Movies: The Punisher in GI Joe 2, DKR Trailer?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Irish actor Ray Stevenson (The Punisher: War Zone, Thor) will be joining the Joes as "Firefly" in their second cinema go-around, G.I. Joe 2: Cobra Strikes. Stevenson will also be involved in The Three Musketeers film which is set to be released in 3D on October 14th later this year.

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The Dark Knight Rises is quickly gaining steam as the world approaches its Summer 2012 release date however even the most rabid Batman fans are beginning to lose patience with all of the secrecy being kept on the third installment in the Christopher Nolan-directed franchise. After some spilled beans over possible vehicles being used in the film and one stuntman parachuting his way into the roof of some neighbor's shed, website Superhero Hype is getting word by a "trustworthy source" that a teaser trailer for the long-awaited film will be aired before the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 next week. It's even being rumored to have a run-time of about a minute and a half and that it will be available in both 2D and 3D.

We'll have to wait until the final movie in the Harry Potter franchise to see if this will be the case but Dark Knight Rises fans are in desperate need for some trailer goodness. The film comes out July 20th, 2012.

Quick Movie Review: Super 8

Drctd by: J.J. Abrams; Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler; Wrttn by: J.J. Abrams

Released: June 10, 2011 (USA)

Run Time: 112 min.

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: In the 1970s, a group of friends trying to film a movie, happen across a mysterious train crash. Soon after strange things start to happen all across the town.

***

This is definitely a throw-back, sci-fi film that everyone can enjoy. There are prevelent Spielberg-y (one of the films producers) characteristics involved, but J.J. Abrams is the primary driving force and you can tell.

Usually, in movies, child actors are the worst part and hardly watchable, except for in special cases. I kid you not when I say, the entire young cast was wonderful; sometimes out-acting their adult coutnerparts. Everyone held their own; Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Gabriel Basso, Zach Mills, and Elle Fanning. They could all have bright futures ahead of them. And I hope they do.

Joel Courtney was able to portray a whole range of emotion; Riley Griffiths was great with the dramatics and a little humorous; Ryan Lee (who played my favorite character) was hilarious and bad-ass; Gabrel Basso was great at worry-ing; and Elle Fanning is, well, a fanning.

The adults were also good. Kyle Chandler and Ron Eldard are believable. And I always love Noah Emmerick.

Even the supporting cast was a joy to watch.

This is just a great cast. And I couldn't have asked for a better one for this movie.

The sci-fi is all there; the drama is appropriate; the sense of humor is great; there is a saddness that you can't help but feel for; the story is above average.

There did seem to be something missing, but it could just be nothing. Maybe it was a lack of sense of danger?

And I also had some issues, especially dealing with the train crash. *spoilers* (1) Elle Fannings car wasn't even scratched, while everything around it was destroyed. (2) The guy who caused the crash, shouldn't have lived, I mean, come on. *end spoilers*

I love the heart and character this movie had. There are some parts that will just break your heart. The characters were all-around wonderful and made me wish I could have an epic adventure with my friends back in the day.

I will say this, I loved David Gallagher (7th heaven), as the drug dealing, camera store guy. He was hilarious.

"Drugs are so bad."

Now, I can't really comment on if whether, or not, it was like the 70s (since  I wasn't born anywhere near there), but to my naive eye, it seemed pretty close.

*spoiler*

The monster/alien is passable and better than I thought it was going to be.

The monster looks like a cross between General Grievous (Star Wars) and Pan (Pan's Labyrinth)

*END SPOILER*

Ruling: 3.5/5

One of my summer favorites. An instant classic.

Box-Office: Weekend of Friday, June 24, 2011

Weekend Box-Office (USA Est.):

1. Cars 2 *new* ($66.1 mil)

2. Bad Teacher *new* ($31.6 mil)

3. Green Lantern ($18 mil)

4. Super 8 ($12 mil)

5. Mr. Popper's Penguins ($10.1 mil)

 Though being considered "the worst Pixar movie", Cars 2 opened to relatively strong numbers over the weekend with 66.1 million dollars, and, expectedly, took the #1 spot. The film had the 5th highest grossing opening weekend for a pixar film; it follows Toy Story 3( $110.3 mil), The Incredibles ($70.5 mil), Finding Nemo ($70.3 mil), and Up ($68.1 mil). Cars 2 also boasts that it is the 12th time in a row that Pixar has opened in the #1 spot. Easy sell, easy sell, easy sell.

