Thor (MC: 58, RT: 77%)

[SephYuyX]

Minute clip

Thats some uh.. class A acting..

[6souls]

that's the same clip as above, you should probably post the new one with Hawkeye, or I'll go find it.

Edit: Ripping it now, I'll have it uploaded in a few. It's a "class A" fight scene.
Edit: ripping failed, Marvel just put it up.

New Clip "You're Big"


TV Spot #7

[6souls]

Thor will be rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi action & violence.

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[Delirium]

Nice to see Hawkeye for a second in the you're big clip

[Tyrath]

Why does the TV spot say april 21st when this is supposed to be released on may 6?

[Pikarya]

Comes out early in Australia. Just like Iron Man 2 did.

[6souls]

Rebel


Worthy

[6souls]

How Dare You

[6souls]

double..

[Delirium]

kinda wish they would stop posting clips. so tempting to watch them, but I want the movie to be as fresh as possible when I see it in theaters

[6souls]

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[6souls]

Heimdall's Observatory
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[6souls]

Reviews:

Matt's Movie Reviews

Spoiler: show

Variety

Spoiler: show

Neither the star pupil nor the dunce of the Marvel superhero-to-screen class, "Thor" delivers the goods so long as butt is being kicked and family conflict is playing out in celestial dimensions, but is less thrilling during the Norse warrior god's rather brief banishment on Earth. With Aussie hunk Chris Hemsworth impressive in the lead and helmer Kenneth Branagh investing the dramatic passages with a weighty yet never overbearing Shakespearean dimension, pic looks sure to reap big B.O. on the strength of its ready-made audience, but faces a tougher time attracting viewers for whom this type of fare is the exception rather than the rule.

Although the comicbook has been in print since 1962, Thor hasn't scored much more than supporting roles and guest spots in various toons and telepics since. With this in mind, scripters Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne have wisely penned an unhurried but engrossing half-hour setup of the lesser-known Marvel character and the three worlds he inhabits.

Opening snapshot in New Mexico finds astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), her gal-pal/assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Jane's mentor, Dr. Erik Sevig (Stellan Skarsgard) investigating a twister-like atmospheric disturbance. In their haste to discover what's come down in the storm, their RV knocks down Thor (Hemsworth), a buff and bearded stranger.

Bulk of the action in the first couple of reels sets up Thor's fall from grace in his homeland, Asgard, a heavenly realm ruled by his supremely wise but aging father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Just moments away from peacefully ascending the throne ahead of brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor leaps into an eye-popping interdimensional portal and leads an unauthorized attack on Jotunheim, home to their enemies, the Frost Giants, led by reptile-like Laufey (Colm Feore). Odin's punishment: Thor is dispatched to Midgard (Earth) with his magical hammer, Mjolnir, but cannot use the mighty instrument until he overcomes the classic mythological shortcomings of arrogance and impetuosity.

Speckled with amusing fish-out-of-water humor as Thor marches around a dusty New Mexico town like he's still in Asgard, the story promises much from the attentions of government agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Thor's brewing confrontation with the Destroyer, a hulking creation that resembles a high-tech suit of armor and shoots fire from its eyes. He's joined in this endeavor by Asgard warrior pals Sif (Jaimie Alexander), Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Josh Dallas), and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano).

Yet Thor's smackdown with the Destroyer is all too brief and anticlimactic when stacked up against the spectacularly rendered rumbles in other dimensions. Though Thor's romance with Jane is passable, thanks largely to Portman's sterling work in a thinly written role, the couple isn't given enough alone time or meaningful dialogue to raise the relationship above the ordinary.

It's a different matter in the heavens. Hopkins rises to the occasion with a restrained yet powerful portrayal of a father forced by conscience to deal the bitterest of judgments upon his chosen heir, and Hiddleston gives a finely tuned perf as the sibling whose loyalty or otherwise to Thor remains a tantalizing question until deep into proceedings. Almost unrecognizable as the star of Aussie soap "Home and Away" in the mid-2000s, Hemsworth holds his own in distinguished company and will serve the series well in any sequels and "The Avengers," Marvel's all-star superhero bash skedded for 2012 release. Given only a handful of lines, Rene Russo is under-used as Odin's wife, Frigga.

As the living actor and director most closely associated with Shakespeare, Branagh may seem a surprise choice for such material. A childhood reader of the comics, he brings a fan's enthusiasm and his skill as an actor's director to the table here. Fitting Hemsworth out with a classical but never pompous British accent and shooting emotionally charged sequences with elegant simplicity, Branagh succeeds in rendering his mythological characters deeply human.

While no fatal missteps are taken along Thor's path to redemption, pic has a slightly choppy feel, as if it's trying to squeeze an origin tale and at least part of its sequel into a single entity. Most of the material motors along just fine, though the editing occasionally seems a bit too hurried in moving from one dimension to the next. An extra reel of Earth-bound story might not have gone astray.

Assembled by A-list artisans in non-gimmicky 3D (the first such Marvel superhero entry to utilize the stereo format), "Thor" looks great. Production designer Bo Welch, costume designer Alexandra Byrne and lenser Haris Zambarloukos present striking visions of Asgard as an otherworldly utopia constructed from gleaming golden materials and bathed in a warm amber glow, and Jotunheim as the dank and forbidding lair of the mythical world's most malevolent outcasts. Effects work is on the money, with the suspended, glowing Bitfrost gateway from Asgard to other worlds an eye-catching highlight. All other technical credits are thoroughly pro.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945029?refcatid=31

The Hollywood Reporter

Spoiler: show

Chris Hemsworth gives a breakout performance as fallen Norse god Thor in Marvel's summer blockbuster, which co-stars Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins.

