"Green Lantern" opens in theaters this week. Fanboys are polishing their power rings and ready to recite the GL oath. I am not thrilled about Ryan Reynolds as the lead, but I'll take what I can get in a super hero movie.
This has already been a super year for comic movies: "Green Hornet," "Thor," "Almighty Thor" (on SyFy and DVD), X-Men: First Class." Plus, "Captain America" is due next month.
While this is a banner year for costumed heroes in movies, there are a host of cool comic movies available on DVD, Netflix or cable.
So, here are the Weekend Drive-In's Top Five Super Flicks:
5) "Swamp Thing" (1982): This is my favorite Wed Craven movie. Yes, Swamp Thing's suit is obviously rubber, but this movie still rocks. Based on DC cult favorite, "Swamp Thing" follows the transformation of Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise) into an intellectual muck monster (Dick Durock). Adding a little sex appeal...okay, A LOT of sex appeal...and some romance is the lovely Cable (Adrienne Barbeau). Louis Jourdan plays arch fiend Arcane, who dukes it out with Swampy. Lot of action, monsters, swamp chases and of course, a love story for the ages.
4)"Conan the Barbarian" (1982): This movie made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star, and it still holds up. Regardless of his recent problems, "Conan" still rocks. Okay, the title character isn't really a super hero, and he was originally a pulp character before appearing in Marvel Comics. I'll still list it though. Great cast: Mako, Sandahl Bergman, surfer Gerry Lopez, Max Von Sydow. And James Earl Jones is absolutely awesome as villain Thulsa Doom. Great orchestral score and cool sword fights. Arnold's new son should be proud!
3) "Flash Gordon" (1980): The special effects have not held up very well. Still "Flash Gordon" is a trippy classic thanks to psychedelic backgrounds, gory violence and rock soundtrack (by Queen). Having solid actors like Max Von Sydow (as Ming), Timothy Dalton (as Barin), Brian Blessed (as Vultan) and Topol (as Zarkov) helps. Oh yeah, Sam J. Jones does a good job as the title character. I was disappointed that a sequel was never made, but have many found memories of this B-classic.
2) "Spider-Man 2" (2004): I can't believe that they're already rebooting the "Spider-Man" franchise. The third film in the first series sucked, but this one is excellent. Spidey battles Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina in an excellent performance). The fight scenes look like they're lifted straight from a comic book, and director Sam Raimi treats the material with respect. Never too cute, never too serious, "Spider-Man 2" appeals to both fanboys and non-comic fans alike.
1) "Batman Returns" (1992): Fanboys will probably call me an idiot for not listing "The Dark Knight" in this list. Sorry, but I didn't like that movie...but I have great memories of this Tim Burton classic. The caped crusader (Michael Keaton) takes on the Penguin (Danny Devito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Corporate tyrant Max Schreck (a scene stealing Christopher Walken) also complicates matters for Bats. This isn't as serious as the Christopher Nolan downers, but it's still fairly dark. It's nearly 20 years old, but I think it's held up fairly well. It might not be true to DC's vision of the masked manhunter, but "Batman Returns" balances cartoon imagery with wicked humor to remain an odd, fun classic.
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