CHICAGO – If you’ve never seen the farcical ensemble theater chestnut “Noises Off,” you will see no better version than on the Steppenwolf Theatre stage, now at their northside Chicago venue through November 3rd. For tickets and details for this riotous theater experience, click NOISES OFF.
Film Review: Despite Loveless Love Story, ‘Thor’ Deserves Your Popcorn-Flick Dollar
CHICAGO – When big-budget films set their sights on being the next Hollywood blockbuster, they’re almost always built on a formulaic groundwork of proven ingredients. While these films often lose points for much of the same and little of the new, plunking a mighty $150 million into the production “Thor” has found a way to be both formulaic and successful.
Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
“Thor,” which needed a hulking sexpot as its title character, found its quintessential leading man in Chris Hemsworth. Though before “Thor” he wasn’t a Hollywood sensation (you might have only previously glimpsed him in 2009’s “Star Trek”), he will be now.
Most notably in “Thor,” Hemsworth’s “accidental” but entirely on purpose shirtless scene even trumps Taylor Lautner’s memorable chisled-ab scene in “Twilight”. This Hemsworth scene literally causes a roomful of movie watchers – male, female, gay and straight – to gasp for air. Hemsworth’s personal trainer was worth every pricey penny.
Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Thor”. |
But more than just brawn, he’s got the face every parent hopes on their son, the baby-blue eyes you wish your contacts could create and even the accent that melts gelato in a freezer. And he can act a couple notches better than most of the “Jerseylicious” crew. It’s no surprise that Hemsworth has already been cast as Thor in 2012’s “The Avengers,” which is filming now from writer and director Joss Whedon.
While supporter Stellan Skarsgård oddly plays a father-like figure to Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” fame is this film’s surprise supporting gem. Her character is interesting, deadpan, sarcastic and eccentric. And that’s a character we’ve seen nailed before by Portman in films like “Garden State”. As Hemsworth’s co-lead, though, Portman is a blockbuster disappointment. After last year’s Oscar-winning “Black Swan,” we know Portman can draw chart-busting star power.
Image credit: Mark Fellman, Marvel Studios