Kenneth Branagh

CHICAGO – Last year’s slate of Best Actress Oscar-nominees was among the weakest in recent memory. There was no clear front-runner since there was no picture worthy of the exemplary actress at its core. From Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady” to Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs,” 2011 deserves to be remembered as the year of great female performances trapped in subpar material.

CHICAGO – Bringing the popular culture past back to life in a movie is always a tricky proposition. No matter what, there are always inevitable comparisons to the real thing.

CHICAGO – Marilyn Monroe will never go away. The iconic actress of a long-gone era is the subject of a new film, “My Week with Marilyn,” directed by Simon Curtis. Ms. Monroe is portrayed during a in collaboration with Sir Lawrence Olivier, and their characters are played with sublime grace by Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh.

CHICAGO – Some of the most wonderful diversity within the 47th Annual Chicago International Film Festival can be found in the mid-section of this year’s line-up as virtually-guaranteed Oscar nominees screen next to much-smaller films from around the world. Hopefully, you made it out to see one of our recommendations from the opening act of the fest and are eager for more.

CHICAGO – Comic book and super hero fans may be scratching their heads at the latest rumors coming out of Marvel. Apparently, Patty Jenkins, who only has one featured film under her belt, is the current front runner to direct the next Thor film.

CHICAGO – This summer saw the release of two movies that were basically just appetizers for next year’s full meal in Joss Whedon’s “The Avengers” — “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger.” Both were surprisingly well-received although both fall short of being considered among the best Marvel movies (“Iron Man,” “X-Men: First Class,” “Spider-Man 2”) in part by virtue of so obviously being set-ups for something yet to come. “Thor” works best when one considers where this franchise will go in “Thor 2” and “The Avengers” but is merely average when judged on its own. It’s a decent movie with a decent Blu-ray release that promises more-than-just-decent material to come.

CHICAGO – Even though the summer movie season is barely halfway over, it seems clear that, when we reminisce about summer 2011 later this year, one of the biggest surprises of the season will have to be the simple fact that it was possible to make a “Thor” movie that actually works.

CHICAGO – Animated Marvel Features and Lionsgate very purposefully released a straight-to-DVD Thor movie this month to try and cash in a bit on the success of the summer blockbuster “Thor” with Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman. With some of the same characters, enemies, and locations, the animated version plays not unlike a Saturday morning cartoon version of what you just saw in theaters. Potential viewers under twelve should find enough action here to not consider their time wasted, but anyone older will surely be a a bit bored.

CHICAGO – When big-budget films set their sights on being the next Hollywood blockbuster, they’re almost always built on a formulaic groundwork of proven ingredients.

CHICAGO – In our latest special edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 30 admit-two advance-screening movie passes plus one VIP grand prize pack up for grabs to the new film “Thor” with Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman!