Finally, the long awaited–well, not long awaited–finally the much anticipated–well, not anticipated, finally the curiously thought of… well no one actually wanted this. Well, anyway, this sequel of the direct to video status is what you’d suspect is the sequel to “Bring it On”. Now, much to everyone’s surprise, I thought “Bring it On” was an original and very entertaining comedy about cheerleaders and delved in to the sports world of that facet. And it was butchered to death with a company that refuses to know when to quit, and thus, here’s the sequel. Suffice it to say “Bring it on Again” is less a bad movie, and more pointless.
Masters of Horror: Homecoming
You see, just when my hopes were waning for this show, suddenly my faith is restored. In this political ridden society split apart by our own views, it’s surprising to see that this horror series first started as a show for horror masters is now deciding to tell stories that have meaning. Joe Dante directs this entertaining episode based on the award-winning short story “Death & Suffrage” by Dale Bailey. The story was first published in “The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction” and has been fixed to adjust to the modern lexicon. This has to be the best episode of the series so far, that displays all its talent for show including Greg Nicotero’s zombie effects.
Elektra (2005)
Going in to pissed off fan boy mode in 3, 2, 1: So, here’s a history lesson in case you wanted it or not. Elektra, pre-Hollywoodization, was a beautiful but incredibly vicious warrior. She had depth, and personality and humanity, and was forced to turn against her beliefs when Bullseye, the psychotic killer murdered her beloved father in front of her eyes. Elektra blamed Daredevil for not helping when he could have and trained with the Hand to become a warrior. She returned to stalk Daredevil and fell in love with him. She was killed at the hands of Bullseye and returned as an undead warrior, more vicious than ever. All of this made possible by Frank Miller.
Fantastic Four (2005)
In spite of what many, many others think, I kind of like the original “Fantastic Four” directed by Roger Corman. It’s pretty damn bad, but for entertainment value, it’s so bad it’s good. Well, this new adaptation is basically in the same boat. It’s so poor quality it works only as a guilty pleasure. Word to wise, some times some comic book series shouldn’t be made in to movies, because it will be lost in the translation. Example one. Face it, while “Fantastic Four” was good on the page, you have to take in to consideration that film is extremely literal. And sometimes this type of material just shouldn’t be put to the page. What I found pretty humorous was that during the release, the producers made is perfectly clear, “This is not The Incredibles” over and over to crowds comparing the two.
Masters of Horror: Chocolate
This latest episode is not so much scary and frightening as it is often amusing and fascinating. For this week’s episode, director, writer, and creator Mick Garris brings to life one of his own stories. I was often thinking back to “Twilight Zone” for this installment as it deals with unknown identities and sudden powers that arise from circumstances. As little expectations I had for “Chocolate” it ends up as a very solid episode. Henry Thomas is very much in the vein of Norman Bates here as a prudish young man named Jamie who works as a scientist synthesizing smells and tastes for products. One night after a vivid dream he awakes with the strong taste of chocolate in his mouth and begins to wonder if the dream was an actual figment of his imagination.
Sideways (2004)
There are very few films in this day and age that both harkens back to the tradition of “Five Easy Pieces” exploring characters with no real future or anything to look forward to, and searching for one, while exploring the incredulously distressing and often futile machinations in the artistic experience of an author. What “Sideways” truly grabbed me with, was the glimpse at a man, with no true distinguishable personality traits who struggles and toils away to get published with little to no success. He’s a man who wants big things but is basically brought down by his own insecurities–and freakishly large novel.
National Treasure (2004)
Colossal best-seller (and I can say colossal when it’s number one for nearly two-hundred weeks) “The Davinci Code” is going to experience the “adapted to the big screen” treatment in a little under a year, and the much anticipated adaptation has drawn much expectations from its hardcore following. But leave it to Disney to rip from its innards and offer up their own generic carbon copy. One major vitriol I had from the release that many critics haven’t exactly touched on was that “National Treasure” is an antecedent as a concept. Never have I seen such a blatant, and shameless rip-off of “The Davinci Code” before, but this is Disney for you. Rather then licking their wounds, they invented an American version of the same story.