Marvel Movie Mayhem
Nov. 23rd, 2013 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tealinAll right, it's Saturday night, I've got a glass of wine and no homework, let's see what we can do about some movie reviews two weeks after the fact.
I went up to my sister's for a weekend, which we kicked off with Thor 2: The Dark World and followed up with Captain America (which I had not yet seen) and Megamind (which she had not yet seen), chased down with Avengers because the trailer was on Captain America and we were reminded how great that movie was and how much we wanted to watch the Blu-Ray which was conveniently right at hand. Thanks for the suggestion, Marketing Department!
THOR: THE DARK WORLD
Okay, I enjoyed it. It was fun. But that's sort of ... all it was. And now that I've seen it, I am not tremendously moved ever to see it again, which is bad news for this review because a lot of what I'm trying to go for would only be clarified by rewatching.
Basically, what it came down to for me, was that it wasn't really about anything. I discussed this with my sister afterwards and she quite rightly said 'of course it's about something, it's about Thor and Loki burying the hatchet and learning to cooperate.' But it's not about reconciliation, or teamwork, it's about Thor and Loki working together to do a thing, specifically, concretely, narrowly, in a way that doesn't really expand into any abstract ideas. Watching Avengers on Sunday really brought this out – it seems like every other scene had some underlying idea (as well as profound subtext which expanded the emotional lives of characters and – OK, it's just really good), and within those scenes even specific lines hinted at something to think about and take beyond the confines of the movie, not just in the characters' lives but in our own. In The Dark World, Thor and Loki (and everyone else) were just Thor and Loki (and everyone else), not also stand-ins in a wider discussion of the human condition, which was the case in both Thor and Avengers. Those movies were directed by people with a keen appreciation of, and experience with, Shakespeare. Coincidence? I don't know. I wear my bias on my sleeve so you know what I think.
Another problem I had with it was that I just couldn't get into it ... It was great to watch, but I was only watching, nothing pulled me in and made me forget I was in a movie theatre watching a movie. The production design was interesting, and I liked seeing London, especially since I've walked around the South Bank and Greenwich enough, but that's not enough to be engaged with a movie. I didn't feel anything with the characters, I just cerebrally perceived it; while there were moments of conscious amusement or sadness or fear, it never crossed the blood-brain barrier. Alan Taylor, the director, has also directed Game of Thrones, which I watched with the same complete detachment. Coincidence? I don't know. I only got three episodes into Game of Thrones before the boredom won, so you know what I think.
If you want actual serious deconstruction of the faults of Thor 2, as opposed to my limp-wristed flapping at it, I can recommend no better source than Arythusa on Tumblr. [flap flap] What she said!
Another little thing, I really wished there'd been more, if not reference to, at least acknowledgement of the events of Avengers. I know they want to keep the movies fairly discrete, but there is a way to refer to something that just makes it feel like backstory rather than like you're missing something if you haven't seen it. Loki nearly destroyed Earth (which would have included Thor's girlfriend eventually) and was doing all sorts of nasty politics with alien races, being a dangerous free agent in a way he never was when preoccupied with power in Asgard – this is a bit of a big deal, but nope! References to Thor 1, yes, but to what just happened not so much. ??
CAPTAIN AMERICA
I don't really have a Comprehensive overview of this, just a few observations:
1. I love the Director of Photography. Bring me more of those beautifully composed shots with nonsensical but delectable lighting. Mmm, yeah. Seriously though, there was this weird thing this movie did – it was set in the 1940s, and was clearly looking to play up the nostalgia, but they hit the nostalgia button by making an unexpected swerve in an unrelated direction and shooting the thing like a 90s movie. It was such a 90s movie! It felt like I was watching something from the age of Jurassic Park, with distinct notes of Indiana Jones. SO nostalgic! But not 40s nostalgia! My-own-childhood nostalgia! Crazy but genius. I wonder how many people even noticed.
2. I heard people complaining about the pacing of this movie when it came out but I thought it was just fine. I never got bored or lost; when the plot wasn't moving forward there were characters to enjoy. No, the Star-Spangled Man sequence was exactly long enough thank you.
3. Am I the only one to find pre-serum Steve Rogers much more attractive than Super Soldier Steve Rogers? I feel like admitting this will require me to forfeit my heterosexual female license ('sokay, it's not like I was using it anyway) but come on ... no one?
4. I dood drawings. (click to embiggen)
Mainly of Nazi Churchill, apparently. (Peggy was too pretty, Hugo Weaving took too long to figure out, and Chris Evans ceased to dominate my interest after the first 20 minutes.)
5. Speaking of referencing other movies (see above), Avengers led me to believe there was a lot more in this movie than there actually was. Subtext, Whedon! How do you do it! You created a whole extended edition of a movie I hadn't even seen! Bah, some people and their talent.
Avengers I've already reviewed and Megamind ... ahhh Megamind ... someday I will do a comprehensive list of What I Love About Megamind (or, The Love That [at Disney] Dare Not Speak Its Name) but it's my bedtime, so not tonight.
