Rick's Flicks Picks on AWN: Superhero

Dark Knight Rises = Return of the Jedi

rdemott2 — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 22:36:57 -0700

Christopher Nolan's DARK KNIGHT trilogy has come to an end. In many ways it reminds me of another great trilogy's finale — RETURN OF THE JEDI. Not quite up to the grand standards of its predecessors, but a satisfying conclusion to the story of its main characters.

The Real Story on The Avengers - Is It Super?

rdemott2 — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 21:42:50 -0700

Marvel has been building to this movie ever since the comics company started bringing their heroes to the big screen on their own. Nothing like this has ever really been attempted before. The build up to this mash up includes IRON MAN, IRON MAN 2, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA. Besides the great original IRON MAN, this accumulation is the best of the lot and the best multiple superhero film ever made. For those kinds of films, it has set the new bar much higher.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011) (***1/2)

rdemott2 — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:22:47 -0800

Based on Stieg Larsson's international bestseller, this film makes this the second time this story has been brought to the screen. The original Swedish version is very fresh in my mind, having made my top 25 list last year, ranking fourth, just behind David Fincher's THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Now we have Fincher's version of the same tale in English.

GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS (2011) (***)

rdemott2 — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 01:09:42 -0700

Working as a companion to the live-action feature GREEN LANTERN, this animated anthology feature focuses its stories on the lesser known Green Lantern Corps members. One overarching tale links the five vignettes, which are origin stories of sorts for five characters. It’s like a primer for the Green Lantern world.

THE GREEN HORNET (2011) (***)

rdemott2 — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:09:29 -0800

One of the reasons why recent superhero flicks have succeeded where BATMAN & ROBIN failed is because they played the material straight and avoided too many post-modern flashes. Now we get a new superhero adaptation that attempts to find the balance between post-modern and a straight superhero story. Diehard Green Hornet purists might find the film too juvenile, but the character seems the right one for this kind of treatment.

BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD (***1/2)

rdemott2 — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:02:50 -0700

This character-driven animated feature reminded me of the landmark BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. The production from Warner Premiere takes the "Under the Hood" story arc from the comics and creates the best filmic treatment of the relationship between Batman and Robin.

DESPICABLE ME (2010) (***)

rdemott2 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:11:32 -0700

In this animated world, villainy is a corporate venture. Master criminals live among the average citizens, clearly out in the open. The gothic mansion of baddie Gru sticks out in the same row of suburban family homes. To fund criminal ventures, the villains apply for loans from the Bank of Evil (formerly known as Lehman Brothers).

IRON MAN 2 (2010) (***)

rdemott2 — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:01:10 -0700

Any IRON MAN sequel had a big suit to fill, following the original, which is one of the best superhero movies ever made. The story nicely builds on elements from the first film instead of rehashing the same ones. The second adventure is entertaining, especially in parts with a wisecracking Tony Stark, played once again by Robert Downey Jr.