Branagh's Thor is Just Okay

I went into Thor knowing nothing about the phenomenon outside the trailer that kept cropping up before every film I've seen lately. Thor appealed to me mostly because of my loyalty to Natalie Portman, my curiosity for this uncharacteristic directing project of Kenneth Branagh's, and my growing appreciation for the superhero film genre. I found the film to be unexpectedly funny, but ultimately slow, choppy, and uninteresting.

The film opens with the New Mexican science camp-out that from the trailer, focusing on determined physics genius Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), her intern Darcy (Kat Dennings), and her mentor Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard). Thor appears, having been banished from the realm of Asgard, and when Jane dramatically asks "Who are you?" the scene dramatically cuts to the title credits, followed by a long and boring flashback telling the backstory of Thor's realm. It is these shifts between Earth and Asgard that lack connectivity, and while the Asgard scenes are necessary to advance the plot, they are too fantasy-visual-effects-heavy to find relatable and too long and drawn-out to find interesting.

These ridiculous scenes contrast greatly to the fast-paced and witty Earth ones. Thor's clumsy adjustment to the unfamiliar world is effortlessly comical. The title role calls for a delicate balance between arrogant angsty battle dude and likable fish-out-of-water hero, and Chris Hemsworth pulls this off with a quirky sort of charm. Kat Dennings also deserves credit for much of the humor; whiny and dry, the character Darcy is a perfect match against Portman's serious scientist Jane. Portman herself provide some subtle comedy, and these vulnerably human moments strengthen her character. However, while she and Hemsworth have good on-screen chemistry, the romance between Thor and Jane is unconvincing, relying too heavily on viewer expectations for the superhero to fall for The Girl.

While the characters are likable and the actors are superbly cast, Thor lacks the cohesion necessary to make their actions urgent and important. It's enjoyable to watch, but difficult to develop any emotional attachment to the characters and their stories, largely because the plot is so predictable. This film is a mellow opener for the Summer of Superheros, leaving plenty of room for improvement.

REVIEW: Stupid and Sometimes Uncomfortable, Your Highness Still Entertains

Your Highness seems to be one of those polarizing movies that critics despise and audiences enjoy. Okay, enjoy might be too strong of a word - it received a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes for audience choice and a paltry 25% for critics choice. But doesn't this unusually high gap between audience and critic enjoyment suggest that for those who the movie was really intended for, it was actually a success? The target audience, which Bill O'Reily fondly coined the term Stoner-Slackers, was probably too lazy to make a strong showing at a movie primarily made for them. Medieval enthusiasts and men with a very immature sense of humor also probably enjoyed this film. For everyone else though, it's no surprise that it wasn't a hit.

James Franco stars as Fabious, a pretty-boy knight who must quest with his incompetent, jealous brother Thadeus (Danny McBride) to save his bride-to-be Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel). Natalie Portman comes in to support the cast as Isabel, the warrior-hottie love interest of Thadeus. The plot, while nothing spectacular, is certainly coherent and straightforward enough to deserve less criticism than it has been getting.

What is especially being picked apart in recent reviews, however, seems to be the humor. Your Highness marketed itself as a stupid but entertaining movie (how can a tagline like "Best. Quest. Ever" suggest otherwise?), and that was exactly what it was. Yes, there were maybe too many uncomfortably sexual jokes, especially the ones about molestation (although honestly, it's hard to take seriously when the perpetrator is a purple, weed-smoking jellyfish). And for those of you a bit more sensitive, the image of a minotaur's penis dangling from Danny McBride's neck may take a while to revert back into the subconscious. But I digress, being a part of the movie's target audience, I found it hilarious. Yes, the jokes were incredibly immature and there was no substantial theme to back the story up - this is probably why Your Highness failed where Pineapple Express (also directed by David Gordon Green) succeeded - but it was still an entertaining movie that succeeded in exactly what it set out to be.

