V for Vendetta is the first great movie of 2006, hands down. Nothing that has been released in the last three and a half months stacks up to the canvas painted by this immersive film which, on the surface, is a hardcore action film, but underneath is a beautiful picture with excellent characters and sharp dialog.

Although the film seemed destined for failure after a delayed release schedule and the lawsuit of graphic novel creator Alan Moore requesting his name be removed from all mention of the film. When a comic book’s co-creator wants out on a project, you can only expect it was a far departure from the source material. This isn’t the case, however, with Vendetta, and even if it does stray too far away, it still stacks up as a great film.

The story centers around a terrorist named V (Hugo Weaving) who has been planning his revenge for the better part of two decades in a totalitarian ruled England which now has a high chancellor in a Hitler like role claiming he is protecting the people after a biological attack kills hundreds of thousands of people. V begins his crusade against this oppressive government when he stumbles upon Evey (Natalie Portman), a young girl working at England’s only TV network. Through the course of the film the plot thickens but the message remains the same, a vendetta needs to be settled.

There’s been some questioning if the film, which is at a political point in today’s world, and its glorification of a terrorist is really something that needs to be released in a world under the thumb of terrorists (or so we are lead to believe). Does the film glorify its main character, who happens to be a terrorist? Yes, but it also shows the consequences of his actions, and it makes ample points as to why he seeks revenge, which boils much deeper than religious intolerance.

After actor James Purefoy left the project after it had begun, director James McTeigue (assistant director on The Matrix trilogy) turned to Hugo Weaving, and he couldn’t have made a better choice. Weaving, even though we never see his face, is perfect for the role with his identifiable voice providing a creepiness with total confidence, especially in his opening monologue after bringing Evey to his underground home.

Portman also shines as Evey Hammond, a seemingly innocent young girl who is tortured (part of the head shaving we’ve heard so much about) and taught more about herself than she could have known. As we learn more and more of her back story you begin to feel the emotion she exhibits during these torturous scenes.

Andy and Larry Wachowski’s screenplay is nothing short of excellent and makes up for the lackluster Reloaded and Revolutions. After seeing the film, I did some research on the limited graphic novel series and found a great many things in common, but, again, not enough to keep Moore on board.

While not the best film ever released, V for Vendetta does make for an engaging time at the movies with a brisk pace, interesting characters, great action, and an ending that really grips you. Just seeing how this film builds up towards its climax is amazing and the money shots, promoted in the trailers, of certain buildings exploding shows that all the pieces came together in a cohesive piece of filmmaking that should live on as a genuine classic and another comic book successfully transferred to the big screen.

It had to happen eventually. With all the comic book properties being gobbled up like marbles during a game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos, the A-list has been whittled down to a select few and now the replacements have been called upon. I’m not saying that the Fantastic Four are not up to par with X-Men and Spider-Man, but those films enjoy such a deep following from their fans, you just didn’t see the kind of press and pure hype for Four as you did for Spider-Man.

Thankfully for us no one decided to come dressed up as The Thing, or worse, the skin-tight clad Mr. Fantastic.

Having never been a fan of the comic book series in which the movie was based, I’m basing this review on the theatrical merits of the script, characters, and storyline and not how well they preserve, or change, the comic book counterparts.

In the film version, the Fantastic Four are formed when five a astronaut, scientist, pilot, corporate mastermind, and a hottie journey to a space station orbiting the earth for a series of experiments as a cosmic storm comes our way. In the vein of every other movie, something goes wrong and all five are exposed to the deadly radiation, only they don’t die, they manifest superpowers. Brother and sister team Sue (Jessica Alba) and Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) become the Invisible Woman and Human Torch, respectively, while mission leader Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) becomes the stretchable Mr. Fantastic. Rounding out the four is astronaut Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) checking in as the rock-solid The Thing. To add an antagonistic foil for the four Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) seeks revenge on his former schoolmate for turning him into a metal-clad freak and taking his girl.

Fantastic Four takes a more comedic tone with the entire film rather than the dark X-Men, semi-lighthearted Spider-Man, or brutally realistic Punisher. From the very beginning you know the film is going to be a fun ride providing enough one-liners (mostly from Evans’ Torch) to keep you chuckling and enough action to keep you entertained.

