By: Addison Wylie The only thing that could be more amazing than Godzilla’s timeless legacy is that Gareth Edwards was given the opportunity to direct a multi-million dollar modernized take on the creature. Seriously, let’s all take a moment and realize how crazy and ambitious the producers had to be to invest so much trust into a filmmaker who doesn’t have a whole lot of feature film experience. Those chancy attitudes have paid off big…
By: Addison Wylie I, Frankenstein is almost popcorn entertainment. Almost. It feels as if every time a movie comes out that fits this throwaway action mould, everybody hates it and I’m forgiving towards it. My rule is: as long as there’s camp and you can hold my attention, these corn fests have a chance to squeak by. How about that schlocky movie Season of the Witch? The majority of movie goers wanted to burn the…
By: Addison Wylie Audiences were given Pompeii earlier this year, a sweeping epic that had Paul W.S. Anderson bumbling his way through a history lesson and throwing every type of overused trope he could think of towards the paying public. It was a boneheaded film that was calculated by people solely thinking of what mainstream audiences eat up, yet had no respected consideration towards those who endured Anderson’s mess. What Cinco de Mayo: The Battle…
By: Addison Wylie Recently, I reviewed the humdrum action flick In The Blood. It was escapist entertainment that didn’t work because the filmmaker in charge couldn’t wrangle an action film. He understood the music, but didn’t necessarily know how to play the song. After having watched Brick Mansions, I feel the need to follow-up with my analogy. Brick Mansions is that musician who knows the music, can perform the song, but has no desire to…
By: Addison Wylie In The Blood is what it is. It’s straight-down-the-middle B-movie schlock. In this case, it’s easier to accept because of how many stunts made me giddily wince while I watched it. But, director John Stockwell shows audiences that action movies may not be his “thing”. Former American Gladiator-turned-actress Gina Carano plays Ava, a newly married gal trying to find the whereabouts of her missing husband Derek (played by Cam Gigandet). While on…
By: Addison Wylie As times change, a filmmaker is faced with the potential to grow within their craft. I haven’t seen or heard from writer/director Stephen Chow since 2004’s fantastically insane Kung Fu Hustle, so I suppose I forgot that he would have to face this fork-in-the-road in his career if he continued to make movies. I see that advancement in his latest effort Journey to the West, but it’s not in the film’s tone….
By: Addison Wylie Afflicted isn’t a found footage film, but rather a mockumentary documenting Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s year long trip around the world. The film does, however, use the same techniques we’ve seen in previous found footage horrors. Luckily, the filmmakers in charge of this creature feature know what they’re doing. In fact, there are a lot of things filmmakers/co-stars Lee and Prowse do brilliantly in Afflicted. Firstly, the duo cover their asses extremely…
By: Addison Wylie Every so often, a tall glass of ridiculousness helps break up moviegoing monotony. Some filmmakers have tried their hardest to makes escapist entertainment, and have instead delivered films that were too heavy on lunkheaded machismo. Gary Fleder’s Homefront had come in under the radar – or, so it seemed to me. Since it stars Jason Statham as the lead, it fell into that vaguely generic category most people seem to group Statham…
By: Addison Wylie You can’t say The Suspect was mismarketed. All that spectacular stunt work that’s flashed in the film’s trailer is there, and it’s still enthralling in context. What the trailer doesn’t capture is how overblown Won Shin-yun’s film is. Maybe that’s for the better since the lethargic narrative is a major turnoff. First, the film’s key strength: Shin-yun knows how to map out an action sequence. There are more than enough car chases…
By: Addison Wylie 3 Days to Kill pairs action veteran Luc Besson with the imperious directing efforts of McG. The two filmmakers have unmistaken love/hate relationships with movie goers, but it’s clear that these men have strengths in specific areas. Besson has shown audiences how action can be exciting with jaw-dropping stunts, and McG knows how to capture an explosion. The latter may sound underwhelming compared to Besson’s clout, but “flash” is McG’s forte. Their…