Bam! Zap! Pow!

This wasn't just an adaptation of Frank Miller's groundbreaking graphic novel series. It was a panel-by-panel translation. And that alone makes it worth seeing. Splashes of color add a creative, if not wholly original, touch to this already stylish black and white crime thriller. If you're a fan of comic books or film noir, it's imperative that you see this movie. It flat out rocks.

there's only one word to describe this epic film adaptation of Frank Miller's equally epic graphic novel: Epic. The blood-soaked battles are a spectacle that makes even the hardest man weak in the knees, while simultaneously making him want to stand up for what he believes in and kick some major ass. King Leonidas may be Gerard Butler's most iconic role on the silver screen, and he makes the most of every second. Plus, the music is killer, taking a beautiful traditional orchestral score and punctuating it with some balls-to-the-wall metal guitars where appropriate.

It captures the spirit of the graphic novel it's based upon perfectly. The cast is excellent, especially Hugo Weaving as the titular character and John Hurt as the ruthless, totalitarian dictator (yes, a bit on the shallow side when compared to how he was portrayed in the graphic novel, but it's an adaptation, not a translation). Going deeper than the average comic book movie in terms of political subject matter and character development, this film, like the comic that inspired it, is a brilliant work of art.

Guillermo DelToro's vision of Mike Mignola's cult-classic comic of the same name is a fun action/fantasy with visual flair. And is anyone better suited to play the title character than Ron Perlman? I think not.

Guillermo Del Toro makes magic with Mike Mignola's cult comic yet again!

Full review coming soon...

This is what happens when you have the guy behind "Rush Hour" take over the directing of the third installment of a bankable franchise. You lose what made the first two movies good in the first place. The compelling character-driven plot of this dreck's predicesors is now replaced by too many underdeveloped characters coagulating into a big steamy plotless mess. The fight scenes are impressive (hence, the extra whole star I graced it with), but that's all this movie has going for it. A string of spectacular fights without a plot holding it together is a great formula for a big time summer popcorn flick, but I always thought X-Men was supposed to be a cut above that sort of thing. The first two were, at least.

Brandon Lee was excellent (God rest his soul), and the cinematography was absolutely beautiful. The rest of the cast, on the other hand, were terrible, and the plot strayed too far from that of the comic for my liking. I wish I could like this movie as much as it's rabid fanbase does, but I'd rather just read J. O'Barr's brilliant graphic novel instead.

This is where the Batman franchise starts the suckage. It's a bad movie, but not nearly as bad as the one that follows it. But the plot is thin, the cinematography and effects are cartoony (in a bad way), and pretty much the entire cast with the exception of Jim Carrey gives lackluster performances. Take a pass on this one.

Oh. My. GOD! This movie is terrible. Terrible, terrible, terrible. A paper thin plot coupled by piss-poor effects that would nauseate Roger Corman is not going to cut it , Joel Schumacher! And don't get me started on the acting! If Arnold Schwarzenegger gives the best performance out of everybody in the cast, you have a PROBLEM! Batman fans, do yourself a favor. Pretend this hunk of shit doesn't exist, and watch the Burton films and "Batman Begins" in eager anticipation of "The Dark Knight".

It's a far cry from a perfect horror flick, but it's still entertaining. The cinematography is pretty, the cast is decent (aside from Ben Foster who is, as always, spectacular), and there are plenty of scares to go around. I, for one, thought it was better than the graphic novel it was based on. Again, this isn't a perfect movie by any means, but if you're in the Halloween spirit and need your horror fix, check it out. It's worth a rent at least.

Other reviews I've read have been mixed, so I was worried that my eager anticipation of this movie was unwarranted. Thankfully, Iron Man turned out to be a rather enjoyable experience for me.

Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as the movie's protagonist: genius inventor and weapon's tycoon Tony Stark. He starts off as snarky and arrogant, but he undergoes a change of heart (both figuratively and literally) after he's captured by terrorists who use weapons he's manufactured to do their dastardly deeds. He escapes, thanks to a bitchin' suit of armor he built on the fly, and vows to use his technology for the betterment of mankind rather than it's destruction. He returns to America, retires to his fancy seaside condo, and begins work on a second prototype of that same suit of armor.

