In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes ‘Star Trek Into Darkness.’ When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew. (c) Paramount

4 1/2  Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 3 min.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: J.J. Abrams

Written By: Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes ‘Star Trek Into Darkness.’ When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew. (c) Paramount

….To boldly go…..where no Star Trek film has gone before? Nope. That is not what we are doing in Star Trek Into Darkness and it doesn’t have to be.

While Trekkies clamor for a new adventure J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof used elements from Treks past to great effect in a brand new way that essentially tells the story of how Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) becomes the tight knit we found them to be when Star Trek first aired in the late 1960′s.

If you thought the casting of this group of people was perfect when Bad Robot re-energized the franchise in 2009 then you haven’t seen anything yet! The entire ensemble works so well together, you really get that sense of family that Star Trek perfected in the original series movies and onward. The cast has it in spades. Once again the writers have found a big moments for every single member of the Enterprise family and they did it with even better style than we saw in 2009.

Yes there are many homages to past Star Trek shows and movies (most of which will only be caught be the real die hard fans) and yes there are one or two very notable call backs to a previous Star Trek film which I thought was done as good if not better in some places than the original. Everything seemed to be done with even more emotional punch than I expected.

The casting of Benedict Cumberbatch was a stroke of genius. He was so cold and calculating with his words that he virtually stole every scene he was in. In fact he was so convincing that I am pretty sure there even a few Trekkies out that that actually believe he wasn’t really the bad guy in this film. They would attribute that to Peter Weller’s Admiral Marcus. Weller played Marcus so obvious that you could tell he was going to be a villain from the get go and I think that was the point. Marcus was the idiot bad guy who thought he controlled the man who is the real bad guy and ultimately he pays the price for it.

The film looks better (if that is possible) than its predecessor with a new warp effect and lots of new imagery (especially of 23rd century Earth). The movie didn’t lose it’s breakneck pace even though I think they did slow things down more properly in this film as opposed to the last.

Overall this felt much more like a traditional Star Trek movie as opposed to the first movie which did remarkable well considering it needed to be restricted to also telling an origin story. Star Trek Into Darkness is a thrilling action/adventure movie if you want it to be that, but it also has deeper meanings underneath the surface about giving Government too much power, war mongering, and whether or not it is worth the cost of war to stop one man. As with any good Star Trek our heroes wrestle with many of the same questions we wrestle with today.

I can’t believe I am saying this…but…watch out Wrath of Khan. Star Trek Into Darkness is my new favorite film in my favorite film franchise.

4 1/2  Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 3 min.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: J.J. Abrams

Written By: Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci

I don’t know how many times I have heard people complain that movies and/or Hollywood isn’t “original” anymore. We keep getting remakes, sequels, and reboots. The common question I hear? “When will we get an original story”?

The answer to that is easy…..never. And it isn’t the film industries fault. In the last few years I’ve noticed a distinct change in peoples attitudes towards TV and film they want something new, they want different, something they have never seen before! You know what? I am totally with you! But you aren’t going to see that in the story.

There are essentially three types of story:

1. Man vs. Man
2. Man vs. Self
3. Man vs. Nature

Sometimes you will see stories that even incorporate more than one of these story telling elements, sometimes they even come close to blurring, but it is just those three. Every story ever told ultimately boils down to one of these three elements. As a result there are only so many stories you can tell, after that point everything just becomes a variation of a theme or a story will borrow heavily from other stories, or in some cases the themes are so common you don’t even realize it on the surface.

A young orphan who is being raised by his aunt and uncle receives a mysterious message from a stranger, which leads him on a series of great adventures. Early on, he must receive training to learn skills that are seemingly superhuman. Along the way he befriends loyal helpers, specifically a guy and a gal who end up falling for each other. Our young hero is also helped by a number of non-human creatures. His adventures lead him to a dark and evil villain who is terrorizing everyone and everything that our hero knows and loves — the same villain who killed his parents.

Star Wars…..right? Sure! But it is also Harry Potter. In that instance we are talking about very specific plot points, make the generalization even more broad and you can encompass even more archetypes in story telling. Star Wars was even derivative of other shows and movies.

The originality doesn’t come from the story. If a movie or a show you like remakes or rehashes elements from other shows or movies they are just doing what everything that came before them did. Again, the originality is not in the story it is how you tell the story! How are you using that element to tell your version of the story? How is is different? How is it the same?

I think you can make a case that in the world of music and video games it may still be possible to create original content but that is because music and play have a much broader canvas to work from. You will likely never see an original video game story, but you can see an original game in how it is played.

There are no original stories, just original ways to tell them.

The first promo makes the show look promising and it doesn’t hurt that they tossed in some Avengers footage in there as well. Most interestingly will be the explanation given for Agent Coulson still being alive and kicking. We shall see!

**UPDATED** We’ve replaced the original promo with the extended version.

Fans who purchased the original version of Ghostbusters on Blu-ray, which was released in June 2009, pretty much agree that the copy is shit. To make amends, Sony has created a brand new transfer of the film from the negative. and the 4K version should be amazing, as you can see from the screenshots below.

Ghostbusters, the 1984 Ivan Reitman film starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver, is currently available to pre-order on Amazon in 4K Blu-ray format. The item will officially be released on May 14th.

And for those of you not yet familiar with 4K, you can learn all about it here. (or find one of our first Podcasts where I talk about it)

Marvel’s “Iron Man 3″ pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? (c) Disney

Marvel fans, true believers, FEAR NOT! Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. have returned in Iron Man 3! This time under the helm of a new director in Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang).

In last years uber blockbuster The Avengers we saw a scene where Captain America challenged Tony Stark about what he is without his suit, and that is the entire premise of Iron Man 3. Tony Stark can’t sleep and he is having anxiety attacks after The Battle of New York and at the height of his problems with insomnia; things come crashing down around him.

Tony loses his suit and has to relearn not only what he did before Iron Man but who he really is as a person. This all comes courtesy of The Mandarin (or if you live in China Man Darren *rolleyes*). The Mandarin is played by Ben Kingsley who really is just fantastic in a role that will literally through Marvel comic book  fans for a loop that they will enjoy or will go into some kind insanity fuel HULK RAGE over.  He is joined by Aldrich Killian played amazingly by Guy Pearce. This was a truly memorable performance that will raise the bar for other future Marvel  foes.

Both Don Cheadle (Iron Patriot/James Rhodes) and Gweneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) have A LOT more to do in this movie than in the first two combined. Add to that the cherry that was RDJ’s fantastic performance. This go around we spend MUCH more time with Tony Stark then we do with Tony in an Iron Man suit.

The film also has more comedy then in previous films but it is all done so perfectly. The pace was smooth, the action was intense, and several of the visual effects were breath taking.

There is one big swerve in the plot but it also was done very well. At first it was a little jarring (as I think it was intended to be) but in the long run it made for a much better and much tighter story and for a very satisfactory ending.

I would count this right up there with the first Iron Man and maybe a little above that. As far as the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe goes, I still think The Avengers is the best overall film but Iron Man 3 is a close second.

Ohhhhh and yes……There is a post credits scene (this is a Marvel movie after all). That might be the only down point of the movie. While I enjoyed the scene it certainly lacked the punch that all of the other post credits scenes provided. If you were expecting to be given some kind of amazing look into the future of Marvel Phase II then you might just want to head home before the credits stop rolling.

4  Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 15 min.

Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Shane Black

Written By: Shane Black, Drew Pearce

Star Trek fans have been eagerly awaiting a brand new game based around their favorite franchise for quite some time. Over the years we have been privy to a great number games and most of them have been terrible. The last Star Trek game (Star Trek D-L-C) that followed quickly on the heels of the 2009 JJ Abrams film was a PSN and XBL exclusive game that largely sucked.

Is this new Trek game, a third person shooter from NAMCO/Bandi the answer to Trek fans collective prayers? Yes………and……no.

THE PRO’s ::
- Above Average Voice Acting
- Excellent Score/Soundtrack
- Solid Story
- Decent Cut Scenes

Much like any video game based around a film franchise the game makers will try to model the characters to look like the actors in the film and (if you are lucky get the actors to record a line or two of dialog). In NAMCO/Bandi’s Star Trek we get performances from everyone starting with Chris Pine and Zachary Qunito all the way down to Zoe Saldana, and Simon Pegg! And they actually put some effort into the game.

The makers of this game also acquired the help of Academy Award Winner Michael Giacchino (who cored both JJ Abrams Trek films). He full scored the entire game with all new music and it is fantastic. Where the game design some times lacks in providing atmosphere the soundtrack makes up for it.

There is a decent story involving the Gorn. The Gorn are most famous for the infamously terrible TV battle with Jim Kirk in the Original Star Trek series, this game gives them some back story and expands on the species. The story itself is nothing special and isn’t expansive like Mass Effect, in fact it is more akin to Arkham City just without all the superbness.

THE CON’S ::
- Co-Op is insanely glitchy
- Terribly uneven graphics
- Standard amount of bugs and glitches
- Uneven control response

I don’t play co-op very often although this game allows you to play in free standing co-op shoot ‘em up modes and it lets you play co-op through the story but there has been A LOT of negative response as far as the glitches in the online co-op goes.

The graphics are VERY uneven. At times the game looks pretty good with the main character models looking solid (cut scenes are usually fantastic) but often things look like PS2 quality or worse which is just unacceptable running on the PS3 hardware. Sometimes the set pieces are pretty sweet and look great other times it looks a little rushed.

Often times you will run into some bugs and glitches in the story but nothing game breaking. Your partners AI and the enemy AI is however……awful. And if you find yourself in a situation where you must keep moving or running you can up taking cover when you don’t want to (shades of Mass Effect sometimes).

VERDICT:
3 Geeky Glasses

I enjoyed playing the game but it wasn’t the blow away game that some fans were expecting after so many years. It has its good moments and its bad. What it ultimately comes down to for you is how big of a Star Trek fan you are and how much graphics quality plays in to your enjoyment of a game.

Hero is a word we hear often in sports, but heroism is not always about achievements on the field of play. “42″ tells the story of two men-the great Jackie Robinson and legendary Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey-whose brave stand against prejudice forever changed the world by changing the game of baseball. In 1946, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team, breaking Major League Baseball’s infamous color line. But the deal also put both Robinson and Rickey in the firing line of the public, the press and even other players. Facing unabashed racism from every side, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint by not reacting in kind, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey’s hopes. Instead, Number 42 let his talent on the field do the talking-ultimately winning over fans and his teammates, silencing his critics, and paving the way for others to follow.

42 is the story of Jackie Robinson and if you are an avid Baseball fan then you probably know this story already (or at least the major aspects of it). What 42 does is expand on the story and allows you to vicariously live or at the very least you can watch it with your own two eyes.

Jackie Robinson was the first black man in Major League Baseball and while you might expect Hollywood to lionize him, Director Brian Helgeland does his best to show Jackie as a flawed human who wasn’t an angel but he did have to put up with an awful lot of punishment from fans other teams and sometimes even his own teammates.

Chadwick Boseman plays Robinson fantastically from the sound of his voice down to Jackie’s batting stance, swing, and the way Jackie ran the bases. Harrison Ford was shockingly good as Branch Rickey (the owner of the Dodgers and the man who signed Robinson to a deal). For me this might be the best thing I’ve seen Harrison Ford in since the last time he played Indiana Jones.

Everything looks and feels pretty authentic. John C. McGinley shows up as Red Barber the long time radio announcer for the Dodgers and is absolutely superb matching Red’s style and sound. The Baseball it self looks well done and the creative minds behind the Baseball scenes have said that they went out of their way to look at the actual box scores of those games and shot the scenes according to what really happened all the way down to balls and strikes. The attention to detail has to be commended.

Overall this is an excellent film and a great tribute to one of Baseball’s iconic players. I thought that the end of the film started to race towards “cheesy” to much for my liking but that won’t ruin what was a great movie.

4  Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 8 min.

Drama

Directed By: Brian Helgeland

Written By: Brian Helgeland

You can really see some of the GoT influences in the look and feel of the Thor sequel and so far all is looking for the God of Thunder’s second cinematic adventure!

It doesn’t feature the over the top grandiose music that accompanied his last trailer, the music is tense at times but it is a totally different feel from what most trailers give you.

On top of that it is our best look at his Superman film to date. I just know I’m jinxing it right now, but this might FINALLY be the first DC film without Batman in it or Chris Nolan directing (even though he is producing) to be really good.

Check out the final Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer and if Bad Robot and company can’t reel you in with this majestic and EPIC trailer then I am just not sure what will.

Check it Out!

Overall thoughts on the films:

I have been a gigantic fan of the Indiana Jones franchise for a long time, perhaps not as long as many out there who were fortunate enough to be able to watch Indy debut on the big screen. Point-of-fact the first Indy movie I saw was “The Last Crusade”which at the time was going to be the last Indiana Jones movie. And even though the ending  which saw Walter Donovan age rapidly then explode into a pile of dust and bones scared the crap out of me I still went back and watched the other two films.

Last Crusade is always going to be my favorite just because it was my first, but Raiders of the Lost Ark is still one of the best action adventure movies ever made. Both of those movies still hold up extremely well today!

You could imagine my excitement when I learned Indy was coming back. We were given The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and I’m not afraid to say it. I enjoyed that movie. I loved the switch in scenery to better adjust with the aging Harrison Ford, I loved the communist threat replacing Nazi’s, I loved the B-Movie direction they went in as opposed to the Saturday Morning Serials the first three were based on.  YES! There were definitely some drawbacks in that movie with Shia Labeouf was the big one.

Temple of Doom has always been my least favorite, just something about it always made it feel like it wasn’t quite an Indiana Jones movie. All of the other three movies had some ties to each other that Temple just doesn’t.

At the end of the day you are left with two truly great movies, one decent movie, and one that will waver based on your own criteria.

Video Quality:

All four of the movies look fantastic! But the real beauty in this set in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders got a meticulous frame-by-frame restoration. The original 35MM film negative was scanned at 4K resolution and damage was repaired. Many things were left as originally intended as to maintain the director’s vision. A great amount of film grain has been preserved. No real signs that DNR (digital noise reduction) was used, as I said things were cleaned up in a precise manner.

Temple and Crusade both received brand new transfers and color correction, since Crystal Skull was released in 2008 (and already had a stand alone Blu-Ray release) nothing was changed or altered.

The black levels are nice and dark and the colors are all really vibrant. My DVD copies of the series looked good but never as good as they do now!

Presentation:

Since we are talking about a four film series the producers of this set decided to go with a standard Blu-Ray sized box with films contained within cardboard sleeves inside a book that also contains a special features disc that is totally LOADED with a lot of featurettes and making of documentaries including a few of the original making Of’s.

Each page features some really nice artwork relating to the film including candid shots, stills from the movie itself, and the original posters.

Bottom Line:
If you are a fan of Indiana Jones this is a MUST BUY! The movies are all in one place and they have NEVER looked better. On Amazon right now you can pick it up for around $63 dollars.

On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man’s confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. 2077: Jack Harper (Cruise) serves as a security repairmen stationed on an evacuated Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying alien threat who still scavenges what’s left of our planet, Jack’s mission is almost complete. In a matter of two weeks, he will join the remaining survivors on a lunar colony far from the war-torn world he has long called home. Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, Jack’s soaring existence is brought crashing down after he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Drawn to Jack through a connection that transcends logic, her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he thought he knew. With a reality that is shattered as he discovers shocking truths that connect him to Earth of the past, Jack will be pushed to a heroism he didn’t know he contained within. The fate of humanity now rests solely in the hands of a man who believed our world was soon to be lost forever. (c) — Universal

Oblivion comes to us courtesy of the director of TRON: Legacy, and the producers behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes, two films that I enjoyed but Oblivion feels like a mixed bag at times.

Don’t get me wrong, I am giving it a good score, overall I was really pleased with the movie but man were there ever some moments that I thought this whole thing was just going to go off the rails. Ultimately Oblivion managed to right its course and finish strong (even if that finish was a bit on the predictable side).

