“Dark Fury” is an animated film in the “Chronicles Of Riddick” series that seeks to bridge the gap between “Pitch Black” and “The Chronicles Of Riddick”. This is a stylish animated film that sadly does not have much substance to it.

Fugitive Riddick (Vin Diesel “The Fast and the Furious”, “Babylon A.D.”) as well as Jack and Abu al-Walid are travelling through space when they get captured. They are taken aboard a ship where a mysterious villainess enjoys collecting vicious criminals. She now wants to add Riddick to her collection. Can Riddick use his skills so that he and the others can escape this dangerous place?

I get that Vin Diesel looks tough so he fits the role of Riddick but in animated form, all we get from Diesel is his mumbling voice. Jack and Abu are back and they’re both voiced by the cast from the movies too so fans won’t feel cheated as some animated films fail to get the live-action actors in to do the voice work. The evil Chillingsworth (Tress MacNeille) is a moderately interesting foe. I like the animation on the characters as it looks pretty slick when Riddick is wasting all the bad guys.

I’m sure “Dark Fury” will delight fans of the franchise by providing them with some more Riddick action and it’s certainly not a bad little animated flick but it just didn’t do all that much for me. It’s still miles better than “Pitch Black” but I didn’t get into it the way I got into “Chronicles Of Riddick” and “Riddick”. The animation style is enjoyable though. If you are a fan then go and check this one out but if you’re not already familiar with the series, definitely do no start here because you won’t know anybody is or what the heck is going on.

The original “Planet of the Apes” is a wonderful sci-fi movie and it has stood the test of time. Sure, the ape costumes are not very convincing but this is a really fun film with some interesting ideas. The film has spawned sequels, remakes and television series so it definitely has a strong following.

A team of astronauts, led by Taylor (Charlton Heston “Soylent Green”, “The Ten Commandments”) crash-land on a planet in the distant future where they search for life. They soon discover that this world is run by intelligent talking apes who oppress humans. When Taylor is captured, his ability to talk and reason presents a serious challenge to the dogma and tradition of ape society.

Charlton Heston is enjoyable as always as he plays George Taylor. He manages to be convincing in a film where he’s joined onscreen with many other actors wearing ridiculous ape masks. It manages to deliver a few lines that have become iconic such as ‘Take your stinking paws off me you damned dirty ape’. The other astronauts are not very impressive. As I said, the ape masks are not convincing but the apes are interesting and there are some decent performances from Kim Hunter (“A Streetcar Named Desire”) as Zira and Roddy McDowall as Cornelius.

“Planet of the Apes” has some exciting chase sequences but it also has some quieter and more philosophical moments. The ending of the movie is very powerful and has become one of the most famous scenes in movie history. If you are having doubts, I urge you to put aside the criticism of the amusing costumes and just enjoy the movie. Fans of television’s “Star Trek” and films such as “Soylent Green” and “Total Recall” need to see “Planet of the Apes” because this is a truly spectacular sci-fi picture.

I loved the original “Planet of the Apes” and with improvements in technology, I thought a remake would be a good idea. However, when I learned that the man in the director’s chair was Tim Burton, whose previous sci-fi “Mars Attacks!” was a spoof, I suddenly had worries.

The plot is reasonably different to the original as in this version, we find space station Oberon, which has chimps flying space pods (I know it’s ridiculous). After one chimp vanishes while exploring a magnetic storm in space, Captain Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg “Boogie Nights”) begins his rescue attempt but he ends up being placed into the far future where the apes have evolved thus making humans primitive again.

Mark Wahlberg does an admiral job and I actually find his performance more interesting than Charlton Heston’s as George Taylor. The apes in their first few shots look fantastic; they reminded me a lot of the Ewoks in “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi”. Then after a few scenes it gets a satirical feel as we see apes in sporty shirts playing basketball, female apes with fancy haircuts and we even see a ridiculous scene where two apes prepare for sex. The worst ape by far is played poorly by Helena Bonham Carter (“Fight Club”, “The King’s Speech”).

