Month: July 2008

director: Chris Carter
starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Xzibit, Callum Keith Rennie

An ultimately pointless exercise, perhaps, this second film entry in The X-Files franchise. While I Want to Believe certainly has some very good moments, it makes for a relatively underwhelming episode if it were a part of the long-running TV series, let alone as a major motion picture. And God forbid you’re not an X-Files fan, as you’ll likely be hopelessly confused at some of the references in the film. Despite this not being a “mythology-centric” story, there are references liberally sprinkled throughout the movie that only fans will grasp. Said mythology was the underlying, driving force behind the show for it’s 9-season run on Fox (that mythology was largely completed in season 6, but that’s a discussion for another time…in the past), and was the central plot of the first X-Files movie in 1998, Fight the Future, which did quite well despite that type of plot.

Continue reading “The X-Files: I Want to Believe | B”

director: Christopher Nolan
starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman

How could you expect anything less than an A+ after all the advance hype and favorable critical reviews leading up to The Dark Knight’s release date of July 18? Never have my expectations been so high going into a moviegoing experience, and never have I had such lofty expectations exceeded in so brilliant a fashion. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece, one that will require many more viewings to fully absorb its’ nearly perfect execution. Hyperbole aside, this movie was as thrilling and impactful on an artistic level as any I’ve ever seen.

I guess I’ll start with a few non-spoiler points, for the three of you that haven’t seen TDK by Monday morning (what are you waiting for?).

Continue reading “The Dark Knight | A+”