Thor

Rated PG13 for superhero action violence

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander

While researching some strange disturbances in the weather in New Mexico, Jane Foster, assistant Darcy and her mentor Erik come across a distraught and confused strong man in the middle of the desert.

Turns out, that strongman is Thor - son of Odin and heir to the throne of Asgard. However, Thor wasn't quite coronated as king yet. During his coronation ceremony Frost Giants break into the vault of the palace in hopes of retrieving the source of their power - the casket of ancient winters. Quick to react, Thor wants revenge and justice for the Frost Giants coming there and breaking the peace between Asgard and Jotunheim. Knowing how to press his buttons, Loki talks Thor into attacking the Frost Giants himself despite Odin's warning to leave them be. Taking Loki and his friends, Thor and crew travel the Rainbow Bridge and inadvertently start a war. Upset at his failure to heed his words, Odin banishes Thor from Asgard and exiles him on Earth. He also makes it so that Thor cannot use his infamous hammer until he is worthy of it.

Lost and confused and wanting to go home, Jane eventually gives in and helps Thor, giving him a lift to the site of where his hammer is rumored to be.

However, with Thor gone and Odin suffering a heart attack, Loki is left in charge of Asgard, much to the dismay of Thor's friends, and is running a muck, refusing to undo Thor's exile. Taking matters into their own hands, Thor's friends venture to Earth in search of him, however Loki sends a Destroyer to put an end to his brother once and for all.

Will Thor be able to regain his strength and obtain his hammer in time to save Earth and the Frost Giants and put a stop to Loki's evil plans?

As the first big superhero film of this summer, Thor was an excellent fun family thrill ride. Despite being based on Norse mythology, the film plays it off without shoving it so much in your face. Basically, the "gods" are just really strong with an advanced form of technology - only when they came to Earth were they deemed "gods" at the time.

Be sure to take the whole family to this fun flick this summer!

DVD Review: Kick-Ass

Rated R for language, bloody violence, brief sexuality

Starring Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mark Strong

"How come no one has ever tried to be a superhero?" geeky comic book lovin' teenage Dave wonders to his friends. He says that really all it is is helping others and doing right, stopping the bad guys. His friends think him nuts, but after being bullied for the last time, Dave done an outfit and wonders out, looking to put a stop to it.

His first attempt, against the same bullies that inspired him to take action, does not fare well, as he ends up with quite the wound and gets hit by a car, causing damage to his nervous system so he can no longer feel pain and metal is placed under his skin to help support his bones. Not giving up so quickly, after his recovery, Dave sets out again, this time saving a lone man from a group of attackers in a parking lot outside a dinner - several customers look out the window, with their cell phone video cameras rolling, catching the whole thing. Dave is quite the internet sensation as super hero Kick-Ass.

While on a mission for a girl he loves, he gets into a bit more of a mess than expected when it turns out to be a drug dealers headquarters and when it seems all is lost, a young girl with a penchant for knives and other sharp objects comes in through the window, also donned in a costume as well as a wig, saves him from a grisly fate. He comes to learn later that girl, known as Hit-Girl, and her father, Big Daddy, are also masked vigilantes, however they have very specific plans - turns out Big Daddy was once a cop but was framed by Frank D'Amico - a drug lord and crime boss who disguises his hideout as a lumber company. Because of this, Big Daddy's wife killed herself, while pregnant with their daughter Mindy who was able to be saved, but given over to custody of his partner. He got out of jail and got her back, training her to become the vigilante Hit Girl with his Big Daddy persona and they plan to take down D'Amico.

Unaware that other superhero's are out there, D'Amico seems to think that it is Kick-Ass taking out his men and causing problem for the family business and wants him dead.

We are also introduced to D'Amico's son Chris, who is also a classmate of Dave's and decides to become costumed character called Red Mist.

Kick-Ass is definitely not a kid's movie, despite being about superheros like you see in the comics. There's a reason this movie is rated R - the violence is very bloody and despite one of the main characters being a preteen girl, the language is very adult and R-rated, as you wouldn't want your young daughters quoting her!

