Tag: Tom Hiddleston

DVD Review: The Avengers

Marvel’s Avengers assemble for the first time on the small screen, in a satisfying union that requires some assembly but ultimately achieves its ambitious collision of worlds.

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Disc Specifications” float=”true” align=”right” width=”220″]

Director: Joss Whedon

Writer(s): Joss Whedon

Runtime: 138 minutes

Starring: Robert Downey Jr,Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo,Scarlet Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner

Country: US

Video: 1.85:1 (16:9)/PAL

Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Descriptive, Italian 5.1

Subtitles: English, English HoH, Italian, Hebrew, Romanian

Extras: Making Of

Distributor: Disney

Rating: Highly Recommended (★★★★) (?)

More info

[/stextbox]

It may have seemed like a crazy idea half a decade ago, when the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk within a few months of each other signalled the start of something entirely unique in the film world. Marvel Studios had begun gathering together its mightiest heroes not simply for a series of adaptations, but to reconstruct its comic book universe for cinema audiences. The so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe gained momentum with the addition of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger to the roster, not to mention an Iron Man sequel, and suddenly the impossible seemed possible. While DC Comics struggled through Superman reboots and Green Lanternmisfires, Marvel had a legitimate cinematic institution on their hands.

With The Avengers, the disparate elements from four thematically different worlds come together. When an alien force threatens the Earth, under the charge of Asgardian wild child Loki (Tom Hiddleston), über spy organisation S.H.I.E.L.D is compromised. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) desperately summons together Earth’s mightiest warriors to analyse the threat. Yet Captain America (Chris Evans) is a man out of time, and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) an unstoppable egotist with other pursuits on his mind. Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) is emotionally compromised, uncontrollable demi-god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is conflicted when it comes to his brother Loki and the newly calm Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) keeps the Hulk in check. Will this ragtag team be enough to keep the extraterrestrial hordes at bay?

Given that The Avengers is the culmination of a six film world-building saga, much of the first act of the film is confusingly spent in a dragging set-up not just for this film, but for the chapters that will inevitably follow. Indeed, one would be forgiven for thinking this was the prematurely released Iron Man 3 for at least half of the exposition. Yet as director Joss Whedon‘s script rapidly ticks off the whereabouts of all the players, getting us up to speed with their various misadventures in the cracks between films, some of the immediacy of the spectacular opening is lost. Here even master team-builder Whedon, seasoned through Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, struggles with the essential problem this film was always going to face: keeping four fan bases happy but simultaneously moving the story forward.

Once all of the pieces are in one place, however, The Avengers becomes the cracking piece of event cinema that it was always destined to be. Here Whedon plays in his element, as humour and character building mark this just as much his film as the work of Marvel Studios’ producer Kevin Feige. Downey Jr naturally gets all the best one-liners, but exchanges between him, Evans, Ruffalo and Hemsworth in particular are evenly paced and frequently side-splitting. Whedon is not afraid to use visual humour either, playing on the Hulk’s size or his ability to fling about mortals like rag dolls. More than anything, he recognises that these are already well-defined characters from previous films and comics, and allows their natural charms to emerge within the story where possible.

Hiddleston builds on his powerfully sympathetic portrayal of the conflicted villain, although the nature of The Avengers beast requires that he be a little more cut and dry in his villainy. On the flip side, Captain America’s transition back into the world after decades on ice is one that requires more exploration, but we will have to wait several years for this to eventuate in its own sequel. The only new cast member is Mark Ruffalo, who replaces Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Effortlessly slipping into the role, he provides genuine warmth and a glimmer of what has transpired to the character off-screen. Although a third standalone Hulk film is not currently on the horizon, Ruffalo is the first actor to take on the role who actually makes us want to see more of his charmingly gentle take.

