Thor: The Dark World

 Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård, and Rene Russo

Directed by Alan Taylor

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Click here for my previous RyMickey Rating review

The Avengers

 The Avengers (2012)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joss Whedon

Written by Joss Whedon

Click here for my (current) Letterboxd review

Click here for my previous RyMickey Review

The (current) RyMickey Rating: B-

Thor

 Thor (2011)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zach Stentz, and Don Payne

Click here for my Letterboxd review

My Previous RyMickey Review

The current RyMickey Rating:  B

Bad Times at the El Royale

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

Starring Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, and Chris Hemsworth

Directed by Drew Goddard

Written by Drew Goddard

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B

Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Josh Brolin, Danai Guirra, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Letitia Wright, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Tessa Thompson, Tilda Swinton, Hayley Atwell, Marisa Tomei, Rene Russo, Taika Waititi, Angela Bassett, William Hurt, Winston Duke, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Natalie Portman, and Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettanny, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Benedict Wong, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Danai Guirra, Letitia Wright, Peter Dinklage, Benecio del Toro and Gwyneth Paltrow

Featuring the vocal talents of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo 

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Seemingly every single character from every single Marvel movie (with the exception of the Ant-Man cast for some reason) teams up to fight Thanos (Josh Brolin), a being who longs to collect six Infinity Stones scattered the universe in order to gain great power which he plans to wield in order to destroy half of the universe's population in order to create what he believes will be order across the galaxy.

• I've watched every single Marvel movie, but I've got to be honest -- when it comes to these Infinity Stones that are front and center in this flick, their importance never registered a lick for me when I watched the flicks.  Fortunately, it's not difficult to catch on -- and likely through some type of unknown osmosis, I must have somewhat understood things about this concept in the multitude of other Marvel movies despite never really paying attention to them before.  Nevertheless, the six stones -- Mind, Soul, Space, Power, Time, and Reality -- would allow Thanos to be seemingly unstoppable in his quest and this flick, despite carrying the "Avengers" moniker in the title is really a "Thanos flick."
• Interestingly enough, while Thanos is most certainly a "villain," his intentions carry much depth and by having this film focus so greatly on him, the audience is able to oddly connect with him in ways that we never really have done before with the baddies in the Marvel universe.
• The flick is a ballsy one, quite frankly.  Much has been made about how no one is safe...and that's certainly true.  Multiple deaths pepper the film and a few of them even carry some surprisingly emotional resonance.  Whether the sequel to the film changes the path of these now-deceased individuals, we will have to wait to see, it still packs a visceral wallop at moments.  You won't be on a high after watching this one...in fact, it'll likely be just the opposite.  And for a big budget motion picture that's a risky move...but it does pay off for the most part.
• Unfortunately, the film starts to drag after about an hour.  Action scene is stacked on top of action scene in the flick's final ninety minutes and the nonstop loud noises, explosions, and chaotic nature grow wearisome.  Yes, we get the standard Marvel humor peppered throughout -- which helps to make this company's films so much better than the dreary, "unfun" DC brand -- but it's not quite enough to boost this upward ratings-wise into the top five Marvel films for me.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Anthony Hopkins, and Mark Ruffalo

Directed by Taika Waititi

Written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to his home planet of Asgard and forces his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to help find their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) who was missing, but then found hiding in Norway.  Odin reveals that he is dying and that his death will unlock the prison cell that his firstborn daughter Hela (Cate Blanchett) has been kept in for years because of Odin's fear that his daughter was becoming too ambitious.  Upon Odin's death, Hela returns to Asgard and chaos begins to reign as she forces Thor and Loki off the planet.  Thor lands on  Sakaar, a weird planet full of space waste and home to massive gladiator-style battles by people captured by The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), one of whom happens to be the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) who had been missing ever since the events of "Captain America: Civil War."

