Though I have often been called a geek, it’s usually because I like computers and such.  I did collect comics when I was younger (okay, when I was older too), but not as much as some other people I knew.  I’ve always been more of a technical geek than a hidden-away-geek.  Not that there’s anything wrong with either.

As such, I’m generally on the periphery of most movies that have anything to do with comicdom.  I can typically keep up – while my wife would often run or walk the other way – and I can often enjoy them to at least some degree.  But in this case, I didn’t so much.  I liked the original Fantastic Four, and I’m aware enough of who the Silver Surfer was to be able to keep up, but I just didn’t really care for this sequel.

Read the rest of this entry »

We first meet Arden (Toni Collette) in the opening section, titled simply The Stranger, as she struggles to care for her abusive mother in what appears to be a rather run-down home. As Arden takes a walk, she comes across something rather unexpected in the field – the body of a young woman. For reasons known only to her, she takes the necklace the girl is wearing, and on returning home, she calls the police.

For a completely unexplained reason – perhaps because her mother wants to continue abusing her all by her lonesome – when she finds out that the police have come, Arden’s mother is furious with her. I’m not sure exactly what Arden was supposed to do. Perhaps she should have just left the body in the field to rot and continue to be abused by her mother. I don’t think it was really explained, and we are just left to figure out why her mother is so hateful. Maybe you can explain it if you have seen it, but I certainly didn’t get it.

In any case, this sets the tone for the rest of the film.

Read the rest of this entry »

I have to admit to not being a huge fan of The Fantastic Four growing up. Heck, I wasn’t a fan of any of the traditional superheroes, though I did like comics in general well enough. I just didn’t want to be reading the same ones as everyone else. So while I was acquainted with the basic premise, I didn’t have too much attachment to it. I completely understand that someone who was in love with the story may have ideas that are completely shattered if the movie wasn’t faithful to the original story.

When the four primary characters travel to the space station to research cosmic rays, they find that their calculations were off, and the rays are both more powerful than expected and closer. So they are bombarded by radiation that is unknown in origin and in power. This in turn gives them new powers, and they return to Earth with these powers, which transforms them into the superhero team that is known as The Fantastic Four.

Read the rest of this entry »

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie star in this movie about two contract killers who are married to one another – only they don’t know it (at least at the outset).

They are simply two spouses who aren’t quite as happy in life as they could be, until one day when they are assigned the same target and while they do so, they actually interfere with the other’s plans.

Read the rest of this entry »

Three things struck me about this movie.

One is that I knew very little about Ray Charles, and I found this story about his life to be interesting.

Two is that I was really impressed with Jamie Foxx. He did a great job.

Read the rest of this entry »