Yet this is, above all things, an action film and this is where the film ultimately delivers and overwhelms. Once the invasion force descends from the heavens, the Michael Bay gene of the film takes over, favouring spectacle over all else. There is undoubtedly far more intelligence behind this action, from the Hulk’s encounters with individual enemies to Stark’s quips in the heat of battle. It would be a cold-hearted fanboy who didn’t get all aquiver as the team comes together on the battlefield for the first time, and a giant creature snakes its way around an embattled New York. In the climactic moments, some of the cracks admittedly show. The Hulk’s domesticity is a convenient occurrence rather than a naturally occurring one, but does make for some spectacular imagery. After literally using archer Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) as a pawn in the opening chapter, Whedon is left with not having an effective place for him (or Johansson for that matter) in the final battle of super-beings.

As a cinematic achievement, The Avengers requires a firm salute of respect for giving the fans exactly what they wanted and pulling together one of the first epics of the year. Yet as fans will know, sticking around until the post-credits sequence is mandatory in a Marvels Studios film, although this time non comics readers will be left scratching their heads. Either way, what The Avengers mostly achieves is an end to one chapter and opening a door to another, filled with sequels, spin-offs and a growing legion of fans who have had their expectations raised by the unnecessarily high quality of this series.

The Disc (★★★):

This Australian single disc edition is Avengers-Lite™, and serious fans will be looking towards the Blu-ray edition or the multi-disc sets. The sound is still pretty amazing on this disc, actively using all of the surround channels and flat-out bursting through the speakers from the opening scenes. The picture quality does look somewhat compressed, but that is only in comparison to the 1080p transfer that our eyes have grown accustomed to. This is still an impressive display. This single-disc edition only comes equipped with a single featurette, A Visual Journey (6 minutes), in which Joss Whedon and his creative team take us through the design of the S.H.I.E.L.D areas of the film. We’re alos pleased to report that it contains both of the end-credits sequences from the US edition of the film. Bottom Line? Get the Blu-ray.

August 15, 2012
Thor: The Dark World Villains Revealed?

Over a month ago, I Review Too posted an interview with stunt man James Grogan, who is working on the production of what was then simply known as Thor 2. Now that Marvel Studios has revealed the title of the forthcoming film to be Thor: The Dark World, this interview takes on added meaning.

In the piece, Grogan talks a bit about a particular scene they were working on:

“The other day for example, this is quite random but I was working on Thor 2,” he explains, “I had a load of stunt guys in and the director came in and he said ‘Look, we want you all to be elves,’ and I was like ‘What the hell is an elf anyway?’ and he said ‘I want you all to walk around like these supernatural animals,’ honestly it was the most ridiculous thing ever but you just have to not be self aware and get on with it.”

Given that we now know the title of the film, the “Dark World” could very much refer to the Dark Elves of the Marvel comics. The Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, based on Norse legend, appear in the comics led by Malekith the Accursed, who once struck a deal with Loki to control humans. As we know that Tom Hiddleston will be returning, it is conceivable that these two characters could be working together. It’s all speculation now.

Directed by Alan Taylor, Thor: The Dark World is released on 8 November 2013.

July 20, 2012
The Avengers Loki Figurine By Hot Toys Is Spookily Accurate

If the YouTube comments on our interview with Tom Hiddleston are anything to go by, the man has some pretty serious fans out there. Indeed, they’d probably want to go home with him: and now they can. Hot Toys (via Comics Alliance) has released some hyper-realistic new figurines of Hiddleston’s character Loki from Thor and The Avengers, redefining accuracy in collectibles with only 1/6 of the hassle.

From their official blurb: “Hot Toys is proud to present the collectible figure of the 6th Avenger from the hottest movie of the town – the 1/6th scale Loki Limited Edition Collectible Figurine of The Avengers from Marvel Studios. The movie-accurate collectible is specially crafted based on the image of Tom Hiddleston as Loki in the movie, highlighting the newly developed head sculpt, highly detailed costume, weapons and accessories”.

