Take a recycled concept, grab some cliché characters, put them in a brutally horrendous situation and what do you get? A creative director providing one of the most exciting and horrifying independent zombie movies in years. “Automaton Transfusion” has the chips stacked against it from the beginning with a plot that could either be really good or really bad, but the entire film works and it’s barely ninety minutes. There’s not much plot to be taken here, which really isn’t a caveat.
Day of the Dead (2008)
As a buddy once said: The Only thing worse than a bad horror movie is a boring horror movie, and “Day of the Dead (2008)” unfortunately didn’t bore me. In fact I had fun in a guilty pleasure mindset watching these idiotic zombies adhering to whatever principle that would grant story progression. As well, these zombies are much more energetic and entertaining than the ones in the “Resident Evil” movie incarnations for the fact that they actually act like zombies and provide some sense of menace and terror even when they’re bursting into flames and withering out like cigarette ash.
Spiral (2007) (DVD)
Many people think that I’m much too hard on “Hatchet,” and unnecessarily punish it for being the victim of gross over hyping by a hyperactive press who stroked themselves to Green’s premiere debut. In actuality, I liked “Hatchet,” because it’s tough to disappoint me with a slasher film, and Green has a charisma about him that guarantees to win me over sooner or later. “Spiral” is a step in the direction where Green will definitely win me over as a fan if he continues at this rate.
3 Steps 2 Abducting Awareness in Love (2007)
I thought it was my computer and I tried to replay “3 Steps 2 Abducting” twice and it was still occurring. Right around the climax, the movie just stops playing and nothing is resolved, nothing develops and we’re left with a feeling of abrupt closure that just doesn’t answer any questions. “3 Steps 2 Abducting” definitely has the right idea, it just doesn’t know what it wants to be.
Pencil Fighting: The Life and Times of Team Balderdash (2007)
I wanted to really like “Pencil Fighting.” I mean, granted, in the end the concept is interesting, the scenes are humorous, and the direction is tight, but beyond that “Pencil Fighting” left me generally apathetic to the entire story and I just didn’t really know what I thought of it. Then watching it a second time, I realized that I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. While you have to really appreciate what director and writer Fro Rojas is getting at, often times “Pencil Fighting” left me unsatisfied, especially since there seemed to be so much more that could have been done with the concept and story.
Johnny Suede (1991) (DVD)
I give “Johnny Suede” credit for being original, and unusual and surreal. Hell, if David Lynch made a musical comedy, I think this film would be it. But what’s the ultimate caveats that drag the film down into pure horrid depths? Tedium and acting. This story of a perpetually naïve young man who can’t quite understand how delusional he is in his pipe dream of becoming a huge star would have been better served had we been given a better leading man, but alas Pitt once again convinces me that he’s just not a good actor. Granted, it’s an early role, but Pitt could never convince me he’s a solid performer aside from his brief stint in “Snatch.”
Batman Double Feature: Mask of the Phantasm/Mr. Freeze – Subzero (DVD)
On the cusp of the upcoming “The Dark Knight,” Warner Bros. has taken the two best animated Batman movies ever made, and re-packaged them together for a double feature DVD with the extras. Now I bet you’re fuming that you spent ten bucks on “Mask of the Phantasm” when you can now get it for essentially the same price but with another movie, and I don’t blame you, but I don’t have either of these movies, and for someone like me looking for a Batman fix before “The Dark Knight” juggernaut slams onto the big screens, this double feature DVD comes with convenience, and good timing. Timm did Batman like no one else did Batman, and that’s a true caveat as well.