So I have just had the pleasure of watching Hollywood’s latest heist film Takers. “How was it?” you may ask. Well, let’s just say that I liked it better when Michael Mann directed it in 1995 and called it Heat, or maybe even when Mark Wahlberg starred in it in 2003 when it was called The Italian Job. Either way, we’ve seen this film before.
The plot of this film is nothing new. Like I just mentioned, there are heavy elements of Heat in Takers. The heist plan is so much like The Italian Job that one of the characters actually refers to their plan as “going all Italian Job on it.” There is even a hotel room shoot-out scene that is almost shot-for-shot the exact scene from the end of True Romance, right down to the pillow feathers floating through the air. Continue reading

The Expendables has been in release for a couple of weeks now and so it would appear that your friendly neighborhood Strider-Man is late and that he considered this review…expendable (cue rimshot and pained groans). See, that joke is kind of what this movie is like. It’s obvious and you might get some enjoyment out of it, but for the most part, you’re head will hurt if you consider how much money went into making what is basically a set of random action sequences thrown up onto a screen and loosely connected by dialogue. Continue reading

After the awe-inspiring first season, and the complex and intriguing second year, everyone at the Lost camp decided to throw a few curve balls and mix things up a bit for the third season of the series.  Now, many Lost fans are of the opinion that season 3 may be the weakest of the Lost seasons.  Now, I’ll be the first to admit, that it was quite brave of the writers to try different things, such as featuring an episode surrounding supporting characters Nikki and Paulo, and I’m sure they knew that not everyone was going to be happy with certain aspects of this season.  However, when you look at just how awesome the high points of season 3 were (I still believe that the Season 3 finale may be the best of all the Lost finales) it’s quite a statement of the quality of the series in total when you say that this season may have been it’s weakest, given just how high the quality of this season truly was. Continue reading

When you look at movies that have been popular throughout the years, you see a wide variety of types.  Sure, there have always been the typical blockbuster movie, however there is a specific type of film that was mostly showcased in drive-ins and rundown cinemas that are known as “B” movies.  This flicks, which were named for a smaller movie that was attached to the more popular “A” film, tend to attract a cult following, and have been making an unexpected comeback in recent years.  From Snakes on a Plane to the Grindhouse films, these films often succeed in bringing gratuitous violence, nudity, and gore to the screen in such a stylized fashion, it’s almost impossible not to laugh.  This week, another entry has been submitted into these recent “B” movies with the release of Piranha 3D, and fans of campy grindhouse type movies are sure to eat this up. Continue reading

As we near the end of the summer movie season, many films are attempting to cash in on this profitable time before it’s too late.  However, more times than not, movies that are released towards summer’s end tend to be the same run of the mill movies that you can pretty much tell the beginning, middle, and end just from watching a 90 second trailer.  This being said, every now and again something very special is released at this time that is actually original and quite groundbreaking.  Probably the most famous end-of-summer movie to prove that some quality can be found in August was with the release of The Sixth Sense.  This week, one of the most original and enjoyable movies I’ve ever seen hit theaters everywhere again proving that quality entertainment can be found at the end of the summer, and it’s title is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Continue reading

Many die-hard gamers will scoff at the idea of “gimmick” platforms having success in the gaming industry. The Wii is an example of a concept that took on a life of its own and whose success as a console has prompted a glut of unbearable software churned out to make a quick buck that overshadows developer efforts at using the console’s unique properties to fashion high quality games. The same can be said for the iPhone. Continue reading

When it comes to certain actors, the old saying of “sometimes less is more” can absolutely be true.  In the case of former SNL funnyman Will Ferrell, it is often the case that he succeeds in being much funnier with small bit parts as opposed to being the center of attention.  However, sometimes all you need is the right person to pair up with and with the right material, magic can happen.  With the release of the latest Will Ferrell comedy The Other Guys, teaming Ferrell up with Oscar Nominee Mark Wahlberg may have been a match made in comedy heaven. Continue reading

In Hollywood, perception is everything.  If audiences expect you to behave a certain way, and you do…chances are you’re going to please a lot of people.  Unfortunately, this is also a double-edged sword, as many times people start to get tired of seeing the same actors playing the same parts.  The trick is to slowly venture out into different territory while not making moves that are extremely drastic.  In the case of teen heartthrob Zac Efron, he has actually shown a lot of wise decision making in his career attempting to evolve from that kid on High School Musical.  However, his latest venture into drama Charlie St. Cloud, while a move in the right direction career wise, isn’t anything that absolutely had to be seen in a theater to be enjoyed. Continue reading

