Ghost Rider (2007)

Film: Ghost Rider
Release: 2007, theatrical
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, James Fonda
Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson
Alternate versions: Theatrical/Extended
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: The young stunt biker Johnny Blaze, makes a deal with a stranger when he finds out his father may be dying of cancer.

Hans' thoughts:

This is one of those "notorious" superhero movies. One that got a really bad rap when it came out and was then completely forgotten shartly thereafter. Personally, I've found myself enjoying this movie in spite of it's many faults. Nicolas Cage is the main reason for that. He's one of those actors that seems like he'll take any acting job he can and he always does his best. This has of course resulted in him being in some very infamous movies, and critics are never really that kind to the guy. To me it's apparent that he does his job and he does it well, but he'll probably not be an actor that goes down in history and will be remembered as more as a fan favorite. The other actors also seem like they really do what they can with what they've been given - except for James Fonda who kinda seems.. bored. I guess he had hoped for an action scene.The delivery of some lines is also very awkward to say the least, here I'm especially noticing the actor playing the character Blackheart - Wes Bentley. Visually, this movie has some really great moments, a star example when Mephistopheles meets Young Johnny Blaze in the fair tent for the first time, a thunderstorm has a lightning strike that lits up the tent and the shadow of Mephistopheles is a crooked demonic figure. The special effects around the title character are the best of the movie, taking cues from 80 Heavy Metal culture like the comic book version most likely did. There are also some plotholes here and there, at some point in the movie the main character rides through the desert as the Ghost Rider and it is a visually awesome scene, however next we see him he has for unexplained reasons changed back into human form. It slows down the movie and seems awkward and I suspect this was not in the theatrical version of the film. All in all, I enjoyed this movie. It does however, has a lot of flaws. If you can look past the plethora of flaws there should at the very least be idle entertainment for even non-comic book fans.

Reptilicus (1961)

Film: Reptilicus
Release: 1961, theatrical
Starring: Carl Ottesen, Dirch Passer, Bent Mejding
Directed by: Sidney W. Pink
Alternate versions: Danish cut/American cut
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: After a strange find during an underground drilling, a monster is revived and goes on a rampage through Northwestern Europe, finally attacking Copenhagen - the capitol of Denmark.

Hans' thoughts:

This movie is, quite literally, a freak of nature. Throughout my life, I have come to know my homecountry's cinematic history as one filled with comedies and dramas. Some better than others. Sure, there has been the single supernatural movie here and there but nothing too mindgoggling. Denmark is known for making movies like Festen and Anti-Christ. Imagine my surprise when I then found this gem among the 60's movies. Reptilicus is a monster-movie. Not a very well-done one, but never the less a monster-movie. It was most likely done to live up to the giant monster competition from bigger movie countries like America and Japan who at that time had turned out such classics as the Godzilla franchise and the King Kong movies. The version I'm reviewing is the Danish version. First off because I don't think I would be able to track down the American cut if I wanted to and second off because I'm a native Dane. So why wouldn't I watch the Danish cut? The Danish cut of this movie is not taken quite as serious as I imagine the American version is. In the Danish version, the creators of he movie has decided to cater a lot to the Danish audience with the great comedian Dirch Passer. He's given a lot more comedic scenes in this one, and he's even been given a whole song "'Tilicus" which is apparently cut from the American version - I can see why. The song slows down the movie exponentially, is sung to a group of kids and was probably put in to make the movie more family friendly. At the time, no Danish movie creator really dared making a movie without at least attempting to get Dirch Passer to appear in the movie. This resulted in a slew of comedic movies in that era where some of them were probably intended to be serious originally. The Danish movie also has a beach scene which shows quite a bit of skin, I've heard American critics call it soft core pornography - it isn't. The movie in and of itself is a nice experiment. It's nice to see Danish filmmakers taking a chance to do something OTHER than farmhouse dramas or military comedies which were a common sight in this era. Unfortunately, it is also easy to see why something this ambitious has not been tried since, the low budget of the movie (the monster itself is a rubber marionette) really serves to pull down the experience. However, if you can look past the budget, and engage in the universe this movie presents there are good times to be had. Call it a challenge in suspension of disbelief.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

Film: X-Men: First Class
Release: 2011, Theatrical
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, James McAvoy
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Next in the series: The Wolverine
Previous in the series: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: In 1962, a powerful mutant is fanning the flames of war between America and the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, a young Erik Lensherr is looking for revenge on the man who murdered his mother.

Hans' thoughts:

After the sub-par X-Men: The Last Stand and the devastatingly awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 20th Century Fox redeems the X-men movie franchise with yet another prequel. This movie is what I feel the series should have been from the start - A period piece. One of the core struggles of the characters are the fight against bigotry and I really feel that works better in a historic setting. The characters are also mutants, a concept that was much more prevalent around this time, also called the "Atomic age". The actors in the movie all do a decent job, it has a lot of nods to the fans and they all seem to have something to do. However, some of the characters kinda just springs into the movie and leaves shortly after, mostly through death. You could argue that this makes the characters completely pointless, but actually they serve to make the stakes high and the characters that actually do end up dying all do so after introducing something important or doing something equally so.All in all, as I mentioned earlier, this movie served to redeem the X-Men movie franchise for me and I shall look forward to the next movie.