For those unfamiliar with the comic book story this animated movie is based on, this is about the death of Batman's second Robin, Jason Todd, and the mysterious character and events that serve as a follow up to this event years later. I'll try not to give out any spoilers, despite the fact that most of the audience for this DVD movie has already read the original story. The adaptation is very well done, handled by Judd Winick, who wrote the original story and campaigned to make this movie happen. All the key elements remain and the complex DC Universe continuity elements have been streamlined and made self-contained for the movie. The animation looks great and blends cell and CGI styles effectively. Action is dynamic and explosive and a fight scene between Batman and the Red Hood near the end is one of the most well choreographed sequences I've seen even in live action movies. I spent a lot of time grinning while I watched the action in this movie. Batman's ...

  Inception is the latest film from writer Director Chris Nolan, now well known for re-launching the Batman franchise with great success. The story features Leonardo DiCaprio as the leader of a team who infiltrates people’s dreams in order to secure their deepest secrets. Comparisons have already been made to The Matrix, though viewers should not go to theaters expecting remotely the same experience. Inception is much more an action/sci-fi/drama than a straight up action/sci-fi flick. The story is fascinating and only leaves you in the dark for the first 20 minutes or so. (Possibly just a little too long.) Performances are solid, though no one stands out. Still, the movie finds a way to make you care about even incidental characters. Though DiCaprio is the lead, the story follows an ensemble cast of interesting characters, and by the end of the movie’s two and a half hour run-time, you feel as though you’ve experienced an epic story with a lot of thing...

The early trailers for this movie grabbed my attention with the spectacular magic effects and semi-serious tone. But the PG rating and youthful protagonist made me fear that we had just another run of the mill fantasy movie for kids. Thankfully, this was not the case. Nicolas Cage plays Balthazar, an immortal sorcerer who studied under Merlin. Morgana LeFey, Merlin’s ancient nemesis, is about to be unleashed on the world by an evil sorcerer(played by Alfred Molina), and Balthazar is in search of the stereo typical chosen one who alone has the power to defeat her. Enter college student and science geek, Dave. The “Prime Merlinian”. (AKA, Chosen One) By a twist of fate, his life intersected with Balthazar and before long he is studying under him to prepare for the battle to come. Yes, it’s a very simple plot. But the performances by the cast keep things engaging. Cage and Molina are especially fun to watch in their roles. Cage is not what you would expect from an immortal sor...

I love monster movies. And I don't mean that in the sense of old cheesy black and white flicks with guys in foam suits. I mean well done, seriously scary, modern creature features from the 1980's forward. The Alien movies, John Carpenter's The Thing, The Terminator, Jeepers Creepers and of course... Predator. I love the first film, dig the second film and also really enjoyed the first "Alien Vs. Predator". (The less said about the second AVP, the better.) Predator is a modern movie monster that has been long overdue for a third installment of his own. So "Predators" was a welcome presence in my local theater, and it should be in yours too. This is a great movie. Monster movies often fail to have interesting characters supporting the creature featured. This sometimes works fine on the creature's first outing into film, though not well afterward. And the best creature movies also have interesting characters running down all those darkened ha...