You want them? Or as Loki might say, “How desperate are you?” Grab these fast, or you’ll just wind up being another mewling quim.

May 20, 2012
Review: The Avengers

Marvel’s Avengers assemble for the first time on the big screen, in a mostly satisfying union that requires some assembly but ultimately achieves its ambitious collision of worlds.

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”The Avengers (2012)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Joss Whedon

Writer(s): Joss Whedon

Runtime: 143 minutes

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner,

Distributor: Disney

Country: US

Rating (?): Highly Recommended

More info

[/stextbox]

It may have seemed like a crazy idea half a decade ago, when the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk within a few months of each other signalled the start of something entirely unique in the film world. Marvel Studios had begun gathering together its mightiest heroes not simply for a series of adaptations, but to reconstruct its comic book universe for cinema audiences. The so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe gained momentum with the addition of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger to the roster, not to mention an Iron Man sequel, and suddenly the impossible seemed possible. While DC Comics struggled through Superman reboots and Green Lantern misfires, Marvel had a legitimate cinematic institution on their hands.

With The Avengers, the disparate elements from four thematically different worlds come together. When an alien force threatens the Earth, under the charge of Asgardian wild child Loki (Tom Hiddleston), über spy organisation S.H.I.E.L.D is compromised. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) desperately summons together Earth’s mightiest warriors to analyse the threat. Yet Captain America (Chris Evans) is a man out of time, and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) an unstoppable egotist with other pursuits on his mind. Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) is emotionally compromised, uncontrollable demi-god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is conflicted when it comes to his brother Loki and the newly calm Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) keeps the Hulk in check. Will this ragtag team be enough to keep the extraterrestrial hordes at bay?

Given that The Avengers is the culmination of a six film world-building saga, much of the first act of the film is confusingly spent in a dragging set-up not just for this film, but for the chapters that will inevitably follow. Indeed, one would be forgiven for thinking this was the prematurely released Iron Man 3 for at least half of the exposition. Yet as director Joss Whedon‘s script rapidly ticks off the whereabouts of all the players, getting us up to speed with their various misadventures in the cracks between films, some of the immediacy of the spectacular opening is lost. Here even master team-builder Whedon, seasoned through Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, struggles with the essential problem this film was always going to face: keeping four fan bases happy but simultaneously moving the story forward.

Once all of the pieces are in one place, however, The Avengers becomes the cracking piece of event cinema that it was always destined to be. Here Whedon plays in his element, as humour and character building mark this just as much his film as the work of Marvel Studios’ producer Kevin Feige. Downey Jr naturally gets all the best one-liners, but exchanges between him, Evans, Ruffalo and Hemsworth in particular are evenly paced and frequently side-splitting. Whedon is not afraid to use visual humour either, playing on the Hulk’s size or his ability to fling about mortals like rag dolls. More than anything, he recognises that these are already well-defined characters from previous films and comics, and allows their natural charms to emerge within the story where possible.

Hiddleston builds on his powerfully sympathetic portrayal of the conflicted villain, although the nature of The Avengers beast requires that he be a little more cut and dry in his villainy. On the flip side, Captain America’s transition back into the world after decades on ice is one that requires more exploration, but we will have to wait several years for this to eventuate in its own sequel. The only new cast member is Mark Ruffalo, who replaces Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Effortlessly slipping into the role, he provides genuine warmth and a glimmer of what what has transpired to the character off-screen. Although a third standalone Hulk film is not currently on the horizon, Ruffalo is the first actor to take on the role who actually makes us want to see more of his charmingly gentle take.

Yet this is, above all things, an action film and this is where the film ultimately delivers and overwhelms. Once the invasion force descends from the heavens, the Michael Bay gene of the film takes over, favouring spectacle over all else. There is undoubtedly far more intelligence behind this action, from the Hulk’s encounters with individual enemies to Stark’s quips in the heat of battle. It would be be a cold-hearted fanboy who didn’t get all aquiver as the team comes together on the battlefield for the first time, and a giant creature snakes its way around a embattled New York. In the climactic moments, some of the cracks admittedly show. The Hulk’s domesticity is a convenient occurrence rather than a naturally occurring one, but does make for some spectacular imagery. After literally using archer Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) as a pawn in the opening chapter, Whedon is left with not having an effective place for him (or Johansson for that matter) in the final battle of super-beings.

