The Sword in the Stone is the last Disney Animated Feature to be released during Walt’s lifetime. Although The Jungle Book would still have a strong influence from Disney, he did not see it to completion (no doubt adding to the causes of the four year interim between the films, the longest since […]
Jabberwocky was Terry Gilliams’s first solo outing as a director, following his collaboration with Terry Jones on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Filming from a script he co-wrote with Charles Alverson, Gilliam spins a rather personal tale around the “nonsense poem” by Lewis Carroll.
The story revolves around Dennis Cooper (Michael Palin), and apprentice…cooper […]
Night at the Museum was a surprise hit late in 2006. Many had marked the box office race as completely settled, when out of the blue, Museum had not only a strong opening, but incredible legs. It’s always a question whether phenomenon like this deserve such success, but in this case, it certainly […]
I get a lot of flack from certain quarters for my fandom of the Fantastic Four film series (on display in my review of the first film). Perhaps I’m more forgiving because I love the original comics so much. But whatever the reason, I also really enjoyed the sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of […]
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is the theatrical debut of the popular character better known for his Nickelodeon television series. It established the basic premise and characters, essentially making it like a longer episode of the show. (It was, in fact, produced as a way of forming a fanbase for the later show.)
We meet […]
Ah, The Killer Shrews. One of my favorite episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 used this film and it stands up pretty well on its own.
The films tells of a young shipping boat captain, Thorne Sherman (James Best) who lands on an island with his mate, “Rook” Griswold (Judge Henry Dupree) to make a […]
I’ve previously covered 2005’s King Kong and wrote a full review here, but I thought this time around I’d do a kind of contrast and compare, tale of the tape kind of thing alongside the 1998 version of Godzilla. So let’s see how they stand up to each other.
Approach
Godzilla took the more common road […]
Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster us best known for serving as the turning point of the original series as far as Godzilla is concerned. He makes the turn from villain to hero in this film, teaming up with established characters Mothra (already a hero) and Rodan (villain of his own film) to defeat a new […]
No film has ever f-ed with my head the way Time Bandits did. Now, if you haven’t seen this film, I won’t go into exactly what about it f’ed with my head, but suffice it to say that I think the marketing guys who sold this as a children’s film shouldbe in line for […]
The suits over at Disney must have been feeling pretty good about themselves when they released Aladdin. They had just come off the enormously successful Beauty and the Beast (the only animated film ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture) and seemed to be on a roll. With much of the […]
The Little Mermaid is another film that I could go on about for days if given the opportunity. The main thing that sets it apart from the Disney animated films that preceded it was the focus on music. This is not surprising, as lyricist Howard Ashman also served as a producer on the […]
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is a perfect example of how a very funny premise from very funny people can utterly fail to expand to meet the demands of a feature film. While Tenacious D worked very well as a TV series or as an album, the film version is simply […]
It’a hard to properly cover the influence of a film like Tron. While it was not a huge box office success, it provided inspiration for a generation of filmmakers who were taken by its innovative use of computer genertaed graphics.
But let’s ignore the film’s legacy for a moment and look at it as a […]
They really don’t come worse than The Beast of Yucca Flats. You know all those things people always cite when they talk about how bad Ed Wood was as a filmmakers? The cheap sets? The bad acting? The nonsensical dialogue? Night/Day transitions? Well The Beast of Yucca Flats has […]
King Kong vs. Godzilla is my favorite Godzilla film. Yes, I know that other films have more depth to the storyline, or better effects or a higher monster count. But this one has Kong and that’s all that really matters. *
Not that I’m completely smitten by this film just because of the big […]
Willow was George Lucas’ first “epic” creation since the Star Wars saga and, I feel, suffered undeserved negativity because of the comparison. That, and th accusation that it is just warmed-over Tolkien meant that it was not highly thought of for many years after its creation (a situation that has somewhat reversed itself in […]
For me, Prince of Space and Invasion of the Neptune Men will forever be linked due to their connected appearances on Mystery Science Theater 3000.* They both feature groups of children who befriend a mysterious outer space super-hero type, who helps save the world from invaders from space.
First up, Prince of Space tells of […]
When I previously reviewed Chicken Little last year, I covered many of the shortcomings in this 2005 Disney CGI animated film. It lacks cohesion, gets way too caught up in pop culture jokes and has far too much music for its own good.