• Right off the bat, I should just say that Thor: Ragnarok is my favorite Marvel movie yet.  Director Taika Waititi (along with the trio of screenwriters) have crafted a fun-filled humorous ride filled with solid action sequences that carry some gravitas and importance in the grand scheme of the Thor franchise storyline.
• The balance struck here by Waititi in terms of action and humor is what the Guardians movies wants to be, but hasn't yet achieved. 
• Considering how much I despised Thor: The Dark World, I admittedly wasn't expecting much here, but the change in tone to something a bit more light-hearted works amazing well.
• Despite the oftentimes more whimsical and humorous nature of the film, there's still some important stuff going on here.  The family dynamic between Thor, his sister Hela, and their brother Loki is some heavy stuff and carries heft in the grand scheme of Thor's story...all the while likely helping to set up storylines for the upcoming Avengers film.
• Kudos to the entire cast -- Chris Hemsworth gets to display his comedic chops (which are always impressive), Jeff Goldblum and Mark Ruffalo appear to be having a ton of fun, Tessa Thompson brings a strong female presence to the proceedings, and Cate Blanchett tears up the screen as the villainess.  SPOILER ALERT -- Here's hoping they can find some way to bring her back in future films because she lit up the screen whenever she appeared.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters (2016)

Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Andy Garcia, Neil Casey, and Chris Hemsworth

Directed by Paul Feig

There was much brouhaha over the fact that 2016's iteration of the classic Ghostbusters was being fronted by a quartet of women instead of a quartet of men.  Internet taunts and nasty comments were bandied about by anonymous individuals behind computer screens about how women aren't funny and couldn't possibly headline of film of this ilk.  While that's all certainly uncalled for, what's really unfortunate is that this version of Ghostbusters isn't good -- those initial trailers which were ridiculed across the World Wide Web were justly criticized because director and co-writer Paul Feig has crafted a numbingly painful supernatural action comedy that starts off incredibly promising and then begins to fail set piece by set piece until it makes its way to its disappointingly dull finale.  And the worst part of it is that it's not the fault of the quartet of actresses onscreen, yet the foursome shouldered much of the criticism lodged at the film.

Quite frankly, a plot summary isn't really necessary here -- four gals get together and eventually try and hunt down some ghosts before the supernatural beings take over the city of New York.  Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy take center stage during the film's initial scenes as a dueling duo who once worked together before drifting apart and I must admit that I found myself laughing out loud more than once as they tossed one-liners back and forth at each other.  Thirty minutes in and I was wondering why in the world this flick was so lambasted upon its release.  Gradually, Kate McKinnon works her way into the mix as a kooky mechanic of sorts (her role was praised the most, yet I found it a bit one-note and reminiscent of many an SNL character of hers) and Leslie Jones gets added as an NYC subway operator who calls upon the ghostbusting gang to investigate an occult occurrence on a subway track.  McKinnon and Jones are both fine, but they begin to take away from the more successful camaraderie of Wiig and McCarthy.

And then writers Paul Feig and Katie Dippold just throw everything down the drain with attempts at creating a variety of set pieces in which our female quartet fights ghosts and the whole movie falls apart.  The action aspects are a jumbled mess.  The comedy bits become tired.  Worst of all, the whole film becomes dreadfully boring.  Feig (as a director) has had his share of hits and misses in my book, and this falls on the miss side.  While I would've loved to have seen a resurrection of the Ghostbusters franchise, this female-fronted flick just doesn't fit the bill as the ladies here aren't helped by the behind-the-scenes team.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - In the Heart of the Sea

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, Tom Holland, and Brendan Gleeson

Directed by Ron Howard

On a rainy night in 1850, young Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) arrives at the home of the grizzled Tom Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), a seasoned seaman, who tells the aspiring author about his time on the whaling ship Essex in 1920 and the horrible events that led to its sinking.  Nickerson's memories about his time as a young boy (played by Tom Holland) capturing whales for their oil alongside the Essex's first mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) and captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) paint a vivid portrait of sea life for Melville.  Of course, with Melville being known for the epic tale of man vs. nature Moby Dick, it's easy to see that In the Heart of the Sea isn't always a pretty picture -- sometimes nature wins out.