Still, there are some glaring problems in the way the film is executed. Director Tim Story may not be the ideal choice for a director (especially after Taxi), but with the script he was given, at least he tried. One of the first real problems you come across is that the villain just isn’t that menacing. McMahon does a great job bringing the obviously underwritten role to the screen in grand fashion but the film seems to concentrate more on the conflict between the Fantastic Four rather than with Doom. That may be okay to do in the second or third movie of a franchise (a la Spider-Man) but after being introduced to these characters no sooner than 30 minutes ago, I don’t want to see them about to duke it out. This holds the relationship between Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm as an exception because that’s where all the films entertainment comes from.

You can also see why Fox nearly freaked when they saw Disney’s The Incredibles as several of the superpowers are identical here (invisible girl with force fields, nearly indestructible strong guy, and stretch-inclined person). While the powers themselves are pretty cool, they just don’t compare to Wolverine’s claws or Spidey’s webslingers.

The film’s climax comes off rather weak as well, lasting no more than a few minutes, and the “everything will be all right” ending rubs you the wrong way. Grimm had wanted to be freed from his craggy prison since it encompassed him, yet with a way out he merely lets it fall by the wayside, has a few drinks, and laughs it up.

I’m not going to rush and judge the franchise by its lead off film, but where other Marvel properties like Spider-Man, X-Men, and Blade managed to make a huge mark with well written, well directed firsts, Fantastic Four does not. Chock it up to stagnating in development hell for years, an inconsistent director, or a lame-duck villain, but I’m hoping the sequel offers up more of a film than an eye-candy spectacular peppered with comedy.

Comic book movies are a tough nut to crack. On one hand, you need to keep enough of the graphic novels core elements, story, and characters intact to appease the die-hard fans. On the other you need to make the movie available to the mass market so Joe Somebody is intrigued by a franchise he might never have heard about before.

Previous efforts to adapt comic books to the big screen have taken a sharp upturn in quality over the past few years. The X-Men series did everything right, including picture perfect casting in most cases, Spider-Man was willfully and colorfully brought to life by fan-favorite director Sam Raimi, and even minor characters like Blade have transferred to the big screen with huge success.

Batman Begins trumps them all, in this editor’s opinion, when it comes to staying faithful to the source material and bringing in a mass audience. The Dark Knight’s origins are so meticulously crafted by director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer that you completely lose yourself in the story and never realize that 137 minutes have passed until a giant smile comes across your face and the credits begin to role.

Batman Begins starts with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) incarcerated overseas after leaving a decaying Gotham City. Organized crime, petty criminals, and police corruption lurk along the city streets (which uses Chicago, IL as a double). Wayne begins training under the tutelage of The League of Shadows and Ra’s Al Ghul, a man bent on saving the world, by any means necessary. Wayne eventually returns to Gotham, and through a series of events takes on the persona of Batman, a crime-fighter without any special powers, but a deep, undying need for vengeance and justice in the turbulent city.

Really there’s so much to say about the plot, but for the sake of keeping this review as spoiler free as possible, I’ll hold off on detailing anything else, but all you need to know is this is, by far, the best Batman movie ever created.

The success of the movie stems from the wonderful acting choices. Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne. The fan favorite for the job sinks into the role marvelously and brings the Batman and his playboy billionaire alter-ego to life in grand fashion. Michael Caine as Alfred is also an excellent bit of casting. Every member of the cast pulls their respective parts above and beyond what we’ve come to expect from a comic book film and creates memorable characters that, even with only a few lines in the script, can be fleshed out.

Besides Bale, two of my personal favorites are Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow and Gary Oldman as Sgt. James Gordon.

Batman Begins is a reboot for the series after two good films, Batman and Batman: Returns, one passable movie, Batman: Forever and one atrociously bad one, Batman & Robin. The story doesn’t focus on one central nemesis for the winged-one to tackle, but, instead, focuses on the internal conflict within Bruce Wayne wanting to seek vengeance for his parents, but being unable to do so. Bale pulls this off with flying colors and is easily the best actor to don the cowl after Michael Keaton’s “okay” performances, Val Kilmer’s forgettable one, and George Clooney’s “it’s better we don’t talk about” tour of duty.

With so much going for the film, I was a bit skeptical if it could live up to the lofty expectations I had for it. Batman has long been my favorite comic book character and after Batman & Robin I don’t think I could take anymore rubber nipples or Bat-AmEx jokes. Luckily, Begins is a dark, serious film with only a few fleeting one-liners provided by Oldman and Caine to boot. Everything else is deathly series, as it should be, with the darker tone provided the central theme of fear.

