THE INCREDIBLE HULK (Released To Theaters USA 2008)

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.8|5.0 Starsììì 

The Incredible Hulk—a suitable to okay remake—has better storyline than the last film but do not expect much improvement anywhere else in the movie. Edward Norton, in looks, seems a better choice than Eric Bana and overall, gives a better interpretation of the Hulk's character. But neither Norton or Bana are as good as Mark Ruffalo who took the Hulk personality to a whole different level.  William Hurt replaces Sam Elliot. Tim Roth cannot seem to get enough evil out for his final fight with the Norton Hulk. Watch for Tim Blake Nelson as the intellectual.

 Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline 

 Bruce Banner is injected with an experimental chemical that can turn him into the Hulk.  

Additional Thanks

 Thank you to Director Louis Leterrier for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producer Stan Lee, David Maisel, and Jim Van Wyck, for making the film possible. Cast includes: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, Christina Cabot, Peter Mensah, Lou Ferrigno, and Paul Soles. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Maybe. It is an okay to suitable watch and tells a better story than the Eric Bana version. But Mark Ruffalo retains the Gold Standard in the interpretation and overall believability of the Hulk's personality.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers 

CLASH OF THE TITANS (Theatrical Release USA 2010)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.5|5.0 Starsììì

Clash of the Titans starts with a female voice narrating the history of the gods. Then, the story focuses on a fishing boat out to sea. The fisherman finds a casket floating close by his fishing boat and opens it to find a living baby boy lying on its dead mother’s chest. The fisherman raises the baby as his own son. At this point, the audience is engaged and interested. Clash of the Titans graphics are great; the story is great—a classic storyline with an overall great concept. However, the movie was not able to pull the greatness of the story onto the screen. When leaving the theater, one of my colleagues said, “Not many people can take such a large scale concept and successfully cram it into an hour and forty-six minutes.” This is a case where more playing time is needed to elevate a terrific story to the maximum. The movie rates as 3.5 stars only because of the large scale graphics and the intriguing monster fights. The presentation is okay. The movie is somewhat watchable but not a movie worth watching again.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

The fisherman, Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite), finds an infant who grows up to become the demigod, Perseus (Sam Worthington).

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Louis Leterrier for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Brenda Berrisford, William Fay, Jon Jashni, Thomas Tull, and Richard D. Zanuck for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Zeus (Liam Neeson), Hades (Ralph Fiennes), Calibos/Acrisius (Jason Flemyng), Io (Gemma Arterton), Andromeda (Alexa Davalos), Danae (Tine Stapelfeldt), and Draco (Mads Mikkelsen).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. It has a ways to go to work at the higher level but this movie has its own interest level and serves as a light afternoon watch that does not require a huge energy expenditure to follow.

Video Critique available at:

Ben Meyers