Posted in: The Reel World by M. W. Phillips on July 20th, 2012
“You think this can last? There's a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you're all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”
In the spirit of full disclosure, let me state that my favorite comic book hero is Batman. As a child, even before the Sixties TV show premiered, I loved the tale of Batman. It is a story of a child who overcomes the fear and destruction of his childhood and becomes stronger because of it.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on July 13th, 2012
"I love a terrible turn of events."
Ever wonder how the continents formed and the land masses on planet earth got their present shapes? The short answer appears to be nuts. Literally, nuts. For a decade our children have been getting their geologic time lessons from the folks at Dreamworks animated feature shop. Yes, the same folks who brought us the Shrek series. Ice Age came out in 2002 and took the box office like a blizzard piling up a drift of cash that amounted to almost $180 million before it was over.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on July 6th, 2012
When I first saw the trailer for Savages I was more than a little unimpressed; in fact I was beginning to accept that there were no more great films to come from one of the directors I believe was in the top five working directors of the 80s and the 90s. Over the past decade he’s managed to churn out some decent films, but nothing that can measure up to Platoon, JFK, The Doors, Natural Born Killers or Nixon. With Alexander he took a big gamble and it was a commercial bomb, and since then it seems he’s been playing it safe.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on July 3rd, 2012
"There's rumor of a new species in New York."
It would be easy to say that The Amazing Spider-Man is a remake of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man film. It certainly looks that way. After just a single decade Sony Pictures has decided to go back to the origins of the popular comic character and pretty much start over. This film takes us back to the proverbial origin story. Once again we get to see young Peter Parker, this time played by Andrew Garfield, get bitten by that nasty spider and find himself with wonderful powers, and of, course great responsibilities.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 29th, 2012
What if your favorite childhood toy were to not only come to life but also be your best friend for life? This is the scenario writer/director Seth Macfarlane (creator of Family Guy and American Dad) set out to explore in his first live action venture behind the lens in this summer’s comedy Ted. With the freedom of an R rating I was curious to see what Macfarlane would bring us and what I came away with was something of a surprise.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 24th, 2012
"The ancients spoke of it. It is the heart of this fierce land. It is carried in the wind. Born of our legends, and when we are put to the test, it is the one thing that we must always be."
Readers of this site already know that I have a particular fondness for most of the films that have come from Pixar. The studio pretty much invented the computer-animated feature film, and they've been setting the bar higher with each new release. I've always thought it was rather fitting that the studio ended up as part of Disney. After all, it was the Mouse House that invented the animated feature to begin with.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2012
"History prefers legends to men. It prefers nobility to brutality, soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle, and forgets the blood. However history remembers me if it remembers anything at all, it shall only remember a fraction of the truth for whatever else I am: a husband, a lawyer, a president; I shall always think of myself first and foremost as a hunter."
It's been almost four score and seven years ago, it seems, since there's been a really good vampire movie.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on June 22nd, 2012
Expectations can mean everything when you go into a film. That's usually a problem for that certain class of movie which defies definition at almost every turn. It's the kind of movie that often flows from a first-time director and writer. It's also the kind of film that plays best in the festival circuit where the audience isn't really looking to so much pigeonhole a movie as much as a mainstream audience does. When Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World decided to join a crowded summer of blockbuster anchor films
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on June 15th, 2012
Ever since his departure from Saturday Night Live, Adam Sandler has become one of the most successful comedians of all time. Granted not all of his movies have been great; in fact, some are better left forgotten, but he has a loyal fan base that will keep returning to the theater to see the funny man with hopes of the next big hit. Sure, he had success with Grown Ups, but when looking over his films from the past decade I can’t help but wonder what happened.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on June 15th, 2012
Even those of us who enjoy movie musicals concede there's a certain degree of eye-rolling that comes with the territory. Some of the greatest musicals of all time — from classics like Singin' in the Rain and West Side Story to more modern hits like Chicago — are not immune to audible groans from jaded audiences whenever dialogue is interrupted by a showtune or a preposterously choreographed dance sequence.