Shockingly, Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea was one of my most anticipated films of 2015 thanks to a fantastic first trailer.  It was due to be released early in the year, but was then pushed back to December which many assumed was a ploy to garner awards recognition.  Well, it came up empty with every awards body, Star Wars ate up all the screens at the box office in mid-December, and In the Heart of the Sea didn't even stick around for the holiday season.  So, with my palette failing to be satiated in a theater, I recently rented the film and found it a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

While the film isn't without its faults -- some of the special effects on the sea disappointed, the production design of the New England towns often appears fake, and Chris Hemsworth's accent veers heavily from Bah-stonian to his native Australian oftentimes within a single scene -- its story is a fascinating one, more than holding my interest throughout.  Ron Howard does a great job of placing the audience on the boat, squarely in the middle of the action.  We palpably feel the excitement as we go whale hunting and we certainly become anxious and tense when the inspiration for Melville's novel comes into the picture and begins to wreak havoc on the crew.

I genuinely didn't know how the film was going to end -- although I could have seeing as how this was all based upon a true story -- so as the story unfolded, I was riveted as I watched the crew attempt to survive.  This flick was unjustly maligned by both critics and the public upon its release and while In the Heart of the Sea may not necessarily land on my awards charts either, it didn't disappoint.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Vacation

Vacation (2015)

Starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Skyler Gisondo, Steele Stebbins, Leslie Mann, Chris Hemsworth, Beverly D'Angelo, Ron Livingston,  and Chevy Chase

Directed by Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley

***This film is currently available on HBO Now***

Although I can't remember for sure, my first foray into cinematic "almost nudity" may very well have been the original 1983 version of National Lampoon's Vacation.  I probably saw it for the first time several years after its release as an eight, nine, or ten year-old and that image of Christie Brinkley cruising down the highway -- and then later in the hotel pool -- never quite left my cinematic memory.  (Somehow, the possibility of potentially glimpsing Brinkley's breasts was inherently more invigorating to the young me than actually seeing those of Beverly D'Angelo in the film.)  Granted, I haven't seen the original Chevy Chase-starring film in probably close to a decade, but it held up alright upon my last viewing.  So when the 2015 "reboot"/sequel starts up with Lindsey Buckingham singing the iconic-to-me "Holiday Road," nostalgia immediately set in, and while Vacation can't really hold a candle to the original, there are plenty of laughs that make this one a better flick than I was expecting.

Teenage Rusty Griswold is now all grown up (and played by Ed Helms) living with a family of his own in the Midwest.  Rather than head to their typical cabin in Michigan for a summer vacation, Rusty decides to shake things up by taking his wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) and two kids James and Kevin (Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins) to the California amusement park staple Wally World -- the very destination coveted by Rusty's father Clark (Chevy Chase) in the 1983 original.  Along the way, chaos ensues -- multiple times -- as seems fitting for the Griswold clan.

I understand that many of the comedy sequences in Vacation overstay their welcome, but a lot of the jokes within those extended moments land successfully.  The success is due in part to the Griswold family quartet at the center of the action.  Helms, Applegate, Gisondo, and Stebbins all succeed at capturing the Griswold humor and heart that made the original so successful.  They hit the jokes they need to hit with gusto and provide a nice center for the action going on around them.

While writer-director duo Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley don't quite capture the same heart that Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo (who also make cameo appearances here) achieve in the first film, they at least provide Helms and Applegate a solid base.  I realize that my enjoyment of this isn't shared by the majority of critics, but even through its faults, Vacation proves to be decent, funny, and well acted.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, and James Spader

Directed by Joss Whedon

Back in 2012, everyone fell head over heels for The Avengers -- everyone except for me, that is.  I didn't dislike the film as my C+ review attests, but I found it overblown and a bit underwhelming with the action sequences working, but many of the dialog and character-driven moments disappointing.  Oddly enough, Avengers: Age of Ultron has just the opposite problem with its character-based scenes working surprisingly well and its action aspects sorely lacking.  Considering both films were written and directed by Joss Whedon, the contrasting differences are a bit startling and, as the rating below will attest, end up being about equal in terms of how I felt overall about the flick.

