Nerd in the 'Noke

Justice League (2017), PG-13, 2hr - The long anticipated Justice League film finally hit theaters last weekend.  And when I say long, I mean long .  Comic book fans have been hoping and waiting for a Justice League film for about ten years now (George Miller had a JL film in pre-production in the mid-late 00's).  Things fell through (the details of which can and have been summed up better than I could, so I won't go into those details here), and the world has been forced to wait for the first live action adaptation of DC's super-team ever since.  This incarnation of the project faced production issues of its own, but all in all the end result is a step in the right direction for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). As we know from the trailer, Justice League focuses on Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman's (Gal Gadot) recruitment of others with powers in an effort to combat an impending doom.  That threat arrives in the form of Steppenwolf (voiced by  Ci...

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), PG-13, 151 minutes - In preparation for this film, I revisited 2013's Man of Steel last week. I remember having enjoyed that film for the most part, but I had not re-watched it since I saw it in theaters three years ago. As I gave it a second viewing, I realized that what I was watching wasn't the Christopher Reeve Superman that I grew up with, or even the Superman man that I knew from the comics. This Superman, while having saved people here and there, had been avoiding the public eye and didn't fully grasp the extent of his powers or have full control of them. As he was battling Zod, he was thrown into the fire and had to mature on the field of battle.  Realizing that, the destruction of Smallville and Metropolis in the film was still devastating but was more understandable and not as out of character as I had originally believed it to have been. That's not to say that there weren't other issues with the film, but...

300: Rise of an Empire (2014), R, 102 minutes - On March 9, 2007, a stylized sword and sandals epic based on a classic Frank Miller graphic novel stormed into theaters and set box office records.  At the time 300 may have only been known by comic book nerds, but after that early weekend in March the world knew not only of Miller's 300 Spartans, but of Gerard Butler and Michael Fassbender as well.  Seven years later - almost to the day - a sequel (of sorts) finally arrived, and had much the same effect on the competition when its opening weekend was said and done.  Only time will tell if Rise of an Empire will launch anyone into the nation's consciousness the way 300 did for Butler and Fassbender, but it was a much better follow up than I had anticipated. Shortly after the success of 300, Frank Miller announced that he was working on another graphic novel, a prequel of sorts that was going to focus on Xerxes.  Not long after that, a sequel film was also announced...

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 first teaser trailer for next summer's Superman reboot, Man of Steel , premiered a couple of weeks back at San Diego ComicCon.  It then ran in front of The Dark Knight Rises when it released this past weekend.  The tone appears to be darker than that of previous Superman films, which isn't surprising considering that it is being directed by Zack Snyder (2004's Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen) and produced by Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception).  But that is about all that we get a feel for from this initial teaser.  Don't get me wrong, I will definitely be checking Man of Steel out when it comes out next summer, but it won't be because I got wicked hyped over this trailer. There are actually two versions of the trailer that run in different theaters.  One has a voice over by Russell Crowe (who will play Jor-El, Superman's birth father from Krypton), the other, a voice over by Kevin Costner (who will play his adoptive father ...