Better Thor

THOR-2011-I really wasn't prepared to enjoy this movie and so maybe I liked it a little more than some. There were a 1000 ways for the filmmakers to screw it up but instead they did a pretty good "Hollywood job" with it.

Chris Hemsworth is the hammer yielding Norse god from the Marvel comic book. In Asgard he's a very arrogant thunder god who starts a new war with the frost giants and is banished by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) to Earth. But the real culprit behind it all is his jealous half brother Loki (Tim Hiddleston).

Natalie Portman is kind of miscast as Jane Foster, a scientist who becomes his love interest and Rene Russo is Thor's mom Frigga. Stellan Skarsgard is an archeologist who eventually figures in the future AVENGERS movie (a post end credits scene also features Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury). Even the Warriors Three are featured. Ray Stevenson is Volstag, Tadanobu Asano is Hogun and Josh Daniels is Fandril. Of course Stan Lee has a cameo as does J. Michael Straczynski who developed the story.

Actor-director Kenneth Branagh did a better job adapting this than he did Frankenstein.

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It Sinks!

DEEP BLUE SEA-1999-A idiotic group of scientists is working on a cure for Alzheimer’s disease but giant killer sharks that a moronic doctor (Saffron Burrows) “made smart” by “gene therapy” want to kill everybody. Samuel L. Jackson stars as the head of the pharmaceutical corporation that funds the project but even he can’t save this cliched ridden script that wants to out jaws JAWS! (Like in JAWS 2 the shark sinks a helicopter)

Underrated actor Stellan Skarsgaard is ok in his role (he winds up having his arm bit off; much like Jackson in JURASSIC PARK) but stars Thomas Jane (THE PUNISHER) and Burrows (MISS JULIE) are terrible. Basically it’s just a run of the mill monster movie with a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo and laughable gory SFX thrown in to try and fool you into thinking the makers knew what they were doing. But of course they didn't.

DBS was directed by the usually incompetent Renny Harlin who also helmed the disasters CUTTHROAT ISLAND, THE LONG KISS GOODBYE (also with Jackson) and EXORCIST:THE BEGINNING (also with Skarsgaard). And way to much time is spend on LL Cool J's religious semi-comical character. Michael Rapaport is also in it.

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