More Thoughts on "Thor: The Dark World" (2013)

I went to see this again yesterday, and my goodness, what a difference a second viewing makes!  Where my first viewing threw me into a week-long funk, my second one has me all happy and smiley and absolutely loving the movie.

Actually, a big part of the difference is that I have finally accepted that I thoroughly dislike Loki.  I'm sorry, Loki's Army, but it's true.  Now, before you hack my blog or something, please know that I find Tom Hiddleston amazing.  He's one of the best young actors around right now, and I really enjoy his performance as Loki, not to mention in the other things I've seen of his.  And he seems like a really cool person, with all his charity work and everything.  Also, I can appreciate what a brilliant villain Loki is.  He's a great villain.  So great that I find him despicable and horrid and absolutely unlikable.  Now that I've stopped trying to force myself to like Loki, I think I actually enjoy him more.  He certainly made me laugh a lot more during this viewing.

I don't have a lot of new things to say, other than that.  But I do have two questions rattling around in my brain after this second viewing.

First, why is Odin so against Thor marrying Jane?  Sure, she's a human mortal and Thor will live for several thousand more years, but... so what?  Thor and Jane get married, she dies sixty-odd years later, and then Thor can marry some Asgardian and spend the rest of his life with her.  Is Odin worried about half-Asgardian, half-human children and how that will all work out?  I can kind of see that, what with his own blended family not working out so well.  But still, kinda lame.

Second, who braids Thor's hair?  In this movie, he's got a couple of little braids on each side.  Does he braid them himself?  He's kinda got big, muscly hands, and the image of him braiding his own hair is amusing me greatly.  If he doesn't, who does?  Frigga?  Jane?  Some random barber?  Is there a hiring protocol, or do they take volunteers?  I'm having a terrible time finding any photos of the braids, but in this you can kinda see one.

So anyway, yeah, I totally love this movie now.  I'll end by linking to this article from the BBC that discusses the ways that Shakespeare has influenced superheroes.  I once compared Thor (2011) to Hamlet, so wanted to share it :-)

My Ten Favorite Fantasy Movies

I define fantasy as involving magic or something supernatural somehow.  Which is why you'll find Raiders of the Lost Ark here -- it has all that stuff about the Ark of the Covenant melting people's faces off.  So these aren't necessarily all swords-and-sorcerers stuff, but they do all involve non-real, magical things happening.

Sorry it's taken me like two months to do another of these -- I was going to do superhero movies next, then decided to wait until I'd seen Thor:  The Dark World, and now I think I need another viewing before I can decide if that one goes on the list or not, so... silly me, I can do a genre other than superheroes!  Some of the titles link to previous posts about those movies.

1.  The Princess Bride (1987)

After Buttercup's (Robin Wright) true love Westley (Cary Elwes) is murdered by pirates, she agrees to marry Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), but gets kidnapped before the wedding.  I'll never forget the first time I saw this movie -- it changed my ideas about humor and fantasy forever.

2.  The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Nine companions from the four races of Middle Earth begin the journey to destroy the One Ring and thus defeat evil Lord Sauron and his plans to take over the world.  But you knew that already, didn't you.

3.  Willow (1988)

Two companions from the two races of someplace-or-other journey to protect a baby princess and thus defeat the evil Queen Bavmorda and her plans to take over the world.  Basically George Lucas' version of The Lord of the Rings, but Val Kilmer is so awesome it doesn't really matter that it's kind of a rip-off.

4.  The Return of the King (2003)

The final battle for Middle Earth results in the (very spoily) title.  But you knew that already, didn't you.

5.  Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), noted professor of archealogy, spends more time out chasing down antiquities that have mystical powers (or are worth lots of money) than he does teaching classes.  Who can blame him?

6.  Pirates of the Caribbean:  The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) resorts to commandeering, raiding, pillaging, plundering, and otherwise pilfering his weasely black guts out, all to regain his beloved ship.  More fun than a barrel of undead monkeys!

7.  The Two Towers (2002)

Eight of those nine companions keep trudging around Middle Earth, trying to destroy the One Ring and defeat Sauron, etc, etc, and so forth.  But you knew that already, didn't you.

8.  The 13th Warrior (1999)

An Arab exile (Antonio Banderas) joins a band of Norse warriors in their bold attempt to defeat the freaky bear-men-things that are attacking a bunch of small villages.  Swords and danger and glory galore!

9.  The Mummy (1999)

A librarian (Rachel Weisz) and her brother (John Hannah) convince an adventurer (Brendan Fraser) to lead them on an archaeological expedition that quickly gets way more exciting than they ever expected.  I like the sequel almost as well.

