Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice Review
RATING: (2 STARS) Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is a film about and full of contradictions. It’s a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel — also directed by Zack Snyder — yet this film relegates old Superman to a supporting role, instead focusing on that which drives the film’s other titular hero. Despite this […]
Revisiting My Most Anticipated 2013 Movies
I was writing up my most anticipated movies of 2014 when I realized I couldn’t quite remember what topped (or even placed) on my 2013 list at this time last year. Revisiting the list, as I’ll do below, simply confirms my suspicions that this exercise is a little foolhardy. There’s no predicting what you’ll respond […]
Zack Snyder Movies
One of the easiest ways to elicit groans out of a cinephile is to bring up director Zack Snyder’s name in a non-pejorative way. The guy is synonymous with mindless action movies in a way that would make Michael Bay jealous. Zack Snyder movies are big, loud, and unapologetic. They’re poorly written masterpieces of visual […]
Ranking the 2015 Blockbuster Movies
As if we didn’t need another reason to totally flip about the big movies of 2015, Comic-Con came and went this past week, and DC announced a Superman/Batman on-screen meeting about 24 months from now. Incidentally, we also got a nice nugget of news about another big superhero collaboration, 2015’s sequel to The Avengers (now […]
Ranking the Superman Movies
Superman’s film lineage is absolutely fascinating. Even when you remove the on-again-off-again projects during the lost years of the 1990s and early 2000s (not to mention the Richard Donner fiasco of 1980), the six films themselves are so different and so uniquely imperfect. Do we have a definitive Superman movie? Not a chance. I’ll get […]
Man of Steel Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Once more unto the breach, dear friends… When the public’s goodwill toward Superman turned sour following the abominable Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Krypton’s finest took a 19 year break from the big screen. Superman Returns was meant to be a triumphant return, and the film played that angle up, but […]
2013 Summer Movie Preview: Part 1
Last year, celestial angels with trumpets rang in the summer movie season. It was going to be the best ever—The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy, an original Pixar movie, and more. Even if the season didn’t end up meeting expectations, there was lots of good stuff out there. This year, it’s […]
13 Films for 2013
Oh, to be where we were a year ago. Surveying the upcoming movie calendar on January 1, 2012 was like a second Christmas. Tarantino, PT Anderson, Wes Anderson, Spielberg (with Day-Lewis), Affleck, Soderbergh (times two), The Hobbit, Nolan’s follow-up to The Dark Knight, The Avengers, and the most loaded Cannes lineup in years. Sure, not […]