The Final Thor's Day Hero: James Tiberius Kirk

Who else could cap off the great run we've had here at the Thor's Day Day Heroes other than Captain Kirk himself? This is the character I'd want at the helm of this whole enchilada, and when those snap decisions need to be made under the most stressful of situations, this is the guy I want in the captain's chair.

Sixty seven weeks of heroes later (over a year!) and I've gotta say I hope y'all have enjoyed reading these as much as I have had writing them. When I think back there are dozens more heroes that never made the cut, and I'm sure some new heroes yet to be introduced to. As for this list, we're stopping it here for posterity. Here's to Captain Kirk, you have the conn.

Thor's Day Hero: Willy Wonka

I must specify that my pick for Willy Wonka, whacked out chocolateer, to be inducted into the Thor's Day Heroes is the Gene Wilder version. Everyone has their favorite Dr. Who, me, my favorite Wonka is Wilder. His portrayal as this sheer genius madman is just so over-the-top and amazing, yet sprinkled with just enough inner darkness that he's a force not to be ignored. I envision the Thor's Day Collective, myself in the captain's chair of course, as a giant ship plying the spacelanes, intervening with galactic situations as needed. To this end how could we not afford to bring on board Willy Wonka? He's got confectionary skills as well as engineering.

Thor's Day Hero: Rankin Bass Bilbo Baggins

I had to be specific in my title, today's Thor's Day Hero isn't just any ole Bilbo Baggins. No, today's inductee is the one you see above, the Rankin Bass 1977 Bilbo. Sure, I saw Star Wars in '77 but it wasn't until a few years later I was into it thanks to the toys. My first geek introduction though, pretty much ever in my life, goes to my Lord of the Rings storybook record sets. Yes, records, played on my Fisher-Price turntable. Of those Bilbo and the tale of the Hobbit took center stage, we even named a litter of puppies at the time after Hobbit characters. Good, moving memories. Welcome aboard Bilbo!

Thor's Day Hero: Sarah Connor

The ultimate tough chick, Sarah Connor. From oblivious waitress to hardcore mother of the leader of humanity's resistance against robot overlords, Sarah Connor has more in the hard-as-nails department than anyone we've seen here at Thor's Day Heroes, male or female! She is tough but more than that, as a recurring theme of my favorite characters, she is fractured and her psyche is beyond repair. She has seen the future...in the form of homicidal, unstoppable killer robots sent to destroy her and her son. If they succeed, the world of mankind ends. No pressure, right? Welcome aboard Ms. Connor, make yourself at home but try not to carve anything on the picnic tables please.

Thor's Day Hero: Sergeant Lincoln Osiris

"I know who I am. I'm the dude playin' the dude, disguised as another dude!" -Kirk Lazarus

The first ten minutes of Tropic Thunder are too funny. The rest of the movie isn't bad, but it's hard to match the humor up front. In it, Robert Downey, jr. plays grizzled Vietnam veteran Lincoln Osiris. There's obviously a lot going on with the Lincoln character, considering in the movie within the movie aspect on top of everything else. Lincoln Osiris as character though? Great. Great lines, though none I can repeat here, great intensity, and great over-the-top action. If you haven't seen the movie, it's almost worth it just for Osiris alone. So forget that he's a character played by a character about a fake movie in a real movie, Lincoln Osiris is on the skids so "elevator up" for the Thor's Day Heroes.

Thor's Day Hero: Ellen Ripley

The character of Ellen Ripley is a pretty dynamic one. Ripley spans over two hundred and fifty years within the Alien franchise timeline, and as an actor, Weaver played the role four times over almost twenty years, 1979-1997. This is just the character's longevity, let alone her force of will and on-screen presence. Ripley's shining moment was alongside the colonial marines in the second movie, but her performance in the first Alien film is actually a bit better. The third film saw her character come full circle and she was at her most vulnerable. By the time the fourth movie came about, we had a cloned Ripley much changed and in a new future that was both darker and more sinister. She knows how to wield an M41a Pulse Rifle, she can operate a power loader, she's got a commercial spaceship license, she hates it when androids offer her corn bread, and her maternal instinct meter goes to eleven. You gotta induct Ripley into the Thor's Day Heroes, the first truly strong heroine I can remember in film or television

Thor's Day Hero: Dr. Peter Venkman

Let's face it, those of us in a certain age group just love Ghostbusters. Now we all have our favorite Ghostbuster of the group, but for me it was Peter Venkman. I feel a closer connection to him than the others. Ray was lovable and good-natured but too innocent. Egon was too brainy and socially awkward. Winston was a little too blue-collared for me, so in the end it was Venkman. Flippant, sarcastic, and kind of just along for the ride at first...until he makes contact with the supernatural. He's still flippant and sarcastic after ghost contact, but determined to take the fight to the foe, or at least goad his buddies into attacking first. It's kind of hard not to imagine the Thor's Day Heroes without Venkman somewhere on the roster, welcome aboard!

