American History X
American History X tells the story of a young boy whose Neo-Nazi brother has just returned from prison for committing a hate crime. The movie is told anachronically, with scenes from present day interspersed with scenes from Norton's character's past, including when he was in jail. The movie really lies in Norton's performance. While Derek's younger brother played by Edward Furlong gives a solid performance as a misguided teen, the movie is definitely a chance for Norton to flex his acting chops. He completely embodies both the hateful, maliced bigot who constantly shows his disdain for people, and also the deeply remorseful, changed man who wants his past to not cloud his future. Overall I give the movie a 3.5. It's not the best story, nor the most compelling writing, but as far as the performances are concerned, it's top notch.
The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk is another stab at the title character franchise. This time around Edward Norton dons the green skin and purple shorts. Hulk tells the story of Bruce Banner (Norton)'s struggle to not only deal with his new transformation, but to also find a cure for it. The Incredible Hulk not only succeeds where it has a brute smashing his way through the city in rage, but also where it tells how heavy the emotional toll is on Banner. Liv Tyler is rather weak as Betty, Banner's love interest, and her chemistry with Norton could use work but focus more on the story and not on the romance, and you'll find yourself in a good place. Overall I give the movie a 4. It keeps me entertained on the explosions, epic level, but also keeps me involved on the emotional level.
Average Rating for Edward Norton: 3.75
I also enjoyed this movie. At the end of the movie I liked how they brought in Tony Stark to help begin the transition into the Avengers. All the new Marvel movies coming out seem to be building up to an amazing Avenger movie. hopefully this movie will be everything that it is expected to be and not a complete failure
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