Thor

Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Rating: B+

On the eve of Thor's Day, trouble brews and Thor and his friends go off to fight enemies who tried to steal a precious object. While Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is seen as arrogant and impulsive, his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) decided to teach him a lesson by casting him away from their realm of Asgard. Thor is sent to Earth, separated from his hammer (which gives him powers). Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her friend are out studying the anomaly that has been occurring in the night skies to record in her scientific journal when she fins Thor. Not completely understanding Thor and thinking him a little mental, Jane ends up helping Thor to find his hammer but while doing so forms a friendship that evolves to a late romance. However, the plot does not stop there as Thor needs to return home and battle his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who is not everything he seems.

Thor was a really good movie which brings comic book heroes into modern society. It had an interesting plot line that doesn't leave your mind drifting during the movie and Chris Hemsworth is nice to look at for two hours. What was good about Thor is it's entertaining for everyone. I think that even if action, comic book movies aren't your normal standards to watch, you might enjoy Thor. That depends on your taste of movies of course though. Personally, I could see myself buying this movie in the future. It looks like their will be a sequel (watch the end of the credits) but I don't think there will be a Thor 2. Thor is coming back in the 2012 movie, the Avengers which contains more comic book characters (like Iron Man and the Hulk). I definitely recommend Thor for those unsure whether they want to watch it or not.

Brothers

Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhall

Directed by Jim Sheridan

Rating: 4 stars

Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) is believed to be dead in Afghanistan. His younger brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an unresponsible troublemaker. However when the news reaches Sam's family that he is presumed to be dead, Tommy steps up and tries to help his brother's family. When Sam ends up alive, he comes home but is troubled from his time being captured by the enemy. Grace (Natalie Portman) tries her hardest to get through to Sam but it almost seems impossible.

Brothers is a moving movie showing a family's struggle of losing a husband, and father, only to find out he is alive. The only thing is, he's clearly not the same man who left for Afghanistan. Sam Cahill went through a lot after being captured by the enemy with another Marine soldier. Tommy lives in his older brother's shadow, he never seems to be good enough but he becomes responsible once he hears of his brother's death. Brothers plays a lot on emotion. It's a bit slow and not a lot of conversation takes place. I think it deserves four stars though because this film does a good job at portraying the hardships of losing someone and then finding out they are alive. You see different relationships grow and fade away. For example, Tommy and Grace. Though nothing really develops between them romantically, you see how Tommy matures and becomes dependable. Then there's Sam. Sam comes home but he is traumatized and it's hard for him to be around people. Tobey Maguire's performance was really outstanding because you can just look at his character and see how hard it was to be in Afghanistan taken prisoner.

I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone to watch. It was depressing but at least it was shorter than two hours. I would recommend this to the people who like war movies (but this isn't all entirely a war movie, there are just some clips of Sam being a prisoner). If you're curious to see this movie because it has an actor you like, then by all means watch it. You won't finish this film thinking it was great though, so don't say I didn't warn you.

The Black Swan

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Rating: 4 stars

In this twisted tale of The Swan Lake, Nina (Natalie Portman) strives to be perfect. Her dream is to play the lead of the Swan Lake and so she practices and practices and practices. Perfection is her ultimate goal. The choreographer, Thomas (Vincent Cassel), casts Nina as the Swan Queen where she has to dance both as the White Swan and the Black Swan. Nina's "White Swan" is perfect, as it reflects her personality. But as Nina tries to be too perfect, her "Black Swan" suffers. Lily (Mila Kunis) is new to the dance studio and is seen as a threat to Nina. Lily seems nice as she tries to be friendly to Nina. What's threatening is that Lily is the new girl and would be perfect as the Black Swan. Thomas sees this. So Nina is under pressure to break out of her good-girl mold and try to loosen up a bit. However, it costs her life to reach it.

The Black Swan is truly a great movie. The symbolism in it is what makes this movie so amazing. You see Nina, this young woman (her age is never revealed but I'm guessing she's in her early 20's), who dedicates her life to ballet. She's the image of innocence. All she wants is to be perfect. When she gets the role of the Swan Queen, all her dedication to dancing has paid off. However, Thomas keeps telling her she needs to loosen up a bit in order to be the perfect Black Swan. The White Swan represents innocence and precise moves. The Black Swan is flirtatious and full of experience. Nina, being as innocent as she is, can't achieve the perfection to be the Black Swan. She tries too hard, Thomas says. But as the movie progresses, you see Nina transforming herself into the Black Swan, losing that innocence you see her as in the beginning. By the end of the movie, she kills herself because she has done it: reached perfection in her own eyes.

The reason I think this movie deserves four stars instead of five is because it's a little disturbing. The thing is, it was necessary in order to make this movie beautiful. The symbolism, the transformation from White Swan to Black Swan, that makes this movie amazing. Yet, seeing Natalie Portman go crazy and imagining things (like the bedroom scene with herself and Mila Kunis), the hospital scene with Winona Ryder, the murder of Mila Kunis in her dressing room, this was all a little too much. Obviously she had some mental disorder. I wouldn't recommend this movie to those who like a happy ending, the faint-hearted, and the sensitive. If you're going to watch this movie, be prepared that it is hard hitting. It's an amazing movie but also on the dark side too. Don't say I didn't warn you.