Thor: The Dark World

SCI-FI/FANTASY, ACTION/ADVENTURE

The Nine Realms

8.25 out of 10 | MOVIE and DVD

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Rated: PG-13  Intense sci-fi action and violence and some suggestive content
Release Date: November 8, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes

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Director: Alan Taylor
Writers: Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Don Payne, Robert Rodat, based on the character created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard

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SYNOPSIS:  Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

REVIEW: Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor takes his drama and fantasy small screen experience to the big screen as he tackles the return of the Norse gods in the Marvel universe. Written by experienced Marvel writer Christopher Yost, Captain America: The First Avenger scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely from a story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat from the original creation by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Thor must sacrifice everything for the kingdom he serves and the woman he loves.

Millennium ago, before the light over the Nine Realms was formed, Dark Elves ruled. When light came to the worlds the Dark Elves fought to keep it at bay. Eventually the Asgardians, led by Bor, beat the elves back into annihilation and kept their leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) from releasing the Aether that would bring darkness back to all the realms. Now, as the Nine Realms move into alignment known as a Convergence the physics and separation between realms becomes thin and unpredictable. After the events of the alien invasion in New York Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been busy with quelling marauders and warring factions across the worlds. When his love Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) comes in contact with the Aether, Thor takes her from Midgard to Asgard for treatment. Sensing that the Aether has returned, The Dark Elf king awakes from his slumber to retrieve it and finish plunging the realms back into darkness. Thor and his imprisonment brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) must go against Odin (Anthony Hopkins) in an attempt to save Jane, destroy the Aether, and ultimately defeat the Dark Elves.

The battle for New York is over, and the Avengers have disbanded to return to their own lives. Tony Stark has rebuilt Stark Tower and deal with the menace of Pierce and the Mandarin. Thor returns to Asgard to defend both his kingdom and the other worlds from the chaos that has erupted. And soon Steve Rogers will have to deal with patriotic nostalgic notions set against a more violent and covert modern world. While some say that no single hero film will top what the Avengers and Joss Whedon brought to life in the summer of 2012, both Ironman and Thor have returned to deal with their own single adventures. After Thor's origin story and his stint in the Avengers, The Dark World opens up the character and mythos and brings to life a tale of tragedy, loss, humor, action, redemption and action.

Taking a page directly from Norse mythology, the Dark Elves are an integral parts of viking lore. Malekith and his elf brothers add another formidable menace to Thor's rich history. Also, each realm brings to life a unique mesh of mechanics, sorcery, religion and technology. For the Dark Elves their battleships are reminiscence of those of the necromancers from The Chronicles of Riddick. The elves are both elegant and utterly dangerous.

The god of thunder, as mighty as he is with his hammer, is still most interesting when humanized. He surrounds himself with his friends Sif (Jaimie Alexander), Hogan Tadanobu Asano), Fandral (Zachery Levi), and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson). Thor struggles with his responsibility as heir to the kingdom of Asgard. He battles against the "wisdom "of his father Odin, and he yearns for a return to Jane in Midgard. But aside from his worries and responsibilities, this tale is made most interesting by his relationship with his brother Loki who was the engineer of the alien invasion in New York City.

Hiddleston's Loki always steals every scene with his conniving tricks. Played to perfection, Loki is at the same time earnest and power-hungry. Hemsworth's Thor may be muscle bound but his strength doesn't keep him from the worries of his responsibility to his kingdom and his love. Kat Dennings' unpaid intern Darcy provides plenty of one-liner laughs, as well as Stellan Skarsgard's Dr. Eric Selvig running around through half the film in some form of undress. Natalie Portman's Jane Foster is more developed and in more jeopardy in this film, serving as a focal points to the events that unfold. And you can't discount Anthony Hopkins' always Shakespearean turn as the All-father Odin.

Thor wields his mighty hammer Mjolnir to wrestle with both the safety and security of Asgard, Midgard and of the rest of the Nine Realms. Thor: The Dark World is a well-paced fantasy adventure tale perfect to follow up both the original film and The Avengers, filled with action, romance and dire consequence. This time around the god of thunder truly brings the boom.

