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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Thor (2011) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)
Marvel films have become a staple for any movie fan’s diet over the past few years. We’ve had some bloody fantastic ones; Spiderman 2, Iron Man and the second X-Men to name a few; and we’ve had some pretty rubbish ones, Hulk, The Fantastic Four and Spiderman 3 are ones that spring to mind.
Here we stand, two years before the release of the much anticipated Avengers movie and the latest offering from Marvel blasts onto our screens: Thor, but is it a success?
Kenneth ‘Thespian’ Brannagh helms this more unknown superhero flick and surprisingly with his track record of Shakespearean cinema, makes one hell of a film.
Chris Hemsworth from Home & Away stars as the Viking god himself and is the perfect choice for the role; I can’t think of anyone better suited to playing him. 6 foot 6 with blonde hair and blue eyes, come on; it can’t just be a coincidence surely? Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and Stellen Skarsgard (Mamma Mia) also star but are unfortunately largely forgettable; Portman certainly won’t be receiving an Oscar for her performance here.
Thor takes place in the fictional realm of Asgard, ruled by an ill looking, but perfect as usual Anthony Hopkins as King Odin. Of course Asgard is created via special effects and these are flawless; from the rainbow bridge that connects that world to Earth, to the sweeping shots of the enemy Frost Giant’s home. It is here, in this beautiful place that Thor really shines, the story is dense and succinct with beautiful performances from all
the actors. The sheer scope of the film is literally immense and this could’ve dwarfed the characters, but thankfully it doesn’t.
Unfortunately, Thor’s banishment to Earth for reckless behaviour isn’t as exciting and these portions of the film feel a little flat in comparison to the bright lights of Asgard. Thankfully, Hemsworth makes sure that the usual Marvel humour is included which stops these scenes from being a complete failure. Portman and Skarsgard feel lost next to Hemsworth’s fantastic characterisation which is unfortunate as they have both proved themselves to be brilliant actors.
The constant tie-in’s with the upcoming Avengers film are shameless and an obvious marketing probe but they do little to detract from the film itself, the inclusion of S.H.I.E.L.D doesn’t feel as laboured as it could have done and thankfully they play a good part in the film – even if it is in the less interesting Earth scenes.
Thor is a film as mighty as the legendary hammer its title character uses; it’s loud, occasionally obnoxious and unashamedly reliant on special effects, more-so than any other Marvel film, but this time, it works.
Kenneth Brannagh’s influence is apparent from the off, with the Shakespearean narrative at the beginning being a real highlight of the film. Thankfully, the highlights don’t stop there and apart from a few lapses in judgement, the film steamrolls itself to a decent, if little underwhelming climax.
Overall, Thor is fabulous, a really good attempt at creating a brilliant film from a rather unknown superhero. If Iron Man hadn’t been released, it would most definitely be the best of the Marvel films to date, as a result, it comes a really close second. A real treat!
https://moviemetropolis.net/2011/05/19/thor-2011/
Here we stand, two years before the release of the much anticipated Avengers movie and the latest offering from Marvel blasts onto our screens: Thor, but is it a success?
Kenneth ‘Thespian’ Brannagh helms this more unknown superhero flick and surprisingly with his track record of Shakespearean cinema, makes one hell of a film.
Chris Hemsworth from Home & Away stars as the Viking god himself and is the perfect choice for the role; I can’t think of anyone better suited to playing him. 6 foot 6 with blonde hair and blue eyes, come on; it can’t just be a coincidence surely? Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and Stellen Skarsgard (Mamma Mia) also star but are unfortunately largely forgettable; Portman certainly won’t be receiving an Oscar for her performance here.
Thor takes place in the fictional realm of Asgard, ruled by an ill looking, but perfect as usual Anthony Hopkins as King Odin. Of course Asgard is created via special effects and these are flawless; from the rainbow bridge that connects that world to Earth, to the sweeping shots of the enemy Frost Giant’s home. It is here, in this beautiful place that Thor really shines, the story is dense and succinct with beautiful performances from all
the actors. The sheer scope of the film is literally immense and this could’ve dwarfed the characters, but thankfully it doesn’t.
Unfortunately, Thor’s banishment to Earth for reckless behaviour isn’t as exciting and these portions of the film feel a little flat in comparison to the bright lights of Asgard. Thankfully, Hemsworth makes sure that the usual Marvel humour is included which stops these scenes from being a complete failure. Portman and Skarsgard feel lost next to Hemsworth’s fantastic characterisation which is unfortunate as they have both proved themselves to be brilliant actors.
The constant tie-in’s with the upcoming Avengers film are shameless and an obvious marketing probe but they do little to detract from the film itself, the inclusion of S.H.I.E.L.D doesn’t feel as laboured as it could have done and thankfully they play a good part in the film – even if it is in the less interesting Earth scenes.
