Posts Tagged ‘comic book film’

Movie Review – X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Released this weekend is X-Men: Days of Future Past, an X-Men film that brings together almost all of the main characters that we’ve seen in the six previous films.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a science-fiction film that involves time travel to save the future from an oppressive society where mutants are actively hunted by Sentinels, a series of killing machines that can adapt to better defend themselves from mutants.  Wolverine is sent back in time to try to stop a key event from occurring, causing a chain reaction that will change the future.

This film takes place after the events in X-Men: The Last Stand as well as X-Men: First Class.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) – movie poster

Directed by Bryan Singer, X-Men: Days of Future Past stars Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine, James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, and Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkholme / Mystique.  The film also features a bunch of other actors in the X-Men universe including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Michael Fassbender, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult and Shawn Ashmore.  New faces in this movie include Peter Dinklage and Evan Peters.

X-Men: Days of Future Past begins nine years from now in the year 2023.

In a dystopian future, killer robots known as Sentinels actively hunt and kill mutants.  Those mutants not killed by the Sentinels are rounded up and placed in internment camps.  In addition to hunting and killing mutants, the Sentinels also hunt for human beings who carry the X-gene in their system.  Although those humans are not mutants, the X-genes can be passed down to their children.

In the film we see a small band of mutants hiding from Sentinels.  The mutants include Peter Rasputin / COLOSSUS (Daniel Cudmore), Bobby Drake / ICEMAN (Shawn Ashmore), Kitty Pryde / SHADOWCAT (Ellen Page), BISHOP (Oman Sy), Clarice Ferguson / BLINK (Bingbing Fan), Roberto da Costa / SUNSPOT (Adan Canto), and James Proudstar / WARPATH (Booboo Stewart).  When the robots discover the mutants, the mutants fight back and delay them until Kitty Pryde can send another mutant’s consciousness back in time to warn the group about the approaching danger.  By the time the Sentinels reach Kitty, she and the other mutants disappear as if they were never there in the first place.

A short while later Kitty’s group of mutants meets with Eric Lehnserr / MAGNETO (Ian McKellen) and Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart).  Also with them are Ororo Munroe / STORM (Halle Berry) and Logan / WOLVERINE (Hugh Jackman).  The mutants know that they cannot keep fighting the Sentinels, and it’s just a matter of time before they’re all killed by the killer robots.  In order to end this war, they’re going to have to travel back in time to prevent them from being created.  Thankfully Kitty Pryde can send a person’s consciousness back through time.

Charles Xavier believes that the turning point was back in 1973 when Mystique assassinated Bolivar Trask, the military scientist who designed the Sentinel robots.  His assassination sparked an anti-mutant hysteria which led to the government authorizing the Sentinel program, which eventually led to the war against mutants.  Mystique would also be captured by the government, and her blood would be reverse-engineered and adapted to the Sentinels, giving them the power to change and absorb any type of an attack. Read more…

Movie Review – The Wolverine (2013)

In 2009, Hollywood created a stand-alone Wolverine film called X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

As we know, Wolverine continues to be one of the most popular of the X-Men characters, and his origin could have made for an interesting story.  The problems though were that the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine failed to tell a good story and refrain from cheesy clichés.

Despite the flaws and other problems with the story, the film still made a ton of money, and Hugh Jackman did an outstanding job of performing as the comic book character.  This was a sign that the audiences wanted more of the character, something better than what we saw in the 2009 film.

The answer was resolved in the 2013 film, The Wolverine.

Set after the events in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, The Wolverine is a film that takes Logan to Japan to meet with an old acquaintance from World War 2.  This quickly proves to be Logan’s most difficult challenge yet as not only is he stripped of his power of regeneration, but he also has to battle with the Yakuza as well as ancient warriors that date back hundreds.  It’s Logan versus the ninjas, samurai, and the warrior way of life as he battles to save lives, starting with his own.

The Wolverine (2013) – movie poster

Directed by James Mangold, The Wolverine stars Hugh Jackman in the lead role of Logan / Wolverine.  Co-starring in the film are Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida, and Rila Fukushima as Yukio.  The film also features Famke Janssen as Jean Grey.

The Wolverine begins in 1945 in Nagasaki, Japan.

Logan (Hugh Jackman) is a captured American soldier being held in solitary confinement.  In other barracks near him are hundreds more American soldiers being held prisoner.  Suddenly the Japanese guards go on alert when they spot a B-29 Superfortress bomber flying over the city of Nagasaki.  The guards think that it’s another air raid.

The Wolverine (2013) – (c) 20th Century Fox

One of the Japanese guards, Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), frees the American prisoners at the anger to his superiors.  Logan notices this, so he tries to warn Yashida that the bomber is carrying a nuclear bomb, something that will destroy the entire city.  Just as the bomb is dropped and Nagasaki is destroyed, Logan gets Yashida to hide with him in his underground prison cell.  Logan uses his body to shield Yashida from the nuclear fire.  Afterwards, Yashida watches Logan’s body regenerate and heal itself from the horrendous burn scars.

