POSTER: "Maleficent"

The first poster for Disney's Maleficent with Angelina Jolie, coming out next summer.

For Veteran's Day: "Saving Private Ryan" (1998)

This Veteran's Day I direct you to the November monthly movie picks, where I placed ten great war films for the holiday, but I neglected a major one, so I'll include it here in a special recommendation. Steven Spielberg's great WWII epic is still an affecting, masterfully directed accomplishment, especially the first 40 minutes or so, which changed the way war movies were made forever. The invasion of Normandy is incredible filmmaking, for which Spielberg deservedly won his second Best Director Oscar. But the rest of the movie is good too, and in its own way pays tribute to dozens of WWII movies from the past, made since the 1940s, that follow a group of stock character types making their way across war ravaged lands. Even though I really don't like the present day bookends of the movie (that part is way too sappy for me), Saving Private Ryan is an excellent choice to commemorate this Veteran's Day, and all the soldiers who fought and died for their country.

Trailer: 

REVIEW: "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman. Dir. Alan Taylor

Marvel Studios has embarked on a fairly ambitious path with the release of their franchise films every year- the attempt seems to be to develop a viable comic book universe on screen, which is admirable in its own way, yet so far it's starting to produce the feeling of been there, done that, with some of these films so generically made and with such similar plots that it can begin to feel really repetitive. At least the James Bond films (another series that follows a formula) take 2-3 years off between entries, enough so that you can actually miss Bond when he makes his big return. But now we have at least two Marvel movies a year, and whether it's Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, or The Avengers, it can't help getting old (especially with other studios doing their own superhero movies- we're now bombarded from all sides with capes, tights and superpowers).

Unfortunately, this latest Thor entry is one of the most mediocre and generic yet. There's no particular feel for the people on screen, no attempt at character interaction or development, and the lamest plot and most unmemorable villain in the Marvel canon to date. It's a big disappointment with nothing specific to recommend it, unless these films have simply become "must-sees" in order to keep up with each Avenger's latest mission, to prepare yourself for the next Avengers movie. But what a sorry excuse to put out a film bereft of any real creativity.

In Thor: The Dark World, Thor's back on Asgard, keeping order over the nine realms, while Loki sits in a jail cell for eternity as punishment for his crimes on Earth. Meanwhile a nearly inexplicable plot is formed by the Dark Elf Malekith, who wants to send the world into darkness using a weapon called the Aether. I don't know his motivation for this or how the "aether" does it, but Malekith is played by Christopher Eccleston in a completely wasted performance, as he gets nothing interesting to say or do, and may as well have been played by an anonymous actor. The fight to stop the elf king is therefore nothing to get worked up about, as I neither knew nor cared about what was happening at any point on screen, and the various fight scenes on Asgard seem random and chaotic.

Asgard was a sore point with me in the first Thor as well, so I was mildly more interested in what was going on on Earth in that film, but sadly here the Earth scenes rival the Asgard ones in irrelevance. Natalie Portman is back as Thor's girlfriend Jane, but given nothing to do, and she and Chris Hemsworth possess less than zero chemistry together. Her assistant Darcy (Kat Dennings) is also back and again here to crack wise, but given nothing funny to say in any one of her endless wisecracks, and also saddled with a pointless subplot regarding her lovestruck assistant that fails to produce any laughs.

Hemsworth himself is extremely uninteresting as Thor this time out (and I actually really liked him in the first movie), and not given a chance to develop anything that might actually make him a character, such as a relationship to his sidekicks, any of the humor that came from the last film with his godly fish-out-of-water shtick on Earth (two genuine laughs come from that this time and signal the approach they should have taken), and he becomes just a mindless fighting machine. The one bright spot in all this is Tom Hiddleston's Loki, who they actually had to bring back for reshoots in order to insert more scenes of him into the film. Seeing as he's not in the movie nearly enough as it is, I shudder to think what the original cut was. Hiddleston brings a playful snarkiness to his dialogue and elevates the material as much as he can (which is difficult, as this weak script seems to have been written by committee), but he enters and exits the story much too quickly, and takes any interest in what's happening on screen with him.

So many ideas were going through my mind as I watched this movie, for rewrites and angles they could have taken to give it a dose of originality and sharper humor, character building, anything. As it is, the film is still a bit shorter at 110 minutes than the average two hour Marvel film, and that's with all the Loki stuff added in. Thor: The Dark World was a less than middling experience, which makes me think there's not a whole lot of interest in the Thor character behind the scenes, and that this was really just a placeholder entry in the series. Better luck to him next time, but I can't say I'm optimistic, given how little effort was extracted this time.

