Marvel Movie Minute • Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Minute Forty-Five: From An Offer for Jane to A Kiss for JaneJoining us on the show to discuss Thor’s offer, Erik’s warning, Jane’s giggles, and Darcy’s ‘myeu-muh’ is Austin Tichenor, creator of The Shakespeareance, co-artistic director of The Reduced Shakespeare Company and producer & host of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.In the forty-fifth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• We talk about how Thor finally seems to notice that these Midgardians around him want something and if he strikes a deal with them, he could get what he want.
• He also seems to notice Jane’s desire for him but ignores Erik’s suspicion. That’s interesting that he never pushes back against Erik.
• Is it that Jane’s just dazzled? Or is Erik feeling that his childhood myth couldn’t actually have come to life?
• There is certainly a paternalistic nature to Erik here as well, as far as the professorial care he shows.
• What’s great about how grounded the film works to make Thor seem and how great Erik’s heritage plays opposite that.
• Meanwhile, Darcy’s attempt at saying Mjølnir – myeu-muh – cracks us up to no end. And then Erik says Mjølnir and it sounds perfect.
• But it’s not myeu-muh.
• Matthew references Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance and the romance as it comes to Jane’s fascination with Thor.
• Is Thor eavesdropping when Erik pulls Jane aside to warn her? It’s hard to tell.
• What does Thor think is going to happen when he finds Myeu-muh?

Thor says his goodbyes to go find Myeu-muh as Jane acknowledges Erik’s warnings.

• We love how Thor continues to act in unexpected ways, whether it’s smashing mugs or giving a genuine goodbye kiss.
• Thor is present. He’s genuine. He pays incredible attention. His active listening is great. It’s amazing how well that works.
• But why does he ignore Darcy when he says goodbye? Is it just that he’s so taken with Jane? Maybe he sees Darcy like a servant? Or that he called his hammer Myeu-muh?
• No matter how you slice it, the Shakespearean parallels are all through this minute and this entire film. It’s a thrill and clearly, Branagh knows what he’s doing.

Thor’s genuine, Jane’s flustered, Erik’s hesitant, and Darcy’s confused about ‘myeu-muh.’ Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix • YouTube • Disney+
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• Trailer #1
• Trailer #2
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• Austin Tichenor on Twitter
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• The Reduced Shakespeare Company on the web, Facebook, and Twitter

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Minute Forty-Four: From Satellite Talk to Middle-of-the-Street TalkJoining us on the show to discuss the mysterious satellite Jake and Pete tell Izzy about as well as Jane stopping Thor in his pursuit of it is Austin Tichenor, creator of The Shakespeareance, co-artistic director of The Reduced Shakespeare Company and producer & host of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.In the forty-fourth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• Jake and Pete tell Izzy about the satellite they found in the desert and the big party that took place.
• It’s great how Erik and Jane are drawn to them talking about a satellite and Thor is drawn in when they say how heavy it is.
• We’re glad these townies don’t play to the tropes of how townies so often are there just to bully our heroes.
• Darcy takes pictures of Thor for Facebook. A few years earlier, it was MySpace in Iron Man.
• So much of these stories is about identity, as Austin points out, including our identity as watchers.
• Darcy, Coulson, Wu – so many characters speak to the nature of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Shakespeare’s works, though perhaps more in Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.”
• This type of storytelling has grown in popularity so much. Fool. Wicked. Maleficent. It’s walking in someone else’s shoes. The villains are the heroes in their own stories. It’s all a type of fan fiction to an extent. Even the Bible comes into the conversation.
• That’s all to point out that Darcy has little interest in the conversation about the satellite. She’s in her own space here. Thor gives such a great goofy smile here.
• But Thor catches the satellite conversation, albeit only when they talk about how heavy it was. And that sends Thor on his quest to find Mjølnir.

Thor leaves Isabela’s Diner to find the satellite, aka Mjølnir.

• How does Thor know which direction is west?
• And who paid the bill? We decide they have a tab here.
• We love that Thor clearly sees himself as essentially the focal point of every place he goes.
• Shakespeare popularized the use of the word ‘swagger.’ Who knew?
• Where did all these cars come from suddenly?
• We laugh about the possible connection between Donut Land here and the donut shop in Iron Man 2.
• Is the OK Furniture a nod to JMS’s storyline in the Thor comics involving Thor landing in Oklahoma (where the wind goes sweeping through the plains)?