Once again, our Avenger crew bands together to fight something gigantically evil.  Rather than aliens, though, this time it's a form of advanced artificial intelligence that Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) created in secret in order to try and assist should the world face another huge attack as occurred during the first film.  After a bit of a tête-á-tête about the necessity of AI to help, Tony, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) head out to find Ultron (James Spader), the AI that has created a robot body for himself and set out to destroy humanity with the help of two Russian twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen) who want to bring down the Avengers due to an incident from their childhood caused by one of our fearless fighting crew that changed their lives forever.

Story-wise, I think the film is actually more successful than its predecessor.  I enjoyed the camaraderie between the heroic crew which I felt was sorely lacking in the first film as well as the deviousness of Ultron and the twins.  Knowing nothing about the comics upon which the films are based, Ultron was deliciously snide and humorously villainous.  Perhaps that isn't his demeanor in the comics, but on film, Spader voiced the character with such over-the-top charisma that I couldn't help but long for the character to appear again to liven things up.  Plus, I think it helped things that Ultron's villainous intentions stemmed from the chaos inflicted in the first film.

Unfortunately, the film's action set pieces just didn't work for me.  During the opening scene which includes slow motion AND seemingly sped up moments, I found myself vehemently annoyed, feeling as if I were watching a poorly conceived video game as opposed to a movie.  Fortunately, things got a little better after that, but I still went through the whole movie thinking that the action sequences felt less integral to the plot than nearly any other Marvel flick and were put into place simply because "we need an action scene now."  Whereas Whedon seemingly had control of these moments in the first Avengers, he disappointed here.

Overall, though, Avengers: Age of Ultron works.  The flick is briskly paced and despite disliking the more "intense" moments, I never found them overblown or overlong.  The interplay between the core group of Avengers is growing more natural and I'm oddly looking forward to what the Marvel Universe has in store for these characters.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Blackhat

Blackhat (2015)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang, Wei Tang, and Viola Davis

Directed by Michael Mann

I'm not sure movies can get more boring than Blackhat.  There's only so much typing and clicking and looking at words and numbers on computer screens that one can take in a movie and Blackhat crosses that threshold at about the twenty minute mark.  By the end, it attempts to turn into a bit of an action movie, but it's too late to garner the interest of the audience who has all but abandoned the proceedings at that point.

Chris Hemsworth is Nick Hathaway, a convict who is released from prison under the condition that he help the US and Chinese government track down a cyber-terrorist who has somehow managed to cripple both a Chinese nuclear power plant and a portion of the US stock trade.  As military officer Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang) of the Chinese cyber-terror unit and Carol Barrett (Viola Davis) of the FBI butt heads, Nick attempts to figure out both the location of the terrorist and his next area of attack.

Unfortunately, the film really does just wallow in blandness for about ninety minutes.  Hemsworth's Nick mumbles a great deal of his lines and isn't the least bit captivating as a character that lacks any gravitas -- either good or bad -- for the audience to care about joining for the ride.  Much of Viola Davis's screen time is spent staring at a computer screen or chastising Nick for thinking too much outside of the box which, of course, is what's needed to catch the bad guy.  An ill-conceived romance between Nick and Dawai's sister Lien (Wei Tang) -- who, quite honestly, I'm not sure as to why she is permitted to tag along in the secretive governmental investigation -- is just plain silly and hurts the film more than anything else.

As mentioned, during the final act, the film attempts to morph into an action piece and while several of these scenes are shot with a keen eye showing that director Michael Mann hasn't lost all of his mojo, it's too little too late.  Blackhat is unfortunately one of the most blandest films I've seen in a long time.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - Rush

Rush (2013)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Alexandra Maria Lara, and Olivia Wilde

Directed by Ron Howard

Ron Howard's directed a lot of good films over the years, but with the exception of Apollo 13, I'm not quite sure I've ever looked at his movies and thought he was a brilliant director.  While he creates good stories often with very nice family dynamics, he's not exactly known for his edge-of-your-seat, exciting direction.  Rush changes that.  To me, the stand out factor in Rush -- what elevates it beyond your typical sports flick -- is what Ron Howard brings to the table.

