CRIME 101 starring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, and Mark Ruffalo

 
This week I'm reviewing a couple of new releases that I saw in the theater.  First let's talk about CRIME 101, starring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, and Mark Ruffalo.

Marvel's Falcon + Winter Soldier Hits and Misses... But We'll Take It.

As of this writing*, we are three episodes into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which, from now on, I will refer to as Falcon and Bucky, because damn).  Now that any excitement or annoyance (and I have felt both) has had time to wear off, and we are half way into this 6 episode series, I feel safe saying that I can give this show a passing grade so far, but not high marks.

A few words about "The Foreigner"

So I got around to watching the dead-serious Jackie Chan action revenge flick The Foreigner, the story of humble restaurant owner Quan Ngoc Minh's single-minded campaign to avenge the death of his daughter at the hands of Irish terrorist bombers.

Putting the MESS in Messianic: A few Words about BATMAN VS SUPERMAN

So I finally caught Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice last week. It follows lots of Hollywood trends that irk me, like overly-long names (as if Batman Vs. Superman doesn't cover it), bloated running times, and superhero costumes that are dark for no reason. But don't get me wrong! I really enjoyed most of the movie.
But I guess my expectations were not that high.

I finally saw Avengers...

"So, is Avengers the greatest superhero movie ever?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen it yet."

"...
You need to see it..."

5 reasons why I cuts for "Colombiana" even though you told me not to watch it...

When I announced my intention to go watch Colombiana, the new shoot-em-up popcorn flick starring rising star Zoe Saldana, I received many texts, tweets, and other assorted comments suggesting that my hard-earned money would be better spent elsewhere. They're welcome to their opinions, but I had several good reasons to put my chips on the deck to watch this one, whether I really expected it to blow my mind or not. I wasn't expecting an Oscar-worthy tour de force (and it wasn't one), but I was hoping for a good time, which it delivered. Here's five reasons I watched it, and you should too...

Okay... this is dope...

I clowned Green Lantern pretty bad when the first trailer came out, so it's only fair that I admit how much I'm feeling this one...

Just Don't call them "Sidekicks"

I was sort of skeptical of the new Young Justice cartoon back when I first heard of its impending release. Now that I've seen it, I can barely remember what I was so worried about... 

CN Spits hot FIYAH with "Firebreather"

I can't say that I honestly expected the made-for-teevee animated movie Firebreather to be all that good. I was glad to be wrong.

about the Green Lantern Movie trailer...

"The kids will love watching a womanizer smash a chick then leave her with the tap water..." 
-LeSean Thomas (animator, cartoonist)

Movies that Should Be Comics #17: Action Jackson

After several high-profile sidekick roles, Carl Weathers proved he could carry a movie wall to wall in the 1988 smash Action Jackson, where he starred alongside Prince protege Vanity (The Last Dragon). Action Jackson is one of my favorite action movies. Weathers is a good actor and a better screen presence than many of the action heroes that you can name.

Movies That Should be Comics# 14: The Book of Eli

there's only a handful of talents that automatically gets a movie onto my 'definite maybe' list (the 'must see' list is gone in this economy), and Denzel Washington (Training Day, Philadelphia, American Gangster, Glory) is one of them. Once i saw the early trailer for this post-apocalyptic action joint The Book of Eli (featuring a grizzly, disgruntled, blade-swinging Denzel and directed by Albert and Allen Hughes [Menace II Society]), it was immediately put on my schedule of things to do in the dime.

You could tell he wasn't Playin' by the look on his Grill

I didn't bother going to watch the Keanu Reeves vs Jennifer Connelly alien- invasion- as- social- commentary joint The Day the Earth Stood Still when it came out in theaters, but I figured it would be good enough to watch on television.
I figured that unless they had some game-changing special effects, there just wasn't going to be enough going on in this sci-fi remake to get me to put down cash.

F what you heard: go Watch Astro Boy!

before i went out to see Astro Boy last night, I watched the movie critics on At the Movies tear the movie apart. They hated the movie, and said that it was confused, boring, and totally inappropriate for children. They appeared especially concerned with the violence, death, and questionable character motivations at the core of the conflicts in the film. although both critics suggested skipping the movie, their reviews actually intrigued me to give the movie a chance. As often happens, the critics got it wrong.

Movies that SHOULD be comics #12: Zombieland

after weeks of self-imposed deadline-related exile, i went to the the sneakeasy* with my man Corance (creator of Champion of Children and 1/5th of the mighty Ghostwerks crew) and saw two totally different movies (namely Zombieland and The Informant!) and really enjoyed them both, for different reasons, of course.

3 Quick Reviews

after finishing a big project this week, and smashing another dope live art event, i decided to zone out and hit the local sneakeasy with my boys. so here's my brief reviews of Up, Star Trek and Terminator: Salvation. don't be surprised if i review them at length later...

Here Comes the Bride

as i write this i'm taking a break from the freelance job i'm working on, and watching Kill Bill on TNT. i was surprised at how well the foul-mouthed ultra-violence of this two-piece Tarantino value meal works on teevee... but i guess it IS cable teevee, right? anyways, let me just state up-front that Tarantino is over-rated, and that characters in his movies are often racist (resulting in many people calling him racist), but yo... that dude sure knows how to film a freakin' GIRLFIGHT!

Titanic...

I'm watching that Teen Titans - Trouble in Tokyo joint on the DVR... this mess is fun and original, but still brings the 'toon violence for cats like me! I found it on youtube for the fam, but you can click the pic if you want it for your teevee...

Down With The King

When a Quintet of Gun-Clapping Ne'er-do-wells decide to gaffle a Vegas casino, their point man -a sinister Elvis enthusiast played by Kevin Costner (Robin Hood)-decides to dress the crew up as the King himself and do the job during an Elvis Presley convention. 3000 Miles to Graceland
was pretty much universally panned by critics who (as usual) had no idea what they were talking about...

Moore of the Same?

this is a repost from my original review of V for Vendetta (also adapted from a comic by Alan Moore) on ghettoManga.com
i could hardly contain myself... there are plot twists in this movie that follow exactly what was in the comic. my boy, khalid, had never read the graphic novel, and i hate to give anything away... so contain myself i did.

i went into this afraid that i would hate it. i always try to ignore the fact that a movie is adapting a comic i love (as i did V), but ultimately the letdown is often too much... thankfully, this was not one of those times!

V for Vendetta was AWESOME!

no, it was not the best movie i've ever seen. and no, it wasn't as good as the comic. but it wasn't clumsy, unbelievable or boring. if i could say that about every comicbook adaptation, i'd be a much happier camper!

there were plenty of opportunities for the movie to turn corny, but it didn't. the wachowskis wrote the screenplay, and took the opportunity to take jabs at the Bush administation (as Alan Moore did at Thatcher in the 80's graphic novel), and the religious right a little more overtly than in the Matrix films, but it was all done in a way that allowed the story to stay on top, where it belonged.
A veteran of comics who is highly revered in a medium that already tends to worship its greats, and who has had several works made into films (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell and now Watchmen), Moore hasn't been very enthusiastic about the adaptations of his work, going so far as demanding his name be removed from the Watchmen film. well, that's his right, do what you gotta do Mr. Moore...
holla!
samax.