Showing Tag: " comics" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: Molded Out of Clay, Amazon Godkiller Wonder Woman Is the Heroine We Deserve and Believe

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, June 4, 2017, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Wonder Woman





Directed By: Patty Jenkins

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, and Elena Anaya

In the game of superhero adaptations, Marvel is running circles around DC Comics. With a decade of hits and an army of live action heroes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is well on its way up the mountaintop to its Infinity War next year.  Meanwhile, the missteps with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice demonstrate that the DC Extended...

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REVIEW: From A Celestial Ego to David Hasselhoff, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 Is All About the Unspoken Things

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, May 7, 2017, In : 0.00% Water 
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2





Directed By: James Gunn

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell

The summer blockbuster season is now upon us.  With it, we have Marvel's first big time up at bat in 2017.  We are on the road to Infinity War in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the board is almost set.  The final pieces are moving, ...

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REVIEW: Trying to Protect the Avengers With the Sokovia Accords & His Sunday Foundation, Tony Stank Causes the Empire to Fall in Captain America: Civil War

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, May 7, 2016, In : 0.00% Water 
Captain America: Civil War





Directed By: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, and Daniel Brühl

"Our very strength incites challenge.  Challenge incites conflict.  And conflict... breeds catastrophe.  Supervision is not something to be dismissed out-of-hand."
-Vision (Paul...

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REVIEW: With the White Portuguese & Granny's Peach Tea, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Flies Too Close to the Sun

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 26, 2016, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice





Directed By: Zack Snyder

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Scoot McNairy, and Gal Gadot

For me, there are no two more iconic and awe-inspiring superheroes than Batman and Superman.  That's why I'm so heartbroken that their first time on the big screen together is being helmed by Zack Snyder.  The man behind comic book adaptations Watchmen and Man of Steel has a less than ...

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REVIEW: Wham! Deadpool & His X-Men Make It Big With Their Bloody, Hilarious Answer to Francis's What's My Name

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 13, 2016, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Deadpool





Directed By: Tim Miller

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, and Stefan Kapicic

2016 is the year of the comic book movie.  The release schedule is all the proof you need.  Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  Captain America: Civil War.  X-Men: Apocalypse.  Suicide Squad.  Gambit.  Doctor Strange.  This year is unlike any other in terms of the sheer number of Marvel and DC properties arriving on the big screen, and it may ...

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REVIEW: Baskin Robbins Always Finds Out How Ant-Man Goes Subatomic On the Big Screen

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, July 18, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Ant-Man





Directed By: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip "T.I." Harris, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, and Michael Douglas

The trailers for Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad may be all the rage right now as Warner Bros. seeks to lay the foundations of its DC Comics universe on the big screen.  Still, Marvel Studios is the dominant player, even without some of its flagship heroes such as the X-Men a...

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REVIEW: Thanks to Baymax & the Big Hero 6 Nerds Looking at Comics From a Different Angle, I Am Satisfied With My Care in San Fransokyo

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 9, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Big Hero 6





Directed By: Don Hall and Chris Williams

Starring: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans, Jr., Génesis Rodríguez, T. J. Miller, Daniel Henney, James Cromwell, and Maya Rudolph

Disney has had one hell of a year, particularly when it comes to live action films.  Just look to the critical and commercial successes of films like Captain America: Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and to a lesser extent Maleficent.  The studio has found its groove and is on a roll.  Wi...
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REVIEW: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For – A Heavy Dose Of Scantily Clad Women And Highly Stylized Violence

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, August 24, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Stacy  Keach, and Jamie Chung

After seeing the misogynistic train wreck that was Machete Kills, I was not clamoring for another star-studded sequel from Robert Rodriguez.  While the original Sin City was creative and slick...
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REVIEW: In X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mystique's DNA Unlocks the Key for Charles Xavier to Bear Mutants' Pain Without Breaking & Dare to Hope Again

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, May 24, 2014, In : 0.00% Water 
X-Men: Days of Future Past





Directed By: Bryan Singer

Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart

"So many battles waged over the years... and yet, none like this.  Are we destined to destroy each other, or can we change each other and unite?  Is the future truly set?"
-Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart)

This year has offered a glut of ambitious comic book...
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REVIEW: With Roosevelt's Secret Station & Oscorp's Special Projects Division, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Is No Happy Birthday for Max / Sparkles / Electro

Posted by James Brown on Friday, May 2, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Amazing Spider-Man 2





Directed By: Marc Webb

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field

The summer blockbuster season has arrived!  With it, we can now say goodbye to horrendous flicks like Devil's Due, A Haunted House 2, and Brick Mansions while saying hello to the likes of Godzilla, Maleficent, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  As I noted in my review of Captain America: The Wi...
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REVIEW: With the Imminent Convergence of the Nine Realms and the Aether Released by Jane, Thor and Malekith Rock the Dark World

Posted by James Brown on Friday, November 8, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Thor: The Dark World





Directed By: Alan Taylor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, and Rene Russo

"Some believe that before the universe, there was nothing.  They're wrong.  There was darkness...and it has survived."
-Odin (Anthony Hopkins)

Of all the movies I've seen, The Avengers is the only movie wit...
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REVIEW: In 2 Guns, Robbing Tres Cruces is Worse Than Robbing the Bank Across the Street From a Diner With the Best Donuts in Three Counties

Posted by James Brown on Friday, August 2, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
2 Guns





Directed By: Baltasar Kormâkur

Starring: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, James Marsden, Bill Paxton, Edward James Olmos, and Fred Ward

The summer movie season is starting to wind down.  It's been an underwhelming summer to say the least.  With bomb after bomb after bomb hitting the box office, we've been continuously disappointed.  The duds have included films like After Earth, White House Down, The Lone Ranger, and R.I.P.D.  Though there have certainly been standouts lik...
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REVIEW: According to Yashida, The Wolverine is a Ronin, a Samurai Without a Master

