Wednesday Movie Night: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America seems like he would be a tough comic character to pull off. You don’t want him to be too perfect, especially with a name like Captain America, but you know he has to represent certain attributes perhaps placed with that name. Chris Evans brings to life the character perfectly though making him human and likable, but also what seems to be a nicely intended guy at heart. It’s much different from other heroes like Thor or Iron Man in the series. Plus, they made the outfit a lot cooler. The movie does a lot more character development in the first hour than you would think, and then slips into an action fest for the last hour or so.

Summary: Set during World War II in 1942, Steve Rogers is looking to sign up for the military, but he is told he is not fit enough to join. He volunteers instead for research, and after proving to be worthy for that he is transformed into a human that can utilize his body to the maximize human strength. His first task will be a huge one though, and that is to stop Schmidt and Nazi’s top secret department, HYDRA.

Acting: Chris Evans is the lead as Captain America, and it appears that Evans has finally found a comic book character that he is perfectly suited for. While he was great in the Losers, which is based on a comic, and maybe not bad in the Fantastic Four (I actually haven’t seen it), and he was also in Push, which I believe was based on a comic, Evans seems to finally have landed in one suiting for him that is one worth continuing on in the future, especially since audiences received it well too. Evans balances the all-American boy vibe well though with a human who also sees the flaws of his surrounding. Haley Atwell is intriguing as the love interest as Peggy Carter, and it leaves us wondering because we do feel the chemistry between them. Sebastian Stan is the friend of Steve Rogers in the movie, but isn’t quite as stand out as the rest, but he’s good, and makes for a good way to develop the character of Rogers. Tommy Lee Jones plays a suiting Colonel in the movie, and Stanley Tucci is Dr. Erskine, and Tucci showcases his ability to still play many roles. You can’t forget that Samuel L. Jackson is in this as well with an appearance as Fury. Hugo Weaving might be most recognizable as the elf from Lord of the Rings, or perhaps if you’re me you just confuse him with Sam Neill the entire time, but he makes a good villain as Schmidt or Red Skull, and yeah, I know Neill is a good bit older!

Filming: Perhaps most spectacular at all is the CGI. It could be any scene and they have perfected the surroundings that Rogers is put in during the 40’s. It captures the charm of the era, but also the scary moments as well of what he is put in. I also like the American ideal idea woven into the movie, and how it contrasts with how people during the time, particularly soldiers, might have felt who were fighting there. Anyways, the CGI doesn’t really lack, it has a few weak moments, but it’s overall very strong, and they perfected the outfit he wears to not look tacky.

Plot: I do love the first hour of the movie. The development of Steve Rogers was well done to do something that feels impossible for someone who’s hero name is Captain America, and that is make him feel human. You can feel a lot of the pain and the more happier moments he might feel in the movie. While Thor might be more comparable to Superman as far as The Avengers vs Justice League, my complaint about Superman is that he always felt too much like the good boy. Even with the new revamp, which was great, he still lacked the quality that makes him easy to access. I would have thought Captain America might have that same quality. He’s a good guy, and he’s just looking to do all he can to save the world, even if that means sacrificing himself, but they bring out a lot more about him personality wise, but that could just be Evans himself. Anyways, the last hour turns into an action fest, which is great, but I do sort of lose my own grounding in watching as it grows more technical, and over drawn to carry toward a very intense ending, which is what you were wanting to see quicker than anything else.

With the Captain America: The First Avenger being a strong start to the series, it will be interesting to see how the following movie, which arrives April 4th, carries on the movie. Sometimes the 2nd movie will do better even if it’s just a smidge, as in Thor’s case, or it will fail slightly in some eyes’ as Iron Man did when they came out with the sequels.

Rating 8 of 10.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/JerVrbLldXw&source=uds

Saturday Movies: Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

I’m not sure what exactly drew me to this movie. I don’t enjoy cooking or sushi, but yet I had been wanting to see Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The good feedback from critics in this case seemed to be a huge factor that despite neither of my interest in those things I still wanted to see the movie. Perhaps it’s seeing people at a job that they really enjoy, and while it takes hard work and dedication it’s possible to achieve something that you want to do in life.

