Film Review - Thor: The Dark World

Last night, after 36 hours of celebrating my friend’s 23^rd birthday, we headed down to the nearest cineworld to see Thor: The Dark World. This is the sequel to the 2011 film which precluded The Avengers and set up the backstory for antagonist: Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

The Dark World picks up directly after The Avengers, with Odin, king of Asgard sentencing Loki to life in the city’s prison, before cutting to the eponymous hero (Chris Hemsworth) who is enforcing brutal law and order across the nine mythological worlds. Loki’s attack on New York led to the outbreak of chaos and it is now up to Thor to restore faith in Odin.

Thor eventually discovers that one of Asgard’s sworn enemies: Malekith the Accursed (Christopher Eccleston), is returning from a 5,000 year sleep to retrieve the ultimate weapon: The Aether, capable of possessing mortal and god-like beings. This leads him to London, where he meets up with love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and comic relief Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), whose expertise he must use to stop Malekith and his Dark Elves from obtaining The Aether.

Through a confusing sequence of discovering a rift between the mortal world and Asgard, Foster is accidentally infected with The Aether and is left in need of protection. Thor steps in and takes her back to Asgard to protect her with Odin’s might. Eventually, the hammer wielding guardian works out he has to tackle Malekith on earth before the nine worlds align and must return by betraying his father and enlisting Loki’s help.

Soon, the heroes end up back in London for the final showdown, leading to a battle of epic proportions and a very witty use of the London Underground.

Above all the epic fantasy battle scenes, this film was much funnier than the last. An excellent cameo from comedy actor Chris O’Dowd (The IT Crowd) and Kat Dennings’ crazy observations made me laugh out loud more times than any other Marvel film. It wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t atrocious either. I went into the cinema expecting to see fantasy battles and a growing love story between the protagonists and that is what I got. Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith put up a courageous fight knowing he meant business. Natalie Portman also offered a stellar performance with plenty of intelligence oozing from her character and not falling into the ‘damsel in distress’ trope.

But I must say, I felt sorry most for Chris O’Dowd being cast as the lovable human loser who’s attempts at finding a girlfriend got him caught up in a battle that would have destroyed nine worlds if lost. 

Here’s to one very funny and entertaining Marvel film. Proper ‘park-your-brain-at-the-door’ entertainment.

Rating: 3/5

On MCM Expo and the Absence of Gender in Cosplaying

Last weekend my girlfriend, Caroline and I visited the MCMComic Con expo at Excel near Canary Wharf. This was the second time we’d attended – last year had been a very packed exhibition with a guest appearance from fantasy’s favourite dwarf, Warwick Davis. (Peter Dinklage still has a bit of a way to come in my opinion; maybe he’ll be there by the end of Game ofThrones).

As we arrived later in the day than last year, it was easier to navigate around the countless stalls exhibiting treasures from all parts of the science fiction, fantasy, horror and comic book worlds. My personal favourite was the Back To The Future stall, allowing people the chance to get their picture taken in the immortal DeLorean wearing Marty McFly’s puffer jacket.

But above all other things that made the con such a blissful escape from the outside world, it was the cosplayers who made it memorable. Caroline even took the time to dress up in a very handsome Harley Quinn costume inspired by the Gothic Lolita fashion she adores. 

 Caroline as Harley Quinn with Poison Ivy and Catwoman.

Here are just a few of the many pictures we took:

 Steampunk Snow White, looking very badass.

 

Daft Punk made a guest appearance.

 

A Steampunk warrior.

 

Team Rocket! (Hey James, what did you do with that bikini?)

A family day out for some special feline friends.

Meeting a Hero

No comic book convention is complete without a guest appearance from a notable actor, writer or director. This year’s guest was British actor Danny John-Jules, famed for his portrayal of Cat in the legendary Red Dwarf. 

It was certainly a pleasure meeting such a funny man, but I wanted to meet him because he starred in the 90s TV show The Demon Headmaster where he played gameshow host Eddie Hair. Interestingly, Jules told me the actor Terrence Hardiman, who portrayed the megalomaniac teacher, lived close to his house.

I’m not much of a ‘fanboy’ when it comes to meeting celebrities, but without The Demon Headmaster, I don’t think I would have become the person I am now. That TV show introduced me to totalitarianism, enforced my hatred of high school and taught me to always question authority.

 Here’s to Mr Jules. Hope I see you on TV again soon. 

Comment: The Absence of Gender in Cosplaying

One of the things I noticed this year is how cosplayers dress up in their favourite characters regardless of their gender. This reminded me of a female coursemate at college who was obsessed with The Legend of Zelda and attended every meet up and video game con dressed as Link, the game’s hero. Seeing male cosplayers dressed as female heroes like Lara Croft and Chell of Portal was excellent because it gave me the impression that gender does not matter in the comic book and gaming world – everyone has a favourite and isn’t scared to show their admiration.

Furthermore, seeing girls dressed as male heroes and embracing the character they represent made it clear that video gaming is no longer a ‘boys club’ as so many critics tend to brand it. I am aware that there is still a pretty long way to go for the video game when it comes to female characters – but that proverbial journey has certainly begun. The recent Tomb Raider game was, in my opinion, the spark needed to start the battle for better women characters in gaming, and who better to make it so, than the fans who devote their lives to the world of cosplay and comic books.

Science fiction, graphic novels and video gaming is cynically maligned as ‘escapism’ by many social critics – but it’s certainly a good label if they represent a world where gender is more equal and understood than in the patriarchal reality.

See you next year MCM. Keep up the good work.

This Week In Weird: Wizadora, The Original Series.

If you grew up in the 90s, you’re in for a nostalgia trip in the first installment of ‘This Week In Weird.’ This is a segment where I write about the weirdest things I’ve come across in my daily internet browsing.

For those of you who watched CITV (ITV’s children’s slot) in the mid-90s, it’s likely you’ll remember the show: Wizadora, following the adventures of a young wizard in training. Her friends included: Hangle, a talking coat-hanger, Tatty Bogle – a cowardly scarecrow and Filbert – a talking vegetable who was also training to master magical power.

 

Anyone well acquainted with ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ or ‘WorzelGummidge’ might understand the suspension of disbelief required for the fantasy world of Wizadora, so this was ideal TV for anyone interested in the weird and wonderful before the dreadful onslaught of Harry Potter.

But what most people don’t remember is Wizadora was originally a schools’ programme, commissioned by Oxford University Press (OUP) in 1991 to teach basic English language and literacy. And this is where things get weird.

One of the show's minor characters was Phoebe, an anthropomorphic telephone fluent in nearly every language. The first episode of the OUP Wizadora covered her arrival at the young wizard’s house. Being such a low budget production, OUP had to use a real actress to play Phoebe. They obviously didn’t have a production team skilled in sewing to make convincing sock puppets either. Unlike the CITV version the ‘Drawer People’ in this series look like they were made from bits of old pyjamas found in a skip behind the television studios.

All in all, this version defines everything surreal about historical children’s television. Taking a nostalgia trip into this realm of childhood is certainly not recommended for the faint hearted. But if you did grow up with this version of the show and have many fond memories, enjoy.