Reviews

When I watched this the first time, I was knocked on my ass. Upon re-watch the next day I was completely blown away. The groundwork laid in the first 45 minutes for where she goes at the end is monumental, and takes on almost entirely new meaning once you've it through and understand why she tells the jokes she does at the front end.

This special is funny, but it is also genuinely important. And for many viewers, it may make you uncomfortable. It should. It made me uncomfortable. But the things it made me uncomfortable about are things that I SHOULD feel uncomfortable about. This is not a niche special that should be preached to the choir. This is an astoundingly well constructed and built up story that needs to be heard. By everybody. Everybody.

Let me be clear before I get into my problems with this: when it's actually telling the story of The Little Prince, this film is almost flawless. The stop motion animation is beautiful and simple, wonderfully evocative of the original illustrations. It's presented plainly and allows the moments to stand and simply display their power. However this is probably about 15% of the movie, and the rest of it is so pleased with itself it made me sick.

I don't inherently have a problem with alternations or even adding material to an original work. However what they've done here with the framing story is purely masturbatory in nature. The novella "The Little Prince" is a poetic and metaphorical tale about love, life, death, and even faith and belief. The movie "The Little Prince" is about how brilliant the story of the Little Prince is. I'm not even being a jerk about it, that is literally the plot of the film.

A young girl living an overly regimented life in a caricature world that feels like a child friendly version of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, encounters an eccentric old man who tells her the story of the Little Prince. And then it's about how that story affected her and changed her life. This movie is so insanely proud of itself that after it had burned through all the actual plot of the novella, probably less than an hour in, the remaining 40 minutes just drained away any goodwill the thing had from me with every passing second.

The only thing that keeps this from being as appalling an adaptation as say the animated Lorax film, is that at least the makers of this one seem to actually understand the message of the original work. However they're so delighted with themselves for understanding it that they won't stop banging on about it, literalizing every metaphor from the original work in a bizarre attempt to show how well they get it. And they do get it, but the prolonged pat on the back the film gives itself made it insufferable for me.

To say that I've become disenfranchised by the DC Animated films would be a bit of an understatement. Ever since Justice League: War, they've just been a mess. There was the one bright spot of Assault on Arkham but otherwise they've just been dull action movies that don't do the characters justice. Thank goodness WB brought back Bruce Timm, who was one of the primary creative forces behind the Batman and Justice League animated series that kicked off DC animated projects being good in the first place. The result is the best DC animated film since New Frontier.

Gods and Monsters can be said to be the first true Elseworlds story that's been done in animation. Sure there's been some parallel world stuff (Crisis on Two Earths) and plenty of out of continuity stand alones (like the aforementioned New Frontier) but they've still kept the characters pretty close to the standard versions we all know. None have really tried to craft a completely new vision of what these characters are, and that's what this story does. It makes the wise choice of having different characters taking on the mantles of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman rather than actually trying to muck about with Clark, Bruce or Diana. Instead Superman is the son of Zod, Batman is Kirk Langstrom (better known as the Man-Bat in the main DC universe) and Wonder Woman is one of the New Gods (such as High Father and Darkseid.) Their backstories are explored just enough to give a good picture of these versions without ever bogging down the narrative itself.

Like any good Elseworlds story, this is an "all bets are off" take where any prior knowledge of the main DC universe can add some weight when characters like Victor Fries or Dr. Sivanna get name dropped, but nobody is exactly the same as their standard representation. All of the voice work is solid, and each of the primary characters (and even some of the secondary ones) are given the chance to stretch a little and show some dimension.

The action is also a huge step up from what we've gotten lately. Most of the DCAU films based on the New 52 continuity have had well done yet rather mundane action sequences. The problem is that those films are trying for a more realistic version of fights, which isn't what animation is good for. Animation is good for over the top stuff that couldn't be replicated by just two actors and a fight choreographer, and that over the top stuff is what we get here.

