GamerNode: FilmPLOSION!'s Columns

DVD Review: Dexter Season 2

When I first heard about Dexter, I had no idea what to make of it. A show about a killer who works with the police killing killers for killing? That people liked? Sounded like a complete Hot Topic crowd pleaser. Then, I watched season one. And season two. Twice. Suffice it to say, Dexter is now my favorite non-Supernatural show on television, and possibly one of the greatest shows in recent memory.

No small order when you look at other recent mega-hits.

The show centers around the titular Dexter Morgan, played brilliantly by Michael C. Hall. The first season found Dexter tracking (and ultimately killing) the infamous Ice Truck Killer, so what happens from there? Thankfully, rather than approach a Killer of the Year type progression, the creators instead decided to evolve Dexter in season 2...

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DVD Review: The Nightmare Before Christmas Collect...

It's hard to believe the first DVD release of Nightmare Before Christmas came out over 8 years ago, and that the movie itself is almost 16 years old. I still remember seeing it for the first time (despite complaints from my friend's parents) and falling in love with Jack Skellington and Tim Burton's bizarre new world. A musical about Christmas? Who cares! A musical about Christmas from the point of view of Halloween's monsters? Who wouldn't want to see that?

As everyone knows by now, Nightmare Before Christmas has withstood the test of time, becoming one of the most popular (and most beloved) movies of all time, and easily the biggest stop-motion film of all time and the pinnacle of the craft. So with the new release of the movie and the two-disc collector's edition, it was an easy choice ...

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DVD Review: Son of Rambow

When I saw the first trailers for Son of Rambow, I couldn't wait to see it. Unfortunately Portland never gets these limited releases, so I was forced to await the eventual DVD release. Now that the DVD is out and I've digested the movie, I've come away with some more mixed feelings than I anticipated.

Don't get me wrong: Son of Rambow is a fantastic movie. For the right crowd. Centering around two young lads with a desire to remake the Stallone classic themselves, the movie has an unquestionable charm and presence which will make any audience go "Awwww!" in appreciation. Unfortunately, outside of the charm a good majority of the humor and connectedness with the characters is achieved only by two audiences: men old enough to remember when Rambo came out, and children young enough to relate ...

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Blu-Ray Review: The Sum of All Fears

I never understood the hate for Sum of All Fears. It's not a super intelligent drama, or an inspiring story of someone losing and finding themselves amidst the horrors of nuclear winter-but it doesn't try to be. Sum of All Fears is-as the box describes it-an action-packed thrill ride, and it succeeds damn well at doing that.

Serving as a reboot for the Jack Ryan franchise, Sum of All Fears stars Ben Affleck as Jack, and Morgan Freeman as CIA director William Cabot. Right from the first moment the two are on screen together you can see the chemistry they shared, and it stays throughout, making one of the more enjoyable non-obvious pairings in recent action films.

So yeah, the two stars carry the film with their acting, but what about the rest of it? It's not perfect, but it's still great. Su...

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DVD Review: Jumper

This review originally appeared on June 30, but due to taking the review off live to play with formatting, I unwittingly changed its posting date to today. I apologize for the inconvenience. 

I'm an absolute sucker for stuff involving anything remotely related to superpowers. Heroes, all the Marvel movies, comics, anime--if they have powers, I'll likely watch it. So it should come as no surprise that when Jumper was announced, I looked forward to it immensely. Then, after seeing the reviews of the movie and taking a look at other competing films, I opted to wait until it was out on DVD to watch; a choice I'm glad to have made.

Jumper is the story of a group of people called jumpers; particularly one named David (played by Mr. Lethargy himself, Hayden Christensen). Learning he had his powers...

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DVD Review: Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Bac...

Ah, Futurama. How we missed you. When Futurama was cancelled, everyone died a little on the inside. When they announced it would return, everyone cheered. When they announced that first would come several made-for-DVD movies...well, let's just say us fans were apprehensive.

The success of Bender's Big Score changed that. Seeing that a Futurama movie could not only live up to the quality of the show-but even possibly surpass it-was, as the Professor would say, wonderful news. Beast with a Billion Backs instantly rose to the top of my most anticipated lists for this summer, and I have to say it delivered.

Unlike Big Score, Billion Backs is more new material and less reliance on nostalgia. Where Big Score got their laughs from bringing back characters and tying together refrences in zany ways...

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Blu-Ray Review: Jumper

I remember really looking forward to Jumper when the teaser and initial previews came out. Then, suddenly, the movie was there in front of me on Blu-Ray, and to say I was only a little disappointed would be an understatement.

