Airborne (1993)

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Director Rob Bowman’s 1993 inline skating dramedy “Airborne” is the most nineties-est film of the entire decade, and damn it, I love it. It’s so 90’s, it automatically cancels out “Empire Records” and “Clueless,” combined. I suspect Warner and Bowman expected to begin a brand new nationwide rad inline skating craze with “Airborne,” by pandering to their love for all things extreme and edgy of the sport. Including long hair, surfing, flannel, hockey, and an extreme final race that’s so extreme it’s extra-eme.

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Fervid Filmmaking: 66 Cult Pictures of Vision, Verve and No Self-Restraint [Paperback]

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

In the interest of full disclosure, author Mike Watt is a friend and respected colleague who sent us a PDF of his latest book for review. This is nonetheless an objective review of his book “Fervid Filmmaking.”

You have to give it to author Mike Watt. His book isn’t built around 66 great films, or even 66 of his favorite films, but 66 films of importance and relevance that really say something about the genre they’re representing. Take for example the entry in to “Survival of the Dead” by director George Romero. While I’m often a Romero apologist, author Watt really does manage to break down the specifics of the film, and cite past interviews with director Romero to paint “Survival” as a film made by a man perpetually chained to the sub-genre that made him a horror icon.

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The Big Gundown (1966) (Blu-ray/DVD/CD)

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Lee Van Cleef is a man who makes it look easy to dominate the screen with his presence, no matter what the film. “The Big Gundown” is purely a western thriller for the Lee Van Cleef fans that want to indulge in the sheer finesse and charisma of Van Cleef when he takes turns as the hero. Or in this case, the anti-hero. Van Cleef takes on the role of John Corbett, a man who is not afraid to gun down people that threaten him, but is never trigger happy. He is one of the best bounty hunters in the west, and is a man devoted to his duties. As Corbett, he’s asked by an aristocrat to hunt down a vicious criminal named Cuchillo. He’s wanted for raping and murdering a young girl, and is currently on the run in the west, giving the law a difficult time of finding him.

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Hypothetical (2013)

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

From Nic Barker comes one of the funniest short films I’ve seen in a while. Two buddies are sitting along their couch drinking beer and pondering on the hypothetical questions that everyone goes through. At least everyone with a bit of a mental defect. “Hypothetical” isn’t so much a short film as it is a situation comedy, but it’s still one that achieves the intended comedic effect.

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The Insatiable IronBabe (2008)

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Say what you want about Seduction Cinema productions. Their films are cheap and flimsy, but they’re just never boring. The budget for “Ironbabe” was probably less than the budget for the opening animated sequence, and boy does it show. One of the few films from Seduction Cinema I’ve seen that didn’t star Misty Mundae, “The Insatiable Ironbabe” tackles the “Iron Man” craze of 2008 with about the level of humor and soft core sex you’d expect.

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Sidekicks (1992)

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

In a movie directed by Aaron Norris, younger brother of Chuck Norris comes “Sidekicks,” a movie about Chuck Norris, co-starring Chuck Norris who plays none other than Chuck Norris. Did I mention Chuck Norris is God? “Sidekicks” is one of the many goofy “Karate Kid” knock offs of the nineties, where Chuck Norris is given a virtual platform to show everyone in America how utterly amazing he is. So amazing is he, he even stars in a young man’s homoerotic fantasies so frequently, it borders on creepy. Bow to Chuck Norris’s Norrisness.

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