I don't think I can recommend this highly enough for anybody who has found the recent output of DC animated films to be sorely lacking. This is a return to form, it's a top notch story, it's a fun and engrossing new take on characters and it's the kind of thing I hope we see more of in the future.

It's amazing how many 1 or 10 star reviews there seem to be. Clearly a polarizing film. And as is so often the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

There's a bold and daring revisionist film in here, but it becomes more and more muddled as the story progresses. The first 30 minutes or so devotes itself to a single mission: making the actions we've seen Maleficent take in the original "Sleeping Beauty" appear to be fully justified. And you know what? It works. With a new back story linking her to Aurora's father, this has suddenly become a female empowerment revenge story, almost akin to a high fantasy take on "Kill Bill." Unfortunately once it crosses over into the events of the animated version we already know, things start to go awry. If the film had the guts to stick with how it started, and justify Maleficent but keep her just as harsh as we've always known her, then it could have truly been something incredible. The problem is that approach ultimately wouldn't be family friendly, and this is Disney after all. So we end up with bonding between Maleficent and Aurora and a continuing softening of Maleficent as a character. This might have worked if the film hadn't succeeded so well in justifying the evil version early on. It tries to have it both ways: "She totally had a good reason for being so bad... but wait, she also wasn't as bad as you thought!" It's this attempt at a middle ground that robs the film of its initial power and leaves it feeling like the watered down version of a decent idea. For her part, Jolie really owns this role and is without a doubt the best thing that the film has going for it. The rest of the cast is serviceable, but the characters aside from Maleficent haven't been given much more dimension than they had in animated form (some even made more one dimensional in some cases.) The use of CGI is excessive, but at the same time the shots are beautifully composed so it kind of balances out.

In the end, if this was going to be done somebody other than Disney should have done it. This really needed to be done by somebody who didn't care about tainting a family friendly legacy, because it's that fear that feels like it holds the film back from what it otherwise might have been. It's not bad by any stretch, but it feels fundamentally compromised at its core.

I'll be up front about something: I don't like Wes Anderson movies. I don't think they're necessarily bad, but they've never actually entertained me. I recognize his talent, and would never say that his films are poorly made (there's no doubt that the man is meticulous,) but he's never grabbed me with anything he's ever done. So imagine my surprise at not only liking, but indeed LOVING this movie.

The film (in a somewhat complicated fashion) follows the adventures of a young lobby boy named Zero and the legendary concierge known as Gustave. The two find themselves embroiled in a series of events that threaten not only themselves, but the titular hotel that has become the center of both of their worlds. Hijinks ensue, and I prefer to leave it at that.

In pinpointing what I loved about this film, I was able to nail down three things that it has that I feel Wes Anderson's other films do not (or at least no other film has all three.) Firstly, it has a likable protagonist. Most of Anderson's main characters I find either too self centered or too emotionally stunted to connect with or root for. Gustave however is endlessly charming and fun, and a loyal friend to those he feels deserve it. Secondly there is an audience surrogate in the form of young Zero. He asks the questions that rarely get asked in Anderson's movies, basically by being the closest to a real world character who stops and says "wait, what's going on?" when the audience needs that same question answered. And finally there is an actual plot and story that is interesting unto itself, whereas most of Anderson's films don't have plots as much an excuse for the eccentric characters to be put in a room together. These three factors added to Anderson's masterfully crafted imagery makes for a truly splendid film.

Though Ralph Fienes completely steals the show as Gustave, there isn't a weak performance in the film. Everybody is operating with wonderful energy, and even as things turn dark from time to time the film is aggressively funny. There's a wonderful screwball atmosphere to everything going on that doesn't let things feel dour and serious even with some events could have been quite dark.

For somebody who's never really gotten into Anderson's work before, this was just the perfect marriage of material, directorial approach, characters and actors. All the perfect elements come together to form this wondrous film. It doesn't suddenly make me like Anderson's other films, but it does make me glad that he made them since they appear to have been leading up to this.

