REVIEW: Howard the Duck (with spoilers)

Howard the Duck (released in the Summer of 1986, directed by Willard Huyck and produced by George Lucas, based on the Marvel Comics character created by Steve Gerber) has been considered by many to be one the worst films ever made. So how is it that I decided to review it in the Summer of 2011?

Well, I was shopping at Target for this and that, and I saw this on their shelf of $5 DVDs. Seeing as it's my birthday tomorrow, and I wanted to kick it off with some whimsy, I said what the heck and tossed it into my shopping basket. Unable to wait for the clock to hit midnight, I opened up the package after dinner, pulled out the DVD and popped it into the machine to give it a spin.

A little over two hours later, and here I am penning my review. Was it truly as bad as some people have said? Or did it somehow improve over time, like a bottle of fine aged wine? Well, I for one think that time has been good to this little flick - leaving it rolling around on my palate maybe not like a bottle of aged wine, but at least like a tasty Chinese century egg.

REVIEW: Captain America: The First Avenger

 Captain America: The First Avenger is the best Marvel Comics film adaptation yet since their release of the first Iron Man film (which I also tremendously enjoyed, in no small part to Robert Downey, Jr. nailing the essence of that flick's protagonist). If you enjoy period romps like Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc, The Rocketeer, and the Mummy, then this is the superhero flick for you. 

With a story set in the 1940s during WWII and book-ended by two scenes that take place in the present day, director Joe Johnston provides a fun, straightforward superhero film that delivers the goods like a champ (not surprising, considering his hand in the Rocketeer film and the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series). 

Chris Evans does an excellent job portraying the earnestness and moral strength of character possessed by Captain America's alter ego Steve Rogers

REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 2)

Yes, I watched it.

No, I haven't seen all of the previous films in the series, nor have I read all of the books.

Did I still enjoy it? You bet I did! I am normally not a fan of films with a running time of way over 90 minutes, but with this one, time flew by way too fast.

I've read reviews that have been overly harsh, and reviews that have been overly gushing. As a casual fan of the Harry Potter mythos, I can say that I found the film entirely satisfying. I laughed, I cried, I found myself wanting to watch all of the previous films in the series and read all of the books. If that's not some measure of success, I donno what is. Of course, it also made $169.2 million or so in initial box office take, so there is that too.

RATING: 10 out 10 points for Gryffindor!