Not sure how it happened, but I currently owe reviews on five theatrical releases, not to mention a few movies I caught at home that I'd also like to write about at some point.
Tonight, I will begin the process of digging myself out of this hole.
Typically, I hate writing quick-hitter, capsule reviews. I'm fully aware that I, myself, am the main beneficiary of this blog and, when I write just a short, one-shot review of a movie, I feel like I'm robbing myself of the writing exercise this blog was created to provide.
But...what're you gonna do?
Luckily enough, a few weeks back, I saw two movies that I don't have strong feelings about. Neither of these films were terrible, but they didn't really lend themselves to any sort of deep-dive analysis or recounting. Thinking about them now, it's actually hard to remember more than just general details anyway. In short, I don't think I'm doing myself -- or any of my five readers -- a great disservice by offering abbreviated reviews of these two films.
So, without further ado, I offer my short takes on both Ender's Game and Thor: The Dark World.
Ender's Game **
I suppose I should say up front that the novel upon which this movie is based is not my favorite book of all time. If it were, I would have been sorely disappointed. As it was, my disappointment was only mild.
This is basically a cliff's notes version of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi classic that gives short shrift to some of the most compelling parts of the original story and waters down everything else. Ender's Game was always going to be a difficult cinematic lift and it would be impossible to get everything just right in a two-hour movie. But, even if you give the filmmakers the necessary leeway to accomplish what it is a near-impossible task, it's hard not to think that there was a better movie in there somewhere.
The movie comes with spectacular visuals -- particularly in the scenes in the zero-gravity chamber wherein war-games commence -- enough to keep you from thinking you've completely wasted a couple hours of your life. There's just very little there there when it comes to the story and the characters.
Asa Butterfield -- the star of the magnificent Hugo from a couple years ago -- seems miscast playing the titular hero. But, that may just have been the dialogue. And, as always, Harrison Ford -- playing the Colonel Gruff...err...Graff -- phones in another surly performance.
All in all, this is a nothing-burger a movie, which isn't all that bad. It's just a little sad that they wasted so much of the potential that came with the source material.
Thor: The Dark World **1/2
Simply put, if you liked the first Thor movie -- a Flash Gordon-esque romp of stupidity that was somehow way better than it should have been -- you'll like Thor: The Dark World. With this sequel, they've successfully recreated the tone and overall feeling of the first film and essentially made what feels like the same movie all over again.
That's not a complaint, just an observation.
The one thing missing from this second film is Tom Hiddleston's Loki. Sure, he's in the movie. But he doesn't have nearly the screen time that he deserves. As Chris Hemsworth walks around flexing and while Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins make you wonder what they're doing in a movie like this, all you can do is wait for Loki to show up. And, when he does -- for longer than a single scene -- it's the best part of the movie.
Yes, despite the name of the movie and Hemsworth's top billing, Tom Hiddleston is the undisputed star of the Thor franchise. Deal with it.
In the end, this is a super hero movie. If those types of movies are your bag -- and they're definitely mine -- you'll find more to like than to dislike with this movie. That's precisely where I come down, hence the two and a half stars.
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