With “Killer Kites,” you’re facing a movie that’s genuinely critic proof, and has a clear idea about what it is from the first moment it starts. It’s only an hour in length and spends a lot of its time trying to turn kites in to mythological monsters. So, you either go in knowing what to expect, or you turn around look for another means of entertainment. I have to admit that Alan Dale and Austin Frosch’s horror comedy won me over from the opening credits.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Tortoise Wins By a Hare (1943)
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.
Tortoise Wins By a Hare (1943)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Tedd Pierce
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ken Harris
I don’t know entirely what the animators and writers had intended for Cecil the Turtle, when all is said and done. If he was intended as a villain, then they didn’t do a very good job, as with the sequel to “Tortoise Beats Hare,” he still comes off like a reluctant hero. If he’s intended as the hero, then there’s not a ton of logic behind making Bugs Bunny the villain. I get that they wanted to jump on the Tortoise and the Hare fable, but these pair of shorts where Cecil and Bugs race never works out in Bugs’ favor. Once again Bugs comes off petty, conniving, and kind of dumb. They’re traits that you figure the writers would have left way behind back in “Elmer’s Candid Camera,” but they insist on giving us a follow up to “Tortoise Beats Hare.”
The Mother (2023)
Niki Caro is a fine director who doesn’t exactly utilize her talents in “The Mother.” It’s a movie that feels so very meticulously calculated as a means of reforming Jennifer Lopez’s film career from drama and comedy star to action star. Sadly, Caro’s direction is flat in what is pretty much a run of the mill mix of action adventure and family drama. “The Mother” has a ton of potential behind it, and presents seeds of interesting ideas. It just all gets lost in a haze of sub-plots, all of which are under developed, or left dangling in the air without much fallout.
You Have to See This! Shiva Baby (2020)
Streaming on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max
It’s unreal that Emma Seligman is a newcomer director when watching “Shiva Baby.” She manages to build and introduce us to what is easily one of the most chaotic and absolutely uncomfortable movies I’ve ever seen. “Shiva Baby” is a master class in making its viewer absolutely uneasy and anxious as Seligman just revels in amping up the anxiety to every single bit of her narrative every minute. Seligman, despite making “Shiva Baby” her work of absolute love, is not one who ever lets her characters off the hook. Despite focusing the entirety of “Shiva Baby” on her central protagonist Danielle, Seligman has a great time making her squirm, panic, and just about heave in sheer horror as she twists the screws on her throughout “Shiva Baby.”
My Five Favorite “Grease” Musical Numbers
If there’s anything that Paramount loves to do is unleash “Grease” at any given opportunity. They consistently re-release it on physical media, and in theaters. And while it sounds like I’m complaining (I kind of am), the re-release of “Grease” was only inevitable since Paramount is now streaming “Rise of the Pink Ladies,” the prequel series to “Grease.” With “Grease” being a bonafide childhood favorite, and set to be put in to theaters once again on May 14th and 17th for its 45th Anniversary, I ran down my five favorite numbers from the classic film. I never could figure out why Danny drives away with Kenickie’s hot rod in the end. I love the movie. Honest.
Pleasure (2021) [LA&M Film Fetish Forum]
Many times in our lives we spend it eating our meals, but never really knowing how the meal is prepared. We never know how the sausage is stuffed, we never see the cow butchered, and “Pleasure” is, in a way, a look at how the cow is butchered for our entertainment. “Pleasure” isn’t so much an indictment of the porn industry, it’s more so a look at the rough and shoddy experience that is the porn industry and how much it can destroy someone that isn’t quite prepared for it. Our main protagonist Bella Cherry is a woman who will do anything to be a famous porn star, but the question lingers is how far is she willing to go to achieve that stardom?
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Case of the Missing Hare (1942)
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.
Case of the Missing Hare (1942)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Ted Pierce
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ken Harris
“Case of the Missing Hare” is one of the many Bugs Bunny shorts that I have sentimental value attached to. Once again, it’s in the public domain (one of the many from United Artists), so it was a part of the many VHS cartoon compilations that my siblings and I owned as kids (we must have owned at least ten of them). “Case of the Missing Hare” was one of my absolute favorites. While it definitely wasn’t one of Bugs’ best, it’s definitely one of my most watched. It also features yet another pretty much one and done villain for Bugs Bunny, which is a shame, because The Great Ala Bahma (also voiced by Blanc) is a pretty fun villain.