Thor is a film as mighty as the legendary hammer its title character uses; it’s loud, occasionally obnoxious and unashamedly reliant on special effects, more-so than any other Marvel film, but this time, it works.
Kenneth Brannagh’s influence is apparent from the off, with the Shakespearean narrative at the beginning being a real highlight of the film. Thankfully, the highlights don’t stop there and apart from a few lapses in judgement, the film steamrolls itself to a decent, if little underwhelming climax.
Overall, Thor is fabulous, a really good attempt at creating a brilliant film from a rather unknown superhero. If Iron Man hadn’t been released, it would most definitely be the best of the Marvel films to date, as a result, it comes a really close second. A real treat!
https://moviemetropolis.net/2011/05/19/thor-2011/
Darren (1599 KP) rated Accepted (2006) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: Accepted starts when serial slacker Bartleby (Long) fails to get accepted into any colleges when his high school run concludes. Bartleby isn’t the only one that lost his chance to go college, he decides to join Sherman (Hill) and Daryl (Short) in creating a fake college South Harmon Institute of Technology.
To make his parents believe this is a real college, he works with his friends to refurbish a building to be a college, only for the college to take off having numerous students turn up leading to a battle with the local real college.
Thoughts on Accepted
Characters – Bartleby is the student at high school everyone turns to for fake ids, he is a slacker at heart, not knowing where he wants to go and getting rejected by all the colleges that he applied to. To keep his parents happy, he creates a college only for everything to get out of hand he needs to use his quick-thinking ideas to keep the cover on. Sherman is the only one of the group of friends that did get into the college he wanted, he helps Bartleby get the college up and running while trying to keep everything in his own future together. Monica is the love interest for Bartleby, always been the girl that he dreams off, she has her own passion, which her college isn’t going to give her. We get plenty of characters that are struggling to find their place in the next stages of their life and the rich students who get into college without any problems.
Performances – This movie has a big cast of actors that would be great picks for any teen comedy in the early 2000s. Justin Long takes the leading role and he is great because the character he plays is the one we are seeing him play a lot. Jonah Hill gets good laughs from his role, but this is before he transformed his comedy to hit more often. Blake Lively is a good love interest for the film, the whole supporting cast does well through the film.
Story – The story is about one student that creates a fake college to cover up the fact he never got accepted into any college and things get out of hand. The story is told in a comic tone, even though it does tackle the serious problem school students face when it comes to the end of their run, before college, what happens if they don’t make it, what if they do make it and can’t handle the pressure. In fairness the telling of the story is done well for a teen comedy and is easily one that can be enjoyed by the fans of the genre.
Comedy – The comedy in this film does work for the most part, it is mostly teen comedy material which is fine to enjoy.
Settings – The film is a college set movie, it gives an idea of creativity the characters will be facing.
Scene of the Movie – The case.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t get enough focus on why so many students got rejected from other colleges.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the fun modern college movie, it tells an important message about dealing with the added pressure of college life.
Overall: One for the teen comedy movies.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/06/03/justin-long-weekend-accepted-2006/
To make his parents believe this is a real college, he works with his friends to refurbish a building to be a college, only for the college to take off having numerous students turn up leading to a battle with the local real college.
Thoughts on Accepted
Characters – Bartleby is the student at high school everyone turns to for fake ids, he is a slacker at heart, not knowing where he wants to go and getting rejected by all the colleges that he applied to. To keep his parents happy, he creates a college only for everything to get out of hand he needs to use his quick-thinking ideas to keep the cover on. Sherman is the only one of the group of friends that did get into the college he wanted, he helps Bartleby get the college up and running while trying to keep everything in his own future together. Monica is the love interest for Bartleby, always been the girl that he dreams off, she has her own passion, which her college isn’t going to give her. We get plenty of characters that are struggling to find their place in the next stages of their life and the rich students who get into college without any problems.
Performances – This movie has a big cast of actors that would be great picks for any teen comedy in the early 2000s. Justin Long takes the leading role and he is great because the character he plays is the one we are seeing him play a lot. Jonah Hill gets good laughs from his role, but this is before he transformed his comedy to hit more often. Blake Lively is a good love interest for the film, the whole supporting cast does well through the film.
Story – The story is about one student that creates a fake college to cover up the fact he never got accepted into any college and things get out of hand. The story is told in a comic tone, even though it does tackle the serious problem school students face when it comes to the end of their run, before college, what happens if they don’t make it, what if they do make it and can’t handle the pressure. In fairness the telling of the story is done well for a teen comedy and is easily one that can be enjoyed by the fans of the genre.
Comedy – The comedy in this film does work for the most part, it is mostly teen comedy material which is fine to enjoy.
Settings – The film is a college set movie, it gives an idea of creativity the characters will be facing.
