Movies

Movies

Thu
10
Sep

Luke and Leia join us on The Journey to the Force Awakens

We got another pair of JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS books to review today, with one featuring Luke Skywalker and the other with Princess Leia. As I mentioned in my review of AFTERMATH, the bulk of these books are set during the Original Trilogy, not in the JOURNEY TO STAR WARS timeframe.


Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure by Jason Fry

Hardcover - $12.99
Kindle - $6.46
Published by Disney Lucasfilm Press
192 Pages

Wed
09
Sep

Star Wars: Shattered Empire - The Journey to The Force Awakens continues...

I have been looking forward to this comic for a long time now. I will admit, I had sort of lost interest in STAR WARS for a while, but with REBELS and all the hype for THE FORCE AWAKENS, I have been in a STAR WARS mood lately. Thankfully, I don't have as much free time as I did when THE PHANTOM MENACE came out. My wife and siblings spent way too much time driving me all over the place to find STAR WARS toys and cup toppers from Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Thanks, Gina, Patti, and Chris.  You are terrible enablers.

Instead of toys, this time I am acting out my obsession with comics and books. I have bought every STAR WARS comic Marvel has put out so far, and slowly I'm working my way through the novels that have come out the last few years that Disney declared official canon. And SHATTERED EMPIRE sounded like it was going to be a real good one.

Tue
08
Sep

The Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens starts with Aftermath

Last Friday was Force Friday! As part of their build up for THE FORCE AWAKENS, Disney released a lot of new Star Wars merchandise, including boatloads of new toys. One thing that got a little lost was they also released several new novels set in between RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS, under the umbrella title of JOURNEY TO THE FORCE AWAKENS. There is also a comic mini-series coming out on Wednesday called SHATTERED EMPIRE that falls under this banner.

Wed
02
Sep

Review: REMEMBERING BRUCE LEE AND JON BENN'S OTHER ADVENTURES

Bruce Lee Jon Benn

What a book title! I mean to say, for those of an age, we will never forget the incomparable Bruce Lee. You didn't even have to live in Bruce's own lifetime to be one of his adoring fans. I was born four months after Bruce's death, yet he's one of my favorite cultural icons. Growing up, I fondly recall school recess periods spent "fighting" over who was Bruce Lee in our playground battles. Seriously, what were those lunch attendants doing while we played at karate? Through the years, Bruce Lee has continued to have an impact on me. I've visited his grave in Seattle, watched his film work repeatedly, read some of his writings, and met gentlemen that worked with him like Bob Wall, the late Jim Kelly, and John Saxon. One other such man I wish for an opportunity to meet is Jon Benn.

Wed
02
Sep

Review: STAR WARS FAQ is a detailed journey through the creation of a modern myth!

EVERYTHING LEFT TO KNOW ABOUT THE TRILOGY is the subtitle for the newly released STAR WARS FAQ. That's serious word choice when you consider how knowledgeable the fandom is that surrounds the original Star Wars Trilogy. I'm 41 years old, so I grew up with these films as a part of my life...scratch that, the Saga has become such a part of me, it's burrowed down to conjoin with the very depths of my soul. So much so, I've watched, read, and collected just about anything that was available to my greedy mind and body. And I've got to say, much to my surprise, Mark Clark delivered a well researched, in-depth exploration of the creative exploits of George Lucas and so many of the others that played in his sandbox.

Tue
01
Sep

The Machination of Mad Max: Fury Road Drives Powerful Messages

Excited for the chance to finally sit down and watch Mad Max: Fury Road, I was looking forward to some rip-roaring, post-apocalyptic, female-driven action.

And it did not disappoint!

Mon
31
Aug

Wesley Earl Craven, Horror Icon: 1939-2015

Wesley Earl Craven 1939 2015 obituary Critical Blast

Sometimes people make a profound impact in our lives without having ever met them. They affect our earliest memories and influence our actions years, even DECADES, later. I write today to memorialize one of the men that were most influential in my life. One of the men who caused me to lose sleep, and affects my actions to this day, 25 years after we first met.

