Between outrageous ticket prices and patrons who can’t stop texting/Tweeting/yapping for even two lousy seconds after the lights go down, I’ve often wondered whether it’s still possible to experience child-like joy at the movies. However, my skepticism was no match for the wonderful J.J. Abrams-directed thriller Super 8. It was like time travel. Just seconds into this film, I could feel myself turning back into that 12-year-old girl who was watching E.T. for the first time.

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Super 8 is an obvious homage to his late ’70s and ’80s classic films. Though it’s been widely praised, some critics have called it an emotionally manipulative Spielberg knockoff. Well, duh. Expert emotional manipulation is one of Spielberg’s superpowers, and I wouldn’t have him any other way. Abrams proves to be an A-student of Spielberg’s style, but Super 8 stands firmly on its own. It’s a sentimental, affecting, and frequently frightening story with a geeky soul.

It’s 1979, and middle-schooler Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) has just buried his mother, who died on the job at the town steel plant. He’s got a distant relationship with his dad, Jackson (Kyle Chandler), a stoic deputy who isn’t thrilled about his son’s hobby. Joe’s been shooting a zombie movie with a pack of misfits, led by his hilariously loudmouthed friend, Charles (Riley Griffiths). He’s also got an ulterior motive, which is getting close to Alice, the guarded girl next door (Elle Fanning).

This was when a kid could get on a bike and disappear for hours, with no cell phone as a parental GPS, and inhabit a world free of supervision or adult micromanagement. Trust me when I say that Super 8 nails the era, clothes, furniture, and all. Joe’s room is cluttered with Star Wars action figures and other period-appropriate tchotchkes. The movie is blissfully free of the hyper-intelligent, snarky banter that child actors trade in so many modern movies and TV shows.

While the young filmmakers shoot a night scene at the train station, there’s a devastating, metal-twisting crash that leaves hundreds of white, Rubik’s cube-like items on the scorched earth. Charles’ trusty camera is still rolling, and this is where Super 8 takes a turn onto Oh, Snap! Boulevard. The kids are completely freaked out by the incident and its aftermath, but they can’t breathe a word to anyone. Even Joe is forbidden from telling his dad, who soon has the impossible task of reassuring the townsfolk as the disturbances escalate. It’s what we don’t see that scares us most, and I jumped in my seat more than once. Anyone can show a bloodbath, but for genuine chills, nothing beats a shadowy creature behind rustling tree branches.

Super 8‘s real triumph, however, is in its endearing characters. Courtney, who I swear is channeling Henry Thomas from 1982, is teriffic as the vulnerable but spunky Joe. I loved his scenes with Fanning, who plays Alice with such quiet, convincing melancholy. Griffiths steals many a scene as a tyrannical film director-in-training, and the audience laughed every time he opened his mouth.

Friday Night Lights fans already know this, but Chandler should play everyone’s dad in everything. He’s completely believable as a man who’s grieving and overwhelmed, but will be damned if he lets anyone see it. Chandler’s weary, WTF? demeanor throughout Super 8 reminded me very much of (Spielberg reference!) Roy Scheider’s Police Chief Brody in Jaws.

I’m not going to give away the mystery of the white cubes or what dragged that poor, screaming sap through a convenience store window. Cinematic things that go bump in the night are best experienced firsthand, and Super 8 serves its fright with a nostalgic side of sweetness. Savor it, and make sure you stay for the closing credits.

Critics have slammed it, and the box office numbers are dismal in comparison to the $82 million budget. The former affecting the latter, I’m sure. But Sucker Punch has quickly become a polarizing film in pop culture fandom. I stand firmly on the side of the pleated skirts. Orcs, fishnets, and Steampunk Nazis? Oh, yeah. Baby Doll leads us on a physics-defiant fantasy ride within her two-tiered dissociative delusions, which are the movie.

The Good
The soundtrack is out-of-control awesome. Look, Sucker Punch is not exactly dialogue-heavy (you knew that, right?) The music is a driving force and works as a transition from reality to dream world. Grit and rhythm engage you in Baby Doll’s mental reality. It works. Soundtrack downloaded. The music must be experienced in an IMAX theater.

I have got to give it to these ladies; they pulled off some phenomenal fight sequences. I suppose 12 weeks of training and dead-lifting 200 pounds might get one in shape. Particular props go to Vanessa Hudgens and her super-sweet ass kicking of one steam-powered Nazi robot. I literally squealed when she was done. Aside from the combat scenes, the action sequences were just visually stunning. Scenes of dodging dragons in a fighter jet and exploding futuristic cities, were wildly amusing.