As a cinematic achievement, The Avengers requires a firm salute of respect for giving the fans exactly what they wanted and pulling together one of the first epics of the year. Yet as fans will know, sticking around until the post-credits sequence is mandatory in a Marvels Studios film, although this time non comics readers will be left scratching their heads. Either way, what The Avengers mostly achieves is an end to one chapter and opening a door to another, filled with sequels, spin-offs and a growing legion of fans who have had their expectations raised by the unnecessarily high quality of this series.

The Avengers is released 25 April 2012 in Australia, 27 April 2012 in the UK (as The Avengers Assemble) and 4 May 2012 in the US from Disney.

April 27, 2012
Review: The Deep Blue Sea

Terence Davies’ latest film keeps a stiff upper lip on all things going on down below, but holds us at arm’s length despite some terrific performances.

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”The Deep Blue Sea (2011)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Terence Davies

Writer(s): Terence Rattigan

Runtime: 98 minutes

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Rachel Weisz, Simon Russell Beale

Distributor: Transmission

Country: UK

Rating: Worth A Look (?)

More info

[/stextbox]

Terence Rattigan’s 1952 play The Deep Blue Sea, dealing with the difficult subject of suicide in post-war Britain, has gone through various waves of revivals over the years. Although its initial season was successful, the subsequent Broadway run was cut short due to a poor reception. Adapted to the screen in 1955, with Vivien Leigh and Kenneth Moore, a 1994 revival saw Colin Firth, Ian Holm and Penelope Wilton tackle the roles. The emotionally raw piece was bound to eventually attract the attention of a filmmaker known for roles that tested the emotions of its leads, and House of Mirth and Distant Voices, Still Lives director Terence Davies is perhaps the ideal person to tackle it.

Following the attempted suicide of Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz), the much younger wife of High Court judge Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Beale), we begin to learn of her affair with the dashing young former RAF pilot Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston), who is still coming to grips with his time in the war. Told through a series of flashbacks, we not only learn of the start of the affair and its discovery, but the effects of her attempted suicide and the inability for either pairing to fully satisfy Hester’s emotional and sexual desires.

Indeed, the title The Deep Blue Sea is said to refer to the dilemma Hester faces, caught as it were between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one had she could return to a passionless marriage, on the other is a passionate man who cannot love her the way she wants to be loved. An opening title tells us that the film is set “around 1950″, speaking volumes of the post-war malaise that Great Britain found itself in, no longer at war but yet to find the revolution that the swinging 60s would provide. Yet while Rattigan’s play may keep this macro-level view in the background, bringing to light the realities of the British view of sex and class during the period, it is principally about the indecision of its character.

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Terence Davies rivals Terrence Malick in the pace of his cinematic output, and takes the same measured look at 1950s Britain as he does with his other films. Davies unashamedly refuses to update the material, capturing his period and the characters within it down to the dingy flat that Hester and Freddie share in their final days together. This includes a somewhat caricaturish performance from the always-reliable Hiddleston, complete with a plethora of “old beans” general toodle-pippery. This is contrasted with some roguish bastardy that Freddie later reveals in his inability to deal with either Hester’s emotions, his inability to respond and his own realisation that his wartime fiascoes haven’t translated to post-war glory. Both leads can turn on a dime emotionally, and extended yelling spats are sometimes a little too real for comfort.