Whether or not you are going to enjoy this movie depends entirely on what it is you hope to get out of it. I fear for many it has been over-hyped, or just the high rating on the page leads folks to expect more than the movie is actually trying to sell. What it's selling is extremely well done action, and if you're content with just that then it will deliver in spades.

Keanu Reeves plays the retired super-hit-man John Wick. He's pulled back into the world he left behind when the arrogant and ignorant son of a mob boss roughs him up for kicks (it's a little more personal than that, but I don't want to spoil it.) This sends John on a rampage through an underground world of mafia figures and hired killers. It really is that simple.

While the plot is as bare bones as it gets, there's a surprisingly deep world being built. It's a world in which there is a hotel specifically set up for hired killers to whole up in while they're on the job. It's a world where a body clean up crew is just a phone call away. It's a stylized world to be sure, but it's an intriguing one as well. It also helps that it's populated by some recognizable faces. Just the casting of folks like Ian McShane, Willem Dafoe, and John Leguizamo turns what are fairly thin characters into something that works. Many of the actors bring a certain caliber just by their presence that makes this world work.

But really, you're here for the action. And it's stellar. Firstly there are wonderfully long takes, no rapid cut trickery here. You know exactly what's going on and where everything is. And I personally LOVE the fighting style that John uses. While he appears to be a decent shot, his tactic is to get in close and then pump his target full of bullets. It's actually been a long standing pet peeve of mine that in so many action movies, the bad guys (especially henchmen) go down with a single bullet to some unspecified part of the body. John Wick is a professional, and he takes no chances. Even one of the innumerable body guards is going to get three shots to the gut and two to the head, just so John can be certain that he doesn't have to deal with that person again. It's fast, it's efficient and it's thrilling.

The film loses a little big of steam towards the end. The natural climax of the film happens with about 20 minutes left to go, and the final action scene isn't as thrilling or as poignant as it wants to be. That said it's not a deal breaker, and the action scenes that come before the climax more than make it worth going through the slightly weaker ending.

I've loved "Red Dwarf" from the very beginning, but I'd also be the first to tell you that it hasn't exactly been consistent in its quality. While rarely flat out terrible, there are almost as many middling episodes as there are great ones. This thankfully is one of the truly great ones.

This is a case where the A and B stories merge together into near perfection, culminating in a pitched perfect climax. Lister has seemingly come to terms with the fact that he is in fact his own father (see Series 7) but when he truly starts looking at the relationship he has with himself in father/son terms, he suddenly feels inadequate in both roles. While he tries to sort this out in a way that only Lister would ever think of, the rest of the crew try to install a new operating system for the ship with predictably non-ideal results. The actual way this pans out is quite clever despite the initial set up being predictable.

All performers are in top form, but Craig Charles as Lister really knocks this one out of the park. It's hilarious, exciting, oddly touching at points and genuinely clever in its execution.

After a fairly solid, if not entirely remarkable, pilot episode the show has already settled into a rhythm. And it's a surprisingly familiar one. The end of the pilot jettisoned the tacked on female cohort, only to have this next episode start with Constantine acquiring a brand new tacked on female cohort. Granted she's slightly more interesting than the last one, but it feels like a lateral move at best.

The show has also appeared to settle for a "monster of the week" style format. While it's the type of format that the character most lends himself to, I'm just not sure it's one that works anymore. This kind of show had its heyday back with X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Back then it was enough just to have a new weird occurrence or villain each week because it was stuff that by and large audiences hadn't seen on TV before. But between those shows and Fringe, Grimm, Supernatural and a half dozen others the format has really been played out. I don't think there's any supernatural threat that can be thrown at Constantine that audiences won't feel like they've seen somewhere before. It's the trap that "Elementary" fell into: sticking well conceived and well acted characters with run of the mill story lines (standard police procedural mysteries in that case) which didn't allow those characters to shine as they should.

