One of the aspects of “Isa” that I enjoyed beyond the predominantly latino cast, is the fact that its heroine “Isa” is a strong individual. When we first meet her, she’s a brilliant tech wiz who sells jail breaking cards on the side for extra cash. She always seems one step ahead of everyone, even at her most vulnerable, and uses a troubling dilemma as an opportunity to find out about her shady past. She has memories of parents she barely knew, and is living a life she doesn’t quite trust to be her actual one, and she’s capable of finding out and giving the villains of the film a damn hard time working around her brain.
Category Archives: TV Tomb
Deep in the Darkness (2014)
Plot holes, plot holes, and more plot holes! It’s just another title from the ever growing library of horror groaners from Chiller Films. Colin Theys’ “Deep in the Darkness” is an amalgam of “The Wicker Man,” “The Descent,” and a bit of “Rosemary’s Baby” for good measure. “Deep in the Darkness” is yet another horror movie that promises it’s building up to something, and then sputters out like a deflated balloon, forcing the audience to realize they’ve spent ninety minutes watching nothing. Nothing at all. What in the name of all that is sane did that final scene even mean?
The PC Thug: 25 Facts You May Not Know About Reading
Believe it or not, there was once a time where not all kids shows was about goofy characters singing songs in repetition. Surely, we had “Barney,” and “Bananas in Pajamas,” but we also had shows that taught, educated, and brought us an experience. Before Elmo took over, “Sesame Street” was a great parade of puppets and humans learning together. There was also “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” and “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?” The best among them though was “Reading Rainbow.” After the heartbreaking cancellation of “Reading Rainbow” in 2009 by (the gradually right leaning) PBS Network in America, Levar Burton fought to bring the show back, and despite his difficulty the series still lived on through memories and the love by fans of all ages.
The Normal Heart (2014)
Director Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of the acclaimed Larry Kramer stage play “The Normal Heart” is a stunning and often grueling drama that thankfully never sugarcoats the painful illness it touches upon. It’s a human drama about human beings stricken with a horrific disease that reached pandemic proportions in the 1980’s and was generally ignored by the media and the government for many years. “The Normal Heart” is a tough watch because it is also the first chapter in an ongoing war that continues to affect the world and is still generally ignored, and dismissed as hopeless by many to this day.
The PC Thug: Bidding an Exasperated Goodbye to “Warehouse13”
“Warehouse 13’ was one of the last science fiction oriented scripted series of the Syfy channel in America, and it’s finished its run. Airing on a network that now only cares about making and saving money at the expense of quality by pushing more unscripted fare, “Warehouse 13” was given an unfair eviction notice; one not deserving of a series so entertaining, rich in character and mythos, and filled with a flawless ensemble cast. “Warehouse 13” was a light hearted mix of “X-Files” with “Friday the 13th: The Series” and a touch of “Moonlighting” for good measure.
Rosemary’s Baby (2014)
There’s a challenge presented with the quasi-remake/new adaptation of the Ira Levin novel “Rosemary’s Baby.” The Roman Polanski masterpiece has been seen by everyone, and it’s been remade and copied a hundred times over by studios since its initial release, and is still being remade unofficially. So how can “Rosemary’s Baby” seem fresh in this day and age? The writers and Lionsgate go about it the wrong way, obviously. They over sexualize, over stylize, and remove any and all themes of feminist repression from the source material. It’s also what made the original Polanski film such a biting horror film. Even in 2014. It was a woman seeking independence and doomed to motherhood by a cult who’d bred the son of Satan through her.
Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays
I’d be lying if I said I was a Billy Crystal fan. I always found him tolerable at best, in the realm of cinema, as an Oscar host, and comedian. I’d also be lying if I told you I had any intention to watch “700 Sundays.” My viewing of it was accidental and suffice it to say, I was shocked that “700 Sundays” ended up being so entertaining. Normally I detest the one man shows and find them the epitome of self indulgence, but Crystal has surely earned his chance to stage a one man show about his life. And while he does have a chance to perform a show about his Hollywood experiences, he instead discusses much of his life, and how his comedy career were merely a footnote in an unusual life.