Thor: The Dark World Movie Review

Its a dark world indeed.

Director: Alan Taylor Running time: 120 min Writer: Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Don Payne, Robert Rodat

Starring:Chris Hemsworth…Thor

Tom Hiddleston…Loki

Natalie Portman…Jane Foster

Kat Dennings…Darcy Lewis

Christopher Eccleston… Malekith the Accursed

I start with this. I enjoyed the movie. It was just kind of hard to.

Coming from Game of Thrones you would like to think the realm of GoT and Thor would blend seamlessly. Wrong. Now when I heard about this movie at first, it was addressed as being helmed by a female. Sometime later, Alan Taylor took over and gave us this. Now I still believe Taylor is capable of telling us a good story. Just don’t think it’s in a Marvel franchise. Be it direction or editing this movie was terrible.

Each actor felt and looked confused, and uninspired. Outside of Tom Hiddleston, he, as per usual stole the show in a creative way. His character and his style this time around, he displayed even more pain than we’ve seen him previously. A major part to his sadness is *SPOILER ALERT* is when his mother dies, and he’s loosely to blame.* this creates a great sadness and allows for the character to be seen in a slightly new light. A lot of Odin’s lines felt off. And that’s one aspect of the direction that failed me.

The story continues greatly from Avengers, in comparison to Iron Man 3, but it’s not the most direct follow up I would’ve hoped for. But come to think about it Marvel Comics never really did that after a big story arc… Always just kept it moving. One aspect of the overall plot was how involved the villain was. He wasn’t. His entire plot was handled wrong. He was kinda just there versus having reason to care about what he was doing. For an ancient evil with world domination goals, he didn’t seem to be explored as much as I would hope. In place of the villain absence, was the theme of brothers. Brothers at odds, trying to find a common ground. Accepting their “destiny”, if you will, as one being a hero and one the villain. That part of the story was well expected, well explored and well performed.

Let’s talk about the cinematography….. THIS WAS TERRIBLE. Did we learn nothing from Avengers?! And p.s. I watched this movie in a AVX theatre. Now while I criticize the way in which it was shot, I do appreciate the lessons it taught me. Don’t do an entire movie with elaborate sets if you can’t actually build majority of them. For a movie like this, I understand that it’s a different realm so it has potential to look different from the norm but the first movie has such a president that I thought would naturally transcend into the sequel. I felt a lot of parts that were heavy with green screen and/or cgi were so poor looking; it was almost embarrassing on behalf of Marvel as a brand. Key examples of this were when Loki was sentenced for his crimes.
In addition to that the switching from camera to camera was terrible.  The quality changes were so evident and vastly different from each other it became the way of a student project.

Bottom line: it’s not the worst ever movie, but as far as super hero movies go, I’m placing it for a tie with Dare Devil. Or maybe a tie with Iron Man 2, with an edge to Iron Man 2. Mark Millar tweeted that Thor (the first one) was the best of the phase 1 entries (avengers hadn’t come out yet) so this was theirs too lose. which they sadly did in my honest opinion.

 

Ratings for all movies will now be out of ten

• Overall rating of the movie: 3.1 out of 10,
• Cinematography: 0 out of 10,
• Editing: 2 out of 10,
• Audio: 4 out of 10,
• Acting: 1.5 out of 10,
• Theatres or wait for the blu-ray? SKIP IT, download at best.

THAT’S IT! Cheers: “To Peace”. Your eLEWsive Thought Provided by: “LEW System”

– Xavier – @CoolyoNgeLEW

Fan Expo 2013

If you like any of the pics you or your friends are in you can now purchase that photo (original, no watermark) for $1 or have it edited your in a fashion you’d like with the original for $5 (no watermark) (NOTE: THIS GOES FOR ANY OTHER PICTURE THAT I’VE TAKEN AND OR POSTED)

Enjoy!!