Summary: Jiro Ono is an 85 year old sushi chef. His business lays at the bottom of an office building, the Ginza Tokio Subway Station. The movie chronicles the success that Ono has had so far from achieving one of the highest levels of achievement and feedback in restaurants and also landing a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. It also shows how Jiro got into the job that he did, and how his passion for it has carried his success. Now that Jiro is 85 though it also shows how he is trying to pass his legacy on to his son, and his relationship in general with his apprentices and his other son who has his own sushi place.

Acting: While there isn’t acting to say exactly in documentaries I think there are certain people who are more natural in front of the camera more so than others. Jiro is is very natural in front of the camera along with his sons and employees. Jiro seems to be excited and more than welcoming in letting David Gelb document a man who is popular yet unless you’re a food fanatic you might not have heard of. Jiro has a humble nature about him as well, and any success he might feel is well deserved. He doesn’t seem to be a guy who seeks the limelight nor does he ever stop trying to improve his knowledge and innovations with sushi even as he has gotten older. It’s inspiring for those particularly hoping to make what they enjoy their dream.

Filming: The movie is shot in a really sleek and cool way. The shots almost seem like something out of a food magazine or book in order to show case the food that is served at the restaurant. Even when there aren’t close ups of the food just the depiction of the characters as they are speaking while interviewed or at work in the restaurant brings out color and a way that it is shot that brings you closer in to what the person is saying.

Plot: I like the way the movie slowly pulls us into Jiro’s life. It first gives reasoning about why they’ve zoned in on this guy to film for a documentary. And while you may not enjoy sushi, you certainly see very quickly how much he has achieved in the industry that he is in. You then begin get to know the people that surround Jiro, but first you learn about what has made him the success he is, and what has made him a success is what many people lack. Besides passion for what he does he also has a lot of motivation to constantly improve week by week on what is his passion. He doesn’t just do it and then stall out for a while, but he’s constantly putting himself into his work. At 85, Jiro has been making sushi for 75 years. The guy has been doing the same work for 75 years and says he has never hated it. After learning a bit about Jiro we then move into what the future holds for him and his family, and the movie basically ends up being a reassurance for fans of his sushi that his son really is capable of continuing on the restaurant.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a well made documentary that has a lot of thought put into it. Everything feels covered satisfyingly in the hour and a half that the movie is on, and by the end even if you’re not a sushi lover you are curious as to what makes his sushi so good that it’s achieved the fame that it has. If you’re planning on going to Japan to find out though you better at least book a month in advance.

Rating 8 of 10.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/M-aGPniFvS0&source=uds

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Wednesday Movie Night: Win Win (2011)

Thomas McCarthy has been a writer for some of the more touching stories you’ve seen brought to the screen like Up. Now he’s not only writing, but also directing his movies as well. Win Win is a solid movie from the screenwriter that shows the same type of emotion he is capable of offering, and the relationship between older and younger men as well. Win Win is solid, but still there is something that lacks in it resonating long after. Maybe it’s just too feel good? Regardless, it is a very solid written, and well acted movie.

Summary: Mike is a struggling lawyer who also volunteer coaches a wrestling team. One of the clients he is defending is a rich man who pays out around $1500 a month to his caretaker. Mike agrees to be his guardian to keep the state from taking over guardianship, and agrees that in being his guardian he will make arrangements for him to continue to live in his home. Instead Mike double crosses the guy, and sends him to a nursing home, so he can instead use the $1500 a month to keep his practice alive, and his family supported. The grandson of the man he is now stealing from though arrives to live with with his grandfather though complicating his plans.

Acting: Paul Giamatti is Mike, and this seems like the perfect role for Giamatti. He seems like a real guy, and he meshes into becoming more likable as the movie goes very well. Amy Ryan is his wife, Jackie. Ryan is very likable, and one of the better parts of the movie. She provides much of the humor for the movie along with Bobby Cannavale as Terry. Jeffery Tambor is one of the other wrestling coaches, Stephen, but honestly doesn’t really get enough screen time for me to make an assessment about what he contributes. Alex Shaffer is the grandson, Kyle, and shows a lot of potential for a young actor who is just getting his start.

Filming: This movie has this atmosphere that is captured well in the movie. It isn’t too bright, so that does balance the predictable feel good vibe of the movie. The movie is also set in winter, and the blue cast emphasizes that. The shots outside of that aren’t going to wow, or have this very characteristic vibe, but I found the lighting and the way the movie plays out to be simply good.

