Wow, it is a very weak week here in the DVD release land. You have your pick of Anthony Hopkins as a priest fighting the devil, Jason Statham in an action movie that isn’t a Transporter or Crank sequel or Minka Kelly  having to fend off Leighton Meester.

Not sure which movies those are? I don’t blame you, I forgot they’d all been released too. These films are The Rite, The Mechanic and The Roommate, respectively.

Yeah. Still a blank. Luckily, TV on DVD is coming up big with the second box set of an acclaimed documentary series. All that, plus a movie that actually seems worse than the three features.

Check it out below…

Feature Films

I’d completely forgotten all these movies had been released. Here they are, for those who really dug them:

• The Mechanic – Buy Now
• The Rite – Buy Now
• The Roommate – Buy Now

TV on DVD

“ESPN: 30 for 30″: Vol. 2 Box Set

The last group of ESPN’s acclaimed documentary series arrives just in time for the summer TV re-run season. Suddenly the prospect of no new programming doesn’t look so bleak.

This new set includes:

• “The Two Escobars”
• “The Birth of Big Air”
• “Jordan Rides the Bus”
• “Little Big Men”
• “One Night in Vegas”
• “Unmatched”
• “The House of Steinbrenner”
• “Into the Wind”
• “Four Days in October”
• “Once Brothers”
• “Tim Richmond: To the Limit”
• “Fernando Nation”
• “Marion Jones: Press Pause”
• “The Best That Never Was”
• “Pony Excess”

All these Documentaries are available when you buy “ESPN Films 30 for 30 Gift Set Collection, Volume 2″ on DVD.

You can also buy the complete series on DVD with ESPN Films: 30 for 30 Limited Edition Collector Set.

Also:

• “Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy” – Buy Now
• “Flashpoint”: Season 3 – Buy Now

And Just So You Know, This DVD Exists…

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• New DVD Releases: Bridesmaids, Modern Family, The Mentalist (0)
• New DVD Releases: Thor, Glee, Star Wars (0)
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Thor may be the trickiest of the big Marvel characters to adapt. Both a Norse God, and an extra-terrestrial being, Thor doesn’t have the “normal person thrust into superpowers” hook – which is both good and bad. And to that end Thor is not really an origin tale, so much as a learning experience for the main character. There’s a lot to do here, on top of director Kenneth Branagh putting a big budget fantasy movie on the shoulders of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, both actors who – at best – had some notable supporting performances previous to this. Did they succeed?

The Players

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Writers: Don Payne, Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz (Screenplay), Mark Protosevich and J. Michael Straczynski (Story)

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard

The Plot

After nearly being crowned King of the other world Asgard, Thor (Hemsworth) is banished to Earth by his father Odin (Hopkins) until he learns some humility. There he meets Jane Foster (Portman), and falls in love. His hammer is also on Earth, but it can only be retrieved by someone who can use it correctly. Meanwhile Thor’s brother Loki (Hiddleston) is now in line to be king, but he learns some dark secrets that change who he is, and leads his father into a sleep that puts him in charge. But Loki is a bad leader, and the only thing that can save Asgard (and possibly Earth as well) is Thor.

The Good

• Tom Hiddleston: Hiddleston compares his character to Iago, and what makes the film work at its best is when Hiddleston is on screen. It’s hard to get a bead on his character, in the best possible way – you keep watching him in hopes of getting a better understanding of machinations. But at the center of the character is a real person, who is lashing out in a way that is perfect for a younger, and possibly underestimated brother.
• It’s Not an Origin Film: Though it is a lesson film, which in some ways is similar to the origin tale, the film spends little time showing Thor becoming Thor. He’s Thor.
• The Cast: Though this leads into some of the problems, everyone is cast perfectly. Hopkins may be the only conceivable choice for Odin, Chris Hemsworth is pretty much perfect as Thor, and the supporting cast are note perfect. but…

The Bad

• Talented Cast, Too Bad They Have Nothing to Do: Rene Russo is the wife of Odin, and she probably has about three lines in the film. The Warriors Three and Sif (Jamie Alexander) are in the film, and are defined by their look, or that one likes to eat a lot. Portman’s Jane Foster is sexually attracted to Thor, but other than being at the right place to meet Thor, she doesn’t have much else to do. This is the Thor and Loki show, and everyone else serve the plot to move the story forward. Only Idris Elba seems able to have a little bit of fun. The film is 114 minutes, and it’s possible that the film plays better with an additional half hour or hour of footage.
• Empire Building: S.H.I.E.L.D. shows up in the film to build a tent around Thor’s Hammer, but nothing they do in the film is of any consequence, other than to give Thor someone to battle on Earth. Too much of the film is dedicated to things that are more important to the Marvel canon than the film itself. Like the last point – as Marvel has spoiled – Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye shows up in the film, but all he does is point an arrow at Thor and then disappear from the film. It’s cool if you know who Hawkeye is, but Renner has nothing to do but show up. This was fun when Sam Jackson showed up at the end of Iron Man, because it didn’t get in the way of the story, but here it’s the cinematic equivalent of standing behind a newscaster and waving.
• Narratives That Are Self-Evident: The film is about how Thor got back his hammer, and the idea of a leader learning humility is a good plot, but how Thor learns humanity almost happens off screen, and the change – though apparent in the character – is not made cinematic. Something happens and Thor changes immediately. On top of that, Thor is kept from his hammer for the majority of the running time, but it’s not even a spoiler to say that he gets his hammer back. Because of that, the majority of the film is a slog when Hiddleston isn’t on screen because there’s little to latch on to, and the thing that would have made this more palatable are characters to care about. It also comes across as a cost-cutting  measure, as the middle then is mostly spectacle-free.

