TheRetroCritic

I finally talk about Tom Cruise's latest blockbuster The Mummy .

After several false starts, it's looking like our beloved Universal Monsters might just finally get the reboot franchise they were promised years ago as The Mummy kicks off the new "Dark Universe" which would lead to an Avengers or LXG -style team-up. The reviews for this new remake haven't been kind but the presence of Tom Cruise in the lead role with the likes of Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem set to star in further movies might just help confirm this franchise as a done deal despite its lukewarm reception. The original The Mummy was a moody horror film and the Brendan Fraser-starring reboot more of a fun adventure series while this latest effort tries something in between: part-tongue-in-cheek actioner, part-creepy monster movie, this new Mummy certainly has an uneven tone, something that might have alienated some viewers and critics. The plot sees a couple of thieves uncover a hidden Egyptian tomb in war-torn Iraq where they quickly scoop up a mysterious sar

Darren Aronofsky may have sadly skipped on making The Wolverine some years ago but he is back, this time with a blockbuster Bible movie of all things and after the success of Black Swan , this could have either backfired wildly or made a huge impact. Noah , though, rests somewhere in between. On the one hand, here is one of the best Bible-themed movies of the past 20 years with Russell Crowe proving to be the perfect choice for Noah and Aronofsky bringing an otherworldly feel to the whole thing. On the other hand, the film runs out of steam somewhat once the much talked-about flood actually happens. Story-telling wise, this movie really finds the right tone, going for a swords and sorcery-style fantasy approach rather than a this-all-really-happened type of preachiness and earnestness. You've got angel rock monsters, Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah showing off the odd wizard-like powers and... um, did I mention the rock monsters? The film's first half is batshit insane an

Here's the new Man Of Steel trailer. Still lookin' good ;)

Bit of a late review this one... After all, this gritty movie version of Les Mis is now a full-blown Oscar-winning blockbuster! Which is pretty cool considering it isn't a tongue-in-cheek crowd-pleaser like Chicago and actually tried something different with the musical genre rather than settle for a generic template. Something which Nine soon learned just is not always the way to go. Not that Les Miserables isn't an Oscar-friendly flick, it totally is, it's simply that it manages to be that and more. Having never physically been to see the musical prior to seeing the film and having never read Victor Hugo's novel (I know, being French it's especially shameful of me), I wasn't 100% sure about what to expect. I'd heard most of the songs from the show, though, so I wasn't completely oblivious as to what Les Miserables was about. Recorded singing directly on camera, sometimes in long one-shot scenes, the cast sure had their work cut out. Hugh J