Plot: Somehow the plot does catch you as it goes on. I didn’t figure this movie could end bad, but I like how it gives a lot of growth for all the characters in the run time of the movie, and it was a movie that wasn’t too short, but felt it went by quick because the story does bring you into the movie. Kyle seems to almost show no emotion throughout, but when he does it feels true to his character. This movie is also a good movie about family and also one men trying to step and do the right thing in the middle of pressure to turn to the easiest solution.

Win Win has a lot of good elements about the movie. Plus, if you are a sports fan this does offer a movie revolving around a teen’s interest in the sport that tightens him to this family. The movie is sort of easy to predict where it is going, but sometimes it’s just really nice to have a movie that makes you feel good instead of trying to be so real it gets you down. The lead cast does a good job with portraying real people as well.

Rating 8 of 10.

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/ci_I6n2j5Uw&source=uds

Saturday Movies: Straw Dogs (2011)

So usually remakes just aren’t a good idea, and most likely the original 1971 version of this movie didn’t need one, but Rod Lurie decided to anyways. I haven’t actually seen the original, but I did enjoy at least the action in this one. I felt that it does have it’s weak spot, but I was entertained so I just forget them. Anyways, when you try to take on a remake you’ve got to expect more likely than not people aren’t going to receive well, mostly because the original is always better.

Summary: Screenwriter, David Sumner, has moved from L.A. with his wife, Amy, to her small town in the south. After arriving though David rubs everyone in the town the wrong way, especially by avoiding hanging out with them. To make matters worst, one of the locals, Charlie, seems to have a thing for his wife. Tensions begin rising even though David tries to smooth over some of the misunderstandings between them. David is going to have to step up to protect his family if they want to survive.

Acting: I like the character development that takes place in the movie, and I think that is more attributed to the actors than the script. I think if any other actors had had the part then the acting would have been much weaker, and the script would have sounded much poorer. James Marsden is David, and really the one who makes the most the giant leaps in being compelling in the story. Marsden is a talented actor. In this movie he believably takes David from a more timid guy to a man who is really to defend not only his wife, but those he believe shouldn’t be left to the hands of those threatening the lives of another. Kate Bosworth also is in one of her better roles as Amy. I have no idea why Bosworth keeps landing in really bad movies, when in this she actually can impress. She says a lot through her actions, but by the end a lot of her character’s progression does seem rushed. Alexander Skargard is Charlie, and I’ve got to say this guy is really good. He had this terrifying element he brought to the character. He was one of those characters that I could see easily verging on being a dumb stereotype, but I believe it’s the actor that keeps it from going there. James Wood is also Tom, who is also the coach in the small town. I thought the guy was just down right annoying instead of creepy, so of them all he seemed to be the one most over playing his part.

Filming: The movie brings the thriller atmosphere well. The characters are thrown into a small town with locals that they don’t know. The suspense is brought on well, especially with throwing on the horrors of what is happening when one other character might be unaware. Lurie hasn’t really perfected any unique style I was aware of though. The music was definitely interesting, but it stood out more when he put in old western songs when things go crazy.

Plot: The plot for the first hour or so does progress slow, and you’re beginning to wonder if the couple is just paranoid for nothing. Then when things fall down, they really hit hard. The last hour or so of the movie is really intense once it’s going. I’m sure they haven’t recreated better what the first one did, but I can at least say that the plot kept me entertained. I felt some aspects were a little obvious, and others were a little more less obvious. As said, David is the character that shines though. Marsden slowly builds up to this change coming in the guy that shows a side he hasn’t had to utilize before.

If you are going to watch this one then I recommend watching the original first. I had no idea there was an original before I watched this, but feel the better aspects of it might be ruined since I know how the plot unfolds. This movie isn’t amazingly written, but the cast really does keep the movie floating on because it features a talented cast. The shots are also very vivid and hard to turn away from.

Rating 7 of 10.

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/jc2WepwFcWE&source=uds

Book Review: Robin Jones Gunn’s Summer Promises (Christy Miller Book #1)

Summer Promises was released in 1989. To be honest the book has aged well as I couldn’t tell it was from 1989 minus some different language used then that isn’t used so commonly by teens now. Gunn though looks at Christy the eyes of a mother more so than another teen might look at her. She shelters her, coddles her, and assumes that she might be surrounded by the impure acts that teens can get involved in, but would never actually do herself. We get a perception of a teenage girl through a worried mother’s eyes, than how a teen might actually perceive themselves.