The movie begins as a sci-fi film, it then transforms into an outrageously bad comedy and then it has a go at being an action picture so it wants to please all audiences. The apes make the film lose its dignity. The ending scene is absolutely hilarious as it makes no sense. We get no explanation so I checked on the internet for a reason but any that I found contradicts another part of the film. I liked the sci-fi near the beginning and I was entertained by the action during the final act but in the middle, the film just gets lost.

“Batman: Dead End” is a reasonably impressive fan film that combines the “Batman”, “Alien” and “Predator” franchises. Sadly, it’s over just as things start to get interesting and that’s a real shame because what is offered here is rather exciting.

The Joker has escaped from Arkham Asylum so Batman must once again capture him. He finds Joker in a dark alley. However, things take an unexpected turn as something even more sinister is lurking in the darkness. Batman has to confront a Xenomorph and a Predator. With no time for any explanations, Batman must fight for his life against some of the deadliest beings in the universe.

Batman is fine and his costume here gives him a little more flexibility than some of the costumes used in the big movies. That’s a big positive because this fan film features a fight sequence so it’s good that Batman can move around with more freedom. Joker is great here and really creepy. Alien and Predator both look terrific. The costumes look absolutely perfect and if you just saw some of the shots out of context, you would assume that they were from a legit “Alien” or “Predator” movie. It’s fun to see Batman battle two characters from other film universes.

I believe there has been crossovers in the comics between some of the DC characters and the characters from the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises. It’s fun to see that in live-action. However, this short is over in less than ten minutes so that’s a real shame. What is here is entertaining but I wanted more. This feels like something that should have been used to pressure the big studios to greenlight a real crossover film. I also think that a better title would have helped this film because the title doesn’t suggest that the film contains characters from other franchises.

The Asylum rip-off “The Day The Earth Stood Still” with the horrific “The Day The Earth Stopped”. This is just an awful movie that makes the 2008 remake of “The Day The Earth Stood Still” look like 1951 original classic.

Giant robots appear all over the world and nobody knows what to do. Two aliens also arrive on Earth and one of them wants to see the value of human civilisation. If the alien cannot be satisfied by humanity then the robots will destroy the planet. Josh Myron (C. Thomas Howell “The Hitcher”, “The Amazing Spider-Man”) has been selected by the aliens to showcase the best of humanity. However, others want to simply fight against the aliens.

The acting in this movie is just horrendous. Nobody here gives an even vaguely good performance. The aliens are not remotely interesting and they are so wooden that you can suddenly forgive Keanu Reeves’ performance in the 2008 “The Day The Earth Stood Still”. The other characters aren’t any better and some of them are really irritating with whiny voices. The dialog is also really bad throughout. The robots just look appalling. They barely move and they just look so unimpressive. The special effects are pathetic.

Please go and watch the original “The Day The Earth Stood Still” because it is a classic and even the 2008 remake isn’t all that bad but this rip-off is simply dreadful. It misses the point of the source material, it has abysmal acting, a spectacularly dumb script and rubbish special effects. There is no reason for this movie to exist other than to con people out of their money because they think they’re seeing the real movie. That kind of sums up the entire philosophy of the bulk of the movies from The Asylum but this one feels particularly bad because it does hardly anything original.

“Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” is a wonderfully absurd comedy film that reminded me a lot of “The Kentucky Fried Movie”, “Schlock”, “Airplane!” and even a little bit of the “Monty Python” pictures. I don’t know why this movie got bad reviews back in 1978, what did people expect from a film about killer tomatoes? The film has since spawned sequels, a cartoon series and videogames.

In this film, a wave of reports of bizarre attacks involving tomatoes sparks panic. America soon finds itself plunged into chaos as tomatoes begin attacking people across the nation. Politicians, scientists and military men try to figure out the best way to tackle the problem in this crazy comedy with music numbers.

