I can see why Guillermo Del Toro would be attracted to a film like “Mama.” While it is a horror film in nature, deep down it is a tragic drama about the power of love and the lengths we’ll go to preserve it. “Mama” is the first fantastic film I’ve seen in 2013, a film about spirits and how immense love can be. After their dad murders their mother in a murderous rage, sisters Lily and Victoria are taken to an abandoned cabin where their father looks to mercifully murder them. There, they’ve found something that is not only intent on keeping them safe, but in maintaining their innocence. Years later, the daughters are discovered much older and in a feral state, clinging to a presence they call Mama. Their uncle Luke and aunt Annabel seek to take them back home and establish a life free from the pain of their original lives. But the girls find it impossible not only to adjust, but to display physical affection toward the young couple. Jessica Chastain gives a strong performance as the unkempt Annabel who finds her loyalties lying with her husband Luke when he fights to take care of his nieces Victoria and Lily, and transforms in to a bonafide mother figure of their very own.
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: Richard D. Zanuck
Richard Zanuck is a man who spent most of his life living under the shadow of his father Darryl F. Zanuck, and what is most peculiar and quite riveting about Richard Zanuck’s story is that rather than trying to step out of his dad’s shadow, he embraced his father’s status and used it to his advantage. Often times we hear of someone chastising their own status as a wealthy successor, but Richard Zanuck used this fact as a means of bettering himself, and carving his own niche in the Hollywood business.
Honoring Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013) – Our Five Favorite Harryhausen Creations
I was fortunate enough to grow up around classic movie lovers, and since I was a child I was given a very hefty education in classic movies of all kinds. From Drama, to Science Fiction, I was able to understand the wonders of the classic films while also enjoying the modern cinema to boot. I loved the special effects spectacles, but I could also appreciate films like “Jason and the Argonauts” or “The Valley of Gwangi.” During my childhood, Ray Harryhausen’s works of art and amazing special effects astonished me. While they were low tech considering it was a new time for film, Harryhausen’s creations had a light and a life to them that computers and CGI animators could not duplicate. They had a spark within them, and within every motion, and I appreciated them with every film that Harryhausen left his signature on. Years later, I’m still a fanatic for Ray Harryhausen’s incredible work.
Bikini Round-Up (2005)
As softcore schlock goes, director Fred Olen Ray’s wild west romp is only sub-par, and not as entertaining as his previous bikini films. I mean how do you film a girl on girl on girl scene without even showing any of them chewing on rug? Hell, in one moment Beverly Lynne and Nicole Sheridan literally begin fighting over Belinda Gavin’s betweens, but we never actually see any of the good stuff. But I digress. While “Bikini Round Up” is just sub-par, what I really enjoy about the movie is that everything, from top to bottom is implied.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)
From what I’ve read, Tobe Hooper pretty much had to make a sequel to his masterpiece “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” in order to make films he wanted. And the sequel to his slasher classic is exactly the type of film Hooper has to make, It’s forced, tired, and a complete retread of the original film. To add to the utter lack of entertainment value, there’s even plots that are completely unresolved or unfinished that I would have enjoyed seeing explored expanded just to give this film the feeling that it was an extension of the first film rather than just a retread.
In spite of the family hiding in the outskirts of Texas and hunting travelers for meals, now we learn that the head of their family is a local celebrity thanks to his entering of his prize winning chili and wonderful meat that he keeps a secret. Dennis Hopper is Lefty, a mysterious cowboy hunting the cannibal family and trying to uncover their secrets and put an end to their chaos. And in the opening the two unlucky schmucks that get killed by Leatherface are dismissed as accidents, in spite of one of the two getting his head sawed off. Nothing is ever really expanded or realized beyond these nuggets of ideas.
Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In [Paperback]
“Women should never be judged by their personal appearance. They Should be Judged by the Size of their Hooters.” – Joe Bob’s Rules to Live By
It’s easy to see why John Bloom aka Joe Bob Briggs would arouse the ire of pretty much everyone in the South. He is not a writer that’s intent on being politically correct, nor does he really pull his punches with his reviews.
He refers to women only as bimbos, he calls men turkeys, he has an article devoted to Steven Spielberg and his “wimpy” movies, he bashes Gene Shallit, he mocks Moustapha Akkad for being an ayrab, and he calls people who perfer to go to indoor movies rather than drive-ins, folks too poor to afford cars.
But that’s all apart of the character of Joe Bob Briggs. Rather than writing a Drive-In report as John Bloom, writer Bloom created Joe Bob Briggs, a Southern gent who is politically incorrect, offends at every turn, and has a deep passion for the drive-in.
Defiance
Syfy really wants another “Battlestar Galactica,” since the series itself was one of the most compelling and unique pop culture landmarks in the 21st century. But with “Defiance” I really doubt they’ve caught lightning in a bottle twice. In face one of the main caveats of “Defiance” is that it’s so heavy handed in its pursuit to explore racism and prejudice, that it becomes the bases for the entire series. So far with a two hour pilot movie, and two one hour episodes, as well as a game, “Defiance” has proven to be a well produced, and beautifully constructed science fiction epic that when watched is just… okay. It’s by no means a lemon of a science fiction offering, but I’m not going to be following its mythos any time soon, either. In fact, I had a hard time remembering any of the characters’ names, even after three episodes.