Conan The Barbarian (2011)

A good attempt to bring Conan into the ‘now’. Starts off well with loads of blood and tits but eventually degenerates into CG silliness lacking in logic. Momoa gives it his all and looks good with a sword while Lang plays a medieval fantasy version of his ‘bad guy’ character from Avatar. Not bad but […]

Cowboys and Aliens

Choppy seeming story-line but overall, pretty entertaining. The ‘western’ elements feel..well…western, while the sci-fi has some cool effects and designs. Daniel Craig’s american accent seems a lil weird while Harrison Ford does ‘grumpy’ like a champ. Not a bad lil time waster. Good for a rainy day. November 28, 2011 at 9:51pm

The Thing (2011)

A worthy attempt. More defined characterization and suspense would’ve been nice but the atmosphere and freaky alien shit was good. A couple of connecting plot points to the ’82 ‘sequel’ were criminally neglected but the tie-in at the end was spot on. A good try to be sure on this one. They didn’t embarrass the […]

Intimate Enemies

France’s ‘Platoon’, set during the French/Algerian Conflict of the early 50s. An unflinching look at the human ‘cost’ of ‘questionable’ war. Great acting framed by an impressively gritty and authentic production design. Certainly for fans of intense historical drama. August 16, 2011 at 8:05pm

Transformers: The Dark of the Moon

A considerable improvement on the P.o.S. second film but still suffers from an excess of ‘Bayhem’ in the last 3rd. The story moves on a cool tangent involving the space race and strangely(or not), Rosie Huntington-Whitely is actually an improvement on Megan Fox in the acting department. There are some decent ‘chuckles’ scattered throughout and […]

Captain America

A surprisingly fun and well paced throwback to the action ‘serials’ of the 30’s. Chris Evans does a great job of portraying both versions of Steve Rogers and is surrounded by a nicely rounded cast. A little more development in some areas would have been nice but this is a small complaint. It has a […]

Angel-A

A strange lil French film by the director of The Fifth Element. A petty criminal hooks up with hedonistic celestial being and ‘funny and weird’ ensues. The B/W is quite striking, solidifying the ‘art-house’ quality of the picture as the two leads are as charmingly polar opposite as you can get. A treat for fans […]

A Prophet

An engrossing, well-acted French prison drama about a young Arab in the service of the Corsican mob and the web of deception he creates. Gritty and raw with an edgy look at the forced meldiing of Muslims and ‘French’ in a rigid, correctional setting. Strange, amusingly ‘human’ lil scenes scattered throughout help cut through the […]

Cargo

Finally!!! A smart, well-executed deep space thriller that very much pays stylistic homage to the Alien franchise.Whatever the budget, it was used well. Unusually high production design. Someone took a good page from The Book of Cameron/Scott/Fincher. If you appreciate a decent,suspenseful sci-fi movie and can handle the German..do it. July 13, 2011 at 8:28pm

Outlaw

A smart, vigilante thriller that cleverly notes the psychological toll that ‘planned violence’ has on ‘normal people’. Great acting from ‘who’s who’ of British actors that really manage to give the film ‘gravity’. It also asks some interesting questions of the audience. Definitely worthwhile. July 10, 2011 at 11:05pm