* 1/2

BOX OFFICE 11/8-11/10: 'Thor' Hammers the Competition

Thor: The Dark World benefited from increased character exposure in The Avengers last year to pull in $86 million over the weekend, a 31% improvement on 2011's Thor, which debuted with $65 million. The movie received an "A-" from the crowds, which were 62% male and 61% over 25, and should play well to take in over $200 million total by the end of its run. Its international haul is even more impressive, where The Avengers seems to have done some very real good for each one of the individual franchises, as Thor has already made $240 million after only 12 days. Mighty, indeed.

Way behind In second place was Jackass, which took in another $11.3 million for a $78 million total, and it looks well on its way to finish with $100 million (which would make it the first Jackass movie to do so). The animated film Free Birds actually rose 29% from last week to $11.2 million (due to lack of family competition), and Last Vegas was right behind it with $11.1 million. In fifth place was Ender's Game, which plummeted 62% to a disappointing $10 million and will likely be seen as a failure, since the film did cost $110 million to make.

Top 5: 

1. Thor: The Dark World- $86.1 million
2. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa- $11.3 million
3. Free Birds- $11.2 million
4. Last Vegas- $11.1 million
5. Ender's Game- $10.3 million

In limited release, 12 Years a Slave expanded to 1000 theaters this weekend and pulled in $6.6 million, giving it a $17 million total as it continues to roll on successfully, drawing Oscar buzz and sure to make more as the awards start to come in. And other Oscar contenders Gravity and Captain Phillips are sitting at $231 million and $90 million respectively, making them both big successes in their own right. Next week Alexander Payne's Oscar-buzzed new film Nebraska comes out in limited release, along with the wide release of The Best Man Holiday.

FEATURETTE #3: "12 Years a Slave"

Another great featurette for 12 Years a Slave, this time focusing on the sprawling supporting cast of the film, including Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulsen, and Lupita Nyong'o. 

TRAILER #2: "Lone Survivor"

A much more powerful trailer for this late breaking film that probably gives a better impression of the actual movie. This has been building buzz recently after a very successful early press screening where it drew comparisons to Black Hawk Down, so we may have another Oscar contender on our hands. It's a true story and the first film made about the war in Afghanistan, coming out Dec 27th.

FEATURETTE: "Saving Mr. Banks"

This behind the scenes featurette takes a look at the story of the film and how hard it was to get made, with interviews from the cast and crew.

TRAILER #2: "RoboCop"

Already there's a second trailer for the new RoboCop, coming out February 12th. Surprisingly, the movie doesn't look that bad to me, although trailers can often be very different from the eventual movies. Still, I like that they're keeping the kind of black humor the original had. 

Oscar Roundup: Best Supporting Actor

This week we look at the contenders for Supporting Actor, which is a very wide open race, probably the most open of the top six categories. So open in fact, that there may not even be a single lock yet among all the candidates, so we'll just go through them one by one.

First up it's Michael Fassbender, who's gotten the most buzz for his role as the alcoholic and power mad slaveowner Master Epps in 12 Years a Slave. Comparisons to Ralph Fiennes' Nazi in Schindler's List have been made, and he would seem the closest thing to a lock right now, if it weren't for his recent public statement that he will not be campaigning for the Oscar. Not everyone has to campaign, sometimes the performances are good enough to win without it (Monique in Precious is the most famous example), but it always helps, especially if there is any hesitance over the performance. But whether there is or not with this one is an unknown right now.

Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club is another heavy favorite, having gotten pretty ecstatic reviews for the film, along with its lead, Matthew McConaughey. He plays a drag queen, Rayon, in a scene stealing, highly flamboyant role that seems designed for Oscar attention, and he could even be favored to win, if nominated. There have been some naysayers over the performance who say it's a little too campy, but the Oscars usually love flashy, so I doubt that'll be a problem for them.

And after those two it's a pretty open field. There's Tom Hanks in Saving Mr. Banks, who's gotten some good notices ahead of the film's opening, he may be able to get double nodded this year for Banks and Captain Phillips. There's Daniel Bruhl, who got fantastic reviews for Rush a couple of months ago, but the movie was pretty much a bomb here in the States, we'll have to see if anyone remembers him at the critics awards, or at least the Baftas. There's newcomer Barkhad Abdi for Captain Phillips, who may be able to sneak in for a great turn as the Somali pirate ringleader.

Then there's George Clooney, who could manage a nod for Gravity if the movie's beloved enough by the voters, and Jonah Hill for The Wolf of Wall Street, which hasn't opened yet, but it looks as if he could be a scene stealer in it. American Hustle, also not out yet, will have last year's Best Actor nominee Bradley Cooper in a supporting role that might grab attention. And the last couple relative longshots (although everyone mentioned here stands more or less an equal chance) are Will Forte for Nebraska and Steve Coogan for Philomena.