Fast forward to today. Read more…

Movie Review – X-Men: First Class (2011)

In 2009, the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine gave us an origin tale that was mediocre at best.

While the film was a financial success, many of the fans of the X-Men series were disappointed in the film’s story, some clichés and plot holes, and the repeated action scenes.  X-Men Origins: Wolverine could have been a significantly better film.

Fortunately, this opened the door for an X-Men origin film to be created correctly.  That bring us to the next film in the X-Men series of movies, 2011’s X-Men: First Class.

Primarily set in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, X-Men: First Class is a prequel to the main X-Men films and tells a story about how the X-Men team was formed.  This includes the origin stories of Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr, and the first members of Xavier’s team of mutants.  Working with the CIA, the mutants help stop an evil plot by Sebastian Shaw and the Hellfire Club as they push the U.S. and Soviet Union to nuclear war.

X-Men: First Class (2011) – movie poster

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, X-Men: First Class stars James McAvoy as Charles Xavier / Professor X, Michael Fassbender as Eric Lensherr / Magneto, and Kevin Bacon as Dr. Klaus Schmidt / Sebastian Shaw.  Supporting them are Rose Byrne as CIA agent Moira MacTaggert, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkholme / Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Dr. Hank McCoy / Beast, and Oliver Platt as Man in Black Suit.

X-Men: First Class begins in Poland in 1944.

X-Men: First Class (2011) – (c) 20th Century Fox

After teenage Eric Lensherr is separated from his family in a concentration camp, Dr. Klaus Schmidt (Kevin Bacon) witnesses the boy use a magnetic power to bend the metal gates in the camp.  He orders the boy to his office and demonstrate his power, but he cannot reproduce it.  To make him try harder, Klaus brings in Eric’s mother and threatens to shoot her unless Eric and use his power to move a coin.  When he does not make it move, Klaus shoots and kills Eric’s mother.  This enrages Eric and causes his power to significantly grow, allowing the teenager to bend and manipulate all the metal in the room. Read more…

Movie Review – X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

In the highly successful X-Men films, one of the most popular characters is Wolverine.

We know that Logan has retractable metal claws, he can smell enemies approaching, and his body can regenerate his health and recover from injuries.  Not only is Wolverine deadly but he’s practically unstoppable.

But what is his origin?

How did a person become the Wolverine?

Those questions and more are answered in the 2009 Marvel action film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  This is an origin film that focuses on Wolverine, from how he became a mutant to his associations with Colonel Stryker and Sabretooth.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) – movie poster

Directed by Gavin Hood, X-Men Origins: Wolverine stars Hugh Jackman in the title role of Logan / Wolverine.  Liev Schreiber co-stars in the film as Victor Creed / Sabretooth.  Supporting them are Danny Huston as William Stryker, Taylor Kitsch as Remy LeBeau / Gambit, will.i.am as John Wraith, and Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine begins in 1845 in Canada.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) – (c) 20th Century Fox

James Howlett (Troye Sivan) is a young boy who is frequently ill.  One night he sees his drunken father killed by a groundskeeper named Thomas Logan.  This hostile action infuriates the boy and causes a freak mutation to occur.  We see a set of bone claws extend from his arms.  James rushes forward and uses his bone claws to kill Thomas Logan.  As he’s dying, Thomas tells James that he is his real father, and not the drunk man who was killed.

Fearing the response from everybody else, James flees from the house along with Victor Creed, his half-brother.  Victor has also mutated and grown a sharp set of claws in addition to a growth in strength.

The opening credits of X-Men Origins: Wolverine roll across the screen and we see James (Hugh Jackman) and Victor (Liev Schreiber) as soldiers in the U.S. Army.  We see them fight as Federal soldiers in the American Civil War, fight in the trenches in World War 1, storm the beaches of Normandy in World War 2, and then continue their lifestyle as American soldiers in Vietnam.  Even though the men are “killed” in the battles, both James and Victor are able to regenerate and heal themselves, allowing them to continue living and fighting.  As the years pass, James notices that Victor becomes more and more violent towards people in general. Read more…

Movie Review – X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

The 2003 film X2: X-Men United was a smash hit with both the audiences and critics.

The film ended with Magneto betraying Charles Xavier and escaping with Mystique and Pyro before the dam broke.  Jean Grey then sacrificed herself to save the lives of the X-Men, helping them flee before being crushed by the wall of water.

It was natural to expect a sequel to the film, perhaps a film even bigger and better than what we experienced in X2: X-Men United.

The next X-Men sequel was released in 2006 in the film X-Men: The Last Stand.

