Film: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Insert Caption Here: Words & Pictures with Attitude

ComixWe get mail.  And some of you seem to really like the less-than-reverent way we treat the publicity stills that the studios put out to promote their films on our Movie Smackdown! sister site.

Armed only with an iMac, some Comic Life Magiq software, and a serious authority issue, we've been giving them the treatment for a few months now.

The idea is to take these common photos and spin the hell out of them so they make their own artistic statement independent of the reviews.  We want to present them in a way that you can't get anywhere else.  And we want to make movie stars and the characters they play say what we want them to say for a change, okay?

So now we've collected our first batch all in one place where you can look at them full-screen, download them or -- and this is the hot tip -- even play them as a slide-show (the button's right underneath the banner). Click on the photo to the left or the link below and see for yourself.  The actual Comix take a few seconds to load because they're high res (like we said, it's art, baby)... but it's worth it...

http://www.moviesmackdown.tv

The Dark Knight (2008) -vs- Spider-Man 2 (2004)

The Smackdown. This may turn out to be our All-Time Heavyweight Smackdown -- the equivalent of Ali versus Frasier -- where both of the fighters are at the top of their games and both deserve to wear the champion's belt even though only one can.  The DC/Warner "The Dark Knight" in the ring against the Marvel/Columbia "Spider-Man 2" pits two comic book film sequels against each other, both of which are considered better than what preceded them, and what preceded them was considered fantastic.  Both are directed by the same men who were trusted with the franchise a second time after they had shed themselves of the responsibility of an "origin" story and could get deeper into their redefinition of what makes the character really come alive.  Because this Smackdown is bigger than life to begin with, we're handling it in a different way, too.  Each film will be represented by a separate critic who passionately advocates victory for his client.  To up the stakes even higher, our two critics are father and son -- a real life family feud.  Then, at the end, you will be the jury.  You will vote to determine the winner.  Let's get the fight started...

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BzcriticThe Challenger - The Dark Knight.   "The Dark Knight" picks up where "Batman Begins" left off.  Millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne has literally gone to the dark side, prowling the streets battling crime using his new Batman alter-ego as his cover.  The way the new film tells it, he's been pretty successful:  criminals are afraid to come out at night, he's got a cozy relationship with the cops, and most people are pretty happy he's getting the job done.  With the crime lords looking for a new move to counter the Batman, they find an unstable, but powerful, ally in the Joker. 

We saw this film at a DGA (Directors Guild of America) screening at Howard Hughes Center here in LA on an IMAX theater.  Given that director Christopher Nolan was there for the Q&A afterward, I have to assume it was projected to the highest technical standards.  It was breathtaking. 

Nolan said that the thing that drove him to do this sequel was his desire, after creating such a vivid new re-imagining in "Batman Begins," was to answer the question:  "Who is the Joker in this world?"  He has done that, and more.

You'll hear that Heath Ledger is phenomenal in this role and he is.  Literally every second he is on the screen, you're simply afraid to look away because you'll something unique and special about this final performance given by Ledger before he died.

Something else that Nolan has done differently here is to give us Gotham City as it's meant to be.  He admitted that his first take was a little art-directed and that in this case he went for a "slight genre shift" by shooting a great deal more on location (mostly Chicago) and to give us a crime story that is more in the tradition of Michael Mann than Tim Burton's first time out with Batman.

Continue reading "The Dark Knight (2008) -vs- Spider-Man 2 (2004)" »

Movie Smackdown Summer Session

Summertime and there’s action aplenty inside the MOVIE SMACKDOWN ring...

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One thing you’ll notice immediately is our look is changing.  Graphic designer Nancy Tokos is working her magic for us on our banners and we’re experimenting to see which one we like the best.  Plus, we’ve upgraded our photos and captions to make them bigger and more fun using the great new Comic Life Magiq program.  We’re planning to get into the podcast, YouTube and even TV business as we grow.

Rt We just heard from the United States Patent and Trademark Office that they have approved the registration of our service mark.  This means we are the one, true and only MOVIE SMACKDOWN!®  Accept no substitutes.  That’s a greenlight for us to really step on the gas promotion-wise.