10.  Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

Peasant Jack (Nicholas Hoult) and career soldier Elmont (Ewan McGregor) rescue a princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) and defeat a race of giants.  The best of the recent spate of updated fairy tales that I've seen.

"Thor: The Dark World" (2013) -- Initial Thoughts

I have such mixed feelings about this movie.  As a whole, I really liked it.  Better than Thor (2011).  But there is something about it that bothers me a LOT, and so I think in the end, I don't love it.  I do hope to go see it again next weekend with a friend, and I may come to grips with what bothers me and then love it, we shall see.

First off, I must write a small ode to the wonderfulness of Thor.  Gone is the arrogant, war-hungry boy.  Gone is the giddy boy enjoying the admiration of a woman who drools at everything he says.   Gone is the blind trust he continually offered Loki in The Avengers, when he thought he could save his brother.  Thor has grown up at last, making measured decisions, trying to find ways to serve the greatest good, no longer blinded by his love for Loki.  I am so very proud of him.

Second, the plot has more to it than just Loki-is-petulant-and-trying-to-hurt-his-adoptive-family, which is refreshing.

Third, there's a nice lot of Darcy (Kat Dennings), and she's as quirky and delightful as always.

Fourth, I liked the fight scenes a lot better in this than in Thor.  They seemed more realistic, less CGI and over-the-top.  Kind of gritty and crunchful.

However, there are a couple things that annoyed me, and one that has me angry.  I'm annoyed that Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgaard) is turned into a punchline.  One shot of him acting crazy was enough.  Two was too many.  Also, there is this one completely pointless, lingering shot of Thor washing his face while shirtless that has no point whatsoever other than to make girls drool, and I felt pandered to.  I also felt bad for Chris Hemsworth for being momentarily reduced to beefcake.  He's worth more than that, folks.

But here is what makes me angry:  the writers cheated, and it feels like they just did it to please fans.  But the thing they cheated about is VERY SPOILY, so I beg you NOT to read any farther if you have not seen this yet and are intending to go see it.  Seriously, this will totally ruin the emotional impact of part of the movie.  You don't want to read past this until you've seen it.  Stop here.  Come back when you've seen it.  I'll even put a very nice picture of Loki here so you can remember where you stopped reading.

You've been warned.

I feel like they cheated by bringing Loki back at the very end.  His death, saving Thor and Jane, was magnificent.  One of the best deaths I have seen.  I forgave him for all the times he'd hurt Thor, for all the bad and nasty and mean and awful things he'd done.  I really did.  I was at peace with Loki.  I almost liked him.

And then they threw that all away!  Oh, ha ha, Loki was faking!  Psych!  Not dead after all, just broke Thor's heart because he wanted to.  La la la la la.  NO!  You can't do that!  That's worse than "It was all a dream," to be honest.  Because now Thor went through all the anguish of losing his brother for nothing.  And yes, Loki's death brought Thor peace too, and the opportunity to forgive him, and so I appreciate the closure Thor has now.  Except it's all a lie!  GRR!  ARGH!

It just really feels like they wrote this amazing death scene, this great redemption arc for Loki, and then said, "Oh, wait!  Loki has fans!  They will hate us if we kill him!  Let's just bring him back, then."  And I'm sorry folks, but that's not good storytelling.  That's just catering to what they think people want, not what the story needs.  And that angers and disappoints me.

Thorsday Report

Wow.  Yesterday was extraordinarily fun.  I'm still digesting the experience, to be honest, but I want to write about it before it fades.  I'm not exactly going to be reviewing Thor:  The Dark World here -- I'll save that for its own post.  Instead, I'm going to tell you what it was like to be in a theater with more than a hundred other fans, most of whom had already seen both Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2013), and some of whom were even more obsessive fans than I.

I didn't bother stopping at concessions on the way in, as I planned to get something after the first movie.  I got there about twenty minutes before the first movie started, and I wish I'd gotten there earlier.  I got in a pretty good row, but was way off to the right side.  Not my favorite place to be for a 3D movie, as I generally have a better experience if I'm closer to the center.  But I was glad I wasn't way up close in the pit seats, at least.  When I arrived, I got a free poster (my choice of Thor or Loki) and a lanyard with a little sign showing I was there for the marathon so I could get back in the correct theater after going out between movies.  I didn't know it, but it also meant I could go get outside food and bring it in if I wanted.

So anyway, I had never seen Thor on the big screen before.  I came to the Marvel Cinematic Universe when The Avengers was released last summer, and caught up on the previous 4 movies on DVD once I'd fallen in love with those six superheroes.  And on my TV (a 21" CRT that Cowboy won in a raffle on our very first date, more than 13 years ago), Asgard and Jotunheim look really fake.  Almost plastic, to be honest.  And that annoyed me so much that when I watched it, I just sort of endured most of the scenes that took place there so I could get to the Earth scenes.

