Top Ten Comic Book Movies

Now keep in mind this is a COMIC BOOK MOVIE list, not a full out superhero list, so yes a few "serious" CBMs may appear on this list. Also remember that this is subjective and only opinion, so I'm not saying "This list is right and all others are wrong, and if you don't agree than you're stupid" I'm just stating my own personal favorite movies of this category. I'm positive that people will disagree so if you do you're more than welcome to state your own opinion on the matter you are more than welcome to do it in the comments section, I'd love to hear what you think about. So now that that's out of the way and no feelings will be hurt here is my list for best comic book movie.

10. Spider-man 2
Sam Raimi was able to bring the web slinger to life with 2002s Spider-man, but it was in 2004 when he really got it right. Spider-man 2 Brought a new sense of humor and depth to the character that the original only touched upon. Not only that, but it also gave us some of the best action scenes in comic book movies to date, mainly due to the villain in this go around being the four mechanical armed foe Doctor Octopus. It had a great balance of action, emotion, and comedy. Plus it wasn't dragged down by an origin story this time. all of these things put together made, in my opinion, the best Spider-man movie so far. 
9. Batman
The original movie about The Dark Knight, Batman brought a darker look to CBMs that no other mainstream movie had really done before it. This was Burtons' second film and he was still able to dazzle audiences with his story of The Bat verses The Joker. It's interesting how Burton always seemed to focus on the villains story rather than Batmans' but it worked in this first installment (not so much the second). Although he does give off the vibe that he kind of doesn't care about Batman so much as he does about The Joker. Also this features the best Batman to grace the silver screen, Michael Keaton. It was the first of the most successful CBM series, and the best was yet to come.
8. Superman
When most fanboys and fangirls think of the original comic book movie most think of 1978s Superman. The tagline was "You'll believe a man can fly" and boy was that right. It brought Superman and superheroes back to the forefront of media and became an instant classic. Much of it has to do with the casting of Christopher Reeve, who I consider to this day, much like Keaton to Batman, to be the greatest actor to portray the character.

7. Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Ever since the T.V. show Spaced I've been a fan of Edgar Wright. His comedies are some of the best of all time and he has proven time and time again what fantastic writer and director he is. It only made sense that he would be called in to helm a comic book movie at some point in his career, and that happened with Scott Pilgrim. This film did things that others wouldn't dare being that it's pretty damn risky to have such a visually active movie. Putting up sound bubbles with the word POW when someone gets hit, or having a "pee meter" are things you don't normally see in movies, not even comic book movies, but he took a chance and ended up with a visually stunning and unbelievable smart and witty movie.
6. Sin City
Another visually risky movie, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, with a little help from Tarantino, were able to literally bring the page to life with Sin City. The idea to do the film completely in front of a green screen would, until then, usually be a big mistake. However that combined with the use of black and white are what make this violent gritty anthology film one of the best. It also doesn't hurt that it had one of the best casts for a film in recent years.
5. Watchmen
There are many people divided on this film for not being 100% the same to the original graphic novel. Me, I was surprised and happy with just 90% and that's what I got. Yes, the ending isn't the same and doesn't make sense if you take into account Bubastas showing up, Rorschach's mask, and it just being kinda stupid. But I was able to look past it being that a giant squid would be difficult to translate to film. Not to mention the rest of the movie was all pretty much word for word and visually the same as the graphic novel. Now I'd say the "Ultimate DVD" version is the best with the added scenes, especially Hollis Mason's death which in my opinion is one of the best in the film, and the Curse of the Black Freighter cartoon. It was the closest thing to a perfect Watchmen movie we could ever hope to get, and it pretty much is near perfect.

4. The Avengers
This is the big one for all the Marvel fans and it was glorious. Anything that you wanted to see in this film, it delivered. Hulk vs Thor, Iron man vs Cap, Cap vs Thor vs Iron man, Black Widow vs Hawkeye, Loki vs everyone, Nick Fury vs stupid ass decisions IT WAS AWESOME... So why than isn't it higher on the list? Well, yes all of the action in the movie was dynamic and amazing and yes the chemistry between everyone was right on the money as well as their attitudes toward each other and their motivations, but what this movie lacks is what everyone says it lacks, a more interesting story. I'm not saying that it's a bad story, I'm just saying that it leaves one wanting. And that's basically the reason it isn't able to hit number one on the list for me.
3. Iron Man
Wait... Iron man is higher than Avengers???? ARE YOU INSANE?? Just hear me out on this one. Iron man is a damn near perfect super hero movie with unbelievable character development, a brilliantly driven plot, spot on acting, and wonderful directing. If you doubt this, I'd like you to, for a moment, think of the character of Yinsen. He is in the movie for probably about 20 minutes consecutively, and yet in that small time period he becomes a fully developed character that we come to know and actually care about what happens to him. They do this so that we can understand why Tony decides to completely turn his life around. Yinsen is a pivotal character and even though we only see him for a short period of time, he has a huge impact on the story and the audience. The transformation of Tony is completely well done too. From the moment we see him gambling away his money and being a careless snarky selfish human being, to the final scene where he practically sacrifices himself, he goes through a transformation and that can't be said for some superheroes who have their own movie as well. *coughCaptainAmericacough*
2. Road to Perdition
Again, this is a comic book movie list, not just a superhero movie list. I've only recently had the pleasure of viewing this highly under rated and beautifully crafted film. I haven't read the source material, admittedly, but I'm definity going to try to get my hands on a copy because if it is anything at all like the movie than I know I'll love it. This film is a very different kind of gangster film than what most are used to and that may the reason it was never fully recognized when it was released. This was also the follow up film for Sam Mendes to his Oscar winning first film American Beauty which is also an inspired work. Road to Perdition is a stunning film with an amazing story of a father and son and is well worth checking out if you haven't already.

