This is a very memorable commercial that played before features on many VHS tapes in the early nineties. Did “Pizza Hut” ever really have raucous children’s parties like this? I wouldn’t know, I’ve never really seen an actual “Pizza Hut” before. But, like the city of Atlantis, I’ve heard it exists. Somewhere. Who uses Silverware while eating pizza?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpheJlC7HQQ]
Deep down, “Teen Beach Movie” feels like a loving and affectionate tribute to Ex-Mouseketeer, the late great Annette Funicello (to which the film is dedicated to). The gorgeous and talented actress spent her early years on the Mickey Mouse Club winning over the hearts of young boys, and then moved in to some of the most pulpy and celebrated surf movies. Those movies like “Beach Blanket Bingo,” and “Muscle Beach Party” featured a lot of music, simple plots, and were a celebration of surfing. With Frankie Avalon, Funicello gained immortality. What’s even more surprising is in many respects, Maia Mitchell resembles Annette Funicello. When she begins puffing her hair with her pigtails, and transforming in to the movie, she’s almost a living embodiment of the lovely young Funicello. The movie was being filmed before Funicello passed away, so perhaps it’s just all one big coincidence. Or perhaps it’s just serendipity.
Only many, many years later did Hanna Barbera begin presenting the Mystery Machine gang with actual supernatural threats once their audience matured. But even when facing actual zombies, and demons they were never really in actual danger. Director Spencer Parsons completely dodges copyright infringement while cleverly spoofing the iconic cartoon show with his own version of Scooby Doo. This time he offers up a more realistic group of crime solvers in a world where crime is very dangerous, and the police kindly ask them to “fuck off” whenever they solve a case on their own.
“The Comic Bucket List” is a limited column where we review 25 comic books and graphic novels we’ve been meaning to read for years. We discover if they were worth waiting for, or if they never quite lived up to the hype they promised.
BATTLE CHASERS
1998
Joe Madureira, Munier Sharrieff, Adam Warren
Well if anything, “Evil Dead: The Musical” is creative. It’s not as funny as it thinks it is, but it has a good time with the material Sam Raimi laid down. It’s kind of odd a musical that features the main character cutting off his hand shies away from the tree rape so blatantly. Not that I am anxious to see a woman violated by tree limbs, but I was wondering why they drew the line at some things and not other.
I admittedly had little to no faith for the prospects of an “Evil Dead” remake. As many horror fans like myself originally perceived it to be nothing but a cash grab, I expected really nothing but a faint half assed reconditioning much like Platinum Dunes is want to do. Thankfully the 2013 version of “Evil Dead” is not only an excellent horror film, but a rather brilliant character study to boot. It works as a remake, a sequel, and a companion piece. However fans want to think of it, the movie works in that function, thus resolving any aggravation hardcore Sam Raimi buffs will have toward this new version.
“The Censored Eleven” are the unofficial eleven animated shorts that have been banned, censored, or edited from public consumption and haven’t been seen by most in America. While some of the shorts have been released with a commentary about its social and political context, most are strictly taboo. In this limited series, we’ll review the censored eleven and figure out why these titles are still very volatile.
Hittin’ the Trail for Hallelujah Land (1931)
Rudolf Ising
Merrie Melodies