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CRYSTAL SKULL IN 15 SECONDS

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THE INDIANA JONES MOVIES - A COMIC

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LINCOLN - REVIEW

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I should start by confessing that I tend to miss Steven Spielberg's more serious efforts and instead usually wait patiently for his next sci-fi epic. I missed War Horse but flocked to Minority Report three times upon its release, to give you an idea. Maybe I'm an idiot but... Tom Cruise riding a jetpack! Come on! Lincoln is the type of film you don't need to watch to see, if you catch my drift. It's typical Oscar bait with loads of talking, loads of courtroom "action", loads of safe lighter-hearted moments, big performances and smoky rooms. You've seen the trailer: you've pretty much seen the movie. That said, I am happy I saw the whole thing. All in all, it's hardly unpredictable, especially if you know what historically happened, but it keeps your interest until the end mostly thanks to terrific performances and a sharp script. Daniel Day-Lewis is as good as you'd expect, as is Tommy Lee Jones and although Lincoln is pretty darn l

BAT-FANS - BATMAN ART

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Here's some cool Batman -themed art from up and coming UK artist Steven Farmer !  More can be found on his Facebook page and on Myspace . Watch out for a very special cameo appearance from Steven himself in one of the new Batman video reviews which will be posted towards the very end of Bat-Month. Stay tuned!

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN - REVIEW

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Growing up in France I was pretty much pre-programmed as a Tintin fanatic from the start. Owner of all the books (yes, even the infamously racist one), proud addict of the animated series and devout follower of all things Tintin, the prospect of a film based on Herge's comics directed by Steven Spielberg was a pretty exciting one to say the least. Looking forward to a full-on live action Tintin film, the announcement that the whole thing would be motion-captured was a tad disappointing. I mean, there hasn't been a good live action Tintin flick since 1961's Tintin And The Mystery Of The Golden Fleece : it felt right. But an animation? How could it ever measure up to the TV series or even the 1972 animated feature Tintin And The Lake Of Sharks ? I guess the idea was to stay true to Herge's designs (...by changing them?) but the cartoons did that pretty well so that sounded like a bit of a redundant move. Like Superman Returns being a homage to a franchise which alre

SUPER 8 - REVIEW

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J.J. Abrams: clever, sometimes great writer, good filmmaker but most importantly genius promoter. The man could make you want to watch anything with a single poster or a teaser/promo. When it comes to marketing a gimmicky concept, you can't beat J.J.. Look at Lost : amazing build-up, uninspired first season. Cloverfield ? Brilliant promo, pedestrian film. Star Trek ? Huge expectations, decent-enough silly romp. There seems to be a pattern of disappointment following every great build-up and I'm sorry to say Super 8 is no exception. Some of the blame for Super 8's failure to impress could be put on Steven Spielberg who might have influenced the film positively (the kids are great and the film definitely has a lot of heart) but also doomed it to being just an E.T. B movie, nothing more. I'm not saying it's Mac & Me but still. Abrams himself should have known better. With a film like this, in which the main "attraction", in this case an alien, is

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN - PREVIEW

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Just like probably 99% of French and Belgian people out there, I'm looking forward to Steven Spielberg's take on the classic Tintin franchise. Yes a live action film would have been amazing since the only genuinely good live action Tintin film to date remains Tintin and The Mystery of the Golden Fleece which, as adorable and charming as it is, was made back in 1961. And in terms of animation we have the Tintin animated series (made in the early 90's) which, although they tended to rush through a lot of the books, were near perfect. Growing up with these cartoons, they always felt exciting, smart and grown-up (lets assume Tintin in Congo was a bad dream, yikes). Both the books and the animated series never talked down to its audience, which made it that much better to follow. Now after several unpleasant attempts at "realistic" looking CGI animations ( Polar Express anyone?) and some underrated efforts ( A Christmas Carol ) we're getting a Tintin anima

JURASSIC PARK - REVIEW

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There's no doubt that Steven Spielberg's dino-blockbuster made a huge impact upon its release. As a kid watching it for the first time: I was mesmerized. Seeing dinosaurs interact with humans in an action/sci-fi/comedy of this type was jaw-dropping and exciting as hell. But looking at it now, how does it fare? Well, thankfully the film still holds up as a suspenseful thriller with the raptors and that T-Rex still as intimidating as ever. Also the core concept of a theme park owned by a charming but somewhat misguided entrepreneur (Richard Attenborough) is inspired and it's hard not to feel for the guy even after the disastrous tour Sam Neill and co. unfortunately endure. The cast is fun and some of the little twists here and there make the film unique in its approach and far more interesting than anything Michael Bay has to offer these days, by far. Who thought that things would turn sour so quickly for Wayne Knight's slimy backstabber or Martin Ferrero's wea

INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK - REVIEW

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Many have tried before or since the Indy franchise to recapture the magic and the fun of the old adventure serials with efforts like Romancing The Stone , The Phantom , Doc Savage or Alan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold but all have come short of Spielberg's classic trilogy. So what makes Indiana Jones so successful? For one thing you've got the iconic casting of Harrison Ford as the archaeologist-turned-adventurer which feels like the role Ford was born to play: cool, witty, always on-the-ball, occasionally goofy, strong, good-hearted, a ladies' man...he's the ultimate action hero. He's Han Solo with a whip and leather jacket, can't go wrong with that. Then you've got the Lucas/Spielberg/Williams trilogy of movie masterminds, a team which, in the 80's anyway, were at the top of their game. Fresh from Star Wars , Lucas knew how to produce a catchy flick, The Berg could direct a masterpiece in his sleep and John Williams' scores were ab

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS - REVIEW

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Something of a classic in France, the "original" Dinner For Schmucks, Francis Veber's Le Diner De Cons , was, it must be said, overrated to begin with. French to US film adaptations are never a great success but occasionally you do get something that's at the very least about as decent as the original ( Three Fugitives , Father's Day ). And although Diner De Cons did the job, there was definitely room for improvement. And to be fair, Dinner For Schmucks does really well to fix some of the original's flaws. For one thing, you actually get to SEE the titular dinner! And it is gloriously ridiculous. Plus, whereas the original felt a bit too stagy and claustrophobic, Schmucks is on a sugar rush and never stops for a second. Which is also its main flaw, but we'll get to that. In terms of the cast, this is as good as a comedy of that type can hope for: Rudd, Galifianakis, Carell, Clement, Walliams... Everyone has a ball and everyone does a gre

LEPRECHAUN 2 - REVIEW

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In many ways, Leprechaun 2 is a superior sequel. Then again, it is a sequel to  Leprechaun  so how good could it possibly be? Kinda like how  Evil Dead 2 is a sequel to Evil Dead , this Leprechaun is really more of a remake or a reimagining of the first film with only Warwick Davis' evil fantastical critter in common: the plot doesn't continue from the first instalment and it seems like this time there is some kind of budget involved despite the (unsurprising) absence of Jennifer Aniston. Whereas the first film took place in and around some old house, this time we actually have a story with characters you actually sort-of care about (not Shevonne Durkin, she's rubbish) and *gasp* numerous locations! Now the Leprechaun is looking for a bride to... cover in gold and impregnate (as you do) but he can only do that with a descendant of the daughter of a past slave of his and that'll only work if she sneezes three times and no-one says "God bless you".

MACHETE - REVIEW

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One of the best bits of Grindhouse was definitely the fake trailers. And one of the best bits of the fake trailers was Machete , which promised flying motorbikes, killer priests, threesomes and Danny Trejo kicking a whole lotta ass. Three years later, we finally got the promised feature. Better late than never, I say. Shame  Sin City 2 took decades... Robert Rodriguez excels at mimicking 70's exploitation films, whether it be horror movies ( F rom Dusk Till Dawn , Planet Terror ) or Mexploitation action flicks ( Once Upon a Time in Mexico , Desperado ) so Machete was always going to be a shoe-in. That it took so long to make is therefore surprising but as long as it exists, I'm not about to complain. So does Machete get the job done? Perfectly capturing the sleaze and silliness of Grindhouse action B-movies, Machete is about as badass, random and fun as it gets. Rodriguez's film certainly shows weak efforts like A-Team and The Expendables (out the same year)

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD - REVIEW

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Blaming Twilight entirely for the recent burst of corny teen nonsense (shriek! abs!) is easy but one mustn't forget all the Hannah Montanas and High School Musicals which helped kick start the new trend of (shriek! abs!) pseudo-romantic teen movies. Yes Dear John , I'm pointing at you too. You wartime-set, letter sending...bastard. Anyway, so one could say Twilight is partly to blame for the spread of (shriek! abs!) naivety throughout modern cinema but the real culprit really is Disney. And with the company now proud owner of the rights to Marvel films, god help us all... And so we get to Zac Efron (shirek! abs!). I managed to avoid 17 Again but I have to say the trailer for Charlie St Cloud was unintentionally funny enough to spark my interest. The High School Musical alumni's puppet-like stare and Mentos-selling grin might just provide some welcome comedy! Charlie St Cloud, indeed, was pretty funny. But also pretty harmless. As a film I was expecting something n