"Thor" "X-Men: First Class" "Captain America: The First Avenger" win Saturn Awards 2012

Marvel Cinematic Universe had a decent showing at the 38th Saturn Awards presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films July 26, 2012.  Thor was nominated for four awards and X-Men: First Class received two nominations. Captain America: The First Avenger got seven nominations. 

The first Thor movie starring dreamy Chris Hemsworth released in 2011 won Best Costume for Alexandra Byrne.  It was nominated for Best Fantasy Film, Best Supporting Actor for Tom Hiddleston, and Best Production Design for Bo Welch.

X-Men: First Class won Best Make-up for Dave Elsey. It was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film.

Captain America: The First Avenger was nominated for Best Science Fiction film, Best Actor for Chris Evans, Best Supporting Actor for Stanley Tucci, Best Music for Alan Silvestri, Best Production Design, Best Costume, and Best Special Effects.

Thor (2011) trailer 

Happy birthday, Chris Pratt!

Hunky, adorable Chris Pratt, born June 21, 1979 in Virginia, Minnesota, has appeared in many blockbuster action movies.  His first big acting job came in 2002 when he starred with Treat Williams in Everwood.  Then in 2014, he landed the role of Peter Quill in the Guardians of the Galaxy, which has spawned two sequels.  As Quill, he has appeared in other MCU movies with the Avengers in Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder.  He appeared in the second Jurassic Park trilogy.

He won a Saturn Award in 2015 for his performance in Guardians of the Galaxy. He is currently voicing the character of Garfield in The Garfield Movie.

And he's has more performances in progress.  

Go, sexy!

Happy birthday, Tom Hiddleston!

Versatile and handsome actor Tom Hiddleston, born February 9, 1981 in London, England, is probably best known for his portrayal of Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has appeared as Loki in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.  He has a television series Loki and has voiced the character in other visual media.  I really liked him in Kong: Skull Island.  He played Hank Williams in the biopic I Saw the Light.

He has received many awards for his work as Loki, but he has also won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in 2017 for his performance in The Night Manager.

"Thor: The Dark World" released 2013

The sequel to Marvel Cinematic Universe's Thor, Thor: The Dark World, was released November 8, 2013. Chris Hemsworth reprised his role as the God of Thunder, with Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Ray Stevenson.

It surpassed its predecessor's success in only 19 days after release.  It earned $206.4M in North American and $438.4M world-wide.  Rotten Tomatoes, which doesn't like any movie, gave it a rating of 66%!

Happy birthday, Idris Elba!

Idris Elba, born September 6, 1972 in London, England, is an actor who has racked up multiple acting awards and nominations.  He is mostly known for his role as DCI Luther in the British mystery series Luther, but I like him as Heimdall in the Thor and Avengers movies.

One of his earliest roles was as a hustler on Absolutely Fabulous with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley in 1995.  He has appeared in Star Trek Beyond, The Wire, and Pacific Rim.  He has been nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys and 4 Golden Globes for his performance on Luther, and won the Golden Globe in 2012 for Best Actor in a Television Series.  

Why has this man not been nominated for an Oscar?  Why?

"Thor: Ragnarok" released 2017

Thor: Ragnarok, the third in the MCU's Thor movies, was released November 3, 2017.  It starred dreamy Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Idris Elba as Heimdall and Karl Urban as Skurge.  Benedict Cumberbatch appeared as Doctor Strange. 

Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins also appeared.

I enjoyed the movie but it did go for a walk on the weird side.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" released 2011

Captain America: The First Avenger was released into theaters July 22, 2011.  The comic book hero was played by totally sexy Chris Evans, with Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci and Samuel L. Jackson.

The movie showed the beginning of Captain America as Steve Rogers is desperate to fight for his country in WWII, but is too small.  He is injected with a serum that turns him into a super-soldier.  The scientist who concocted the serum (played by Stanley Tucci) is killed just after the experiment is shown to be a success.

Captain America goes on to fight Nazis in WWII.

It opened to mostly positive reviews and made $65.1 M, the second highest-grossing opening weekend for a superhero film in 2011, behind Thor.

"Doctor Strange" released 2016

Marvel Studios released Doctor Strange November 4, 2016, the fourteenth Marvel Comics Universe movie.  London-born actor Benedict Cumberbatch played a sexy version of the good doctor.  I am a big fan of Tilda Swinton but I did not like her being cast in a role of an old Tibetan man from the comics. 

The special effects were eye-popping and the story was well in line with the comics.  It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects.  (It lost to The Jungle Book.) I liked his appearance in Thor: Ragnarok with Chris Hemsworth.

As of April 2017, Doctor Strange has grossed $677.7M world-wide.

Happy birthday, Thor!

Uber-sexy Chris Hemsworth, born August 11, 1983, has starred in Marvel blockbuster movies as the Norse God of Thunder, Thor. He has also starred as George Kirk, father of James T., in the new Star Trek movies as well. 

He was born in Australia and that is where he started his television career.  His first big screen appearance was as George Kirk in Star Trek (2009). He has appeared in three Thor movies as the title character, and three Avengers movies.  He had a brief, uncredited appearance in Doctor Strange with Benedict Cumberbatch.

"Thor" released 2011

My favorite super-hero finally gets his own movie!  "Thor", starring the gorgeous Chris Hemsworth as the title role, premiered May 6, 2011.  It stayed true to the comic books by having Thor as arrogant and brash, and being thrown out of Asgard by his father Odin, until he learns some humility.

Here is a moving scene where Thor sacrifices himself for the residents of Midgard (Earth).