1. The Dark Knight
Yes this is an obvious choice and I was considering putting Road to Perdition at number one, but I decided that this film exhibits everything that a comic book movie should have. This is Chris Nolan's masterpiece and it can be put up with any classic film and be argued to deserve to be in the same category as them. This movie brings up themes that no other CBM has before it. Themes of what the act of chaos brings out in everyday people, how a decent man can brought down, how one person can completely drive a city into madness with some barrels of gasoline and a couple of bullets, and the most important theme that more superhero movies should have, would the villain even exist if the hero never decided to put on the cape and cowl? All of this plus an extremely well executed story and directing style. Not to mention the award winning performance by Heath Ledger of the Joker, the best performance of the character, I might add, on the silver screen. It is the ultimate CBM, and there is a reason that most people put this at the top of their list, because it's simply that best.

Reruns: Lost

It's that time again to revisit old favorites and reopen old wounds in this installment of Reruns. This time we will be taking a look at one of the biggest phenomenons of it's time. I am of course talking about the ABC series Lost.

Lost started off in 2004 and went for six seasons until its finale in 2010. It was created by J.J Abrams, Jeffery Lieber, and Damon Lindelof. The series centers on a group of people on a flight who crash land on a very mysterious and seemingly magical island located way off  course from where they were going. It eventually becomes way more complicated than just trying to find a way off the island, but we'll get to all the very strange things that are involved in Lost in just a moment. First, we're going to talk about the most important part of the series, it's characters.

The series starts off with fourteen core characters in the forms Locke (Terry O' Quinn), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Hurley/ Hugo (Jorge Garcia), Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), Claire (Emilie de Ravin), Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Shannon (Maggie Grace), Boone (Ian Somerhalder), Michael (Harold Perrineau), Walt (Malcom David Kelly), Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and last and least Jack (Matthew Fox).

The real "lead" of the show is Jack Shepard, a "brilliant" neurosurgeon with daddy issues and a leader complex. He is basically the reason for all of the problems that ruin the lives of these characters. If you can't tell by now, I hate, I Hate, I HATE, JACK SHEPARD. He's easily the worst part of the series. Matthew Fox brings absolutely nothing to the table as far as his acting ability and Jack is really just an asshole. Every time something goes wrong, every time it's so obvious that he should listen to Locke or one of the other survivors it's always Jack's fault. The out come of the character in the penultimate episode of the series is even more insulting to the audience as it pits Locke and Jack against each other in a brawl, in which the audience is supposed to be rooting for Jack this entire time. I found myself actually rooting for the villain, even if it wasn't really Locke any more; Although even with the knowledge that it wasn't Locke I still preferred The Man in Black's character over Jack.

The show's character's are what drives it, not the story, mostly because the story gets way too congested and nonsensical eventually. However, most of these characters aren't truly engaging. The only interesting characters in the show's run are Locke, Sawyer, Jin, Sun, Desmond, Hurley, Ben, Mr. Echo, Ana Lucia, and at times Kate. Out of a cast that eventually reached about 40 character all of which could be considered to be leads, to only have 10 characters actually be interesting is a big let down, especially because a few of the aforementioned characters get killed off relatively quickly.

The entire arc of the show is about all of these castaways trying to get off of this mysterious island while learning about all of the strange things going on around them. The series starts off pretty strong, setting up each character nicely and just giving a bit of information about them. Each episode is primarily about one character, showing them on the island along with flashbacks about their lives before the flight. As the series goes on themes of fate and hope are brought up constantly. The castaways eventually realize that they are each connected with the island because of the character of Jacob, who for the first four seasons, and most of the fifth, is only talked about and never shown. The best episodes are pretty much the ones that are about the good characters so any episode with a story about one of the characters that I mentioned were interesting are the best ones, particularly the Hurley and Locke episodes. Hurley's episodes are usually very funny while Locke's episodes are so very sad but engaging.

The biggest problem with the series is that it doesn't know where it's going to end up when it starts. It is very apparent that the writers had absolutely no idea what the island was going to end up being. So by the time season five rolled around there was a major drop in quality. I'd say that the fifth season is at least watchable with a few good episodes in there, but season six is almost unwatchable. One reason that the show dropped in quality could be because of the exit of producer and story editor Brian K. Vaughn. Vaughn is also well known as a comic book writer as well. He left the show after season five, and the quality in writing really went down when he left. The writers ended up leaving the show ambiguous, which isn't usually a bad thing but it is used here as a cop out simply because they didn't know where to go with the story. Basically no questions were answered that really mattered and it's almost a slap in the face to all the loyal fans that watched for so many years.

As a whole, Lost is just okay. Maybe a bit above average. I won't deny that when it was on T.V. it was a big phenomenon and you didn't want to be the person to miss an episode. The first four seasons of it really are great and engaging with some great story lines, but once season five comes around it is apparent that the writers really had no idea where this was going to end up and tried desperately to dig themselves out a hole, with the result being very unsatisfying. Thankfully after many failures, television shows trying to copy this style of bringing up questions to keep the audience coming back to see them get answered has for the most part died with Lost, and even though I rag on the bad parts there are some truly great T.V. moments in the series that are worth the watch. Just skip season six, it's not worth it.

Thank you for joining me once again for another segment of Reruns. On the next installment, we'll discover exactly what makes a Milford man, find out that there is always money in the banana stand, and see just how many gay references Tobias Funke can make in just one episode.  

The Cinema Lounge: Evil Dead

 Remakes are usually very under whelming. The big trend now that seems to have been going on for a century is to remake movies, particularly horror movies. Now some of them can be good, I'll admit. Though it was no where near the original, the Halloween remake was decent enough, as were the two Romero remakes Dawn of the Dead and The Crazies. But most of the time producers give us unimaginative garbage that is either complete garbage or a total unoriginal rehash of the original that begs questions like, "Did we really need a remake of Nightmare on Elm Street?" So naturally when news broke that there was going to be a remake made of The Evil Dead my immediate response was, really? You're gonna try and remake one of the biggest cult horror movies and try to get away with it? Pssh, good luck with that. And as the hype grew and more and more information about the film was released I actually began to become intreagued with this film. For one thing, Raimi and Campbell were producing which was a big sign to the fans of the original. Also, the new director Fede Alvarez had some hype behind him as well. This was his first feature but he has a good number of pretty damn good short films under his belt. I really started to get excited about it when I heard that it was brought to the MPAA for a rating and right off the bat it got slapped with the dreaded NC-17, which for this film they were apparently very proud of. It was brought down to an R rating with some editing though, but a hard R at that.After all of this hype and news about the film I did get a bit more excited for it but I was still on the fence about it. That is, until I saw the red band trailer and by god was that a glorious way to draw in movie goers, spotlighting the films more serious tone compared to the original and more realistic gore.

