As far as Thor is concerned, you can leave the Haterade at home.

If you go into Thor expecting to see something at the level of Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you’re like me and go into Thor looking for Thor to beat someone up with his hammer Mjolnir, you will be rewarded.

Thor is fun comic book movie that completely entertained me. From the early pictures and promos, I was most worried about the portrayal of Asgard. It would be nigh-impossible for any movie to really emulate the work of a Jack Kirby or Walt Simonson. And Thor didn’t, but Asgard still looked pretty awesome. The rainbow bridge could have been cheesy in execution, instead it came out looking pretty cool. The same is true of the various Asgardian suits of armor worn by Thor, Odin, and the other Asgard residents.

I also liked how the story moved back and forth between Earth and Asgard, and while it was an “origin” story, the human characters didn’t get too bogged down in What Does Thor Mean type meandering.

While at times Thor was a little rushed, it worked for me. I would give it a solid B+.

Ok, this casting I kind of like:

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Oscar®-nominated actress Diane Lane will play Martha Kent, the only mother Clark Kent has ever known, in the new Superman movie to be directed by Zack Snyder.

Snyder stated, “This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman. We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination.”

Lane will star with Henry Cavill, who was recently announced as the new Clark Kent/Superman.

Captain America

Christopher Nolan’s third Batman film will be called ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and though the Gotham City auteur isn’t ready to reveal the villain of his 2012 film, he did eliminate one of the big contenders: ‘It won’t be the Riddler,’ Nolan said in an exclusive interview with the Hero Complex.

Nolan was most eager to talk about the fact that Warner Bros. had  agreed with his argument that the film should resist the current 3-D craze and instead use high-definition approaches and IMAX cameras to strike out on a different cinematic path than the stereoscopic technology that, for better or worse, has become the dominant conversation in the blockbuster sector.

I’m glad Batman won’t be another movie destroyed by B.S. 3-D. Nolan’s two batmovies have been home runs, so I have high expectations for this next one. Hopefully he doesn’t get into villain overload, though I’d like to see a side character like Catwoman or even Robin/Nightwing pop in.

This is absurd. Quite frankly even if you were watching the movie with a lobotomy there’s no way you could glean this message. The character of George Bailey is a classic FDR liberal. He runs the Savings & Loan in Bedford Falls not for the fiscal upside (he barely scrapes by) but out of concern for his community. The malevolent entity here is Mr. Potter, who represents a banking conglomerate that doesn’t have any of the care for the community as Bailey’s Savings & Loan. It is Mr. Potter – and the nightmarish Potterville – that represents the conservative ideal of capitalism run amok. Eventually, George Bailey’s world of capital responsive to the community triumphs as the All-American and preferable point of view.

Just watch the following scene where George organizes the community in response to a run on the bank, exhorting them to put their collective well-being over individual salvation.

If anything, George Bailey is considerably to the left of modern American Democrats like President Obama.

It’s A Wonderful Life is one of my favorite movies of all time. Conservatives twisting it just annoys the hell out of me.

This is one of those wild rumors, but a fun one nonetheless. It appears Weeds and RED star Mary Louise Parker was found purchasing Superman comic books at a retailer in Silverlake, LA. Could she be brushing up on the Man of Steel’s history in order to score the role of Lois Lane in Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot?

The site goes on to debunk the idea, noting that Snyder apparently wants a younger Lois & Clark (I hope he doesn’t go as far as Kate Bosworth, who was my least favorite part of Superman Returns). But based on looks alone, I’d love to see Parker as Lois and Jon Hamm as Superman/Clark.

Thor: May 6, 2011

Captain America: July 22, 2011 (missing Independence Day seems like a mistake here)

Iron Man 3: May 3, 2013

The Avengers: No release date yet

Warner Bros. is sticking with its roster of talented filmmakers for its reboot of the Superman franchise. The studio announced today that Zack Snyder, the filmmaker behind 300, Watchmen, and the recent animated flick The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole will helm the franchise.

Snyder will direct from a script currently being penned by David S. Goyer (Batman Begins) based on a story conceived by Goyer and Christopher Nolan.

(This story via reader Sarah M. who inexplicably saw this before me)

A film in which a man swings down the side of a building using another man’s intestines as a rope, as Danny Trejo’s title character does, is not taking itself very seriously.

The movie, which is also fun, also features Jessica Alba using a laptop while nude in the shower and constantly arriving on the scene as a law enforcement officer wearing high heels. If this is our “reconquista” future it can’t be that bad.