Thor: The Dark World

Credible Credits

Year: 2013

Director: Alan Taylor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, and Christopher Eccleston

Tagline: None
Synopsis: Thor must team up with Loki to save the woman he loves ... and the entire universe.

Review

I really liked Thor.  So I went into Thor: The Dark World with pretty high expectations.  I was not disappointed.  Three things that I enjoyed about the first film were all present for the sequel: humor, personal/family conflict (amidst the trans-worlds conflict), and Asgard.

Unlike the first film, this one spends much more time on Asgard.  We get to see much more of the world, the culture, and the people.  Without giving too much away, can I just say that the Asgardians have the coolest funerary rites ever?

As for personal/family conflict and humor, the film is packed with both.  And I thought it did a good job balancing the two.  Of all the Marvel movies, this may well be the funniest.  I think just about every primary and secondary character gets at least one great, witty line.  Loki and Darcy by far have the most though.  But, like I said, the film also has some angst which helps to keep the characters interesting and grounded.

The villain, Malekith, is a bit on the bland side I suppose, while still being menacing.  He simply wants to get things back to the way they were in the "good old days" when there was just darkness.  And he is willing to destroy literally everything and everyone to do that.  He has a rather interesting henchman who becomes what they call "Kursed."  He kind of reminded me of a glorified berserker.  It was also an interesting change to see elves as the bad guys (Malekith and the other dark elves look nothing like Elrond, Legolas, or Ernie Keebler).

In terms of its cinematic qualities, Thor: The Dark World certainly delivers.  It is visually stunning and beautiful.  There were even a couple times when I thought to myself, "Hey, that's a cool shot."  The score was also great.  I may have to buy part of it (I love film scores).

One last note before I get into spoilers.  The film has a few great cameos, but one that made me smile (and doesn't spoil anything, I promise) is when Jane, Darcy, Selvig, and Ian are eating breakfast in their London flat.  In the middle of the table is a package of digestive biscuits (yummy British cookies).  It made me smile.

*** Spoiler Section ***

In the last film, Frigga (Thor's mother) didn't get a whole lot of screen time.  In this movie she gets to be more a part of the action and Frigga is friggin' awesome (sorry, I couldn't resist the spelling similarities).  Not only does she get to verbally one up Odin, she also momentarily stumps the quick-witted Loki, outsmarts the main villain whom she then bests in one-on-one combat.  Awesome.  A strong, intelligent woman who also cares deeply about her family and is willing to die for what she believes in.  We should name a day of the week after her ...

Loki, the silver-tongued trickster, pretty much steals the movie.  He's just a fun character.  I didn't believe his ruse of stabbing Thor and handing Jane over to Malekith.  That was a bit too dark for him.  I also didn't believe it when he "died."  Again, that just wasn't quite his character.  But it is amazing how many times Thor falls for what he sees with Loki.  I wonder what Loki did with Odin.  I guess we'll have to wait for Thor 3.

I loved the climax, with the world jumping and Selvig and Jane's remote control as it were for the transportation.  It was very fun and different.  The actual resolution, however, felt a bit rehashed.  Just like in the first film, Thor risks his life to defeat the bad guy, nearly dies, but is ultimately saved.  I was actually expecting Jane to die.  Not that I wanted her to, but it somehow would have been fitting.  Based on the trailers, I wondered if Thor would have to sacrifice Jane to save the universe.  And then in that scene I wondered if Jane would sacrifice herself for Thor.  I'm glad she lives to see another sequel (hopefully she can slap Loki again), but it would have been a powerful ending.

Lastly, can I just say how much I loved "Captain America's" cameo?  That may have been the funniest part in the whole movie.