Also, AMC has picked us as the “Site of the Week” and features us prominently on their site.  So here’s a shout-out to writer Christine Fall for finding us and seeing our quality.

Plus, we’re busy gearing up for more summer fun by adding new critics.  This month we’ll be welcoming Stephen Bell and Lorianne Tibbets to our already outstanding SmackRefs. 

Coming up over tonight and tomorrow:  Beau DeMayo smacks "The Incredible Hulk -vs- Hulk" and Stephen Bell smacks "The Happening -vs- The Sixth Sense."

Why do we do this?  Because some movies just need a good Smackin’...

Movie Smackdown: What a Difference a Year Makes!

Our companion site, Movie Smackdown, still has a long way to go in its quest to be a nationally recognized film review site, but based on what we're seeing on the SiteMeter it's hard to complain. This screen capture shows that every month this year has set a significant new record and, since last August, we've posted over a 600% increase in unique hits. Naturally, there are places that get what we get traffic-wise in a month in a day or an hour, but the trend's good. If we were a stock, we'd be on the cover of "Forbes."

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If you're one of our regulars, thanks for dropping by and making us part of your entertainment experience. And tell your friends that "Movie Smackdown" is the freshest way to review movies since thumbs and stars.

 Two Films, One Review, No Holds Barred.

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How'd You Like a Good Smack(down)?

Hannibal_the_cannibal_2While I'm off roaming the floor of the ever-more crowded San Diego Comic-Con and doing a signing session for Arts Alliance America as they release "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" on DVD...

Let me invite you to visit our companion site, "Movie Smackdown!" -- Two Films, One Review, No Holds Barred. Here are the links to almost all of the cage fights currently on the site.

And don't muzzle yourself like Mr. Lecter -- please leave your own comments for our critics to respond to because, much as we hate to admit it, we're not always right...