But on the big screen, Asgard is glorious.  Radiant and golden and real-looking.  And Jotunheim still looks a little odd, but in an otherworldly way, not a completely fake way.  And the rainbow bridge?  Scintillating!  So I would be glad I got to attend this marathon if only for my new appreciation of Thor.  From now on, when I watch it on my humble TV, I can remember what it really looks like.

So, after Thor, I went out and bought a big bag of popcorn and a Cherry Coke.  I also chatted a little with fellow fans.  I was wearing my Thor t-shirt (I bought it here), and got several compliments on it.  A couple of people asked me where I got it, so I hope they get their own.  (There's a Loki version too.)  Then I went and settled back in, but before The Avengers cued up, they hosted a little trivia game and gave out t-shirts, hats, and more posters as prizes.  I didn't win anything, as they never picked me when I raised my hand for answers I knew.  They did the trivia game after The Avengers too, but I didn't win anything then either.  But oh well -- I still got my Thor poster and lanyard thingie, so I'm not complaining.

And then... The Avengers.  My sixth time seeing it on the big screen.  It was like coming home after a grueling year at college.  Love and friendship and peace and joy.  For me, of course, not for them (most of the time).  I was so happy, I teared up when the Avengers logo came twisting into view, with that well-known and so-beloved soundtrack filling my being.  I also cried when Loki stabbed Thor, but that always gets me.  I spent the rest of the movie laughing with delight.  And so did everyone else -- it was one big, happy gathering of fans.  Like a reunion of people who didn't know they were friends.

This was my first time seeing it in 3D, and I really didn't notice a big difference most of the time.  There was one point when Thor reached out to call Mjolnir and I almost put out my hand to touch his, and during the Battle for New York there was a lot of debris flying at me sometimes, but nothing overly showy.

And then during the end credits, there was an impromptu sing-along during Soundgarden's "Live to Rise."  Totally cracked me up.  Also, I was amazed by how many people had never seen the Schawarma stinger!  There were all these people saying, "Is this new?  Did they add this for the event?"  Out loud, yes -- there was a lot of talking during the end credits.  When they weren't singing.  Which sounds annoying, but it totally wasn't.  Because I was there alone, I could tune in to these little conversations and smile to myself at all the enthusiasm.

After The Avengers, I went and bought a hot dog and a bag of Snickers bites.  Waste of money.  The hot dog bun was hard and the Snickers bites don't have the right ratio of chocolate to other stuff.  So I ate the hot dog bunless and saved the candy to take home and give my less-picky kids.  I was glad I still had more than half my popcorn, as that became my oh-so-nutritious supper.  Well, no less nutritious than the hot dog and candy, I guess.  Wish I'd known I could go get outside food from the mall.  Could at least have gotten a schawarma.

And then, the lights dimmed and the crowd hushed and we sat through the trailers for some very lame movies to get to... a whole fight scene from Captain America:  The Winter Soldier and its trailer.

And then we got to Thor:  The Dark World.  And I'm definitely not ready to really blog about it yet.  Still mulling it over.  Still digesting some stuff, trying to sort out why I didn't like some parts and why I absolutely loved others.  Overall, I really liked it, more than Thor, I think.  I may hold off on reviewing it until I've seen it again -- I hope to see it next weekend with a friend (probably in 2D, whew), so I might wait until then so I can do it justice.

So I'll just leave you with this picture of Thor in his wonderful leathery cloak.  And tell you that he is absolutely magnificent in this movie, and my fondness for him grows and grows.  Because I don't exactly have a "thing" for Thor.  Yes, Chris Hemsworth is hot.  But Thor... Thor is something akin to me, and I feel almost protective about him, if that makes any sense whatsoever.  And even if it doesn't, oh well.

This Thorsday

My husband is amazing.  He decided to take Thorsday off this week so that he can be with our kids while I go to the Thor Marathon at our local theater.  So I will be watching Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), and Thor:  The Dark World (2013) back-to-back-to-back.  In 3D.  Told you he's amazing.  But, of course, you knew that already :-D

"The Desperadoes" (1943)

This is another of those B-grade westerns that I enjoy so much.  It's not pretending to be Great Drama, it's simply telling an exciting story the best way it knows how.  And it surprised me in one way:  I quite enjoyed Randolph Scott's performance!  Usually he kind of bores me, but he had a good-but-not-pure character here that intrigued me.