Fear is the tool used most by Batman, not high-powered guns, or other gadgets, the Dark Knight in Batman Begins revolves around instilling fear into the criminals to keep them in line. It seems only right that the first baddie he would face would be The Scarecrow with his hallucinogen powder that provides for some truly frightening visuals (maggots crawling out of his face, Batman appearing deformed or with piercing red eyes). This isn’t clown-shoes Batman as we saw in the last film, this is the way the character was meant to be portrayed.

A review of the film couldn’t be complete without at least a mention of the new Batmobile which, if I may put it bluntly, kicks so many flavors of ass it’s unprecedented. The thing is just amazing to watch on screen and the chase mid-way through is pure-popcorn action personified by a car and the rooftops of a city.

Batman Begins is what Tim Burton’s Batman should have been in 1989, a movie that sets up the character the way the die-hard fans and John Q. Public would have liked. The Dark Knight’s origin is completely explained, several villains make their first appearances, there’s action, there’s adventure, suspense, horror, just about everything that makes an excellent movie all contained into this 137 minute masterpiece.

For those with doubts still, stow them, Batman Begins is the best, and most faithful, comic book adaptation ever, and blows every other movie you would have seen this year out of the water. With a nod to the next villain at the end and the principle cast already signed on for sequels, the future looks bright for the rebirth of this premiere franchise, and no one’s happier about that than me.

There are times when you sit down to a movie expecting so much and getting so little. I’ve sat through my share of disappointments over the years, with The Ring Two as the latest addition to that category. Then there are times, and they are few and far between, that you sit down to a film and have your expectations blown away as everything you though about movies in general is shattered like a bullet ripping through bone.

Sin City is one those movies.

Truth be told, up until last year, when the original teaser trailer premiered, I couldn’t have told you what Sin City was, let alone name a single character. Based on the graphic novels of the same name, Sin City is the story of a colorful, yet color-less, cast of characters who will do just about everything to survive and fulfill their cause. The film houses a startling cast with big name movie stars all the way down to relatively unknowns but each one brings his or her A-game to the table and the audience is treated to, what very well may be, one of the best films of the year and the decade.

Sin City is broken up into three separate narratives overlapping, ingeniously written parts to tell and overall story (think Pulp Fiction). Co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, the graphic novel’s creator, have constructed one of the most fun films to watch, but also one of the most well written in some time. We get things started with Bruce Willis’ Hartigan hot on the trail of a senator’s son who is also a child molester. After discovering him with his latest victim, Nancy, Hartigan blows perverts ear and genitals off but ends up being shot half-a-dozen times by his partner.

The story shifts to, perhaps, the best of the bunch and focuses on Marv (Mickey Rourke) and his quest for revenge on a silent killer (Elijah Wood) who murdered Goldie (Jamie King), whom he had slept with the night before. Marv is a walking tank, and nearly unstoppable as he’s shot, punched, thrown, run over, and electrocuted in his mission. Next, we’re introduced to Dwight (Clive Owen) who gets entangled in the battle for Old Town between the cops and the working girls after a detective (Benicio Del Toro) is killed (in a rather unpleasant way). Finally the story shifts back to Hartigan and his pursuit to rescue a fully grown Nancy (Jessica Alba) from a yellow menace.

The cast itself, although large, boasts incredible performances from the likes of Rourke and Owen, as well as Willis and Rosario Dawson. Standing amount among them all is Rourke with his up-front manner, massive size, and great dialog delivery for the huge Marv. Clive Owen finally gets a chance to shine outside chick-flicks and the outstanding BMW Films. Bruce Willis appears to be back on track after a few missteps like Tears of the Sun and Hostage, and his character of Hartigan is as hard-boiled as Max Payne with the sense of humor of John McClain. Finally, Rosario Dawson shines again as the leader of the working girls in Old Town with her wardrobe and sadistic glee of killing standing out in a pivotal scene of the film. The cast is just too massive to get into individually, but there weren’t any performances that didn’t hit a note with me, as everything gelled and flowed perfectly.