Radioactivity and a satellite and government, oh my! There’s plenty to talk about with Austin in this minute. Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

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Minute Forty-Three: From One Gentle Touch to Two Excited TowniesJoining us on the show to discuss Thor’s appetite, mug smashing, and excitable townies is Austin Tichenor, creator of The Shakespeareance, co-artistic director of The Reduced Shakespeare Company and producer & host of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.In the forty-third mug-smashing minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• Loki’s moment with Odin after Odin collapses is incredibly touching. He clearly loves his father and is shocked by his collapse, despite being left in the middle of this fight.
• It’s also at least a bit of a relief to see that Odin is breathing, so we know he’s alive.
• But what did the guards hear? As we find out, they were in earshot just on the other side of the doors. Do they tell their partners all about what they heard at work each evening? Write notorious memoirs down the road?
• Too bad there wasn’t a chance for some mug smashing in this scene.

We return to Midgard for Isabela’s Diner and some mug smashing.

• Our tour of Puente Antiguo gives us a bit more insight into this corner of the town. But still, over 2000 people live here? Hrm...
• There’s something magical about small town diners, but they can be gambles.
• The fish out of water comedy is great in this scene with Thor’s dopey alien in America bit.
• Kat Dennings’ lines about Pop Tarts and Thor’s eating is great. So are the cuts showing Thor eat. It’s ridiculous and absurd and so perfect because of it.
• Branagh handles comedy well even though he doesn’t do comedy that often. Much Ado About Nothing and Dead Again both have great comedic bits.
• Again, we have more to complain about with Thor’s wig and eyebrows.
• Jane, Darcy, and Erik feel like the Midgard versions of the Warriors Three.
• Erik is a great character to help ground Thor’s mythology and history in Nordic cultures.
• The mug smashing moment. Seriously. One of the greatest moments in the MCU? It has to be. They even repeated the mug smashing in the Loki tv show.
• The mug smashing feels like a great celebratory joy for how great the coffee was but it scares off a customer and forces Isabela and Melinda her employee to clean up the mess.
• Thor’s royal mindset is so funny here, but his sincerity with Jane afterward and promise to not smash any more is full of honesty.
• We dig into the traditions of smashing dishes.
• And Isabela shows up so we get to play the IMDb game with Adriana Barraza. But why was she given so little to do here?
• There’s a truck that drives by. It’s Stan the Man’s truck with no bed!
• Pete and Jake enter and start talking with Izzy about the day they just had at the crater.
• The local rustics is very much Shakespearean. Pete and Jake fit very much in that model.

It’s a fun minute that still feels full of Shakespearean elements. Plus mug smashing. Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

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Minute Forty-Two: From Odin’s Reasoning to Odin’s CollapseJoining us on the show to discuss baby Loki, Odin's reasoning to take him from Jotunheim, and the Shakespearean argument between Odin and Loki is Austin Tichenor, creator of The Shakespeareance, co-artistic director of The Reduced Shakespeare Company and producer & host of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.In the forty-second minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• Odin lays out his reasoning as to why he took Loki from Jotunheim, but does it make sense as a way to unite the kingdoms? And why does he say it no longer matters?
• Perhaps he shouldn’t have disguised him all these years?
• Has Odin never realized that this maybe wasn’t the best way forward? Or had he been lying so long that he got past the point of figuring out how to talk to him?
• We certainly feel that Odin’s twisting his own words.
• When Odin brought Loki back, did he have to send Frigga off Asgard for nine months with the baby then have her come back, acting as if she delivered him?
• Can Heimdall see past Odin’s spell? Does he know Loki is a Jotun?
• But the biggest issue is the fact that Loki isn’t big, and when the Casket reveals his true nature that he doesn’t also change size. What’s up with that? We know that Odin says he was small for a frost giant, but does that mean he’s Asgardian sized? According to What If...?, he’s definitely taller.
• All told, though, Odin is gaslighting Loki a bit.
• As Loki continues to develop his villainy, Austin points out the charming villain lineage he shares in Shakespeare’s works.

Loki pushes Odin into the Odinsleep after not buying into Odin's reasoning.

• It’s interesting to us that with everything going on, it’s this fight with Loki that pushes Odin to fall into the Odinsleep.
• Marvel created the Odinsleep in the comics as something Odin needs to do every few millennia to restore his Odinforce.
• It’s a little similar to the trance that Odin would go into in Norse mythology, but it’s different enough to bother people who study Norse mythology.
• Loki’s anger doesn’t abate when Odin falls, perhaps because his fallibility and weakness feels to Loki like another power play, albeit not one in his control.
• And to that end, perhaps that’s why it takes Loki so long to look at Odin on the ground before he does anything (in the next minute).
• Austin points out how so many of Shakespeare’s stories could take place in high school settings, and how the heightened emotions in this film feel that way as well.