X-Men: The Last Stand was written to make the X-Men films a trilogy.  The first film introduced us to the characters, the second film had a killer plot, and the third film was meant to tie all of the stories together and finish the story.  This third film does so, but it’s not an epic of a film that you may be expecting.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) – movie poster

Directed by Brett Ratner, X-Men: The Last Stand brings back pretty much the entire cast of characters from the second film.  The movie stars Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Jansse and Rebecca Romijn.  Also in this film you’ll find Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Hank McCoy / Beast, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat, and Vinnie Jones as Cain Marko / Juggernaut.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) – (c) 20th Century Fox

X-Men: The Last Stand begins twenty years ago as Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Eric Lensherr (Ian McKellen) visit the childhood home of Jean Grey.  They are there to recruit the young girl with telekinetic powers to Xavier’s private school in upstate New York.  Jean demonstrates her telekinetic powers by levitating all of the cars in her neighborhood.

Ten years later, industrialist Warren Worthington II (Michael Murphy), the head of Worthington Labs, discovers that his young son, Warren Worthington III, is a mutant.  The boy is caught while trying to cut a large pair of wings off his back. Read more…

Movie Review – X2: X-Men United (2003)

Back in 2000, the film X-Men was a huge hit with the audiences.

Not only did the film showcase some of Marvel‘s biggest super heroes, but it also proved that, when done correctly, comic book films mean big business.  Really big business.  It can be argued that the success of X-Men paved the way for the Marvel comics to be a major player in the film industry, including today’s Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While the first X-Men film was good, it still had a few drawbacks from parts of the story to the special effects to some of the characters as well.  Fortunately, those areas were *all* corrected in X-Men‘s first sequel, the 2003 film X2.

X2, also known as X2: X-Men United, brings back all of Charles Xavier’s X-Men plus Magneto and Mystique.  We also see a few new characters in this film as well.  The story for X2 involves a renegade army colonel who embarks on a personal crusade to ride the world of ALL mutants, whether they’re good or evil.  The X-Men have to band together with the Brotherhood of Mutants to defeat their common foe.

X2 – X-Men United (2003) – movie poster

Directed by Bryan Singer, X2 has a strong cast including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.  New faces in this film include Alan Cumming, Brian Cox and Kelly Hu.

X2 begins in the White House in Washington, D.C.  It seems to be a normal day when suddenly a person disguised as a visitor begins attacking the security guards.  This mutant, Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), easily moves from room to room, teleporting himself to always keep the Secret Service guessing.  He makes it into the Oval Office and defeats the last of the President’s Secret Service guards.

X2 – X-Men United (2003) – (c) 20th Century Fox

Nightcrawler tries to assassinate the President of the United States (Cotter Smith) with a knife, but he’s shot in the arm.  He drops the knife and flees.  As we see, attached to the knife is a message that says “mutant freedom now.”

Meanwhile, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is investigating a dam and old military compound at Alkali Lake in the Canadian Rockies, but he doesn’t find anything.  The dam is still functional but it looks like nobody has been there in quite some time. Read more…

Movie Review – X-Men (2000)

In anticipation of the upcoming Marvel film, X-Men: Days of Future Past, we’re going to be reviewing the previous X-Men films.

Since September of 1963, the X-Men characters have been fascinating comic book fans and leaving them craving for more.  Animated television shows have followed as well as video games.  But that transition to the big screen wouldn’t occur until the year 2000.

The 2000 film X-Men has a world where mutants live along side of regular humans, but most of them remain in hiding for fear of exposing their powers and being treated as freaks or threats to the human race.  The film follows along as the mutants Wolverine and Rogue are caught in the conflict between two mutant organizations:  Professor Xavier‘s X-Men, and Magneto‘s Brotherhood of Mutants.

X-Men (2000) – movie poster

Directed by Bryan Singer, X-Men stars Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine.  Co-starring in the film are Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X, Ian McKellen as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto, Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm, Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey, James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops, and Anna Paquin as Marie D’Ancanto / Rogue.

X-Men begins in German-occupied Poland in 1944.

At a Nazi concentration camp, 13-year-old Eric Lehnsherr is forcefully separated from his parents.  He tries to fight back and get to his parents, but the prison guards hold him back.  He reaches out and tries to grab the metal gates, and the gates mysteriously bend back towards the boy, as if by magnetism.  It’s a pulling contest between several guards and Eric’s “grip” on the metal gates.  This suddenly ends when a guard hits the boy on the head, knocking him unconscious.

Fast forward to the near future.

X-Men (2000) – (c) 20th Century Fox

In Meridian, Mississippi, 17-year-old Marie D’Ancanto (Anna Paquin) dreams of taking an adventure across Canada, starting at Niagara Falls and trekking west to Alaska.  She shares this dream with her boyfriend, David.  When Marie gives David a kiss, she’s shocked that he nearly dies and goes into a coma.  She learns that she can absorb the life force or mutant abilities of anyone who touches her.