The Mixed

• Kenneth Branagh: As a director, Branagh lost his way quickly after the great success of Henry V, and his work with the cast is excellent, but his sense of making this exciting is using canted angles, and he doesn’t use the massive amounts of CGI in interesting ways. I think that the film had to exist in some way that sets up the characters, and the film does introduce Thor to cinema in a way that suggests he’d be a good character to follow, and has a number of great friends and foes, but it feels more like a pilot than complete narrative. Sadly, that’s how so many of these comic franchises have been going.

Overall

Not so much terrible as all set up, Marvel seems more interested in getting to The Avengers than they are in telling great stories. Thor may have been toughest to crack cinematically, but that can’t defend a very uninteresting story that offers few grace notes outside of Hiddleston’s performance.

Score: 3.5/10

Thor opens May 6.

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For the Thor press conference we were joined by Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Jamie Alexander, and Anthony Hopkins. It was a fun chat, and the group talked about the hardships of maing a big franchise production, and the fun of being in comic book movies. For more with Hopkins, there’s another great interview. But check out the press conference…

Casting/Costumes

We heard from the last panel that Tom thought you were the hero of the movie; and two that you wanted to be Thor. Could you talk a little about that?

Tom Hiddleston: I think there are no villains in this world – there are just misunderstood heroes. And – Loki definitely – I think Loki thinks he is the hero. There’s an aspect of Loki that if you boil this film down to its barest elements, it’s about a father and two sons. And both those sons are competing for the love and affection and pride of their father, Odin. And I think there’s a deeply misguided intention within Loki. And he has a kind of a damage within him. He just goes about getting that pride in the wrong way. I didn’t actually want to be Thor, but I’m 6’2”. So like every other English speaking actor over 6 foot who’s got blonde hair, I went up for the part of Thor. But I’m not built like a house. And there’s no way in Odin’s Asgard I could have delivered what Chris has done.

Chris, could you talk about the most miserable things you did to actually get that kind of physique?

Chris Hemsworth: The most uncomfortable thing was the eating. I didn’t mind so much the working out; I’d never really lifted weights to that capacity beforehand, and – and it was certainly a whole new sort of education, for a good six months. I just don’t naturally sit at that weight, so I had to force feed myself 20 chicken breasts and rice and steak – and all very boring to the plain things. And that was the most exhausting part out of the whole film was the eating. It wasn’t the fun stuff, either. It wasn’t hamburgers and pizza and what have you.

With the physical demands of the role aside, how did you as an actor approach the mighty role of Thor? Did you look into the six hundred-plus issues of the comics, or did you pay more attention to the mythology, like the actual Norse mythology, or did you find a way to combine both? What was important to you, when taking on this role?

CH: Yeah, I started with the comic books, but I didn’t read all – however many of them – there are thousands of them, 40 or 50 years’ worth. But I certainly read enough to get a sense of who he was and the world he was from. And then I read some things on Norse mythology and this sort of fatalistic view they have that everything’s preordained and that leads the Vikings into this fearless sort of attitude in battle and with their lives. And they certainly back their opinions. And they’re not swayed easy. And that spoke volumes to me about the character. But then it was filling your head with whatever information and research you have. But on set, it was just about making it truthful and finding a simpler way that I could relate to it. Instead of thinking, “How do I play a powerful god?” it became about, as Tom said, scenes between fathers and sons and brothers. And you personalize that, and that helps ground the story, I think, for an audience. And then we can relate to it and hopefully an audience can, too.

Kat, your character held the largest comedic role throughout the film. How was that, how did you enjoy it in such a serious superhero film?

Kat Dennings: That’s the thing. I saw the film a week ago, and I hadn’t seen any of the Asgard stuff. I know when you got to our parts in Santa Fe, you felt like you were on a different film. So it didn’t feel like, “Oh, I feel like I don’t belong anywhere.” It felt like he didn’t belong, which is why it’s hilarious. Natalie and I have been friends for years so it was pretty easy. We just hung out and goofed off and were girls; and poor Stellan had to listen to us talk about boys and nail polish.

For the actors who played as Guardians – was it more challenging or more fun to wrap your mouth and your mind around the film’s mock heroic middle English? And as a follow-up for Mr. Elba, how much of a pleasure was it to not have to do a fake American accent?

Jamie Alexander: I had a good time. It was fun learning the accent and training for the film and goofing off with these buttheads. We all trained together, prior to shooting. And it made for a good time.

Idris Elba: One of the challenges for the script and the story and now the audience is that you have these two huge worlds, but they’re equally as well thought out, well written. And Kenneth wanted us to all have a sort of uniform sound. Even though you do say mock English, it was set in that world, but exactly “not English,” which is what I was told. And yeah, fake American accents? Try some Asgard, you know what I mean?

Sir Tony had mentioned facetiously that the costume really does the work for you. But I’m just wondering for the other actors that were in elaborate costumes and the eye gear and things, how does that inform your character, in terms of creating and becoming that person? Or is it just, you’re pretending?