As I've said the film is directed by new comer Fede Alvarez and produced by Sam Raimi, director of the original series, and Bruce Campbell, the king of all things B-movie and star of the original series. The movie stars a young up and coming cast of actors in the forms of Jane Levy as Mia, Shiloh Fernandez as David, Lou Taylor Pucci as Eric, Jessica Lucas as Olivia, and Elizabeth Blackmore as Natalie. All of these characters do have connections with each other but they are never fleshed out all that well or they are with very bad exposition. And that is the biggest flaw of this remake, the writing.

The film starts off much like the original with five friends going to a cabin in the woods to have a fun time and to help their friend Mia kick a drug addiction. The first twenty minutes is all terribly forced exposition about the character's past relationships, mainly focusing on that of Mia and David, two estranged siblings who haven't seen each other in quite sometime, or at least I think that's the relationship shared between the two because it is never fully developed or even all that good. The rest of the cast are just kind of there for the most part except for Eric who has the best lines of the piece and is the one responsible for the whole thing happening because he thinks it's a good idea to read from a book that was found in the creepy basement of the cabin in a room where dead animals are hanging from the ceiling, is wrapped up in barbed wire, is bound in human skin, and that displays multiple notes throughout it that says DO NOT READ THIS BOOK ALOUD OR SHIT'S GONNA GO DOWN essentially. The others aren't all that much smarter either, as they all constantly do stupid things that are commonly seen in the horror genre. Although this may actually have been the intention made by Alvarez who also served as one of the writers as well as director on the film. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt but if the writing was done on purpose it does make sense and gives the film a depth of humor that on the surface it is missing.

Besides the writing everything else about the film is pretty damn solid. Alvarez's direction is great. The film is shot very well and the key decision to only use practical effects over CGI was what really makes this movie shine. The gore scenes are spectacular, although they would have been even better if I hadn't seen the trailers for it because they do spoil a lot of the best parts but there are a few choice moments that weren't shown that still would make you cringe, particularly the scenes which include either cutting off or ripping off arms and hands. The film gets so gory and over the top that by the end of the film it literally starts raining blood from the sky. The final "battle" with a chainsaw is also very satisfying. If you have seen the trailers though, each of the scenes in them do have more to them so they weren't completely spoiled but going in fresh would have been a better way to go.

The performances from the cast got the job done and the stand out is definitely Jane Levy. She has the engrossing task of giving a troubled drug addict girl performance one minute, then an Exorcist- like demon performance the next. Lou Taylor Pucci would be the other notable cast member for a darkly humorous role which involves getting injured, a lot. The rest of the cast is unfortunately not all that memorable although the identities of who lives and who dies is a bit unpredictable which is a big plus for the troubled script.

Evil Dead is a good remake of a classic horror gem. The problems really only come from the script which is kind of a big deal but it is possible that it was intentional. This movie is about the experience of watching it, and when characters say or do dumb things it is very enjoyable to her the audience groan or laugh or actually yell at the screen altogether, so even with it's problems they aren't a deal breaker for the movie. The gore scenes are the whole purpose of seeing this and you won't be disappointed. While it doesn't surpass the original, it does entertain in it's own right, and if you're a fan of the originals or classic gory ultra- violent films, than you'll love Evil Dead.

FINAL GRADE: B

The Cinema Lounge: Oz the Great and Powerful

JOKE ABOUT CONFUSING THIS WITH THE HBO SERIES. Now that that's out of the way, Oz the Great and Powerful stars James Franco as the main man himself known as Oz, Mila Kunis as Theodora, Rachael Weisz as Evanora, Michelle Williams as Glinda, Zach Braff as Finley, and Joey King as the China Girl. The movie is directed by Sam Raimi of The Evil Dead and Spider-man series fame and this is his best looking film yet.

I'm gonna start with the positives first because unfortunately there aren't many. The movie looks fantastic, I really love the effects used in this especially for Finley and China Girl. They really look great and seem like they totally belong in the world that they're in. As far as performances go, the voice over work is very very good for the CGI characters. This actually made me kind of like Zach Braff, which is no small feat mind you, and Joey King was perfect for the little China Girl. The live action performances were unfourtunatly not as good as the voice over work but Michelle Williams and Rachael Weisz both do a good job and the scenes with them together are some of the best.

The rest of the film goes downhill from here. The performances from Franco and Kunis are, just, bad. I suppose the characters that they are playing should be a bit over the top but it seems like too much. Franco really hams it up throughout the whole thing, never really letting up, although it does work in a few scenes but only a few. When Oz is putting on his show and is over acting  it makes sense but than he continues to act the same way for the rest of the movie. I really wish Robert Downy Jr. would've played Oz. He was lined up for the job but there was a scheduling conflict with Iron Man 3, so obviously he couldn't do it, but throughout the movie I just kept thinking that it would be so much better if he were in this. Shame.

Mila Kunis' character unfortunately never has a good scene. Ever. At least Franco was able to have two or three good scenes, but Kunis is just horrible in this. It's a shame really because she's proven that she can act. Whenever she's on screen though her performance is just so over the top it's not even funny, just annoying.

As far as the plot goes it is pretty much the same type of story as the original Wizard of Oz but with the wizard himself this time. It has a few twists and turns but they are so predictable. If you remember anything from the original movie than you will see all of the twists coming.

The movie as a whole works as a simple fun family film. As a normal film, it's kind of horrendous. But there definitely are moments in it that were able to recapture the magic that the original captured. This is mainly due to the wonderful effects and voice acting. Unfortunately the movie falls apart at when it comes to the story and acting, save for a few people. If you would like to revisit the world of Oz and really wanna see this than I'd say wait for it to come out on DVD and rent it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be missing much if you don't see this.

FINAL GRADE: C-

Top 10 Films of 2012

Alright, I know I'm kinda late on this list but not that late, I mean the Oscars did just happen. I also have finally seen every movie that has come out worth seeing, took me awhile to see Life of Pi and Cloud Atlas. So with that at of the way here is my list for the Top 10 Films of 2012. I'm going to start off with Honorable Mentions, just listing them in no particular order not going into detail, then I'll get to the list.

