Archive for the ‘Drew’ Category
Sep
09
Posted by Drew
Greetings, cinemaphiles! Because you demanded it, I’m back with yet another list of independent comics that would make for good movies. Even though this is my third go-around, the problem once again wasn’t finding enough indie comics that could make the transition, it was narrowing down the list. Some were easy to discount, like Whiteout, a thriller about a U.S. marshal stationed in Antarctica investigating a series of grisly murders among scientists at research bases. Why didn’t it make the list? One reason and one reason only: it’s already a movie, opening this September. (I have high hopes, even though they prettied up the homely protagonist by casting Kate Beckinsale and replaced her female British spy cohort with a male love interest.) Or Wildguard, a comic about an American Idol-esque reality show where rookie superheroes compete to join a new superteam. Great premise, but I honestly think it’d work better as a TV show than a movie. Other choices weren’t so easy to weed out, but weed them out I did so that I could bring you the following: five more indie comics that could be turned into terrific films.
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Aug
26
Posted by Drew
“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!”
The Scoop: 2009 PG-13, directed by Lauren Montgomery and starring Christopher Meloni, Victor Garber and Michael Madsen
Tagline: Beware His Power
Summary Capsule: Fearless test pilot Hal Jordan inherits a power ring that lets him do damn near anything, but first must undergo training with shifty hardass Sinestro. Nothing bad could possibly happen.
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Aug
12
Posted by Drew
“No school like the old school.”
The Scoop: 2004 PG, directed by Brad Bird and starring Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter and Jason Lee
Tagline: Save The Day
Summary Capsule: More than a decade after superheroes went into hiding to avoid litigation and public condemnation, one super-powered family is forced to save the world, and in doing so teach us all what it means to be a superhero.
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Jul
30
Posted by Drew
Fair warning: I’m going to admit something that will immediately alienate at least half of you and possibly make you swear off my reviews forever. Ready?
I like Undeclared better than Freaks and Geeks.
Sorry. I know I just invalidated the entire rest of this article for many of you, but I gotta be me. And “me” is a guy who likes about a 90/10 split between his comedy and drama. There’s no denying that Freaks was an excellent show with more than its share of funny moments, but the focus on laughs over all else makes Undeclared the preferred Judd Apatow vehicle in my eyes. I hope I have not brought shame on my family, and that you will continue reading on through your disgust.
The obligatory background: after critical darling Freaks and Geeks met with a much-lamented cancellation, creator Judd Apatow decided to spearhead a new show, this time about college life. After pouring his heart and soul into Freaks and having them crushed, his intent was to make a breezy comedy that he wouldn’t have to stress about, a half hour show to Freaks’ hour because clearly that would only be half the work. This failed miserably on all levels. As Apatow humorously reflects in his introduction to the Undeclared DVD, “I worked more hours than ever. I quickly learned that a half hour comedy is way harder to produce than an hour drama. With Freaks, if a scene wasn’t funny, we called it drama. With Undeclared, if it wasn’t funny, it just wasn’t funny.” Throw in major casting issues — the plan was to bring in numerous Freaks alums as main cast members, but only one (Seth Rogen) was approved by network execs, though many others became guest stars — and you can understand Apatow’s frustration. Add to that the fact that it STILL didn’t work, with Undeclared being canceled after one season just like its predecessor, and is it any wonder Apatow made the leap to cinema and hasn’t looked back? Probably not… but at least he left us with two great albeit shortlived shows before he did. Well, and the knowledge that he sent FOX executives a note reading, “How can you #?!* me in the @##$!?% again when your =%!# is still in there from last time?” Which, as far as I’m concerned, is just icing on the cake. But enough history, what’s this show all about?
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Jul
15
Posted by Drew
“I led you here, sir, for I am Spartacus.”
The Scoop: 1996 PG, directed by Tom Hanks and starring Tom Hanks, Liv Tyler and Tom Hanks’ younger clone (er, Tom Everett Scott)
Tagline: In every life there comes a time when that dream you dream becomes that thing you do.
Summary Capsule: The Oneders Wonders, a group of young musicians in the mid 60s, record a hit tune and skyrocket to fame… maybe a bit too quickly. Can the band work out their differences, or will they end up as the one-hit Wonders?
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Jul
01
Posted by Drew
“My father was a wheel! The first wheel! And do you know what he transformed into? Nothing! But he did it with honor!”
The Scoop: 2009 PG-13, directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and Megan Fox’s breasts in slow motion
Tagline: Revenge is coming.
Summary Capsule: Special effects gurus secure themselves an Oscar nomination by hiding Megan Fox’s tattoos for 2 1/2 hours. Also, giant transforming robots.
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Jun
24
Posted by Drew
“He’s weird, he’s strange, he’s sloppy, he’s a total nightmare for women… I can’t believe I haven’t slept with him yet.”
The Scoop: 1994 R, directed by Ben Stiller and starring Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Ben Stiller
Tagline: A comedy about love in the 90’s.
Summary Capsule: If you’ve never seen a mid-90’s movie, allow me to summarize for you: a group of twentysomething friends live, philosophize and sleep together while damning the Man and avoiding work. Set to a good soundtrack.
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May
30
Posted by Justin
The topic on the table today is this: What movies were so cool to you as a kid, but now you are embarrassed to be in the same room as them?
Let’s hear what the Mutants have to say!
Mike: It’s funny, a friend of mine actually coined a term for this phenomena: Darkman Syndrome. It’s a weird category here. Mortal Kombat at the time it came out was the coolest thing I’d ever seen, and upon seeing it more recently I literally cringed at the crappy CGI, atrocious dialogue, and wooden acting, but alternatively, Howard the Duck has only improved in my estimation. Go fig.
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May
28
Posted by Drew
“However cleverly you sneak up on a mirror, your reflection always looks you straight in the eye.”
The Scoop: 1987 R, directed by Alan Parker, starring Mickey Rourke, Robert DeNiro and Lisa Bonet
Tagline: Harry Angel has been hired to search for the truth… pray he doesn’t find it.
Summary Capsule: If we were to combine Noir Week and Stephen King Week, this is the film we’d review.
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May
15
Posted by Drew
“Ahhh, these monsters are as stupid as human beings!”
The Scoop: 1964, directed by Ishiro Honda and starring Haruo Nakajima, Katsumi Tezuka and Shoichi Hirose
Tagline: The Three-Headed Monster battles Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan for the world!
Summary Capsule: Giant monsters fight, then unite against a common foe as the series takes its first steps toward humanizing its star.
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