The future is often grim when featured in sci-fi movies, but in the latest X-Men pic, X-Men: Days of Future Past, it’s the past that’s particularly depressing. Well, okay, it’s the future, too. For the seventh X-Men movie (as long as you count two lackluster Wolverine spin-off movies that clearly intended to be counted), Bryan…
A studio-mandated sequel to a weak-at-best film only made to hold onto the rights to a cash cow property, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a movie so pre-packaged and risk-averse that the only surprise it holds comes from the fact it is, against all odds, even worse than this dubious pedigree would suggest. Scotch taped…
With mutants on the edge of extinction due to their systematic elimination by the Sentinel program, long-time enemies Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) realize the only way forward for their survival is to unite themselves in the past. The man to convince their younger selves (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, respectively) this…
In previous looks for Marvel Studio’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Electro had been getting all the attention. But in the latest (and final) trailer, Green Goblin and Rhino are making a bigger impact. It’s quite the refreshing impact too as Spidey, in several extended scenes, is locked in frantic battles with them (I was also…
I’m a horror fan who teaches high school English, so a side effect of those combined characteristics is my knowledge of young adult (YA) fiction, and usually the darker stuff at that. I’ve read all of the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games books like most people, and I’ve come away with mixed reactions (typically,…
The weathered feudal Japanese tale of ronin seeking revenge for their fallen lord, one would think, lends itself nicely to the themes of fantasy. Samurai, their unwavering courage and swordsmanship intertwined with magical elements and mystical creatures represents a marriage made in heaven. Unfortunately, in director Carl Rinsch’s 47 Ronin, this marriage does little justice…
While not every Terry Gilliam film has been good, he’s never been one to shy away from putting imaginative ideas onto the screen (“Twelve Monkeys,” “Time Bandits,” “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”). Nor has he had any trouble getting A-list actors to participate in his endeavors. The Zero Theorem continues along this path as two-time…