What this leaves is everything hinging on the characters. Thankfully Constantine himself is still quite watchable and fun to be around. The new addition of Zed is pretty much a wash, she's got good chemistry but the character doesn't feel like she's adding much to the process yet. Personally I really would have liked to have seen Constantine hoof it alone, at least for a few episodes.

It's still a fun show, and it's hardly a waste of time. However it doesn't really bring much that feels really new or fresh. I'll continue to stick it out for now, but if this episode represents the standard of the show then I'm not sure I'll be around all the way through this season.

Not only has the show hit its stride at this point, it's been steadily ratcheting up the tension and stakes episode by episode. Things really hit a fever pitch with this episode and the execution of it all is stellar... except for one aspect that causes the whole thing to nearly fall apart.

Let's start with what works. Gordon basically taking a "well I'm dead, so I'm going down swinging" attitude is infinitely more engaging than the oddly inert righteous indignation he's been riding on for a while. It's nice to see him truly take control of the situation, even though he knows what it's likely to cost him. I'm glad that the show found the sweet spot for Bullock in all of this as well, taking a "oh why the heck not?" attitude rather than going back to the adversarial relationship he had with Gordon at the start of all of this.

The villains are also in top form, as they usually have been. The surface level of respect that the Dons have for each other even as those under their command backbite each other is well played out. Fans are treated to a fun and intimidating take on killer Victor Zasz, here played as a high level mob enforcer and hit man. When Don Falcone says "I'll send Victor," you feel the weight of that statement and when he shows up he does not disappoint (though I don't think he needed the two scantily dressed sidekicks, if I'm being honest.) As has been the case, the Penguin is an absolute delight. It hasn't been clear up to this point how much of what he's doing has been part of a master plan and how much has been merely opportunistic. While there's still elements of both, which is the bigger factor becomes clear in this episode, and it's well played and thrilling.

The problem comes with Barbara. She nearly derails the entire episode. Without getting into specifics of what happens, she has clearly fallen into the standard "hero's girlfriend" trap that has been the doom of so many films and TV shows. She's barely a character. She's a prop, she's a device, and ultimately she's a hindrance to Gordon. She holds him back from doing the kinds of things that audiences want to see him doing. Her very presence becomes a leash that I just want him to break free from. Thankfully there's a nice coda at the end that recovers the episode as a whole, but Barbara herself really isn't adding anything positive to the show at this point.

The show overall has done a pretty good job of adjusted and shedding the aspects that weren't working as well. We don't have as many shoehorned in villain cameos. The relationship between Gordon and Bullock evolved into something more engaging than where it started from. Gordon himself developed layers and isn't the generic white knight we had at the beginning. These are just a few examples of weak points that go stronger. I can only hope that Barbara can follow suit, because right now she's the last bit of dead weight still hanging on from the shaky pilot episode.

Pilot episodes can be tough to judge a show by, especially in terms of the structure of the episode. Because so much has to be introduced and explained, the first episode may not be representative of the flow of the show down the line. However it is a good means of judging the characters, and on that front there's a lot of promise in "Constantine." The show follows the comic book character of the same name, an exorcist and battler of demons. At the start of the show he's checked himself into an asylum, not because he fears that the demons and spirits he sees aren't real, but just because he's desperate to forget them and he figures drugs and electro shock might do the trick. The universe has other plans though, and he's soon on the road to try and save the daughter of an old friend.

Matt Ryan definitely looks the part, but he also nails pretty much everything about the character. He's world weary, yet has a strong moral compass. You get the sense that he wishes he could just ignore the things he sees wrong with the world around him, but something inside him won't let him just walk away, and that annoys him. He's not out to impress anyone and yet maintains an effortless sort of swagger. He knows what he's confronting is dangerous, but he's also seen it all before. So he's flippant while still making the hazards seem genuine.

Another thing this show does well is make it clear that just knowing Constantine is practically a death sentence. Seriously, if you see this guy coming up to even say "hello," just run the other way. He means well enough, but the world he treads in is so dangerous and follows him everywhere he goes. It's something that's important to the character and how he operates and is well conveyed in this first episode.

