Thor

“And though we have fallen into mans myths and legends, it was Asgard and its warriors that brought peace to the universe.”

Kingdom of Asgard

Nominated for four Academy Awards (two for directing, one for writing, and one for acting) Kenneth Branagh (director: Henry V, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing; actor: Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Valkyrie to name a few) has been called the “Lawrence Olivier of his generation” for his work transcribing some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays to the screen. 

Maybe it’s all those years reading great literature that allows Branagh to succeed in a genre where directors with access to equally stunning visual affects and well-known actors (think Clash of the Titans) could not. 

Branagh on the set for Thor

In his latest film, Branagh takes a respite from the oft-quoted works of the Bard and reaches for something more ancient: Norse mythology. He succeeds and gives us a fantastical action film just as we like it. 

But don’t get out your Poetic Edda just yet, Thor isn’t just Norse mythology. The god of thunder is now one of Marvel Studios’ Avengers, predicted to pal up with Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America and other butt-kicking buddies. 

Thor and his brother Loki...or so we thought

No need to expound on the plot, just know that there are the usual elements: favored son, jealous son, attractive astrophysicist, evil neighboring kingdom of frost-giants, and of course, the interfering government agents who want to hide all evidence of the supernatural. Now throw in a magic hammer (don’t worry it bounces back like a very heavy boomerang) named Mjölnir and you get something above the average multi-million dollar my-powers-are-better-than-your-powers” showdown. It turn’s out that Thor has some depth. Themes and characters that might have otherwise felt stale and even comical are executed with style and competence. This is one summer movie that will have you shouting, in the words of the coffee-mug-smashing son of Odin “I like it. Another!” 

NY Times reviewer A.O. Scott complained about the number of cliches in the film, calling it "axiomatically bad"(read the suicide-threatening bashing here).  Yes, yes, there is nothing outrageously original about Marvel’s rendition of a pre-13th century Norse myth (not to mention that Asgard does somewhat resemble a golden Emerald City). But then again, we aren’t looking for non-cliches in a movie such as Thor. Myths and fairy tales are up to their wizard beards in cliches. That's not an excuse to slack when it comes to making a movie, but rather an invitation to make the genre shine to its epic fullest. And by the gods, Branagh pulls it off with a bang. 

Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Branagh’s deities are as anthropomorphically god-like as Homer and Co. would have us imagine. Chris Hemsworth (last seen as James Kirk’s father in Star Trek...don’t worry, gods can do that) balances his character perfectly. Thor is charming and funny enough for us to believe Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) could fall for him, but still dignified and threatening enough to be future king of Asgard. 

"I've loved you since you first fell from the sky..."

The ability to restrain their powers allows for good gods and bad gods. Thus, in the mythological tradition, the divine realm mirrors our own, except that they can blast themselves between galaxies at will. When you think about it, maybe even this isn’t so far from the innovations of humanity. Thor says that magic is only an ancient name for  science. Perhaps the reason the powers of the gods mirror our scientific triumphs is that they themselves are our inventions, and the reflections of our dreams. Thor concludes with a human searching the heavens for something she desires, some trace of the supernatural, some spark of magic: just another thing Branagh gets right. 

Chocolat

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

Written by Robert Nelson Jacobs 

Cast: Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp 

"Once upon a time, there was a quiet little village in the French countryside, whose people believed in Tranquilité - Tranquility. If you lived in this village, you understood what was expected of you. You knew your place in the scheme of things. And if you happened to forget, someone would help remind you. In this village, if you saw something you weren't supposed to see, you learned to look the other way. If perchance your hopes had been disappointed, you learned never to ask for more. So through good times and bad, famine and feast, the villagers held fast to their traditions. Until, one winter day, a sly wind blew in from the North..." 

Chocolat is finely crafted depiction of the tension between love and law, judgement and forgiveness, righteous restraint and living a life worth remembering. 

Vienne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) moves with the wind. When she arrives in the conventional town of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol), she must choose between following convention or dishing out the windblown medicine she knows best: rich, unrefined Mayan chocolate. 

When she opens her cheery chocolaterie at the beginning of Lent, the mayor (Alfred Molina) jumps at the opportunity to preach against indulgence. Sunday sermons are filled with admonition against the unholiness of chocolate. Still, Vienne’s shop stays busy and it soon becomes apparent that she is doing more than selling truffles. With her daring red shoes and defiance toward gossip, Vienne heals relationships and comforts the hurting. 

She has the inspiring ability to not only guess people’s favorite chocolate, but to see their beauty and potential. 

