The Dark Knight (2008) -vs- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
The Smackdown This may turn out to be our All-Time Heavyweight Smackdown — the equivalent of Ali versus Frasier — where both of the fighters are at the top of their games and both deserve […]
Action
Hellboy II (2008) -vs- Hancock (2008)
It really is the height of narcissism. Give a guy powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men and he can still manage to cop a bad attitude. And while neither Hulk nor Iron Man can really be accused of harboring sunny dispositions, the leading men of ‘tude in the summer of 2008 were a couple of anti-heroes on the extreme grouchy side: Hellboy and Hancock.
Which one of these charm school drop-outs made bad look good? That’s the Smack and, believe me, this battle is not for the thin-skinned. […]
Hancock (2008) -vs- I am Legend (2007)
The Smackdown It’s summer and if Will Smith keeps to form, he’ll surely add a few more zeroes to his bank balance. It is beyond dispute: The last 14 movies featuring the Fresh Prince grossed […]
Wanted (2008) -vs- Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
The Smackdown Angelina Jolie loves guns. On top of knowing this, I have a sneaking suspicion that studios love Angelina Jolie with guns because most men do. Who wouldn’t want to see the gorgeous wife/mistress/girlfriend […]
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) -vs- Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
 The Smackdown Movies — unlike real life — give us a taste of life as we’d like it: Dashing heroes, beautiful heroines. That idea bites the dust as the sequels and prequels and wrinkquels downgrade […]
No Country for Old Men (2007) -vs- The Terminator (1984)
The Smackdown “The thing that won’t die, in the nightmare that won’t end.” The tagline was created for 1984’s Terminator, the career-making hit for Arnold Schwartzenegger and writer-director James Cameron — but it also describes […]
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) -vs- The Long Riders (1980)
The Smackdown “Kill all the lawyers!” That’s one of the first lines from the classic 1939 version of “Jesse James,” starring Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda as the title character, and his brother, Frank. The […]
Death Sentence (2007) -vs- The Brave One (2007)
The Smackdown Revenge in the movies has plenty of fans, not many champions. It’s not a motivation that ennobles. Still, it satisfies many audiences when “you done me wrong” has lethal consequences. Dirty Harry (1971), […]
The Nines (2007) -vs- Go (1999)
The Smackdown “The Nines” begins with the protagonist tightly winding three pieces of green twine around his wrist to make a bracelet. Just like “Go” (also written by veteran screenwriter John August), you’ll have to […]
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) -vs- Mission: Impossible III (2006)
The Smackdown A good secret agent can give lift to a film franchise and turn it into a multi-billion dollar industry. We have two inside-the-CIA runs going with Bourne and Mission: Impossible,and both have gone […]