"Thor: The Dark World" improves on original

It's been a while since I've done a complete review of a movie. Where did all the time go? Oh yeah, of course, I went to college! Anyway, this week let's take a look at Thor's return.

All in all, "Thor: The Dark World" is an entertaining addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that manages to be better than "Iron Man 3." It offers enough rousing adventure to satiate the comic book nerd's appetite until "Avengers 2" (or at least Captain America's next flick).

Picking up from where "The Avengers" left off, Loki is in Asgardian jail for his heinous crimes while Thor is striving to bring balance back to the Nine Realms. Even though he has done that, he still feels a sense of emptiness in his life. He sets off for Earth to find his lover, Jane Foster, who is back on the job and has found an anomaly that has led to a close encounter with another possibility for epic

There are many good things about this sequel, which improves on the original. There's much more action here, prevalent in the numerous rousing set pieces. And what a creative climax! The comedy here is unexpectedly more abundant. With self-aware and wry humor to go along with some of the slapstick, it helps the film feel more fun. Look out for a hilarious cameo that will certainly make your viewing experience more enjoyable if it already wasn't.

All that creates for a nice balance with the emotional side, elevated here by deeper relationships between the characters, the most notable one being Thor and Loki's love/hate bromance. It's all in due part to the great acting by the ensemble -- the bold Chris Hemsworth, gleeful scenestealer Tom Hiddleston, a fine Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba lending a strong, authoritative support, and even the sadly underused Christopher Eccleston.

Alan Taylor's direction here may seem like it's made out of compromise, but it's fresh and assured enough to keep the ball rolling. And of course, the visual effects made the whole shebang look cool, even enhancing upon the original look of Asgard.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in "Thor: The Dark World"

However, the film suffers from quite a few flaws. The storyline isn't all that enthralling, mostly because it's yet another superhero movie in where things go wrong (again) and the superhero must save the day (again). Still, who goes to a Marvel movie not expecting this? The loose, quick writing helps the film overcome that hurdle, but the sci-fi/fantasy vibe was a bit uneven for me. I felt this sequel went a little overboard on this aspect, which really threw me off because the first one had such a good balance of the two genres. The first film was also better in terms of character development, notably with the Asgardian warriors and the external subplot mortals. For a "central villian", Malekith didn't have that much substance to him, appear for only a few minutes of screen time each time onscreen. It came off as sillier and more over-the-top, now that I think about it, at times looking nearly like a parody of itself. The first film leaned towards a more theatrical tone.

It takes time for TTDW to pick up momentum, which was also the case with the first film (and "The Avengers," and "Captain America," and all the other ones, now that I think about it), but once the train is rolling everything is just fine.

Lightning has struck twice for Thor after all. The same can be said for Marvel, whose Phase Two movies are shaping up so-far, so-good. The second "Thor" improves slightly over its predecessor in being a dazzling, engaging fantasy that's only a touch darker yet much more amusing. Now I'm curious about how "Guardians of the Galaxy" will build up to the second "Avengers."

Nathan Cook is a graduate of Skyline High School now attending Boise State University.

NYT 'Room for Debate' posts nuclear power discussion

This was in the New York Times this morning, guaranteed to be of interest to a lot of people in eastern Idaho, where nuclear power has never been as stigmatized as it has been in other places.

Pay particular attention to Nathan Myhrvold, vice chairman of the board of TerraPower, the company contracting with the Idaho National Laboratory as it seeks to develop new technologies for nuclear energy. I'd be curious as to whether Myhrvold, former chief technology officer of Microsoft, was with Bill Gates last month when Gates and his retinue visited the lab's Materials Fuels Complex. I'm guessing he was.

"Ironically, people who argue against nuclear on environmental grounds may contribute to a far greater environmental catastrophe. Unfortunately the physics of climate change makes the here and now danger too easy to ignore," he says here.

Anyway, you're free to post your comment to the discussion by by following this link: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/11/14/is-nuclear-power-the-answer-to-climate-change/nuclear-power-needs-to-be-an-option.

So long splash park, hello "Memorial Falls"

The "splash park" on the Idaho Falls Greenbelt is no more. It has been pared down to less than one-third of its proposed size, dressed up in red, white and blue, and renamed "Memorial Falls."

When it became obvious that public objections had become a serious problem for the city of Idaho Falls' proposal to build a big interactive water feature at Memorial and Riverside, Parks and Rec Director Greg Weitzel and designer Nate Durtschi of Rock Solid Landscape went back to the drawing board. Not wanting to give up on a fountain at the location, they enlisted local veterans' support for the idea of turning the feature into a memorial to soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

As for the splash part of the proposal, "the vets thought kids interacting is a great idea," Weitzel told the Idaho Falls City Council today at a morning work session. "When kid interact, kids learn," he said. Still, frolicking in the jets and the cascading water will not me the focus. "It can be played in, but that's not its purpose," he said.

Weitzel said he was very pleased by the turnout Wednesday night for the Greenbelt public meeting at the Residence Inn -- over 130 people -- and by the level of investment residents feel in the city's public spaces. "We do not have a shy public here in Idaho Falls," he said.

More than 1,000 people responded to a survey for the Connecting Our Community study, only slightly less than a similar study conducted in Salt Lake City. "We're taking the lead from the public," he said. "They're saying the Greenbelt is the number one resource we have."

The next step for Memorial Falls would be for the City Council to approve a design contract. Weitzel said he is hopeful the project might be finished in time for a dedication next July 4.

"We would be the first city in Idaho to recognize Iraq and Afghanisan vets," he said. "It's a perfect fit for Memorial Drive."

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Idaho Falls ranks second in national survey of "Best Small Cities"

Since the last national list on which Idaho Falls was ranked was of the nation's coldest cities (we were 18th), here's something a little more heartwarming.

Movato Blog ("The Lighter Side of Real Estate") has Idaho Falls coming in second behind Rowlett, Texas (suburban Dallas), on a list of "Best Small Cities to Move To."

• The list was based on data from close to 100 cities with populations under 60,000. The six criteria were:
• Cost of living
• Crime
• Median household income
• Unemployment rate
• Median home price
• Homes for sale per capita

Information came from the U.S. Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI, and real estate market data.

Buttercup Bakery & Bistro opens on First Street

Neccia Hahn, owner of Buttercup Bakery and Bistro, 335 First Street.

Such is the nature of perfection that Neccia Hahn doubts she'll ever make the perfect loaf of bread, but she gets close often enough to keep trying.

Today is the opening day of Hahn's Buttercup Bakery & Bistro, 335 First Street. She is keeping it low key, but this is the culmination of more than a year of effort -- and 15 years of obsession.

Hahn's start, nicknamed "Levainna White," dates back to the Clinton administration (levain is a leavening agent used in place of yeast to rise bread dough) and is pretty much the source of all artisan bread she has made since.

"I think you're always trying to do better," she said.

In 2012, in preparation for her own bakery, Hahn went to the San Francisco Baking Institute, where she delved into the nuances of artisan baking. She and her husband, F.J. "Tiger" Hahn, started work on the First Street property earlier this year, remodeling and adding a deck in front.

Hahn is assisted by Beth Watson. Together, they will be making daily sourdough rounds, baguettes, bagels, pain au levain and chibatta. They will periodically making rye and challa, brioches for the holidays and, of course, sticky buns and cookies.

The bakery opens at 7 a.m. daily except for Sunday.

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