Summary: Christy Miller is leaving her home in Wisconsin for the summer to spend time with her aunt and uncle at the beach. With the growing frustration of finances at her home her family feels it is best for her to spend it somewhere more enjoyable. Aunt Marti wants to help Christy transition more into a teenager. Christy doesn’t seem very confident about her dress or appearance, but with a makeover her summer seems more promising for dating. After meeting Todd though she finds boys are a little different than she expected, or at least he is. His attention is placed on someone that is above the shallow things that Christy hopes will get his attention.

Characters: I don’t know why but many of the female characters in Christian books are so annoying. They usually seem to always be PMSing. Christy has these freak outs and melt downs that were embarrassing to read. I know I’ve acted emotionally before, but never over a wrong assumption regarding a boy. She seems to grow very attached to someone who hasn’t been very open about how he feels too. Todd never initiates much between them. He never gets physical, doesn’t ask to kiss, and even invites other female companions on their dates, yet she pursues him with the tenacity of a stalker. Todd is a bit of a likable character, but he doesn’t seem realistic. I hate to say it but I’ve just never known a guy or boy at any age of my life like that. Plus, I was very confused by the age of Christy. She seemed more like 12 instead of on the verge of going to high school.

Writing: The writing style seems like something a bit suiting for those younger than the 7th grade and up reading level that is given for the book. Now the content seems more suited for those who are middle schoolers, but I’ve never heard a kid that age talk the way these do, then again maybe in the 80’s kids acted a little younger than they do now. I also didn’t feel Christy was a very strong female character to be portraying to females.

Plot: There are female characters in novels that act like females, but you still can walk away feeling something inspired from them. With Christy I didn’t feel empowered as a female after reading. I just felt like this makes girls look really insane. I get that the transformation was that Christy was turning to Christ, but it just felt very cliche. I assume it has to do with the early 90’s trend that moved into Christianity, but I think that the approach taken in this novel might be a bit outdated. I saw plenty of kids and teens find Christ in this way when I was younger, and it just never seemed to be this very deep life changing thing that stuck with them after they left school. It’s sad, but it seemed the deeper people delved into their theology as teens the more likely they were to have more deeply rooted faith.

I think as a nice, fun, and more innocent read this book works for younger girls, especially for parents wanting to try to open a conversation with their daughters who are becoming teens. Now the best teenage Christian fiction I eve read though was the Diary of a Teenage Girl novels. They may read different now that I’m older, but I just found they were much more complex, and easy to relate to as a teen, plus the teens in those books actually sound like teens.

Rating 5 of 10.

This book was provided by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing in exchange for a review.

Bookshelf: E.L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey

Whether people have read it or not it seems that most people have an opinion about this book. One of my hugest pet peeves is hating something that you’ve never read, watched, or listened to though. Out of curiosity I finally got around to reading Fifty Shades of Grey. The talk of the movie made it difficult to keep putting off. In 2011 a book that began as Twilight fanfiction hit the scene. It’s pretty obvious it has Twilight origins, and I’m sure E.L. James wasn’t shocked by the negative reaction. For some reason women can’t enjoy things without it being bashed whether it’s Twilight or this. I forget that Playboy is scholarly.

Summary: Anastasia Steele is a 21 year old with a promising future. She has hopes of working in the publishing industry. Before graduating college she meets Christian Grey. Grey is a wealthy business tycoon who feels intrigued by Ana from the moment he meets her. She also has become intrigued by him, but Grey has a lifestyle that only those he knows practice the same he lets in a relationship with him. While Grey is interested in Ana she would have to not be put off by his private lifestyle.

