There’s nothing better than a great documentary and “Queen of the Deuce” manages to be one of the best I’ve seen this year. Valerie Kontakos’ biography about NYC figure Chelly Wilson is one of the more excellent documentaries I’ve seen that covers an array of topics from family, LGBTQ politics, and the ever lasting effects of the holocaust. More so it’s a brilliant time capsule of the Deuce, 42nd Street in New York which, at one time, was considered a virtual breeding ground of violence, sex, drugs and all other kinds of depravity.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Wednesday: The Complete First Season [Blu-Ray]
Now Available from Warner Entertainment.
Since the unfortunate passing of Raul Julia, Warner has spent many years trying to reboot their “Addams Family” property for a new generation. While the animated movies were fine enough, they just couldn’t build enough momentum. Enter Jenna Ortega. Ortega has been one of the hottest and most talented young actresses of the last five years who took the lead in a new kind of “Addams Family” series. This time, with Tim Burton leading the charge, fans got to spend a lot more time with the adolescent daughter of the brood Wednesday.
Shockingly, it works.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: A-Lad-In His Lamp (1948)
A-Lad-In His Lamp (1948)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Warren Foster
Animation by Charles McKimson
Music by Carl W. Stalling
This short from Bob McKimson holds significance on two levels.
The one being that it is apparently quite controversial for its depiction of middle Easterners. While I am not middle Eastern, I could understand why this short strikes a nerve today, as the middle East is depicted as nothing more than a lot of men that wield swords and solve everything with violence. Meanwhile the women are all mainly just harems and sex objects. It was apparently protested by late DJ Casey Kasem who hated the depiction of middle Easterners, and I can understand why that’d be troublesome. It’s a trope that Bugs Bunny’s shorts would continue with a lot of shorts set in the middle East or Asian communities.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023) [Make Believe Film Festival 2024]
I’ve been enamored with the French-Canadian “Humanist Vampire…” since the beginning of the year but didn’t quite have the means of being able to view it. I’m glad that I finally had a chance to, since Ariane Louis-Seize creates such a charming, and interesting coming of age horror comedy that re-thinks the whole idea of being a vampire, while also using it as an allegory for restarting our lives. Louis-Seize’s horror comedy, while not entirely original, still excels on being a great slice of life that embraces the absurdity of its premise.
Immaculate (2024)
People often underestimate Sydney Sweeney as an actress as she’s someone that can not only act her heart out, but she can also carry a film. “Immaculate” from Michael Mohan excels in every way possible, including Sweeney’s performance. She doesn’t just play a damsel in distress, but also depicts someone that is doing everything she can to fight her way out of extraordinary circumstances. Bound to be compared to “Rosemary’s Baby,” I likened “Immaculate” more to Ti West’s “House of the Devil” where a young girl is thrust in to a situation we, as the audience, are never quite sure what is unfolding, even when we’re explained what the sinister forces have in store for our protagonist.
You’ll Never Find Me (2024)
Now Streaming on Shudder.
Equal parts silly and ambitious, “Youll Never Find Me” gets by in its first hour because the audience will definitely want to know what they’ve invested all their time in. Directors Indianna Bell, and Josiah Allen keep us in the dark about what this situation is boiling in to, and by the time we’ve decided that we really don’t want to see anymore, it’s too late. By then if we shut off the movie, it’ll all have been for nothing, so you pretty much have to stay to see what ultimately culminates from such a long drawn out horror film.
A Most Atrocious Thing (2023) [Make Believe Film Festival 2024]
Directors Christian Hurley, and Ben Oliphint’s horror comedy is a movie that I bet they had a ton of fun filming. They emphasize this idea with the credits including bonus blooper reel. Sadly, none of the fun translated in to actual entertainment for me, even when I tried to see it at its level. But the movie is eighty two minutes in length (not counting the closing credits), and the mayhem doesn’t actually begin until a half hour in to the movie.