I got hooked on Monster films after watching the 1931 frankenstein... Not the first Frankenstein film, but the first full-on Hollywood treatment of Mary Shelley's classic book. Brilliantly directed by James Whale, Frankenstein is in fact the name of the mad scientist and monster-maker. Then unknown, Boris Karloff plays the nameless monster, who manages to evoke sympathy from the audience despite his grotesque form, hideous face and shocking violence.

After that James Van Elswyk was…

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First of all, let's look over the plot summary of the Dark Knight trilogy as the definitive Batman story on film. As a young boy, Bruce Wayne's parents are killed in front of him and thus decides to travel the world for many years to find his life purpose with the aid of the League of Shadows…

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Just because much of the news surrounding comic book movies at present involves sequelizing and furthering established properties, doesn't mean there aren't original heroes being developed for film as well. In December of 2011, …

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Life may find a way, but 'Jurassic Park 4' is struggling to hatch from its shell and see the light of day. A little over a month ago, the long-gestating fourth installment in the franchise finally earned itself a release date. It was slated to be released in June of 2014. This seemed rather…

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Rating-Full Price!!   Badass is how I would describe Gotham Knight. This anthology of six short animated superhero films is really well done thanks to intelligent writing, kickass animation, and overall good voice acting. These shorts show batman's war against crime, specifically the mob. Make no mistake, these shorts are DARK in both tone and style, this is definitely not campy like that Adam West TV show. If you call yourself a batman fan, you owe it to yourself to buy…

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Just in case you thought there was anything that could not be adapted for film, developments have come about on the Angry Birds movie. That's right, the cinematic version of that game you play on your iPad with the slingshot, the pigs, and the surly feathered protagonists. The project has been simmering for a while,…

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As we grow nearer to the end of 2012, assuming we survive the Mayan apocalypse, we approach the much-anticipated Marvel Phase 2. This is of course the slate of films post-'Avengers' in which the superhero members once again…

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The purposed fourth installment of the 'Jurassic Park' franchise remains one of those somewhat ephemeral projects that we've been talking about for years, but has never actually manifested into anything. This year there has been…

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With 'The Expendables 2' opening this week it's not surprising that producer Avi Lerner would already be looking forward to the third…

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Let's face it, Superman is in a horrible place in today's society. He might be the original superhero and the classic example of what superheroes can be but like Captain America's deal in The Avengers, things have changed in the seventy or seventy-five years that have past us by as a…

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We've often said, out of bitterness and spite, that there is nothing Hollywood won't reheat, repackage, and shove into production if there is any money left to be made. This certainly seemed to be the motivating factor behind …

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As you're probably well aware by now, there will be a new entry in the Bourne franchise released this summer...minus Bourne. Jeremy Renner takes over as super spy Aaron Cross in …

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Film article I wrote a couple months back:

 

The Dark Side of the Film Reel: A Production Assistant’s Tale

 

            The summer of last year was a true eye-opener. I was granted the job as a production…

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Sheik documentary interview with producer and director Mark Nowotarski at the Motor City Comic Con… Continue

This summer may be looked back upon as the summer that turned it around. It might be the last summer studios and filmmakers throw millions of dollars at the screen for no particular reason. Why? District 9.



Tips for the Producers of Major Motion Pictures



1. Don't Get a Star to be in your movie, just because they're a star.



Today many big-name actors get paid millions of dollar per movie, racking up the budgets to levels beyond what they should be, why do you… Continue

Okay, first things first. I want to formally apologize to FOX. I've unleashed my fair share of "UNFAIR!" despite defending them for the most part. Now it appears that even I was being unfair. Here's an official release from FOX on yesterday's open letter.



"We appreciate Mr. Levin’s passion for this project, but he has neglected basic facts and legal rulings. First, Fox notified Warner Bros of our rights in this project months before production on the film began -- they chose to… Continue

Drew McWeeny has a scoop over at his new site HitFix - an open letter to the world about WATCHMEN and the legal battle over it. This is kind of a big deal because, as most of you know, most everyone has been pretty tight lipped on it. But as you read through this rather lengthly piece, I found it less to be a description of the legal position and more of an emotional plea… Continue