In the #2 spot, Bad Teacher pulled a moderately impressive $31.6 mil. Ahead of other female-led, raunchy comedy, Bridesmaid's opening of $26.2 mil.

Green Lantern has since fallen to 3rd place. Things aren't looking too bright for Green Lantern's future, as it continues its downward spiral into "why did we spend that kind of money"-land. Read my friend Hunter's review here.

Super 8 is still holding on strong with an estimated total of $95.2 million in 17 days. According to BoxOffice Mojo, that is already higher than the total grosses of Cloverfield and Battle: Los Angeles, and is on track to be higher than District 9. See my review here.

Mr. Popper's Penguins is still holding in there, even with the incredibly stiff competition in kids movie that is Cars 2 premiering.

number taken from BoxOfficeMojo and the-numbers.

 

Movie Review: The Green Lantern (2011)

Drctd by: Martin Campbell; Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively; Wrttn by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg

Released: June 17th, 2011 (USA)

Runtime: 114 min.

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.

***

I'll be reviewing The Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal, Buried) and Blake Lively (The Town, Accepted) directed by Martin Campbell (Edge of Darkness, Goldeneye) which is based on the DC comic book hero, The Green Lantern, in case you were unaware of that. I love Ryan Reynolds, but I don't love the Green Lantern comic book hero. So, I'm torn on whether I was going to enjoy the movie before I even saw it. The outcome?

I ended up liking it, best movie of the year? I currently hope not, it was good, but not great. There are a lot of minors characters you forget quickly. Anyways, the opening starts with 3 aliens getting stuck on a planet and fall into a pit? I dunno, poor maintenance on Planet Untitled. They have their alien souls taken out of them, in full skeletal form, by the evil Parallax. Now the Green Lanterns are screwed because Parallax (Clancy Brown) is yellow, which is fear, which is the weakness of a common Green Lantern. He finds purpleish/pink Green Lantern, Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison), and attacks him, leaving him with a fatal wound, also. Abin Sur was talking to Thaal Sinestro (Mark Strong) when he was attacked, interrupting the call, little rude if you ask me. Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is seen being a airplane pilot and is testing out two new fighter jets that are controlled via controller with his buddy, fighting partner, Carol Ferris (Blake Lively). Hal, being our main character, basically flips off the planes, sacrifices his partner in order to kill the two planes. That does not work and giving your partner up is a big no-no in the plane flying community. So, Hal does the best thing to redeem himself for it, he flies as far up as his plane will go to stall his plane and the fighter drones. He successfully takes down the drones! He is home free, oh wait, except for when you stall, your plane controls stiffen up. Now he has to get out of this jam, but he suddenly has a flashback to when he was a kid and his dad, played by Jon Tenney, goes out to test a new plane, and doesn't get far as the plane crashes. He is okay though he is standing up, explosion. Oh, trauma that we'll never be referenced to again, so sad. So, Hal is pretty much screwed and jumps out of the plane, causing it to crash.

They don't cost much anyways. Hal is given a stern warning and is almost fired, but Carol saves him cause they are buddies. Tear to my eye. Now Hal is going to some birthday party, I guess his kid? I dunno it is never referenced again. Cutting back over to Abin Sur, so he got into an escape pod, ready to die, and basically has his ring go choose the next Green Lantern to succeed him. Now back to Hal, he is leaving, but gets sucked up by a green ball! No one sees this apparently even though the birthday party household was just right next to it, whatever. Hal is carried all the way over to Abin Sur's crashed spacecraft and there he tells Hal of the ring and the Lantern, Hal is confused the entire time. Abin dies and Hal becomes a Green Lantern (sorta). Hal does the next best thing when you're standing next to a dead body and crashed spacecraft in the open, calls his friend Thomas Kalmaku (Taika Waititi) who is a engineer for Ferris Aircraft. Oh man, pointless talk about alien and what not. Helicopters in the background, they hurry to Thomas' jeep and drive away safely. Jordan goes home to try the Oath and says different pledges, we all laugh. Suddenly his eyes go blueish and he says the Green Lantern Oath word for word. Hal then follows that up by going to a bar with Carol Ferris and they talk about flying and what not, I think he dances with her, I don't remember, but anyways. Hal leaves the bar when, uh-oh, three goons who were laid off from Ferris Aircraft attack him. Hal kicks some ass, but gets kicked harder. When they think he is done, Hal grabs a fistful of, I think, nails from a truck, but that is the hand with the ring! He gets up and a giant green fist slams all 3 of the men into different directions. Hal is then taken away to the Green Lantern Corps home planet to get ready for training.