Since I’m on the topic of eye candy, those girls are hot to the tenth power. No one should be ashamed of saying so. Yeah, the costumes are clearly fetishist, but fetish does not equal “bad.” Personally, I can’t wait for the cosplay Sucker Punch will inspire. I’m looking at you, Dragon*Con.

The Bad
The story does drag at the beginning, but who’s going to see this shit for the story? Seriously.

As is the way of Hollywood, Sucker Punch touts some major violence towards women, mostly in the form of attempted and implied rape, and a murder or two. The ladies do fend off the physical affronts, and the violators are shown reaping the consequences of their actions. But the “damsel in distress” is not just an emotional plot hook, it is the crux of the film. The reason the girls have to defend their person at all is because they are held against their will. In one layer of Baby Doll’s dream world, they are sex slaves and are fighting for their freedom. Ultimately, I’m not so much bothered that it is in the film, but because Sucker Punch garnered a PG-13 rating.

Snyder originally had a sex scene with Baby Doll and The High Roller (John Hamm), consensual sex where Baby Doll is enjoying herself. The MPAA ordered this to be edited. Their request cut the scene down to where it looked as if Baby Doll was not experiencing pleasure, thus it seemed as if she was being taken advantage of. The MPAA was OK with that version. Why would they want that in a film where the girls are fighting against that very thing? Snyder cut the scene all together.

I take issue with the MPAA and its culturally and politically skewed rating system. That is where the blazing misogyny dwells. Sucker Punch contains no blood and most of the more extreme violence is implied. There is still slavery and murder of young women. But it gets the studio-sanctioned PG-13 rating once the female pleasure portion of the show is cut?

I am a woman with a daughter, and I enjoyed this movie. The female characters have enough spit and fire in them, and ultimately they triumph. I also recognize it in the context of the 1950s setting. But the interwebs are alive with folks bitching about gender roles and vapidity of Sucker Punch. Do me a solid; direct your angst towards the MPAA. I don’t think this film should be accessible to the 13-17 crowd, but I guess the studio has to make their money back somehow.

The Verdict
Sucker Punch is a scantily clad acid trip, which may not appeal to everyone’s sensibilities. However, it is damn good time. If you expect this to be intellectual fodder for the ages, you’re an idiot. I’d really like it if everyone lightened the fuck up, let it be the cheesecake film that it is obviously meant to be. Pop culture has been graced with five new kick-ass ladies: Baby Doll, Sweet Pea, Rocket, Blondie, and Amber. Enjoy the view. I did.

Sanaa Lathan

Sanaa Lathan: She’s played plenty of strong characters, and her turn as a driven career woman in the little-seen Something New was really good. As an actress, Lathan has the right mix of steeliness and vulnerability to do right by the role.

Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones: The multitalented Ms. Jones could do a great screwball comedy turn on Lois Lane, harkening back to the Margot Kidder model. There’s something wonderfully perky about her, and since she’s co-authored a comic book, we know she’s a fan of the medium.

Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes: Besides having a stunning screen presence, Eva just comes across as a formidable woman. She’s also funny, as her turn as Will Ferrell’s wife in The Other Guys proves. I can definitely see her staring down a shady mofo on the other side of a reporter’s notebook.

Anika Noni Rose

Anika Noni Rose: The voice of Disney’s first African-American princess and big-screen Dreamgirl would make a plucky, loveable Lois. She’s a fresh face and a big talent who deserves more exposure. Plus, she’s a fellow alum of my alma mater (Florida A&M, represent!).

Grace Park: She’s been on Battlestar Galactica (geek cred!), and she’s currently Det. Kona Klakaua in the updated Hawaii Five-O TV show (badass!) Enough said.

Thandie Newton

Thandie Newton: OK, Thandie was my top choice to play Selina Kyle, but that ain’t gonna happen. So why not give this lovely, proven actress a chance to do her thing as the most famous reporter in the DCU? Besides, who would deny this woman a quote?

If you’ve been a geek for any length of time, you’ve likely encountered your Scott and Jean — a comic book topic that makes you so angry that you can’t discuss it without going completely off. I’m not talking casual disdain, but full, frightening-the-children rage. As someone who was deeply affected by Batman: A Death in the Family when it was originally published, I’d long considered Jason Todd’s return from the grave to be my Scott and Jean. Especially since said return has often amounted to little more than violent douchery. (Big spoilers ahead.)

While I eventually reached a sort of Zen acceptance about Jason’s resurrection, I had no intention of watching, let alone enjoying, the animated film adaptation of Judd Winick’s Batman: Under the Red Hood. My husband ordered it On Demand, and after a long day, I simply didn’t have the will to get off the couch. The bottom line: Jason’s presence remains problematic in a bigger sense, but it works surprisingly well in a self-contained story. And despite the inherent cheapness of bringing characters back from the dead, Under the Red Hood has some truly gripping moments that evoke the raw sadness of A Death in the Family.

