TheRetroCritic

Based on Richard Matheson's classic novel "I Am Legend", The Last Man On Earth was an early adaptation which starred Vincent Price as a man living in a post-apocalyptic world taken over by vampires. Although the title and Price's presence may suggest an over-the-top sci-fi monster movie, this is in fact a much more serious and surprisingly well thought-out effort which still makes the recent I Am Legend movie look like crap. The vampires in this film are more like zombies with a blood problem than straight-up vampires but the main iconography is, indeed, there so you can either see it as a precursor to Night Of The Living Dead or a completely different type of vampire film. Vincent Price's character is completely isolated and lonely as he spends his days burning vampire bodies and his nights locked up at home, battling monsters who get too close. You're told in an appropriately depressing flashback that, early on, his family fell victim to the vampire &

Well, the Summer's officially over and it's looking like the actually good but slightly more depressing movies are starting to come out. And you know what? I'm totally ok with that. In the vein of Zodiac or even Se7en , Prisoners is a new thriller/whodunit with an all-star cast in which two little girls go missing, a bunch of people go looking for them and dodgy suspects are hinted at throughout. I know it sounds pretty standard but Prisoners is by no means a standard, been-there-done-that flick. Surprisingly, the film is one bleak, intense and brutal experience with fascinating, complex characters and so many twists and turns that its maze motif is entirely justified. Hugh Jackman plays the father of one of the missing daughters, a guy we're told likes to be ready for the worse, well: he sure wasn't ready for that one. Which is why the way the film develops that character is so interesting: making him do questionable things yet keeping his humanity intac

Ah Riddick... Back in 2000, Pitch Black came out and proved to be one of the best cinematic surprises of that year. It was a B movie, for sure, but it was unique enough and entertaining enough to elevate it to cult status. One year prior to The Fast And The Furious , Vin Diesel already cemented himself as a charismatic lead and a worthy action hero. Pitch Black was a good sci-fi horror B flick on a budget. Riddick is... something else. On the one hand, this is a labour of love and you can tell: Vin Diesel did a lot to get this movie made and clearly he cares about that character and the world he lives in. Riddick is mercifully not a reboot or a remake but instead a direct sequel to Chronicles Of Riddick and a sort-of direct sequel to Pitch Black so it's obvious that the film is primarily aimed at fans of the franchise. There will be complaints that Riddick is too much like the first movie but, honestly, that's hardly this film's problem. Actually, there's

Well well well... Who knew that Michael Bay still had one ok film in him?! Based on a true story, Pain & Gain sees Mark Wahlberg's Daniel Lugo come up with a plan to kidnap some obnoxious rich dude and steal all his dough with the help of a couple of other bodybuilders (played by Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie) and soon finding himself trying to desperately contain the damage he's caused. The film is big, dumb, bloated and completely over the top. And, you know what? That's exactly what it needed to be. After all, most of it is seen through the eyes of our main characters, slightly unhinged, not very smart fellas, so the film's overblown style does make sense. Unlike with the Transformers movies, you've got context that makes sense here. Plus Bay captures the goofy nature of 90's action movies really well. The result is basically Scarface meets Pumping Iron crossed with a little The Whole Nine Yards . I say that because the film really does pla

No, not THAT Braindead . (Peter Jackson's Dead Alive was actually called Braindead) (hence what I just said) This Brain Dead , however, is a cult B-movie starring the two Bills everyone confuses with each other: Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton. The former being the US President with that awful speech in Independence Day , the latter being that badass vampire from Near Dark . There, now you're all up to speed. In this movie, Pullman plays a scientist with an impressive collection of brains in jars who is conducting weird experiments, to say the least. He specialises in the cerebral dysfunctions which cause mental illnesses so when an old pal, Paxton, who now works for some dodgy corporation, shows up and asks him to find out some crucial information from a paranoid schizophrenic, he is reluctant but agrees to help out anyway. The patient (played by Bud Cort), we're told, was once a brilliant mathematician and it's Pullman's job to find out what part of his bra

