Friday, November 28, 2014

Star Wars Teaser Trailer Reaction

Most of you have probably already have scene the Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser, if not check it out here before reading on. My first reaction was utter amazement mixed with excitement. I very much like the fact that the tone of the film has an original Star Wars feel. Seeing the fleet of X-wings zip past above the water, brought out my inner child wonder and amazement. From an art direction stand point the world looks lived in and broken down, which for me is another positive quality. There was one thing after another that just make me want to see this film right now. Then the internet blew up.  

After see the internet blow up, I decided to give my two cents on the one major complaint of the teaser. Near the middle of the teaser, we see a guy walking in the wood dressed in black, activate a lightsaber. This lightsaber isn't normal, it is a crossguard lightsaber.  For those of you who don't know what that is; a crossguard lightsaber is a light saber with two secondarily blades protruding out of the sides of the handle, making the lightsaber look like a longsword with a pommel. Apparently this type of lightsaber is too exotic, and has ruined Star Wars. I personally can't believe a different design in a lightsaber blade would poke the uber Star Wars nerds. Don't get me wrong at first it throw me off, but then I thought it was kind of bad ass looking. Aesthetically speaking the Sith usually have more exotic looking lightsabers anyways. Darth Maul has his double bladed lightsaber. Count Dooku has a curved hilt lightsaber. If you included the Clone Wars cartoons as cannon, then Asajj Ventress has two curved hilt lightsabers that can be attached to one another to from a double blade lightsaber. On the flip side Jedi's tend to have straight forward lightsaber. I personally think that a simple sword represents humility, a trait the Jedi strive towards. As you can tell I ambivalent about the new lightsaber design.   

All in all I think it was a good teaser. For those of you who wanted more, be patient. This film isn't due out until December 2015, about an year from now. I assume that they will release a full length trailer this coming summer, that will reveal a synopsis of plot and give context to this teaser. Until then enjoy what you have.     

Saturday, November 22, 2014

A Series of Genres: Crime

This post is going up later than normal, hopefully I’m not committing any crimes

This week we are going to look at both sides of the “crime genre” coin. On one side the Crime and Gangster genre appears and on the other the Detective and Mystery genre. Hopefully, we will learn about how intertwined these two genres are by a simple comparing and contrasting of the two.

The Crime and Gangster genre gives us a variety of sub-genres, including, Serial Killer, Heist, Organized Crime, and Gangster. Each of these sub-genre gives the audience an inside look at the psychology of a criminal or group of criminals. I believe a good Serial Killer movie achieves this the best, because filmmakers tend to focus on the “why” question. While the other sub-genres do a good job of showcasing the plotting of the crime. Most Heist films have a simple formula that exemplifies the plotting attributes I mention earlier. The formula is planning the heist followed by the execution of the plan. Heist films are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to organized crime. Now, real organized crime comes in the form of the Mafia; a group of individuals who controls the inner workings of all the crime in a large metropolitan area like Chicago. A lot of the 1940’s and 50’s films focused on the drama in the organized crime scene, labeling them as Film Noir.

On the flip side, the Detective and Mystery genre has a few sub-genres of its own. Law and Order start on the streets with the fine police work from a good Buddy Cop movie. Movies such as Lethal Weapon 2 and Hot Fuzz. Sometimes the job takes a turn for the serous creating thrilling moments. Some films have captured these moments given us a nice insight on the day-and-life of a police officer; films such as Training Day and End of Watch. Other sub-genre include Film Noir, Courtroom Drama and Mystery. Film Noir is basically an old crime drama made between the 1940’s and the 1950’s known for its low-key black-and-white style. As film has evolved over the years, the Noir genre has as well. One of the modern terms for a newer Noir style film is Neo-Noir. Some of the most successful directors in the Neo-Noir genre include, Martin Scorsese, Joel and Ethan Coen, David Fincher, and Quentin Tarantino.

Justice comes in many forms, sometimes it fought over in the court of law. Courtroom Drama’s showcase various court cases ranging from murder to civil liberties, both scenarios have a lot tension that makes for good drama. Some of the most renowned Courtroom Drama films include, Kramer vs Kramer, A Few Good Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird

As you can see there are many ways to view the Crime genre. I want to take a little bit of time and point out a few stand-alone films in the Crime genre. As I explore these films in the crime genre, I would like to name drop a few filmmaker, which I mentioned above, who have made a career out making good crime films.

