So I sat here trying to think of reasons why I liked “The Easter Bunny…” and then after about three hours of sitting still and looking into a wall, I realized that I was being a little too easy on Rankin Bass. Even in this day and age, there’s a certain charm to Rankin Bass and their stop motion creations. “The Easter Bunny…” has a great visual sense with character designs and pastels that are aesthetically pleasing and rather appealing to the eyes, and they’re always nothing short of superb when providing special effects, even considering the time these movies were made.
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! (1974) (DVD)
Okay, so I don’t celebrate Easter, and I don’t particularly subscribe to the principles of Schulz’s comic and its strong religious themes, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with “Easter Beagle,” yet another classic Charlie Brown episode involving the gang and, what else, Easter! While Linus creates another sentient figure out of a holiday called the Easter Beagle, anxiously awaiting its gifts and bounty, Marcy and Peppermint Patty try to grasp the concept of coloring eggs while wasting food in the most disturbing of manners. Believe it or not, Marcie can’t figure out that you have to boil eggs before coloring them.
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Many people will reason for “Horton” that it’s a good movie because, it’s much better than the previous attempts. And frankly, I’m not buying it. Is “Horton” as bad as the previous live action attempts? No way in bloody hell. But is it good enough to be a classic? No way in bloody hell. “Horton” makes the right decision of using animation this time around and pumps the screen with skilled comedians and it pays off to a certain extent as the adventures end up rather amusing. As an animated effort, it has the right idea, it just doesn’t know how to compose Seuss without turning itself into another “Shrek,” and I prayed this movie would have sense enough to not aspire to appeal to that audience and yet it did.
Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3)
I’ll tell you what the fundamental problem with “Serenity: Better Days” is, so far. There’s too much fore-shadowing to “Serenity.” There’s so much it became pretty irritating to read at times. Wash makes a hint at the possible getting together of Kaylee and the Doc, and heck even the cover has Wash and Zoe holding hands. We know what happens in “Serenity,” there’s no need to keep connecting the dots to remind us this is a sequel to “Those Left Behind,” and the second part of the comic book prequel… you follow?
Hawk Jones (1986)
And now for a trip down memory lane: Back when I was a young lad, my dad used to look for kids movies we could watch whenever we were up to no good and around our block there was a store that had an incredible collection of movies for sale. The selection was absolutely fantastic, with movies that were very hard to find and rare, and became even more so once the Blockbuster’s and Netflix’s of the world choked them out. Either way, he bought us this movie called “Hawk Jones” on VHS for a mere five bucks and boasted about its surefire entertainment value. Well, he wasn’t incorrect.
Against the Wind (2007)
We’re all going to get old and die, and some of us may not even see old age. But for those of us who sit up at nights wondering what being elderly will entail and how coming to terms with old age would be like, Dan Masucci confronts the topic quite well with “Against the Wind,” a dramatic short about an old man looking back at his life. “Against the Wind” was especially gripping for me, as Masucci manages to touch on actual fears people in my position have had.
Amateur Porn Star Killer 2 (2007)
Whether I liked the movie or not, I was very hesitant about the prospect of “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2,” because I think the first movie worked perfect on its own as a standalone event. We here at Cinema Crazed love the dudes at Alter Ego, but we do not hesitate to express disdain at curious film moves and call someone on their bullshit. “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2” has a great visual flair about itself and really seems to build up to something eventually explosive that I found difficult to turn away from. Remember, I was very cynical and almost unwilling to give this a chance for fear this would be just a rehash, but alas, I ended up really liking it in the end. “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2” meets our previous killer and voyeur Brandon who has now moved on to yet another victim in another city. What Ryan seems to strive for with both films is to get us infatuated with these women somehow getting us to sympathize for this killer when he finds he’s infatuated with them. Michiko Jimenez was a gorgeous and innocent young girl who was surprisingly sexy and in a sense Ryan seems to idealize the character setting her up for this fall which ends as a harsh blow to the audience.