The actual "case" he works in this episode isn't really anything special, but it's about what you'd expect in a pilot episode. It gets the job done in terms of showing the sorts of things he deals with, and it has enough moments that let the audiences in on why Constantine is the way that he is. The female character who he's protecting isn't much more than serviceable. Thankfully after the test screenings she was written out of planned future appearances. The way in which she's removed from the show is a touch ham-fisted and awkward, but it gets the job done and has her still fulfill the function she was going to be needed for.

Whether or not this will be worth tuning in for on a regular basis is going to largely hinge on the next couple of episodes. It's a world and a character worth spending time with, so the question is whether or not the stories being told are any good. And that is not yet entirely clear.

With this appropriately creepy episode the show manages to add some much needed layers to some characters, while trying to add some unneeded ones to others. Things start with a flashback to 10 years ago when a younger Harvey Bullock helped take down a masked killer who called himself the Goat. Now a decade after that case was closed another victim turns up, matching the Goat's MO to perfection.

Bullock is really given the chance to shine in this episode, whereas before he's just largely been the slovenly foil to Gordon's more straight laced cop. This really is his episode more than anybody else's, and that's nice to see. Granted, having him appear more idealistic in his younger days is a bit of an obvious way to go, but it makes sense and it also lends some concern to what Gordon could become if this city beats him the way it's clearly beaten Bullock. The flashback also gives us the always wonderful Dan Hedaya as Bullock's old partner.

However the episode also spends more time than is warranted on Edward Nigma. Right now Nigma works best as a recurring easter egg: a fun touch in small doses. Trying to show how social inept and awkward he is doesn't tell us anything we couldn't have already guessed and it just makes for some uncomfortable viewing. Selina Kyle also pops up again, for no clear reason other than to remind us that she's around. I'm kind of waiting for her to become legitimately relevant.

The resolution of the case also has a bit of the generic cop show flavor to it. You know how it goes: cop has a moment of revelation, goes to see the REAL criminal that nobody suspected, has a conversation where everything is revealed, things get physical, etc. It works well enough, but it's a bit of a cliché moment.

Despite these slips, this Bullock centric episode is still a strong piece that's well presented. And Bullock isn't the only high point. Penguin continues to be the wild-card in all of this, and it's really exciting seeing how much he throws EVERYBODY off their game plan. It's a great character, because he's very clever but not quite as clever as he thinks he is. It's a delicate balance that's really working for the show so far.

The very end of this episode makes me very excited to see what comes next.

After an extremely rocky start followed by strong subsequent episodes I feel confident in saying the show has found its sweet spot. It feels now like the continuing story of Cobblepot's backstabbing rise to power paralleled with Jim Gordon's slow acceptance that he may not be able to save the city from itself are the heart of the show, and thankfully most other elements have stopped trying to take center stage.

The Penguin is undoubtedly still the highlight of this show. He's played perfectly and watching him switch between his two modes of vicious killer and sniveling lackey is something that shouldn't work but is endlessly entertaining. His relationship with Gordon I also find very interesting. Cobblepot knows he can feed Gordon certain information to help his own rise to power. Meanwhile Gordon may not want to be indirectly helping Cobblepot, but he seems to know that he can still use the information that he's getting from the little wacko (plus the fact that he has to try and keep the fact that the guy's alive under wraps.) The dynamic between Bullock and Gordon has also found a good place. After seeing the two butt heads non stop in the first couple of episodes, they seem to be getting at least an understanding and borderline respect for each other. This sort of begrudging partnership is always great to watch, and really doesn't get done all that much anymore. I hope it's a dynamic the show can maintain, and it doesn't rush the two into more of a buddy-buddy situation.

This episode also gave a nice look at the underworld politics at play within Gotham. The various players in this world (Falcone, Mooney, Maroni, etc.) are all well used unto themselves, and seeing them try to undermine each other is a great power struggle that being played out. Of course Cobblepot is the wild card that none of the others see coming, which makes it all the more interesting.