Quotable Quotes

• "There is nothing more reassuring than knowing that the world is crazier than you are." -- Dr. Erik Selvig
• "I had things under control!"  "Is that why everything is on fire?" -- Sif and Thor
• "She [Frigga] wouldn't want us to fight."  "Well, she wouldn't exactly be shocked." Thor and Loki
• "Tada!" -- Loki
• Basically anything coming out of either Loki's or Darcy's mouth

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Ender's Game

Credible Credits

Year: 2013

Director: Gavin Hood

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, and Ben Kingsley

Tagline: This Is Not a Game
Synopsis: Ender Wiggin is a brilliant boy recruited and trained to defend Earth from an alien threat.

Review

I'll admit it from the start: I haven't read the book.  Whether that increases or diminishes my credibility to review this movie I leave to you.

A few posts ago I said that one of the hallmarks of a good movie is that it sticks with you after the credits roll.  Even hours or days later, you may still find yourself thinking back on something a character did or said or how the plot unfolded.  By that standard, Ender's Game is a good movie.  It certainly has left me thinking the last few days ... thinking and analyzing.

Visually the film is terrific.  I read somewhere that one of the reasons it took so long for the book to be adapted to the big screen is because the technology simply wasn't there to do it justice.  The technology is there now and it was beautiful.  "Seamless" is a word critics like to use when talking about visual effects; the idea being that you simply cannot tell where reality ends and computer generated images begin.  At least from my one viewing, the effects seemed pretty seamless to me.  I believed in the weightlessness in the battle room.  And overall, it felt like a "real" world.

One difficulty the film had was the fact it often felt like a book adaptation.  I felt like I was at times missing information or that we were being rushed through scenes and sequences that there was more to.  That is of course a difficulty inherent in chopping a book down into a two hour run time.  But it shouldn't feel like you're missing information.  In that sense, I think I might have liked the movie more if I had read the book so I could fill in some of the gaps.

Perhaps it was a result of the above difficulty, but I found it hard to understand the characters.  Asa Butterfield did a good job of portraying a tactically brilliant, albeit socially awkward Ender.  The other characters didn't feel as fleshed out.  They were just there.  Case in point: while I thought Harrison Ford did a good job as Col. Hyrum Graff, I never felt I understood what made him "tick."

What has stuck with me in the days since I saw Ender's Game is the story itself.  It raises all sorts of ethical questions.  And the movie doesn't shy away from the fact there are some grey areas.  However questionable some of their actions may seem, most of the characters are really just doing the best they know how in complex, high stakes situations.  They don't even necessarily like what they are doing, but in true Machiavellian style, they believe it is ultimately for the greater good.  As I watched the story unfold, two verses from the Book of Mormon kept coming to mind:

Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands.  But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid ... we will wait till they shall come against us. (3 Nephi 3: 20-21)

But when I [Zeniff] saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed. (Mosiah 9:1)

Whether Orson Scott Card had those passages in mind as he wrote the book I have no idea.

Overall, I liked Ender's Game.  It's a well done movie that is beautifully rendered and decently strung together.  And it makes you think, which I always appreciate in a film.  And although I'm not going to rush out and read the book, I'm still very glad I saw the movie and I recommend it. 

Quotable Quotes

• "In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him." -- Ender Wiggin
• "Since when do you have to tell the enemy when he has won?" -- Mazer Rackham

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Coming Soon to a Blog Near You

Coming Attractions - 2013

The holiday movie season is now in full swing.  There's pretty much a new and exciting movie coming out every week for the rest of the year.  That's a lot of movies (and a lot of popcorn).  With perhaps one exception, I plan to see all of the following movies regardless of what the critics say.  Here's hoping they are all critical successes, though.  Because I really am excited for all of them.

Anyway.  Here's the list for the remainder of the year (in order of release date):

• Ender's Game
• Thor: The Dark World
• The Book Thief
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• Frozen
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• Saving Mr. Banks
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

That should keep me busy through New Years.

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Saratov and Gravity

Spoiler Alert

Within a week's time I've seen both The Saratov Approach and Gravity.  They are interesting movies to watch back to back like that.

