G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Heroes are made in America.
Filmmaker(s): Jon M. Chu
Framed for crimes against the country, the G.I. Joe team is terminated by Presidential order. This forces the G.I. Joes into not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence.
06 Feb G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Guys and Dolls I suppose it is natural to define a self from negatives: what you are not. So much in public life depends on this dynamic. It is a dangerous urge that I often see out of control, and one I want to closely...
Skyfall (2012)
Think on your sins.
Filmmaker(s): Sam Mendes
When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong, agents around the world are exposed and MI6 headquarters is attacked. While M faces challenges to her authority and position from Gareth Mallory, the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it's up to Bond, aided only by field agent Eve, to locate the mastermind behind the attack.
06 Feb Skyfall (2012)
Hacked Screens Gosh, what a difference it makes when you bring in real artists! Here we have essentially the same formula as always, produced by the same Broccoli thick heads as usual. Also, as usual, the production was ‘troubled,’ with fundamental changes occurring well into...
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
Remember who the enemy is.
Filmmaker(s): Francis Lawrence
Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.
06 Feb The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
Alderaan Dies I get asked for examples all the time, even after all these years. Okay, here‘s one. Noir, by my definition is the placing of a world such that the viewers collectively control it. The effect is that ordinary people in the story find...
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Beyond darkness... beyond desolation... lies the greatest danger of all.
Filmmaker(s): Peter Jackson
The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.
06 Feb The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
The Source of the Imagining I read many criticisms of this. Apparently, there is a fundamentalist Tolkien fan club that rivals the Austen group in assailing anyone that deviates from the written word; by this I mean the last rewrite of Tolkien‘s I never could...
Ender’s Game (2013)
This is not a game.
Filmmaker(s): Gavin Hood
Based on the classic novel by Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is the story of the Earth's most gifted children training to defend their homeplanet in the space wars of the future.
06 Feb Ender’s Game (2013)
Internals Revealed I do dimly recall the first couple books of the series. They were engagingly written. But more importantly, they used a device that probably won‘t work today. The books were powerful because they focused on Ender‘s internal mind. The second book folded this...
The Wolverine (2013)
When he's most vulnerable, he's most dangerous.
Filmmaker(s): James Mangold
Wolverine faces his ultimate nemesis - and tests of his physical, emotional, and mortal limits - in a life-changing voyage to modern-day Japan.
05 Feb The Wolverine (2013)
Sniffing the Dog that Went Before There isn’t much to say about the ordinary features of this. It is a Marvel production and that means the world is dull in all aspects. They seem incapable of leaving safe territory, so this is more or less...
The Gruffalo’s Child (2011)
Filmmaker(s): Uwe Heidschötter, Johannes Weiland
A follow up to the 2009 animated feature and adapted from the childrens' book by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler. The Gruffalo's child explores the deep dark wood in search of the big bad mouse and meets the Snake, Owl and Fox in the process. She eventually finds the mouse, who manages to outwit her like the Gruffalo before!
05 Feb The Gruffalo’s Child (2011)
Flat Black Tongues Oh help. Oh no! This is not the Gruffalo. If you know the book of which this story is the sequel, then you have experienced something special. It has an untrusted narrator nested in another untrusted narrator. The inner con is by...
Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
The movie event that will blow their cover
Filmmaker(s): Eric Darnell, Simon J. Smith
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.
05 Feb Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
Films on Top of Films Some reviews you will read may remark on how self-aware this is as a movie. The target audience of kids won‘t get any of the movie references, but some of their parents will. It is pretty obvious that a strategy...
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
All heroes start somewhere.
Filmmaker(s): James Gunn
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