There are a few lingering issues though. Barbara is becoming a bit of a sore issue. Her chemistry with Gordon is decent enough, but after coasting by for the last few episodes she's started to dip into the burdensome significant other cliché. Her previous relationship with Montoya is honestly, just kind of weird. Not because of the lesbian thing, but because I don't understand what it's supposed to add to anything. Now to see her start pulling the "you have to be honest with me about everything" card just seems to be setting her up to be a source of potentially overblown drama for Gordon's home life. But a show like this has plenty of drama in its main thrust of crimes being solved, we don't need this tacked on domestic stuff. Especially when we haven't been given enough reason to like Barbara and care if she's unhappy.

Young Bruce Wayne is a mixed blessing of late as well. He's been better utilized in the past few episodes, but whenever he has a scene with Gordon things get too on the nose. Case in point, him asking Gordon "Do you think Gotham can be saved?" They might as well have had him say "Insert show tag line here." Separately they function fine, but put those two in a room together and it becomes a mess of cliché and foreshadowing to stuff that the show is not going to get to for YEARS if at all.

While there's still some stumbling points this has managed to go from a show that I was majorly disappointed in (that was with the pilot) to one I genuinely look forward to every week. And that definitely counts for something.

Whether or not you're going to get enjoyment out of this film really comes down to whether or not you know who Bill Plympton is. If you're familiar with the unique animator and some of his other films or (more likely) his shorts and you know you like his stuff then this is going to be a fun diversion for you. However if you've never heard of the guy, this is probably just going to be too difficult to get in step with.

The "plot" is really just the excuse that strings the songs and segments together. A song writer is desperately trying to finish off what he hopes will be his big breakout hit, but he only has 47 minutes to finish and get to the meeting with his boss. On the way he goes on several musical diversions to odd places that may in fact be outside reality as we know it. There isn't that much explanation put into things, as with much of Plympton's work things get weird just because that's the visual language the guy speaks in.

If you know Plympton at all then you should know better than to be watching this movie for the "story." Really it's just a framing device as the film flits from one musical set piece to the other. There's not much in the way of character depth or growth, but that's not why we're here. Plympton's visual inventiveness and sense of humor is the reason to watch this. He has a visual wit that makes sense when you see it, even though it's almost impossible to try and describe to someone.

As mentioned this is probably not the best place to start with the man's work if you're new to Plympton. It's better to start with his shorts and get a feel for the guy before trying to take in the longer form stuff. He would refine his ability to tell what could be considered a cohesive story with his later films like "I Married a Strange Person" and "Mutant Aliens." But one sees the first buds of those later films being planted here and it's an interesting first step. A must see for completionist fans of the animator, but it's hard to recommend to more casual viewers.

After feeling incredibly underwhelmed by the overstuffed and poorly paced pilot episode, I find myself becoming more excited with each subsequent episode. The previous one thankfully slowed stuff down into a more measured pace, and this one is the first episode that really feels like it's telling a solid story and it's settling into the world as a whole.

This episode deals with Bullock and Gordon on the trail of a vigilante killer that the papers dub the Balloon Man, who targets well known corrupt figures of authority in the city. The episode touches on the bigger picture issues like Montoya and the MCU targeting Gordon and the continuing mystery of the Waynes' killer, but for the most part it sticks to the immediate case and that's to the show's benefit.

This show really finds its stride when Bullock and Gordon get to work a case. Their dynamic, while still confrontational, is starting to settle into something more watchable. Bullock is starting to slowly accept that Gordon is going to push to do the "right thing" while Gordon is slowing starting to accept that Bullock is capable of doing decent police work and that his network of hookers, crooks and low-lifes can actually yield usable information. They're not just pointlessly butting heads anymore, but there's still the tension and it's working much better overall.