The characters in this movie are as ridiculous as t he ones in “Airplane!” or “Kentucky Fried Movie”. A specialist team is assembled including a man that tries to disguise himself as a tomato, a soldier that never goes anywhere without his parachute. In a film as juvenile as this, there is no depth to any of the characters. The tomatoes of course do not look remotely impressive but they are not meant to be. It is just so funny to watch tomatoes murdering people.

There are so many great gags in this movie. You’re unlikely to notice them all in a single viewing as this movie throws so gags at you. Even the opening credits sequence has jokes in it. If you like the other spoof films from the era then I think you will enjoy this one too. It’s not as hilarious as “Airplane!” but I found it more consistently amusing than “Kentucky Fried Movie” and “Schlock”. It’s mad to think this film led to several sequels because that means there is more than one film out that deals with the issue of killer tomatoes.

Sometimes sequels have such vague connections to their previous instalments that they don’t even feel like they are part of the same franchise. Here are some sequels that barely have anything to do with their predecessors.

5. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Although the filmmakers have eventually managed to tie this entry closer to the rest of the series, when “Tokyo Drift” first came out, it had virtually nothing to do with the other movies in the franchise. It’s about illegal street racing and there is a cameo from Vin Diesel (“The Fast and the Furious”) right at the end but that was about it.

4. Hellraiser: Inferno

Pinhead (Doug Bradley “Hellraiser”) is of course the face of the “Hellraiser” franchise so it was a bit odd when some of the later sequels barely featured the character. “Hellraiser: Inferno” was the first movie in the series that was not originally intended to be a “Hellraiser” flick. Pinhead finds himself forced into a film that was never meant for him.

3. Speed 2: Cruise Control

Sandra Bullock (“Miss Congeniality”) returns to the “Speed” franchise as Annie. She’s ditched Keanu Reeves (“Johnny Mnemonic”) and is now dating Jason Patric (“The Lost Boys”). After surviving an ordeal on a bus that couldn’t slow down, she’ll find herself on a cruise ship that can’t stop. Aside from Sandra Bullock reprising her role, this just has nothing to do with the first “Speed” film. It was originally intended to be an entry in the “Die Hard” series.

2. Halloween III: Season of the Witch

The first and only film in the series that does not focus on Michael Myers. “Season of the Witch” instead has the spotlight on some masks that can kill you when you wear them on Halloween. The only connection to the other films in the franchise as that you see an ad on a television for the first “Halloween” movie. “Halloween” was originally intended to be an anthology series but since the first two films had Michael Myers, audiences were just confused by the decision to ditch him in the third entry.

1. Troll 2

The first “Troll” movie was an obscure fantasy film from the 80s where a kid by the name of Harry Potter battles a magic troll. The sequel doesn’t even feature trolls, it features goblins. Besides the title, there is no indication that this film has anything to do with the original movie.

Honourable mentions:
Evan Almighty, Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and Son of the Mask

With Robert Pattinson (“Twilight”) set to play Batman in the next film in the franchise, I thought I would take a look at the previous actors that had the role. I’m only including actors who played Batman in films that were both live-action and had a theatrical release as otherwise, there is just too much to cover.

6. Ben Affleck – Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League

While his performance did grow on me a little by the time I saw “Justice League”, there is no denying that I think Ben Affleck (“DareDevil”) has been the weakest Batman to date. His attempt to make the character gritty just made him seem miserable. Also, the glowing eyes on the costume when he fights Superman looks awful. It’s amazing to think he got to play Batman three times but never in one that was solely a Batman flick.

5. Val Kilmer – Batman Forever

Often overlooked, Val Kilmer (“Top Gun”) certainly didn’t give a bad performance as the Caped Crusader. However, it’s an underwhelming performance considering the actor has proved to be quite talented in some of his other films. He comes across as more awkward than anything else in the cape and cowl.

