Thor

3 pipes out of 4

Anthony Hopkins is back everyone! He has returned from mediocre to downright terrible films like The Rite, The Wolfman and Beowulf to show us what he really can do. Now it is not an Oscar worthy part but still better than the before mentioned parts. We are also introduced to little known actor Chris Hemsworth who you may recognize as Kirk’s father in the Star Trek reboot. And he certainly puts on a show. The action is amazing as the story follows Thor (Chris Hemsworht), son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) as he is banished from the mythical land of Asgard due to his deviant brother Loki who wants to take the thrown from his brother. He lands in New Mexico in front of scientists Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Dr. Eric Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) along with their assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings). While a romantic relationship develops between Thor and Jane, Darcy is there to lighten the mood with her young college student quirks. Like when they first meet Thor Jane wants Darcy to drive their van into a tornado to which she responds “I am not dying for 6 college credits”. The story continues as Loki tries to manipulate all those around him, even his father, in order to move up in the pecking order for the thrown. This is a film for both the women and the men for the women can drool at the sight of Hemsworth’s ripped body without a shirt and the men can appreciate a total BAMF. I can find very little wrong with Thor, the only thing being that there were Easter eggs throughout the film which hint at the other members of the Avengers and the new Avengers movie but they are not really explained. Other than that Thor was very well done for a comic movie, especially following Iron Man.

The Source Code

3 pipes out of 4

When going into The Source Code one expects an action thriller without great acting but entertaining. When you come out you are completely surprised in with the acting and message. The Source Code takes you on an emotional journey and question what is the cost of safety. Blackhawk Helicopter Pilot Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the source code with no memory how he got there but is told by his one link to the outside world mission controller Carol Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) that he is the only hope to find the culprit who bombed a commuter train in Chicago. He can find the culprit by using a government program called the Source Code which allows him to go back and live in the last 8 minutes of a person’s life who was on the train. The story appears completely predictable from the beginning but it turns you upside down with a completely different ending than predicted. The only real identifiable actor in this film is Jake Gyllenhaal but some may know Michelle Monaghan from Eagle Eye or Made of honor. Even without the big name actors this film brings expert acting exciting action into one great movie.

Law Abiding Citizen

1 pipe out of 4

This is a terrible movie because it had me rooting for the bad guy through the entire film. The story begins with Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) witnessing the brutal murder of his wife and daughter only to see the successful attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Fox) cut a deal with the leading man who flips on his partner. You feel for Clyde because he cannot understand why Rice would not prosecute both men to the fullest of the law. It appears that Rice only wants to get a conviction and not do the right thing. In this first part of the movie it appears that Clyde is the protagonist and Rice is the antagonist but suddenly they switch when Clyde takes the law into his own hands and begins killing everyone involved in the case that saw the man who butchered his family get only three years in prison. So apparently the viewer is supposed to feel for Rice now but for me I continued to want Clyde to win because he brought up all the things that are wrong with our system he was trying to fix it. Granted he went about fixing it in the totally wrong way but he still was showing us that we let killers and rapists free on plea deals every day. Law Abiding Citizen was not a total waste of my time because it had decent suspense and I genuinely thought that Clyde might win. There were also cool explosions and it had Gerard Butler as a total BAMF.

The Adjustment Bureau

3 pipes out of 4

If you are heavily religious person and not comfortable with seeing movies that question or are about god do not see this movie. Everyone else should defiantly see it. Matt Damon has done it again giving his adoring public another thriller. But don’t go expecting another Bourne because this one focuses more on the relationship between a New York congressman and a ballet dancer. The story follows David Norris (Matt Damon), a prominent bad boy New York congressman who chance runs into the girl of his dreams Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) in a men’s bathroom. Was it Chance or fate? David has a checkered past and has lost both his parents and his brother before even getting to high school. He has become the youngest New York Congressman at age 24 and is now running for a Senate seat. Once after bumping into Elise, a group called the adjustment bureau says they are never supposed to see each other again which poses David and Elise with the question do they want to fight fate to stay together? At first glance, The Adjustment Bureau looks like an action packed thriller but actually is more of a romantic drama with big thrills thrown in throughout with a big finish. I have not found a movie that Damon has attached himself to that has not either done very well had a powerful message. He reunites with The Bourne Ultimatum screenwriter George Nolfi who makes his directing debut with this wonderful film.  Nolfi has shown that he is a talented screenwriter with such screenplays as The Bourne Ultimatum, The Sentinel and Oceans Twelve and he delivers again. This movie will leave you with thoughts in your head that you didn’t even know existed and question whether life is predestined or if we have a choice.