loki | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Avengers (aka Avengers Assemble)

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Darren

The Avengers has a lot of geeky charm to it – the sort of giddy “this is so cool!” spectacle that appeals to the popcorn-munching child in each of us. That’s more than enough help it coast through a somewhat muddled first act, through a stronger second act and into a truly awesome finale. I think that the carefully choreographed large-scale action sequence that caps the film off might be worth a ticket alone. While there seem to be some very fundamental problem juggling a cast this large in a movie that technically a sequel to at least four films, Joss Whedon knows his audience well enough to ensure that most of the individual moments are satisfying, even if the overall film feels a tad uneven.

Three of a kind...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Avenger, avengers, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, film, hulk, iron man, IronMan, joss whedon, loki, marvel, marvel comics, Movie, Movies, nick fury, non-review review, premiere, review, robert downey, thor, tom hiddleston, Whedon, Zak Penn | 36 Comments »

Thor: Ages of Thunder (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Darren

With the release of Marvel’s big-budget superhero action movie Thor this summer, we’re taking a month to celebrate the God of Thunder. Check back each Wednesday for a Thor-related review.

Matt Fraction is currently writing the main Thor title, taking over from Keiron Gillen, who stepped in at the last minute to tie up most of the loose ends from J. Michael Straczynski’s much-loved run. Fraction’s time on the main book has been somewhat divisive, however there’s a broader consensus around the early Ages of Thunder one-shots that the writer worked on, a series of three single issues taking a look at the immortal Odinson before he became the Marvel superhero we know and love.

Hammer to fall...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Ages of Thunder, Asgard, fantasy, Frost Giant, Giants (Marvel Comics), J. Michael Straczynski, jack kirby, Jötunn, kenneth branagh, loki, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, matt fraction, norse gods, odin, stan lee, thor, Thor: Ages of Thunder, Thor: Man of War, Thor: Reign of Blood | 2 Comments »

Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Darren

With the release of Marvel’s big-budget superhero action movie Thor this summer, we’re taking a month to celebrate the God of Thunder. Check back each Wednesday for a Thor-related review.

One of the slew of hardcovers released to coincide with Kenneth Branagh’s epic adaptation of the classic Marvel comic book Thor, Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers is basically just a repackaging of the classic four issue Loki miniseries written by Robert Rodi and painted by Esad Ribic in the nineties. Much like Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, the miniseries was repackaged with a slew of extras and re-released in order to capitalise on a hungry market place. (Luthor, as it was rebranded, was released after the success of the another villain-themed graphic novel from the same creative team, the superb Joker). Still, despite the fact that the “Thor &” part of the title was just stuck on there to tie the book to the film, it’s a lovely little story which perfectly captures a lot of the charm and appeal that the Norse backdrop offers to epic comic book stories.

Commander and (mis)chief...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Asgard, comic book villains, comic books, Comics, esad ribic, fourth wall, hardcover, ITunes, kenneth branagh, lex luthor, loki, marvel comics, meta-fiction, metafiction, mythology, review, Robert Rodi, stan lee, thor, thor & loki, thor & loki: blood brothers | 3 Comments »

Absolute Sandman: Volume IV

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Darren

It’s over. Wow. It has been a long haul, but an impressive and richly rewarding one. Having read the entire collection again over the space of about a month, I have even more appreciation for the wonder of Neil Gaiman’s writing. The volume is pretty much perfect, featuring (in my opinion) the most consistently brilliant artwork of the four volumes and a fitting conclusion to a saga that has run for 1,500 pages already. It’s hard enough to write a fitting conclusion to a two-hour movie or a novella. How does Gaiman manage to tie up everything so ridiculously well?

An empty throne? Foreshadowing, you say?

Warning: This review contains spoilers (as any review of the collection will). They’re minor, they’ve been foreshadowed throughout the collection and pretty much made explicit at the climax of the Volume 3. Still, consider yourself appropriately warned.

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: absolute death, absolute sandman, absolute sandman: volume 4, absolute sandman: volume iv, arts, comic books, dc comics, dream, dreams, Endless, exiles, graphic novels, loki, morpheus, mythology, neil gaiman, Online Writing, Rose Walker, sandman, shakespeare, stories, the absolute sandman, the kindly ones, the sandman, the tempest, the wake | 3 Comments »