Wreck-It Ralph Review: The First Good Video Game Movie Ever Made
It’s like a Pixar movie, except not by Pixar.
Well, director Rich Moore, whose credentials include a number of Futurama and golden age Simpsons episodes but no feature length films, has accomplished the seemingly impossible: He has directed a video game movie doesn’t make me want to slit my wrists. Yeah, Mr. Moore and the folks at Disney have kind of cheated—they made a movie about video games instead of adapting a particular video particular video game—but after decades of outright awful video game adaptations coming from hacks like Uwe Boll and Paul W.S. Anderson, I’ll take what I can get. Wreck-It Ralph may not be an actual video game, but the movie itself treats gaming culture with fondness and respect, which is more than any other Hollywood film has done up to this point. If Moore can make a fun movie about a non-existent game, then there’s still hope that someone will one day adapt a real video game into a great movie.
‘A Christmas Story 2’ Review: I Paid $3.99 To Recommend You Not Watch This
Oh. Great.
For many of us, Bob Clark’s ‘A Christmas Story’ holds a special, perennial place in our hearts. The movie’s been featured in ceaseless marathons over the past twenty years, serving as a staple of the genuine, American Christmas. The film’s narrator – Jean Shepherd, who wrote the short stories the movie is based on – tells us a tale from the perspective of Ralphie, a kid growing up in pre-war Indiana who yearns for BB guns and good grades. The movie can be sealed and hung on a wall; it’s a smart, tremendous work that would probably be the late Bob Clark’s best film, long before Super Babies sullied his reputation.
Now, nearly thirty years after that film’s debut, Warner Bros. decided that they should make a direct-to-video sequel because there are obviously a few more pennies to be wrung out of America’s collective nostalgia for Ralphie and the Parker family.
What Does Star Wars: Episode VII Look Like?
Could Thrawn be a major antagonistic force in this new sequel trilogy? Probably not. Photo Credit: Steve Argyle
Guys: in case you didn’t know, Star Wars happened today. George Lucas learned that he was, in fact, mortal, and decided that the franchise would be best place in the hands of Disney to the tune of four billion dollars. In the same breath, Lucas, new Lucasfilm president Kathleen Turner and Disney announced that work would begin on a new sequel trilogy, consisting of the New Republic’s adventures following the fall of Vader, Palpatine, and the second Death Star. Few details are known at this point, primarily because Lucas is probably still making them up, but where will they go?
Dexter Season 7 Episode 5 Recap – “Swim Deep”
Man it feels good to be a serial killa.
It’s hard out here for a serial killer. In this week’s episode of Dexter, it seems as if everyone is on Dexter’s tail. Our favorite serial killer has cops, crazy hit men and even hot chicks circling him. In this spoilerific recap of episode “Swim Deep,” we learn that there’s only so much that Dexter and his sister Deb can do to protect his secret.
Cloud Atlas Review: The Most Ambitious Mainstream Film in Recent Memory
Pictured: the future. Also, Tom Hanks and Halle Berry
The last time the Wachowski siblings directed a good movie, Bill Clinton was in the White House and Lana Wachowski was a man. Now along comes Cloud Atlas, the duo’s most ambitious film to date and a fine film in its own right. Well, at least I think it’s a fine movie. Cloud Atlas will likely divide movie goers into two camps: those who think it’s a top notch piece of scifi entertainment and those who think it’s a silly piece of new age bullshit. I currently find myself in the former category, but I can see why others could be turned off by it. Cloud Atlas is the kind of movie you’ll either love or you’ll hate.
‘The Twelve’ Review: More Epic Dystopian Vampire Fiction That Doesn’t Sparkle
[insert numeric joke here]
Doomsday Preppers – The National Geographic Survival Show
Ready? Set. Survive!
So, one of my buddies turned me on to this show called “Doomsday Preppers” – a series on the National Geographic Channel which hooks up with individuals and families who all have one thing in common. They’re all preparing for the end of the world, as we know it.
Iron Man 3 Trailer Releases, Is Crazy Dark
Oh, it’s just Iron Man. Taking a nap. In the snow.
After a 17-second pre-trailer teaser was released yesterday, for whatever stupid reason, Marvel brings us the long-anticipated reel we’ve been looking for: the first glimpse at Shane Black’s Iron Man 3. I was on the Iron Man train – the original film, not the comics – because I really enjoyed Robert Downey Jr’s return to stardom after crippling his career. Iron Man was a simple film at its core, but seeing Downey fly around and dance with airplanes and pew pew the baddies was a trip fantastic.
Dexter Season 7 Episode 4 Recap – “Run”
Serial killing is serious business.
When we left our hero last week, Dexter had just saved his sister Deb from yet another serial killer. Dexter had high hopes to bring his sister around to the idea that killing serial killers is not only a worthwhile use of his time, but a way to make the world a better place. Deb, however, is a stubborn one. She’s going to take more convincing. Read on for the spoilerific recap of last night’s episode “Run.”
Last Ride Review: Hugo Weaving at His Best
Don’t let the flowers fool you. He’s still a bastard.
The Australian Outback seems to occupy the same place in the Australian consciousness that the western frontier occupies in the American consciousness. It’s a harsh, rugged, unforgiving territory that seems to regularly double as a spiritual battleground for the desperate and unfulfilled. It’s a place where men learn to be men, and women…well, they just tend not to be there. Last Ride, starring Hugo Weaving and newcomer Tom Russell, is a grim yet somewhat uplifting coming of age story in that tradition. It’s also a fine movie in its own right.
