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…

Ancient Greek/Roman films have a spotty record critically and commercially since they are difficult to pull off. Fortunately, “Immortals” is exciting and innovative enough to work as long as you can get over its glaring mistakes.

Theseus (Henry Cavill), a peasant warrior, is favored by the god Zeus (Luke Evans) to save mankind from the brutal King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke). Hyperion seeks the Epirus Bow, a magical weapon forged by the gods, so he can use it to unleash the Titans (evil former gods) who are imprisoned deep within Mount Tartaros. Hyperion wishes to enslave the world and start a war in the heavens, but killing Theseus’ mother in a raid sets the hero against him. Aided by a virgin oracle (Freida Pinto), a former slave (Steven Dorff), and the gods themselves, Theseus pursues revenge and his destiny…

Instead of coming up with a slick retread of the original 1982 “Conan the Barbarian,” Hollywood did something much worse. It took the plot from the original film, merged it together with the plot of the lesser 1984 sequel “Conan the Destroyer” and dumped out all the good stuff to create this obnoxious and brainless remake of a film…

by Coop Cooper

After 67 years, we finally have a “Captain America” film that not only does justice to the Marvel franchise that created it, but also a worthy bridge film that leads directly into the “Avengers” feature film which will premiere next year.
Taking place in 1942, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants nothing more than to volunteer for the U.S. Army to serve his country on the front lines in Europe. His 4 ft, 90 lb frame and a long list of ailments result in rejection after rejection until Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) witnesses Steve’s pure hearted determination. After a long battery of tests, he offers Steve a chance to become America’s first “Super Soldier.” Steve accepts and is transformed into the superhero Captain America. Cap must face off against Hitler’s own renegade super soldier, the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) who plans to take over the world using a mystical energy source called the Cosmic Cube…

An intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps chooses a brash test pilot named Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) to become its first human officer. Unfortunately for Hal, his Lantern predecessor was killed by a planet-devouring entity dubbed Parallax who sets its sights on devouring the Corps-protected planets starting with Earth. Hal must overcome his crippling fear in order to save the Earth and prove himself a worthy keeper of the peace. Green Lanterns have a very appealing and powerful weapon. A ring that harnesses the energy of pure willpower, then projects it into whatever form the wearer imagines. It’s like a portable hologram projector, except the holograms have a physical form. This weapon with unlimited possibilities is the reason we haven’t seen a “Green Lantern” movie until now. Portraying the power itself requires the most modern computer generated effects and a $100 million-plus budget. The power also provides the potential for unlimited silliness…

I had almost given up on the “X-Men” franchise after the misfire that was “X-Men 3: Last Stand” and the abysmal “Wolverine” spinoff. “Black Swan” director Darren Aronofsky recently teased comic book fans with a promise to make a higher-quality “Wolverine” film set in Japan (one of the most famous story lines in the character’s history) only to kill the project without adequate explanation. That news sunk my hopes even lower. At this point, a classic “X-Men” story taking place in the 1960’s didn’t make much sense to me. They had already modernized the original team members for the 2000’s and made them all youngsters. Thankfully with a bit of creative canon-bending, the gamble worked and audiences finally have another decent “X-Men” movie to enjoy…

I had many favorite superheroes as a kid but Thor ranked among the highest. He had the power of flight and strength of Superman, he commanded the elements, he wielded a magic weapon and he ruled an entire kingdom. I held out little hope anyone would adapt him into feature film without making him look as silly as Batman in the 1960s TV show. Finally, “Thor” has arrived and although some of the silliness persists, it holds up well enough to usher the God of Thunder into the “Avengers” superhero team movie next year…

by Coop Cooper

As educational institutions gear down for their summer sabbatical, Hollywood gears up to release their highest-budgeted films. This tradition seems to arrive earlier each year, but the first of these mega-budget projects usually arrive in May. The May blockbusters are strategically placed in this month, often under the assumption the studio heads feel the films are weak, risky or may not compete against the reliable mid-summer releases. Sometimes the reason is simply beating other films to the punch and audiences occasionally find some some pleasant May surprises. Here’s what’s coming next month: CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE AT THE CLARKSDALE PRESS REGISTER WEBSITE

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter):

