Archive for the 'action/adventure' Category

IN TIME – Reviewed by David

Imagine the young people in Logan’s Run dropping dead when they hit thirty instead of being executed and you have the basic idea for In Time, writer/director Andrew Niccol’s sleek sci-fi effort starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried that manages to overcome lackluster acting and poor plot development thanks to its [...]

REAL STEEL – Reviewed by David

If you want to get technical about it, director Shawn Levy’s Real Steel is not an official adaptation of the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots game, but it may as well be, because I can’t imagine any other film employing the admittedly silly idea of boxing robots being as wholly enjoyable as [...]

KILLER ELITE – Reviewed by David

Though it shares its title with a 1975 Sam Peckinpah flick, Killer Elite is actually a surprisingly better-than-average Jason Statham thriller, one that nicely complements the perpetually scowling star’s standard shtick of talking tough, kicking butt and driving cars really fast with a somewhat weightier plot and the comparatively superior acting chops [...]

COLOMBIANA – Reviewed by David

Having proved she could hold her own with the boys and their toys in last year’s entertaining action comedy The Losers, Zoe Saldana justifiably headlines her own action opus as a sexy, revenge-minded assassin in Colombiana, the latest slick but slight shoot ‘em up to roll out of the prolific Luc Besson action factory.

WARRIOR – Reviewed by Noah

Tom Hardy has never disappointed me. There might have been some times, before I knew who he was, when maybe he wasn’t at the top of his game. I’m looking at you, Star Trek: Nemesis. But consistently, since Bronson, I will see anything with Tom Hardy in it.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – Reviewed by Will

The original Planet of the Apes franchise, spanning five films from the original 1968 Charlton Heston movie to 1973’s Battle for the Planet of the Apes, was equal parts science fiction and social satire. It turned out that people wearing chimp costumes were remarkably versatile in service of the latter goal, making [...]

KUNG FU PANDA 2 – Reviewed by David

Jack Black officially gets his first franchise with Kung Fu Panda 2, the sequel to the hugely popular 2008 CGI adventure that improves on its parent by being a little less frenetic and, surprisingly, adopting a somewhat darker tone.

COWBOYS & ALIENS – Reviewed by Will

The mixing of the Western and sci-fi genres is nothing new. It goes back at least as far as when Singing Cowboy Gene Autry descended into the super-advanced underground civilization of Murania in the kooky but fun 1935 serial The Phantom Empire. Over the years, it’s been done with varied success, ranging from [...]

CONAN THE BARBARIAN – Reviewed by David

Playing writer Robert E. Howard’s fictional warrior convincingly requires one to possess big muscles, skill with a sword and, apparently, a thick Austrian accent. Because while Jason Momoa, who assumes the title role in this new version of Conan the Barbarian, meets the first two requirements, the film suffers immeasurably for [...]

BELLFLOWER – Reviewed by Noah

Bellflower is not for everyone. If you don’t like violence, forget about Bellflower. If you need a linear narrative, forget about Bellflower.
If neither of these is a problem, why haven’t you seen Bellflower yet?

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