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‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ does just enough right to outweigh its overstuffed script

spiderman-landscape-ASM2_QuadThe follow up to director Mark Webb’s reboot to the Spider-Man franchise slings itself into North American theaters this week after already amassing a hearty amount of box office cash overseas. In this outing of the masked web slinger, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) has settled into the life of a hero, with all the trappings of fame and glory that can cloud anyone’s judgement included, and despite the warning from the final moments of the first film, is still spending time with Gwen (Emma Stone). But soon new villains emerge to challenge Peter, the emergence of Electro (Jamie Foxx) and his old friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan),and they all have seem to connect to Peter’s past and the ominous conglomerate known as Oscorp.

This outing of “The Amazing Spider-Man” is definitely a step up from the previous Mark Webb incarnation, the effects work is crisper and the ‘go pro video’ style incorporate d into the web slinging does a lot to make it feel more realistic, but the film suffers from an overstuffed script that was clearly influenced by the studio. Garfield is still very solid in the role of Peter and Emma Stone is perfect as Gwen, while DeHaan is a very welcome addition as the deluded and angry Harry. Jamie Foxx suffers through his turn as Electro though as the script and design of the effects does him no favors. Electro sports a poorly conceived look that never comes across as menacing, more like a goofy lower budget version of the Watchmen’s Dr Manhattan, and as Electro disappears from the film for long stretches he is not missed.

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Essential Viewing Hot Docs 2014: Songs for Alexis

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Ryan is a very talented 18-year-old transgender (having just finished the main stage of his surgeries) male musician who rarely lets his acoustic guitar slip from his side. After meeting his 16-year-old girlfriend Alexis at a summer camp they both attended the year before, the pair is now virtually inseparable and they have fallen madly in love. But when Alexis’ father discovers the existence of their relationship, especially the gender status of Ryan, the pair is thrust headlong into the harsher realities of the adult world. Alexis is soon faced with the daunting task of choosing between her family and the man she loves. Read the rest of this page »

Contest!!! Win a copy of ‘Confession of Murder’ on Bluray

confession of a murderWell its contest time again here at the Fix and this time we have a mysterious Korean action thriller Confession of Murder! The twisted tale of murder and revenge hits store shelves this Tuesday, April 15th, and thanks to the amazing folks at Well Go USA we have 3 Blu-ray copies to give away!

 

Writer/Director JUNG Byung-gil (Action Boys) unleashes endless action and suspense when CONFESSION OF MURDER debuts on Blu-ray and DVD April 15th from Well Go USA Entertainment. Detective Choi is a broken man, a tough guy cop whose lasting legacy is to be the one who almost captured a vicious serial killer ten years earlier. His failure left him physically and mentally scarred while the killer was left to walk free. When the statute of limitations on the case runs out, a book is released by an author who claims to be the killer.  The book sparks a media frenzy, with Choi and the families of the dead left to watch impotently as the killer becomes a media celebrity. But the fact that the law can’t touch him doesn’t mean Choi and the others can’t …  JUNG Jae-Young (Public Enemy 3, Battle Ground 625) as the Detective and PARK Si-Hoo (Haru: An Unforgettable Day in Korea) as the author headline the cast. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette and interviews with the cast and crew.

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Catch ‘Mistaken for Strangers’ before it leaves town

Mistaken-For-Strangers-Th-NationalIt’s 2010 and indie rock band The National is set to embark on their largest international tour to date. Enter lead singer ’s younger brother Tom, a wannabe horror filmmaker with aspirations to make a documentary film about the band. Starting out with large ambition and grand ideas, and starting with Matt’s full support, it’s not long before Tom’s tour roadie position is hanging by a thread due to his constant by slacking off on the job, getting drunk and overall lack of ability. What starts out as a candid music doc ends up going in a completely different direction, delivering an earnest, behind-the-scenes look at Tom’s endeavours and subsequent departure, but the question becomes will Tom be able to salvage his film?

Mistaken for Strangers may be one of the best stories about brothers captured on film. Tom may not have started out wanting to include himself into the film, but eventually his own antics and screw ups became too difficult for the director to ignore and he discovered the real film within his footage. This discovery also plays out over the course of the film’s last act, a rare glimpse into what goes into developing a film beyond the filming stages.

mistaken brothers

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Marvel delivers one of their best yet with the new Captain America

CAPTAIN-AMERICA-QUADAfter the cataclysmic events in New York that occurred in “The Avengers” we find Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Chris Evans), living a relatively quiet life in Washington, D.C. Cap is still working with Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and S.H.I.E.L.D. but is quickly becoming very disillusioned at the politics behind doing so. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes a central figure in unravelling a web of lies, deceit and intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk that leaves the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) as the only S.H.E.I.L.D. ally he can trust. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow must enlist the help of a new hero, the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to help take down a menacing force that is much grander in scope than even Cap could have predicted.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is easily one of the best films that the current Marvel universe has produced. With ramifications and repercussions that will play out over many Marvel movies to come, Winter Soldier features a brilliant script that incorporates many nods towards the comic crowd while remaining easily accessible to regular audiences as well. The film takes a more espionage/thriller slant this time around, but with some extremely successful and impressive fight sequences, think “Manchurian Candidate” meets “The Raid”. This time around Cap’s fighting style has emerged as a fusion of MMA and Parkour that is highly effective and dangerous looking at the same time.  This is a particularly more lethal looking Captain America this time around, which is reflective of Cap living in the modern world and perhaps hanging/working around Black Widow more often.