TH: The costumes are incredibly heavy, and if you got up in the morning and you wear a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and some flip-flops, it’s a signal that you might be going to the beach. And if you get up in the morning and you wear a breast plate and a back plate and a cape, and a pair of golden Satanic horns on your head, it’s quite clear that you’re doing something else. We were so helped by not just the costumes, but by the beautiful sets built by Bo Welch, the production designer. You’ve got no furniture to lean on and no props to busy your performance. So there has to be a kind of simplicity, too. The costumes make you stand straighter. And when you’re in big set – it’s like being in a neo-classical museum, and if you go up to the Getty, you have a sense of the size of the place, and that just does stuff to the way you stand.

CH: With Kenneth, one of my biggest notes for me was “just let the costume do it,” because I had this huge helmet on my head and couldn’t hardly see. And Kenneth would just say, “Don’t worry. Just live in it, and just stay as still as you can and just let the costume and the opulence of where I was – my bridge, which is beautiful – do the work.” And the script, of course.

Future Projects/ The Avengers

Loki’s such a great villain because he is so relatable and dimensional, and you don’t really know if he’s right or if he’s wrong, or what he’s feeling or thinking. So when you guys were crafting this, was it with a trajectory towards The Avengers, and are we gonna continue to see Loki as that kind of a character in The Avengers, or is it gonna be a little more diametrical?

TH: I took the character that I saw in the comics. Loki is a master of magic. And he is – in the Marvel universe- the agent of chaos. And his superpower is his intelligence, if you like. He’s a shape shifter; and it’s his ability to stay ten steps ahead of everybody else. So Ken and Chris and Tony and I all talked about having those layers in a way that he’s someone with a fierce intelligence, but also a very damaged heart. I think a red dot will form on my forehead if I give any more information about Loki and The Avengers. All I can tell you is that Loki will be in The Avengers. And it’ll take more than the man to my right to stop me this time.

Regarding the Avengers, you guys play very larger-than-life roles in this film. You’re going into a movie with four or five other larger-than-life characters. So what’s the biggest challenge that you guys see, in combining all these archetypal heroes and villains into this one film?

TH: I think the thing that looks like a challenge is actually the reason it’ll work, as in how can one movie contain so many different flavors and colors and characters. Joss Whedon has made that his strength. And the conflict between each of them will be something that will be expanded on, I think. Would you say?

CH: Yeah, sure. Also, we don’t balance all the other characters. That’s just the writer and Joss Whedon, who’s the writer–director, his job is to navigate that. We come in and do our bit. And that’s all you can concern yourself with. But I definitely think it’ll be an interesting combination. And as Tom said, why it will work is that conflict in those larger than life characters and egos clashing, I think it’ll – there’ll be some great tension there.

Since we now know that Tom secretly wants to be Thor, is there another character in the Marvel canon that anybody would like to take on?

JA: Oh, I have one – X-23. Yeah.

CH: Loki.

TH: Keep the – yeah, the horn in the family. The horns are all yours, Man. Yeah.

IE: I think I’d like a stab at Luke Cage at some point.

KD: I’m just thrilled that I’m still in Thor. I can’t believe I didn’t get cut.

Brothers/Joking Around

Could you talk about the dynamic between yourselves as actors, vying for the attention of Sir Anthony Hopkins, as well as the brotherly dynamic that went from brotherhood to rivalry, and so much as to the bloody nose one of you received on set from said rivalry.

CH: I nearly caught Tom talking about having breakfast with Tony at one point. And I said, “What? He’s having breakfast and I’m not?” But Tony said it, that it’s much easier to like someone on screen if you actually like them off screen. It’s just a more enjoyable ride. And we got along and came into this at the same point in our careers, with the same sort of enthusiasm and love for these types of films. And just had a great time doing it. Yeah, and you either have chemistry with someone, or you don’t. And thankfully, I think it was there, and so to play brothers was, it was easy and fun.

TH: It’s quite literally a bromance. Right, it’s the bro – the bro aspect of the word is for real. But Chris is absolutely right. I can’t imagine having to go to sort of the emotional extremity that we both have to go to if we actually didn’t like each other. It’d be just horrendous to go to work. And I think the fact that we get along makes it easier to just egg each other on, and between takes, we’d raise each other’s game. We had a really, really good time. Also, there are so many things that went wrong, accidents that make you laugh. And it’s such a huge journey. We both spent two years of our lives working on this film, and it’s nice that there’s somebody else who’s alongside. Like Chris had a few drinks at the wrap party, and was hanging out the window on the way back to the hotel, saying -

CH: That’s not true. You’re ruining my career right there.

TH: Sorry. He said to me before we went up to our rooms, he was like, “You’re the only one who understands me.”

CH: I have no idea what I was talking about. Yeah.

TH: But in terms of vying for the attention of Tony, Tony was amazing. And I haven’t actually said this on record, but whenever we had our days working with Tony, he would just regale us with stories of when he was a young actor and starting out in “The Lion in Winter” with Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn. I’ll never forget that story you told about Katherine Hepburn saying, “Stop acting, Tony. You’ve got a good face; you’ve got a good voice. You’ve got a good body. Stop acting.”

Anthony Hopkins: She said, “May I talk to your mama?” And I said, “Yeah.” She says, “Don’t act; you don’t need to act. Watch Spencer Tracy.” I said, “Oh, okay.” It was good advice. But she was a – she was good. Yeah.

