Back in the heyday of cable television, channels were all aimed toward a certain market and fan base. If you loved science fiction there was a channel for you. If you loved medical science, there was a channel or you. If you love romance movies, there was a channel. And surely enough there was the Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network offered up cartoons twenty four hours around the clock and in 1992 they guaranteed a complete line up of cartoons you couldn’t find anywhere. Their line up consisted mainly of Hanna Barbera since they were owned by Warner, so for pretty much anything non-Disney, Cartoon Network had.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Merry Little Batman (2023)
Now Streaming Exclusively on Amazon Prime.
Color me shocked when I found out that Warner were not only releasing a Batman animated movie this year, but a Christmas themed one at that. The way they’ve been run lately, it’s not entirely shocking that this one snuck under my radar, I guess. “Merry Little Batman” is unlike any Batman animated movie I’ve ever seen. The animation style is wild, somewhat in the vein of “Chowder,” and focuses on a completely separate non-canonical narrative.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Racketeer Rabbit (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.
Racketeer Rabbit (1946)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Michael Maltese
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy
I must have spent a majority of my childhood running around going “It’s coitans for you, Rocky! Coitains!” in the patented Brooklyn accent. I gained so much of my knowledge about mobster movies and old time gangster movies from Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes believe it or not. Whenever Bugs referenced something about gangster movies, I always kind of went to the source to understand what they were lampooning. From there I learned to really dig my heels in to the classics. With “Racketeer Rabbit,” we’re given one of the funniest one and done villains of the Bugs repertoire with Rocky.
Silent Night (2023)
America has really done John Woo no favors in regards to his film legacy. And despite kind of hitting some gems in the 1990’s, director Woo has accomplished so much more in his heydays. “Silent Night” is proof positive that he needs a renaissance, as it’s about as basic and disappointing an action movie that you can get. I was cautiously optimistic about “Silent Night” as the premise seemed so interesting. An action movie with no dialogue based around a revenge plot akin “John Wick” seemed like a good time. Throwing in Joel Kinnaman was just the icing on the cake.
Oppenheimer (2023) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
Say what you want about Christopher Nolan, but his sense of theatrics and spectacle works wonders in exploring the calculated creation of the Atomic bomb, as well as the life story of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Arguably one of the most destructive figures in world history, “Oppenheimer” is simultaneously a biopic of Oppenheimer as well as a deep dive in to the development, and politics of the atomic bomb and how it changed the world drastically.
The Monster Squad (1987) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
I’ve written in great length about director Fred Dekker’s “The Monster Squad” over and over. I love it. I’ve loved it since I was a kid, and I love it now. I wore out the VHS when I was a wee lad, I had a bootleg DVD in my collection when it was out of print for many years, and ever since I love to re-visit it whenever I can. “The Monster Squad” is a drastic departure from director Fred Dekker’s other cult classic “Night of the Creeps,” but like it, “The Monster Squad” is an unabashed love letter to horror movies, and the horror genre in general.
Family Switch (2023)
McG’s “Family Switch” is a movie we’ve seen a thousand times before. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel and doesn’t really seek to, at that. It makes it abundantly clear in the big turn of events involving the body switch as the four central characters make blatant references to “Freaky Friday,” “13 Going on 30,” “17 Again,” and “Big.” It’s tough to really judge a movie like this because it’s an easy slam dunk. It’s an easy paycheck for Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms, and current teen star Emma Meyers (off her debut on Netflix’s “Wednesday”) is allowed her own vehicle.