SYDNEY -- The Marvel universe moves into the cosmic realm with Thor, a burly slab of bombastic superhero entertainment that skitters just this side of kitschy to provide an introduction befitting the mighty god of thunder. It’s a noisy, universe-rattling spectacle full of sound and fury with a suitably epic design, solid digital effects and a healthy respect for the comic-book lore that turned a mythological Norse god into a founding member of the superhero team known as The Avengers.

The arrogant warrior Thor’s great conversion, central to the plot, is unrealistically lightning-quick and the movie’s dramatic arc falters amid the constant shifts between earthly and celestial realms. But execs at Marvel Studios, gambling heavily on the success of Thor and the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger to set up next summer’s ensemble behemoth The Avengers, can rest easy: You’ve built it and they will come. They may even bring a date.

The ultimate accessibility of Thor’s fantastical world is due in no small measure to the good-humored direction of Kenneth Branagh, a man with a highbrow history who knows his way around an epic tale, and a star-making turn from Chris Hemsworth.

As the hammer-wielding protagonist who learns humility among the humans, the little-known Aussie soap star (last seen briefly as Captain Kirk’s father in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot) shoulders the burden of selling this $150 million entrant into the ever-expanding Marvel franchise.

Branagh may convey a lofty intellect to the Shakespearean interplay of feuding fathers and sons, and co-stars Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman the actorly gravitas. But the 6-foot-3 Hemsworth adds the winning ingredients, bringing a lusty Viking charm to his rumbling Olde English line readings, a towering physicality and biceps that look forged in a furnace. Verily, he is ripped.

Thor crashes into being in a desolate stretch of New Mexico desert, his face planted inelegantly against the windscreen of an RV driven by Natalie Portman’s storm-chasing scientist Jane Foster.

As Jane, her mentor Professor Andrews (Stellan Skarsgard) and sidekick Darcy (Kat Dennings, from Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, along purelyfor comic relief) puzzle over his provenance, we whip back in time and space to the floating kingdom of Asgard, where Thor’s father Odin (Hopkins), the ruler of all nine realms, fills in decades of back story in voiceover.

It’s heavy stuff, made all the more portentous by Patrick Doyle’s somewhat overwhelming score, and thankfully there’s someone of Hopkins’ caliber to deliver it.

Thor is about to inherit the throne from the ailing and aged Odin when an unexpected incursion by the Asgardians’ longstanding foes, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, disrupts the coronation.

The mighty god of thunder, foe to all demons, suddenly does a very good impression of a toddler throwing a tantrum in a supermarket aisle. His hot-tempered recklessness has even more dire consequences though: The peace and stability of the universe is threatened.

An enraged Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth, leaving Thor’s half-brother Loki next in line to the throne and Thor with the task of proving himself worthy of again wielding his magical hammer Mjolnir.

The scenes between the three immortals high in the heavens have an electrifying intensity – Tom Hiddleston as the jealous and snaky Loki handles the intimate scenes with particular aplomb – and the earth-bound scenes can’t help but seem flat by comparison.

Back in the desert, we get some solidly amusing fish-out-of-water antics as the mighty Thor struggles to adapt to his mortality and a world of Facebook and iPods, but scriptwriters Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne working from an effective origin story by J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich, have their eye on a bigger prize.

It’s the love of a good woman that powers Thor’s life lesson in humility and humanity and Portman’s astrophysicist makes short work of converting Thor; too short, some will say, but there’s much story to cram in here and we haven’t even gotten to that oddly out-of-place glimpse of Jeremy Renneras The Avenger’sHawkeye.

The action pinballs between Asgard, the desolate ice planet of Jotunheim, and Earth, where a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from the Iron Manfilms (Clark Gregg) is making it difficult for Thor to retrieve his magic hammer and save the humans and the kingdom of Asgard from the forces that would destroy them.

Bo Welch has created some stunning designs, with Heimdall’s Observatory, the celestial portal that connects the various realms, a particular triumph. Full-throttle fight scenes and the stunt work overall feel organic, although Branagh’s over-reliance on slanted angles and an unusual slow-mo sequence are merely distracting.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rev...-review-179283

[6souls]

Hitflix

Spoiler: show

I am of mixed mind about the glut of superhero cinema right now, and this summer is going to test the patience of the audience with the genre.

In the comments section for my "Transformers" piece yesterday, Vern posted a few times, invoking the image of Pauline Kael trying to write about the current landscape of movies. And it's both very funny and a nice humbling reminder that critics are defined by their overall diet of movies. We are only ever as good as the movies we are given to write about, and when I'm done with all of this in the future, will the sum total of my work be varying opinions about how well people crafted movies that primarily deal with dudes in funny costumes beating the hell out of each other?

