PENN STATE UNIVERSITY, BRANDYWINE CAMPUS Movie Review Thor 2: The Dark Victoria Marotta Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, vim5121@psu.edu “Thor: The Dark World,” starring Chris Hemsworth, is the sequel to “Thor” and begins with a crash-landing on a British Secretive stage. Thor is dazed and extremely confused but knows that he has to get back to fighting Malekith who is a wicked dark elf. Thor asks for directions back to the town of Greenwich and boards the train. A the train rolls forward, a beautiful woman falls onto his broad chest. He smiles softly back at her. This scene is one of several high points in “Thor: The Dark World,” a Marvel fantasy-adventure movie whose plot is just as exciting as its characters. For example, all three “Iron Man” Marvel films have the same basic problems, but the story was never more important than personality in those earlier films. The movie’s characters are often very delightful and charming, but they’re only so much fun when they're stuck going through chaos. “Thor: The Dark World” mostly concerns Malekith’s transformation. Malekith was previously put in his place by Bor, Thor’s grandfather, when he tried to turn matter back into anti-matter using Aether, an ancient, all-powerful energy source. Now after Jane, Thor’s super smart human scientist/girlfriend, stumbles upon some new information, Malekith returns. Leading a navy of spaceships, Thor sets out for Asgaurd, his home and where his fellow Norse Gods live. But the Asgaurds are still recovering from Thor’s brother Loki’s recent failed construction of Now, in the se- quel, Thor and Loki must team up, even though they don’t particularly get along, to save Jane, Asgard, their universe. Earth, and the other eight realms of existence from complete disaster. There are so many scenes that were naturally exciting coming from the characters. Watching Thor make fast effort of an unimportant enemy in the opening scene of the movie should be fun. But the Ca - scene has no fire to it, and feels like a mechanical introduction to the character Thor. The first scene in the film where Hemsworth gets to be really charming comes later in the film, when he’s bickering and fighting] with Hiddlestone about operating the spaceship The arguing itself isn’t that funny, but the scene definitel has a comedic tone to it; Hemsworth’s eyes light up as he gets the ship to fly, instantly reminding you wh you came in the first place. “Thor: The Dark World” is a step in the right direction. Thor wanting to help Loki is a perfect example of the film’s memorable improvements. Audiences might find themselves drifting off into spa literally at times during some of the battle scenes, but Marvel seems to do it again by racking in a stagge ing 85.2 million dollars. Arcade Fi re: Reflektors Danie terry Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, d@psu.edu Montreal Indie Rock Band Arcade Fire has returned, releasing Reflektor, the band’s first new album in three years. Following months of creative and cryptic advertising, a publicity frenzy fueled entirely by internet buzz and guerilla marketing, releasing interactive music videos, en- couraging fans to spread the word with street art and flyers, along with appearing unan- nounced in small clubs and bars across the United States and Canada as “The Reflektors,” the band generated much interest and excitement in their forthcoming release. Known for their lush, complex, often roaring sound generated by their nine members, Arcade Fire has changed direction in some senses, abandoning their whining strings and layered guitars for keyboards, drum loops and distorted bass that shape Refle- ktor’s overall tone. The root of the change, most critics agree, is the influence of the man producing the album, James Murphy, who has become a legend in the indie community as the front man of LCD Soundsystem, whose sound is categorized by huge, building grooves and slow, rhythmic, electronic crescendos, making them one of the biggest influences in indie rock, experimental and electronic music in the 21st Century. Murphy’s influence clearly resonates across the album, from the syncopated that hearken back to LCD’s snide tongue-in-cheek cynicism and often brutally realistic worldview. On the first listen, I was taken aback by the diversity of each track, forming a musical patchwork spanning everything from Folk-Rock and Dub Reggae to punk- rock and even an operatic classical ballad. Despite the diversity and buzz and star power (James Murphy and David Bowie, just to name a few), the album fell flat to me, and left me somewhat disappointed. After a few more listens, Reflektor still feels like a great album to pls at a house party, but doesn’t reach the level of quality and consistency that made Arcade Fire famous as one of the best modern rock bands. Their experimentation, though courageous and inventive, left me disappointed, and felt like half-hearted stabs at genres the band was interested in pursuing. Even the instrumentation, which has, in the past, left me awestruck, seems muddled and thoughtless, and not nearly as complex as it has been on past records. Wobbly over-dis- torted bass, distorted, chaotic synthesizer and choppy guitars litter the album, sometimes hitting the mark and generating danceable, hypnotic grooves, but for the most pant they seem to miss their target of a ground-breaking dance-rock album. drum loops and seemingly endless grooves and danceable tracks to vocals and lyrics “Jarvis Lynch Q: What are some traits you i like about your choice of Nabieu Sesay Q: Which company have you preferred to And rew McLean play on in the past? Q: Which company have you ; S oreferred to play STi the I started on- Play Station then switched o Xbox. - like how it’s progressed over EA: “I grew up with Play Sta- fthe years.” ition but then moved on to box 360. I got the 360 be- cause all my friends had it... I iked the 360, besides the Red ing of Death that is.” Q: What are some traits you ike about your choice of onsole? A: Graphics, game share, the icontroller, and the price is bet
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