It’s a heavy minute with Loki not buying Odin's reasoning then pushing him into the Odinsleep. Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

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Minute Forty-One: From Frosty Baby to "Tell me!”Joining us on the show to discuss frosty baby Loki and the Shakespearean argument between Odin and Loki is Austin Tichenor, creator of The Shakespeareance, co-artistic director of The Reduced Shakespeare Company and producer & host of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.In the forty-first minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• We see elements of King Lear in here, but Austin also points out elements from Henry IV Parts I and II, particularly conflict between Hotspur and Prince Hal.
• There’s certainly an element of big acting that works so well in Shakespearean heightened language, and we certainly see that when Loki screams “Tell me!”
• Austin calls it the intensity of intention, which we definitely see.
• When Odin told young Thor and young Loki about how they’re both born to be kings but only one gets to be king, was he debating if he would tell Loki about his heritage?
• Being born to be king paired with identity is such a core part of Shakespeare’s plays.
• Yet no one debates if this type of hereditary monarchy should still exist.
• Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins deliver such strong performances here.
• So at this point, where do Loki and Odin feel about who is next in line for the throne? Does Loki think this frost giant past has removed him from the line?
• Or is Loki thinking about the possibility of being king of Jotunheim, the place he just nearly destroyed with the raid?
• But Odin had to have seen what terrible king Thor would’ve made, right? That being said, do you give the throne to the god of mischief?
• There is a bit of Caliban from The Tempest in Loki too.

We do talk about the frosty baby, at some point, right?

• How does Loki feel knowing that he was slaughtering Jotuns earlier?
• We bring in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry VI in as well. And Cymbeline too!
• How much of Odin rewriting his own history are we getting in this conversation? So much feels retconned.

We finally talk about the frosty baby.

• We talk about the Loki baby, who starts as a frost baby and changes at the hands of Odin to normal looking. So that’s his spell we guess?
• Was baby Loki abandoned? Left in a temple? A bit of both? Or is this all just from Odin’s perspective?
• The lighting in this scene is stunning, as is the production design.
• Do the marks on the frosty baby change over time?
• The idea of masters of magic still confuses us – Odin’s in this category now for sure.
• Does Loki know what he wants to hear from Odin?
• Odin freezes when Loki confronts him. Truth versus comfort. It’s a tough line for a parent.

From King Lear to Henry IV Parts I and II to The Tempest to Richard II, we cover all sorts of Shakespearean elements in this minute – plus a frosty baby – with Austin. Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix • YouTube • Disney+
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• Trailer #1
• Trailer #2
• Poster artwork
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• Austin Tichenor on Twitter
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• The Reduced Shakespeare Company on the web, Facebook, and Twitter
• The Hollow Crown Season One on iTunes, Amazon, or both seasons on JustWatch

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Minute Forty: From Talk of Treason to Talk of HeritageJoining us sadly for the last time this week is Jessica Plummer, author and contributing editor at Book Riot, as we discuss treason with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif as well as Loki’s slowly growing need to know what’s going on with his tranformations.In the Fortieth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• We complain about the fact that we have so few great moments like this with the Warriors Three.
• Jessica gives us some history on the Warriors Three and Jack Kirby’s character types, showing how these largely pull from a set of archetypes he used often.
• Did Josh Lucas want more comedy and didn’t get it so didn't come back, or could he see where the treatment of Fandral and the Warriors Three was headed when he opted to not return?
• It speaks to what Marvel’s done with characters and actors now that they largely don’t want to drop out because a small role can become so much more.
• There’s even more of Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and Sif in the script here and it’s great material, but in context of the film, it’s not necessary. Still, it speaks to how great they could have been as characters if they weren’t used strictly as jokes so often.
• Could it be that they’re also upset because they know Loki is now lined up to be king?
• Fandral seems to realize the line between mischief and treason. Was Loki meaning to be treasonous and committing a coup d’état?

Loki approaches the Casket of Ancient Winters to find out the truth.

