Category Archives: Franchise

Stalking the Wild Hobbit

Posted on December 4, 2012 by
Martin Freeman and Me

I have seen “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and at the risk of bringing down the wrath of dwarves, elves, orcs and even Gandalf, I have to say that I prefer our own Robert Anglim’s Smashup version, “Wild Hobbits” (below).

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is a brilliantly mounted film that from a production standpoint must have been a terribly complicated thing to accomplish. But it seems to be too much — too many stunts, too much wall-to-wall swelling music, too many hangs from the cliffs, etc. I agree with the Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy who called the film “a bit of a slog.” Continue reading →

Posted in Blockbuster, Bryce Zabel, Fantasy, Franchise | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POTC: On Stranger Tides (2011) -vs- POTC: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Posted on May 22, 2011 by
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides -vs- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

The idea seemed outrageous. Around the turn of the century, Disney & Co. decided to translate one of its most iconic theme park rides into a film. About pirates. Seriously.

It’s not like pirates were all the rage at the time. A good pirate movie hadn’t been made since, well… Ever? Look, I never was one to get lost in the swashbuckling days of yesteryear with Errol Flynn. In my lifetime, I couldn’t remember a single good pirate movie.

Sure, pirates popped up in other films (The Princess Bride, Hook, etc.) but pirate movies weren’t popular. Think of the awful The Pirate Movie (1982), loosely based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. Or how about the horrible Geena Davis vehicle Cutthroat Island (1995) that bankrupted Carolco Pictures?

The point I’m making here is that Disney’s decision to create a movie based on its Pirates of the Caribbean ride was one of those decisions that could either be called mad genius or visionary. When Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl debuted in 2003, no one expected it would launch a box office powerhouse and a franchise that would be pumping out sequels for the next decade. Continue reading →

Posted in Action, Fantasy, Franchise | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Lost (2010) -vs- Lost (2004-2010)

Posted on May 24, 2010 by
lost-wallpaper-1600x900

So, “Lost” has ended.  It’s over. After six years, viewers got their closure with “Lost”, a television series that became a pop culture phenomenon like no other and shook the foundations of how TV is done — and will most … Continue reading →

Posted in Beau DeMayo, Disaster, Fantasy, Franchise, Sci-Fi, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Young Victoria (2009) -vs- Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Posted on December 27, 2009 by
Young Victoria -vs- Sherlock Holmes

Calling all Anglophiles! England’s longest reigning monarch takes on the cleverest subject of her (fictional) realm in this All-Union-Jack Smackdown. Both repackaged and reimagined for the new millennium’s theatergoing audience — the usually buttoned-up Victoria gets unstuffed and sexed up in a lush period romance/political drama, and Sherlock gets the no-holds-barred no-punches-pulled Guy Ritchie/Joel Silver treatment. Both title characters make formidable contenders for the Smackdown crown; there’s nothing I appreciate more than a really good makeover.
Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Book Adaptation, Drama, Franchise, Major Star Vehicle, Oscar, Period, Sherry Coben | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bryce’s Ten Best Films of the Past Ten Years

Posted on December 15, 2009 by

Everybody seems to be out with their Top Ten. This year it’s a two-fer. You can go with “Top Ten of 2009″ or “Top Ten of the Decade.” I say go for the Top Ten of the Last Ten. Now, … Continue reading →

Posted in Action, Animated, Awards, Blockbuster, Book Adaptation, Bryce Zabel, ChickFlick, Classic Smack, Comedy, Comic Book, Coming of Age, Comix, Disaster, Drama, DVD Release, Fantasy, Foreign, Franchise, Holiday, Indie, Journalism, Kids, Major Star Vehicle, Music, Musical, Oscar, Period, Politics, Polls, Race, Religion, Romance, Sci-Fi, Smackdown News, Thriller, Travel, Urban, War, Weblogs, Western | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) -vs- Twilight (2008)

Posted on November 25, 2009 by

In the battle of the varied mythological creations, Vampires have for centuries captured the imagination of people around the world. Novels, films, theatrical productions and poorly-decorated costume shops have enjoyed success based upon their existence, proven or not. Likewise the Werewolf, natural enemy of the Vampire, whose moonlit howl still sends a tremor down the back of even the most hardened myth-lover. Bringing these two epic creatures together in one film franchise has most of the female population of our planet all in a tizz. Why? Are the men they encounter in the real world really that bad?
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Posted in Blockbuster, Book Adaptation, ChickFlick, Coming of Age, Drama, Fantasy, Franchise, Rodney Twelftree, Sequel, Teens | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Jay Leno Show -vs- The Adventures of Jay Clone

Posted on September 14, 2009 by

We interrupt our usual format today to bring you this special message…  As most people on the planet (at least in the United States) now know, tonight (September 14) is the debut of "The Jay Leno Show" in primetime.  You … Continue reading →

Posted in Blockbuster, Bryce Zabel, Comedy, Coming of Age, Family, Fantasy, Franchise, Jackie Zabel, Kids, Sci-Fi, Smackdown News, Television, TV Show Adaptation, Web/Tech, Weblogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Deja Vu (2006) -vs- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Posted on June 18, 2009 by

If people from the future could travel back to the past, wouldn’t they have already done it? Would it be better to see into the past or into the future? Do they both exist simultaneously, along with the present, because time is relative to where you are? If you like these kinds of questions, we have a couple of films to really put your through Olympic-sized paces in the Suspension of Disbelief event. We’ve put a couple of major star vechicles in the in our time travel machine, both of them about scooting back through the years in order to change the future, both directed by major directors with reputations for getting the action up there on the screen. “Deja Vu” is the more cerebral — “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” is the more literal — but both of them cause your brain to short-circuit if you think too much about twists-and-turns of time travel as they would have you believe it works. But this is an entertainment site, not a physics lecture, so let’s get to it.
Continue reading →

Posted in Action, Blockbuster, Bryce Zabel, Franchise, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

THE BOURNE TRILOGY: The Bourne Identity (2002) -vs- The Bourne Supremacy (2004) -vs- The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Posted on January 26, 2009 by

The Smackdown This Tuesday, The Bourne Trilogy hits Blu-Ray, taking America’s favorite amnesiac spy to the lovely world of over-sized pores and saturated colors.  Now, we’ve seen how easily Jason Bourne dispatches assassins, but what happens when Bourne fights Bourne?  Which entry … Continue reading →

Posted in Beau DeMayo, Blockbuster, DVD Release, Franchise, Polls, Thriller | 4 Comments

Quantum of Solace (2008) -vs- Casino Royale (2006)

Posted on November 23, 2008 by

The Smackdown It’s the longest running movie franchise in the history of the world.  In total, it has grossed billions worldwide, surpassing perhaps the gross domestic product of many small nations.  In 1964, James Bond skulked from the hard-boiled cynicism … Continue reading →

Posted in Action, Beau DeMayo, Franchise, Polls, Sequel, Thriller | 4 Comments