ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

Just when you thought science fiction in general and alien planets in particular couldn't offer any new surprises, Marvel Studios turns Norse mythology into advanced technology.

I must admit, I like this take on Thor and his Asgard cronies better than the comic books I used to read in the 1960s. It was my least favorite Marvel comic because it had so little to do with science fiction and traditional superheroes.

Thor is written and played as a character with depth and intelligence, and the filmmakers didn't skimp on the humor, either. Chris Helmsworth does a masterful job of displaying, arrogance, ambition, pride, and charm — a godly immortal in every respect.

Anthony Hopkins is one regal Odin, and the rest of Thor's posse is a colorful group indeed.

And I have to admit, Tom Hiddleston's villainous Loki is so appealing it's easy to forget he's the villain.

I mean, who knew that Norse mythology could be so cool?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

I ain't buyin' this Thor until he starts wearin' his winged helmet like he's supposed to.



See how much it adds?
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Pow]

I'm ready for my Lady Thor movie after that stunning photo.

[trekriffic]

[Bud Brewster]

Helmet?

What helmet?

I don't see any helmet!

Oh . . . way up there."
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Enjoy the trailer!
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____________________ Thor (2011) - trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 126 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ (At around nine minutes) It's mentioned that Thor's Hammer was forged inside "a dying star". This actually makes a modicum of scientific sense. When a very large star dies in a supernova, sometimes its remains collapsed to form a "neutron star". These objects cram the mass of the sun into the size of a city, forming a new kind of matter nicknamed "neutronium". A single teaspoon of this material would weigh billions of tons. If Mjölnir was made of this material, it would certainly explain its incredible weight.

Note from me: Interesting idea. But a "modicum of sen scientific sense" is the right way to describe it. That teaspoon of matter matter would also produce enough draw objects to it. NationalGeographic.com says, "Just a sugar cube of neutron star matter would weigh about one hundred million tons on Earth."

Bear in mind that all the gravity produced by that mass would be concentrated in the small volume of the "sugar cube" — unlike the gravity we experience on the surface of the Earth. The gravity pulling on your body is not only from below you but also from all sides around you, and that gravity cancels itself out, like a four-way tug of war!

Plus, the further away you are from the parts of the Earth beneath you, the weaker the gravity becomes.

~ An entire town was constructed in Galisteo, New Mexico, to serve as a fictional location for this movie.

Note from me: This doesn't surprise me a bit. That little "town" seemed like a poor excuse for a place to have a big battle between the Asgardians and the big brother of Gort. It just wasn't very impressive.

~ To prepare for the role of Heimdall, Idris Elba read the "Thor" comics where Heimdall was featured prominently: "He's a very central character, and I wanted to reflect him as he is in the comic books."

Note from me: What a great mental image! This big, tough guy who played a Norse god is sitting at home on the sofa with Thor comics scatter all around while he carefully studies the character he'll be playing. I love it!



~ Thor's hammer Mjölnir is cast out of Asgard and lands in New Mexico. This was based on the comics (Fantastic Four #536), where in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event on Asgard, Mjölnir was cast out to land in Oklahoma, where it lay until Thor came to reclaim it.

Note from me: I had a footlocker filled with Marvel comics from my teenage years which I sold at an Atlanta Comicon in the 1980s, and it had quite a few issues of both the Marvel superhero comics and the great pre-superhero issues. I wish I had kept them now . . . except for the ones that are worth a fortune now.

~ Natalie Portman took the role of Jane Foster, because she couldn't resist the opportunity of a comic book film, directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh: "I was just like, Kenneth Branagh doing 'Thor' is super-weird, I've gotta do it."

Note from me: From the mother of Luke Skywalker to the girlfriend of a Norse god. Only in Hollywood, right?

~ Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth, who starred as George Kirk (James T. Kirk's father) in Star Trek (2009). His love interest, Dr. Jane Foster, is played by Natalie Portman, who played Luke Skywalker's mother in the Star Wars saga.

Note from me: Wait, lemme get this straight. Thor is the father of James T. Kirk, and Padmé is the mother of Luke Skywalker? That means Captain Kirk is Luke's step-brother, and Leia is Kirk's step-sister!

~ Mel Gibson turned down the role of Odin.

Note from me: Smart move, Mel. I love Mr. Gibson's action and sci-fi movies, but trying to turn Mel into an aging Norse god is pretty dumb.

"Your mission, Odin — should you choose to accept it — is to banish your son from Asgard, let him grow up enough to be worthy to take the throne, and permit him to come back and battle his dickhead brother, Loki. This message will self destruct in ten seconds."

~ Around 1990, Sam Raimi and Stan Lee pitched a Thor movie to Twentieth Century Fox, but the studio passed on the project because they didn't understand the character.

Note from me: That must have been a frustrating experience. Two brilliant and creative men do their best to convince dimwitted studio executives that they can produce a movie which will make millions of dollars for the studio . . . and yet these unevolved dimwits scratch their heads and say they just don't get it!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Captain Starlight]

[Bud Brewster]

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Today I received my Blu-ray of Thor, which I've watched several times on DISH channels and Netflix disc.

But i decided that his movie is just too beautiful not to add to my DVD/BD library.

If you're a true science fiction and don't own movies like this one, you're cheating yourself out of the pleasure you deserve whenever you want to watch great films like this.

Stan Lee created the beloved comic books, and Marvel Studios turned them into spectacular movies which surpassed anything we imagined when we read them as teenagers — complete with astounding sound effects and rich orchestral music scores!

So, I really don't understand the folks who criticize anything about these movies!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)