Now knowing that she’s a mutant, Marie runs away from home and eventually works her way to northern Canada. Read more…

Movie Review – The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Released to the theaters this weekend is The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the sequel to 2012’s hit film, The Amazing Spider-Man.

While the first Spider-Man film in this series is an origin story, the sequel jumps right into the middle of action.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 shows us a version of Peter Parker who has to wrestle the emotions of whether or not to continue his relationship with Gwen Stacey.  At the end of the first film, Peter made a promise to Gwen’s dying father that he would not see her and, thus, keep her away from Peter / Spider-Man’s enemies.

While Peter and Gwen deal with their relationship there’s the sudden creation and rise of Electro, the main villain for this film.  We also see the arrival of Harry Osborn and his takeover of OsCorp after the death of his father.  Harry later transforms into the Green Goblin and becomes another of Spider-Man’s enemies.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) – movie poster

Directed by Marc Webb, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 returns James Garfield in the title role of Peter Parker / Spider-Man.  Also returning are Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Sally Field as Aunt May, and a brief cameo of Dennis Leary as George Stacy.  New cast members in this film include Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon / Electro, Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn / Green Goblin, Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich / Rhino, and Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn.

Spider-Man creator Stan Lee has a cameo role as a parent in the stands at Peter and Gwen’s high school graduation ceremony.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 begins about sixteen years ago as Richard Parker (Campbell Scott) is rushing to destroy his research experiments at OsCorp.  He knows that he had been betrayed by somebody, and him and his wife are both in grave danger.  After destroying the material and returning home, Richard and Mary (Embeth Davidtz) know that their young son, Peter, is also in danger.  They decide to give him to his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and then Richard and Mary Parker flee the area.

The two of them end up in an OsCorp aircraft.  There’s trouble though when one of the aircraft’s pilots turns out to be an assassin.  He has already killed the pilot.  He tries to shoot and kill Richard when the scientist fights back.  Mary is shot in the process and the aircraft suffers some damage as well.  Richard is able to connect to a computer network and transfer his secret files to a secure location before the aircraft crashes, killing everybody on board.

Fast forward to today.

There’s a police chase on the streets of New York City.  Russian mobster Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti) and his gang had just stolen an armored truck full of radioactive material from OsCorp.  They’re trying to get away from the police when Spider-Man (James Garfield) swings into action and does whatever he can to end the chase. Read more…

Movie Review – Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Opening this weekend is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the next big-budget Marvel comic book film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be released to the theaters.

Set a couple of years after the events in The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier puts Captain America and the Black Widow against a powerful assassin known as the Winter Soldier.  As they battle the assassin throughout Washington, D.C., the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. learn that there’s a much greater conspiracy at play, something that dates back to World War 2 and the events in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Captain America: The Winter Soldier stars Chris Evans in the title role of Steve Rogers / Captain America.  Co-starring in the film are Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as James “Bucky” Barnes / Winter Soldier, and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon.  Also appearing in the film are Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce and Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) exercising one morning in Washington, D.C.  While out running he meets Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), a former Air Force special forces pararescue soldier who now counsels war veterans with PTSD.  Rogers is still adjusting to living in the 21st century, and he’s been catching up on the history of the past sixty years as well as the changes in culture.

Suddenly Rogers’s cell phone alerts him to an urgent mission with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.).  Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) picks him up in a Corvette, and they race away to SHIELD’s headquarters. Read more…

Movie Review – Man of Steel (2013)

Look, up in the sky!

It’s a bird!

It’s a plane!

It’s Superman!  Yes, folks, arguably the greatest superhero of all time has returned to the big screen.  2013′s Man of Steel is a reboot of the Superman film franchise that began with 1978′s Superman.  It’s an origin story that tells the history of the superhero and puts him against one of his greatest enemies, General Zod.

Directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill in the title role of Clark Kent / Superman / Kal-El.  Co-starring in the Superman film are Amy Adams as the news reporter Lois Lane and Michael Shannon as the Kryptonian warrior General Zod.  Supporting them are Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Clark’s adoption parents Jonathan and Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Lois Lane’s boss Perry White, and Russell Crowe as Kal-El’s biological father Jor-El.

It’s been seven years since the release of 2006′s Superman Returns.  Can Man of Steel bring the legendary superhero back to life and help create a restored interest and new franchise for the DC hero?

Man of Steel (2013) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures

Man of Steel begins on planet Krypton, the home world of Superman’s race of people.  Planet Kyrpton is dying.  The people have mined all the krypton from the planet’s core and exhausted the natural resources.  Jor-El (Russell Crowe) is pleading his case in front of the council for the survival of their race.  He wants to send the people’s genetic code to another planet to ensure their existence for future generations.