Tom Cruise was in what I like to call “standard Tom Cruise mode”. He is neither poor nor great in his role. In fact the only person who really stood out was the great Morgan Freeman. That being said it was kind of a low bar to begin with. At times it did kind of feel like everyone could have been played by any old schmuck off the proverbial street.

It is hard to talk too much about the film without giving away what the movie is about so I will try to walk on eggshells here. It’s the future. Humanity won a war against an alien race but not before losing almost all habitability of Earth, Jack Harper (Cruise) is part of a small team left to pick off the remaining stragglers while the rest of humanity rests comfortably on Saturn’s moon “Titan”. Ahhhh but not all is at it seems.

The first half of the movie is pretty well done and gets you intrigued but mid way through Jack learns a terrible secret that more or less exposes the rest of the movie and ruins everything that happens next. At this point, I think the writers realize this and then toss in some plot twists (some expected, some unexpected). The movie ends in a very predictable way, but still satisfying. As I said, Cruise was just average but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a solid performance.

Visually the film is fantastic. Everything we see from Jack’s “bird nest” station in the clouds, to the scorched remnants of Earth, all the way to lovely scenes in space. This movie delivers on a visual level.

The story of the film itself is done in a pretty clever way. At first I thought I was watching an average script at best but by the time all the loose ends were tied up I had changed my tune on Oblivion.

So even though the movie felt uneven at times, and even though the performances weren’t exactly the stuff of legend, all of the other factors surrounding the movie came together and made for a pretty fun watch.

3  Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 5 min.

Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Joseph Kosinski

As a disclaimer I would like to say first and foremost that until three weeks ago my ONLY exposure to Bond was seeing “Goldeneye” and subsequently playing the superb Nintendo 64 video of the same name. That has long since changed. I am now well versed in the absolute bizarre continuity of the James Bond universe. I now have a firm grasp of my Bond Girls, my “M’s”, “Q’s” and Moneypenny’s……………..

Overall Thoughts On The Films:

Three and a half Geeky Glasses on average I would say is quite complementary of series that has had its lower points but in recent years has once again became a truly great film franchise. I began my journey with Sean Connery and Dr. No. Obviously Connery made the James Bond character, you would be hard pressed to find a lot of people who think that Sir Sean is not the quintessential 007. Connery played a classy, suave, and sometimes dangerous character who was also a bit of a womanizer (a bit?). For me the Connery Bond films peak at “Goldfinger”.

Much love to one time Bond George Lazenby, he may have only been a “double O” for one movie while Connery was on vacation but man was it a solid entry, with perhaps the most emotional conclusion to a Bond film until the Daniel Craig entries. I have to say that I found the hardest stretch to get through was the Roger Moore portion of the franchise. It lasted longer than Connery’s (7 films) and while there were so good films in there Moore just seemed to cut it as Bond less and less as he went on (the less said about Octopussy the better). But he did manage to end it on a solid note with “A View to a Kill”.

Timothy Dalton stuck around for only two flicks (take that Lanezby!) but I really like him in the role. The movies had the good kind of 80′s flare that don’t hold up so well with other action flicks from the 80′s or even some of the thrillers. Pierce Brosnan was a totally fine James Bond and don’t let anyone tell you differently. Say what you will about the middle two flicks  in his four film run by “Goledneye” and “Die Another Day” were really good movies.

That brings us to the current Daniel Craig era. I can’t say enough good things about “Casino Royale” and I know QoS gets a lot of flack but I really think it was pretty decent even if it wasn’t as good as Casino was. And yes I know…..Skyfall is not technically apart of this box set (but they do leave a spot open for you to insert your copy into the set, which we did). Skyfall….was…..amazing!

Video Quality:

With 22 films plus a disc of bonus features you are going to have some minor mixed results with the video quality. After all we are talking about Blu-Ray transfers from movies made in the early 60′s. That being said the guys and gals at Lowery Digital did a masterful job of restoring and bringing to life these movies. There was very little Digital Noise Reduction done the bulk of it appears to be in Goldeneye and even then it isn’t terrible.

You will really see the love in the first four films, THEY LOOK GORGEOUS! It is obvious that time was taken and perfectionism reared its sometimes ugly head because a lot of the time I found myself forgetting that I was watching a movie as old as my parents. Clearly once we got up to the later Bond films post Goldeneye that little work had to be done. The picture quality is fantastic!

Presentation:

In a lot of box sets you might end up with something big and bulky and while this set is big, it is also surprisingly slender. The films are divided into two separate books. Inside the books we are graced with some awesome artwork along with the movies in sleeves book ended with the year of the film and ahead-to-toe shot of that films Bond Girl.

The packaging and the pages are nice and sturdy, and as I mentioned earlier it comes with an extra slot to house your copy of Skyfall. Each film also has standardized Blu-Ray menus and each film contains it’s own special features in addition to the bonus disc with even more Bond goodness.

Final Thoughts:
If you are a hardcore Bond fan you can’t miss out on this. If you’ve always wanted to watch the Bond movies and never got around to it (like me) then you can’t pass this up either.

The price point on Amazon is currently around $150.00 bucks, but don’t let that number be dissuasive for you. Remember what you are getting, that is like $6 bucks a movie plus the bonus disc, plus the sweet packaging. It is really a fantastic deal!

It’s just a teaser and yes I am throwing A LOT of stock behind this because it IS Neil Blomkamp but our first glimpse of Elysium is AWESOME! Take a look!

Elysium hits movie theaters in the US on August 9th.

Granted, people like their Zombies slow and plodding but there is something scary about a gigantic hoard of very swift zombies running towards you eager to eat you.

Maybe it’s because I am too far out the loop on Logan’s back story, or maybe it is the fact that the last two X-Men films (not counting First Class) were pretty lame overall. Maybe it is because First Class was AWESOME and Days of Future Past is causing multiple nerdgasms.

I don’t know, take a look and decide for yourself.

That being said there is a lot of reused shots and some of the new stuff is from footage we’ve already scene just with a few shots from right before or right after the stuff we have already viewed.

It still looks pretty great even though they have managed to putt out a ton of trailers while still giving nothing away.

Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking-that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great wizard but into a better man as well. When small-time magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) pulls one flimflam too many, he finds himself hurled into the fantastical Land of Oz where he must somehow transform himself into the great wizard-and just maybe into a better man as well. — (C) Walt Disney

The original Wizard of Oz is a Disney classic from the good ‘ol days of film making. It’s props are highly sought after and highly valuable.  It has inspired multitudes of other movies that wanted to follow in the footsteps of such a magical film.

That being said, I was never a big fan of the original film. I’ve seen it twice, once as a kid, and once in adulthood. And while I don’t dispute its legendary status at the end of the day it was just never my cup of tea.

So I went into OTGAP with a very low bar indeed and I walked out pleasantly surprised! Most people would probably consider a modern day prequel to a classic original sinful at best (thanks A LOT Star Wars). Throw that out the window here, I think Sam Raimi manages to capture a lot of the feeling that gave the original film most of its luster. The CG characters looks great, and the main CG characters who follow Oz around on his journey feel life like and physical.

James Franco is hit or miss for me. When he isn’t playing something close to who he really is he always feels like “James Franco pretending to be someone”. At various points in Oz he certainly runs into these kinds of scenes. But often (and especially as the film hits the final act) that all seems to vanish and i really did forget about who was playing the wizard and that is a good thing. I just started really enjoying it.

All of the witches were really fantastic in their roles. They all looked beautiful and they all acted their butts off especially Mila Kunis and Michelle Williams. And I thought the way they really told the story of the wicked witch and how she came to be as we know her from the original to be well done.

There were some overly in your face references to the original movie which I always hate seeing, in fact it also seems like a studio mandate that if you make a prequel to a movie you MUST makes some kind of reference to the film or films that follow.

Overall I thought the movie was good, I think it will largely satisfy long time fans, and I am positive that your kids are going to love it.

3 Geeky Glasses

PG, 2 hr. 7 min.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Sam Raimi

Written By: L. Frank Baum, Mitchell Kapner,David Lindsay-Abaire

The 2013 edition of Sony’s award winning Major League Baseball simulation.

As I have stated before, I am a Baseball snob, I am a Playstation snob, and I am an MLB: The Show elitist but I am also interested in a great Baseball game and the boys over at The Show have been unstoppable since 2008 and this might be their best effort yet. The real question is whether or not this game is worth buying over last year. Spoiler alert: Yes, yes it is.

Graphics: 4.5/5
Honestly there just isn’t much to say. The PS3 has reached it’s graphics peak, and while The Show has made minor improvements that nerds like myself might notice, they will largely go unnoticed by casual gamers. That being said, the game looks fantastic. They have updated all of the stadiums, and added quite a few new throwback jersey’s.

Audio: 4/5
The Show made an upgrade to their broadcast team adding Steve Lyons but most of the commentary is the same stuff we’ve been hearing for years. They have made some changes to the crowd noises and responses but are STILL lagging behind 2K sports in this department who just continue to have stellar audio in their games.

Gameplay: 4/5
As always MLB: The Show strives to be the absolute best Baseball sim on the market, and year after year they continue to outshine their previous games, and the games of their competitors. 2013 is no different as they have once again delivered a superior Baseball game. They have multiple ways for you to hit, pitch, and field so you can customize to your hearts desire. They have introduced a new Beginners Mode” that basically teaches you control over the game at your own pace. They have also added a “postseason” mode that just lets you jump right in to the playoffs and that part of the game (the mode and through regular season play) offers a whole new graphical presentation.

Story: N/A
Road to the Show doesn’t count?

Replay Value: 5/5
In case you haven’t played The Show before, let me tell you right now. This game is loaded? Played your 162 game season and the postseason? How about Road to the Show where you create your own player, start in the minors and work your way up? How about the Diamond Dynasty card game system? How about Franchise mode where you can play the game and run the team, from negotiating big time contracts, all the way down to setting merch give away’s, and ticket prices? There is a lot to do in this game, and pretty much something for everyone.

4 And A Half Geeky Glasses 

OVERALL SCORE:

Either way you should totally enjoy some new Kick-Ass and Hit Girl adventures as they deliver some vigilante justice down on the former Red Mist, now know as The Motherfucker~!

Bad Robot and Paramount has tossed out a new STID teaser trailer, this one is attached to the “OZ: The Great And Powerful” film currently in theaters. It is surprisingly chalk full of brand new content, namely a lot of dialog, and a few more of the kid friendly scenes from the movie (more suitable for the OZ audience).

Bad Robot tells us to expect a nearly two and a half minute trailer coming out with GI Joe: Retaliation.

Lucas just gave an interview with Business Week and here are the good parts.

“We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison — or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation. So I called them to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on. Maybe I’m not supposed to say that. I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them. I won’t say whether the negotiations were successful or not.”

Nobody should be blowing a gasket about this at all. Abrams has a track record in this sort of thing already. In 2009 when Abrams revived Star Trek with a new cast he brought in the original Spock  Leonard Nimoy and used him to great effect in a role that was actually much more than a cameo, but in no way distracted from the spolight clearly being aimed on the new cast.

“Jack the Giant Slayer” tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack (Nicholas Hoult) into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend-and gets the chance to become a legend himself.– (C) Warner Bros

Have you always loved the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk? Then relive your favorite childhood adventure story in the full-length film adaption, Jack the Giant Slayer, brought to you by X-Men director Bryan Singer.

Our young hero Jack (Nicholas Hoult; Warm Bodies), in his contemporary teen costume and perpetually open mouth, suddenly finds himself in an extraordinary adventure and an extraordinary love life. Not only did the plain but radiant—and restless—Princess Isabelle (Eleonor Tomlinson), fall in love with a poor farm-boy like him (and despite him looking not so intelligent with his open mouth), but the magic beans handed to him by a monk catapulted him into an adventure only heard in legendary fables and night-time stories. One moment, he’s just a commoner, and the next he’s a hero. It’s the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer combined, with Stanley Tucci as bad guy Roderick and Ewan McGregor as the king’s brave knight, Elmont, with an unflattering hairdo.

Jack the Giant Slayer‘s plot is solid and competent, with scenes that strongly remind us of such movies as Jurassic Park, Disney’s Aladdinand a little bit of Prometheus and a teensy bit of Titanic. It’s the kids who will surely love the movie, with castles, princesses, magic beans, and of course a race of gross-looking giants (including Bill Nighy). Adults will be engaged by the story but should not expect much entertainment from the dialogue as they are minimal in this movie and lacking in wit and substance— the humor only relies on the characters’ comical expressions and not their lines. The fun and entertainment come from the visuals and the adventure itself: the suspense, the legend and the fantasy, all delivered from an effective storyline.

3 Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 1 hr. 54 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Bryan Singer

Written By: Darren Lemke, David Dobkin,Christopher McQuarrie Dan Studney

All in all it looks pretty badass if we do say so…… Enjoy!

Not only does this game look ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS but it also takes a unique way at game play. According to the video there are no real missions you go on or quests. It looks amazing, and fascinating all at the same time.

Sony is making a strong case to pick up their new system at launch with stuff like this:

HBO has released a one minutes trailer for the upcoming third season of their massive gigantor mega hit program Game of Thrones. Watch in delight as will we all and hopefully this will sustain you until the season three premiere on March 31st!

“PlayStation 4 will unleash imaginations to create next-gen experiences that surpass gamers’ wildest expectations, while also allowing developers to explore other business models,” Andrew House, president and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, said during a launch event in New York City. The PS4 is “founded on a conviction that we must give gamers the kind of multi-dimensional experiences they expect and observe.”
The PS4 runs an x86 processor, as well as an enhanced PC GPU. It will have 8GB of high-speed unified memory, as well as system memory backed by local storage.

The new system will come with a revamped controller, known as the DualShock 4. PS4 architect Mark Cerny said Sony has enhanced the feel of the joystick and the trigger button, which provides a “much tighter sense of control over in-game actions.” The company also enhanced the rumble capabilities and reduced controller latency.

A few new features have been added to the controller, including a touchpad, share button, headphone jack, and a lightbar for simpler, more friendly identification of players. A second peripheral, meanwhile, is a stereo camera that can sense the depth of objects in front of it.

That Share button will let players broadcast their games to Facebook in real time, said David Perry, CEO and founder of Gaikai, which Sony purchased last year. That will allow your friends to “look over your shoulders virtually and interact,” he said. Friends can post comments on your screen, but if you’re stuck on a level or need assistance, a friend can actually take over your controller and guide you through a level.

Sony is “building this capability into the PS4 and the PS Network, so your circle of PSN friends will become that much more important,” Perry said.
A partnership with Ustream, meanwhile, will allow for multi-casting, so gamers can schedule a set time and broadcast a game live.

On the PS4 interface, Cerny talked up the use of real names. While aliases will still be available for “when anonymity is important,” most of the interactions of the PS4 will be done with friends using real names and profile pictures. PS4 is designed to be “seamlessly interconnected” with your social life.

Apps and Web platforms, meanwhile, will allow for PS4 conversations to be carried “far beyond the living room,” Cerny said. “Keep in touch with the evolving world of your game regardless of your location.”

To that end, the PS4 will allow for remote play on the PS Vita handheld. “Our long-term goal is to make every PS4 title playable on the Vita,” Perry said.
Cerny, meanwhile, stressed personalization; the PS4 “can get to know you and bring you closer to the game and other experiences,” he said.

“Our long-term vision to reduce download times of digital games to zero,” Cerny said. “If we know enough about you – that game can be loaded and ready to go before you even click the button.”

Perry said that PlayStation cloud services will roll out “in phases, but you can be sure that it and the PS4 will change the way we play.”

Sony brought a number of game developers onstage at its event to show off upcoming games for the PS4. Cerny actually developed his own game for the console, dubbed Knack. But other games on tap for the PS4 include Evolution Studio’s Driveclub, Sucker Punch’s InFAMOUS: Second Son, Killzone: Shadow Fall from Guerrilla Games, and The Witness, from the makers of the Braid puzzle game.

After so ducking and dodging from the makers of Iron Man 3, it seems that IM3 will continue that tradition for sure. Yes, there have been some interweb rumoring about possible cameos but it does seem to be official, even Tony Stark himself basically said (without saying it).