The thing is, part of me has been waiting my whole life to see the Marvel characters in particular brought to life on the bigscreen. Now that they're actually doing it, there is a great deal of satisfaction in seeing how they approach each of the characters, and even if I haven't loved all of the films, it's been exciting to watch these things come to fruition. And I am happy to admit that I'm an easy mark for this sort of thing. I have a voracious appetite for pulp, and I'm not sold on the idea that these movies need to be "important". On the other hand, if they're not fun, they don't really have any reason to exist. These films cost a small fortune, especially if you want to make the outrageous seem possible, and that sets up the expectation that they must be bigger and more significant than the average issue of a comic book… even if that's all these films really are.

"Thor" is the latest film from Marvel Studios, and part of this year's double-feature that completes the run-up to next summer's "The Avengers," the biggest gamble the studio's made so far, and one of the biggest gambles from any studio in town. One of the most common complaints about last year's "Iron Man 2" was that it felt like more of a set-up for another movie than a complete story that worked on its own, and that's certainly a danger when you're working your way towards something. "Thor" is also risky for the studio because it is the first moment where they're introducing magic to the Marvel Universe, which has been defined by a sort of pseudo-science so far, impossible but at least pretending to be set in a real world. With "Thor," they're making a pretty major jump, and even after visiting the set and reading the script, I had some big questions about whether or not they'd strike the right tone and find a way to make this feel like part of the world they've been so carefully building.

The answer is a resounding yes to both questions.

Chris Hemsworth, best known to audiences as Kirk's father in that powerful opening scene to "Star Trek," is just as good a fit for the character of Thor as Robert Downey Jr. is for Tony Stark, and that one thing goes a long way to making the film a pleasure to watch. Finding the right way to introduce the character and his mythology is the big task this movie has, and there were some very interesting choices made in deciding how to bring Thor to life. First, they dumped the notion of him changing into a human being, something that was part of the earliest version of the character that Marvel published. Originally, Dr. Donald Blake had no idea he was Thor until a chance encounter with a cane he found in a cave revealed his true nature to himself. In that version of the story, he had been sent to Earth by Odin to learn humility, and living his life as a human being in an infirm body was an important way of guaranteeing that he could not rely on his considerable physical power or his godly powers.

With "Captain America" coming out this summer and focusing on the startling transformation from skinny Steve Rogers to muscle-bound Captain America, Marvel made the wise decision to not deal with a shape-shifting Thor, while still finding a way to do something thematically similar. Instead of an origin story, they've decided to tell the story of the moment when Thor goes from an indifferent impulsive god to a being who has a connection to our world that makes it important to him and who is able to think beyond himself finally. It is his transition from a super-powered being to a full-blown superhero, and in doing so, they've managed to make a movie that doesn't really feel like any of the other Marvel movies, that has its own voice, and that pulls off its various goals with real charm.

The film opens on Earth, or, as Thor calls it, Midgard. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), her friend Darcy (Kat Dennings), and Professor Andrews (Stellan Skarsgard), Jane's mentor and advisor are looking at a strange energy phenomenon, one that Jane predicts will manifest again over a specific part of the southwestern desert. When it does, they race towards it in their RV, braking only when a figure looms up out of a cloud of dust and debris and they end up hitting him. As Jane runs to help him, she looks around at the miles and miles of desolate landscape and asks, simply, "Where did he come from?"

The next half-hour of the movie backs up to answer that question and introduce us not only to the character of Thor, but to the world he inhabits. For years, I've heard Avi Arad and Kevin Feige refer to "Thor" as "Marvel's answer to 'Lord Of The Rings'," and when they first started developing the film, they were planning something more fantasy-oriented, a film that would take place across the Nine Realms. That was before they started bringing all the properties together in one shared world, though, and at some point, they realized that they needed to use this movie to bring Midgard and Asgard together. The film spends some time establishing the basic rules of Thor's world and introducing Odin Allfather (Anthony Hopkins), the ruler of all the realms, and his sons Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), one of whom will end up sitting on his throne one day. While Hopkins has certainly played variations on this type of figure many times over, he works with an economy here that is appreciated, and both Hemsworth and Hiddleston perfectly fit these roles. They take these big mythic archetypes and make them human and specific, not an easy task.

Thor is close to taking the throne from Odin, and on his coronation day, there is a disturbance that upsets everything. Frost Giants from Jotunheim, one of the Nine Realms, somehow manage to infiltrate Odin's Vault, where weapons gathered from around the universe, each one powerful enough to bring about Ragnarok, have been stored for safe-keeping. There's one that was stolen from the Frost Giants that they want back, and they actually make it all the way to where it's stored before The Destroyer steps out and kills them all. The coronation is interrupted before Thor can be crowned, and Odin, Loki, and Thor investigate, not sure how anyone could have made it into Asgard unobserved. Thor wants to immediately go confront the Frost Giants, and in particular, he wants to kill Laufey, their king, as an example. Odin tries to get him to stand down, but a bitter argument erupts between them, Loki desperate to make peace before things escalate. Too late, though, and Odin realizes that he almost handed over the rule of Asgard to an angry child.