Let’s start with Martin Scorsese. I would say he’s the king of Crime and Gangster movies. I personally like the Gangs of New York, a film about two gangs and their feud that lead to a blood bath hand-to-hand combat. The two opposing sides consist of the U.S born nativist gang lead by Bill "the Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) and The Dead Rabbits, an Irish Catholic immigrant gang lead by Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio). Gangs of New York maybe one of my favorites, but Martin Scorsese has many films that are better and revered as great crime films. Films such as, Goodfellas, Casino and, The Departed.

Joel and Ethan Coen are brother filmmakers who I would call pioneers in the Crime genre. One of my favorite films from them is Fargo. Fargo is both a great dark comedy and crime film. The film takes place in the great white northern states of Minnesota and North Dakota. The film is told from two perspectives; from the detective side, Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) has to investigate the homicides. From the criminal side, Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) hires two guys to kidnap his wife in an attempt to con is boss out of money.

David Fincher is one of my favorite directors in general, but he has displayed some good crime films. The cult classic that everyone praises is Fight Club. This film is more of a dark comedy with crime elements. The story becomes more of an activist type of film, where the activism turns into vandalism. Some of David Fincher’s other works have been labeled as mystery thrillers, and for good reason. The Game, Zodiac, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl all revolve around the protagonist working on solving a mystery. David Fincher even has a film that incorporates Courtroom Drama elements, this film is The Social Network. The film may be known as the Facebook film, but the various legal battles Mark Zuckerberg faced is what makes the film dramatic. The only David Fincher film I haven’t mentioned, that fits the theme, is Se7en. Se7en is one of my favorites of his. I think the film dose a good job of relaying the duality of the crime genre. The film follows two detectives, David Mills (Brad Pitt) and William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), as they unravel the clues in a serial killer case with a killing pattern corresponding to the seven deadly sins.

Briefly, I want to touch on Quentin Tarantino and his crime themed film. There are two that come to mind, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Both have renowned status as cult classics. Out of the two, I think I prefer Reservoir Dogs. I like that the film is a heist movie, which focus more on the before-and-after than the heist itself.

There are a lot of good stand-alone crime films, so much so, I could talk about for days. We both know what you came here for, to see my top five franchises in the crime genre. So with nothing further to do here is my top five list:
  1. The Godfather Trilogy
  2. Hannibal Series
  3. The Dark Knight Trilogy
  4. Sherlock Holmes Series
  5. The Boondock Saints
  • Not including The Godfather films on my list would be sacrilege, even more so if I didn't place them at number one. The Godfather is the epitome of a Gangster movie. The film explores the inner workings of the Corleone crime family. The film was well received by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Godfather Part I won Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Marlon Brando performance, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Parts II and III rack up its fair share of nominations and wins, including another Best Picture win from The Godfather Part II.
  • The Hannibal Series features the fictional serial killer, Hannibal Lecter. The films were inspired from a series of books with the same titles. The first film in the series was Manhunter, a film adapted from the book Red Dragon. Will Graham ( William Peterson) is a FBI detective brought in on a case to track down a killer known as “The Tooth Fairy” To do so Graham has to interview a imprisoned, Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox), who almost killed Graham before becoming imprisoned. The next film in the series is most known and revered. The Silence of the Lambs has a very similar plot as Manhunter, but the detective in this film is Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) and Hannibal Lecter is portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. Just like in Manhunter the deceive has to interview Hannibal Lecter in hopes to catch a killer, in this film they are searching for Buffalo Bill, a serial killer known for skinning young females. Hannibal is a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, which takes place ten years later. Red Dragon is the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs that was basically a remake of Manhunter. The last film in the series is Hannibal Rising. This film tells the story of Hannibal Lecter as a younger man.
  • The Dark Knight trilogy is Christopher Nolan’s version of Batman. Batman as a character is supposed to be on par with Sherlock Holmes when it comes to the uncanny ability to do detective work. The Dark Knight Trilogy maybe one of the greatest set of comic book movies, but it is also a soiled crime film. The themes in The Dark Knight alone give this trilogy enough clout as a crime film. Heck the opening scene start off with a heist. For the rest of the film the Joker causes chaos while Batman tries to stop him. What’s inserting is Christopher Nolan isn't new to these themes. In his three previous films (Following, Memento, and Insomnia) he explores similar themes. To be frank, Christopher Nolan is another filmmaker that I would consider as someone who has made a career out of crime films.
  • Sherlock Holmes is a modern telling of the character Sherlock Holmes. The film stars Robert Downey Jr as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. Even with Sherlock Holmes being the greatest detective, that’s not the main reason I included films about him on my list. I want to praise Guy Ritchie, the director of the Sherlock Films. If Guy Ritchie hadn't directed these films, I would have talked about him in the stand-alone section because he has directed some great crime film. If you liked the Sherlock Films I recommend checking out Guy Ritchie’s other works: Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and RocknRolla.
  • The Boondock Saints directed by Troy Duffy, tells a story about two Irish Catholic brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) who get a vision from God to clean up Boston. There righteous justice comes in the form of killing evil men. The saint’s killing spree grabs the attention of an FBI agent played by Willem Dafoe. The movie becomes an elaborate game of cat and mouse. In the second movie the brothers come out of hiding and travel from Ireland to Boston to avenge the death of their beloved priest. From my understanding Troy Duffy is working on the third one currently.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

