Stardust Is A Good Old Fashioned Fantasy Romp And A Highly Entertaining One At That!

Among his numerous hallmarks as a director, Matthew Vaughn loves to play fast and loose with the comic books and graphic novels he adapts into movies. More often than not, Vaughn will basically just run with the core concept of what he's adapting into a film to better suit his own interests and desires most notably in turning Mark Millar's grim Kingsman graphic novel into a breezy Bond homage. Even X-Men: First Class, his feature most faithful to its source material, took liberties with what it was adapting and this tendency of Vaughn's is on full display in his first ever directorial effort, Stardust, an adaptation of a Neil Gaiman graphic novel that's far more family-friendly than its source material.

I Spy A Disappointing Sequel Called Kingsman: The Golden Circle

The newest Kingsman adventure follows the typical trajectory of many sequels in that it decides to blow up the scale of its predecessor to massive proportions. "Go Big Or Go Home" as they say and Kingsman: The Golden Circle does go big but it wasn't long into this films running time that I was wondering when I'd be able to go home. Turns out Kingsman: The Golden Circle has also followed the trajectory of many underwhelming sequels in that it's traded in fun and wit for simply a larger scale for its narrative. At least it's able to contribute to 2017's lovely trend of John Denver songs popping up across various pieces of cinema (Logan Lucky, Okja and Free Fire are among the other 2017 titles to make use of this man's music).

The Director of Kingsman: The Secret Service Is Rebooting Flash Gordon

20th Century Foxs recent attempt to reboot Flash Gordon as an action movie has been puzzling me, namely because Flash's large presence in the uber popular film Ted makes me wonder if audiences unaware of the original movie from the 80's will think it's some kind of Ted spin-off or not take the movie seriously due to Sam Gordons antics in that Seth Macfarlane movie.

Kingsman: The Secret Service Review

On His Kingman's Secret Service

There's a self-referential streak in Kingsman: The Secret Service surrounding the tone of spy movies in the past and present that starts with Harry Hart (Colin Firth) feeling current spy movies are too serious for his taste. It's an interesting gag, mainly because Kingsman feels like it's combination of the older James Bond films (which director Matthew Vaughn heavily hearkened in his last movie X-Men: First Class) and the more entries in the spy genre. The over-the-top style and more light hearted tone found in earlier spy films is found in spades, as is the sleek modern action of more recent adventures starring the likes of Jason Bourne.

Colin Firth Is A Super Spy Training Other Spies In New Trailer For Kingsman: The Secret Service

When I think of Collin Firth, I think of Mamma Mia! or The King's Speech, not punching thugs and taking names. But that is exactly what Firth is doing as one of the lead roles in 2015's action film Kingsman: The Secret Service. A new trailer for this film aired during Gotham last night and came online shortly after. Watch it below!

Summer Movie Memories: All It Took Was Time Travel To Revive The X-Men Movies

Over the next seven days, I'll be looking at seven different summer movies from Summer 2014 and analyzing what really made them stand out this summer, for reasons both good and bad. Obviously, SPOILERS for X-Men: Days of Future Past lie ahead.