Life's Hoppin' Bob and Django Unchained's Stephen: Understanding the Uncle Tom complex

Have you ever heardd someone ask why Black people can't "unite" like other cultures, or why there is so much violence within the Black community (I will not digress to observe that there is inner-racial violence in any criminal element, such as Italian on Italian or Japanese on Japanese, except to say that the Black community does not hold a patent on the phenomenon).

Hoppin' Bob from Life, and Stephen from Django Unchained, bring to life characters who, on the face of it, seem particularly reprehensible but, on closer examination, are very understandable and, perhaps even, sadly sympathetic.

Well, almost.

Cloud Atlas: Simple message for a very complex film

First of all, apologies for not getting this review out sooner. It’s been rather hectic with work and day to day living and all.

I had to admit, when I first heard of this film being debuted at the 2012 TIFF, I was sceptical on how it would be. I had heard it was based on a well known novel, but one I had never read before. Then I heard it was directed by the Wachowski bro…er, the Wachowski’s, the creators of “The Matrix” franchise. Since they are known to be very picky on outside products to base their films on (in this case this novel), and the fact they every film they made so far has been very visually stimulating and unique, it was no surprise to me that this was one of the main films I wanted to see at TIFF.

The Replacement Gods: Post-modern rant, or potential eye opener?

Hmm... now I guess it’s time for something a little “controversial.”

As a fair number of you are already aware, there’s been an ongoing (and in some cases heated) debate on the documentary “The Replacement Gods” among Christians and comic/ superhero/hero archetype enthusiasts alike.

And even larger debates among those who are Christians but still like their sci-fi and comic-related forms of entertainments, much like me. Yes, we are a rather interesting group - some consider us odd; others would even going as far as calling us hypocritical or even blasphemous for taking an interest in some forms of “geek culture,” whether in the forms of video games, reading material, or types of films or TV shows we enjoy.

Looper: A good Sci-fi flick that still misses 'something'..

It’s been a while, since this summer that there was a new entry here. That mainly has to do with the usual doldrums of end-of-the-summer blockbusters, and the waiting game of those fall/ winter films that don’t come out until at least a month into fall itself. Then, of course, the anticipation of those same fall/winter films that are showcased at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), which instills the other waiting game of when those films are released… Thankfully a few of them I anticipate seeing are being released within this month or so. A few have been released already, which brings me to the film in question, “Looper”. 

Superhero Genre Part 2: The End of the Heroic Film Era?

Now we come to my issue with heroic archetype films, and Hollywood’s current approach towards it. Yes granted with some of the current films that were recently released, (The Avengers, Amazing Spiderman and the Dark Knight Rises especially) I still feel that this genre of films and possibly many more, could soon come to a end.

Superhero Genre Part 1: The final two best?

Before I begin, I want to take a little time to state my condolences to the family and friends of those victims of the Colorado massacre in the movie theatre. My prayers go out to all of them. This heinous act was beyond deplorable, and completely unnecessary. It’s still unknown why this happened, but hopefully justice will be served. 

As many of you who follow us here on this board know, a popular genre of films we love to review, critique, and in some cases criticize, are the hero/superhero archetype films. And within the last decade or so, there’s been a resurgence of sorts, with this genre. 

Prometheus: the prequel that raises more questions than answers

Sorry it’s been a while since my last review. I’ve been busy with the usual day-to-day events that typically take a great deal of our spare time, but are necessary to do regardless. Good news is, I did happen to catch a couple of films during my absence at the site. One of which I will give my two cents on in this entry. 

As you all already know, “Prometheus”, is the supposed prequel to the Alien(s) series. The movie itself was to give a detailed look at where and how the aliens in Alien originate. That said, after seeing the film, for me at least it raised far more questions than answers. 

The Hunger Games: A unique remake, or a Battle Royale with Cheese?

With the overall sagging decline of theatre sales (with the exception of major blockbusters), Hollywood is literary chomping at the bit, for a new unique teen/tween novel based movie series to start up. Harry Potter is done, and the (ugh) Twilight series is about to finish. 

Hollywood needs a new series to appeal to the teen/tween demographic in order to keep that gravy train flowing. And what better way to do that than with…wait for it…another new teen fantasy novel series to be made into a film franchise. Surprise, surprise…

Red Tails, between the Hollywood blockbuster & Real life Heros:

Normally I do not make a review of a movie I haven’t seen yet. Typically we do reviews on films that are already out or ones we’ve seen in the past (this one is scheduled to be released by January 20^th by they way).

For this particular film, about the Tuskegee Airmen, however, I think I will make one of those rare exceptions, mainly due to my interest in many famous battles during WWII.

The Avengers - 5 films later, it all comes down to this

Well, since it’s been hinted at since the first Ironman movie, might as well address it.

The upcoming Avengers film, though not out till next summer, already has a huge buzz for fans for a little over 6 years now. Technically the anticipation for this film (according to some of the more diehard comic fans) has been much longer, though never truly realized until that extended ending trailer in the first Ironman movie. Since then, we have seen more hints and clips of the same sort throughout many other Marvel based films, like Ironman 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and most recently with the Captain America movie that just got released (Good film btw). And with all of the films now done and released, there’s only one thing left to do…Avengers assemble!!