Sin City is not for the faint of heart, much like his friend Quentin Tarantino (who also guest directs a portion of the film) Rodriguez doesn’t shy away from the brutality of violence. The film is as raw as it gets with gun shot wounds spraying bright white blood all over the screen and a penance for dismember or shooting men in the scrotum seems to be the act of the day. Still, it is almost cartoon in nature because of the black & white print with only shades of color thrown in to highlight certain objects, like a red dress or a character’s eye color.

Filmed similar to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sin City was shot against a green screen with the backgrounds and other effects added in post-production. Rodriguez is know for his economical filmmaking that produces $100 million dollar work for less than half that. His masterful direction and ideas also come thrown perfectly in the film, something far fewer directors are able to do these days with the hack, cookie-cutter-fare we’re subjected to almost weekly.

Fans of movies and movies that are made for true movie fans don’t need to think twice before seeing Sin City, in fact, anyone who has ever thought a frame from a comic book or graphic novel “looked cool” should see this film for the art form that it is. The way every shot is framed, presented, cut, and highlighted brings the novels to the big screen in picturesque storyboard fashion.

Sin City not only raises the bar for adaptations, it successfully raises the bar on the art of movie making as well. Its been a really long time since I’ve been able to say I was truly impressed with a film, but with Sin City, I’m not only impressed, I’m simply bewildered that no one has had the talent or the finesse to make a movie such as this one before. After sitting in the theater and letting the credits role to the end, no words came to me to describe what I had just seen. I was unprepared for the beauty that was Sin City, and I’m only now beginning to realize that it is definitely one of the finest works of art I’ve ever seen. While I should reserve this statement until after some of my other anticipated films of the year debut, Sin City is, by large, a contender for the best movie of the year, and its only April.

After the major disappointments that were The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, you would think Keanu Reeves would want to stay away from the comic book world. While The Matrix sequels weren’t based on comic books per se, their stories were heavily influenced by the graphic novels that occupy so many hardcore fans throughout the world. Still, Warner Bros., and Reeves, teamed up once again, for another foray which has one half of Bill & Ted in the role of an action hero. This time Neo steps into the shoes of John Constantine, a man who can see the demons that influence us, and uses every tool at his disposal to send them back to hell.

Constantine, based on the Vertigo/DC comic Hellblazer, has the title character portrayed as a hard-boiled, cancer-ridden hero who has no desire to do anything but rewrite his fate in the afterlife. He’s destined to go to hell after attempting suicide earlier in his life, and by Catholicism rulings, a mortal sin such as taking your own life can only mean one thing, eternal damnation. For all his demon killing Constantine still hasn’t managed to buy his way into heaven, and with lung cancer about to end his quest, all seems lost. Yet he stumbles upon a young woman, Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), who is investigating the apparent suicide of her twin sister, but there’s more to her death than it seems (isn’t there always?).

Constantine is a decidedly dark movie, equally akin to the undertones of the Matrix trilogy, and those with a deep religious background may find some imagery and talk disturbing. There is no sugar coating when describing hell and this certainly isn’t the hell portrayed in The Simpsons where demons simply go bowling with your head. Here, the great below features half-headed demons ripping you to shreds over and over again for eternity. The world is a mirror image of our own, only blasted like a heat furnace with fire raging all around you. It certainly sounds like a great tourist destination, no? One of the movies main criticisms is it devotes the explanation of everything (good and evil) under the rules of the Catholic/Christian principles of religion, completely ignoring the fact that Christianity isn’t even the major religion on the planet. Yet, I find it hard to fault the film based on this simply because of the source material the original writers decided to use.

Reeves, who has been faulted before for not living up to his acting potential, does a good job portraying John Constantine as a re-envisioned character. In the comics the protagonist is a blonde haired Brit, in the film he’s a dark haired American. Surely some of the comic’s die-hard fans will be disappointed by the creative liberties taken by the screenwriters, but that’s to be expected when jumping from the colored pages to the silver screen. Rachel Weisz also puts in another strong performance as the twin sisters Angela and Isabel. She’s definitely the eye candy of the film, but plays the part of a deeply religious detective believably.