The river brings a fleet of nomadic gypsies to the sleepy shores of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. When the townspeople refuse the “river rats” hospitality, Vienne and Anouk greet them with handfuls of chocolate candy. Chief river rat Roux (Johnny Depp) befriends Vienne and together, with mischievous smiles, they bring the town just what it needed: life, laughter and chocolat. 

The book of the same name is equally delightful. Author Joanne Harris offers a pantheon of insight into human flaws and virtues, like some magic Mayan recipe for wisdom. Her writing is fresh, vivid and relevant, and her descriptions of Vienne’s chocolaterie will have your mouth watering for an espresso au chocolat avec chantilly. 

Copie Conforme (Certified Copy)

Written and Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Starring: Juliette Binoche and William Shimell
Released May 2010 (France) and January 2011 (USA) 

C'est un beau film. Critically acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has painted a story that is as real as the audience perceives it to be. Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, Bleu, Dan in Real Life) brings vibrance to the screen as an antique shop owner named Elle. William Shimell plays James Miller, a brainy British author who is in Tuscany to promote his latest book. Elle befriends James and insists on taking him on a tour of rural Italy. While sipping espresso in a cafe, Elle and James are mistaken for a married couple. They continue the illusion like actors in a play. 

Miller's book is about copies. He makes the argument 
that something is only as real as the viewer perceives it to be, therefore a copy is no less worthy than an original. Elle takes him to a museum and she translates the plaque under a painting, saying it is only a copy of the original. Miller questions why the viewers need know this, why not just let them believe it is the original? After all, it looks identical. 

Elle and James act just like a married couple. Every nuance and mannerism seems to confirm the assumption made in the cafe. In the end, the audience is left to translate the plaque under the painting. 


Binoche won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance. As a British opera star, this is the first major film for Shimell, but he carries the film with shrewd competence. The cinematography is stunning and the dialogue between Elle and James is much more notable than the IMDb would have you believe. Using Elle's description, the film seems "intentionally aimless," letting the viewer interpret the truth: is the marriage real or only a quip-ful copy? And if the truth is in the eye of the beholder, why does it matter? 


visionnez la bande annonce ici:

Stranger Than Fiction

Directed by Marc Forster
Written by Zach Helm  

Cast: Will Ferrel, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Emma Thompson

"And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true.” -Kay Eiffel 

Will Ferrel is Harold Crick, a taxman who lives his carefully calculated life in accordance to the routine dictates of his wristwatch. Emma Thompson is Kay Eiffel, a famous novelist who relies on cigarettes and infirmaries to inspire her writing. She is famous in fact, for cleverly killing off her heros. It’s the only path to a true masterpiece: “The hero dies, and the story goes on forever.” So when Harold Crick discovers that he is the main character of Eiffel’s newest novel, he begins to fear the inevitable. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as the very un-calculated Ana Pascal, who forces Harold to eat cookies and dream bigger. Dustin Hoffman is the well-read and logical professor Jules Hilbert, who among other things, convinces Harold that he is not a golem.

Ferrel and Thompson carry  the story with a confident whimsy that is both delightful and sincere. It is a funny movie, but it is by no means light. In keeping with Eiffel’s sardonically witty narration, director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace) has created a film that feels like a novel. Every glance is believable, every word drenched in wisdom. Stranger Than Fiction is about waking up to the big things in life, such as self-sacrifice, and finding joy in the little things like Bavarian sugar cookies. 

Read the first page here: 

There Be Dragons

Written and Directed by Roland Joffe
Cast: Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott 


There Be Dragons follows the story of two childhood friends who choose radically different paths in life. Josémaria (Charlie Cox) is a priest who is content and happy in his role. Manolo (Wes Bentley) defies his friend’s religion and joins the Spanish civil war as a fascist spy. Josémaria continues his priestly duty amid all kinds of persecution, even when it means praying for enemies or hearing confessions in a zoo. The film gets to the heart of the Christian’s calling, which is unfortunate considering how poorly it is done. 

At least four people left mid-movie in my East Village theatre. When I wasn’t counting the bored dissenters, I was cringing at the number of times Josémaria’s internal revelations corresponded with the streams of digital sunlight dramatically augmenting against the stirring soundtrack. The acting felt painfully scripted. At times the characters’ conversations resembled something between a high school play and an old Disney film. As stylistic clichés continued to rear their ugly heads, I found myself fiddling with my iPhone and wondering if there was going to be wine with that cheese.

Its intriguing historical setting, pleasant cinematography, and exaltation of a life spent for God make Dragons a movie you hate to dislike, but let’s not beat around the bush–it’s nothing new, nothing innovative. My friend (the one who didn’t walk out early) and I agreed afterward that “it was just kinda blah.” 

It’s nice to see a film with such an authentic view of Christianity, but if you’re looking for a good movie, beware: there be dragons.