Review: THOR

Packed with action and humor with strong characterization, good special fx and a healthy dose of heart, Kenneth Branagh's THOR is the best comic book movie I've seen in ages and destined to continue steadily earning boxoffice $s throughout the summer.

Chris Hemsworth is terrific in the title role, a god banished to mortal on a strange planet, trying to figure out who he is and where he belongs. Starting out arrogant and self-sure, Thor's transformation to a new form of confidence is a journey many will relate to. At first, a fish out of water determined that his power and status still entitle him to whatever he demands, Thor quickly comes to realize his power and status mean little to the scientists who've discovered him in the New Mexico desert. As he uncovers their world and begins coming to terms with his mortality, he's further discouraged by his failure to reclaim his hammer from Federal custody and restore the confiscated scientific equipment and data of his rescuers. Then his brother, Loki, played will by Tom Hiddleston, arrives to inform him the banishment is permanent, and Thor comes face to face with the reality his life will never be the same.

The characters are well drawn and used to full effect for both humor and humanness. Thor's friends and their banter are both amusing and character building, and, along with the Earth characters, particularly the scientists played by Stellan Skarsgard and Natalie Portman, take what could have easily devolved into silliness and elevate it into a worth drama about coming of age, self-discovery, and family conflict. Throw in good special effects, plausible science mixed with magic (Magic is science we just don't understand yet), and you have a very entertaining, crowd pleasing film.

The first 30 minutes was one of the best film openings to an action movie I've seen in the past decade--packed with action and good character development, it sets up the story and our players with a strong foundation which carries the rest of the film.

It was fun to see Rene Russo back in action film mode, however brief and small her part, and Anthony Hopkins made the most of his role as well. Idris Elba as Heimdall, the bridge guard also stood out to me and Jaime Alexander as warrior Sif added a touch of Xena to the proceedings, countering the damsel in distress heroine played by Portman. There's room for strong women in more than one level in this franchise and that news bodes well for female filmgoers.

Unfamiliar with the THOR story, as I am not a huge comics fan, the movie sold me enough to make me want to go back and read the comics and the legends behind them. It will be fun to see what they do with further films in the franchise, including THE AVENGERS, which is due to arrive before another THOR.

Recommended to fans of all genres. A truly worthwhile afternoon at the cinema.

Review: Unstoppable

An adrenaline pumping action buddy film with good characterization and family friendly language (more than most), "Unstoppable" grabs you from the get go and never stops.  The story of two railroad workers, an engineer and conductor, who find themselves moving head on against an out of control train loaded with cars containing toxic and highly combustible chemicals, the movie unfolds rapidly with the bungling railroad management worried about themselves at every turn while the heroes try and stop a major disaster.  The train is barreling toward major population centers where their families live and it's too heavy for conventional means to stop.  Their ingenuity and determination, along with that of a few collaborators, are the heart of this film.

Stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pine (the new Kirk from last year's "Star Trek") share the heroism nicely.  Both have nice backstories and strong action moments, and both, in the end, play key roles in saving the day.

My only criticism is that, even though this was based on a true story, the portrayal of the railroad management is played too much to stereotypes of the greedy idiots in suits.  Surely things were more complicated than that in real life.  At a short length of under 90 minutes, the writers and filmmakers could have rounded out of those parts a bit more to add depth to the film.

But it's a minor quibble to a story which keeps your heart racing despite 80% of the screen time taking place aboard a single train between two men.  There are some nice action pieces here, and the writers have done a good job of explaining all the various science and realities of railroad technology which allow the situation to happen and impede attempts to stop the train.

The language is mild for an action flick as well.  A few four letter words scattered but not enough that I even remember them.  And none of the most memorable lines had them.  Given Hollywood's tendency to equate four letter words with coolness, the filmmakers get high marks from me on this.

Highly recommended.

For what it's worth...

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Well written and powerful, it's easy to see why Paolo Bacigalupi's "The Windup Girl" has been so acclaimed and awarded.  The story of people in the Thai Kingdom, somewhere in the future, the story is told through multiple points of view - the American factory owner/agent who is using the factory as a cover; the abandoned Japanese windup girl, an android or clone, who is forced to survive by dancing and prostituting herself; the expat Chinese factory manager who works with the agent and betrays him; and two White Shirt members of the Environment Ministry who go around enforcing code, fighting disease, and taking bribes or stealing them (depending on your point of view.)  Each has a reason for why they've come to the point where all paths intersect, and each has the desire to survive the hard life that exists in the kingdom.

Bacigalupi's characters are three dimensional and well drawn, but I found it hard to sympathize with all but the windup girl and the female White Shirt.  Both of them are victims who seem caught up in circumstances.  And while each commits acts which are violent and even criminal against other humans, both have a genuine desire to do the right thing.  They are just protecting themselves the only way they know how. The lack of a central "hero" left me a bit empty at the end.

The book is paced very well and the world building is top notch.  Bacigalupi has done his research on Thailand and created a wholly real and believable future world.  In truth, it doesn't seem so vastly different from what one might expect to see in a Developing World country today, except for the gene replicating and windups.  There are dirigibles here and a few other steampunk tropes, but the time period is not Victorian and neither are the people, so it's not really steampunk genre.  It's more slipstream, often compared to William Gibson.  In many ways, the world here is if anything less developed than our own, relying on megodonts (giant mammoth/elephant type creatures) to power the city through their leg power, travel around mostly on bikes, ricshaws and a few cars.  It just doesn't seem as far future as one might anticipate, which only serves to make it all the more powerful.