The Deep Blue Sea may explore stereotypes, and this might be the point, but it is also a cold emotional barrier towards truly getting a handle on any of the characters. The Deep Blue Sea is undoubtedly a downer of a piece, with amazing performances and stunning photography, but another “because of the times” piece is ultimately all we get here. Perhaps Rattigan, speaking directly to this Greek tragedy parallel through Hester, sums it up nicely “sad perhaps, but hardly Sophocles”.

The Deep Blue Sea is released in Australia on 12 April 2012 from Transmission.

March 26, 2012
Thor 2 to start filming in London this summer

In an interview with Empire, Tom Hiddleston has confirmed the start date for the troubled Thor 2 production.

Remaining fairly taciturn on the subject, and coy on the future of Loki in the universe, Hiddleston commented: “All I know about Thor 2 is that we’re supposed to film it in London in the summer and that it is being directed by Alan Taylor“.

Once The Avengers has been released in cinemas in April/May this year, we will be able to gain a more accurate picture of the future of his character, as he is set to play a major villain role in the super-hero team-up.

Thor 2 was originally set to be directed by Patty Jenkins, but when she subsequently left the film citing creative differences, Game of Thrones‘ Alan Taylor took over the big chair.

Thor 2 is due to hit cinemas on 15 November 2013 from Disney. It will be part of a second cycle of films that will ultimately lead to a sequel to next year’s The Avengers.

January 10, 2012
Review: War Horse

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”War Horse (2011)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Steven Spielberg

Runtime: 146 minutes

Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston

Distributor: Disney

Country: US

Rating: Worth A Look (?)

More info

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Based on Michael Morpurgo’s young adult novel, War Horse was adapted into a critically acclaimed stage production in 2007. Although tapping into the very human emotions that surround the effects of war, Morpurgo was originally responding to the massive loos of horse life in the First World War, an estimated 10 million horses on all sides. Indeed, of the million horses that were sent overseas from the UK, only 62,000 returned, the rest either killed in action or for meat. A story of this scale of sentimentality was bound to attract the attention of Hollywood, and naturally the king of sentimental war stories Steven Spielberg.

After bonding with his unconventionally determined horse in Devon, Albert (Jeremy Irvine) is separated from the animal as it is shipped off to the front at the start of the First World War. The horse begins an journey that will see him serve both the German and English sides during the war, while Albert has his own odyssey across the front. The horse will meet a number of individuals whose lives he will touch, showing the commonalities that both unite and divide the world during times of conflict.

The film opens with a drawn-out and sentimental opening sequence, in which Albert ultimately bonds with the horse in an extended plot about tilling the soil on his father’s (Peter Mullan) failing farm, despite protests from a skeptical mother (Emily Watson). It is only when the British army is introduced, via Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston) and Major Stewart (Benedict Cumberbatch), that a lightning bolt is sent through the film and some impact is felt for both the human and animal characters. Hiddleston’s penetrating gaze captivates for his brief run on screen, and one almost wishes that we could follow him for a little longer. However, it is quickly established that all humans in the film are transitory, and some humans have more of a lasting impression than others.

Spielberg, already adept at showing us the Second World War from all angles, brings us a very different vision of the first Great War initially, including the involvement (however briefly) of the Indian army and a particularly striking sequence in which the British stage a bloody-minded frontal assault on the enemy. In this one sequence, Spielberg reminds us that the First World War changed almost everything humans knew about combat. The animals in the story are seen as the greatest victims, for while the humans made the decision to follow what they have done in the past, the horses had no option but to follow the humans. When we switch to the German side, and for the first time see the devastating number of fallen mounts, the horrors of war are brought home in a way that stacks of human bodies may have ceased to do for cynical and war-weary audiences.

Janusz Kamiński’s photography has become synonymous with Spielberg, having photographed all of the latter’s films since 1993’s Schindler’s List. Taking notes from Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front through to National Velvet and virtually any other animal film of the era, there is an old-fashioned sweeping lens that bursts the film out from the page and stage to a suitably enormous scale. As such, the film is undoubtedly beautiful, from its sun-stroked skies to the mangled trenches of the Western Front. Yet the photography is not the only old-fashioned thing about the film, with the odd decision to give all non-English characters accents rather than have them speak in their native tongues. Even Indiana Jones‘ Nazis spoke German, and this seems out of step with modern filmmaking and audience expectations.