But, as often happens, it has grown on me since then and […]
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is my favorite film by director Terry Gilliam. In it, I feel that his growth as a filmmaker since his work on Monty Python and the Holy Grail finally came to fruition. After essentially making three films with the same focus and worldview (Jabberwocky, Time Bandits and Brazil), […]
Treasure Planet should have been a big, fat success story for Walt Disney. It’s based on one of the best adventure stories of all time, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, it has incredible visuals and it features a strong voice cast. But, in the end, it was all for naught as the film […]
When Toho made the 1995 film Godzilla vs. Destroyah, they intended it to be the final Godzilla film for awhile. They had recently licensed the character for a big-time Hollywood film, so didn’t want to get in the way of that proposed new franchise. Well, the Hollywood version of Godzilla, though performing well […]
Despite the love I felt at the time for Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc., I was not at all enthused by the early previews that I saw for The Incredibles. Much of that early ad campaign (including the first teaser trailer) did not look promising, focusing on the comedy of a fat super-hero. […]
How the mighty can fall in the eyes of the public. It is a well known axiom that sequels are generally inferior to the original. Especially when the original is something of a genre-defining project. Such is the case with Ghostbusters and its put-upon sequel Ghostbusters II.
Ghostbusters was, of course, a groundbreaking […]
Finding Nemo is the high water mark for Pixar as far as box office is concerned. Among recent animated films (post-The Lion King), only Shrek 2 has sold more tickets. And it certainly deserved all the acclaim it received, it’s an almost perfect film.
Really, a film about fish starring Albert Brooks. Just […]
Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are two of Disney’s more interesting releases. Originally envisioned by Walt Disney as an “event” (one that you would dress up for, as if going to a real concert), Fantasia was a financial disaster for the company, almost bringing them to ruin.
And it wasn’t all that warmly received critically, either. […]
Fourteen years after Ishirô Honda opted to use a man in a suit instead of stop-motion to animate Kong in 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla, producer Dino De Laurentiis made the same decision for his big budget remake, King Kong. But, frankly, that’s not where this epic film falls flat. No, the suit […]
Until Cars, Monsters, Inc. was my favorite Pixar film. Oh, I made a lot of noise about Toy Story 2, but deep down, I always knew that it was Mike and Sully that I’d rather watch.
The thing is that Monsters, Inc. gets almost everything right. The cast is perfect, the story is engaging, […]
Humanoid Woman, or Cherez ternii k zvyozdam*, as it was in its native Russia, is best known to modern audiences for having been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 during its first year, when it was on a local Minneapolis TV station KTMA. But its reputation in the Western World as a cheesy B-movie […]
Okay, so I should have seen A Bug’s Life after Toy Story, since my intention had always been to watch the Pixar films in order. But, much like the Disney Animated Feature canon, that plan didn’t last long. Since I sort the film by series, I watched Toy Story 2 without even thinking […]
There is little left to be said about King Kong, one of the most influential films in motion picture history. It is directly responsible for inspiring a generation of effects makers, including the biggest name in stop-motion, Ray Harryhausen. It inspired Godzilla and countless less successful films and series.
And regardless of its place […]
Much like Star Wars, it’s hard to remember how radical Jurassic Park was when it came out. Sure, there had been CGI effects before, dating all the way back to 1985’s Young Sherlock Holmes. But the scale (hah!) of what Industrial Light and Magic did with the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park changed the […]
You know, I held off watching another film way too long out of some weird sense of not wanting to watch something “unworthy”. But as time has gone on, I’m settling in to watching what I would’ve watched anyway.
First of all, I’ve been on a huge “Hitchhiker’s” kick since last year, when my sister […]
Film #001 - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Film #002 - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Film #003 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Film #004 - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
Film #005 - Star Wars: Episode V - The […]
Viewed December 29, 2006
Hellboy is a film adaptation of Mike Mignola’s cult comic book series. It tells of a demon brought forth by Nazis to be the key to a worldwide apocalypse, but is instead captured by American military forces and raised as a force for good.
When we meet up again with Hellboy (Ron […]
Viewed December 27, 2006
Three Ages is an ambitious comedy from Buster Keaton, where he strives to show how love has changed (but mostly stayed the same) throughout the ages. He does this by illustrating three cases of love: a caveman, a Roman citizen and a modern day man (well, modern for 1923, anyway).
All three […]
Viewed December 19, 2006
Pokémon Heroes is the 2003 entry in the annual Pokémon film series (and the last to be released theatrically in the US). Like the TV series, it follows the adventures of Pokémon trainers Ash Ketchum, Misty and Brock as they learn about the world of Pokémon. This time, they come […]
Viewed December 9, 2006
Having established the characters in the first film, Shrek 2 gives a sense of how extendable they are, that is, how much the characters can stand up to continued adventures. Now, I had been told that Shrek 2 was better than Shrek, despite its review being more negative. I certainly […]
Viewed November 14, 2006
Even if my pig-headed need to see every movie based on a comic book didn’t require it, I still would have watched Man-Thing because of the character’s connection to one of my favorite comic book characters, Howard the Duck. Now, Howard was the star of his own, highly celebrated film back […]
Viewed November 12, 2006
Boy, I didn’t care for The Iron Giant. I thought I would, given that it was directed by Brad Bird, who would later direct The Incredibles. But whereas The Incredibles is an intelligent look at what defines individuality in the world, The Iron Giant (which shares some of the same […]
Viewed November 10, 2006
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie takes the exitable ocean dweller and brings him to the big screen for the first (and, to date, only) time. While much of SpongeBob’s comedy translates well to a larger canvas, there are aspects that just don’t come up to snuff.