Unfortunately, the council is against Jor-El’s idea.  The meeting is then hijacked by General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his fellow warriors.  Jor-El flees the meeting and races through Krypton, dodging General Zod’s attacks while racing to the sacred genetic codex.  He acquires it and returns to his home where his wife, Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer), and infant son are waiting for him.

Jor-El’s son is a very special case.  It’s explained that on Krypton, all children are specifically “manufactured” to fulfil specific needs on the planet, having a different set of genetic codes to suit those demands.  People are literally born as farmers, miners, warriors, leaders, etc.  In the case of baby Kal-El, he’s the first natural birth that Krypton has experienced in hundreds of years.  Jor-El accepts this as a sign that their son was meant for something better on the dying planet. Read more…

Movie Review – The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

I’ll admit that I was very skeptical when first learning about the reboot of the already popular Spider-Man franchise.  Spider-Man 3 had some issues, but I thought that Sam Raimi did a good job with the first two Spider-Man movies.

I mean, is it too early to reboot a movie series?  Then again, it has been ten years now since the release of the first Spider-Man (2002) movie.

After watching The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, it feels like there’s a night and day difference between the two Spider-Man series.  This newer telling of the familiar tale is pretty darn awesome.  The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is doing to the Spider-Man series what Batman Begins did to the Batman series.  It’s that good of a movie.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man begins with Peter Parker as a young child.  One day he’s playing a game of hide-and-seek when he discovers that somebody broke into his dad’s office.  His dad rummages around and finds a secret folder that the thief missed.  Realizing that their son is in danger, Parker’s parents leave him in the care of his Uncle Ben (played by Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (played by Sally Field).  His dad says goodbye to young Peter, and he doesn’t see them again.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) – (c) Columbia Pictures

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man jumps ahead to what we assume to be Peter Parker’s (played by Andrew Garfield) senior year of high school.  He’s an avid photographer for his school, has a passion for science, and has the guts to stand up to Flash Thompson, one of the bullies in his class.  One day he stands up to Flash and gets a pounding from the bully.  His beating wasn’t a complete loss though as it caught the attention of fellow classmate, Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone). Read more…

Movie Review – Fantastic Four (2005)

The first half of the 2000s had a five year segment with some incredibly popular superhero films by Marvel Studios.

From the first two X-Men films to the Spider-Man franchise to other Marvel Comics films such as Daredevil and The Punisher, the film company was impressing the audiences and seemed to be hitting the high notes.  The next major Marvel film was 2005′s Fantastic Four, a big-budget action / science-fiction film that pitted the elite team of superheroes against Doctor Doom.

Fantastic Four is another superhero origin story that shows the creation of the team of people with incredible powers.  We see the five of them on board a space station when something goes wrong and they’re all exposed to cosmic radiation.  They return to Earth to discover that they’ve all slowly mutated and become extraordinary people, though not everybody is pleased with this new version.  Dr. Victor von Doom becomes the infamous Doctor Doom, and he wages war against the Fantastic Four.

Directed by Tim Story, Fantastic Four was written by Michael France and Mark Frost, and the film’s music was by John Ottman.  The film stars Ioan Gruffudd as Dr. Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Chris Evans (who would later portray Captain America in Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)) as Johnny Storm / The Human Torch, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm / The Thing.  Julian McMahon has the honor of playing the film’s villain, Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom.

Fantastic Four (2005) – (c) 20th Century Fox

Fantastic Four begins with Dr. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) having a meeting with Dr. Victor von Doom (Julian McMahon) at von Doom’s headquarters.  Reed has been working on some research and he’s convinced that life on Earth evolved after the planet was hit by a high-energy cosmic storm.  A similar cosmic storm is once again approaching the Earth, and Reed would like to use von Doom’s orbiting space station as a research platform to conduct some experiments and analyze the cosmic event.

Victor von Doom is a business man and the CEO of Von Doom Industries.  He won’t agree to let Reed use his space station unless von Doom receives a significantly large percentage of the financial returns from the experiments.  Reed agrees to von Doom’s terms.  Going along on the space mission is Susan “Sue” Storm (Jessica Alba), von Doom’s top genetics research.  She also happens to be Reed’s ex-girlfriend.

After the meeting we meet Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), Susan’s sister.  Johnny is a former hotshot NASA pilot who formerly served under Ben Grimm.  He’s also a womanizer and a bit of a daredevil.  Johnny loves standing in the spotlight and receiving attention and glory.  It turns out that Susan has appointed her brother as the pilot for this upcoming mission, a move that greatly disturbs Ben Grimm.  This really isn’t an issue in the film though as we see virtually nothing of the upcoming space flight. Read more…

Movie Review – Superman II (1980)

Back in 1978, the audience was blown away with Superman.