As I mentioned before, Downey's performance was fantastic. The supporting cast was pretty good overall as well, particularly Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark's perky assistant Pepper Potts (alliterative names are so fun, aren't they?). The only chink in the armor, as far as the cast is concerned, is Terrance Howard. He seems like he's going through the motions, like a high school freshman who doesn't want to be in the play, but his parents forced him to audition for it. His role isn't that big, thankfully, so his lackluster performance is tolerable.

My one and only gripe, and one I'll probably get flack for, is that there's not enough action. I like superhero movies with an engaging story and dynamic characters, and Iron Man's characters and plot are well rounded. But more emphasis is put on plot development than blowin' shit up, rahter than finding a balance between the two. Spider-Man and Batman Begins are movies that have successfully found this balance, which is what made them so great.

That doesn't mean Iron Man is terrible. In fact, it's far from it. The action that IS there is beautifully orchestrated, the special effects are top notch, and the script is well-written. Throw in the best cameo by Stan Lee since Mallrats, and you have yourself a great superhero movie.

Not a bad way to start the summer...

It's pretty to look at but it's story sucks? Yep, sounds like Enki Bilal alright! I may not be a fan of his writing, but I'm a big fan of his art. I'm very interested in seeing a movie based on Bilal's work, especially if Bilal himself is the director.

They made a live action movie?...Interesting. I heard the comics were fantastic...

I saw this recently, and it's the first film directed by Takeshi Miike that I've seen. A full review will be typed up when I feel like it. For now, let's just say that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would...

I actually kinda like the comic, so this might be worth checking out.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and gals, the summer movie season has officially kicked into overdrive! A couple theatre pals and I went to a matinee of this, and all in the party thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

First things first, lets talk about the cast. It's an impressive lineup, and all involved were great. James McAvoy plays Wes Gibson, the lead character (don't let the poster mislead you), and he makes him a character the audience can relate to, which is hard to do in films like this.** Angelina Jolie is also wonderful as Fox, Wes's mentor in the art of assassination. She plays her like a stern motherly figure, and doesn't overstay her welcome. And for the handful of you who haven't seen A Mighty Heart and doubt her acting chops, she conveys with only expressions in this film what lesser actors and actresses can only convincingly convey through words. As for Morgan Freeman...well, without giving anything away, let's just say you've never seen him like this before.

And when I say "give anything away", I say that with a tad bit of sarcasm. There is a plot here, and while it's not thrown in as an afterthought like the occasional Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle, it's still fairly predictable. The plot does present a moral quandary halfway through, which I like, but it's thrown out the window thanks to a gimmicky ending that sends mixed messages.

But to make up for the kind of plot we've seen before, director Timur Bekmambetov (try saying THAT five times fast!) serves up some tasty action scenes that we most definitely haven't. They have to be taken with a grain of salt (which is the reason why I didn't take my father to see it), but if one can suspend their disbelief enough to believe that bullets can curve and people can cascade through two windows at a high velocity and remain unscathed, then they'll be treated to a dazzling ballet that makes all the shootouts in every action film they've seen before look amateurish by comparison.

This, ladies and gents, is an action movie with a capital 'A', and if you're looking for perfect counter-programming to lighter fare like Wall-E, you couldn't ask for a better movie.

**On a side note, one of my friends didn't like James McAvoy in the role he played. Said friend thought he gave a good performance, but would've preferred either Ewan McGregor or Ben Barnes in the role instead.

Well...there's another trailer out...and I have mixed feelings about it...

You ever hear of a movie that, conceptually, sounds great (creative director, great source material, well-rounded cast), and then after finally seeing a trailer, you start getting that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that it'll more than likely be shitty?

And yet, despite that feeling, you'll still see the movie in theaters because you WANT it to be good, even if it'll more than likely be shitty?

That's how I'm currently feeling about The Spirit. Yeah, the movie looks pretty, just like Sin City and 300 were, and Frank Miller was good friends with Will Eisner, and yadda yadda yadda. I still think this'll be crap. I WANT it to be good, I REALLY want it to be good, but it'll probably be crap.

We'll see, though...

I'll go more in-depth with my thoughts on this adaptation in a facebook note, where anyone who wants to read it can feel free to do so. In a nutshell, I thought the actors did a good job (except for Carla Gugino, I'm sad to say), and overall I think Zach Snyder did the best adaptation he possibly could. But like the graphic novel it's based on, it's a bit too much to take in during one sitting. Aside from that, so much was trimmed for time (even though it still wound up being 43 mins too long) that I would've probably been lost had I not read the graphic novel.