Each of these Honorable Mentions are fantastic films and I highly suggest all of them. In no particular order-
Honorable Mentions: Looper, , The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Men in Black 3, The Woman in Black, 21 Jump Street, The Amazing Spider-man, Ted, The Expendables 2, Seven Psychopaths, Man With The Iron Fists, Les Miserable, Zero Dark Thirty, Chronicle, Dredd, Beasts of the Southern Wild

10.The Cabin in the Woods
Being a horror fan, I always try to see as many horror movie as I can every year. This is by far the one of the best horror movies in the past ten years. It's a movie where you really don't know where its going but when it gets there you are completely satisfied.

 9. Prometheus
This is a story that I have been waiting for since the first time I saw Alien. I've always been a huge fan of the series but there's always been one question, what's the deal with the space jockey? Prometheus answered this question, sort of. It's a great looking film with some very inventive story telling. It didn't drastically change the game but it's a welcome back for Ridley Scott to the genre that started his career.

8. Life of Pi
Took me awhile to see this one but I'm extremely glad I did. It's a beautifully crafted film with a heartwarming inspirational story and effects that look amazing. Going into it I wasn't sure if I was gonna like it but I'm very glad I took the chance on this. The only thing bringing this down is the ending which many people have complained about, but it wasn't that bad and I think it worked.

 7. Silver Linings Playbook
Defiantly had one of the best casts of the year and also a very well written film. The film also really shows the things that people who are bipolar go through and it does it very well. It was really great to see DeNiro in a good movie for once as well and he would have been well deserving of an Oscar for his performance.

6. Moonrise Kingdom
This is the film that got me into Wes Anderson and I'm extremely glad it did. It's a fun quirky comedy that also has the best script of the year, besides Django. After seeing this I watched all of Anderson's films and this easily sits as one of his best. I'd say its second only to The Royal Tenenbaums.

5. The Avengers
What can I say about this one. It was everything I had hoped for and more. The hype behind this one was so huge and it delivered on all aspects. The cast was amazing together, the story worked, it was fantastically shot, and it was filled with bad ass moments that a comic book movie fan would expect from this film. To me, this was the best comic book film of the year and delivered on things that fans were looking for, unlike some other comic book movies that came out this year that have the initails TDKR.

4. Cloud Atlas
This was another one that took me awhile to see but again I'm so happy I did. This was the must see movie of the year for the sheer scope and approach of it. This left many critics divided with some hating it and others adoring it. Obviously I'm on the latter's side. I've been waiting for a film like this to happen for a long time. I just love the idea of a genre crossing anthology type movie, and the idea for using the actors as different characters in the stories was genius, I think it really works. It looks stunningly beautiful and it's definitely the Wachowski's best film to date.  

3. Django Unchained
It was inevitable that the new Tarantino flick would find it's way onto my list being that I've loved everything the man has made so far. While Django isn't his best it is still a step above everyone else and that's what's great about Tarantino. His worst film could be considered someone elses best. This is one that you can really tell he's been wanting to make for a long time being that he is such a fan of spaghetti westerns, and his love for them really shines through. Its a very fun and well made film. If you are a Tarantino fan, you won't be disappointed.

 2. Lincoln
It's a bit surprising even to me that this isn't my number one pick because it is Spielberg at his best. This is another one that I was destined to love right from the start simply because it's Spielberg. His ability to capture a character's essence shines through in this love letter to his hero Abraham Lincoln. The decision to focus on just the one moment in time of the mans life really works and the decision to cast the great Daniel Day-Lewis as the man himself was also a brilliant move. It's been great to see Steven Spielberg bounce back from Indiana Jones 4 and the last three years have been very kind for the man putting out two very fine films, War Horse and The Adventures of Tin Tin, and one truly great film in the form of Lincoln.

1. Skyfall
This is the greatest Bond film ever made. Yes, better than Goldfinger. I never thought I'd see the day that a Bond movie would beat out Goldfinger as my favorite, but then I saw Skyfall and it blew me away. The action, the story, the cast, the beautiful cinematography, Sam Mendes's  direction, I mean everything was pitch perfect and this is is also the best performances by both Daniel Craig and Judi Dench of the series. It also has the greatest Bond villain as well in the form of Silva played tremendously by Javier Bardem, who was robbed an Oscar nod for his performance. It also delved way deeper into the Bond character than any other one of the franchise ever has. All of this put together is what makes this not only the best picture of the year, to me, but also the best Bond movie ever.

5 Things Disney Has To Do To Make A Good Star Wars Movie

 I love Star Wars. It's my favorite film series of all time. I even like the prequels... Oh that's right, I said it. Even the prequels. I'm such a Star Wars nerd that I know how many main engines are on a Star Destroyer (it's 3) and I even know what planet Han Solo is from (its Corellia). So as you can imagine when I heard that there was going to be not only a Star Wars VII but stand alone movies about Han, Yoda, and Boba Fett, let's just say I got excited. REALLY EXCITED. Now that's not to say I didn't have reservations about it as well. I knew just how bad these movies could end up being cause we already have had bad Star Wars movies (I know I said I like the prequels but I do realize they suck. They're really guilty pleasures.). There are certain key elements that Disney must include in order to make Star Wars movies that can bring the magic that the originals brought to the big screen. And I'm going to tell you what those elements are. Here are the top 5 things Disney has to do to make a good Star Wars movie, by yours truly.

5. Include characters from the original trilogy: This has kind of been confirmed with the news that Harrison Ford is in talks to come back as Han. All we would need than, obviously, would be Fisher, Hamill, Dee- Williams, and Mayhew. I wouldn't mind seeing Daniels as C3PO and Baker as R2D2 again but in all honesty they don't NEED to be in it. If all these characters come back though, they shouldn't be the focus of the story. They should just be side characters sort of like mentors maybe to the other characters. Now obviously if they decide to put the sons and daughters of these characters in the movies than they would fit into the mentor roles seamlessly, but if the main characters end up being maybe Jedi than Luke would fit nicely into a Yoda- like role with Han and Leia just being allies (I kind of like this angle).

