How did the movie reviewer briefly describe the ‘80s comedy that was a ripoff of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
The answer is… Continue reading
-
Join 3,227 other subscribers
Pages
Today’s Most-Viewed Posts
Meta
Michael Kamen: The Best Film Composer You’ve Never Heard of
A friend of mine recently said that one of his favorite songs by composer John Williams is the main title of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He was surprised when I told him, “Actually, Michael Kamen did the music for that movie.” My friend didn’t believe me at first, even though he knows I’m a serious movie buff. So he looked it up on IMDb, and sure enough Kamen’s name came up as the composer of that film. He didn’t understand why he had never heard of that composer before. That inspired me to write this article because I hate for a great musician to go unnoticed.
Too few people know about Michael Kamen and his large body of work. He should be synonymous with superb action-movie music, having scored the first three Die Hard films, all of the Lethal Weapon films, and even the first X-Men. He died in 2003 at the far-too-young age of 55. I’m going to celebrate his incredible work and show you why he is the best film composer you’ve probably never heard of before. Continue reading
Share this:
Joke of the Week: Government Officials
Why were people so happy when a newspaper headline said most government officials were in favor of refugee immigration?
The answer is… Continue reading
Share this:
Movie Matchups: The Dark Knight Rises vs. Toy Story 3
There are several spoilers in this review, so please don’t read beyond this point if you haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises and you don’t want to know plot details. You’ve been warned.
When I first thought of this article, I planned on talking about how The Dark Knight Rises and Toy Story 3 exemplify how to make a good third film in a series. So few movie series end on a strong note, and these two films are finally starting a positive trend in third films. But as my ideas formulated I realized that these two films actually have a lot in common in terms of their plot and structure. So this article will be kind of a hybrid between a Movie Matchup and a discussion of how to make a superb series finale. So let’s find out where Batman gets those wonderful toys as we compare The Dark Knight Rises and Toy Story 3. Continue reading
Share this:
Posted in Movie Matchups
Tagged action movies, batman, batman begins, dark knight rises, films, movie review, movies, pixar, toy story
18 Comments
12 Things The Amazing Spider-Man Did Better Than the Original Trilogy
When I saw Spider-Man for the first time nine years ago, one line really stuck out to me. The Green Goblin tells Spider-Man, “In spite of everything you’ve done for them, eventually they will hate you.” I couldn’t help thinking that he was referring to the audience members. Sure, we all liked the movie when it was new, but would we turn on it if they made even one bad sequel?
I don’t think people hate the Spider-Man series even though it ended on such a poor note with the third film. But it has been tainted. Spider-Man 3 emphasized the flaws in the first two films and left a sour taste in a lot of viewers’ mouths, mine included.
When The Amazing Spider-Man was first announced, I was skeptical. But as its release date got closer, I couldn’t help getting excited. I like superhero films, and I thought that this would be a great opportunity to start fresh, learn from the mistakes of the past, and reintroduce an iconic character in an innovative way. When I saw it last week, I learned that I was right on all three counts.
To me, The Amazing Spider-Man is on par with Spider-Man 2, which is the biggest compliment I can give to it because that is my favorite film in the series. So I’m going to share 12 things The Amazing Spider-Man did better than the films in the original Spider-Man trilogy. Let’s swing away! Continue reading
Share this:
Posted in Random Stuff
Tagged action movies, films, movie review, movies, science, spiderman
25 Comments
Out of Town at an Epic Family Reunion
Sorry, no article this week on account of a family reunion in Syracuse, Utah during the Independence Day week. Almost my entire family got together for this epic three-day event. There was a total of 36 people there, including my two parents, eight of their children, seven in-laws, and 19 grandchildren. We were just missing one of their daughters, two in-laws, and three grandchildren. Whew!
There was plenty of exciting drama, heartfelt hugs, makeups, and good old-fashioned fun. I’m all tuckered out after that. I even wrote a hilarious song for the event, but it’s so packed with family in-jokes I decided it wouldn’t make any sense to share it here. It’s a parody of the 1985 single We Built This City by Starship.
I’ll have another awesome movie article for you next week, though, so come back soon.
This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.
Share this:
Battle of the Message Movies: Mr. Holland’s Opus vs. Forrest Gump
I’d like to drastically switch gears in this article. Last week I had a lot of fun joking about Roland Emmerich, but in honor of the Fourth of July holiday, I would like to talk about America. Specifically about Hollywood’s take on American history.
In 1994, Forrest Gump became the year’s sleeper smash, out-grossing every other film, including The Lion King. What was the film’s secret? It struck a chord with millions of Baby Boomers because it both lionized and poked fun at their legacy. Wouldn’t you know it, the following year Hollywood tried to recreate Forrest Gump’s runaway success by producing the film Mr. Holland’s Opus.
At first glance, these two films might seem like they have nothing in common except that they take place in roughly the same era. But I’ll show you that they actually have quite a bit in common. Not enough for a full Movie Matchup, but enough to make a solid Battle of the Message Movies. So let’s begin. Continue reading
Share this:
Posted in Message Movie Battle
Tagged america, films, forrest gump, history, movie review, movies, music, soundtrack, united states, vietnam war
6 Comments
Deja Reviewer 