Tag Archives: movie review

RoboCop (1987) Is an Almost Perfectly Symmetrical Film

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

The Old Testament is full of examples of chiasmus, which is a figure of speech used in ancient times to emphasize balance. It lists a bunch of ideas or things and then repeats each of them in reverse order. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinematic Chiasmus | Tagged 1980s, action movies, chiasmus, films, history, movie review, movies, robocop, science fiction | 171 Comments

Movie Matchups: Dr. No vs. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Dr. No was the first true attempt to bring an Ian Fleming novel to the silver screen back in 1962. Eight years earlier, Buena Vista Distribution had debuted its first feature film – an adaptation of the classic Jules Verne … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Matchups | Tagged action movies, disney, drama, films, james bond, jules verne, movie review, movies, movies based on books | 4 Comments

Predator Is Surprisingly Deep for an Action Movie

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Happy April Fools’ Day. I’m only half-joking when I say that the 1987 classic Predator is surprisingly deep for an action movie. It’s not exactly the kind of movie you watch hoping for a lot of subtext to analyze. Predator … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged 1980s, action movies, arnold schwarzenegger, films, funny, holiday, humor, movie review, movies, predator, puns, science fiction, terminator | 16 Comments

Forgotten Film Gems: Space Cowboys

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Ten years before The Expendables came out, Space Cowboys made the idea of an old-geezers team-up movie cool. Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner came together to turn what could have been a predictable fish-out-of-water story … Continue reading →

Posted in Forgotten Film Gems | Tagged clint eastwood, films, movie review, movies, old actors, science fiction, star wars, tommy lee jones | 1 Comment

Top 10 Best Speeches in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

What really sets Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy apart from Tim Burton’s and Joel Schumacher’s films isn’t necessarily their music (Danny Elfman arguably composed the definitive Batman theme music for the first Batman), action sequences (which are surprisingly few and … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged action movies, batman, christopher nolan, drama, films, movie review, movies, sequels | 24 Comments

The Always Good (But Never Great) Writer/Director Gary Ross

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Poor Gary Ross. As a writer and director, he’s never made a bad movie. But he’s also failed to make a big impression on movie audiences through his films. Filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and James Cameron, for all … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged directors, films, gary ross, movie review, movies, movies based on books, sequels | 9 Comments

Movie Matchups: Batman Begins vs. The Shadow (1994)

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

It turns out that the film that restored dignity to the Batman franchise has the exact same story as a failed adaptation of a 1930s radio show. I’m talking about 2005’s Batman Begins and 1994’s underrated action film, The Shadow. … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Matchups | Tagged action movies, batman, christopher nolan, comic books, films, heroes, movie review, movies, russell mulcahy | 12 Comments

Could Disney’s Frozen and Tangled Be Setting the Stage for an Avengers-like Team-up Movie?

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

When Disney bought Marvel in 2009, the two companies were in the process of making some big changes. Marvel had lofty aspirations of turning the few recognizable characters it still owned into successful movie franchises while Disney was retooling its … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged animated films, avengers, comic books, disney, fairy tales, films, frozen, movie review, movies, tangled | 5 Comments

11 Movies That Actually Live Up to Their Hype

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Hype is a necessary part of the movie industry. Theatrical film releases have to compete with home theaters, tablets, and various other means of enjoying entertainment that are more convenient than driving to a movie theater, buying an overpriced movie … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged action movies, animated films, avengers, batman, comic books, ed wood, films, fun, george lucas, humor, indiana jones, james bond, james cameron, movie review, movies, science fiction, sequels, star trek, star wars, superman, terminator, the godfather, toy story | 3 Comments

Forgotten Film Gems: The Hunt for Red October

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

The first movie with Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy’s put-upon CIA agent, is still the best in that series. The Hunt for Red October came out in March 1990, it made a killing at the box office, and then it quietly … Continue reading →

Posted in Forgotten Film Gems | Tagged action movies, cold war, die hard, films, fun, funny, hunt for red october, john mctiernan, movie review, movies, movies based on books, puns, tom clancy | 16 Comments