Cover photo styled after Wolverine #1, Limited series

Red Razor from Heroes of the World/ Heroes of the Caribbean

Iron Fist

Lego Hobbits

Black Widow

Lego Iron Man

Lego Yoda

Arrow Cosplay

Lego Raphael

Toxic Avenger

Ness

Captain America

Batmobile

Game Of Thrones

Gohan

Storm Trooper

Riddler & Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy

Team Rocket

Lady Deadpool

Deathstroke

Hunger Games

Silent Hill

Thor

Sub Zero

Breaking Bad’s Walter White

Red Hood

Winter Soldier

DeadMou5e

Booster Gold

Hawkman

Scarlett Witch/Wanda Maximoff

Scarlett Witch/Wanda Maximoff & Sailor Moon

sailor Venus

Waldo/sailor Moon

A.I.M. soldier

Enchantress

Storm Trooper

Halo – Unsc soldier & Master Chief

Warriors

Game Of Thrones

Game Of Thrones

Assassin’s Creed

Heavenly Sword

Black Suit Spidey

Captain America

Loki

Tony Stark- Iron Man 3

Nick Fury Jr (Earth 616)

Deadpool vs Wolverine

Storm

Wolverine

Night Crawler

Lego Superman/ Man Of Steel

Game Of Thrones

Fantastic $

Penny – Big Bang Theory

Emma Frost/White Queen & Colossus

Emma Frost/White Queen

Anakin Skywalker

Zatanna

Walking Dead

Silent Hill

PsyLocke

Waldo has been found.

THAT’S IT! Cheers: “To Peace”. Your eLEWsive Thought Provided by: “LEW System”

– Xavier – @CoolyoNgeLEW

Iron Man Stands Behind his Team

The future of Avengers 2, now hangs in the balance as the studio is preparing to go into talks with Robert Downey Jr.

However the star, who received a colossal $50 million for ‘Marvel’s The Avengers‘, is thought to be fighting for a pay rise for his superhero co-stars who each made a comparatively tiny $200,000 from the movie.

[Related story: Iron Man will continue with or without Downey Jr]

(Copyright: Disney)
Marvel Studios bosses and Downey Jr are said to be currently negotiating his role in both ‘The Avengers 2’ and ‘The Avengers 3’, heading from Marvel’s ‘phase two’ plans and into the realm of ‘phase 3’.

So far, says the Hollywood Reporter, there’s no talk yet of an ‘Iron Man 4’, with Downey Jr remaining vague about whether he will play Tony Stark again in a stand-alone film.

What is known, however, is that signing the actor for the ‘Avengers’ sequels will almost certainly cost the notoriously frugal studio heavily.

With his various percentage and profit sharing deals, he made a colossal $50 million for ‘Avengers Assemble’, a fee he himself called ‘crazy’ in an interview with GQ magazine, adding that the studio was ‘p*ssed’ that he made so much from the film, despite it taking $1.5 billion at the box office.

According to Deadline, he’s already made $35 million from ‘Iron Man 3’, but it’s now thought that RDJ is leading the way for the other actors in the Marvel sequels to get substantial pay rises for the future films if they want him to re-sign.

One source told Deadline: “He’s the only guy with real power in this situation. and balls of steel, too. He’s already sent a message that he’s not going to work for a place where they treat his colleagues like sh*t.”

Marvel producer Kevin Feige has said that the character of Iron Man will endure, with or without Downey Jr, but that would be in a future incarnation or a rebooted version some time in the future.

But while Downey Jr would be near impossible to replace as Tony Stark without ruining continuity in the current series, it’s possible that other Avengers could be replaced in the forthcoming films, particularly the likes of the Hulk, who has been played by several actors in recent years.

‘The Avengers 2’ is due for May 1, 2015, while other Marvel projects in the offing include Edgar Wright’s ‘Ant-Man’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and mooted projects including ‘Dr Strange’, ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘Black Panther’.

