Author: Ian D.

The Lone Ranger has some issues, the main one being he hasn’t been relevant or in the public consciousness since prior to color TV being invented. He’s also a weirdly regressive character, one who leans on aggressive stereotypes and broad slapstick comedy for laughs and a sidekick who is too ridiculous to be offensive.

Brad Pitt survives a lot of shit in World War Z…ya know, besides the zombie apocalypse. We’re talking plane crashes, helicopter crashes, an impaling, human stampedes and even a terminal illness. Pitt, known here as Gerry Lane, is an indestructible force for good. A man so hell bent on finding a potential cure he wills his own survival.

Remember when Superman returned in 2006? Neither does the rest of the world. Brian Singer’s adaptation was greeted with a general thud when it attempted to reboot the franchise 7-years ago. It’s not a terrible adaptation but the slavish commitment to the Christopher Reeve era (all the way down to casting a lookalike) left the film feeling more like an homage than an original take. Also, every action scene was Superman lifting something, which got boring…fast.

Stoner comedies are a wonderful sub-genre. Since Caddyshack I’ve giddily waited for the next installation of puffs of smoke and increasingly silly adventures. It’s a sub-genre that must be enjoyed with no pretensions since often these films are smarter than their given credit for (even if said smarts are exposed between dick jokes.) This is the End from Directors Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg is unabashedly part of the stoner comedy cannon. It’s a worthy addition too from the funniest writing (now directing) duo in Hollywood and is easily the best movie of the summer so far.

First of all, do not mistake After Earth for a M. Night Shyamalan movie. It bears no resemblance to his past (save for a few signature camera angles.) He is clearly a hired gun, being used to spin a basic yarn about a father and son overcoming their differences to conquer overwhelming odds. Hell, his name was even left out of nearly all marketing materials. There was an audible chuckle in the audience when his name graced the screen after the final frame. All this being said, the movie still sucks and it’s not even Shyamalan’s fault. Now that’s a twist.