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Darker than the original NARNIA adventure, this new tale brings the original young foursome back to Narnia, a land that is now unrecognizable from the world they once ruled. Writer/director Andrew Adamson, along with fellow writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, stay faithful to C.S. Lewis’ original text, giving fans a faithful screen adaptation just like THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. With more battles, the epic scale is heightened, but this doesn’t mean there are not any new internal battles for the original characters, which are the most intriguing parts of the second installment in the series.

Centuries after the Pevensie siblings left Narnia to return to England, the magic realm has been taken over by the Telmarines, who have forced the Narnians to live in secret in the woods. Prince Caspian the X (Ben Barnes, STARDUST) is the rightful heir to the throne, but his scheming uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto, ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES) has his eyes on ruling the kingdom. Caspian flees for his life into the forest, where a scuffle with Miraz’s men results in dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage, THE STATION AGENT) being taken prisoner and Caspian taken in by dwarf Nikabrik (Warwick Davis, WILLOW) and talking badger Trufflehunter (Ken Scott, CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR). During the fight, Caspian uses an ancient horn, which summons former kings and queens Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) back to Narnia.

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I was expecting eye candy going into this film and that’s what I was served, but by the time the final course was uncovered I had gobbled up Andy and Larry Wachowski’s neon-glowing confection. No one who has ever seen the original series would confuse it with good animation. Nonetheless it had a charm that was undeniable. The Wachowskis capture that charm, frosting their entire production with it. They are not interested in “improving” the original material with an overdose of extra hip wink winks — the same ingredient that has destroyed so many other animation-to-live-action adaptations. They’re interested in bringing the good flavors to the forefront and minimizing the cheesy aftertaste.

Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch, INTO THE WILD) is from a family of racers, who thinks about nothing but racing. He looks up to his older brother Rex (Scott Porter, TV’s FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS), a champion driver. But something happens to pull apart Rex and his dad Pops (John Goodman, BARTON FINK), spurring Rex to leave home and later parish in a racing accident. When Speed grows up, he is courted by all the major sponsors, especially Royalton (Roger Allam, V FOR VENDETTA), a shady corporate tycoon. Soon enough, Speed learns painful lessons about the way the racing world is really run and is approached by the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox, TV’s LOST) to join him and blow the lid off the evil corporate conspiracy to fix races.

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While Marvel Comics considers Iron Man one of their premiere characters, no one would put him in the same league with Spider-Man, or DC Comics icons Batman or Superman. Well, that might change. Though the character is 45 years old, today seems a perfect moment to reintroduce him to a new generation. Director Jon Favreau has done for Iron Man what Sam Raimi did for Spider-Man and Christopher Nolan did for Batman. Given great actors and a well-written script, IRON MAN is a big piece of popcorn entertainment with a real movie underneath.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., CHAPLIN) is the head of Stark Industries, the world’s largest and most profitable weapons manufacturer. He’s a playboy drunk, who happens to be an engineering genius. If it were not for his dedicated assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE), his life would be in shambles. His best friend Colonel Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard, HUSTLE & FLOW) tries to look out for Tony, but Tony has a way of messing things up. Then, while on a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan, Tony is taken prisoner by the terrorist Raza (Faran Tahir, CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR), who demands that Stark build him a version of his latest missile. Aided by the doctor Yinsen (Shaun Toub, CRASH), Stark builds a powerful robotic suit, a walking fortress that allows them to escape. Upon his return to the States, Stark rethinks his purpose in life, rededicating his life to protecting the innocent from the weapons that he has been building. This new founded humanitarian motivation worries his longtime partner Obadiah Stone (Jeff Bridges, THE BIG LEBOWSKI), who fears that peace is less profitable than war.

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Buy It Now!

Read my review of the theatrical release for more details.

After audiences at test screenings disliked the originally planned ending, the studio and filmmakers decided to release the film with a much different conclusion. Both versions were filmed and the visual effects teams didn’t start working on the ending that ending up in theaters until very late in the game. Ironically, the version that made it to theaters is actually sadder than the alternative version, which is closer to the source material and more open ended. Anyone who doesn’t want to know any part of either ending should not read any further.

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Now in retrospect the film is being re-titled INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, a testament to the popularity to the iconic globetrotting archeologist and the massive franchise that has been built around him. It’s hard to think back and remember Harrison Ford as less than a superstar, but it was this film that put him at that status. Director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas combined their talents to create one of the great heroes in a film that is thrilling non-stop action. The duos love of the Saturday matinee idols of their youth is translated to the screen with wit and charm.

From our introduction to Dr. Jones, cloaked in shadow, as he uses his whip to disarm a traitor, the iconic image of the Fedora-wearing adventurer is seared into our memories. The film wastes no time thrusting us into the action as Indiana ventures into a jungle cave to recover an ancient golden idol. He is quickly established as the cream of the crop in his field, but one who is susceptible to being cheated, as we see when his success is dampened by the thieving Dr. Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman, HOT FUZZ), a Frenchman trying to play both sides. Back at his teaching job, Jones is given the opportunity of a lifetime — head to Egypt and stop the Nazis from uncovering the Ark of the Covenant, the powerful golden casket holding the Ten Commandments. To find the Ark, Indiana must recover his old mentor’s medallion, which is now possessed by his former flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen, KING OF THE HILL). This sets Indiana racing across the globe, fighting Arab assassins and the Nazi SS in an effort to save the world.