The show has thankfully stopped cramming pointless ties to future Batman characters into the show where they don't belong and are letting the story dictate what is being used. Selina Kyle appears in this one, but there's an organic story based reason for her to do so. Ditto for the newly introduced rival gangster Sal Maroni. The few scenes of Bruce Wayne also don't feel as out of place as they have in previous episodes, and Alfred is starting to gel as a character after his first few rather schizophrenic appearances.

Gordon is starting to grow on me, but he's got a bit of a way to go. His slow partial acceptance of Bullock's way of doing things is the start of taking the shine off the character a bit. Because the whole "white knight" routine from the pilot was frankly kind of boring. Now the guy's developing shades: he seems to be learning that he can't just fight against the corrupt system but that he has to work within it at least a little bit.

The Penguin continues to be a wonderful highlight of the show, and it's hard to put into words why. Really it comes down to the performance, this guy just sells the in the moment switches from cowering toady to vicious killer so well that you don't question it. He's becoming an oddly intimidating figure in a rather unassuming way and it's a fascinating way to build the character.

The tone of the show overall seems to have found a good place as well. The first episode was just so overly dower and dying to be taken seriously. This episode, by contrast, has some glorious moments of humor that feel organic to the setting and the story. It lets you know that it's OK to have fun, even in as dark a place as this. I hope that this is an indication of what the show will be going forward, because I could definitely use more of this.

First off, I want to be clear that I'm doing this review without factoring in historical accuracy or potential political content. I understand that both of these issues have riled many reviewers, and justifiably so in some instances. However I'm tackling this strictly on its own merits and its relationship to the first film, which I consider myself to be a fan of (again, still understanding that many people take offense to it and I don't dispute their grounds for doing so.) With that out of the way, let's do this.

The very notion of a sequel to "300" is a bit of a head-scratcher. Not only did the first film end with nearly every character dead, but it felt like a very complete story. There was nothing about the way that it ended that begged for a continuation. But if this was going to happen, this is a decent final result. It could have easily been a pale imitation of the first film, but instead it stands on its own feet, albeit not as firmly as the original.

The film takes place over a more extended time line and the events of "300" actually take place within its runtime. So that means it functions as a prequel, sequel and sidequel to the first film. The decision to focus on the naval combat was a wise one, and it enables the film to use the same stylized action as "300" but still bring something new to the table. The action scenes are as intense as before, though CGI blood was badly overused. I'll grant it's been a while since I've seen the first one, but I don't remember the blood looking this fake or being spilled in such buckets.

This film does an interesting job of putting the Spartan focused "300" into the greater context of Greece. It's interesting that the film was actually willing to somewhat undercut the importance of the events of the previous movie. The death of the 300 Spartans is symbolically very important, but it's actual tactical relevance brought down quite a bit. It doesn't feel like the film is backstabbing the first one so much as giving the big picture, which offers a new perspective. It's an interesting approach.

Things fall down a little bit in the lead department. Sullivan Stapleton as the Greek hero Themistocles just doesn't have the gung ho charisma of Gerard Butler in the first film. Granted the character isn't meant to be the same type of leader, but it does feel like there's a void left that he doesn't properly fill. That might not have been such an issue if it wasn't for the best thing about the movie: Eva Green.

To put it simply, Eva Green as the naval commander of the Persian forces completely walks away with this movie. She brings the kind of over the top but infinitely watchable performance that the first film had in abundance, but the rest of the cast isn't able to bring this time around. She is vicious, mesmerizing and sexy in a way that really is iconic. Her portrayal of Artemesia deserves to become a staple of "kick-ass women in film" lists. Her performance is able to turn what should have been a completely gratuitous sex scene into something truly fascinating: sex as combat. It really has to be seen to be believed.

But in an odd way, how good Green is damages the film, because nobody else is able to get up to her level. Lena Hedley does decent work returning as Queen Gorgo, but she's there more as a link to the previous film than anything else. It kind of feels the same with Rodrigo Santoro returning as Xerxes: he's just there because he kind of has to be. Really this feels like Green's movie, everybody else is just along for the ride.