TH: And actually, then, then we did the scene in the vault, where Loki finds the sort of, the big, dark secret of his personal history. I think after the first couple of takes, Tony leaned across and said, “Have you got a good agent?” And I said, I said, “Yes, I – I think – I think so.” And he said, “You’re going to need it.”

AH: Obviously, I love to have a laugh. I like to tease people. Ken is part of that as well. I said, “Is he gonna play it like that?” He said, “Yeah.” He said to all the young actors. “Is that the way you’re gonna play it? It’s your career.”

CH: I remember that, being on set with Tom, our first day with, with Tony. And, and going through the rehearsal, and Tony giving us that reaction. “Is that how you’re gonna do it?” And going… “He’s kidding, right?”

TH: But then there was something he said, when we were walking down towards the casket and I said – and he said, “Can I tell you something, Tom?” And I went, “Absolutely. Say it up straight. Tell me, tell me anything.” And he said, “You’re doing this very strange thing with your wrists.”

TH: “Oh, my god, what am I doing?” And he said, “You – you’re just – it looks a little bit camp. Maybe you can butch it up a bit.”

Thor opens May 6. Check it out.

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Sometimes an actor so dominates a group interview that it’s worth separating him out from the others. Sir Anthony Hopkins is a veteran performer whose stories of coming to Hollywood and his current attitudes toward working consumed a good chunk of the recent press conference for Thor. In his comments, he revealed a man who know longer feels the need to watch his tongue, and that freedom showcased a deft storyteller who’s not afraid to suggest he took this job for the paycheck… though that isn’t the only reason. Check it out.

What drew you to be a part of this, essentially a comic book movie? Was it being given the chance to work with Kenneth Branagh, or was it the material itself?

Anthony Hopkins: Ken Branagh. I took a bunch… if they gave me enough money to read the phone book, I’d do it. I live in a total state of non-expectation and I keep my expectations very low about everything, especially the last few years. I had come back from a movie with Woody Allen, which was a big surprise – I enjoyed that. And then I had an agent and I left them, because I wasn’t very happy. And I got a new agent and within two days they said, “Would you like to meet Ken Branagh?” and I said, “Yeah. What about?” He said, “Odin.” I said, “Oh, that’s a god, isn’t it?” He says, “Yeah.”

Funny thing was, I hadn’t seen Ken for some years, and I wasn’t sure how he would respond to me because I was one of the bad boys who ran away from England many years ago and I came out to Cuckoo Land – out here – because I never fitted into British theater and all that. So I wasn’t sure how he’d receive me. But we met for breakfast and he was very pleasant and friendly, and we had a chat about old times and all that. And he said, “Would you like to play Odin?” I said, “Yeah, okay.” He gave me the script and I read it. And I thought, “Yeah, I’d love to work with him.”

I’ve always been a fan of Ken’s. I’d never read… I’m not a geek, you know. But it turned out that it was the most enjoyable film I’ve been involved in for a long time and I could care less about anything. And then to work with Ken, he just pushed the right buttons to get me to give of my best. And I really value that in him, because I’d gotten lazy. He’s one of the best directors I’ve worked with so that was the principle reason. And I wanted the work. Gotta pay the rent, you know.

I thought this was a nice part. Didn’t have to do too much. The only thing was, I wish I’d gone down to New Mexico, because I had such a good time in the studios. My time was so brief. I think I was only on it about three weeks, on those great sets and everything. And then, you know, no acting required. I wrote in my script, “NAR” – no acting required, let the armor act for me on the sets. So I let the armor do it for it, and the beard, and that was about it. And I showed up and put on my voice and that was about it. But I really enjoyed it.

Did you get to pick which eye you lose in the film?

AH: I can’t remember. They put it on the wrong eye, first of all. And I said, “I think you made this for the wrong eye.” Because it wouldn’t fit in. They said, “Yeah, we did.” But they had another patch put in that eye. The only problem with that was the moments of anxiety, because I had no three dimensional vision. So going to set- I felt like an old – well, I’m not that young anymore; but to be guided onto the set, I felt very embarrassed. “This way” (holds out hands) because I couldn’t see. But the thing would come off very quickly. It was a costume and it helped and all that. And you don’t have to do too much, except speak up, I guess. But you don’t have to act.

It’s like John Wayne said, “When you’re in the desert, he doesn’t have to act; you let the desert do it for you.” But I think those guys, those movie actors of that time, you know, they knew what they were doing. They just got on their horses and they did it and they were wonderful. So I take a page out of their copy book and try not to do too much. But Ken challenges you all the time, in a – in a very nice, gentlemanly, charming way. I like the way he says, “My learned, esteemed colleague, I would like you to stand here.” But it seemed like at the end, he said, “Ah, my esteemed colleague, Mr. Hopkins,” and he’s very cunning. He said, “I’d like you to stand here. And then Chris will come up behind you.” He said, “Do you have any suggestions?” I said, “Yeah, but I’m not gonna tell them to you because you want me to stand here, don’t you?” He said, “Yes.” “So you just tell me where to stand and I’ll do it.” See, and you know with something like that, he knows so much.

That’s the most comforting thing. You don’t have to – you don’t have to work, you just do what he tells you. And I know that sounds pretty wimpy to do that, but – why not? He knows what he wants. A good director knows what he wants, and what it’s gonna look like.

