Director Brian Helgeland’s “Finestkind” would be a great movie if he and the screenwriter ever decided what kind of movie they’re actually intending to make. “Finestkind” has a lot going for it, but it’s hobbled by its terrible tonal shifts. It’s about four movies anxious to burst out and rise to the surface. For a whole hour it’s a drama about the beauty of sailing, then it’s a crime thriller, then it’s a neo-noir about a botched drug bust, then it becomes a tragic familial drama. It never focuses on one theme, thus it comes off feeling so confused and disorienting.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Elemental (2023)
People gave “Wish” a lot of guff for feeling like an AI generated movie, but I think when it comes down to it, “Elemental” is so much more guilty of this claim. “Elemental” is one of the laziest and more lethargic Disney films ever produced from Pixar and Disney. It’s such a dull concept that’s overcome by social commentary that literally clubs us over the head every chance it gets. “Elemental” is about immigration and the immigrant experience. Element city is America, or The Land of opportunity. We’re told that a least thirty times over the span of ninety minutes.
Silver Bullet (1985): 2 Disc Collector’s Edition [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
I have a ton of nostalgic value attached to “Silver Bullet” as it’s one of the first hardcore horror movies I ever remember sitting down to watch, and it’s one of the first werewolf movies I ever saw, too. I fondly remember watching it as a kid with my uncle who’d moved in with us for a while and brought along his Beta tape player and a bunch of his Beta tapes to watch. Along with “The Final Chapter” and “The Making of Thriller” we must have begged him to watch “Silver Bullet” a thousand times, ad nauseum.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: The Big Snooze (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.
The Big Snooze (1946)
Directed by Bob Clampett
Written by Bob Clampett
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Rod Scribner
Bob Clampett really did have a way of leaning in to the bizarre. He had a penchant for injecting surreal and out there comedy that not even Tex Avery was capable of accomplishing. That’s both a good thing and hindrance as I personally was never a big fan of Clampett’s habit for the weird. I always hated the “Yoyo DoDo” character as well as his first appearance in 1938’s “Porky in Wackyland.” And I was very annoyed when they made him something of a big part of “Tiny Toon Adventures.” I’m not against the animators venturing out of the norm and breaking the monotony, but Clampett always went too far in the other direction for my tastes.
Five Reasons The McCallisters Are the Worst Family in Movie History
I’ve seen “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2” at least two hundred times since 1990, and every single time I’ve seen it I’ve always wondered how anyone ever lived with the McCallisters. Yes, Kevin had his flaws, but if you take a step back you can’t really blame him for being kind of petulant, and devious, and selfish when he lives with such a huge clan of careless yuppies prone to losing their children.
After thirty years I thought I should list five reasons why the McCallisters are the Worst Family in Movie History, and why it wouldn’t surprise me if Kevin abandoned them after high school and went on to live his own life leaving them all to fester trapped in suburban hell. That’s my head canon, anyway.
Happy Holidays!
The Mission (2023)
Director Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s Nat Geo film “The Mission” is one of the most frustrating movies of the year. It’s a documentary that tip toes through its subject matter to its detriment, and avoids the outright reality of a situation that should have never happened and a life that should have never been taken. In 2018 American missionary John Chau was murdered in an illegal expedition to preach his religion to the isolated village of the Sentinelese tribe off the coast of India.
Elevator Game (2023)
“The Elevator Game” is a really creepy urban legend and one that works by virtue of word of mouth. I really wish we’d gotten a great horror movie out of it, because “Elevator Game” just isn’t it. It’s tough to imagine such a great urban legend being fumbled as bad as it is, but Rebekah McKendry doesn’t do much to add on to the lore. She instead opts for a painfully silly and boring horror film involving contorting ghosts, and what feel like obvious allusions to “Stranger Things” and “The Grudge.”