Monthly Archives: November 2010

Too Much Info? Trailers, Film Critics, and Twists

During the lead up to Inception‘s release this summer, the question of what counts as spoilers became a hot topic.  So how much should filmmakers share with prospective audiences without ruining the filmgoing experience? Continue reading

“The Thing” prequel pushed back

The prequel for John Carpenter’s The Thing has been removed from its April 2011 premiere, with a new date set for October 14, 2011. Continue reading

127 Hours

It might surprise you that Danny Boyle’s latest film 127 Hours has a message suitable for this holiday season–beyond the suggestion to cut off your own arm to escape the death trap family dinner table. Continue reading

“Moon” director has new film

Duncan Jones directed the much-lauded sci-fi tale Moon and he already has a follow-up project starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Source Code.

Continue reading

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows…PART 1!

It has been nearly a decade since the first Harry Potter film was released and in that time we’ve seen the cast grow into adults.  Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) has to shave, and Rupert Grint (Ron) could play for a rugby team.  How fitting that these children-turned-adults bring one of the best, most thematically adult installments into the franchise. Continue reading

Zombies, Zombies, Zombies! The Walking Dead, WWZ, The New Dead

Some readers might have noticed the conspicuous absence of The Walking Dead from my post on tv worth watching.  Though it has earned over 5 million viewers in its premiere episode, I was worried that the show didn’t have the heart of the comic books.  However, after seeing the third episode I am glad to welcome this new series, which looks to be heading toward less zombie killing gratuity, and more dissections of what it means to exist within this apocalyptic setting. Continue reading

Skyline’s out to grift you

(sigh)

Okay, so there are two types of bad movies: the first are jumbled, terrible-dialogue-ridden box office monsters (Wolverine). And then there are films who aren’t even aware of the audience watching them; films who do not realize that people in the crowd are sleeping, making their grocery lists, and passing frustrated comments to their buddies nearby (all in one sitting).  Skyline is this latter type of bad. Continue reading

“Unstoppable” an ok episode of Shining Time Station

Denzel Washington and Tony Scott.  You hear those names and you immediately think of Man on Fire: Washington gets to kill bad guys in rectal ways, with Tony Scott providing stylistic verve that underscores his “Ass Kicker” credentials.  Maybe if Washington could brandish a gun at some point in Unstoppable, the film might do more than chug along. Continue reading

TV Worth Watching: Community’s Battlestar Galactica is Breaking Bad at Sealab 2021

I suppose one of the defining features of a film snob is abhorrence for television.  All those commercial breaks, laugh tracks, overwrought dramatics.  But in both film and television there’s a lot of crap – you just have to know where to find the good stuff.  So as a film fan who does not have cable or those digital boxes to even watch basic channels, here are the shows (past and present) that make me wish I did. Continue reading

Dreamworks’ “Megamind” still can’t compete with Pixar

Since late spring there has been continuous buzz about the latest from Dreamworks, Megamind.  Starring Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, and Jonah Hill, this animated superhero film about a supervillain switching sides sounds pretty enticing – which it is and is not.

There are some enjoyable aspects to Megamind, but it fails to reach the dramatic heights of a Pixar film. Instead it’s more of an “eh” movie experience.  A Donkey Kong reference, allusions to Superman (comic book origins and the original film), and  other general comedy bits had me laughing more than the kids in the audience; and when the usual setup between superhero and supervillain is subverted, I was actually impressed.  However, this surprising moment occurs early and there aren’t any other intriguing plot elements to sustain the film for the rest of the run time.

Overall it’s an okay film, but nothing sublime.  You probably don’t want to pay to see this in cinemas, but would be a decent rental.

*In the film, supervillain Megamind has posters made of himself much like the Barack Obama posters of 2008, except they say “No you can’t.” which provides an amusing, albeit, sad sting after the 2010 elections this week.