Video of the Day: Thor Vs Superman

Totally an unlikely situation but nonetheless, very well done production. If you ever wanted to know who would win… this answers your question (like there was any other answer).

p.s. POOR, POOR, choice/acting for Thor

THAT’S IT! Cheers: “To Peace” . Your eLEWsive Thought Provided by: the “LEW System”
– Xavier – @CoolyoNgeLEW

Video of the Day: Thor: The Dark World

Thor is coming and it’s fitting that its Thorsday (ask the vikings). its short and sweet and really does expand on the world that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has built with the first Thor movie and some of  “Captain America: The First Avenger”. This looks promising and even more action packed than the first one. i wont give anything away, I’m too busy being amp’d for Iron Man 3. P.s, gotta love in the poster, Thor’s hair seems to be staying still in all that wind.

THAT’S IT! Cheers: “To Peace” . Your eLEWsive Thought Provided by: the “LEW System”
– Xavier – @CoolyoNgeLEW

 

The Avengers Movie Review

WOW… UM SIMPLY WOW. This movie rocks on all cylinders, Joss Whedon, PLEASE for the love of God stay on to make this movie’s future sequels. I WILL TRY NOT TO SPOIL TOO MUCH!!

	Robert Downey Jr.	…	Tony Stark / Iron Man
	Chris Evans	…	Steve Rogers / Captain America
	Mark Ruffalo	…	Bruce Banner / The Hulk
	Chris Hemsworth	…	Thor
	Scarlett Johansson	…	Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
	Jeremy Renner	…	Clint Barton / Hawkeye
	Tom Hiddleston	…	Loki
	Clark Gregg	…	Agent Phil Coulson
	Cobie Smulders	…	Agent Maria Hill
	Stellan Skarsgård	…	Selvig
	Samuel L. Jackson	…	Nick Fury
	Gwyneth Paltrow	…	Pepper Potts
	Paul Bettany	…	Jarvis (voice)
	Alexis Denisof	…	The Other
	Tina Benko	…	NASA Scientist

Director: Joss Whedon

Writer: Zak Penn and Joss Whedon (story) Joss Whedon (screenplay)

Every penny that was put in to this movie, which according to IMDB, is estimated at  $220,000,000–YEA THAT MUCH.

Joss Whedon directed this movie as well as wrote it (along with Zak Penn) and, as I’ve said previously with Cabin In the Woods, he really knows how to write. His expertise in character dialogue is second to none. He uses a lot of quick wit & exciting banter between all the cast, and not one character overshadows another. He’s a writer who has written for Marvel before in various comics, so he understands and respects the material and for the most part–thanks in part to the acting, all the characters are spot on with their delivery. “I’m not big on inside jokes…. I like people who’ve never seen the Avengers, to have as much fun as people who have been waiting for this movie their whole lives.”-Joss Whedon. That statement is so true about this movie. There’s a rule at Marvel Comics: Treat every issue as if it were someone’s first ever issue. The writers there all have to abide by that, and if you are a writer, I bet you can imagine how much of a challenge it is to do that on a monthly or even sometimes a weekly basis.

HULK: New actor, Mark Ruffalo portrays both Bruce Banner and the hulk in this movie. His take on it was more witty and determined, as Bruce, like he knew his role from the start. He is MY favourite hero for his brute strength and I’ll have you know, there isn’t much left out to show how strong he is. I WILL SAY however, I don’t like the new hulk design because in the Ed Norton film, he had more of a realistic body build. Instead of just muscle he had RIPPED, DEFINED muscle, and this one reminded me of the bad Ang Lee hulk movie. Basically, Ed Norton is a better Bruce on looks alone, Mark… well not so much. I didn’t like how they made him a bit more barbaric at times either, but we are yet again in a “reboot” phase for this character in a way. This though, is by far the best hulk we have ever seen, and I know I’ve contradicted myself a few times, but it’s a love hate thing.