In some ways, the movies are very different.  Alfonso Cuaron may well have spent more money on one scene of Gravity than Garrett Batty spent on his entire film.  I don't know.  But one is big budget Hollywood and the other is LDS indie.  Gravity has Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.  Saratov has ... Corbin Allred (no offense, but outside LDS cinema, do many people know Corbin Allred?).  One film takes place in space, the other in Russia.

Ultimately though, both movies are about survival.  They are both about people trying to survive unimaginable circumstances.

Throughout the stories, Dr. Stone (Sandra Bullock's character) and Elders Probst and Tuttle must face their fears.  At first, they all hyperventilate with fear and feel utterly alone.  But gradually, they collect their wits and begin to do the best they can in their respective situations.  And in both films, there comes a moment of ultimate crisis. 

Dr. Stone and Probst/Tuttle are faced with essentially the same choice: face certain death or do whatever it takes to survive.  What is so fascinating is that although the choice is basically the same, what is right is not.  The elders make the opposite decision from Dr. Stone.  Yet somehow the outcome is the same: survival.

Dr. Stone's crises comes because she is stranded in space with seemingly no hope left.  She's scared and she doesn't want to die.  But it seems inevitable.  In complete contrast to the elders, she mourns that she has no one to even pray for her, nor does she know how to pray herself because no one ever taught her how.  So, she resigns herself to her fate and depletes the oxygen supply to provide herself a quick, painless death.  But then something happens.  George Clooney's character (Matt Kowalski) shows up, talks some sense into her, and offers her a strategy to rescue herself.  It turns out that he was just a hallucination.  Or was he?

I have no idea how religious Cuaron is.  But there are definite spiritual themes in Gravity, so I'm going to take some liberty with my analysis.  Perhaps Kowalski was triggered simply by Dr. Stone's oxygen-deprived brain.  Or maybe he was an answer to Dr. Stone's unspoken prayer and God's way of speaking to her.  It doesn't seem too far-fetched of an analysis.  With renewed hope, Dr. Stone cranks up the O2 and talks to Kowalski as though he is now in heaven and gives him instructions to find her little girl (who died in an accident years ago).  And when Dr. Stone finally crash lands in the sea and at last makes it to shore, she offers a heavenward "Thank you."

Elders Probst and Tuttle also face imminent death.  They know that neither the Church, the US government, nor their families are going to pay the ransom (and they understand and accept the reasons why).  So when the opportunity to escape presents itself, they prepare to take it, even though the plan might very well lead to them having to kill one of their captors.  Both elders take their positions.  But then they stop.  Probst, who initiated the idea, feels he cannot go through with it.  The Spirit constrains him.  And although the choice is between life and death, they choose death.  All Probst really says is: "God has a plan for us."  Which of course He does and the elders are ultimately freed when their captors choose to be merciful and release them.

Though very different in many ways, both Gravity and The Saratov Approach are spiritually inspiring films.  They are more than films about survival; they are films about hope.

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Gravity

Credible Credits

Year: 2013

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Starring: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

Tagline: Don't Let Go
Synopsis: An accident in space leaves two astronauts adrift.

Review

For me, the true mark of a good movie is that it sticks with you long after the credits roll (the same can be true of a terrible movie, but that is beside the point).  This was such a movie.  Movies like Gravity are why I became a film student and why I remain an avid film connoisseur.  Is it the best film ever?  No.  But that doesn't make it any less brilliant, less beautiful, or less inspiring.  This film deserves to be the critical and commercial success that it is.

First off, Gravity is visually stunning.  Even without the 3D (which I avoid for various reasons), it was breathtaking.  I spent much of the movie thinking, "how on earth did they film that" (irony intended).  Because really, it feels like they filmed it in space.  The views of Earth are incredible.  The zero gravity moments are believable.  And director Cuaron deftly knows when to move in close and when to pull back.  One moment you feel claustrophobic in a space suit or escape pod and the next you feel agoraphobic at the sheer immensity of space the main characters are adrift in.

