Shiny movies with pretty people: Thor

I was somewhat dragged to see Thor, because my mother of all people decided she wants something pretty and brainless.

Not brainless, as it turned out (Kenneth Brannagh directing, J.Michael Straczynski with a writing credit, team from Terminator:Sarah Connor Chronicles - I should have guessed), but so. Immensely. Pretty.

Honestly, I could screencap any moment of the Asgard scenes and hang it on my wall. Classic pulp SF art, all soaring spires and gold and crystal, with angles and costumes to match. These are my childhood fairytales, and oh, they made them sing.

And really, nothing ruins it. I adore and root for Loki, of course, who is smart and tragic and engaging (and avoids chewing through scenery, unlike everyone else in Asgard and Jotunheim). There's not a single weak person in the cast, from Anthony Hopkins on down. For female characters, we get four strong major ones (a full third of MCs, impressive for a Hollywood movie) and the Bechdel test is passed with an impressive amount of technobabble. Good music. Very decent writing for a comic book movie, you can really tell which Shakespearean undertones they aimed for (and managed to hit). Chris Hemsworth in tight and/or missing shirts is the cherry on the cake.

I can get behind this kind of summer movie :) Pirates next, Captain America and X-Men First Class - anything else interesting coming out?

(Also, for a 3D movie this didn't give me a headache at all. I think the amount of CGI helps.)