Spielberg’s conscious tugging at the heartstrings ironically creates an emotional distance from what should be some of the more powerful sequences in the film. For example, one sub-plot with an elderly man and his daughter should elicit some surprise when it reaches its conclusion, but the overt emotional manipulation seals their fate from their first introduction. Not helping matters is John Williams score, which is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. From the opening scenes, it never gives the audience room to come to terms with events, but rather constantly hits them over the head. It is a problem that plagues an otherwise moving film, and one that for many may inhibit accessing what is an often beautiful and well-acted piece.

[stextbox id=”custom”]A flawed but consciously emotional film, giving a storybook quality to events that should never be glossed over. Still a well-made piece, but never gets the mix of its individually strong parts right.[/stextbox]

DreamWorks’ War Horse is released in the US on 25 December and on 26 December 2011 in Australia from Disney.

December 22, 2011
8 new character banners for The Avengers

Disney Australia and Marvel have released eight (count ’em) new character banners for next year’s event The Avengers, finally offering unobscured portraits of the main characters glimpsed in the earlier character pieces.

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk,Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s The Avengers is the superhero team up of a lifetime.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon, Marvel’s The Avengers is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series The Avengers, first published in 1963.

The Avengers is released in Australia on 25 April 2012 from Disney. It will be released in the US a week later on 4 May 2012.

Click to enlarge

December 20, 2011
Review: Midnight in Paris

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Midnight in Paris (2011)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Woody Allen

Runtime: 94 minutes

Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cottilard, Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Bates, Adrian Brody

Distributor: Hopscotch

Country: US

Rating: Certified Bitstastic (?)

More info [/stextbox]

Like him or hate him, it is virtually impossible not to have an opinion on Woody Allen. After almost fifty years of filmmaking, with as many films to his credit, it is difficult to imagine an American movie landscape without him. From his “early funny films” through to the more recent downers like Match Point, it is hard to have missed seeing at least one of Allen’s contributions to the canon. Unless you live in Australia, of course, where Allen’s films have become something of a rarity. His most recent film prior to Midnight in Paris was You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, which completely bypassed local cinemas and is yet to see the light of day even on the home front. Yet absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Allen’s latest effort reminds us of why he was worth missing in the first place.

Gil (Owen Wilson, Hall Pass) and Inez (Rachel McAdams, Morning Glory) are a couple who travel to Paris. Gil, a successful Hollywood screenwriter and struggling novelist, has fallen in love with the city and believes that he would have been better off living in the ‘heyday’ of the 1920s. Seeking to escape Inez’s pompous friends and parents, Gil decides to go for an evening walk through the streets of the City of Light, only to find that the answer to his prayers might just be a stroke of the clock away as he is whisked to 1920s Paris to hobnob with the great writers of the day.

With the exception of 2009’s Whatever Works, based on a screenplay Allen had written in the 1970s, it has been difficult to know exactly which Woody Allen we would be getting over the last decade or so. With this love letter to Paris, Allen reaches back to his ‘golden era’ of Manhattan, in a musically-driven opening sequence that recalls that Oscar-winning film. Indeed, Midnight in Paris is the kind of high-concept comedy that Allen would have made in the 1970s, and here he does so with all the cocksure confidence and audacity that the younger filmmaker consistently brought to the table. Crafting a story that is equal parts The Purple Rose of Cairo and Deconstructing Harry, by way of the similarly-themed 1990s British TV comedy Goodnight Sweetheart, Allen operates in his element, giving audiences just the right doses of cheeky satire, off-the-wall humour and good old-fashioned love story. Yet to simply say that this is the best Woody Allen film in years would be to diminish the simple magic of this story.