As an adult comicbook action superhero movie though, Kick-Ass is highly entertaining! While not as deep (or as long) as Watchmen (another adult comicbook action superhero movie that came out in 2009), adults will enjoy the humor and action as one teenager tries to prove that anyone can be a superhero.

Watch it with other adults or older teens, but put the kids to bed first!

DVD Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Rated PG13 for comicbook action and violence, brief language

Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Houston, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Will.I.Am, Ryan Reynolds

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is just that - a film about the origins of Wolverine. We are introduced to James Howlett (aka Logan, Wolverine) and his older brother Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth) and see that at a young age, back in 1845 the brothers were forced to flee due to their strange mutations - Logan with this odd retractable claws, and Victor with his sabretooth cat like strength and agility.

The two brothers spend most of the next century and a half fighting in the American Civil War, World War I & II and the Vietnam War. During Vietnam, Victor allows his rage to take over, killing innocents in the process, while Logan does what he can to stop and save his brother.

Both are imprisoned after they were unable to executed for the crime, but offered spots in Major Stryker's Team X, composed of other humans with strange genetic mutations. Here we are introduced to John Wraith, Fred "The Blob" Dukes, Wade Wilson, Agent Zero, and Chris Bradley. While with the team, the brothers go on top secret missions, but after one that requires murdering innocent villagers, Logan has had enough and leaves, eventually leading to the collapse of Team X.

Years later, Logan is leading a simple, yet happy life as a lumberjack in Canada with his school teacher girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox. His approached by Stryker, informing him that someone is killing off the former team members and to be careful, however we learn that it is Victor doing the killings. After Victor kills Kayla in an attempt to get his younger brother's attention, Logan allows Stryker to conduct a test procedure on him, turning his entire skeletal system into hardened adamantitium, giving him metal indestructible claws capable of finishing off Victor. However once the procedure is a success, Logan overhears Stryker talking about erasing his memory, causing him to flee instead.

Knowing that Stryker is up to no good, Wolverine gets some help from his former Team X members, as well as new friend the Cajun Gambit to put an end to Stryker and his brother in the process.

If you like comic book movies, especially any of the X-Men films, you'll be sure to enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

DVD Review: The Spirit

Rated PG13 for comicbook violence and action, sexuality, brief nudity

Starring Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes

In Central City, the masked Spirit is a vigilante who protects the city. After a tip from the Detective that something big is going on near the docks that could include Spirit's arch-nemesis The Octopus, he rushes to the scene, where he finds the Detective dead and only 1 of 2 chests remaining. He also encounter The Octopus and the 2 duke it out for quite sometime until The Spirit is knocked unconscious, waken up a bit later at the hospital, appearing fully healthy despite being shot. Trying to find who killed the Detective and why, The Spirit finds a golden locket on the Detective's body that he recognizes as belonging to his childhood friend Sand Saref.

The Spirit, directed by Frank Miller, is reminiscent of Miller's previous work in Sin City, having the same stylized action and comicbook feel to it. The plot however, if you're not paying attention, can become a bit confusing as well.

If you enjoy comicbook films and liked Sin City, be sure to check this one out as well, as it's much of the same, but on a PG13 scale, otherwise, you're not missing much if you decided to skip this one.

Watchmen

Rated: R for language, gratuitous violence, nudity, sex

Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson

Based of the highly recommended 1986-87 graphic novel of the same name, Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985 America. Nixon just won his 5th term, costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and the US is on the brink of nuclear war with Russia.

The film starts out, we see a man, after being beat up in his high-rise penthouse, get thrown out through the glass window. People wonder, was this a random murder? A political killing perhaps, since the man had connections to the government? Rorschach, a man doning a trenchcoat, brimmed hat and a mask with inkblots that move around, believes someone is killing off former superheros. We soon learn that the man thrown through the window was The Comedian - a man who was part of the original 1940's Minutemen, fought in Vietnam and was part of the next generation of Minutemen, known as the Watchmen.