Iron Man: If you ever felt he was just a dude in s suit, who early on [*SPOILER*] Captain America, thinks just the same thing, then you are SURELY MISTAKEN. He is used probably the most, but in recent comic history, this is about right since he is basically the brains of missions. Tony Stark is EVERYWHERE in this movie, and his witty banter with EVERY hero in this movie is dead on to his arrogance. Spider-Man is like that in a way, constantly making jokes, this is the kind of  Spider-Man I’d like to see one day. Basically, his role was improved upon to be more of a hero, but otherwise still the same old Stark

Thor: SORRY LADIES…no shirt off here, but he probably has the best entrance to this story, outside of Hulk where it was being constantly teased to the audience. He had a lot of the charm that he has in the comics in this film. His origin movie focused a lot more of the moral, but this time he is all action.

Captain America: THIS IS BY FAR HIS BEST SHOWING. I thought Chris did an amazing job in “Captain America: The First Avenger” but they got his role down pat in this movie. He was a leader, a tactician, a soldier, brave, out of touch with the times and very American (p.s. stay after the credits… just look at cap and think about it while keeping in mind where Bush sent troops). Chris Evans is an under rated actor, and even though most (critics) don’t take comic book movies serious, watching this should make you see all, if not  just the “Big Three” (Iron Man, Thor & Captain America) as good an actor as any.

Nick Fury:  Sam has done this role a total of 4 times previously (of course we aren’t counting his face being used to revamp Nick Fury in the Ultimate Marvel Universe where most of these films have been based on), but this is the first time we see him as a man who knows what must be done sees what’s he’s being told, but says that isn’t the smarter way of doing things. Basically we see why he’s the head of  S.H.I.E.L.D. and why Sam Jackson is still the most bad ass of all actors.

Black widow: Scarlett has never been more than a pretty face to me. She has both good and bad moments in this film, but more so good than bad. Her best scenes come from the first half of the movie, I’m not a fan of Black Widow so moving on.

Hawkeye: The archer was introduced during the “Thor” film, and I’m sure to many, was a highlight to the film. He has a “secondary” role, but was much like the bad ass that was seen in the”Ultimates”  (you really need to read these two volumes, it’s by far the best “Avengers” story you will ever read in your entire life). When the second half of the movie rolls out, you will know what I’m talking about.

Loki: Tom Hiddleston really understands how to use his face to drive a scene. I thought he had the best skill outside of Anthony Hopkins in the Thor movie. He may not have been the single best actor in this movie, but he definitely isn’t overshadowed by anyone else’s performance (this is, I’m sure, in part to great direction). He was on the verge of being a villain in Thor, but here he is CLEARLY someone that has lost his way, holds a jealous grudge towards his adoptive brother, and, just like in the comics, a very evil villain who likes to show off for sport.

In many recent years Marvel comics has had many brand cross over books from: Civil War, Secret Invasion & most recently, Fear Itself.  Seeing this movie reminded me of a lot of those movies and given a few tweaks here and there, I think its very possible to see the crossover stories on the big screen. I sure as hell hope if any story gets made, Civil War and World War Hulk gets done.

LASTLY, the camera work for this film is amazing, the use of the depth 3-D helps the movie in so many ways. I know many don’t like 3-D, but that’s in part to many not understanding it.Don Cheadle said it best, “Look, it’s me. I’m here. Deal with it. Let’s move on.” – Iron Man 2 – Rhodes. Many need to adapt those words to the use of 3-D. There is minimal shaky camera work in the movie, it mostly pretty clear minus maybe two fight scenes, though one is due to lighting which is why it’s not as great. I don’t know if this is my favourite thing about this movie, but I love  the fact that it is a full circle movie, everything brought up is then somehow mentioned again in a fresh new way. There are two “after credits scenes”, so be sure to stay and watch.

• Overall rating of the movie: 4.8 out of 5,
• Cinematography: 4.5 out of 5,
• Editing: 4.5 out of 5,
• Audio: 4 out of 5,
• Acting: 4 out of 5,
• Theatres or wait for the blu-ray? Theatre in the best way you can (like Imax or something). Then blu ray, save up for a 3-D t.v. then buy the blu-ray 3-D version.

THAT’S IT! Cheers: “To Peace” and May the Force be with you!

– Xavier – @CoolyoNgeLEW