To make a long story short, he sucks at training and quits, but he keeps the ring and lantern for whatever reason, seems like a bad idea by the Corps, but whatever. Meanwhile on Earth, the feds got the alien body and got Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) to inspect it, but when he places his finger inside of Abin's body, something injects this yellow food dye into his finger. He now has the ability to read minds apparently and is also a teacher, so one day he is giving a lecture about bacteria and how they do something or another. One of his students starts to think bad thinks about Hammond, calling him mean names, and Hammond promptly, with his mind, throws the student, Michael, across the room. That's a method of teaching I could get behind. The scenes by the way get really awkward and the story seems like it was edited and put together by a 10-year old. Weird transitions to say the least. So, let's jump cut to the final encounter in the movie.

Parallax is taking the souls of people on Earth after an encounter with Hal which saw Dr. Hammond (one of my favorite characters in the movie) get his soul sucked out and dies. Parallax takes some souls of humans, but is stopped when Green Lantern Hal Jordan ruins his day. Using a lesson taught to him by Thaal that the sun's gravity is a bitch when you fly and "the heavier you are, the faster you burn." Well Parallax is pretty damn big, so Hal leads Parallax to the sun, and there we see the death of Parallax as he burns, but now Jordan is getting sucked in, oh the sad. Luckily Sinestro and friends saves Hal, bringing him to the Green Lantern planet and they all cheer. Hal gets the girl, Carol, and the movie ends ever so peacefully...OR DOES IT?!


There is a bonus scene after the credits, stick around to see it, sets up for a possible sequel. Why at the end of the movie after the credits? I'll never know.

Ruling: 3/5

Movie Review: The Mechanic (2011)

Drctd by: Simon West; Starring: Jason Statham, Ben Foster; Wrttn by: Lewis John Carlino

Released: January 28th, 2011 (USA)

Run Time: 88 min.

Rating: R

Synopsis: Set in modern times, Arthur Bishop is a professional assassin who sets his kills up as accidental. After the death of Arthur's best friend Harry, he soon finds himself partnering up with Steve McKenna, the son of his best friend as they attempt to take down the boss who set up Harry's death to begin with.

***

Where do I begin? This film is a genuine R-rated action flick - nudity, sex, heavy violence, drugs and alcohol along with a Chihuahua. If you're an action movie buff like I'm am, then you would be doing yourself a disservice by skipping out on arguably my favorite Statham film but let's get into that, shall we?

The film never does a good job of explaining anything, although not all movies should. The Mechanic is one that shouldn't, everything that it doesn't explain should be figured out on the spot which helps to advance the drama littered throughout the film. Sounds tough? Don't worry, it gets easier as the movie goes on. The film opens up to Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) killing a drug lord. Simple enough, but the business in which Bishop works in will only pay its hired hitmen if the targets are eliminated as discreetly as possible. Of course the main character is incredibly adept at this job and to kill the drug lord, he hid himself inside of the pool before the baddie ever jumped in, held a shiny watch to attract the criminal deeper into the pool before strangling the poor fellow until his lungs overflowed with water. No one ever sees Bishop enter, no one sees him leave but the body floats to the top as it is ruled an accidental drowning.

Bishop later meets up with his mentor Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland) who looks and plays his role very well despite what little screentime he ends up having. They talk about Harry's son who is ruled out as a disappointment but hang on, Bishop has a new target. After meeting with his boss, he's given a very special target to eliminate...Harry McKenna. Shocking, I know. It's revealed to Bishop that McKenna was responsible for the death of three other assassins in a failed mission in Cape Town, South Africa as he reportedly snitched on his partners. Already being paid, Arthur Jason Bishop Statham finds himself alone with Harry only to kill him. Also, did I mention Harry is confined to a wheelchair? Brutal. Harry was also carrying a gun which had the words "Amat victoria curam" embedded onto the barrel, a Latin phrase which roughly translates to "Victory loves prepardness". Bishop-Statham is introduced to Harry's son, Steve (Ben Foster), at Harry's gravesite which begins a relationship between the two. No, not that kind. Steve is later taken up by Arthur to learn the ways of the hired assassin as they take down criminal after criminal.