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‘Homefront’ plays better on home screens

homefront-blu-ray-coverPhil Broker (Jason Statham) is a former undercover DEA agent who gives up his badge and the lifestyles after his action against a biker gang went horribly wrong and it cost the life of his boss’ son. A recent widow who is left with a 9 year old daughter Maddy, Broker decides to retire to a small town to get away from everything. After his daughter fights off a boy who was bullying her at school, Broker finds himself caught as this sets in motion a round of events that end in his direct confrontation with the local Meth drug lord Gator (James Franco). Broker has a mission in his mind to protect his daughter and even with is past coming back to haunt him he remains determined to keep his daughter safe.

Written by Sylvester Stallone as a vehicle for himself, the film ended up staring his Expendables co-star when he decided he might not be the best fit for the role anymore. Homefront has some very solid action set pieces and features decent performances from its leads Statham and a kind of slumming Franco and packs the background with familiar faces. Kate Bosworth puts in some solid work as Gator’s sister; the mother of the bully Maddy defends herself against, as does Winona Ryder as a junkie/love interest that helps Gator. Clancy Brown, Omar Benson Miller, Frank Grillo and Rachelle Lefevre all show up in supporting turns as well.

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Endless Love brings nothing sustainable to the screen

Endless-Love-2014-Movie-Free-DownloadNew in theaters is the remake of the 1981 Franco Zeffirelli film of the same name, Endless Love. The biggest claim to fame of the original film starring a very young Brooke Shields was the Oscar nominated song it inspired from Lionel Richie. This time around the story revolves around privileged Jade Butterfield (Gabriella Wilde) and charismatic David Elliot (Alex Pettyfer) whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by her father (Bruce Greenwood), who tries to keep them apart.

The first 20 or so minutes of Endless Love are very promising and frankly surprising. The chemistry between Pettyfer and Wilde is evident from the very start and Wilde connects with the audience right away. Dayo Okeniyi has a few fun moments as David’s buddy Mace and Rhys Wakefield steals the entire affair as Jade’s brother Keith, the only truly funny character in the film Read the rest of this page »

House of Lies delivers Season 2 on DVD

house of liesMarty Kaan (Don Cheadle) and the Pod return for a new season of mischief, mergers and mayhem in the second season of Showtime’s House of Lies, now available on DVD. After the devastation of the sexual harassment scandal at the end of season one, Galweather Stern re-emerges under the leadership of new interim CEO Julianne Hofschrager (Bess Armstrong). The Pod goes through entanglements of its own as Jeannie (Kristen Bell) and Marty struggle to remember the details of their drunken hookup, Clyde (Ben Schwartz) struggles to retain his freewheeling ways and Doug (Josh Lawson) finally finds a girl to settle down with. On the homefront, Marty has to cope with the loss of his son Roscoe (Donis Leonard Jr.) as he moves in with his mother, Marty’s Ex Monica (Dawn Olivieri) and the strain that puts on the relationship with his own father (Glynn Turman).

Along for the ride this season are guest stars Nia Long as an old flame/rival of Marty’s, Adam Brody emerges as a suitor for Jeannie and Jenny Slate takes on the role of Doug’s better half Sarah. They have the unenviable task of cracking one of the best ensemble casts on television right now, Read the rest of this page »

‘Muppets Most Wanted’ fails to deliver on its name

muppets most wanted posterDisney’s “Muppets Most Wanted” sees the entire Muppets gang embarking on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe’s most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper. This nefarious plot is headed by Constantine—the World’s Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit—and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais. Meanwhile, Kermit is detained behind bars by Nadya, a feisty prison guard played by Tina Fey, and Ty Burrell tracks all the shenanigans as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon.

Back in 2011, Jason Segel teamed up with writer Nicolas Stoller, songwriter Bret McKenzie and director James Bobin to reintroduce the Muppets to a new generation, while showing audiences who grew up on them exactly why they loved them as much as they had as children. The sequel brings back everyone minus Segel, which sadly leaves Muppets Most Wanted without a heart to its story, reducing the follow up to the equivalent of a rudderless ship. Without a viable human aspect to relate to this time around we are left with the random ramblings of the Muppets themselves, and while some of the gags work, others fall very flat.

muppets-most-wanted-outrage-social

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Contest!!! Win a copy of ‘Wrath of Varja’ on Bluray from Well Go USA

The-Wrath-of-Vajra-Blu-rayWell its contest time again here at the Fix and this time we have a new fantasy/action/horror hybrid The Wrath of Varja! The Shaolin/cult action set piece hits store shelves this Tuesday, March 18th, and thanks to the amazing folks at Well Go USA we have 3 Blu-ray copies to give away!

Former Shaolin monk and martial arts action star Xing Yu (ShaolinIp Man) is Vajra, a child kidnapped and trained as an assassin during WWII in the martial arts extravaganza THE WRATH OF VAJRA, debuting on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital March 18th from Well Go USA Entertainment. After Xing Yu escapes, he begins a quest to protect the innocent and destroy those responsible for making him a living weapon. The cast also includes Steve Yoo (Man of Tai Chi), Poppin Hyun-Joon (Fly, Daddy, Fly), Jiang Baocheng (Legendary Assassin) and newcomer Ya Mei. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes “Making-of” featurette. Read the rest of this page »

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