Nothing annoys Bruce Wayne like a fellow vigilante, particularly one who has no problem capping criminals. So when a nouveau Red Hood shows up in Gotham City and starts blowing shit up, Bruce and Dick Grayson (still Nightwing in this context) go after him. Even if you’re not familiar with the Judd Winick-penned comics the movie is based on, it doesn’t take much to figure out Mr. Hood’s identity. After all, the story is punctuated with flashbacks of Bruce and Jason’s time together as Batman and Robin, including the latter’s sickening death at the Joker’s hand. That scene alone is worthy of a PG-13 rating, so make no mistake: Under the Red Hood is not appropriate for small or sensitive children.

Speaking of the Joker, John DiMaggio’s voice work as the cackling menace to society is excellent. His delivery is alternately ha-ha funny and ha-ha-now-he’s-freaking-me-out creepy. Bruce Greenwood is a solid Batman, and you can never go wrong with Neil Patrick Harris, who gives voice to Nightwing. Jensen Ackles is fine, if not memorable, as Jason Todd. The animation is well executed, and it’s more fluid than some of the earlier DC direct-to-DVD offerings.

Under the Red Hood is sure to rekindle the conversation about Batman’s no-killing code, particularly where the Joker is concerned. As the Red Hood himself puts it, we’re not talking about Penguin or Harvey Dent (Two-Face), but a serial, gleeful murderer who beat an adolescent to death and put Barbara Gordon in a wheelchair. Seriously; go back and look at those panels of the Joker clubbing Jason with a crowbar and tell me that guy doesn’t deserve far worse than a presidential suite at Arkham. (Gee, maybe THIS is my Scott and Jean.) I get Bruce’s concern about tumbling into the abyss, but somehow, I think he’d be OK. And this being DC, it’d only be a matter of time before the Joker came back to life!

My non-geek spouse, who completely dug this movie, had the advantage of being able to view it without the continuity baggage. We both agreed that the final scene is real heart-tugger, but it also reminded me of what an awkward position Jason Todd now occupies within the DC Universe. Considering all he’s been through — including the readers’ decision to off him in the first place — I can’t help but think he deserves more than a gold Crazy Medal.

I hope the Glover campaign wasn’t completely for naught, though. Maybe the studio will at least offer him a juicy supporting role, or perhaps he’ll now be a serious contender to play another movie hero. The main argument against his casting was that a black Spider-Man might confuse people, but I don’t see how. Young, brilliant man bitten by radioactive spider. Develops super powers. Puts on tights. Fights crime. Where’s the confusion?

What’s your take on Garfield’s casting? Who should play Mary Jane? Aunt Mae? (Helen Mirren in the house!) Do you even care about this franchise?

No joke. We can see it.

The hilarious NBC sitcom “Community” is on a short list of things we love as much as reading comic books. So cast member Donald Glover — aka junior college jock, Troy — had G3 at biblioteca when he began campaigning for the Peter Parker role in the forthcoming “Spider-Man” film reboot. Glover is a gem on a show filled with them, and the studio would be smart to take his interest seriously. The fact that he’s African American isn’t an obstacle — it’s an opportunity to breathe new life into a movie franchise that’s grown a little tired. Here’s why putting Glover in red and blue tights makes perfect sense:

Filmgoers need a reason to care.
The last movie in the Tobey Maguire-led trilogy was released just three years ago, so when news of a reboot began circling a few months ago, even hardcore geeks were asking, “Why?” Spider-Man hasn’t been gone long enough for us to miss him, and there’s a big cloud of been-there-done-that hanging over this idea. Casting someone unexpected — like a nonwhite actor — would certainly heighten filmgoers’ interest, and you could do worse than a guy on a critically acclaimed TV show.

Glover’s a good actor.
When you can hold your own in a scene with Chevy Chase, you’re obviously doing something right. Comedic acting is harder than it looks, and Glover’s take on Troy, a less-than-brilliant former high school football star, is endearing and frequently LOL funny. He’s handsome but accessible in that boy-next-door way, and Glover could easily amp up the intelligence to play reluctant superhero Peter Parker. He’d be awfully cute in glasses, not to mention the suit.

Spidey is familiar enough to re-imagine.
With three very recent live-action movies on DVD shelves, Spider-Man is well known to the general public — so familiar that taking him in a direction shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Besides …

Kids don’t care that much.
On an Around Comics podcast several months ago, one of the panelists mentioned that his nephew, who is white, had this reaction to Ryan Reynolds’ casting as Green Lantern: “Green Lantern’s white now? Aw, man.” This kid had grown up on the Justice League Cartoon Network series, in which the resident Green Lantern is a black man, John Stewart. I could be wrong, but the racial freak-outs — at least as far as entertainment goes — seem to be more of an adult specialty.