Bacigalupi wisely sticks to English dialogue, subtly hinting what language his characters are speaking when necessary.  He mixes in ethnic Japanese, Chinese and Thai phrases from time to time to add to the authenticity, and even uses some key native words throughout to lend to the feeling of being inside the mind of peoples who think in such terms.

Bacigalupi is a talented writer from whom I look forward to reading much more in the future.  His future is a bleak one, which may have contributed to my disappointment with the lack of a pure hero.  But his writing craft is solid and the book thoroughly engaging.  Recommended.

Movie Reviews: Social Network & Eat, Pray, Love

Saw two movies this week which impacted me in unique and unexpected ways and I just had to review them.  An odd combination, both "Social Network" and "Eat,Pray,Love" were not high atop my must see movies lists, and yet for various reasons, I saw them and I enjoyed both far more than I could have ever dreamed I would.

The story of the founding of "The Facebook" by Mark Zuckerberg, an anti-social computer geek at Harvard, "Social Network" had one thing going for it when I went in:  Aaron Sorkin.  I hate Sorkin's politics, but his dialogue is the best in the business.  The guy knows how to bring characters to life, and he did it very well here, even writing college kids, an age group from which he, like me, has been long removed.  As Zuckerberg works with his friends and fights with classmates in creating his network and changing the cyberworld forever, I found myself relating to him in unexpected ways.  I don't want to relate to him because 1) I don't recall ever being so isolated and wouldn't want to be; and 2) as his attorney tells him at one point, "You're not an asshole.   You're just trying really hard to be."  Okay, so I can have my moments of assholedom, but I hope I am not trying when they occur.

Yet, as a tortured creative type who wants to use his creative energy and passion to do something substantial, I do relate to him.  Even his desire to be well known for it, a notion I pretty much moved to the bottom of my priority list over a decade ago.  Here's a guy who ends up backstabbing his friends and classmates, the latter because they don't know what they're doing and it's easier to just do it alone, and the former because he's ultimately selfish and self-consumed and doesn't give much thought to how anything he does effects other people.  He's not really a nice guy.  Not a guy I want to be like, and yet, I totally get the isolation he lives with and overcomes only through his creative gifts, and I relate to the idea that sometimes ideas seem to have no value when the person having them doesn't have the knowledge to make them reality.  Sometimes it's easier to just do it yourself than work with such people, no matter how great the idea, and once upon a time, I also lost a friend for running with an idea which wasn't wholly mine.

Here's a movie about geeks founding a computer network.  Doesn't sound like a very dynamic exciting movie.  But the movie is powerful and moves at a fast pace.  Sorkin and director David Fincher did a great job of adding tension by intercutting between the college days as "The Facebook" became an idea and was created to more recent times when Zuckerberg defends himself in lawsuits by those he screwed over.  It adds a sense of urgency as the reasons for the current falling out get gradually revealed through scenes of the history behind it and development of the characters.  And characters are fascinating here.  They drive the story, as is usual with Sorkin.  I found the film an inspiring and challenging look at chasing dreams with a relentless passion to let nothing stand in the way.  I love Zuckerberg's passion, echo it, and hope to emulate it.  I just hope to leave less debris in my wake.

"Eat, Pray, Love" finally made it to the local $2 theatre and my wife just had to go so we went.  Based on a memoir by writer Elizabeth Gilbert, who, after a divorce and a sense of losing her way, embarks on a year long journey which takes her to Italy (eat), Indian (pray), and Bali (love).  Along the way, she develops friendships with unique and interesting people, finds herself, and teaches us some lessons about life, love, and even food.

I expected this to be a very girly chick flick.  I like Julia Roberts.  "Notting Hill," "Pretty Woman," and "My Best Friend's Wedding" are three of my favorite romantic comedies, but this just sounded like a "Under The Tuscan Sun" clone.  I saw that and enjoyed it, but just was not at all in a place where I found the idea of seeing another appealing.  What I found instead was a story I related to, again, more than I ever could have imagined.  Elizabeth Gilbert finds herself making a fresh start much as I am being forced to do by the circumstances of my life.  After finally deciding her marriage just didn't work and falling out of another unsatisfactory, hastily launched affair, she feels like she doesn't know who she is any more.  (Boy, am I feeling that).  What does she want from life?  What will make her happy?  Who is she?    Winding up living as a third wheel in her book editor's home, she finally decides she needs to just get out there and find herself, and the three countries she chooses have various appeals to her which lead her to believe answers can be found there.

Filled with memorable characters, good humor, and profound emotions, the movie reminds as all what a roller coaster ride life can be, especially when you have no idea where it is taking you, and as Gilbert discovers her need to let go and live, let go and let life go on, I was reminded that I too hold on too tightly to the reins.  It's a big part of why I feel so miserable in the current chaos of my life.  Everything is so out of control and so I feel like I am spinning uncontrollably with no foundation.  In the end, it is when her Balian guru tells her that "sometimes part of finding balance is losing your balance in love" that Gilbert finally figures out what she wants and where to find it, and I am hoping I can soon find balance somehow myself.

I thought the movie had plenty to offer both men and women and certainly couples as it has a lot to say about the ups and downs of love.  One warning:  don't skip dinner to attend as we do. "Eat" is in the title for a reason and watching the first 40 minutes of lucious Italian food will have you salivating by the time you leave.  If you love other cultures and travel, you'll find fascinating stuff here.  If you like people learning to live more adventurously (even if you can't manage to do it yourself) and like people learning how to value people more than other things, then this movie will bring you joy.

For what it's worth...