Constantine suffers, however, from the weight it puts on itself and the audience. The film, running for a full two hours certainly feels its running length. The first two acts are slow to develop and brooding in the darkness that is Constantine’s fate. The climax, part of it obviously influenced from the open scene in Blade, lacks the overall punch you expect it to have. Yet, maybe it’s our expectations that need to be changed? As the credits rolled, Tom and myself actually applauded the director for sticking with a non-Hollywood ending, even though the character dynamics where there to implement it. It almost feels as though the movie is about to go cookie-cutter when it just throws the dough on the pan and lets it form its own shape. Still, in this day and age, where fancy camera tricks and gunplay make up a great majority of our movies, Constantine just doesn’t have the “wow” factor at the critical moment.

I was genuinely impressed with the film, in that, it managed to keep my attention for two hours, lacked the punch that most films deliver in their climaxes, and still has me smiling at the end. Is it worthy of a re-viewing in the theater? Maybe, but with a packed DVD the film is definitely worth owning. As with most comic book movies, the die-hard fans will find plenty to complain about, but those with no prior knowledge of the series will find something to enjoy in the darkness that is this world.

The Blade series has long been felt as the red-headed stepchild of the Marvel catalog. The first film barely made mention of its comic book roots sans for a mentioning in the opening credits. The second film in the series didn’t carry the Marvel logo on the actual prints, but did feature it on the poster. It seems as though everyone is finally able to acknowledge the series for what it is, but, unfortunately, the series’ third (and presumably last) installment is ultimately its weakest. This isn’t to say that Blade Trinity isn’t a good movie, it certainly is, for what it is, but as a die hard fan of the theatrical series the new elements to the film just don’t seem to click as well as the previous two entries in the vampire-slaying series.

Trinity brings the Nightstalkers into the mix with hopes of a spin-off in the future. Heading up this group of hunters is Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel) and Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds) who both went through extensive training to bulk up and create two very memorable characters. The story of the film brings the group to the aid of Blade (Wesley Snipes) after he is set up and a captured by the humans (with the Vampire Nation pulling the strings). Yet, while all of this is going on the vampires have also discovered the burial grounds of the first vampire, Dracula (Dominic Purcell). The vamps believe that their eternal leader is the only one who can defeat the day-walker.

The movie itself works very well, for the third installment in an established franchise, but without the Blade logo tying it into Marvel’s series there isn’t much in the way of story to really keep you on the edge of your seat. Still, many will argue that you don’t go to a movie, such as this one, for the story, you go for the fight scenes, violence, and general ass-kicking, all of which Trinity provides in droves. Something else the movie provides may surprise fans of the first and second film where the dark, gothic tone was never a purveyor of humor (besides Blade and Reinhardt’s (Ron Perlman) lovely conversations in Blade II), but Reynolds’ King hits every cue, and every joke right on the mark. Sometimes the film is funnier than certain “comedies” released this year.

In a surprising casting movie, Parker Posey joins the cast as the devious Danica Talos who provides the comic foil to Hannibal King (she is also was his Sire). Furthering the casting gambit a bit was writer/director David S. Goyer’s choice to bring on Paul Michael Levesque (aka Triple H) as a vampire-thug who loves his vampire dog (ominously cross bred with the Reaper strain). Triple H literally steals ever scene he is in, and when coupled with Reynolds, once again, hilarity ensues.

As I said before, the film, as a part of the Blade trilogy, works well, and provides both closure and openness in its conclusion. As a movie standing on its own the film seems almost rushed to a point of getting the series’ main star in cohorts with the new hopefuls and see how the chemistry plays out. Luckily, the chemistry is there, and with the off-the-set rumors of “difficulties” working with Wesley Snipes only ads more enjoyment to see him interact with the “kids.” The inclusion of the Dracula storyline seems like it would be an endgame of sorts for the series, finally giving closure to all the turmoil Blade has had to endure since he was a child, yet, the film’s ending is as open as ever leading many to believe if the series is actually over with (here’s hoping it isn’t).

Speaking of the ending, it will certainly make you groan when you see it. I thought that the character of Drake (aka Dracula) was so severely underdeveloped that it almost handicapped the movie’s story. Goyer seems to have included the character out of an attempt to mass market the series for non-fans. The persistent rumors of a slightly futuristic setting in which the vampires had conquered the humans is almost desired after seeing how this one ends, but we can’t expect Sam “Spider-Man” Raimi quality in every comic book movie that comes up to the plate.