The plot is no more or less […]
Viewed October 28, 2006
Superman: Brainiac Attacks is a straight-to-video animated movie that carries on stylistically from Superman: The Animated Series while reworking the basic characterizations. In fact, these changes to the characters has caused quite a stir amongst fans of the series, who feel that this movie doesn’t properly follow the precedents set.
Okay, I […]
Viewed September 14, 2006
Okay, that’s two overrated Bill Murray vehicles I’ve watched this year. (I’m sure you understand that dissapointing though it may be, Garfield cannot be considered overrated by any means.) Despite the best efforts of the cast, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou lacks any kind of cohesion that could make […]
Viewed June 23, 2006
Boy was I ready to dislike the remake of Mighty Joe Young. My every instinct told me that it couldn’t live up to the original. And it doesn’t. But it comes an awful lot closer than I expected and is a decent film in its own right.
The biggest problem […]
Viewed June 22, 2006
King Kong Lives is the little-known follow-up to producer Dino De Laurentiis’ infamous 1976 re-make of King Kong.
In a touch of realism, it picks up the story ten years after the previous film (re-capped with the actual conclusion of the previous film; Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges and all). Kong […]
Viewed June 21, 2006
King Kong Escapes from Toho Studios follows their highly successful King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). To a degree, it follows the basic plot of the original King Kong. Ship comes to island, finds giant ape, ape falls for girl, ape is brought to mainland, etc. The big difference, of […]
Viewed June 8, 2006
Having exhausted my supply of unwatched Pixar material, I decided to turn to their ex-stablemates, Industrial Light & Magic and watch a short film they made called Work In Progress.
It’s kind of a fantasy realization of the nature of ILM. There are three characters, Lux (a tall, thin scientist who comes […]
Viewed March 30, 2006
So I had a strange realization a few days ago. I was browsing around the Wikipedia, reading stuff about Harry Potter (I’m on a bit of a Potter kick these days) and found a list of Potter parodies. Most are pretty lame (”Kill Harry” - a mishmash of Harry Potter […]
Viewed March 26, 2006
Monster Island, an made-for-MTV movie, tries to re-create the mystique of the classic B-movie. Although it hits the right marks superficially, it still falls short.
The plot is properly simple: kids brought to an island for a party start being attacked by giant insects. When someone is captured by one of […]
Viewed February 21, 2006
Perhaps it is because it is the first “Harry Potter” film that is saw after having experienced the book, but Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the first film that I felt really missed essential elements of the story.
Mostly it was subtlety that went out the window. Director Mike […]
Viewed February 20, 2006
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is the film that brought down the mighty house of Square. Until making this film, Square was a highly respected and successful video game company, mostly on the strength of its “Final Fantasy” series of RPGs. The Spirits Within was to be their big crossover […]
Viewed February 5, 2006
Almost immediately after Mary Shelley published her groundbreaking novel Frankenstein in 1818, it was being adapted for performance. The play Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein hit the boards in 1823, just five years later. (Although there may have been an aborted attempt in 1821.) Since that time the […]
Viewed January 20, 2006
I have to admit that I’ve never really “gotten” Wallace & Gromit. Not that I haven’t found their previous shorts funny, just that they never really grabbed me. I still haven’t seen Chicken Run (2000), Aardman Animations’ previous feature which is supposed to be quite good, so I went into this […]
Viewed January 13, 2006
Okay, so I’ve been on a bit of a “Kong” kick this past week. After watching the new King Kong (2005) in theaters and the original on DVD, I was in the mood for more giant gorilla antics, so I also watched the two classic follow-up pictures. (I’ll save King […]
Viewed January 12, 2006
What do you do when you’ve just produced a groundbreaking film that captivates audiences and inspires a generation of filmmakers? Obviously, you pump out a quickie sequel using the same sets, models and as many actors as you can round up. So when RKO and producer / director Merian […]
Viewed January 11, 2006
Since I will be writing a full-blown review of King Kong for theLogBook.com, I’m going to just state a few observations about Peter Jackson’s $200M remake.
If Peter Jackson loves the original King Kong (1933) so much, why did he feel the need to change it’s fundamental theme and why does he portray […]
Viewed January 8, 2006
Beast from Haunted Cave has a classic Roger Corman backstory. Apparently, Corman was busy preparing for a war film, Ski Troop Attack (1960) to be shot in South Dakota. He figured that since he was going to be on location anyway, why not make another picture and double the output? […]