Thu
20
Aug

MATCH a Fine Story Matched by Equally Fine Acting

Match Patrick Stewart Matthew Lillard Carla Gugino Critical Blast Dennis Russo

The root story behind MATCH is a simple one, but therein lies its mystery as well.

Patrick Stewart stars as Tobi Powell, an aging, single, Manhattan ballet instructor and former dancer who is forced to confront his past -- willingly at first, and forcibly later on -- when a young couple, Lisa and Mike Davis (Carla Gugino and Matthew Lillard), from Seattle interrupt his life under the guise of wanting to interview him about his colorful life as a dancer back in the 1960’s.

I tend to love movies that feature a limited main cast in a confined set area (mostly Tobi’s apartment), where the story and acting are so strong that you not only lose track of the time but you're unaware of the limited surroundings. MATCH is a textbook example of this for me. While, yes, there are times when we are not in Tobi’s apartment, and there are some limited interactions with other people, those times are more to set up the story that plays out in the apartment between the three of them.

Wed
19
Aug

Leaked! Entire Batman v Superman Fight (as depicted by Stephen Byrne)

Artist Stephen Byrne has released an animated version of how a fight between Batman and Superman would really go down. You can check out Stephen Byrne's art on his Facebook page and Twitter account. He even has a webcomic titled 'Steve Loves Internet'. He does a lot of comic book and pop culture work, ranging from parody to serious depictions of characters.

Clearly anyone who knows Superman, understands that he wouldn't intentionally vaporize Batman, however he could if he wanted to.

 

Tue
18
Aug

Sneak Peek: New Lion King Movie Coming Soon from Disney

With an award winning sountrack and a voice cast that included Jeremy Irons, Mathew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg and the legendary James Earl Jones, THE LION KING is still considered one of Disney's greatest animated movies. And one of the last that was classically animated, with a mix of CG.

With several sequels having been made to minimal fanfare, Disney is taking one more swipe at the franchise by releasing a new movie: THE LION GUARD: Return of the Roar.

THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE focused on Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara, as she discovers that Scar's son and heir, Kovu has been living in the Badlands. LION KING 1 1/2 was a re-telling of the original movie, through the eyes of Timon and Pumba. The two lovable friends of Simba also had a TV series of their own which lasted four years.

Fri
14
Aug

F. Gary Gray's STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON Is Straight Up Gangsta

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON opens 8/14/15.

It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long to me, but it was way back in 1988 when a gang--as they called themselves-- of musicians changed the burgeoning hip-hop genre forever. The artists were from Compton, a hard-times neighborhood in Los Angeles where the infamous LAPD could, with little provocation, drive a swat tank through your front door and harass you on the streets just for being black. If you don’t think things have changed much, I won’t argue with you. Things have, however, changed for those pioneers of reality-based street rap, the N.W.A. And no, I’m not talking about the old National Wrestling Alliance either.

Fri
14
Aug

MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Is 007's Country Cousin

MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. starts 8/14/15.

In the mid 1960s THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. was a major hit. It won the Golden Globe for Best Television Show in 1966, and stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum were each regularly nominated for best actor at the Emmys or Golden Globes. The show was conceived in part by Ian Fleming, the man who created James Bond, and as such began as a serious spy program. A couple of years in, the incredible popularity of Adam West’s BATMAN show encouraged the producers to lean heavily towards camp, a decision which ultimately doomed the show. The entire series is available on Amazon Prime.

Wed
12
Aug

Some stills from STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

Entertainment Weekly posted up a bunch of images from the upcoming STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.  Here they are in all their glory (click on them for bigger versions):


From Entertainment Weekly:

Tue
11
Aug

SEVENTH DWARF Comes Up Short

Seventh Dwarf Blu-ray DVD Combo Shout Factory

Marrying up the fairy tales of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, THE SEVENTH DWARF comes up short in story and in film quality, coming nowhere near the levels set by HOODWINKED or the SHREK franchise.

The scene is the 18th birthday party for Princess Rose (Peyton List). It's more than your average big deal, because it marks the day the princess can take off all her armor, which she's been forced to wear since she was born, having been cursed to sleep for 100 years if she were to prick her finger. But the evil witch, Dellamorta, is determined to bring her curse to fruition, and put Rose in a slumber that only the kiss of true love can dispel.