There's a palpable excitement that runs almost throughout the true story of the rivalry between 1970s Formula One race car drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), the ladies man, and the focused and serious Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl).  The two started out competing against one another on the Formula Three level, finding each others' very different attitudes towards racing almost repulsive.  Then, in 1976, they found themselves duking it out for the Formula One cup with Lauda needing to prove his 1975 Formula One cup victory not a fluke and Hunt attempting to showcase that he wasn't just the chauvinistic party boy that many in the racing world thought him to be.  The rivalry between the two was intense and made for a very interesting and exciting competition.

As I mentioned, I always felt like Ron Howard was very good at focusing on a story's intimate moments -- the connections between characters -- and that's certainly proven once again here.  Both Hemsworth and Brühl imbue Hunt and Lauda with a vicious rivalry, but also with an aire of respect for one another.  Recognizing that they mutually push each other to better results, I found their relationship uniquely depicted and compelling, and thanks to two fine performances by Hemsworth and Brühl, the rather simple story is elevated beyond what I expected especially considering the subject matter that I initially assumed would be completely unappealing to me.

In addition to the quieter moments, Howard steps up his game with Rush as he and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle craft a retro-looking depiction with modern sensibilities.  Auto racing isn't my cup of tea in the slightest, yet Howard makes the multiple races all feel unique, placing us into the cars for some, following from behind on others, and mixing the vantage points up often enough to keep the viewers on their toes, yet completely unconfused about what is being shown.  Considering how similar all the racing cars look, it's a feat in and of itself that Howard makes these races comprehensible to a racing novice like me, but making them tension-filled edge-of-your-seat moments is another coup altogether.  The fact that we can't even tell where the "real" and the "special effects" begin and end is a credit to all involved.  Rush gives us a new Ron Howard who proves that he may have more up his sleeve than I ever thought he did before.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård, and Rene Russo

Directed by Alan Taylor

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but 2011's Thor is my favorite Marvel comics movie (not including some X-Men co-productions...for some reason I don't think of them [or Spider-Man] when I think of "Marvel" movies).  There was something about the fun that director Kenneth Branagh brought to the flick that made the sheer ridiculousness of the title character and his hammer wielding an enjoyable summer romp.  Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Thor: The Dark World which feels like a heavy burden to sit through lacking any modicum of the fun and excitement that was found in its predecessor.  Quite frankly, this one is probably the worst film to come out of the Marvel/Disney pipeline in part because of an awful screenplay and direction that can't really compare to Mr. Branagh's in the first Thor. 

What the sequel really boils down to is this:  Two species in space -- one of which is Thor's people and one of which is someone else -- fought with each other a long time ago.  Thor's people won and buried this other people's energy source (or something) deep in the earth.  Thanks to wormholes (which played a prominent role in The Avengers) this energy source has been found by Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) who has been sitting around in London depressed since Thor (Chris Hemsworth) left her at the end of the last film.  This magical energy source somehow gets transferred into Jane which causes the bad guys to chase after Jane only to have Thor help her.

It's all so ridiculous...even more ridiculous than a guy from space coming down to Earth and fighting people with a magic hammer.  Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman look bored out of their mind in this with Portman in particular a blank slate whenever she appears onscreen (and, unfortunately, she's onscreen a lot in this one).  Tom Hiddleston injects a little bit of pizzazz into the mix, but even his Loki isn't able to overcome the inanity of the plot.

The one advantage the Thor flicks have going for them is that they do seem to understand just how silly their plots truly are.  There are jabs here and there about how ridiculous the goings-on are and I do appreciate that.  However, Thor: The Dark World is such a huge step down from the original that I don't think I'll be looking forward to the next one at all.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Eddie Marsan, and Toby Jones

Directed by Rupert Sanders

The more financially successful of the two Snow White flicks released in 2012, Snow White and the Huntsman is certainly darker than the lighthearted Mirror Mirror (which is now available to stream on Netflix), but they're essentially telling the same story we're all familiar with since our childhood.  Shockingly enough, I found both oddly enjoyable to watch in their own ways with both ultimately creating interesting enough twists on the well-known tale to make them never fall into the been-there-done-that realm.