  1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) -vs- Sunshine (2007) 
  2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) -vs- The Fountain (2007)
  3. 28 Days Later (2003) -vs- Children of Men (2007)
  4. 28 Weeks Later (2007) -vs- Aliens (1986)
  5. 300 (2007) -vs- Sin City (2005)
  6. A History of Violence (2005) -vs- Straw Dogs (1971)
  7. Akeelah and the Bee (2006) -vs- Bee Season (2005)
  8. Aliens (1986) -vs- 28 Weeks Later (2007)
  9. All the President's Men (1976) -vs- Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
  10. Almost Famous (2000) -vs- Elizabethtown (2005)
  11. American Dreamz (2006) -vs- Love Actually (2003)
  12. American Pie (1999) -vs- The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
  13. A Mighty Heart (2007) -vs- Proof of Life (2000)
  14. An Inconvenient Truth (2006) -vs- Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
  15. Anchorman (2004) -vs- Talladega Nights (2006)
  16. A Prairie Home Companion (2006) -vs- Nashville (1975)
  17. Armageddon (1998) -vs- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
  18. Art School Confidential (2006) -vs- Ghost World (2001)
  19. A Scanner Darkly (2006) -vs- Total Recall (1990)
  20. Batman Begins (2005) -vs- Superman Returns (2006)
  21. Bee Season (2005) -vs- Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
  22. Bend It Like Beckham (2002) -vs- POTC: At World's End (2007)
  23. Bewitched (2005) -vs- The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)
  24. Black Book (2007) -vs- Europa, Europa (1990)
  25. Black Robe (1991) -vs- The New World (2005)
  26. Blade Runner (1982) -vs- Next (2007)
  27. Breach (2007) -vs- Spy Game (2001)
  28. Broken Flowers (2005) -vs- Lost in Translation (2004)
  29. Bruce Almighty (2003) -vs- The Weatherman (2005)
  30. Bruce Almighty (2003) -vs- Evan Almighty (2007)
  31. Carmen (1983) -vs- Pan's Labyrinth (2007)
  32. Casino Royale (2006) -vs- Goldeneye (1995)
  33. Casino Royale (2006) -vs- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
  34. Catch Me If You Can (2002) -vs- Munich (2005)
  35. Children of Men (2007) -vs- 28 Days Later (2003)
  36. Chinatown (1974) -vs- The Good German (2007)
  37. Collateral (2004) -vs- Miami Vice (2006)
  38. Cool Hand Luke (1967) -vs- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
  39. Crash (2005) -vs- Grand Canyon (1991)
  40. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) -vs- Matchpoint (2006)
  41. Deja Vu (2006) -vs- Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991)
  42. Die Another Day (2004) -vs- Mission Impossible III (2006)
  43. Die Hard (1988) -vs- Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
  44. Disturbia (2007) -vs- Rear Window (1954)
  45. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) -vs- Inside Man (2006)
  46. Elizabethtown (2005) -vs- Almost Famous (2000)
  47. ET: The Extraterrestrial (1982) -vs- The Last Mimzy (2007)
  48. Europa, Europa (1990) -vs- Black Book (2007)
  49. Evan Almighty (2007) -vs- Bruce Almighty (2003)
  50. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) -vs- An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
  51. Fantastic Four (2007) -vs- The X-Men (2000)
  52. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) -vs- Armageddon (1998)
  53. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) -vs- The Incredibles (2004)
  54. Finding Neverland (2004) -vs- Neverwas (2005)
  55. Flightplan (2005) -vs- Panic Room (2002)
  56. Fracture (2007) -vs- Primal Fear (1996)
  57. Frequency (2000) -vs- The Lake House (2006)
  58. Friends with Money (2006) -vs- The Good Girl (2002)
  59. Garden State (2004) -vs- In the Land of Women (2007)
  60. Ghost World (2001) -vs- Art School Confidential (2006)
  61. God of War II (2007) -vs- God of War (2005)
  62. Goldeneye (1995) -vs- Casino Royale (2006)
  63. Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) -vs- All the President's Men (1976)
  64. Grand Canyon (1991) -vs- Crash (2005)
  65. Grindhouse (2007) -vs- Pulp Fiction (1994)
  66. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) -vs- The Matador (2006)
  67. Hairspray (1988) -vs- Hairspray (2007)
  68. Hairspray (2007) -vs- Hairspray (1988)
  69. Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire (2005) -vs- Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
