COOP COOPER is an independently syndicated film critic with a split personality. His “Southern Side” prints mainstream reviews that appear in various print publications across the mid-south. His “Dark Side” from Los Angeles befouls the site with reviews of horror and grindhouse flicks. Welcome to the site where COOP’s two halves (and his contributors) review and debate the latest film/DVD releases…

It’s an origin story, yet test pilot Hal Jordan becomes Green Lantern by the 3 min 30 sec mark. Despite the hasty introduction, this animated, direct to DVD Green Lantern movie contains a lot of what fans have been waiting for. Massive outer space battles, grumpy Kilowog, a non-wimpy Sinestro, giant green flyswatters. Surely a live-action version couldn’t support the FX that First Flight boasts, and… What? Yes, I said giant green flyswatters. Yeah, that pisses me off too.

I don’t freakin’ believe it. I figured Whiplash was at the bottom of the list for villain in next “Iron Man” film but I was wrong. Dead wrong… and this here pic proves it:

Bradley Cooper (no relation) is rumored to be a serious contender for the coveted “Green Lantern” role in WB’s long-in-development superhero film. While I like Brad Cooper who’s shown himself quite capable of comedy in films like “The Wedding Crashers” and “The Hangover” which is coming soon, I find the news of his potential involvement a little disheartening. NOT because Cooper is a bad actor (he’s actually terrific) and NOT because I can’t see him in the role. No, his consideration leads me to believe the WB is…

I imagine a lot of people are going to get excited about this… A big new international trailer was just released on the nets showing G.I. Joe and Cobra in action. Looks ULTRA CORNY, but very comic book-like and kinetic. Big explosions, lots of impossible tech, Starship Troopers-like mech suits, green ooze that eats metal, black on white ninja action… It’s all here and it shows a LOT more than the previous teaser…

The fist big summer blockbuster of the season has already claimed the title of the most disappointing movie of the year so far. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” suffered from problems long before reaching the silver screen as news of panicked reshoots signaled something was amiss. Rumors of inept filmmaking caused a wave of negativity throughout the media and X-Men fans. The trailers looked spectacular so I remained cautiously optimistic….

Simply put this movie is not a winner.
It was never a good idea. Writer/director Frank Miller should stick with his own ideas. In this case Mr. Miller, who is one of my favorite comic book writers, attempts to adapt Will Eisner’s classic superhero tale, “The Spirit”. He would be better off working with Robert [...]

If you haven’t heard of “Batman: Dead End,” you’ve missed out on something. A few years ago (before “Batman Begins”) this Sandy Collora guy got a camera and a few people together and made this…

Pretty damn impressive, no? The guy’s made a career of creating creatures, designing, storyboarding and whatnot. Looks like he’s got some [...]

Did this “complete my ‘Watchmen’ experience” like the commercial said it would?
No, it didn’t.
It’s told out of context, making it extremely difficult to find the relevancy to the feature “Watchmen” (my review here) film, even for the discerning fan. In fact, anyone not familiar with the graphic novel who picks this up simply won’t understand [...]

With the massive hype that surrounded this release, a lot of people wound up reading the graphic novel that this film is based upon. That in and of itself is the best thing that comes out of the release of the movie. Alan Moore’s superior book is given about the best treatment that I can [...]

Finally, some official word on this see-saw of a story. Best Actor Nominee Mickey Rourke has been jerked around for months by Marvel Studios who was low\balling him (money-wise) after offering a choice villain role in the next “Iron Man” movie. The hammer finally came down and Rourke, after cryptically quoting “You bet your ass!” [...]

It’s finally here.
The year is 1985, Richard Nixon gets reelected for a third term and the planet edges closer and closer to WWIII. Superheroes are forbidden to interfere due to the “Keene Act” which has outlawed masked vigilantes since 1977. The United States depends on Doctor Manhattan, the world’s only super-powered human, as the last [...]

The second video clip explains it all. The heroes of “Watchmen” aren’t your always your model citizens and Rorschach takes the cake. He’s investigating the death of another vile costumed hero named “The Comedian” who’s like Dennis Hopper’s character “Frank” from “Blue Velvet,” except on steroids with machine guns. If that means nothing to you, [...]

For those of you unfamiliar with the “Watchmen” comic, you probably don’t know anything about “Tales of the Black Freighter.”
“Tales” was a parallel comic book story told episodically throughout the “Watchmen” graphic novel. As I recall, a kid in “Watchmen” was reading the “Tales” story as the bigger superhero story unfolded around him. “Tales” was [...]

For those keeping up with recent comic book films/franchises like “X-Men” and “Heroes,” the concept of “Push” will ring a familiar bell. A story about teams of super-powered underdogs fighting for justice won’t win any awards for originality. What separates “Push” from the regular genre ilk is its visual style and a strong desire to create a clear and fascinating mythology.

LIONSGATE… What have you done? Have you suddenly been infected with a terminal case of… coolness?
I cried during both of these 45 min. animated shorts. No foolin’. Grow up in my generation, loving Marvel Comics as I did and you’ll understand why.
Never in my life (besides the live-action “Iron Man” film) have I ever felt [...]

One good thing about the much-delayed release of the “Watchmen” comic book film (March 6th!) is the quality of viral entertainment the filmmakers have had time to prepare and unleash on the unsuspecting public.
Days ago, the creators released a faux news-release on the origin of Dr. Manhattan and how grateful we all are (and would [...]

Coming Soon.Net has the low down on the new “G.I. Joe” movie. I swear I had this idea along time ago, except mine wouldn’t have been directed by Stephen Sommers. This still looks pretty cool. I love the look of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow!
Let’s hope they have some of Larry Hama’s cool story arc’s [...]

Okay, so I got this up a few days late, but gimme a break. It’s been a historic week… for THE SMALL TOWN CRITIC (thought I was gonna say something about Obama, right?). The hits to this site are escalating fast… faster each day, prompting me to increase the regularity of articles and reviews. I’ve [...]

As I write this, I’m thumbing through my old “Punisher” comic books. I have some pretty valuable ones here: “Punisher #2,” “Punisher Limited Series #5,” “Punisher War Journal #1.” To say I’m a casual fan of the character is a bit of an understatement. “The Punisher” began as a minor-league villain of “Spider-Man,” quickly becoming [...]

Is “Wanted” starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie the new “Matrix”. The answer is no. But I don’t think that filmmaker Bekmambetov was really trying to do that. Sure he rips it off and plenty of other genre and non-genre films to boot, but that’s not what this movie is all about. Its about having [...]