I went up to my sister's for a weekend, which we kicked off with Thor 2: The Dark World and followed up with Captain America (which I had not yet seen) and Megamind (which she had not yet seen), chased down with Avengers because the trailer was on Captain America and we were reminded how great that movie was and how much we wanted to watch the Blu-Ray which was conveniently right at hand. Thanks for the suggestion, Marketing Department!
THOR: THE DARK WORLD
Okay, I enjoyed it. It was fun. But that's sort of ... all it was. And now that I've seen it, I am not tremendously moved ever to see it again, which is bad news for this review because a lot of what I'm trying to go for would only be clarified by rewatching.
Basically, what it came down to for me, was that it wasn't really about anything. I discussed this with my sister afterwards and she quite rightly said 'of course it's about something, it's about Thor and Loki burying the hatchet and learning to cooperate.' But it's not about reconciliation, or teamwork, it's about Thor and Loki working together to do a thing, specifically, concretely, narrowly, in a way that doesn't really expand into any abstract ideas. Watching Avengers on Sunday really brought this out – it seems like every other scene had some underlying idea (as well as profound subtext which expanded the emotional lives of characters and – OK, it's just really good), and within those scenes even specific lines hinted at something to think about and take beyond the confines of the movie, not just in the characters' lives but in our own. In The Dark World, Thor and Loki (and everyone else) were just Thor and Loki (and everyone else), not also stand-ins in a wider discussion of the human condition, which was the case in both Thor and Avengers. Those movies were directed by people with a keen appreciation of, and experience with, Shakespeare. Coincidence? I don't know. I wear my bias on my sleeve so you know what I think.
Another problem I had with it was that I just couldn't get into it ... It was great to watch, but I was only watching, nothing pulled me in and made me forget I was in a movie theatre watching a movie. The production design was interesting, and I liked seeing London, especially since I've walked around the South Bank and Greenwich enough, but that's not enough to be engaged with a movie. I didn't feel anything with the characters, I just cerebrally perceived it; while there were moments of conscious amusement or sadness or fear, it never crossed the blood-brain barrier. Alan Taylor, the director, has also directed Game of Thrones, which I watched with the same complete detachment. Coincidence? I don't know. I only got three episodes into Game of Thrones before the boredom won, so you know what I think.
If you want actual serious deconstruction of the faults of Thor 2, as opposed to my limp-wristed flapping at it, I can recommend no better source than Arythusa on Tumblr. [flap flap] What she said!
Another little thing, I really wished there'd been more, if not reference to, at least acknowledgement of the events of Avengers. I know they want to keep the movies fairly discrete, but there is a way to refer to something that just makes it feel like backstory rather than like you're missing something if you haven't seen it. Loki nearly destroyed Earth (which would have included Thor's girlfriend eventually) and was doing all sorts of nasty politics with alien races, being a dangerous free agent in a way he never was when preoccupied with power in Asgard – this is a bit of a big deal, but nope! References to Thor 1, yes, but to what just happened not so much. ??
CAPTAIN AMERICA
I don't really have a Comprehensive overview of this, just a few observations:
1. I love the Director of Photography. Bring me more of those beautifully composed shots with nonsensical but delectable lighting. Mmm, yeah. Seriously though, there was this weird thing this movie did – it was set in the 1940s, and was clearly looking to play up the nostalgia, but they hit the nostalgia button by making an unexpected swerve in an unrelated direction and shooting the thing like a 90s movie. It was such a 90s movie! It felt like I was watching something from the age of Jurassic Park, with distinct notes of Indiana Jones. SO nostalgic! But not 40s nostalgia! My-own-childhood nostalgia! Crazy but genius. I wonder how many people even noticed.
2. I heard people complaining about the pacing of this movie when it came out but I thought it was just fine. I never got bored or lost; when the plot wasn't moving forward there were characters to enjoy. No, the Star-Spangled Man sequence was exactly long enough thank you.
3. Am I the only one to find pre-serum Steve Rogers much more attractive than Super Soldier Steve Rogers? I feel like admitting this will require me to forfeit my heterosexual female license ('sokay, it's not like I was using it anyway) but come on ... no one?
4. I dood drawings. (click to embiggen)
Mainly of Nazi Churchill, apparently. (Peggy was too pretty, Hugo Weaving took too long to figure out, and Chris Evans ceased to dominate my interest after the first 20 minutes.)
5. Speaking of referencing other movies (see above), Avengers led me to believe there was a lot more in this movie than there actually was. Subtext, Whedon! How do you do it! You created a whole extended edition of a movie I hadn't even seen! Bah, some people and their talent.
Avengers I've already reviewed and Megamind ... ahhh Megamind ... someday I will do a comprehensive list of What I Love About Megamind (or, The Love That [at Disney] Dare Not Speak Its Name) but it's my bedtime, so not tonight.
no subject
Date: 2013-11-24 02:28 pm (UTC)