He strips Thor of his powers, banishes him to Midgard, and then invests Mjolnir, Thor's magic hammer, with a magical task. Only once Thor has learned humility and become a person of substance… only once he is worthy… will he be able to reclaim his hammer and all the powers that come with it, setting up a very simple Sword In The Stone scenario which becomes Thor's main focus once he wakes up and realizes he's on Earth. That brings the movie full-circle, back to that opening scene out in the desert, and is a major element in the middle of the film. Based on the trailers and the clips so far, I was worried that the film would be nothing but wacky fish-out-of-water humor about Thor trying to fit into a modern world, but by now, you've seen most of that. It's not the main thrust of the film. Instead, the film keeps cutting between Asgard, where Odin has fallen into the enchanted Odinsleep, leaving Loki on the throne, and Earth, where Thor is having to confront what it means to be a mortal man. Loki, who starts the film as a trusted and loved brother to Thor, reveals his true nature fairly early on to the audience, and he ends up learning some hard truths about his own origins that leave him shaken, things that threaten to destroy Asgard completely.

A few observations about things I really liked in this film: when superpowered beings fight in this film, there is a sense of power and force that we still haven't seen in many of these movies. I've complained often about how disappointing it is when Superman faces off against a human-scaled threat like Lex Luthor because it means we never really see the upper limits of what Superman can do. In this film, there are many fights where every single being onscreen is superpowered, and all of the punches and kicks and throws are full-strength, nothing held back. And while Kenneth Branagh has still never met a dutch angle he didn't love, the action in the film is staged well, and there are some beats and some images that push comic book language on film to places we haven't seen before. In particular, I think everything involving Heimdall (Idris Elba) is spectacular, and I love his Observatory and the way the Bifrost works. It is crazy, but it's also kind of beautiful. I also really like Sif (Jaime Alexander) and the Warriors Three, Thor's compatriots. Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Joshua Dallas), and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) don't have a ton to do in the film, but they make their time onscreen count. If they do show up in future movies, it will be a welcome return.

Beyond that, Mjolnir is made a credible weapon of choice, something I was curious about beforehand. One of my many issues with "TRON: Legacy" was that the discs are interesting in the context of a disc wars jai alai match, but as hand-to-hand weapons, there are few things stupider than the sight of two people slapping at each other with magic frisbees. They just didn't work, and you could practically feel the fight choreographers give up halfway through the few action scenes they even bothered to stage. Here, there's a lot of different weaponry on display, and it all seems like actual weaponry you would use to actually kill things. Mjolnir is pretty damn handy in a fight, and Hemsworth makes it feel like something he's comfortable using in a number of different ways. In general, he makes his powers feel like something he's comfortable with, a lifelong part of who he is. There's no montage in this film of him trying to learn to fly or tentatively trying out the hammer to see what it can do. He is Thor from the very beginning. His character arc is all about his attitudes towards the world around him, and his eventual acceptance of responsibility for his actions.

In some ways, "Thor" feels like the youngest of the Marvel movies so far, pitched squarely at a kid audience that really doesn't know the character, and that may infuriate some older fans. I've long been afraid, though, of 30 and 40 year old men who demand that each and every movie about thunder gods and radioactive spider-men and vigilantes in batsuits be tailored directly to their appetites. I read comic books as a kid. They were a gateway to pulp storytelling for me, and I was rabid about them. I don't want these movies to be serious, piercing explorations of the human soul. I want superpowers and fights and flying and monsters, and "Thor" absolutely delivers on that level. Branagh finds a nice tone to play with the entire cast, and there is a sense of humor to things that seems fairly low-key and gentle. For me, the most consistent laugh in the film is the way the oh-my-god adorable Kat Dennings keeps mangling the pronunciation of "Mjolnir."

The film is true enough to its comic origins to incorporate ideas like the Rainbow Bridge, one of those things I honestly never thought I'd see anyone do in a live-action movie, and they manage to make it sort of gorgeous. Bo Welch's production design takes some big crazy ideas and figures out a way to make it all seem fairly real. Haris Zambarloukos, the film's cinematographer, shot one of the ugliest professionally-produced movies I've ever seen, the borderline-incompetent "Mamma Mia!", and he worried me more than Branagh walking into the film. His work here is strong, though, and there's a burnished hyper-color quality to the world that works well. Branagh is one of those directors who I think works very well with actors, but who has traditionally displayed a fairly wretched sense of cinema. I still wake up in cold sweats thinking about how badly he mangled the gorgeous script for "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein," and I'll never understand what people see in "Dead Again," even if I live to be a thousand years old. Having said that, I generally liked his work here. I was surprised by how much I liked some of the giant-scale sequences, since I thought those might be the places where he dropped the ball, but there's one chunk of action that takes place on the Frost Giant's home planet that is very effective, and while I'll give second-unit legend Vic Armstrong some of the credit for that, it's a testament to how well Branagh was able to drop into someone else's way of doing things that it all came together as coherently as it did.

Natalie Portman is fine as Jane Foster, but it's not really a role that demands much of her. She is basically the thing that allows Thor to finally see humans as more than these weak little backwards beings, and she's certainly pretty enough to make a god reassess our planet. Dennings is comic relief and little more, but she is as plush and appealing as always, while Skarsgard has a few good scenes and appears to be part of the big plan for what's coming in future films. In general, the material with SHIELD seems to organically hint at the larger Marvel Universe this time without totally overwhelming the main story in the film, and the after-the-credits beat in particular is very effective. I thought the Hawkeye cameo in the film was utterly pointless, though, and especially for audiences who don't know the character already. I would never guess, based on his two minutes of screentime here, that Jeremy Renner's going to play a major role in "The Avengers" next year. He's not just inconsequential, he's useless and distracting. It is fan service, at best, and more than anything, sort of annoying. I also think there's a disconnect between the spectacular real environments built for Asgard and much of the CGI work, which seems to re-use certain shots several times to the point where they almost feel like stock footage. I like the design of Asgard more than I like the way some of it was executed, and it seems odd that Digital Domain and BUF, companies that I think are among the best at environmental work, would make some of the odd mistakes they make here.

