June 25th, 2019
Captain Marvel started with two strikes against it, because it’s an origin story and a prequel. There have been so many origin stories for super heroes released over the past decade plus that audiences have grown tired of them. Furthermore, prequels are difficult to do right, because it’s much harder to surprise audiences. Can this film overcome these obstacles? Or should fans of the M.C.U. just wait till the sequel comes out when this character can really shine?
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December 28th, 2015
It's been a few weeks since I did a review. I stopped taking screeners knowing how busy Star Wars: The Force Awakens would keep me, but I figured I should get back in the game. However, there was a question of what late review would be worth checking out? Well, there have been five $1 billion movies to come out this year and I've previously reviewed all of the ones that hit the home market. All of them, but one: The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Of the five $1 billion movies, this one is arguably the one that had the most disappointing run at the box office. Yes, a film that made $1.40 billion worldwide was seen as a box office disappointment by some. This is mostly because its predecessor, The Avengers, broke box office records. The film also earned much weaker reviews than the first movie, but still earned 75% positive reviews, which is very good for a wide release. Is it a real disappointment? Or does it hold up compared to the competition?
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December 7th, 2014
This week on the Holiday Gift Guide, we tackle TV on DVD releases. As usual, I will only talk about first season and complete series updates, because you don't need me to tell you if Modern Family: Season Five on DVD would be a good gift or not. Do you know someone who owns and likes the first four seasons but doesn't have season five on DVD yet? Buy it. Or maybe not. Maybe they are waiting for it to come out on Blu-ray. Okay, bad example. But you get were I'm coming from. Unfortunately, this year's collection seems rather weak. There were only three new TV shows from last year that I really liked and there are not as many Full-Season Megasets to compensate. Worst still, some of these Megasets that are coming out are like True Blood or How I Met Your Mother and ended on a really weak note.
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October 26th, 2014
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a risky show to make, for a couple of reasons. Mostly it was risky because of the public's perception of what a super hero show should be like. When the public's expectations are not met, they tend to react negatively, even if the movie / TV show is good. For example, Drive was sold as an high-octane action film, but it was a slow burning drama. The critics loved it, but a lot of people attacked the movie for not living up to expectations. A little closer to home, The Tick was a live action TV series that could be described as, "Seinfeld, but the four main characters are super heroes." This is a great idea and I loved the show. However, a lot of people were disappointed as it wasn't a super hero action movie. Of course it's not a super hero action movie. You can't make a super hero action movie on a TV budget. Even today, you can't make a super hero action movie on a TV budget. Unfortunately, a lot of people were expecting Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be just that, so while the ratings were huge the first night, they quickly dropped off. Were those who stuck with the show rewarded? Should those who stopped watching start again?
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August 26th, 2014
This is not a good week for new releases on the home market. For one thing, the biggest first-run release is Blended (DVD or Blu-ray ComboPack) which is also one of the worst movies of the summer. There are many TV on DVD releases that helped pick up the slack somewhat, but it still feels like a shallow week. As for Pick of the Week contenders, there are not many. The Normal Heart (DVD or Blu-ray) and Belle (Blu-ray) are the two most likely candidates, but I kind of want to give it to Gravity Falls: Even Stranger (DVD). In the end, I went with The Normal Heart.
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June 6th, 2014
It's a pretty good week for limited releases with a few films that are earning good reviews and strong buzz. This includes The Case Against 8 (Reviews), but documentaries are rarely break-out hits. Borgman is earning very strong reviews and the buzz is good, but it is too bizarre for mainstream audiences. This leaves Obvious Child (Reviews) as the most likely break-out hit on this week's list. On the other hand, I really want to see Trust Me (Reviews), but I'm a Fanboy of a particularly strong type and Clark Gregg is part of my preferred Fandom.
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