But the story of Superman was simply too great for one film alone.  The production and filming of Superman II was well under way while the teams were finishing the first film.  In fact, about 75% of the sequel was filmed before original director Richard Donner was removed from the project, and Richard Lester was signed to finishing directing the film, a move that required an extensive amount of re-filming and several key changes to the plot.

Superman II follows hot on the heels of 1978′s Superman.  The film focuses on the three Kryptonian villains that we briefly encountered in the beginning of the first film.  Those villains are freed from their imprisonment in the Phantom Zone, and they fly to Earth to rule the planet.  When they learn about Superman, the son of Jor-El, it turns into a conquest of revenge.  The film climaxes with a massive battle as Superman has to fight three evil doers, all of them with the same super powers.

The theatrical edition of Superman II, the version that most people are familiar, was directed by Richard Lester.  The film was written by Mario Puzo, and Ken Throne conducted the soundtrack based on John Williams’ main theme.  Christopher Reeve returns for the title role of Clark Kent / Superman.  Margot Kidder reprises her role as Lois Lane, the love interest of both Clark Kent and Superman.  Gene Hackman returns as the evil genius Lex Luthor, though he’s not the primary villain in this film.  Terence Stamp plays the role of super villain General Zod.

Supporting them are Ned Beatty as Otis, Valerie Perrine as Eve Teschmacher, Jackie Cooper as Perry White, Sarah Douglas as Ursa, and Jack O’Halloran as Non, a mute but fearsome villain from Krypton.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Superman II begins on planet Krypton.  General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his evil companions Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and Non (Jack O’Halloran) are caught in the act of committing a crime.  The Council votes unanimously to imprison the three criminals in something called the Phantom Zone, a prison that flies throughout outer space.  We see the prison capture the criminals and carry them out into space.

After that follows about five minutes of scenes from Superman.  We see all the highlights as young Clark Kent crash lands in Kansas and then most of his heroics as Superman.  We see Superman do everything from taking over the place of a missing jet engine on Air Force One to rescuing children in a school bus to using his own body as a rail to save a speeding train from crashing down a mountain.

The main plot in Superman II resumes when Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) arrives at the Daily Planet.  His boss, chief editor Perry White (Jackie Cooper) informs him of a group of terrorists at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.  They claim to have a hydrogen bomb and are ready to level the entire city.  Perry mentions that Lois Lane was booked on the first Concorde flight to Paris once news of the terrorists broke the airwaves.  Clark runs outside, transitions into his Superman costume, and then flies to Paris. Read more…

Movie Review – Superman (1978)

In honor of the release of Man of Steel, a reboot of the Superman story, today we’re taking a big step back to 1978 and the original Superman film, Superman.

1978′s Superman was the first film to bring the legendary superhero to the big screen.  The film introduced us to the mild-mannered Clark Kent and his alternate identity of Superman, a flying man with incredible strength who is virtually indestructible.  We learn about the doomed planet of Krypton, Kal-El’s arrival on Earth and adoption by the Kent family, and Clark Kent’s early days as a novice reporter to the Daily Planet, a newspaper in the city of Metropolis.  Along the way we meet Clark’s love interest in Lois Lane, a fellow reporter at the Daily Planet, and Lex Luthor, a criminal mastermind who wouldn’t mind killing millions of people if it earned himself a healthy profit.

Directed by Richard Donner, Superman was written by Mario Puzo.  The film’s famous music score was conducted by Hollywood legend John Williams.

Superman has a fantastic cast starting with Christopher Reeve in the starring role as Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman.  Margot Kidder also stars as Lois Lane, a reporter who loves Superman from the moment he saves her life.  Gene Hackman plays the villain Lex Luthor, an evil genius who discovers Superman’s weakness and also tries to erase California from the map.  Marlon Brando has the role of Jor-El, Kal-El’s biological father who tries to save Krypton from its destruction.

Supporting them are Jackie Cooper as Perry White, the chief editor at the Daily Planet, Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter as Jonathan and Martha Kent, Jeff East as the teenage version of Clark Kent, and Terence Stamp as the Kryptonian villain General Zod.

Superman (1978) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures

Superman begins on planet Krypton, a planet with an advanced race of beings.  Unfortunately, the planet is doomed and only has a short time before it explodes.  General Zod (Terence Stamp) is currently in the end stages of his trial before the Council for his evil ways.  Along side of him are his co-conspirators, Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and Non (Jack O’Halloran).  The Council finds the three of them to be guilty, and with Jor-El (Marlon Brando) as the final vote, the three evil ones are sentenced to be imprisoned indefinitely in the “Phantom Zone,” a holding cell that flies through outer space. Read more…

Movie Review – The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The big day had finally arrived, and once again the fans are going crazy for Batman.

My friends and I took part in AMC Theatre’s The Dark Knight Trilogy promotion.  It was a Batman movie marathon that started at 6 pm with Batman Begins and concluded with the 12:01 am showing of The Dark Knight Rises.  Seeing The Dark Knight on the big screen with an enthusiastic crowd was worth it.