Despite being called Snow White and the Huntsman, the film certainly revolves around the evil Queen Ravenna who is played with wicked abandon by Charlize Theron.  Sexy and alluring, but frighteningly menacing, Theron sinks her teeth into the dark side and goes for broke rather successfully.  When she isn't on the screen, you want the film to shift back to her.  [It should be noted that I said the same thing about Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror so the role is obviously ripe for scene-stealing.]

But, despite the focus on the Queen, the film's title certainly implies that we're probably going to spend a bit of time with those two title characters, played in this film by Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth, both of whom are perfectly adequate, but undeniably bland.  Hemsworth fares better than Stewart, but that really shouldn't be a surprise considering that I've yet to see Stewart show any smidgen of realistic emotion onscreen in anything.  Here, I'm not sure she even utters fifty lines -- most of the film is her simply reacting vaguely and emptily to things -- but she still manages to prove irksome to this reviewer.

Still, despite the fact that the character of Snow White in a film called Snow White and the Huntsman is a bit of a dud, the film's delving into magic and eerie fantasy is a welcome addition to the tried and true story.  Sure, the Evil Queen has always dipped her hand into the dark arts, but here that's amplified by several degrees to great success and helps to add just enough variations to the tale.  Also amusing, the dwarfs here are typical "munchkin" height, but are played by some fairly famous faces -- Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, and Toby Jones to name a few -- which allows for some more solid acting than we're likely used to seeing from these smaller statured figures.

Overall, the comparison of Snow White and the Huntsman to Mirror Mirror ends up being a bit of a wash.  I'll admit that most will like this version better, but I can at least recognize that for more light-hearted kiddie fare, Mirror Mirror is a solid picture as well.  Neither are fantastic films, but both are acceptable interpretations of the fairy tale.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Red Dawn

Red Dawn (2012)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Josh Hutcherson, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Directed by Dan Bradley

As a conservative, I probably should be falling head over heels for the remake of Red Dawn, a jingoistic Republican fantasy with a rallying cry for American freedom.  Hell, there's even a line in the film about a lesser military spending leading to a weakened national defense thereby allowing the North Koreans to invade the northwestern corner of the nation (or maybe all of the US...that was never really made clear), run rampant over the local governments, and begin the process of forcing us Americans to our knees.  But the fact remains that Red Dawn is an awful movie.  Horrible dialog.  Disappointing acting.  Poorly edited.  You name it and it was likely pretty pitiful.

The biggest problem isn't with the overarching story of the North Korean takeover of the US, but with the insignificant and poorly explicated character relationships.  Right off the bat, we're supposed to feel for brothers Jed and Mack Eckert (Chris Hemsworth and Josh Peck) because Jed's been off in Iraq and has left Mack at home.  I guess the separation caused some issues to develop, but their dad (Brett Cullen) tries to bring the two boys together.  And, of course, the story forces them to bond and become best buds.  There are two incredibly tired and hastily perfunctory love stories thrown into the mix as well, neither of which are developed enough to provide even a modicum of reason for them existing.  [I won't even get started on actresses Adrianne Palicki and Isabel Lucas and their "acting" here...although I will ask the public if Ms. Lucas was trying to hide her Australian accent or if her character was supposed to be from The Land Down Under because that Aussie lilt more often than not made its presence known.]

The whole thing really is a mess with there being nary a technical or story-based aspect that truly shines.  The one bright spot of the film is that Hemsworth actually proves to be moderately adept at carrying a film.  I was somewhat impressed with his role in Thor and this proves that there may be some type of slight star quality present to carry a crappy action movie here or there in his future.  He's pretty much wasted here, however.

