See kids, this here’s what we call a thinking piece. It’s verbose, intelligent, evenly paced, and all kinds of brilliant, which is why I’m glad it never got in to the hands of a commercial director, because with tweaking it could have been a very cheesy rip off of “Alfie” in the vein of “Hitch.” “Roger Dodger” is a character study about a womanizer whose principles are always of use to the aspiring lover of all women, while the individual is so sleazy and manipulative that he may soon find himself alone and without a person to love be they a wife or any other family near him. Though Dylan Kidd does demonize the man who approaches women with such disrespect, he also explores that the character Roger isn’t truly a lost cause to society.
This is a different kind of James Bond. This is the James Bond who is not really needed at his agency very much anymore. After his last battle, he’s now taken a forced sabbatical after being driven to clerical duties and then forced in to relaxation and wealth. There’s a brand new agent working for Universal that’s taken over his duties, and Bond is having a considerably hard time facing that.
It’s always been said that an animal always knows when it’s about to die. And sometimes even humans can. So… are these apocalypse movies merely our perpetual fear of impending doom brought on by forces of nature? Or do we know something that we’re not yet willing to admit? Frankly, it’s nearly impossible for me to not enjoy a movie about the end of humanity (or civilization for that matter), so “The Happening” was an instant win. Pair that with the great cast, the brilliant story, and the taut ecological commentary brushed under the senseless sudden self-extermination of man kind and you have what I consider one of the finest movies of 2008.
Blake Van de graaf’s superhero opus is a cult film sadly without a cult, and that’s a pure crime of cosmic proportions. While his movie is very critically acclaimed, Van de graaf’s entry just doesn’t get enough love. Or more so, the love I think it warrants. Perhaps it’s just that audiences are burned out on superhero epics, but “Sidekick” really isn’t one of them. Most people will be quick to judge this movie on the cover, a one sheet that makes this look like a superhero comedy about a geek dressing in costumes to fight crime.