"300: Rise of an Empire” doesn't top or equal the original, but this companion piece to the 2007 blockbuster "300" still offers some deliciously sly camp filled with the franchise's signature speed-ramping fights and bloody CGI gore. This time, the story utilizes love and vengeance for its central theme, while consistently delivering a sense of duality to the story and character elements presented in the "300" movie canon. The film is primarily set in the Greek waters where epic naval
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Bernardo Carpio (Animated Short Film): Behind the scenes
‘300’ Film Review: Prepare for Glory!
"300" rips your heart with death, then redeems it after with glory. This warrior's film breathtakingly fires the soul with valor. Every warrior ready to die for glory would have some wild night. Every citizen advocating freedom would be engaged. For everyone else, it would be an uncompromising experience in the battlefield. More About 300: A Film Buff's Movie Memorabilia Collection Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, "300" is a fierce and ferocious screen adaptation. Director Zack
‘300: The Art of the Film’ Book: The best movie-related gift I’ve ever received to date
Being a film buff and a film professional, it's not surprising to get movie-related gifts every once in a while. By now, many of my friends already know that I have a collection of movie-branded items and memorabilia, all of which I got as gifts from friends, relatives, and companies. Of course, I treasure all items in my collection. Yet, there's that one gift I received that tops them all. My Favorite Movies It was in 2006 when I saw one
‘The Legend of Zorro’ Film Review: The Dela Vega heroes
"The Legend of Zorro" tones down a bit by fronting the more human issues about family relationships in its storytelling, as compared to the visually purist, action-filled premise driving the storyline for such an action genre offering. Yet, this follow-up to “The Mask of Zorro” doesn't lose its own touch of valuable action and playful camera work. The pompous stunts, grand production design, and outstanding cinematography often keep the spectators' eyes nailed to what happens next. The film captures the audience right from
Blu-ray Review: ‘Men in Black 3’
This third installment to the "Men in Black" series shines as a fan-pleasing offering. A surprising success to a relatively aging franchise, it returns to the screen as a strong compliment to the sci-fi action and comedy brand. "Men in Black 3" comes out on a two-disc set consisting of a Blu-ray disc and a DVD. This home video release contains the film's HD, SD, and UV digital copies, as well as a handful of supplements. This highly entertaining sequel helmed by
‘Beowulf’ (2007) Film Review: Motion-capture statement
"Beowulf" ambitiously blends CGI, motion-capture, and 3D technologies to bring a new level of hyperreality for the viewers to enjoy. Everybody knows, or at least, has already heard about the epic poem "Beowulf" in school, or perhaps, with the prior 2005 live-action offering "Beowulf and Grendel" starring Gerard Butler as Beowulf. This time, the Robert Zemeckis-helmed "Beowulf" utilizes the latest motion-control technology available to tell a tale approximately 1,400 years old in an astonishingly new way -- a sensory animation experience
‘Pacific Rim’ Film Review: Monstrously nostalgic metallic mayhem
"Pacific Rim" is epic action art for those who love robots and monsters. This monsterfest is a hybrid of just about every major cinematic genre. It showcases the grandest traditions in war, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, alien, monster, and robot movies. Full of mechanized mayhem, it taps into that primal fondness of seeing two big things tearing each other apart. It may be a generic, familiar, and cliché-ridden piece with cardboard characters, but it still wins its target audience over through the visceral
Blu-ray Review: ‘Gangster Squad’
"Gangster Squad" debuts in home video format via a two-disc set housing the film's Blu-ray, DVD, UV digital, and iTunes digital copies. This 2013 picture's theatrical release was infamously delayed for a few months in the wake of the tragic Aurora theater shooting in 2012. The production decided to reshoot its mid-movie shootout in order to remove the sequence involving a massacre in a movie theater. Ruben Fleischer helms this period actioner that stars Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma
‘Sky High’ Film Review: Soaring HS heroes and sidekicks
This is a Disney hybrid superhero movie: "The Incredibles" meets "X-men" via "Harry Potter." If you think Hogwarts is the only secret school for extraordinary kids, well there's also the heroic children's world of "Sky High." This film is a hybrid superhero flick: "The Incredibles" meets the "X-Men" via "Harry Potter." It may be a Disney flick with a big celebration of superhero cliches; but it is entertaining enough for its target market. As a derivative, it never claims to be genuinely superior to its more successful blockbuster sources. Despite having a