Movie Muse Shorts - Thor: The Dark World, Frozen, Ender's Game

She lives! Amazing, I know. Ridiculous amounts of stuff happening right now, some good, some less so. Such is life. But we have somehow managed to squeeze in three movies so far this season.


Thor: The Dark World - Hmm, this is a difficult film to review. I thought that of the first film, too, though we did re-watch it prior to seeing the sequel, and it wasn't quite as bad as we remembered. If you've heard everyone raving about Tom Hiddleston and his portrayal of Loki in this film, they are absolutely correct, almost to the point that the only parts of the film worth watching are those with him in the scene. Some parts were just as bad as the original, some parts were better. It was just sort of all over the place. Pretty to watch, and again, Hiddleston is amazing, but the rest is very uneven. I am curious about where they are going with the third film, though. There is a small bit both a short way into the credits and at the very end, so do stay!


Frozen - The latest offering from Disney (not Pixar!), loosely based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson. It's really more Broadway than classic Disney film, not that that's a bad thing in and of itself. Each song is wonderful, though I don't feel the music was very cohesive across the film. Regardless, hearing Idina Menzel sing is worth the price of admission. Everyone seems to be raving about this film, and while it was good and I enjoyed it, I feel like I'm missing something that everyone else is getting out of it. Even my husband seemed to enjoy it more than I did. I do appreciate the efforts to be a bit more modern, and they do turn a few formulaic things on their heads, but overall, it's what you would expect (and that's not a bad thing!). We'll see if it grows on me. I think I had similar "good but not amazing" feelings about Tangled, and it has turned into one of my most favorite movies, so we'll see how this one stands up to repeat viewings.


Ender's Game - I really thought we were going to miss this one in the theater, which would have been a shame. It is a very well made movie that I both immensely enjoyed and have continued to ponder several days after seeing it. It's rare that a movie keeps me thinking and wondering and replaying for that long. Part of it is trying to make sense of a couple of gaping plot holes. I can't help but wonder if they are more a result of trimming content from the book than a real flaw in the overall story. (No, I haven't read the book. Yet. Should be starting it in a few days.) And, part of it is grappling with the tough questions regarding the themes of the film/book, as it should be. Asa Butterfield is simply amazing, and at a mere 15 years old (at the time of filming; IMDb trivia reports he grew 2 inches during shooting, and it does occasionally show from scene to scene), he is definitely one to watch.

Currently feeling: ready to go again!