A Series of Genres: Comedy Part Three

Before I move onto the Crime and Gangster / Detective and Mystery genre study; I want to reveal my top five list you all have been waiting for. So here you go:
  1. Wayne’s World
  2. American Pie
  3. National Lampoon’s Vacation
  4. Home Alone
  5. The Hangover
  • Wayne’s World spawns from a sketch comedy show that airs on Saturday called Saturday Night Live (SNL). The skit focus on two rock music fanboys named Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) who happen to run their own television show names Wayne’s World. I typically don’t like adapted sketch comedy skit as feature length films, but these two films make me want to party on for some reason.
  • American Pie captured the fantasy of high school life in the late 90’s. A story about four guys who make a pact to score by senior prom. The preceding films follow those four guys through college and even marriage. The films give a nice outlook on the folly of pretty much every young adult’s exploration of their sexual maturity. I remember when the first American Pie film came out. I was in Junior High School and all my classmates were quoting the film left and right, but I hadn't seen the film yet. Let’s just say rated R films were more or less forbidden when I was growing up. When I finally did watch the film, years later, I thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately there were four or five spin-off films that dawn the American Pie brad, but not the quality.
  • National Lampoon’s Vacation movies follow the Griswold family and their various family vacations, which usually have many mishaps. Their first vacation destination is a Disney-esk theme park named Walley World. The family has travelled to Europe and Vegas, but my favorite vacation of theirs is Christmas Vacation. It’s a good film to dust off and watch during the holidays. The film is a good reminder that, family may be dysfunctional, but you got to love them.
  • Home Alone is another great holiday treat. Another film with a dysfunctional family, so much so, they leave their youngest home alone. While home alone the protagonist Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) has to defend his house from the “Wet Bandits” played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. He does so by placing various Rube Goldberg style booby traps throughout the house. Home Alone 2 plays out a similar scenario, but in a Ney York City hotel. While the third film is basically Home Alone one, but with a new protagonist Alex Pruitt (Alex D. Linz). I personally didn’t like the third film.
  • The Hangover is a film about three guys trying to find their friend after a long night of partying in Vegas. When this film came out, it was one of the first films to keep me laughing from start to finish, in a long time. Then the sequel came out and it was just the Hangover but in Bangkok. I didn’t even see the third film because part two wasn’t that great. This film series proves that comedy struggle with making good sequel. There maybe more story to tell or even new adventures to go on with the characters but there is no new jokes. Even with bad reception of two and three, The Hangover is a solid comedy to cover the butts of Part One and Two.
There you have it, my top five franchises in the comedy genre. Let me know you’re thought in the comments.