And then 12:01 am finally arrived.  The movie theater showed a few movie previews (including a teaser for 2013′s Superman movie, Man of Steel), and then it was on to the main event, the epic conclusion to this Batman trilogy.

The Dark Knight Rises begins eight years after the events in The Dark Knight.

The movie actually begins somewhere in Asia.  We see several hooded prisoners arrive at a small airstrip and get taken aboard a small, twin-engine aircraft.  This is actually an aircraft by the CIA, and the agent wants to know the whereabouts of Bane.  The plane takes off and the CIA agent begins his interrogation of the prisoners.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures

The third prisoner is actually Bane (played by Tom Hardy) himself.  He (speaking in a weird voice) tells the CIA agent that getting captured was actually part of his plan.  We see a C-130 cargo plane fly above the CIA airplane, and several commandos jump out the back of the C-130.  They’re all attached to ropes as they quickly descend and attack the CIA’s aircraft.  The commandos physically attach cables and “capture” the CIA’s aircraft.  Bane is freed by the commandos, and they also capture a Russian nuclear scientist that was on board the aircraft.  The CIA’s aircraft is then detached and crashes on the ground, making it look like the Russian scientist was killed in the crash.

The movie then transitions to Gotham City.

Crime is down significantly in the city.  Most of the mobsters are now in jail thanks to the heroic symbol of the late Harvey Dent and the powers of the Dent Act.  Batman is still being hunted by the police for his presumed crimes from the end of The Dark Knight, but nobody has seen Batman for eight years.  Coincidentally, nobody has seen Bruce Wayne in that same amount of time.  Hopefully nobody will put two and two together and finally figure out that Bruce Wayne is the masked crime fighter . . . Read more…

Movie Review – The Dark Knight (2008)

The excitement for the new The Dark Knight Rises Batman movie continues to grow.

My girlfriend and I already have our movie tickets for Batman.  Our tickets are actually part of a cool package deal with AMC Theatres.  For like $25 you’ll get to see Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and then the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises.  The deal also includes a special movie poster and even a Batman lanyard.  It also includes some theater rewards points good towards goodies at the snack stand.  It’s going to be an epic night!

In the meantime, let’s continue our review of Christopher Nolan’s vision of the Batman comics with 2008′s The Dark Knight, the second movie in his outstanding superhero trilogy.

The ending of Batman Begins left Wayne Manor in shambles after almost completely being destroyed in a fire; Rachel Dawes leaves Bruce Wayne; and the previous inmates from Gotham’s Arkham Asylum are running loose.  A particularly nasty villain has been taunting the police department by leaving Joker playing cards at the scenes of his crimes.

The Dark Knight begins with an elaborate bank robbery.  We see a few bank robbers wearing creepy clown masks as they break into a bank and restrain the workers and customers.  One-by-one the robbers kill each other as they’ve been instructed to until only a couple of them are left.  One of the bank’s workers kills a clown robber, but he warns the last clown that the money he’s stealing belongs to the mob.  The clown robber pulls off his mask, revealing himself to be the Joker (brilliantly played by the late Heath Ledger), and then makes a clean getaway with all of the money.

The Dark Knight (2008) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures

In another part of town, the Scarecrow (played by Cillian Murphy) is trying to sell some of his narcotics to a gang.  Several people imitating Batman try to disrupt the meeting, but they really suck at crime fighting.  The real Batman (played by Christian Bale) appears and fights the gang and Scarecrow.  Before leaving, he warns the Batman imitators to stay home and let him do the crime fighting. Read more…

Movie Review – Batman Begins (2005)

You can feel the excitement building for this Friday’s highly anticipated release of The Dark Knight Rises, the final movie in Christopher Nolan’s outstanding Batman trilogy.

Let’s take a step back and look at the first two movies in his Batman trilogy, starting with 2005′s hit movie, Batman Begins.  After all, we need to know the origins of the Dark Knight to fully understand his character and the chaotic world around him.

Batman Begins has a strong cast starting with Christian Bale starring in the lead roles of Bruce Wayne and Batman.  Michael Caine plays the role of Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth.  Liam Neeson has the role of Henri Ducard / Ra’s al Ghul, the main villain in the movie.  The secondary villain of Dr. Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow is played by Cillian Murphy.  Katie Holmes plays the role of Rachel Dawes, Gotham City’s assistant district attorney.  Gary Oldman has the part of Sgt. James Gordon, an honest cop and Batman’s contact in the Gotham City Police Department.  Morgan Freeman rounds out the cast as Lucius Fox, a former high-ranking employee at Wayne Enterprises who gets demoted to the company’s Applied Science Division.

