Thor: The Dark World (October 2013)

Official Australian release date: 31/10/13. Viewed: 30/10/13.

Director: Alan Taylor
Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston
Genre: Action / Adventure / Fantasy
Rating: M.

‘Thor: The Dark World’ (or ‘Thor 2’) is another solid entry into the Marvel Universe – it’s not the best superhero film, nor is it the worst. I’m glad they’ve kept the cast together and hopefully Marvel can do this across all their franchises, as it gives them a bit of authenticity. It’s fun to see how they link some of the threads back to ‘The Avengers’, particularly with Dr Erik Selvig (Skarsgård).

Now, I don’t know who out there actually loves Thor, because he’s certainly one of my least favourite Marvel characters, especially in the comics, as he’s so rigid and boring and never does anything too exciting. He’s certainly no Wolverine or Spiderman. And that’s the film’s biggest hurdle – how to make Thor and the story interesting for 110min. It sort-of achieves this… I know it’s mostly set in Asgard, a different realm, but even then there are still a few things which stretch credibility:

-     Why do the “Dark Elves of Svartalfheim” wear puppet masks? And why do they want to destroy the universe and – presumably – themselves?

-     What exactly is the “Ether”? It’s not just an alkaline chemical…

-     Where exactly is the “Dark World”? Is it on Asgard, or is it another realm? Is it different to the “Limbo” dimension?

-     Is Benicio Del Toro actually needed at the end of the film?

-     Why is Asgard so poorly defended?

-     Why does the final confrontation take place on Earth, where the Dark Elves can be easily found? And why can’t the other Avengers – or the Fantastic Four, or the X-Men – help? Especially if the future of the universe is at stake? Seems unlikely S.H.I.E.L.D. would leave this up to Thor by his lonesome…

One of the big saving graces is some of the witty laughs provided by Chris O’Dowd and Kat Dennings (plus Stan Lee’s patented cameo!). There’s some expertly timed quips thrown in, which add some levity to what could easily become quite a cumbersome story. I think that Hopkins was pretty wasted as Odin, Hemsworth has some decent moments as Thor, but Hiddleston as Loki once again almost steals the show, because even though you may hate him, he’s often so likable! A great character to hold this part of the Marvel Universe together.

Overall: Another decent superhero film (I gave ‘Thor’ 3.5 stars too) which is entertaining enough, even if it sometimes tries a little too hard to be something it’s not.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

The Butler (October 2013)

Official Australian release date: 31/10/13. Viewed: 22/10/13.

Director: Lee Daniels
Actors: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz
Genre: Drama
Rating: M.

I can see why people are comparing ‘The Butler’ to ‘Forrest Gump’ – it does trace a lot of American history from the last 60 years, but it’s not an alternative history, it’s just told from one man’s perspective from his unique position within the White House.

The best part of this film is the cast – it is stacked and it’s fun to see which president will be played by which actor. You have to bear in mind that Cecil (Whitaker) served under seven different U.S. presidents, played by (you’ll have to guess who portrays each president) John Cusack, James Marsden, Alan Rickman (yes, even though he’s British), Liev Schreiber and Robin Williams – some very interesting choices. It’s also odd to see Oprah, Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz acting, although they don’t do too bad a job.

The meat of the story is obviously the civil rights movement in the U.S. in the 50’s–70’s (as told through one family's struggles) and it is truly shocking and confronting to see some genuine footage of how black people were treated in the South at that time. I can barely comprehend how or why anyone would want or feel the need to treat another human like that – or that the world used to discriminate against you if you were black, female or homosexual. Hopefully there’s no such prejudices left anywhere in the next 20 years.

Overall: Good biopic and covers some interesting history, but it’s just missing a little something to make it truly memorable.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Metallica Through The Never (October 2013)

Official Australian release date: 10/10/13. Viewed: 10/10/13.

Director: Nimród Antal
Actors: Dane DeHaan, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Rob Trujillo
Genre: Music / Action
Rating: M.

Pretty simple – if you like Metallica, you’ll enjoy this film, and if you don’t like their music – don’t watch it! It’s essentially a concert film, although shorter than usual, since they only play 14 songs over 90min, rather than the usual 18-20 songs over 140min. The only difference being that this concert is interspersed with 2-5min clips of the roadie (DeHaan) fetching a bag…

I admire what Metallica have tried to do here – spicing up a standard concert film by adding some narrative – but it doesn't really work as you don’t really care what’s going on outside the venue, especially since it makes no sense! It’s basically just the roadie running around, being chased in a fantasy land… And pretty frustrating with the intentional tease of what’s in the bag?

The actual concert itself is great – when you open with two of your best songs (‘Creeping Death’ and ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’), it’s pretty amazing that you can still have songs just as good at the end! I wish they had the full ‘Ecstasy of Gold’ intro – it’s pretty special live. I found it funny that ‘Through The Never’ (off the Black album) never got a run, and ‘One’, ‘Cyanide’ and ‘Wherever I May Roam’ are all cut short. But the amount of effort put into the stage show and design – on top of the coffins used for all of the Death Magnetic tour – is astounding. The stage is made of LED’s, plenty of lasers and pyrotechnics, there’s the statue from And Justice For All, headstones from Master of Puppets and a giant electric chair from Ride The Lightning. The only thing I didn't like of the concert part was the end to ‘Enter Sandman’, which was ripped (unnecessarily) off their concert DVD, ‘Cunning Stunts’. Also, the band playing all of ‘Orion’ during the credits is pretty great. Not bad for a bunch of 50-year-olds!

Overall: 2 stars for the “film” component, 4 stars for the concert. There's nothing like seeing Metallica live, as the 15,000 people in the crowd can attest to!

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Gravity (October 2013)

Official Australian release date: 3/10/13. Viewed: 3/10/13.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Actors: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Genre: Thriller / Sci-Fi
Rating: M.

I went into ‘Gravity’ with no expectations and this film gripped me and took me on an amazing ride, all in under 90min. And I certainly didn't see it in 3D! If you've seen the trailer and you’re wondering “how do they make a film out of an astronaut floating through space, when we've basically seen it all in the trailer?”, then all I can say is – go and see this movie, it’s definitely worth your time!

Compared to ‘Apollo 13’, which was dull and too drawn out, ‘Gravity’ doesn't stop to catch its breath once (nice pun!). It’s basically six major scenes/set-pieces, all in rapid fire, with Bullock & Clooney playing quite interesting characters, even though we only get a short time to learn about them. It works well as a sci-fi/space film – one of the major selling points is the beautiful shots of Earth from above – but also as a tense survival thriller/drama. How much can go wrong in 90min? You'll find out!

I particularly liked how there’s at least some scientific accuracy, such as when they’re in space/an airlock, it’s virtually silent (yes, “in space no one can hear you scream” – thanks ‘Alien’) and sound only filters back in as the air enters the vacuum. That and the fact that NASA would have a scientist working on the Hubble telescope, rather than a random engineer. ‘Gravity’ does virtually everything well – the isolation of space, the beauty of Earth, the terror of being trapped, the “would I still go into space if I had the chance?” and the emotional investment in the characters survival. I actually found myself on the edge of my seat a few times!

Overall: Excellent – the best film I've seen so far this year! Don’t miss it.

Gav's Rating: 4.5 stars.