  70. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix (2007) -vs- Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire (2005)
  71. Independence Day (1996) -vs- Transformers (2007)
  72. Independence Day (1996) -vs- War of the Worlds (2005)
  73. Infernal Affairs (2002) -vs- The Departed (2006)
  74. Inside Man (2006) -vs- Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
  75. In the Land of Women (2007) -vs- Garden State (2004)
  76. In the Line of Fire (1993) -vs- The Sentinel (2006)
  77. Into the Blue (2005) -vs- The Deep (1977)
  78. Introducing the Dwights (2007) -vs- Meet the Fockers (2004)
  79. I Think I Love My Wife (2007) -vs- The Last Kiss (2006)
  80. Jarhead (2005) -vs- Three Kings (1999)
  81. Junior (1994) -vs- Knocked Up (2007)
  82. Keeping Up with the Steins (2006) -vs- My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
  83. Knocked Up (2007) -vs- Junior (1994)
  84. Knocked Up (2007) -vs- The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
  85. License to Wed (2007) -vs- My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
  86. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) -vs- Transamerica (2005)
  87. Live Free or Die Hard (2007) -vs- Die Hard (1988)
  88. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) -vs- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
  89. Lost in Translation (2004) -vs- Broken Flowers (2005)
  90. Love Actually (2003) -vs- American Dreamz (2006)
  91. Lucky You (2007) -vs- Rounders (1998)
  92. Match Point (2005) -vs- Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
  93. Meet the Fockers (2004) -vs- Introducing the Dwights (2007)
  94. Meet the Robinsons (2007) -vs- The Incredibles (2004)
  95. Memento (2000) -vs- The Lookout (2007)
  96. Miami Vice (2006) -vs- Collateral (2004)
  97. Mission: Impossible III (2006) -vs- Die Another Day (2004)
  98. Mission: Impossible III (2006) -vs- The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
  99. Motel Hell (1980) -vs- Vacancy (2007)
  100. Munich (2005) -vs- Catch Me If You Can (2002)
  101. Music and Lyrics (2007) -vs- Once (2007)
  102. Music and Lyrics (2007) -vs- Wimbledon (2004)
  103. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) -vs- License to Wed (2007)
  104. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) -vs- Keeping Up with the Steins (2006)
  105. Mystery Men (1999) -vs- My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)
  106. My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) -vs- Mystery Men (1999)
  107. Nancy Drew (2007) -vs- Get a Clue (2002)
  108. Nashville (1975) -vs- A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
  109. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) -vs- The Family Stone (2005)
  110. National Treasure (2004) -vs- The DaVinci Code (2006)
  111. Neverwas (2005) -vs- Finding Neverland (2004)
  112. Next (2007) -vs- Blade Runner (1982)
  113. Ocean's Eleven (1960) -vs- Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
  114. Ocean's Thirteen (2007) -vs- Ocean's Eleven (1960)
  115. Ocean's Thirteen (2007) -vs- Ocean's Twelve (2004) -vs- Ocean's Eleven (2001)
  116. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) -vs- Cool Hand Luke (1967)
  117. Once (2007) -vs- Music and Lyrics (2007)
  118. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) -vs- Casino Royale (2006)
  119. Panic Room (2002) -vs- Flight Plan (2005)
  120. Pan's Labyrinth (2007) -vs- Carmen (1983)
  121. Papillon (1973) -vs- Rescue Dawn (2007)
  122. Perfect Stranger (2007) -vs- Shattered Glass (2004)
  123. Poseidon (2006) -vs- The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
  124. POTC: Dead Man's Chest (2006) -vs- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
  125. POTC: At World's End (2007) -vs- Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
  126. Prefontaine (1997) -vs- Without Limits (1998)
  127. Premonition (2007) -vs- The Gift (2000)
  128. Pride and Prejudice (2005) -vs- Sense and Sensibility (1995)
  129. Primal Fear (1996) -vs- Fracture (2007)
  130. Proof of Life (2000) -vs- A Mighty Heart (2007)
  131. Pulp Fiction (1994) -vs- Grindhouse (2007)
  132. Ratatouille (2007) -vs- Toy Story (1995)
  133. Ray (2004) -vs- Walk the Line (2005)
  134. Rear Window (1954) -vs- Disturbia (2007)
  135. Reign Over Me (2007) -vs- The Upside of Anger (2005)
  136. Rescue Dawn (2007) -vs- Papillon (1973)
  137. Rounders (1998) -vs- Lucky You (2007)