Characters: To be honest, and not too purposely jump on any negative train, but they aren’t the most well developed characters. If it wasn’t for the people reading this wanting sex every other page then I can’t see anyone reading this because it’s compelling. Ana is very juvenile for a woman. I get that she is just on the verge of graduating college and young, but she has a lot going for her that makes her strong and successful career wise yet around a man she becomes a teenager. It’s a tad embarrassing. Christian Grey is a tad better developed, but that makes sense. As an author it’s understandable that you get attracted to your characters, and James has. Grey has all the trademarks of a dream man that a woman wants. He has a rough past that has caused him coldness in the future, he’s tall, dark and handsome, he’s successful, and he likes to woo a woman. His past might be intriguing to find revealed as you go, but it’s also so generic that he doesn’t ever seem real.

Writing: E.L James did get her start on fanfiction.net. If someone wanted to publish something you wrote and paid you wouldn’t you take it? The writing is obviously someone who was just writing for fun though. There are a huge amount of adverbs and adjectives thrown in that make the writing a lot chunkier than it needs to be. The writing part that seemed most off to me was Christian Grey’s character. I understand that the female perspective from Ana works for the narrative and her dialogue, but whenever Grey speaks he does not sound like a man speaking. At moments this just felt like a lesbian relationship. He has very feminine phrases and words that he uses that doesn’t always mesh with how she paints him outside of how he talks.

Plot: Is there a plot? Well yes. Two people meet from different lifestyles. One chaste the other highly sexually experienced and begin to have real feelings for one another. The key to what is behind these two characters is that they’ve never shared the real feelings that they have with anyone else but each other. I guess for someone like Ana who has never had sex, never even had a sexual experience with herself, she jumps into a very trusting and kinky situation very soon. I think most virgins without any knowledge or experience of their own pleasure would be more frightened. Christian Grey has a reason he is like this though. He isn’t just some guy born with BDSM tendencies. This leads into the other books as well because Ana ultimately wants him to get past those things that have caused him only to be interested in a cold, one sided relationship.

Trash it, don’t read it, love it, or call it a guilty pleasure, everyone seems to have some response to the book. The things is everyone is acting like this is the first erotica book ever written, especially about BDSM. I really don’t know why everyone chose this one to talk about. I’ve never read erotica to be honest. While reading this one though I wasn’t shocked reading it. You can find most of what’s in this book in any Cosmopolitan magazine sitting in your grocery store. Maybe I’ll catch some hate for reading it for multiple reasons, who knows.

Rating 5 of 10.

Library Reads: James Patterson’s Kill Alex Cross

The Alex Cross were fast paced, intense, mystery/thriller, novels when they first made their appearance in 1993 with Along Came a Spider, but it’s now 2013 and James Patterson is still writing them. Kill Alex Cross is definitely the weakest so far, and shows that the Alex Cross series is probably only continuing because of the money behind it. Alex Cross didn’t even sound like himself in the usual past books like this one, and why is Nana still alive? She was around 70 when the books first appeared in 1993! Even Patterson makes a joke about her age in this one.

Summary: The President’s children, Ethan and Zoe are abducted at school, leaving the FBI in a frenzy as they search for clues to find them. This leaves them to call in one of the best detectives there is, Alex Cross. Along with the kidnappings a deadly contagion is leaving a trail of dead bodies and has showed in the D.C. water lines. The two seem to be connected, but Cross thinks someone involved is misleading them for one of the hugest cases that Cross has been on.

Characters: Alex Cross has always been one of the better characters in fiction. He’s complex. He loves his family, is committed to his job, has an intriguing personality, and treats the woman he falls for like a queen. He also though seems to have had a tendency to womanize, be a bit quick tempered, and let his arrogance guide him. It makes him interesting. There are also the characters that appear in many other novels that people have come to know like Nana, who is a great character, but gosh she is living way long, and his children, which honestly are just a little too “leave it to Beaver” for me. Sampson also used to be a more intriguing, but I felt he was just making an appearance in this book for appearances sake.

Writing: If there is one major inconsistent thing about Patterson it’s the writing style. It used to be more characteristic, but with this one I could barely tell I was reading his writing. Did he secretly team up with someone on this one? I’m now reading Merry Christmas, Alex Cross, and they read as if two different people wrote them. Regardless though, Patterson has never been known for his writing skills though, but more so his ability to tell a story, which he does well, except in this one even the writer seems bored with the story.