With all the half-baked Snow White movies we got last year, you'd think we would have gotten at least one memorable one. Alas, in order to see a decent, recent, Snow White movie, one would need to go back to 1997's Snow White: A Tale Of Terror . That Kristin Kreuk TV movie doesn't count. That was NOT good. With this one, Sigourney Weaver plays Snow White's step mom and, weirdly, for most of the film you find yourself feeling bad for her! What this movie does is give this character a reason to lose it and become the crazed witch we all know and love/crap our pants thinking about. Even if by the end you're not exactly on her side but you still understand her and feel for her. This is really the witch's movie: Snow White is almost a side character here. Actually, early on, Snow White is pretty harsh on her step mom and contributes to turning her into the villain so you're not a big fan of hers for the longest time. Then she grows up and genuinely feels

   

Occasionally a comedy comes along that's just so weird or mean-spirited that studios just don't know how to market it. I'm thinking The Cable Guy , Super or even Neighbors , back in the day. Observe And Report , be warned, isn't the Paul Blart: Mall Cop -style knockabout cartoon comedy it was sold as. In fact, this is the much darker tale of what happens when a deluded, if well-meaning, sociopath goes off his meds. Seth Rogen, in possibly his best role to date, plays Ronnie, head of mall security, who takes his job a little too seriously. When a flasher repeatedly invades the mall, the police are called in and Ray Liotta's cop begins a routine investigation which Ronnie promptly interferes with, thinking he's on some sort of one-man crusade to protect Anna Faris' odious perfume salesgirl. He takes the case into his own hands, which inspires him to try and join the police force and ask Faris out. Both plans, of course, backfire. It's good to see

As mentioned in the first announcement relating to The Batman Project , a new Batman logo is being designed. Of course it's still very early days and the script is still being written but that doesn't mean we can't have fun trying to come up with a cool, new logo now does it? Bat-fan (and also my mother lol)  Lynda K. tried her hand at some rough designs the other week including this effort: Liking this one more and more. It kinda feels like it belongs on a knight's shield or something but we're talking about the "Dark Knight" here so that could actually work. It might be a bit too gothic for its own good but it's a cool attempt I think. Next up: Forgive the sketchy look of it and the ones below but this one was a take on the latest Bat-logo we've seen in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. I like the top part but unfortunately I keep thinking it's an upside-down Christmas tree... Alternatively this logo

I talk The Dark Knight Rises and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy in general.

New artwork by Paul Shipper .

Dumbest video ever... and I made it! :D  Beware: SPOILERS and extreme silliness.

Up-and-coming young reviewer FraserLazer22 tackles Batman Begins and The Dark Knight . Thanks! :)

Master piss-taker Axis Of Ornament contributes his geniusely tacky take on The Dark Knight Rises with a poster you'll never forget. Click on the image below to see it! Also check out his loltastic mini Bat-comic . Thanks for the contribution!

Catwoman is a character we've seen being interpreted in very different ways over the years. Whether she's an anti-hero, a misunderstood crime-fighter or a straight-up villain, there's no denying she's one of the best Batman characters out there so through this little homage, lets take a look at some of the main Catwomen out there and see who truly nailed the part. JULIE NEWMAR Batman: The TV Series (1966) Easily my favourite Catwoman from the TV series, Julie Newmar had it all: sexy, beautiful, manipulative, ever-so-slightly crazy, adorable... perfect. Poor old Adam West, having to resist such devilish cat-charm every single time. Mostly, this Catwoman just wanted to toy with The Bat, Newmar was having fun with it and it shows. She made the character quirky and a lot of fun to watch, giving the show one of its best, less stupid, most entertaining villains. The coolest 60's cat out there. Meow Rating: 4/5 EARTHA KITT Batman: The TV Series (