Latino Review claims that Iron Man 3 will act as a tie-in for Guardians of the Galaxy with Tony Stark venturing into space to team up with the group that will have their own feature film (directed by James Gunn).

So the answer is yes, Tony does go into Deep Space and hooks up with the Guardians.

Like I said last week, toy companies have a habit of spoiling plot points of upcoming superhero hero films. Here is your example.

Also if you haven’t noticed, here is another hint, Tony Stark is currently starring in the Marvel NOW! Guardians of the Galaxy comic book.

This is backed up by an interview with RDJ on Entertainment Weekly

But we can’t help it — everywhere you look now in every Marvel movie there are opportunities where certain new pals of his could be useful. So they’re in the atmosphere, so to speak, but I wouldn’t expect to see them on the ground in this one.

Star Trek director J.J. Abrams will be helming the next Star Wars movie. “It’s done deal with J.J.,” a source with knowledge of the situation told Deadline today. Argo director Ben Affleck was also up for the gig, the source says. Abrams was courted heavily by producer Kathleen Kennedy to take the Star Warsjob. Expected in 2015, Episode VII will be the first new Star Wars movie since 2005′s Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. Michael Arndt is writing the script for the first installment of the relaunch of George Lucas’ franchise by Disney. The company bought Lucasfilm in October for $4 billion,  with the Star Wars franchise the jewel in the crown. At the time, CEO Bob Iger said three more Star Wars films were in the pipeline. Abrams’ other space-based franchise sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, comes out May 17. This weekend, the PGA will honor the Lost creator with its 2013 Norman Lear Award For Television. Abrams is repped by CAA and Oasis Media Group.

[UPDATE]

Disney has just made it official. Here is their official press release:

J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII, the first of a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams will be directing and Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay.

“It’s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie,” said Kennedy. “J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture.”

George Lucas went on to say “I’ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller. He’s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn’t be in better hands.”

“To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor,” J.J. Abrams said. “I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid.”

J.J., his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney | Lucasfilm banner.

Also consulting on the project are Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg. Kasdan has a long history with Lucasfilm, as screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Return of the Jedi. Kinberg was writer on Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Abrams and his production company Bad Robot have a proven track record of blockbuster movies that feature complex action, heartfelt drama, iconic heroes and fantastic production values with such credits as Star Trek, Super 8, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, and this year’s Star Trek Into Darkness. Abrams has worked with Lucasfilm’s preeminent postproduction facilities, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, on all of the feature films he has directed, beginning with Mission: Impossible III. He also created or co-created such acclaimed television series as Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe.

In another note it is also confirmed by Paramount that J.J. is STILL committed to at least produce Star Trek “3″

“J.J. will continue to develop projects for us including a new ‘Mission: Impossible,’ and he is committed to produce another ‘Star Trek,’” Moore said Friday afternoon.

After getting a taste for blood as children, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become the ultimate vigilantes, hell bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches…their past. — (C) Paramount

If you loved the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel as a child, then you might wanna know what happened fifteen years later after Gretel kicked the witch’s arse into the oven.

In MTV Films’ Hansel and Gretel: The Witch Hunters, we see the siblings, played by Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, all grown up and earning their living as witch hunters in the small German town of Augsburg. And they’re good at it, despite Hansel being a diabetic (remember the witch in the gingerbread house had fatten him up?). Hansel and Gretel are ruthless and fearless, eliminating evil witches with their guns and explosives and clever weapons, while cussing sharply, dropping f-words here and there. They are awfully smug, too, because they are, for some mysterious reason, invincible—spells and curses seem to bounce off of them. But when they finally find themselves faced against Muriel (Famke Janssen), the most evil sorceress of them all, it’s proving to be a rather difficult challenge.

This action-horror, directed by a Tommy Wirkola and released in IMAX 3D format, is one gory feast. Immediately, with all the macho guns and weapons and the cuss words, you see that it’s trying to come off as a cool spin to the famous fairy tale. But the movie is just one killing spree, like watching a video game. The characters are flat and underdeveloped; and aside from some interesting revelation about the siblings’ history, there is nothing much to the narrative — Hansel and Gretel just killing witches until they’re faced against the most powerful witch in town. And so all there is to experience in this movie is gore. The witches look fascinating though as artfully designed monsters.

So if you’re into these kinds of action-horror flicks reminiscent of Van Helsing, or you’re simply a gore fan, or you have a crush on Jeremy Renner, you just might enjoy it– In 3D-IMAX for a full,  maximum bloody experience. It was kind of fun dodging bullets and blood splatter. However, this is an R-rated film due to its bloody violence, profanity, and some nudity, so don’t bring your small kids with you. This is surely not that kind of fairy tale.

2 Geeky Glasses

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Action & Adventure, Comedy

Directed By: Tommy Wirkola

Written By: D.W. Harper, Tommy Wirkola,Dante Harper

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. — (C) Weinstein

Quentin Tarantino has made our fantasy of revenge against the Fuhrer and Nazi Germany come true in Inglourious Basterds, with his trademark style of cool and shocking violence. In that movie, he also introduced to us the  unforgettably ruthless Jew Hunter, played by Christoph Waltz, who nabbed that year’s Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. 

And now, in his spaghetti western Django Unchained, Tarantino takes us back to the period of African-American slavery in the South. And he brings back Waltz– still in a German role.

It’s 1858, in pre-Civil War, and German dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) frees a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) and makes him his associate. The duo rides across America fulfilling their “opportunistic” profession, and eventually find themselves in a mission to rescue Django’s wife (Kerry Washinton) from her ruthless owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), in his huge plantation called Candyland, where they also meet Candie’s head slave, Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson).

Tarantino retains the horror of slavery with dead seriousness, yet layers it with his ingenious flair for exaggerated violence, hilarious wit and grandiosity– enhanced with a fun, devil-may-care soundtrack. The cinematography is stylish and sweeping, and the entire cast deliver shining performances, including, and surprisingly, even DiCaprio, who is fitting as an oblivious fool. Waltz, of course, still delivers a delicious performance.

Django Unchained, nominated in this year’s Oscars, including Best Picture and Original Screenplay, and a nomination for Waltz as Best Supporting Actor, is one hell of an entertainment; a cool mixture of crazy fun, riotous humor, and somber, ugly truth. Your level of enjoyment will be way up high throughout the entire film.

4 Geeky Glasses

R, 2 hr. 46 min.

Western, Drama

Directed By: Quentin Tarantino

Written By: Quentin Tarantino

Best Picture
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Amour”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Miserables”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Denzel Washington – “Flight”

Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz – “Django Unchained”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams – “The Master”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway – “Les Miserables”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”
Jackie Weaver – “Silver Linings Playbook”

Animated Feature Film
“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

Directing
“Amour” – Michael Haneke
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” – Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” – Ang Lee
“Lincoln” – Steven Spielberg
“Silver Linings Playbook” – David O. Russell

Writing – Original Screenplay
“Amour” – Michael Haneke
“Django Unchained” – Quentin Tarantino
“Flight” – John Gatins
“Moonrise Kingdom” – Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
“Zero Dark Thirty” – Mark Boal

Writing – Adapted Screenplay
“Argo” – Chris Terrio
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” – Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” – David Magee
“Lincoln” – Tony Kushner
“Silver Linings Playbook” – David O. Russell

Music – Original Song
“Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice,” music and lyrics by J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from “Ted,” music by Walter Murphy, lyrics by Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi,” music by Mychael Danna, lyrics by Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall,” music and lyrics by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
“Suddenly” from “Les Miserables,” music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Foreign Language Film
“Amour” (Austria)
“Kon-Tiki” (Norway)
“No” (Chile)
“A Royal Affair” (Denmark)
“War Witch” (Canada)

Cinematography
“Anna Karenina”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

Costume Design
“Anna Karenina”
“Les Miserables”
“Lincoln”
“Mirror Mirror”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”

Documentary – Feature
“5 Broken Cameras”
“The Gatekeepers”
“How to Survive a Plague”
“The Invisible War”
“Searching for Sugar Man”

Documentary – Short
“Inocente”
“Kings Point”
“Mondays at Racine”
“Open Heart”
“Redemption”

Film Editing
“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Makeup And Hairstyling
“Hitchcock”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”

Music – Original Score
“Anna Karenina”
“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

Production Design
“Anna Karenina”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”

Short Film – Animated
“Adam and Dog”
“Fresh Guacamole”
“Head over Heels”
“Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare’”
“Paperman”

Short Film – Live Action
“Asad”
“Buzkashi Boys”
“Curfew”
“Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)”
“Henry”

Sound Editing
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Sound Mixing
“Argo”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

Visual Effects
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life of Pi”
“Marvel’s The Avengers”
“Prometheus”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”

Director Ang Lee creates a groundbreaking movie event about a young man who survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with another survivor…a fearsome Bengal tiger. — (C) Official Site

Yann Martel’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi is a profoundly affecting experience.  A young, bookish and religious Indian boy named Pi (pronounced as “Pie”) from Pondicherry narrates his extraordinary ordeal as a castaway; shipwrecked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with Richard Parker,  a dangerous  450-pound Bengal tiger, as his sole companion.

The book was masterfully written; poetic, intensely vivid, and mainly presents, with such clarity, the thoughts, feelings and spirituality of Pi as he suffers tremendously in the limitless sea—  a  prey to his companion. It’s a one-man’s extraordinary fight against nature and hopelessness. Hence, the book, being too internal and lyrical, seems  “unfilmable.” And even if it is, you’d still doubt if Yann Martel’s brilliant fiction can ever be translated satisfyingly to the big screen.

But director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Screenwriter David Magee (Finding Neverland), proved all our doubts pointless. They did the impossible and created a movie adaptation that is not only visually stunning, but which also delivers a smooth, effortless storytelling that is able to preserve the book’s emotional and soul-stirring experience. The movie intelligently picked only the most essential, substantial parts from the book; compacted within two hours the drama, humor  and adventure in the life of Pi. And the movie introduced a surprising talent: newcomer Suraj Sharma, who brought life to the protagonist and was emotionally engaging.

This is probably one of the finest, most polished 3D movies I have ever seen. 3D usually makes a film feel distant and detached, but this one makes you feel more connected to the story; you forget that you are wearing 3D glasses and instead you are thrown right in the midst of glorious nature scenes— both breathtaking and terrifying. Magical and unfamiliar. Expect to gasp out loud.

Life of Pi, nominated in this year’s Golden Globes for Best Picture and Best Director,  is indeed a cinematic triumph— and it would be terrible to miss this on the big screen. It will entertain all audiences, and fans of the novel won’t be disappointed. It’s a movie that not only wholly entertains—both visually and emotionally—but it also presents an intensely moving truth about human nature, suffering, and the strength of the human will.

4 Geeky Glasses

PG, 2 hr. 7 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure

Directed By: Ang Lee

Written By: David Magee, Yann Martel

At first glance the game looks pretty similar to last years game but I can guarantee a bunch of brand new goodies and game play enhancements (and maybe a new audio system…….you hear that SONY?!?!?) So far….so good.

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. — (C)

The violence in this film was prevalent but two sided. On one side the brutality shown towards slaves was difficult to see, but it created anger, and anger is best sated with revenge. (At least in the movie world).

The second form of violence, that of Django, is indulgent. It makes you feel vindicated you can’t help but cheer him on as he lays waste to the villains. It is almost cathartic like getting an old pain off your chest.

The acting was wonderful except for Tarantino (he can’t act for shit). Christopher Waltz (you may remember him as the Jew hunter) stands out as Dr. King Schultz, and Jamie Foxx manages to pull off the “bad ass” role even after a scene filmed, for reasons I’ll never know, across his naked upside down taint.

With a good balancing of viscera and a perfectly timed comedic relief Django unchained does what any art form should. It manipulates your emotions and in this case leaves you on a high note.

I give it 4 geeky glasses. (Seriously nobody needed to see that taint)

4 Geeky Glasses

R, 2 hr. 46 min.

Western, Drama

Directed By: Quentin Tarantino

Written By: Quentin Tarantino

THE HUNGER GAMES :: 3 1/2 Geeky Glasses
The flick itself is well made, everything looks great. There is a scene during the games where there is a lot of dark and a lot of quick movements which I suppose is designed to create or enhance tension but for me I was spending more time on trying to actually make out was was going on. What I love is the scenes where they remove the audio and force you to focus of the images and the faces of the actors. Sometimes you don’t need any bells and whistles to really sell a scene, just good acting.

CHRONICLE :: 4 Geeky Glasses
But I was more than pleasantly surprised by Chronicle. For a movie done with a lot of effects shots for 12 million dollars (I assure you, a small amount by Hollywood standards) the effects looked pretty damn good, but this isn’t really a Michael Bay eye candy type of flick. The movie knows it doesn’t have another 80 million to work with so it focuses a lot of character development. For me that requires some strong acting and we got it in spades.

CABIN IN THE WOODS :: 4 1/2-5 Geeky Glasses  >> Second Review
Penned by sci-fi and TV legend Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard this film has plenty of scares, but what was the most terrifying is that it never panders to the traditional idea of a horror film. Main character Dana (Kristen Connolly) is the “virgin” who generally makes the right calls, except she doesn’t. Curt (Chris Hemsworth) is the jock, but really he’s on full academic scholarship. Jules (Anna Hutchison) is the blonde bimbo, except she’s pre med. Marty (Fran Kranz) is the Shaggy like stoner, whose use of pot actually makes him immune to the organizations chemicals and actually figures out what’s going on. Not to mention has the best comedic lines in the film. Holden (Jesse Williams) is pretty generic gentleman character who typically speaking would make it to the end of the film if we’re talking generic horror movie right? Well…..

THE AVENGERS :: 4 Geeky Glasses >> Second Review
Watching the Avengers assemble is one hell of a ride, and the ride has an equally compelling payoff when the final showdown does happen.  However, this is a superhero film and we all knew going in to it that the good guys were probably going to save the day, but seeing the Earth’s mightiest take down this alien threat is just so fun that it doesn’t matter if you have a basic understanding for what’s going to happen.  But don’t get too comfortable, as not everyone survives this confrontation with Loki and his army.

PROMETHEUS :: 3 1/2 Geeky Glasses
Scott has once again directed a great science fiction film (probably not his best) and he directed his talented cast to some pretty great performances chief among them is bestowed to Michael Fassbender who is just fantastic as the android David. Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba are also really good in this. Guy Pearce is actually in this movie, but chances are that you will have to wait until the end credits to figure out who he played (I know I did).

TED :: 3 1/2 Geeky Glasses
The CG work is close to flawless. Ted really looks fantastic and nearly seamlessly blends in with the world around. There is a particularly great scene straight out of the Forest Gump  playbook where Ted is on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson that I hope makes for a cool special feature on the Blu-Ray release.  I should also note that the soundtrack is really amazing as well. Seth is a big fan of Big Band music and we get a ton of it throughout and I couldn’t be happier about it.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES :: 3 1/2 – 5 Geeky Glasses >> Second Review
In this emotionally gripping and intellectually satisfying epic finale, Gotham City is at peace time, and Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) is in seclusion for eight years now; bearded, depressed, and lethargic. People are curious; where is the billionaire Mr. Wayne? And people are talking. Batman had murdered the city’s hero Harvey Dent eight years ago, didn’t he? He’s a fugitive now. Gone. A legend. Then a beautiful cat burglar (Anne Hathaway) arrives, waking Mr. Wayne from his stupor…and then a big storm starts  brewing, triggered by a terrifying behemoth of a terrorist with a bear-trap-like mask named Bane (Tom Hardy), finally forcing Batman to step out of the shadows to save his beloved city. But after almost a decade of hiatus, can we rely on the Caped Crusader to fight again? Or will he…*chokes*…die in the killer hands of Bane? FULL REVIEWS [1] [2]

TOTAL RECALL :: 3 1/2 Geeky Glasses
Total Recall, in its entirety, is basically an action flick, with mild political undertones. It’s a good, solid story. Probably not awesome, but very much entertaining. A visually-pleasing popcorn action-sci-fi flick that will satisfy your Friday-night movie date.