• Hiddleston is terrific in this moment as he debates whether to pick the Casket up or not.
• It seems clear to us that he knows the truth but does this to confirm what he knows.
• It’s almost like Odin is drawn here at this moment as well.
• It’s clear that it’s too late for Odin to tell Loki the truth here, though perhaps it would’ve been a better option to have been cursed and not to have been stolen after the Battle against the Jotuns.
• We debate the spell on Loki and how it reveals his frost giant heritage but doesn’t change his size.
• Odin’s “Stop!” was scripted as stopping the Destroyer from blasting the person picking up the Casket. We talk about how the delivery feels like there’s an intensity behind it so we debate if Hopkins thought he was acting against Hiddleston here or the Destroyer.
• But how does the Destroyer know when the wrong person is touching the Casket?
• Unrelated, Odin’s outfit is so beautiful and it’s finally not armor!
• And what about those marks on frost giant Loki? When we say baby Loki, we’ll have to compare markings.
• Last but not least, we complain some more about the blue nature of both the Casket and the Tesseract, particularly how they came out in such close proximity.

From treason talk with Thor’s friends to frost giant heritage arguing between Loki and Odin, we have a lot to discuss with Jessica. Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix • YouTube • Disney+
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• Buy Sword Stone Table at Amazon or BookShop

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Minute Thirty-Nine: From Loki’s Reveal to Hogun’s SuspicionJoining us in the Healing Room all week is Jessica Plummer, author and contributing editor at Book Riot. We talk about Hogun the Suspicious and his suspicions.In the thirty-ninth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• It turns out Loki was paying attention to the conversation after all, not just staring at his hand with thoughts of his heritage.
• We debate Loki’s reveal to the group here in the Healing Room. So he told the guard but it was to keep them safe.
• And like Thor, Loki reveals his royal heritage with the comment about flogging the guard.
• Hogun’s healing massage of Volstagg’s arm stops, which may be the sign that he’s shocked. It’s hard to tell with Hogun.
• We agree completely with Loki’s comments on Thor as a terrible option for king. Why do Thor’s friends seem to disagree? Are they just too close?
• This conversation makes us realize that without all of the happenings in this film, Thor really would’ve become the party Thor from What If...? show.
• We debate what Loki’s full intentions were.
• Where is Loki’s head in this moment? We truly see the origin story for Loki in moments like this.
• Loki isn’t a full-on evil villain yet but we can see elements of that here now.
• How much is this frost giant blue element he’s seeing in himself that’s throwing him off in this conversation?
• The conversation about flogging the guard also speaks to distract his friends’ attention from everything else he’s saying.

Loki storms out of the Healing Room and Sif, Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg debate his intentions.

• Each of the friends has their own reaction to Loki’s reveal. Who is right?
• Their immediate suspicions of Loki make us wonder if Loki has ever been good at manipulating them or is only good at manipulating Thor.
• Or perhaps their jealousy of their friends with the royal blood shines through here?
• The Warriors Three and Sif seem as hot-headed as Thor, so perhaps they value this trait whereas Loki sees it as poor for leadership.
• Hogun’s comment speaks to his supposed wisdom and plays with the concept that he doesn’t speak much, but it also comes across as a huge leap in conclusions to say Loki or a master of magic could have brought the Jotuns to Asgard.
• The logic becomes Watsonian vs. Doylist – this suspicion of Hogun’s feels like it has to be there simply so these characters are suspicious in the story.
• Would this scene have played still if they weren’t suspicious at this moment?
• And to that end, how many masters of magic are there on Asgard? Is it just Loki and Frigga?
• But Odin uses magic too... So where is the line?
• Regardless, we struggle quite a bit with this leap – even if they’re right – because it just seems too much a device by the writers.

All in all, though, it’s a debate with Loki while in the Healing Room. So much to discuss. Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix • YouTube • Disney+
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• Trailer #1
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• Jessica at Instagram, Twitter and BookRiot
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Minute Thirsty-Eight: From Healthy Muscles to a Healing MassageJoining us again is Jessica Plummer, author and contributing editor at Book Riot. We discuss more about thirst, Thor’s attitude, how he speaks to people, and the Asgardian healing room.In the thirsty-eighth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• The thirst factor is still high as we kick off this minute with Jane still having a hard time not blatantly staring at Thor.
• Meanwhile, he gets ready to put the shirt on that she loaned him, only to find a Hello, My Name Is... sticker still attached.
• Turns out, we have another Easter egg buried in the name on that sticker – Donald Blake M.D.
• Marvel enjoys dropping Easter eggs in their films, which is a different perspective than the DC films use, where they largely avoid dropping them. But why?
• This shirt, however – does this mean Jane’s had it for a long time but hasn’t washed it? Or was it a recent break-up?
• Does the fact that this Thor fits perfectly so well imply that Jane has a type and Thor fits it perfectly?
• There was a point in development where the Donald Blake persona would be in the film and they were talking about Kevin McKidd playing him.
• Despite his hotness and Jane’s (and our) thirst for him, Thor is rude. He clearly acts like royalty and treats everyone as if they’re servants or commoners.
• Thor’s comments about needing sustenance come off sounding like he’s having an out of body experience. His mortal form?
• Could it be that he hasn’t had a golden apple from Asgard in far too long and is actually feeling more mortal than he’s ever felt before?
• Thor is hungry. Darcy is thirsty. But she and Erik share a look when Thor speaks the way he does. Clearly, they’re tuned in to his crazy jabberings.

