Director Dave Cholewa’s “Dead Shadows” is HP Lovecraft meets “Night of the Comet,” and while surely that sounds like the ingredients for an amazing horror film, in the end it’s just a serviceable post apocalyptic horror thriller. It’s by no means a waste of time, but it never delivers on a lot of its ideas and story themes. Much of the concepts and sub-plots feel very under developed and half baked, with “Dead Shadows” unfolding in a very inexplicable series of events. I tried my best to follow along, but Cholewa really offers horror audiences a convoluted narrative for a movie that boils down to shooting aliens and monsters in the dark.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Wolf Creek 2 (2013)
I didn’t think it was possible, but Greg McLean has managed to create a sequel to “Wolf Creek” that’s even more despicable than the first. Almost ten years later, Greg McLean has seemingly come up dry in the realm of new ideas for his character Mick Taylor, and apparently fulfills a contract, judging by the quality of this long in development follow up to his terrible 2005 horror film. Not only does “Wolf Creek 2” drop the pretense of a narrative, but it reduces the entire film to nothing but a string of really violent deaths, turning Mick Taylor in to a maniac who kills just because he has nothing else to do. Director McLean revels in cruel and disgusting murders that are repetitive and senseless and lacks any and all ability to provide scares, tension, and a genuine sense of unease. It’s just a large maniac running around destroying people left and right, and nothing else.
Scooby-Doo: Wrestlemania Mystery (2014) [DVD/Blu-ray/Digital]
The Scooby gang have come across almost every popular star since they were introduced on television. From the Harlem Globetrotters to Batman and Robin, no one was off limits to them. Surely enough with WWE ruling the sports world currently, their crossover with the Scooby gang was not only inevitable but it makes perfect sense, when you consider it. They met The Harlem Globetrotters. Mike Piazza. KISS. This was a long time coming.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
You have to give credit to Mel Brooks for being so ballsy. In today’s day and age, a movie like “Blazing Saddles” would never get off the ground and become a mainstream comedy. Even with its material, Brooks runs the risk of becoming low brow, but thankfully manages to create the best comedy of all time. It’s my favorite from Brooks, edging out “Young Frankenstein” if only for the lead performance by Cleavon Little. “Blazing Saddles” satirizes the Western sub-genre, while also mocking its inherent racism, setting it in the middle of the slave era. Though the film is biting in its social commentary, it still manages to be incredibly funny, sidestepping the mockery of the slavery, and instead poking fun at the Caucasian characters.
Little Man of Steel (2013)
Weird, I always assumed Lana Lang took Clark Kent’s virginity, but that’s a mere nitpick for “Little Man of Steel.” Director Larry Zeigelman explores the more private side of the greatest superhero in DC. Set during a random night in Metropolis, Clark and Lois enter a local pharmacy after a seemingly hot date and Lois is very anxious to seal the deal with Clark. Clark is very hesitant though, and looks for many ways to stall the inevitable. He even zaps away repeatedly to stop a world crisis as Lois waits by the condom aisle.
The Image Revolution (2014)
Director Patrick Meaney’s chronicle of the group of innovative artists that gave Marvel and DC the collective bird and took control of their own lives is a wonderful insight and word of warning at what happens when there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Surely, no one person is to blame for helping Image nearly drop out of the scope of pop culture and crash, but when you team a group of artists together who could walk the walk and talk the talk, there is bound to be conflict and inevitable resentment. I consider myself lucky enough to have grown up during the Image Revolution, where most of my money was spent on DC and Marvel, and immediately went over to Image. I bought titles like “Prophet,” “Youngblood,” and “WildCATS” religiously, while cutting my teeth in Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld’s art for many years.
Tom Holland’s Twisted Tales (2014) (DVD)
A two and half hour anthology horror film? Come on, no one has such interesting stories that it needs a two and a half hour run time. The question is would you rather have a few excellent horror stories, or a lot of sub-par ones? If you answered the latter, “Tom Holland’s Twisted Tales” is the movie for you. Seemingly comprised of separate episodes of a series called “Twisted Tales,” they’re pasted together to form an awkward, often boring anthology horror film with no budget and no creativity.