It's tough to predict a field of five here at the moment. The critics awards may or may not clear things up, as last year's supporting actor category was a similar situation, with a slightly different mix of five people appearing at just about every precursor ceremony from the Globes through the Oscars. It looks like this year could be the same, with at least ten likely nominees to draw from. Here's my best guess for right now:

1. Michael Fassbender
2. Jared Leto
3. Tom Hanks
4. Daniel Bruhl
5. Barkhad Abdi

I do have a feeling about Jonah Hill for some reason, I just can't actually predict someone for a movie that hasn't been seen by anyone yet. But if he pans out, he'd probably replace Bruhl or Abdi. Next week, we'll take a look at the Best Director race as it stands right now.

November Movies Are Here

Happy November everyone! This month usually means one thing- Thanksgiving, at least for us Americans. But for movie choices, that holiday only gives us a handful of great films that celebrate the day- seriously, it's hard to find more than five without getting into perennials like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. So we'll cover that in the last week of the month and our Movie of the Day series, and our picks for November will instead be for Veteran's Day, which is next Monday and provides us with a gluttony of war movies to choose from. The criteria is wars that we still have living veterans from, so from WWII to the present day, we have ten classic war movies that you should definitely check out this month. Check out the Movies for Every Month page for the November description and click here for the list of ten. Happy movie watching!

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946)

This week's blu-ray pick is William Wyler's drama about WWII vets struggling to readjust after coming  home. It was the first movie to tackle this subject, and still probably the best. It was also a smash hit at the time it came out, and swept the Oscars that year as well. Filled with great acting from Fredric March (who won Best Actor), Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, and real life vet and Supporting Actor winner Harold Russell, this is a timely release with Veteran's Day just next Monday. It's a very emotional and heartbreaking film, you owe it to yourself to see it.

Original 1946 Trailer: 

People's Choice Award Nominees- Movies

The People's Choice Award nominations were just announced. You can vote for your favorite by going to the people's choice website. I don't know who votes for these things (teenagers?), but yikes at some of those nominees. I assume Iron Man will be the winner in a bunch of these categories. The other thing to take away from this? Channing Tatum (3 nods) and Sandra Bullock (5 nods) are both very popular with "the people," whoever they are. Here are the movie choices: 

Favorite Movie: 

• Despicable Me 2
• Fast and Furious 6
• Iron Man 3
• Monsters University
• Star Trek Into Darkness

Favorite Movie Actor: 

• Channing Tatum
• Hugh Jackman
• Johnny Depp
• Leonardo Dicaprio
• Robert Downey, Jr. 

Favorite Movie Actress: 

• Gwyneth Paltrow
• Jennifer Aniston
• Melissa McCarthy
• Sandra Bullock
• Scarlett Johansson

Favorite Movie Duo: 

• Chris Pine & Zachary Quinto (Star Trek Into Darkness) 
• Jennifer Aniston & Jason Sudeikis (We're the Millers) 
• Robert Downey Jr. & Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man 3) 
• Sandra Bullock & George Clooney (Gravity) 
• Sandra Bullock & Melissa McCarthy (The Heat) 

Favorite Action Movie: 

• Fast & Furious 6
• Iron Man 3
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• The Wolverine
• World War Z

Favorite Action Movie Star: 

• Brad Pitt (World War Z)
  
• Channing Tatum (White House Down)
  
• Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine)
  
• Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man 3)
  
• Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious 6)
  

Favorite Comedic Movie: 

• Grown Ups 2
• The Hangover Part III
• The Heat
• Instructions Not Included
• We're the Millers

Favorite Comedic Movie Actor: 

• Adam Sandler (Grown Ups 2)
  
• Bradley Cooper (The Hangover Part III)
  
• Chris Rock (Grown Ups 2)
  
• James Franco (This is the End)
  
• Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover Part III)
  

Favorite Comedic Movie Actress: 

• Emma Watson (This is the End)
  
• Jennifer Aniston (We're the Millers)
  
• Melissa McCarthy (The Heat)
  
• Sandra Bullock (The Heat)
  
• Scarlett Johansson (Don Jon)
  

Favorite Dramatic Movie: 

• Captain Phillips
• Gravity
• The Great Gatsby
• Lee Daniels' The Butler
• Prisoners

Favorite Dramatic Movie Actor: 

• Channing Tatum (Side Effects)
  
• Chris Hemsworth (Rush)
  
• Hugh Jackman (Prisoners)
  
• Leonardo Dicaprio (The Great Gatsby)
  
• Ryan Gosling (Gangster Squad) 

Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress: 

• Amy Adams (Man of Steel)
  
• Emma Stone (Gangster Squad)
  
• Halle Berry (The Call)
  
• Oprah Winfrey (Lee Daniels' The Butler)
  
• Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
  

Favorite Family Movie: 

• Despicable Me 2
• Monsters University
• Oz the Great and Powerful
• Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
• The Smurfs 2

Favorite Horror Movie: 

• Carrie  
• The Conjuring
• Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
• Insidious: Chapter 2
• Mama

Favorite Thriller Movie: 

• A Good Day to Die Hard
• The Call
• Now You See Me
• Red 2
• White House Down