Blade Trinity is the weakest member of the Blade series, but that doesn’t discourage me from wanting to see it a few more times in the theaters and pick up the DVD the day it comes out. Maybe it’s the fact that vampires and related lore seem to be really hot these days, and with all the conflicting movies and canon-violations (Underworld for example), it may just be hard to get as excited about seeing some good-old-fashioned blood sucking without a been-there-done-that aura washing over you.

Warning this review may contain material some readers might find objectionable.

With the recent surge in both comic book movies and films that pair up two franchises against each other (a la Freddy vs. Jason) it seems only right that someone would finally realize that there was one untapped “vs.” match-up that is also a comic book/video game franchise. With all that going for it, it would be impossible to screw up, right?

Unfortunately, for the viewer, watching Alien vs. Predator is like being bent over a chair by director Paul W.S. Anderson and being violated with nothing more than the Alien-creature’s searing, acid blood as lubrication. The film is such a mess one must wonder if FOX knew what was going on during the movie’s production and if they actually knew that two of their greatest franchises, with so much established canon, and potential, would be going down the virtual crapper faster than you can say “dollar signs.”

The fact that the movie wasn’t screened for critics during the week of its release was the first indication that something was wrong. Usually, for those who are unfamiliar with the premise, a film is screened for “professional” critics a few days in advance of its release in order to build up buzz for the film. When a movie isn’t screened the studio usually knows something is wrong and declines to hold a screening hoping to stem the negative buzz before it hits the streets.

Alien vs. Predator, as a film catering to fans of both franchises, doesn’t need critical approval for the movie to be accepted and viewed. Maybe that is the most troubling actuality for me. The fact that people will be endlessly viewing the film hoping that they are finally going to get the ultimate showdown between two of the coolest characters in sci-fi history. Half-way through the film it won’t be uncommon to check to make sure the director isn’t behind you, waiting for you to get up. Even if Paul W.S. Anderson isn’t back there, perhaps the FOX studio execs are, waiting for their opportunity to shovel this crap down the throats of unsuspecting movie-goers.

Those looking to see a film that capitalizes on the strengths of both franchises are due to be very disappointed. Coming in with the cop-out, and crippling, PG-13 rating, AVP lacks the violence of its predecessors and aside from a few in-jokes here and there, you never get the feeling that this film is anything more than a marketing measure gone horribly wrong than an actual film in either series. Granted, the premise of the film isn’t too bad, although a great majority of the comic’s fans, including myself, was hoping for the film to be set in the future allowing for the two alien creations to go up-against the lovable space marines from James Cameron’s excellent Aliens. The prequel aspect took out the enduring quality of the Alien series, Ripley, a hero identified as one of the top 50 ever, and left us with a tough rock-climbing chick (Sanaa Lathan).

Instead of Ripley to tie the movies together, we get the equally cool Bishop in the form of the founder of the once-nameless Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen). Weyland who finds a temple constructed under Antarctica. Striving forward, in the capitalist definition of the word, the corporate headpiece brings together a rag-tag group of drillers, explorers, and archaeological experts to travel to the temple, and see what lies within.

It just so happens that a clan of Predators use that temple to train their youngsters and allow them to become full-fledge hunters in a coming-of-age hunt that rewards them with their shoulder-blasters. Imagine how surprised the humans are when they stumble upon the sacrificial chamber used to impregnate host with alien embryos. This is where things take a turn for the worse. As we saw in Alien, the gestation period for the embryo is hours, if not a better part of a day, but in AVP, it takes all but five minutes for the alien to “bust-out” onto the scene and begin to cause havoc. This is just one of the glaring inconsistencies with the series including established canon that goes back to the very first film in the series. The movie seems to rely on the Alien back-story more than the Predator one. Why do I say this? The fact that no one seems to remember anything that happen in the previous two Predator films (acres of jungle being blown to kingdom-come and a giant explosion under a major US city), even though they would have happened in the past if this film takes place in 2004. Even the Predator series’ most revered joke (“You’re one ugly mother…”) is misplaced in this film, when they utter it towards the wrong species!

There were times during the movie when I wished for a blunt instrument to jam into my eye and see if I was more entertained. The stylistic camera motions used by Anderson exhibit his need for a Steadicam more than a sense of style. The head to head battles, between the two title characters, are very hard to follow when the camera seems to jump all over the place, making it hard to understand what is going on. Towards the end, things become even more ludicrous as a sort-of-Charlie’s–Angels-like motif sets in including the prerequisite slow-motion run in front a wall of fire and Jurassic Park-rip-off ending sequence. Even the “ha-we-got-you” ending is rendered futile if you examine the previous films in the series and realize that it could never happen.

