Thor

[bradavon]

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800369/

Trailers:

480P: http://downloads.paramount.com/mp/Thor/ ... l1_480.mov
720P: http://downloads.paramount.com/mp/Thor/ ... l1_720.mov
1080P: http://downloads.paramount.com/mp/Thor/ ... 1_1080.mov

[bradavon]

No one? It looks pretty good.

[HungFist]

I really can't get excited about these routine Hollywood superhero and fantasy adventures. Last time I saw a trailer for one it was the new Narnia film and there it said "Based on Great Masterpiece" and at the same time there's a talking penguin on the screen...

(or something like that, I did my best to ignore and forget it all).

Unless it's co-direted by Yoshihiro Nishimura (here's a good fantasy/super hero film) consider me uninterested. Thor looks just as boring to me as it sounded like.

[bradavon]

I really can't get excited about these routine Hollywood superhero adventures.

Some are excellent, lots are not.

I cannot believe you're comparing super hero with fantasy though! The Narnia books are fantastic, I'm sure not I'd call them masterpieces but they're easily up there with Harry Potter for children's stories. I've only seen The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Hollywood movie and thought it was pretty rubbish. The comparison is plain ridiculous.

Last time I saw a trailer for one it was the new Narnia film and there it said "Based on Great Masterpiece" and at the same time there's a talking penguin on the screen...

I take it you've not read the books then? There are several more to go.

[Shingster]

I really can't get excited about these routine Hollywood superhero and fantasy adventures. Last time I saw a trailer for one it was the new Narnia film and there it said "Based on Great Masterpiece" and at the same time there's a talking penguin on the screen...

You're clearly just as ignorant and dismissive of the fantasy genre as the likes of Mark and Brad are of exploitation.

[bradavon]

Despite the fact I'm being used as an insult, I have to agree .

[luckystars]

I think the emphasis of hungs post was on the 'routine Hollywood' not the genre as such.

[Shingster]

I don't mean to be insulting to either Hung or brad/Mark when I use the term ignorant as we're all ignorant of something, I just mean that Hung's insinuation that any story with a talking penguin in it has no merit is pretty blinkered and dismissive of a massively popular genre is it not? Chronicles of Narnia (film not the book) is generally considered something of a masterpiece within the children's fantasy genre and it has certainly stood the test of time (although I personally find CS Lewis a bit too stuffy).

If you don't "get" superhero or fantasy films then that's fair enough, but I'm not sure the way Hung made his statement is any different than say (purely for example's sake) Mark or Brad claiming an exploitation film must be low-brow if it has gratuitous nudity in it.

[luckystars]

Mark and Brad need to learn that not everyones Daughter needs locking up these days



B.t.w. although Chronicles of Narnia is a pretty solid film and nice children's Fantasy Drama, I thought it far from masterpiece. Good and entertaining for a sort of Boxing Day release, but nothing to wax lyrical about.

[Shingster]

It's the book that was being referred to as a masterpiece, not the film.

[luckystars]

It's the book that was being referred to as a masterpiece, not the film.

Ah Ok. You wrote Film not Book.

[bradavon]

Chronicles of Narnia (film not the book) is generally considered something of a masterpiece within the children's fantasy genre and it has certainly stood the test of time (although I personally find CS Lewis a bit too stuffy).

You mean Books not Films right? It's true the books are still massively popular. They seem to have dropped the ball a bit with the films, the Harry Potter adaptations I gather are much better. It's a shame because the source material is so good.

They're probably rubbish but I remember fondly the BBC adaptations.

but I'm not sure the way Hung made his statement is any different than say (purely for example's sake) Mark or Brad claiming an exploitation film must be low-brow if it has gratuitous nudity in it.

I don't think I've ever said that but granted I am dismissive of exploitation. I've seen a few of the so called classics (American and Japanese) and all had great moments but were so trashy and poorly acted.

[HungFist]

I don't mean to insult Shing as everyone makes mistakes, but you could read a bit more carefully to interpret the text correctly. You're often reading too literally and fail to notice intentional exaggeration, provocation, self-irony (typically when the writer - me at least - plays with his own image and people's expectations on him... Jeroen loved doing this, and it has always been one my favorite topics as well), and the proportion of truth.

I certainly didn't think someone would take it as a serious genre statement when I mentioned "masterpiece and talking penguin". So many things are perfectly sensical in a certain context and if you know the backgrounds, but look completely ridiculous to an outsider. This is actually what I do a lot, in my reviews, forum posts, and real life... especially with all the JP and idol stuff. Now, that doesn't mean I'm telling lies. No, all good jokes are based on truth, and truths are also more entertaining when mixed with a bit of humor. But I assume the reader can understand approximately how much truth there is and how much is (self-)ironic exaggeration.

(it wasn't a coincidence that I linked to a gore film trailer that clearly wouldn't interest the target audience of Thor)

If you fail to notice the ridiculousness of "masterpiece and talking penguin" to someone who unfamiliar with this genre and source material, then perhaps you should practice the ability to see things from a third person view a bit more.

