Thor: Still Mighty At The Box Office

Smallville may have ended but Thor is just getting started.

The Marvel superhero kept the number one spot at the box office this weekend. Bringing in an additional $34,500,000.00 for the May 13th weekend.

The world wide total (so far) is an impressive $317,667,148.00

This was another favorite for both Don and I.

We both enjoyed this film immensely.

This could be a great summer for superheroes....now, EVERYONE DANCE!!!!!

Another Movie Review: 'Thor'

By Jerry Ahern


“Thor” is about a young man who after taking a temper tantrum is sent to his room until he’s a good boy.

Only this boy is a powerful god and his room is Earth.

The film is hokey, cute and romantic.

Marvel and their studio have done it again by creating what will probably be a two to three film series. Not including his involvement in “The Avengers”.

The film works better for me as a fish out of water tale more than it does as big time superhero adventure.

Ultimately “Thor” is a father and son story were the son has to comprehend that he doesn’t know everything. So daddy Odin has to teach his son a lesson.

Only this lesson is set on a huge larger than life level, where frost giants, machines forged by gods and jealously could mean disaster for all.

In the end Thor becomes a man and that man becomes a hero.

I praise Marvel for making a film that is not as adult themed as "Iron Man”.  If a 10 year old and a 30 year old enjoyed “Iron Man”, it was for two different reasons. This is not the case with “Thor”. 


 I can’t say enough about how much I appreciated this.

“Thor” could have opened with the young prince in bed surrounded by lovers after a night of heavy drinking and pillaging. But instead Marvel made a film that both kids and grownups could enjoy together. I would almost compare "Thor" to live action Disney film, with the target audience being mainly males.


From beginning to end "Thor" is a true delight.

The film might not be for everyone…but it should be.

Movie Review: 'Thor'

Loki (Hiddleston) and Thor (Hemsworth) take a journey into mystery
in the motion picture Thor.

By Don M. Ventura

Thor

Marvel Studios/Paramount Pictures

««««

There was a moment early in Thor where it occurred to me that this was a film being made by people who had some appreciation for the source material. Thor, accompanied with his half-brother Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three, have invaded the land of Jotunheim to face the frost giants when things go awry. During the course of the avoidable battle Thor takes his hammer and begins swinging it circularly at great speed. I knew the image. I had seen it a hundred times in my childhood.  It’s always meant Thor was done talking.

There are several earnest nods to the source material, which even the casual Thor reader (of which I consider myself) will recognize. Director Kenneth Branagh is a confessed Thor nut and it shows on the screen. I was amazed at the depiction of the Norse God and the populace of Asgard—there was no discernable compromising of character done on this film. This is a faithful interpretation of Thor the comic book character.

The Almighty Thor

If you are seeing Marvel's Thor this weekend and just can't get enough Thunder God action...well we've got good news.

This Saturday at 9pm on the SyFy channel 'The Almighty Thor' will premier.

The film comes from Asylum Studios, a production company known for their direct knock offs in hopes of cashing in on the hype.

The film stars Cody Deal as Thor, Kevin Nash as Odin and Richard Grieco as Loki.

Here is the outline of the film,

When the demon god Loki destroys the fortress of Valhalla and steals the Hammer of Invincibility, only the young hero Thor can protect Earth from Armageddon.

And here is the trailer

PS: I wonder if they are working on Green Light or Agent America? Oh SYFY you did it again.

Positive 'Thor' Reviews Continue

Is that thunder I hear?

We are just a day away from the release of Marvel’s new Thor movie and the reviews are starting to pour in. And they’re good!

As of this moment, the film has scored an extremely positive 87% on Rotten Tomatoes (overall). I tend to head straight to the “Top Critics” tab to see what the cream of the crop thought of the film and was pleased to see positive reviews from Time, Entertainment Weekly and the Hollywood Reporter.

Here’s a sample:

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

“Pulls off something I wouldn't have thought possible: It restores the innocence to big-budget superhero mythmaking.”

Meghan Lehmann, Hollywood Reporter

The hammer-hurling god of thunder kicks off this superhero summer with a bang.

Peter Howell, Toronto Star

“What really seals the deal is Hemsworth's undeniable charisma, making us ignore the patchiness of the scene changes and the occasional dialogue howler.”

Thor is set for release nationwide tomorrow.

*Listen to our special-edition podcast this weekend for our review of Thor.

The Shhhhhh 'Thor' Scene

Spoiler Alert!

Okay, well I promise to take this post down as soon as the video is scrubbed from YouTube, which should be hours away. After the jump, if you really want to see it, is a shoddy YouTube video of the after credits scene from Thor. I mentioned last week in another post that I'm not a big fan of movie spoilers, but I read a description of the scene below and instantly regretted it because it's a fairly big spoiler (in the larger scheme of things).

Marvel Releases Loads of New High-Res 'Thor' Pics

Thor is everywhere! The God of Thunder has TV spots, he’s on the cover of Men’s Health, and he’s got his own Slurpee cup! Yeah, Thor is primed to hammer his way into the hearts of audiences around the world as his film is set for release in theaters.

Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures has released a gaggle of new high resolution photos featuring all of its cast in and out of action. There’s nothing particularly spoileriffic about the pics—these are new or clearer shots of what we’ve seen over the past few months.

There are several shots of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). There are also new pictures of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), Heimdell (Idris Elba), Frigga (Rene Russo), Sif (Jaimie Alexander), Hogun (Tadanobu Asano), Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Josh Dallas), and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg).

Thor hits theaters on May 6^th.

New 'Thor' Spot Spoofs Memorable Super Bowl Ad

Now this is one funny bit of spoofery.

