Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass

After a massively disappointing second film, nobody really expected or wanted a third entry in the sci-fi comedy franchise (that originated as a comic book series , out of interest). However, 10 years after MIB II and 15 years after MIB , everyone who matters has been lured back, including stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones , director Barry Sonnenfeld , special make-up effects artist Rick Baker and composer  Danny Elfman . And the end result is... alright. Men in Black 3 is nothing special, but it’s neither insulting to your intelligence nor agonising to watch. If you enjoyed the first 2 films back in the day, you should still find enough to appreciate right here and now in 2012. MIB3 starts off strongly with a prison break introduction to the film’s villain, Boris the Animal ( Flight of the Conchords ’ distinctively voiced Jemaine Clement ). Immediately the audience is reminded of one of MIB’s greatest strengths: the series’ wonderfully inventive character design. At f...

Hooray! After a dud few weeks we're back to being spoiled for choice when it comes to high profile new cinema releases. The Dictator : My personal pick of the movie debuts is the latest politically incorrect comedy from love-him-or-hate-him satirist Sacha Baron Cohen . This time the Ali G , Borat and Bruno star plays an eccentric Middle Eastern dictator forced to hide out as an ordinary citizen in New York after a kidnapping attempt. Hippie activist Anna Faris takes him under her wing. Also with Ben Kingsley and John C Reilly . Trailer Tuesday profile . Baron Cohen films are never for the faint-hearted, so if you like harmless, kid-friendly giggles you're better off watching Mad Buddies . With an aggregated Rotten Tomatoes rating of 58% Fresh , outrageous The Dictator is apparently very hit and miss. When the film is on form though it's mercilessly brilliant, as these praise-filled quotes from prominent reviewers and publications suggest. Rock of Ages : Who...

This post originally appeared at TheMovies.co.za Back at the beginning of the year I profiled the 25 most interesting and eagerly anticipated movie releases from the first 6 months of 2012 . Now it’s time to consider the treats in store for cinemagoers in the second half of the year. The Dictator : The latest no holds barred, politically incorrect comedy from Borat and Ali G star Sacha Baron Cohen . This time Middle Eastern dictators are the target as Cohen plays an eccentric Gaddafi -esque ruler forced into hiding in New York City. With Anna Faris , Ben Kingsley and John C Reilly . Overseas the film sports a mixed 58% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating . Very uneven apparently, mixing satirical brilliance with many misfire moments. Trailer Tuesday profile . Release date: 16 May (United States), 6 July (South Africa) The Amazing Spider-Man : The Spider-Man movie franchise gets unexpectedly rebooted with lanky Andrew Garfield donning Peter Parker ’s tights and dorkiness. ...

Originally posted on my web comic, Girlz 'N' Games . “That’s no game...” But you know what? I think for a lot of people out there in Internet-land it is. When it comes to online attacks on women in/around gaming, it’s about posting the “smartest”, most insulting and memorable comment. It’s an antisocial thrill: the online textual equivalent of having sex with a hooker in GTA III and then squashing her with your car immediately afterwards to claim back your cash. It’s morally wrong, obviously, but it’s fun for the “player.” It’s a chance to act out your dark fantasies without consequence because you’re sitting safe and comfy behind your screen. Except in this case we’re not driving over some blocky, nameless NPC. We’re hit-and-running a real human being, who is also sitting somewhere out there behind a computer screen. Probably hurting over the awful, demeaning comments being directed their way. And it takes something like this – transplanting online-style abuse t...

Calling all skeptics! Horror thriller Red Lights is all about scientists out to debunk headline-grabbing psychics, faith healers and supernatural occurrences. Red Lights features a very strong cast for what looks like glossy genre fare. Cillian Murphy is the physicist assistant of Sigourney Weaver 's seasoned paranormal investigator, and the pair have great success until a legendary blind psychic Simon Silver ( Robert De Niro ) resurfaces after 30 years of retirement. Murphy's character becomes obsessed with exposing the psychic as a fraud but finds himself caught up in increasingly inexplicable events that test his world views. Elizabeth Olsen and Joely Richardson also star. Now admittedly the concept for Red Lights sounds better than the execution looks in the trailer. Movies like this almost always insist in turning doubters into believers, and evidently this one - from the Spanish director of highly acclaimed, but little seen, claustrophobia tale Buried - is st...