While we follow Rorschach and the rest of the remaining Watchmen (which includes Dr. Manhattan, The 2nd Nite Owl, The 2nd Silk Spectre and Ozymandias) avoid assassination and get to the bottom of what's going on, we have flash backs into each of their lives. We see that The Comedian wasn't exactly a nice funny guy, but rather had a more sadistic sarcastic sense of humor. We see how Dr. Manhattan became the big blue glowy dude that he is now and how his condition has affected all his relationships and in turn the effect it's had on him, we see how 2nd Silk Spectre's mother and relationship have effective her and so on. We also see the affects that the superheros have had on on major historical events throughout the decades.

Watchmen shows how even superhero's struggle with their inner self and have to deal with real issues just like the rest of us. It even begs the question, is it right to sacrific a smaller majority in order to ensure that the rest of the human race will live on?

Although it was almost 3 hours long, it kept my attention the entire time and definitely gave you some interesting points to think over.

It's definitely not one for the kiddies though, as Dr. Manhattan is shown fully nude in multiple scenes, 2nd Silk Spectre gets it on with several of the male characters and not much is left to the imagination, The Comedian attempts to rape another female character, and the violence is shown full force too - take some of the more graphic violent scenes from Zack Snyder's previous films Sin City and 300 and then multiply it several times. People get stabbed and shot with a close camera on them, limbs get hacked off in plain graphic site... there's a reason it's rated R.

The Dark Knight

Rated PG13 for violence, dark themes

Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

This is the 2nd installment in the remake of the Batman franchise.

After the police and Batman close in on the mobs in Gotham, the Joker decides to step in, being a new class of criminal and causing death and chaos in an attempt to call out who Batman really is. New elected politician Harvey Dent, while on his crusade to lock up all criminals gets caught in the middle of it, as does Bruce Wayne's oldest friend Rachel Dawes. We see how revenge can consume some, while others "just want to watch the world burn."

While still good, I think it probably should have been cut into two movies, allowing for more elaboration of Two-Face - Harvey Dent doesn't turn into his alter ego until the last hour or so of the film and he doesn't get much face time - I recall him being much more villanious in the comics and it seemed like they just kinda crammed his story arch in with the Joker's when it could have filled a whole movie itself.

It should definitely be nominated for an Oscar though and the critics will be talking about it for awhile! Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was amazingly dark and truly creepy - he deserves an Oscar for this role... too bad he died though, as it was definitely one of his best roles and his career had a promising future.

Definitely don't miss this one this summer and I recommend seeing it twice at least!

Hancock

Rated PG13 for language and violence

Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

Will Smith is Hancock, a superhero who spends his time between crime-stopping out getting drunk. After saving a PR worker from death by train, the PR worker decides to return the favor by helping Hancock clean up his image and be someone people can look up to - not a superhero causing trouble and doing more damage to the city in his crimefighting techniques.

It was a fun twist on the superhero movie with several plottwists to keep viewers interested.

Iron Man

Rated PG13 for violence

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrance Howard, and Jeff Bridges.

Tony Stark is a playboy weapons engineer and owner of Stark Enterprises. After a demonstration of his latest weapons project, the Jericho, terrorists attack the convoy and kidnap Stark, forcing him to recreate the Jericho. Stark has other plans though and creates an iron suit to bust out of captivity. Upon returning home, he decides it's best not to make weapons anymore and, after tweaking his iron suit, decides to track down all his weapons that have fallen into terrorist hands, while discovering that someone inside his company has been dealing weapons to terrorists under the table and has their own plans for the Iron Man suit.

Iron Man was incredibly fun and a great kick off to the summer season. Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Tony Stark.

If you like fun action movies, even if you've never seen or heard much of the comics, check this one out

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer

I never saw the first one, it looked too bad just from the brief clips i had seen. I had the same impression about this one as well and I was right!

On the verge of the wedding of Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman) and Reed Richards (aka Mr Fantastic, who, imo, aint very good looking), a strange energy is creating massive craters in the earth and the Fantastic 4 are recruited by the US gov't to help out. Creating new alliances and dealing with villians old and new, our heros learn what's really important.

It had it's humorous moments, but was filled with over the top cheesiness.

Guys will like watching Jessica Alba despite her awful dye job, girls will like watching the hotness that is Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch), comic book geeks will be pissed about the portrayal of Galactus, and unfortunately Michael Chiklis gets the shaft.