"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
Heroes/Superheroes
Blu-ray Review: ‘Schindler’s List’ 20th Anniversary Edition
The 1993 cinematic masterpiece "Schindler's List" arrives on a three-disc combo pack dubbed as its 20th Anniversary Edition. This DigiPack release contains one Blu-ray disc and two DVDs housing the film's Blu-Ray, DVD, UV digital, and iTunes digital copies, as well as a handful of extras. This Steven Spielberg opus stars Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Embeth Davidtz, Caroline Goodall, and Jonathan Sagall. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with 6 other wins out of 12
Blu-ray Review: ‘Rise of the Guardians’
"Rise of the Guardians" arrives on a two-disc set containing this 2012 animated film's Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copies. This package brings together some of the world's most famous childhood heroes and mythical creatures in an inventive story about the power of belief, faith, and the values of the universe. These legendary characters collectively known as the Guardians have powers that come from the children believing in them. A muscular and tattooed Santa leads the team that also includes the Easter
‘District 9’ Film Review: Thinking man’s sci-fi
"District 9" is a hybrid of a film: a Hollywood material that looks like a successful anti-Hollywood venture and a brilliant social commentary. Produced by the people behind the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) franchise including its helmer Peter Jackson, this motion picture delivers its universal message about ethnic tolerance through the tale of a doomed extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth, mainly in a South African ghetto, until these beings suddenly find a kindred spirit in a
‘Star Trek’ (2009) Film Review: Warpspeed wow!
Something old reboots as a glorious new. Reinventing a classic sci-fi series is prone to becoming victimized by the blackhole of franchise re-openings, but what this new "Star Trek" presents is a flaring shine of a supernova from start to end. The plot may be preposterous, but the way the film is constructed provides a genuinely rollicking adventure - a fine escapist entertainment that has just validated the tagline, "Live long and prosper." From the first stunning visuals of a pre-Enterprise time
‘Watchmen’ Film Review: Watching a heroic deconstruction
"Watchmen" is visually stunning but flawed in certain ways. An eye-popping, faithful adaptation crafted as a lavish cult movie, it spins a comic deemed "unfilmable" into a blockbuster epic for the specific admirers of the superhero genre and the fan base of the groundbreaking book from writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons. Grappling with the graphic novel's multi-layered storyline, this dystopian film utilizes a deeply dark heart unmasking the world's harsh realities. "Watchmen" is no doubt a love letter to those
‘Iron Man’ Film Review: The stark of iron myth-making
"Iron Man" is funny without being cartoonish and serious without being dull. This difficult balance gets achieved in this cinematic translation of the comic book superhero as it solders its often iron-clad character into an organically-driven figure. Unlike most rusty superhero origin stories created for the big screen, this motion picture offers a thrilling mix of high-tech dazzle and good old-fashioned charisma in an already exhausted genre. Creating a musical screen time for its industrial superhero’s cool armor, this Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment screen adaptation provides
‘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
‘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
‘Transporter 2’ Film Review: Escapist ride
Jason Statham's Frank Martin offers that monosyllabic intensity for the usual understated hero. "Transporter 2" maintains the typical formula: the good guy chasing the bad guys. Its B-movie plot twists are like an assemblage of action-sequel clichés carefully endorsing the car brand Audi. Frank Martin's (Jason Statham) monosyllabic intensity as the usual understated hero effectively moves around in fierce car chases and impossible martial arts sequences. This doesn't stop the movie from being absurdly pleasurable. It suspends disbelief for a one-and-a-half hour