4. Make a movie for both parents and children: The original Star Wars came out almost forty years ago. Most fans of the series are parents by now with kids of their own who probably like the prequels while the parents stand by the originals. Probably the hardest thing this movie has to accomplish is to make a Star Wars that both generations of fans will love. One way of doing this would be to have the story have something to do with the new Jedi order that Luke forms. It would have the best things from both trilogies, good story and plot from the originals and the cool Jedi from the prequels, cause let's face it, that's really all the prequels had going for them.

3.Have ONE main villain for the whole trilogy: A big problem that the prequels have is that they have just too many villains. Yeah their all interesting and cool but it really bogs down the series when you have to introduce a new villain in each movie. It also really lessens the affect of the villain. For example, Count Dooku has a very interesting back story but it's only known to the viewer through dialogue. If Lucas were smarter, Dooku would have been a character in The Phantom Menace so that it could have been a surprise when he went to the dark side. He also would have been a much better and more fleshed out character and foreshadow to Anakin.

2. No Jar Jar: ...Self explanatory.

1. There has to be an actual war happening: It doesn't seem like it should be that big of a thing to bring up but this is one of the big reasons the prequels suck. I mean there isn't a war going on in episodes 1 and 2. No war. In a Star WARS movie. It's right in the fucking title for God's sake and yet Lucas thought it would be best to not have an actual war go on in the first two prequels and instead show a little whinny bitch cry about his bad dreams. Revenge of the Sith got better cause after two whole movies they finally got to the goddamn Clone Wars. It's pretty amazing actually that this point even has to be brought up but there it is. If we had had episodes 1 and 2 actually be about The Clone Wars as a whole the prequels probably would have been a lot better than they were (I can dream).

Well that's my two cents on it. They have a really good team working on episode VII and the stand alone movies that are planned so I'm optimistic. J.J. is a great choice to direct and Michael Arndt has proven that he can write characters and stories very well, and really that's what Star Wars is about. 2015 is a ways off and while I don't exactly know where life might take me by than, I do know that at midnight on it's release date I'll be right in that audience wearing my TIE fighter shirt and waving a lightsaber, ready to once again be taken to a galaxy far far away.

Netflix Reviews: Road To Perdition

 While browsing through Netflix I came across the Sam Mendes page and noticed that he made some films that I hadn't realized he made. Among them were Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Away We Go, and Road To Perdition. The only things I heard about Road To Perdition before watching it were that it starred Tom Hanks, was based on a graphic novel, and that it was very underrated. I wasn't even aware that Mendes directed it. So I thought what the hell and put it on my queue. Now that I've finally watched it, I can honestly say that it has become one of my favorite movies of all time.

Road To Perdition stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, and Stanley Tucci. Hanks plays a hitman for the mob in the 1930s. His boss, played by Paul Newman, thinks of Hanks like a son, even though he already has a son whose played by Daniel Craig. Hanks' character, Michael, is also married and has two sons. When his oldest son discovers that his dad kills for the mob, Craig's character, Connor, decides that he may tell people about what he saw and goes after Michael's wife and younger son. With the mob on his tail including an assassin, played by Jude Law, Michael tries to stay alive, and will do anything to make sure no harm comes to his son.

Let me start off by saying that film looks absolutely beautiful. This was famed cinematographer Conrad L. Hall's final film before his death in 2003 and it just may be his best work. He also worked on Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, and American Beauty, among other films. One scene in particular is that of one of the final ones in the film with Hanks and Newman in the rain. It's gorgeous and executed brilliantly.

Now I must admit I've only seen one film of Sam Mendes' and that's Skyfall but after watching that it immediately made me a fan of his and this film launched him into my favorites. He does a fantastic job hear, every shot is beautiful and every interaction is gripping. He totally gets the heart of the story and brings it out front and center, the relationships between fathers and sons. And not just between Hanks and his son but also Paul Newman and Daniel Craig. Both pairs start out about the same at the beginning but as the film goes on they become complete foils of each other, mainly Hanks' son and Craig.

Craig is basically what Hanks' son could be depending on what path he chooses to take with his life. Follow in his father's footsteps, or lead a good life away from crime and murder. This is an important point to the film and stays with it throughout all the way up to an ending that could have been ruined easily if Mendes were to let the son do something instead of Hanks. (Trying to keep it as spoiler free as I can.)

The cast is simply spectacular. I love seeing Tom Hanks in more gritty kinds of roles like this and he shines as the lead. Paul Newman is of course brilliant and does a great job as the mob boss. Jude Law plays a different role than his usual mo here as well and he is creepy and intimidating, just as he should be. Daniel Craig plays the scolded son just trying to earn his father's approval very well and shows that even back in 2002 he had amazing acting chops. Tyler Hoechin plays Hanks' son, Michael Jr, and even he does very well here too. The cast as a whole gives an amazing performance.

I'm kind of a sucker for father son stories that include  both a literal journey and metaphorical journey i.e. The Road, and this one is also fully developed and realized. The relationship that evolves between the two is really very touching to watch. The film even manages to bring some humor into it as well when the relationship really starts to bud.

I mentioned this before but the film really reminds me of Shawshank Redemption. Not just in reputation, but in plot and tone. Hell even some shots were almost exact. There's a beach scene that resembles Shawshank in such a way that it made think I knew exactly what was going to happen and yet the film still surprised me.

Road To Perdition is just an amazing film. Everything about it is just damn near perfect. The look, the story, the acting, the themes, even the music all of it just works and fits together so well that it makes a very brilliant and a very different kind of gangster movie. It was totally underrated in it's time and deserved way more nominations, if not awards themselves, then it got. I'm just happy that I got to see it and that this beautiful gem didn't fly under my radar. 

 FINAL GRADE: A+

The Cinema Lounge: Hitchcock

Good evening. Tonight we will be talking about Alfred Hitchcock, the legendary director known as the master of suspense. He's made such classics as Rear Window, Vertigo, North By Northwest, and Psycho. He is considered by many as one of the greatest directors of all time by many, including myself. The film Hitchcock follows the notorious director as he makes the film, he's probably most famous for, Psycho.

