Media MindField Movies

All I gotta say is they put the suitcase in the movie!

The film director known as George “king of zombies” Romero is only known for his gory social allegories the “Dead” series (Night,Dawn,and Day of the living Dead).These were the standard for the modern zombie flick. In between making Night of the living dead and Dawn of the Dead he also made two other films not zombie related, one was “Martin” a variation of a vampire movie and “The Crazies” a bio-terror movie. Both films flopped and only true fans have seen them, not saying they’re bad movies, just not widely seen. Now fast forward 37 years later and The Crazies gets the remake treatment…does it suck? Heeelllll to the NO.

What the F! Scorsese, I want that two hours of my life back! That’s what I thought while coming out the theater. Sure some people may feel smarter or more cultured by sitting through an incredibly predictable and long movie that takes itself way to seriously …but not me. When I go to a movie I want to be entertained and sadly shutter island did not do that, at all. This film is full of missed climaxes and disappointing revelations…just imagine if you were 16, sneaking a girl home and right before you hit the “big” moment your mom busts in the room…that’s what this movie does to you, on MULTIPLE occasions.

I loooooove me some anime, have all my life. Now having said that, don’t think my review is biased, I’m well aware that just like kung-fu films, anime is 80% semi-trash, 20% gold. But ohh that 20% is usually reserved for the masters of the genre like Miyazaki, Rintaro and Katsuhiro Ottomo. With the release of “The Animatrix”, a compilation of animated shorts that allowed some of the top Japanese animators to give their insights into the Matrix universe to help move the mythology of  the live action movies forward. This began a trend that at the time was innovative and ground breaking. This trend continued with the release of “Gotham Knights” 6 animated shorts by more of Japan’s top animators, interpreting the Batman mythology. In my opinion just meh, not as awesome as I thought it would be.

DC has done it again! “Justice League: Crisis On Two Earth’s” is one of their best offerings to date, if not THE best. That’s saying something because they’ve been on a roll since the premiere of the JL series several years ago. Then they stepped it up a bit with “Unlimited”, which is still one of the better examples of American animation, not to mention one of my personal faves. WHY THE HELL DID THEY CANCEL IT??!!! Sorry, had to get that out, anyway, “Crisis” picks up in the interim between Justice League and JLU, as the League is setting up the Watchtower (are they Jehovah’s witnesses?) from Batman’s legendarily deep pockets when Lex Luthor escapes from another dimension, where he’s the good guy, to seek the help of THIS dimension’s Justice League. Hackneyed premise? Maybe. But with Dwayne McDuffie at the helm, it’s all about execution. It’s tight, no other way to say it. Apparently McDuffie is a fan of Anime as I am, because there are several DBZ-esque fights in the movie that, well, they’re just great.

Ok, I had my doubts about M. Night directing The Last Airbender…but I have to admit, this shit looks real tight.

Take 5 or 6 people, mix up age, gender and race, put them in a diner in the middle of nowhere (the Arizona or Nevada desert) and have them face off with an unspeakable horror…oh and make sure to stack the odds against said people. Seen this before…? YES, of course you have, dozens of times, so have I but this is basically what the film “Legion” is about.

On 1/22/10 the Starz cable network debuted one of the best entries in a cable TV. series…EVER, Blowing past H.B.O and Showtime with a concept not new, but fresh. The series I’m talking about is “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”, yes the same Spartacus made famous by the legendary Kirk Douglas but waaaaaaay more “untamed”.

It’s being reported that Marc Webb(who?) music video director and director of that enormous blockbuster “500 days of Summer”, is going to be directing Spiderman4, this is final according to Sony pictures. Webb is quoted saying “I’m not taking over the series from Sam Raimi but instead I want to take this opportunity for new ideas, stories and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas and creative voice to Spiderman”. Ohhh please lord no! He is also going the “teenage” Peter Parker route. What is going on with these decision makers? Are they willingly trying to destroy a Marvel comics icon because they can(Sony pictures)? Someone at Marvel headquarters better buy the rights back to their beloved character before some Hollywood douche’s make him a tool. No Neil Blomkamp (District 9), no Lexi Alexander (Punisher War Zone), not even a Zack Snyder? C’mon, C’MON! Anyway that’s the latest, sorry for my rant. Please chime in with ANY comments. Sir M