Friday, November 14, 2014

A Series of Genres: Comedy Part Two

For me, some of the best comedies are films with a group of witty people that can rift off each other. I believe that to be true for filmmaking in general. Time and time again, I see films made by a group of close knit friends do better than films made by professional strangers. Genuine chemistry between actors come from good friendships off screen. In this next part of the exploration of the comedy genre, I want to look at the different ensemble of cast members that have created great comedies.
  • Monty Python: Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) started out as a British television sketch comedy act in the late 60’s, known as Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Their film debut was in 1971 with the film And Now for Something Completely Different. Four years later they produced one of my all-time favorite comedies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This film is a parody of the Arthurian Legends that turn the story of an epic into a farce. See the silliness in the trailer here. There follow up film was Monty Python's Life of Brian, a film that was a mockery of the times surrounding Jesus’s life. A funny parody that taught us to “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”
  • Marx Brothers: These five brothers (Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo) had a knack for entertaining people. The family started off with vaudeville acts on Broadway, then they graduated to film in the 1920’s. The three eldest brothers Chico, Harpo and Groucho became the stars of their act in the mid 1930’s when Gummo and Zeppo decided to pursue other careers. I personally have only watched one of their films, Duck Soup. Duck Soup is known for popularizing the famous mirror gag or mirror scene. A scene that has been copied many times even by Bugs Bunny.
  • The Brat Pack: Named after the Rat Pack, this cast of “teenagers” (Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy) frequently appeared in John Hughes’s coming-of-age films. The Brat Pack film that sticks with me the most is The Breakfast Club; a story of five teens and their Saturday morning detention. What I like about The Breakfast Club is that the film gives an opportunity to connect with every teenage. Each student in the film represents one of the main clique in high school. Also the film has one of the best endings. Other Brat Pack films include Sixteen Candles, St. Elmo’s Fire, and Pretty in Pink.
  • The Frat Pack: A group of comedic actors who either act like frat boys or portray frat boys in the movies. (Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell) This group of guys is led primarily by Ben Stiller, and his films. There are a couple of filmmaker I mention in part one that have worked with many of the actors in this group. The Farrelly Brothers have worked with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson in films such as There's Something About Mary, Shallow Hal, and Hall Pass. The other is Judd Apatow, who has produced many of the films starring the Frat Pack. Judd Apatow is actually the connecting person between this group and the next on my list, via his film The 40-Year-Old Virgin starring Steve Carell.
  • Team Apatow: A group named, well, after Judd Apatow, a producer known for making stoner comedies, as you may recall from part one. The actors that belong to this group have had many roles in Judd Apatow’s films. Actors such as, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill, James Franco, and Craig Robinson. Most of these actors have become close friends with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and have made many films together.
Hopefully, this will tide you all over until I reveal my top five in part three.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

A Series of Genres: Comedy Part One

Comedy may very well be the oldest genre, dating back to Ancient Greece. The Greeks called any theatrical performance that ended in a happy ending a “comedy,” but comedy isn’t that simple. Defining the comedy genre is actually fairly difficult, even the Greeks had many iterations of the concept of comedy. Aristophanes, one of the first comic playwrights, typically wrote political satires caulk full of poop jokes and sexual innuendos. The philosopher Aristotle also gave his thoughts on comedy in his work Poetics. Aristotle defined comedy as “a story of the rise in fortune of a sympathetic central character” but he also agreed that the basic requirement of a comedy is a happy ending. Aristotle also purposed that comedy could be divided into three sub-genres: farce, romantic comedy and satire. The Greek’s had a different idea of comedy than what we do today. 

Today comedy is more or less defined as something amusing with the attentions of laughter. The modern definition may have changed the tone of comedy, but the themes are relatively the same. Modern comedies still have their fair share of poop jokes and sexual innuendos. Modern comedies also layer in other types of humor, including racial humor and schadenfreude (pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune) in the form of slapstick. Even Aristotle’s three sub-genres (farce, romantic comedy and satire) have been expanded upon in the modern age. Some of these “new” sub-genres are: black comedy (dark comedy), parody, screwball, and stoner comedy. Black comedies presents the serious subject matter, like death, in a humorous way. Parodies are satirical imitation of other people’s work. Screwball comedies are romantic comedies with more slapstick that features a “battle of the sexes” theme. Lastly, Stoner comedies tend to have plots involving cannabis and its sub-culture, these types of film have been relabeled in the common jargon as, “Bromance” films. 