Hitchcock stars Anthony Hopkins as the man himself, Helen Mirren as his troubled but faithful wife, Scarlett Johanson as Janet Leigh, and Jessica Biel as Vera Miles. The film was directed by Sacha Gervasi. This is Gervasi's second film after the documentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil. He has however written a few films as well including the Steven Spielberg helmed film The Terminal.

As I mentioned, the film centers on Hitchcock's time while making Psycho. It also explores his relationship with his wife, Alma, which really is the main focus of film. This kind of caught everyone off guard I think cause the trailers pointed tot the real focus of the film being completely about the making of Psycho. Now technically it could be argued that this is the main focus but the heart of the movie lies with the relationship between Hitchcock and Alma.

 I really enjoyed this film and I feel it's very underrated. For his first film Gervasi  does a very good job at making it seem as though Hitchcock himself had a hand in making this. The performances by everyone is stellar. Anthony Hopkins does a fine job at playing the film legend. He captures the essence of the man while being able to make it a character of his own. The lovely Scarlett Johanson plays off Hopkins well and their relationship touches on one of the many obsessive tendencies that Hitchcock had. The true stand out of the film is Helen Mirren who does an exceptional job as Alma.

The biggest problem with the film is the writing. It is at times predictable and has some tired cliches throughout it. It also has problems with tone but I felt that it wasn't that much of a problem and if you like some more macabre humor, which you should if you're seeing a film about Alfred Hitchcock, than you shouldn't have that big of a problem with it.

This film explores something that I've always had a personal interest in: fame and the effects of it on the famous and their loved ones. Alfred Hitchcock is now considered one of the greatest directors of all time and yet this film shows that he never felt good enough. There's a line Hopkins has in it which states "I just want them to tell me I'm good enough". I think this is a fear that all people in the film industry have and this film is all about that. Not only being good enough in the eyes of your peers and the industry but also in the eyes of your loved ones, in his case Alma.

I wish this got more recognition because anyone who's a fan of Hitchcock would find this movie at the very least interesting. However with it's terrific performances by a great cast and it's top notch directing by a reletive new comer I feel it was not only interesting but also very entertaining. I leave you with the words of the great master himself and bid you all, good evening.

FINAL GRADE: A-

Reruns: The Sopranos

Welcome back to, the newly renamed segment, Reruns. On this installment we will be looking at another television series that is considered by many, me included, as possibly the best. Known for its language, violence, brilliant writing and directing, gabbagool, and Italians. Lots and lots of Italians. I am of course talking about the HBO series The Sopranos.

The Sopranos spawned from the mind of David Chase. Before he created the New Jersey mafia show he was sort of vaguely known in television for some mediocre kinds of shows that for the most part were short lived. Though in the 90s he came to HBO with and idea that no one had any faith in,  not even himself. But when the Sopranos debuted in 1999 it was an instant hit.

The series centers on New Jersey mafia boss Tony Soprano as he deals with business, personal life, and the struggles of balancing both. Right off the bat the show was different from any other mafia project ever done. For one thing it showed the in struggles and turmoil that a mafia boss actually goes through and it gets very personal. The series is also unbelievably well written with a lot of depth to it.

I got into The Sopranos in only this past year and one of the first things I noticed was the similarities to Breaking Bad. Both shows are probably the best of their times and go way beyond your average television drama. They're made more like films and each are made with visuals and dialogue that have much deeper meanings than what they construe on the surface. One aspect of this that is very interesting is from season two on Tony experiences different visions and dreams of remorse for killing his long time ally Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero. They are done in very subtle ways and it's not just about Big Pussy... Ahem. One thing the show is known for is it's very cryptic dream sequences as well, and I could spend hours talking about those and the meanings of them so just know that they are brilliant and that they alone are worth watching the show for.

On to the cast. Being that this is a mafia show obviously people die. This allowed for a lot of characters to be featured and they all deserve to be talked about so I'll try to touch upon most of them shortly.Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is the main focus of the show. His "family" family consists of Carmela (Edie Falco) his loving and sometimes troubling wife, A.J. (Robert Iler) his son who I despise, Medow (Jamie-Lynn Singler) his smart and attractive daughter, and his over baring mother Livia (Nancy Marchand). Unfortunately Nancy Marchand died in 2000 so obviously her character was killed off as well but I'll talk about that more later.

As far as Tony's "business" family there are tons of colorful and entertaining characters. There are a few who spill over from his actual family into this category as well. Junior Soprano (Dominic Cianese) is Tony's uncle and for a time was the boss of the family, Janis Soprano (Aida Turturro)
Tony's sister who always somehow got involved in the business one way or another, Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) who is considered Tony's nephew even though he's actually a cousin by marriage. Tony's actual gang consists of Paulie (Tony Sirico), Silvio (Steve Van Zant), Big Pussy (Vincent Pastore), Bobby Bacala (Steve Schirripa), and for a time Ralph (Joe Pantoliano). There is also one more key person in Tony's life that is his therapist through out the series Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).

The cast as a whole is phenomenal. They all have great chemistry with each other and are hilarious and threatening when ever they need to be, but on top of that every character in the show truly is endearing. You really care about each and everyone of these characters, even the scumbag ones like Ralph. By the way the episode entitled "Whoever Did This" is one of the best of the series and has a terrific performance by Pantoliano in it. Lorraine Bracco is also extremely good throughout the series and has some of the best parts of it. And of course James Gandolfini is perfect in the lead role.

One other thing about the series that's pretty fascinating is the very odd choices it often makes. For as many of the brilliant moments in writing and directing shown in the series there are some bizarre things going on too. This brings me back to Nancy Marchand. I mentioned that she had died in 2000 and before that the producers of the series seemed to have no intention of killing off her character any time soon. So naturally when she died in real life her character died as well. One would assume that the producers would just have the character die off screen in the next season and have a nice send off to the actress and character. However they took a very weird turn and instead CGI'd her into one last scene with Tony where they use old dialogue clips that made no sense to be in that scene. The end result was eerie, weird, confusing, a bit insensitive, and bizarre.  A few other wierd moments like this pop up in the series during it's run.

