DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

THOR works for me mainly because: 1. it doesn't feel like a comic book; 2. the hero does not conceal his identity to other people, and; 3. the heroine does not get kidnapped by the villain. In short, Branagh's adaptation of Marvel's THOR is a comic book film that is anti-comic book.  Most comic book film adaptations have a template that is used and reused- the protagonist gets a supernatural power, the love interest gets kidnapped, and the villain is usually the hero's friend. No disrespect to the Spiderman trilogy which was pretty enjoyable, but THOR for me ranks along THE DARK KNIGHT and IRON MAN. THOR is funny where it counts ("We have Xena, Jackie Chan, and Robin Hood"), and the action is not gratuitously excessive (hello, TRANSFORMERS 3!). Kenneth Branagh creates a comic book movie identity on his own by focusing on character development and an easy to follow plot. The movie heavily emphasizes the sibling rivalry between Thor and Loki and takes it as a...

I don't know what the critics are raving about this latest superhero movie. I mean it's an enjoyable popcorn flick, and the action is pretty good. Plus, the focus on the little guy who can also become a larger than life hero is notable, but come on, between XMEN FIRST CLASS and THE DARK KNIGHT, CAPTAIN AMERICA is generic.  I still haven't seen THOR. The teaser for THE AVENGERS sure whets the appetite. But let's go back to CAPTAIN AMERICA. The pitfall of most superhero films is that they start at the very beginning and work they way to the end in a linear fashion. I guess not everybody can be Christopher Nolan. But with due respect for Joe Johnston, CAPTAIN AMERICA works best when the story emphasizes on the humility of its lead character. Chris Evans is truly superhero material. He previously played THE HUMAN TORCH in FANTASTIC FOUR, and I am surprised and delighted he didn't bring any notion of his Johnny Storm ladies man, full of hijinks character in CAPTAIN AM...