DREDD :: 3 1/2 Geeky Glasses
This ain’t your Sly Stallone and Rob Schneider “I AM DA LUUUUUR” crapfest no! Dredd 3D is what Judge Dredd should be. He is a complete Bad Ass Mofo who dishes out the law to the criminal element of Mega City One, he never takes off his helmet and we barely learn anything about him at all, he is a total mystery, and it is awesome!

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED :: 3 1/2 Geeky Glasses
A small indy film chalk full of unknowns with a quasi Sci-Fi premise? Sign me up! Safety Not Guaranteed is all the things people love in a small dramedy like this. Nice but simple settings, more dialog than action, and a good story with a pretty nice pay off.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY :: 4 Geeky Glasses
Peter Jackson brings Middle Earth back to life and you immediately feel back at home. The pace and tone reeks of Fellowship of the Ring (which was the weakest of the trilogy) but that isn’t a bad thing. Martin Freeman is PERFECT as Bilbo Baggins and there are a ton of call backs and cameos hearkening back to the first series of films including a lot of the tremendous Andy Serkis as Gollum.

LINCOLN :: 4 Geeky Glasses
The film looks gorgeous and really planted you in that time frame. Somehow the Civil War era has always been done well when it comes to set pieces and this movie was no different. And….yes…..they do tackle Lincoln’s assassination but from a different perspective then we normally get.

LOOPER :: 4 Geeky Glasses
As you can surmise, that is not what happens when Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s “Joe” runs into his future self played by Bruce Willis. In fact what happens is a pretty fantastic action thriller that provides great visuals, action, and a well written script.

DJANGO UNCHAINED :: 4 Geeky Glasses
The acting was wonderful except for Tarantino (he can’t act for shit). Christopher Waltz (you may remember him as the Jew hunter) stands out as Dr. King Schultz, and Jamie Foxx manages to pull off the “bad ass” role even after a scene filmed, for reasons I’ll never know, across his naked upside down taint.

In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time travel will be invented – but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good… until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. — (C) Sony

There are a lot of reason to not do a time travel movie. There have been a million billion zillion of them, they all tend to be overly complicated, and they all seem to be following a singular story “something bad happened in the present so I have to go back to fix it”. This is what most of these stories tell and don’t get me wrong I enjoy a good time travel story it’s just rare to see one as good as Looper.

In the near future time travel is invented and outlawed. Naturally some less than repeatable crime organizations gain control of this technology and they use it to get rid of guys they don’t like by sending them into the past to be killed. Seems like the perfect crime, and a great payday for your Hitman living in the past. Eventually though your mob contract runs up. If you live 30 into the future they send you back and you kill your future self “closing your Loop”.

As you can surmise, that is not what happens when Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s “Joe” runs into his future self played by Bruce Willis. In fact what happens is a pretty fantastic action thriller that provides great visuals, action, and a well written script.

Levitt is pretty great in the lead role which is saying something considering how good he was in Inception and 50/50. Joe is saving up for a nice leisurely life before he runs into his older counterpart. He is then put in a tough place by having to choose between saving himself and completing his job or grasp the desperation of his older self who has led a life the younger Joe hasn’t even experienced yet.

Willis is…..well…..Bruce Willis. He is good when he needs be, and is largely there to kick a lot of ass (which he does). Most of the heavy lifting comes from JGL, Emily Blunt, and Jeff Daniels who turns in a great performance as “Abe” who is from the future and acts as the conduit between the mob and the Looper’s. He gets a majority of funny lines and was on the verge of being the most memorable character in the film by far. I just can’t say enough good things about Jeff Daniels.

The Director Rian Johnson has a few other critical hits to his name (Brick, and The Brothers Bloom) but this was both critically loved and did pretty well for itself at the box office. As I said before, Time Travel is not the hardest kind of story to tell, it’s been done a lot. They key though, the real trick is doing a great Time Travel movie and Looper is one of the best I have ever seen.

4 Geeky Glasses

R, 1 hr. 59 min.

Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense,Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Rian Johnson

Written By: Rian Johnson

This years video has been released and it is excellent. The video (which sort of serves as a trailer for the films of 2012) features footage from roughly 200 movies. According to Mr. Kinder only 13 movies did not make the cut: 2 Days in New York, ATM, Babymakers, Bad Ass, Chasing Mavericks, Chernobyl Diaries, Darling Companion, Lola Versus, Paranormal Activity 4, The Paperboy, Parental Guidance, Red Dawn, and The Three Stooges.

Enjoy! And have a Happy New Year from all of us at Cinema Geekly!!!!

Three dumb guys who think they’re smart rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. Brad Pitt plays the enforcer hired to track them down and restore order. Killing Them Softly also features Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, and Vincent Curatola. Max Casella, Trevor Long, Slaine and Sam Shepard also make appearances. — (C) Weinstein

This movie ruined my week. Literally my entire week. The days following my seeing this film were filled with a sense of loss and the type of hopeless impotence that accompanies a mugging. The overall theme of the movie seemed to be a long slow discussion of what a good mob movie would be, with a few gun shots tossed in sparingly  It felt like the producers just assumed Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini, and Brad Pitt could carry any movie. And to be honest I would have agreed until I saw this.

Ray Liotta is about as “mobster” as he was in Corina Corina. He is portrayed as a sad bitch who ends up taking an unnecessarily visceral beating complete with sobbing and begging.

James Gandolfini is brought in as an assassin….he kills no one! He spends all of his on screen time drinking and reminiscing about whores kind of like that uncle that you hope is not really family. And much like that sad uncle, whenever you see him you just want it to be over so you can get back to forgetting him.

Brad Pitt delivers his typical “cool under pressure” performance, but it is all done through long winded dialogues that elude to his mythic predecessor “Dylan”. And what’s worse is all of these dialogues are given from the passenger seat or bar stool or hotel chair or some other relaxed not doing a god damn thing setting. The staying cool bit is lost if the character’s only challenge is to not play angry birds during the supporting character’s rambling. All in all a terrible film that took 97 minutes from me and killed them softly.

1 Pair Of Geeky Glasses

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

Directed By: Andrew Dominik

Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the stories move through time. — (C) Warner Bros.

This could easily end up as the hardest review I’ve written yet. Cloud Atlas was amazing at times, visually stunning, effective, and moving. At other times it felt like a complete mess that went from place to place so much without notice that it took you a 20 seconds just to get your bearing.

The book of Cloud Atlas discusses the idea that we are all interconnected (which the movie shows us by having a lot of actors play a lot of different roles). The book covers six stories in six different places during six widely different times on Earth. In the book we go chronologically forward for the start of  these stories until the middle of the book which gives us a completed story then moves backwards to complete the rest of the stories.

In the film version the Wachowski’s and Tom Tykwer go the opposite route of just weaving everything together. Sometimes this work well, sometimes extremely well, but most of the time……eeeehhhh…..not so well. That being said the movie does start to come together in the last 45 minutes or so into something pretty fantastic.

You wouldn’t think this was an independent film by the looks of Cloud Atlas but it was. It is a sight to behold as well. Everything from the 1800′s sailing ship all the way up to futuristic Korea all looks incredible and it is a credit to the designers and creative minds behind this film, for as much jumping around as there is, everything is full realized.

Perhaps the hardest thing of all to gauge is the performances  5 or more of the actors play parts in each of the six stories. Most of them are widely different from each other. I think it’s safe to say that they all enjoyed the process of getting to play so many different roles for one film but I guess since the overall story connecting those six trumps their individual stories. With so many different performances they all kind of blended together, nothing amazing, nothing terrible. Perfectly acceptable…I guess? I take that back. Jim Broadbent was actually pretty fantastic all throughout the movie and made the absolute best out of everyone on screen and likely got in the best jokes as well especially the “pussy” joke.

So what do you do when you’ve watched a movie and you love parts of it and hated others? Well I guess you go somewhere in the middle. I’m sure there are already raging debates all over the internets about whether or not Cloud Atlas the movie should have followed the layout of Cloud Atlas the book more closely or not. Honestly, I’m can;t say for certain whether or not it would have made the movie and better or worse, but it might have given it the added bonus of being easier to follow along with.

3 Geeky Glasses

R, 2 hr. 43 min.

Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Lana Wachowski , Tom Tykwer

Written By: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski,Andy Wachowski

Steven Spielberg directs Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln, a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come. — (C) Walt Disney

It’s always hard for me to remain unbiased when I see Steven Spielberg’s name attached to a movie. He might just be my favorite director. That being said I have disliked some of his movies but the wide majority have been good to great. He can go from action/adventure serial to science fiction, gritty war torn battlefields  and in Lincoln he does a fantastic dramatic period piece.

Lincoln doesn’t really cover the bases you’d think a movie about Abraham Lincoln would. Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is about the Civil War AND about Slavery but instead of the war movie we’ve seen oh so many times, or the “Lincoln Assassination” movie we’ve seen so many times we are brought a movie about politics and policy, and what Lincoln had to do in order to pass the 13th amendment abolishing slavery in the United States.

I suppose it goes without saying that Daniel Day-Lewis is perhaps the best actor of our generation but he once again lives up to the hype and the expectations. His Lincoln is FLAWLESS and to me the definitive portrayal of our 16th President. Lincoln is thought of as this mythical figure, a larger-than-life personality and as a result we get this loud and booming heroic interpretations with a voice to match, but everything I’ve ever read about the man suggested he was somewhat quiet and very humble and had the voice to match those qualities. DDL exemplifies these qualities in his take on Lincoln. The voice does not command greatness but rather brings us back down to Earth, Abraham Lincoln was a man who did great things, but he was just a man.

Throughout this movie we are show how much we have changed as a country and hilariously enough, how we haven’t changed all that much since the time of Lincoln. The scenes depicting the legislative process had me wondering if I was actually watching C-Span instead of a Civil War era drama. Spielberg shows us touching moments with DDL’s Lincoln that show us that Abe was just a down to Earth guy, he is a highly intelligent man, cunning in his political savvy, yet he tells awkward jokes that don’t really land, he plays with his youngest son, and has arguments with his wife. For the first time I feel like we’ve been given a picture of Lincoln as close as we will ever get to the real thing.

I would be remiss entirely if I didn’t give props to Tommy Lee Jones who comes insanely close to stealing the whole picture away from Day-Lewis. Jones plays Thaddeus Stevens a stalwart Republican who is the perhaps the one person behind this amendment more than anyone else. Jones has the best comedic lines in the film, gives some fantastic speeches when speaking out against slavery, and also has one of the most emotional scenes in the entire film.

The film looks gorgeous and really planted you in that time frame. Somehow the Civil War era has always been done well when it comes to set pieces and this movie was no different. And….yes…..they do tackle Lincoln’s assassination but from a different perspective then we normally get.

The movie did feel like it lagged for the first 15 minutes or so as it was setting up future events, but once it got rolling it never stopped. Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is a great historical film that is going to win quite a few awards and I would be shocked if Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t add another Best Oscar Award to his mantle.

4 Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 29 min.

Drama

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Ralph (John C. Reilly) is tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer), the “good guy” star of their game who always gets to save the day. But after decades doing the same thing and seeing all the glory go to Felix, Ralph decides he’s tired of playing the role of a bad guy. He takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a game-hopping journey across the arcade through every generation of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero. On his quest, he meets the tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty. But it’s the feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, whose world is threatened when Ralph accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens the entire arcade. Will Ralph realize his dream and save the day before it’s too late? — (C) Disney

Seeing the trailer for Wreck-It-Ralph earlier this year I was pretty excited to see this movie. I mean you are getting quality animation, fun for the kids, and way super cool old school video game references for the grown ups. What’s not to like?

Well I didn’t like everything. Maybe it is a small quibble but I was hoping to see a lot of old school characters pop up all along the way or maybe more jokes incorporating them. But almost all of them are in the first 10 minutes or so of the film and while fun I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had they sprinkled more references throughout.

The story was actually a lot more cookie cutter than I was expecting, sure a lot of animated films tend to stroll down this path but a lot of them tend to do with with style and a fresh approach that makes it feel new. During Wreck-It-Ralph I spent more time thinking about what I knew was coming next instead of just watching it unfold. There were definitely aspects of this film that I just felt disconnected from.

It isn’t all bad though. I did like the movie, I just wasn’t blown away. The voice acting from all concerned were totally fine, there are even a few jokes (outside of game references) that were funny, but a lot of it felt like 90% 4th grade level humor and in this day-in-age of animated films that just doesn’t cut it as far as my enjoyment goes but kids will love it.

The world was well realized and everything looked great, the way they transitioned between their actual world and the “real world” of the arcade was really clever.

Ultimately though this feels like an average animated film. It borders on okay-good for most of the time but never really comes close to the best of animated movies and doesn’t even really approach films like Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, I’d say Wreck-It-Ralph is a step or two behind those movies.

Kids will love it for sure, and I’m sure there will be some game lovers out there who will enjoy it as well, and even though I liked the movie overall, I don’t see myself re-watching this anytime soon.

3 Geeky Glasses

PG, 1 hr. 32 min.

Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy

Directed By: Rich Moore

I mean just look at this cast list……of actors playing themselves!

James Franco, Jonah Hill, Emma Watson, Michael Cera, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rihanna, Craig Robinson, Mindy Kaling, Martin Starr, Craig Robinson, David Krumholtz

Now we get what they are calling a teaser trailer but it runs nearly two minutes. Well teasers don’t run two minutes, this is the first theatrical length trailer. I hate the idea of calling it an announcement trailer.

Either way the trailer is awesome! It features a few bits from the actual teaser and a few bits of the preview shown after the 9 minutes of IMAX footage and it’s sprinkled with a few more shots we’ve never seen before, and capped off nicely with that WOK moment from the Japanese trailer. This is looking awesome!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever… Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths ofguile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” …a simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know. — (C) Warner Bros

I didn’t jump on the Lord of the Rings bandwagon until after I saw “Fellowship of the Ring” on DVD, but I was hooked. I saw “The Two Towers” and “Return of King” on opening weekends. I bought the theatrical cut DVD’s and then the extended Blu-Ray set. Suffice it to say but I am a big LotR fans.

Now I’ve read a lot of other film critic reviews of the first installment of The Hobbit trilogy and I’m flabbergasted. “I loved LotR but I didn’t like this, it was too long, it went in too many directions”. Perhaps people were caught up in the size and spectacle of Peter Jackson’s first trilogy (which has since been rightfully copied to no end) but pay close attention. All of the rings films were three hours plus, they all had a million characters and several different stories going on at once.

Perhaps the magic has worn off for some, but fear not, if you truly loved the rings films you will just as in love with the first Hobbit film.

Peter Jackson brings Middle Earth back to life and you immediately feel back at home. The pace and tone reeks of Fellowship of the Ring (which was the weakest of the trilogy) but that isn’t a bad thing. Martin Freeman is PERFECT as Bilbo Baggins and there are a ton of call backs and cameos hearkening back to the first series of films including a lot of the tremendous Andy Serkis as Gollum.

The movie ends without any spectacular resolution but come on, what did you expect? You do see the tale mirror Lord of the Rings in a lot of ways. Slow going at first, picking up the pace slowly as you go (oddly enough, just like a book). Everything culminates with some big leaps forward in character development  and the beginning of the second stage of their journey as Bilbo and the Dwarves look at a very distant Lonely Mountain much like Frodo and Sam gazing at Mount Doom at the end of Fellowship.

I saw this in good old 24fps and in 2-D so I can’t speak to those other experiences but the film was epic in scale, beautiful to behold, and just so amazingly and artfully crafted from set design all the way down to the very last sword and shield.

I’m not sure what this film would look and feel like if Mr. Del Toro had done it, but this doesn’t feel like someone trying to recapture Lord of the Rings, it just feels like it should, like you never really left.

I felt almost every minute of The Dark Knight Rises, but The Hobbits 3 hours blew by. I’d gladly see it again, and I can’t wait to see “The Deolation Of Smaug”.

4 Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 46 min.

Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Written By: Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson,Fran Walsh, Guillermo del Toro, J.R.R. Tolkien

Now we are treated to the first theatrical length trailer……and guess what? We still don’t get to see a lot of Superman (well near the end we do). Outside of that it is a great looking trailer with a lot of impressive visuals (par for the course with a Snyder flick).

The real question lays with whether or not DC can churn out a good movie based on a comic other than the Nolanverse Batman or Watchmen (HEY it was good!). We shall soon see.

From the producers of Little Miss Sunshine – When an unusual classified ad inspires three cynical Seattle magazine employees to look for the story behind it, they discover a mysterious eccentric named Kenneth, a likable but paranoid supermarket clerk, who believes he’s solved the riddle of time travel and intends to depart again soon. Together, they embark on a hilarious, smart, and unexpectedly heartfelt journey that reveals how far believing can take you. — (C) Official Site

A small indy film chalk full of unknowns with a quasi Sci-Fi premise? Sign me up! Safety Not Guaranteed is all the things people love in a small dramedy like this. Nice but simple settings, more dialog than action, and a good story with a pretty nice pay off.

Aubrey Plaza is the female lead in this (Darius) and if she looks familiar to you it could be that she played Julie Powers in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. She plays a kind of hipsters magazine intern who hasn’t really found her niche in the world. Usually that sort of character annoys me to no end but Plaza makes her kind of likable for the most part.  She volunteers for a writing assignment when one of the lead writers finds a strange add in the paper written by a man looking for someone to travel back in time with him.

All of the charm really comes from Mark Duplass who plays Kenneth, the odd ball guy who thinks he can time travel. He really hasn’t been in much that mainstream movie goers would know but he Direct and wrote the screenplay for the critically acclaimed “Jeff Who Lives At Home”. Duplass plays a quirky guy to say the least, and normally too much oddball can be off putting, but he really balances that well. By-in-large I found myself kind of rooting for this guy.

There are other minor players in the movie that serve up most of the comedic moments, but the laughs aren’t cheap and they serve a purpose. There is also a fairly forgettable side story that follows the supposed author of the article this team is writing on Kenneth as he plans to have the interns do all the real work while he connects with an old High School Girlfriend.

The movie looks and sounds good even though it becomes pretty clear by the time the credits role that 90% of the budget basically went into one shot, and it is a pretty satisfying shot at that.

3 1/2 Geeky Glasses

R, 1 hr. 26 min.

Drama, Comedy

Directed By: Colin Trevorrow

Written By: Derek Connolly

Here are the goods on the plot:

Jack Harper (Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete.
Living in and patrolling the skies from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues an attractive female stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.

The trailer looks pretty interesting Geekly friends, but what do you think?

It seemed apropos given his love of the game and the numerous references to it in a lot of his features. Recently on his podcast Jay and Silent Bob Get Old he revealed that after a lot of soul searching and writing that Hit Somebody would become a mini-series. Kevin stated that the show was already being picked up, and the channel itself would like to make the announcement at  later date (my guess is AMC).

This prompted fans on Twitter to question Kevin if he was still going to make one last film.

Sounds awesome right? Kevin Smith going back to the style of film which he is best known for, and finishing it off with those characters does make the most sense. It remains to be seen though if he is going Red State style with this or if there will be a studio behind it.

Based on the hit AMC Television Series and comic book of the same name. You play the game as Lee Everett, a man convicted of a crime, but who is offered a chance at redemption…albeit in a world overtaken by walkers.

REVIEW:

I never thought I’d see a video game capture the nature of of “pick your own ending” book that most people reading probably are too young to know about. Well Teltale Games not only gave us that, but they gave us one the best video game experiences I’ve ever had and all for $25 dollars!

Graphics: 4.5/5
The Walking Dead game takes its visual cues from the comic book, in fact you feel like you are playing the comic book. The graphics stay true to what you see in Krikman’s original creation. The characters look nice and are quite detailed, and the the walker characters are quite varied and have pretty nice looking deaths (that felt so strange to write). The landscapes of Georgia are also nicely done. The only qualms I’ve had were issues only related to the PS3 version which saw some glitching in the cut scenes from time to time, otherwise a flawless looking game.

Audio: 4.5/5
My only complaint might be that there are a few too man scenes where you just hear walker snarling in the background for way too long, but that happens infrequently. Most of the time the sound is great, the voice acting is fairly top notch, and the score for the game is absolutely superb and it pushes the right emotional buttons right when it needs to.

Gameplay: 4/5
The Walking Dead game doesn’t play like a typical game does. There are moments when you need to perform certain actions and they are all really simple to do, on top of that there are only a few moments of real tight situations that require quick thinking of puzzle solving, but most of the game revolves around choosing to do or same something. That’s right, you mostly just make choices, and then the game is molded to the choices you make. The Walking Dead sacrifices complex gameplay for serious story telling. It’s gameplay elements are simple but solid.

Story: 5/5
In most video games you get a story, and some you even get real good stories, but almost always the main goal is not watching the story unfold, it is playing the game that holds the majority of your attention. The Walking Dead allows you to play the game, but the game is about you crafting the story. Depending on what you do or don’t do the game adapts and the story will change. It is truly a great story perhaps because it is well written or perhaps because it is well done and the game places you in the role of sculptor, charged with shaping the story almost like you helped write it. This game came in 5 separate installments, and I can say without hesitation that I awaited new episodes of this game like I would any of my most cherished TV shows.

Replay Value: 5/5
As I noted with the story section of this review, the game molds the story around the choices you made. But there are multiple game slots available and once you’ve finished playing through once you can go back in again and make different choices. Was Lee a level headed voice of reason the first time around? This time try playing him as the overly secretive asshole or mix and match. The game gives you a lot of options for any one scenario.

5 Glorious Pairs Of Geeky Glasses 

OVERALL SCORE:

TRAILER:

On a personal note…..THIS IS AMAZING!

SYNOPSIS:
Relive the Attitude Era of WWE in an all-new story mode. The new WWE Live presentation system features an overhauled audio system and Spectacular Moments. WWE ’13 promises to be the boldest WWE simulation to date.

REVIEW:
In a lot of ways WWE ’13 can be seen as an improvement over last years game (which was itself a huge improvement over what they have produced over the years). However, even though WWE ’13 has some improvements over the last installments it falls short in other areas. In short: WWE ’13 is great or not that great, depending on what you are buying it for.

Graphics: 3.5/5
Most of the character models of the bigger stars are about the same in quality from last year, and all of the arenas looks as good as they did last year, but there were not any real improvements. A lot of the lesser wrestlers and quite a few of the Attitude era stars look pretty rough (Booker T, Bret Hart, and others). It might just be a result that comes from adding that much more content into the game, and while graphics aren’t everything it certainly does take away from the experience a little bit.

Audio: 3/5
Honestly, there is not much of a change here. Crowd reactions have improved……depending on the situation, many times you get the same lame reactions as last year. The commentary is about the same, and as much as I like the idea of Jim Ross calling matches in the Attitude Era mode, it is not well done. Speaking of that mode…. A lot of the cut scenes use the real audio from a variety of historical moments but the pre-recorded commentary from King and Ross are REALLY, REALLY LOUD. No real improvement here.

Gameplay: 4/5
Finally! We see some improvement in WWE ’13! The gameplay is quite a bit better. Not as many glitches, moves connect a lot more smoothly than in last years game, plus with added animations the matches look more realistic from a mechanical POV. The control scheme is the same from last year making it easy to perform moves at will, plus they have added the ability to give your charter or opponent extra pre-loaded finishers before a match starts.

Story: 3.5/5
THQ listened to the fans and removed the horrid storyline from last years WWE game and replaced it with “Attitude Era Mode”. Basically there is no real story, rather you play through historical WWF moments throughout the Attitude era including Steve Austin winning the WWF Title at WrestleMania, The Montreal Screwjob, The Austin McMahon angle and tons more. The matches flow good and the cut scenes and video packages make for a great trip down memory lane, and it also works as an educational tool for younger fans who did not live through that time period.

Replay Value: 3.5/5
Like last year all of the old features are back. Online play, Universe Mode, and a massive creative suite which now allows you to create a venue and customize entrance ramps and stages. This is always where WWE games have stood out, you can pretty much make anything you can dream up. I was really optimistic about bumping this score up a point or more after hearing about the new Universe mode, unfortunately it is still plagued by horrible AI match match making, but like last year it does allow you to customize your shows (even add new shows and PPV’s) but when you do so all of the branching storylines turn off. So for those of you hoping to be the mastermind in creative control of the WWE Universe….well….maybe….. there’s always next year?

OVERALL SCORE:

TRAILER:

HBO have revealed they’ll be releasing the Game of Thrones Season 2 DVD and Blu-ray on February 19, 2013. Fans have had a long wait for the home media release considering the second season ended in June. HBO will be hoping to increase the hype over the upcoming months ahead of season three returning in March.

Here are the special features:

Blu-ray Exclusives
War of the Five Kings: Track the claims, strategies and key players involved in the battle for the Iron Throne with this interactive guide. Follow the movements of various armies and learn all about their victories and defeats.

Histories & Lore: 19 animated histories detailing the mythology of Westeros and Essos as told from the varying perspectives of the characters themselves and featuring, in-part, illustrations from Game of Thrones storyboard artist Will Simpson.

In-Episode Guide: An in-feature resource that provides background information about on-screen characters, locations and relevant histories.

Hidden Dragon Eggs – Find the hidden dragon eggs to uncover even more never-before-seen content.

Other Special Features
Audio Commentaries: 12 commentaries with cast and crew including David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington and more.

Creating the Battle of Blackwater Bay: See how the epic Battle of Blackwater Bay was brought to life in this exclusive, in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the climatic episode. The 30-minute feature showcases never-before-seen interviews with cast and crew.

Game of Thrones: Inner Circle: Actors Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Michelle Fairley and Liam Cunningham talk in detail about their experiences shooting season two in this roundtable discussion moderated by executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

The Religions of Westeros: Hear author George R.R. Martin, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss discuss the competing religions in the series and how they influence the various characters in Westeros and beyond.

Character Profiles: Profiles of seven major characters as described by the actors portraying them including Renly Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, Robb Stark, Theon Greyjoy and more.

SYNOPSIS:
In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. — (C) Official Site

REVIEW:
Not really a follower of the franchise, Skyfall is my first Daniel Craig-as-Bond movie. Well, it is my first ever Bond experience even though my father is a huge fan and a follower. And so I saw Skyfall with virgin eyes.

REVIEW:
If we were a way cool strictly just Video Games site with tons of pull we would get review copies well in advance to play out these title so we could review them by the release dates. We aren’t any of those things, so therefore we get the games on our own, play them until the discs melt and then we can write the review.

That being said, I have owned every iteration of The Show since 2008 and the game seems to improve every single year (even if they do continually mess up Justin Verlander’s pitching motion).

Graphics - 4.5/5
The Show has pretty much always looked good on the PS3, but this year they have topped themselves. The players models look better than ever (even if a few of them aren’t perfect, hey 10 out of a 1,000 isn’t bad). The new lighting system makes the stadiums look and feel even more realistic than it ever has. The Show has really been making it their goal to not only provide the best Baseball sim on the market, but a game that also makes you feel like you are experience the real deal from a TV production standpoint, even if they have some ground to make up with 2K Sports on that end.

Audio – 4/5
We didn’t review last years game but if we had this score would be a slight improvement over the previous installment largely because they got of Rex Hudler in the broadcast booth and replaced him with Eric Karros. While the former Dodger is an upgrade it isn’t as big of a breath of fresh air as some were expecting. The show added more realistic bat audio and glove audio this year so when you really get a hold of one you can actually hear it in the crack of the bat. As mentioned previously the announcing is slightly better than in previous years but was clearly neglected in favor of upgrades elsewhere. This is an area where 2K Sports still holds a lead on The Show along with overall atmosphere, that being said The Show is no slouch in sound design.

Gameplay – 5/5
Hands down! MLB ’12 The Show is the best MLB sim available. From the moment I cracked open the 2008 version I could tell that, but what I didn’t expect was their ability to actually improve on the game nearly every year! MLB ’12 takes all of their aesthetics and molds them in to a very realistic Baseball experience.  Depending on you skill level and your preferred manner of game play The Show offers a variety of hitting and pitching controls, all with their pros and cons but all of them help deliver a truely awesome Baseball experience!

Story – N/A For A Sports Sim

Replay Value – 5/5
If you are like me (a Baseball nut) then you are playing all 162 games in a season without a single simulation. But let’s just say that you aren’t me, or that perhaps you are but you’ve played your 162 games, what else is there to do? The short answer is: ALOT!

The Show like most sports games provide tons and tons of online play and leagues from simple 1-on-1′s to the Diamond Dynasty mode where you manage your very own fully customizable MLB team online. Challenge and beat CPU controlled MLB teams to recruit MLB stars for your team, and compete against other users customized teams for development points. There is also Franchise mode where you not only control your team on the field but everything from advertising to ticket prices. Plus there is always RTTS or Road to the Show where you create a player and try to work your way up through the minors to try an make in the big leagues.

Bottom line is that you will likely never play through all of the options this game provides before the next seasons game gets released. It is a really well done game with very few missteps.

Overall Score:

TRAILER:

SYNOPSIS:
Daniel Day-Lewis and director Jim Sheridan are reunited to make this political docudrama about Irish citizen Gerry Conlon (Day-Lewis), who was wrongly convicted of taking part in an IRA bombing that killed five in Guildford, England in 1974. After a brutal interrogation forces him to sign a false confession, Gerry is sentenced to prison, his family is raked over the coals, and later his father Giuseppe (Pete Postelthwaite) is charged with being an accomplice and is also sent to prison where he lives out the last days of his life.

REVIEW:
The lesson to learn here folks is simple: Daniel Day-Lewis is good at acting. With yet another DDL tour de force coming out in Steven Speilberg’s “Lincoln”, it is high time we get a Day-Lewis film review up here.

Normally audiences are use to seeing DDL star in period pieces, and lets be honest, this IS a period piece, but the period in question spans the late 70′s into the 80′s. Day-Lewis plays Gerry Conlon. Gerry is a young man caught up in the violence and turmoil that was Ireland in the 1970′s. By no means is he an angel, but he finds himself in more trouble than he could ever expect or fathom, for that matter.

He ends up in England who have been undergoing bombings at the hands of the Irish terrorists/freedom fighters known as the IRA. The Brits are desperate to hold someone accountable for the bombings, and Gerry and his friends find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. He and his friends are tortured and coerced to give false confessions and he, along with his family are imprisoned. The remainder of the film chronicles their life in prison, and eventual release once the conspiracy is revealed.

Daniel Day-Lewis is amazing as a troubled young man, he goes through the highest high’s (sometimes literally) and the lowest lows watching his Father (whom he shares a cell with) die in custody, never seeing the light of day again.

Not only must DDL play this character, but over time we him grow up and become the person I suspect his Father always thought he was. Speaking of dear ol’ Da. The great Pete Postelthwaite is in charge of that portion of the story and he does an amazing job as person who literally hasn’t done anything wrong but found himself in jail none the less. He basically acts as the backbone for DDL’s Gerry. As much as it pains us to see him die, it was needed to push Gerry into the mindset he needed to gain his freedom.

The rest of the cast is rock solid, the film looks great and has held up quite well. Usually movies like this aren’t always in my wheelhouse, but with Daniel Day-Lewis and his amazing (even then) talent to just suck you in and make you care I found myself glued to my seat.

4 Geeky Blasses

R, 2 hr. 13 min.

Drama

Directed By: Jim Sheridan

TRAILER:

We’ve made it back! This week Anthony and Aaron talk very briefly about their thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises, then we get down to the topics of the day like Disney buying Lucasfilm and the latest news on Episode VII, plus news on everything going on in the nerdy bowels of the film industry. We’ve also got TV fans covered talking The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Homeland, Mad Men, Comic Book Men and lots more! Also we talk the Box Office, new movies opening this weekend, and Blu-Ray releases!

