Muppets Most Wanted

And now for my second Muppet movie in a row. Only three years after The Muppets, we've got a sequel; Muppets Most Wanted (2014). This particular Muppet movie parodies a lot of other films while retaining vaudeville and musical numbers that are Muppet signatures. It ended up being pretty good.

Picking up at the exact moment the previous movie left off, Kermit the Frog and friends are elated by their revival's success and are approached by Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) to go on a world tour. Unknown to them, this is all part of a sinister plan of Constantine, the world's most evil frog, to become the greatest thief of all time. After making sure that Kermit is jailed as himself, Constantine impersonates him to use the Muppet's tour as a cover for his scheme. While Sam the Eagle of the CIA and Inspector Jean Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell) of Interpol investigate, the Muppets find their boss seems strangely changed even as Kermit desperately attempts to escape only to be thwarted by prison guard Nadya (Tina Fey). Only when Walter, Fozzie, and Animal realize the truth is there a chance to prevent Constantine from pulling off the crime of the century.

Muppets Most Wanted is a caper movie. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of sketch comedy and musical numbers included and it still has that variety show vibe that The Muppets are known for. I was actually worried that there would be less of that since the main plot was about the hero being swapped with the villain and trying to rob museums. But as per tradition, there are plenty of bits of surreal humor, meta-references, catchy songs, and a prolific use of cameos. I'll only mention two here because it would ruin some of the gags in the movie to reveal more of them. Many times the cameo is the punch line, after all. Lady Gaga and Tom Hiddleston both make appearances in this movie. Tom Hiddleston is an inmate at the prison after being jailed in Thor: The Dark World.

Most Wanted makes many references to other movies, including spy movies, prison movies, and crime capers of the 60's and 70's. It was clearly inspired by The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan and The Pink Panther. The movie starts out with a song "We're Doing a Sequel" which is not only funny and catchy, but it also comments on movies and the film industry. There's a line in the song that goes, "And everybody knows the sequel's never quite as good." It's funny to have a movie actually say that, but I hope it wasn't an attempt to excuse the film for possibly being a bomb. While trying to pitch ideas for this sequel, The Swedish Chef appears in a spoofed scene from the old Swedish film The Seventh Seal playing chess with death. The idea is shot down because Americans don't like to read subtitles. Other movies that are referenced include The Shawshank Redemption, Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, The Spy Who Loved Me, A Chorus Line, The Silence of the Lambs, and Mission: Impossible among others. They're easy to miss if you haven't seen those movies. I haven't seen some of the movies referenced, but I could still identify them because they are classics. The references will go over kids' heads, but adults will probably get a kick out of them. I  mean, seeing Kermit wearing a Hannibal Lecter face mask while in prison is just funny.

Watching The Muppet Show as a kid, I thought it was weird that we'd see these singing and dancing characters, but rarely see their feet as they danced. That seemed like an important part of dancing to me. There's a scene in Most Wanted that features Constantine and Badguy singing and dancing. Constantine, basically the Kermit puppet, is doing some pretty impressive dance moves for a puppet. I'm truly not sure how this was managed, it doesn't look like CGI or anything. Maybe one or more puppeteers were in "green screen suits" and edited out afterwards? The Muppets excel most when special effects are kept to a minimum and allow the magic and novelty of the puppeteering to shine. And shine it does! The puppet work was amazing. The Constantine and Badguy scene was remarkable. Others were impressive but you could tell where the puppeteers where probably hidden. A lot of scenes made me want to watch the special features on the DVD when it comes out to see how they actually pulled off some of the scenes.

As Kermit said, the sequel isn't quite as good. It's predecessor was better, but Muppets Most Wanted was a good time and a decent movie. It lacked the nostalgia of previous Muppet movies, but I still think The Muppets are moving in a good direction. There is a lot of fun songs and laughs to be had with this film; I laughed a lot at the gags and jokes because it's my kind of weird humor. The many cameos were hilarious and fun to watch for since many appear so unexpectedly. This is a decent movie that parents and kids will get a kick out of. It's worth getting a copy to enjoy as a family if you are fans of The Muppets. If not, it's still worth renting for a few laughs.

Who is your favorite Muppet? Comment below and tell me why!

Thor: The Dark World Movie Review

Before Thor hit theaters in 2011, I really wasn't familiar with that particular line of Marvel Comics. But after seeing the hero in action in Thor and The Avengers I've really come to like the titular character and his adoptive brother. When Thor: The Dark World (2013) was announced I was chomping at the bit to see these characters in action again.

