Thor (2011)

At the opening day matinee the two dozen or so in the audience were mostly Gen-X males, the target demographic for this Marvel-Comic-based action movie about the Nordic god cast down to earth, where he meets some mortals and protects them when trouble follows him here. Jack and I liked it, but we've seen better in the genre, and we most assuredly enjoy many of this kind (the X-Men series, especially Silver Surfer (2007), Spider-Man series (2002, 2004, 2007), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2, more) even though we don't fit the profile. One reviewer said the real star is production designer Bo Welch (nominated for art direction Oscars for the very different The Color Purple (1985), A Little Princess (1995), The Birdcage (1996), and Men in Black (1997), won a BAFTA award for designing Edward Scissorhands (1990), and also designed Beetle Juice (1988), Grand Canyon (1991), Batman Returns (1992), Men in Black II (2002), and one of my personal favorites, Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), among others) and I agree that the world of Asgard is eye-poppingly beautiful, especially that gateway set.

Chris Hemsworth (Captain Kirk's father in a flashback in Star Trek) plays the title character as appropriately arrogant and has the beefcake to back it up. Natalie Portman (after I wrote about her in Black Swan which won her an Oscar she was in No Strings Attached--we didn't see the one after that) has second billing but she is only in some of the earth scenes, about half the movie, as a dedicated scientist who just might believe that Thor comes from another world. Her colleagues are played by Stellan Skarsgård (I wrote about him at the end of the last paragraph of Angels & Demons), whose character Erik grew up with the Norse legends, and the adorable Kat Dennings (Charlie Bartlett (2007), Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist), who has some of the comic relief lines. There is humor here and there, and our audience, ourselves included, went crazy during the scene at the crater when Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comics, makes his mandatory cameo, this time driving a white pick-up truck in a gag inspired by Animal House (1978). We couldn't hear his line because we were laughing too hard--he says, "Did it work?" Someone has made a reel of Stan Lee cameos, ending with The Incredible Hulk, and here's a list of all the Marvel Comics made into movies. I'm not sure if Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson is supposed to be funny but he makes me laugh because of his roles (more details in Choke). Up in the world of Asgard there is little humor. Anthony Hopkins' (see my post on You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger) Odin is a wise king who lashes out when provoked. In the beginning we see many reaction shots of Thor's brother Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston (new to me) but his part grows with time to a predictable finish. Handsome Idris Elba (seven episodes of The Office in 2009 and four of The Big C, among others) is the gatekeeper with yellow eyes, and Thor's mom is played in a cameo by Rene Russo, who hasn't had a hit since The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) (I liked her in and liked Get Shorty (1995)). Kenneth Branagh (Oscar nominations for acting and directing Henry V (1989) and for the screenplay of Hamlet (1996), has directed three other Shakespeare adaptations--Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Love's Labours Lost (2000), and As You Like It (2006)--among others) tries to bring Shakespearean gravity to this, but it's a popcorn movie, with the possible exception of Sir Hopkins.

Jack can't see 3D, and I usually can, but I had problems with this one, even after moving back several rows. I kept lifting the glasses and trying to keep my head still but I couldn't focus when the action was moving, and I don't know if it was my eyes, the projection system, the print, or the production. You probably don't need to pay the extra to see it in 3D. I heard one guy (in the target demographic) say he thought it was great in 2D. Critics are behind this one on rottentomatoes, with 79% and audiences scoring it at 83%, plus it was number one at the box office last weekend, thanks in part to us. Just about everyone stayed in the theatre with us to the end of the credits, when we were rewarded with a preview of next year's The Avengers, in which many of these actors will reprise their roles.

