“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is one of the best movies of the summer and delivers everything that Tim Burton, Mark Wahlberg couldn’t in 2001’s “Planet of the Apes”, and characters we care about. James Franco plays Will Rodman, a genetic researcher who is obsessed with pushing for a drug to get to human trials that will repair brain cells and lead to a cure for Alzheimer’s. ... Read More

I did not see “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” for almost two weeks after its release. I saw the first two films on opening day.  I loved the first one. “Revenge of the Fallen” was such a colossal disappointment on almost every level.  There’s no way a film that made billions of dollars is going to retool to make a better third film right? Wrong.  “Dark of the Moon”... Read More

As a child of the 80s I grew up on a steady diet of films directed or produced by Steven Spielberg, with E.T., Gremlins, The Goonies, and Back to the Future among them.  One of the things all of these films had in common were that they all featured protagonists that were either kids or teens.  So when I heard J.J. Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Cloverfield) was working with Spielberg... Read More

“Super 8″ has been shrouded in secrecy during its whole production and marketing campaign.  This is unconventional for Hollywood that loves to give you the Cliff Notes in the trailer.  Director J.J. Abrams and Executive Producer Steven Spielberg bet big that people would see this movie if you showed them less.  Abrams with “Super 8″ has made a touching... Read More

In the early 1960s, before the rise and explosion of mutants, Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr  were just beginning to discover their powers.  Eric is a child of the Holocaust and is introduced to Sebastian Shaw, a man who is interested in his powers. Charles Xavier grows up in New York and finds little Raven (Mystique) stealing food out of his kitchen.  He takes her in and... Read More

Fan made poster by Jeffrey Zhang Comic book movies seem to fall into one of three categories: 1) the flop, usually a bad idea which leads to disappointment to both the general audience and to the fanboys at large, see Catwomen, Ghost Rider, The Watchmen. 2) The origin story, which is usually pretty good, but has to spend a lot of time setting up things for the next films in the... Read More

“The Beaver” is a brilliant portrayal of a man who tries to salvage himself through a puppet.  Walter (Mel Gibson) is depressed and lacks the ability to go on.  His wife Meredith, played by Director Jodie Foster, kicks him out.  Walter comes across a beaver puppet in a dumpster and takes it home.  Walter wakes up and is talking to himself through the beaver.  He tells everyone... Read More

Male camaraderie has made Judd Apatow one of the biggest names in Hollywood and with “Bridesmaids”, he gives us the female equivalent of “The Hangover” that will be fun for X and Y-chromosomes alike. After working together on “Knocked Up”, Judd Apatow asked Kristen Wiig if she wanted to write anything for him and pushed her to write a script.  Wiig and Annie Mumulo... Read More

By Kyle Meador The newest Marvel comic legend to hit the big screen is Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tim Hiddleston, this movie delivers a broad, fast-paced plot that moves quite quickly and freely between three different realms. The movie makes a basic trade with you – if you’ll give up any requirements of plausibility,... Read More

Kenneth Branagh’s direction guides “Thor” into a great summer flick that slays every “Avengers” film and make the case it’s better than all of them.  I wasn’t looking forward to this movie for a long time. How good could a movie starring Captain Kirk’s dad be? It wasn’t until the trailer that shows Thor drinking coffee and saying he likes this drink and smashes... Read More