One of the often inextricable elements of Allen’s comedies is Allen himself, and those stand-ins for the highly-parodied persona have ranged from the brilliant (John Cusack in Bullets Over Broadway) to the misguided (Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity). Owen Wilson seems like such an obvious choice, as the affable comedian slips comfortably into the khaki pants and collared shirts that Alvy might have worn while wooing Annie Hall. With his distinctively enthusiastic drawl, Wilson’s persona has become as much of an identifiable affectation as Allen’s own schtick, but here it is used to give the character not only a vulnerability but a believable entry point for an audience that is asked to simply go with a story that casually involves time travel and gives Wilson no less than three beautiful women vying for his attention.

Peppered with pinpoint casting in Tom Hiddleston (as F. Scott Fitzgerald), Kathy Bates (as Getrude Stein), Adrian Brody (Salvador Dali!) and Marion Cottilard as Gil’s 1920s love interest, Midnight in Paris could have very easily descended into farce. This may have been the type of film that Allen was known for in a bygone era, but like his protagonist, he enjoys looking back to his best years, but is perfectly content to live and work in the now. Bringing to bear all of the confidence and self-assuredness that only a veteran filmmaker like Allen can provide, he couples it with the youthful enthusiasm of his cast to create a film to genuinely fall in love with.

[stextbox id=”custom”]Not simply the best Woody Allen film of the year, but a contender for one of the best films of the year. A romantic comedy that lives up to both words in the moniker, Midnight in Paris is a trip worth taking.[/stextbox]

Midnight in Paris

October 18, 2011
Blu-ray Review: Thor
[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Disc Specifications” float=”true” align=”right” width=”220″]

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Runtime: 110 minutes

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins

Video: 1080p HD/2:35:1 (16:9)

Audio:
- DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 – English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 – German, Italian, Spanish, French
- Audio Description – English
Subtitles: Various

Extras:
- Audio Commentary
- Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant
- Featurettes x 7
- Road to The Avengers
- Deleted Scenes
- Trailers
Distributor: Paramount

More info

[/stextbox]

Thor may not be as recognisable as Marvel Comics’ more recently adapted heroes Spider-man and the X-Men, but mighty team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the character around the same time as the more media-savvy heroes. Drawing on influences from Norse mythology, Thor is distinct for not simply sharing a super-secret but a godly one as well. Largely Shakespearean actor-turned-director Kenneth Branagh may not have been the most obvious choice to direct this epic super-hero blockbuster, a lynch-pin of a series that will ultimately form a super-team in The Avengers, but his own divine presence has attracted an impressive cast.

In the otherworldly realm of Asgard, King Odin (Anthony Hopkins, The Rite) has ruled over an uneasy true with the Frost Giants in a nearby realm separated by the astral Bifröst. Defying his father’s express wishes, Odin’s impetuous son Thor (Chris Hemsworth, Star Trek) attacks the Frost Giants to prove his worth, renewing hostilities with the enemy. Exiled on Earth for his actions, Thor encounters scientists Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, No Strings Attached), Professor Andrews (Stellan Skarsgård, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End) and their assistant Darcy (Kat Dennings, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist). Powerless and stranded, Thor must learn his place in the universe before his brother Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston, Archipelago) plans come to fruition.

With only Captain America: The First Avenger to go before The Avengers assemble in 2012, Thor is one of the final pieces in the Marvel Universe puzzle that has been coming together since Iron Man. Thor was perhaps the hardest sell to punters, with the elaborate costumes and almost classical speech patterns potential hurdles to audience buy-in. Rather than water-down the key elements to the story, like so many failed adaptations (Daredevil, Elektra, Jonah Hex) before it, Branagh embraces the Shakespearean elements with gusto. This is not to say that the film takes itself too seriously though: a knowing sense of humour, especially from sidekick Kat Denning, ensures that Thor never disappears up its own cape. At its heart, Thor is not too far removed from the basic tenants of betrayal and deception that characterise King Lear, especially in Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, and the source material lends itself to this comparison. Yet even this is just a shorthand way of describing a story as old as the Norse legends themselves, repackaged in this adaptation of a graphic storyline that has been running for half a century. Where Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby’s original story (as it appeared in 1962′s Journey into Mystery #82) was a continuation of their exploration of dual identities in the “real world”, Branagh’s Thor grounds itself in a far more 21st century view of science versus magic.

