I didn’t want to admit it but… well… “Serenity: Better Days” sucked really badly. I kept insisting to myself that it was just mediocre, but re-reading the issues I can safely say that it sucks. If Whedon and co. were trying to show us what a poor imitation of “Firefly” would look like, then it worked. Thanks Joss. It was so bad I didn’t even finish the final issue. Yeah, that bad. So, along comes “Serenity: The Other Half,” a web exclusive mini comic book following the gang of “Serenity” in the middle of a gorram battle.
Chris Lemmon, Author of "A Twist of Lemmon" and Our Review
First and foremost, “A Twist of Lemmon” is a thank you letter and final farewell from Chris Lemmon to his father Jack Lemmon. And though intentional or not, “A Twist of Lemmon” at almost two hundred pages, is also a testament to the power of the father and son relationship and the importance of it in shaping a man. Whether a loving father or an abusive one (Lemmon was the former, by the way), the men in our lives shape who we become. It’s an often emasculated and marginalized aspect of the parental foundation that’s constantly deemed irrelevant and easily dismissed in a world that values women more over men, but the father and son relationship is one of the most powerful dichotomies of nature.
Director Alexandra Fisher of "Desert Wedding"
A most recent earner of the Cinema Crazed’s coveted Indie Spotlight, “Desert Wedding” is a wonderful short drama about a materialistic woman on the verge of marriage who suddenly gets a lesson in appreciating what’s really important in life while you have it. Simultaneously, it’s also a commentary about the fuss and chaos women work themselves up in during weddings, so intent on sparing no cost, that they forget why they’re getting married in the first place, and director Alexandra Fisher provides a gripping dramatic short film that conveys this interesting undertone rarely ever put to the screen. Multi-talented, and multi-lingual, Fisher sheds some insight in to her hectic life and tells us about the experience making her short.
The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season (DVD) (2008)
“The Big Bang Theory” had every chance to fail. It was a forgettable premise, a formula concept and really didn’t look to offer up anything new. And yet it ended up being really good and addictive. I watched the pilot when it premiered and stuck with it because in spite of the broad comedy, cheesy gimmick, and pretty exhausting pop culture references, it’s an amusing and charming sitcom with some good laughs in store if you want to give it a chance.
And as the season went on the little things started to really respond to fans. I like how the broken elevator has now become a character all in its own with a hint of realism. I like how Jim Parson’s character has become a staple of the show with episodes just not the same without him.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Is “The Clone Wars” as bad as people have said? Yes and no. I had fun, I sat through the animated “Star Wars” entry with a chuckle and a half smile and enjoyed these characters yet again. The animated team manages to comprise a film with animation that’s pretty eye catching if below par what the Lucas team is capable of. But then again, there won’t be much of a difference when the Cartoon Network airs the series in a few months. Top that off with the interesting voice work that I quite enjoyed. You have to appreciate actor Matt Lanter for putting life and energy in to Anakin Skywalker, almost completely making me forget the awful performances by Hayden Christensen. Voice actor James Arnold Taylor reprises his role from the original “Clone Wars” mini-series and does a bang up job reprising the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi and giving us the character’s charms and gravitas in full force.
Scarlet Fry's Horrorama (1990)
Great news everyone, the 1990 cult classic “Scarlet Fry’s Horrorama” is finally available on DVD after so many years! What’s “Scarlet Fry’s Horrorama,” you ask? I don’t know. Oh and I checked around the internet and no one seems to know either. So either the Matrix is on the blink and the agents have destroyed any and all evidence of the great “Scarlet Fry’s Horrorama,” or… this great news I’m reading about on the press kit is only great to the folks that made this film. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just I don’t like the pretense that something is rare and precious when it really isn’t.
CJ7 (2008)
I’d like to tell you that “CJ7” is Stephen Chow’s answer to “E.T.” but as we all have come to know, Chow would never be about providing ordinary kids entertainment that we’ve seen before. “CJ7” may have the same formula when you get down to it, but Chow gives his own spin on it and it works. It’s a healthy dose of menace, adult edge, and over the top fantasy that has become a dead art in family films and director Chow takes every chance to flex those elements with his own take on the boy meets alien tale. On the flipside, Chow also tries to tell a genuinely emotional tale about a poor down on their luck and father and son struggling to get by living in a junk yard and eating day old food, while character Dickey’s dad always tries to teach him about life and how there are simply no short cuts. Especially when you’re poor.