"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
Prequels/Sequels
‘Rio 2’ Film Review: Perfectly fine, perfectly forgettable
"Rio 2" is a delightfully bright and breezy bit of computer-generated entertainment. As an acceptable family fare, this sequel maintains that blockbuster flavor that is expected of such an animated flick. It mostly hits the sweet spot when it comes to eye-popping visuals and feisty song-and-dance sequences. However, its predictable narrative plays too safe that it simply crafts nothing more than a fine commercial blend of heart-warming and toe-tapping moments for its target demographic. For this second installment in the "Rio"
‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ Film Review: The entertaining fire-breathing excess
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" entertains with its fiery wave of action and adventure. However, it remains hamstrung by its own middle chapter narrative problems. Clearly forced into a trilogy stretch for the cash-cow potential of a single book, this second "Hobbit" film proves that one can have too much of a good thing when it comes to delivering a quota of thrills, but still end up as yet another ponderous placeholder for the grand finale. At the very least,
‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ Film Review: Burning the sophomore flame
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is a smashing sci-fi commentary that is in many ways full of good old-fashioned escapism. It is often full of well-paced action, fluid drama and subtle romance, as well as ornate costumes and seamless CG effects. It is every bit an intense and gripping piece of entertainment with no line or character getting wasted on screen. Cleverly helmed by Francis Lawrence, this follow-up to the 2012 blockbuster film takes the popular franchise into a deeper
‘The Hangover Part III’ Film Review: Hanging expectations
There are some moments to treasure, but Todd Phillips' "The Hangover Part III" mainly becomes less a comedy and more a contract obligation. In trying to be different from its predecessors, the backbone story of this third installment breaks away from the pattern that made the first film a surprise hit, which actually has its share of ups and downs. With no wedding, no bachelor party, and no drug-induced amnesia to offer in its basic premise, it avoids becoming a genetic
Blu-ray Review: ‘The Hangover Part II’
"The Hangover Part II" releases on a two-disc set, which houses the film's Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copies. This 2011 sequel to the blockbuster comedy "The Hangover" moves from Las Vegas to Bangkok as the Wolfpack gets into another pre-wedding, post-blackout misadventure. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, and Ken Jeong reprise their roles in this popular black comedy offering. Visuals "The Hangover Part II" is as hot and humid as its shooting location. The warmly saturated images for
‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2’ Film Review: Capping a decade of epic magic
For this concluding chapter, there is that sense of nostalgia on how everything started and how things come to an end. Gracefully aging in terms of look, treatment, and emotional exploration for the last 10 years of its existence, the "success spell" for J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series has never been broken. Now, for the final film of the legendary franchise, the little boy in Harry officially becomes a man. With it comes a capper to a decade-long saga loved by
‘Angels and Demons’ Film Review: From suspense novel to audio-visual flair
This "Angels and Demons" film adaptation is a less contemplative and a more motion-driven version of Dan Brown's novel. "Angels and Demons" mounts the visuals the way I imagined them while reading the Dan Brown novel. That part is impressive. However, the suspense part that hooked me to the book gets lost in the film adaptation. For a movie based entirely around a beat-the-clock goal, the momentum gets significantly lost and the far-fetched plot surfaces more without the packed intensity and
‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ Film Review: The odds of guilty pleasure
For "Ocean's Thirteen," watching the inventive and spontaneous bunch of professional men pulling off an impossible heist for the third time is a guilty pleasure to watch. The usual suspects known for delivering their witty lines in effective, nonchalant ways, as well as doing impossible tasks in various capacities, are back with sophisticated humor, peppered ironies, comedic suspense, and contagious energy that has marked the franchise since "Ocean's Eleven." Centering the saga on male camaraderie, team loyalty, and cool professionalism, this follow-up offering has
‘Shrek the Third’ Film Review: The slapstick third
While it offers nothing new on the table, this third movie of the "Shrek" franchise compensates with its laid-back familiarity and comedy. The Shrek Franchise The best thing about the "Shrek" movies is that you are offered a patented comic blend of fairy tale tradition and pop-culture references. These recreate a comic flavor and moral implications for its wide commercial range of movie viewers. The franchise's main charm is its organic ability to mix fairy tale sweetness and pop-culture tradition with a