Rene Russo

This is one of those warm, unchallenging comedies that's entertaining to watch even though something about it feels vaguely inane. Basically, nothing about it is even remotely realistic; people never actually do or say these kinds of things. But we kind of wish they did. And as writer-director Nancy Meyers makes a series of pointed observations about the value of age and experience, we can't help but wistfully smile and nod along.

It's set in a picturesque mix of old and new Brooklyn, where pensioner Ben (Robert De Niro) has run out of ways to make his life interesting after his wife of more than 40 years died. He's done the travelling, spent time with his grandson on the opposite side of the country, and now he's applying to be a senior intern at a wildly successful fashion website. He's assigned to work with founder and CEO Jules (Anne Hathaway), an overachiever who prefers to do everything herself while her equally astute husband (Anders Holm) stays home with their adorable daughter (JoJo Kushner). Jules is so busy that she barely notices that both her company and her marriage are slipping out of her grasp, but Ben is sharp as a tack, and gently helps her reset her priorities. Meanwhile, he also finds romance himself with the company's hot masseuse (Rene Russo).

Virtually everything in this movie feels comfortable and easy, with conflicts that aren't actually that difficult to manage and side characters who never steal the spotlight from the stars. The only dark shadow in the film appears when Ben discovers that Jules' husband is having an affair, and her reaction nicely sidesteps the usual way movies approach the issue. Otherwise, the film plays along nicely, never ruffling feathers while constantly pointing out how wise old people are, really. Thankfully, De Niro is so relaxed in the role that he avoids sentimentality, effortlessly mixing the comedy and drama. He sparks some engaging father-daughter-style chemistry with Hathaway, who nicely mixes Jules' tough drive with an underlying yearning to get her life back in balance.

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A gently comical undertone makes this thriller even creepier than expected, bolstered by sharp writing and directing from Dan Giloy and an especially clever performance from Jake Gyllenhaal. Comparisons to Taxi Driver have been obvious, as the lead character is a potentially dangerous sociopath on a very personal quest. And the film also taps into the current zeitgeist: how the media panders to a public that increasingly screams for blood. It's a thoroughly unnerving film that often feels more like a very grim satire than a proper thriller.

Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, a loner who is desperate to make his mark on the world. Searching for something to do, he stumbles across the people who prowl the city streets after dark in search of an event they can film and sell on to a TV news outlet. Learning from a veteran (Bill Paxton), Lou gets his own camera and a police scanner and starts chasing car crashes, house fires and violent crimes all over Los Angeles. And when he finds that TV news director Nina (Rene Russo) wants to buy his footage, he hires Rick (Riz Ahmed) as an assistant, getting even more aggressive about arriving on the scene before the competition. But Lou isn't willing to settle for that, and starts manipulating the news to get even better stories.

Where this goes from here is pretty unimaginable, as Lou reveals himself to be utterly unencumbered by any hint of a moral compass. Of course, this is a central theme of the movie, as it explores the way audiences clamour for more explosive footage, which pretty much eliminates any sense of human decency in the way events are covered. Gyllenhaal portrays Lou as gaunt and hungry, but with an eerie charm that lets him get away with each audacious manoeuvre. Watching him snap at anyone who crosses him is truly terrifying. Although the way he quietly manipulates situations is even scarier.

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Marvel can't help itself: these movies have to get bigger and crazier. And this one leaves us wondering where they can possibly go next, as it spirals into a madly funny-scary thriller that threatens the existence of the whole universe. But it also feels like a story children would make up as they go along. Still, the sparky characters and wildly cataclysmic approach are hugely entertaining.

The action picks up right after the Battle of New York (see 2012's The Avengers), and scientist Jane (Portman) is miffed that Thor (Hemsworth) didn't call when he was back on Earth. She has just started dating a nebbish Londoner (O'Dowd) when her assistant Darcy (Dennings) stumbles into a spatial anomaly that draws Jane right into the middle of a 5,000-year-old struggle between Thor's home-realm Asgard and the dark elf Malekith (Eccleston), who wants to use a swirling goo called the Aether to plunge all of existence into blackness just as the universe aligns itself. As this convergence approaches, Thor defies his father Odin (Hopkins) and turns to his disgraced, malicious brother Loki (Hiddleston) for help.

The film is overcrowded with small but pivotal characters, including stern but helpful gatekeeper Heimdall (Elba), mad-doctor Erik (Skarsgard) and Odin's wise wife Frigga (Russo). All of them help distract us from the movie's wildly shifting tone as it darts from sardonic comedy to Lord of the Rings-style battles to silly romance to dark emotion. But the best thing is the tense, unpredictable relationship between Thor and Loki, an enjoyable mixture of sibling rivalry and brotherly love that's well-played by Hemsworth and especially Hiddleston. None of the other characters really has a chance to develop around them. But at least the actors have fun with their roles, including a number of hilarious cameos along the way (there are also two post-credit stings).

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