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#616 – Review: Man of Steel

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on June 17, 2013 by scotthiga

man-of-steel

Man of Steel finally made its way into theaters this past weekend and fans of boring super heroes everywhere rejoiced. On this blog I’ve done my fair share of piling on Superman. Plenty of you have let me know through the comments that I’m wrong about Superman and I just haven’t read the right comics or watched the right seasons of Smallville. To be fair I haven’t read that many Superman comics; I’ve always been a Marvel man. I’m no fan of Superman but, in spite of that, I thought Man of Steel was a great movie.

From the trailers I thought Man of Steel had a chance to be a good movie. Under the guidance of producer Christopher Nolan and director Zack Snyder, though, Man of Steel exceeded my expectations and made me more of a fan of Krypton’s last son. The movie didn’t waste too much time on Superman’s origins, the movie logically explained kryptonite and its effects on Superman and the movie had Superman punching dudes all over the place. Man of Steel had almost everything I wanted in a Superman movie and almost nothing I didn’t want.

Here are some thoughts I had while watching Man of Steel. I’ll do my best to keep things spoiler-free but, you’ll be happy to know, Man of Steel Superman knows how to fly, unlike Smallville Superman. Read more »

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#594 – Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on May 16, 2013 by scotthiga

Star-Trek-Into-Darkness-Poster

I loved Star Trek Into Darkness. Earlier this week I wrote about my concerns that a Star Trek movie wouldn’t be able to capture all of the heart and spirit of Gene Roddenberry’s universe. While STID didn’t fully capture Star Trek’s heart, it did show a lot more if it than I had anticipated. The movie was exciting, filled with tremendous action and had enough of Roddenberry’s vision to keep this long-time fan emotionally invested.

Below are some thoughts I had while watching Star Trek Into Darkness. I’ll do my best to keep things spoiler-free. Read more »

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#521 – Review: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on January 28, 2013 by scotthiga

hansel-and-gretel-imax-post

In my Winter/Spring Nerdy Movie Preview I had this to say about Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters:

If we set our expectations low enough, though, we may find ourselves thoroughly enjoying Hawkeye killing witches and taking candy.

I went into Hansel and Gretel with extremely low expectations and I was not disappointed. I expected over-the-top action, ridiculous fight scenes, some decapitated witches and a little gore. The movie gave me all of those in a fast-paced, highly entertaining movie.

There wasn’t much substance to go along with the entertainment, but here are some thoughts I had while watching the movie. Read more »

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#481 – Review: Lincoln

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on November 19, 2012 by scotthiga

Most movies I review on this blog are tremendously nerdy. I normally write about super heroes and robots, not presidents and Constitutional amendments. Even though Lincoln isn’t as nerdy as The Dark Knight Rises or The Hobbit, there is a lot of nerdiness with the Civil War. I don’t know of any group nerdier than Civil War reenactors. It takes a lot of commitment to dress up as a Confederate soldier and pretend to defend slavery.

Lincoln wasn’t that nerdy but it was a great movie. But, for those Civil War nerds out there, here are some thoughts from Lincoln. Read more »

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#471 – Review: Wreck-It Ralph

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on November 5, 2012 by scotthiga

I’ve been playing video games most of my life so, not only was Wreck-It Ralph a great movie, but it was also a nostalgic walk down a virtual memory lane. I loved Wreck-It Ralph and cannot recommend it highly enough. The movie was funny, entertaining, heart-warming and filled with cameos of different video game characters.

Below are some thoughts I had while watching Wreck-It Ralph. I’ll try to keep things spoiler-free but I was a little shocked to find out that Ralph is the love child of Mario and Zelda. Read more »

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#466 – Review: Cloud Atlas

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on October 29, 2012 by scotthiga

I didn’t know what to expect from Cloud Atlas. I knew that the movie was about intersecting lives across different periods of time and that it starred Tom Hanks in lots of different makeup. After seeing Cloud Atlas I know what it’s about but I’ve had a really difficult time explaining it to other people. The movie touches on deep themes like life, death, love, freedom, oppression and the impact a single life can make in our present and our future.

I have some thoughts about the movie but, as I said, I’m still trying to figure how to best communicate them. I’ll try to keep things as spoiler-free as possible but, even if you knew the entire plot of the movie, it’s still worth seeing. Read more »

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#397 – Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on July 24, 2012 by scotthiga

My excitement for The Dark Knight Rises was tempered by the tragedy in Aurora, CO. However, I did still see the conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy this past weekend.

At this point I’m not entirely sure how I felt about TDKR. I thought that TDKR was a fitting conclusion as it incorporated a number of themes from both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I know that I liked the movie but I’m not really sure how much I liked the movie. More than anything I think I’m just sad that this particular Batman saga is over and that Warner Bros. is undoubtedly already planning its next reboot.

Below are some thoughts I had while watching The Dark Knight Rises. I’ll do my best to keep things spoiler-free because I’d hate myself for ruining Jim Carey’s cameo as the Riddler. Read more »

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#386 – Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on July 9, 2012 by scotthiga

Spider-Man has never been my favorite super hero. I’ve always preferred mutants and the X-Men. I saw all three of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies and didn’t mind any of them, even Spider-Man 3 (I saw it a year after its release so my expectations were tremendously low). I wasn’t nearly as excited for The Amazing Spider-Man as I was for The Avengers but I was interested in the “untold story” of Spider-Man’s origins.

Unfortunately, the untold story is the same story that has been told numerous times. I found myself sitting in the theater doing a mental checklist of Spider-Man’s origins.

  • Bit by radioactive spider
  • Tries out new powers
  • Gets in fight with Uncle Ben
  • Uncle Ben dies
  • Realizes that with great power comes great responsibility

Once Peter Parker got his powers and began using them, the movie picked up. Unfortunately that was 45 minutes in and I was already pretty bored. The Amazing Spider-Man wasn’t a bad movie but I feel like I already saw it 10 years ago.

Below are some spoiler-free reflections from The Amazing Spider-Man but, if you saw Spider-Man, there won’t be any surprises. Read more »

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#366 – Review: Prometheus

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on June 11, 2012 by scotthiga

Since I saw Prometheus I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. As a movie, Prometheus was good and very entertaining. It was beautifully shot and some of the characters were multi-faceted, which made them truly interesting. So, if you’re looking to be entertained by a well produced, sci-fi thriller, you can’t do much better than Prometheus.

Prometheus’ quality isn’t what has kept it running through my head, though. The themes explored in the movie are so compelling and thought provoking that I haven’t been able to push them from my mind.

It’s difficult to write one of my standard movie reviews for Prometheus. Jotting down some tenuous connections between Christianity and Prometheus hardly does justice to the movie and the themes it explores. Prometheus is a movie that needs to be watched with a group and then discussed afterwards. It will also be difficult to write a completely spoiler-free review since a number of the themes are founded upon spoilery material.

With that said, though, below are some thoughts I had while watching Prometheus and thoughts I’ve had in the time since the final credits rolled. They’re not entirely spoiler-free but I’ll try to keep the spoilers to themes and not plot. Read more »

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#364 – Review: Aliens

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on June 7, 2012 by scotthiga

Prometheus comes out this Friday and I want to be ready for it. In that endeavor I recently got over my fear and watched Alien. More recently I watched Aliens. I was excited to watch Aliens because I knew that it’s a lot different from Alien. In Alien, Ridley Scott created a small, intimate horror movie. In Aliens, James Cameron created a thrilling action movie.

Here are some thoughts I had while watching Aliens. Read more »

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