Sony seems to be following the plan of Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” movie series, with “Amazing Spider-Man 2” being “The Dark Knight” of the series. Except Sony doesn’t seem to have a clear end in sight for their own flagship franchise. Which may or may not be a good thing. If they keep up the momentum that “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” does, we might be in store for a very complete reboot with a clear cut satisfying evolution of its titular hero. The writers and producers focus very heavily on correcting former director Sam Raimi’s mistakes, and they have pulled it off well. Granted this follow up to the 2012 reboot isn’t perfect, but it’s better than its Raimi predecessor.
Tag Archives: Crime
Joe the King (1999)
Interesting enough, fans of Truffaut seem to still compare Frank Whaley’s “Joe the King” to the former director’s “The 400 Blows.” It becomes very clear time and again that Whaley doesn’t just love the movie, he expresses it by cribbing from many moments in said film, and uses this semi-autobiographical film as an opportunity to stage many scenes in the vein of “The 400 Blows.” The only difference is that while Truffaut staged some moments of hope and whimsy that could at least offer his character a glimmer of hope, “Joe the King” is a sour and bitter film from beginning to end, with no idea how to finish its arc.
Camp Dread (2014) (DVD)
Director Harrison Smith’s “Camp Dread” is a mixture of “My Little Eye” and “Friday the 13th.” In fact, go watch those movies instead. In all seriousness, “Camp Dread” has a pretty clever premise, it just has absolutely nothing to do with it. It’s a straight faced slasher film set in a summer camp and barely uses the opportunity to reference the “Friday the 13th” films, and yet it takes full advantage with Danielle Harris as the local sheriff. Her character’s brother is named Michael, and she hates horror movies. You see, it’s opposite. It’s clever because it’s opposite!
No Holds Barred (1989) [Blu-Ray]
In the eighties, Hulk Hogan was a titan who stood tall in influence and adoration alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the age of the cold car, Hogan is the hero America wanted. He was blond, large, charismatic, heroic, and garnered a handlebar mustache that made him look like a buff trucker fighting for the country. “No Holds Barred” perfectly demonstrates why Hogan was such a force in the sports world, with a charismatic performance in an otherwise goofy movie.
All New Ghost Rider #1 and #2
I appreciate the fact that Marvel are appealing to a more diverse audience of readers by turning their more dynamic characters in to alternate versions more interesting and complex. Surely, there will always be a place for the eighties Ghost Rider, but “All New Ghost Rider” is pretty fantastic in its own right. It dares to change the entire mold of Ghost Rider and manages to build a titillating and complex look at a corner of the Marvel Universe rarely explored: The lower class struggling to get by. Mostly though I appreciated Felipe Smith’s writing abilities, as he touches upon a lot of elements growing up in inner city neighborhoods. Robby Reyes is a high schooler caring for his disabled little brother alone, and in one scene there’s gun fire in the distance, followed by police sirens. “Remember, we never go outside when we hear firecrackers,” Robby tells his brother Gabe, after convincing him the gun fire was firecrackers.
Breaking Well: Why Walter White is Better Than Dexter
Breaking Bad is the best television show of the 21st century (so far). It managed to offer week after week of not only compelling stories, but enough symbolism and alternate character interpretations to keep even the most snobby English-Lit major interested, while distracting less intellectually focused viewers with instances of “bad ass” behavior.
Vince Gilligan used to write for The X-Files (in fact, Bryan Cranston appeared in the episode directly before the first episode Gilligan wrote) a show I haven’t watched regularly since the nineties, but proves to me that he has a lot of talent. He knows how to tell a good story, obviously. His real genius with Breaking Bad is in how he draws characters, especially television characters. On TV, people don’t really change. There is an illusion of change, but very little actually occurs.
Captain America (1979)
Oh Reb Brown, where would cinema be without you? Without Brown, we wouldn’t have had the 1979 Television movie “Captain America,” a movie so inept, it can’t even mimic Evel Knievel well. Brown is Steve Rogers for some reason, who came back from the war, and now drives around in a very kick ass van that also sports his favorite motorcycle. He’s a an ex-Marine/surfer/artist/motorcycle racer who also happens to be involved with a scientist developing a new formula for super strength (with the acronym F.L.A.G.), so while he’s helping develop a potentially groundbreaking formula for humanity, he is constantly moping around about the war and his lack of money. The sad fact is that the serum can only work for the Rogers blood line. Why? Because it’s a Captain America movie.