Hammer time

The patriarch and his boys in "Thor"

Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" opens with the bombast of a Serious Kenneth Branagh movie. For a moment I was afraid that the British thesp is going to give us Norse mythology by way of "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein". After a while, the ornate bombast made way for Goofy Kenneth Branagh, he of the light touches, and somehow, "Thor" works. It's a return to fun comic book movie adaptations, as opposed to the darker superhero incarnations of "The Dark Knight" and, um, "Ghost Rider". It's not nearly as good as the former and much better than the latter. It's a good movie, just far from great (the closing line, it must be said, has unexpected resonance).

Arrogant king-to-be Thor (Chris Hemsworth), son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), is banished from Asgard by his father and finds himself in New Mexico and in the company of some researchers, including the fetching Jane (Natalie Portman) and Erik (Stellan Skarsgard). Much trouble is afoot, as Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) may be responsible in orchestrating the blond warrior's exile, and may have even greater, and dangerous, plans for the whole of Asgard. (Anyone who knows anything of Norse mythology will have a good idea of where this Loki character is heading.) Meanwhile, scientists gather around a foreign, immovable object found close to Thor's own landing site: his mighty hammer, Mjollnir. It's only a matter of time before Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) starts lurking around. (Yes, this is a direct reference to the post-credits scene in "Iron Man 2".)

The film is set in equal parts Asgard and Earth, and there is a third setting, the realm of the Frost Giants, that is a place of stunning cold and misery. It's quite beautiful; the jagged landscapes are breathtaking, even in 3-D. Asgard, however, is a mixed bag; half the city looks coated with fool's gold, and it has a decidedly plastic look about it - Asgard as Happy Meal. This type of visual opulence may work in the comic world, but in film, it looks rather cheesy. Why have two or three turrets in your castle if you can have sixty gold-plated towers? The opening act's dialogue is cheesy as well, particularly a scene where a hammy Thor tells his friends what he's done for them. And Anthony Hopkins's Odin is an act we've seen before; weighty, solemn, forceful. (See: "Legends of the Fall").

At least Hemsworth looks like a superhero (and once he's in New Mexico, he has some great lines). His biceps nearly rips his T-shirt to shreds when he attempts to obtain Mjollnir. In a perfect world where this film is made at half its budget, WWE superstar Triple H could star as Thor. As the adversarial Loki, Tom Hiddleston does possibly the best job of all the actors involved. He also has the most emotional scene halfway through the film, which gives him an opportunity to prove his range.

I promised myself not to complain about the 3-D, but I will complain about the over-edited action scenes,  which are sometimes even more difficult to follow due to the 3-D. A hammer swings, there's a spear, someone screams; there's little that connects the dots - all of which made me grateful for what happens in the finale, where the spectacle is clear. The film has numerous nuggets for comic book fans that I won't spoil, and it's clear that the film, like the forthcoming "Captain America", is a stepping stone for the event that will be "The Avengers". Naturally Stan Lee makes an appearance, though less ostentatiously than in some other movies. Remember to stay right to the end for the obligatory post-credit scene.

Magnificent Obsession

While "Pi" (1998) announced Darren Aronofsky as a major new talent, it was "Requiem for a Dream" (2000) that indelibly etched his name into the movie books as one of the new auteurs in American cinema. His latest, "Black Swan", takes the madness and persecution mania of "Pi" and the individualised devastation of "Requiem" and places it in competitive ballet. The result is rather breathtaking.

Nina Sayers (Oscar nominated Natalie Portman) has her heart set on the starring role as the Swan Queen in her company's revival of "Swan Lake". The manipulative Thomas (Vincent Cassel) tells her early on that she is great as the White Swan - pure, untouched - but lacks a certain force and dimension when she attempts to embody the Black Swan - carnal, hungry. It is clear from the very beginning that something is not right in Nina's world, that something is askew. We understand the film's terms: we are joining a potentially mentally unstable young woman on a dark journey. To add further stress to Nina's already surfacing mental fragility, Lily (Mila Kunis) joins the company as a dancer. In addition to this threatening outsider figure, Nina's mother (Barbara Hershey) has controlling means of her own.

"Black Swan" is one of the few films where, from the opening frames, you know you're in for something special. The film opens with a dream sequence, motifs of which effortlessly find their way into Nina's waking life. The story of Swan Lake also becomes a mirror (talking of key motifs) of Nina's own struggle to contain her psyche while trying to let her id out enough to construct a credible performance. Nina's struggles with sexuality, her performance and her over involved mother culminate in a stunning final 20 minutes of precision editing enhanced by Clint Mansell's unsettling score. Aronofsky skillfully toys with perception and subjectivity, using the mirrors to suggest never ending space while the strict confinement of Nina's mother's apartment and her room appear truly claustrophobic.

Much has been said of the comparisons between this film and Aronofsky's previous effort, "The Wrestler" (2008). One should not be quick to force parallels. While "The Wrestler" also dealt with one character's dark journey as complemented by the virtues and vices of others, "Black Swan's" emphasis on psychological spillover and self-destruction results in a more potent motion picture.

Some critics have called the film absurd and deliciously melodramatic (occasionally intending the labels as compliments). While there may be some validity to those descriptions, I think it has more value to refer to the film's style and form as directly corresponding to Nina's increasing instability. Ever since German Expressionism the mind was shown as a fragile thing, and "Black Swan" is a masterful demonstration of that fact. Here is one of the best films of the year.