Batman Begins (2005) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures

Batman Begins starts with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) prisoner in a jail in Bhutan.  He knows how to use his fists as the other prisoners quickly learn to keep their distance.  While in jail, Bruce meets Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a mysterious man who offers to teach Bruce ninjitsu, the ways of the ninja.  Bruce accepts Ducard’s offer and begins his training with the League of Shadows at their remote temple in the mountainous region of southern Asia. Read more…

Movie Review – Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Finishing out Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is the third installment, creatively named Spider-Man 3, released on May 4, 2007.

Like 2004′s Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 brings back the familiar cast of the first two characters along with some people we haven’t seen since the first movie.  Tobey Maguire reprises his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst is Mary Jane Watson, James Franco is Harry Osborn / New Goblin, and J.K. Simmons is once again the leader of the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson.  Spider-Man 3 introduces us to Thomas Hayden Church as Flint Marko / Sandman, Topher Grace as Eddie Brock / Venom, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy.

Spider-Man 3 continues some time after the events of Spider-Man 2.

New York City is currently on a Spider-Man craze.  The hero is immortalized and the talk of the town.  Peter Parker is making a living as a photographer for the Daily Bugle, doing well in his college studies, and very much in love with Mary Jane Watson.  Mary Jane has advanced from the small stage and is now starring in Broadway productions.  Harry Osborn, in the meantime, still carries his grudge towards Parker and has been tinkering with his dad’s weapons at Oscorp.  He’s also subjected himself to his father’s performance enhancing drugs from the first movie.  Harry’s hatred towards Peter has reached its breaking point.

Spider-Man 3 (2007) – (c) Columbia Pictures

In the beginning of the movie we see Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) spending time together in the evening.  Not too far away a meteor crashes in the park.  Unknown to Peter and MJ, a strange black substance crawls from the wreckage and attaches itself to Peter’s moped.  He unknowingly transports the extraterrestrial creature back to his apartment. Read more…

Movie Review – Spider-Man 2 (2004)

The smash hit of 2002′s Spider-Man virtually guaranteed that Hollywood would give the fans a sequel.  2003′s record-breaking X2: X-Men United would only further fuel this thirst for another a sequel to Spider-Man.

Released on June 30, 2004, Spider-Man 2 thrilled the superhero audiences once again.  Spider-Man was back, and this sequel was bigger and better than its prequel.

Once again directed by Sam Raimi, Spider-Man 2 brought back the cast of the first Spider-Man film.  Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco all reprise their roles in the first movie.  Spider-Man 2 also brings along Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus.

Set in New York City, Spider-Man 2 picks up where Spider-Man finished.

Peter Parker’s (Toby Maguire) life is harder than ever as he tries to juggle a part-time job and his college classes, all while saving people and stopping criminals while disguised as Spider-Man.  In addition, Parker is trying to improve his relationship with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst).  Mary Jane finally got herself into acting, and she’s trying to get Peter to see her perform on stage.

Spider-Man 2 (2004) – (c) Columbia Pictures

We see Peter Parker try to make it as a pizza deliveryman.  His only problem is that while rushing to delivery the pizzas, people keep needing the help of Spider-Man.  Parker is forced to don the costume and save people, all while racing the clock to make his delivery on time.  He ultimately fails with the delivery and loses yet another job.  Parker’s financial problems double at home as Aunt May is facing foreclosure from the bank. Read more…

Movie Review – Spider-Man (2002)

The country is in spider-fever again as everybody’s favorite masked, wall-crawling superhero once again hits the movie theaters.

In honor of The Amazing Spider-Man movie now in theaters (NOTE – This is a new version of Spider-Man and not a continuation of Sam Raimi’s blockbuster trilogy), let’s take a step back and look at the Spider-Man trilogy that began ten years ago.  Wow, has it really been ten years since Spider-Man premiered in the the movie theaters?  Time just passes way too quickly.

2002′s Spider-Man finally brought the superhero to the movie theaters as part of a growing superhero craze.  2000 saw the release of the first X-Men film along with Unbreakable, and 2003 gave us Daredevil, Hulk, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  2005 would rock the audiences with the retelling of the Batman stories with Batman Begins.

Spider-Man tells the tale of Peter Parker as he becomes the legendary superhero.   Set in New York City, Peter Parker (played by Toby Maguire) lives with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May in Queens.  His best friend is Harry Osborn (played by James Franco), son of Dr. Norman Osborn (played brilliantly by Willem Dafoe), a brilliant engineer and president of Oscorp manufacturing corporation.

Spider-Man (2002) – (c) Columbia Pictures

In the beginning of the movie we see Peter Parker as a nerdy student in high school.  His smarts keep him out of trouble from bullies, but his shyness keeps him away from his female classmates.  He really wants to get to know his fellow classmate and next door neighbor, Mary Jane Watson (played by Kirsten Dunst), but Peter just can’t seem to get a chance to talk to her. Read more…