“Everwood” was always the wonderful drama on the WB that was humble, but very emotional and gripping. At its cheesiest it was basically bearable to sit through, but most times it was absolutely compelling to watch and enjoy in its scenic and conservative sensibilities. Every thread and character was just magnificent and it’s good that Warner has finally released every season on DVD once and for all allowing folks a chance to see what they may have missed out on. It’s a shame because the third season is where the writers were finally finding their strides and developing some fantastic new sub-plots.
I Love You Beth Cooper (2009)
Riddle me this: Do you love movies about child molestation, child rape, animal cruelty, drug abuse, pedophilia, homophobia, alcohol abuse, and bulimia all of which is played for wacky comedy, sight gags, and relentless running gags? Well then strap in for “I Love You, Beth Cooper” a movie that actually turns a character with an eating disorder in to a pun where the camera man zooms in to her stick thin waist as if to draw some form of giggles from a crippling potentially deadly psychological disorder. I couldn’t believe the editor tried to use this as something of a joke and treat it with such a tongue in cheek manner. Do you think I’m being a kill joy? Well then you probably haven’t seen this mean spirited utterly cruel romance comedy that is probably one of the creepiest teen misadventures I’ve ever seen.
The Boondock Saints (1999)
Watching “The Boondock Saints” is something of an experience, and one that I’m actively working on forgetting as soon as humanly possible. Director Troy Duffy’s action trashapalooza is much too mind-numblingly moronic to be taken as an earnest effort for indie action cinema, and much too stern to be considered camp garbage. You can clearly sense director and writer Troy Duffy working actively to portray every single character in this film as something to be taken with a straight face and a shiver, but in the end none of it works out for the better.
Step Up 3D (2010)
In spite of the best efforts from the writers to give their most passionate story, one thing they do achieve is making the character of Moose something of a more dignified and empathic underdog hero. In a film series filled with pretty people, it’s refreshing to see the screenwriters working toward making Adam G Sevani something of an entertaining and complex individual. Here instead of making us laugh, he’s given much more dramatic material however cliche it may be. Continue reading
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
What with Clive Barker’s gothic romance garnering immense popularity among his fans and horror buffs, it was only a matter of time until the Cenobites took control of the overall premise of Barker’s mythos and headlined the franchise. After the second part, the entire series basically missed the whole point of “Hellraiser” and soon enough Pinhead took center stage evolving in to nothing more than another movie monster prone to Shakespearean diatribes. For better or for worse, Pinhead became the star of the “Hellraiser” films and here he’s reduced to little more than an interactive head on a totem pole. Bye bye Tiffany, you had so much to offer, but it’s off to movie purgatory with you.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Yes much like the original Barker film, I’ve yet to ever really see “Hellbound,” as it’s managed to elude me for many years. I can recall seeing bits of it on a local cable station in America and never quite being able to experience it in its entirety. Tragically the only remotely interesting character in the entirety of “Hellbound” is Tiffany. Introduced as one of the more gifted and confounding of the patients within the mental institution, the character is a labyrinth within a labyrinth, a taskmaster disguised as mentally ill whose own personality and identity is about as enigmatic as the demonic puzzlebox. Imogen Boorman gives a rather striking performance as this walking riddle who consumes most of her time solving puzzles and tricks that doctor Channard gives her.
Hellraiser (1987)
I’m ashamed to admit that up until now I’ve never seen Clive Barker’s horror opus “Hellraiser.” In spite of it being regarded as a classic by many horror buffs and standing as a bonafide Gothic masterpiece, “Hellraiser” has managed to elude me for years. I’ve only managed to watch portions of the sequel, and the entirety of the third entry on late night cable as a child, but beyond that, I could never set down on the original film. One thing I loved about “Hellraiser” in the end was that Barker never holds our hands throughout the story he draws for the audience. Rather than making on the nose exposition, he instead allows us to explore this horror fantasy with the characters.