Much has been made of Kenneth Branagh comments about how Shakespearean he saw the mythology -and the story. Your experience with Shakespeare goes back to the RADA days and through Titus. Is that putting too much weight onto what’s essentially a comic book story?

AH: No, I don’t think so. I don’t trouble my little brain with that stuff, because I don’t think about too much anything, anyway, when I go on a film set, because you can analyze and analyze, and I leave that to the guys, you know – the boss, the director. They decide what it’s gonna be like, and you just follow. I’m not trying to demean my role in it, but you follow certain guidelines, and “This is what he wants,” if you’re working with a director – like Spielberg or Clint Eastwood or Ken Branagh or whoever, or Scorsese – you follow the guidelines of what their style is. And he mentioned Shakespeare quite a lot and he – we referred, in the readings beforehand – we had about a week’s readings down in Manhattan Beach.

We talked – not extensively – but a bit about the good old Westerns. Shane, one of my favorite all time Westerns – when the bad guys come in and they have a conference and they try to negotiate. And Jack Palance looks innocent and all that. And to have that sort of feeling of the father, the autocratic father and the troublesome sons. There’s a wonderful film called Lawman - which Ken and I talked about – with Burt Lancaster;  a great movie about rival factions. There’s the father, played by Lee J. Cobb, and all these bad sons he’s got. And there’s always one son who’s a little in the middle, not quite sure where he belongs. So we have those points of reference – on the horse when I meet my enemy and I say, “Let’s talk about this. We don’t need any bloodshed.” That was taken from an idea of a Western negotiation. So I love those points of reference because I was a fan of all those early Western movies, Gary Cooper and all those guys. But Shakespeare, you know, yeah.

Mr. Hopkins, I so appreciate your candor. When you were first asked about working with Mr. Branagh, you said, “I was lazy, and Ken pushed my buttons.” What buttons did he push, and did he know you were lazy?

AH: Well, maybe I’m overstating it. But we’d come from the background. I mean, I’m 20 years older than Ken, and I didn’t know him that well. But we had all the same reference points of the theater. We knew about the actors we’d been working with over the years. And we were both pretty rebellious, and I know he was. I was rebellious in the fact that I was a bad boy. I escaped from England and the group theater, and came over to America to Disneyland, you know. And I know I sold out; it’s nice. I’m glad I’ve sold out. So I wasn’t sure how he’d respond to me.

But he’s just as bad as I am. He’s a rebel, and he’s challenged himself over the years. And he did some extraordinary things 30 years ago when he was taking on people like Lawrence Olivier, doing Hamlet and Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing – a colossal background. And his education is pretty profound. So I – I read a lot, but I’m – I hate taxing my mind with analysis. I’m not a good analyst. I cannot talk about acting. I hate talking about it. I hate talking about analyzing. They always say, “Let’s talk about the…” Why? I mean, I’ve sat in conferences where you just fall asleep because it’s so boring. I don’t know, you just get up and do it. You know, the – get up and do the damned thing, instead of talking about it. And Ken is like that. He just says, “Do it.” And I like that.

But I get too much the other way, of being Mr. Cool, you know, not analyzing at all. Just walk blindly on the set. And I think what Ken does is just say, “Come on, you can do more than that,” because I’d like to just be a little restrained. And he said, “No, let’s push it even more.” And it was a welcome invitation. So that’s my story.

I remember my first film was Lion in Winter and we had a couple of sound engineers. And I was a new actor, and there were there of us and we were three new actors on the block. And this guy, Tom Buchanan, he was the sound engineer, he walked behind me once with his sound mixer and said, “I hate actors.” But he did it to tease us, you know. He’d be sitting there with the headphones on, and I’d be doing a scene. And he’d go, “What?” That humor gets you up. Because you have to have humor. Because if you don’t have humor and you take yourself seriously, you’re dead in the water. You have to be jostled. And I love it. It’s better than working for a living.

My one regret was that I didn’t go to New Mexico. And I was about to suggest to Ken that I could play Odin’s twin brother – who actually goes down and is a part of a Fifth Columnist movement. I’m very happy having done Odin. I don’t know, if I come back to another one; I don’t know what the sequel– if there’s a talk of that. But I’d love to another one. It was so unexpected to be in a movie like this. And I like the unexpected. And living in a state of total non-expectation, it’s just a surprise what happens to you, all kinds of things come your way. It’s when you have expectations, that’s when it’s always disappointing. So to be in this was a bonus, it was the gravy train for me because I’ve been around a long, long time now. And so whatever comes along, I’m very happy to do it, if it’s a good script and a good director and good actors. I’m very fortunate to mosey along and do what I do. But I mustn’t get too lazy. I need another Ken Branagh. Because it’s very hard to find a director of that kind of power, you know. And gentleness. He’s a gentleman. And that’s it.

Thor opens Friday May 6.

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The Rite is a horror-thriller that’s based on actual events that occurred between two priests in Rome. The film is directed by Mikael Håfström and stars Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, and a young, Irish actor named Colin O’Donoghue. The duo are cast as an unlikely pair: the believer and the doubter, and as viewers we watch them fight a battle of spiritual warfare, while dealing with their own personal demons.