Now that we have explored comedy history, let’s press forward and explore comedy films. This week I’m going to mix it up and compile multiple top five lists. I will deliver my normal top five comedy film franchises. I also want to share my favorite comedy directors and comedy groups in film. Let us start with the men who have written and directed our favorite comedy films.
  • Kevin Smith and his View Askewniverse: Kevin Smith is a normal Jersey nerd / geek guy who happens to make films and write comic books. Kevin Smith attributes the film, Slacker as his inspiration to take up filmmaking. He took that motivation and created his first film, Clerks, which will later become the first film in the View Askewniverse. View Askewniverse was named after Kevin Smith’s production company View Askew Productions. The films in this universe focus primarily on two character’s Jay and Silent Bob roles performed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith. The films feature recurring characters, themes, motifs, and location. The films in the View Askewniverse are: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II.
  • Edgar Wright and his Cornetto Trilogy: A series of three comedic genre films starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Each film in the series is a parody of a genre film. The first film is a parody of a zombie film title, Shaun of the Dead. The second is a parody of a buddy cop film titled, Hot Fuzz. The third is a parody of a Sci-Fi Apocalypse film titled, The World’s End. Edgar Wright does a great job at making a good comic version of those various film genre. I also like another film of his not in the “trilogy” that is worth a mention and that is, Scott Pilgrim vs the World.
  • Mel Brooks: Is what I call the “King of Parody.” Mel Brooks’s whole film career center on making fun of classic genre films. Some of his most popular films include: Blazing Saddles (A western parody), Spaceballs (A Star Wars parody), and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. (A Robin Hood parody). Most of his films spawn quotable lines that are still funny today.
  • Judd Apatow: Judd Apatow is known for producing a good number of stoner comedies staring primarily Seth Rogen and Friends (Jay Baruchel, James Franco, and Jonah Hill ect.) Some of his most notable films include: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Step Brothers, and Pineapple Express. Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are two actors who make frequent appearance in Judd Apatow’s film. These two star in a John Hamburg film titled I Love You, Man. In the film the two are good friends that end up in a “Bromance” a term coined by them. The Internet adopted the term to basically describe a “date” you would have with your “bro.” I would say most of Judd Apatow’s films would be the type of movies a “Bromance” would occur.
  • The Farrelly Brother Farce: Peter and Bobby Farrelly are known for their farces. Some of their films include: Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary, Me, Myself & Irene, and Shallow Hal. These two have brought some pretty funny film to the big screen. Most of their material is over-the top and a bit silly but that’s what I like about their films.
I don’t want my audience to fall victim of me talking their ears off all in one post. I have decided to extend this conversation over the next couple posts. In part two I will discuss my favorite comedy groups. In part three I will reveal my top five comedy franchise. You should see these post roll out in the next couple days, but in the meantime, tell me about your favorite comedies in the comment section.

Friday, November 7, 2014

A Series of Genres: Adventure

“Adventure Time, c'mon grab your friends, we’ll go to very distant lands. With Jake the Dog and Finn the Human, The fun will never end, it's Adventure Time!” That’s right, I just quoted the opening theme song for a very popular cartoon on the Cartoon Network. Why? Well, because the television show is about a boy and his best friend, who happens to be a dog that can stretch, going on adventures. Many of the show’s tropes are inspired from fantasy role-playing games (RPG) like Dungeon & Dragons (D&D). 

In Dungeons & Dragons, the players assume the various roles in a “party” of adventures. Through game play, the players will make decisions as their characters, reacting to the various challenges set forth by the Dungeon Master (DM). The DM is the person who is the most familiar with the game rules; that directs the story and controls the various aspects of the fictional world, like the non-player characters (NPCs) and monsters. Each character is assigned numerical representations of their strength, dexterity, constitution, wisdom, intelligence, and charisma, called ability scores. These values will determine how well as character can achieve skills ranging from climbing a wall to deceiving an enemy. The players will determine the rate of failure and success of each challenge by rolling polyhedral dice. After completing an adventure or campaign the DM will award the characters with experience and sometimes treasure, both of which, will help the character achieve success in a future adventures. 