Why did such a lowly but entertaining film like The Fast and Furious gain a 52% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while Your Highness gained just half of that? My theory is that people were expecting too much from recently lauded actors James Franco and Natalie Portman, and that given the surprisingly deep and emotional tone of the other Green-directed stoner movie Pineapple Express, Your Highness would be just as profound. Maybe Danny McBride (who wrote Your Highness with Ben Best) just isn't as insightful into emotional connections as Judd Apatow, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen, who collectively wrote Pineapple Express. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying Your Highness, in all its uncomfortable glory. Sometimes films come along that don't really have a great story but still succeed as comedic experiences (I would cite a personal favorite of mine, Dazed and Confused, as a prime example). And while many of the jokes in Your Highness are uncomfortable and downright weird, it still keeps you laughing the whole way. McBride, Franco, and Justin Theroux (who plays the sexually-awkward villain Leezar) give strong comedic performances with the lines they're given, and despite all the bad press, I still recommend Your Highness for anyone who is looking to simply relax and laugh at good, old-fashioned disgusting humor.

REVIEW: Madness of Sanity and Beauty of Darkness: Black Swan Has it All.

Black Swan is brilliantly disturbing. Centered around Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman, an intense psychological bond forms between viewer and dancer and dancer and role. The film follows Nina’s journey from casting to performance, and we are exposed to every moment of her journey, private, public, real, and imaginary.

Although the film has been advertised by the face of a “troubled ballerina” - just take one glance at the crazed expression on that poster - I was surprised to find that the “Black Swan” persona is one that Nina struggles to achieve. The Nina we see in the beginning is “mad” only in the way that any blindly driven overachiever is - and to an audience with madness in mind, Nina’s initial state is an interesting reflection on how we might define “madness” in general.

The pure “white” Nina we meet at the start, the one in pale pink and a fluffy white scarf, elegant and obsessed with technical detail, struggles with the concept of “perfection,” a state of performance she aims to reach that, she is told, can only be found by letting loose.

Portman’s performance is utterly convincing. Pure, naive, confused - Nina doesn’t quite get it and we can see from Portman’s slightly furrowed brow and the occasional stifled gasp of horror. Supporting standout performances include Mila Kunis as the exotic and attractive Lily, whom Nina seems to love and hate simultaneously, and Vincent Cassel the slightly invasive yet effective ballet instructor Thomas Leroy.

Nina’s mother Erica Sayers, played by Barbara Hershey is delightfully hate-able, as she should be. Despite the character’s creepy level of involvement in her grown-up daughter’s life, this overbearing mother is the only one who notices that there is something wrong with Nina. Erica treads the thin line between caring and controlling enough that she invokes sympathy rather than pure hatred.

The soundtrack, which includes sequences from “Swan Lake” played backwards with modifications (thank you, IMDb trivia), is not only a creative detail but an effective addition to the film. Despite its brilliance however, it is the silent moments that are most effective, as such minor noises as ballet shoes tapping on the floor create an atmosphere of precise stillness.

The cinematic tone of the film through camera angles and general visual darkness is sleepy and dreamlike, which comes to make more and more sense as the images and events become more fantasy-like and it becomes unclear what is real and what is Nina’s hallucinations.

Overall, the film is about transformation - for Nina, transformation into the “perfect” ballerina. Certain parallels to “Swan Lake” are undeniably obvious. Lily’s bad-ass persona complete with dark tattoo across her back instantly labels her as the epitome of the Black Swan, and her lending Nina a black top at the party clearly represents Nina’s transition towards embodying that persona herself.

Other attempts are symbolism are more confusing, such as the significance of Nina’s random tendency to bleed, which is never specifically explained. Strange transformations such as the webbed toes make sense, but the only symbolic explanation I can think of for the bleeding is that it represents her personal sacrifice for ballet, which seems too nonspecific.

Black Swan is to its audience as “Swan Lake” is to Nina - both capture their subjects and lure them into an uncomfortable, personal, and beautiful understanding of what it takes to push the boundaries make great art.

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