The unexpected nerd cred of De Palma's The Black Dahlia

I recently finished James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia. Since I'm a glutton for punishment and it was on Netflix Watch Instantly, I checked out the reviled 2006 Brian DePalma film adaptation.

About the film's content, there's little new to say. The novel was already incomprehensibly plotted in the second half, and while some plot lines were mercifully condensed, the finished version of the film is an hour shorter than the initial edit. Virtually everyone but Aaron Eckhart and Mia Kirshner was miscast (and even Kirshner was nearly ten years too old to play the title character). Because it's a De Palma picture it looks fantastic, but it's still a fairly lousy movie. Granted, it's hard to objectively consider a film when you've just finished reading the source material.

But what's really amusing about The Black Dahlia is its unexpected geek connections. Consider:

- One of the major plot points in the novel and the film is a painting of Gwynplaine, the main character in Victor Hugo's novel The Man Who Laughs. You probably haven't read the book or seen the 1928 film adaptation, but you know what Gwynplaine looks like: he's the visual inspiration for The Joker. Coincidentally, two years after The Black Dahlia's release, Aaron Eckhart would appear as Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, alongside Heath Ledger as The Joker.

- Screenwriter Josh Friedman created the (underrated) Fox series Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, and helped meme-ify Snakes on a Plane.

- Fiona Shaw, who played Ramona Linscott, is better known as Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter films.

- Patrick Fischler, who played Ellis Leow, was a member of the Dharma Initiative on Lost. You know, the guy who wasn't Horace Goodspeed or Radzinsky.

While not explicitly geeky, it's also worth noting that veteran character actor Mike Starr (you probably know him from Dumb and Dumber or the NBC show Ed) has a supporting role, and the Dahlia herself, Mia Kirshner, was Naked Mandy in 24. But it's funny that you can find nerdiness even in a place like crime noir.

Let's talk about Thor.

I know zip about Thor. He's not one of the more popular Marvel characters, and Norse gods don't get the pub that Greek or Roman gods do. The lack of name-brand recognition is a bit of a liability for a tentpole release in the current studio system, but it's also a benefit. With each new Batman franchise, whether on film or television, the audience brings a new set of preconceived notions into the viewing. Thor, in Kenneth Branagh's new film, is a blank slate: who is this guy?

Well, he's an alien. A superpowered being from a faraway planet, which totally explains why in Thor everyone has a British accent and Idris Elba is a deity from the Norse pantheon (I guess Marcus Samuelsson wasn't answering his phone when the casting director called). Heimdall isn't a black Norseman, he's a black alien who happened to be worshiped by Norsemen! Makes sense, right? But seriously, between this and How to Train Your Dragon, where the Vikings are voiced by Scots and Americans, Scandinavians are getting the shaft. And now the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an American? Low blow.

As played by Chris Hemsworth, Thor is more than just the Norse god of P90X, he's a good-natured hunk, commanding and noble in Asgard and charmingly out of his element on Earth. He may not know the etiquette of eating breakfast at the corner diner, but he'll kiss ladies on the hand. After suffering through movies with moribund Sam Worthingtons, it's nice to see a jock with charisma. The romance between Thor and Natalie Portman's astrophysicist is barely developed, of course, but nobody watches these movies for the love stories. Side note: why pursue Portman when Kat Dennings is right there? It's like passing up Joan Holloway for Betty Draper. Friends don't let Norse gods pick up skinny chicks.

Thor is chilling in New Mexico because his father Odin, king of Asgard, banished him for his impetuousness. Anthony Hopkins is suitably regal as Odin, and Asgard looks fantastic. The design of the otherworldly kingdom is composed with a stunning visual palette, and is doubly impressive when compared to the look of Green Lantern, which makes me flinch whenever I see an ad for it.

In terms of plot, Thor is a combination of a two familiar stories, the comic book hero origin story, and a tale of a brash warrior's redemption. It's nothing new, but it's told well (credit Branagh on this one). When Thor is finally worthy enough to wield his hammer and kick ass again, you'll think "hell yeah."

Rounding out the cast are Stellan Skarsgard as an avuncular scientist, Tom Hiddleston as the shifty god Loki, and Ray Stevenson as a husky Asgardian warrior. They perform admirably. My only real complaint is that Idris Elba isn't allowed to be more awesome.

Thor won't go in the Marvel film pantheon alongside Iron Man or X2 but it's a solid, good-looking, fun time at the movies. It may in practice be no more than an extended prequel to the upcoming Avengers movie (the Jeremy Renner cameo is useless and the post-credits stinger falls flat), but it stands on its own.