Even so, there's a whole lot of the film that I really like, and I can't wait to take both of my sons to see it. Allen's never seen any of the Marvel movies so far, and Toshi's only seen them on home video, and even then, only selected parts of the films. This time out, the playful nature of the film and the broad, primary-colors storytelling seems like a perfect way to finally introduce them to the world. The 3D post-conversion is actually pretty clean and used well, and I think for kids, the immersive quality of it all will really pay off. If "Captain America" is at least as fun as "Thor," then Marvel can rest easy until next summer, because they will have managed to introduce each one of the Avengers successfully. The best thing I can say about this film is that it genuinely made me want to see Hemsworth arguing with Robert Downey Jr., magic versus science, and I can finally imagine the two of them occupying the same world.

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-c...-greatest-hero

Cut Print

Spoiler: show

With the success of the rolling Iron Man franchise and the hype of upcoming films Captain America and The Avengers, Marvel Studios would be feeling pretty smug in the aftermath of the Disney merger. Oh, and that’s not mentioning the next Spider-Man instalment either, sans Raimi/Maguire/Dunst. As the comic-book craze pushes on, Marvel’s aura of invincibility is not completely ridiculous, and so they bring us what they believe to be an important difference with their next adaptation. Most superheroes are born with powers or receive them under freakish circumstances — not many can claim they recieved them from upstairs.

Based around Norse mythology, the story of god-of-thunder Thor manages to relate universally, with key themes of disagreement, sibling rivalry and betrayal. As Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) grow up, they fight for their father’s approval and respect. But when King Odin (Sir Anthony Hopkins) chooses Thor as heir and future King of Asgard, tempers get the better of these hot-blooded men and Thor eventually finds himself banished to Earth, where he meets astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

Penned by a trio of writers (two of whom have also scripted the upcoming X-men: First Class), Thor delivers a light but enjoyable mix of story, never staying with one plot too long as to disinterest the increasingly observant comic-geek target audience. This hero is a bit of a dark horse in that he is arrogant and ignorant, having to change the way he behaves in order to be worthy of his role (and therefore superhero-dom) in society. That difference gives it a much more moral ring, but with its mythological origins, that is to be expected.

Director Kenneth Branagh (Sleuth) and agents Sarah Finn and Randi Hiller have assembled a surprising cast ensemble to be trusted with Marvel’s latest. Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Portman, Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings and Rene Russo together are a truly eclectic bunch, with Jeremy Renner providing an expected (but somewhat underwhelming) appearance as Avengers hitman Clint Barton/Hawkeye. While his accent at times renders him almost unconvincing, former Home & Away star Hemsworth in his first lead role shows promise as a dependable leading man. His bulky physique ensures he is Thor – and that he’s the latest source of female attention. It’s Hemsworth’s relative inexperience that Branagh initally claimed as one of the reasons for not initially shooting in 3D (so as not to overwhelm him), but Marvel have opted for the dreaded post-conversion 3D anyway. But while the use of 3D doesn’t cost the film a whole lot (just the audience), the special effects are a bit hit and miss; the rainbow bridge and realm-travelling scenes amaze, but others fail to meet the epic proportions set by the filmic content.

With the occasional laugh bolstering the simple story, Thor remains wholly intriguing largely because of its cast. Marvel succeded with a similar blend of action and irony in Iron Man, but here it’s the characters that truly give Thor its complexity. While it outlines well-worn themes, it’s entertaining despite its predictability. Until now, Thor has remained on the unexposed end of the comic-book scale, but this film could be the first of a successful under-the-radar franchise, not to mention a solid stepping stone toward Joss Whedon’s The Avengers movie in 2012. Your take of the film could be made or broken post-credits wherein arguably lies the biggest laugh of all.

Verdict
An enjoyable film, Thor remains solid throughout; seasoned and unknown actors blend well to introduce a new hero to cinema.

http://cutprintreview.com/reviews/3-...s/thor-review/

The Film Pie/ABC Radio Brisbane

Spoiler: show

The story of Thor spans several million light years. It begins in the distant world of Asgard, ruled by the wise King Odin (Hopkins). After many years on the throne, Odin has decided to pass the mantle to his eldest son, Thor (Hemsworth).

It’s clear that Thor is not ready for the responsibility. Looking to assert his “manhood”, he hastily declares war against the neighbouring realm of Jotunheim. Thor may have incredible strength but he and his small army are no match for the nasty inhabitants of this icy planet. Bruised and broken, they are lucky to escape.

Disappointed with his son’s actions, Odin strips Thor of his power and banishes him to the planet Earth. Not until he has proven himself worthy will he be able to return home. Quietly happy with these events is Odin’s younger son, Loki (Hiddleston). He has always lived in his older brother’s shadow but he now sees this as an opportunity to take the crown for himself.

Thor’s arrival on Earth creates quite a stir. He is discovered by a team of scientists headed by the experienced Professor Andrews (Skasgard) and the inquisitive Jane Foster (Portman). They’re not sure what to make of Thor’s strange stories and unusual mannerisms but they sense something magical about him. If he really is from a far away galaxy, his knowledge would be invaluable to their research.

