Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Movie Review

Most movie franchises today release sequels within 2-3 years of the original film. Many franchise films have such great projected sales that the filmakers are already working on the sequel before the first movie even hits theaters. Gone are the days of James Cameron sequels such as Aliens and Terminator 2 that were both released almost a decade after the release of the originals. The new Sin City film breaks the modern sequel mold completely and leans more on the Cameron side of things, coming out a full nine years after the first movie.

Deepsea Challenge 3D Movie Review

Ever since I was a young kid, I’ve always found deep sea exploration to be fascinating. I’ve never been out to waters such as that myself (in fact, I’ve never even gone diving), but the idea of going into never-before-seen places on our own planet fills me with wonder. It’s an interest that I share with filmmaker James Cameron, who has made several films and documentaries involving aquatic adventures. The latest of these works to feature Cameron is Deepsea Challenge 3D, a documentary chronicling the filmmaker’s journey to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Review

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Transformers: Age of Extinction, which I gave a rather low score to. Most of my friends who read the review said that they understood where I was coming from and that they agreed with my critiques, but some people thought that it was ridiculous for me to even bother criticizing such a ridiculous film. I think that I can understand what they’re saying; why should I even bother reviewing a film that is nothing but an obvious cash grab? Upon watching the movie, it’s quite obvious that even Michael Bay himself didn’t care about the quality of the film; it’s just another sequel to a disappointing franchise that somehow rakes in boatloads of cash. Why would I even bother complaining about such a movie? Well, in my mind, that’s exactly what a movie critic does: review all films, both good and bad, and give them their day in court. To give a pass to a movie like Age of Extinction just because it’s self-aware wouldn’t be fair to masterpieces of the action sci-fi genre such as Empire Strikes Back or The Avengers. If those films represent the heights that a film like Transformers can reach, then of course I have to give Age of Extinction an awful rating. Reviewing bad films is just part of the job, and it’s something that I have to do right now with the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

Boyhood Movie Review

A lot of people have been talking about the new movie Boyhood, which tells a simple story about a young boy growing up in a broken family. The main thing that people are talking about with this film isn’t the story itself, however, but rather the fact that it was shot over a twelve year period. The reason for this long production time was so that the main character Mason Jr., played by young actor Ellar Coltrane, could be seen growing from a very young age up through his high school graduation using the same actor. Obviously, there are huge risks involved with a process like this. What if the kid grows up to be a horrible actor? What if he dies? What if someone in the supporting cast dies? There are an innumerable amount of things that could have gone wrong during the production of this picture, making Boyhood one of the riskiest films ever made.

Fargo Movie Review

Over the past three decades, the Coen brothers have established themselves as a staple of American cinema. Not only have they written and directed some of the most quintessential works of the past thirty years, but their filmography is almost as eclectic as that of Spielberg or Kubrik. Every film that the duo makes has a different setting and atmosphere than the one before, something that I find very commendable. In 1996, the two brothers made the now-classic Fargo, a very risky entry in their diverse collection of works.

Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Review

Movies that don’t take themselves too seriously are usually given a pass on a lot of the crimes that they commit. Comedies like Airplane! and the Monty Python films aren’t supposed to be analyzed for their plot as much as they are to be enjoyed for their simplicity. But what about sci-fi movies that have frequent humor, like this weekends’ new Guardians of the Galaxy? This film feels like a combination of Galaxy Quest and J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, and it’s one of the most fun sci-fi adventures that I’ve seen in awhile.