Here we are 2 days already into the 7th month of 2012. There's some good stuff coming to this blog in the coming weeks, so until then, let's have a quick look back at everything of significance posted here in June and May. News: Paddington Bear hits the big screen Magnificent Malificent Opinion Features: “Just the Pussy I’ve Been Looking For”: Defending Catwoman My comics experiences: Superman (Part 1)   The Booth Babe Controversy Film reviews: Prometheus (3D) Battleship Snow White and the Huntsman Dark Shadows Mirror Mirror The Avengers The Grey Book reviews: Deadlands Grant Morrison’s Supergods Live show reviews: Henry Rollins brings The Long March to Durban Trailer profiles: Frankenweenie Sinister The Possession Wreck-It Ralph The Great Gatsby Rock of Ages The Amazing Spider-Man Magic Mike Comics and miscellaneous fun: Girlz 'N' Games #99: The trends they are a-changin' Girlz 'N' Games #100: Achieve...

Fortunately July and August are packed with highly anticipated new movies because right now cinemagoers are enduring another dud weekend. Today there's just one new release, with specific appeal. Ice Age: Continental Drift: And Fox keeps churning them out... Screening in 2D and 3D is this fourth entry in the Ice Age animated comedy series . This time our prehistoric heroes, Manny the mammoth ( Ray Romano ), Sid the sloth ( John Leguizamo ) and Diego the sabretooth tiger ( Denis Leary ) are accidentally set adrift on an iceberg. While they try to return to land, they're caught up in various seafaring adventures, including encounters with Sid's long-lost grandmother ( Wanda Sykes ) and Peter Dinklage 's ape pirate and his crew - which includes Jennifer Lopez 's slinky feline and Nick Frost 's elephant seal. Meanwhile, back on terra firma, Manny's (now) teenage daughter isn't true to herself and her best friend while she tries to fit in with the cool k...

'I've always had great respect for Paddington… He is a British institution.' - Stephen Fry It's happening! If everything goes according to plan, sometime in 2014  Michael Bond's beloved literary creation will finally clamber onto the big screen... 56 years after the first tale of the marmalade-loving bear was published. And decades after the classic 70s TV series  crossed the Atlantic and won popularity for the character in the US. Although a movie adaptation has been in the works since 2007, only in May this year did Harry Potter producer David Heyman - who is guiding the StudioCanal  co-project - properly announce the film and explain how development was progressing . Earlier this week the  atmospheric teaser poster  was unveiled as well for the movie, which sees a CGI Paddington interacting with human actors in contemporary London. I'm a big Paddington fan, and when I travel a small Paddington plushie always comes along in my backpack. So what...

I will always remember when King of Pop Michael Jackson died (25 June), because it coincides exactly with the traumatic day that our Golden Retriever was put dow n. It seems only appropriate then to post the trailer for director  Tim Burton 's next: the stop-motion horror-comedy Frankenweenie In this black and white homage to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein , young Vincent doesn't cope with the unexpected death of his dog Sparky. So he does the unthinkable and scientifically reanimates his beloved pooch. But while Vincent and cheerful Sparky are ecstatic at being reunited, the rest of their home town is horrified by the "monstrous" creation. With the voices of Burton collaborators  Winona Ryder , Catherine O'Hara , Martin Short and Martin Landau . If the name Frankenweenie rings a bell it's because the project is actually a remake of the  1984 live-action short that helped to launch Burton's directing career - and which, for the r...

As some of you may know, I take costume parties pretty seriously . In the gaming and comic con-challenged "fishing village" where I live there are not nearly enough opportunities to dress up, so every chance to cosplay should be readily seized and planned for. This Saturday evening was a friend's "Fairies & Folklore" themed 30th birthday party, and I loosely modelled my look on the Dark Elf Sorceress in the Warhammer video game . The costume is a tad on the skimpy side, but I've worked hard for my abs, dammit! I will show them off. For the record, this same concept art became the visual inspiration for my half-elf warlock from an aborted DnD campaign of a few years back .

Three very different movie open in South Africa today. I can't say any of the trio particularly appeal to me but perhaps one will be up your alley. Mad Buddies : Sure to break local box office records from today is the latest lowbrow comedy from Leon Schuster . Eschewing candid camera gags for a fictional narrative, the funnyman plays a former anti-poaching operative who is forced to road-trip from Durban to Johannesburg with his sworn enemy ( Kenneth Nkosi ). Little do they know their bickering misadventures are being filmed by an ambitious TV producer ( Tanit Phoenix ) for a new reality show. If you have a more sophisticated sense of humour, stay far away from Mad Buddies, which sticks to the Schuster formula of slapstick gags ad nauseum - typically involving body functions or an accident-prone midget. If, however, you enjoy puerile poop jokes, you'll probably love the film. For the record,  The Movies.co.za gave Mad Buddies 3 and a half stars out of 5... alt...