The ‘90s marked something of a revival for animated television series based on comic book characters, most notably superheroes. The more popular of these series included the like of Batman, Spider-Man, Superman and the X-Men. Growing up, my favorite was X-Men. I was too young when they originally aired so I was unfortunately only able…
Directed by James Mangold Written by Mark Bomback, Scott Frank & Christopher McQuarrie (Uncredited) Starring Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, and Famke Jannsen PG-13, 126 minutes The Wolverine is a fitting title, billed as a return to form for the character after recent lapses in judgment concerning his…
Ever since the big announcement of Batman’s inclusion in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel, rumors have been swarming this way and that regarding what we should expect from the blockbuster sequel. Of course, we won’t know for sure whether this will prove to be the culmination of all comic book fans have ever wanted…
The ceremony commemorating the best achievements cinema had to offer last year has come and gone. Awards aren’t everything, but it seems to me a grave injustice has occurred in not recognizing what I believe to be the greatest achievement in cinema of last year. I am referring to the globetrotting, decade spanning six story-lined…
Favoring style over substance has been something of a primary concern for many moviegoers of this generation’s mainstream cinema. When people think of this, their minds (or mine, specifically) usually tend to wander towards something like Transformers, where hundreds of millions of dollars are spent towards making a movie that ultimately feels more like an…
Let’s face it…sometimes the villains are just more interesting than the heroes. A movie is sometimes only as strong as the main antagonist who gets in the way of our protagonists who have to succeed in the end. Here is a list of what I believe are the five best to appear in science fiction…
I have always been a fan of the X-Men, that wily band of mutants and the curmudgeons who oppose them; whether they are other mutants or the society that fears them. Social commentary on our own culture runs amok in this premise and has been mined several times in the comics, the animated series, and…
RETROSPECTACLE #2 PITCH BLACK (2000) & THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK (2004) Vin Diesel has had something of a roller coaster ride when it comes to his career. He had a small role in a big movie (Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan), voiced the titular character in The Iron Giant, and big roles in smaller films…
In the past ten years, we have seen some of our most beloved franchises resuscitated through either demanding fan-bases or dedicated filmmakers. Superman returned in 2006 and Indiana Jones whipped back into shape (although not really, based on quality) in 2008, both after nineteen year absences. Now, finally, after a nine-year hiatus from the big…
No genre of film has had a spottier track record than that of the video game adaptation. For every feature-length motion picture that clings well below the level of mediocrity like the Prince of Persia movie, there is something like House of the Dead or Silent Hill: Revelation that pierces the bottom of the barrel…
REVIEW OF PACIFIC RIM Directed by Guillermo del Toro Written by Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beachem Starring Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, and Ron Perlman PG-13, 131 Minutes Pacific Rim exists in its own little world. It is a film wholly engineered in the most special of high-concept constructions that in…
RETROSPECTACLE: MOVIES RELEASED WHEN I WAS YOUNGER A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001) I spent a week in Kentucky during the summer of 2001. On a rather sleepy night in the middle of a particularly sleepy week, we decided to pile into the car to go see a drive-in movie. At the site, there were two movies…