Note: Remember to stay for both the mid end credits and after the end credits for scenes that foreshadows events in future feature films and a bit of closure for this film.

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Pacific Rim

SCI-FI/FANTASY

To Fight Monster, You Need Monsters

8.25 out of 10 | Movie and DVD

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Rated: PG-13 Sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, an brief language
Release Date: July 12, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 11 minutes

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Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writers: Travis Beacham, Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Diego Klattenhoff, Burn Gorman, Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky

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SYNOPSIS:  When an alien attack threatens the Earth's existence, giant robots piloted by humans are deployed to fight off the menace.

REVIEW: Guillermo del Toro, known for hits like the sequel better than the original Blade II, the fantasy Pan's Labyrinth, and the Hellboy franchise, works with Clash of the Titans (2010) scribe Travis Beacham to bring to screen a Godzilla / Mech Godzilla epic sci-fi/fantasy adventure for a new generation. How do you fight enormous alien monsters? Build mechanized monsters of your own!

In the very near future a dimensional rift tears at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. From the depths of this scar allows giant alien monsters called Kaiju to come up from the depth and decimates major coastal cities. In response to the threat, the nations of the world pool their resources to construct giant mechanical warriors called Jaegers manned by two pilots to combat this new threat. Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam, Sons of Anarchy) and his older brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff, After Earth) are recruited into the program and fight all Kaiju monsters that comes at them. When Raleigh's brother is killed in combat, he drops out of the program and disappears for five years. When Marshall Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba, Prometheus) faces the elimination of the Jaeger program in favor of a towering coastal wall, Pentecost recruits Raleigh again to pilot one of the four remaining Jaegers in an all out offensive against the dimensional breach. Raleigh is forced to pilot with a new generation pilot named  Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi, The Warped Forest) and join the international collection of pilots for the remaining Jaegers to combat the monsters who seem to evolve each time one of them comes through the breach. Are they doomed to fail and are the inhabitants of the earth destined to become extinct?

Guillermo Deltoro directs his version of a Godzilla epic for a brand-new generation. But this time we have no sympathy for the misunderstood monsters that come from the ocean's depths. Instead we have to side with the military and scientists trying to rid the planet of the continual threats and possible eminent extinction. Never has a species faced such a continual threat, each monstrous incursion taking a toll on our defenders.

The concept of giant robots piloted by humans against the enormous monsters is not a new concept. Anyone who has watched weekday afternoon and Saturday morning cartoons from the 70s, 80s and 90s can remember shows like Voltron, G-Force, Power Rangers, or Robotech as examples of this type of action/sci-fi/fantasy. In this case, Voltron would come the closest with its human piloted mechanical defenders against alien invaders. With two human pilots, each Jaeger has vast offensive armaments, and hand-to-hand that are an extension of the pilots own combat skills.

Both the Jaegers and the alien Kaiju monsters are beautifully rendered CGI eye candy. The entire film flows seamlessly with no week FX elements. While not wholly original as it pertains to this kind of action adventure film, del Toro takes some of the typical disaster film motifs and work them expertly into the movie. From Pentecost's rally speech for his soldiers (a la Independence Day), to the UN officials forcing the Jaeger program disband in favor of a less tested solution, to familiar character archetypes that are both clichéd and well worn. Pacific Rim provides a simple light story and elaborate action that lets you enjoy every kernel of popcorn.

The Pacific Rim cast looked like they're having fun during the filming of this monster flick, not taking it too dramatically or seriously. The film is high octane action from the Jargers and their pilots, and fun comedic relief by Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day, Horrible Bosses) and Gottlieb (Burn Gorman, The Dark Knight Rises), with a light story to piece it all together. Guillermo del Toro is a fine visual storyteller, and this effort is no different. Pacific Rim may not have the same aesthetics and drama as Pan's Labyrinth, but the film does fit into del Toro's canon of films similar to the Hellboy franchise and the Blade II sequel. Max Martini (Colombiana), Robert Kazinsky (Red Tails), and Ron Perlman (Drive) round out the main cast.

