There was a lot of “good” films this year that somehow got mixed up by the general critic populous for being “great” films. This list describes some of those movies and what exactly makes them not as special as some think them to be. Read the rest of this entry »

2007 was a pretty good year for cinema. It was also a year full of complete and utter garbage. For every No Country for Old Men, there was a dozen Wild Hogs. Choosing only 10 of these bastards proved to be a difficult challenge, like when Frodo set out to deliver the ring to Mordor. After hours of discussions and going over various notes written throughout the year, the B5 jury was ready with their verdicts. Read the rest of this entry »

“Fuck you, you fucking fuckers.” - Mr. Smith

I can’t remember having a better time in the theater this year than the one I had watching writer/director Michael Davis’ action spectacular Shoot ‘Em Up. In fact, it was so entertaining, I ended up seeing it 3 times. This film doesn’t spend time on coherent plot details. It starts off with guns blazing and rarely pauses to reload. Shoot ‘Em Up is definitely the Crank of 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Director Peter Berg got his start in front of the camera, with rolls in films like Wes Craven’s schlocky Shocker (1989) and later Michael Mann’s fantastic Collateral (2004), before creeping behind the camera. His directorial beginnings were rather rugged however, with the straight-up bad Very Bad Things and the fun yet unsuccessful Rundown (2003). He had his first big success in 2004 with the Billy Bob Thornton lead football drama, Friday Night Lights, before returning to the action genre with this year’s The Kingdom. Read the rest of this entry »

There was a collective sigh of relief amongst the geek community when Fox made the announcement that director Paul W.S. Anderson (Soldier, Mortal Kombat) wasn’t returning to direct the sequel to his super-awful Alien Vs. Predator (2004). He wasn’t the only problem with the film though. Sure, it was his writing and directing that utterly killed the beast, but Fox wished it to be PG-13. Taking two of their better franchises, all of which were R-rated films, to put them together for family night at the cinema was a bad idea all around. Read the rest of this entry »

Tired of rich, annoying white superheroes? Steven Seagal has your cure - The Glimmer Man shoots first, whines later.

The American Pie series continues onward (and downward) without any of the original characters (except Eugene Levy who loves a good paycheck) or theatrical clout. Beta House furthers the adventures of Erik and Dwight Stifler, who have some relation to the original Stifler (played by Seann William Scott) in the original films. If you’ve seen the previous straight-to-DVD entry, The Naked Mile (2006), you’ve met these guys before. If you haven’t, don’t worry, it’s not like you’re missing a great deal of emotional depth or anything. Read the rest of this entry »

The last decade hasn’t been particularly kind to Tim Burton fans. Outside of Big Fish, his films always have these amazing visuals covering some of the most empty and unsatisfying attempts at storytelling. With that said, Sweeney Todd is exactly the musical Burton fans have wished him to make. It’s a bloody mess of vengeance and lost love, full of throat-slitting mayhem. Based on a fictional character, and adapted from the Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim, the film more or less succeeds as much as it fails. Read the rest of this entry »

Movie to game translations have always been strangely fascinating to me – starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark for the Atari. Yes, it’s awful, but who knew better at the time? I mean, holy crap, I was controlling Indiana Jones! I had a single pixel for a whip and I loved it because it was the closest I could get to recreating a movie I wanted so badly to live inside.

And that’s really what this list is about. Not so much adhering to the “best” games based on your favorite movies, but more the ones that opened up those worlds in new ways, and let you be a part of the stories and characters you loved. Some even surpassed the movies they were inspired by. Read the rest of this entry »

So the trailer for the new Batman film, entitled Dark Knight, has been up for a few days now (click here). Everyone is e-mailing me or IM’ing me about how pumped up they are. Now, I wasn’t entirely impressed with the last Batman outing (Batman Begins), as they raped the best villain in Batman history (Scarecrow), but I had a feeling the sequel would improve on all its failures. Read the rest of this entry »

The holiday season is upon and what better time is there to sit around a magical film, full of family warmth, annoying kids, Joe Pesci, and Micro-Machines. If Weird Science was the herpes of John Hughes career, Home Alone was the HIV that finally killed it off. Best of all, if you listen close enough, you can win yourself a copy of this DVD! Read the rest of this entry »

 

 B5 Commentary: Home Alone [102:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3735)

The Coen Bros. have always had this amazing gift for subtle humor in their more serious fare (Fargo, The Man Who Wasn’t There). No matter how grim the subject matter was they always gave you something to laugh at, no matter how small or insignificant it was. Such is not the case with their newest film. In fact, this is probably their most humorless effort. It makes Miller’s Crossing feel like The Big Lebowski. No Country for Old Men is the most brutal cinematic experience of the year, as well as one the best. It’s nothing shy of an unforgettable masterpiece. Read the rest of this entry »

Director Sidney Lumet never ceases to amaze. Now in his early 80s, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead proves he can still direct a film better than most filmmakers half his age. It’s powerfully crafted, intensely paced and brilliantly acted from all involved players, and a film that’s easily his best since Network (1976). Read the rest of this entry »

See this super sweet B5 shirt? See this crappy awesome Hairspray 2-disc DVD? Well, some lucky Bronsonfive podcast listener(s) can get their hands these fine products if they listen closely.

“But wait, how do I get that shirt? I love it!”

Simple fine reader… just check out the Out for Justice commentary to find out how.

“But what about that shitty awesome Hairspray DVD?”

The B5 commentary for Live Free of Die Hard has the details on winning this brand new copy of this musical classic. And we are going to keep giving stuff away too, just to thank you for listening. So… thanks for listening! And to our winners, enjoy the clothing and viewing material.

The people over at Twitch posted this super awesome trailer for The Machine Girl a few days ago and, well, what kind of people would we be if we didn’t comment on it? The plot involves a high school girl who takes some bloody revenge on the Yakuza. And by “bloody” we mean, well, just watch this amazing trailer to find out.

Prepare yourself for the longest Bronsonfive commentary ever… over 2 hours of B5 goodness! And since this episode is the longest episode ever, we decided to reward one lucky listener. Listen closely for a chance to win a super-sweet prize! Read the rest of this entry »

 

 B5 Live Free or Die Hard Commentary [2:06:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4102)