Your Highness

Academy Award winner Natalie Portman

What happened to David Gordon Green? I remember seeing George Washington years ago on IFC and having my mind blown by him. Then, I got to see All the Real Girls shortly after his release and I thought to myself "This man is a genius.". After Undertow and Snow Angels, I could safely say that he was one of my favorite directors. Admittedly, I didn't care for Snow Angels, but it has grown on me overtime. 

Then we get Pineapple Express. And while it doesn't fit in with the rest of his filmography, it's a solid film toting subtle homages to films Green loved growing up, and even he has said it's a film he wanted to get out of his system. But, with Your Highness? This... this is a strange inclusion to an otherwise flawless canon. I feel like he's lost himself, or fallen in with the wrong crowd. 

More after the cut--

Thor

He's a god-out-of-water

Marvel movies know what they’re doing. Clear action, sharp performances, and intelligent screenplays. Of course, the studio is allowed their mistakes after so many successes (here’s lookin’ at you, Iron Man 2), but more often than not, Marvel nails it. Especially in their set-up for the long awaited Avengers film. We’ve had Iron Man and Black Widow, The Incredible Hulk, we’re getting Captain America, and now we have Thor - the god of thunder. Not just thunder, but lightening and fertility and strength (thanks, Wiki). And if anyone can embody fertility, strength, and inclement weather, it’s Chris Hemsworth. Tall, blond, beefy - he has to be the ideal casting. And in a film racked with political intrigue, light hearted hysteria, and Shakespearean grandeur, Kenneth Branagh has to be the ideal director. 

More after the cut--

Black Swan, Tangled, and Others on DVD This Week

One Grecian urn! Two Grecian urns!

Dancing out onto DVD shelves yesterday, six major releases from last year. Black Swan, Tangled, Made in Dagenham, All Good Things, Fair Game, and Mesrine: Public Enemy #1. 

Let's take a brief look at each, and determine which is most worth your money! 

I'll tell you right now, though - it's Black Swan. 

More after the cut --

No Strings Attached

Carrots: because she hates flowers.

This is a film that assumes the idiocy of its characters. Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman play two friends, complete with benefits, that - over the course of familiar plot devices, and a whopping deus ex machina - fall in love. Of course, that ruins the friendship, and the entire premise of the film. We're posed the question as follows: can two friends have regular and meaningless sex and not develop feelings for each other? 

Of course they can. But, that doesn't leave us with much of a movie. 

More after the cut --

In Theaters This Weekend

Single White Meester

There isn't much happening this weekend in terms of releases. We have a Single White Female rip-off called The Roommate, a James Cameron produced underwater (shocker) thriller, a Natalie Portman marriage melodrama, and a mystery experiment from director Aaron Katz called Cold Weather. 

More after the cut -- 

In Theaters This Weekend

Reason #412 why I hate Ashton Kutcher

Two wide releases (The Company Men and No Strings Attached), and a "wider" release of Peter Weir's The Way Back hit cinemas this weekend. Which are you going to see? 

A closer look at all three after the cut --

Critics' Choice Awards are in!

And while it hasn't exactly been a frustrating year in terms of predicting the imminent Oscars, at least the 2010 canon has been up to snuff. Lots of great films, even though we had our fair share of crap. Here is a list of the major winners, with the tech winners linked below.

Those trophied after the cut --