The question always is: was there really a need for a sequel? The answer is no, but when there’s money to be made, Hollywood will do anything to make sure there’s another film no matter how pointless, or awful if it’s mildly successful. I liked “Shrek”, I thought it was a one of a kind animated comedy that was actually funny. Then I watched “Shrek 2” and was appropriately disappointed. I went in to this movie with a lot of optimism because I liked the original film so much, but this was just a lagging effort, and it becomes painfully clear within thirty minutes in this movie that the producers and all the stars got big fat pay raises to come back for this.
Tag Archives: Fantasy
Stan Lee Presents: The Condor (2007)
What Stan Lee has basically done here is create his very own Spider-Man. With the Condor, we have a basically privileged young man whose life is really in need of a boost. When his parents die, he is rendered basically crippled after being attacked, and becomes a superhero. One that talks the villains to death to piss them off. The Condor is basically the equivalent of the Spider-Man rogue Rocket Racer with a mixture of that lame superhero from the nineties: MANTIS.
Stan Lee Presents Mosaic (2006)
“Mosaic” lured me because, well, anything these days that doesn’t look like quasi-anime made just gets a pass with me, and “Mosaic” gets a pass for looking like honest to goodness animation. “Mosaic” is made up to look like a moving comic book. Wherein the recent Marvel cheap-o cash-ins, “Mosaic,” from Stan Lee’s Company “Pow” entertainment, seeks to be unique, while also possessing the same novelty of a comic, fonts and all. But don’t let the animation fool you, it’s not something I’d suggest for anyone under fifteen, basically because watching the villain break a guard’s neck, was something that drew a furrow of the brow. But hey, the writing by Scott Lobdell paired with Anna Paquin’s name really drew me to this fantasy actioner, I must say.
Aquamarine (2006)
It’s hard to really deny that Jojo and Emma Roberts have an interesting chemistry. Had the writers chosen to make “Aquamarine” a down to Earth glimpse at friendship with a mermaid, and turned away from the sickening fluff, there could have been something very emotional and clutching. But in the end, it’s really just a typical on-screen friendship. The girls are bubbly, and boring, and Roberts is your typical geeky character, etc. There’s one interesting sequence in which the two argue and bring about issues that are never confronted in the film. And I sat there wondering why the hell this was never brought up with a lengthier and complex scope. For a film that claims to be about friendship, it’s sad we didn’t see more of the depth available with the two main characters here. Jojo and Roberts’ chemistry is charming to watch, and I didn’t despise watching them yammer back and forth. Meanwhile, I could have done with more scenes featuring Arielle Kebbel as the obligatory bitchy character because… well, Kebbel is gorgeous. Need I say more?
Sidekick (2005)
I’ve been a comic book fan since I was a very small kid. Before I could read they were great to look at, and I’d have someone tell me their names, when I learned to read they were fun to dive into, even if I didn’t always understand the stories. When I became older, they were fun to read because the stories were so damn good depending on what comic you read, and when I became a man, I learned subtext, commentary, and undertones for the better, and I sought out deeper material. Either way, comic book fandom is a hobby that evolves over time, and de Graaf has the right idea of the love for comic books. There have been many an homage to the Superhero genre, but “Sidekick” is a completely different one altogether.
Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
I submit to you that if there’s a film that can perfectly express the notion of gay pride, “Breakfast on Pluto” would properly fit that ideology. Because, there’s never been a film before that’s depicted its flamboyantly homosexual main character before as something other than a caricature, gag, or sex joke. The character Patrick Braden is so utterly in tune with his own nature that he comes off more as an avenger and true symbol than as someone who is simply gay. Patrick knows he’s gay, dresses as women quite often, and simply will not be knocked down by people who fear his differences, because he enjoys what he is.
Cars (2006)
Maybe it’s because Pixar seems to be attempting to appeal to the NASCAR crowd, maybe it’s because Pixar seems to be glorifying a “sport” that’s really just cars driving around in circles, or maybe it’s because Pixar has created a movie that is preaching about the good days of society when it was more innocent, from a company like Disney that’s basically sterilized and dominated the world with its utterly sickening spree of overpriced merchandise. Turn any corner in Times Square in New York and you’re guaranteed to see something from Disney. And that’s not a coincidence. Disney is the cause of many problems in America, one of which is their sheer monopoly on companies and media, and the contribution to the overall vast consumption that’s ruined how Americans think.