The Sopranos ran for six seasons with the last one being split into two parts. As a whole the entire series is one of the greatest television shows of all time. It was one of the first to really go beyond just being a T.V. show and was very smart, inventive, and utterly brilliant. Every other cable drama on afterwards was based on this. Not only was it one of the first of it's kind but in my opinion it's the best drama series ever created.

Thank you once again for joining me on Reruns. When we return we will take a look at show involving a weird magic island, black smoke that kills people, and a shit ton of questions with a few answers.

Netflix Reviews: The Watch

Okay so I've finally seen the critically panned comedy The Watch. When this first came out I was actually looking forward to seeing it. I mean it starred some of the funniest guys in the business today plus it was the first prominent American film role for Richard Ayoade who some may know from the British comedy show The IT Crowd. What I'm saying is, it had potential.

The Watch stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, and Will Forte. The plot centers around a small town that has been invaded by aliens that kill people and wear their skin to blend in. Ben Stiller's character, Evan, takes it upon himself to form a neighborhood watch to protect the town from the alien invaders.

In all honesty, I didn't think this movie was that bad when I was watching it. It had some funny lines and the cast was decent enough. Probably the biggest problem is it doesn't leave a lasting impression really. It's not a quotable kind of film either like Anchorman or Dodge ball, though it does aspire to be. 

It kind of reminds of the movie Role Models. Both have some good ideas and both got some laughs out of me. Not huge laughs, mind you, but a few here and there. Both also don't live up to their full potential and could be really hilarious but just end up being okay.

It's definitely not as bad as all the reviews for it say but it could've been better. The characters are likeable enough, though Vaughn can get a bit annoying after awhile. Do I recomend it? Not exactly but if you're a fan of the cast and debating on whether or not to see it, I say go for it. You come away with a few laughs at the very least. If you want a hilarious comedy though I'd go with 21 Jump Street which was the funniest comedy of the year.

FINAL GRADE: C

The Cinema Lounge: Mama

 Before going into this movie I decided I was gonna have a little drinking game going while I watched. The game was very simple, take a drink every time the word mama was said or seen on screen. Now unfortunately for me I had no alcohol on me at the time so I just used water instead to see how long it would take for me to finish my drink. Took about a little over half the movie for one water bottle. However if I had come prepared and brought a large bottle of whiskey with me it would've been gone in the last thirty minutes. Anyway, let's dive in.

Mama is a horror film produced by Guillermo del Toro and is directed by Andres Muschietti in his first feature length directorial effort. The film came about when del Toro saw Muschietti's short film that the movie is based on. Del Toro being impressed he decided that the short film was worthy of a feature length counter part. Now I've seen the short film and if that alone impressed del Toro, than the man is easily impressed.

The cast is a pretty decent one. Jessica Chastain stars in the lead role hot off the success of her Oscar nominated performance in the, over- hyped, Zero Dark Thirty. She does a fantastic job here as well playing a rather different part from any previous roles. She's accompanied by Nikolaj Coster- Waldau who plays her... boyfriend? fiancee? husband? I don't know it's not exactly clear but he does a fine job as well. Or at least until he's sidelined for most of the movie. Seriously, what's with these Jessica Chastain movies where the lead male has a big presence in the first thirty minutes but then just leaves for most of it and then pops back up at the end? I'm seeing a pattern here.

As far as the two little girls in the movie go, they do an okay job. Although they do stretch the boundary between cute and annoying a little to often. The older one, the character's name is Victoria, does most of the talking while the the younger one, Lily, is just there to creep everybody the fuck out.

Now on to Mama herself, or itself or whatever. Mama is basically just a ghost. One of the big problems with the film is that it's more of the same. It just copies every other modern ghost movie in ideas and images. Her design is where this is most apparent. I think back to The Woman In Black, a film that I very much enjoyed, and I remember the look of the ghost. In that it wasn't so much how vivid in detail or how great the effects were, cause they were maybe only a little better than Mama's, but it was how it was shot and it really created great fear and tension when ever the ghost was looming over a scene. In Mama, however, the ghost is reduced to nothing but shitty jump scares and effects that aren't good enough to show for long periods of time like they do.

The film does have a few good things going for it though. Jessica Chastain is great in this and she keeps the movie watchable. A few of the scares are decent enough, but only a few. The rest of the film is either average or just down right idiotic and lame. And the ending is so dumb, it was honestly hard for me not to get up, give the screen the finger, shout "Fuck you movie.", and leave.

It suffers from not only being a horror movie rated PG-13 but also from living in an age where CGI is over used. Now I personally do like CGI but only when it needs to be used and is so good you can barely believe it's not real i.e. 2009's Star Trek. CGI in a horror movie just doesn't work when the villain is all computer. Not only does it look bad but psychologically it's just not scary because you know for a fact that there's nothing there. I also feel CGI blood is a sin against nature, but one step at a time.

I felt that the movie deserved about a C for most it, but the ending brought it down enormously. It's kind of a shame cause I haven't seen a good del Toro produced horror movie in a long time. Here hoping that the awesome looking Evil Dead remake is as good as that trailer for it is. If you haven't seen it yet, get on over to Youtube and watch it cause you're in for a good time.

FINAL GRADE: D

The Cinema Lounge: The Last Stand

Well it's been about a decade since the governator has been in the role as lead action hero. His last true outing in the genre was in Terminator 3 then he went on to bigger things when he became the governor of California. Now he's back in the Jee-woon Kim directed action movie, The Last Stand.

The Last Stand centers around a sheriff from a small town on the Texas/ Mexico border. Along with him are his three deputies who are used to a simple life as far police work goes being that nothing ever really happens in their quaint little town. The sheriff is on his weekend off while most of the occupants of the town go with the high school football team to an out of town game. Meanwhile, the FBI lose a captive fugitive who steals an insanely fast sports car and plans to cross the Mexican boarder. But he makes a big mistake when he tries to cross through Arnold's town.

So the movie basically plays out how you'd think. Bad guy is smart enough to out smart the FBI, bad guy goes through small town, bad guy meets Arnold, Arnold beats the shit out of him. It's a simple enough premise and in theory it works pretty well as a return movie for Schwarzenegger. But let us keep in mind that this is, after all, A SCHWARZENEGGER MOVIE. So obviously this has some very bad and very dumb moments in it, with some fun action and gun play.