Water for Elephants (2011)

Amy, Jack, and I enjoyed this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Sara Gruen, about Jacob, a young man who joins the circus in 1931 and finds his purpose among those that work there, including a wonderful trained elephant. Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz are great and I didn't hate Robert Pattinson, though I expected to. Witherspoon (my faves: her Oscar-winning Walk the Line (2005), as well as Pleasantville (1998), Legally Blonde (2001), Vanity Fair (2004), and most of all Election (1999)) gives us plenty to think about as Marlena, the woman in the triangle between Jacob and her husband August, the circus ringleader. So far, on this side of the Atlantic, German-born Waltz has been brilliant playing awful guys (in Inglourious Basterds, which won him an Oscar, and a small part in The Green Hornet) and his mercurial August is no exception. It's probably unfair that I predicted I'd dislike Pattinson, since I haven't seen any of the Twilight movies, but I just don't find him appealing, as do legions of young girls. He does carry the movie, regardless, and that's saying something for the 25 year old, though he has a lot of help from the rest, including Rosie the elephant, played by Tai the elephant. This creature is amazing. I also liked the circus stunts, especially the twirling thing Witherspoon (or her double) does on the door of the big top. Apparently Witherspoon actually did at least one stunt herself, riding two horses with one foot on each, but it was cut. One fun bit of trivia is that Pattinson shot a scene in Vanity Fair, playing the son of Witherspoon's Becky Sharp, but it, too, was edited out.

This is the third feature for director Francis Lawrence (his career was in music videos; I liked his I Am Legend (2007), in which a dog co-starred with Will Smith) and his pacing is good. Richard LaGravenese (Oscar-nominated for the outstanding The Fisher King (1991), also co-wrote The Ref (1994) and adapted The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Unstrung Heroes (1995), and The Horse Whisperer (1998)) obviously helped with the pacing when he adapted Gruen's novel.

I added the novel to my online list of read books in August of 2008 (it was published in 2006), when I started adding, and don't have a strong recollection of it (Amy read it after I did and Jack has not), but I do remember that, like the movie, it begins with Jacob as an old man, and Hal Holbrook is perfect for that part. The movie is bookended (chapters in the beginning and end) by old Jacob telling his stories to a young man from the present day, played by Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Bright Star).

The music (here's a suite--a series of clips edited together, or go to this link and follow down the OST (original soundtrack) items) by the prolific James Newton Howard (after I wrote about him in Salt he scored The Green Hornet) is appropriately grand and right for 1930's America. Photography by Rodrigo Prieto (see Broken Embraces for my faves; he also shot Biutiful) is gorgeous. And I wouldn't be at all surprised to see costume designer Jacqueline West get an Oscar nod for this, as she did for Quills (2000) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (she also designed The Banger Sisters (2002), State of Play, and The Social Network, among others).

Amy had asked that we save this and African Cats for her short visit home, and we're all glad we saw them. We are firmly with audiences on rottentomatoes, who scored it 82% vs. the critics' 58%.

African Cats (2011)

This wonderful documentary about cheetahs and lions in Kenya is almost as spectacular as Earth and Oceans, its predecessors from Disneynature. Once again opening on Earth Day, Disney is putting its vast resources to good use with eye-popping closeups of the eyes and fur of these creatures, their predators, and their prey. The director of Earth (and next year's release, Chimpanzees) Alastair Fothergill shares duties with zoologist Keith Scholey, who makes his big screen directing debut here (and uses stills from this movie as his imdb profile pix). Samuel L. Jackson (I listed my favorites in Iron Man 2) narrates, as he did in Inglourious Basterds, though he received no credit for the latter. The stars are the cats, primarily Sita the cheetah, and the lions Layla, Fang, Mara, Kali, and Kali's sons, the arrogant posse.

It's appropriate that Amy, Jack, and I saw this on Mothers' Day, as Sita and Layla are mothers devoted to their kids, er, cubs. Despite plenty of hunting and a little killing and eating, the camera ducks away from the gore--the 5-year-old girl sitting in front of us was not at all disturbed. In an interview, Scholey tells a little about the technology used and how the story came to be. Composer Nicholas Hooper's music is great, too, but I can't find any clips for you (you can listen to his work on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), among many others, as well as in the trailer for this one, if that's his music). Here are some more production notes. Don't run right out of the theatre when it's over because there are some sight gags with shots from the movie (my personal favorite: "production runner"). Rated G for GOOD!