They’re not alone with that line of thinking. A government agency has also become aware of Thor’s arrival but they’re more interested in the mysterious hammer that he has brought with him. It’s lodged itself atop a small rock and despite all their efforts, they cannot move it. It reminded me of King Arthur and his famous sword in the stone.

There are quite a few characters in the mix but my reaction throughout much of Thor was apathetic. It’s not a horrible film but it’s one that doesn’t want to take any chances. It has been crafted from the familiar PG-mould used by many other comic books adaptations over the past decade. It wants to impress with dazzling special effects rather than through an emotive, captivating story. There’s clearly an audience for this film but I don’t think I’m part of it.

The performances in Thor aren’t too bad. The dialogue is expectedly cheesy (particularly from those in Thor’s small army) but I had a soft spot for Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings. They inject the film with much-needed humour. Australian Chris Hemsworth also deserves credit. He takes his shirt off when required (sure to please many) and taps into Thor’s rough, arrogant nature. It’s just a shame I didn’t care more about his character (a fault of the screenplay).

I confess to becoming tired of comic book films. They offer few surprises and continually reiterate the same themes. There are exceptions however. I’ve enjoyed the darker undertones contained within the rebooted Batman series. The Dark Knight highlighted the fine line that often exists between good and evil. Christian Bale also captured the torturous nature of being a hero through his strong performance.

The ushers will probably be cleaning up around you but make you stay all the way through the lengthy end credit sequence. You’ll get a sneak peak at The Avengers, the 2012 Joss Whedon film that brings together Thor, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America. Now that looks interesting!

http://www.thefilmpie.com/index.php?...tid=36:reviews

Portland Mercury; Slurpee review

Spoiler: show

http://www.portlandmercury.com/image...1-thorhero.png

Regular Mercury readers are painfully aware that I am terrible at my job, and write about absolutely nothing with any reliability, consistency, professionalism, or interest. I do, however, report the shit out of movie tie-in Slurpees; my rather impressive record on this matter, I believe, speaks for itself. So: Are you ready for another summer full of rambling posts tangentially related to frozen carbonated beverage syrups that're crudely marketed with shameless promotional tie-ins to major motion pictures? You better be, 'cause it's gonna one hell of a ri—wait. Actually, I don't care if you're ready. What matters is that I am. Here we go!

My trip to 7-Eleven to get an Inspired by Thor Blue Lighting Blast™ Slurpee was the single worst trip to 7-Eleven that anyone has ever, or will ever, be forced to endure.

Oh, I was excited. It's been a long, dark winter, and a shitty spring, and I can honestly say I'd been looking forward to this expedition for entire minutes before Wm. Steven Humphrey and I hopped in my car and made our way to our nearest 7-Eleven to Thor it up. I mean, you try not to be excited after reading something like this:

"DROP THE HAMMER ON YOUR TONGUE WITH A THUNDEROUS NEW TASTE THAT COULD ONLY HAVE COME DIRECTLY FROM THE MAGICAL WORLD OF ASGARD!"

That's from slurpee.com, though they have it written without the caps lock and also without an exclamation point, possibly because whomever slurpee.com has hired to write ad copy for them is not nearly as excited as they should be about the prospect of a Thor Slurpee (official flavor name: "Inspired by Thor Blue Lighting Blast™"), and, at the very least, they should probably have their employment status and/or enthusiasm levels looked into by a fairly stern supervisor.

Anyway: If a convenience store is offering me a culinary experience that's described as (A) a hammer hitting my tongue and (B) as hailing from a magical world, that's pretty much all I need to know. Whatever could go wrong?

http://www.portlandmercury.com/image...3-sadsteve.png

As usual, Steve ruined everything, taking a big shit on the whole afternoon and making everyone in the 7-Eleven really uncomfortable by repeatedly shouting "What the shit? What the shit is this bullshit?" Considering that last summer he wouldn't shut up for like six horrible months about his stupid Iron Man Slurpee cups—cups, plural—I expected him to be really excited about this. And yet. I asked him for his thoughts.

I hate this fucking Slurpee decanter SO MUCH. It's THOR for chrissakes... where's his stinking helmet? What? Pretty boy movie actor doesn't want to get "helmet hair"? FUCK YOU, FRUIT CUP. If you want to play the goddamn God of Thunder, then you pick up the goddamn hammer and you wear the goddamn helmet!! Thanks to your pretty-boy vanity, you've ruined this entire Slurpee series, which was previously the highlight of my fucking year! Suck my dick, you piece of shit Nancy twat.

Those italics are are there because Steve insisted on emailing me his "statement" so I wouldn't "misquote" the "important things" he feels the 7-Eleven corporation "needs to fucking know." Eleven minutes after I got that first email, he sent me another, this one with the subject line "And another thing!"

And another thing! I happily sucked out the contents of Iron Man's head for hours... BECAUSE HE LOOKED LIKE GODDAMN IRON MAN. There's no way in shit I'm gonna put my lips on the head of this dandelion flower fop. I might get hair product in my mouth!! HAHAHAHAAA! Because he's a fruit loop and puts a lot of product in his hair! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!

