Undaunted by the failure of Ang Lee’s cerebral approach to big, green Marvel superhero, the 2008 version of THE INCREDIBLE HULK succeeds where its predecessor failed. Cleverly re-imagined as a film noir, it is a dark and shadowy piece full of monsters, only some of them green. The real monsters are much more dangerous. They… Read More »
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES — DVD
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is that rare film that speaks to the adult in kid, and the kid in the adult with equal eloquence. Based on the series of novels by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. The hero, 12-year-old Jared (Freddie Highmore) is plagued with a bad attitude because of his parent’s divorce and subsequent move… Read More »
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
The most important thing to know going into HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY is that the chances are excellent that you will leave the theater humming Barry Manilow. Barry Manilow at his treacly, pop music-est. The next most important thing to know is that this outing, though Hellboy creator Mike Mignola gets a co-story credit,… Read More »
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE DARK KNIGHT is the aptly named second installment in Christopher Nolan’s sublime retelling of the Batman story. The setting may be Gotham City, but the landscape is that of the unconscious, where archetypes roam unfettered by the restraints of the waking world. This the realm of the hero’s journey, fraught with all the peril… Read More »
IRON MAN — DVD
Itâs not the reason for most of us to go out and purchase the IRON MAN DVD, but it is certainly worth noting that a preview for the J. J. Abrams Star Trek flick is on it. The real reason to buy the DVD, or at least rent it, is the whiz-bang action, the sense… Read More »
IRON MAN — DVD
Itâs not the reason for most of us to go out and purchase the IRON MAN DVD, but it is certainly worth noting that a preview for the J. J. Abrams Star Trek flick is on it. The real reason to buy the DVD, or at least rent it, is the whiz-bang action, the sense… Read More »
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (2008)
There are many reasons for the temptation to remake a classic. There is the one about updating the theme to make it relevant to current events. There is the one about being able to do thematically or visually what one couldn’t have done in a previous era. There is the one about taking a known… Read More »
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
There will not be a better film this year, animated or other, than HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. It’s a rip-snorting story flawlessly animated on every level that seamlessly blends humor, both subtle and broad but never gross, with heart. Lots of heart. Translated from Cressida Cowells novel of the same name, the filmmakers show… Read More »
SPLICE
Before Oppenheimer and company at the Manhattan Project detonated their first A-bomb on the Alamogordo testing grounds way back in 1945, they were almost completely positive that the resulting chain reaction would stop at some point, probably, very probably, long before it destroyed the planet. Science is not without its risks and when humans start… Read More »
DESPICABLE ME
In DESPICABLE ME, the direct honesty of childhood innocence, in the form of three orphan girls, goes head to head with the evil machinations of a super villain feeling his evil competition nipping at his heels, usually with marine life. The result is a smart, funny, and perceptive animated film that dresses up its unabashed… Read More »