Nerd in the 'Noke

World War Z (2013), PG-13, 116 minutes - I was a little torn as to whether or not I should wait until I read the book to check out World War Z.  My fiance gave me a copy for Christmas this past year (by author Max Brooks), and while juggling it along with a couple of other novels, I've managed to only get through about 30 pages.  Considering the rate at which I've been reading lately, I figured I better go ahead and see the movie now or else I'd miss it in theaters entirely. World War Z is a zombie outbreak flick that uses the monsters in a very different way than they are usually portrayed.  These zombies are rampaging.  They swarm, and stampede, and toss themselves around with wreck-less abandon.  Like many other recent incarnations of zombies, they are stimulated by sound.  The last thing you want to do is draw their attention by making noise.  The zombies are the result of an unknown outbreak, thought to have started in South Korea.  The ...

Man of Steel (2013), PG-13, 143 minutes - This review probably should have been posted a week ago when I saw the film, but life's been a little bit hectic this past week and I'm just now getting a chance to get some thoughts out.  Anyway, Man of Steel is the latest attempt at revamping the Superman franchise.  It comes seven years after 2006's Superman Returns, which was a bit of a mixed bag for most people (and that's probably the nicest way to put it).  Before I get into my actual review for Man of Steel, a couple disclaimers:  I don't really follow Superman in the comic medium.  I was introduced to the character as a kid thanks to the Christopher Reeve starring Richard Donner films.  That incarnation is, to this day, what I think of when I think of Superman.  Because I don't religiously keep up with the comics, I think I'm more accepting of any changes or inaccuracies that take place in the films.  Superman Returns wasn't amazing by any stre...

The Return of Swamp Thing (1989), PG-13, 88 minutes - I have a tendency to go all out when I find something new that I enjoy.  The rabbit hole I've gone down the last few weeks in regards to Swamp Thing is just another example of that.  I blew through two highly regarded runs of the Swamp Thing comic (Moore/Bissette and Snyder/Paquette), thoroughly enjoying both.  That led me to re-watch Wes Craven's adaptation from 1982 which despite its being quite dated, I also enjoyed.  Other than a couple of nice nods to the comic, I don't think I can say the same for The Return of Swamp Thing. Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) returns as the big bad, which is a bit of a double edged sword.  Jourdan plays a very believable, despicable villain just as he did in Swamp Thing.  Unfortunately, his appearance (with no explanation until half way through the film) doesn't make much sense given the events at the end of the previous film.  When we finally get the expla...

Swamp Thing (1982), PG, 91 minutes - I've been on a bit of a Swamp Thing kick lately.  I recently finished reading two comic book runs that I've never heard anything other than high praise for.  One was the recently completed Scott Snyder/Yanick Paquette Swamp Thing re-launch that was part of DC's New 52 beginning in 2011.  The other was the Alan Moore/Stephen Bissette run from the mid-'80's that is widely regarded as one of the best comic runs ever.  Both were excellent and they piqued my interest in revisiting Wes Craven's film from 1982.  I've always known that the movie was based on the comic book (or at least the characters therein), but now having a better understanding of the characters and their back stories, I was curious to see how closely Craven's vision followed the source material of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson's creation. It's been a number of years since I have watched Swamp Thing, a monster movie from the days of my youth. ...