In a matter of weeks, Lost: The Complete Series will hit the shelves of stores everywhere on DVD and Blu-Ray. The more I see about this collection, the more excited I become. With this being said, I’ve decided to go back and take an extended look at the series, season by season.
Without a doubt, the first season of this series was one of the true groundbreaking moments of network TV, and following up a success like that can be quite a daunting task. However, the writers over at Lost headquarters were up to the task and added to the mystery and adventure with the second season of this television milestone. Continue reading

When it comes to action flicks, it’s pretty much a clubhouse with a sign that says “no girls allowed.”  However, there have been quite a few notable exceptions in the all guy group of action heroes.  In fact, one of the biggest action stars to grace the screen lately has been Angelina Jolie.  With a number of hits such as Wanted and the Tomb Raider series under her belt, Angelina has proven to be one of the few remaining bankable action stars.  Well, with the release of the latest action film Salt, Angelina is bigger than ever, and she can rightfully stand toe to toe with any tough-guy action star on the planet, as she kicks all sorts of ass here. Continue reading

In the past few months, I have voiced two complaints that I now must retract, and for one of which I must also apologize. The first of these complaints was that the movies being released this summer, with the exception of a few shiny gems, pretty much suck. They’re not all awful, but this summer just hasn’t lived up to the summer movie hype. Secondly, I was one of those people who, while I did not object to Inception being made, I just felt like, “Come on, Christopher Nolan. We don’t need this other stuff. We need more Batman and we need it now!” Well here it is. I’m sorry Christopher Nolan. When I saw your name linked with Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, and Michael Caine, I probably should have realized that you were working on your masterpiece. I am sorry I ever doubted you. It won’t happen again. Continue reading

Mostly, when you’re dealing with movies that are classified as “family films” you’re going to find material that is aimed at small children.  With recent hits such as Alvin & The Chipmunks, it has been proven that if a movie can keep children quiet and entertained for a period of time, parents will shell out big bucks and sit through just about anything.  This being said, it is something very cool when a movie is released that is perfectly suitable for kids and adults alike.  Disney’s latest adventure flick The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a welcome addition to fun and family friendly movies everywhere. Continue reading

Recently, there has been quite a nostalgic trend in movie theaters everywhere.  In the past few years, we’ve seen new looks at icons of the past such as Die Hard, Indiana Jones, and Rambo.  These movies are often met with a certain amount of anticipation as fans of the various series always have such fond memories related to them.  Well, the latest action hit of the 80s to get a new millennium makeover is 1987’s classic Predator, and although that film had a number of follow-ups, Predators is the movie that fans of the original have been waiting for. Continue reading

I think we can all agree that this summer’s movie selection has been a disappointment at best. As far as the animated summer films go, we’ve had a bit of a split decision. Shrek Forever After, the fourth installment of a once great series didn’t critically bomb as badly as its most-recent predecessor, but the consensus was that it just isn’t very good. On the other hand, the second animated feature of the summer was Toy Story 3, a great final installment of the series, a great overall film, and in my opinion, the best film 2010 has given us to date.
So when it came to the third animated film of this mostly dismal summer, Despicable Me, I wasn’t holding my breath for greatness. However, on a scale ranging from Shrek Forever After to Toy Story 3, I’m happy to say that it fell closer to the Toy Story 3 end of the spectrum. Continue reading

HBO has been the home of some of the most groundbreaking and original TV series of all time.  With Twilight showing movie audiences everywhere just how hammy and terrible the adventures of sparkling vampires can be, it is quite comforting to tune into the addictive and quality filled series called True Blood.  True Blood, which tells the story of the residents of Bon Temps and their brushes with the supernatural, has become one of HBO’s biggest hits of all time.  With season one featuring a killer who hunted “fang bangers” and season two centering around the search for a powerful vampire named Godric and a battle with a maenad, audiences everywhere were just dying to know what the cool characters of this series were going to get into for season 3. Continue reading

When you hear girls talking about being on Team Jacob or Team Edward and Cougars everywhere begin talking about Taylor Lautner’s abs it can only mean that it’s time for another film in …drumrole…the Twilight Saga. It’s hard to believe that it was only two years ago that we were all blessed with the unique experience of Twilight. In case you are late to the party let me get you up to speed on this giant helping of crap that is the equivalent of a Judy Blume book with sparkling vampires and teenage werewolves that don’t like to wear shirts. In Twilight we meet Bella, a depressed teenager (wow, it’s already so original) she meets a very pale guy called Edward. Ahhhhhh. Well first she hates him then he saves her life and then she loves him with every fiber of her being. Ahhhhhhh. Continue reading