Thor's Day Hero: Rick Deckard

This is the second week in a row an inducted member into the Thor's Day Heroes is shown using chopsticks! Having a little snack here is replicant hunter Rick Deckard, also known as a 'blade runner'.

Dystopian Los Angeles of 2019 (just six years from now!) is still a pretty decent place to raise a family, well, except for the renegade androids running around. Bring in the no-nonsense, straight shooting character excellently portrayed by Harrison Ford and you've got both a great movie and a new member to Thor's Day Heroes! Deckard of course would brook no such fanfare, he's just doing his job after all.

Thor's Day Hero: Jack Burton

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like...Jack Burton? When Big Trouble in Little China hit the big screen back in 1986 it wasn't a smash success but I think there was a large chunk of viewers who became instant fans, my twelve year old self at the time being one of them.

Jack Burton would certainly think he's the hero of the movie, but is he really? He gets the girl, sure, and gets the bad guy, all right, but for the most part he was just always in the right place at the right time. It was a whole host of other characters that did the heavy lifting, so why aren't they being admitted into the Thor's Day Heroes? Well, Burton has style, he's quick with the one-liners, and he's a decent shot with the throwing knife. It's all in the reflexes you know. Welcome aboard Jack Burton, truck parking is behind the building.

Thor's Day Hero: Police Chief Martin Brody

One might cry "foul" at the induction of lead characters from my personal favorite movies into the Thor's Day Heroes. Well, I don't think anyone would actually do that, but if they did I'd have to respond with a hearty "Neener-neener!"

I would put Jaws in my top five favorite movies of all time. I like a lot of things about the movie, chief (no pun intended!) of those however is the character Chief Brody. Tough New York City cop opts out and takes his family to island resort in New England. Handles small town affairs and misdemeanors until the mother of all great white sharks shows up and turns the small town into an all-you-can-eat buffet. Brody can't even swim, but he straps on his revolver and heads out to sea with an über-nerd oceanographer and a grizzled sociopath in a boat much too small. The rest is history, and with that history we welcome Chief Brody into the Thor's Day Heroes.

Thor's Day Hero: Megamind

It actually took me pretty much until now to have seen the animated movie Megamind. I waited too long it seems. The movie was good enough as far as animated movies go but the main character of the same name was awesome. His awesomeness makes him a shoe-in for Thor's Day heroes.

It seems there is a trend developing with the types of characters I'm inducting; egotistical, narcissistic, megalomaniacal, flawed characters who skirt the line between good guy and bad guy. Not that they represent me or anything, they just seem more interesting. Megamind comes in on all of those counts. Not only is he an evil genius and has his own brand of wit, but he turns into a great good guy and in an unprecedented move gets the girl in the end. This is the same girl mind you that he used to kidnap all the time for his evil plans. Obviously I'm not crazy about the kidnapping thing.

Thor's Day Hero: King Moonracer

Even as a kid I knew there was something special about King Moonracer. King isn't his first name, it's his title, he's the king of the Island of Misfit Toys. He's a lion, which is pretty cool by itself, but he also has wings, a perpetual scowl, and a crown. When you first see him he's out flying recon around his island. He's about as hardcore as they come. Today is Thanksgiving and I'm still typing up these posts haha, as I write this it's actually January, which is kind of crazy to think about. Anyway, on to King Moonracer and why he's the latest Thor's Day Hero.

He's taken it among himself to be the appointed savior of misfit toys the world over. He soars over the world at night, rescuing them and bringing them back to his island of refuge. The grand irony is that King Moonracer isn't a toy at all, but a majestic, mythical creature. Sure he's stop-motion but I swear there's some good acting in there too, you can feel that he's got a lot going on, he's really weighing every situation. He's solemnly thinking through a thousand scenarios. I also like to think he'd be pretty good in a fight.

