Thor: The Dark World Review

I don't know Kat Dennings as a person. Perhaps she is quite lovely, a gentle soul whose friendship is the kind worth having. I have never sought out any anecdotes regarding her off screen persona because frankly, I don't really care. I only care about one part of her life: her inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's too late to fix the mistakes of the past, the way she was involved in far too many sequences during Thor: The Dark World, and to be clear here, none of this is actually her fault. She does what I assume she was asked to do in that film, and technically I'm sure she does it well. The problem is what she was asked to do. The problem is that someone wrote these scenes and the words said during them and thought it was a good idea. 

See, I know going into a film like this that accepting silliness is mandatory in order to enjoy the picture. It is a superhero film based on a comic book about people living in a fictional world named Asgard wearing costumes and the one dude in particular carries a giant mythical hammer with him and throws it at his enemies, only for it to return to him like a boomerang. You can't enter the cinema for a movie like this and demand gritty no-nonsense realism, if you do you are setting yourself up for failure. Still though, there needs to be a limit on the amount of comedic bits that are forced into a less than two hour long film that still asks its audience to take the overall vision seriously.

Little moments pop up here and there throughout the entire movie that I find unsavory, but for the most part nothing so egregious that it actually ruins the entire experience. For whatever reason though the writers and director Alan Taylor felt the need to ramp up the amount of Kat Dennings in our lives to maximum overdrive. Enough already. With literally less than 20 minutes left to go in the film, Thor is facing off against the bad guys of the story, a race of creatures known as the Dark Elves, and I thought alright, this is where I end up blown away by breathtaking set pieces, amazing action sequences, slick direction and so on. This is where I leave the flaws behind and walk away from the film remembering the stunning conclusion that leaves me wanting more.

What actually happens during the last 20 minutes? Instead of anything I said above, we are treated to a non-stop barrage of cutaways from the action so we can be beaten over the head with comedy involving Kat Dennings and some intern assistant guy, running around, narrowly avoiding death and saying little quips regarding the situation. Why would I, or anyone, give a shit about what is happening with these inconsequential secondary characters during the most important sequences of the movie? Why isn't the entire focus at this point on Thor and his seemingly important plight to save the day yet again?

The moral of the story whether in regards to Kat Dennings or anyone else inside the world of Thor: The Dark World is please stop trying so hard to be funny. When you try too hard, it is noticeable and thus it is far less funny than if you space these moments of relief out and make them mean something. The Avengers was clever and funny because Whedon had such a confident grasp of the material and knew exactly when to deliver a hearty chuckle, a moment to break up the chaos and carnage that made up every second of the previous ten minutes.

Thor: The Dark World is a pretty darn decent, fun film that should and could have been so much more, and you know what? I have picked on Kat Dennings far too much in this review. Time to call out another problem here. Stellan Skarsgard, put your damn pants on. A scientist in his briefs isn't inherently funny, if that is all a writer has in his comedic bag of tricks he needs to invest in some better material.

2.5/5

The Avengers Review

The first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was solid, but nothing that occurred prior to the moment when the Avengers would assemble had me believing that the result of their team up would be stellar. Even as a fan of the work of Joss Whedon, I had trouble buying into the idea that you could include so many characters that required their own share of the spotlight into one coherent film.

Obviously Joss proved me wrong with his sublime, measured screenplay that not only found a way to balance all of their personalities, it exceeded anything that came before it from the universe. The Avengers was their first truly great film, a picture that demanded to be seen on the biggest screen in town and was worth every penny of the inflated ticket price.

You know what crucial aspect this one got right that the five films before it failed at? A major reason why I love The Avengers on a whole other level than the solo films leading up to it? It finally, FINALLY got the villain right. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is a home run, as he steals scenes with his menacing smile and delightfully perfect dialogue, and it didn't take long for me to realize we were in for something special in this regard. Literally the opening sequence of the film, the exchange between Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Loki put a giant grin on my face that stuck around until the very end.

I walked into the theater to see The Avengers expecting to have a bit of fun, not much more, and I walked out feeling euphoric about the scale of the spectacle and the suddenly bright future of the MCU. Prior to this, I didn't see a single of the releases in the theater, choosing to wait patiently for their Blu-ray release instead. This was the moment the game changed for me, and I knew going forward I would be eagerly waiting for each new entry to dazzle me as soon as I could possibly see it.

4.5/5

Thor Review

Some films grab you early on with a killer first act that instantly promises something special. Thor doesn't.

Some films don't kick it into high gear until the final act, with a stunning conclusion that elevates the entire work to a new level. Something I like to refer to as The Phantom Menace effect, you walk out of the theater buzzing about the end and you forget entirely that almost everything before it wasn't very impressive. Thor isn't one of those films.

My biggest problem with Thor, a fun slice of cinema that I like but certainly do not love, is that the middle portion of the movie is by far its strongest section. The way we first meet these characters is lackluster at best and the way we say goodbye to them is a major disappointment. In the end I couldn't shake a feeling of being entertained but let down, reflecting on the many scenes that were done so right and yet the complete vision just didn't rise up to expectations.

Once the material allows the performance to make us give a shit, we do because the characters start to get fleshed out and what we see is endearing. Forget throwing hammers and running down Asgardian Mario Kart Rainbow Road, give me more scenes in which the aesthetically pleasing couple of humans known as Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman are sitting next to a fire and start to connect on a deeper level. These are the type of sequences that are needed in a work of absurdity like a super hero comic book film, the moments in which the characters feel like real human beings and not just actors in ridiculous costumes. Unfortunately they are few and far between in Thor, giving way to more silly humor that isn't very funny and action sequences that don't exactly get my pulse racing.

Thor is a solid entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not even remotely close to their best achievement but also a whole lot better than its worst. Entertained? Certainly, but it feels like it could have been so much more. 

3/5

Blackhat Review

As I have never seen his beloved debut film Thief, my Michael Mann filmography begins in 1986 with Manhunter and it is a film I love, the chilling cinematic beginning to the story of Hannibal Lecter. In 1995, he unleashed the incredible heist drama Heat featuring an incredible cast and superb storytelling that hooks me from beginning to end despite it's rather lengthy running time. Four years later it was The Insider, probably my favorite Michael Mann film, a pitch perfect drama based on the true story of big tobacco whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand.

The point is, I would consider myself a Michael Mann fan, yet with his most recent work Blackhat I made absolutely no connection.

Blackhat focuses on the FBI's search for cyber criminals and it quickly delves into a familiar trope: we need help solving this puzzle, and one of the only guys who can do it is in prison for the very same thing. That is how Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth) goes from behind bars to working to bring others to justice, and so the narrative of the picture goes with him, and frankly, it's pretty boring stuff. From the drab aesthetic to the completely run of the mill screenplay, Michael Mann is capable of far more interesting material. The fact that this is his first release in five years makes this all the more surprising, as I recall hearing the news of a cyber crime thriller from him starring Chris Hemsworth on the way, and I rubbed my hands together and expected to smell something delicious by the time it was done.

It isn't that the meal ended up tasting bad, just bland and forgettable, which considering the talent involved is extremely disappointing. Far worse films have already been released in 2015, and I am sure a lot more are on the way, but I will probably remember those even if it is for the wrong reasons. Years from now I will have to Google Blackhat to recall what it even was.



2.5/5