Your Highness (2011)

Not much going on, on this Tuesday afternoon.  A couple construction guys had to work on the kitchen, so I was forced to hang around the house.  This is the second movie in my movie marathon for the day.  It just became available online, and Danny McBride is pretty hilarious so I figured I'd give it a try.

When Prince Fabious's bride is kidnapped by an evil sorcerer in order to complete an evil prophecy, he goes on a quest to rescue her.  Prince Thadious his lazy brother joins him on the quest, when forced by his father to become a man.  Along the road, a female warrior with the same quest to kill the evil sorcerer accompanies the group and together with a crafty squire they embark on a crude comedic epic.

33/50 Eggs

The plot is shallow and mimics Clash of the Titans, but being a comedy of this sort its pretty much expected.  Danny McBride was the lead writer for the film and its very obvious.  His crude awkward humor which can be hit or miss is exactly that here.  Natalie Portman and James Franco were both cast well for their roles, and Danny McBride fits perfectly, obviously.  Strict comedies like these that rely heavily on the jokes and humor instead of the storyline are subjective and Danny McBride's brand can be appreciated by few, so just because I liked it doesn't mean you will.  My suggestion is if you like him, you'll like this movie.

No Strings Attached (2011)

So I went to the Redbox to get some movies for the night, and like most times I go, Redbox fails to have the one I want.  If you're curious I originally wanted to watch Blue Valentine.  All the same, I'll see it eventually. I decided to get this one instead, mainly for Natalie Portman, and the fact there wasn't much else.

No Strings Attached is a romantic comedy about a guy and girl who try to keep their relationship strictly physical.  However, it's not long before they learn that they want something more.

33/50

The plot is in one word... typical.  A romantic comedy about people trying to keep their relationship strictly physical and failing, I mean, who hasn't seen at least two of those.  I can say that while the film's creativity lacks merit its execution is quite worth mentioning.  The chemistry between Portman and Kutcher is great.  Portman finally conveys the raunchy humor seen in her Lonely Island video; which if you haven't seen, is hilarious.  Kutcher puts on his normal show of kirky humor and mello-drama.  I felt the casting for the secondary characters like Ludacris, Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, Greta Gerwig, and the office's Mindy Kaling were a tad random.  They were funny, and I couldn't see anything wrong with them it just seem cameo-esk, if that's a word.  I'd say as long as you don't hate Aston Kutcher, like my mom does, you'll probably enjoy it.

Thor (2011)

To put it bluntly, I did not watch Thor in the theater.  Enough said.  I'm sure some of the beauty of Asgard was lost, however, I'll take that into account.  I figured after watching a few 1930's movies, I should probably come back to the present.  And since Thor was available I chose it over Water for Elephants.

Thor is an adaption of the marvel comic book superhero saga of the same name.  I can't say I am too familiar with the storyline portrayed in the comic book, but I'm willing to bet Hollywood had its way with her.  One can only hope that the lose ends of the marvel comic book movies can be sufficiently tied together when they finally release The Avengers.

Now onto the plot.  The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war is cast down to Earth, stripped of his powers,  and forced to live among humans as punishment.  While on Earth, Thor must realize what it takes to be a king to regain his powers and his seat on the throne.

32/50 Eggs

To be honest, going into Thor I wasn't expecting much and my score probably wouldn't be as high if that wasn't the case.  It's May aka the onslaught of cliche hokey action movies has begun, and for the past few years that means superhero movies.  Like I noted above the world of Asgard was quite pretty and added much aesthetic enjoyment to the film.  Acting from all parties was week in my opinion, especially that of Natalie Portman.  Compared to her performance in Black Swan, this was meh at best.  Granted some fault more than likely falls on the director and a superhero-based plot, but I expected more.  The combat between Loki and Thor, helped although I would have like a bit more.  I will pray that Green Lantern delivers more as I am actually fan.