My critisism on Thor (trailer) was not related in any way to it being a film of a certain genre, but to it (judging by the trailer) being a prime example of a 'standard Hollywood fantasy/comic book film without any real originality'. You've got a bit of 300 in there, mixed with Hulk or something. This kind of films can't get me any more excited than Toei's average ninkyo yakuza film could get someone who digs Hulk. Thankfully, Toei's ninkyo yakuza genre is cool enough to make you look cool, while big Hollywood fantasy / superhero just makes you look dumb. (<-- and please, everyone, try to see the exaggeration, humor, and intentional contradiction in sentences like this, and not read them as something a person is trying to state as universal truth).

Of course, what is "acceptable" to say depends on the playground. I wouldn't go to Happy Potter convention to poke fun of those guys. Bet I'd certainly make fun of them in some other place. The fact that I'm a sort of Harry Potter fan myself (not a fan of Potter, but with my JP pop cult enthusiasm I certainly belong to the same species) only makes it more fun.

But I'm a bit sad when people on a film forum that I've been hoping would be a bit better place than Rotten Tomatoes message boards, are spending so much time watching standard Hollywood fares instead of looking for more original movies. I'm watching tons of Japanese movies no one has heard of. I wish someone here would watch at least a few Spanish, British, whatever, movies that I haven't heard of and aren't featured on IMDb main page.How can anyone ever discover their film taste if they never even try 80% of the movie genres in the existence.

However, that's not to say self-aware ignorism isn't needed, and fun. Find our stuff, and diss what you don't like, as long as you "keep it real". But too often people do this unintentionally.. they're actually serious about it, genuinely ignorant.

[luckystars]

all had great moments but were so trashy and poorly acted.

And you're saying that on a Girls with Guns forum

[grim_tales]

I did love the BBC Narnias and remember them with fondness.

[luckystars]

I don't mean to insult Shing as everyone makes mistakes, but you could read a bit more carefully to interpret the text correctly. You're often reading too literally and fail to notice intentional exaggeration, provocation, self-irony (typically when the writer - me at least - plays with his own image and people's expectations on him... Jeroen loved doing this, and it has always been one my favorite topics as well), and the proportion of truth.

I certainly didn't think someone would take it as a serious genre statement when I mentioned "masterpiece and talking penguin". So many things are perfectly sensical in a certain context and if you know the backgrounds, but look completely ridiculous to an outsider. This is actually what I do a lot, in my reviews, forum posts, and real life... especially with all the JP and idol stuff. Now, that doesn't mean I'm telling lies. No, all good jokes are based on truth, and truths are also more entertaining when mixed with a bit of humor. But I assume the reader can understand approximately how much truth there is and how much is (self-)ironic exaggeration.

(it wasn't a coincidence that I linked to a gore film trailer that clearly wouldn't interest the target audience of Thor)

If you fail to notice the ridiculousness of "masterpiece and talking penguin" to someone who unfamiliar with this genre and source material, then perhaps you should practice the ability to see things from a third person view a bit more.

My critisism on Thor (trailer) was not related in any way to it being a film of a certain genre, but to it (judging by the trailer) being a prime example of a 'standard Hollywood fantasy/comic book film without any real originality'. You've got a bit of 300 in there, mixed with Hulk or something. This kind of films can't get me any more excited than Toei's average ninkyo yakuza film could get someone who digs Hulk. Thankfully, Toei's ninkyo yakuza genre is cool enough to make you look cool, while big Hollywood fantasy / superhero just makes you look dumb. (<-- and please, everyone, try to see the exaggeration, humor, and intentional contradiction in sentences like this, and not read them as something a person is trying to state as universal truth).

Of course, what is "acceptable" to say depends on the playground. I wouldn't go to Happy Potter convention to poke fun of those guys. Bet I'd certainly make fun of them in some other place. The fact that I'm a sort of Harry Potter fan myself (not a fan of Potter, but with my JP pop cult enthusiasm I certainly belong to the same species) only makes it more fun.

But I'm a bit sad when people on a film forum that I've been hoping would be a bit better place than Rotten Tomatoes message boards, are spending so much time watching standard Hollywood fares instead of looking for more original movies. I'm watching tons of Japanese movies no one has heard of. I wish someone here would watch at least a few Spanish, British, whatever, movies that I haven't heard of and aren't featured on IMDb main page.How can anyone ever discover their film taste if they never even try 80% of the movie genres in the existence.

However, that's not to say self-aware ignorism isn't needed, and fun. Find our stuff, and diss what you don't like, as long as you "keep it real". But too often people do this unintentionally.. they're actually serious about it, genuinely ignorant.

Can I say I appreciate how wonderfully you write.

The sad part for me in reading this is it's true one can never discover all the wonderful movies there are to be enjoyed in the world, which is exactly why I lurk in these forums. I'm up on the Coens, Andersons, Bessons Takashis Jarmuschs Wong Kar Wais Zhang Yimous, Wenders, Carpenters Hertzogs, Kubricks Finchs and so on (and much more besides, but also far too few others). I also applaud how many films you watch and Review just for us (even though not really just for us)...however I just cant process all the Genres that there are out there. I spent a decade just indulging furiously in HK movies and that was just one foreign countries output!! Alas and alack..

