Marvel superhero movies are in general a very mixed bag.  Yes, there are the huge hits with guaranteed big audiences like X-Men and Spider-Man, but the rest have been very much hit or miss.  On the positive side was Iron Man, which was a rousing success.  In the middle was the Hulk, which did OK with both the 2003 movie with Eric Bana in the lead role and the Edward Norton effort from 2008, as both earned a little over $130 million at the box office.

And then there were the flops; both critically and financially (and often both).  Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, and (especially) Elektra.

 So here they come again with one of the more obscure superheroes in the Marvel pantheon; Thor.  First of all, this would probably confuse most people who have never read comic books, but are aware of the myths of the Norse Gods and of Thor, the God of Thunder, who was the most well known.  Those types would by thinking “He’s also a superhero?  What’s next?  Poseidon teaming up with Aqua-Man?”

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The Summer Blockbuster Season is here, and it looks to be the Year of the Superhero, kicking off today with the release of “Thor”, and continuing on to “X-Men: First Class”, “Green Lantern”, and “Captain America: First Avenger”.

It’s also to be the Summer of the Sequel…but that expression can be used for almost every summer.  It actually looks like it started last week, as “Fast Five” has become a surprising breakout hit.  Other sequels coming this summer include Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Transformers 3, Cars 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Hangover 2, and the one I’m anticipating most; the final chapter of the Harry Potter series.

Strap yourself in and get ready to go.

News and Rumors

~ Will and Jaden Smith doing an M. Night Shyamalan movie.  This is the cinematic version of an irresistible force (the boxoffice superwattage of Will Smith) meeting the unmovable object (M. Night Shamalan’s decent into total suckitude).  My money is on the unmovable object.

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It’s been two days since I have seen it, and I still can’t believe that I’m about to give a positive review to a movie from the Fast and Furious franchise.

This is a movie that stars Paul Walker, for God’s sake, and “actor” who, if any less talented, would be a member of the Kardashian family.  But why take my word for it?  As Chris Hutchinson so eloquently explained in a recent The Browns Outsider article: “anytime Paul Walker: The Actor speaks one of those English lines, it has all the emotional range and delivery brilliance of a desk lamp.  And not one of those cute Pixar lamps either”.

The movie alo stars Vin Diesel and the actor formerly known as The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, who are in a heated competition if the Oscars ever come up with a "Best Use of Steroids" category; three women who are basically interchangable in the "Hot Looking Brunette Who Really Needs To EAT SOMETHING!!!" Department"; and a variety of other painfully obvious stereotypes.

Add to this some absolutely terrible writing, a ridiculous caper, boring villains right out of "bad action movie central casting" and completely implausible action sequences; and that leaves you with...

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My “losing” streak is over, as I have finally seen a 2011 released movie that didn’t induce nausea.

“Hanna” isn’t a great movie by a long shot, but it doesn’t stink, and it kept me entertained throughout, which is saying something given the incredible amount of crap we’ve seen so far this year.  That may not be much of a rousing endorsement, but you’ll have to give me a minute to shake off my cynicism before I get into the positives of this interesting and disturbing little action thriller.

The most unusual part of this film is that “Hanna” is at its best when it’s not a “thriller”.  Don’t get me wrong, the action parts are exciting, if not exactly original.  But the true heart of this film is the character study of a young girl/woman as she discovers the real world for the first time in her life.

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