In 1999, one of the biggest and most surprising hits to be released all summer was the groundbreaking thriller The Sixth Sense.  That film, which featured one of the most famous twist endings of all time, introduced audiences everywhere to an up-and-coming young director named M. Night Shyamalan.  After the massive success of The Sixth Sense, many people thought that Shyamalan was in line to be the next Steven Spielberg, but others remained skeptical of his talent.  After a few respectable films, Shyamalan seemed to loose his way and the results were some of the biggest disappointments of the past few years.  Well, Shyamalan has attempted to break out of his funk and venture into the world of both children’s films and epic moviemaking with his live-action adaptation of the popular cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Well, unfortunately for the legions of fans awaiting it’s release, The Last Airbender is one of the biggest busts to hit theaters all year. Continue reading

In 2001, when Shrek came out it was one of the most original and funniest animated films to arrive in years. While Shrek 2 and Shrek The Third were not nearly as good or funny, they both made tons of money at the box office and now we get Shrek Forever After. Sadly the Shrek franchise ends with much less of a bang than it arrived with. What made Shrek so cool was that even though it was an animated film, the movie became entrenched into Pop Culture and it felt like everyone went to see this movie. Now as the series concludes it feels all the imagination and inventiveness that was here in 2001 has been replaced with a by the numbers kids movie that fails to inspire. Continue reading

Can you believe we’ve been living in a world without Lost for over a month now?  It seems like only yesterday we were all gathering around the television to soak in the final hours of this television masterpiece.  However, there will soon be reason to celebrate, as on August 25^th, Lost: The Complete Series will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD.  From the looks of things, the folks over at ABC have pulled out all the stops and this set looks simply fantastic.
So, to remind everyone of just how awesome this series was, I’m going to go back and take a look at the series season by season.  I have to say, looking back at the series now knowing exactly how it ends is quite the adventure, and I hope you guys have as much fun reminiscing as I do! Continue reading

When you’re dealing with movies that are released around the summer season, more often than not, you’re not going to find many surprises plot wise.  While an awesome plot can make a movie a lot of fun to try and figure out, certain formulaic plots can work to the extent that you end up having fun when they’re well made.  The main point of weather these movies with known formulas work or not have to deal with weather or not the cast can pull off making a plot that has been used before seem fresh.  With the release of the latest action film Knight and Day, great chemistry between stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz makes what could have been a very used and predictable movie, one of the more enjoyable times I’ve had this summer. Continue reading

If I’m being honest about the theatrical releases so far this summer, there is much to be desired.  Sure, every summer is going to have a few dogs, but this summer just seems to be filled with disappointment after disappointment.  I, for one, was actually pleased with a few fun action flicks, and Toy Story 3 was awesome but for the most part summer 2010 just isn’t working well.  As disappointing as the majority of releases have been, there really hasn’t been a movie released where everything absolutely went wrong.  As disappointing as most releases have been, there’s always something positive to say about them…right?  Well, here it is, villagers, quite possibly the worst movie to come out in recent memory, and it’s called Jonah Hex. Continue reading

Fifteen years ago, Pixar and Disney came together to make the very first full length computer animated film. Toy Story was an instant classic and since then Pixar and Disney have been the benchmark when it comes to animation. Toy Story 2 came out in 1999 and was just as impressive as the original and some would say it may have been better. So needless to say the hype and expectations on Toy Story 3 have been through the roof. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that not only did Disney and Pixar live up to the hype, they far surpassed it and in the process have created one of the funniest, most touching and best movies of this or any year. Continue reading

When the summer movie season comes around, audiences everywhere come to have an unwritten agreement with the movies they tend to go to see. One our side, we agree to turn off our brains and not look too hard at plot points and character development. On the filmmaker’s side, they are supposed to agree to present us with some fun entertainment that will make us smile while getting out of the heat. I have to say, for the most part, that in this summer of 2010, the filmmakers aren’t fulfilling their side of the deal. Sure, there have been 2 or 3 movies that were fun, but for the most part this year just sucks. With this in mind, there is finally a movie playing at theaters everywhere where the filmmakers truly respect the pact of summer moviegoers and give everyone a fun ride from beginning to end. What else can I say? The A-Team rocks! Continue reading

There are certain characters that work out so well in certain projects, people just want to see more of them.  When this happens, movie and television writers sometimes decide to present a spin-off movie to give these scene-stealers a shot at the big time.  While this is more popular with television projects than movies, we have seen both good and bad results on both fronts.  Well, this week audiences everywhere were given a gift of one of the best spin-off movies ever with the release of the hilarious film Get Him to the Greek. Continue reading

Splice, the first sci-fi thriller of the summer, opened this past weekend, and what seemed like it would be nothing more than a rip-off of Species, turned out to be something far different and much more intelligent.
Splice centers around two young scientists, Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley, Go) and Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody, The Pianist), who are partners in both their professional and personal lives. As the film begins, Elsa and Clive have just successfully spliced the DNA of several different species of animals to create a completely unique creature. Continue reading