Thor: The Dark World

Loki is locked up and Thor with is warrior friends are forging a peace across the nine realms following the rebuilding of the Bifrost after the previous debacle. But the calm is not allowed to build as Dark Elves, who are thought to be obliterated eons ago are re-awoken by an unwitting Earthling. You are then treated to some heavy CGI magic and loads of hammer wielding Thor action resulting in an enjoyable shallow action flick. 

Rating: * * +

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Thor

The premise of this film is simple. All conquering immortal warrior, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is cast down to Earth by the Allfather Odin (Anthony Hopkins). It is now up to the new Earth hero to pick up the pieces and restore himself to full light while putting up with nattering of a very hot ineffective Natalie Portman. Thankfully it doesn’t take much away from the film as this Marvel franchise is being handled with aplomb by Kenneth Branagh. If only they had borrowed more from the Ultimate side of Thor…

Rating: * * +
PS: It seems like Tadanobu Asano is really hard up on cash!

Léon: The Professional

Léon (Jean Reno) is a profession hit man for the mafia with a simple life. He drinks milk, tends to a plant and kills people. All that changes when when his teenage neighbor Mathilda’s (Natalie Portman) family is killed by a group gun totting assassins led by snarly Gary Oldman. Mathilda becomes his responsibility and against his better judgment he starts to train her so that she can take revenge.

It is hard to feel fear with Oldman’s villainous incarnation after seeing the likes of Javier Bardem and  Heath Ledger. However, Natalie Portman has arguably played her best role to date. Unfortunately the role was her first. A cult classic that has not aged well in some parts but timeless in others.

Rating: * * +

Black Swan

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) wins the lead role in the epic ballet, Swan Lake. She seamlessly fits in to the role of the White Swan, however playing the Black Swan proves elusive. As she strives to get under skin of the darker alter ego, she she finds her own dark side seeping out. Darren Aronofsky as always pushes the limit to shock and thrill. The film is very watchable in an edge of your seat kind of way but it felt like a watered down version of Helen Oyeyemi's Icarus Girl.

Rating: * * +

Brothers

Had high hopes for this one - considering it was Jim Sheridan and from what I understood, a fairly dark plot of 2 brothers coming face to face with new realities. Tobey Maguire, the elder brother, returns from Afghanistan with a secret that he can't possibly live with. Brothers had none of the intensity of Daniel Day Lewis (in this brilliant film) or the brilliance of Paddy Considine (in In America) on show. The story was inspired by the original and highly rated Danish movie. But Brothers came across horrendously flat and lacking soul. The trio of Tobey Maguire (desperately trying to shake his Peter Parker image), Natalie Portman (who is no Hilary Swank; more like Anna Kournikova of Hollywood) and Jake Gyllenhaal (who plays the usual goofy character that he specialises in) were poor. Immensely forgettable.

Rating: * +

My Blueberry Nights

Wong Kar-wai's first English feature burns, splutters and slowly dies out. With his regular ingredients of leading men who smoke, mysterious women, fractured relationships, blossoming love and cops; the featured strained to be ethereal, beautiful and melancholic but something was lost in translation.

The casting was poor and the acting was abysmal other than for David Strathairn. The music was listless in spite of the presence of Ry Cooder or rather his absence. But what was missed the most were the saturated hues of Christopher Doyle and that melancholic streak which usually graces all of Kar-wai's flicks.

Rating: * +

Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson is at it again and he has made a come back from his lackluster (my opinion) Life Aquatic. A brilliant script backed by some fine acting by Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman. Owen Wilson bumbles along in his usual style. They play three brothers who meet up to make a spiritual journey across North India. The cameos by Irfan Khan, Bill Murray and Natalie Portman were a nice touch too. An orey funny movie in bits and pieces that make a decent whole.

Rating: * * *
PS: Part I of the film was the bit that really hooked me.

Free Zone

The first seven minutes of the movie shows a close up of Rebecca (Natalie Portman) crying in a taxi on the streets of Jaffa. The weight of her sadness roots her to the cab. The driver Hanna (Hana Laszlo) is forced to take her into Jordan's Free Zone. Hanna hopes to collect some money for her husband's business. But we all know how hope treats the hopeful...

Rating: * *

Paris Je t'aime

An ode to Paris and the love that it creates, I suppose. Some 20 different directors come together with a variety of international stars, to shoot 18 chapters of romance in Paris. Some of them are amusing/interesting - some others are bizzare especially Christopher Doyle's piece in Chinatown. I realise I am not a big fan of these joined up movies - it appears to be nothing more than some pointless kind of a creative need to "do something together". Worth a watch though.

Rating: * * +