Alas, even though there has yet to be a really world shaking event since September 11th, we’re now in an era of films where Hollywood is celebrating the government again. Starting with “Act of Valor” in 2012, in spite of the critical lambasting, the big deal is depicting events of the government where we succeeded. The big news these days is the elimination of Osama Bin Laden as an immediate threat to our country. And now with “Act of Valor” in the background, “Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden” is basically the branch off from the former, except much more Hollywoodized.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Breeders (1986)
Detective Dale Andriotti: Maybe when this is over, we can go out for dinner.
Dr. Gamble Pace: Okay, but I warn you right now… I have a tortured history with men.
Six minutes in, Dr. Gamble Pace as played by Teresa Farley escorts a police officer in to a young victim’s room in a hospital. The hospital room has only one small IV, no medical equipment, and the IV doesn’t seem to be hooked in to anything in particular. Obviously not holding to the discretion rules, Dr. Pace, dressed in average clothing and an awkward medical robe explains in a stilted and painfully performed monologue what the young girl experienced when attacked by a mysterious monster. While the girl is half awake an inch away. That’s about the time I thought: “Oh crap, this is going to be painful.”
Compliance (2012) (DVD)
Yes. People are this stupid. Just to answer the question you’ll be asking yourself over and over while watching “Compliance,” one of the most controversial movies of 2012. Supposedly a film that inspired one woman to slap her knees, shout “Oh come on!” and storm out of the theaters, director Craig Zobel’s infuriating dramatic thriller is a film that draws inadvertent parallels to Abu Ghraib. Where most of the armed officials who took part in the humiliation and torture of prisoners on the bases that they were merely following orders, “Compliance” sheds the light on a day in a fast food restaurant where a young girl was subjected to humiliating and degrading acts of torture and pain on the bases that folks were merely following orders.
Vamp U (2013)
Oddly enough “Vamp U” (formerly titled “Dr. Limptooth”) works much better as a horror movie than it does a comedy. Deep down it possesses the tone of one of those raucous horror comedies from the eighties that should rightfully star someone like Eddie Deezen or Linnea Quigley, and as a horror movie it’s a very effective tongue in cheek vampire film. As a comedy it’s a pretty decent riot, and one that may not inspire laughter, but will garner various giggles and chortles. When “Vamp U” decides it wants to be a straight up vampire movie, it’s a pretty wicked little throwback to the eighties, especially with Julie Gonzalo having a blast as the alpha vampire queen Chris, who begins sleeping with her vampire professor and turns in to a vampire mid-way.
Are All Men Pedophiles? (2012)
If director Jan-Willem Breure’s documentary “Are All Men Pedohiles?” ever gets a wider distribution deal, it definitely needs a new title. The title of the film posits the film as a thesis about the potential for all men to be pedophiles in the making. In reality, Breure’s film is really about pedophilia as a while and what it means to be one and to identify one. The title makes the assertion that it tackles the potential for all men to be pedophiles, when Breure interviews all kinds of subjects about pedophilia. He even interviews female pedophiles during the mid-point of the movie. So while the title does in a sense tackle the theory that any attraction to children can be deemed as pedophilia, Breure offers the example that men and women can be pedophiles and have sexual attraction to children of all ages, hence the title is really a misnomer of a sorts.
Frankenweenie (2012)
As far as animated efforts from Tim Burton goes, “Frankenweenie” isn’t such a bad bit of fan service. Director Tim Burton has always expressed interest in remaking his short film “Frankenweenie,” and it’s a shame since the original short isn’t a bad movie. All things considered, it’s short, sweet, and to the point. Not to mention it’s cute, sad, and has that Burton American Gothic whimsy we’d later see in “Edward Scissorhands.” With 2012’s remake of “Frankenweenie,” director Tim Burton is able to do pretty much whatever he wants, while expanding on an already interesting twist on Mary Shelly’s story.
Gahan Wilson’s The Kid (2001)
I’m not particularly familiar with Gahan Wilson or his art, but having read up on his work, I know he does strive for bold and daring story work. “Gahan Wilson’s The Kid” is your run of the mill coming of age chronicle about a ten year old known as The Kid, who goes through three trials of growing up throughout the course of the film. The movie approaches mortality, sexuality, and good old fashioned mythology, and does so with an adult disposition. The film is courageous enough to depict little girls nude at one instance, after all. “The Kid” premiered on television in Halloween eve of 2001 mainly because the final segment revolves around Halloween.