It sounds hard to believe at first…..then you remember how much George Lucas likes $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$~! But start believing folks, that’s right, Disney has purchased Lucasfilm for something like 4 Billion Dollars.

Not only have they bought it, they are planning to release a brand new Star Wars Trilogy starting with a 2015 release for Episode VII. Here are the pertinent tidbits from the press release:

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.

Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.”

And here is a video of Lucas talking about the whole thing:

HEY! Now that George is out of the loop do you think there is a chance that we finally get that Original Trilogy Blu-Ray release?!?

Well here’s something you don’t see everyday. A trailer for a super hero movie that features roughly two minutes of the hero getting his butt handed to him. It is a totally unique take and I think it says volumes of what we can expect out of this installment of the Iron Man franchise.

Did you see the first trailer for the latest Tarantino flick Django Unchained? Can’t wait to see more?!? Well ask and you shall receive!

We have been given our second peak at the old west style revenge story from QT. We get a little more of the back story and we get to see a lot more Leo, Sam Jackson, and even a comedy bit with Jonah Hill!

We’ve got the YouTube video below and a link to watch and download it in HD from Apple Trailers!

SYNOPSIS:
Taken: Former government agent Bryan Mills has retired and attempts to reassemble his old life, after years of overseas employment have left him estranged from his teenage daughter. But when she is kidnapped while in Europe, Bryan must revert to his old skill set to rescue her before she disappears forever. — (C) Official Site

REVIEW:
News of a sequel of a very good movie always fills you with dread because it is highly unlikely that it can rival its predecessor. The default feeling is that a sequel is always a bad idea. Like the idea of Titanic 2 is absurd. And so does Taken 2. But you are still determined to see the sequel. No matter what. Despite bad reviews, you tell yourself that you simply cannot miss it.

Taken 2, penned by the original scriptwriters but with a new director (Oliver Megaton), takes us to Istanbul, where our hero, ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), is on a security job but takes his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) with him for a much-needed vacation. But their R&R turns into a nightmare when they become the target of a mob revenge.

Even if you have low expectations and zero illusions that Taken 2 can  induce the same high level of stress, fear, excitement and tension the way Taken did, this movie will still disappoint you. It will render you slouched in your cinema seat. Engaged, yes, but never tensed. Just one time when Mills was trying to reach for his mobile device, well, that was pretty tensing.

The main problem why this movie lacks thrill and excitement is because everything was made absurdly convenient for Bryan Mills. Lazy screenplay? The villains look like a bunch of idiots; extremely careless, dull, and lazy. They’re almost helping Mills and his family escape and defeat them. Mills is a highly skilled dangerous man yet he’s going against a bunch of boring Looney Tunes? I bet my grandma can escape the Albanian mob unscathed, too. Also, the fight scenes and hand-to-hand combats are awful, clearly hiding the aging Neeson’s deteriorating power punches in lazy editing. The highlight of the movie, and the only redeeming factor, is when Mills is giving impressive instructions to his daughter Kim at the hotel.

And Kim’s boyfriend looks like one of the thugs. No, the thugs are better looking. I had to say that.

The movie, though, is somewhat heartwarming. The father-daughter bond, cemented by the horrid kidnapping experience in Part 1, will touch you; the memories still clear in their eyes. And we all love Liam Neeson no matter what, and Bryan Mills is still going to be one of the most beloved movie heroes of all time. But all in all, Taken 2 is 70% absurd, 20% heartwarming and 10% exciting (the Kim-instructions part).

If you can, just wait for it on DVD.

TRAILER:

SYNOPSIS:
The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. — (C) Lionsgate

REVIEW:
The original Judge Dredd movie came out when I was just hitting my teenage years and I will admit it, I was a fan. Fortunately for me, time heals all wounds, or in this case? Time heals all stupid opinions about movies. I will also admit that when I heard we were getting another Judge Dredd movie I winced pretty hard.

This ain’t your Sly Stallone and Rob Schneider “I AM DA LUUUUUR” crapfest no! Dredd 3D is what Judge Dredd should be. He is a complete Bad Ass Mofo who dishes out the law to the criminal element of Mega City One, he never takes off his helmet and we barely learn anything about him at all, he is a total mystery, and it is awesome!

Karl Urban does justice (I guess pun intended) to the Dredd character, and the real story and character development comes from rookie Judge Anderson played aptly by Olivia Thirlby. She is a psychic (a rare find to be sure) and a powerful one at that so the Hall of Justice is going to be interested in her skills.

She heads out with Dredd on what was suppose to be her evaluation, until that is, they run into Lena Heady’s “Ma-Ma” who is producing drugs out of a giant apartment complex. Dredd and Anderson get stuck inside and have to fight their way out.

This movie is bloody and brutal with  capitol “B”. The action is pretty intense and it should be. This movie flies along at a rapid pace, it is a scant one hour and thirty minutes. Honestly that is the perfect amount of time for a movie like this. The story is simple, it serves as an introduction to that world, and it is packed with action. You would have to search long and hard for a cheesy scene or a moment of corny dialog.

Dredd fans, your long nightmare is over. This may not be the perfect Judge Dredd movie but it is light years above and beyond the Sly Stallone installment.  If I were you, I would hope your strongest hope that this version of Dredd gets a sequel, because there is so much more ground to cover in this universe. Dredd 3D was an excellent jumping off point.

3 1/2 Geeky Glasses

R, 1 hr. 38 min.

Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Pete Travis

Written By: Carlos Ezquerra, Alex Garland

TRAILER:

We really, really, really, really, reeeeeeaaaaaaally hope that your not sick about hearing about the Marvel Movie Universe yet, because we’ve got some breaking news that shouldn’t really come as all that big of a surprise.

Those who stuck around during The Avengers end credits will know that the Mad Titan known as Thanos was behind the Chitauri Earth invasion, and many suspected that he would be The Avengers 2 villain.

Well Jim Starlin, the creator of Thanos, recently confirmed to Cosmic Book News that not only will the character feature in The Avengers sequel, the villain is also set to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy which James Gunn is set to direct.

Marvel has spent the past 4-5 years connecting each of their movies and making them part of the same universe, and it looks like that will continue with Phase 2. With Guardians of the Galaxy set in space it would make sense for them to come across Thanos first. In the comics Thanos gets hold of the Infinity Gauntlet (a powerful glove) and wipes out half the universe. The Guardians of the Galaxy then band together to defeat him.

There was also a retelling which involved The Avengers fighting Thanos. There’s a clear connection here, and given that the Infinity Gauntlet was already hinted to be in Odin’s Vault in Thor, we can see where Marvel might be heading. We can probably expect clues to pop up in Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, followed by the big reveal in Guardians of the Galaxy in August 2012.

Roughly 8 months ago Peter Jackson and company gave us the first trailer for his (then) two part adaptation of The Hobbit. Now the two part film has been expanded to three parts, and we get our second trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

We get a trailer virtually full of brand new scenes, plus we get to see some Andy Circus goodness in all it’s glory. So enjoy the second trailer for The Hobbit!

I’ve been pretty excited about this release for many months. I am a Civil War geek and pretty much a sucker for any film that takes place during this time in history. But when I heard that Steven Spielberg was directing and DANIEL DAY-LEWIS was playing Abraham Lincoln, I’m already sitting in the theater waiting for it open, and that was without even seeing a trailer.

The first one is finally here and it looks phenomenal  from this first viewing. DDL absolutely captures the look and feel to Lincoln, but the movie also seems to make it very clear that they aren’t exactly glossing over Honest Abe with the magnanimous glow that other films have presented him in. DDL and Spielberg appear to be giving us a more normal, and more human Lincoln.

REVIEW:
Whether on not you’ve seen Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall, forget about it. A remake is never a carbon-copy of the original. It has its own distinctive style. An “original” on its own. So don’t try to recall the 1990 classic, or how precious and incomparable it is for you. Erase it from your mind, and embrace a new memory.

Sci-fi-action fans will take pleasure in Len Wiseman’s totally modern Total Recall (2012), this time casting Colin Farrell as Doug Quaid. Loosely based on the 1966 short story by Philip K. Dick, Total Recall takes us to a dystopian future, post World War III, when the Earth is almost uninhabitable in the aftermath of a chemical warfare. Only two livable but overcrowded territories exist: The Colony and The United Federation of Britain. Doug, a factory worker in The Colony, and married to the beautiful Lori (Kate Beckinsale), has recurring dreams of a life way more exciting than his daily routine in the assembly line, dreams that are action-packed, and with a girl (Jessica Biel).

Seeking a break from his monotonous, boring life, Doug goes to Rekall, a company that offers artificial memories. A fantasy mind-trip that will make your dream life come true. You can have any memories you desire, except something that overlaps your real life experiences. Doug excitedly chooses the memory of a super spy, but before the procedure even finishes, he is attacked by law enforcement, accused of being a secret agent— and suddenly, to his shock, he’s acting like one. So, is Doug a real spy unbeknownst to him? Or is everything just a product of Rekall? And The Colony, he is told, is in danger…or is it? And a group of underground terrorists led by Matthias (Bill Nighy) is evil…or are they?

Do not expect deep mind games, but do except the revival of the three-breasted prostitute, some stunning visuals and lots of tensing action and suspense, filled with engaging and elegant martial-arts fighting scenes. The visuals are eye candy, succeeding in transporting you into a different world— which is what sci-fi should be all about. The Colony is an artful shantytown, a labyrinth-like pulsating “New Shanghai”; gray, dark, and gloomy, punctuated with vibrant colors here and there, and fun, modern technology that we might actually see in the future. The United Federation of Britain, the affluent part of the world, is “Euro-America,” sepia-like London, misty and modern. The merging of Old World and clever futuristic details make Total Recall’s world a delicious visual trip.

Beckinsale is glorious to watch, all acrobatic and threatening. Biel and Farrell make a good team, competent and engaging to watch. Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), chief of police, make a formidable antagonist, but Bill Nighy lack that sort of rebel vibe.

Total Recall, in its entirety, is basically an action flick, with mild political undertones. It’s a good, solid story. Probably not awesome, but very much entertaining. A visually-pleasing popcorn action-sci-fi flick that will satisfy your Friday-night movie date.

3 1/2 Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 1 min.

Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Len Wiseman

Written By: Kurt Wimmer

TRAILER:

SYNOPSIS:
Set at an indeterminate point in the future, this drama with an overt anti-communist message begins as an ostensible war movie: Russian and Cuban forces have invaded the U.S. and are viciously eliminating the inhabitants of a small town, when a group of teens escapes and plans a counterattack.

REVIEW:
It seems fair to go back and look at this 1980′s cult favorite set to get a fresh reboot that I go back and give the original a watch. The cast is certainly loaded with Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen (Pre-Craziness), C. Thomas Howell, and Lea Thompson.

The movie centers around an alternate 1980′s where we get invaded by the commie axis of evil (Russia, Cuba, and Nicaragua). A bunch of young adults are separated by this surprise attack and are forced be necessity to form their own militia to fight the bad guys.

Red Dawn is also a historical landmark film as it was the first to be tagged with the PG-13 rating. I suppose it lives up to even now to a degree, but you will see a lot worse in a PG-13 movie these days I’d venture.

This is such a polarizing movie. There are moments of complete bad-ass-dom that are really cool and really intense. But there is a lot of stuff in this movie which I can only assume was meant to be played straight, and taken seriously but made me laugh out loud. And there are definitely some poorly delivered lines that also induced hilarity.

You have moments of pure shock like the group coldly executing on their team when they found out he was bugged leading to an attack on their camp. And then you get scenes like the “becoming a militia” montage with background music that made it seem more like I should be laughing at their goofy antics as opposed to seeing them become a hardened group of kids forced to become adults in the worst possible situation.

All I can think at the end of the day is that this movie (while likely popular to those who grew up with it) does not just stand the test of time. Even if you switch out the clearly outdated bad guy, everything about this movie seemed to feature all of the features of 80′s action movies which now seem silly, and it carried very little over of what did work with 80′s action flicks.

It was a good watch, but it felt too uneven way to often for me to ever really get in to it. Bring on the reboot!

3 Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 1 hr. 54 min.

Action & Adventure

Directed By: John Milius

Written By: John Milius

TRAILER:

REVIEW:
A spin-off of the Matt Damon Bourne trilogy, The Bourne Legacy introduces a new hero, Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), one of the genetically enhanced agents of a U.S. top-secret intelligence program called “Outcome,” quite similar to Jason Bourne’s program, Treadstone. When the ops head, Retired Col. Eric Byer (Edward Norton), decided to shut down Program Outcome with a seemingly shallow reason, he immediately wants all the agents dead— nope, not issued a termination slip and given new identities, but instantly dead, along with the oblivious team of scientists who support the Program. And so we follow Aaron Cross as he escapes to save his life— and get his fix of the blue and green pills that make him a super-soldier, with the help of scientist Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz). And all these events, according to the meticulous followers of the Bourne series, take place during Jason Bourne’s exploits in Bourne Identity and Supremacy.

Directed and co-written by Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, Duplicity), The Bourne Legacy, when stripped off its lengthy spy talks filled with spy jargon that keep the audience in the dark, is basically nothing but the story of Aaron Cross trying to stay alive while getting his drug fix— which is located on the other side of the planet: in Manila, Philippines, where I live. In the entire movie, you are eager for the real plot to reveal itself, but it never arrives until the shockingly abrupt ending. There is no delicious backstory, no intelligent conspiracy going on, just Aaron Cross and Marta running for their lives…and maybe falling in love.

Jeremy Renner is formidable and engaging to watch, perfectly cast as a super soldier, and Rachel Weisz is equally engaging, complementing Renner’s character as his beautiful sidekick, vulnerable but with a quiet strength. The performances by the entire cast were really good, natural and intense. The cinematography is pleasant, and the super close-up shots of the actors in conversation aptly capture their thoughts and emotions. The action sequences, coupled with the thrilling film score, will keep you fairly glued to the screen, including the cat-and-mouse chase in Manila, which is fun— but it was the science laboratory shootout that was the most effective and chilling, disturbingly calling to mind the recent Dark Knight Rises mass shootout. Precise and cold-blooded. But because of the weak, unintelligent, and shallow plot, the movie in its entirety lacks real suspense and tension, with nothing much to tell. And when Norton’s team finally sends their prized weapon, the laughable Spiderman-like Thai super soldier, to eliminate the un-killable Aaron Cross once and for all, you expect some awesome power fight between the two, but the Thai guy is defeated in the lamest way possible in recent cinematic history. Then the movie abruptly ends, obviously signaling a sequel.

Overall, The Bourne Legacy is a movie that will keep you waiting…for nothing. It’s a mental and emotional ripoff.

2 Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 5 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

Directed By: Tony Gilroy

TRAILER:

In this edition of the briefs we’ve got HUGE news about The Avengers 2, a marvel TV show, The Hobbit, The Great Gatsby, the Robocop Reboot, Wreck-It-Ralph and more!

THE AVENGERS 2:
If you haven’t heard the news already there was a Disney oriented conference call that made it official! Joss Whedon will write and direct The Avengers 2~!

Disney just announced Joss Whedon will write and direct THE AVENGERS 2 and develop a Marvel TV show for ABC.

— Marc Graser (@marcgraser) August 7, 2012

And yes you read that tweet properly! Joss is also set to develop a TV show for ABC set in the Marvel universe. The word on the street is that is won’t exactly involve any of  the  actual Avengers but it is suppose to be a sort of police drama involving S.H.I.E.L.D~!

THE HOBBIT:
Were you curious to see Peter Jackson’s adaption of The Hobbit in the brand spanking new 48FPS format? Well you might be hard pressed to do so.  Variety is reporting that that WB is only going to show the higher frame rate version in a very limited release. So limited in fact that it might not even appear in every major city.

Even though the higher rate screening was panned by people at CinemaCon a few months back, Variety is saying that everything they have seen looks amazing after the post production polishing.

That being said, it is probably better for them to hedge their bets. As it stands right now there  are absolutely no theaters are currently equipped to even show a film at 48FPS and available upgrades won’t even be made available until next month.

DAREDEVIL:
Yup there is a Daredevil reboot coming (watch out Ben Affleck).  But the production came onto hard times when Director David Slade dropped out leaving FOX high and dry.

