NEWS
By Michael Sragow | June 19, 2009
This year's stream of escapist extravaganzas has kept crowds coming to the multiplex. But they haven't always left it happy. Watchmen disappointed Alan Moore fans and novices alike with its slavish, dated devotion to the ultimate dirty-hero graphic novel. Inkheart squandered a potential franchise for all ages about the power of reading, while the slick, empty Angels & Demons proved that Tom Hanks' haircut wasn't the only thing wrong with The Da Vinci Code. Monsters Vs. Aliens was so silly-stupid it made some of us wish we were watching a good version of a grisly film like Aliens Vs. Predators.
NEWS
By Michael Sragow | February 27, 2009
At its funniest, Fanboys, the far-fetched tale of five Ohio Star Wars fans who, in 1998, storm George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch to steal a working print of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, depicts the clash between Star Wars fans and Star Trek fans as the nerd equivalent of Crips and Bloods. They hate each other on sight and glory in pathetic pitched battles. They exult in the illusion of danger otherwise absent from their bland suburban lives. Fandom in Fanboys offers peer-group power surges to guys who may never grow up. The fever of fandom in this movie is like that of an adolescent crush.
NEWS
By Mary Carole McCauley | December 11, 2008
Of the 1,200 performances that Charlie Ross has given of his One-Man Star Wars Trilogy, the most memorable might have been a show he performed in Dubai in early 2006. "Some people in the audience were in full Lawrence of Arabia gear, with flowing robes and head-wraps," he says. "It was quite strange to see that mixed crowd genuinely enjoying themselves. I shudder to think that there might be people living in the desert who watch Star Wars on televisions in their tents, but it's completely possible."
NEWS
By Tim Swift | December 7, 2008
THEATER 'One-Man Star Wars Trilogy': Being able to recite Star Wars dialogue verbatim is a common affliction of the nerd population. But Canadian actor Charles Ross takes the practice into hyperdrive. In Baltimore for a two-week run, Ross' off-Broadway hit re-creates all the characters, sound effects and even John Williams' score with nothing but some lights and elbow pads. Opens 8 p.m. Tuesday at Center Stage. For more: centerstage.org DVD Heath Ledger: in 'The Dark Knight': Despite what the fanboys say, this Batman flick is not the best movie ever made.
NEWS
By TIM SWIFT | September 30, 2008
(Warner Bros. Interactive) For Microsoft Windows, PlayStations 2 and 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360. One to two players. Rated E for players 10 and older for cartoon violence. Retail price $49.99. *** game This summer's box-office champ, The Dark Knight, was unleashed with all the merchandising force befitting its mega-blockbuster status. But amid all the Batman action figures and lunchboxes there was one notable omission - a video game. We're still waiting, but for now, Lego Batman: The Videogame will have to suffice.
NEWS
By Tim Swift | September 16, 2008
If you thought Star Wars was finally over after Episode III (that's film six for the uninitiated), think again. The force - it seems - will always be with us. Creator George Lucas has repeatedly denied plans to film yet another blockbuster trilogy, but that hasn't stopped him and his co-conspirators at LucasArts from cultivating adventures from the gaps between the existing films, such as last month's animated feature The Clone Wars. Released today, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a new video game for most major platforms, has the ambitious task of bridging the 20-year gap between the two trilogies.
NEWS
By Tim Swift | September 14, 2008
BOOKS "Indignation" by Philip Roth: Known lately for his older protagonists, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist returns to his literary roots for his latest novel, focusing on angst of youth rather than dissatisfaction of old age. The book follows young Marcus Messner as he comes of age during the Korean War at a conservative college in Ohio. In stores Tuesday. GAMES "Stars Wars:: The Force Unleashed" : Mining an untold period of the Star Wars saga (they may run out of those soon)
NEWS
By Geoff Boucher | August 17, 2008
HOLLYWOOD - George Lucas, looking overheated under the midday sun, gamely worked the red carpet recently at the world premiere of the latest cinematic installment to his space saga, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. At one point, Lucas was photographed with one of his most avid fans, a grinning, chubby fellow from Pennsylvania who showed up at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre wearing two-day stubble, a sweat-stained shirt and a brimmed frontier hat that Indiana Jones would admire. That guy, Dave Filoni, also happens to be the director of Clone Wars (which opened this weekend across the U.S.)
NEWS
By Michael Sragow | August 15, 2008
Lucasfilm's new feature-length cartoon, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, has a light heart and a spring in its step. It's not exactly thrilling, and it doesn't cover much new ground. But young audiences will lap it up like ice cream, and its good humor and faith in the Force will put adults in a Saturday-morning frame of mind even at midnight showings. Ever since Luke asked Obi-Wan, "You fought in the Clone Wars?" in Star Wars: A New Hope, fanboys (and, let's face it, fangirls too) have wondered what the cataclysm would look like on the big screen.
NEWS
May 23, 2008
Action/Adventure THE INCREDIBLE HULK -- (Universal Pictures), Maryland native Edward Norton steps into the role of the green, rage-fueled giant. With Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt. Opens June 13. WANTED -- (Universal Pictures) James McAvoy stars as a cubicle-dwelling slacker who is recruited by a secret society and transformed into a lightning-fast hero. With Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. Opens June 27. HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY -- (Universal Pictures) The big, bad and red superhero battles a merciless dictator and his band of marauding monsters.