Queen to Play (Joueuse - 2009)

Jack and I enjoyed this story of Hélène, a hotel chambermaid who takes up chess after seeing a couple playing on the balcony of their room. It's clearly sexy to the couple, and Hélène becomes passionate about the game, buying a set for her husband and practicing on her own. Set on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Corsica (until now I thought it was Italian, but it's French) there are some magnificent vistas that, unfortunately, we couldn't appreciate, since what we saw in the theatre, three weeks after its New York premiere and in its first (and only) week here, was a crappy pixelated video. This is no problem for you, dear readers, as you can wait for the May 31 DVD release in this country, or buy it now in Europe or Canada.

Delicate and intense Sandrine Bonnaire (so familiar, but none of her titles rings a bell) is terrific as Hélène. Jennifer Beals, with a sly smile, is half of the American chess-playing couple, and Kevin Kline plays it straight as a professor (named Kröger--why the umlaut? I have no idea. His accent is clearly American) whose house Hélène cleans. This is Kline's second role speaking French, although in French Kiss (1995) his accent was intentionally laughable (imdb and some reviewers are saying it's his first. Again, I'm baffled as to why) (I have so many Kline favorites, and choose, in addition to French Kiss, A Fish Called Wanda (1988), which won him his Oscar, as well as his debut Sophie's Choice (1982), The Big Chill (1983), Grand Canyon (1991), Dave (1993), The Ice Storm (1997), In & Out (1997), Life as a House (2001), The Anniversary Party (2001), De-Lovely (2004) as Cole Porter, and he lent his trademark humor to No Strings Attached). Mention must be made of the good performances of Francis Renaud and Alexandra Gentil as Hélène's husband and teenage daughter.

This is the feature directorial debut of Caroline Bottaro who adapted Bertina Henrichs’s novel The Chess Player, despite not much familiarity with the game (she consulted some experts). I know almost nothing about chess either but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. With locations in the Red Rocks in the Piana region in South Corsica and original music by Nicola Piovani (many credits, including Oscar winner for Life is Beautiful) this will be a lovely diversion for you in your home next month.

I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007)

This story of a single mother and her young teenage daughter finding love made Jack and me laugh out loud many times. I got it from netflix because it stars Saoirse Ronan, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Paul Rudd, and was written and directed by Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Look Who's Talking (1989), Clueless (1995), more). While researching Ronan for my post on Hanna, this one, Ronan's first, was recommended. In these credits she's named Sookie Ronan and she is adorable, strong, and multi-faceted as Izzie. I wrote about Pfeiffer in Chéri, which has in common with this one that she is an older woman (40) having a relationship with a younger man. Here she is Rosie, a loving and intuitive mother, frustrated divorcée, and successful writer/producer on a TV series called "You Go, Girl," which stars twenty-somethings as high-schoolers, and the age disparity theme pops up everywhere in the first rate script, including with Jon Lovitz (Casino Jack) as Pfeiffer's ex-husband Nathan who won't act or mate in his own age range. The always reliable Paul Rudd (read Dinner for Schmucks) is great at the physical comedy from his very first appearance (you'll see it on the DVD menu screen) and his ear-to-ear grin won over Jack and me. We also appreciated Tracey Ullman (Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks (2000), and several of her own comedy shows) as Mother Nature, Fred Willard (such a hard working guy, he's got 225 acting credits and was last seen in these pages in Youth in Revolt) as a TV executive, and Sarah Alexander as Jeannie, the assistant from Hell, among others.