Digression 1: Steve seems oddly angry at Thor being in touch with his feminine side, especially for a dude who's made a career out of writing about Superboy's nipples:

• "As those with pedophilic tendencies already know, Smallville is the weekly nighttime soap about Superman when he was a hunky teen (hunkily played by Hunky McHunkerson Tom Welling)."
• "[Tom Welling is the] juiciest piece of man-meat this side of The Rock."
• "[Tom] Welling appears to be pushing 35 (still looks good without a shirt, though!)"
• "We're going to have to wait until October for another chance to see Superboy Tom Welling waggle his perky nips."
• "Last night when I flipped on my TiVo, I discovered it had pooped the bed. It didn't work AT ALL! Naturally, I panicked.... How am I supposed to obtain a sexual thrill when Smallville's Tom Welling takes off his shirt?"
• "See... it's all about 'freedom'—'dig?' The freedom to make fun of old people (like Matlock) and get sexually horny over a top-nude Tom Welling."

Moving on: I guess the point is, people feel really strongly about Thor's helmet, and 7-Eleven's decision to leave it off their giant Thor novelty Slurpee cup lost them at least one grumpy customer, who pouted like an angry baby for the entire drive back to the office.

http://www.portlandmercury.com/image...8-fig1fig2.png

Digression 2: I'm beginning to have serious doubts about the efficacy of 7-Eleven's Slurpee marketing strategies. In the corner of this particular 7-Eleven—in the same place they were last year—were still-ignored Slupee tie-in products from two years ago. Just in case you're wondering where to get your ultra-rare collectible cups for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Iron Man 2, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and, uh, FarmVille, I guess?

http://www.portlandmercury.com/image...711failure.png

Maybe these movie tie-in flavors and cups are a huge failure, but 7-Eleven can't admit it without looking really stupid, so they just have to keep on going? Like somewhere in Jersey there are just vast, Raiders of the Lost Ark-style warehouses piled to the rafters with forgotten Tango & Cash Slurpee cups? I'd like to see some sales numbers, here, honestly, because given that backlog of dusty plastic, I'm suspecting non-movie Slurpee products—like the crappy one below, perhaps, which gives off an unexpectedly smug air, considering it's sitting next to Inspired by Thor Blue Lighting Blast™?—might be the unsung heroes of the 7-Eleven.

http://www.portlandmercury.com/image...hieschoice.png

ANYWAY AGAIN. So, how was the Inspired by Thor Blue Lighting Blast™?

http://www.portlandmercury.com/image...50-tragedy.png

I got a Coke Slurpee instead! It was okay.

http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/...lighting-blast

Reuters

Spoiler: show

The Marvel universe moves into the cosmic realm with "Thor," a burly slab of bombastic superhero entertainment that skitters just this side of kitschy to provide an introduction befitting the mighty god of thunder.

It's a noisy, universe-rattling spectacle full of sound and fury with a suitably epic design, solid digital effects and a healthy respect for the comic-book lore that turned a mythological Norse god into a founding member of the superhero team known as The Avengers.

The arrogant warrior Thor's great conversion, central to the plot, is unrealistically lightning-quick and the movie's dramatic arc falters amid the constant shifts between earthly and celestial realms. But execs at Marvel Studios, gambling heavily on the success of "Thor" and the upcoming "Captain America: The First Avenger" to set up next summer's ensemble behemoth "The Avengers," can rest easy: You've built it and they will come. They may even bring a date.

"Thor," which world-premiered in Sydney on Sunday, opens in various foreign markets ahead of its North American bow on May 6 through Paramount.

The ultimate accessibility of Thor's fantastical world is due in no small measure to the good-humored direction of Kenneth Branagh, a man with a highbrow history who knows his way around an epic tale, and a star-making turn from Chris Hemsworth.

As the hammer-wielding protagonist who learns humility among the humans, the little-known Aussie soap star (last seen briefly as Captain Kirk's father in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot) shoulders the burden of selling this $150 million entrant into the ever-expanding Marvel franchise.

Branagh may convey a lofty intellect to the Shakespearean interplay of feuding fathers and sons, and co-stars Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman the actorly gravitas. But the 6-foot-3 Hemsworth adds the winning ingredients, bringing a lusty Viking charm to his rumbling Olde English line readings, a towering physicality and biceps that look forged in a furnace. Verily, he is ripped.

Thor crashes into being in a desolate stretch of New Mexico desert, his face planted inelegantly against the windshield of an RV driven by Natalie Portman's storm-chasing scientist Jane Foster.

As Jane, her mentor Professor Andrews (Stellan Skarsgard) and sidekick Darcy (Kat Dennings, from "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist," along purely for comic relief) puzzle over his provenance, we whip back in time and space to the floating kingdom of Asgard, where Thor's father Odin (Hopkins), the ruler of all nine realms, fills in decades of back story in voiceover.

It's heavy stuff, made all the more portentous by Patrick Doyle's somewhat overwhelming score, and thankfully there's someone of Hopkins' caliber to deliver it.

Thor is about to inherit the throne from the ailing and aged Odin when an unexpected incursion by the Asgardians' longstanding foes, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, disrupts the coronation.

The mighty god of thunder, foe to all demons, suddenly does a very good impression of a toddler throwing a tantrum in a supermarket aisle. His hot-tempered recklessness has even more dire consequences though: The peace and stability of the universe is threatened.

An enraged Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth, leaving Thor's half-brother Loki next in line to the throne and Thor with the task of proving himself worthy of again wielding his magical hammer Mjolnir.