Dredd 3D: See It, Rookie

 
Dredd 3D, 2012

When [a pair of street judges] goes after a drug lord holed up in [Mega City One]'s most notorious tenement building, they find themselves trapped and forced to fight their way out through brutal gangsters loyal to the kingpin they were trying to [arrest].

That of course is the plot to Dredd 3D, the second film we've been lucky enough to receive of our favorite judge, jury, and executioner.  I'll mention the Stallone version from 1995 just this one time, but you know what, I liked that one as well, just not nearly as much as this new one.  These two Dredd movies, however, couldn't be more different.

I loved this movie, it was brutal, it was straight forward, it was dark and gritty, in a nutshell...it was Judge Dredd.  If you read the comics in the 80's, like sci-fi action in general, read this blog, etc. then chances are you'll see this movie eventually, you don't need my approval.  I will tell you this, it's worth it.  It is also graphic, a real, over-the-top gore fest.  Probably not a date night movie if you're trying to get your love interest into the sci-fi genre for the first time.

The plot isn't even close to being original, and has already been done as recently as last year called The Raid: Redemption.  In fact, the synopsis I opened this post with was actually from The Raid with just a couple of changes (see, I tricked ya!).  But this doesn't stop Dredd from being a kick-in-the-teeth, awesome sci-fi action shoot 'em up steeped in the comic tropes we've learned to love over the last twenty years from this original BA anti-hero.

Karl Urban is a solid fit for the role, and to the filmmaker's credit, he never once takes off his helmet.  There aren't any one-liners or zingers, and every time you cock your head thinking, "But wait, what about the..." they cover it in the film.  No detail is left hanging.  The entire story takes place over the course of a few hours through the middle of the night, and you're thrown right into the action.  Speaking of which, another of my favorite characters from the comic plays an integral part to the film as well, though I won't spoil it for you.  In fact, maybe I've said too much already.  Just let me know what you think.

Oh, and a big ole footnote, as for The Raid, holy cow.  This is another awesome movie you need to see!  I think it may just deserve its own review in a couple of days!  Until next time, lock and load!

Thor's Day Hero: Gilderoy Lockhart

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry goes through professors in Defence against the Dark Arts like Spinal Tap goes through drummers. Gilderoy Lockhart happens to be one of those Defence against the Dark Arts professors.

We've had a lot of initiates within the Thor's Day Heroes, but Gilderoy is our first mage. There's also another first here and that's where I admit if I could be like any of the Thor's Day Heroes, it'd be this guy. Sure, he's obnoxious and technically a fraud, but he's got moxie. He's full to the brim with the stuff and exudes confidence, especially in himself. Mind you, that confidence is probably a defensive mechanism for a profound lack of self confidence, but nobody's perfect.

Just spend ten minutes in his presence and he'll tell you of all his past exploits. Never a more daring or heroic saga will you hear. He's obviously got the skills, and the brash tenacity to use those skills regardless of personal safety in the face of danger. Welcome to the Thor's Day Heroes Lockhart, you're bound to class up the place.

Lockout: Movie Review

Lockout, 2012

It has been some time since we've seen a movie reviewed here. Rucht's Cabin in the Woods review was in the spring and my review on The Grey was nine months ago! Well I've watched a lot of movies since then, and many were deserving of a review...but it doesn't matter, on to this one.

I am a big fan of Luc Besson (the Professional, Fifth Element, The Big Blue, and more) so when I heard his name attached to this, I took notice. I'm also a big fan of Guy Pearce (Memento, Ravenous, LA Confidential) and when I saw him as the lead role I especially took notice, since he just doesn't do shoot 'em up sci-fi action flicks.

In the near future the president's attractive and feisty daughter gets taken hostage aboard a space station prison full of 500 of the worst criminals around. It's a bad situation and before they blow up the station, they send in a convicted ex-CIA tough guy looking to clear his name to rescue the girl and save the day.

Yup. That's it, that's the whole movie.

It's not a great movie, it's not even all that good of a movie, but I really got the sense that they weren't taking themselves too seriously at the same time. Seeing Pearce do a wonderful job as pandering action hero really made me think, he wasn't playing a one-liner spouting, dime-a-dozen action star, he was playing a parody of said action star. And in the end, I think he might be the only actor who could've pulled that off. It's subtle, but it's there.