Eons ago a race of beings known as Dark Elves tried to send the universe into darkness by useing a weapon known as the Aether. Warriors from Asgard stopped them but their leader Malekith (The Doctor Christopher Eccleston) escapes to wait for another opportunity. The Asgard Warriors find the Aether and since it cannot be destroyed, they hide it. In present day, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) awaits the return of Thor although it has been two years since they last saw one another. In the meantime, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) stands imprisoned for his war crimes on Earth while Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been trying to bring peace to the nine realms following the reconstruction of the Bifröst, the "Rainbow Bridge" between realms, which was destroyed two years earlier. Jane discovers an anomaly similar to the one that brought Thor to Earth. She goes to investigate, and becomes infected by the lost Aether. Learning of Jane's sudden disappearance, Thor goes to Earth to retrieve her and takes her to Asgard to try and remove the Aether. Malekith, upon sensing the Aether's location attacks Asgard. In a desperate attempt to stop Malekith, Thor is forced to seek help from the treacherous Loki.

While I did enjoy the first Thor movie, I think this is more of what fans were originally hoping for. Thor travels to more of the Nine Realms, we get to see more of Asgard, the characters are a bit more developed, there's bigger action. I really appreciate how events from Thor and The Avengers are acknowledged and were used as plot devices. The Bifröst is kind of a teleportation device that was destroyed at the end of Thor and without it, the Asgardians couldn't travel the Nine Realms to keep the peace. Also Loki tried to take over the Earth in The Avengers and is being imprisoned for it. Because details like these were included, it makes the world setting a bit more believable.

Most everyone reprises their previous role, including Idris Elba as Heimdall, Kat Dennings as Darcy, Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Erik Selvig, Rene Russo as Frigga Thor's mother, and the legendary Anthony Hopkins as Odin. All do a great job, and their characters are more fleshed out. For example, Dr. Selvig had his brain taken over by Loki in The Avengers which has caused some psychological problems that are both useful and a hinderance. Darcy is now more than comic relief, and plays a more active part in helping saving the world. Tom Hiddleston is simply amazing. His role as Loki did for the Marvel Comics movies what Heath Ledger did for the The Dark Knight as The Joker; they added a hugely successful character that everyone both loves and hates and made the movies all the better for it. What was really interesting is Loki's relationship with his adoptive mother Frigga. Loki is at a very low point and his mother is the only one to offer him compassion; while he tries to act strong and tough, Loki needs his mom. I love Christopher Eccleston; he was a great bad guy in 28 Days Later, and he makes a great, if shallow, megalomaniacal villain out for revenge here.

I was a bit disappointed in Natalie Portman's role. While Jane is certainly longing for Thor, they don't really do a whole lot together; even in scenes where both characters are present. It's a bit sad that the love/hate sibling relationship between Thor and Loki outshines the romantic love interest between the hero and the damsel in distress.

I love this mash up of sci-fi and fantasy. There are holes in space, spaceships, and other sci-fi gadgetry alongside swords, magical items, and spell casting. It's high end sci-fi/fantasy stuff  that is pretty fun to watch. Parts of it feels a bit rushed and undeveloped. I didn't understand why physics didn't apply on part of earth when the worlds were aligning, and why Earth machinery used to detect spatial anomalies was suddenly able to create them. But who cares? It's a sci-fi/fantasy/superhero movie! While the "what" of the story should make some sense in the big picture, some "why" questions don't require detailed answers to still make a fun movie. That results in a story that is mostly just fun to watch and doesn't require a great deal of mental energy to enjoy.

The fight scene at the end was really exciting, but what was also neat was that while these god-like beings fought one another, the humans helped the hero save the day and keep other people safe. They did this in Man of Steel, too. The humans are being heroes every bit as much as the super-powered being from another planet; not just standing idly by and hoping everything turns out okay. They even help Thor get an edge in the fight. I love how everyone gets to help save the day.

Thor: The Dark World was fun, but wasn't a great movie. The action is good, the acting is mostly good, the special effects are great, the story isn't all that original, but the characters are really good; Thor and Loki in particular are interesting with the trust issues and sibling rivalry dynamic. It's better than the first Thor movie and it embraces it's fantasy roots with some exciting and entertaining results. Thor: The Dark World is worth seeing, but probably after it hits home video. Of course if you are collecting the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, you'll want to buy this on Blu-Ray. And of course, stick around for the post-credits scene.

Which of the villains in these Marvel/Avengers movies have you liked the best? I think I have to go with Loki. Comment below and tell me your favorite!