What are you watching?

In the beginning, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the heavens and the Earth. (Actually it was Journey Into Mystery #97, Oct 1963). Thor was introduced in issue #83.

Lame Dr. Don Blake, hiking with his nurse Jane Foster, discovers an old walking stick. Pounding it to ground, it transforms him into the Mighty Thor. The Hammer reads, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall have the power of Thor”
thors hammer.jpg
As the story develops we discover that he had always been Thor, but turned into Blake because he was not worthy. Odin tries to end his romance with Jane but eventually agrees to make her an immortal. She visits Asgard, hates it (no cable, I guess) and leaves Thor. Thor hooks up with Sif (which is why they exchange looks throughout the movie.

All comic characters that last are redone, rebooted, retold, restarted and revamp to keep up with the times. There are just so many years, for example, that Captain America could be fighting Nazis. This movie is the Thor of Walt Simonson, who came aboard 20 years after Thor was recreated. (Thor #337, Nov. 1983).

The movie, whose characters are mostly those of Lee and Kirby, dos not represent at all the stories, concepts, morals and dilemmas of the original characters and leaves me unimpressed. Some of the visuals are great, but the overall story makes little sense to me. The cast is a bit hit and miss,. Natalie Portman is just great to look at and Tom Hiddleston is brilliant. Thor and the others are not very impressive to me, although Sif (Jaimie Alexander.) just didn’t have enough screen time do to an accident while filming.

A Green Lantern Comment: Another bad movie. Here they tried to make Hal Jorden more like Tony Stark. However, in contrast to Thor, Jordon was chosen in the comic by the ring because he WAS worthy, yet he spends half the movie trying to live up to it. That should have been skipped.

You see that was the difference between Marvel and DC comic heroes of the 1960s. At DC the characters (Batman, Flash, GL, etc) were all Boy Scouts, never flawed, and always selfishly fighting evil. Marvel’s characters were more human, and therefor flawed, and needed motivation and a reason for fighting crime.

“With great power comes high electric bills.”

thor 158.jpg
 
Having just seen the Dark Knight, Thor: The Dark World and Star trek Into the Darkness, I thought I turn on the Blu Ray of The Dark Crystal.

I’m straight, so please understand when I say, I loved Jim Henson. I loved the Muppets, their movies and would see the movies including the Labyrinth just because he did it.

I was not a huge fan of the movie when it first came out. It has parts of the Lord of the Rings in it, but I never found the story very compelling. Now, while it was all done with puppets 30 years ago, today’s special effects movie certainly date this one. The action did not seem natural. So a good attempt but nothing special.

By the way the face of the character Kiri, with its lack of detail did remind me of someone else.

2012.jpgKira-dark-crystal-30764849-200-200.jpg
 
Lunchy said:
I for one loved Thor 1 and merely liked Thor 2.
Click to expand...

socfan12 said:
I liked both Thor 1 & 2. Must be the Natalie Portman effect...:P
Click to expand...

I prefer 'Excalibur', the original one (John Boorman).

* The word 'Dark' used in so many flicks nowadays, is a direct reflection of the world we live in, I think.
How many times do we see the word 'Bright' in movie's titles?
 
I was right; 'Gravity' raked seven (7) Oscars total for number one spot @ the 2014 Oscars. ... I love this film, all around.
* And finally, the first 3D movie ever to won @ the Oscars! ...I think.

And #2 was both '12 Years a Slave' and 'Dallas Buyers Club' with three Oscar statuettes each.

'The Great Gatsby' won two Oscars. ... I like very much this flick myself.

And 'Captain Phillips' won one. ... I love the music @ the end on the rolling credits, and the main music theme.

________________

Did you see all the nicely dressed Hollywood stars!
...The way they beautifully looked, in particular the women, and what some had to say (the good stuff). ...Men too.

Well, hope you enjoyed the show and here's to next year's 2015 Oscars with lots of flicks to view in the interim.
 
I thought I’d take a moment an explain why comic book characters are often just rebooted and nothing new comes out of the major companies.

