— by BEN FOWLER — FUN! FUN! FUN! If the Bond franchise became my baby, that would be the buzz word for production. Of course, I still want the edge-of-your-seat action set pieces and slobber-knocker fight scenes. But one thing that has been noticeably missing from the recent[...]
Author Archive
‘Batman’: The 1989 Movie
— by CHAS BLANKENSHIP — When Gotham City falls prey to crime and corruption, a vigilante the papers call Batman begins his war on crime with his first major enemy — the clownishly homicidal Joker.[...]
Trailer Talk: ‘Casino Jack and the United States of Money’
— by ROB COX — To my thinking, the biggest problem with modern politically-charged cinema is that it violates my own primary reason for watching movies: escapism. Heck, I could make the same statement about my TV-watching proclivities or about the books I read: I like stories — plain a[...]
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1980 to 1989)
— by CHAS BLANKENSHIP — From pulp vigilante and allied soldier to space explorer, tragically hip comedian and newly-revived hardboiled detective, Batman had just about seen it all…surviving his own history to become what many people thought a comic book hero couldn’t be… A Legend.[...]
Batman: A Detective’s Revival (1970 to 1979)
— by CHAS BLANKENSHIP — As the comic book industry entered into the ’70s, a realization was made…readers were maturing. No longer impressed by the overcooked nature of the ’50s and ’60s, they sought characters and stories with tangible drama…emotional depth…and an[...]
The (New) Adventures of Batman
— by CHAS BLANKENSHIP — At the height of Saturday Morning glory, you’d be hard pressed to find a more suitable and worthwhile character than Batman. A perfectly cartoonish example of this is 1968/1977/1985’s “The (New) Adventures of Batman.”[...]
A Scene from ‘Cemetery Junction’
— by JOSIANE OCHMAN — Co-written and co-directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the clip for “Cemetery Junction” hints at a promising film-making career for the duo known primarily for their television work. The clip is self-assured in tone and dialogue. It features a[...]
First Look: ‘Jackass 3’
— by TIERNEY BUTLER — Let me just say this: I have been a big fan of the “Jackass” franchise since I was about 11 years old. I own all the seasons of the TV show and all of their movies on DVD. So when I heard they were going to be doing a “Jackass […][...]
Trailer Talk: ‘Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky’
— by JOSIANE OCHMAN — Although the name Chanel is known all over the world, it’s surprising how few people actually know anything about mademoiselle Chanel herself or, indeed, that there even was a mademoiselle. Recently, a spate of movies about Coco Chanel have been released chron[...]
Holy Hit TV Show!: Batman in the ’60s Part II
— by CHAS BLANKENSHIP — The 1960s…a tumultuous decade defined by the emergence of counter culture, the exponential increase of narcotic experimentation and sexual promiscuity and an abysmal failure in the Vietnam War that left America disillusioned and radically altered. We traveled to[...]
Whedon In Final Negotiations to Direct ‘The Avengers’
— by BEN FOWLER — Deadline New York has confirmed what other sites previously had reported: “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Dollhouse” helmer Joss Whedon is all but signed to direct the Marvel superhero team up “The Avengers.” After a lot of[...]
Biff! Bam!! POW!!!: Batman in the ’60s Part I
— by CHAS BLANKENSHIP — The ’60s. Thinking about the decade rings echoes of the past that range from over the top and commercially digestible to fundamentally altered and extraordinarily redefined.[...]
Green Lantern to Suit Up in CGI?
— by BEN FOWLER — From what seemed like nothing, a flurry of information/rumors has appeared regarding the highly anticipated look Ryan Reynolds will be sporting when “Green Lantern” lands next year. An artist named Jason Palmer, who is known for his artwork and designs from [...]