Peter is an outsider.
Peter Parker’s origin story is full of teen-outsider angst, and take it from me: Few things are more ‘outside’ than a black, adolescent geek. Glover could take that aspect of Parker’s life in a whole ’nother direction.

While we’re on this topic, can the filmmakers please cast a better Mary Jane this time around? It would be cool for the studio to cast a talented, non-white performer in that role, too, but that (unfortunately) might be asking too much. If so, I hereby nominate cute-as-a-button Alison Brie, another fabulous “Community” cast member. She and Glover have such good chemistry, and in her recurring role on “Mad Men,” she’s proven that she can do drama as well as comedy. Bring on the Clairol #44 red hair coloring, and it’s a wrap. Hollywood, you’re welcome!

Well, damn.

On the Entertainment Weekly website, writer Darrin Franich sparked a lively debate by suggesting that Beyonce play the lead in a yet-to-be-greenlit Wonder Woman movie. It’s not an entirely new discussion: In 2008, the megastar herself said that she’d love to rock Diana’s tiara, and that a black Wonder Woman would make a powerful, 21^st-Century statement.

We at G3 are not Beyonce haters. She’s a gorgeous, talented entertainer, and no one would be happier than me to see a black woman in a superhero film. Not that one of the world’s biggest stars needs my stamp of approval, but even with all of B.’s assets, I can’t get behind this idea.

She’d certainly look great in the costume, and I know our society is supposed to be all post-racial now. (And let me know how that’s going, because there seems to be plenty of hostile, openly racist commentary on this topic.) However, Wonder Woman is an iconic figure who has been white for 70 years. In order for Jane and Joe Moviewatcher to get past that, any nonwhite actress who played the lead would have to be amazing. Kenneth Branagh was criticized for casting Idris Elba as a Norse deity in the upcoming “Thor” movie, but guess what? Idris Elba is an established actor, and a really good one. He isn’t a singer who’s still learning the acting craft.

Beyonce’s acting has gotten better, but it’s still not good enough to take on one of the best-known superheroes of all time — especially one who is so woefully overdue for a major, live-action movie. Besides, every time B. gets a juicy film role, I can’t help but think that someone with better chops was cheated. It’s not like Hollywood has that many brown actresses on speed-dial to begin with, and Beyonce doesn’t exactly need the work or the exposure.

Alas, life and movies aren’t fair, I wouldn’t boycott a Wonder Woman movie just because I disagreed with the casting. Plenty of filmgoers — including my husband — would happily buy a ticket to see Beyonce in that tiara, and her acting ability probably wouldn’t have much to do with it.

What’s your take on the casting debate?

That being said, the “Kick-Ass” trailer showcasing the foul-mouthed, cap-busting 11-year-old character Hit-Girl is bananas. My friend T., who studied film in college, described it perfectly as “One of the most appalling movie clips I’ve ever seen, and one of the most awesome.” I haven’t read Mark Millar’s “Kick-Ass” comic, but based on this clip alone, I kinda wish the movie was just about Hit-Girl.

There’s been some discussion of whether 12-year-old Chloe Moretz’s bloody turn as a pint-sized assassin is yet another sign of our depraved, hell-in-a-handbasket times. Obviously, in real life, a child (or anyone) shooting folks in the face is horrifying. But personally, I find the success of the “Saw” franchise and child beauty pageants far more troubling than this clip for a movie that is so not for kids. As V. put it, if you replaced Moretz with Charlize Theron, it would just be another action flick. (I also wonder if people would be less disturbed by Hit Boy. Anybody remember how 10-year-old Damian Wayne decapitated a criminal and then tried to put Tim Drake on ice in “Son of Batman?” I’m just saying.)

Maybe it’s because I grew up in the ’70s when Jodie Foster and Brooke Shields were playing tween prostitutes and the original Bad News Bears cursed like sailors, but I can’t get into an End Times tizzy over this. If anything, the Hit-Girl clip stands in stark contrast to the chicks-as-victims stereotype we’ve seen a zillion times. I suppose you could make the case that an impressionable child could find the clip on YouTube and mimic the violence, but a kid who is roaming the Internet unsupervised will find a whole lot worse than this.

Given that the world is full of real children who are forced into the unthinkable — child soldiers come to mind — wringing our hands over a fictional character’s acts of cartoon violence seems a bit silly. As Hit-Girl herself might put it, this made-to-shock clip is just %$#@ng with us.