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Written by Big Ross, CC2K Staff Writer
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 Inception is the best film you’ll see this summer, and Christopher Nolan’s finest work since Memento.
Christopher Nolan got his start making dark, psychological thrillers (Memento, Insomnia), which made him an ideal choice to reinvigorate the Caped Crusader. With the success of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Nolan could easily have assumed the mantle of DC’s resident maestro of superhero films. Seemingly not content with only that role (he is directing a third Batman film and serving as producer and something of a creative director for a new Superman film), Nolan has continued his forte of cerebral cinema with The Prestige and, opening today, Inception.
Inception easily is the best film of this summer. Granted, that isn’t saying much with the motley mess of manure masquerading as quality films these past couple of months (Killers, Knight and Day, The Last Airbender, Twilight: Eclipse). No matter. If there is one film this summer deserving of blockbuster-level success (though I realize as the infamous William Munny said, “Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it” - I’m looking at you Twilight: Eclipse), it’s Inception. |
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Written by Big Ross, CC2K Staff Writer
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 Have Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Antal returned this franchise to its former glory?
I’ve written in the past about my opinion that Commando is the “ultimate” Arnold Schwarzeneggar action movie. But Predator is probably my favorite, and IMHO, the best action film the soon-to-be-ex-Governator ever made. Predator 2 took the action out of the jungle and into an urban, near-future setting, and, in the process, lost something. With the exception of a few high notes (most notably, perhaps, the glimpse of an alien - as in chest-bursting, “get away from her you bitch!” alien - skull in a predator trophy room that launched the Alien vs. Predator crossover), the sequel was a mediocre followup.
Speaking of wasted opportunities and failed adaptations, let’s touch for a moment on the AVP films. Thanks in large part to the filmmaker-who-shall-not-be-named (hint: he’s the Anderson with no talent), AVP: Alien vs. Predator and AVPR: Alien vs. Predator - Requiem (gawd, even the titles are stupid) very nearly killed both franchises.
Enter Robert Rodriguez and his attempt to pull off a cinematic resurrection of the Predator franchise with a proper sequel to the 1987 hit, in part based on a screenplay he wrote back in the early 90’s. The result is more flawed reanimation than rejuvenation, a Frankenstein’s monster of a film stitched together with existing set pieces, scenes, and lines of dialogue from the first movie and some new characters and ideas. A valiant and not altogether wasted effort, more homage than true sequel, but in the end a film that can’t live up to the original. My full review follows, though be warned, some SPOILERS are included.
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Written by Big Ross, CC2K Staff Writer
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 Looking forward to the live-action adaptation of the animated series? Prepare to be disappointed.
The Sixth Sense put M. Night Shyamalan on the map. Unbreakable was a box-office disappointment, but that may have been more the result of mis-marketing than poor filmmaking, so we’ll give him that one too. But what followed was a baker’s hat trick of cinematic flops that ranged from mediocre plots centered around “clever” plot twists (Signs, The Village, The Happening) to mastabatory self-indulgence (Lady in the Water). That’s 2 out of 6, only a 33% success rate, folks.
And yet Shyamalan was given creative control of The Last Airbender, presumably because his films inexplicably continue to make money. He wrote the screenplay and directed the film, which adapts the animated series that aired on Nickelodeon in the early 2000’s. Read on for a scathing, SPOILERISH review. |
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Written by Rob Van Winkle, CC2K Staff Writer
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 There is a moment at the beginning of The A-Team that will serve as a perfect rubric for whether you will enjoy this movie. As the lights come up, we see a man whose face is obscured getting pummeled by some Mexican hard-asses. They decide to shoot him (with his own gun, to avoid tracing the crime back to them, naturally), but are unable to, as the firing pin has been removed. So instead, they decide to feed him to the dogs, and leave. As soon as they are off frame, this man (who has appeared to be unconscious, naturally again) reveals that the missing firing pin is in his hand, and he puts it in his handcuffs as the dogs begin running toward him. A few deft moves later, and out walks gray-haired Liam Neeson, none the worse for wear, lighting a cigar as “LT. HANNIBAL SMITH” is emblazoned across the screen. Now the way I see it, there are three possible responses to this scenario: |
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