Rather than the big action ride I anticipated, Jumper is instead a showcase for digital effects, camera work, and the power of HD. The movie focuses on people called "jumpers," who are able to teleport. The main character of the film, played by Anakin himself, does what most people would do if they found themselves given such great power: use it for his own gains.

Most people will claim if they could teleport they'd use it for good, but let's be honest: a majority of you would use it the same way David Rice does: teleporting to rob banks, but mostly just using it to tr...

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DVD Review: Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collectio...

In my life I have met two people who have never seen an Indiana Jones movie; not surprisingly, they live together and are best friends. Despite that odd occurrence, I would bet money (not real, obviously) that you've seen at least one of the Indy movies, if not all four of them. The original trilogy remains a classic, and contains some of cinema's most memorable scenes.

With the release of the new Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, things just wouldn't make sense if we didn't have tie-ins galore. LEGO Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford's face plastered on any buyable item you can imagine (from French fries to socks), and of course, a new, updated collection to allow people to catch up on everyone's favorite archeologist.

The new Adventure Collection is the second Indy box set, the first coming out sev...

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DVD Review: Cloverfield

Cloverfield surprised critics when it opened to a tremendous box office, taking in nearly $50 million; it surprised them once again when the film's gross dropped 68% in its second week.

The hand-cam "Blair Witch meets Godzilla" picture is a unique one, that's for sure. Numerous people complained of the shakiness and feeling nauseous in theaters, a reason several of my friends had for refusing to see the movie. Now that it's viewable on the tiny screen, will people who passed it over in theaters give it another shot?

For their sake, I hope so. Lots of people criticized Cloverfield for not being as awesome as they imagined-the monster didn't wreck as much shit as they hoped. But that isn't what Cloverfield is about at all. The plot (which isn't anything too fantastic) revolves around Rob, a ...

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DVD Review: There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood was one of the more surprising movies of last year. What initially struck me as a boring, pointless film thats only saving grace was Daniel Day-Lewis playing a character he already played later turned into one of my favorite movies. It's something you need to watch more than once to appreciate, as all of the magnificence of the movie comes in the form of all the little, unheralded aspects.

The movie tells the tale of an oil man named Daniel Plainview in early 20th century America as he thirsts for more money and power, received in the form of controlling oil. There are many characters in the film who are important to the work as a whole, but the entire movie is very clearly placed in the (obviously) capable hands of Daniel Day-Lewis.

Over the course of the American epic...

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DVD Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Flee...

If I told you years ago that one of my favorite movies of 2007 would be a musical, I probably wouldn't even believe myself. If I told you that musical would be a slasher film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, I definitely wouldn't believe myself. Oddly enough, that very scenario happened with Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

The film-adapted from the Steven Sondheim play-tells the story of a London barber, wrongfully accused of a fake crime by a corrupt judge out only to steal his beautiful wife. The barber (obviously Depp) spends years in prison, finally escaping and returning to London on a sailing vessel to take his revenge on the judge (Alan Rickman) who ruined his life. He learns upon arrival that the judge essentially killed his wife and stole his daught...

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DVD Review: Enchanted

(This was originally posted about a week and a half ago, but some reason was lost in the far reaches of the server. If you suffer from deja vu when you see this newly posted up, that's why.)

Every now and then I'll see a chick flick that I'll admit isn't totally terrible; you know, you can watch it and it's okay, but you won't want to watch it again anytime soon. Enchanted is one of those movies.

While it's not the greatest movie I've seen (or even remotely in any Top X lists I'd make for this year), for a chick flick it's solid enough. The movie tells the tale of Giselle, a stereotypical Disney soon-to-be-princess looking for her prince charming. While singing and cleaning with animals (and making a lifesize figure of her beloved yet-to-be-met Prince Edward), Giselle is attacked by a trol...

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DVD Review: South Park Imaginationland

(This was originally posted about a week and a half ago, but some reason was lost in the far reaches of the server. If you suffer from deja vu when you see this newly posted up, that's why.)

At the end of South Park season 11, viewers were watching in suspense as an epic trilogy unfolded-that trilogy was Imaginationland. Starting off with Cartman and Kyle's bet involving Kyle gently sucking on Cartman's pubicle sack and culminating in a battle worth of Two Towers, it's just as awesome as it was months ago.

The "feature" (it's called a feature, but it's blatantly obvious it's still three episodes) begins with Cartman betting Kyle that leprachauns do exist, and if they do, Kyle has to finally suck Cartman's balls. Against all odds, the boys spy a leprachaun, who warns them of an ominous terro...