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Built behind a mysterious advertising campaign and the name of producer J.J. Abrams, the man behind TV’s LOST and ALIAS, few films released in January get the kind of buzz that CLOVERFIELD received. But could a monster movie with newbie actors stack up to the hype? Would the handheld, first person perspective add tension or just turn out to be a nauseating gimmick? Could greenhorn feature director Matt Reeves pull off a big effects feature in his debut? Well, sometimes films can live up to the hype.

The conceit is that we are watching a recovered videotape of a monster attack on New York City. Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David, TV’s THE BLACK DONNELLYS) is a young exec who is moving to Japan. Recently he hooked up with his lifelong friend Beth McIntyre (Odette Yustman, TV’s OCTOBER ROAD), but never called her, not knowing how to deal with his feelings and his impending move. During his going away party, which was set up by his brother Jason (Mike Vogel, HAVOC) and his brother’s girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas, THE COVENANT), Rob’s best friend Hud (T.J. Miller, TV’s CARPOOLERS) is assigned the task of recording goodbyes from the guests. He, of course, focuses on getting a testimonial from the self-absorbed model Marlena Diamond (Lizzy Caplan, MEAN GIRLS). But soon the festivities are disrupted by explosions, which result in the head of the Statue of Liberty ending up in front of the apartment. As the city turns into chaos, Rob becomes determined to save Beth who is trapped in her apartment across town.

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This fictionalized version of the story of Chinese martial arts master Huo Yuanjia has the same wire-fu and complex fight choreography that one would expect in a modern martial arts picture. But what was unexpected was the heart. The simple story deals with classic conflicts, such as hubris, redemption and corrupt rulers. I couldn’t avoid thinking of HAMLET in the end.

As a child Huo Yuanjia wants nothing more than to train with his father in the martial arts, neglecting all his studies in every other area. After a beating by a rival, he vows never to lose again. Grown, with a young daughter, he is the best fighter around, but he’s arrogant, taking on any freeloader from the street as a student and running up huge debts. His childhood friend Nong Jinsun (Yong Dong) worries that his need to fight will destroy him. And so it happens that Master Chin, the rival who beat him as a child, returns to town, which leads to Huo Yuanjia losing everything. Now, alone, wondering the desert, Huo Yuanjia is taken in by a blind farmer named Moon (Betty Sun). After he is rejuvenated, Huo Yuanjia returns to his hometown to make amends, but now the English and Japanese rule the city, spurring Huo Yuanjia to fight for something honorable.

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As legend has it, James Cameron sold the script for THE TERMINATOR to producer Gale Anne Hurd for $1 with the promise the fledgling filmmaker would be able to direct the film. With a modest budget, funder Orion left the production virtually alone outside of making two requests — add a robot dog and improve the relationship between the main characters. Cameron took one of the two suggestions. When it was all done, Cameron established himself as a top-tier director and body-builder-turned-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was launched into superstardom.

Traveling back to 1984 from a future ruled by savage machines, human rebel Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn, THE ABYSS) is assigned the task of protecting waitress Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, TV’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) from a nearly-unstoppable killing machine called the T-101 (Schwarzenegger). Sarah is first brought aware of the danger she is in when two Sarah Connors are reported murdered in one night. The Terminator is killing them in the order of the phonebook listing. Lt. Ed Traxler (Paul Winfield, THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW) and Det. Hal Vukovich (Lance Henriksen, ALIENS) think they have a new twisted spree killer on the loose, but they have a hard time believing that a robot has come from the future to murder the mother of the unborn leader of the human resistance against the ruling computers.

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Michael Douglas has been a go-to guy for thrillers of all shapes and sizes for most of his career. He also wears a suit well too. So this political potboiler seems like a perfect fit for the actor. Lending his name and talent to this production helps with its partial success. Not to say that this isn’t an entertaining actioner, but it isn’t anything new.

Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a veteran secret service officer who took a bullet for President Reagan. He’s currently assigned to protect the First Lady Sarah Ballentine (Kim Basinger, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL). However, he’s gotten too close to his assignment, having started an affair with Mrs. Ballentine. When rumors arise that a secret agent has turned against the President (David Rasche, TV’s SLEDGE HAMMER!), an agent with information to the mole’s identity is murdered. In the aftermath, all agents are required to take a polygraph, which Garrison fails due to his affair. This along with the fact that Garrison had planned to meet with the murdered agent puts agent David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland, TV’s 24) on Garrison’s tail. Breckinridge, who trained under Garrison, has another reason to not trust his old mentor — the Don Juan of Washington D.C. might have slept with his wife too.

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Mark Steven Johnson’s last attempt at adapting a Marvel comic was DAREDEVIL, the first big failure of the modern Marvel string. Now, with a lesser hero in the Marvel roster, he doesn’t do much better. Lacking the quality of character he had in his first outing, Johnson makes the less than original origin tale worth watching, but finds nothing else to fill out the rest of this feature film with.

When Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage, FACE/OFF) was a kid, he performed in a motorcycle stunt act with his dad Barton (Brett Cullen, TV’s LOST), who is dying of lung cancer. Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda, EASY RIDER) comes to visit the boy, promising to save his dad if the young stunt rider will sell his soul to him. As deals with the devil go, they never quite work out as planned. Tortured by what he has done, Johnny leaves behind his true love Roxanne Simpson (Eva Mendes, HITCH). Years later, feeling safe from the curse, Johnny tries to win back Roxanne, who is now a reporter. Unlucky for him, Mephistopheles calls in his debt, transforming Blaze into Ghost Rider, a skeleton-like avenger with a flaming skull. With a gravity-defying motorcycle with real flaming not the painted on variety, Ghost Rider is enlisted send the devil’s power hungry son Blackheart (Wes Bentley, AMERICAN BEAUTY) back to hell.

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