Ang Lee's Hulk Dared To Smash Traditional Superhero Movie Rules

Ang Lee's Hulk is the Johnny B. Goode of superhero movies.

In Back to the Future, Marty McFly delivers a lively performance of Johnny B. Goode at a 1950s prom. Similarly, Ang Lee unleashed his unapologetically unique Hulk move onto the public in June 2003. The creative ambitions of McFly and Lee were clear. They both knew exactly what they wanted and were executing their creative visions to match those ambitions. Unfortunately, both the teens at that 1950s prom and summer moviegoing audiences in 2003 weren't receptive to what McFly and Lee, respectively, were dishing out. "I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet," McFly said once his Johnny B. Goode performance went over like a lead balloon, "But your kids are gonna love it!"

Live-Action Disney Remakes Come To Streaming With Lady and the Tramp

You didn't think 2019 would close out without one more live-action remake of a classic animated Disney movie? The fifth one of these in 2019 arrives in the form of Lady and the Tramp, which also serves as one of the first original films on Disney's new streaming platform Disney+. This newest remake also serves as a throwback title for Disney, one that harkens back to their more traditional family films like Homeward Bound and Beverly Hills Chihuahua rather than the mega-budget live-action remakes that define modern-day Disney family entertainment. That's not inherently a good or bad thing, but it does give one an idea of what kind of original movies we can expect Disney+ to deliver in the coming years.

Believe It or Not, The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot Is A Contemplative Film

With a title like The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot, you'd reasonably expect this feature film from writer/director Robert D. Krzykowski to be a schlockfest that Cannon Films could have released had it come out in the 1980s. To be sure, there are moments in here that do evoke such films, such as the opening title screen that seems to have been ripped straight out of a Grindhouse motion picture. Even more prominent in how its influenced by those types of films is the whip-fast editing and frantic camerawork used when the titular protagonist, Calvin Barr (Sam Elliot), looks over a wide assortment of weapons to pick out what he'll use to fight the legendary Bigfoot.

Bradley Cooper And Especially Lady Gaga Soar In An Emotionally Powerful New Take On A Star Is Born

Living out here in a suburban town in Texas, I'm isolated from any and all big film festivals as well as all the major movies that premiere there so, naturally, that means I've been removed from all the hype surrounding A Star Is Born ever since it premiered a little over a month ago to rave reviews. I've been hearing non-stop about just how good this movie is, and yet, when I finally got to see this new motion picture over the past weekend, I was shocked to discover that not only did it exceed the massive amount of hype it had generated but just how surprising it's best qualities were. Even though it had been screened so many times before its proper domestic release date, there were still plenty of tricks up A Star Is Born's sleeve for us Texas yokels removed from the festival circuit!

I'm Holding Out For The Hero Till The End Of The Niiiiiight

The past can be a daunting presence in one's life in varying ways. Sometimes it's a past full of happier memories that feel much more enticing than more dreary modern day circumstances, other times it's a wasted past full of missed opportunities that keep one up at night. Whatever kind of past is haunting your psyche, it's likely being so fixated on the events of the past is preventing you from fully appreciating the present, a corny axiom that has more than a kernel of truth to it. In The Hero, the titular lead character is having his own past loom large over his present day situation, though how he grapples with that issue results in some erratically paced cinema.

The Good Dinosaur Review

One of the reoccurring storytelling templates that have cropped up in the filmography of PIXAR Animation Studios (and it's such a basic template for storytelling that its reappearance amongst the studios output feels less like repetition and more like an inevitability) is to apply human characteristics to distinctly non-human entities. This trait can even be seen in the pre-PIXAR feature The Brave Little Toaster (incidentally, that's the movie that inspired my life-long fear of clowns), which employed future PIXAR alumni John Lasseter and Joe Ranft (the latter was a screenwriter on the project) as crucial members of its crew.

The Big Lebowski Review (Classic Write-Up)

Dude, Where's My Car...And The Money...And My Tapes

Narration is a common element found in cinema that's frequently utilized for numerous purposes. Perhaps the goal of the narration is to set up the tone of the motion picture, or to deliver exposition or even just to set up a joke. The Big Lewboski uses narration as a way to accomplish that first objective, with Sam Elliots distinctive vocals describing the landscape of  Los Angeles and the films main character, The Dude (Jeff Bridges), though eventually his narration disintegrates into him losing his train of thought.

Up In The Air Review (Classic Write-Up)

An Air-Raising Adventure

I've always liked George Clooney, but watching Up In The Air for the first time this evening allowed me a chance to realize what exactly makes me gravitate towards the guy. Here's a shocking twist: Clooney has charm, charisma, good looks, a dapper personality and a persona that exudes confidence. But he uses those aspects of his personalities in his films not in roles covered in poorly executed storytelling tropes, but to uncover the vulnerabilities of the characters he portrays, and that's never more true than in this 2009 Jason Reitman feature.