Thor combines magic, action and epic mythology in a way not previously seen in the genre, but it held together by an impossibly good ensemble of actors. Hopkins swaggers in a powerful role that gives him the appearance of true god, a role he seems to have been saving himself for. Australia’s Hemsworth finally brings the star turn we always knew he had in him, delivering on the promise of his handful of powerful scenes as Captain Kirk’s dad in the Star Trek reboot. Portman’s role could have been played by anybody, but the recent Oscar-winner makes the character her own, establishing a genuine chemistry with her leading man in an uncharacteristically short running time. Yet it is star on the rise Hiddleston, soon to be seen in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, who impresses the most as the misguided and mischievous Loki. Channeling King Lear‘s Edmund and Julius Caesar‘s Cassisus as cited influences, Hiddleston’s powerfully sympathetic portrayal of the conflicted villain adds pathos where other films provide camp. The much-maligned cinematography is not so much distracting as it is disorienting at times, but it certainly sets this film apart from others in the genre. As an action epic, Thor is a first-rate blockbuster, providing a great introduction to the character with the promise of more thrills to come.

The Disc:

When Thor was released in cinemas, it was presented in 3D, and this never seemed like an entirely natural fit. Although there is a 3D Blu-ray version available, this disc affords us the opportunity to see this in pristine 2D. It looks magnificently crisp, especially in the shots of Asgard, but the effects sequences and skin tones alike are dealt with wonderfully. The DTS HD Master Audio 7.1, and doesn’t require the dial to be too high to get some window-rattling oomph out of the track. Definitely reference quality, even if you can hear it several houses away.

The Audio Commentary with Kenneth “Call Me Ken” Branagh is an engaging and informative one, with the director giving a wealth of detail on the themes of the film, the backgrounds to each of the characters and the actors and drawing on his own acting experience to convey what feeling he was going for in particular scenes. A damn-near perfect commentary. One Blu-ray exclusive is the Marvel One-Shot short film The Consultant (3:57), starring SHIELD Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark and William Hurt as General Ross. It ties together The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man.

There’s a collection of seven featurettes: From Asgard to Earth (19:42), on creating the worlds; Our Fearless Leader (3:18) is on Kenneth Branagh; casting is covered in Assembling the Troupe (4:44); Hammer Time! (6:14) deals not with MC Hammer put rather the hard to pronounce Mjolnir; Creating Laufey (5:33) looks at the Frost Giants; Patrick Doyle’s score is covered in Music of the Gods (2:05) and the very special A Conversation (2:23) sees producer Craig Kyle talk to comic legends J. Michael Straczynski and Stan “The Man” Lee. Another smaller piece, The Road to the Avengers (2:57) is effectively an extended puff-piece on the forthcoming film, but it does offer a few hints of what is to come. Rounding out the disc is a collection of 11 Deleted Scenes (24:34) and a handful of Trailers, including the Teaser, Theatrical Trailer and one for Avengers Animated. However, there is nothing here that fully uses the Blu-ray features, such as PiP.

[stextbox id=”custom”]It has its flaws, but Thor is both enjoyable and entertaining, courtesy of an outstanding cast and a simple yet satisfying story. As a precursor to 2012 release The Avengers, and as a standalone film, it succeeds on both counts.This Blu-ray is an excellent way to re-watch the film, or catch up with it for the first time.[/stextbox]
October 6, 2011