Overpriced Popcorn

Sorry for the lack of posting; as everyone’s no doubt aware, movie going is an expensive hobby these days, and money is nigh onto nonexistent for me at the moment.  However, there are a veritable spate of awesome-looking flicks coming out over the next three months, so hopefully, and with any luck, you’ll see a lot of reviews coming out from this site in the coming weeks. In the meanwhile, maybe I’ll throw out a few reviews of films on Blu Ray, DVD, and Netflix, just to keep things going. Also, please continue to spread the word about OP—I really need more followers to get this to take off. I have plans, but those plans can only come to fruition if I have visibility out there. If you’ve got a Facebook profile, blog, website, whatever, please link back to Overpriced Popcorn and tell people to follow!  All you need is a Google account to do so, and really…who doesn’t have a Google account these days? Thanks!

Introduction In 2007, Marvel comics continued its assault on the world box office with the release of Ghost Rider, a film based on one of their darker properties. In it, a cocky, Evel-Knievel-like stunt rider named Johnny Blaze (portrayed by Nicholas Cage) makes a deal with the devil to save his critically ill father, and in so doing becomes possessed by a demon that, whenever he is in the presence of evil, transforms him into the Ghost Rider, a spirit of vengeance with a flaming skull for a head. The Rider is hungry for the souls of sinners, and has no sense of scale—if you’ve done something shameful, he’ll swallow your soul and send you screaming to Hell.  Of course, Blaze hates being the Devil’s man-bitch and constantly fights against the demon inside (like any good Marvel character), but even in serving Hell, he is doing good work by sending evildoers Down Below.  I described Ghost Rider to my wife Julie as “the Crow meets Spawn,” and if you’re completely unfamiliar ...

Introduction Let’s face it: I know you’ve all been dying to have me review Wrath of the Titans .  I know; I hear your cries of desperate desire, and I throw myself in front of the bus for you. So here’s how it happened: Yesterday morning, for some odd reason, I was struck with an overwhelming desire to be sitting at the café at Barnes & Noble. No idea why, but it stuck with me all day.  So after work yesterday I decided to head down to the Waterfront to do just that, and maybe get some writing done.  For those not from Pittsburgh, the Waterfront is a development that contains a huge shopping plaza there.  I hesitate to call it a strip mall because it’s really not a strip.  It’s more like a full-on mall, just not in a building. There is an AMC Lowe’s movie theater there, which while the most expensive theater in the area, also has the best projection, the biggest screens, it’s just the highest quality theater in the area.  In addition, there’s...

There’s a lot of things and people in the film industry right now that it’s become somewhat chic to hate.  For many of them, there’s strong and valid reasons to hate them. However, I’d like to post in defense of a few things. First up, Michael Bay.  People—especially those in the SF/F fan community—love to hate Michael Bay.  Yet, his movies make millions upon millions of dollars and to my mind the hatred of him seems unreasoning. I’m going to go out on a limb that will likely place me at odds with the rest of the geek community and say I actually dig Michael Bay.  Unlike many, when I hear he’s attached to a film, especially a licensed project, my first reaction is usually “thank God.” I’ll admit to some (pretty serious) trepidation about his altering of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to be aliens rather than earthly mutants, but in the end I think raging about it because the word “mutant” is in the title is foolish, and it doesn’t mean that the film is going t...