  138. Rumor Has It (2005) -vs- The Graduate (1967)
  139. Sense and Sensibility (1995) -vs- Pride and Prejudice (2005)
  140. Serenity (2005) -vs- Star Wars (1977)
  141. Shattered Glass (2004) -vs- Perfect Stranger (2007)
  142. Sin City (2005) -vs- 300 (2007)
  143. Spider-Man 2 (2004) -vs- POTC: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
  144. Spider-Man 2 (2004) -vs- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
  145. Spider-Man 3 (2007) -vs- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
  146. Spider-Man 3 (2007) -vs- Superman III (1983)
  147. Spy Game (2001) -vs- Breach (2007)
  148. Star Wars (1977) -vs- Serenity (2005)
  149. Straw Dogs (1971) -vs- A History of Violence (2005)
  150. Sunshine (2007) -vs- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  151. Superman: The Movie (1978) -vs- Superman Returns (2006)
  152. Superman III (1983) -vs- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
  153. Superman Returns (2006) -vs- Batman Begins (2005)
  154. Superman Returns (2006) -vs- Superman: The Movie (1978)
  155. Syriana (2005) -vs- Traffic (2001)
  156. Talladega Nights (2006) -vs- Anchorman (2004)
  157. Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991) -vs- Deja Vu (2006)
  158. Thank You for Smoking (2006) -vs- The Insider (1999)
  159. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) -vs- American Pie (1999)
  160. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) -vs- Knocked Up (2007)
  161. The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) -vs- Bewitched (2005)
  162. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) -vs- Mission: Impossible III (2006)
  163. The Conversation (1974) -vs- The Lives of Others (2007)
  164. The DaVinci Code (2006) -vs- National Treasure (2004)
  165. The Deep (1977) -vs- Into the Blue (2005)
  166. The Departed (2006) -vs- Infernal Affairs (2002)
  167. The Family Stone (2005) -vs- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
  168. The Fountain (2007) -vs- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  169. The Gift (2000) -vs- Premonition (2007)
  170. The Good German (2007) -vs- Chinatown (1974)
  171. The Good Girl (2002) -vs- Friends with Money (2006)
  172. The Graduate (1967) -vs- Rumor Has It (2005)
  173. The Incredibles (2004) -vs- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
  174. The Incredibles (2004) -vs- Meet the Robinsons (2007)
  175. The Insider (1999) -vs- Thank You for Smoking (2006)
  176. The Lake House (2006) -vs- Frequency (2000)
  177. The Last Kiss (2006) -vs- I Think I Love My Wife (2007)
  178. The Last Mimzy (2007) -vs- ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
  179. The Lives of Others (2007) -vs- The Conversation (1974)
  180. The Lookout (2007) -vs- Memento (2000)
  181. The Matador (2006) -vs- Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
  182. The Matrix (1999) -vs- V for Vendetta (2006)
  183. The New World (2005) -vs- Black Robe (1991)
  184. The Omen (2006) -vs- The Omen (1976)
  185. The Poseidon Adventure (1972) -vs- Poseidon (2006)
  186. The Proposition (2006) -vs- Unforgiven (1992)
  187. The Sentinel (2006) -vs- In the Line of Fire (1993)
  188. The Upside of Anger (2005) -vs- Reign Over Me (2007)
  189. The Weatherman (2005) -vs- Bruce Almighty (2003)
  190. Three Kings (1999) -vs- Jarhead (2005)
  191. Titanic (1997) -vs- United 93 (2006)
  192. Total Recall (1990) -vs- A Scanner Darkly (2006)
  193. Toy Story (1995) -vs- Ratatouille (2007)
  194. Traffic (2001) -vs- Syriana (2005)
  195. Transamerica (2005) -vs- Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
  196. Transformers (2007) -vs- Independence Day (1996)
  197. Unforgiven (1992) -vs- The Proposition (2006)
  198. United 93 (2006) -vs- Titanic (1997)
  199. United 93 (2006) -vs- World Trade Center (2006)
  200. V for Vendetta (2006) -vs- The Matrix (1999)
  201. Vacancy (2007) -vs- Motel Hell (1980)
  202. Walk the Line (2005) -vs- Ray (2004)
  203. War of the Worlds (2005) -vs- Independence Day (1996)
  204. Wimbledon (2004) -vs- Music and Lyrics (2007)
  205. Without Limits (1998) -vs- Prefontaine (1997)
  206. World Trade Center (2006) -vs- United 93 (2006)
  207. X-Men (2000) -vs- Fantastic Four (2005)
  208. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) -vs- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Here are some "non-traditional" posts:

  1. Next (2007) -vs- Harold and Maude (1971) -vs- Charade (1963) -vs- To Have and To Have Not (1944)
  2. Remembering Joel Siegel
  3. Spider-Man 3 (2007) -vs- POTC: At World's End (2007) -vs- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) -vs- The Matrix Revolutions
  4. The Power of Three: The Sequel After the Sequel (Commentary)

It's Summertime at MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

We've told you about MOVIE SMACKDOWN! -- the film review site with a twist that goes like this -- Two Films, One Review, No Holds Barred.

Ms002rrrr_2 Our reviews put one film that's out in the theaters against another film you can rent or buy. Sometimes, it's better to save the price of a ticket, parking and the over-priced and decidedly non-nutritious food choices, right?

Here, during the movie going frenzy of July 4th holiday, is our list of films that have gone into the ring that are still playing on a big screen somewhere, someplace, in the United States.

COMEDY 

SCI-FI | FANTASY

DRAMA

If this tweaks your interest, here are a couple of other links to the site:

Ms002rrrr

Clashes of the Titans: Movie Smackdown Super-Hero Reviews

The trades are atwitter over "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" making $57.4 million over the weekend at the box office. This financial success, of course, doesn't mean it was a good movie and, for those who point out that the sequel is better than the original, that's not saying much in this particular instance.

Photo_03_hires Our companion site, Movie Smackdown! (Two Films, One Review, No Holds Barred) has put a lot of super-heroes into the ring against each other since starting up in 2005. Our most recent fights, naturally, feature the sequel in the Fantastic Four franchise. But since we didn't think it was sporting (or suspenseful) to put it up against the bad original, we put it to the test with two different dynamics: Family Feud & World's End. Check them out.

Comics_on_film Here are some of our other favorite super-hero Smackdowns:

Please remember we love it when you leave your own comments on reviews because, we hate to admit this, but we may not always be right!

Fantastic Four (2005) -vs- X-Men (2000)

For more film-on-film reviews, visit MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

The Smackdown. When I was growing up, my favorite comicbook was the Fantastic Four (okay, it was a tie with the Avengers, but they haven't made that film yet). Anyway, I collected X-Men and Spider-Man and all the others from Marvel, but my heart was with that dysfunctional family made up of Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, The Thing and the Human Torch. I won't even go into how I had these comics collected from issue #1 on, sold them in college for $273 and, if I'd held onto them, they'd be worth $60,000 or more today.  No, we needn't talk about that. Instead, let's focus on how great it's been as an adult to see these comicbook heroes come to life. So much so that we can actually entertain a Smackdown between two of the greatest super-hero groups of all time -- Fantastic Four and X-Men -- cosmic rays versus mutant genes. Let's compare apples to apples by smacking the first films which started each of what are now cinematic franchises.

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"It's Flame-On, you idiot, not Flame-Out."

The Challenger. Even though, in comicbook terms, Fantastic Four would be the defending champion in a match with the X-Men, that's not the order the films came out. Because of being such a fan-boy, my anticipation was high for this one. After all, they had a good cast that included Jessica Alba at, presumably, the apogee of her hotness playing Invisible Woman (Girl?) and that terrific British actor whose name I can't pronounce but who played Horatio Hornblower as Mr. Fantastic. Oh, and the Thing was played by a guy who'd I'd actually met a half dozen times while running the TV Academy, the incredibly talented Michael Chiklis. They also had decent money to make the film, something that an earlier attempt at making the Fantastic Four as a film lacked, leading to a movie that was, without hyperbole, unreleasable. Point is, this was a film I badly wanted to see.

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"Not to split hairs, guys, but technically shouldn't we be the X-Women and you the Y-Men?"

The Defending Champion. Back in 2000 when X-Men hit the theaters, it was pretty much acknowledged as a well-conceived execution of the popular comicbook series. It also hit at an interesting time in my personal life. I'd become friends with Marvel comics legend Stan Lee. A few years earlier, we'd done a pilot together, Missing Link, for NBC. It's a funny thing about a lot of Stan Lee's creations and co-creations: whatever would kill you or me (like cosmic rays, being exposed to a nuclear blast, falling in toxic waste or being bit by a radioactive spider) turns his people into... super-heroes... Except for the X-Men, of course, who were born mutated. That's what made this film (and the comicbook) so damn good. These people had been outcasts all their lives and all the extraordinary powers in the world couldn't disguise the fact that they weren't normal. And, especially with teenagers and young adults (which fit all the characters), everybody just wants to fit in. So, if you can kill somebody by having sex with them, well, that's a problem. Great origin film.

The Scorecard. At least my pal Stan created both of these hero groups so he can't lose in this particular match-up, and yours truly doesn't have to side against him which would half-kill me (or turn me into half a super-hero, I guess). One mark against both films in this Smackdown is the knock against group super-hero movies in general because, with fewer people to unload backstory on, Batman and Spider-Man are easier to relate to and there's fewer people to get in their way.  But this showdown is between the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, so you have to take that out of the equation.

