Embrace the bitter and post your own reviews!

“Dark Shadows” has finally been released from its coffin and allowed to roam free. Much like every Tim Burton remake, er, de-make, this film disappoints. For the first time though, he hasn’t taken the staples of what he is remaking and pissed all over them, but instead watered them down to the point of boredom.

Long synopsis short, Barnabas Collins (frightfully close to Cullens for a vampire name) falls in love with someone other than the witch he is sleeping with and she freaks out. She causes the death of Barnabas’s first and only, of two, true loves and then tops it off by cursing him with vampirism. He awakens in the ‘70s for some hoky and not funny moments of trying to rebuild his family’s fortune and meet a woman and get revenge and, aw shit., the story is much too muddy to care.

Legendary children's author Maurice Sendak died today at the age of 83. Sendak has been credited for bringing darker, psychological topics to the usually safe fare of children's literature. His crowning achievement came in 1963 with "Where the Wild Things Are," which was the basis for Spike Jonze's 2009 film of the same title.

We hope that potential Sendak adaptations will come to fruition on the big screen, especially if they are of the depth and intelligence of Jonze's unnerving take. Rest in peace, Mr. Sendak.

For full article on yahoo here.

After years of teasing and ruining some movies (see “Iron Man 2”) “The Avengers” is finally upon us! Typically Bitter Balcony has some opinions that don’t quite jive with the current thoughts on a film, but this time we can’t even pretend we aren’t really happy with the results. The inclusion of Joss Whedon in this project is what we attribute to the main factor for its success.
Loki, brother of Thor, is a bitter god intent on using an alien army to destroy Earth, which is under Thor’s protection. The only way Nick Fury sees Earth having a good chance to survive is to restart the Avenger protocol (or whatever they called it – and when was it shut down?) and get a cast of heroes to band together against this new foe. The mixed cast of characters causes some friction amongst themselves that could stop them from defeating Loki and the question is raised, “Will they rise to the occasion?”

“The Raven” is the fictional story of the bizarre events in Edgar Allan Poe’s final days before he was found half-dead on a bench. In this tale, a killer is using his previously published works as inspiration for murder and an elaborate secret plan. Once the police discover that there is a striking similarity to Poe’s work he is called in to help solve the mystery.

John Cusack stars as Poe himself and brings a certain wit and charm that is sharp, fast and entertaining in a Tony Stark, from “Iron Man”, kind of way. Cusack is able to deliver quick-witted lines with ease and draws us in to the life if a drunkard who has reached his creative end, but continues to attempt at creating another work that would get him enough money for the next drink until he finds the next story. Luke Evans plays Detective Emmett Fields, a methodical man who is working hard to solve the case and catch the killer before it’s too late. His performance is solid and while not as charismatic still the steady/thoughtful manner a detective like this would have.

Your typical group goes off to your typical cabin far away in the woods where help would be hard to find. The characters are your standard horror film characters; the jock, the sexy cheerleader girlfriend, the unlikely nerd/stoner that is friends with them and the virginal girl. Unlike most films that prefer to stick to these tropes out of laziness or because they know their script won't be produced otherwise, this is all part of a greater tale.

The effects in this film are well handled for the most part. We miss out on what could have been some great gory moments because of cutaways and we aren't sure why. The film is already R rated and it wouldn't have had to be over the top. The missed opportunity is something that was felt and, while not necessary, would have added a bit more horror into this horror/comedy.

I hope Val gets a revival. A truly underrated actor. For full article go to: http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/val-kilmer-unrecognizable-mark-...

The “Hunger Games” have finally arrived. Much like the characters in this movie everyone is anxious to enjoy how interesting this film is only to realize that the premise is handled as blandly as one could fear. Considering the whole premise is about a game where 24 youths hunt and kill each other this movie is exceedingly boring. I couldn’t help but wish for the film to be over before they even entered the games (as in one game). When the “games” started I realized the option of walking out became even more appealing.

Primrose Everdeen’s sister is drafted into some ridiculous game she volunteers to fight the good fight instead, thus saving her sister. Each of the twelve districts is expected to hand over one male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18 per year to compete to the death. She takes on this task to save her sister and enters a new world of ridiculous fashion and eventually some terribly shot action.