It seems I've really been nit picky about editing in films as of late, and this one does not escape my scrutiny in the slightest. There were a lot of liberties taken that made the overall taste of the movie just feel feel choppy and lack depth. There is a particular pair of prisoners that are the antagonists, and their story is intriguing, but there's just not enough of it fleshed out to go on. The action is what you'd expect, with some consistent if not wholly uninspiring special effects work. There's no deep meaning or hidden message, no 'gotcha' moment in the end, just a straight forward sci-fi shooter. Which got me thinking, it makes a point in the credits to say "Based on an Original Idea by Luc Besson". Really? This whole movie was basically Escape From New York...in space.

It doesn't sound all that great, huh? Maybe so, but I still liked this movie. Guy Pearce alone makes it watchable and though there were a lot of moments that could be improved upon throughout the film, there were enough gems as well to make it worthwhile. Let me know if I steered you in the right, or the wrong, direction. Enjoy!

Thor's Day Hero: Hayao Miyazaki

I admit to being a bit late to the Hayao Miyazaki party, having only discovered his movies in the last ten years or so, but better late than never! Forget about just the animation, his movies hit on all the levels; the story, the imagination, okay sure the art, the scope, and more. It's almost impossible to ask a fan of his work what their favorite movie is, and my favorite seems to change month to month. So for excellent sci-fi, fantasy, and everything in between, you'd be pretty well off starting with Miyazaki first. In the same vein as Wes Anderson, there's really not a movie Miyazaki's done that I don't like. So here's to another filmmaker joining the ranks of Thor's Day Heroes.

• The Castle of Cagliostro
• Nausicaä, Valley of the Wind
• Castle in the Sky
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Kiki's Delivery Service
• Porco Rosso
• Princess Mononole
• Spirited Away
• Howl's Moving Castle
• Ponyo

Thor's Day Hero: Ridley Scott

We didn't want Wes Anderson getting too comfy as the only filmmaker on the roster, so enter the magnanimous Ridley Scott. This is a dangerous precipice that I'm treading on however, I've got Scott in here because a bulk of his movies (most of them science fiction) just blow me away, but he's not even the greatest sci-fi visionary that comes to mind. Unlike Kubrick, Gilliam, Tarkovsky, and the like however, Scott gets the call. I could say there can be only one, but I'm making the rules here and we already added Anderson a while back. Welcome aboard Ridley, oh, and for those keeping score, here's some of my favorites:

• Alien
• Blade Runner
• Black Rain
• Gladiator
• Black Hawk Down
• Kingdom of Heaven

Thor's Day Hero: Natalie Portman

Well Natalie Portman was bound to happen along for Thor's Day Heroes sooner or later. She seems to always pop up in the movies I'm watching, and she always brings tons of intangibles to those roles. In fact, the amount of her geek credit alone for many of the roles she's taken on should be good enough reason to put her here:

• Leon the Professional
• Heat
• Mars Attacks
• All three Star Wars prequels
• V for Vendetta
• Your Highness
• Thor

Definitely nothing to sneeze at in that company. Not to mention her solid rap song on Saturday Night Live a few years back shows she's got quite the sense of humor. So welcome aboard Natalie, it's a motley crew so far but maybe you can help keep the peace.

Thor's Day Hero: Admiral Piett

Let's face it, there was quite a shortage of named Imperial characters you could actually put a face to in the original (and only) Star Wars trilogy. If there's any franchise that can make entire mountain chains in canonized fiction out of mere crumbs from the movies, it's Star Wars. In this regard they've got Piett here from birth, detailing all of his exploits that led up to his position in the movies. I'm all for canonized fiction, but sometimes enough is enough.

To me he'll always be that guy who was in the right place at the right time, watching a psychotic, out-of-control Dark Lord of the Sith wastefully long-distance strangling perfectly good career officers. It's still a cool moment in the movies when he gets his field promotion to admiral, especially the emphasis Vader puts on the word itself. So here's to you Piett, every group needs a man in uniform, so it might as well be you.

Thor's Day Hero: Toshirô Mifune

There is a distinction made between actors and the characters they play. Earlier we saw the induction of Steve Zissou into the ranks. The actor, Bill Murray, who portrayed him is an excellent actor mind you, but for Thor's Day it was Zissou that got the nod, not Murray.

Today's hero is the opposite. Although just about any character Toshiro Mifune has ever portrayed would be a likely candidate, it is the strength that Mifune himself brings to those characters that makes them truly stand out. From High and Low to the iconic Seven Samurai, Mifune brings a quality to the screen that is hard to ignore. For that reason I have included him here with the rest of the Thor's Day Heroes.