Movies: Thor and His Hammer

Hemsworth & Hammer.

NATHANIEL ROGERS
...would live in the movie theater but for the poor internet reception. He blogs daily at the Film Experience. Follow him on Twitter @nathanielr.

 
NOW PLAYING
It's not every day you drive right into a golden god while cruising around New Mexico's deserts.  But that's just what happens to Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) as THOR begins. She's chasing a thermo-magnetic storm (or some such) and a larger Einstein-Rosen Bridge / Wormhole type theory just at the precise moment that Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the arrogant god of thunder, is cast out of his home and exiled to Earth. She's torn between collecting soil samples and taking the muscle man to a hospital. Her humanity wins out, setting off Thor's awkward, humbling and often comic journey towards earning back his hammer-wielding mightiness.

"The Hammer is my penis."
-Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog

"Where did he come from?" Jane Foster and her team keep asking about this hunky arrogant delusional homeless man. His magic hammer also drops from the sky forcing others to ask the same question. The hammer is the source of his power but he's no longer able to swing it. He's frustratingly mortal all of a sudden. Once the mighty hammer is in the picture, and every man in driving range wants to prove himself man enough to swing it, the men from S.H.I.E.L.D. also show up to ask questions. Their agenda is less honorable than Jane's. They're here to remind you about the Iron Man movies and about other Marvel Movies heading into multiplexes soon.

So where did he come from? The answer is Asgard.

Turns out the Mythological Norse gods are real (Points for the Scandinavians!). They live in a golden castle near a rainbow bridge. Let's just say it's a spectacle, and that's always the point of $200 million dollar budgets, yes?.

The All Father Odin (Anthony Hopkins, who else?) had to exile his beloved son Thor due to his hot temper and war-mongering. The Thunder God had just reopened old war wounds between the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and the Gods. These all powerful foes haven't been at war since their last skirmish in Tønsberg Norway, millenia ago.

Perhaps understanding that this particular superhero is the odd man out in the overpopulated Marvel Universe, director Kenneth Branagh (chosen for his Shakespearean gravitas?) brings much campy pomp to the proceedings from the director's chair.

More Thor, AFTER THE JUMP...

Thor and More

The Hemsworth gene pool hits the red carpet at the L.A. Thor premiere.

Chris Hemsworth Discusses Thor's Equipment

His, uh, hammer:

"It is a pretty impressive piece of equipment. It was quite heavy, so that helped with the stunts. If it was too light, you would swing it around like a toothpick and it wouldn’t look impressive. When there is some weight to it and you have to physically use your shoulder and back, it gives you a sense of power. I got very comfortable holding it. When I did the earthbound scenes without it, I felt naked."

One more shot from the Interview interview, AFTER THE JUMP...

Chris Hemsworth [Interview]

Movies: Circus Love, Body-Switching Hunks, Another Festival Win for Gay Drama "Weekend"

Reese takes it on the chin in "Water for Elephants"

NATHANIEL ROGERS
...would live in the movie theater but for the poor internet reception. He blogs daily at the Film Experience. Follow him on Twitter @nathanielr.

 
 OPENING
This Easter weekend's big opener is the adaptation of the bestseller WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, a period romantic drama starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattison and that evil multi-lingual Nazi from Inglourious Basterds, Christoph Waltz. (Why are circus ringleaders always sinister in the movies?). That movie has elephants and giraffes and its only new wide release competition is Disney's AFRICAN CATS. Things are more crowded in limited release where Morgan Spurlock's new gimmick documentary THE GREATEST STORY EVER SOLD (on corporate sponsorships) competes with Oscar nominated Canadian drama INCENDIES among others. The combat photographer drama THE BANG BANG CLUB starring Taylor Kitsch and Ryan Phillipe also opens on the coasts. That's odd timing given the terrible news about the death of the acclaimed photographer Tim Hetherington, the man behind the war documentary Restrepo and "Sleeping Soldiers", both of which are well worth your time if you haven't seen them.

BONUS SCENES

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman get intimately familiar with each other's bodies in The Change-Up.

Find out why in the NSFW (mild nudity) trailer AFTER THE JUMP...

Chris Hemsworth Bares His Arms For Flaunt

Chris Hemsworth decides to cover up some of that excess muscle he accumulated for Thor on the cover of Flaunt. A couple of more shots form the magazine, AFTER THE JUMP.

Watch: Chris Hemsworth Made Too Much Muscle for Thor

Actor Chris Hemsworth talked to the L.A. Times this week about overdoing his training for his upcoming role in Kenneth Branagh's Thor film:

"I got the part and immediately started looking at the comic books, and the guy is 500 pounds or something and looks like Schwarzenegger. And I thought, ‘OK, I’m not gonna get to that.’ But I have to get bigger...I came back before we started the movie and had a final camera test and I put the costume on and within a couple of minutes my hands started going numb...it doesn't fit."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...