Posts Tagged ‘Tom Hiddleston’

Over the past four years, we’ve been witnesses to a pretty significant phenomenon. We’ve gotten to watch a studio endeavor to create several different films of a single universe in an effort to release a crossover film that collected these films’ main characters into a team. I’m of course referring to Marvel Studios and its efforts toward making The Avengers a reality.

The road to The Avengers has been anything but a smooth one. In the four years since Iron Man, the first film planned for this Marvel Movieverse amalgamation, its films have seen changes in cast and crew, which were often caused by internal power struggles, while they tried very hard to make the universe work as a whole. Did Marvel succeed in the end? In my opinion, the only way to really answer this is to break down Marvel’s efforts film by film.

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Short Take: Exciting, funny, and spectacular to behold. Like the team itself, it’s even greater than the sum of its parts

Director: Joss Whedon

Screenwriters: Joss Whedon and Zak Penn

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner

Length: 2h 23m

Synopsis: It’s all been leading up to this. Colonel Nick Fury (Jackson) of S.H.I.E.L.D. has begun to call into action the Avengers initiative after Asgardian god Loki (Hiddleston) teleports to Earth to steal a cosmic cube of unlimited power called the Tesseract. The adopted brother of Thor (Hemsworth) plans to use the cube to wield a celestial army afforded to him by the bloodthirsty alien order known as the Other so he can overtake our world, but naturally the likes of Iron Man (Downey Jr.), Captain America (Evans), Black Widow (Johansson), the Hulk (Ruffalo), Thor, and Hawkeye (Renner) have different plans. But our heroes are not very good at working together as it turns out, with their frictions causing them to battle each other before the gravity of Loki’s plot forces them to focus their attention. Will the suspension of their grievances come too late to win the day?

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Short Take: A harrowing story that’s emotional but not sappy. Distinctly Spielbergian.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenwriters: Lee Hall and Richard Curtis; Michael Morpurgo (novel)

Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullen, Niels Arestrup, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston

Length: 2h 26m

Synopsis: It is the era of World War I. The horse of a poor farmer boy (Irvine), named Joey, is sold to the English cavalry so that his family can pay the debt on their farm. Distraught, the boy offers to enlist in the army but is too young. From then on the horse changes hands from a Captain (Hiddleston), to a grandfather (Arestrup) and his granddaughter (Celine Buckens), and a handful of others. All who find themselves in charge of the horse fall in love with it. In having so many different owners Joey ends up traveling far from his original home, and although he has affections for some of his new owners he ultimately seeks to return to the poor farmer boy who raised him. In the end, as property of the German army, Joey risks everything in a desperate charge towards English forces in the hope that he can finally find his way home. Like the soldiers who surround him, Joey demonstrates the kind of bravery that few look to prove they have. But will it be enough?

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Short Take: Exceedingly enchanting. Woody Allen at his feel-good best.

Director: Woody Allen

Screenwriter: Woody Allen

Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody

Length: 1h 40m

Synopsis: Gil (Wilson) and his fiancé Inez (McAdams) are vacationing in Paris, France, soaking up the atmosphere and taking in all of the beautiful art that surrounds them. Gil is a Hollywood screenwriter trying to take another crack at writing novels, and his latest work about relishing the past has gotten some much-needed inspiration from the city of love. While Inez spends her time enjoying luxurious spa days and get-togethers with friends Gil wishes to experience all of the charm the city has to offer, and he finds all he can handle when he stumbles upon a way to travel back in time to the 1920s. Every night at midnight he visits iconic artists like F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), and Salvador Dali (Brody), chatting away with them about love, life, and women. And speaking of women, one night Gil can’t help but be enchanted by an art aficionada named Adrianna (Cotillard), who is equally enchanted by him. The stress of the present and magic of the past combine to create an awkward but exciting situation for Gil, one which he will find his way out of only if he follows his heart.

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Short Take: Exceeds expectations by balancing action and story

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Screenwriters: J. Michael Staczynski and Mark Protosevich (story), Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne (screenplay)

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston

Length: 1h 55m

Synopsis: King Odin (Hopkins) of Asgard was looking to pass down the crown to his son Thor (Hemsworth), but before that would happen the sophomoric son went on a foolish and dangerous errand that could potentially rekindle a war between Asgard and their olden enemies the Frost Giants. For such recklessness Thor is exiled to Earth where he shall be powerless until he proves himself worthy to return. While gone, Odin’s adopted son Loki (Hiddleston) carries out plans to usurp the throne and compromise Asgard for the Frost Giants. With the help of several humans trying to understand Thor’s plight, the most empathetic of which is an astrophysicist named Jane (Portman), the God of Thunder must mature in time to save his kingdom.

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Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins

Thor, set to begin production in January, will now star Anthony Hopkins as Oden, father on Thor and Loki. The rest of the cast includes Chris Hemsworth (as Thor), Tom Hiddleston (as Loki), and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Thor’s romantic interest.

Thor is set to release May 20th, 2010.

Source: Variety

In Other News…

Disney continues to trim down Miramax studios. Miramax president Daniel Battsek has been asked to step down as head of Disney’s specialty film division. Disney plans to cut 50 more jobs at Miramax by January, leaving only around 20.

The figurative trimming of the fat is a continuation of Disney’s plans to cut costs, which it said it planned to do months ago. Miramax, which usually releases 6 to 8 films per year, will now only release 3 annually.

Under Battsek’s guidance over the last 18 years, Miramax has released such acclaimed films as The Queen, Gone Baby Gone, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, No Country for Old Men, and Doubt. Miramax’s last film this year will be Everything’s Fine starring Robert De Niro, set to release December 4th.

Source: Hollywood Reporter