The main thing that brings down the movie is Arnold himself. He hasn't been front and center on screen in awhile and boy does it show. I mean the guy was no Gregory Peck, but in  my opinion he was never cringe worthy bad or anything. Unfortunately here, he's just that. Part of it has to do with the dialogue I must admit but I think he still needs some time to get back into the swing of things.

As far as supporting cast goes there are some familiar faces along with Arnold. The most prominent, or at least the most prominently made by the trailer, the poster, and every single T.V. spot I saw for this movie, would be Johnny Knoxville even though he's only in it for about 20 minutes altogether (thankfully). Forrest "If- there's- a- paycheck- involved- I'll- take- the- part" Whitaker does an over the top, but at times hilarious, job of being the FBI agent in charge of the situation, who also sucks at his job. The other two notables are Peter Stormare (Fargo) who plays one of the over the top villains and Luis Guzman... You know, that one guy who was in a bunch of stuff. Yeah him.

This was Jee-woon Kim's American directorial debut, though he does have a sort of cult following for his foreign films like "I Saw The Devil" and "A Tale of Two Sister", mostly horror work. For his first American movie, welllllllll, hey it could've been worse. I still have to see his other work but it does look promising.

The one interesting thing the film has going for it, is the fact that this is basically a western. Now not in the complete and utter literal sense but when you really analyze the film there are a lot of western elements to it. It was obviously heavily influenced by them at least. The film also has a weird theme through out between old verses new. For example, Arnold has a gun fight with one of the villains. The villain is holding an old timey Smith and Wesson looking gun, while Arnold uses a more modern day version of that. It's a bit odd and the message that they would seem to be conveying is "New good. Old Bad." which doesn't really favor kindly to Arnold when you think about it.

All in all the movie is along the lines of Commando. It's bad but it's not BAD. If anything it's at least enjoyable and that's really all you could want from a Schwarzenegger movie. The biggest problem with the film, aside from technical things that don't really matter in an Arnold movie, is that it isn't very memorable and doesn't leave a lasting impression really.

While this wasn't the mega success most people thought it would be, it was a decent enough starting point for Arnold to return to acting. And while it may not make the big bucks like it was predicted to, one thing's for sure, Arnold is back.

FINAL GRADE: C

Reruns: Seinfeld

Welcome to Reruns. On this segment I will be going into detail on television shows and their impact on pop culture, the general public, and how television is made. On this first installment I'll be discussing arguably the greatest sitcom ever made, and my personal favorite show of all time, Seinfeld.

Seinfeld was created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David in the late 80s. The original idea was to follow two stand- up comedians in New York through a normal day in their lives as friends. It would also feature a short stand- up act at the end of each episode which would have material that had to do with the events in the episode. The concept pretty much stayed the same except for the two comedians, it was brought down to just following one comedian and his non show biz friends.

The show debuted in 1989 with the pilot episode "The Seinfeld Chronicles" which was the second idea for the title of the whole series, the first being "Stand- Up". When the pilot aired there was little faith from the network, and Larry David, that it was going to be a success, and it was far from what it would one day become, but it did well enough for NBC to order four more episodes for season one. Hardly an outstanding start but the first season ended up growing a following that started the phenomenon of the series.

The show starred Jerry Seinfeld as himself, Jason Alexander as Jerry's unbelievably selfish and hilarious best friend George Costanza, Julia Louis- Dreyfus as Jerry's ex- girlfriend turned platonic friend Elaine Benes, and Michael Richards as Jerry's wacky "hipster doofus" neighbor Cosmo Kramer. Through out the series there are a couple episodes in which Jerry and Elaine's relationship becomes a bit more intimate but it was only limited to those two episodes.  Eventually Wayne Knight was introduced to the series as a mail man who lives in Jerry's building, Newman. He's also the arch nemesis of Jerry, and my favorite character. Fun- fact: Newman is considered one of the greatest T.V. villains of all time.

Seinfeld is the sitcom that changed sitcoms. For it's time, the subjects it tackled were very controversial. It also was revolutionary for a show to have a story arch that was about the actual creation of the show itself. This happened in season four which is considered the breakout season of the series when it went from being a cult hit to a worldwide phenomenon. This season also included the series most popular episode entitled "The Contest".

"The Contest", arguably the most popular and most controversial, centered around the gang partaking in a contest to see who can go the longest without self pleasuring themselves. The episode itself garnered Larry David an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a comedy series, and was the most watched episode in syndication when it was first repeated.

 
Another episode from season four called "The Outing" is my personal favorite episode of the entire series. In it, a journalist believes that Jerry and George are gay and publishes the story in the newspaper. It has the funniest lines in the entire series and the scenario is just hilarious. It also utilizes every character in just the right way. I highly suggest the episode if you haven't seen it.

After the series ended it went into syndication where it still stays strong today. Jerry Seinfeld continue to do stand- up comedy and appear every now and than on T.V. in cameo roles. Jason Alexander went on to continue acting in movies, television, and stage plays. Julia Louis- Dreyfus continued a successful career of acting and had another hit show called The New Adventures of Old Christine. Michael Richards attempted to have his own show called The Michael Richards Show but it was unsuccessful and was canceled. He also tried his hand at stand- up comedy but was met with much controversy when he made outlandish and racist comments on stage.

Larry David left the show after season seven but came back every now and then to voice the character of George Steinbrenner and write the finale. In 1999 he made an HBO special called Curb Your Enthusiasm which shortly after airing was turned into a show. Curb is still on the air and has had eight successful seasons. It is expected to come back for a ninth season, perhaps it's last, but that is up to Larry David.

Seinfeld went on to have nine seasons, in total, and win 3 Golden Globes and 10 Prime-time Emmys in it's entire run. The show is now recognized by many as one of the best shows, if not the best, of all time and it is shown at least seven times a day on various channels in syndication. It's a cherished show by many and is my personal favorite show of all time.

Thank you for joining me in this installment of Reruns. Tune in next time when we dive into the show that followed the exploits of one of the most beloved Jersey citizens of all time, Tony Soprano.