If they don’t get things underway by October 10th then the rights to the legally blind superhero reverts back to Marvel. In an attempt to by more time FOX is willing to make a trade according to Variety:

Sources say Marvel would give Fox more time to make “Daredevil” in return for the rights to use characters from the “Fantastic Four” universe, including the giant, world-devouring supervillain Galactus, rumored to play a key role in future Marvel pics. Marvel is also eyeing future use of the Silver Surfer, who in the comicbooks brokered a deal to serve as Galactus’ herald in order to save his home planet.

ROBOCOP:
Just when you think the RoboCop reboot could get an even better cast it goes ahead and does it.  It already includes the likes of Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Laurie, and Jackie Earle Haley. And according to Heat Vision the cast now includes Michael K. Williams, otherwise known as Omar on The Wire, is reportedly in talks to play Alex Murphy’s partner on the force, who reteams with him after his transformation into Robocop.

WRECK-IT-RALPH:
Director  Rich Moore talked with IGN Movies about a lot of topics surrounding the movie but the coolest info he spilled was how they got the permission to use all of those old school video game characters:

“From the very beginning we said, ‘We want to be authentic to your character. What we would like to do is put in an approval process where you look at our animation and you say that we’re being true to the character.’ We did have kind of a check-in process, where we would show them the footage and say, ‘What do you think? Is it good?’ At one point, [Nintendo] said, ‘Bowser’s much bigger than that. He’s way bigger than Zangief.’ We were like, ‘Okay, we’ll make him bigger. How’s that?’ They’d say, ‘Yes, that’s good — but he wouldn’t drink his coffee like that. He wouldn’t make that mouth.’ [Laughs] Of course, then people from Sega said, ‘Well, Doctor Robotnik is bigger.’ [Laughs] They wanted their characters bigger and bigger. We were going to end up with these giants in a room, with Ralph as this little guy… But I think that stuff really helped. I looked back on our original animation before the Nintendo notes, and it was like, ‘You know, he does look more like Bowser now.’”

THE X-FILES 3:
X-Files writer and producer Frank Spotnitz is convinced a third movie should happen, despite the fact that nobody seemed terribly interested in the first two (at least that is what he is telling Collider):

I absolutely do! I think everybody should write to 20th Century Fox. I’ve been saying for years now that I feel it’s a cultural crime that they have not finished the series. The second movie did not perform the way anybody wanted it to at the box office. I’m proud of that movie, but it makes sense to me that it didn’t. It was released at the height of summer, and it was a story-of-the-week. That’s not what the movie-going audience wanted. The movie-going audience wanted the aliens. That’s what they know The X-Files for. And that story is not done, and it should be finished. I don’t think it’s too late, but I think it’s gonna be, pretty soon. I’m still agitating with everyone I can grab to say, “Let’s make this movie while we still can!”

THE GREAT GATSBY:
Leo’s starring role in the reboot of the old classic will not see the light of day until next summer. The film was original meant to open this December, but perhaps with the likes of Django Unchained, The Hobbit, and Zero Dark Thirty all coming out in the same month they decided to move it, and they were pretty honest about the reasons for it according to Hollywood Reporter.

Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman says the movie was made to ensure “this unique film reaches the largest audience possible”.

Talks about a third Hobbit/Tolkien based film have pretty much been going on since the it was announced they would be making a film based on Tolkien’s first book. But then all of the labor strike stuff in New Zealand came up and then Guillermo Del Toro dropped out as director and Peter Jackson once again took the reigns. By then it was just two movies.

But talk picked back up again after the SD Comic-Con. And now Peter Jackson has made it official via his Facebook page:

It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie – and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life.  All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.’

We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance.  The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.

So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.

It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, “a tale that grew in the telling.”

Cheers,

Peter J

The first half of the trilogy is due out in December of this year with the second half coming in December of 2013, along with this news they did in fact confirm the third part for 2014 (one would assume in December as well).

What the movie will be about is still up in the air I suppose. The early talk was that Jackson would craft an original story using the all of the extra content provided by Tolkien to create a bridge between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. But we have been learning that Jackson has already been using these appendices to add elements to The Hobbit to shift it more tonally in line with LotR.

So at this point one can only guess what the intentions are with the third film.

SYNOPSIS:
It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.. — (C)

REVIEW:
Regardless of how you choose to look at Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise, it is pretty difficult to deny that they are pretty darn good films.  Clearly he has taken Batman in a couple of different directions that have really gotten under the skin of some fans he has even done things with the core character beliefs of Batman that you would likely never see in any of the other retellings over the years (like quitting Batman for 8 years), but Nolan makes it work within his universe.

By now you know what you are getting into if you go see a Nolan Batman movie he’s not going to change the tone drastically from you’ve come to expect. I think one should look at it for what it is, not what they want it to be.

Nolan delivers big time in the conclusion to his Batman trilogy. The movie feels bigger, the action is larger, and exist on a far bigger scale than anything in the previous two films. Speaking of which, this does serve as a third act to a three film series, but almost all of the films best moments and story tie in to Batman Begins more than it does The Dark Knight.

Ann Hathaway is fantastic as Selina Kyle (would it have killed them to mention Catwoman just once?) she isn’t the Batman Returns version but she stays really true to the Catwoman character and adds a lot to the movie with her dynamic with Bruce Wayne and Batman. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also pretty fantastic in this movie as John Blake and he plays a fairly pivotal role in the film.  Michael Caine has been great in all of the “Nolanverse” films but he really stood out in his scenes and without a doubt provided the absolute most dramatic and emotional scene in any Batman movie (and probably anything I have seen this year).

Tom Hardy as Bane was solid, but never stood a chance against Heath Ledger’s Joker. That being said Hardy was not the super sized monster from Comic Book fame but he was as about as ruthless and Batman was totally over matched physically every time they confronted each other. His voice will likely be a point of discussion forever, there were some moments where the Bane voice was grating, and I am pretty sure at the beginning Sean Connery was actually doing voice overs, but for the most part I got use to it, and I didn’t have a problem understanding anything he said.

This will likely go down as one of the most solid and well built trilogies ever made along with Lord of the Rings. Where the real debate will lay is with fans consider them good Batman movies.

This wasn’t a perfect movie by any means. At times it did start to feel like it was getting long, but just in time a great action beat would start up. It was a very well paced roller coaster ride.  The last hour of the film is utterly fantastic and kind of leaves you wanting more (which we know is impossible) yet the ending of the film is clearly leaving the door open for future involvement.

With the release of The Dark Knight Rises into theaters across the country, so to does the first peek at Zack Snyder’s attempt at making a decent Superman movie “Man of Steel”

There was a near full length trailer shown at Comic-Con this year and the trailer did sort of leak online (but you really can’t make out anything). If you read through the full Man of Steel report from San Diego you will probably get what they are going for in this trailer and this version of Supes.

There isn’t much here and you only really get one glimpse of Superman himself, but it is a pretty neat glimpse, and it is reminiscent of the last shot of the teaser from Iron Man in a way. But let us know what YOU think!

SYNOPSIS:
It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.. — (C)

REVIEW:
When the movie trailer opened with no sound except for that sole, clear, angelic voice of the boy singing the national anthem, then transitioning into a sinister rumble, serious and ominous, the low pounding escalating into some kind of chaos…and then we catch sight of the Caped Crusader in what would be revealed as the epic conclusion of the Batman trilogy, you just know– that the Dark Knight will rise above all the superheroes who recently graced the big screen. And so you wait with pure excitement. That kind of restless anticipation. Because you just know it’s going to be so, so good just by that teaser trailer alone.

And then the day came to finally watch. After finishing the almost 3-hour epic finale, it turns out you were right. Christopher Nolan has rewarded your very high expectations.

In this emotionally gripping and intellectually satisfying epic finale, Gotham City is at peace time, and Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) is in seclusion for eight years now; bearded, depressed, and lethargic. People are curious; where is the billionaire Mr. Wayne? And people are talking. Batman had murdered the city’s hero Harvey Dent eight years ago, didn’t he? He’s a fugitive now. Gone. A legend. Then a beautiful cat burglar (Anne Hathaway) arrives, waking Mr. Wayne from his stupor…and then a big storm starts  brewing, triggered by a terrifying behemoth of a terrorist with a bear-trap-like mask named Bane (Tom Hardy), finally forcing Batman to step out of the shadows to save his beloved city. But after almost a decade of hiatus, can we rely on the Caped Crusader to fight again? Or will he…*chokes*…die in the killer hands of Bane?

Christopher Nolan’s reinvention of Batman is an important turning point in the history of superhero films. Dark and dead serious, stark and gloomy, the maturity of Nolan’s treatment has transformed the fantasy of Batman into something more tangible and real. And with Hans Zimmer, who is God’s gift to cinema, composing the film score, as well as the clear and elegant cinematography, you will be swept away in this movie. You will find yourself right there, in Gotham City, witnessing the inevitable fate of Batman.

In this epic finale, the core of the story are vengeance, politics, corruption, and terrorism on a grand scale, with our hero struggling and fighting against lost hope. And with unpredictable plot twists and turns, and with you rooting for Batman to survive and become once again the superhero that he is, The Dark Knight Rises is indeed tensing, emotional, and scary– made all the more absorbing because of the wonderful cast…

Christian Bale delivers a dramatic Batman role– and, please, let’s just ignore his unsettling, freaky Batman voice! Bale is aptly brooding, in pain, and determined as what a mortal hero should be. And he has a surprising chemistry with the surprisingly likeable Hathaway as the non-purring Catwoman. And the villain, Bane, played by an unrecognizable Tom Hardy, is a terrifying equal match to Batman when it comes to strength, and his actions evil and precise, causing him to be a very real threat and danger to our hero. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young, idealistic cop John Blake, an avid Batman supporter, gives an already expected terrific performance (and DC comics fans will instantly “get” his pivotal role here). And Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freeman, and Marion Cotilliard give justice to their supporting roles.

The Dark Knight Rises is a thrilling, dramatic, and satisfying closure to the Batman trilogy. For fans of this mortal hero, especially fans of the Nolan brand of Batman, you will be rewarded for sure. For non-Batman fans, well, Nolan just might change your mind…because this is definitely going to be our collective choice as one of the best movies that came out this year.

Every year the San Diego Comic-Con gives us tons and tons of fresh new teasers to sink our teeth into and this year was no different. We’ve got news on footage from The Hobbit, and Man of Steel, plus Marvel officially launched Phase II of their movie franchise including some spoilers early on. Lets just jump into it!

The Hobbit:
io9 has a really lengthy write up about everything it saw at Comic-Con this year including 12 and a half minutes worth of new footage from The Hobbit.  Here is a little taste:

Bilbo finds a certain ring. He looks at it, and picks it up, curiously.

Then we see Bilbo talking to Gandalf — who says that Bilbo has changed. He’s not the same Hobbit who left the Shire.

Bilbo smiles, sadly — Freeman really nails the weird mixture of emotions in this scene. “I was going to tell you.” He reaches for the ring in his pocket. “I found something in the Goblin tunnels.”

Found what? Gandalf asks.

Bilbo struggles, trying to pull the ring out of the pocket but not wanting to.

What did you find? Gandalf asks again.

“My courage,” says Bilbo. He takes his hand away

Gandalf looks concerned, but only says, “Good. Well, that’s good. You’ll need it.”

Sounds good right?!? They even even more over there about they saw but it is WAY to lengthy to post here.

On the other hand…… Remember when there was talk about doing The Hobbit as one film and then doing a second film to bridge The Hobbit and LotR using spare materials left behind by Tolkien? Well Peter Jackson says that is still on the table:

“That’s a discussion we’re having, yeah,” Jackson said. “We have certainly been talking to the studio about some of the material we can’t film, and we’ve been asking them so we can do a bit more filming next year. Which, I don’t know what would come of that, whether it’d be extended editions or whatnot. But those discussions are ongoing.”

“I’d like to shoot a bunch more material that we [couldn't] shoot. There’s so much good stuff in the appendices that we haven’t been able to squeeze into these movies,” Jackson said, referring to the appendix sections found at the end of “The Return of the King” detailing more background on Middle Earth and its history.

That is courtesy of HitFix.

Man of Steel:
io9 also sat in on some new footage from the Superman reboot. And they had a lot of good things to say about what they saw.

We see a grief-stricken Jor-El (Russell Crowe), exposing the S-Shield on his chest, as if revealing a secret.

And then Clark is in a series of horrible situations — he’s being buried in rocks and shouting “NO!” He’s on fire and apparently stark naked. He’s thrown through the air and through the wall of a building, landing next to a bank vault (as in the photo we’ve seen.) He’s handcuffed, wearing the Superman costume, and being led away by guards. And there’s just a glimpse of General Zod, the movie’s villain, scowling.

Oh, and Clark is holding a baby protectively, in the middle of a nightmare battle. And we also see Clark kissing Lois, and an explosion on the side of a building, as Metropolis gets trashed. There are also shots of CG blue flames going everywhere.

And Clark says, in a voiceover: “My father believed, if the world found out who I really was, they would reject me out of fear. He was convinced the world wasn’t ready. What do you think?” And we see Clark walking into the Daily Planet office, past the famous globe and logo, and putting on the glasses.

Marvel Phase 2:
On the other side of the comic book universe Marvel unveiled PHASE II!

First and foremost we got a logo and conceptual art for Guardians of the Galaxy and it looks surprisingly bad ass for something featuring a raccoon with a gun.

 
Then Marvel unveiled the new logo’s, names, and release dates for Thor and Captain America!

Reports were that the crowd went crazy after the showing of the Captain America title and that likely has to do a lot with the fact that it is a title that refers to the story line that see Cap’s friend Bucky end up in the present.

Marvel also revealed the logo from Edgar Wrights Ant-Man

But the fund doesn’t end there. Edgar Wright himself showed up and  provided the audience with the Ant-Man test footage he shot (via Collider):

The footage opened with Ant-Man sitting on a ledge in an air conditioning vent that lead to a hallway guarded by two agents.  The costume was pretty metallic looking, and he snuck through the vent hole and started running down the hallway.  He morphed to normal size, shocking the guards, then morphed back down to ant size and kept running.  Still in “ant size” he leapt up and punched one of the guys in the face, knocking the spit out of him, then he ran and attacked the other guard.

The footage was obviously rough, but I thought the big/small effects worked great.  Wright found a way to make Ant-Man’s power work in a cool and useful way on screen, while still allowing room for the playful tone that he does so well.

And to top it all off. There was a lot of Iron Man 3 footage. Once again we turn to io9 for more!

Then there’s a funny scene where Tony is talking to Happy Hogan, his “former” head of security. Happy says he’s quit, because people laugh at him when he says he’s Iron Man’s bodyguard. Plus Iron Man is busy off joining the Superfriends. Plus Happy Hogan’s grandmother saw a big robot snake come out of the sky in Manhattan and jumped out the window. Tony says it’s been taken care of.

The final big set piece was when a bunch of helicopters with rocket launchers come and destroy Tony’s giant house, causing it to tumble into the sea. Tony gets into the Iron Man armor in time, but Pepper Potts is also caught in the disaster. And Tony watches all his spare Iron Man suits blowing up one by one. Tony is flung out into the water and carried down by the undertow. Over this, the voice of the Mandarin says, “Some people call me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher. Lesson number one: Heroes. There is no such thing. As you cry out for mercy, you will be silenced.”

This week Anthony, Joe,  and Aaron talk the tops of the Box Office, Sean at Comic-Con, TED, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and thoughts on The Amazing Spider-Man. Plus there is TONS of Batman reboot question and talk about a future Justice League of America film. We also talk lots of TV as well like The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Falling Skies, True Blood and sooooo much more. We even sneak in some Video Game talk too before closing out with Blu-Ray releases, and Box Office thoughts for next weekend.

What could be better than a trailer featuring brand new footage for the 3rd season of AMC’s awesome Zombie show The Walking Dead?

Well hows about a 4 minute extended trailer straight from comic-con?!? Enjoy the awesomeness!