[HungFist]

luckystars, a decade on HK film was not wasted time imo by any means. You can get recommendations and tips from other people, but when you want to discover something yourself you need to spend years on a specific country / genre. You need that time to acquire the skill and basic knowledge thru own experience. You did that with HK and that's awesome.

I have the knowledge to make JP movie discoveries on specific genres (classic action and exploitation, modern indie drama, and some others) on my own, because JP movies are my stuff. But with Italian movies, I'm still heavily relying on recommendations and guidance to discover movies. But I'm talking about genre geek guidance, not newspapers and IMDb front page.

What I wish is that people would do both of these. Find a country or genre they can concentrate on, and then take good recommendations on other genres and countries from other people, and have the courage try different things. Japanese cinema alone has so many sub genres... pinky violence, tokusatsu, kaiju, pink film (soft erotica, which is occasionally used as compromise means of finance for political and experimental art films), 90's neo noir, ninkyo yakuza (old school yakuza films with heroic yakuza struggling with duty and personal feelings), jitsuroku yakuza (new school docu-drama, ultra realistic modern yakuza film) and so on...

Of course a lack of time can be a major problem. Even myself I hardly have time for anything else than Japan. But people could still at least take recommendations from "better sources" and be a bit more adventurous, rather than spent your time and money on the 15th new edition of Terminator 2, or new Harry Potter. Terminator 2 you've seen a dozen times already, and Happy Potter you kinda know what it is even without seeing it. But when you discover your first madcap poliziotteschi, balls the the walls pinky violence film, or cyberpunk film... these are the real cinematic adventures you can have... discovering something you didn't know existed...

[Shingster]

I don't feel insulted at all Hung, just completely bewildered! If you write a straightforward statement without any markers or suggestions of the emotional intent (there's a whole range of emoticons available on these boards) then you shouldn't be surprised if people take your comments literally. I'm not psychic, I cannot see your face or read your body language or hear the intonations of your voice; the only thing I have to go on is the text itself, and your text was crystal clear.

Oh and I know you were his main cheerleader back in the good old days of the AsianDVDGuide, but Jeroen was a humourless snob; you don't abandon a forum and go about deleting hundreds/thousands of posts in a tizz if you have a sense of irony or humour.

Ah Ok. You wrote Film not Book.

Yeah got them the wrong way round, I was also referring to the hyperbolic trailer quote that Hung referenced, they would have been talking about the book and not the film.

[HungFist]

I don't feel insulted at all Hung, just completely bewildered! If you write a straightforward statement without any markers or suggestions of the emotional intent (there's a whole range of emoticons available on these boards) then you shouldn't be surprised if people take your comments literally. I'm not psychic, I cannot see your face or read your body language or hear the intonations of your voice; the only thing I have to go on is the text itself, and your text was crystal clear.

Actually, I have started using smilies more, although I feed dumb when doing it, like a voice over in a movie explaining the audience what just happened in the film. A joke isn't funny if you add a notice "this is a joke". The fact that it will go over the heads of some I'm completely aware of. That's why I try to be more clear on new forums where people don't know me, or make it more obvious in other ways. But I've been here for 5 years. It only took me about 50 posts to learn the interpret Jeroen. And that was back when I wasn't a wanna-be shink yet.

Am I looking for trouble? To some extent, yes. It's in my blood. I'm an internet bully. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so I'm hoping to someone will actually find enlightment thanks to me. It's certainly needed for some. I'm scared to think how many people read magazines and other printed sources without critisism, assuming all news are true without seeing the opinion, political etc. factor. Even in Finland, although they always emphazise the importance of reading between the lines to understand what is really said (or not said), a lot of people are completely clueless.

Oh, and I'm not trying to suggest you don't know this stuff. Just expressing my opinion (for everone) in more detail for the sake of clarity.

Oh and I know you were his main cheerleader back in the good old days of the AsianDVDGuide, but Jeroen was a humourless snob; you don't abandon a forum and go about deleting hundreds/thousands of posts in a tizz if you have a sense of irony or humour.

Well, he's a character for sure. I'm not saying I accept what he did... pisses me off too cause a ton of good info went away there. But I can understand his frustration when almost everyone around him was mainly interested in bootlegging the films he was trying sub. He got tired of it, and learned the language instead. As far as I know, he's far more fluent in Japanese now than I am.

But his sense of humor was terrific as long as it lasted, and he was making fun of himself so often. And many of his part truth, part ironic exaggeration sentences were awesome.

[bradavon]

Anyone care to make an actual comment about Thor? Except for Hung's original comment obviously.

[luckystars]

Looks Wank. Won't bother.

[brooce-leroy]

i might have a wank as natalie portman is in it. and she's fit.

[Yi-Long]

Looks absolutely horrible. Never liked Thor in the comics, and I doubt I will like him here...

[luckystars]

i might have a wank as natalie portman is in it. and she's fit.