“He’s like a turd that won’t flush!”
The Scoop: 1995 PG-13, directed by Kevin Reynolds and Kevin Costner and starring Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Dennis Hopper
Tagline: Beyond the horizon lies the secret to a new beginning.
Summary Capsule: Fish-man breaks his code of uppity-ness to help a naked woman and a tattooed kiddo find dirt.
“I’m the guy that keeps Mr. Dead in his pocket.”
The Scoop: 1985 PG-13, directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie and starring Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Angelo Rossitto, Paul Larsson, Angry Anderson, Helen Buday, Frank Thring and Robert Grubb.
Tagline: Hold out for Mad Max. This is his greatest adventure.
Summary Capsule: A futuristic parable involving Max, some kids, Tina Turner in chain-mail, and lots and lots of pigs. Read the rest of this entry »
A familiar term nowadays amongst TV watchers is the ‘Firefly effect’ – in other words, getting really into a new show only for it to be cancelled with breathtaking rapidity. When grumbling about this, though, it’s important to remember that it is not a recent phenomenon; it’s been happening since the invention of the TV and/or radio. A show will gain a loyal fanbase who are just itching to see what happens next, and then, out of the blue – nothing happens next, because the show is gone.
This is always a pity, but the mere fact that it has a loyal fanbase will keep it alive, if not active, thereby attaining the rarified status of ‘cult’. My question, therefore, is this – does the Firefly effect still apply when the show in question has been off the air for years, and I never saw it during its initial run?
Ah, well. I’m gonna review it anyway. Read the rest of this entry »
“There are things that go bump in the night. And we are the ones who bump back.”
The Scoop: 2004 12A, directed by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair and John Hurt.
Tagline: Give Evil Hell
Summary Capsule: Good supernatural monsters fight against evil supernatural monsters with the help of the government and avert all kinds of Armageddon badness.
“One compass remains, and only one who can read it.”
The Scoop: PG-13 2007, directed by Chris Weitz and starring Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman and Sam Elliot.
Tagline: There are worlds beyond our own. The Compass will show the way.
Summary Capsule: Little girl takes on villains who are definitely not the Catholic Church with the help of a cowboy, a witch, some gypsies, a bear and her soul. Read the rest of this entry »
“Hello, my freaky darlings.”
The Scoop: 2003 PG-13, directed by Stephen Norrington and starring Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shaw, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Stuart Townsend, Shane West, Jason Flemyng and Richard Roxburgh.
Tagline: Prepare for the extraordinary.
Summary Capsule: Characters from Victorian literature team up to save the world. Read the rest of this entry »
“No, Mr. Bond! I expect you to die!”
The Scoop: 1964 PG, directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Gert Frobe, and Harold Sakata
Tagline: Everything he touches turns to excitement!
Summary Capsule: It’s Operation Grand Slam vs Operation Gland Slam, as Bond matches wits against the latinum-obsessed Ferengi, Auric Goldfinger.
“I think you ought to know, I’m feeling very depressed.”
The Scoop: PG 2005, directed by Garth Jennings and starring Martin Freeman, Alan Rickman and Sam Rockwell.
Tagline: Don’t Panic.
Summary Capsule: When earth is demolished, an earth man and an earth woman are saved separately by two men from space and proceed to have wacky adventures therein concerning the Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything. Read the rest of this entry »
“They serve pancakes in hell!”
The Scoop: 2011 R, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and starring John Cho, Kal Penn, and Neil Patrick Harris
Tagline: Get Mistle-toasted.
Summary Capsule: An estranged Harold and Kumar must reunite on Christmas Eve and venture into New York City, where they must find the perfect Christmas tree, avoid the Russian mob, and discover that true love comes in the shape of a waffle.
“You can promise that I will come back?” “…No. And if you do, you will not be the same.”
The Scoop: 2012 PG-13, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, and Richard Armitage
Tagline: From the smallest beginnings come the greatest legends.
Summary Capsule: A little hobbit begins an adventure with thirteen dwarves and a wizard.