Check out the review…

The Players:

• Director: Mikael Håfström
• Writers: Michael Petroni, Matt Baglio
• Cast: Colin O’Donoghue, Anthony Hopkins, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, Rutger Hauer, Toby Jones
• Cinematography By: Ben Davis
  
• Original Music By: Alex Heffes

The Plot:

The Rite centers on a priest named Michael Kovak (O’Donoghue) who travels to Rome for exorcism training. He has serious doubts about his faith and his superiors hope that his new tutelage will restore it. He becomes the apprentice to a well-known but highly unconventional priest named Father Lucas Trevant (Hopkins), and through his experiences he learns the ugly truth about Satan, demons, and possession.

The Good:

• Colin O’Donoghue: The young actor plays the lead role as the doubting soon-to-be priest Michael Kovak. Initially he comes across as disinteresting and average but he holds his own against a seasoned Anthony Hopkins and Rutger Hauer.
• Light Humor: Despite the thriller/horror emphasis, there are several instances of humor in this film. Extreme moments of tension are broken up by the most random statements or incidents. [Spoiler] At one point a cell phone rings during an exorcism and the priest stops to take the call. It’s inappropriate but hilarious.

The So-So:

• Pass the Priest: There’s no real motivation behind any of Kovak’s actions prior to the last 20 minutes of the film. He’s not interested in exorcisms but they’re thrust upon him by three different people. It’s literally like watching pass the student. It’s a strange way to progress the plot, and it comes across as lazy writing.
• Underused Actors: Hinds, Hauer, and Jones have small supporting parts that each serve one purpose. Once they’ve completed them, they disappear into the background and with the exception of Hauer, we never hear from them again. I understand that actors sign on for cameos or small parts all the time, but with talent like theirs, the writers could have at least made them good.

The Bad:

• Alice Braga: Braga’s character is based on the writer of the book from which the film is based. What’s the purpose of changing the sex of the character other than having an attractive woman on screen? She brings nothing new to the role.
• The Exorcisms: The movie is PG-13 so the exorcism scenes are nothing to write home about. There are some decent jump scares but they can only go so far because of the rating, therefore don’t look for anything truly horrifying to come out of this.

Overall:

The Rite is a watered down exorcism film that provides a few inappropriate laughs, and some decent scares. Buy a ticket at your own risk.

Rating: 6/10

The Rite opens in theaters on January 28th.

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Will you be seeing The Rite this weekend?

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This weekend Oscar nominated films, The King’s Speech, True Grit, and Black Swan will battle with last week’s box office winner, No Strings Attached, while new releases, The Rite and The Mechanic try to sneak their way into the top five….

And now for our box office predictions…

#1 The Rite

There was a time when Anthony Hopkins was a box office draw, and this month the actor is headlining the obligatory mid-winter horror/thriller. No matter how dull or unimpressive it might seem, the buzz for The Rite has increased over the past few days and it should be able to land at the #1 spot this weekend.

Our Prediction: $14-16M Opening Weekend Box Office.

# 2 No Strings Attached

Last weekend, No Strings Attached was able to capitalize on the lack of competition and the Golden Globe win from Best Actress Natalie Portman. This weekend should be no different as the lack of competition, an Oscar nomination, and no new romantic comedies in sight (until Adam Sandler’s, Just Go With It), means No Strings Attached should hold onto the #2 spot this weekend.

Our Prediction: $11-11.5M Weekend Box Office.

# 3 The King’s Speech

With 12 Oscar Nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and a remarkable box office hold last weekend, The King’s Speech should be able to keep the momentum going to land at the # 3 spot this weekend.

Our Prediction: $9 Weekend Box Office.

#4 The Mechanic

From Crank to The Transporter franchises, Jason Statham has developed a loyal fan base that has produced solid opening weekends.This weekend should be no different as the CBS Films release should open at the #4 spot .

Our Prediction- $8M-8.5 Opening Weekend Box Office.

#5 The Green Hornet

With direct competition from The Mechanic, a somewhat decent hold last weekend, The Green Hornet should slip to the #5 spot.

Our Prediction: $7.5-8M  Weekend Box Office.

Now for the rest of the top 10…

#6 True Grit

Our Prediction: $6.5M Weekend Box Office.

#7 Black Swan

Our Prediction: $5.5-6M Weekend Box Office.

#8 The Dilemma

Our Prediction:$5M Weekend Box Office.

#9 The Fighter

Our Prediction: $4M Weekend Box Office.

#10 Yogi Bear

Our Prediction: $2.5M Weekend Box Office

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The official teaser trailer for Paramount and Marvel Entertainment’s latest feature, Thor has premiered. Just yesterday we gave you a nice description of what you could expect from the video and now we have it for you to view! Are you ready to rumble with the outer worldly warrior who carries a lightning fueled hammer? Take a look…

Thor is scheduled to hit theaters next year on May 6, 2011 and it will be available in 3D. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander, and Clark Gregg.

Official Synopsis:

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the epic adventure, “Thor,” which spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans. A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love. It’s while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

A lot of this footage was shown at Comic-Con, but they do try to mix it up a little bit by adding more shots of Hiddleston and Rene Russo (where has she been?).

What do you think of the first trailer for Thor?

