Can't Wait: "Thor: The Dark World"

Ummm, this is all you need to know.  "Thor: The Dark World".  And it hits theaters in November 2013.  Yea, pretty excited to see this!  Some of the same cast of characters are, of course, such as: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba...oh man, I can't wait.

Plus, one of the writers for the first Thor film and this film, "Thor: The Dark World"was Don Payne, who I knew back in the days when I worked on "The Simpsons".  He recently passed away and it is a huge loss to the sci-fi/comedy writing world.  So, go see this film as a tribute to Don!

Go See: "The Avengers"

I love an action packed film with action heroes!  What better way to enjoy 2 hours and 22 minutes of your life but to watch the latest film, "The Avengers", directed by the sci-fi junkie, Joss Whedon. 

It was star studded to the gills with Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo (he plays the Hulk), Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston (he plays Loki, Thor's brother and was also in War Horse).   Now I'm not into the comic books and don't know all of the back stories on the characters, (thank god they made them into movies!) but it was awesome to see all of these super heroes unite and fight the good fight.  You will be thoroughly entertained by all the special effects, especially if you live in New York City.  There was some bad ass fighting going on so am now inspired to take self defense classes. Enjoy!!

Go See: "Midnight in Paris"

It was movie catch-up weekend for me and I finally saw the much-anticipated Woody Allen film, "Midnight in Paris", which was a star-studded adventure. Aside from it being shot in one of the world's most romantic cities, you fell in love with the incredible cast. It was refreshing to see Rachel McAdams in a role where she's not the happy-go-lucky, nice girl next door (and a bit obsessed with wearing a belt with every outfit) and Owen Wilson's character, Gil, took on the reminiscent, overly talkative character which is found in a typical Woody Allen film.

And like Woody Allen films, he takes you on a journey through the city and through time both physically and mentally. We travel to Versailles with Gil and Inez, being educated by Michael Sheen's character, Paul, who is an uber intellect, and his girlfriend played by broadway actress, Nina Arianda. The struggling writer, Gil, discovers one drunken night, a way to transport himself (and his imagination) to the roaring 20's in Paris. Gil finds himself rubbing elbows with the likes of Cole Porter, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Sayre, Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Man Ray - just to give you an idea. I imagine that I was sitting a couple of rows away from an art historian when I saw this film as this guy was constantly laughing throughout the film meaning the actors must have portrayed these artists to their full intentions.

Now skeptics may wonder who could have the audacity and talent to represent these iconic figures in the art world but you know me, my brain is searching for what other films these actors are in. So, let's begin with my mind wondering to who played Ernest Hemingway. Something seemed so familiar with him yet I couldn't place it but it was the actor Corey Stoll. Turns out this bloke was in "Salt" playing the russian spy "Shnaider", and then he goes and plays an LAPD Detective on "Law and Order: LA." F. Scott Fitzgerald was portrayed by the UK actor, Tom Hiddleston. He was in "Thor" and will be in a couple of films coming out over the next year, including "The Avengers". Playing his crazy, drunken lady love Zelda Sayre is the amazing Alison Pill, who I loved in "Milk" and the indie flick "Pieces of April". (And she recently became engaged to actor Jay Baruchel.) Feminist Gertrude Stein was played by Kathy Bates who has experience portraying historic characters - don't you remember her playing Molly Brown on "Titanic"? Perhaps one of my favorite portrayals (and because I am quite keen on him), was Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali. With his pencil-thin moustache and wild references to rhinos, it immediately made me log onto wikipedia to answer my curiousity. (BTW, Dali's rhino reference was symbolic to him as he believed it signified divine geometry, along with chastity and the Virgin Mary. Artists!) Marcial Di Fonzo Bo, the argentinian actor, producer and director played the anguished Pablo Picasso and the kicker...are you ready for it? His muse and mistress Adriana was played by the angelic Marion Cotillard. Need I say more?

If I missed anyone, well, it wasn't on purpose as there were so many fine actors in this film. Even the First Lady of France, Carla Bruni. So, I highly recommend this film - you will be fully entertained and maybe even a bit educated.