This week Thor star Jaimie Alexander shares her Favourite Movie picks. I don't usually run this segment with posters, but her character one as Sif is so bad-ass I had to include it.
“I like Midnight Cowboy, which I watched to prepare for Loosies. I’m a huge fan of animated movies. I’ll go to the theatre to see them above anything. I like Ice Age and Despicable Me. I also really like sci-fi adventure films, I enjoy that genre.”
If for some miraculous reason you haven’t heard the news you must be a) deaf or b) Osama Bin Laden. Anyway, the exciting juice is that I’m going to be quoted on the Thor movie poster! FREAKIN’ THOR! Paramount contacted me about it last week and after I hastily gave my approval (which went something like Me: “Of course you fucking can!” Them: *chuckle*) I wen t about shouting the news to the world. I tried getting it on News Of The World, but they didn't bite. I don’t know what exact quote they’re going to use or when the new praise posters are going up and out . . .but I will keep you posted. I always thought my first time quoted on a movie poster would be for some indie horror film only I liked, so there you go. I give good quote.
In the meantime, this gives me the perfect excuse to share the above genius piece of poster art from Dave Williams. It’s a minimalist version of the Thor poster and put simply, it rocks.
She might wield a sword and dress in extravagant armour, but Jaimie Alexander ain't no warrior princess. The American actress plays Sif, Goddess Of War, in Marvel's new blockbuster Thor, out in cinemas now. The film follows powerful and arrogant warrior Thor (Aussie Chris Hemsworth), who's cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live among humans on Earth, where he becomes a defender of both worlds.
Alexander said director Kenneth Branagh had been busy looking for a real woman - "not a waif''- to play Thor's only female warrior and was struck by Alexander's likeness to the character in the comic books.
``It wasn't necessary to put me in short hot pants, with stilettos and a big fake chest,'' said Alexander.
``He made her really tough, but she has a very feminie quality about her too, which is great.
``I tried to make her my own and did research with the comic books, but I didn't want her to be Xena or Wonder Woman-ish; I wanted her to be really Sif.''
Amidst an industry surrounded by "a lot'' of pressure on body image, Alexander said she wanted the character of Sif to be an example to young girls.
``I want all the little girls who watch this to see that it's you as an individual that's appealing, not having a waifish body and starving yourself,'' she said.
Sif is one of Thor's closest friends in the film and part of a group of Asgardian warriors, each with their own unique weapons talent. After landing the coveted role, Alexander said she jumped straight into three months of intensive training with her male co-stars, including an incredibly buff Hemsworth who put on around 35 kilos to fill out Thor's frame.
``We did stunt training five days a week and running and lifting three days a week in the three months before we started shooting,'' said Alexander.
``I was the only girl, which was awesome because they would tease me all the time and it was like going back to highshool.
``I had the furtherest to go physically and I dropped 20 pounds unintentionally as I was working out so much to get muscle tone.
``And Chris . . .geez man, he was huge.
``His neck was as big as my hips and he had to eat heaps and work out.''
Alexander made her first trip to Australia last weekend for the Thor world premiere in Sydney and said Hemsworth had been busy showing her, Branagh and co-star Tom Hiddleston around the ``Sydney bar scene.''
``He's a true gentleman with a very sick sense of humour, a booming voice and biceps the size of my entire head,'' she said.
``We were able to meet his brother Liam (Hemsworth) and his parents too, and they're just good people.
``I feel like you're all doing something right down there.''
Thor is out in cinemas now. Read my review below.
Thou shalt heartily enjoy the adventures of mighty Thor, the Hamlet of comic-book movies.
He's the laughing stock of the Marvel universe, but director Kenneth Branagh has turned the hammer-wielding, old English speaking Thor into a Shakespearean hero. It's fitting, considering Branagh is a three-time Oscar nominee for writing, acting and directing film adaptations of Henry V and Hamlet. Essentially that's what Thor is; a Hamlet-esque family drama set within an action-filled fantasy film with comic-book leanings.
Unlike previous films based on popular Marvel comic-books (Iron Man, Spiderman, Hulk, Daredevil) Thor is set within two worlds; Earth and Asgard. Asgard is the fantastical realm where Norse gods such as Thor (Chris Hemsworth), God Thunder, and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), God Of Mischief, live under the rule of their father King Odin, played straight-faced by Anthony Hopkins despite wearing a ridiculous Gold eye patch. It's a land that has been living in peace since a brutal war with the frost giants, peace which is nearly jeopardised when Thor leads his brother and his warrior buddies Hogun (Tadanobu Asano), Sif (Jaimie Alexander), Fandral (Josh Dallas) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) into their realm for a spot revenge. 
But King Odin doesn't look kindly on Thor turning Frosty The Snowmen into gravel with his powerful hammer (which, like a boomerang, returns to him on command) and he banishes the ``vain, greedy, cruel boy'' to Earth. This is where Thor literally crashes into scientists Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Professor Andrews (Stellan Skarsgard), and their assistant Darcy (Kat Dennings), who witness his arrival as an astrological event in the New Mexico dessert. As the trio try to help the fallen God adjust to his new environment and work out how he got there, a plot of treachery, revenge and moral corruption is unfolding back home in Asgard that could threaten the fates of both worlds.
In Branagh's first big-budget studio outing he has proved himself as mighty as his subject. While many directors have lost themselves and the story within the action-scenes, special-effects and CGI laden worlds of comic-book movies, Branagh has managed to include all of the above while grounding the film with an emotionally charged, complex family drama. Interestingly it's not within the breathtaking, utterly spectacular CGI-created world of Asgard where the magic happens; it's on Earth. Thor's arrogant, privileged manner provides much of the film's humour as the fish out of water tries to negotiate a world of mere mortals. And by negotiate, I mean ushering cars out of his way like lowly cattle as he walks down the main road or strutting into a pet store and demanding a horse.
"We only sell cats and dogs,'' says the startled shop keeper.
"Then give me one big enough to ride.''
All it took was a man with a hammer to get audiences at the Australian International Movie Convention drooling last week. Never-before-seen footage from the upcoming Thor movie, based on the Marvel superhero, played at the event during a presentation by Paramount Pictures.
Director Kenneth Branagh and Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the film, introduced the scenes via videolink. Both apologised for not being able to make the convention and Branagh said he has fond memories of Australia.
"I love Australia, I have fond memories of working on an ABC television show and then with director Phillip Noyce on Rabbit Proof Fence," he said.
Although some footage of Thor was screened at the Comic Con event in the US recently, delegates were the first to see this new material. As well as watching scenes from the movie itself, Thor concept art was shown and interviews with the producers, creative directors and fellow big-wigs.
From what I saw, I must say I’m quite intrigued. Note how I say intrigued rather than excited. I’ve never been into the Thor mythology myself and I’ll see the movie regardless, but this looks a bit to `out there’ for me. The film seems to be set between the two planets and rely heavily on the alien thing, which are the same elements that turned me off about Superman and Green Lantern. Anyway, Thor’s home planet of Asgard (which Anthony Hopkins and bunch of the other characters live on) looks visually quite amazing and tres alien. The creative lads said they tried to make something `unlike anything you’ve seen before’ which immediately makes me go `pffft, who hasn’t?’. For the most part though, I shall reserve judgement until we get a full length trailer and it’s packaged properly. Maybe.
Thor will be released on May 5, 2011. 
(Above) Thor was very happy at the success of his latest DYI project around the house.
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