Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Horror these days must be hard work, to actually surprise people anyway. If you just want to gross people out, that might be a bit easier; but to do something genuinely different is tricky. Since Wes Craven reinvented the scary movie back in 1996 there has been a market for clever horror. Now in 2012 Joss Whedon and Cloverfield writer Drew Goddard have changed the game again. Ostensibly a film about a group high school kids escaping to a Cabin for sex, drinking and getting high it turns out that they are part of something far greater than any of them expected.

These teen horror movies are not generally renowned for their fantastic actors, Cabin in the Woods does however have a decent performance from Chris Hemsworth (the only one of the high-school kids to really know how to act), and both Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford are great. There’s not much more to say about the film without being spoiler-tastic; technically there’s nothing amazing, though the special effects are top-notch, it’s the concept and the story that makes the film so entertaining. I think I was expecting a big twist towards the end, whereas actually the twist is revealed near the beginning, but it still makes the rest of the movie thoroughly entertaining and a huge amount of fun.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

For his directorial début Rupert Sanders delivers a very dark take on the classic Snow White story. Though there is little in common with most Snow White stories, it does hit specific plot points; wicked witch (Ravenna, Charlize Theron), poisoned apple, and dwarves. Initially imprisoned by Ravenna, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) escapes, then with the help of the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) makes her way to her Uncle's castle, whereupon she returns with an army to overthrow Ravenna's cruel rule.

First of all I must say that the film looks fantastic. The costumes are all fantastic, down to the little details on Ravenna's dresses; there are many beautiful exterior locations giving the film a real epic feel; and some of the visual effects were amazing. In particular the dark army at the beginning of the movie is brilliantly realised, the way Ravenna exploded into Ravens is great, a cool troll, and the dwarves were amazing.

Where the film falls flat is in some of the cast, namely Kristen Stewart; she just doesn't have the charisma to pull off a main role like this. She is wooden and just looks uncomfortable for most of the film, not least when she gives her morale-rousing speech for the army - Theoden this is not! Actually half way through the film I found myself thinking "Has she actually really said very much?" Charlize Theron is a good actress, and her Ravenna is good; though having seen Eva Green's performance as Morgan in Camelot, I thought that she would have been a much better Ravenna. The other main character is Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman, and thank goodness for him; he is the one character we really care about. His Huntsman is gritty, initially of questionable loyalty, and has great wilderness survival skills; so Aragorn basically. To continue the LOTR theme, I noticed that Snow White seemed to have the Tree of Gondor on her shield! The supporting cast are fine, including Sam Spruell as Ravenna's brother Finn and Vincent Regan as Snow White's Uncle, Duke Hammond. The Dwarves are also good, the likes of Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Nick Frost having their faces digitally imposed onto small actors.

An entertaining romp that looks amazing, and far enough removed from the classic fairy tale for miserable uncultured people like me to enjoy it. Going for it are some sumptuous visuals, a tremendous scale of production and a rousing score by James Newton Howard; against it are a few below par performances, especially from Kristen Stewart who just isn't right for this kind of role.

Great Odin's Raven! It's Thor

On the face of it, the premise of the God of Thunder fighting some Frost Giants, falling to Earth, falling for Natalie Portman, destroying some enormous robot thing and becoming an ally of humans is rather silly. Then you remember this is a MARVEL comic book, suspend all disbelief and really rather enjoy the film!

King Odin rules the Æsir in their city/world of Asgard. Many years ago there was a war between the Æsir and the Frost Giants, which spilled on to Earth where both were regarded as gods. When the Æsir finally won, the Frost Giants were defeated on their home world and Odin took the source of their power; this was kept secure in Asgard.

Years later, now Odin’s sons Thor and Loki are grown up, there is an attempt by the Frost Giants to reclaim the source of their power (a mysterious blue-glowy box). Thor (who was about to be crowned king) sees this breach of palace security as an act of war by the Frost Giants, and flies off to Frost-world to confront them, thus re-igniting an old war. On his return to Asgard, Odin punishes Thor’s hot-headedness by banishing him to Earth. He also separates Thor from his hammer, Mjölnir, until he is worthy to wield it once again.

If you’re confused by this plot synopsis, then imagine how difficult it must have been to interpret this onto film. I think that the writers do a very good job in condensing a lot of exposition from Stan Lee’s comics into a reasonably coherent introduction to the universe of Thor, Asgard, and Frost Giants. Kenneth Branagh also does very well with what can be considered his first real blockbuster. The realisation of Asgard and Frost World (don’t know it’s real name) are truly epic and stunning: Asgard is very golden, with a lot of greenery and waterways, Frost World is very stark and barren, but no less grand. Branagh’s direction also shines through in the script, as some of the lines are very pseudo-shakespearean; (he also seems to like filming at jaunty angles every now and again).

                                                             Asgard is stunning

Arguably the film really gets going upon Thor’s arrival on Earth as he is thrust into unfamiliar situations; “How dare you threaten the son of Odin!”. Obviously Chris Hemsworth was cast as Thor for his physique and Norse-ishness, but he manages to breathe enough life into his character so that he isn’t just a muscle-bound warrior, there is a little more depth to him. Natalie Portman is good enough as the love interest (particle physicist Jane Foster); though the romance between Thor and Jane is fairly shallow, and Portman doesn’t have the opportunity to shine as she does in Black Swan. Stellan Skarsgård adds a bit more history to the Earth story, and intrigue (if you wait all the way to the end of the credits). Odin is a character that Anthony Hopkins really got to grips with, he was wise, kingly, forceful and looked like he really enjoyed himself (plus he got to wear a gold eye-patch; Emilio Largo would be jealous!).

I thought the film was very enjoyable. I wasn’t expecting an amazing story, or in-depth character acting. I was looking forward to a cool cinematic experience with grand settings, a guy with a big hammer and some SHIELD intrigue; and that’s exactly what I got. But then I could have said that about Iron Man 2, and that was slightly disappointing. Thor is back to the entertainment quality of the first Iron Man or Spider-man. I saw it in glorious 2-D, and at several points I found myself thinking “What advantage would 3-D offer over this?” But that’s an argument for another day.