A t this point, Marvel Studios can do no wrong. Even if they were barely selling any comic books, the filmmaking side of the corporate mega-giant would keep them chugging away for decades to come. It bears repeating that a huge reason why these movies continue to be successful, not only critically, but commercially, is […]
Jared Rasic film reviews
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Disaster Movie
Cloudy with a chance of “Geostorm.”
I t’s not that Gerard Butler is necessarily a bad actor. He’s usually fun to watch as he stabs or shoots his way through bad guys while failing to conceal his molasses-thick Scottish brogue. His movies instantly became more interesting when he backed away from the Katherine Heigl-infused romantic dreck he waterboarded his fans with […]
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Bingeworthy: “Stranger Things” Gets Weird
Handcuffs, fisticuffs and the return of the King
A nother week means another look at all the new and upcoming things that I think are downright neato. There’s so much goodness on Netflix that we’re gonna skip the podcasts and DVD releases this week and dive right into what’s bingeworthy. Bingeworthy: Horror films are my drug of choice, and October is my favorite […]
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There Are Other Worlds Than These
The long awaited Dark Tower fails miserably
I n the movie, “Contact,” Jodie Foster sees alien life for the first time and utters one of the best lines in movie history: “They should have sent a poet.” That’s how I feel after watching Sony’s adaptation of Stephen King’s eight-book series, “The Dark Tower.” I have neither the vocabulary nor room to tear […]
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Who Run the World?
A blockbuster superhero movie with a female in the lead. Finally.
“Be careful in the world of men, Diana. They do not deserve you.” For the last 20 years, Hollywood has made several half-assed attempts at making a “Wonder Woman” movie. At different times throughout the years, Sandra Bullock, Lucy Lawless, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Mariah Carey were all slated to play the Amazonian princess. No one […]
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Cruise Control
The Mummy Unravels Itself
Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise is very good at committing himself. To solid movies, to dangerous stunt work and lots of intense running, but most importantly, to entertaining us the best he possibly can. I usually try to separate the art from the artist (since I still enjoy the films of Woody Allen […]
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Johnny’s Depths
The latest “Pirates” finds new lows
I don’t like Johnny Depp anymore. We’ll always have “Edward Scissorhands” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” but his schtick hasn’t just gotten old, it’s become a bit unbearable. Not even taking into account his tabloid-fodder personal life, he’s become a caricature of what he once was. The thing that used to make Depp […]
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Illegal Aliens
Chestbursters in paradise
I’ve always believed the real thematic purpose of the “Alien” franchise was to highlight the ineffable terror of the unknowable. That somewhere, whether it’s deep under the ocean or hundreds of thousands of miles out in the blackness of space, there’s something truly alien that will swallow you up so profoundly that no one would […]
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Blockbusters for Adults
A summer movie preview
Once again we’re heading into the summer blockbuster season, but it means a lot less than it used to. Superhero movies, Vin Diesel franchises and giant monster flicks are released year round now instead of during the small summer window. Over the last decade, Hollywood has been in the franchise business more than ever before, […]
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Legend of the Bored
King Arthur is a swing and a myth
Why is it so hard for Hollywood to get the story of King Arthur right? Cinematic adaptations of Arthurian legend go all the way back to a 1904 silent film based on Wagner’s 1882 opera “Parsifal,” but very few of them have captured what makes the story special in the first place. Films like “Camelot” […]