Plot: The plot will be a bit dissatisfying I think to first time readers and long time readers of the series. You have two different tales happening that are not interwoven taking place. One where a terrorist group is plotting a plan to cause chaos in D.C. and the other where the two children have been abducted. With only almost 400 pages and very short chapters to hatch the two out it leaves you feeling a bit underwhelmed. The plot should have just stuck with one, with the more interesting being the children story, and then developed from there. The terrorist one just doesn’t ever feel interesting and it makes so no sense as to what the intent of it being wrote in is.

Kill Alex Cross bodes not too good of things for the Alex Cross series. The series just seems to be slipping further and further from what it once was, which is understandable considering it’s a long running series. Alex Cross even looses his staple personality in this one and becomes very bland unlike he has been. It just felt there was a lack of passion for the story and characters.

Rating 5 of 10.

Book Review: Ian Morgan Cron’s Jesus, My Father, The CIA and Me

If you’re going to write a memoir then don’t tell everyone it is an exaggerated lie in some spots to catch the attention. When reading a memoir it’s good to feel things are real all the way through, and if you believe your life is too uninteresting that you need to make up some points to share your own story then you probably weren’t meant to write one. Just title it fiction and let it be that. Let your life inspire the story, but don’t try to make yourself popular by saying it’s you with some extra extensions. Otherwise the story is nice and it does have a good catch to it.

Summary: When Ian sees a bunch of men at his father’s funeral who seem to have better things to say about his own dad that he would never use to describe his own dad, he begins to realize he might not have knew his dad that well. Growing up he was raised with a father who was an alcoholic. This left Ian struggling to figure out who he was without any guidance into finding that. Now as he raises his own family and reflects on his own he ponders over what he has learned and what there still is to learn.

Characters: I think all the characters have potential to be interesting. Some you can tell are sort of left to the side maybe because they didn’t want to be involved in all this having their lives exposed too much. We hear very little of the brother and sister he has. We know a little of his mom, and a lot about his dad. I think the writing though makes everyone feel underdeveloped though, so I never feel the emotions for Ian to really make me get involved with who he is and where he is from, and since he admitted already he made up some stuff but still wants to try to pull it off as a memoir well it takes away from it.

Writing: The story would have been better had it started from the early point on in Ian’s life and then let us grow with him toward the point of his father’s funeral. The disjointed storytelling though makes it seem all over the place, and you never know where the story is going next. One point we might be in college with Ian and the next we are on a roller coaster ride as a kid. While I understand these are to make points about his adult life, it also doesn’t flow as well as it could.

Plot: I think the plot is one that could well relate to men and people who haven’t had the childhood that one would hope for. I like that this movie isn’t a how to book, but instead a story of a man still trying to figure out who he is and just how his childhood might have affected him. It seems like plenty of authors know what it is you should be doing and want to tell you, but Ian lets his life lead in explaining the lessons he has learned, and builds up a beautiful moment of jumping into water with his children and wife. It seems like a suiting place to be building in a story that doesn’t always seem to be building there. It did get me to thinking, which is worth something.

There are some interesting twists, a guy who seems to be writing a story with heart, and a lot of little lessons that work. I think had it been written with better flow I would have enjoyed it a bit more, but I found where it can be inspirational. I just lacked in connecting with the people a bit since I wasn’t sure what to believe and what not to believe.

Rating 7 of 10.

This book was provided by Booksneeze in exchange for a review.

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/lzZyDK9qpWM&source=uds

Wednesday Movie Night: Thor (2011)

Marvel comics has what seems to be the most successful superhero franchise there is. With Iron Man being a hit, and in preparation for the now released Avengers movies, Thor was released despite the fact he wasn’t as big as the other heroes. The movie went over quite well though, and honestly I liked it just as much as I did the Iron Man movies. Thor’s personality is very arrogant, but the themes of the movie dealing with how he matures and grows throughout is one that many can find something about to relate to, and the character is likable himself.

Summary: Thor is arrogant and impulsive, and his dad, the king of Asgard, has had enough. Odin, the king, banishes Thor from Asgard, and he is forced to live among humans. Instantly, upon landing on earth he is put in the path of humans that are reluctant about his sanity first, but after mysterious forces show up on earth they begin to believe him with Jane being the one most interested in Thor’s past. Leaving Asgard though has left it unprotected from a lurking villain and with his father ill he must find a way to return home to protect it.

