Category Archives: Movies

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From the Vault: Steel (1997)

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Looking back on my childhood, I’ve found that my family went through a number of… I guess they’d be called “trends,” where one or more of us would get enthralled by a certain activity for a while, and then, quickly as it came, the interest would fade. Around the late 1990′s, we were really into renting movies and music from our local library. We would literally stop in two or three times a week, picking up a handful of classic films and older music each trip. And the one thing I vividly remember is every time we made our way to the Audio/Video section, I’d always want to rent Steel. I also remember every time being told, “No Sam, we’re not getting that one. It’s really bad.” It blew me away. How could a movie be so bad, it wasn’t worth the dollar to rent it?

Thirteen years later, I finally got the chance to watch Steel. And you know what? I think my folks were right.

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From the Vault: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

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Have you ever wanted to go back and correct the mistakes you’ve made in the past? I know I would. And every once in a while, we’re given a chance to right what was once wrong (hoping the next leap… is the leap home. That’s right, I used a Quantum Leap reference), and this week, I had the chance to check out one of the corrections of the past, namely Richard Donner’s version of the classic film Superman II. So grab your red cape and read on!

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From the Vault: The Fantastic Four (1994)

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Sit down, kids. Ol’ Sam’s going to tell you all a story.

Once upon a time, there was a certain comic publisher who was on the verge of bankruptcy. To stay in business, this company sold the film rights of many of its popular characters to… well, whoever was willing to pay, to be honest. In 1992, Constantin Films was about to lose the rights on their property unless production began by December.

This left Bernd Eichinger, the head of Constantin Films, with a real problem. He really wanted to make a film with these characters, but didn’t have enough money to do the characters justice. So what did he do? He hired famed director and master of low-budget moviemaking Roger Corman to make a phony film to so Constantin Films could hold onto their property a little longer. And now you know the true history of… The Fantastic Four!

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From the Vault: The Muppet Movie (1979)

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Citizen Kane. Gone With the Wind. Shaft. Sometimes a movie comes along that is considered an instant classic, beloved by the overwhelming majority of the Earth’s inhabitants, and transcends mere popularity and becomes a staple in pop culture. Ladies and gentlemen… The Muppet Movie is one of those movies. It’s time to play the music… It’s time to light the lights… It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Movie tonight!

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From the Vault: Dick Tracy (1990)

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For this week’s installment of From the Vault, I’ve decided to step away from the superhero genre (and poorly-made CBS TV-movies, apparently), and settled on a film a little more from the pulp side of comics. The movie for this week is (as you may have guessed) Touchstone Pictures’ Dick Tracy. I’m going to be honest for a moment – This film has been on my radar ever since I started writing for Major Spoilers. There is a lot to discuss here, both good and bad, so without further delay, let’s get to it.

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From the Vault: Captain America (1979)

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Ahh, the ’70′s. A time of afros, bell-bottoms, and oddly enough, in the case of CBS television, attempts at superhero TV shows. Today, the most well-know of these shows are Wonder Woman starring____, The Greatest American Hero starring William Katt (a personal favorite of mine), and of course The Incredible Hulk starring Bill Bixby and (the eternal con-man) Lou Ferrigno. What many casual viewers today don’t know is that CBS also had the adaptation rights to many more of Marvel’s intellectual properties. Many of these characters were held onto until the mid-1980′s, where they were used as a way to revitalize the older Hulk franchise (see TV movies “The Incredible Hulk Returns” with a version of Thor and “The Trial of The Incredible Hulk” featuring Daredevil and the Kingpin), but some had the distinction of having test pilots made during the heyday of 70′s live-action comic shows. For this week’s “From the Vault” segment, we’re going to take a look at one of these pilots, loosely based on WWII hero Captain America. So grab your clear Cap shield and motorcycle helmet and read on!

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From the Vault: Justice League of America (1997)

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What are superheroes like when they take off their masks and drop their “heroic” persona? It is a common theme found in many comic books today. In fact, some books are based solely around this question, and they all have varying degrees of success. One of the more noteworthy examples of this is the 1987 run of Justice League (International), created by the living legend Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. In it, the comic showed the reader the politics, the in-fighting, and ultimately the humor that is unleashed behind closed JL headquarters’ doors. Sounds like a great sitcom, right?

That’s exactly what CBS thought.

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New Tron: Legacy trailer is here!

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Disney sent us the new trailer for the new Tron movie, and it looks very cool.  Can’t wait to see this in theaters!

TRON: LEGACY is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (GARRETT HEDLUND), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (JEFF BRIDGES), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant Qora (OLIVIA WILDE), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

via Disney

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Webb casting wide net for Peter Parker

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Director Marc Webb, who is heading up the new Spider-Man movie, did clear up some news about certain 500 Days of High School Twilight Musical actors being cast for the reboot (prequel?).

“We’re casting a wide net. That’s really all i can say at this point,” he said, reiterating that statement when asked if an actor like rumored contender Joseph Gordon-Levitt is too old for the part, or if the studio is looking for an unknown. “We’re casting a wide net.”

That’s good news for everyone all around, I think.  Also Webb did confirm that he had talks with James Cameron about the best way to bring Spider-Man into 3D.  My guess is we’ll hear more about the Spider-Man franchise in the coming weeks.

via MTV