We leave the thirst behind to journey to Asgard where we visit the Healing Room.

• It’s Asgard at night! So they do flip around like a pancake in space!
• The striking difference between the rural and rundown look of Puente Antiguo and the opulence of Asgard stands out strong with this transition.
• Bo Welch’s incredible production design gives so much weight to this scene. And did you know that’s an enormous ram’s head over the fire?
• We lay out what Hogun is actually doing here because it’s never quite clear.
• Volstagg, Sif, and Fandral discuss why they shouldn’t have let Thor go, but also how Thor saved them.
• Fandral seems the one we should be thirsty for but are we? Is there any thirst factor for him sitting here with his vest on and no shirt underneath?
• They know now that a guard told Odin where they were going but there still seems some debate if their journey was a smart idea or not.
• Loki seems to only be focused on the fact that his hand had turned blue earlier.
• With all his planning, Loki clearly struggles with this new information.
• Again, the opulence here – both in the production design and in the costumes – stands out as something to pay attention to.

Meanwhile, in the MCU...

• We’re still on June 10th and we talk a bit about what’s happening in both The Incredible Hulk and in Iron Man 2.

It’s a conversation about hot bodies and the thirst that goes along with them, royal attitudes and how people react to them, and discussions in the healing room. Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix • YouTube • Disney+
• Join the conversation on Discord
• Script Transcript
• Trailer #1
• Trailer #2
• Poster artwork
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• Jessica at Instagram, Twitter and BookRiot
• Jessica’s podcast Flights and Tights: A Superman Movie Podcast
• Buy Sword Stone Table at Amazon or BookShop

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Minute Thirty-Seven: From Stan the Man to Bare-Chested ThorJoining us to discuss Stan Lee as well as Thor’s perfect body is Jessica Plummer, author and contributing editor at Book Riot.In the thirty-seventh minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• How strong does that chain have to be to rip the bed of a Dodge pickup truck right off the frame? Or is it that the truck itself was not made well? In a minute of perfect bodies, this truck proves it does not have the perfect body.
• If they chipped the rock away from under Mjølnir, would they be able to pull it away?
• Look! It’s Stan Lee in his cameo! Turns out, Stan the Man is driving the pickup that gets torn apart.
• It’s been disproved that Stan’s one of the Watchers now that What If...? has been released, but we explore what he would be up to if he were the Watcher during this crossover period between The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 and this film.

Agent Coulson finally arrives.

• And it looks a bit familiar as we’ve seen a bit of this at the end of Iron Man 2.
• He’s very stoic as the SHIELD agent, and as his first foray outside of the Iron Man films, it really feels like he’s starting to step into his own here. But he doesn't have Thor's perfect body.
• They do make him feel more menacing though. Is that because for this film, they’re meant to feel more of a threat during the continuing sequences with Mjølnir?
• This moment again speaks so well about what Kevin Feige had been setting up with this crossover universe that becomes the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• We talk about a few of the other actors playing townies at the crater as well.

Back at Smith Motors in Jane’s workshop, and we find Thor shirtless, showing off his perfect body. Thirsty, anyone?