Marvel Entertainment has produced a one-minute Thor spot that plays off a strikingly similar Volkswagen Super Bowl spot featuring a tyke dressed as Darth Vader. Instead of the John Williams' Imperial March, we are treated to the more dramatic Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner.

Thor is set for release on May 6th. That's a mere 15 days away!

Early 'Thor' Reviews are Positive

I’m going to have to say, the comic book adaptation that I have been I have been the least enthused about this summer is Thor.

There are a handful of reasons if I can be honest. First, the character seems to be a difficult cookie to crack. He can be as un-relatable as a character can get, so it will be a tricky thing to create a likeable protagonist within the confines of a two-hour film while still incorporating an epic super-hero story. Not that Thor isn’t a strong property, but I think that embracing the source material while presenting a mainstream film will be something of a feat.

That said, some of the early words are beginning to get me more excited for the film. Most notably, in my estimation, is the generous review by Comic Book Resources this weekend. While the site did not say the film was flawless, there was much praise to go around from cast, to story, to director. For my money, without giving much away, I was glad to hear that the film continues to go back and forth between Earth and Asgard, even while Thor is repenting on Earth. My fear of a story that remains Earthbound for too long a stretch has been alleviated.

The Hollywood Reporter also ran a highly complementary review of Thor this weekend. It’s beginning to look as though Thor is going to bring it when the film kicks off the summer movie season.

What is “it” you ask? The thunder, of course.

Thor opens nationwide on May 6^th.

WC: Two New 'Thor' Posters Released

Two new posters for Thor were released by Marvel today, illustrating the acrimonious relationship of its two leads. Thor (Chris Hemsworth, above) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston, below) receive new character posters in which they don their iconic headgear. I've always been a fan of the sinister look of Loki's helmet in the comic books and the interpretation here works nicely.

Thor opens in theaters on May 6th.

New Thor Photo

Verily....

Thor opens everywhere May 6th.

'Thor' Posters From the Other Side of the Pond

You know a movie’s opening is getting close when the single character sheets are transformed into one movie poster. The release of Thor is closing in on us! Today two new British posters were released and feature the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Odin (Anthony Hopkins), Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Heimdall (Idris Elba).

Thor opens nationwide on May 6^th.

New 'Thor' Photos Surface Today

New—albeit fuzzy—Thor pics have hit the web thanks to Super Hero Hype. They received the pics from a follower gracious enough to pass on the goods. Many of these new shots feature the Asgardians, which has me wondering how much we will go back and forth between Earth and Asgard as the story unfolds.

I was most pleased to see Tom Hiddleston looking very much like Loki in several of the pictures. You have to love the horned helmet!

Enjoy!

Thor hits theaters on May 6^th.

"Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers"

Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers is a four-episode series featured at iTunes, Xbox LIVE, and PlayStation®Network starting March 28th. New episodes will begin weekly on Wednesdays beginning April 6th. Each Ep is $2.99

New 'Thor' Posters Released Today

Two months down and three two go, before Thor is released into theaters and kicks off the summer movie season. IGN posted these cool new movie posters today and they promise an epic superhero film to be taken verily seriously.

I'm still waiting for a cool shot of Tom Hiddleston as Loki with his fearsome horned helmet. Thor lands in theaters on May 6th.

It's Thor....no verily it's really Thor.

Here is a great variant cover to 'The Mighty Thor'. A new on going from Marvel Comics.

Here is artist Walt Simonson take on the Odinson.

Here is how Marvel describes the new title...

When Asgard is threatened by an intergalactic peril, the superstar creative team of Matt Fraction and Olivier Coipel, must take Thor to the edges of the Marvel Universe to save his homeland from the likes of Galactus. It's the World Eater vs. Asgard in the explosive opening arc that's great for new readers and will redefine what it means to be the Odinson! When the survival of Asgard rests on the shoulders of Thor, can he fight back the forces of the power cosmic? Discover the answers you seek as Fraction and Coipel pull out all the stops in The Mighty Thor #1.

To be released on  4/27/11

PS: remember when Eric Allan Kramer played Thor....OH MAN, that was a childhood favorite.

'Thor' Trailer: Shot-By-Shot

I think the new Thor trailer hit all the necessary marks. We see that it's a fish out of water story, a romance, there's humor, creepy bad guys, and, of course, some hammer-slammin' action. I loved the shot of Thor tossing Mjolnir at one of the ice giants and seeing his peacekeeper just hang there in mid-air before coming back to papa. Good stuff.

So let's break down some of the trailer's main shots:

New 'Thor' Trailer Debuts

Thor is readying to kick off the summer movie season, one filled with comic book adaptations galore. Today we have been treated to the second trailer for the film that offers a little more Thor and a little more Loki, which the first trailer seemed to lack.

It was also smart to include the scene in the diner, with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) throwing down his coffee mug in appreciation for a solid cup a’ joe and Darcy (Kat Dennings) taking a picture of the God of Thunder for her Facebook page. It seems like these scenes make the fanboys cringe, but the general public want a couple things from their blockbusters: 1) awesome special effects, 2) some laughs, and 3) a good story (okay this is debatable but it needed to be added).

Thor hits theaters on May 6^th.

ET to Feature Another Glimpse of 'Thor' on Thursday

Comic Book Movie is reporting that Entertainment Tonight will feature another look at Thor this Thursday. If you remember, ET featured an on-set visit with the cast several months ago which featured some of our first glimpses of the movie. They probably have a lot more footage from those original interviews that has never been shown. Set your DVR's!

Thor hits theaters on May 6th.

Movie Poll

Newsarama is asking what Superhero film are you most excited about?

These are the results so far....

And Green Lantern is in the lead with 42.27% of the votes.

GO DC!


PS: there is another poll about 2012 and The Dark Knight Rises is in the lead with Superman in 2nd place.