The sound design was also brilliant (and certainly deserves an Oscar nomination, at least).  The use of sound, and the lack of sound, lend themselves to the tension and emotion.  At times, all you can hear is Sandra Bullock's panicked breathing.  Dear Hollywood, silent carnage can be just as effective as (at times more effective than) ear-numbing explosions.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the musical score.  It was eerie when it needed to be eerie and triumphant when it needed to be triumphant.

Ultimately, the story is one of survival.  It is about facing fear and finding hope.  The tagline is "Don't let go," and it is as much metaphoric as it is literal.

On a side note, I loved that at one point Sandra Bullock's character uses a fire extinguisher to propel herself through space a la Wall-E.  Nice touch.

Anything else I have to say would be a spoiler.  So just go see it.

Quotable Quotes

• "Clear skies with a chance of satellite debris." -- Dr. Ryan Stone
• "Houston, I have a bad feeling about this mission." -- Matt Kowalski
• "I hate space!" -- Dr. Ryan Stone

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The Saratov Approach

Credible Credits

Year: 2013

Director: Garrett Batty

Starring: Corbin Allred, Maclain Nelson, Nikita Bogolyubov, and Alex Veadov

Tagline: Abducted. Ransomed. Delivered.
Synopsis: Two LDS missionaries are kidnapped and held for ransom.

Review

Until a couple of weeks ago, I'd never heard of this movie.  That really is saying something when you consider that I check IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes on a daily basis.  And while The Saratov Approach (pronounced /suh-RAH-tov/) is listed on both those sites, it didn't exactly make their headlines.  It was actually a coworker who first told me about this film.  And then I started noticing the advertisements (including a big billboard along I-15 that I pass everyday on my drive home) and was intrigued.  For one thing, I liked Corbin Allred's work in both Saints and Soldiers and Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed.  For another thing, it is based on true events ... and that sparked my curiosity.

Preliminaries over ... I loved this movie.  I'm always a little leery when it comes to LDS cinema.  But this may well be the best so far.  Yes, it is overtly LDS.  But I think it is also accessible to any religious person.  It is a story about faith, hope, and trust.  And it is a story about people.

It was the characterization that stood out to me the most.  It wasn't simply about what was going on in terms of plot.  It was about what was going on inside these people.  Elder Probst and Elder Tuttle felt genuine and believable.  I felt like I was watching real people making the best of an unimaginable situation.  Their emotions felt more real than most Hollywood scripts.

Director Garrett Batty also did a good job handling what must be the most difficult part of any spiritually grounded film: showing the unshowable.  How do you visually show the internal whisperings and promptings of the Spirit?  It is not an enviable task.  And it is even more difficult when the Spirit's instructions are completely counter-intuitive, as they are in this film.  I don't know if someone who doesn't understand the Spirit would fully understood that particular scene.  I can't judge that.  But it worked for me and I understood the choice the Elders made and I thought both actors handled the scene honestly.

The Saratov Approach is an excellent film and I highly recommend it.  It has tension, drama, humor, but above all, it has heart.  And that is something missing from far too many movies these days.

Quotable Quotes

• "God has a plan for us." -- Elder Probst
• "You know, there's no Church policy that says you have to love the Utah Jazz." -- Elder Probst
• "Light always overcomes darkness." -- Unnamed Elder

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Raiders of the Lost Ark

Credible Credits

Year: 1981

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies, and a whole lotta snakes

Tagline: The Return of the Great Adventure!
Synopsis: An intrepid archeologist must recover the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.

Review

Was there any question about which film I'd review first?  Okay, it was kind of a toss-up between Raiders and Wall-E.  But Raiders won because it has been one of my favorite movies longer.  Sorry Wall-E; you'll get your turn.