During the film the first Kaiju monster become a plush toy, a video game characters, and the other source for other merchandising opportunities. But when the second Kaiju appears to ravage another city, that is no longer the case. For Pacific Rim, I could see the Jaegers becoming oversized Mattel toys like the Shogun Warriors of the 70s and 80s, and the Kaiju monsters being their plastic opponents. Whether this is a signal for great merchandising or for this film's success, there are plenty of opportunities to be had surrounding this film.

Pacific Rim is a great adventure in the style of any of a number of 60s Japanese monster flicks. The action is crazy, the Jaegers cool, and the Kaiju monsters ferocious. The film may be a little light in story but the action makes the 131 minutes go by very quickly. I am almost upset that I did not have more popcorn to eat!

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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 3D

Hell of a Ride

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Rated: PG-13   Intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images and language.
Release Date: February 17, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

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Director:  Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Writers: Scott M. Gimple, Seth Hoffman, David S. Goyer
Cast:  Nicolas Cage, Violante Placido, Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba, Fergus Riordan, Christopher Lambert, Johnny Whitworth

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SYNOPSIS:  Johnny Blaze, the human vessel for the demonic Ghost Rider, lives off the radar in Eastern Europe in an attempt to contain and purge the Spirit of Vengeance. When he is called upon to stop the devil from taking human form on earth, Blaze must let the Ghost Rider loose to battle the demon in exchange for ridding himself of the Ghost Rider curse for good.

REVIEW: The Crank and Gamer directing team Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor return with their extreme directing and aggressive cinematic style for one of the fringe, but surprisingly powerful, Marvel Comics characters. Based on a story from David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight, Blade), Scott M. Gimple (FlashForward, Chase) and Seth Hoffman (Prison Break, FlashForward) join Goyer on writing duties to bring the motorcycle-riding, flaming-skulled chain-wielding spirit of vengeance back into the popularity it deserves. Can the writing team lead by Goyer, directed by the Neveldine/Taylor extreme team, and reprised by Nicolas Cage do for Ghost Rider what Goyer, Norrington and Snipes did for another fringe Marvel character - vampire hunter Blade?

In the first Ghost Rider, motorcycle circus stuntman Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage, Drive Angry 3D) sells his soul to the devil in order to save his father's life. As with every contract with Lucifer, the small print does not keep Blaze's father from death, only the cancer that was killing him. Years later Blaze suddenly becomes host to the demonic flaming Ghost Rider, an unstoppable engine of vengeance that looks to dish out justice against criminals and demons alike. In Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Johnny Blaze has escapes to Eastern Europe in an attempt to keep the Ghost Rider contained within him. Buy removing himself from reach of criminals and the seedy underbelly elements, Blaze is able to keep the demon from forcing itself out to mettle out vengeance. When a young boy Danny (Fergus Riordan, I Want to be a Soldier) and his mother Nadya (Violante Placido, The American) under the care of a an ancient religious order are attacked by gunrunner Ray Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth, Limitless) and a group of mercenaries, mother and son escape and fall off the radar from both friend and foe. Alcoholic ex-priest Moreau (Idris Elba, Thor) tracks down Johnny Blaze with the promise of removing the Ghost Rider curse if Blaze releases the Ghost Rider to hunt down Danny in order to keep him safe from the devil Rourke (Ciarán Hinds, The Debt) who looks to transfer his own power and essence into the 13-year-old boy he helped to conceive.

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are a new breed of directors, with origins steeped in videos and low budget efforts that required innovative ways to 'get the shots'. Both have no qualms donning a pair of rollerblades, gripping the back of a pacing motorcycle, letting go and shooting the scene with a camera as they coast along at breakneck asphalt speeds without helmets. The same can be said for their take on this second entry of the Ghost Rider.

