Boiler Room (2000)

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It’s a shame to see a movie filled with so much talent all to add up to absolutely nothing. “Boiler Room” trots out a who’s who of really good actors, many of whom were in vogue performers that eventually got their due. I’m especially a fan of Nicky Katt. That said, “Boiler Room” is a crummy retread of “Glenngarry Glenn Ross” sans the plays on “Death of a Salesman.” Ben Affleck appears twice to give a really raucous and loud speech to perspective stock brokers, and really you can’t help but think that Alec Baldwin did it better.

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I Heart Monster Movies (2012)

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I admire director Tyler Benjamin’s ambition to create a documentary that chronicles what it’s like to be a horror fan. “I Heart Monster Movies” is a simple and very low budget look at the horror convention scene in Portland and some of what many horror fans within that region have done to celebrate their love for the genre. If you’re a Portland denizen, “I Heart Monster Movies” will definitely help you to decide where to visit that’s associated with your beloved genre. If you’re just a random horror geek, “I Heart Monster Movies” is a passable time filler.

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Gravity (2013) [Blu-ray/DVD/UltraViolet]

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While Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” is assuredly a film that will split audiences down the middle as to what its intent is, I’d dare say it’s a film for both fractions of audiences. While it is a movie somewhat based on spiritual themes, it’s also a perfectly fine film that the secular audience that is more fascinated in character themes and the inherent conflict faced by Sandra Bullock’s character Dr. Stone.

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The Jimmy Stewart Show: The Complete Series (DVD)

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This is a television sitcom, but basically on Jimmy Stewart’s terms. A sitcom that really side steps the live laugh track, “The Jimmy Stewart Show” is a pastiche of Stewart’s old fashioned sensibilities, with a touch of new world mentality that creates a unique and quaint culture clash. Stewart doesn’t mind breaking the illusion every now and then, opening the series with two introductions, narrating the early episodes to help establish characters, and in one instance Stewart’s wife (Julie Adams) asks “Why can’t we get along like those families on TV?” To which Stewart quickly glances at the camera with a smirk. “The Jimmy Stewart Show” won’t be for everyone, but it’s definitely not a terrible series, either.

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Teen Titans Go!: Mission To Misbehave, Season 1, Part 1 (DVD)

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So someone realized at the Cartoon Network that there was really nothing else they could do with the “Teen Titans.” It was a fantastic show, albeit an acquired taste, but it ended when it had to end. The Titans defeated their biggest foes, there was a huge war, they came out victorious thus it ended its narrative. So someone took out all of the anime, chibi, and goofy comedy from the series, omitted the action, science fiction, and rich characterization, and basically just decided to feed us “Hai Hai Puffy Ami Yumi” all over again, except with the Teen Titans in place of Japanese pop stars. Goody.

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Diabolique Magazine No. 19 (Jan/Feb 2014) [Magazine]

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Diabolique is back with issue 19 of their truly entertaining horror magazine that makes great strides in breaking out of the doldrums of mainstream horror in favor of indie and underground. Max Weinstein ushers in the issue with another really insightful editorial and profiles many modern and contemporary masters of horror cinema. “The Old, The New, and the In Between” is a great look at the modern works of Dario Argento and Vincenzo Natali, two cinematic juggernauts that offered fans their own unique genre entries in 2013. Argento, of course gave us “Dracula,” while Natali released the very good “Haunter.” I don’t know if I’m a fan of the directors bemoaning the new generation of horror, but I do enjoy the consideration that there are some great auteurs out there, working to deliver some great genre titles, like Jason Eisener, or Ti West.

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The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 7: Crossed

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One thing “Claimed” proved to me once and for all. Say what you want about Rick Grimes, but when he’s pushed in to a corner, he comes out fighting, and always comes out ahead. In season two he spent his time looking for Sophia and ended up saving Hershel and Glenn’s lives from two nomads mid-season. Season four he mowed down a zombie horde with a machine gun and his son alone, and tonight not only did he avoid a group of really violent nomads, but he also evaded them without drawing attention, and managed to come out fairly unscathed. I doubt they’ll ever really know what happened to Rick and his team after tonight.

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