In 2003, the American Film Institute compiled a list of its favorite film heroes.  Coming in at #2 was none other than the fedora-wearing, whip-wielding professor of archaeology.  Indiana Jones is certainly one of the most iconic, most imitated, and most parodied characters from the silver screen.  He is a mild-mannered, bespectacled professor one minute, and a wise-cracking, whip-cracking adventurer the next.  And although his adventures are larger than life, Indy remains a fairly down-to-earth character who doesn't always succeed, has a nearly debilitating fear of snakes, and through much of the movie is just making things up as he goes along -- sometimes more successfully than others.  And that's what makes Indiana Jones such a fun character.  That said, he isn't a particularly heroic fellow.  His motives aren't always the best.  His actions are occasionally questionable.  And his morals ... well, let's not go there.  But as a character, he stands out.  And that is why he has stood the test of time.

The film is one awesome sequence after another.  Right off the bat you've got the jungle temple, laden with more booby traps than you can shake a Hovitos spear at.  Spielberg's direction is brilliant.  We are introduced to Indy with a bang (literally).  He then navigates the various traps, confronts multiple large spiders, and comes face to face with a very dead former rival with such skill and complete composure that not five minutes into the movie and you're thinking this is the coolest guy ever.  Of course then everything goes south because his golden idol to sandbag ratio just wasn't up to snuff.

One of my favorite moments in the ensuing escape is when Satipo has abandoned Indy and left our hero with neither the idol nor his trusty whip.  So Indy makes a leap across a chasm.  He catches the other side and starts to pull himself up with a protruding root.  The root gives way and Indy slides back.  The look on his face says it all.  He's in over his head and he knows it; a fact further emphasized by the gasp he makes when he notices that ridiculously huge boulder rolling after him.  The hero with skill and composure is long gone as, covered in cobwebs, Indy is forced to then hand over his hard-earned prize to rival Belloq.  And then of course the sequence ends with the terrific punchline.  This guy who has braved poison darts, flying spears, deadly spiders, a gigantic boulder, and dozens of incensed natives starts panicking over his pilot's pet snake, "Reggie."  Brilliant.  Cue John Williams' fantastic Raider's March as our hero flies off into the distance.

And that's just the opening.

I could ramble on and on about all the things that make Raiders of the Lost Ark my tied-for-favorite movie.  But I'll resist.  I do, however, feel I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Indy's terrific leading lady.  Marion Ravenwood is definitely the best of the Indy females.  She's smart, feisty, clever, witty, and good with a frying pan (I wonder if the creators of Tangled got their inspiration from her).  And while I'm at it, I suppose I should say a word or two about the villains.  Colonel Dietrich and Major Toht (who clearly doesn't know how to dress for the desert but can awesomely make a hanger seem threatening) are pretty cliched Nazi bad guys.  But Belloq is far more interesting.  He's both genteel and menacing.  And as Belloq himself says, he is just a shadowy reflection of Indy.  He keeps things interesting.

One last tidbit before I wrap this up.  Another reason Raiders holds a special place in my heart is because of a Sunday School lesson back when I was a teenager.  Yes, that's right: a Sunday School lesson.  I can honestly say I only remember one other specific lesson from all my childhood/teenage years in Sunday School.  Certainly I learned from them, but few lessons were themselves memorable.  But one week Brother Doug (as we called Brother Snow) brought in the TV and VCR and played the first few minutes of Raiders, where Indy is leading the way through the jungle with his bits of map and up to the dramatic, whip-cracking reveal.  The lesson was: as we navigate through life, don't we want a great guide who knows where he's going, what he's doing, has a map, and is prepared for anything?  The guide in our lives should of course be the Holy Ghost.  And at that point all correlation of course completely and utterly ends.  But the lesson has stuck with me well over a decade later.  Thank you, Doctor Jones.

Well, that's my review.  I suppose I should give some sort of rating or classification.  How about NGTO for "Never Get Tired Of."

Quotable Quotes

• "Snakes!  Why did it have to be snakes?" -- Indy
• "Asps ... very dangerous.  You go first." -- Sallah
• "It's a date ... ya eat 'em." -- Indy
• "I don't know.  I'm making this up as I go." -- Indy
• "Indiana Jones.  I always knew someday you'd come walking back through my door.  I never doubted that.  Something made it inevitable." -- Marion

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