Are “prequels” any better than “sequels” or “re-boots”? In the right hands, they can be very entertaining, providing compelling back stories for characters we thought we knew well. It can be said that some of the more compelling aspects of the first Godfather film were those scenes with Robert DeNiro playing a younger Vito Corleone. [...]

Here is the most recent Iron Man 2 trailer. It’s promoting a blockbuster scheduled for an early May release, but it shows way too much.  Consider this a disclaimer, for as much as everyone likes to see whatever is available, trailers such as these tend to take the bloom off the rose. It feels almost [...]

Though there won’t be sign of the movie until the Spring of 2010, the hype machine has begun to let us know that Robert Downey Jr. is coming back as Iron Man and this is going to be one of those few sequels that surpasses the quality of the first film. Click on the picture [...]

Quentin Tarantino has written and directed the kind of World War II movie that he always wanted to see.  Heavy on violence and irony, Inglourious Basterds, is a widely anticipated late summer film.  This is less “Saving Private Ryan” and more like, “Munich“.  A select team of Jewish American soldiers are discreetly dispatched to exact [...]

Like most everyone else, The Daily Helping loves Samuel L Jackson. He’s like Michael Cain in that he’ll sign on to do any movie that won’t conflict with the shooting schedule of another. Sometimes his roles are fantastic (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Unbreakable) and sometimes they’re downright laughable, (xXx, Snakes on the Plane, Black Snake [...]