Thor (2D)

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Plot: Oden (Anthony Hopkins) gets mad at Thor (Chris Hemsworth) because of disobedience, and banishes him to Earth, where he crash lands. Cute scientist Jane (Natalie Portman) finds him, and gives him jeans and a T-shirt to wear, but soon they go off in search of his magic hammer. Meanwhile Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) claims the throne and sends a Destroyer to kill Thor. Action movie action follows.

Review: The Thor scenes on earth with Natalie Portman and especially wise-cracking Darcy (Kat Dennings) are entertaining -- the movie has fun with the comicbook stereotypes by having Darcy befuddle Thor with 2011 tech. The god comes to earth and is pretty clueless. Chris Hemsworth did a nice job with the part, and Natalie Portman was back to top form. 


I was less entertained by the in-fighting of the gods on Asgard, and the fighting with the ice-people was  dull. I did not like the blue animated ice King Laufey or evil brother Loki. Guardian Heimdall (Idris Elba) was pretty cool, and I'd like to see some sub-plots with him.

So the good parts were the low tech talking scenes, and the bad parts were the expensive fighting scenes and palace scenes.

The Destroyer battle in the earthtown was pretty scary -- it was the scariest monster scene I have seen in a while. I liked that part, and I was pretty into it.

The music was dull, and the art direction was spotty.

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh, based on the comic book by Stan Lee, et al.

Rating: 2.5 stars; pretty fun to watch, but un-even.

More: It looks like Jane/Natalie Portman is coming to Asgard in the sequel.

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Fast Five (Fast and Furious Five)

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Plot: Dominic (Vin Diesel) is a fugitive hiding in Brasil with his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and her boyfriend Brian (Paul Walker). Soon they need money, and they start stealing cars. The run afoul of the local gangsters and the US DEA. Soon both are hunting them. The DEA sent super-agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to Rio to catch them. The hatch a scheme to rob the Brasilian Godfather with a big team like in Oceans 11/12/13.

Review: This is a big noisy popcorn movie with lots of good moments many including automobiles, but without a heart. The best part is Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson who are better than most action heros, and they pose and posture. There is a lot of clever tough-guy  banter and a few skinny girls to provide distraction and love interests. 


There is a lot of cartoon style gunshots and impossible car stunts. People fight and shoot and no one ever bleeds. The movie gets more and more far-fetched as it goes, but that is OK because this is a popcorn movie so shut up and watch. Stay home if that is going to be a problem. 


While it has good moments the overall effect is not that inspiring. I liked some of the people, but basically they are just thieves who kill people for the money. The biggest problem is that the director seems to think we know these people already, and the characters are re-living some scenes from the earlier movies. That is why most movie series don't make it to five.

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson

Directed by: Justin Lin

Rating: 2.0 stars

More: I liked the closing credit song and the stylized race scene. The song is How We Roll by Don Omar and other artists.

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2011 Has Solid High Concept Movies

 I have given five 3.0 ratings this year, and no ratings higher than that. It bothers me that I can't differentiate between these movies which were all enjoyable, but all flawed.

It makes me think that I should adopt a ten point rating system or something.

The five strongest movies of 2011 so far are Lincoln Lawyer, Source Code, Hanna, Adjustment Bureau, and Limitless. You can find the reviews below, or on the Top 2011 Movies on the right sidebar.

Of the four movies, which one do I want to see again?

Hanna is the coolest from an action movie sense, and probably the most fun. The beginning scenes in Finland are Oscar worthy, and the overall storybook metaphor provides a good context. The lack of an ending is disturbing, but indie films often lack endings.

Nonetheless all these movies had problems too. Hanna had good problems too. Hanna and Lincoln Lawyer only had good performances from Saoirse Ronan and Matthew McConnehey. Hanna would have had a high rating if the ending would have been stronger too.

Lincoln Lawyer was clever, but at bottom it was just a clever lawyer story -- and there are so many clever lawyer stories. It was a pretty enjoyable movie though.

Source Code  was a high concept movie that involved a limited amount of time travel. The story was a little weak in that it showed the same scene over and over, but the strength was the acting. It had good supporting actor performance from Farmiga and Monaghan, but Gyllenhaal was only OK. I also liked the idea of a major character only interacting via a grainy TV. Farmiga is the reason this is a three, otherwise, it is a little weak.

 Limitless is probably the most over-rated of this group. The acting was only OK, especially DiNiro. I gave it a high rating because I like the premise of a smart drug, and the issues that it played out. In retrospect, I's probably drop it back.

The villains are pretty dumb in Limitless.

The best part about Lincoln Lawyer was McConaughey, and the flawless exposition of a complicated plot. It falls down because it has no ambition beyond entertainment, and it lacks good supporting actor performances.  Lincoln Lawyer is just for fun, and it can't get beyond that.

Adjustment Bureau is like many of the others with supernatural forces, but it engages some big issues like political manipulation, freewill and predestination. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are great, but the film is less than the sum of the parts, and it is just not that fun.

At some point we wonder when is Damon's character David going to give up and get with the program.  At the end of the movie, they punt on the big issues and go with the love story, which is fine for a Hollywood movie.

