Adventure, 143 Minutes, 2013
This is the first truly new take on Superman in film since Richard Donner’s [IMDB] 1978 classic “Superman” [IMDB]. Bryan Singer’s [IMDB] 2006 “Superman Returns” [IMDB] essentially completed Donner’s Superman films (rightly ignoring the execrable, non-Donner, third and fourth films). While this excellent film is often misunderstood it must be considered an extension of Donner’s vision rather than a true reboot of DC’s flagship character.
“Oz the Great and Powerful” on IMDB
Fantasy, 130 Minutes, 2013
The Oz-stories have charmed people for over a century and, in fact, were first put to film by Frank L. Baum himself in 1914. The 1939 “Wizard of Oz” [IMDB] is a well-deserved and universally known classic. The unofficial sequel in 1985,”Return to Oz”, [IMDB] was brilliantly dark but is often misunderstood or just plain forgotten. This time director Sam Raimi [IMDB] dives into the pool with a lovingly crafted prequel.
“All Superheroes Must Die” on IMDB
Thriller, 78 Minutes, 2011
We’re going to give this one a lot of leeway for the sheer audacity of attempting to produce a superhero flick with a budget in the dozens of dollars. Instead of, like everybody else, producing a shitty, derivative zombie movie these guys at least tried something different. They get credit up front for that no matter what.
“Escape from Planet Earth” on IMDB
Family, 89 Minutes, 2013
It’s a digitally animated family film! It has famous people (a few former A-listers and a solid set of B-listers)! There are multiple cute side-kicky characters! It has references to pop culture! It has a heartwarming message! It’s really nothing special.
Drama/Sci-fi, 172 Minutes, 2012
I had been attracted to this by the trailers but lost track of it until I noticed it available on Amazon Instant Video. I couldn’t honestly remember what about it attracted me. I knew that Tom Hanks [IMDB] seems to pick scripts well and that I’d never been completely disappointed by the Wachowski’s. We ended up watching it, my lovely bride and I, without bothering to get any more information on it.
We loved it. Both of us. We didn’t understand shit. Neither of us.
Zombie alert!
See the review of “Zombie Diaries 2” on our sister site, MoreBrains.com decidated to all things zombie!
“Age of the Hobbit” (aka “Clash of the Empires”) on IMDB
Fantasy, 87 Minutes, 2012
[After I released this review I learned that this was also released under the title “Lord of the Elves” and this is how you’ll find it – if you really insist on doing so – on Amazon.com Instant Video.]
Western, 165 Minutes, 2012
Oooh, this was good. Real good. Real God-damn good.
Quentin Tarantino’s genius really doesn’t lie, in my opinion, in filmmaking. Taken scene for scene, line for line he really isn’t technically better than anybody else. His genius is being able translate his love of film into a modern context and thus expose entirely new generations to the artistic languages of all-but-dead genres. He’s delved into pulp crime (“Reservoir Dogs” [IMDB] and “Pulp Fiction” [IMDB]), horror (“From Dusk ‘Til Dawn” [IMDB]), Hong-Kong martial arts (“Kill Bill” [IMDB]), World War II (“Inglorious Basterds” [IMDB]) and several others.
Zombie alert!
See the review of Paranorman on our sister site, MoreBrains.com dedicated to all things zombie!
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” on IMDB
Fantasy, 169 Minutes, 2012
It seemed at times like it would never actually happen. Between studio financial issues, directorial changes, scheduling conflicts and a myriad of technical issues “The Hobbit” was a very long time coming. Was it worth the wait?
