Review: R.I.P.D. (2013)

If the commercials for R.I.P.D. made you think the movie would just be one big Men in Black rip-off, well… You’d be right. Director Robert Schwentke presumably passed on directing Red 2 to make this movie. Not sure if that was the best choice. However, from what I hear, Red 2 ain’t that hot either.

Ryan Reynolds plays Nick Walker, a hot-shot Boston Police officer who’s killed in the line of duty and forced to join the R.I.P.D., the Rest In Peace Department. The department’s main priority is to detain lost souls, called Dead-O’s, who refuse to leave earth. Dead-O’s will rot the planet if allowed to remain, eventually destroying it. You can’t have that, so R.I.P.D. officers must track them down, arrest them, and send them on their way. To hell, most likely. Because, you know… they’re bad.

We’re told they’re bad, but really what is their crime? Wanting to remain on earth for a little while longer? Who can blame them? Especially if their alternative is hell?

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Awesome Video on the History of Film Compositing.

This is an excellent film history lesson. It comes from filmmakerIQ.com and they discuss the history of film compositing. Starting back in the 1920’s with George Melies and going all the way to the present with digital green screen. If you have an interest in how films are made, this video is a must-watch. You’re sure to learn something.

One thing I didn’t know is that they used blue-screen techniques as early as 1940! It gets a bit complicated but I have to give filmmakerIQ.com credit for describing it as simply as they can. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

As always, feel free to let me know what you think in the comments.

The League of Supermen!

This is a fun little video starring a few actors who have portrayed Superman in one form or another. I’m sure it’s meant to be an advertisement for the DC Animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox that’s coming out on Tues (review coming soon!) but it’s fun nonetheless.

It’s too bad Dean Cain couldn’t be there in person and no one seems to care that George Newbern isn’t present. Having Henry Cavill present would have been great, too.

Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Review: The Wolverine (2013)

After the failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, my expectations for a follow up were fairly low. I consider that movie the worst in the X-Men franchise (yes, I like The Last Stand more) so I was worried we would get a similarly rushed film with too many characters and a terrible story. Then Darren Aronofsky was attached to direct and my interest sky-rocketed. Aronofsky had directed Jackman before in The Fountain and brought about the best performance of Jackman’s I’d seen until Les Misérables. Not to mention every Aronofsky film has a well thought out and meticulous story-line. I was stoked. Then word came around that Aronofsky had left the project. Who would replace him? James Mangold. He, too, had directed Jackman before on a picture called Kate & Leopold.

Not exactly the film I’d expect to see advertised on a Wolverine poster: “From the director of Kate & Leopold… THE WOLVERINE!”

To Mangold’s credit, he also directed some awesome films like Cop Land and 3:10 to Yuma. He actually has a pretty diverse resume. Walk the Line, Identity, and Girl, Interrupted are a few more of his films. His latest effort was Knight and Day, which I enjoyed but had some noticeably bad green screen work and was a bit more on the comedy/action side. If the 3:10 to Yuma Mangold showed up to direct The Wolverine, I’d be happy. If the Knight & Day Mangold showed up to direct it… I’d be worried.

Superheroes, Movies & Superhero Movies – Episode 002 – Green Lantern (2011)

In the latest episode, Justin and John discuss the live action Green Lantern film. Its John’s favorite superhero character, so what did he think of the film?

Plus, the guys discuss the inclusion of Batman in Zack Snyder’s sequel to Man of Steel and what that might mean for the upcoming Justice League movie.

Note: We were still trying to figure out the best method of recording ourselves and Justin chose a poor option. So, again, please forgive (half of) the audio in this episode. The program he used also cut out during recording, which is why you may notice some skipping here and there. Our next episode should sound great. Fingers crossed.

Review: The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring is the latest horror film from Saw and Insidious director James Wan. This time he brings us the true tale of a family’s new home and the demons it contains. If the plot sounds a little cliche, Wan actually provides us with a fresh approach to the material. Upon viewing the trailer for this film, I expected an Amityville Horror, mediocre haunted house yarn. Fortunately, it exceeded my expectations and even creeped me out a little. I’m not a huge horror fan. I love the original Halloween and I enjoy the cheesiness/fun of the original Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th: Part IV but am picky about most modern horror films. So it’s quite a delight when one surprises me and has me leaving the theater feeling entertained.

Stay tuned!

We have two podcasts complete, along with two mini reviews by Justin and will be releasing them on iTunes once we hit a total of five. Doing so will allow us to be on the “New & Noteworthy” podcasts list. Stay tuned.

Zack Snyder to introduce Batman in Man of Steel 2

It was just revealed at San Diego Comic Con earlier today that Zack Snyder will introduce Batman in to the universe he created in Man of Steel. Henry Cavill will return as Superman but Batman has yet to be cast. Snyder is currently working on the story with David S. Goyer, who will pen the script solo. Christopher Nolan and his wife, Emma, will return only as Executive Producers. The picture on the left is supposedly the logo revealed. (I say supposedly because it was taken from a Twitter account. So if it’s revealed later to be a fake, I won’t look super stupid.)

Review: The Lone Ranger (2013)

Johnny Depp and Academy Award winning director Gore Verbinski team up again after their success with the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies to bring the radio legend of the 1930’s to the big screen. Depp plays Tonto, who is upgraded a bit from The Lone Ranger’s side-kick to not-quite-the-main-character-but-also-the-narrator of the story. I was hoping Verbinski and Depp would give us a fun western with plenty of action and laughs but not weigh us down with a complicated storyline like they did with the Pirates sequels. Unfortunately, a complicated story is exactly what we got with very little action and humor that falls flat.

Superheroes, Movies & Superhero Movies – Episode 001 – Man of Steel (2013)

In Episode 1, Justin and John discuss the new Superman film, Man of Steel and wonder just whose costume that really belongs to…

This is our very first episode and it’s a little rough around the edges. We hadn’t acquired our good microphones yet and it was a bit of a learning experience. Please forgive our audio problems and any brain farts we may have let slip.

We hope you like it! Check back for more episodes!