Fri
07
Aug

August 10th is Snoopy's Birthday! Here's How to Celebrate

Social media buzz is something a lot of studios are using to drum up hype for upcoming movies. And with Snoopy's birthday coming up on Monday, August 10th, Blue Sky Studios (in association with FOX) is encouraging everyone to share their drawing of the beloved beagle with the hashtag: #DrawSnoopy. The following thumbnail was this writer's attempt:

My #DrawSnoopy attempt 

 

 

Fri
07
Aug

FANTASTIC FOUR Flops So Hard It Could End Careers

FANTASTIC FOUR opens Aug. 7, 2015. You have been warned.

FANTASTIC FOUR is the fourth film and the third attempt at turning Marvel’s superhero family into a gold mine franchise like X-MEN, SPIDER-MAN and the AVENGERS. It’s also easily the worst. In fact, it might be worse than SUPERMAN IV; THE QUEST FOR PEACE. This is rarified territory. You would almost have to work harder at screwing this up than getting it right. I mean, there’s only like 600-plus issues of the comic book to mine for story and plot and characters. Pick one that is exciting, funny, a little tragic, a little heartwarming, and then go shoot it on film. No, that’s too easy for director Josh Trank. He eschewed the readily available and beloved stories presented by America’s favorite storyteller Stan Lee to make a boring, tedious, muddled mess of a movie. Fans saw this train wreck coming for years. Now it’s here, and I think the Internet owes oft-ridiculed videogame movie director Uwe Boll one hell of a big apology. Even he couldn’t make such a fantastic flop.

Fri
07
Aug

Meryl Streep Plays The Hits But RICKI AND THE FLASH Fails To Chart

RICKI AND THE FLASH opens Aug 7, 2015.

 Meryl Streep is an impressive figure in Hollywood. We all knew she could act. She’s been nominated for dozens of awards and is not shy about taking on varied and challenging roles. For the lead role in RICKI AND THE FLASH, Streep learned to play guitar in 3 just three months. Is that a nearly impossible task for most people? Probably not, but despite my deep appreciation of music I have neither an ear nor talent for it myself. When I heard that the Streep was playing a rocker who gave up her family to pursue her dream in a film written by Diablo Cody (JUNO) and directed by Jonathan Demme (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) I was intrigued. It sounded like there could be a “Chick Flick” underneath the electric guitar jams, but I couldn’t pass it up.

Wed
05
Aug

Deadpool Touches Fans with Two Trailers

Ryan Reynolds did not disappoint with his first full length, available to the public, ‘Red Band’ trailer for his upcoming movie: DEADPOOL. With a re-hashed Wolverine movie plot, where the hero is ‘modified’ and something goes wrong so he seeks revenge, the trailer has all the curse words and violence one should expect.

 

Wed
05
Aug

STEVE MCQUEEN FULL-THROTTLE COOL is the stellar graphic novel biography befitting an icon!

Steve McQueen Full Throttle Cool

I don't really do comic reviews that often these days. It's not that I don't read comics, they're still a staple of my pop culture diet, but after writing regular weekly reviews for many years, I prefer to write about other forms of entertainment. When I heard about the graphic novel STEVE MCQUEEN: FULL THROTTLE COOL from Motor Books, well, I needed to read it and write a review. In all my years of online journalism, I've never had the chance to talk about my passion for the filmography of Mr. McQueen.

After requesting the review material, I was a little worried. What if the book was horrible? I mean, I own his movies, a replica of his jacket from THE GREAT ESCAPE, several McQueen dolls, figures, cars, you name it. It would be a shame to have to write a scathing review about the King of Cool. Or worse, what if it was a mediocre mess that couldn't inspire any emotion whatsoever? Writing one of those reviews is just not fun, at all.

Mon
03
Aug

A Teaser for tomorrow's Deadpool trailer

Yeah, that is about as Deadpool as you can get.   Today, Fox posted a teaser up for the Deadpool trailer coming tomorrow.   Not work safe (some foul language), but really funny! Definitely very encouraging that Fox is going to have the exact right tone for this movie:

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