The Amazing Spider-Man – Movie Review

Is it a new superhero classic or a mediocre hodgepodge of genre tropes? Hit the jump to find out.

A mere five years after the conclusion of Sam Raimi’s (mostly) well received Spider-Man trilogy, 20th Century Fox has given us a reboot of everyone’s favorite angst-driven web slinger. When it comes to reboots, Hollywood has a spotty record to say the least. Last year’s Rise of The Planet of The Apes, was a smashing success, while 2008’s The Incredible Hulk was deemed a mediocre attempt. Going into The Amazing Spider-Man, I hoped for the best and looked forward to the nitty-gritty rendition of this iconic character that director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) had promised. To my chagrin, one of Marvel’s best contributions to the pantheon of comic fandom has been reduced to an androgynous regurgitation of the Twilight series. It was a devastating site to behold.

Prometheus (2012) – Movie Review

Click here to check out our Alien Retrospective series

By Kevin Pallotti

Did it live up to expectations or confuse the hell out of everybody?

What can I possibly say about Ridley Scott that hasn’t already been said? He’s a directorial juggernaut. His influence on modern cinema is well documented to say the least. Between Alien and Blade Runner, Scott forged the mold for highly stylized yet substantive science-fiction cinema. Thirty-three years after the release of Alien, Ridley Scott has returned to the very galaxy from which this film emerged to give us, Prometheus. For months leading up to its release, critics have lambasted Scott for refusing to extrapolate on the film’s true origin. Is it a prequel to the original Alien, or, is it a beast all its own? After seeing Prometheus the night of its release, I can say with total confidence, that I have no idea where this film ultimately lands. Should you elect to continue reading, I’ll be happy to elucidate the details of this matter. Onward!

Our Special Avengers Episode is Finally Here!!!

In this special “Avengers Themed” episode, we get all giddy about our upcoming Avengers experience. We’re aware the film’s premier has come and gone, but, technical issues wouldn’t let us release this until now. Think of this as time in a bottle. Also, other stuff happens.

Click Here for TWT’s Special Avengers Episode

Click here to download this episode on iTunes!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Avengers – Movie Review

By Kevin Pallotti

Since the inception of the modern comic book era, we’ll say this took place at the time Blade and the first X-Men film were released, Hollywood has taken a copious amount of joy in creating stories that deconstructed the stereotypical elements of the comic book superhero. Granted, it’s been done to remarkably potent effect at times. The aforementioned works along with Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise certainly fit that criteria. But, has the modern cinematic rendition of the superhero truly been constructed yet? This is a question that writer/director/cult following accumulator, Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly), has brought up to multiple reporters during his promotional tour for The Avengers.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!

Certainly, Whedon, among others, would argue that in this modern era of super hero flicks, it’s difficult to find comic adaptations that bring their characters to life in ways that purely translate their characters to the big screen with a sense of affection and dare I say…fun. With the premier of Marvel’s six year undertaking, The Avengers, Mr. Whedon has accomplished that rare feat and joined the ranks of Christopher Nolan and Richard Donner (Superman) as a craftsman of an iconic comic book film.

Marvel’s The Avengers: A Retrospective – Part 2 – The Incredible Hulk

Welcome to the commencement of TWT’s new series, Marvel’s The Avengers: A Retrospective. From now until the release of Marvel’s fanatically anticipated Avengers film, we will be completing a movie review series of every Marvel
film up to now. We hope you’ll join us through this look back at the evolution of the Marvel cinematic universe. If nothing else, you’ll have another place to fuel your burning desire for this summer’s multi-hero conglomerate. I’m sure you don’t need it, but here it is anyway.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

By Kevin Pallotti

Critical Review

Welcome to the second installment of Marvel’s The Avengers: A Retrospective. Today, we take a look at The Incredible

To smash or not to smash? Or would it be nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? Nah! I'm gonna SMASH!!

Hulk. Depending on who you ask, Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk is either “the good Hulk movie” or “that other crappy Hulk movie”. After giving The Incredible Hulk another viewing last night (for research purposes) I have decided to align with the former notion. The Incredible Hulk isn’t a bad film and it’s certainly better than Ang Lee’s Hulk. The film just isn’t one of the better Marvel entries. If nothing else, Marvel Studios managed to get his catch phrase right. It’s “HULK SMASH,” not “HULK MUST PSYCHOANALYZE SELF TO DETERMINE SOURCE OF ANGER ISSUES”.

The Incredible Hulk was directed by Louis Leterrier. Unlike Ang Lee, Leterrier chose not to include the Hulk’s origin story in the main narrative. Most people are aware of how everyone’s favorite lime colored titan was created. Bruce Banner, a brilliant scientist, gets zapped with gamma rays and becomes a hulking mass of chaos. Now whenever Bruce gets angry, he grows a set of muscles so massive that it causes the fine people at Balco to turn green with envy. Instead of using the first twenty minutes of his film to set this up, Letterier elects to portray the Hulk’s origin with an opening montage that shows all the key points. I have to give him points for that decision. Too many comic films feel the need to force origin stories down our throats even when we’re all aware of it. Kudos.

