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Which Documentary Should Get a Sequel?

  • By Christopher Campbell
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  • August 11, 2011 2:32 AM
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  • 1 Comment
As I noted in my latest Doc Talk column at Movies.com, we will have seen at least seven documentary sequels bow in 2011 (see the titles profiled in my column). That's still well short of the record number of fiction follow-ups we're experiencing this year, but it still seems nonfiction cinema has contracted a case of sequelitis. On the horizon are sequels to major titles like "GasLand," "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" (in dramatized form), "Cosmos" and "Becoming Chaz," as well as the latest entry in Michael Apted's "Up" series.
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More: Sequels, Documentary

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is the Best Remake of "Project X" Since "Project Nim"

  • By Christopher Campbell
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  • August 4, 2011 10:13 AM
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  • 0 Comments
When I made the joke months ago that people should see "Project Nim" because it's basically like a prequel to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," I didn't realize just how similar the two movies would really be. It's more like "ROTPOTA" is a dramatic remake of the recent documentary, which also relates it very closely to "Project X." Back when "Nim" arrived in theaters I revisited "X" to see how it compared in retrospect. And while I'm only partially familiar with the "Planet of the Apes" sequels most closely used as reference material for this rebooted installment (the plot is somewhere within the spirits of "Escape" and "Conquest"), I've concluded that it is more akin to the 1987 Matthew Broderick vehicle than anything sourced from Pierre Boulle's original novel.
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More: Remakes, Sequels

"Captain America: The First Avenger" Captivates But Has Little Care for Character

  • By Christopher Campbell
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  • July 22, 2011 9:58 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Ten years ago, Joe Johnston directed "Jurassic Park III," a much-maligned sequel to the Steven Spielberg original(s) that can be enjoyed if you forgive the more cartoonish, Joe Dante-esque turn of the series (speaking of which, Dante should helm part IV). And it's not really too much worse than Spielberg's own sequel ("The Lost World"). Now Johnston gives us the latest "Avengers" franchise title, "Captain America: The First Avenger," and at many times it begs to be thought of as an entry in Spielberg's "Indiana Jones" series. Again, it's a cartoonish distortion of the original(s), but it's also not any worse than the last Spielberg-directed installment ("The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"). It's good enough and, yes, maybe the best superhero origin movie since "Iron Man," as well as a lot more entertaining than "Thor," but neither comparison is much to celebrate. We might as well just say it's better than the 1990 "Captain America" movie. Which it certainly is.
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More: Remakes, Sequels, Comic Book Movies

10 Screwed Up Movie Orphans

  • By Spout
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  • July 13, 2011 2:41 AM
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  • 1 Comment
This list was originally posted to SpoutBlog July 23, 2009.
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More: Sequels

Watch Every 2011 Action Movie at Once in This Awesome Mashup Montage

  • By Christopher Campbell
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  • June 30, 2011 5:25 AM
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  • 0 Comments
First off, congrats to "Another Earth" and "Bellflower" for making the cut as two of the more obscure films to be featured in this primarily Hollywood blockbuster-centric mashup. More kudos to the former, actually, for kicking it off. Foreign martial arts flicks are to be expected, even those not well known at the multiplex, in a montage of the year's action movies (set to "This is War" by 30 Seconds to Mars), but these Sundance favorites should feel they've made it now that they're being spliced up against stuff like "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "Fast Five." Of course, indie or studio, these films do pretty much come from similar influences. Don't be mislead negatively by their inclusion, though. While this montage pieces together a kind of generic blockbuster-friendly narrative from the parts of 45 similar-minded movies, reminding us how formulaic the genre currently is, neither "Another Earth" nor "Bellflower" is as familiar or predictable as the majority of these titles.
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More: Sequels

5 Reasons Tom Hanks Should Be in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Instead of "Larry Crowne"

  • By Christopher Campbell
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  • June 29, 2011 9:03 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Watching the trailer for "Larry Crowne," the new film directed by Tom Hanks and starring he and Julia Roberts, you get the idea that there's something we're not seeing. The marketing must simply be selling this thing to as broad an audience as possible and avoiding the substance, right? Well, the reviews are coming in (Dan will share some thoughts later in the week) and it's apparently actually as insignificant as it looks. What could have been Hanks' motivation other than owing a favor to co-screenwriter Nia Vardalos, who surely made him a ton of money with her surprise hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? Okay, that might be good enough reason, but both he and Roberts are just too big for a little movie like this if there's really nothing to it...
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More: Sequels

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Might Just Be the Greatest Political Allegory of Our Time

  • By Christopher Campbell
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  • June 29, 2011 1:04 AM
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  • 1 Comment
The following is a lengthy discussion of elements of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” which contains some minor spoilers.
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More: Sequels, Comic Book Movies

5 Ideas for a "Wet Hot American Summer" Sequel

  • By Christopher Campbell
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  • June 21, 2011 9:36 AM
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  • 0 Comments
Something appropriate for the first day of summer:
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More: Sequels

"X-Men: First Class" is a Fantastical Trip Through History and Interchangeable Subtexts

  • By Christopher Campbell
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  • June 3, 2011 11:20 AM
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  • 1 Comment
The following is a lengthy discussion of elements of "X-Men: First Class" which contains some minor spoilers.
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More: Sequels, Comic Book Movies

10 Mutants Who Need an X-Men Origins Movie

  • By Spout
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  • June 2, 2011 1:30 AM
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  • 15 Comments
By Christopher Campbell
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More: Sequels, Comic Book Movies

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