The flaming skeleton rider may still don a leather jacket but gone are the shiny metal spikes and black cowhide material, instead replaced by charred and bubbling leather and an ever present length of hell chain. The Ghost Rider's gleaming skull replaced by a blackened smoldering cranium. Even the Ghost Rider's flames, emotive in the first film ranging from brilliant raging reds to subdued saddened blues are replaced by more dangerous yellow angry licks of flames laden with an oily black trailer smoke. For the money, the Ghost Rider looks deadly, more gritty and darker than the demon that graced the screen in the Ghost Rider's first big screen appearance in 2007.

The movie is as good as the first film, only completely different. The Ghost Rider is different, but visually cool. His powers are expanded, still using the chain but also able to 'hellify' any vehicle he commandeers. The Ghost Rider is more manic and crazy each time he is released from the confines of the human vessel Johnny Blaze. The setting is different, moving from the new glass and steel America to a history-rich stone Eastern Europe. Gone is the love interest in Eva Mendes' Roxanne, replaced by mother Nadya only interested in the safety of their son. Head demon Mephistopheles in the form of top salesman Peter Fonda and Wes Bentley's Blackheart are usurped by Ciaran Hinds' elder politican Roarke and Johnny Whitworth's Ray Carrigan who Roarke embodies with a fraction of power to become a creature able to decay anything he touches and create a perimeter field of total darkness to fight in (similar to the Marvel Comics Ghost Rider villain Blackout who used Ray Carrigan as an alias). And in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Highlander Christopher Lambert make an appearance as ancient order high priest Methodius tasked with keeping the boy safe with in his sanctuary.

The story is decent, but still does not do the Ghost Rider the justice and showcase he deserves. The Ghost Rider may not be at the level of the Earth's Mightiest Avengers, but he routinely eliminates the hordes of hell. The best story may be a story that will never see the light of the screen, namely that of the Midnight Sons and the story of Lilith and the Lilan, including appearances by Blade, the Nightstalkers, Danny Ketch's Ghost Rider, a curse free Johnny Blaze, and the vampire Morbius. Not a direct war with the devil, that story would add more characters, tensioned interactions and alliances and a stable of grotesque killers and demons for the heroes to battle.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a camp-filled hell ride. Nicolas Cage is totally committed to the role of the tortured Johnny Blaze. Fergus Riordan plays Danny with both innocence and a killer stone cold glare. Both Elba and Whitworth are capable, working on opposite sides of the battlefield of good and evil. The 3D is not as impressive as it could be, leading to a recommendation to save a couple dollars by taking in a 2D viewing if possible. Comic fans will be torn by the departure from the source material, but being a second- or third-stringer in the Marvel Universe does allow for more latitude in the story. Appealing as a popcorn movie for action and some horror, Ghost Rider gets points for visual appeal, cool action sequences, and a better villain than in the first film. Otherwise, if you do not care for the Ghost Rider, please do not take your vengeance out of any of the reviewers.

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WORTH: Matinee or DVD (for the fans)

NYCC: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

New York Comic Con
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Writers: David S. Goyer, Roy Thomas, Seth Hoffman
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba, Ciaran Hinds, Johnny Placido, Johnny Whitworth

NYCC: In the IGN Theatre of the Jacobs Javitz Convention Center, two guerilla filmmakers presented their vision of one of the most under-appreciated, darkest, most powerful anti-heroes of the Marvel Universe. Nicolas Cage starred as Johnny Blaze, former circus motorcycle daredevil cursed from a deal with the devil in Mark Steven Johnson's 2007 Ghost Rider. Now, Nicolas Cage returns February 2012 with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, known for Jason Statham's Crank and Crank 2: High Voltage, use their visceral style to take the Ghost Rider riding hard into a completely different direction. Starting with a behind-the-scenes featurette that highlights the hands-on approach the directing pair takes to bring their type of action to the screen, the audience was treated to rollerblading directors gripping the back of a motorcycle to 20 or 30 miles per hours with one hand and a camera with the other to get a high speed motorcycle shot. Other scenes show the directors hanging on wires along with their stuntmen in order to create practical real action - instead of relying solely on CG effects.