Posted by James Brown on Friday, July 26, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Wolverine





Directed By: James Mangold

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Will Yun Lee, Brian Tee, Svetlana Khodchenkova, and Famke Janssen

I feel like Marvel and DC Comics have largely taken the year off at the box office.  Though Iron Man 3 was thoroughly entertaining, it couldn't hold a candle to 2012's The Avengers.  Despite all the pre-release hype, Man of Steel didn't live up to its potential.  While Thor 2 is on the way this fall, ...
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REVIEW: R.I.P.D. – Men In Black With Dead-ohs

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, July 21, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
R.I.P.D.
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Robert Schwentke
 
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, and Stephanie Szostak

When the trailer for R.I.P.D. debuted, I immediately thought that it looked like Men in Black with dead people instead of aliens.  Good-looking rookie cop a la Will Smith? Check. Grumpy old Tommy Lee Jones type veteran? Check.  Secret agents who secretly save the world from destruction? Check. Check. Check.  Unfortunately, that is where the similari...
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REVIEW: With a Wikileaks Cable on Project Nightshade & Bailey's Red Mercury, Frank, Marvin, and Sarah Hit Paris, Moscow, & London in Red 2

Posted by James Brown on Friday, July 19, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Red 2





Directed By: Dean Parisot

Starring: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lee Byung-hun, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, David Thewlis, and Neal McDonough

Thursday July 18th marked some interesting anniversaries in movie history earlier this week.  It marked the 25th anniversary of John McTiernan's Die Hard, a movie that redefined the action genre and put Bruce Willis on the map in Hollywood.  It also marked the 5th anniversary of Christopher Nol...
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REVIEW: In Man of Steel, A Modern Superman Proves That Evolution Wins Most of the Time

Posted by James Brown on Friday, June 14, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Man of Steel





Directed By: Zack Snyder

Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, and Russell Crowe

"You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."
-Jor-El (Russell Crowe)

Every movie lover has that one film each year they can't wait to see above all else.  F...
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REVIEW: Blue Da Ba Dee Da Ba Die...Mechanic Tony Stark's Avengers Demons & Aldrich Killian's Extremis Are Giving Him Anxiety Attacks in Iron Man 3

Posted by James Brown on Friday, May 3, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Iron Man 3





Directed By: Shane Black

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, and William Sadler

The summer movie season is upon us!  As usual, superhero flicks will dominate this summer’s blockbusters.  Interestingly enough, we're seeing a changing of the guard this year.  With the end of Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy, the Man of Steel will be substituting for the Dark Knight.  For...
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REVIEW: As Judge, Jury, and Executioner, the Sentence is Always Death with Dredd

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 22, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails 

Dredd





Directed By: Pete Travis

Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Wood Harris, and Lena Headey

The fall movie season is officially under way.  In other words, it's a sad time for me.  We're no longer getting those awesome blockbusters with big stars like The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises, and we're waiting on the awards season to really get started (though the release of The Master is duly noted).  It's most evident this weekend with Dredd, a film based on the futuristic British comic...


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REVIEW: He May Only Find Pain When He Gets Back in the Game, But The Dark Knight Rises to the Occasion

Posted by James Brown on Friday, July 20, 2012, In : 0.00% Water 
The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR)





Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Morgan Freeman

During a summer blockbuster season that's offered moviegoers ass-kicking Avengers, web-slinging heroes, time-traveling secret agents, and weed-smoking teddy bears, the Dark Knight has finally arrived!  It's been four years since Christopher Nolan's landmark film The Dark Knight, and not much has chan...
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REVIEW: In a World Without Weakness, The Amazing Spider-Man Nearly Succeeds at Becoming Amazing

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, July 3, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
The Amazing Spider-Man





Directed By: Marc Webb

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan, and Chris Zylka

Ten years ago, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man changed the landscape of comic book movies.  The film is considered one of the greatest comic book flicks of all time.  Fast forward five years, and you'll get the regrettable Spider-Man 3.  The film tried to do too much.  Now that another five years have passed, we've arrived at the inevitable reboot, perha...
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REVIEW: When the Ants Get the Boot, The Avengers Kick Some Ass. Then They Get Some Shawarma.

Posted by James Brown on Friday, May 4, 2012, In : 0.00% Water 
The Avengers





Directed By: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, and Samuel L. Jackson

"There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, so when we needed them, they could fight the battles that we never could... "
-Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)

2011 was a good year for comic book movies, but 2012 is the year of the superhero movie.  If movies were people, last year's comic book flick...
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REVIEW: Ghost Rider Has a Spirit of Vengeance, But It's Still One Ride You Don't Wanna Take

Posted by James Brown on Friday, February 17, 2012, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance





Directed By: Neveldine/Taylor

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Fergus Riordan, Ciarán Hinds, Violante Placido, Idris Elba, Christopher Lambert, and Johnny Whitworth

Nicolas Cage was once a respected, formidable actor. This guy is an Oscar winner with some great films on his résumé including Face/Off, The Rock, and Adaptation.  When the IRS came knocking though, his career stopped rocking. It's clear.  He's become known for making some of the worst films in recent years...
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REVIEW: Captain America Is An Old School Hero With Style

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, August 7, 2011, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Captain America: The First Avenger





Directed By: Joe Johnston

Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, and Stanley Tucci

In the age of caped crusaders, reformed weapons developers, and Norse gods, it's refreshing to see a wholesome American superhero in the tradition of Superman and Spider-Man.  In recent years, we have definitely been missing this in the comic book film genre.  Most superheroes these days on the big screen are flawed in...
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