Mad Max (1979)

Directed by George Miller (Babe: Pig in the City, Happy Feet), Mad Max is a groundbreaking low-budget exploitation hit that established a certain set of guidelines for action movies and inspired many sequels and knock-offs, but today it's perhaps more interesting historically than it is aesthetically. read more...

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Son of Batman (2014)

Based on Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's 2006 Batman storyline, the direct-to-video animated feature Son of Batman tells the story of Damian Wayne (voiced by Stuart Allan), the child of Bruce Wayne (voiced by Jason O'Mara) and Talia al Ghul (voiced by Morena Baccarin), who has been raised in secret and trained by Ra's al Ghul (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito) and the League of Assassins. When Ra's al Ghul is mysteriously killed by Deathstroke (voiced by Thomas Gibson), Talia brings Damian to Batman's doorstep. read more...

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Lockout (2012)

Luc Besson is very good at grinding out relatively cheap, high-concept "B" movies filled with action. There's no question that he has a flair for breezy stories and simple, appealing characters. A possible heir to Roger Corman; he has apparently worked on some 50 movies in the past decade, some of them quite delightful. But quantity does not always lead to quality. Co-written and produced by Besson, Lockout has its benefits, most notably a fun lead character and a fun performance to match by Guy Pearce (he could be the subject of sequels). read more...

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Vice (2015)

Director Brian A. Miller and star Bruce Willis previously gave us the terrible The Prince, and now they're back with an equally terrible entry. Vice steals ideas from things like Westworld and The Purge, but doesn't add any fresh ideas, nor, indeed, any ideas at all. read more...

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300 (2007)

Based on Frank Miller's comic book, Zach Snyder's testosterone-fueled, gory gladiator tale looks amazing with its computer-generated sheen, seamlessly incorporating spectacle and human forms. But its hackneyed dialogue and ridiculous bluster rank it a little lower than any of a handful of old gladiator movies made for a fraction of the price. If only Charlton Heston or Victor Mature could have turned up to add some camp value. Snyder's vision is both conservative and homoerotic, though the picture isn't clever enough to be aware of either of these leanings. (One astute writer called it "war porn.") It's a pretty simplistic underdog story: in the year B.C. 480, three hundred Spartan warriors, led by King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), face off against thousands of Persian soldiers, led by the evil Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Lena Headey plays the Queen, Dominic West plays a traitor and David Wenham narrates. It contains more beheadings than perhaps any movie I've ever seen, but also more stupid, eye-rolling moments than any other movie in recent memory. read more...

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