Adding to that idea, Neveldine and Taylor changed the look of their demonic anti-hero. Changing from glossy to smoking bubbling leather and a gleamy white to charred ashen flaming skull, the directors discussed how they research how leather and bone truly react to fire - offering a more "true" representation of the skeletal demonic avenger.

If the trailers the audience saw were any indication, this Ghost Rider will come at you with intensity and a bad ass attitude. This Ghost Rider looks like it will be a hell-ified thrill ride!

Takers

Not "Heat", But Hot Enough

[Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon, Idris Elba, T.I., Paul Walker]

image from theblackboxoffice.com

RANT: Whispers and baby's cries filled the auditorium as I watched "Takers". I still will never understand the allure of parents bringing their 1 or 2 year old to a movie. For one, the child doesn't need that kind of disruption in their tiny ears. And two, the movie theater is not a baby sitter. After several minutes of the baby crying, the parents finally took the child out of the auditorium, never to return. I know baby sitters are scarce and pricey, but there must be a better way. Maybe they should build sound proof enclosures for families with small children (like in some churches) so everyone can enjoy the experience.

SYNOPSIS: An expert crew of thieves plan and rob banks for a living, leaving a couple years between scores. When a former member is released from prison with a multi-million dollar heist plan thats too good to pass up, the crew change their methods in order to carry out the score in five days.

An ensemble cast is put together for this heist-revenge flick. It boasts Chris Brown (Jesse), Hayden Christensen (A.J.), Michael Ealy (Jesse's brother Jake), Idris Elba (The mastermind Gordon), Tip 'T.I.' Harris (Ghost), Paul Walker (John) and Zoe Saldana (Rachel, Jake's girlfriend). And that is just the bad guys. They are put against the skills of Matt Dillon (Jack) and Jay Hernandez (Eddie) from the police department.

Some reviews peg "Takers" as '"Heat" for a new generation'. I have to disagree. While both "Takers" and "Heat" share some plot points and seem to have some of the same dialogue, Michael Mann's "Heat" is epic is storytelling while John Luessenhop's "Takers" is perfect for the attention deficient disabled. That's not to say I wasn't pleasantly surprised with "Takers". It's just that some critics should watch the two movies on the same day for a more direct comparison (as I did).

Let's list some points that are the same... "Heat" has 4 super technical and proficient thieves while "Takers" has 5 (before Ghost comes back). Both Pacino and Dillon tell the forensics teams to run stuff through the database (fingerprints, aliases) even though they probably will not get any hits, exclaiming "Check it anyway". Members in both crews vowed that they "were never going back" to prison.

Now let's talk about the differences. Pacino has a huge team (with SWAT) to take a run at the criminals. Dillon has only his partner and is working against the department, Internal Affairs, and a seemingly preposterous notion of who the criminals are. "Heat" was almost 3 hours of angst, both for Pacino's marriage, Deniro's solitude and Kilmer's addictions. "Takers" has Dillon's marriage on the rocks as well, but we never see a wife. "Takers" mastermind Gordon has a addict sister, but it serves to propel the story, not add to the depth.

Taken on its own, "Takers" is a good end of Summer film. 'T.I.' serves as a recent parolee who wants back in the crew for a armored car heist that will net all partners a couple million. He does not seem concerned that there was no contact with his crew while in prison, or that his former girlfriend Rachel is now with Jake. Even the Russians do not seem to be a problem. There is a good story and great fire fights and chases. Jesse does amazing stuff as he is pursued by Jack and Eddie. And the climax at the end is almost worthy of a Tarantino film. There is even a hint of Butch and Sundance in there for good measure. Paul Walker and Idris Elba are cool and collected, Hayden Christensen is strong and slick, 'T.I.' is driven and devious. Dillon is in his element with a character similar to what he brought to bear in "Crash" and "Armored".

If you like action, a little revenge, a couple of heists (although the second score is a rip-off of "The Italian Job" as Ghost mentions) and some popcorn, give this film a go.

Worth: Matinee and DVD

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!