Okay, now I know why I hadn't heard of this. It pretty much went straight to video and never played here and no one has written why (the title could be better, in my opinion). Some interesting trivia: the first actor to be auditioned in one scene is named Neil Israel and I turned to Jack and said, "I know that name." That's because Israel is a director, writer, and Heckerling's ex-husband. Also, both Pfeiffer and Rudd were seven years older than their characters when they shot this movie, but both can carry it off. Stacey Dash (Dionne in Clueless), who plays Brianna, the star of "You Go, Girl," was 40, and the character Brianna plays is in high school, but that works in this story. There is a nice mix of 31 pop songs from many different decades (but the list is really hard to read--we couldn't at all in the living room, despite pausing it and walking right up to the TV, and I barely can here on my computer), 9 of which are listed on imdb. Rated PG-13, this is something parents could watch with their kids, probably as young as 10. Fun, lightweight entertainment, not just for girls.

Casino Jack (2010)

Not to be confused with the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money (2010), this would be funny if not for the fact that it's based on the true exploits of the greedy shysters Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon. Kevin Spacey and Barry Pepper are narcissistic perfection as Jack and Michael respectively. I loved Spacey's Oscar-winning work in The Usual Suspects (1995) and American Beauty (1999), as well as Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), The Ref (1994), L.A. Confidential (1997), Pay It Forward (2000), The United States of Leland (2003), Superman Returns (2006), 21 (2008), and my personal favorite, as a mean Hollywood producer in Swimming with Sharks (1994), plus he had a small part in The Men Who Stare at Goats, and was the voice of the HAL-like computer in Moon. I was afraid to see Saving Private Ryan (1998) and forgot to see the TV movie 61* (2001), but apparently Pepper was great in those as Private Jackson and Roger Maris (nominated for Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice awards for the latter). I did see, and liked Pepper in The Green Mile (1999), The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), and, of course True Grit, in which he played Lucky Ned Pepper. The supporting cast brings much to the table, including Jon Lovitz (best known for Saturday Night Live (1985-92), he's done lots of other work, including part of the ensemble in Happiness (1998)) as a crooked client, Kelly Preston (best known as Mrs. John Travolta, she was nominated for Razzies for Worst Supporting Actress on The Cat in the Hat (2003) which WAS awful, and for Old Dogs (2009) (we avoided it) and won for Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (2000)) as Mrs. Abramoff, Graham Greene (115 roles, including his Oscar nomination for Dances with Wolves (1990)), and Rachelle Lefevre (the redhead wife in Barney's Version).

Director George Hickenlooper (Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apolcalypse (1991), Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003), more) unfortunately died at age 47, seven weeks before the December 2010 release of this movie. Probably just as well, because it was poorly received--36% from critics and 37% from audiences on rottentomatoes--unlike its brother documentary which earned 84% and 80%. We didn't hate this, and laughed a number of times, although it is a bit long and many factual details are left out, perhaps because the filmmakers thought we should know them. We saw it in a limited release on a big screen, and it's now out on DVD, with, according to one reviewer, a photo diary from the director and more insight into the great talent of Kevin Spacey.

Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux - 2010)

This beautifully photographed drama about some real French monks in 1990s Algeria (during civil unrest) has garnered beaucoup awards and nominations. Everything I've read about it is filled with spoilers, so I won't link to any articles. Co-written (with Etienne Comar) and directed by Xavier Beauvois, it is sad but lovely, with long lingering shots of the anguished men. Cinematographer Caroline Champetier (87 credits, all French, none that I've seen) was nominated for a European Film Award for her work on this. The soundtrack, attributed to lead actor Lambert Wilson (many credits both here and in France) consists mostly of the monks' singing hymns a cappella. I was hoping to hear the excerpt from Beethoven's Symphony 7 that we enjoyed each time we saw the trailer, but, in the movie they used part of Swan Lake instead, which we had just heard in Black Swan.

The critics on rottentomatoes have given this 91%, with audiences weighing in at 78%. We found it slow but soulful.