DVD of the Week – Iron Man (2008)
by HELEN GEIB
Iron Man demonstrates the importance of casting. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Tony Stark and Stark’s alter ego Iron Man, and he makes the movie. That’s not to say that the rest of the movie isn’t well made, because it is. But it is all about Stark (and Stark putting on a public persona and Stark operating covertly as Iron Man). The character dominates the movie. It would have been a very different film with any other actor in the role and I can’t imagine it would have been anywhere near as entertaining. Downey is that good. Read more 
Movie Review – The Dark Knight (2008)
by GEOFF GEIB
Prepare yourself, gentle viewer, for The Dark Knight is very, very dark. Read more
Movie Review – Hancock (2008)
by HELEN GEIB
Hancock has a great premise. It’s clever and original and promised to be a fine vehicle for Will Smith. The film develops the premise nicely too, but it never closes the deal. Somewhere in the middle Hancock abandons its story and turns into a different and altogether less interesting movie. While both parts purport to be about the same characters and to be set in the same world, there is little real connection between them. Read more
Movie Review – The Incredible Hulk (2008)
by HELEN GEIB
The Incredible Hulk follows Iron Man as the second in a planned series of films produced by Marvel Enterprises and adapted from popular Marvel comic books. Scientist Bruce Banner and his super strong, rage-filled, green alter-ego The Hulk are the subjects of a long running comic book series (and appear in crossover stories in other Marvel series) and previous TV and movie adaptations. Prior success is a double-edged sword to a comic book movie. On one side is a loyal fan base and high public recognition of the title; on the other, the artistic constraints imposed by fandom-demanded fidelity to the source and the sometimes conflicting brief to create a work that will appeal to an essentially indifferent public. Read more
Movie Review – Iron Man (2008)
by RISHI AGRAWAL
Iron Man launches yet another franchise in Marvel’s ever-growing stable of superhero films. I am not sure how well known Iron Man is outside comic book circles, but certainly he does not have the fame of Captain America or Spider-Man as far as Marvel heroes go and so the origin story is particularly important. The film fulfills its goals admirably, by giving us a very watchable film which creates a base on which to build future films. Throw in some decent acting with nice action sequences and great special effects, and this is the movie that fans have been hoping for. Read more
Movie Review – Spider-Man 3 (2007)
by RISHI AGRAWAL
Studios regularly fudge their numbers when it comes to budgets of films, but it seems that Spider-Man 3 can now claim the title of the most expensive film ever made. Director Sam Raimi knows how to put good use to those dollars and few can argue that the movie looks great. With special effects, many times, bigger is better. However, the main problem is that the same philosophy was applied to all aspects of the film, turning the whole thing into a bloated mess. Read more
Ten Essential Superhero Films
by RISHI AGRAWAL
In anticipation of Spider-Man 3, I thought it would be interesting to look at superhero films. I think the most fascinating thing about superhero films is that, although they have been around a very long time, it is a genre that has recently come to prominence, since technology has only recently been able to reproduce the special effects required to bring these characters to life. The best superhero films have been made in this decade, and compiling a list of films is almost a futile effort, since, if current trends continue, half the films on this list will be replaced within five years. Read more