Source: Yahoo Movies

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Anthony Hopkins is back and he’s scaring us sh*tless in the supernatural thriller The Rite. We were first introduced to the film back in October when the teaser trailer was released and today we’ve got a follow up. A full trailer has debuted on Apple, and it shows us even more sides of Hopkins and his shady character. Take a look…

Official Synopsis:

Inspired by true events, “The Rite” follows skeptical seminary student Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue), who reluctantly attends exorcism school at the Vatican. While in Rome, he meets an unorthodox priest, Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), who introduces him to the darker side of his faith. Directed by Mikael Hafstroem (“1408″), “The Rite” is a supernatural thriller that uncovers the devil’s reach to even one of the holiest places on Earth.

They definitely amped up the action for this version didn’t they? It’s kind of disappointing that they reveal Hopkins’ character as being possibly possessed. That would have been a great thing to see in theaters with an audience. The shock and horror of it all.

The Rite hits theaters on January 28, 2011.

What do you think of the new trailer for The Rite? Are you interested in seeing the film?

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Two of the scariest things in life have come together, Anthony Hopkins and the Catholic church… performing exorcisms on the devil. Warner Brothers has just released the latest poster for The Rite, a film that is supposedly based off true events about the devil making his way back to earth. Fun times!

The film follows skeptical seminary student Michael Kovak, played by first time feature actor Colin O’Donoghue, who reluctantly attends exorcism school at the number one place in the world to learn about the devil — the Vatican. While in Rome, he meets an unorthodox priest, Father Lucas (Hopkins), who introduces him to the darker side of his faith.

Check out the new, eerie poster below…

This is one great poster and the trailer showed a lot of promise. Hopkin’s blue eyes peering through at cross is definitely a haunting experience. I just hope this is more of educated horror, rather than another The Last Exorcism or Angels and Demons — although if you did combine those two and make a story that actually adds up to something you could have a great cinematic experience!

More on the film:

Directed by Mikael Håfström (“1408”), “The Rite” is a supernatural thriller that uncovers the devil’s reach to even one of the holiest places on Earth. Contrafilms’ Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) are producing the film. The screenplay was penned by Michael Petroni (upcoming “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”), inspired by the book by Matt Baglio. Christy Fletcher and Emma Parry are co-producing. Richard Brener, Merideth Finn and Robert Bernacchi serve as executive producers.

The film is slated for release sometime in January 2011. Just in time for some post-Christmas cheer!

What do you think of the latest poster?

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At the 2010 Spike TV Scream Awards Anthony Hopkins made an appearance to introduce the world premiere of the trailer for his new film, The Rite. It’s filled with all the things a horror thriller should have: death, the Devil, demons, and Hopkins. The film is based on real life events that center on the legitimacy of demonic possession and the Vatican’s attempt to cover it up. Check out the trailer…

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Last week I had the honor of being able to interview Sir Anthony Hopkins for his role as an older man who is going through a life-crisis and marries a young tart in Woody Allen‘s latest film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. It’s days like these that make it all seem worth it. Hopkins, as I had been told beforehand, was quite charming and not only answered our questions but entertained us with a number of great Woody Allen quotes and even his Woody Allen impression.

Check out our interview with Sir Anthony Hopkins below…

Working with Woody Allen:

Did Woody Allen give you the whole script, everyone else says they only got pieces?

Anthony Hopkins: No I got the full script. I was pretty honored. I asked Michael Cane the same question years ago and he told me he got the whole script. A lot of people don’t. I got the script and I got a note from Woody which I’m going to frame.

Had your paths ever crossed before?

AH: 1984 in September. I was going to see him in his office in Park Ave. He was very nice, very easy to be with and I was only there for about 15-minutes. He wanted to see me for a film, but the Woody said, “I don’t think you’re right for this part, but I’m glad we’ve met and maybe someday we’ll do something.” Then last year, I got the call to do this one.

Do you also think the challenges of working with Woody is not being Woody on set since all his characters are some version of him?

AH: I don’t think he comes through in my performance. I had to avoid that. It’s a different thing when you’re working on something. I saw the scene the other night when she comes in and she’s spending all my money. And I thought, “Oh this is borderline Woody Allen.” (Laughs)

As a director yourself, what’s it like working with someone like Woody Allen and taking his direction?

AH: I have directed a few times, but I don’t know if I’m a good director or not. I tend to be very lazy or I’m micromanaging, but I’ve realized that you can’t do that. I think Woody Allen has a pretty simple approach, nothing fancy, no weird angles. Basically he just says “walk from the door to the chair, and okay let’s try it here.” And all he does say is, “Okay, let’s shoot again. Don’t do it as if you’ve just rehearsed it (begins to Imitates Woody Allen) It’s just… Make sure, that it’s not, you know… It looks like you rehearsed it, I know, but just make it look like you haven’t… Ok shoot it.” And then he keeps it fresh and he likes to improvise it. The restaurant scene was the first scene I did with Gemma Jones. It was the very first day of filming. He said, “Okay, that’s good. Let’s do it again” and we can improvise.

Would you have done that expression in front of Woody Allen?

AH: No. You know, when you do the rhythms of his line it’s very difficult not to [imitate him]. I think he’s genius. I know that he doesn’t like people being him. What’s extraordinary about him is that as soon as he walks into a room everyone is unto him. He’s a great star and charismatic. He’s this funny, little guy and he has this powerful mind and philosophy. He’s a philosophical poet, writer and a pessimist. Deeply pessimistic. I don’t have that sort of pessimist.