If fans of the first film can go in understanding that it just can't be as fresh the second time around will likely come away having enjoyed the film. However it's not quite as rousing as the original, so newcomers are more likely to ask "what's the big deal?" and not see the appeal. If everybody else had been able to bring it as hard as Green did, this would have stood up to and possibly even rivaled the original. As it stands though it manages to not embarrass itself but is definitely an overall step down from the first film.

Horror remakes have been big business for over a decade now. From mainstream horror classics to cult favorites it seems like every recognizable horror title has gotten the remake/reboot treatment. So the remake of Sam Raimi's beloved "Evil Dead" doesn't come as all that much of a shock. What is a pleasant surprise is that Raimi himself helped produce the remake, and how faithful to the original material it manages to be while still feeling like a distinctly different film.

"Evil Dead" tells the story of five youths who go to an isolated cabin in the woods to help their friend Mia detox from a drug overdose and hopefully kick the stuff for good. Joining Mia is her brother, who has a history of not being around when things get rough, and her friends who have seen her try to give up drugs before and fail. With tension already high the group discovers the remnants of a witch burning in the basement, along with an ominous book. When one of them reads from the book it releases an evil force that begins to possess the various members of the group and drive them to do horrific things to themselves and others, all with the goal of unleashing an unspeakable evil onto the world.

The remake of "Evil Dead" has a number of things working in its favor. Director Fede Alvarez was intelligent enough to not try and reinvent the wheel, rather he's just trying to cause a much more spectacular mess with the wheel fans already know and love. The general plot is almost to the letter the same as the original film, and rather than trying to introduce some sort of new twist the film sets out to deliver the same story in the most brutal fashion possible. What the characters in this film suffer through is nothing short of apocalyptic. The physical suffering and the way it is shown leaves little to the imagination, but it's delivered with such swift efficiency that it doesn't feel like the drawn out pain of something like "Saw" or "Hostel." Of course all of this is very much in keeping with the original, which was quite gory and brutal for its time.

The performances are also surprisingly strong for a film of this type. The acting in the original tended towards the "so bad it's funny" end of things (something embraced more fully by the sequels.) Here there really is no room for laughs, unintentional or otherwise, but the acting isn't so dour as to put a damper on the fun of it all. The characters are fairly thinly sketched out on paper but each actor brings something to their part that makes it feel like there's more to these people than what we're seeing. This gives the characters some dimension, perhaps not a full three dimensions but certainly more than most of the victims in these sorts of films.

While for the most part, not trying to reinvent the wheel was to the film's advantage it also means that it falls into a few of the classic stumbling points of the genre as well. For example the film, despite having more women than men in the cast, comes across as rather misogynistic. This is mainly owing to the fact that the most brutal violence is committed against the female characters. There are also some smaller things that add up as well, such as the possessed character cursing almost constantly. This is prevalent in possession stories thanks to "The Exorcist," but all the films since then fail to realize that the reason that it worked in that movie was because of how young Linda Blair was. Having an adult swearing like a sailor just doesn't do the same thing, or much of anything really.

There's also the ending stretch of the film, which is where the whole thing runs out of steam. On the one hand the possessions are actually for something, and it's all building to a larger purpose. This is a welcome change from the original where the possessing entities seemed to just be tormenting the victims for the heck of it. However when the built up moment happens it's a tad underwhelming, mainly because it fails to distinguish itself from everything that had already been going on up to that point.

Different horror films operate on different principles. Remaking "A Nightmare on Elm Street" wasn't a great idea because it was a cerebral horror story, and there wasn't much that could be done with that story or idea that would improve or distinguish it from the original. "Evil Dead" on the other hand is a visceral horror film where the "story" is just the excuse to tear apart the victims. This is the sort of film it makes sense to remake since so much has advanced in the realm of gore effects (practical and virtual) since 1980. While the new "Evil Dead" doesn't really improve on the original it does capture the essence of what made the first film memorable, and in doing so the film justifies its own existence even though it fails to transcend its origins.