As "origin" stories go, both films do a serviceable job. Fantastic Four, however, is saddled with actually shooting people into space and having them come back changed in these odd ways and making it sound at least comicbook plausible. X-Men, on the other hand, really chooses to go for set-up instead of origin, and does a snazzy job of letting us see these mutants in action from the get-go. Point: X-Men.

Meanwhile, in terms of character, the mutants of X-Men were tormented by the powers they were born with, and the story seemed framed against the backdrop of what it means to be human. In Fantastic Four, it's a miracle these four have survived their close encounter with a cosmic storm, and the DNA changes they're going through are monumental. Despite all this, it seems to be oddly ignored with the exception of the Thing who gets pissed because Reed Richards can't build a "cosmic ray reverser machine" fast enough. Okay, I know I'm beating this horse deader than dead but the deal is, what seemed so cool to a little kid reading a comicbook, seemed goofy to the adult sitting in the movie theater.

On the Fantastic Four plus-side of the equation, Jessica really is at the apogee and the FF blue uniforms have never looked better. The Human Torch really does seem like a lovable a-hole whose temper matches his flames. And, like I said, Michael Chiklis is a really, really nice man.

The winner?

Continue reading "Fantastic Four (2005) -vs- X-Men (2000)" »

28 Weeks Later (2007) -vs- Aliens (1986)

Two Films, One Review, No Holds Barred. For more, visit MOVIE SMACKDOWN! 

The Smackdown. Of course it would be easier to smack "28 Weeks Later" up against the film that gave birth to it, "28 Days Later," but most conventional reviews are already doing that. It could also easily smack up against the post-apocalyptic "Children of Men" or even the "Planet Terror" half of "Grindhouse." As I watched this film, though, my mind took me back to 1986 when another surprise horror hit, "Alien," was being followed by its bigger-budget sequel "Aliens." Both "28 Weeks Later" and "Aliens" got new directors for their franchises, more money and more action. There were more Zombies and more Aliens in each and, to fight them, the military was brought in to show how ineffectual their swagger and weapons could really be. And each sequel decided to throw kids up against the creatures to really drive the jeopardy forward. Which sequel was the best follow-up to what went before?

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"As far as first dates go, London without the crowds, it's terrific."

The Challenger.  I wish Roger Ebert was still writing reviews because he would most definitely decry the "idiot plot" moment of "28 Weeks Later." It comes when Don (Robert Carlyle) decides to plant a wet kiss on his obviously exposed-to-infection wife, despite having seen the Zombies first-hand and knowing full-well how the infection travels and how it has pretty much decimated the population of Britain. I watched this at the Westlake Village Promenade today at 4:50pm with a crowd of mostly teenage guys and even a lot of them were shocked at how ridiculous this was. This film (directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo) deals with the "rage" infection which pretty much leveled the population in the original. Now it's over half a year later, and the United States has sent in the troops to secure the area and make it safe for re-population. They have a secure "Green Zone," helicopter fly-overs, snipers on the roofs and a supposedly secure bar on the grounds. Guess what? It's not secure and the Iraq metaphor goes from Code Green to Code Red as fast as Carlyle's character can get a hunger for human flesh. For the record, though, this film has a fearsome opener that really, really worked for me, and a first half that felt as fully-realized as all of last year's "Children of Men."

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"That expression? 'You can never go back.' Now I get it..."

The Defending Champion.   James Cameron took over the director's chair from Ridley Scott in this sequel to the 1979 sci-fi shocker "Alien" (which, I have to confess, is the first film I ever professionally reviewed). Sigourney Weaver's Ridley character has been found after 57 years, and now a bunch of gung-ho Marines have been tasked with going back to find out what happened to a lost colony. Naturally, this is a bad decision that will be regretted almost as soon as they set foot on this God-forsaken planet. The alien in the original was subtle and scary because we rarely got a good look, but this time there is all the alien you can stand and then some. There isn't a lot of great dialogue, though, probably because it would have just gotten in the way. James Cameron, of course, would direct a clearly superior sequel when he took on the "Terminator" franchise years later. "Aliens," however, is a great thrill ride but the macho military characters really don't hook you nearly so much as the crew of the Nostromo did. They were trapped and overwhelmed and they knew it.

