Director Ti West has always been a master of building up his films and then diving in to a massive explosion. It can still be seen with his first film “The Roost,” his bang up cult gem “House of the Devil,” and he continues that tradition with “X.” Much of “X” was shrouded in mystery upon its release, and while it’s definitely wearing its obvious influences on its sleeve, make no mistake: everything you see here, everything that unfolds, all of it is definitely from Ti West.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
After the surprise success of “Sonic the Hedgehog” it’s fun to see our blue hero get his due after so many years. While the series isn’t quite perfect, once it hits its highs, it’s fun, funny, and filled with some well directed action. For the follow up the natural progression is the introduction of Sonic’s famed video game sidekick Tails, along with their classic video game nemesis Knuckles. While “Sonic 2” is a great follow up, it has a severe problem with its human characters.
Bryan Loves You (2008): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
Director Seth Landau’s “Bryan Loves You” is the prime example of a movie that has a great idea but never quite sticks the execution. With the film’s trademark mask and set up, “Bryan Loves You” has every single chance to be a terrifying tale about cults, hive minds and indoctrination. Instead, a lot of what unfolds is rambling filler that never quite amounts to much of a movie.
Malignant (2021) [Spoilers Included]
One half of James Wan’s “Malignant” is a bonkers, bizarre, campy, violent remake of “Basket Case.” It is so painfully self-aware, and it has a good time with it by often fucking with the audience. The second half seems to be a look at how ridiculous James Wan can get before the movie rushes to the merciful end. While I can forgive director Wan for “borrowing” from Frank Henenlotter for the sake of his bonkers horror film, I pretty much give up once the film devolves in to myriad plot holes and inexplicable martial arts sequences.
Morbius (2022)
“Morbius, The Living Vampire” is one of those third tier Spider-Man villains who were never quite iconic, but also never someone you could write off as a lightweight. While he originated with Spider-Man he fit more in to the horror corner of the Marvel universe, and much like Marvel, his feature film debut doesn’t really know what to do with him, exactly. The movie audiences never seem to lose their appetites for stylish vampire movies, and “Morbius” had franchise written all over him to where could have served as an unofficial companion to the “Blade” movie series. It’s hard to believe that Sony could get “Morbius, the Living Vampire” so wrong from the gate.
The Batman (2022)
“The Batman” is a sure bet for Warner Bros. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good movie, but with their development department scrambling on one single vision for their DCEU, rebooting Batman yet again, just makes sense. It rebuilds confidence (borrowed time) in their brand, and it guarantees moolah in the box office. It’s cynical but now we have three cinematic jokers, two live action Batmans, and a new movie fans are going to spend the next year wondering where it fits in to the timeline.
Five Best “Wayne’s World” Musical Breaks
1992’s “Wayne’s World” is considered a classic and is, without a doubt, one of my all time favorite comedies. It’s also one of the very (very) few SNL based movies that took a great skit and turned it in to a great movie. It didn’t just become a movie, but built its own universe around it. One of the more underrated aspects of “Wayne’s World” is how it uses music to tell its story. It implements classic rock and heavy metal to really explore the characters of Wayne and Garth, and how they associate their world with their favorite music.
These are five of my favorite musical breaks in “Wayne’s World.” Do you have any of your own?