Taylor Sheridan’s “Those Who Wish Me Dead” is a nice, neatly packed vehicle that hearkens back to the simpler thrillers from the 1990’s and doesn’t really demand too much from her. Back in the decade, this movie probably would have been headlined by someone like Ashley Judd or some such. In either case, “Those Who Wish Me Dead” isn’t entirely an original or groundbreaking film, but as a solid and reliable thriller, it works. And it works damn well once it gets moving.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Thunder Force (2021)
Riddle me this: If the media keeps boasting about how much of a brilliant actress you are, and you do nothing but star in crappy movie vehicles created by your husband, are you really that much of an actress? I ask that because I’ve about lost all tolerance for Melissa McCarthy. Maybe at one time in her career, she seemed like she could rise to the top of the heap. But her insistence on allowing her husband Ben Falcone to sabotage her career with consistently awful movies has completely tainted any remaining good faith in her.
Top 5 Tex Avery Animated Shorts
I’ve been a huge fan of Tex Avery since I was a small child. I spent most of my childhood cutting my teeth on animation from masters like Bob McKimson, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and the Fleischer Brothers, and Avery always had his own unusual style. For years he worked at Warner producing the Looney Tunes shorts, and produced some of his best work at MGM Studios. Avery’s work is bizarre, innovative, and so absolutely funny that they still manage to produce laughter just as much as the classic Looney Tunes.
This year, Warner released two whole (long overdue) volumes of uncut, unedited Tex Avery shorts on Blu-Ray for animation fans and collectors alike. In celebration of that release, I thought I’d list five of my all time favorite Tex Avery shorts, most of which were produced with MGM Studios.
Are there any shorts from Tex Avery that you love that I didn’t list? Let us know in the comments!
SF Sketchfest Presents “Plan 9 From Outer Space” Table read – adapted by comedian Dana Gould
Part of the 2021 TCM Classic Film Festival, the SF Sketchfest presents their rendition of “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” The virtual event is depicted through a series of web cams, and in glorious black and white just for authenticity. Despite the characters not being able to play off one another, the adaptation of “Plan 9” from Dana Gould is actually damn good, and that can be attributed mainly to the fantastic cast, all of whom have a great time with the goofy material.
TV on DVD: Warner Archive’s Complete Series
I’m a big fan of “Josie and the Pussycats.” I think the theme song one of the most raucously entertaining themes ever made, while the cartoon is one of the better byproducts of the “Scooby Doo” influence. Hoping to continue the series, Hanna Barbera took their franchise to the more obvious setting: Space! And they branched out in to orbit with Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space: The Complete Series, now on Blu-Ray.
Poms (2019)
The way Roger Ebert felt toward “Bucket List” is kind of the way I feel toward “Poms.” While it is a movie that’s meant to be life affirming and celebrating old age, “Poms” watches like a patronizing, exploitative last gasp of a once excellent actress. For a movie that is meant to be fun and light hearted, “Poms” is painfully depressing while also being embarrassingly bland and silly when we get down to it. I’m all for movies that confront the idea of ageism and that nothing can hold us back from accomplishing our dreams, but “Pom” is absolutely disingenuous to its very foundation.
Earwig and the Witch (2020) [Blu-Ray/DVD]
I’m one of the traditionalists that think Studio Ghibli should have stuck to hand drawn animation, but sometimes there’s just no fighting change. With “Earwig and the Witch” there’s so much new, that you’re almost tricked in to forgetting that the movie almost has no real narrative. At all. This is one of Studio Ghibli’s more aimless movies that doesn’t have a whole lot to it. Substantially, the movie packs in some great animation, and it’s quite startling how some of the motion for some scenes looks so realistic. I’m not going to say that the movie is an accomplishment in regards to Ghibli because Pixar has pulled off so much better.
Hell, Dreamworks has accomplished so much more with this medium.