Spawn (1997)

(In theaters, July 1997) This adaptation of the comic-book series is more or less faithful to the original, and is surprisingly entertaining provided you enter the theatre with the right frame of mind. A dark and stylish (if sucky) story combined with some great (and not-so-great) cartoonish CGI makes this a nice, un-ambitious matinee. Standout performance from John Leguizamo as “The Clown.” Spawn sometimes feels like an expensive pilot for a TV series… hopes are that the presumed sequel will be superior.