Thor

Thor is another superhero movie based off of Marvel comics, but instead of spidey webs and the green hulk, we get...well, Thor, a spirited and powerful to-be god of thunder of his heavenly universe. What we get here is nothing new; a typical hero's journey. With an star-studded cast and renown British actor/director, Kenneth Branagh, one might expect an awesome movie, right? Well, not exactly.

The movie begins with Jane (Natalie Portman), an astrophysicist, and her research crew (Kat Denings, Stellen Skarsgaard), who is traveling the desolate landscapes of New Mexico, hoping to find something extraordinary in the skies. Within minutes we see something light up in the sky and then suddenly a tornado strikes earth, but, of course, this isn't just some random tornado. What we get is Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who has been banished from a place called Asgard for his act of stupidity and recklessness (as with his hammer). From here, the movie actually goes back in time to show us, the audience, what happened prior to the opening scene. Thor is meant to believe that his banishment from Asgard is permanent, but little does he know that his brother, Loki, purposefully set this entire scheme from jealousy. So, what we have here is a morality tale. The rest of the movie is...well, you can pretty much guess it all.

My problem with Thor is not the storytelling, which Branagh does an absolute fine job of doing. His Shakespearean talent and abilities combined with the modern world of Thor works well; we got all the essential characters and their motives established. Instead, the movie gets too carried away and consistently digresses, which dragged out the film. The humor is heavily used right from the start, which worked but got a little old after a while. This does die down progressively as the movie reaches the climax.

Character development was not an issue...at least with Thor it wasn't. Each and every character in this, apart from Thor, was not given enough screen time to develop. We get the funny people, the bad guys, and friends, etc. But in the end, I was left feeling hollow instead of wholesome. Rather than focusing on the characters, Branagh got carrid away showing off his visionary style of Asgard and the universe.

There isn't very much to say about Thor. It wasn't a bad movie by all means, but it wasn't very good. Special effects were undoubtedly the highlight of this film and even Natalie Portman couldn't save this movie from becoming a snooze-fest within the hour mark of the film. If you want to watch a cheesy, undeveloped, but fun action movie, then here you go.

Grade: C+

Super 8

Before I continue, I want to say that Super 8 has absolutely NOTHING to do with Spielberg's E.T.

So, what the heck is this movie about?

Here is a kind of film that you will either love it or hate it. Director J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) and Producer Steven Spielberg collaborate in Super 8, a movie that does not fall within the typical sci-fi/alien genre. Super 8 is set somewhere in Ohio during the late 1970's (1979 to be specific), a seemingly ordinary town with a seemingly ordinary community. Guess what happens next? Yeah, you got it! Weird, unexplainable things begin to happen: people disappear, full-blown out train wreck, strange creatures walking around the bushes, etc. Don't worry, this movie has more to it.

Let's make a movie!

We're introduced to our young male lead from the get-go, Joe, and his group of film aficionado friends. In his group of friends we have the director (his best friend), the actress(his crush), the light guy, and on and on. Pretty stereotypical all-American group of friends we got here. During one summer evening, they all decide to make a movie near some old railroad tracks, but trouble soon finds them when a mysterious man drives onto the tracks and derails the entire train, while the kids manage to escape without a single scratch. Of course, now the question floats around: who and why?

"What the hell..."

Without giving too much away, the movie does go further in-depth and things actually begin to make sense. As the kids pretend to be oblivious about the train wreck, people begin to disappear randomly, dogs run away, lights flicker unpredictably, etc. This goes on for about a good thirty or so minutes. But during this time, we begin to see the relationship between Joe and Alice (Elle Fanning) grow. We also find out early in the film that Joe's mother passed away due to some tragic incident, which the story emphasizes a lot on. From then on, Joe's main conflict is to move on and finally 'let go' of his mother's death. To get this out of the way, the movie isn't just about some alien invasion in a town; it's more a drama-based movie with elements of sci/fi.

I wonder where my dog went...

The general audience expected another Cloverfield due to the misleading teaser trailer. However, Super 8 does not fall into the pit of cliches fortunately. But what was so different about Super 8 was that there was no surprise to it, which doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing. Just don't expect to be amazed by some incredible twist. Character development is an essential part of the storyline: the romance between the two leads, the two leads' parent's conflicts, and friendship drives the story for the most part. The entire alien theme felt like an allegory/metaphor, which parallels the character's conflicts throughout the movie. In the end, what you get is a good, family-orientated storyline rather than a meaningless action-packed movie.

What is that thing?!

