The Reel Ideal

Wow. Just wow. Lords and Miller managed to really hit this one out of the park. While the creative team behind some of this year`s best films have definitely been on a roll, 22 Jump Street is quite possibly their Magnum Opus. Without exaggeration or hyperbole, 22 Jump Street may just be the funniest film of the decade. Maybe even more.

The trick is in the self-awareness of the script. 22 Jump Street is a sequel that lampoons the concept of sequels, openly poking fun at movies that foll...

I really wanted to like Days of Futures Past. I really wanted this big, ambitious idea to pan out so that studios might be more willing to take some chances and mix up their formulas a little bit. I wanted it to build on the success of the out-of-nowhere greatness that was First Class. I really wanted the film to benefit from it's huge cast and rival The Avengers with it's characters. But we don't always get what we want.

Days of Futures Past attempts to cover the entirety of the now 1...

Any boxer will tell you that the worst punch to throw is one that you've telegraphed. Nothing will have the same impact as something you didn't see coming. This analogy perfectly summarizes the main fault of Amazing Spider-Man 2: It telegraph's it's intentions right from the start, ruining what could have potentially been an interesting take on a classic character by spelling out the entire plot within the first few trailers. Even those who are only remotely interested/invested in the Spider-...

When I first saw the trailer for Winter Soldier, I remarked that it was finally Cap's year to shine. Between Robert Downey Jr. practically carrying the Marvel universe on his back in Iron Man, and Tom Hiddleston's impeccable run as Loki in Thor (and especially in Avengers), as well as the Hulk stealing the show in The Avengers, it was easy for Captain America to be relegated to runner-up status. It's easy to see why: His powers are less interesting, and his character can be easily distilled i...

300 was a film that didn't do well with repeat viewings. The "cool" parts quickly gave way to the ridiculous nature of the testosterone-fuelled plot. Even the "cool" camera tricks quickly lost their luster (too....much.......slow......motion). Needless to say, a sequel to 300 was not on my radar. Which is why I am so surprised by the overall quality of Rise of an Empire.

Lets get this our of the way really quick: Rise of an Empire is still not a great movie. It still relies heavily on g...

I've made my stance on the Marvel/DC movie landscape pretty clear in the past: Marvel good, DC bad (with the exception of The Dark Knight). However, one place where DC has always stood above it's competition is in the animated field. While Marvel has done a good job of catching up, both on T.V. and through direct-to-video releases, this is DC's home turf and Justice League: WAR is a great addition to the growing set.

Justice League: WAR is an adaptation of Justice League: Origins, and q...

Lately there's been a lot of concept art from the cancelled Bioshock movie project floating around the interwebs, possibly with the intention of drumming up interest in the hopes of resurrecting the project. While some of you may remember my plug about turning Spec Ops: The Line into a miniseries (or direct-to-Netflix series, nudge nudge), and that I had some pretty nice things to say about the transferrence of art from one medium to another, I have to say that I really don't think a Bioshock...

In a rare showing from Will Farrell and Adam McKee, Anchorman 2 hits theaters this week. I say this is rare because this particular team has never really created a sequel to one of their works before and, from all indications, had no intention of creating one for the fan-favorite Anchorman in the first place. The original film ended on such a perfect note that continuing the story seemed unnecessary and superfluous. But, money talks and you have to give the people what they want. So, how did ...

Catching Fire has both the advantage and difficult task of following up the runaway smash hit The Hunger Games. With the amount of traction that the original film garnered, it could have been really easy for the sequel to fall short. But, despite a few hiccups, Catching Fire manages to be nearly as compelling and entertaining as the original.

Set one year after Katniss's victory in The Hunger Games, we find Katniss and Peeta on a publicity tour celebrating their surviving the games. Whe...

5 Thingthat don’t make sense in Man of Steel

Man of Steel was recently released for home viewing (or, if you are likemost people out there, torrent downloading), and the advertisements are goingto try to sell you the product, as advertisements are meant to do.  Unfortunately for them, I (like many but not as many as they wouldhave liked) have already seen Man of Steel when it hit theaters and, sad tosay, it really doesn’t work. Here’s five reasons why Man of Steel...