TheRetroCritic

Here's a plug for a new blog I'm working on called We, The MindThinkers   which will see me writing random, silly sci-fi stories under various, increasingly dumb-sounding pen names. I will upload short stories one chapter at a time, 2 to 3 times a week so if you're in any way interested, don't hesitate to check it out! ;) The first short story is called The Red Moons Of NeOrion by Norman L. Brisbane, the first chapter is now up. It involves moons and bubbles.

As our poll finally ends, I can now reveal that the Best Film Of 2011 , for the faithful followers & visitors of the RetroCritic blog is... CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Yes, Marvel's latest attempt at adapting the superhero was a winner and arguably the best comic book movie of last Summer. It made it to number 9 in my own Top 20 Best Films Of 2011 list and seeing it take the top spot here isn't too surprising: a great mix of modern action and old-fashioned heroism, Captain America gets it right. And after the dire 1990 version , Steve Rogers deserved his comeback. It was certainly great to see Chris Evans NOT play a smirking douchebag for once. Don't get me wrong, in small doses (see Scott Pilgrim vs The World ) it was fine but... Fantastic Four happened. Twice. Captain America looks the part and boasts a strong cast: Tommy Lee Jones doesn't exactly play against type but stays on good form nonetheless and Hayley Atwell makes a beautiful and ref

No less than 5 years after their last release, The Red Hot Chili Peppers are back this month with a new album, I’m With You , which should no doubt satisfy hungry fans.  But how does the album fare minus long-time guitarist John Frusciante, who officially left the band back in 2009? Throughout the years, The Red Hot Chili Peppers have undergone changes and reinventions aplenty whilst always keeping their own brand of funky rock perfectly intact. The biggest switch came in 1999 with the release of hit album Californication which showed the band in a darker, more melancholic light. This meant the usual anarchic fast-paced funkiness increasingly gave way to an altogether more atmospheric and melodic approach. This was clearly the beginning of a new era for the band. The next album, By The Way , really made the most of Frusciante’s creativity and excelled especially with some of the best, most nostalgic ballads the band ever attempted. The album showed real heart and maturity but it wa

You'd think that 20 years after the godawful Captain America TV movies we'd get something half-decent...not so. Made in 1990, this Captain America suffers such bland cinematography it feels like a 70's film. 90% of the film is spent with Captain America not in costume going to boring places and talking. The rest of the time Steve Rogers is wearing his silly plastic costume and being as bland as a cool character like Captain America could possibly get (very very bland as it turns out). As for the Red Skull, he's at the rendez-vous for about 5 minutes and the rest of the time he's also out of costume so in essence we get about 3 minutes of watchable Captain America vs Red Skull action: yay. In the hope that the new Chris Evans film will at the very least be entertaining, lets try and forget about this dull and lazy attempt. It's not as bad as 1994's Fantastic Four but pretty lame nonetheless.