The Cabin in the Woods – Movie Review

College kids, is there any one more lacking in basic common sense? Sure, they can think critically and develop a multi-tiered thesis on societal decay. But don’t they know that it’s a bad idea to fornicate in the woods after reading a demonic

Those zany college kids and their wolf fetishes!

incantation? Oh those crazy teenagers! I have one more question for you before I start getting all “analytical”.  Have you ever wondered why educated young adults always seem to lapse into that kind of behavior in horror films?

In Joss Whedon’s latest written masterwork, The Cabin in the Woods, we get a rather entertaining horror flick that explains why our favorite horror stories play out as they do. I want to make something abundantly clear before I continue.  I have no intention of spoiling any aspect of the film. I will keep this review deliberately obtuse to avoid ruining anything. Without further ado, let us commence.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil – Movie Review

Is there any movie genre experiencing a more prolonged coma than horror? Recently, horror films have just been loaded with all types of predictable tropes. Hell, you can predict who’s likely to die first with an algorithm that accounts for age, sex, and skin pigmentation. Let’s not forget about the lack of an original threat either. Over the past decade we’ve chiefly had the following options for horror movie villains:

It's not objective, but I found this film to be GLORIOUS!

1. Deranged Killers
2. Supernatural Killers
3. Deranged/Supernatural Killers
4. Zombies
5. Vampires
6. Or, demons of some kind

My point here is this, for quite some time, we haven’t had a unique horror movie hit the big or little screen. Certainly, there hasn’t been a major release that I just need to recommend to my friends. It is because of this fact, that I chose to view Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. From what I’d heard, it would entertain me with a deconstructive narrative about the nature of horror films. Specifically, it would knock down every preconceived notion I’d ever had concerning the hillbillies killing college kids style horror film. Thankfully, this assessment  turned out to be spot on. In order to wrap up the preface of this review succinctly, I will say this; Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is the most amusing horror film I have seen in ten years. Should you elect to continue reading, I will gleefully explain to you why that is.

Wrath of The Titans – Movie Review

By Kevin Pallotti

Directed By Jonathan Liebsman

Starring: Sam Worthington, Rosamund Pike, Ralph Fiennes, Danny Houston, and Liam Neeson

Good god, this poster is misleading.

Distributed By Warner Brothers

 I am going to keep this review short and sweet. Perhaps I’ll change that to bitter sweet or blatantly mediocre. But first, I need to complete a plot summary. Here it goes. Wrath of The Titans is a sequel to the mediocre piece of nonsense, Clash of The Titans. That film was a remake of the cult classic with the same name. The original Clash is generally appreciated for some wonderful claymation from industry legend, Ray Harryhausen. The remake was a chiefly banal affair that featured numerous plot holes, uninteresting character models,  and a disappointing climactic battle.

The Hunger Games – Movie Review

By Kevin Pallotti

Does it live up to the hype?

Directed By: Gary Ross

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Tobey Jones, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Sutherland.

Distributed by: Lionsgate

Going in to The Hunger Games, I was struck with a pending sense of doom. Much like the film’s main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, I was pulsating with a sense of anxiety and paralyzing fear. Perhaps I should clear this up. I wasn’t nervous about the content or quality of the film. I was afraid of being surrounded by dozens of swooning pre-teens. Seeing as how The Hunger Games involved a love triangle, my fears seemed reasonable. There was a romantic sub plot to the film and there were more than a few pre-teens in attendance. Nevertheless, I was hoping that this film experience would be a positive one. As it turned out, The Hunger Games was a surprisingly interesting feature.

Hunger – Movie Review

By Kevin Pallotti

Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Directed by: Steve McQueen

Starring: Michael Fassbender

Distributed by Criterion films. Released in 2008.

Is there any other actor in Hollywood right now who is in higher demand than Michael Fassbender? Seeing as how I

What is that on the wall?

began this review by asking that question, you can safely infer that the answer is a resounding no. From 2009-2011, Fassbender has accumulated quite the resume. His discography includes; Inglorious Basterds, Jane Eyre, X-Men First Class, and a film I recently reviewed, Shame. As most film buffs know, actors don’t go on a run like this without one performance that opens the flood gates. For Michael Fassbender, this film was Hunger. Back in 2006/2007, an artist by the name of Steve McQueen elected to make a daring life alteration by taking up a new career as an independent film director. As an Irish born and raised individual, Ireland’s storied pursuit of independence from Britain proved to be an overwhelming topic of interest. I won’t claim to have inside knowledge of how Fassbender and McQueen came to know each other. But, I do know that their cooperative effort to bring Hunger to the big screen, led to the genesis of an agonizingly potent human drama

Now that you’ve been adequately teased, I can begin. Hunger takes place in the year 1981. At this point in history, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was bringing the hammer down on the people of Ireland for violent actions committed in the name of Irish independence. The film depicts the final days of Bobby Sands, a volunteer for the Provisional Irish Republican Army and inspirational figure, who led a hunger strike within the walls of the infamous Maze Prison. Through his hunger strike, Sands hoped to earn back political status (a.k.a. basic human rights) for IRA prisoners who were being treated with unbearable amounts of cruelty and abuse. In order to properly convey Sands’ motivation for his ultimately fatal hunger strike, Hunger deliberately takes the time to show you every painful detail of a prisoner’s daily experience in Maze Prison.