Latest Comic Book Movie News, Insights, and more

Please, Don’t Look UpA Film Review of SkylineBy: Lawrence Napoli [[wysiwyg_imageupload:98:]]When I first saw the trailer for Skyline I assumed it represented the remnants of an impromptu ID4 (1996) sequel which Will Smith subsequently jettisoned for lacking vision, thus terminating all hope for that franchise to develop into at least a trilogy.  Alien attack films are…

The Halloween weekend continued to present us with a healthy, caffeine free, dose of horror films.  The supposed final installment of the Saw franchise continues the trendy move to 3D and after having seen the very cheesy trailers featuring arms reaching out of the screen to grab someone in the audience, I could tell the…

The true test of all horror sequels is how well it connects to the previous films.  Loose and contrived connections result in a rapid de-saturation of the original story (see the Saw series).  Strong connections build and expand the story’s mythos (see The Ring films).  Traditionally, the horror genre has not been particularly successful at…

So you’ve been going to the movies recently in a crude attempt to keep your girlfriend or boyfriend interested in you and you’ve been noticing that the movies selected by the man have been getting a little cheesier than you’ve been accustomed to.  You say to yourself, “an action film is an action film,” right? …

. . . to those who screw other people over.  Wait a minute!  That’s not how that expression goes.  However, in these times of highly dubious corporate dealings, stock swapping and market meltdowns, one could easily make the case that this is how the expression ought to read from now on.  The Social Network is…

Our boy Ben places himself back in the director’s chair for The Town, yet another film in the long list of bank heist crime dramas with the added twist of the Irish mob perspective that only Bean Town can deliver.  Did you know that Ben has three other directing credits to his name?  Gone Baby…

Ever wonder what the life of a professional assassin would be like in real life?  My guess is it would be a little less romantic, prolific and lucrative than it has been made out to be in popular culture.  If less is what you are looking for, then Anton Corbijn’s The American certainly delivers in…

Everybody loves crime drama, cops and robbers and bank heists featured in Hollywood films.  Takers is yet another film in the same genre as the Ocean’s films and Heat (1995) that takes the audience on a bullet riddled joy ride from the criminals’ perspective.  These films are notorious for recruiting big names to fill out…

Beyond raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, some of my other favorite things include comic books, video games and rock and roll music.  Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a comic book adaptation that encompasses all of the above in a fairly entertaining yet experimental way and I must admit that I am ashamed…

Summer brings a steady diet of action, sci-fi and adventure films and I am pleased to finally shift gears to comedy. Before I launch into my dissection of The Other Guys, I feel the need to explain to the reader where I stand when it comes to comedy in general and buddy/cop comedies in particular. …

If there’s one thing I’d like readers to learn from my film reviews, it’s that quality is quality, no matter when the subject of debate was created. This would perhaps be my best compliment for the little sci-fi action film that could: Predator (1987).  This film was right in the middle of Schwarzenegger’s final flex…

Inception is the best movie of this summer, perhaps even the past few summers and Chris Nolan is making what Dane Cook would refer to as “cinematic adventures” fun, surprising and satisfying once again.  Despite Nolan’s ever increasing reputation as a sure thing, I had numerous reservations about this production as soon as the advertising…

This film is all about M. Night Shyamalan.  Assuming the writing, directing and producing responsibilities for a film he is involved with is his M. O.  However, Night has always done this with a completely original idea and The Last Airbender is his first real shot at helming someone else’s franchise.  Night’s appeal has always…