It's fairly obvious to see why this one was held in limbo for over two years and just finally found a release.  I think that the concept would actually permit a good movie to be made (maybe the 1984 original is solid -- I've never seen it), but the sun should've set on this version of Red Dawn before it even got off the drawing board.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stellan Skarsgard, Paul Bettany (voice), and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joss Whedon

Yes, I'm about sixty days late to the party here...and unfortunately the raves that I've been hearing for two months concerning The Avengers set expectations that were too high to be achieved.  While this is a decent comic book flick, it's still a part of a genre that I'm unable to really relate to because on a purely cinematic level I rarely am able to feel any modicum of tension for the formidable, unflappable, and nearly immortal main characters.

Seeing as how everyone has already seen this third highest-grossing movie of all time, I'm not going to waste time detailing a summary except to say that this gathering of Marvel's Superhero Elite does prove to be successful once it brings its cadre of power players together, but the round-up of these heroes is where the film lacks.  I must preface my "complaint" by saying that i watched The Avengers at the end of a three-movie, seven-hour marathon so that may have something to do with my lack of excitement for the product, but I do also think that I'm maybe using that simply as an excuse for my disappointment in the movie since everyone else seems to be fawning over it.  The whole thing eventually comes together rather nicely and the final ninety minutes really does seem to fly by, but I couldn't help but find myself in a state of ennui during the first hour.

It doesn't help that Robert Downey, Jr., is as annoying as heck in this.  His egotistical Tony Stark plays fine in a movie on his own where he's the main player, but when you put him amidst a group of other more unselfish folks, his character rings obnoxious more than anything else.  [Yes, I realize that's probably the point -- he's kind of a jerk unlike these other guys -- but it still didn't make his character any more tolerable to watch for extended periods of time.]  The less said about Chris Hemsworth's Thor the better (fortunately, his part was minuscule).  Oddly enough, it's the Iron Mans and Thor flicks that I found most successful in the Marvel universe so not caring for those characters here was a bit odd for me.

Mark Ruffalo kinda steals the show with his Bruce Banner/Hulk.  It's a shame the Hulk movie didn't star him as opposed to Ed Norton.  Surprisingly (considering my disdain for his movie), I found Chris Evans' Captain America a big improvement over his eponymous film.  It's also nice that a bit of the focus went to Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow as she's not only pretty on the eyes, but has a storyline that's at least a bit intriguing.

In the end, the whole thing is silly nonsense, but director and screenwriter Joss Whedon is able to at least direct action sequences without relying on Michael Bay-esque nonstop camera cuts and his script has a few witty moments which provide a needed boost.  Some may call this the greatest comic book movie of all time, but coming from a non-comic book fan, I didn't find it as impressive as the millions who did.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Starring Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Bradley Whitford, and Richard Jenkins

Directed by Drew Goddard

Five college kids head to a remote cabin in the woods for a fun weekend, but they're soon in for much more than they bargained for as their vacation turns into a hellish nightmare.  And that's the only summary I'll give you for The Cabin in the Woods because part of the fun of watching this incredibly absurd and original horror flick is watching it unfurl in front of you with the rather unique turns seemingly coming out of left field, but proving to be completely believable by the film's end. (Well, maybe not believable in the "real world," but believable in the "cinematic world" this film inhabits.) 

It should be noted that when I like a horror movie, it's generally a good bet to assume that the American public will not.  And that very well may be why Drew Goddard's film has sat on the shelf since 2009.  This is certainly not going to be a movie for everyone.  And, admittedly, it wasn't a movie for me for the first thirty minutes (which I must say felt a little interminable).  The humor wasn't clicking for me and I was quite bored as the film followed an incredibly typical horror flick arc.  However co-screenwriters Goddard and Joss Whedon twist things around and while The Cabin in the Woods remains most definitely in the "slasher flick" genre, it expands upon the boundaries we think of when we think of cinematic blood and gore.  In a sense, it echoes a bit of what Scream did back in the 90s, but Whedon and Goddard push things even further.

