I can’t fault Zack Snyder for essentially giving us a sprawling remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” when he seeks to build a new “Star Wars” for the modern generation. “Star Wars” was, as many know, a quasi-remake of “Hidden Fortress.” Another by Kurosawa. It all comes full circle, as Snyder seeks to build a massive mythology in the vein of “Star Wars.” He really wants “Rebel Moon” to be “Star Wars”; at the end of “A Child of Fire”—well—he creates a movie that has been done before but to a much better effect (ahem–“Firefly”).
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Maestro (2023)
Bradley Cooper’s film about the life of Leonard Bernstein is why I’m firm in my opinion that pretty much most music biopics are just terrible. Bernstein is an interesting figure that we learn almost nothing about by the time the movie ends. We explore his torrid private life, sure, but Cooper opts to kind of step back from the artist that was Bernstein in favor of the person. That’s understandable considering “Maestro” is a pitch for an Oscar from the starting gate.
Dumb Money (2023) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
One of my favorite moments of the 2021 Gamestop Meme Stock debacle is watching billionaire Leon Cooperman literally crying and having a bitch fit tantrum on live TV because poor people were getting rich by rigging a system that he and his buddies have been rigging for decades. It was a delicious brief moment of poetic justice that forever made me a fan of the Gamestop Meme Stock scandal. While the COVID lock up and pandemic were wrought with so many unusual moments, the Gamestop Meme Stock remains one of the most significant incidents in American history.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
2018’s “Aquaman” was such a fun, and out of left gate adaptation of an often lampooned character. It was fun but also took the material seriously. With “The Lost Kingdom,” opts for a just fine follow up that had all the seeds of an epic book end to the DCEU. Along with being a complete tonal mess from head to toe, “The Lost Kingdom” is a poorly conceived follow up that continues the tradition of DCEU heroes that do nothing but bellyache about being super powered Gods that can actually help people.
Monica (2023)
Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica” is a beautiful film. It’s a film filled with nuance and subtlety and takes the classic tale of someone returning to their old home and gives is a contemporary all too relevant twist. Trace Lysette is excellent as the titular Monica, a woman who is spending her every waking moment trying to survive and reach some sort of human connection that she craves. This stems from her past with her family, including her mother who disowned her at a young age prompting her to run away from home. For a movie so centered on what is a very important, and common obstacle for people of the LGBTQ community.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Rabbit Rhapsody (1946)
2023 marks the 85th Anniversary of Bug Bunny’s first animated appearance in 1938’s “Porky’s Hare Hunt.” Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we’re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We’re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too.
Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.
Rhapsody Rabbit (1946)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Manuel Perez
One of the many reasons why I was a small kid that loved classical music was that I pretty much cut my teeth on the Looney Tunes shorts. I spent so much of my time watching the animated shorts that were not only comical and fun, but also embraced the idea of classical music. “Rhapsody Rabbit” further serves to convey the beautiful marriage between classical music and the Looney Tunes shorts. The animation studio has always used music as a wonderful means of filling in what the writers or animators couldn’t. Classical music, folk music, and pop music were used to convey all kinds of emotions and conflict, and with “Rhapsody Rabbit,” it’s merely an amazing example of how the music compliments the animation and vice versa.
The Boys in the Boat (2023)
There’s a moment before the big race in the finale of “The Boys in the Boat” where the American team are waiting to enter and they come across Jessie Owens. Owens, being the only black character who appears a total of twenty seconds, confirms that he hopes he is “the fastest man alive” when they ask him. “You gonna race for Germany and give Hitler what for?” they ask salivating, “No, I’m gonna do it for America.” They all give each other bewildered looks (Him America not like Our America? Nuh uh!) pretty much perpetuating the sheer tone deafness of George Clooney’s latest film.
His movie almost always finds an interesting angle and point to go in and then veers off the track colliding in to sheer nothingness.