Scene of the Movie – The case.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t get enough focus on why so many students got rejected from other colleges.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the fun modern college movie, it tells an important message about dealing with the added pressure of college life.
Overall: One for the teen comedy movies.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/06/03/justin-long-weekend-accepted-2006/
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Don’t let the “big anime eyes” or unusual title fool you into thinking this will be a lame film. Yes, this movie is based off a manga you’ve probably never heard of. Yes, it is easy to dismiss this film as something that will bomb like last year’s Mortal Engines. But if you place your faith in director Robert Rodriguez and writer/producer James Cameron, you will be treated to a surprisingly solid narrative and fast paced visual spectacle that is worth the price of admission to view in the theater.
The biggest praise I can give to Alita: Battle Angel is that the visually stunning world they create on screen feels “lived in” and real. I found it easy to accept and understand the rules of that world they built and explained throughout film. And while we are not given a full history of their world, we are given enough explanation to understand how or why something existed in their world. This gives us the opportunity to focus on the story of “self-discovery” that Alita ultimately is.
Rosa Salazar motion capture performance of Alita is excellent. Not only in movement but in emotionally delivery. You get the real sense of discovery with this amazing world that Alita is being exposed to. Additionally, as she begins to become more self-aware of who she is, you can understand the emotion and she struggles with love, trust and obligation. Furthermore, from a technical standpoint, by the end of the movie, I was not thinking of Alita being something that is motion captured and instead just accepted her as part of this onscreen world they delivered. This is really something that becomes make or break with this film for some people and it’s easy to dismiss it based on the trailers. However in context of the film, it works and does a good job drawing you in.
In addition to Alita, we are given strong performances from the ensemble cast of characters in the film. Christoph Waltz play’s Alita surrogate father Dr. Dyson Ido, Keean Johnson as the street smart and resourceful Hugo, Mahershala Ali as the gangster type gate keeper Vector, Jennifer Connelly as the morally ambiguous goal focused scientist and Ed Skrein as the cocky bounty hunter. Each of these characters play their roles well and help usher in the different levels of the society they live in. Perhaps the once complaint I have of this film is that the pacing of this film is so fast that we miss an opportunity to obtain a bit more backstory from some of these characters. It is not a big loss, but it makes you wonder if this film would have been better served as a 10 episode Netflix series or something of that nature.
In the end, I found myself enjoying this film more than I expected I would. Is it a perfect film? No. Nor does it invoke emotionally deep existential thought that the manga it is based on provides. But it does tell a sold story of self-discovery in a visually stunning and fully realized world. It is fun, fast paced and something that should be seen in the theaters. And if possible, do yourself a favor and watch it in 3D. This film has some of the best 3D effects since Avatar. The 3D doesn’t feel like an afterthought or gimmicky, but instead works to enhance the on screen world.
The biggest praise I can give to Alita: Battle Angel is that the visually stunning world they create on screen feels “lived in” and real. I found it easy to accept and understand the rules of that world they built and explained throughout film. And while we are not given a full history of their world, we are given enough explanation to understand how or why something existed in their world. This gives us the opportunity to focus on the story of “self-discovery” that Alita ultimately is.
Rosa Salazar motion capture performance of Alita is excellent. Not only in movement but in emotionally delivery. You get the real sense of discovery with this amazing world that Alita is being exposed to. Additionally, as she begins to become more self-aware of who she is, you can understand the emotion and she struggles with love, trust and obligation. Furthermore, from a technical standpoint, by the end of the movie, I was not thinking of Alita being something that is motion captured and instead just accepted her as part of this onscreen world they delivered. This is really something that becomes make or break with this film for some people and it’s easy to dismiss it based on the trailers. However in context of the film, it works and does a good job drawing you in.
In addition to Alita, we are given strong performances from the ensemble cast of characters in the film. Christoph Waltz play’s Alita surrogate father Dr. Dyson Ido, Keean Johnson as the street smart and resourceful Hugo, Mahershala Ali as the gangster type gate keeper Vector, Jennifer Connelly as the morally ambiguous goal focused scientist and Ed Skrein as the cocky bounty hunter. Each of these characters play their roles well and help usher in the different levels of the society they live in. Perhaps the once complaint I have of this film is that the pacing of this film is so fast that we miss an opportunity to obtain a bit more backstory from some of these characters. It is not a big loss, but it makes you wonder if this film would have been better served as a 10 episode Netflix series or something of that nature.
In the end, I found myself enjoying this film more than I expected I would. Is it a perfect film? No. Nor does it invoke emotionally deep existential thought that the manga it is based on provides. But it does tell a sold story of self-discovery in a visually stunning and fully realized world. It is fun, fast paced and something that should be seen in the theaters. And if possible, do yourself a favor and watch it in 3D. This film has some of the best 3D effects since Avatar. The 3D doesn’t feel like an afterthought or gimmicky, but instead works to enhance the on screen world.
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