The idea of turning “Barbie” in to a feature film has been something Mattel has been grappling with for a very long time, and there was no other way to bring her to the big screen without turning her in to something of a meta comedy. Barbie is revered but also reviled for being beautiful, because with a lot of reasonable vitriol, Barbie has been considered a vapid unrealistic representation of beauty. “Barbie” seeks to confront a world that not only holds women to unrealistic standards, but also presents us with a Barbie whose own unrealistic standards are finally dawning on her. This forces her in to something of an existential crisis where she’s forced to look for the origin of her existence and how she can obtain that sense of perfection.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Stay Online (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
Director Yeva Strielnikova’s “Stay Online” is literally a digital thriller for the modern age, and it’s never been more relevant a commentary on the importance of the internet than before. The digital thriller has become something of a niche sub-genre, and “Stay Online” practices that formula, but rather than a horror movie, implements the device as a means of exploring a modern war unfolding before our eyes. America has managed to stay embroiled in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia through various social outlets. One of the most important facets has been Tik Tok, which has dispensed unfiltered information before our eyes.
Lovely, Dark, and Deep (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
According to David Paulides, the author of the Missing 411 books, he estimates that there are over 1,600 unexplained disappearances in North American National Parks. In “Lovely, Dark and Deep,” director Teresa Sutherland offers up one of the more complex and haunting supernatural thrillers of the year, all set within the confines of a national park. What makes “Lovely, Dark and Deep” so haunting is that director Sutherland sets the entirety of her film within a national forest, all of which seems so suffocating and all consuming from the moment character Lennon drives in to its threshold.
Fallen: The Search of a Broken Angel (2023)
I have to say I liked a lot of what director Alex Kruz brings to the table in terms of a film that’s very much about fate, and purpose, and existence. While “Fallen” can be tough to follow in its first few minutes, Kruz does manage to really catch the audience up. “Fallen” wears its influences on its sleeve, relying a lot on spirituality to punctuate what is in its core a tale about love and finding love.
Blackout (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
I think when it’s time for distribution that audiences (especially long time fans) might just connect with what director Larry Fessenden puts down here. As for me, it lost me after the blood soaked prologue. Like most film outputs from Fessenden, “Blackout” suffers from a lot of sub-plots that are either left dangling or abruptly closed, all while never quite deciding on a tone. Is “Blackout” a horror drama, just a drama, or a drama comedy that happens to have a werewolf?
Sharksploitation (2023)
With the anniversary of “Jaws,” Stephen Scarlata’s documentary comes at the right time, as sharksploitation has managed to experience something of a resurgence. Along with “The Meg 2” coming to theaters, we’ve also had fodder like “The Black Demon,” “The Devil’s Mouth,” “Deep Water,” and “Cocaine Shark.” So “Sharksploitation” is something of an overdue account of the creation of sharksploitation movies, and how one movie named “Jaws” created what would become a fascinating, often infamous sub-genre of action and horror movies that’s spanned decades.
Cobweb (2023)
I’ve always had a soft spot for horror movies that present themselves as dark twisted versions of fairy tales, and Samuel Bodin’s “Cobweb” is one of the highlights of the sub-genre. “Cobweb” is a dark and twisted tale of family that watches almost like and Edward Gorey folktale that’s suddenly sprung to life. It’s shocking that Lionsgate hasn’t promoted this movie at all, since as we’re entering in to the Halloween season gradually, “Cobweb” is the perfect dose of autumnal tinted horror. Director Samuel Bodin manages to concoct a mystery horror film that is not just creepy, but suspenseful and twisted all at the same time.