Okay, so the story is this:  Cheyenne Rogers (a still-baby-faced Glenn Ford) keeps trying to go straight after getting mixed up in some unsavory business years ago.  Only whenever people find out who he is, they assume he's up to no good and throw him out of town.  (This might be because of his habits of things like trading a worn-out horse for a fresh one at gunpoint or using phony names like "Bill Smith."  I'm just sayin'.)  Anyway, he winds up in a town where one of his good friends is The Sheriff (Randolph Scott).  The bank got robbed a few days earlier, and he's suspected of it because of his lawbreaking past.

And yes, it was a little disconcerting to hear Glenn Ford called Cheyenne, as that's a name I associate with the character Cheyenne Bodie played by Clint Walker in one of my favorite western shows.  But Ford wore it well, so I got used to it after a while.

I did mention he was "baby-faced," didn't I?

Being played by Glenn Ford and all, Cheyenne Rogers has two women vying for his attention:  a childhood friend called The Countess (Claire Trevor) who runs a local dance hall, and the fresh and innocent Allison McLeod (Evelyn Keyes), who helps her dad (Edgar Buchanan) run a livery stable.  Allison's been kind of keeping company with The Sheriff, but you can guess what happens when Rogers hits town.

Now, you're going to be shocked when you read this, but there is a character in this movie that I like even better than Ford's.  That's his comic sidekick "Nitro" Rankin, played by Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.  He was sweet and loyal and brave and trustworthy (or as trustworthy as a guy who blows up bank safes can be), and whenever he was on screen, I paid him 95% of my attention.  I have a soft spot for really big guys who get used for comic relief (think Dick Peabody as Littlejohn on Combat!), so that's probably why.

Glenn Ford, Randolph Scott, and Guinn Williams

Is this a family friendly movie?  It's got some rootin'-tootin' western shootin', but other than that and a couple low-cut dresses on The Countess, you betcha!

"Captain Phillips" (2013) -- Initial Thoughts

I don't know quite what to say about this movie.  The acting was rather brilliant.  Some of the dialog was atrocious.  I spent half the movie wishing I wasn't watching it, and the other half forgetting that I was only watching a movie and not actually in grave danger.  Three-quarters of the way through it, a very minor character popped up and had me fervently wishing he would be in more and more and more scenes.  So I guess I can say it's an uneven movie, worth seeing if you're a devoted fan of Tom Hanks, dramas based on real-life situations, or very shaky camerawork.

Spoilage below.

Okay, by the end of the first ten minutes, I was almost ready to walk out.  And I have never walked out on a movie.  Ever.  I'm too much of a skinflint -- I'm going to get my $7 worth, blast it!  But the opening scenes contained some of the worst dialog I have ever heard in a major motion picture.  Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) and his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) have a conversation in their minivan on the way to the airport that made me want to jump into the movie and put my hands over their mouths.  This conversation might not bother you at all, so don't stay away just because it drove me nuts.

Once Phillips got aboard his ship, things improved a lot.  The rest of the dialog was fine, if not inspired.  We got to know the pirates a little, we got to know the crew a little, the pirates attacked, and things got exciting.  All good.

The pirates

And then the Navy SEALS got called in to assist some Navy ships in rescuing Phillips, who wound up as a hostage, and things improved vastly.  Because the SEAL Commander is played by Max Martini, and as soon as he strode on screen, I remembered him from a couple eps of Castle, where he played a terrible bad guy that I found disturbingly fascinating.

I'm not sure if this is actually from Captain Phillips

And he kind of hijacked my brain, or half of it anyway.  And while half of me was paying attention to the movie, half of me was whirling around as a brand new character took shape before my inner eyes, Max Martini in a dark brown duster and cowboy hat, with a mean look and really nice boots.  By the time the credits finished, I had all kinds of ideas for a new western story, with four characters and the beginnings of a plot.

But anyway, I actually kind of hated the movie's ending.  They rescue Phillips at last, in a pretty gruesome and horrible way, and they take him aboard the Navy ship, and he's all in shock and breaking down in tears, and I wanted someone -- anyone! -- to put their arms around him and let him cry.  And no one did!  He so obviously needed the comfort of human touch, just a simple hug, and nope, he had to tough it out, sorry, buddy.  Grr.

That's probably a kind of incoherent review, but it's about all I've got for you, sorry.

EDIT:  Forgot to say if this was family-friendly.  There's some bad language, but not The Biggie, and a lot of danger and suspense.  The violence is mostly threatened, not enacted, though there's a scene of someone getting beaten up.  There's a good bit of blood here and there from non-life-threatening wounds.  And at the end, the "gruesome and horrible" rescue I just mentioned is mostly implied.  You don't see dead bodies.