Things in my life have been so extraordinary. I sometimes think, “There’s something beyond this.” I can’t believe that this is it. The only thing I know and I’m not going into philosophy, but I’m not a total atheist, I’m not that. I respect that if that’s what people believe. But to me it’s like being in a windowless room. I was that, years ago. I played this disillusioned priest in the movie The Trial. This young priest comes to me, who thinks that what I’m doing is rubbish because I’m doing an exorcism. He says, “Are you happy letting people believe in these illusions? What do you believe in?” I said, “I believe in telling people the truth.”

There’s a wonderful book by Graham Greene a short novel, I think it’s called “Don Quixote and the Myth” it’s about a communist, a Marxist man in Spain and his friend is a priest, they’re always having these debates like Mornings With Maury. There always having these talks and they’re great friends, they love each other. And the priest says to his friend, “I had a dream a terrible one. I woke up and there was Jesus standing in the room looking at me. He’s presence was certainty.” He says, “But you, Marx is your certainty, Lenin is your certainty.” That to me would be a nightmare. You look at the whole history of Europe and Marxism became a revolution and a living nightmare. Hitler built something based on certainty.

The Role:

You character works out non-stop, did you do any training for this film?

AH: Well I train all the time. Ever since my mid life crisis. I came back from Europe two-years ago. I was doing a film and I lost 75 pounds of weight in a very short time, but it was good. I’ve always worked out so I’m very strong, but you know, I get bad eating habits. It’s a common thing — snacking on cookies and all that junk. I don’t do that anymore. It’s amazing what happens when you cut out all that stuff. I feel good. I feel terrific.

So what is your vice now?

AH: Book shops. I’m a book addict. What else do I do? Watching the news on television that’s advice.

Could you talk about working with your co-star Lucy Punch?

AH: She is a powerhouse. She loves to improvise. We get along so well together. It was wonderful because she’s alive. I wish I had more to do with the rest of the cast, my scenes where with Lucy. I had some with Gemma, the brief ones, and Josh Brolin. He’s very funny.

Allen likes to tell stories where intelligent older men are paired with young flaky girls, what do you think is funny about that dynamic?

AH: It’s funny because it’s so pathetic! That is very sad to see that. That’s so pathetic though. The only mid life crisis that I went through, mine was post mid life crisis — a few years ago, my wife suggested we traded in the car. She said, “would be nice for you to buy a Porsche.” I said, “Porsche? That’s a lethal weapon.” I couldn’t even get into it. I said, I’m too old to get into it, so she drove it.

I’m glad I’m not young anymore, I don’t have any illusions about that. Woody is so bleak about it, we had a press conference in Toronto and they asked him and he said, (begins to do his Allen impression again) “well you know, we just get older nothing improves it just gets worse, you just fall apart and you crumble away and you shrivel up and you’ve left gum in your porridge, you sit in your apartment and watch your television which is not on, it’s not even a box office return and then you die” (laughs).

And you’re thankfully more positive?

AH: I don’t know, all I know is that one day, this is it. I think he’s talking from an atheist point of view. I don’t have hope! But I have very few illusions, I’ve come to peace with it. For the last few years, you know, when you’re young you just want to do everything, now I just sit back, I don’t want anything. If work come in, it does! If they still want me I’ll do it. I’ve got no great panicle-rush to do anything at all really.

What is your favorite age?

AH: Now, actually. I don’t know, it’s pointless being bleak about it, I’m getting older, I’m part of the human race. It’s terrible experience living; I mean you’re never get off the planet alive. It’s horrible if you want to make it horrible or have some fun with it. I mean, I don’t want to go skydiving! I work out everyday. I have a good life I enjoy myself. I have a great time.

Upcoming Projects:

How exciting was putting on the costume on Thor?

AH: It was exciting, but it was hard. It was carrying 15-pounds of ammo. But Kenneth Branagh is a great director. These young actors are top hitters. They work just wonderful. And Branagh, I call him the general. He’s so self-assured and he knows exactly what he wants. I’ve never worked with him before and I wouldn’t say I know him well, but it was such a pleasant revelation working with him. I don’t know what it is about him. He’s very self-assured. Great actor, brings all his experience to the set and I think he’s terrific.

You’ve played s many historical figures. Is there anybody else you want to play?

AH: Me. I’ve done everything. That’s the nice thing about having through go to, when I was younger. Now I work with young actors. I like that. It makes me think we’ll I’m not young anymore. They’re insecurities and I joke around with them. He’s a little nervous. You have to have that relaxation to work with actors, people being nervous around you is pointless.

You can see Hopkins in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger starting this Friday, September 24th!

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Marvel recently released a photo of the three main characters from next year’s live action adaptation of Thor. It featured Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and Chris Hemsworth as the thunder god himself. Over at the SHH forums, they’ve stumbled upon another image from the film that features father and son (Odin and Thor) in what looks like an intense man to man talk. Take a look…

I’m not sure what publication this scan comes from but it seems pretty legit. Out of all the Avengers themed movies hitting theaters Thor has become the one I’m the most worried about. The film has an amazing cast and a talented director but there’s something about these photos that are turning me off to it. Hopefully at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con we’ll get a trailer of some sort that can put all the bad vibes to rest.

Thor, like Captain America is scheduled to hit theaters next year in 2011 and will be converted into 3D (unfortunately). The film also stars Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander, and Clark Gregg.

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