unconvincing. Now I think those two are very accomplished actors and It's hardly the shark-jump of say, Stone Cold Steve Austin turning up in an Almodovar picture but these guys are just plain shitty at delivering Woody Allen dialogue. Like creaky. Like they've never seen a Woody Allen movie before...  but that can't be the case because you wouldn't turn up unless you had and he only gives you the script on the day (probably.) It's not just those guys- there are other actors that can't deliver the one-liners and you're stuck watching them fall flat. I am reticent to blame the actors though; you don't really elect to be in a Woody Allen movie, he picks you and I'm sure he only directs people by telling them simply either 'try it again another way' and 'don't do it again like that' until it looks like something he's happy with. Not that doesn't work sometimes but you have to be a significant character actor like Gemma Jones and the glorious Lucy Punch for that to work. It's like Allen is so goofy about how nuts it is that Hannibal Lektor is saying his words, he doesn't really care about what he does with it. When you watch Brolin doing it, you think if this was nebbish New Yorker Woody you might buy the ironic lechery and jagging-about he does but Brolin is a good looking Californian and it really does not land.


I watched You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (2010) at the cinema.
My 2011 in Movies will return with Faster (2010)...