Last Week… Agent Coulson successfully puts his team together just in time to stop Mike Peterson, a ticking time bomb filled with all kinds of superhuman inducing serums, before he cause any real damage. The only real straggler, however, is spunky computer hacker Skye who, despite her involvement in last week’s efforts, still feels a…
When a film series has run its course and the most interesting aspects of a story as told through multiple installments has been pillaged, the last people this news seems to become apparent are those in charge of producing them. It gets to a certain point where any new addition to a film “franchise,” because…
The Marvel Cinematic Universe gravy train keeps chugging along and shows no signs of slowing down. 2013 seems poised to be a landmark year in their springboard for the future as well, with Iron Man 3 this year’s top global film so far (with 1.2 Billion dollars in receipts), Thor: The Dark World on the…
Threequelitis is a common phenomenon in film trilogies. After the initial spark of inspiration culminates in a rousing success, the filmmakers look to capitalize on that with a film that builds on what made its predecessor good and the result is something that is on the same level of quality if not better (provided of…
Directed by Joseph Kosinski Written by Joseph Kosinski, Karl Gajdusek and Michael Arndt Starring Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo and Morgan Freeman PG-13, 124 minutes Oblivion wears its inspirations on its sleeve but leaves its heart on ice. It takes its sweet time building to something grand in scale but…
Directed by Shane Black Written by Shane Black and Drew Pearce Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, John Favreau, James Badge Dale, Ty Simpkins, Stephanie Szostak, William Sadler, Miguel Ferrer, and Ben Kingsley PG-13, 130 minutes Iron Man 3 arrived in theaters in a rather peculiar position. Coming hot…
My first entry in this column was the Spielberg film A.I., a movie I utterly despised as a nine-year old child but grew to admire and ultimately like following recent subsequent viewings. The year following A.I. Spielberg unleashed the Tom Cruise sci-fi actioner Minority Report, a movie that a mild-mannered ten year-old kid walked into…
In celebration of next year’s Mad Max videogame and the hopeful release of Mad Max: Fury Road, I will be taking a look back at one of my favorite cinematic trilogies of all time. The film that started it all, Mad Max, is not indicative of what the franchise is known for when people think…
Orson Scott Card’s philosophical sci-fi thriller, Ender’s Game, is one of the most riveting, exciting, thought-provoking, powerful books I’ve ever read. Tears flowed as the ending came, revealing that this story wasn’t just about fighting aliens and saving the world, but about love, communication, and understanding. I’ve ranked it up there with Ray Bradbury’s…
Directed by Zack Snyder Written by David S. Goyer Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Antje Traue, Laurence Fishburne, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, Richard Schiff, and Harry Lennix PG-13, 143 minutes Man of Steel is the second best Superman movie ever made, but that claim comes along with…
Directed by David Twohy Written by David Twohy, Oliver Butcher, and Stephen Cornwell Starring Vin Diesel, Katee Sackhoff, Matt Nable, Jordi Molla, Dave Bautista, Bokeem Woodbine, Raoul Trujillo and Karl Urban R, 119 minutes Riddick, the third film in the titular character’s saga, is proof positive that The Last Crusade syndrome is still in full…
Directed by J.J. Abrams Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Alice Eve, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwoosd, and Peter Weller PG-13, 132 minutes The Star Trek franchise has seen its ups and downs on a regular basis. A…