• Thor is putting on clothes and we find him with jeans on. And that’s it. Clearly, Hemsworth is happy to show off his body here because those months in the gym seriously paid off.
• Jessica wanted to discuss these minutes in particular because of the concept of thirst and how these films have subverted a bit of the trope of featuring women in moments simply included for thirsty male viewers by featuring these super men in super shape usually topless to satisfy fans.
• We discuss the male gaze versus the female gaze a bit. We also discuss the challenge of a male director filming the female gaze. Does that negate it? Though perhaps that’s why it’s so important to have Darcy and Jane both staring at Thor’s perfect body.
• Darcy’s apology/non-apology to Thor about tasing him feels like classic Darcy.
• Jane does a great job of averting her eyes, oh Lord.
• Thor fiddles with the computer mouse and Jane stops him. And she realizes how close she is to that perfect bod. And we realize just how much taller he is than she.
• But while Thor’s body may be the perfect body, that damn bleached eyebrow thing and terrible wig. They almost make his entire face disappear.
• Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned the other beautiful thing to look at – those incredible New Mexico vistas through the enormous windows of Smith Motors. Wow, what a beautiful part of the world.

We’ve got Stan Lee’s cameo as well as a whole conversation about the thirst everyone has after seeing Hemsworth look the way he looks. Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix • YouTube • Disney+
• Join the conversation on Discord
• Script Transcript
• Trailer #1
• Trailer #2
• Poster artwork
• Original Material
• Jessica at Instagram, Twitter and BookRiot
• Jessica’s podcast Flights and Tights: A Superman Movie Podcast
• Buy Sword Stone Table at Amazon or BookShop

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Minute Thirty-Six: From Empty Bed in a County Hospital to Chained Hammer in an Impact CraterWe’re digging deep into the movie as well as the impact crater in the thirty-sixth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• Before we get back to Mjølnir’s impact crater, we return to the County Hospital.
• Even the god’s-eye view shots that Branagh uses in this film end up as dutch angles. They’re so great!
• Jane really wants to find Thor specifically for the science. He’s evidence. He can tell her all about what it was like in that event. They really focus on Jane and her science in this film. And it works well.
• Thor is hot, and for a lot of people that’s why they’d return to him but we talk about how there’s an entirely possible reaction from Jane that it’s really all about science here. Even if he wasn’t hot but was gross with a beard down to his knees, she’d likely want to talk to him.
• Erik really seems to be getting a better sense of what’s really going on. He’s a scientist also, but brings the older wisdom.
• But is Erik starting to get a sense that this person may be somebody from his storybook tales?
• At least Erik is trying to keep everyone alive.
• Darcy is fine tracking him down, but apparently ready to tase him again. But why does she cock her taser like a gun? They don’t work that way.

First she forces Darcy to drive into an atmospheric disturbance, then hit Thor, and now back into Thor. Jane clearly shouldn’t drive.

• Jane backs up, and even though we can see Thor walking through the side windows, Jane apparently can’t and backs into him.
• To be fair, she’s rather worked up so maybe isn’t paying attention that well.
• But if Thor had his powers, would he dent the Pinzgauer? It’s a lot of mass... would it at least push Thor back a bit or knock him over?
• In the script, this is when he finally realizes where he was.
• Oh – and Dawn the admissions nurse makes an appearance in the script again. It’s so much better than her earlier moment. Too bad we get the bad spelling/slow typer version of Dawn instead of this scripted version.

Meanwhile, back at Mjølnir’s Impact Crater...

• Apparently, JMS told everyone in the area and they told all their friends because there are now several dozen people at the impact crater and they’re having a great time. One unnamed guy – we’ll call him Grilling Townie – has his popup tent and is busy grilling hot dogs. That means it’s a serious party!
• But where the heck is he set up? We never see him again.
• Billy Swan’s “I Can Help” plays throughout this scene. We dig in a bit on him and his career, including his daughters Planet and Sierra.
• We talk about Pete played by Matt Battaglia and Jake, aka Drunk Townie, played by Joel McCrary. They ham it up quite a bit as they try pulling Mjølnir from its spot but it won’t budge.
• And this is, of course, free entertainment, so it’s obviously something all these townies want to be at.
• But there’s a bicycle there. That’s one heck of a bike ride to get here!
• And did we mention everybody is dressed for winter weather, even though this takes place on June 1st according to the MCU’s official timeline?
• Regardless, the townies finally come up with a plan to pull Mjølnir free with a chain wrapped around a hitch in the back of a pickup truck. But whose truck could it be?
• And did we mention how much Matthew loves JMS’s Babylon 5? And he’s still out here watching what’s going on.

Jane, Erik, and Darcy find Thor and the rural New Mexicans try to free Mjølnir at the Impact Crater. So much to talk about! Tune in!Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix • YouTube • Disney+
• Join the conversation on Discord
• Script Transcript
• Trailer #1
• Trailer #2
• Poster artwork
• Original Material

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