Acting: All the actors seems to work well together. A lot of the comedy works just by how the characters react to certain situations, and by the end they have transitioned the movie well into a more serious action movie. Chris Hemsworth was virtually an unknown name when cast as Thor, but this is probably one his best roles to date. He knows how to make Thor likable, but also balances his arrogance well. On top of that he has really funny moments that he makes perfect by giving it the right voicing and timing. Natalie Portman hasn’t had as big a year as she did around the time Thor was released. She is likable though as Jane, and she works well for the romance part because it never gets too cheesy. Tom Riddleston is Loki, and this was another role that was a huge introduction an actor almost unknown. It’s amazing how he can go from the likable characters he has been and then be someone as evil as Loki. Anthony Hopkins also stars as Odin bringing the star power, and there is Stellan Skarsgard as Erik.

Filming: The filming always knows how to keep your interest even when the movie is building character development. You also have very vivid shots of the action and world that Thor lives in. Though Asgard is all CGI it feels real and is brought to life well. Plus any other inclusions of CGI are just well done. There is never a moment it just feels like what you’re seeing couldn’t be real. Also, you have very beautiful landscape shots as well.

Plot: This plot seems to be more intent on building characters than the other superhero movies I’ve seen. We spend a good bit of time with Thor as he tries to navigate the responsibility that his father wants to give him, and then how his time on earth will help him grow to be more ready for that time when it happens. Also, Loki is unlikable but still complex, because it just seems like the guy was sadly a bad egg and there was no fighting it.

Thor was more entertaining than I expected with some funny dialogue that is very quotable. You also have a cast of actors that fit their role and seem to be excited to portraying the people they are acting as. The build up toward the end is quite grand as well, and feel fitting. It’s just another movie that is good in the line of Marvel movies, and it has gotten me to looking forward to the November release.

Rating 8 of 10.

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/JOddp-nlNvQ&source=uds

Wednesday Movie Night: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen mainly drew me because I thought it would be very nature filled and perhaps maybe inspiring. While the acting is good, and the chemistry between the leads is there, something about the movie runs a little dull at times. I never can quite leap onto caring about where this movie is going. I do care about the romance though, and the development with that. Despite unable to make the Sheiks endeavors inspiring they at least made us concerned about hte personal lives of the people involved.

Summary: The British government needs something to redeem their image in the eyes of the public, and they seem to be at a loss until a Sheik seems to be looking for someone to enlist to help him improve the lives of his people in the Yemen. He thinks if he can brings Salmon to the area that it will not only give the locals a water resource but food. Harriet is put on the assignment and seeks out Captain Robert, who is a fishing expert, to help her plan how it would be possible to bring fish and water there. He believes the plan is impossible, but his growing feelings for Harriet encourage him on with the plan.

Acting: The chemistry between Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor feels real in their roles as Harriet and Robert. The fact that they both have romances outside of each other makes for a nice complication as well because Robert being married makes their relationship look very impossible. Amr Waked is the Sheihk seeking the help from them both, and I felt his character was too likable. It’s like you are supposed to forget this guy has seven wives on the side. I think had Robert not been married when he went and eyed another woman his character would have been more likable. Even though his wife don’t have any chemistry anymore it just doesn’t seem justifiable to hurt someone like that.

Filming: The movie has a very beautiful quality to it that is bright and all the colors pop. That is what really stood out about the movie. The color almost looks dream like. There wasn’t any techniques as far as scenes though or even how things transitioned that really popped to me. I also heard the movie had a lot of humor, but I couldn’t find that present either.

Plot: The plot is very stretched, but they seem to try to make up for it with a character, Robert, who also believes what they are trying to achieve is too expensive and too impossible. There is probably a reason there isn’t water in the middle of the desert, but yet people think if they can just shift a dam there and get a river flowing that it’s easy as pie. They also don’t seem to take into account that how fish swim may not be the only factor in deciding whether fish can live in this different environment. Also, Harriet doesn’t seem to be phased at all that Robert just left another woman and now she is hitting on that.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has some cute moments and works because the lead characters interact well with each other, and even though it seems ridiculous it feels like the characters really grow involved with what they are trying to do in the Yemen. We don’t see much of the people they are trying to help to grow a connection though, and everything seems more centered on the romance except with some occasional laughter at the British government.

Rating 7 of 10.

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-wOF_7JMy5U&source=uds