Everything is going well until Arthur finds one of the men supposedly killed in the Cape Town mission. Sorry, Harry. After dealing with him, Arthur embarks on a road to redemption to kill his own boss for misleading Arthur into the death of his best friend and mentor. Steve just kinda tags along too, it's never explicitly explained that he knows the big boss, Dean (Tony Goldwyn) is the name by the way,  had set up for the murder of his father but that's just the way this movie rolls. While preparing to kill this mongrel, Steve finds out that Arthur had been the one that killed his father. Steve never knew who killed his father as he was led to believe that Harry died while involved in a shoot-out with some carjacker. How does he find out? He finds his father's "Amat victoria curam" gun in Arthur's garage. After disposing the boss in an admittedly disappointing fashion, the movie throws a curveball as Steve sets up the death of his own mentor, by dousing the side of their truck in gasoline (they were filling up, might as well before the prices rise again) and then shooting the liquid with his father's gun igniting flames and exploding the truck they were in. Of course, Statham Arthur Jason Bishop never dies so he instead does a ninja-roll minutes before being engulfed in flames and does a whole switch-a-roo by killing Steve instead in the long-run.

I would rather not delve too deep into details as the movie is good in what it does, R-rated action scenes. Sex scenes, two of them. And a nude lesbian make-out on a computer. Also, a little bit of gay sex. Again, R-rated action film. The acting isn't awful, but it isn't Oscar-worthy either. It's above-average enough to warrant people to say, "Well that wasn't so bad" or even "That was a good movie." I noticed a heavy use of the color yellow in lighting and wallpaper and even clothing. I have no idea on the significance of the color but it does look great on a high-definition display. Ben Foster does a good job at leveling out Jason Statham's rocky attitude by being the comedic, drunkard.

The action scenes are your typical Jason Statham action scenes. A lot of gunfights and quick-cuts hand-to-hand combat. I really dislike the quick-cuts of Statham's martial arts scenes in every single one of his movies. Especially, the Transporter series. It detracts from the impact of the scene, it's chaotic, it's disorienting, and it just doesn't look good. I want to say that I've been spoiled by Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen in the way they set-up their fights by pulling the camera back and carefully choreographing their battles no matter the length of the fight, but I guess it's a lot to ask for and I should just accept Statham for who he is, and that's a Hollywood martial-artist.

The plot is well done, in my opinion, and never really reaches that level of "eye-rolling-ness" (copyrighted) as his previous films especially the Crank films. It's a step-up for the man who's surrounded by solid performances in what hopefully is a rise in quality for his acting and even fighting chops. If you have about an hour and a half to spare and/or want to watch a recent action film, you wouldn't do any harm popping The Mechanic in. Just know that Statham always wins, his fights look crappy, the plot is great, Ben Foster almost has sex with a dude, sex scenes, and you should be fine. Be attentive for the subtle plot advancements too, it'll make the experience move along much more smoothly.

Ruling: 3/5

Movie Review: Orphan (2009)

Released in 2009 and directed by Spaniard Jaume Collet-Serra ("House of Wax", 2005), "Orphan" is a cinematic chiller following the tale of a young couple who, as a means of dealing with the grief of losing a child, decide to adopt a shiny new youngster. To say the very least: they mess with the wrong kid.

Kate Coleman (Vera Farmiga)("The Departed", 2006), and her husband John (Peter Sarsgaard)("Jarhead, 2005) have felt a nasty strain on their marriage since their third child was stillborn. The painful memories of losing the baby still plague Kate's mind, who is also a recovering alcoholic (which is a key element in the distrust between the couple when things start to get a bit hairy). After much hesitation, soul-searching, and therapy Kate and John decide that it's time to go and "look at kids", as Kate so creepily states it, at the local orphanage.

They instantly fall in love with a sweet little Russian girl named Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) who likes to spend her days painting pretty pictures, singing and smiling ever-so-innocently. Aww, how adorable. Naturally, Kate and John are more than happy to adopt this bundle of red roses and thus little Esther becomes the newest addition to Coleman family.

