The Signal » Movie Review

Comic books hit the big screen

ramseystatz — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 19:45:59 +0000

Think back to your childhood when you read comic books like Superman, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and many more. Within the past few years, many of these comics and more have been made into some of the highest grossing movies of all time.
In 2002, the movie Spiderman hit theaters and started the comic book trend. The next year, Daredevil hit the big screen and superhero movies quickly became popular.
“My top favorite comic book turned into a movie is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and I enjoyed the movie more because I thought it told the story better! I also liked Watchmen, but I think the comic book is better because of the illustrations,” Freshman Annie Sawyer said.
There are many movies that were comic books before they made any kind of movie premiere. Some of these movies include 300, The Losers and multiple others. Most people who have seen these movies are unaware of their original works.
“I never knew that some of these movies were first comic books. When I found out that they were, I was kind of surprised. They seem to make a pretty good movie series, but I think they would seem too hard to follow as a scene by scene, written picture, but I guess they had to originate somewhere,” Sophomore Cierra Essock said.
Movie producers also have an advantage over the viewer when making super hero movies. Comic books don’t seem to be as popular as they were. When a former comic book is converted to a movie, it usually brings back memories for some people. People are usually curious to see how the converted comic book will appear as a movie.
“When a comic book becomes a movie, it’s just like a novel, TV show, etc. becoming a movie; sometimes I want to see it just to compare it to the original,” Junior Cory Hollinger said.
The trend is getting more popular as time goes on. There are many films that were originally comic books and will make their premier as movies in 2010-2012. Some highly rated movies include Thor, X-Men: First Class, Superman: The Man of Steel, Green Lantern and Men in Black III.
“I am extremely excited for Green Lantern because Green Lantern has always been my all time favorite comic book,” Sawyer said.

Takers (Movie Review)

ramseystatz — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 03:01:16 +0000

Takers is an action-packed film full of excitement directed by John Luessenhop. This movie has an unusual point of view. The events that take place are shown from the perspective of Detective Jack Wells as well as the thieves who commit the crimes. As policemen struggle to find out who’s been robbing banks, the group of thieves work together as a team and rob bank after bank with no problem. It’s what they do for a living. They dress well, drive nice vehicles and go to nice clubs. Police are aware of them but never get any evidence on who these people are. This movie shows step by step how they steal and how they manage to never get caught. 
When it comes down to a big robbery they’ve been planning, it takes more time, more money and more is at stake. Days before, they reenact the mission from start to finish making sure everything goes according to plan. They find out they will have some complications throughout the entire mission that they aren’t use to. It’ll take a turn on everyone and neither of them will know what to do next but hope it works out in their favor. A detective who will go the distance and do whatever it takes to solve crimes and catch perpetrators, is a memorable on screen character. This movie, which is perfect for teens of any gender, will leave the movie-goer wanting more. It stars the talented Matt Dillon, Paul Walker,  T.I. and Chris Brown.

2012- directed by Roland Emmerich

leahweston — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:38:15 +0000

Apocalypse, Dooms Day, Armageddon, Rapture, Judgment Day, Day of Reckoning. No matter what you call it the end of the world is upon us, or so the Mayans and the new movie 2012, from Director Roland Emmerich seem to think. Whether you believe this or not, 2012 is a great movie to see if you really like special effects.
The movie starts out in the year 2009 when a scientist in India discovers that, due to solar explosions, the Earth’s core is heating up rapidly, which in turn is causing the tectonic plates to de-stabilize.

As the movie continues, it quickly progresses to the year 2012. The year 2012 is portrayed as a scene of utter chaos with mass suicides at Mayan temples, extreme earthquakes, and a seemingly contagious feeling of fear and impending doom.
Next the audience is introduced to Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), his estranged wife Kate, and the scientist Adrian Helmsley, who was the first to be told about the Earth’s core heating up.

By doing so the audience gets to see all the facts and truth about what is happening to the tectonic plates, along with having the point of view of average people who have no idea what is happening provided to them.

The governments from all around the world had space ships built. Two of every kind of animal were air-lifted to the ships just like in the Biblical story Noah’s Ark.

With the ships filled with rich, powerful people and animals, one might think that Jackson’s family would never be able to get on. However, some of average people to get onto the ships were Jackson and his family.

At times the movie seemed to somewhat mock and belittle many religions, primarily Christianity.

Ultimately the movie had amazing special effects, actors, and suspense but was lacking a decent script. Almost every event was predictable and cliche up until about the last half hour when the movie finally became unexpected.

If you love special effects and are willing to sit through almost 2 hours and 38 minutes of lame, predictable dialogue and cliche events, then I would recommend this movie.

The Stepfather…I’ve seen this somewhere before!

adviser — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:43:13 +0000

Imagine coming home, after some time away, to learn that your mother has found a new man and will be married. This man has a deeply disturbing, gruesome past. That’s what happens to teenager Micheal Harding (Penn Badley) in “The Stepfather,” directed by Nelson McCormick.

In “The Stepfather,” a seemingly normal father wants the perfect family; when things don’t go the way he plans, all hell breaks lose.

So-called stepfather David Harris (Dylan Walsh) attempts to make a perfect family out of the Harding household. When he decides that it cannot work the way he plans, he attempts to kill them all. Early in the movie viewers learn this is not his first family murder. Major hints at his unpleasant past are presented to the for the family, but no one quite pieces together the clues except for the son, Micheal Harding.

“The Stepfather” was an average horror film. Although this film was a remake of the 1987 edition directed by Joseph Ruben, it has a few differences in characters and names.

Sadly, this movie is too much like other movies that have recently been released. In “Disturbia”, directed by DJ Caruso, the movie is about man who is under the microscope of a teenage boy. He assumes something is suspicious about the man and lets curiosity take hold of him. In the end Caruso finds himself defending his family from a crazed mass murderer.

The imagery and sound effects combine to create an intense, thrilling atmosphere. The film is intriguing to watch. Viewers find themselves looking away at times to avoid the shock of a frightening face. Amazing stunts by Stunt Directors Gregory J. Barnett, Pat Romano and Mike Smith, keep viewers on the edge of their seat The one thing that leaves a horrible, lasting impression on the story is the ending. It is a bitter disappointment.

“Stepfather” is a disappointing combination of old horror movies. The plot is predictable, giving the movie nothing special to talk about. This movie is not worth $8.75 at a movie theatre. This is definitely a movie viewers should rent at the Red Box for $1. Save the $7.75 and rent 7 other movies.