TheRetroCritic

I check out Super Hunchback on the original Game Boy.

Disney continues its merciless rampage of adapting every single one of its classic animated films into live-action remakes and, this time, it's The Jungle Book 's turn. Jon Favreau directs an all-star cast of voice actors and a young newcomer in what promises to be a CGI visual treat. Indeed, pretty much everything in this movie is CGI from the talking animals to the jungle itself so if it's "realism" you're looking for, you might want to go for the 1994 live-action retelling instead. The film follows certain key plot points from the original 1967 animation but it definitely takes a lot of liberties with both the story and its characters. Mowgli (Neel Sethi) willingly walks away from his wolf pack before wondering why he has to leave and later comes back to fight Shere Khan which leads to a very different ending. Speaking of which, the unnerving build-up to Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) is now gone and we see the villainous tiger pretty much straight-

Joel Schumacher directs this tense thriller about a guy who walks out of his car in the middle of a traffic jam before venting his anger at society towards whoever gets in his way or aggravates him slightly. Falling Down sees Michael Douglas deliver a complex, creepy performance in a role which should have earned him at least an Oscar nomination. He plays William Foster, the stressed-out geeky-looking everyman who embarks on an eventful journey across town to see his daughter for her birthday. Unfortunately, his ex-wife isn't exactly thrilled to learn he's on his way to see them, which only adds to his frustrations. Along the way, William encounters some petty criminals, a neo-Nazi crackpot, some rude construction workers and he causes mayhem in a convenience store and a fast food restaurant. What makes him something of an anti-hero for most of the film is the fact that it's always someone else starting a conflict with him for no reason and he's always kind of righ

As Disney once again attempts a live-action version of its own 1967 masterpiece based on Rudyard Kipling's classic story, I take a look back at the original The Jungle Book . Growing up, this was one of my favourite old Disney films along with Alice In Wonderland and Robin Hood and, to this day, it remains one of the best. Right off the bat, the opening titles show off beautiful drawn depictions of the titular jungle and an excellent, timeless score. What follows is the tale of Mowgli, a human child raised by wolves who is led by panther Bagheera (voiced by Sebastian Cabot) towards the human village so he can be protected from the evil tiger Shere Khan, who has returned to the jungle and who famously hates Man. Along the way, a reluctant Mowgli shows he can't really look after himself as a run-in with hypnotist snake Kaa (Sterling Holloway) almost ends very badly for the "man-cub" and he is later kidnapped by monkeys. He meets friendly, lazy bear Baloo who tak

Pee-wee Herman returned only a few years following his big screen debut Pee-wee's Big Adventure in this sequel which saw the off-beat man-child living on a farm and encounter a circus following an impromptu storm. Tim Burton sadly did not come back to direct this one though Danny Elfman stayed on as composer delivering a very circusy score. The first thing you'll notice watching Big Top Pee-wee is that gone are the toys and gadgets, Speck and the iconic bike Pee-wee worked so hard to recover the last time. There's something a little off-putting about seeing Pee-wee live on a farm in a completely normal and unexciting room after the colourful treat that was the last film. Add to that the fact he lives in a small town where everyone inexplicably hates his guts and this looks set to be a depressing watch. Luckily, Pee-wee soon reveals a secret room where he's working on silly secret experiments (hot dog trees etc.) and the circus soon appears thereby giving the film

Clint Eastwood directs this grim, Oscar-winning thriller from 2003 about an investigation following the death of a young girl in a Boston neighbourhood. It stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon as three friends who each have a connection to the case in some way. The film is essentially a murder mystery with Bacon and Laurence Fishburne as the detectives and everyone else as the suspects. We're first introduced to the main characters as children and learn that one of them was abducted and abused by two strangers for four days in a dark basement once, which makes for not exactly the most uplifting start to the proceedings but which becomes an important plot point later. We then catch up with the grown up kids years later: Dave (Robbins), who was abused, is now married and has a child, Jimmy (Penn) is an ex-thief with a family and dodgy connections and Sean (Bacon) is a cop. When Jimmy's daughter is found killed one morning, everyone's world is turned upside down a

I finally get to the Stage 12 boss then talk Mario and Aladdin as I continue my playthrough of the original Castlevania . Nearly there...

In the hope of reviving a decidedly retro superhero in the way that Warren Beatty brought back Dick Tracy in the early 90's, studios decided to make The Phantom , a film based on the comic strips from the 1930's. The Phantom was not going to be an easy sell for audiences with the old-fashioned tone, Billy Zane wearing that purple onesie and the 30's setting even though the cartoon series Phantom 2040 was still technically on television and the movie boasted a kickass poster. It's obvious from the get-go that the filmmakers wanted to somehow capitalise on the popularity of the Indiana Jones movies as we follow some clueless explorers looking to find a skull in an old temple before the superhero shows up to foil their plans. Amusingly, the Indiana Jones movies would later emulate The Phantom by making  The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull all about skulls. Looking at the box-office numbers, it seems like audiences didn't exactly flock to this movie which flopped h

And then it all went to s***... I realise the true meaning of being whipped as I tackle Stage 10 of Castlevania on NES. Expect foul language and lots of deaths.

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in The Running Man , a loose 1987 movie adaptation of Stephen King's novel in which a man is wrongfully arrested and thrown into a sadistic game show taking place in the dystopian future society of 2017. Here's yet another film which'll make The Hunger Games seem even less original than it already is as poor old Arnie is forced to battle enemies to the death in a modern arena. He plays Ben Richards, a helicopter pilot who, upon refusing to kill innocent civilians, is ruthlessly thrown in jail: the US has become a totalitarian police state and the media single-handedly controls what people think. Richards escapes and attempts to flee to Hawaii using a random woman's ID but the misinformed Maria Conchita Alonso turns on Richards and blows the whistle on him to the police who soon catch him again. He is soon blackmailed into taking part in the biggest game show on TV "The Running Man" hosted by a cruel (and brilliant) Richard Daw