“The Temple of Doom” is one of the few prequels ever made that works, and works well. Though it gets a bad rap by some fans of the series, “The Temple of Doom” follows in the Lucas tradition where the ante is upped, and the sequel garners a much darker atmosphere with a unique premise not centered on the Nazis and their quest for world domination. “The Temple of Doom” is a great change of pace, in the end. And it’s damn fun, to boot.
Tag Archives: Fantasy
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Before it was re-branded “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,” it was simply titled “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Though the title promised great adventure, director Steven Spielberg and writer Lawrence Kasdan managed to deliver a hero every audience member could watch and relate to, no matter what the circumstance. Harrison Ford managed to depict a ruthless space pirate in “Star Wars” and brings that same charisma and enthusiasm to Indiana Jones, a big screen hero who is dashing and cunning, but just as average as anyone else venturing in to his world.
The Chosen One: Legend of the Raven (1998)
See, this is what happens when you attempt to placate a hot woman. You end up with “The Chosen One.” It’s safe to say Carmen Electra had absolutely no business being in movies, unless it was in some kind of ironic sense. She was in “Baywatch” for a while, but it’s not like that series ever required anyone to pull in anything but a sub-par performance. It’s pretty interesting that of all the movie roles, she decides to star in a pseudo-supehero movie of all things. She’s not convincing as an action star, as she engages in only two short fight scenes in the entire movie, and doesn’t really sell herself as this heroine.
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Director Shane Black loves Christmas. Hell, the finale to “Iron Man 3” is a loving tribute to the classic “March of the Wooden Soldiers,” but in the end what makes “Iron Man 3” is not the finer Shane Black touches, but the purely intelligent and utterly volatile commentary on terrorism and the American government that really plants this final entry as the most mature of the “Iron Man” films by far. While “Iron Man” is the most entertaining, “Iron Man 3” has a lot to say about the war on terrorism.
Comic Bucket List #3: Danger Girl
“The Comic Bucket List” is a limited column where we review 25 comic books and graphic novels we’ve been meaning to read for years. We discover if they were worth waiting for, or if they never quite lived up to the hype they promised.
DANGER GIRL (FIRST RUN)
1998
J. Scott Campbell, Andy Hartnell
Unlucky Charms (2013)
Charles Bands’ “Unlucky Charms” is entertaining only in the way that modern Full Moon films are. They’re trashy and don’t even seem to try anymore, but at least there’s always a highlight or two that salvages the experience. Plus, “Unlucky Charms” is not even eighty minutes long. Factor in the opening credits, and closing credits, it’s a little over an hour of a goofy horror comedy with really hot women.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
It’s kind of sucky that, though “Mighty Morphin” is a solid bit of silly escapism, it’s also a film that promises a lot, but never really amounts to anything, in the end. If you followed “Power Rangers” in the 90’s rabidly like I did, the series was overhauled again after the movie, and everything cool that was in this movie was never featured. Even the cool helmet headlights/scanners. Also, how horrible must it be to live in Angel Grove, eh? Does anyone else suspect this is a hell mouth or is it just me?