The early scenes of this flick make for a rather clever set-up. Esther seems adorable. An insightful, creative, unique little girl; and while the Coleman's deaf-mute daughter Max (Aryana Engineer) is elated to have a sister, their son Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) is rather less enthused. In fact, he bullies her and makes fun of the way she dresses to the point where you're like "Hey, lay off her dude". Indeed in the early minutes of the story his mysterious new sister plays the part of the perfect little daughter while he just looks like a total jerk; and if you allow yourself to forget that things aren't what they seem, you'll find yourself sitting comfortably in a wonderfully false sense of security.

It builds slowly, you see. An unnerving look here, a playground "accident" there. Eventually, it becomes apparent to Kate that little Esther may have some... issues. She sends her deaf sister on a joyride down a busy street, seriously injures another girl, oh... and then there's Sister Abigail, head of the orphanage, who ends up dead after warning the Colemans that bad shit happens when Esther's around. Of course, considering Kate's deliciously boozy past, nobody believes her when she voices her concerns. As a viewer, you feel desperate for her. She has a geniune concern for the safety of her children and all she gets in response to her worries is a "Yeah that's great. Go to rehab, drunkie".

As the story takes a disturbing turn, Kate's worries become more than validated and not-so-sweet Esther poses a serious threat to the lives and health of the entire Coleman household. And while treehouses burn and our naive couple argue, the ever-manipulative little girl whom they welcomed into their home sets about messing with their lives.

There are some questionable moments, sure. Perhaps it's just my writer mind at work but I'd say there are certainly a few plot problems. But screw that, all small issues are pretty much washed away by the great story and brilliant acting of the cast (and almost-sorta-alrightish acting of Bennett).

The star of the show is undoubtedly Esther. A part magnificently played by young actress Isabelle Fuhrman. Esther is a proper headcase, guys. If this chick was playing in the street.. I'm pretty sure Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Chuck Norris, Manbearpig and that creepy trenchcoat guy who stares you down at the bus stop would happily opt to take the long way 'round. To reference the poster tagline: there is most certainly something wrong with Esther. Without being spoileriffic, she's absolutely not what she seems. There's a super delicious twist to the tale that I wasn't expecting and you probably won't expect either. To the credit of writer Alex Mace, this story could've ended with a hundred different cliches but he opted to go in another direction. Plus, the twist itself further champions Fuhrman as an awesome little actress; and one that will undoubtedly be gracing cinema screens for decades to come if she's so inclined to make acting her calling.

In summary, "Orphan" is a highly disturbing thriller that will most likely have you gripped 'til the end. There are some folks out there who will tell you that this film "sends a bad message" and "will discourage people from adopting orphaned children". A valid argument, indeed. And so to those lovely people I simply say "lol, shut up".

THE VERDICT

I, Jin Sane, recommend this film to anybody currently in possesion of working human eyes. Seriously though, watch it.

Rating: 5/5

Box-Office: Weekend of Friday, June 17 2011

Reynolds in full garb on the cover of Entertainment Weekly

Weekend Box-Office (USA Est.):

1. Green Lantern *new* ($52.7 mil)
2. Super 8 ($21.3 mil)
3. Mr. Popper's Penguins *new* ($18.2 mil)
4. X:Men: First Class ($11.5 mil)
5. The Hangover Part II ($9.63 mil)

Reportedly, Green Lantern cost Warner Bros. $300 million dollars to make (may be more or less), counting budget and advertisement. So, with an opening of $52.7 million (behind Thor and First Class), things aren't looking too great -- an opening great for some films, but not for one costing this much. Even the added price for 3-D tickets couldn't boost this one. Unfortunately, this film wasn't received well by the critics either; mostly negative reviews upon its release. Only time will tell how successful it truly is, but, at this point, its only hope is, in all likely hood, the market overseas...and I guess fans can hope for good DVD and merchandise sales, but it's still a long shot. The chance of a sequel, as of right now, doesn't seem to be very high. I won't call it a bomb at this moment, but it is shaping up to be one. Sorry GL fans.

Super 8, the throw-back sci-fi movie, is holding on in the #2 spot. With an opening of $35.5 million, and, now, a total of $72.8 million. The J.J. Abrams Directed, Steven Spielberg Produced film should have an over-all positive box-office experience.

Mr. Popper's Penguins made a debut on target with projections. However, I can't see this one hanging on (that) strong next weekend with the addition of Cars 2 to the party. Cars 2 will most likely take the #1 spot, and the young market away from Mr. Popper.

