“The Amazing Spider-Man” on IMDB
Action, 136 Minutes, 2012
No matter where you fall on the question of a character reboot this soon after the Sam Raimi trilogy or the whole “Mary Jane Watson versus Gwen Stacey” thing or even the “biologic versus mechanical web shooters” decision it’s hard to argue that this isn’t a damn good movie. That said it’s impossible to talk about this without drawing comparisons to Sam Raimi’s masterful effort released a very short 10 years ago – but we’re not bitter!
Comedy, 109 Minutes, 2012
[This is the eighth review for this edition of my semi-regular “my-wife-is-visiting-relatives-so-I’m-watching-loads-of-crappy-movies” film festival.]
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” on IMDB
Action/Mystery, 129 Minutes, 2011
Being a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes I was incredibly worried about the first film but happily surprised by the result. While it added an action-movie physicality to the characters it lost none of the cleverness and brains-over-brawn mentality that makes the character so beloved by skeptics and mystery lovers everywhere (who, if I may speak for the group, hate nothing more than a simplistic “it’s magic” answer to a mystery). The movies have happily stayed grounded in reality exactly where they belong.
Action Adventure, 143 Minutes, 2012
Was there really any chance this would be a bad film? All of the prequel films (with the arguable exception of “The Incredible Hulk” [IMDB] which I personally felt was an unneeded remake) were top-notch. The studio enlisted geek God Joss Whedon to write and direct. The marketing machine has been running non-stop for months. Of course the best laid plans always have a chance to explode in one’s face but this was as much of a lock as I’ve ever seen.
Drama, 103 Minutes, 2009
Harry Brown is an ex-marine who, shortly after losing his wife, losses his oldest (and only) friend to gang violence. Harry Brown decides to get even. You can say that this is just “Death Wish” with a British sensibility and you’d be right. However if you thought that was an insult you’d be wrong.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” on IMDB
Sci-Fi, 105 Minutes, 2011
Not to spoil things by fawning overly in the first paragraph: but this is a prime example of how hollywood should proceed through its creative drought. Comparing this to the well-produced but deeply flawed 2001 remake of the “Planet of the Apes” (IMDB) you’ll find some very educational contrasts.
Action, 90 Minutes, 2011
Being a big fan of the Schwarzenegger version I was happily looking forward to this. Swords, magic, monsters – you really can’t screw it up that much, right? Well, it turns out that you can try pretty damn hard to screw it up but that no… you really can’t screw it up all that much.
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” on IMDB
Sci-fi/Action, 157 Minutes, 2011:
Did you see the first two movies? If so, you know that you are in for at least two things. Firstly, you’ll get some mind-blowing special effects. Jaw-droppingly intricate effects. Effects that will make you want to cheer. Secondly, you’ll get an almost completely incomprehensible story. A bloated, hackneyed tumor of a story.
Action, 132 Minutes, 2011
We’re definitely approaching the limits of mass appeal for X-Men. The fact that this is basically “Jim Henson’s X-Men Babies” make it more likely to be accessible to fans of the previous films, but pretty much everybody else will be lost.
