Tag Archives: Stellan Skarsgård

Thor: The Dark World {Film Review}

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With Iron Man 3 and The Wolverine out of the way, it is now the God of Thunder’s turn to shine from Marvel. Set straight after the events from The Avengers, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is a prisoner of Asgard and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is busy keeping order to the Nine Realms. Though this all comes after a (rather obligatory and unneeded) opening with Anthony Hopkins’ Odin providing a voice-over. We’re introduced to Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), leader of the dark elves who has been searching a dark force called the Aether. Though defeated by Odin’s father, he and his army have escape and wait while in hibernated suspension till the Aether has been recovered.

 

Thor isn’t an easy character to be taken seriously, he is also the least relatable character out of The Avengers (he is a God after all). Kenneth Branagh succeeded on bringing Thor to life in 2011 but also handling the character with such sophistication (having adapted William Shakespeare’s plays helps). Director Alan Taylor now takes rein of the sequel and it’s not surprising with his previous credits (The Sopranos, Game of Thrones etc.) that he was a fitting choice. Though the big question was where do you take the story after Thor and The Avengers? Quite simply, you amp up the scale!

Thor - The Dark World

 

Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor and he delivers such charismatic charm. As said before, he may not be relatable but being likeable makes a huge difference if we’re going to be rooting for him. He continues to grow valiant and noble, even taking huge risks that not only will cost lives but their loyalty to his father and to Asgard. Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three (Fandral (Zachary Levi), Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson)) all return to bring their support (even if they’re given little to do). Anthony Hopkins makes a commanding presence as Odin, though he also can’t help but camp it up at times. Frigga finally has more to do and say this time round, making up for her lack of presence in the first movie. Though the character of Jane Foster is the most frustrating, mainly because she’s such an uninteresting character and is, ultimately, a damsel-in-distress. As Darcy (Kat Dennings) mentions that she’s been constantly looking for Thor but also eating her feelings away with ice cream in her pyjamas. I understand you were swooned by a God and see him in New York battling aliens but she’s such a pathetic character to even remotely worry for her when she’s in peril (no wonder Natalie Portman doesn’t talk about her much because there’s not much to talk about). Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig and Kat Dennings’ Darcy are the supplemental comedy reliefs, though their scenes does come across being desperate comedy.

 

Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith brings menace but he’s unfortunately another weak Marvel villain (along with Mandarin in Iron Man 3). His motive is simply to bring darkness to the universe, yet it isn’t as threatening as it should be and comes out being one-dimensional. At least with General Zod in Man of Steel, you understand the reason for his motives despite the extremes he will take to achieve them. Though the highlight is Tom Hiddleston as Loki, he absolutely takes this opportunity to go all out and have fun. The scene between Thor and Loki are very funny, exchanging witty comebacks and sarcastic remarks on each other. Though underneath this comedic bantering, there’s an emotional core and you become attached to these two. There are a few cameos that many will enjoy, though one in particular will have scratching their heads on who he is and what relevance has he to do with Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Oh and Stan Lee makes his appearance of course.

 

This movie has certainly been given a huge make-over since the first movie. Marvel was keeping it safe by having the budget moderately low in the first movie, they now give Taylor an arsenal to expand the Thor universe. The majority of this movie takes place in Asgard or Svartalfheim and really brings the sci-fi/fantasy settings to great use. It does contain some beautiful imagery (Asgard looks alive and robust, even aerial shots of Malekith’s ship floating in space). With the mix of fantasy and sci-fi, the movie does give the audience a task to just roll with it but manages to pull it off. The final climactic battle between Thor and Malekith is short but not excessive enough to keep it from being exciting and creative (something Zack Snyder should have done with Man of Steel).

Overall: Thor’s second entry is great fun and Taylor has continued to bring sophistication but also confidence to the character. Doesn’t exceed to greatness but it does whet movie-goers appetites for Marvel’s next outing with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy next year.

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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) {Film Review}

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*WARNING – MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!*

“The Feel Bad Movie Of Christmas” One of many taglines given during this holiday season, though not a very festive movie at all! David Fincher makes a return to investigative thrillers and making a controversial decision by remaking Steig Larsson’s original best selling book on which a Swedish TV/ Movie was made only two years earlier. Many were already skeptical and assuming it would be set in the United States and the featured sexualised violence would be softened. More talented cast and crew were brought aboard the project encouraging the public to take it more seriously.

The story is of the journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), who has been disgraced after filing a report on his opponent Wennerström. He gets called in to investigate a missing person report for Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), even though this person has been missing for forty years. Blomkvist eventually teams up with computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).

The film is phenomenally well made, all down to the casting, cinematography, writing and direction. David Fincher was born to make these kinds of films, this film all smells familiar from his previous work (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac and even The Social Network). Jeff Cronenworth brings an icy cold presence to the Swedish landscapes but he also creates so arresting cinematography that takes your breath away at times. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross make another hit on their fantastic score, still containing conventional and electronic musical notes that we heard from their score for The Social Network but Dragon Tattoo‘s score delves deep into Lisbeth Salander’s psyche and probably the only thing that shows any sign of humanity within Lisbeth. The editing from both Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall is fast and fluid. The 158 minute running time may put some viewers off but the story goes by before you could even check the time on your watch. The difference between Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo and Niels Arden Oplev’s original is 2011 version is a more cinematic aroma to it (in terms of its direction and production value behind it).

Daniel Craig suits the character of Mikael Blomkvist. It is hard at times to look past Craig as 007 but he shows he can be just as clumsy as we all would be. His dress sense isn’t as elegant as Bond and sometimes has his glasses hanging underneath his chin while he is putting the clues together. Though the driving force of the Millennium trilogy (both from the novels and the films) is Lisbeth Salander, played previously by Noomi Rapace and now played by Rooney Mara. Mara worked with Fincher in a small role as Mark Zuckerberg’s fictional ex-girlfriend in The Social Network and it is not a surprise why Fincher chose her over the likes of Carey Mulligan, Scarlett Johansson, Keira Knightley and even Kristen Stewart. She looks childlike, almost alien from the bleached eyebrows and jet black hair-style. We find it hard to imagine at first glance that such an intelligent loner can handle herself but when she does get her vengeance back (being raped by her guardian, Bjurman (Yorick van Wageningen)), she rises up like a phoenix and we root for her. The difference in direction is the scene where Lisbeth tells Mikael her childhood isn’t done by flashbacks as the original did but keeps focused on Lisbeth telling the story. It is just as emotional and affective without any flashbacks and I prefer Fincher’s simple direction with Lisbeth’s back-story.

For those who have read the novel or 2009 original, it won’t come as a surprise to the reveal. Steven Zaillian (previous credits include Schindler’s List, American Gangster and co-wrote Moneyball along with Aaron Sorkin) adapts the novel very well but brings a few touches that stands apart from the original and doesn’t entirely fall onto the feeling of deja vu. The story itself, written by the late Stieg Larsson, isn’t a masterpiece and it is your basic ‘whodunit’ mystery thriller (though in the hands of Fincher, he creates something as exciting and fresh). Both Zaillian and Fincher both stated they wanted to make an adult thriller from the very start and this really isn’t something a PG-13 rated audience should watch. The as mentioned rape and torture scenes are really hard to watch and Fincher puts the subject matter up-front.

Overall; an intelligent dark thriller that is immensely entertaining and all credit goes to David Fincher and his incredibly talented crew. Rooney Mara makes a career making performance and I am looking forward to seeing the rest of this new Millennium trilogy.

5 out of 5!