I always enjoyed the edgy humor of the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, even though much of its cold war-inspired humor was way over my head. Like many of its contemporary animated shows, Rocky & Bullwinkle had other characters that would star in their own adventures, usually neat, self-container 5-10 minute stories, and most engaging among those were the peculiar time-traveling journeys of über-smart dog Mr. Peabody and his adopted human son Sherman. Yes, “dog adopts…Read More
Review: Jack the Giant Slayer
I can only imagine the early production meetings… “guys, we need a storyline that’ll let us show off some really cool new visual effects, something that everyone will know but that we can bring into the modern era.” “Okay, but it better not cost a mil to get the book rights this time.” “Okay, okay. Hey! How about Jack and the Beanstalk?” “Wait, are we talking a cartoon?” “No, live action. Big, epic, scary, in…Read More
Review: Captain America: The First Avenger
“Uncle Sam Wants You!” the posters insisted on wall after wall during the 1940s, but what if you were just too scrawny, too weak to pass the physical and join the military to fight for your country? That’s the dilemma faced by Brooklyn weakling Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), who has gotten used to being bullied, but is remarkable for his willingness to endure any pummeling so as not to seem a coward. “I can take…Read More
Review: The Lovely Bones
When someone is murdered, their spirit lingers on, observing and trying to influence the course of justice, a ghost seeking revenge or simply to experience the karmic balance that we hope will transpire. But what of the ghost during this period of time, what’s their experience and what if there is no peace, no justice, nothing but someone who refuses to let go, who refuses to accept that they have died? That’s the basic story…Read More