The Super Mario Bros. Movie
SimilarAladdin (1992), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999),
From Russia with Love (1963) Goldfinger (1964), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), King Kong (1933),
Live and Let Die (1973) On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004),
Shrek the Third (2007) The Man with the Golden Gun (1974),
Watch afterAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), Evil Dead Rise (2023), Fast X (2023), John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023),
It’s been almost 40 years since that little plumber in the red hat jumped into a warp pipe and into our hearts. Super Mario Bros., released for the original Nintendo system in the US in 1985, is still the perfect video game. It’s simple (you just got to jump around), it has iconic music, and its colorful world is hypnotic even with all those cute creatures trying to kill you. Continue Reading →
Masters of the Universe: Revelation
Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Netflix's animated reimagining of the iconic He-Man and his amazing friends begins on a familiar note. It kicks off as a continuation of the 80s cartoon—sadly skipping over the Cartoon Network series entirely while still borrowing some of its modern art direction. Revelation checks in with the classic Masters of the Universe just before all magic vanishes from the world. The annihilation of magic (including the Power of Grayskull) paves the way for a bold, watercooler-worthy reset of all that has come before. Given this dramatic paradigm shift, Revelation almost feels like a spin-off, rather than a sequel series. Continue Reading →
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge
I'm hardly the first person to observe that the history of video-game adaptations has been replete with messy failures; the challenges of adapting stories that are, by necessity, flat and formulaic to allow players to project themselves onto the kharacters seem virtually insurmountable. Paul W.S. Anderson's 1995 take on Mortal Kombat was one of the few to break that mold, mostly because the charming kast, simple story, and kickin' techno soundtrack were so alchemically appealing that it coalesced into good schlock this time, rather than bad. Continue Reading →
Trolls Band Together
SimilarBring It On (2000), Chicago (2002), Hellboy (2004), La Vie en Rose (2007), Night at the Museum (2006),
Watch afterA Haunting in Venice (2023), Five Nights at Freddy's (2023), Saw X (2023), Thanksgiving (2023),
Studiodentsu,
Ed Helms and Patti Harrison charm in Nikole Beckwith's refreshing, pleasurable dramedy.
(This review is part of our coverage of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.)
Nikole Beckwith’s Together Together doesn’t break any new ground. But it doesn’t have to -- the film’s greatest pleasure lies simply in watching every part of the story fall into place the way we predict and expect it to. The dramedy is only Beckwith's second feature, but despite its familiarity, it's a pleasurable and refreshing experience. It’s light and witty, often packed with laughs and touching moments, with two stellar lead performances at its heart. Continue Reading →