So where does this leave us?  Hanna is the strongest, Adjustment Bureau and Lincoln Lawyer are in the middle, and Source Code  and Limitless were a little weak.

The Lincoln Lawyer

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Plot: Mick (Matthew McConaughey) is a scrappy defense lawyer who is hired by Louis Roulet, a rich heir, to defend him against a sexual assault charge. The case is not so simple, and soon Mick is being manipulated by Louis as other murders enter the story.

Review: The Lincoln Lawyer has two things going for it Matthew McConaughey, and a really well written plot. McConaughey has gives Mick presence and depth. He has a low volume understated style that gives him added intensity. The story, based on the book by Michael Connelly, is full of twists and turns. Marisa Tomei is also a highlight.

The soundtrack is good. I will look for some of them on iTunes.

The Lincoln Lawyer does not have any social message, but it is fun to watch. I enjoyed seeing it.

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillippe

Directed by: Brad Furman; based on the novel by Michael Connelly

Rating: 3.0+ stars; Almost 3.5, but it is just a little empty. It needed a good solid supporting actor performance.
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More: I don't really believe that most lawyers would let themselves be manipulated like this. Maybe Mick needed the money. I'd think that they'd usually resign.

Even more:!! Spoiler!! How did Mama Roulet get the gun?

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Hanna

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Plot: Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a sixteen year old who was raised entirely in a northern forest by her father (Eric Bana). Her father taught her four languages, an encyclopedia of knowledge, and fighting skills. Her father gives her a mission to kill Marissa (Cate Blanchett), who is a CIA spy -- perhaps a rogue spy -- we don't know. When the CIA find her, they lock her up in Morocco, but she kills some people and escapes.

Review:  Hanna the character was mysterious and engaging. Hanna the movie has some outstanding images and artfully staged scenes. The chase scenes are really fun -- they are all on foot and with a Chemical Brother's soundtrack .

The movies best scenes are at the beginning in the woods, and the early scenes when she is escaping. There are a lot of scenes of Hanna running, which gives the movie a sense of motion. The later scenes with the adult actors are not engaging. There is a high body count in the later scenes -- almost like video game killing. 


Hanna meets a girl her age, Sophie (Jessica Barden), who helps Hanna adjust to the world, and gets her a date. The kissing scene with the boy is priceless. The pillow talk scene is also tops.


Ronan and Blanchett's acting was servicable. Bana was empty and dull. Barden stole her scenes. 


The big gapping weakness is the ending, which Hanna simply doesn't have. None of the story lines are resolved. When the ending credits roll, I felt like " Wow a great ride, Why did it end now?"

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett

Directed by: Joe Wright

Rating: 3.0 stars; Would have been 3.5 but there was no ending.

More: "I just missed your heart."

Even More: The forest scenes were in Finland where it was as cold as - 33C/-28F.

Yet More: The Brother's Grimm Amusement Park Scenes are from Spreepark, near Berlin.

Still More:  See this interesting speculation on a re-write that is more true to the fairy tale theme.

Source Code

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Plot: Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is sent back in time to a bombing incident on a train so he can catch the terrorist. He does not catch the terrorist first try, and he has to do it over and over Groundhog Day style. Eventually we learn that he is working on a military research project. His contact at headquarters is Captain Collen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga,) and most of the dialog is between them over a grainy TV.


On the doomed train, Colter eventually meets the passengers including cuty Christina (Michelle Monaghan) whom he gradually falls for.

Review: Source Code's real strength are the three main actors, Gyllenhaal, Farmiga and Monaghan. Gyllenhaal plays with intensity and a range of emotion unlike many action stars. I loved the awkwardness that Farmiga shows as she explains to Colter what he needs to do; good enough for an Oscar nomination. Monaghan is very likable and does good facial acting. 


The repeated scenes are not boringly repetitive unlike similar movies, and director Jones compresses the trips back to keep the story moving. 


At the end the movie engages the question whether Colter has any rights  -- like the movie RoboCop, the song Iron Man, or countless Star Trek Next Generation episodes. 


The movie was enjoyable but not super-fun to watch. It was easy to relate to the peril Coulter was in.

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan

Directed by: Duncan Jones

Rating: 3.0 stars; probably only deserves 2.5, but why not?

More: Nice shots of Chicago

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The Tourist

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Plot:  A woman who is apparently married to a criminal fugitive is told to hook up with a tourist on a train to distract police and other criminals from the husband. The movie follows the tourist and the woman as they run from gangsters and MI-6.

Review: The Tourist is highly stylized and and Angelina spends a lot of time posing. It is as much a spoof of spy movies as it is a romantic comedy where the tourist and glamourous girl gradually fall in love. Johny Depp is engaging, although he is too grubby. Angelina could spend less time posing, and more time being likable.

This movie is just for fun.

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt

Directed by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Rating: 2.5 stars; decent entertainment; not high cinema. I saw it on a plane, and it was decent enough.

More: The ending was fun, but it does not fit with the action from the beginning of the movie.

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