The Scorecard. I don't think too many people would be surprised if I took the position that both "28 Days Later" and "Alien" are better than what they spawned if, for no other reason, they were so brilliantly original and frightening in their first incarnations. Both sequels are whirling dervishes of camera-work when it comes to looking at the Zombies or the Aliens. And both of them hook their audiences largely through the attrition rate of main characters, wondering who will go and who will survive. "28 Weeks Later" feels more like it could happen (even though it's obviously not going to) and "Aliens" feels more like the beautifully realized science-fiction masterpiece it has become known as. Both are technically great follow-ups. Remember, though, that the "Alien" franchise degenerated into the awful "Alien versus Predator." God help us when they make "28 Months Later." I will probably skip that one. 

And the winner is...

Continue reading "28 Weeks Later (2007) -vs- Aliens (1986)" »

Spider-Man 3 (2007) -vs- Superman III (1983)

From Movie Smackdown! -- Two Films, One Review, No Holds Barred

The Smackdown. Since more ink is being spilled on "Spider-Man 3" than the Bible these days, we thought we'd reach back for our Smackdown, almost a quarter-of-a-century to 1983 for "Superman III." Here we have two successful comic book sequels to sequels where the main character's essential goodness is put into graphic relief by creating an anti-hero version from the dark side. Kind of like a "Superego -vs- Id" Smackdown. Oh, and in each installment, they also get to fool around with potential new girlfriends.

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"Dude, you are gonna be so in trouble when pink really does become the new black."

In This Corner. ("Spiderman 3") Let's see... I'm betting that even if you haven't seen this film you feel like you've seen it. The trailers have been getting hyped and multiplying for the better part of a year, I've got Venom wallpaper on my iMac, Tobey Maguire's just wrapped up a world tour with the triumphal interview on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Let's try to do it in a single sentence. Spider-Man gets A) cocky, B) a new spider-suit from space, C) flirts with a new girl-friend possibility, and D) fights the new Goblin, plus the Sandman played by that guy we haven't seen since "Sideways" and Venom (who gets to wear the suit) by the kid from "That 70s Show." This film is all about more, more and more. There are some groaners in the film -- notably Peter Parker's "Saturday Night Fever" walk and his dance number in a jazz bar -- but the action is superb (and it ought to be, given the film's price tag).

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"Great. Spidey gets a cool new Venom-look. I don't get to shave and have to wear this dirty costume."

In That Corner. ("Superman III") This third time out for the original "Superman" franchise basically re-tooled the series into a middle-of-the-road comedy. The story involved the usual plot to control the Earth. Lex Luthor was replaced with a warmed-over "Man From U.N.C.L.E." Robert Vaughn as a villain with a name you'd have to look up in the credits to remember along with Richard Pryor who came aboard as a computer nerd. Even Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) got reduced in favor of a new super-babe Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole). Satellites were being used to screw with the weather (pre-global warming), Lois was on vacation, Clark went back to Smallville for a high-school reunion, and a new kind of Kryptonite got let out of the box creating a new Superman with a bad attitude.

The Scorecard. In 1978, the first "Superman" movie really did shake things up in the film world as much as the first "Spider-Man" did when it was released in 2002. Both franchises were generally acknowledged to have improved in their sequels ("2" and "II"), and to have dived just a bit in their three-quels ("3" and "III"). How do they stack up against each other? On the subject of tone, "Spider-Man 3" keeps the winning formular from its predecessors going, even if it is a little too cluttered for its own good. "Superman III," however, veered off in an unsettling direction for most fans. On the subject of villains, "Spider-Man 3" probably has too many, yes, but at least they are really, really cool and they fight back in a challenging way. Adding new female interests didn't bother me in either film and, from all accounts, it was necessary in "Superman II" because Margot Kidder was imploding in real life. And Peter Parker still ends up with Mary Jane (although, to me, I'd go with Bryce Dallas Howard and not just because we share a first name).

And the winner is...

Continue reading "Spider-Man 3 (2007) -vs- Superman III (1983)" »

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