Indie Roundup

The summer movie season is typically dominated by the biggest and most expensive movies. In recent years, that has meant giant robots, men in tights, and all manner of explosions. Studios know that audiences can get tired of these films and will also release smaller movies to balance out the movie-going experience. Unfortunately, a lot of these films don't get the same kind of marketing push because it's really not worth it from a business stand point to spend huge amounts of money marketing a small 5 million dollar (or less) indie film. I thought I'd take some time and spotlight a few films I've seen recently that are still out in theaters and are more than worth your time and money.

The Wolverine Review

Director: James Mangold

Writers: Mark Bomback, Scott Frank

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada

Hugh Jackman has brought Wolverine to life on the big screen 5 times. It's always difficult to keep any character fresh and interesting for that long and comic book films don't have the best track record. In fact Jackman's last X-film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was easily the worst of the bunch. James Mangold's The Wolverine aims to be a smaller , more introspective Wolverine tale. Fans of the Wolverine comics know that there's more to Logan than razor sharp claws and ridiculous hair. I think James Mangold does his best to deliver.

Monsters University Review

Director: Dan Scanlon

Writers: Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Dan Scalon

Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Charlie Day

Much has been made of Pixar's supposed decline in quality. One of the reason cited as evidence of the decline is their choice to develop sequels instead of original stories. Their most recent effort revisits the world they introduced in "Monsters, Inc." all the way back in 2001. 12 years later "Monsters University" brings us back to the world where monsters use the screams of to power their world. This time we go back to Mike and Sulley's time as students at Monsters U. They don't exactly get along at first. After endangering their spot in Monsters University's prestigious School of Scaring, they must put everything on the line and participate in the Annual Scare Games to prove they are the best of the best.

Reel Talk: Fast & Furious 6

The lovely gentlemen at Out Now with Aaron and Abe had me on their latest episode to talk Fast & Furious 6 among other things. Also joining in on the fun was the always cool Jimmy O from JoBlo. We get into some trailer talk, play some games, talk a little bit of box office, and review Fast & Furious 6. If you have some time to kill give it a listen and check for links to more episodes after the jump.

All Roads Lead to This: Fast & Furious 6 Review

Director: Justin Lin

Writer: Chris Morgan

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang

"Do you believe in ghosts?" This question could just as easily apply to the Fast and Furious franchise. 2001's "The Fast and the Furious" didn't exactly take home any Oscars. It wasn't nominated for any nor was it even a part of awards season conversation. The film, however, did have a good share of cultural impact especially with the way the street racing culture was blowing up at the time. I was just young enough at the time that I had a blast with the film. It was exciting and had these tough guys driving these extravagant cars really fast. After that the series languished and by 2009's "Fast and Furious", it seemed that the series had nothing left in the tank and was effectively dead. The series' third entry, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift", was the lone bright spot and I mainly enjoyed the original for the sheer nostalgia factor. Then "Fast Five" came along and breathed life back into this franchise. It proved that director Justin Lin and writer Chris Morgan knew exactly where to take this franchise to make it not only relevant again but also quite enjoyable. "Fast & Furious 6" promises bigger action and that "All roads lead to this." Does it live up to the hype?