Any good adventure movie should emulate the themes and motifs that are brought out in a game of Dungeons & Dragons, or even in an episode of Adventure Time. One of the main themes in Dungeons & Dragons is a group of misfits coming together to overcome a great adversary, but at the price of many trials and tribulations. Seeing that theme portrayed on the big screen is exciting. Like the old saying goes, “It’s not the destination but the journey that counts.” That’s the attitude I want to see in an adventure film. There are many films that showcase this attitude, but I want to narrow it down to a top five list. That narrowing process was quite difficult because adventure is usually paired with other genres. Personally, I think adventure pairs nicely with fantasy and sci-fi films. Some of the film franchises on this list may appear later on another list. 

Before I reveal my top five list, I want to explore a few stand-alone adventure films. The first is The Goonies, directed by Richard Donner. This film follows a group of youngster who stumble upon a treasure map, that happens to be real. I like that this film has an eclectic group that can draw from each other’s strengths and weakness. The next film is a farce on the classic Arthurian Legends. Monty Python and the Holy Grail brings out the sense of adventure, but with a comedic spin. I like that the film basically turns the King Arthur story into a silly adventure. Another film that fills the comedic adventure role that I like is, The Princess Bride. The last film I want to share with you is a film that hits many emotional notes, that film is Up. Up is a Pixar film that follows the life of Carl and his sense of adventure. This film is one of my favorite Pixar films. After exploring some of my favorite stand-alone adventure films, I can finally reveal the list you all have been waiting for.  

My Top Five: 
  1. Tolkien's Middle Earth (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit Films) 
  2. Indiana Jones 
  3. The Pirates of the Caribbean
  4. The Chronicle of Narnia
  5. The Mummy Trilogy
  • The Lord of the Rings is a story of a Hobbit name Frodo Baggins, who is tasked with destroying a magical ring of great power. Along the way he is allied with eight companions who help him along his journey. This journey tests each and every one of the members of the fellowship, that's one of the main reasons why I like it so much. The Hobbit on the other hand is supposed to be more light hearted following a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and a company of thirteen dwarves. Their story per-dates The Lord of the Rings by roughly 60 years, but the journey is just as epic. As a film franchise it has done very well for itself. It has made roughly 5 billion dollar worldwide and that's not including the last Hobbit film which comes out this December. The films have taken home numerous Academy Awards. I can conclude that this film series is overall a great franchise
  • Indiana Jones made archaeology cool way before Lara Croft. Indiana Jones is a professor of archaeology who travels the world in search for ancient artifacts, which have included the Ark of the Covenant, and the Holy Grail. Indy mission in these films is to keep the artifacts out of the wrong hands, usually the Nazi's. It is interesting to see Indiana Jones come full circle. The character of Indiana Jones was inspired from old 1930's adventure serials, while characters like Lora Croft were inspired from Indy.
  • The Pirates of the Caribbean is a film inspired from a ride at Disneyland. The main protagonist is Captain Jack Sparrow who seems to perpetually get himself into trouble, but with a little luck and some skill he weasels his way out. The Pirates of the Caribbean is a modern swashbuckling film that is fairly enjoyable. The film franchise started off very solid, but dwindled over the years, well critically anyways. Financially The Pirates of the Caribbean film do pretty decently so much so the studios are willing to make more. There is another film schedule to come out in 2017.
  • The Chronicle of Narnia is one of those film series that I will praise in my fantasy list, in the weeks to come, but for now I want to talk about it as an adventure film. The story starts with four children playing hide-and-go-seek in an old house. One of the children hides in a wardrobe, which happens to be a gateway to the land of Narnia. Her curiosity leads her deeper into this mysterious land. After meeting with a faun she returns home and shares her adventure with her siblings. The siblings don't believe her at first, but they entertain her imagination and discover Narnia themselves. Its that childish curiosity that makes The Chronicle of Narnia film good adventures.
  • The Mummy Trilogy has a slight Indiana Jones feel, especially since the main cast are treasure hunters and adventures. The film also modernizes the classic mummy horror flick. I think the The Mummy Trilogy is fun an adventure. The spin-off film The Scorpion King was bad, I DO NOT recommend the film.