X-Men: First Class (see my review Here) is still benefiting from positive word of mouth, though its market is currently split between Green Lantern and Super 8. Not an overall spectacular box-office run, but solid. Some people, correctly, say that this is the "Batman Begins" of the X-Men franchise: a solid intake flow, with a record breaking sequel. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Hangover Part II is still making big bucks.. It just recently became the highest grossing R-rated Comedy to ever be released. Impressive run with still more to come.

Numbers taken from the-numbers and Box-Office Mojo

Movie Review: X-Men: First Class (2011)

"School for the Gifted, Indeed"

Drctd by: Matthew Vaughn; Actrs: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence; Wrttn by: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn

Released: June 3, 2011 (USA)

Run Time: 132 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: The newest addition to the X-Men franchise. Based in the 1960s, it tells the tale of the early friendship of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, as well as their teachings to younger mutants. The two men work together to fend of the dangerous menace that is Sebastian Shaw.

First things first: Go see this movie. Best X-men movie (so far), my favorite movie of the summer (so far), in contention for best movie of 2011. Ranks up there for best comic-book movie, next to The Dark Knight.

For me, I didn't want this movie. And after seeing the first posters and trailer, I really didn't want ot see this movie. But, then, I saw this movie... and I loved it.

*spoilers ahead*

Now, at first, upon hearing the characters they were going to use, I was extremely skeptical, especially because they didn't coincide with the original in the comics, etc. However, I never even read the comics, so after my initial viewing, I was easily won over and forgot all about the technicalities. To me, these choices made sense (at least more than I thought they would). But, if you are a die hard fanboy-ish comic-lover, you won't won't be as accepting as an outsider like myself.

The challenge with X-men: First Class, going in, must have been how to balance the ensemble. Every character is someone's favorite, and every actor is deserving of screen time. So, how do you choose? I'm not sure, but, apparenlty, Matthew Vaghn found out. He gave appropriate screen time to each character -- James McAvoy's Xavier, Michael Fassbender's Magneto, and Kevin Bacon's Sebastian Shaw getting the most, while  their students and associates, respectively, have lesser time, but enough time. This was important to me because in the previous films, Wolverine was given too much screen time to the detriment of such iconic characters like Cyclops, Jean, Storm, or, even, Charles Xavier, himself.

When it comes to acting out these characters: A lot of people are talking about Fassbender, and deservedly so. He was basically a mutated James Bond, kicking-ass without taking many names. Over-all great performance, he managed to balance Magneto's human side with his sociopath. However, James McAvoy stole the show for me. He was just more subtle in his performance. He played intelligent, funny, and charming -- everything really. The rest of the cast was well acted as well.

What really won me over was where the movie focused. Opposed to the original trilogy (and Wolverine), First Class didn't focus on romance and brooding emotional issues just for the sake of drama, it focused on the characters in a sense that made them feel real and left the drama in the bigger picture where it belongs in a movie like this.

Surprisingly, their mutations, actually, made them feel more human. Again, opposed to the oringial trilogy (and Wolverine). There, they felt like the powers consumed the characters; here, the powers were only a piece of who they were and we could focus on more than what was appealing to the eyes. Don't get me wrong, their powers were there in full force, they were just used appropriately.

Sidenote: I always enjoyed the message of the X-men, and this movie portrayed that pretty well.

This movie had an overall intelligent tone, where it was more than meets the eye (wrong franchise >_>). But, in serious-ness, the movie dealt with real human emotion, but, of course, taken to an extreme, considering we aren't walking arournd blue and/or furry. And it did deal with the fact that we all struggle with who we truly are on the inside. Basically, you could see the heart through all the flashes and bangs.

The overall composition was pretty great (at least to me): the atmosphere was great (appropriate for the 60s); the pacing was great (never got bored once); the story was great, but you knew that from earlier.

I was pleased to see that there was also some humor strategically stashed away, which was really enjoyable. But, don't worry, it isn't prominent, thankfully, I know. There is also a hilarious cameo, but I don't want to spoil it for you (there is also a second on that I was pleased to see).

A little in the beginning, but definitely towards the end, it was epic moment after epic moment after epic moment. And I loved every second of it.

And, as I may have said earlier, I was extremely skeptical walking in, but was sold with in the first couple of seconds.

Great heroes, and great villains throughout. Most audiences will appreciate the bad-assery that is Azazel (played by Jason Flemying), Kevin Bacon's Shaw, and co. The heroics are self-explanatory, considering this is an X:men film.

