Repo Man (1984)

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I sat watching Alex Cox’s “Repo Man” with a gaping mouth and sheer bewilderment from beginning to end. Director Cox assembles a slew of various sub-genres and sub-sub-genres, along with a seasoned cast of brilliant actors to concoct a surreal mind fuck that I was never bored by. In fact, I loved it right through to the very end. It’s existentialism, it’s social commentary, it’s punk rock, it’s action, it’s dark comedy, it’s comedy, it’s musical, it’s aliens, it’s crime, it’s a road trip movie, it’s a one of a kind anomaly with Emilio Estevez at his best.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

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Wolverine is the key to it all! Whodathunkit? Director Bryan Singer seemed so reluctant to use him in the “X-Men” movies. Now that the sarcasm is out of my system, “Days of Future Past” is a very respectable adaptation of the iconic Marvel comics’ storyline, and a very good excuse to press the reset button on the entire “X-Men” series, led by Bryan Singer. The franchised rolled out by FOX has had this coming for quite some time with such a convoluted, inconsistent mess of a timeline. It’s reassuring that the third go around for Bryan Singer in the Marvel property is better than his previous two films.

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Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)

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Our favorite transphobic slasher is back with a follow-up to the original shocker, and as suspected, “Unhappy Campers” fails to live up to the gasps that followed the original film’s surprise ending. There really are no other surprises we can derive from this premise anymore, so “Unhappy Campers” is a slasher comedy with such flimsy production quality, it’s actually very charming. How can you not enjoy Angela’s gallery of maimed corpses, most of whom can be seen breathing or struggling to keep still on close up shots? It’s a gas.

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Deep in the Darkness (2014)

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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?

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Zugzwang (2015)

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One of the bigger problems in “Zugzwang” is the intent behind the premise and concept. I was never sure if this short film was supposed to be a whimsically sweet tale of an underdog pursuing love, or a disturbing tale of a young boy out of touch with human dynamics who can’t take a hint. I found the ultimate resolution a bit uncomfortable and unsatisfying, but thankfully those caveats don’t bog down “Zugzwang,” completely. True it sounds like I’m down on the short film but despite its hazy intentions director Yolanda Centeno’s short film is charming and inventive.

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The PC Thug: 25 Facts You May Not Know About Reading

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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.

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The Women (1939) [Blu-Ray]

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Director George Cukor’s 1939 classic “The Women” is a pretty superb and remarkable film, and that’s because it features a primarily female cast. There isn’t a male cast member in the entire cast of seasoned performers, and while this might be cause for wonder in regards to the context of the story, the narrative really doesn’t need men. Cukor’s film is about women both old and young, and how they deal with the world and each other. Men are really irrelevant in the grand scheme of the social structure of the female and how their bonds with one another craft their future. While primarily depicted as a comedy, it’s also very much a sad drama about how women deal with their issues of infidelity and insignificance. Their issues and problems are real, while the consequences of infidelity and divorce really create a tidal wave of heartbreak and trauma that lasts throughout the narrative.

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