4. George Clooney – Batman & Robin

George Clooney (“Three Kings”) was great as Bruce Wayne but he’s no Batman. The smug rich guy persona of Wayne is hardly acting for Clooney. He arguably had the hardest material to work with due to all the goofy lines in “Batman & Robin” but he could have done a lot better.

3. Christian Bale – Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises

His growly voice still warrants ridicule but I think overall, Christian Bale (“Equilibrium”) did a fine job. Watching these films, you wouldn’t know that Bale is actually British as his accent is so good. He managed to make Batman dark again after the light-hearted portrayal given by Clooney.

2. Adam West – Batman: The Movie

People often forget about Adam West as Batman. The 60s “Batman” tv series and film were clearly more outrightly comedic than anything that came after it but that’s part of the charm. West plays the role with the same commitment that William Shatner plays Captain Kirk in “Star Trek”. West is thoroughly entertaining to watch.

1. Michael Keaton – Batman and Batman Returns

Michael Keaton (“Beetlejuice”) still is the definitive Batman for many people. Capturing the tormented soul of the crimefighter and giving us that intimidating whisper, Keaton nailed the role. It’s a shame he only got to play him twice.

“Planes, Trains & Automobiles” is a really funny holiday comedy and much better than both “Home Alone” and “Christmas Vacation”, which came out around the same time. It may well be very silly but it never seems implausible.

In “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”, Steve Martin (“The Man With Two Brains”, “Cheaper By The Dozen”) stars as Neal Page, who just wants to get home for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, bad weather means his flight has been cancelled. Things get even worse for Mr. Page as he now finds himself having to work with the well-meaning yet highly irritating Del Griffith (John Candy “Uncle Buck”, “The Blues Brothers”).

Steve Martin is perfectly cast as Neal Page. He’s just an ordinary guy with reasonable expectations and he gets angry at things that would make any sane person feel the same way. This film is one of the few where Martin has been given the right material. John Candy is the likeable big guy once again. While his shtick isn’t as funny as what Martin is doing, Candy is still enjoyable. The two work quite well here. We also see a brief performance by Kevin Bacon (“Tremors”) as a man racing Neal Page to a nearby taxi.

“Planes, Trains & Automobiles” isn’t the best comedy but it does consistently have you laughing. However, the best thing about it is the heart-warming ending that truly makes it a great holiday film. It’s a very zany picture but at no point will you find it unrealistic because the problems in the film such as delayed flights and no rooms at motels are the sort of problems that happen (especially around the holidays). I laughed a lot during this film and I think you will too. Both these stars have done more than their fair share of dud movies so it’ll be a pleasant surprise to see this film.

“The Head Incident” is essentially an elaborate home movie from James Rolfe, who would go on to achieve some fame with the popular “Angry Video Game Nerd” internet series. This is not a bad movie when you consider just how small the budget must have been. It looks incredibly amateurish but it does an okay job considering the limited tools that were available.

A man having a psychiatric evaluation tells the story of how he has been haunted by a disembodied head of a ventriloquist dummy and a shadowy figure in black. The movie jumps from flashback sequences, which are mostly in black and white, to present sequences in the psychiatric evaluation.

The acting in this movie is not good by any stretch of the imagination. Two of the characters seem like stoner buddies. They talk like Wayne and Garth in “Wayne’s World”. James Rolfe plays a couple of characters in the movie. I definitely prefer him doing the aggressive reviews of videogames on the internet. The shadowy man is surprisingly sinister. The dummy head looks relatively creepy. I think the black and white helps create more of atmosphere during the scenes with the man in black and the dummy.

The movie feels like a cross between an episode of “The Twilight Zone” or the movie “Magic” and “Wayne’s World”. I know the movie does not take itself too seriously but some of the dialog is really bad. The characters are not engaging. The best thing about the movie is that it is somewhat effective in terms of the suspense aspect. Don’t go into this expecting much; this is a film made with virtually no money by a few friends. If you want a good thriller with a dummy then check out “Magic” with Anthony Hopkins as that’s a movie that doesn’t get enough credit.