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REVIEW: How to Train Your Dragon 2 [2014]

2014/06/142014/09/16 Jared Mobarak

“What you’re searching for is in here” With ten children’s books already published—and two more planned—Cressida Cowell has given Dreamworks animation a ton of material to adapt whether adhered to religiously or not. Their success on How to Train Your Dragon caught many off guard while earning a place in the hearts of children and adults alike on the way to two Oscar nominations and a television series spin-off. The announcement of a sequel was therefore inevitable, the idea to craft it into a trilogy unsurprising as well besides the…

REVIEW: 22 Jump Street [2014]

2014/06/102014/06/11 Jared Mobarak

“Something cool!” I really wished 22 Jump Street‘s one-note joke would sustain. I really did. I even forgave the first thirty minutes lulling me to sleep with cute references to its increased production budget courtesy of its prequel’s surprise financial success like carbon copy beats built bigger and Korean Jesus getting replaced by his Vietnamese brethren. Sadly, however, I knew it never could. The joke’s funny because it’s self-deprecating and true, but at a certain point you must expand beyond “meta”. Dare I say The Hangover Part II was better…

REVIEW: Edge of Tomorrow [2014]

2014/06/032014/06/05 Jared Mobarak

“The only thing missing is you” When a script is placed on The Black List—an unauthorized survey of the “best” unproduced screenplays making the rounds—it’s generally a calling card for the writer. Many of these works come off to huge success and springboard the author to great heights in hopes more box office winners lay dormant inside his or her mind. With the highly entertaining Edge of Tomorrow, however, this isn’t quite the case. While based on a Japanese young adult novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka entitled All You Need Is…

REVIEW: Maleficent [2014]

2014/05/282014/05/30 Jared Mobarak

“Goodbye, Beastie” Let’s be honest, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is a bit of a bore. I remember my sister often wanting to watch when we were kids and me having none of it until the end’s fire and brimstone and menacing dragon spawned from the tale’s creepy, wide-smiling villain. Did I understand the fairy’s reason for cursing the princess? No. I’m not quite sure I realized the political ramifications of her baby shower invite getting lost in the mail until it was explained to me last night after watching Maleficent—the Mouse…

REVIEW: See No Evil, Hear No Evil [1989]

2014/05/242019/01/08 Jared Mobarak

“You’re a dumb idiot” TriStar Pictures—in a bid to put Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor back onscreen together after Stir Crazy and Silver Streak proved successful a decade plus earlier—agreed to the former’s understandable stipulation. They’d act in See No Evil, Hear No Evil only if Wilder was allowed to take a crack at rewriting its script, one that already passed through two separate screenwriting teams and producer Marvin Worth‘s hands during preproduction. It makes sense: no one of their incomparable comedic stature would want to simply cash-in without ensuring…

REVIEW: X-Men: Days of Future Past [2014]

2014/05/232014/05/30 Jared Mobarak

“Mind the glass” If you have a storyline at your disposal capable of continuing two separate iterations of a single cinematic franchise simultaneously, you’d be a laughing stock not to take it. Credit Fox for seizing this opportunity to create something not even Marvel proper has dared to do quite yet. Would they have made the attempt had Star Trek not already used time travel in a way that didn’t completely alienate its summer blockbuster movie-going audience? I’d be interested to hear the producers’ thoughts on this because I’m not…

REVIEW: All Hail the King [2014]

2014/05/17 Jared Mobarak

“Bloody hell. It’s not exactly the Ritz is it?” I loved Iron Man 3. I know I might be in the minority, but Shane Black and Drew Pearce‘s creation was right up my alley comedy-wise and twist-wise. It really pissed off fans that thought the whole Mandarin thing was a giant cop-out: you know, him being Aldich Killian (Guy Pearce) by way of Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). I get their affinity for canon and desire to have an over-the-top villain such as he brought to life, but Marvel has steeped…

REVIEW: Agent Carter [2013]

2014/05/17 Jared Mobarak

“Learn to count” If Item 47 supplying us an expanded look at alien tech from The Avengers was the first step in making Marvel’s One-Shots a legitimate canonical extension, Agent Carter cements them as requisite viewing. There was no guarantee the short would lead to an eight-episode pick-up on ABC—heck, there wasn’t even a guarantee “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” would earn a second season—when it was created, but we all know now that it has. Not only is the titular character (played by Hayley Atwell) a bad ass excelling beyond simply…

REVIEW: Item 47 [2012]

2014/05/17 Jared Mobarak

“It’s time we took a chance for ourselves” I guess when your latest film makes over 1.5 billion dollars at the worldwide box office you find yourself with a little extra scratch to throw around. What better way to spend it than on the series of short films you’ve been producing for DVD releases? Where the first two entries lasted barely four minutes each and consisted of mainly dialogue and Agent Coulson’s deadpan smugness, Item 47 finds itself benefiting from a massively expanded budget. Not only do we get three…

REVIEW: X-Men: The Last Stand [2006]

2014/05/16 Jared Mobarak

“Same as the Professor: visiting an old friend.” I’m sad to inform you that X-Men: The Last Stand did not age well. Not that anyone called it great when it was released—it was little more than serviceable then—but boy does it falter when viewed in close proximity with the two stellar entries coming before it. I’d like to blame Bryan Singer for jumping ship to DC so he could helm Superman Returns or even Matthew Vaughn and his family issues preventing him from taking the reins. Heck, I’d love to…

REVIEW: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer [2011]

2014/05/16 Jared Mobarak

“I also have this gun …” Okay, it may be a glorified commercial for Acura, but A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer is like the title says: funny. Using the same crew as The Consultant—director Leythum and writer Eric Pearson—the interlude bridging Agent Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) appearance in Iron Man 2 with Thor utilizes all fresh material this time. It’s slight, goofy, and very self-conscious, but I can’t help feeling amused and satisfied nonetheless. My only qualm is in wondering why it took so long to…