One of the many movies I first saw when I was a kid that didn’t really cater to the Disney movie standards enforced on me by my parents, that incidentally enough helped nurture my love for movies, was Wes Craven’s 1986 horror romance “Deadly Friend.” For those completely unaware, “Deadly Friend” one of the least notable Wes Craven horror pictures even if it’s his most creative after “Nightmare on Elm Street.” Merging a science fiction killer robot concept with a revenge plot, director Craven tells the story of a young genius who moves to a new town to work on a project at the local college. You see this young man has a thorough understanding of the brain, and is destined for great things. Which is made apparent by his robotic sidekick BB.
Argo (2012)
Ben Affleck is quickly on his way to becoming one of my favorite modern film directors. His complete re-invention as a mediocre actor to a very understated and incredibly complex director has been an experience worth watching unfold, and “Argo” is the further metamorphosis of a man who has miles to go to show everyone he’s anything but a pretty face. Affleck’s portrayal of an expert expatriate is nowhere near the sensationalistic character the director has the potential to depict him as. Affleck stars as Tony Mendez, a conflicted and troubled agent who has to sneak in to Iran to save the lives of a small group of people stuck in the middle of a violent revolt.
Bully (2012) (DVD)
What “Bully” sets out to do is show that bullying as a whole and as a concept is not something that’s going to go away very easily. And any time soon. Many critics regarded this film as a failure for not giving us sources to help fight bullying. But “Bully” really isn’t about being a resource for folks to help the cause against bullying. What the film is intent on accomplishing is showing America, and the world, that bullying is a very real and very damaging problem, and will affect everyone involved within its horrible circle. It’s up to audiences to get up and look for ways to snuff out the epidemic bullying in classes and in schools before we have to read about yet another group of children massacring a high school of innocent victims because they weren’t being heard or helped.
Celebrating the Resurrection of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
In the right format, the Ninja Turtles are pretty damn incredible. There’s just something about anthropomorphic human sized mutant turtles that are ninjas and know Ninjitsu that is just so darn appealing. What’s more is that there’s just something about the concept that is just so entertaining. Even when Eastman and Laird never intended for the series to be for kids, the Ninja Turtles always seemed destined to become icons for childhood superheroes who fought bad guys while entertaining tweens and all audiences alike. The eighties was the golden age of the Ninja Turtles where they were household names. There was just nothing but an avalanche of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merchandise and clothing that you couldn’t fit it all in one giant warehouse.
Continuum: Our Thoughts So Far
Syfy’s newest Canadian import garners some of my favorite aspects of fiction. There’s a Utopian future. And Rachel Nichols. There’s time travel. And Rachel Nichols. There’s futuristic villains and clandestine organizations. And Rachel Nichols. And of course, there are plays on time travel paradoxes that “Continuum” has a lot of fun playing with. And there’s Rachel Nichols. One element of the initial storyline revolving around season one of “Continuum” is the inevitability of time and fates and what happens when time travel is used. Could going back in time and tinkering with the fates of others alter the timeline? Or is there an already preset path that can not be stopped no matter how much you attempt to destroy it? If our mind predetermines our actions, wouldn’t that be applied to time travel? If heroine Keira never traveled back in time to thwart the efforts of Liber8, would she have ended up in her life? And what effect does two existing Keira’s in the universe ultimately have?
The Devil’s Carnival (2012)
Ticket-Keeper: A rebel in hell–how original.
Apparently Darren Lynn Bousman’s “Repo! The Genetic Opera” has not only become a massive cult classic, but it’s rising to the status of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” where fans swarm in droves to pay homage to the punk rock horror musical engineered by the director. While its initial release was piss poor, that never means it’s the death of an actual film. Quality always rises above horrible marketing and advertising. While “Repo!” was an entertaining enough horror treat, director Darren Lynn Bousman follows up his hit musical with a quasi-sequel of a sorts. While it’s not a direct continuation of “Repo!” it definitely garners the spirit of the former film, and even casts some actors from “Repo!” including Paul Sorvino, Bill Mosely, and Alex Vega in an especially saucy role as the demonic Wick.
A Date with An Angel (2012)
Director Mark Millicent’s “A Date with an Angel” feels almost like a condensed episode of “The Twilight Zone” like “The Hitch-hiker ” or “Time Enough, At Least” where the audience gets a word of warning in the end and really is asked to heed the advice. The short film itself is a very compelling and often spooky short about a young man on the path to destruction and the mysterious little girl trying to keep him from becoming yet another lost individual.