Again, Super 8 is not your typical sci/fi movie. There is no huge surprise, but it gets the job done well. Performances are great, editing is slick and well executed. The plot is heavily carried by the lead's personal conflict, not the aliens. What could potentially come out of all of this is a pretentious movie about kids with big mouths running around, or you can simply enjoy it for what it is. Abrams does a fine job directing and adding the popular lens flares to share a nostalgic movie-going experience. Don't expect another E.T., but, instead, anticipate something different and innovative. I thoroughly enjoyed Super 8 and I recommend it.

Grade: B+

Black Swan

 Black Swan is not your typical drama/thriller/...whatever you want to label it as. For the past decade, Director Darren Aronofsky had brought nothing but true artwork to the tables, and every time he does, it's something new. His latest installment, Black Swan, is about a ballet dancer, Nina (Natalie Portman), who confronts her dark side in order to achieve the dual roles of the White/Black Swan. As the movie progresses, it takes us on a psychedelic and terrifying trip into the depths of undergrounds of New York City and, most importantly, Nina's mind. But when do we draw the lines between reality and fantasy? Aronofsky combines his story with the actual Swan Lake ballet op. 20, which later interwines with reality, and, ultimately, unravels as the film reaches its climax. Now, I'm going to start with the first act of the film.

Who Am I, Really?

The movie starts off with Nina's dream, and in this dream she is dancing the prologue of Swan Lake. As this scene ends it establishes the ominous undertone of the film. Within the first ten minutes we are introduced to Nina's mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey), who is completely overbearing over her daughter. Now, there are many ways you can go from here: first off, her mother could be envious of her daughter, which can explain her eclectic behavior (If you already saw this, the cake scene is a perfect example). There are other behaviors that might imply that Erica sexually abused her daughter (constant "My sweet girl" saying)...but I think that's over the edge. Anyway, after we get introduced to her mother, we meet her co-workers, who all seem not-so-bright, but could it be Nina who is secluding herself from people? Who knows since, after all, this is from her perspective. We also meet her competition (or friend??) Lily (Mila Kunis) and Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), the all-mighty ballet intructor, known for his devious reputation with his co-workers. From here we keep thinking, "Lily is the antagonist." So, the rest of the third act is basically about Nina dancing and obsessing over winning the role of the "Black Swan," you know, time fillers.

Nina: You Sure About This?? Lily: Relax.

Now, here is where it gets juicy: She gets the part! (surprise, surprise!) A nice way to transition into Act II of the film. Act II is mostly consisted of Nina struggling to "lose herself" as Thomas puts it. Her obsession with her new role soon begins to affect everyone around and even herself. Oh, I almost forgot. Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder) is also a some-what important character since she is the one to be replaced by Nina as the movie transitions into its second act. She loses it when she finds out that Leroy replaced her and winds up in the hospital with a broken leg (could it be intentional? That's the mystery behind it). Anyway, this is where Lily comes into the bigger picture. As Nina struggles to "lose herself," Lily sort of befriends her by taking her out to the bar. Here is when we discover how different Lily is from Nina; Lily does drugs, goes to bars, have sex, etc. Nina eventually decides to be a little more social and goes out with Lily one night. This is where it gets crazy good! Nina begins to have visions of strange/terrifying unexplainable things and us, the audience, is thrown into a juggle of reality and fantasy.

Perfection is my priority.

Aronofsky does a good job with throwing in metaphors throughout the entire movie; it was almost not hard to catch them all by the time it ended. Mirrors are apparent throughout and symbolizes Nina's personality conflictions. There is one particular mirror in her home that is like a kaleidoscope. This mirror stood out most to me because it symbolizes the breaking of her innocence as she loses it. Colors in Black Swan is also very raw and adds substance to the movie. Most of the movie is black and white with a little bit of warm/bright colors like pink here and there. Of course, Nina is constantly wearing pink, representing her innocence and the "sweet child." Even her bedroom is pink! But as she begins to experience the real world, the pink goes out the window, and by the end of the movie she is wearing black/gray for the most part. To make production value cheaper, Aronofsky opted for film rather than standard digital (most films are filmed with digital nowadays), giving the movie that grainy, gritty look. Aronofsky truly knows how to spend his budget constructively; this movie cost about $13 million, much lower than the typical film production budget.

It was perfect.

Sexy, divine, terrifying, mystifying, roller-coaster ride...it's hard to label Black Swan; it is an audaciously rare cinematic gem. It takes an obsolete theme and pursues a different approach. Aronofsky immerses the audience into the cutthroat world of ballet dancing like never before! I'm not hesitant to say that this is definitely a strange movie, and by strange I mean that this movie does a good job at making people feel uneasy, but that is what is brilliant about Black Swan; it's unconventional. Performances are nothing but amazing, especially Natalie Portman and Barbara Hershey, who play their roles so convincingly that it will make you cry. Black Swan should be the film to watch in any film studies class.

Grade: A-