Original comics, as we know them, are products of the depression and started in the mid-1930s by the publishers of the inexpensive Pulp magazines. Very talented people, artists and writers, were drawn to the profession because there were nowhere else to go. These people needed money and worked not just for low wages but without any ownership or residual compensation. They created great stuff, but were mostly screwed. Companies got away with that during the depression.

So most characters, especially at DC, were created from 1938-1943. (and not all at DC, many were bought from other companies now out of business.) Almost all of Marvel’s come from 1961-1966.

The end of WWII to 1960 was a terrible time for comics. TV and other forms of entertainment caused a great drop in circulation and compensation. In 1955, Congress attacked the industry claiming it caused Juvenile Delinquency and sex crimes. So few talent new people entered the profession.. What was left was those depression babies, now at least 40 years old who didn’t want to start a new profession, they stayed with comics although their salaries were cut in half.

In 1961, those depression babies (Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Dick Ayers joined by Steve Ditko) wound up at a very distressed Marvel which printed only 8 comics a month, down from 50. Without ownership or residuals, over the next five years they created all those characters of the Marvel Universe. And when you throw in Captain America and the Human Torch from the 1940s, you have all those characters that you today see on screen. While the Avengers, X-Men and Justice League have added a few new members, it is still the same basic structure it has been for decades.

You see, since the late 1960s talented writers and artists have other places to go, TV, animation, advertising, etc. They also want residuals and ownership. So the industry no longer has much of the top talent out there. And no one wants to create a new character and give it away to the comic companies.

So the major companies Time Warner (DC) and Disney (Marvel) successfully lobbied congress to extend the copyright laws from 54 years to over 100. So instead of having to come up with new characters, every decade or so, the “reboot” or modernize their old characters, erasing what has gone before and really just rewriting their old stories. Everyone once in a while, as with the new Cap America movie a storyline is taken from a current comic, but they just bring back the characters that were created decades ago.

expand-spiderman01.jpg
 
Last watched ::



* Not my style, even with a skinny Matthew and Jared and Jennifer.
- For me the best actor was Bruce Dern in 'Nebraska'.
- And the best supporting actor was Robert Redford in 'All is Lost'.
- The best actress was Amy Adams in 'American Hustle'.
- And the best supporting actress was Sandra Bullock in 'Gravity'.

Ha! :)
 
NorthStar said:
Last watched ::



* Not my style, even with a skinny Matthew and Jared and Jennifer.
- For me the best actor was Bruce Dern in 'Nebraska'.
- And the best supporting actor was Robert Redford in 'All is Lost'.
- The best actress was Amy Adams in 'American Hustle'.
- And the best supporting actress was Sandra Bullock in 'Gravity'.



Ha! :)
Click to expand...

Bob, are you trying to confuse us??

Who was Robert Redford the "supporting" actor for. The boat or the sea?

Who was Sandra Bullock "supporting" in Gravity, visual effects.?

I agree with you on Amy Adams doing a better nuanced job than the over the top acting by Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine.
 
Have to catch up with last evenings The Americans. I think this show is going to be even better than it was in its first season.
 
still-one said:
Bob, are you trying to confuse us??
Click to expand...

Who, me? :D

Who was Robert Redford the "supporting" actor for. The boat or the sea?
Click to expand...

Against all natural elements; both the sea and the winds and the rain and the waves and the lost of his boat and against his own survival instinct, his desire to hang on and see his family.

Who was Sandra Bullock "supporting" in Gravity, visual effects.?
Click to expand...

Against the green screen (or blue). ...Much harder to act against nothing than something, someone else.

I agree with you on Amy Adams doing a better nuanced job than the over the top acting by Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine.
Click to expand...

Ah, you too agree with me that Amy's 'attributes' were much more remarkable. :)

* Jim, my post was meant to be humorous.
 


Deja vu. ...Stories of so many people, and from all colors. ...Across the world.

* Babies, children are kidnapped, sold for sex and money, everywhere. Humans trafficking is real and very live in 2014.
...Drugs, guns, and humans. ...That's total slavery.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top