Alien vs. Predator is yet another failed sequel and a huge disappointment for the people who support those sequels, the core fans of the series. Instead of a fight to the death or even FOX’s marketing ploy of “whoever wins…we lose” we get a tame version of a film that had so much success in other mediums it should have been a no-brainer to bring it to big screen in style. In the long run, maybe it is better this movie has been made so in 30 years, when Hollywood completely runs out of ideas again, they can remake it and know what not to do. Here’s hoping things look better in 2034 and the grocery store isn’t out of ointment.

Regardless of when this review is posted it won’t matter too much, you will already have seen the best movie of the summer. No denying it, no refuting it, Spider-Man 2 is the best movie of the season. We can already look forward to being disappointed come Oscar time when the film won’t even be nominated for Best Picture, best Actor, or, most importantly, Best Director. However, we can stand around the water cooler, join up on message boards, and verbally speak out how seeing the next chapter in the Spidey saga brought hope to an otherwise abysmal summer season. Take my hand, its okay.

I had trouble finding the words after seeing Spider-Man 2. Really, how do you explain emotions you haven’t felt in such a long time towards a movie? When a movie brings everything, every genre together into a tight, clean, awesome package, how do you really explain to someone that they should drop what they are doing, get a ticket, and see such an amazing picture?

Spider-Man 2 picks up nearly two years after the first film’s end. The Green Goblin/Norman Osborne (Willem Dafoe) has been killed by Spider-Man, Harry Osborne (James Franco) despises the hero, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) has finally made it as an actress, and Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) must now find a way to balance his life as an average, ordinary persona with that of Spider-Man. With the Green Goblin dead, a new villain must step up to the plate and provide a worthy antagonist. This new villain goes by the name Otto Octavius (aka Doc Ock) and is wonderfully acted and presented by Alfred Molina.

Spider-Man is one of those superhero movies where you aren’t cringing at the bad dialog or the horrible acting. Watching Halle Berry as Storm in X2 was one of the most excruciatingly painful things I’ve ever had to do, but every single member of the cast is strongly represented and wonderfully portrayed. Harry Osborne is the brooding, word-obsessed follower of his father, Peter Parker is the sometimes-reluctant hero who struggles to keep his non-Spidey life together after the woes of the city begins to weight down on him, and Doc Ock is the scientist under the duress control of his mechanical arms. Each of these parts is believably acted and each actor knows what they are doing. Even the supporting cast brings everything they have to the table with a notable standout being J.K. Simmons’ J. Jonah Jameson who nearly doubles his screen time and ups the ante on the laughs.

It’s nice to see a film that has something for everyone. The humor is well placed and well scripted, but just as fast as a joke is delivered the film can switch gears into a serious tone with no problem, and nothing lost on the audience. The action sequences, especially the fights between Spidey and Doc Ock, are amazing. The computer effects, drastically improved from the first film, really portray the look and feel of a comic book with highly stylized camera angles and sets. Never before in a comic book movie have the pages of the graphic novel come to life as accurately as in Spider-Man.

For fans of Spider-Man the script includes many shout-outs to the series and opens the door to sequels to come. In order to keep this review spoiler free I won’t dive into them, but familiar names do make an appearance, and if you are a die hard fan of the comic, you will fine plenty to sink your teeth into. Not to be outdone, fans of director Sam Raimi will find a whole sequence harking back to the days of Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness complete with fast zoom shots onto a chainsaw, a camera moving across the ground just as in Evil Dead and even an appearance by the “King” himself, Bruce Campbell. Like I said before, the pleasure that this film brings to any moviegoer will certainly rival anything else produced this year.

If it seems I strayed away from talking about the actual film in this review, you are correct. Like I said in the opening paragraph, nothing I say here will change your mind about seeing the film, and I wouldn’t want it to. Spider-Man 2 is every bit as good as you have heard, and I honestly can’t find anything I didn’t like about it. Comic book fan or not, Sam Raimi fan or not, Spider-Man fan or not, everyone needs to see this film and have the best time at the movies this year. I don’t think there will be many who disagree with me on this one, see it, no matter what.