It helps that, for the most part, the acting is above average for your standard horror flick and Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford prove to be a real treat as a duo whose purpose would be too much of a spoiler to reveal here.  As soon as Jenkins and Whitford appeared, it was quite obvious that The Cabin in the Woods was going to be a bit different and their quirky sensibilities provide many a laugh.

While there are certainly positives, I can't help but think that there isn't a whole lot of rewatchability in this one.  Knowing the twists and turns ahead of time may very well spoil what made the film so much fun the first go-around.  And, as I mentioned, the movie takes a bit too long to get rolling.  That said, this movie provides the right amounts of humor, tension, and scares, making The Cabin in the Woods an enjoyable ninety minute ride.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Thor

Thor (in 3D) (2011)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, and Anthony Hopkins

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

No one will ever mistake Thor for being a cinematic masterpiece, but in the realm of summer action movies (and in their subset "comic book movies"), it's a solid flick that is decently written, capably directed, and (for the most part) adequately paced.

Somewhere in the cosmos is the land of Asgard, ruled over by Odin (Anthony Hopkins).  Long ago, Odin waged a successful war against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim who desired to take over the Nine Realms (one of which is Earth).  Cut to a thousand years later and Odin is ready to pass on his crown to his son Thor (Chris Hemsworth), but the ceremony is interrupted by an invasion of the Frost Giants which sends war-hungry Thor into a vengeful state.  Odin, desiring to keep the long-standing peace between Asgard and Jotunheim banishes Thor to Earth where he meets scientist/astrologer Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and finds himself in the midst of a fish out of water storyline.  Meanwhile, back in Asgard, Odin's other son, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who has always been jealous of Thor, is finding himself next in line for the throne now that his father has slipped into what is essentially a (magical) coma.  Let's just say Loki may not be keen on allowing Thor to return to his homeland.

Believe me, the whole thing is as silly as can be -- sillier and lighter weight than the premises behind any Iron Man, Spiderman, or X-Men "origin" (read: first) movie.  Still, somehow this thing works and I think a large part of that is due to the tone set by director Kenneth Branagh.  He knows that what is unfolding is altogether ridiculous, but he never sets this movie up with a winking tone.  This will sound kind of silly, but Branagh culls some Shakespearean undertones from the script -- brother vs. brother, son vs. father, etc. -- and successfully gives them gravitas when they really had no right to have any.  He plays it for all its seriousness, while allowing a few moments of needed humor when necessary.  Normally, I'm all for tongue in cheek flicks, but I don't know if that would've worked here especially because Thor is part of the overarching storyline setting up an Avengers movie sometime in the upcoming years (and contains cameos from some folks who will be part of that story as well).

Branagh also manages to get some above average performances from his actors.  Not being familiar with the source material one bit, I'll be honest and say I expected Thor to be more of a "Me Tarzan, you Jane" kind of macho figure.  However, Chris Hemsworth's Thor isn't like that a bit.  In fact, Hemsworth is absolutely believable as both action figure and romantic love interest for Natalie Portman's equally likable Jane.  Portman is eons better than moviegoers are used to seeing onscreen in a part like this that amounts to hardly anything but is standard in any kind of comic book movie.  While she doesn't play a damsel in distress, she's pretty much there simply to gawk and stare with mouth agape at the wonders of the superhero she's feasting her eyes upon.  Still, Portman manages to really hold her own here despite the irrelevant role and she manages to be completely enjoyable every time she is onscreen.

Kudos also to Tom Hiddleston as Thor's devious younger brother who Branagh allows to chew the scenery a bit...which I found altogether necessary for a role like his.  It was also nice to allow Hiddleston to take on the "chewing the scenery" role as opposed to Anthony Hopkins who tries to do that in every single movie he's in anymore (heck, he won his Oscar for doing that same thing).  Here, Hopkins is rather subdued and that's a good thing.

Overall, I was impressed by Thor.  It's certainly not perfect and the middle felt a little draggy (although I do commend Branagh for keeping the flick under two hours which is altogether uncommon for movies like this nowadays), but it's a pleasant start to the summer season.

The RyMickey Rating:  B