FEATURE FIEND: FEATURE ROUND-UP

I've only seen a handful of movies in a theatre this year, but unfortunately I haven't got around to reviewing them all. Instead, here now's a round-up of those movies I did see, but didn't have a chance to review. I think I may have another DVD Round-Up posted soon, too.

Alice In Wonderland: I'm mostly cold on Tim Burton. Sure, he's wildly creative, but his aesthetic has long since bored me. With AiW, Burton certainly doesn't stray from formula with lackluster results. While visually stunning, the dark gothicish take on the material just didn't do it for me, and Johnny Depp was down right annoying in his role as the Mad Hatter. I thought the ending chess board battle was kind of cool, though, and I liked the Cheshire Cat, but I always like the Cheshire Cat.

Clash of the Titans: It was big, it was dumb, but I like big and dumb, and so this movie was pretty cool to me. Pretty good effects and decent characters, though they disappear rather quickly. As a big fan of the original, I would've like to have seen Bubo in a bigger role, but the cameo was fun. And Liam Neeson unleashed his Kracken, so what else do you want? For more on Clash, check out Lou's review.

The Losers: I loved this movie! Based on the Vertigo action series, this movie just kicks butt from beginning to end. Every character is handled well, and most are taken way over-the-top, none more than Chris Evans' Jensen, who chewed up the scenery with zesty aplomb. Just a peddle-to-the-metal action flick with great Jock artwork strewn throughout. A great soundtrack makes it all the better. Super fun movie!

Iron Man 2: Was it as good as the first? No, not really, but was it good? Yup, most definitely! It was a fun super hero movie with Robert Downey Jr. continuing his absolutely awesome portrayal of Tony Stark. The ending was better than the first, but once again these big super hero movies tend to disappoint me on their finales. The build to the Avengers continues here with a much bigger focus, and I like the way they are laying that out. Sam Rockwell was fantastic as Justin Hammer, and I, for one, hope to see him again somewhere in these films. For more on IM2, check out Lou's review.

Jonah Hex: Well, what can I say about this one? I guess only that maybe this should have been a gritty, Sergio Leone-type of film. A straight-up take-no-prisoners western would've been the way to go. A cursory search of Hex reviews can give the gory details otherwise.

Biggest recommendation from me goes to The Losers. Get this movie all queued up and ready to go, and make sure all of your sodas and goodies are ready to drink and munch on, because it's that type of movie. Afterwards you can go out and run around the block a little bit if you'd like.