Review: Rush [2013]

Rivalries can create great tension in a story as well as explain character motivation. They’re also nothing new. From Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty to the Montagues and the Capulets to “Fast Eddie” Felson and Minnesota Fats to Professor Xavier and Magneto, rivalries have been commonplace in storytelling for centuries. What makes a rivalry more interesting is when the two characters are both people for whom you can root. Director Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan accomplish this in their new film Rush (rated R).

Rush stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers’ Thor) as James Hunt, a Formula 1 race car driver who’s a bit of a loose canon and a party animal. He’s cocky and good-looking and that’s gotten him through life so far. Daniel Bruhl (Inglourious Basterds) plays Niki Lauda, an Austrian Formula 1 racer who’s everything Hunt isn’t. He’s extremely intelligent and plays by the book. He knows how to win races because he understands the science behind racing. He doesn’t get the thrill of putting his life on the line like Hunt does.

Superheroes, Movies & Superhero Movies – Episode 007 – Spider-Man [2002]

  

X-Men started the campfire known as “Modern Superhero Movies.” Raimi’s Spider-Man threw a grenade in it. Justin and John discuss the original theatrical Spider-Man that launched the avalanche of superhero movies to come. What made it great? Does it still hold up? These are just a few of the questions addressed. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Review: Prisoners [2013]

**Short on time? Check out the spoiler-free mini-review below!**

Prisoners is a harrowing drama about two families whose daughters go missing on Thanksgiving day and the lengths to which they’ll go to find them. It’s dark and disturbing at times and makes you question how far is too far when it comes to the life of a child.

Prisoners (rated R) is directed by Denis Villeneuve, the director of the 2010 Oscar nominated film Incendies (which I regrettably haven’t seen but will probably check out now) and written by Aaron Guzikowski whose only other notable credit is last year’s Contraband starring Mark Wahlberg (which I have seen and the two films couldn’t be more different).

Review: In a World… [2013]

Small independent films can surprise you sometimes and end up being sadly overlooked by many in terms of the “best films of the year.” Hopefully In a World… won’t be overlooked. It’s charming and fun and full of characters who feel real.

Written, directed and starring Lake Bell, In a World… (rated R) follows Carol, the daughter of a voice over megastar named Sam Sotto. Other than Don LaFontaine, who was the king of “In a world…” movie trailer voice overs, Sam Sotto is the best. Carol spends her days working as a vocal coach, helping actors with dialects mostly. At 31, she’s still living at home and her father decides to support her by not supporting her anymore. She’s forced to move in with her sister and her husband while she figures things out.

Review: Insidious: Chapter 2 [2013]

First of all, I feel I must warn you that this review has spoilers for the first Insidious movie. It’s a bit hard to talk about the events in this film without mentioning the final moments of the first movie. For that reason, I won’t be doing a mini-review for it, as I like to keep those spoiler-free. This review, however, will not have spoilers for Insidious: Chapter 2. So as long as you’ve seen part one, you’re safe.

If you haven’t seen the original Insidious, it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s directed by James Wan (who recently directed The Conjuring) and written by Leigh Whannell. They are the team behind the original Saw movie. And it’s PG-13, which is somewhat rare for a horror movie, as it lacks the typical language and gore from the more common films of the genre.

The sequel brings back the writing directing team of Whannell and Wan and, despite what major critics say, was even more fun than the original.

Superheroes, Movies & Superhero Movies – Episode 006 – Star Trek Into Darkness [2013]

    

Star Trek Into Darkness is the second installment in J. J. Abrams’ reboot of the ever popular Star Trek universe. Join us. Our 1 hour and 20 minute mission: to explore the movie’s brilliance, to seek out any flaws and imperfections, to boldly go where no movie critic has gone before! *Duuun DUUUUUUN…duun dun-dun-dun-duuuuuun* Warp 3.

J. K. Rowling to Make a Screenwriting Debut

It was just announced by J. K. Rowling, herself, that she has been approached by Warner Brothers about turning a book that was in the Potter series, entitled ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ into a film. The movie is supposedly going to focus on the author of this book, Newt Scamander. Here is what Rowling had to say:

“It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of ‘Fantastic Beasts’, realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.

As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.

I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”

———-

There is an actual version of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ available to read, written by J. K. Rowling. I don’t remember anything about this book, or the author, Newt, but I can’t deny I am intrigued and somewhat excited to see a branch of the Harry Potter universe come to life on the silver screen.

Have you any interest left in the wizarding world of Harry Potter? Let us know in your comments below!

Review: Riddick [2013]

**Short on time? Listen to the mini-review below!**

Riddick is the third chapter in a franchise that started with Pitch Black back in 2000. Followed up by The Chronicles of Riddick in 2004. I’ve seen Pitch Black but missed Chronicles. Turns out you really don’t need to see part two to understand part three, but that’s mainly because Riddick doesn’t have a very strong story.

After being betrayed by Vaako, played by Karl Urban (his only scene), and left for dead on a strange planet, Riddick must figure out a way to survive against the elements and leave the planet. That’s basically the whole plot. He finds a futuristic rest stop and activates an emergency beacon which brings two sets of bounty hunting teams to the planet to try and capture/kill Riddick.

RoboCop [2014] first trailer officially released!

The first trailer for the 2014 RoboCop reboot is officially up! There has been some criticism about protagonist, Alex Murphy’s, suit, many comparing it to Nolan’s Batman. Another concern for some fans is the PG-13 rating. Here’s the trailer:

I, personally, think it looks pretty promising. We have a well-rounded cast (Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson) and it just feels like they might’ve nailed it. Then again, I thought the Green Lantern trailer looked good too, and we all know how that turned out. I also hope the cause of his disfigurement is not the explosion that the trailer leads you to believe.

What are your thoughts on the trailer? RoboCop is due for release on Feb. 7, 2014.

Review: Kick-Ass 2

**Don’t want to read the whole review? Check out the mini-review below!**

The original Kick-Ass was a darkly funny, charming take on regular folks who decide to don costumes and fight crime. It was over the top and ridiculous and, with the help of Nicolas Cage, it was a lot of fun. Kick-Ass 2 doesn’t quite reach the bar that was set with the original film. It has its funny moments but overall it feels like it’s trying a little too hard to recreate the magic of the first film.

The first half of the movie could be called “The Adventures of Hit-Girl.” It follows Chloe Grace Moretz’s character much more than Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Dave, the alter ego of our titular character. Dave is on a bit of a hiatus and growing increasingly bored so he persuades Mindy (Hit-Girl) to train him so he can get back in the game as Kick-Ass. He’s constantly reminded of his “glory days” watching tv and seeing all sorts of costumed vigilantes who have been inspired by his costumed persona.