I remember a time where it was nearly impossible to get a film like “Fags” made, but now we’re in a glorious time where the LGBT community is allowed to be fun and unleash their creative visions. “Fags in the Fast Lane” is Andy Warhol, John Waters, Russ Meyers, and a dash of Frank Henenlotter thrown in to a blender and given some pretty fun tweaks here and there allowing Josh Collins and writer Steven G. Michael to go as far out there as he wants. Thankfully he never loses track of the narrative or the film’s genuinely weird sense of humor once. “Fags” is a very LGBT aimed action comedy but it also has an admirable sense of self-awareness always looking for any reason to poke fun at itself.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Solutions (2017)
Derek is a man who can do big things for big people, and one night he meets with a politician who wants to become the next president. With a lot of money at hand, Derek begins fixing operations for Derek and investigating his rivals. The only catch this time is that Derek has his son Damon alongside him and is showing him the business of getting to know people, and not trusting anyone. Zachary Halfter’s “Solutions” is a fine movie that mixes “Roger Dodger” with “The Sting” in that it’s about a teacher imparting some tough lessons on an apprentice.
Shadow (2018)
Nicholas Goodwin’s “Shadow” is a masterfully done drama about exploitation and an all too common look at how society perceives sexual standards among men and women. I wish “Shadow” had a longer time to dwell on the ideas it presents, as well as the event that goes unnoticed more times than not. Revell Carpenter is excellent as a young girl named Jane who is struggling with her feelings while in college.
Ekaj (2015)
Cati Gonzalez’s “Ekaj” presents an interesting conundrum for me, because while they compare their film to “Midnight Cowboy” they also compare it to “Kids.” I for one loathe “Kids” while loving “Midnight Cowboy.” The latter is the tale of the American dream and our grasping for it that is often unattainable. Thankfully while “Ekaj” can sometimes have the guerilla filmmaking of “Kids,” it’s thankfully much more steeped in “Midnight Cowboy,” in the end, which is why I probably enjoyed it.
The Top Ten Grooviest Moments from “Ash vs. Evil Dead”
Well it’s done and sadly, this is probably the last we’ll ever see of Ashley Williams. Despite fans wanting more from “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” Starz! Verified that the series was officially cancelled after three seasons, and Bruce Campbell confirmed that he’s hanging up his boom stick and chainsaw as Ash forever. It stings to know Ash won’t be back in live action form at least, but you know what?
On the bright side we got three whole seasons of a great series. “Ash vs. Evil Dead” continued the movie series, paved new roads for the series, introduced new deadite fighting heroes we can root for, and never held back on gore, grue, and deadite chopping action and comedy. Thanks to Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell for giving fans a last hurrah for Ash Williams. Hail to the King.
Here are ten of my favorite moments from “Ash vs. Evil Dead.”
Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare? (2018)
“Truth or Dare?” is a movie that feels like it belongs in 2005 where Hollywood was churning out abysmal remakes of mediocre Japanese horror movies. And that’s what it felt like I was sitting through. It feels like somewhere there’s an original Japanese version of “Truth or Dare?” that’s sadly not even very good, either. “Truth or Dare?” comes from Blumhouse which is usually great about releasing bold and unique horror movies. Even when they land with a thud, their cinematic experiments usually have potential to impress. “Truth or Dare?” wants to be this modern tech iteration of “It Follows” and “The Ring.” With a competent director and writer, this could very well have been a haunting story about the damaging effect of secrets, trauma, and how we never quite know the people we love.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) (Spoiler Filled Review)
After ten years of dodging threats left and right and staring down world destroying villains all through time and space, the Avengers meet their greatest foe yet. Known as Thanos, he’s a warmonger and mad man who has waged pure battle against the concept of life, and seeks six gemstones to complete his gauntlet. Said gauntlet will grant him the powers of a god, allowing him to complete his ultimate goal for the Marvel Universe. Suffice to say that after every threat has been thwarted from Red Skull to Loki, Thanos is the most fierce and complex villain that the Avengers has ever met.
Spoilers after the Jump >>>