Adventure, 126 Minutes, 2013
I lost track of the “X-Men” movies some time ago. The overblown “X-Men: The Last Stand” [IMDB] and oddly paced “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” were decent, but seemed to represent a downward spiral from the first two films. The excellent semi-reboot “X-Men: First Class” [IMDB] seemed to distance itself from the earlier films.
Action, 103 Minutes, 2013
The original Kick-Ass [IMDB] was my favorite movie of 2010 and one of the best comic book adaptations ever made. While s0me were critical of the changes made to the story I thought that they suited the medium better while honoring the spirit of the original well.
The Ohio State Marching Band does summer blockbusters – and they start off with Supes! Supes is mah fav’rit!
Sure they also do a lot of other stuff, but smart people know: you can’t beat Superman!
In a continuing celebration of Superman’s big 75th birthday (and my realization that I’ve been enjoying his adventures for almost half that time) Time Warner has released a wonderful, two-minute animated retrospective.
The DC Comics Blog has a complete run-down of the references. The short was development by Zach Snyder and Bruce Timm and produced by Warner Bros. Animation.
Action, 130 Minutes, 2013
[By way of explanation, this review was written on Sept 19. I may have also sent the spellchecker into a neurotic spiral of depression.]
Ahoy, maties! This be the third picture show in the “Iron Man” series. Comin’ in the roiling wake of “The Avengers” [IMDB] it struggles like a drunkin’ tar heaved overboard. Our rum-soaked sea-dog, Tony Stark, is now bedeviled by panic attacks, insomnia and insecurity after saving the whole of the seven seas from an alien boarding party in New York.
Today, August 28, is the third annual Read Comics in Public Day! The date commemorates the birthday of industry legend Jack Kirby who would have been 95 years old today. The rules are simple:
If you’re so inclined, submit a photo to the Read Comics in Public Flickr group. You can even get your electric read on with free comics from DC and ComiXology to celebrate. If you’d rather pick up some old school paper and you’re lucky enough to be in Boston I can warmly recommend Comicopia. If, like us, you’re stuck in Scranton (we kid!) we can also warmly recommend Comics on the Green.
Get out and read, people!
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.
Superman was introduced to the world 75 years ago today, April 18, 1938. I was planning on writing up a heartfelt review of my personal history with the character but Kyle Orland over at ArTechnica.com did it better in his article, “Why Superman is still interesting on his 75th birthday“
My history with Superman is very similar – even if it’s clear that I have quite a few years on Kyle – although I did stick it out through the bizarre “Red and Blue” phase (really, DC, what were you thinking?!) In my case I began to lose touch with ‘Supes when my son was born and my time just wasn’t my own anymore. But I continued to collect the issues only having stopped a short time ago when it finally sank in that I wouldn’t ever have the time to catch up.
One of the most profound, for me, moments, is a simple sequence and I can’t even remember the story it appeared in. Clark and Lois are cooking dinner and the overhead light burns out. As Lois turns to fetch the step-stool Clark rises softly up to replace bulb. When she turns back to see the job completed the look they share is priceless. This simple exchange epitomizes how quietly powerful Superman is while also highlighting how humanly accessible Clark is.
Superman is something special. He means something; something worth understanding.
“The Dark Knight Rises” on IMDB
Action, 164 Minutes, 2012
There are two ways (at least) to consider “The Dark Knight Rises”. The first (and correct) way is as the capstone to a self-contained “Batman” story that owes us nothing but a profound respect of the character we love. The second way, one that the angrier parts of the Internet seem to have latched onto, is as an entry into a larger, continuing “Batman” timeline. Considered as part of a larger whole, or worse, as a stepping stone to the rumored, much-anticipated “Justice League” movie, the film fails to properly stage the character. I would simply argue that there was no requirement to do this.
“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!