The scenes between the three immortals high in the heavens have an electrifying intensity -- Tom Hiddleston as the jealous and snaky Loki handles the intimate scenes with particular aplomb -- and the earth-bound scenes can't help but seem flat by comparison.

Back in the desert, we get some solidly amusing fish-out-of-water antics as the mighty Thor struggles to adapt to his mortality and a world of Facebook and iPods, but scriptwriters Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne working from an effective origin story by J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich, have their eye on a bigger prize.

It's the love of a good woman that powers Thor's life lesson in humility and humanity and Portman's astrophysicist makes short work of converting Thor; too short, some will say, but there's much story to cram in here and we haven't even gotten to that oddly out-of-place glimpse of Jeremy Renner as The Avenger's Hawkeye.

The action pinballs between Asgard, the desolate ice planet of Jotunheim, and Earth, where a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from the Iron Manfilms (Clark Gregg) is making it difficult for Thor to retrieve his magic hammer and save the humans and the kingdom of Asgard from the forces that would destroy them.

Bo Welch has created some stunning designs, with Heimdall's Observatory, the celestial portal that connects the various realms, a particular triumph. Full-throttle fight scenes and the stunt work overall feel organic, although Branagh's over-reliance on slanted angles and an unusual slow-mo sequence are merely distracting.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...73H08A20110418

[6souls]

Once she caught our eye on TV shows like Nurse Jackie, Bones, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, we guessed it would be only a matter of time before Jaimie Alexander made a splash on the big screen. What we hadn’t counted on was her doing it in the form of a beautiful Asgardian goddess in this summer’s epic blockbuster Thor. What can we say? The lady likes to make an entrance!


You play the warrior Sif in Thor. What can you tell us about her?
She’s very strong and a very, very skilled warrior. She fights alongside Thor in battle, and she can definitely hold her own against the men in the film.

Did you have to train a lot to prepare for the fight scenes?
Yeah, we trained for three months prior to shooting. I learned how to fight with a lot of sharp objects! I have a sword that turns into a double-bladed long staff, and a shield as well.

So you’re pretty good with a sword now?
I should think so! If I wasn’t, I’d feel really, really terrible, because I trained with one for so long. I think it’s something I can use in future endeavors, too.

Endeavors like…getting into a sword fight?
Oh, yeah. You know, I do that a lot on weekends.

Did you slice anyone up while you were filming?
I did injure a couple of the stuntmen. A lot of times during the fights, we would use the real weapons because the stuntmen were padded up, but once in a while my sword would meet their faces. I felt so bad—but I have to say, I got hit a few times as well, so I think it all evened out in the end, you know? I had a dislocated rib, and I almost fractured a bone in my arm. It looked pretty gross.

So we can believe the violence in this movie?
Yeah! We totally brought some realism to it.

Do you think you could kick Thor’s ass after all that training?
I think I could. I mean, Chris Hemsworth has got brute strength, but I’m faster.

Did you know much about Marvel’s version of Thor before you started the movie?
I did, actually. I grew up with comic books. I’m totally a nerd.

What other heroes would you like to play?
I always loved Wonder Woman. But now that I’ve played Sif, I feel like Sif is a little classier. Maybe don’t write that…

“Jaimie Alexander Calls Wonder Woman a Tramp.” That’s our headline, right there.
Oh, God! Yeah, what a hussy!

Now that you’ve had Norse warrior maiden training, what’s your favorite part of your body?
My butt. I like my backside. I do! Because I don’t have a lot up top, but I have plenty down below. One out of two ain’t bad.

You must get hit on a lot. What’s the worst pickup line you’ve ever heard?
This kid, I guess he must have been 15 or so, came up to me and said, “Did it hurt?” And I looked at him like, “What? Did what hurt?” And he goes, “When you fell from heaven.” And I thought, Aww. And then I’m like, Oh, God, you’re 15. I gotta get out of here!

Can you tell us one thing you’re secretly really good at?

Well, thanks to the nerd inside me, I can do a really spot-on impression of Chewbacca. [Does perfect Chewbacca impression, complete with howling and gurgling]

Oh, dear God.
I know, I know! I’m classy like that.

Status Update
Birthday: March 12, 1984
From: Greenville, South Carolina

Smashing first impression: If Jaimie could hurl Thor’s hammer at any celebrity, it would be Johnny Depp: “Just to get his attention.”
Full-on fangirl: “I’ve been to Comic-Con a couple of times. I visited all the booths, getting pictures with people.”
See her in: Dramedy Loosies alongside Vincent Gallo, and post–Civil War drama Savannah with James Caviezel and Chiwetel Ejiofor, both out this year.
Secret shame: She has several Michael Bolton songs on her iPod. “I think his voice is sexy, so you guys can just kiss my ass!”

http://www.maxim.com/amg/GIRLS/Girls...nder.alternate
http://www.maxim.com/amg/VIDEO/Movies/Jaimie+Alexander

[6souls]

[Pikarya]

Audi commercials for Iron Man were much better tailored.

[Delirium]

Marvel has been doing a whole lot of variant covers to promote Thor. This is my favorite

Spoiler: show

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li...0l4io1_500.jpg

[Laugana]

Is that a man, a woman or a Vulcan?

[quannum]

it's loki, he's trolling the social network's poster
http://www.abload.de/img/the-social-network-posfn62.jpg