SYNOPSIS:
The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero. — (C) Sony

REVIEW:
I am going to feel really old typing this out but 10 years ago Sam Rami and Tobey Maguire produced the first big screen version of Spider-Man. By now you know the story. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love, gets bitten by magical spider and gain super powers, boy fights crime.

Many people wondered (myself included) if a reboot of the Rami three film franchise was really needed. Some would say yes after the poorly received Spider-Man 3 (aka Jazz Hands Spider-Man). Others just thought it was too soon, especially after hearing the news that the Mark Webb version would once again start with the origin story.

The Rami series while good (for the most part) was always a little too cheesy and cartoonish for my liking and I can’t say I ever really liked Maguire’s  Peter Parker. But still I thought this movie would be better served up like the Ed Norton version of The Incredible Hulk (where we get a sort of mini origin story through the opening credits). I still think doing another origin story was not needed.

However the Mark Webb version of the story is actually very different in execution although very similar in theme to the Rami version. But the theme is about all this has in common with the original from 2002 and that is a good thing.

Mark Webb gives us a slightly darker tone and feel to the movie. It still certainly keeps its comic book elements but not as lighthearted as in previous films. Nothing about this felt cheesy and I think a lot of that credit can go to the cast as well.

Andrew Garfield is the NEW Peter Parker in so much as he was a huge step up from Maguire. Not only did I like Garfield’s Parker, I liked his Spider-Man as well who was much more in line with the quick witted Spider-Man from the comics. Emma Stone once again brings it playing Gwen Stacy (Mary Jane who?). Rhys Ifans and The Lizard was kind of just there for me. I understand the reasons they went with that villain but I was just not hooked in like I was with Doctor Octopus. Ifans himself was okay, his character just felt like the facilitator to Spider-Man’s development as a hero.

There were a couple of pretty cliche ridden scenes that just drive me up a wall like when Peter Parker and Kurt Connors are talking to each other like they know each other is the good/bad guy, then in a flash it’s like they don’t realize it and go on with their day.

Overall the visual were fantastic, the city felt more alive to me then it ever did in the previous Spider-Man films, and in general I think this was a much better made film. In this franchise of Spider-Man I still think Spider-Man 2 is the best of the films produced thus far but I think this would be a solid second place.

It is less of a film for kids than its predecessors as well with slightly more graphic violence. In fact this felt much more in line with what Marvel Studios has been doing with their Avengers films.

If anything The Amazing Spider-Man converted me. I was not down for this move at all, but now I can happily say that the reboot worked! I am looking forward to what this cast can do with the franchise going forward!

3 Geeky Glasses

PG-13, 2 hr. 17 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Marc Webb

Written By: Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, James Vanderbilt

TRAILER:

Not getting you Dark Knight Rises fix just yet? Can’t wait a few more days until the movie comes to your local cinema? Then rejoice! We’ve got a 13 minutes long featurette which covers the main characters (although they still gloss over the Miranda Tate character pretty quickly…hmmmmmmm) and they give you a little more of the story involving them.

Plus there are actually quite a few new snippets of footage. And it sounds like they have adjusted Bane’s audio levels from the last trailer (at least a little bit). ENJOY!!!

We are still several months away from the debut of Peter Jackson’s two part Hobbit film series. The first of which is called “An Unexpected Journey” the latter is “There and Back Again”.

While Part 1 comes out in December, Jackson recently posted on his Facebook page that principal shooting for both films have now wrapped!

We made it! Shoot day 266 and the end of principal photography on The Hobbit. Thanks to our fantastic cast and crew for getting us this far, and to all of you for your support! Next stop, the cutting room. Oh, and Comic Con!
Cheers, Peter J

So that might mean that fans lucky enough to attend Comic Con this year will be seeing some brand new footage from at least the first part if not both!

It should also be noted that this doesn’t end the shooting for the film by any means. In fact Sir Ian McKellen himself said he would be returning to New Zealand next year to do some additional shooting for the second half of the film.

The Hobbit follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild (Richard Armitage). Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is set to open December 14, 2012 and will be followed a year later by The Hobbit: There and Back Again on December 13, 2013.

A few days ago the official Facebook page for The Avengers posted some Iron Man 3 concept art from Ryan Meinerding. In the image we we RDJ’s Tony Stark being chased by men with guns while Stark himself is partially in his Iron Man suit.

The real spoiler here is the long rumored and eventually sort of confirmed extremis story line. Iron Man’s new suit (whether or not it deviates from the comic book or not) will involve nano technology. And you can see by the armor on his left arm, it looks like a wispy cloud coming together to form the armor.

Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall, Ashley Hamilton, and Guy Pearce round out the cast, and the plot will borrow elements from Warren Ellis’ six-issue “Iron Man: Extremis” comic books which focuses heavily on the spread a genome-attacking viral creation known as Extremis through nanotechnology.

Iron Man 3 is currently shooting under the direction of Shane Black and will be released May 2013.

REVIEW:
Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame has bestowed his first feature film upon us. He not only co-wrote the movie but serves as the director as well. But let me join the losng list of others who have said this: You do not need to be a fan of Family Guy to like this movie. Personally I find Family Guy to be more miss than hit, and I don’t watch it very often, but this movie was a lot of fun. And yes there is one kind of funny Family Guy reference in the movie.

Mark Wahlberg is particularly great in this film. But him in the wrong spot and you get that M. Night film with the plants that are trying to kill you. The right spot and you get comedy gold like TED. Wahlberg plays John who made a wish when he was young that brings his Teddy Bear to life. Not only does this work but Ted grows up along with John. They even manage to smartly explain away why Ted is excepted by society (after all he is a talking Teddy Bear).

Mila Kunis is his long time girlfriend who want John to grow up and stop hanging out with his friend/Teddy Bear. It’s a pretty thankless role for her because she kind of has to play the spoil to John and Ted’s excellent adventure. But she manages to do it in a way that avoids the stereotypical nagging girlfriend.

Other highlights include a distrubingly creepy performance by Giovanni Ribisi, an awesome bookend narrator role by Patrick Stewart, SAM JONES (aka Flash Gordon), Joel McHale, and cool cameo by Alex Borstien and Ralph Garman as younger John’s parents.

The CG work is close to flawless. Ted really looks fantastic and nearly seamlessly blends in with the world around. There is a particularly great scene straight out of the Forest Gump  playbook where Ted is on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson that I hope makes for a cool special feature on the Blu-Ray release.  I should also note that the soundtrack is really amazing as well. Seth is a big fan of Big Band music and we get a ton of it throughout and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Even though it wasn’t a comedy per say Cabin in the Woods is still the funniest movie I have seen this year but this is a close number two! If this is Seth MacFarlane’s  first shot at a feature I can’t wait for his second!

It should be noted that they actually do play up a couple of scenes that are, in fact, really touching. The only real point of contention out there is the way the movie ended.  Honestly I think it had the proper ending, and if they wanted to go cheese ball, they could have easily gone further than they did.

Again! If you are holding out because you hate Family Guy, don’t worry. With the exception of Ted’s voice, there really isn’t a whole lot of Family Guy in this movie at all.

3 1/2 Geeky Glasses

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Comedy

Directed By: Seth MacFarlane

Written By: Seth MacFarlane

TRAILER:

SYNOPSIS:
Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov reinvent the time-honored genre and present the terrifying creatures of the night as they were meant to be experienced — as fierce, visceral, intense and bloodthristy. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter brings to the screen the secret life of our nation’s favorite president…as history’s greatest hunter of the undead. — (C) Official Site

REVIEW:
The concept that the 16th American president was a vampire hunter is already a dubious entertainment material– if not laughable. Especially when the story is delivered in a serious, historical manner. But the novel, on which this movie is based, has actually garnered positive reviews– and followers. And with Tim Burton producing the movie version, I guess no one should underestimate the power of imagination and creativity and give this–*guffaws*–Abraham-Lincoln-with-a-secret-life-slaying-bloodsuckers a chance.

In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, America is occupied by the living and the dead. Abe (Benjamin Walker) is confronted with this fact when he found out that it was actually a vampire that killed his mother. And so he not only becomes bent on ending slavery, but also becomes determined to avenge his mother’s death and kill each and every vampire that exists in his beloved country. His determination of the latter comes true when he meets the mysterious Henry (Dominic Cooper), who trains him to become a vampire hunter. And so, like Clark Kent and Peter Parker, Abe also lives a double life– store clerk and law student in the morning, superhero-vampire hunter at night. And if Thor wields a hammer, Abe kills the enemies with a silver-dipped axe.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) and screenplay written by the author of the novel himself, Seth Grahame-Smith, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter proves to be worse than what I expected. It offers nothing substantial. It feels like you’re watching a  video game. No, actually, it feels like you’re watching over the shoulder of a kid playing an unexciting kiddy vampire online game. That’s how uninvolved you’d feel.

Bekmambetov has excessively used slo-mo effects and MTv-like choreography in the fight scenes, the black vampire blood and wooden splinters flying in 3D–sometimes obliterated by smoke and dust and in synced with a modern film score–which totally eliminates the scary factor. No build-up tension. No sense of raw horror and danger. Also, the unnecessary 3D effects make you all the more detached to what’s going on. Yes, your eyes can comprehend a lot of action going on in the screen; all the flying, the magical axe in swift motion, the black top hat, and the cartoonish vampires baring their fangs pop-up style…but you won’t feel a thing except why such a movie exists.

No sense of history either. The historical and Lincoln biographical part of the movie is thinly told and so you won’t get anything substantial out of it either– the movie purely concentrates on the non-threatening presence of the vampires and Lincoln’s boring face and boring axe flying everywhere.

To vampire fanatics looking for a delicious horror-scare at the cinema, I suggest you just watch some YouTube pop-up monster videos because they are waay scarier than this. Not to mention more fun.

1 Geeky Pair Of Glasses

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Action & Adventure, Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Timur Bekmambetov

Written By: Seth Grahame-Smith

TRAILER:

SYNOPSIS:
The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero. — (C) Sony

REVIEW:
Do you think you need to watch a Spider-Man reboot? Is it even necessary? Only five years have passed since the end of Sam Raimi’sSpider-Man movie trilogy and yet the Marvel superhero’s story starts all over again on the big screen– this time lanky British actor Andrew Garfield (The Social Network; Never Let Me Go) replacing Tobey Maguire as the webslinger.

TRAILER:

If you haven’t had you fill of Dark Knight Rises footage we’ve got more for you! A few days ago Nokia released an exclusive Dark Knight Rises trailer on their YouTube channel.

Normally we wouldn’t bother with  putting it on the site because such trailers are largely just re-cut version of previous trailers with one or two new clips added in. But with this Nokia exclusive there is actually a lot of new stuff in here so it is definitely worth checking out!

We have been waiting a good long while for Judge Dredd to make a come back (preferably something without Rob Schneider in it). While some people thought Sly Stallone was a good fit for the character of Dredd, it was just too goofy (and at the end of the day) corny (as evidence by the 8 billion parody videos you can find of YouTube).

Now we get our first look at DREDD. This time played by Karl Urban. The trailer looks awesome, and the cast is pretty good. We’ve got high hopes for this one Geekly fans. Here is the official synopsis and the trailer.

The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.

This week Anthony and Aaron talk the tops of the Box Office. We welcome Stephanie Mayo to the Cinema Geekly team! Plus we tackle movie talk about John Carter, Men in Black III, and a lot of Prometheus talk. We also talk about the season finales of Mad Men and Game of Thrones! Plus we answer a listener question involving our favorite shows that ended up being terrible. All of that plus Blu-Ray releases, our predictions for the Box Office, and more!

SYNOPSIS:
Rock of Ages tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock ‘n’ roll romance is told through the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake and more. — (C) Warner Bros

REVIEW:
Maybe you love musical films and you’ve seen every one of them that has ever been made. Maybe you’re a fan of 80′s music and you wanna reminisce. Maybe Tom Cruise playing a rock star is a compellingly curious thing. Whatever your reason is, Rock of Ages, based on the 2006 Broadway jukebox musical of the same name, is on your must-see list.

TRAILER:

SYNOPSIS:
In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White’s beauty and power. — (C) Universal Pictures

REVIEW:
Beauty. Vanity. Power. Jealousy.

TRAILER:

House M.D. may be gone but that doesn’t mean it is the end of the road for its star Hugh Laurie. In fact Variety broke the news (which has now become all but official) that the former Anti-Hero pill popping head of diagnostic medicine will be playing the CEO on the EVIL~~~~~~~~! Omni Corporation.

In what amounts to the highest-profile role of his feature career, “House” star Hugh Laurie is in negotiations to play the villain in MGM’s remake of “RoboCop,” which will be distributed by Sony Pictures.

MGM had no comment on the casting.

“Elite Squad” helmer Jose Padilha is directing the origin story from a script by Josh Zetumer. Joel Kinnaman stars as the titular crimefighter, a decorated Detroit police office who undergoes a drastic transformation to become RoboCop after he’s brutally murdered while on duty.

Laurie is making a deal to play the villainous CEO of Omni Corp, which creates the title character for its own gain.

Gary Oldman is set to co-star as the scientist who creates him, while Abbie Cornish will play his conflicted wife. Samuel L. Jackson has also signed on to play a patriotic media mogul.

Strike Entertainment partners Eric Newman and Marc Abraham are producing the pic, which is a remake of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 pic that starred Peter Weller. Production is skedded to start this summer.

REVIEW:
Ridley Scott basically defined modern day SciFi movies as we know them. He blazed the trails with Alien and Blade Runner and then he moved on to other genres and provided us with movies like Gladiator, Thelma & Louise, and Black Hawk Down. Now he returns to form with Prometheus (the is an Alien prequel or not movie).

Well spoiler alert………… It is a prequel to Alien of sorts. You see Alien takes place in or around 2179 depending on who you believe it could be as early as 2122. Prometheus begins and ends in the year 2094, so at best this is 84 years before the events of Alien.

This story focuses around the space jockey’s unnamed race (who is of mysterious origins in the original Alien). A group of scientists are lead to a planet where they believe they will meet this race as they hold a possible key to our very existence. The answer they find isn’t probably what they were hoping for though.

Scott has once again directed a great science fiction film (probably not his best) and he directed his talented cast to some pretty great performances chief among them is bestowed to Michael Fassbender who is just fantastic as the android David. Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba are also really good in this. Guy Pearce is actually in this movie, but chances are that you will have to wait until the end credits to figure out who he played (I know I did).

Visually speaking, this movie is stunning! CG is superb, the scenery was alive and done so well that it often requires serious thought to remember that they aren’t in a real place. Scott’s movies seem to have that effect almost every time.

There are a lot of legit creepy scenes throughout and Scott (in my view) has managed to recapture a lot of what made Alien scary the first time around. I always felt the weight of the tension that the characters were feeling as well.

A lot of questions kind of remained unanswered by the time the credits rolled at the end, but the ending itself left a sequel hole in it so wide and awe inspiring that it seems pretty obvious there will be more of these to come (presuming this doesn’t bomb).

Also kudos must be doled out to the writing staff who managed to stay true to the tone that the original Alien films created. At times it really did feel like I was watching something Scott made around that same time but just never got around to releasing it.

There are some faults with the film, but most of them are minor quibbles that merely just distracted me from time to time but nothing that ultimately took away from the movie itself. It’s not a perfect film and while it works as a stand alone movie it certainly feels like it is just the first chapter in a story that has a few more chapters left.

3 1/2 Geeky Glasses

R, 2 hr. 4 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Ridley Scott

Written By: Damon Lindelof, Jon Spaihts

TRAILER:

If you are a parent, a fan of animation, and a fan of old school video games than Disney has finally made the ultimate parental geek film. Disney has released the first trailer for their upcoming animated video game-inspired film,Wreck-It Ralph. It stars John C. Reilly as a Donkey Kong-esque character who is sick of being the unappreciated villain, so he goes “game jumping” in order to become a hero. This trailer gives a great look at the excellent imagery of the movie, including fully-licensed real video game characters like Q-Bert,  Bowser, and ZANGIEF!.