In the end, I didn't think of it as a superhero movie. It more came across as a period drama about the torn and tormented "who just so happen to have super powers". And I never wanted it to stop.

Of course, on the negative side, the film ignored a lot of continuity of the previous films. It seemed as though Last Stand and Origins: Wolverine were totally ignored -- probably for the better. The entire continuity in the film series is screwed up and complicated.

Ruling: 4.5/5

I can't wait for the sequel that is destined to happen. Also, this really shouldn't be a "prequel", this should be a reboot. It allowed for unlimited possibilities for the future.

Sidenote: I just want Cyclops done with justice. Though, Gambit is my favorite.

Movie Review: Thor (2011)

Drctd by: Kenneth Branagh; Actrs: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins; Wrttn by: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, and Don Payne.

Realeased: May 6, 2011 (USA)

Run Time: 115 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: Thor is a mighty warrior God from Asgard, but has a large ego to boot, much to his father's displeasure. In turn, Thor is cast out of his native world and sent down to Earth to learn a lesson in humility. One thing leads to another and Thor, without his powers, must try to help stop a dark force from tearing his home apart.

*spoilers ahead*

Thor was an exceptional start to the summer movie season, if only because it was able to do what most superhero films can't these days: have fun. In a world where superheroes are begged to be more realistic, to the liking of Ironman and Batman, Thor dared to be itself, and in the process, took the viewer on a fun-filled adventure to Asgard and back.

Thor's strength was definitely its ability to properly blend action, adventure, and comedy without it feeling forced. On the action side, Chis Hemsworth kicked some major ass, as the God of Thunder... and as one of us lowly humans. Not to mention, his hoard of warrior-friends who weren't too shabby. Thankfully, the action wasn't used as a crutch, but had a story (as much as you could ask for) and had balance elsewhere. In addition, the action wasn't just 1-2-3, the scenes, while being fun to watch, were also fun to look at -- the entire atmosphere of the film was beautiful.

On the other side, the humor was just as enjoyable as the action. The comedy of the film came mainly from three places. Firstly, Natalie Portman hitting everything with her van: She need her license taken away, like, now. Secondly, Thor becoming human and coming to Earth for the time: The way his Asgardian customs translated (or didn't) was fun to watch. Thirdly, and my favorite, was from "Darcy", played by Kat Dennings: Though she wasn't in it a lot, Kat Dennings was an intern with quick-wit and some hilarious one-liners, and she, basically, stole most of the scenes she was in. But, of course, there was fun to be had elsewhere in the film.

The comedy was most likely so prevelent because Thor isn't one of those "widely known" superhero characters -- the general public had to be warmed to him. And they did a great job.

Now, my favorite part of the movie would have to Tom Hiddleston's portrayal of "Loki", the God of Mischief. He is easily my favorite villain in the Marvel Movie Universe thus far. But, of course, I am usually pro-villain (so I may be a little biased), and kinda wanted Loki to succeed in his plans. I mean, he was smart, devious, and awesome, but, at the same time, you could feel for him and understood where he was coming from. Also, Tom Hiddleston, in my opinion, out-acted the rest of the cast. Don't get me wrong, the movie is over-all approriately acted, but Hiddleston was on a level of his own throughout. Still, thankfully, no actor, or character, felt out of place with the others.

I am also glad that they didn't spend too much time talking about S.H.I.E.L.D and setting up The Avengers. Pretty much what went wrong with Ironman 2.

In total, I have three issues with this movie (though nothing major):

(1) The 3-D didn't add much other than money to the studios. Not a fan of the whole 3-D fad.

(2) I wanted more Loki. I know, I know, this movie was called Thor and not Loki, I get that. Luckily, we get more Loki in The Avengers, coming out in 2012.

(3) Heimdall, played by Idris Elba, was severly underused. The entire movie, they talked about how powerful he was, but they never did anything with him. I don't think we've even scratched the surface with him. Maybe in the sequel.

Believe it, or not, walking in, I did not want to see this movie. I wanted to watch Scream 4, but it had already left my local theater. My biggest concerned was an apparent cheese factor, especially when it came to the costumes. After viewing several posters and trailer, I was still not sold. However, after it was over, I was totally won over.

If you are looking for an oscar-winner, look somewhere else. But, if you are looking for a great popcorn flick, look no further.

Ruling: 3.5/5