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DVD Review: No Country for Old Men

If you watch movies or ever talk to people who do, chances are at some point or another someone you know has mentioned No Country for Old Men as one of their favorite movies from last year. The Best Picture winning movie certainly had a head of steam leading up to the Oscars, in no small part due to the fact the Coen Brothers are responsible for it.

The film is about a man who happens to find a suitcase with $2 million in cash at a scene where a drug deal has gone wrong. Like most people in that situation, the man (Llewelyn Moss) takes it. Finding one of them still alive, Moss leaves him for dead and heads home, until his conscience gets the best of him, forcing him to return to the scene to bring water to the dying man. Unfortunately, doing this alerts the surviving dealers of his existen...

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DVD Review: Dan in Real Life

Remember when Steve Carell was "That one guy on The Daily Show" and not a comedy superstar? And remember when he was by far the more popular of the Carell/Colbert duo on Stewart's show? Me neither. Somehow Carell went from being that goofy guy on Comedy Central to being in every damn thing out there. (Let's just forget about Evan Almighty for a moment.)

Perhaps more than his comedic performances, Steve's been typecast for his ability to turn in an absolutely stunning dramedic affair. With Michael Scott on The Office and his character in Little Miss Sunshine, he showed that he could do more than pure comedy, and thankfully for his career, at a much earlier stage than Jim Carrey did.

Now, Steve turns his sights on romantic comedies by partnering with everyone's favorite douche, Dane Cook. Car...

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DVD Review: 101 Dalmatians

When I watched 101 Dalmatians the other night, I wasn't sure what I'd get. I vaguely recalled liking the movie (and Saturday morning cartoon) as a kid and thinking Cruella was creepy, but that's really all I remembered. (Well, I also remembered Lucky was my favorite puppy, but damned if I knew why or which one he was.)

What I forgot was what made the animated feature a classic in the first place. The story revolves around Pongo and his "pet" Roger's bachelor lifestyle suddenly being changed by the arrival of two female companions. Pongo and Perdita find themselves about to have puppies, and Roger and Anita are constantly bugged by Cruella De Vil as to the price of the future pups. Not wanting to sell them to an obviously evil woman, Roger denies Cruella, and not used to being told no, Cruel...

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DVD Review: Beowulf: Unrated Director's Cut

Anyone who knows me has heard me rant in regards to last year's Beowulf. A huge fan of the original epic (I've done several papers on it) and an even bigger fan of Neil Gaiman's work, I was looking forward to the movie more than anything else in its timeframe of release. Unfortunately, it just didn't deliver.

The story of Beowulf is simple enough, and anyone who has taken a middle school English class knows how it goes, so I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that Beowulf is a big bad warrior full of talk, and through a series of events finds himself killing the monster Grendel. Told that he now has to slay Grendel's mother--the last monster--Beowulf sets off, but finds that it's not as easy as it sounds and is seduced by the promise of everlasting glory and riches. Years ...

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DVD Review: Gone Baby Gone

CONTENT - 3.5/5The movie itself is solid enough, but I just can't help but shake the feeling that I only like it because I'm supposed to. It's enjoyable, really, but it's nothing that will be remembered when I look back months from now at my favorite movies I've watched this year. I can tell you one thing, though: years from now, college students will cite this as one of their favorites along with Donnie Darko.

VIDEO - 4/5It's amazing how well they managed to fade colors and make them appear washed-out on a standard DVD disc. The entire film has the look of it like it's filmed on a low budget camera or in the 70s/80s, but it's pulled off so well that it becomes an addition to the narrative, not a deterrent.

OVERALL - 3.5/5Gone Baby Gone is a very solid debut for Director Ben Affleck, and o...

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DVD Review: The Best of Comedy Central Presents Un...

The Best of Comedy Central Presents UncensoredMPAA Rating: Not Rated, intended for mature audiencesRelease Date: February 5, 2008Run Time: 176 minutes 

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DVD Review: Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twiligh...

Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight MPAA Rating: PG-13 for fantasy action and violenceRelease Date: January 15, 2008Run Time: 90 minutesIMDB Link

If you grew up reading fantasy novels, chances are you're familiar with Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis' Dragonlance series. The books are a staple in fantasy fiction, and contain some of the genres most beloved and renowned characters. The story revolves around the land of Krynn, which was abandoned by the light gods more than 300 years ago. Unfortunately for its friendly inhabitants, the dark gods have made a comeback. Cue the group of random heroes who traverse the land and fight all sorts of monsters in order to save the world.

When I heard that we were being treated to an animated Dragonlance feature, I was very, very excited; finally, ...

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