Night of the Wild (2015)

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

“Night of the Wild” is a lot like those terrible seventies nature run amok movies. It’s badly directed, horribly edited, has terrible continuity issues, and garners some inadvertent camp. All that’s missing is an obligatory nude scene. “Night of the Wild” is brimming with potential, beginning with a premise that could have amounted to a great movie. A mysterious green meteor crash lands on a small farm town spreading its meteorites. Suddenly the local animal population begin turning on their masters, becoming violent murderous monsters. Without explanation or warning, now the humans must fight to survive and figure out a way to make it out of their town. “Night of the Wild” pretty much dips in quality after the first ten minutes, creating a story that the budget and resources couldn’t possibly afford.

Continue reading →

Scooby Doo Meets KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

If you’re one of the many KISS fans that have always wondered what a sequel to “KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park” would look like, look no further. “Scooby Doo Meets KISS” should be more aptly titled “KISS Meets the Crimson Witch featuring Scooby Doo.” In all honesty, while this is primarily a cartoon for the Scooby Doo franchise, the majority of the film is based around KISS and their magical presences. Even the opening sequence is comprised of wonderful animated KISS montages with “Rock and Roll All Night” playing rather than the Scooby Doo theme song.

Continue reading →

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Melissa Joan Hart is really good casting as Sabrina, the young witch who discovers that she has magical powers on her sixteenth birthday. Hart was always able to convey the girl next door charm and otherworldly beauty well, and she is able to transform Sabrina in to an admirable silver screen heroine. Much like the comics that spawned her, Joan Hart plays Sabrina a transfer student from Massachusetts who goes to live with her aunts at Riverdale. She’s fairly new to her school and dreams of becoming one of the senior elite. On the day of her sixteenth birthday, she discovers that she comes from a long line of witches and that her aunts are her witch mentors.

Continue reading →

R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls (2015)

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I don’t know how they keep recruiting these Disney stars to headline the RL Stine movies. Disney always seems to have such a tight grasp on them. In either case, “Cabinet of Souls” is the very definition of an RL Stine story, except with a much longer format. It surely sports the same mold and aesthetic with a small town, teen protagonists, and evil villains that seek to ruin their innocence somehow. It stumbles on occasion, and there’s a clear lack of wit that you can usually find with Stine’s yarns, but it’s a pleasing movie; especially if you’re a fan of Dove Cameron, Katherine McNamara, or Ryan McCartan.

Continue reading →

Monsters University (2013)

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

With Pixar’s “Monsters University,” the company has its heart in the right place once again, except it’s in a different spot this time around. With their prequel, Pixar creates a respectable and fun companion piece to “Monsters, Inc.” Pixar’s dabbling in to the ever heinous prequel works as a part of the mythology of Sullie and Mike Wazowksi and how they became companions. If Mike isn’t a scarer why does he work at Monsters, Inc? And how did Sullivan become such a great scarer? It’s because of the bond that the pair share; and the prequel gives us a wider back story on the core characters of the monsters series.

Continue reading →

Insidious Chapter 3 (2015)

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I hope Blumhouse and James Wan quit while they’re ahead because so far, “Insidious” has been a strong trilogy of horror films. While the first is still the best, “Chapter 3” is a strong follow up that succeeds in creating its own level of terror and suspense, while also giving us the origin of Elise and her team of Tucker and Specs. Most prequels don’t normally work, but “Chapter 3” does, mainly because it doesn’t rely too strongly on foreshadowing to the first film. It includes a wink and a nod every now and then, but they’re thankfully used in moderation and with clever effect.

Continue reading →

Insidious Chapter 2 (2013)

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I was perfectly happy to have “Insidious” end on the dark note that it did. I didn’t need any further emphases on what had occurred because it was very self explanatory. However, I’m glad that “Insidious Chapter 2” explains what occurred while also expanding on it, and building on that dark note to create an even darker note. “Chapter 2” doesn’t top the original, but in a Hollywood currently obsessed with trilogies, I’m thankful that “Chapter 2” feels more like an extension of the mythos rather than a cheap cash grab. Everything is essentially the same as we saw it from the first film with harsh tones of red and blue filling every crevice of the nightmarish world James Wan creates. We’re also able to dig deeper in to the Further to explore what lies within the darkness and how it can rot souls.

Continue reading →