New stuff and old! Run out and see “Scott Pilgrim”!…

EXPENDABLES: Supergroup of action stars battle a banana republic dictator and CIA traitor. Watchable but sloppy filmmaking. 2&1/2 out of 5

SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD: Bassist must defeat 7 evil exes of new gf in order to woo her. Brilliant videogame-styled romp. 4 out of 5

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD: Outrageous Korean remake gives new life to the Spaghetti Western classic. Kang-ho Song = amazing! 3 out of 5

THE EDUCATION OF CHARLIE BANKS: Sociopath befriends a college boy who ratted on him as a teen. Great characters, lame conclusion. 3 out of 5

VIRUS: Energy being lands on ship, declares humans a “virus” & proceeds to kill a salvage crew. Cheesy despite big budget. 2&1/2 out of 5

RUNAWAY: Cop who takes down malfunctioning robots discovers a plot to use robots as assassins. Selleck, Simmons, Crichton, cool. 3 out of 5

I AM THE CHEESE: A mentally unbalanced kid trying to find out what happened to his parents. Depressing drama delivers. 3&1/2 out of 5

Thy Twitter has spoken.

The first “Iron Man” movie defied expectations to become one of the most critically acclaimed and popular superhero films of all time. “Iron Man 2” retains many of the qualities (special effects, performances, humor, etc.) that made the first one great, but overall the film suffers from a minor case of “sequel-itis”.

The story picks up where the last one ended… Billionaire genius Tony Stark impulsively reveals to the world he is the armored superhero known as Iron Man. Months later the world is largely at peace due to…

We’ve all heard the urban legend about the kid who put on a red cape and jumped out of his bedroom window after watching “Superman” back in 1978. While that story may or may not be true – and I’m honestly afraid to look it up to find out – it presents us with a cautionary tale that we are all merely human. Trying to live out foolish fantasies of superheroism could easily shorten our already limited lifespan. This is also the basic premise of the Mark Millar/John Romita comic book “Kick-Ass”, criticized for its portrayal of youth engaged in graphic violence and it’s cavalier approach to the subject. The film adaptation shares…

Michael Oher, former star offensive lineman for the Ole Miss football team, could become a household name across America on November 20th. Less than a month after he begins his first regular season game in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens, Oher’s life story will premiere in movie theaters across the country. For all of us Ole Miss fans who’ve been cheering for Oher since 2004, this film will mark yet another victorious event…

Finally, a movie about Iraq that doesn’t belabor politics or force partisan beliefs upon the viewer. Much like Black Hawk Down before it, The Hurt Locker portrays soldiers as heroes, keeping their heads under frighteningly dangerous conditions. While Black Hawk Down told this story on a grand, action-packed scale, The Hurt Locker brings it down to a more intimate level, telling the tale of a three-man first response team that disarms improvised explosive devices (IEDs)…

Yeah, you heard me right. Yours truly wrote something that made the original Batman chuckle. Let me explain…

While on vacation in Los Angeles, I got some great news from the Action Flick Chick that I had won a bag full of ComicCon swag for a contest entry I had posted on her site. The contest: What would be the worst superhero power of all time? So for a larf, I typed out the first thing that came to my mind (cause Coop likes to make the Action Flick Chick laugh) and then set off for Los Angeles for the vaca…

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.

The penultimate book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” marks the largest turning point in the franchise. The teen wizards have suffered tragedy and triumph in their battle against the Dark Lord Voldemort and his minions. Now they must grow up quickly as their situation becomes grim at Hogwort’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This film more than captures the tone and gravity of the book, even if it does leave out some crucial details…

After a redonkulous amount of speculation and BS concerning who would wear the super-power ring of the Green Lantern Corps, a winner has emerged. Ryan Reynolds who has played two minor superheroes in Blade 3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been called up to the big leagues. After beating out Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake, Sam Worthington, Jack Black and Larry the Cable Guy, Reynolds finally gets a D.C. Comics staple to launch a franchise…

The Action Flick Chick has deemed me worthy to be her first male guest-writer. I feel quite honored by that. Scoot on down over to her site to read my article: WHY MANLY-MEN LOVE ACTION FLICK CHICKS. I think you’ll get a “kick” out of it. Did I mention I’m comedian too? Well I’m not, so go read the article. Do it now…

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…

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….