It’s hard to imagine but Hollywood just never seems to be short of attempts to re-think and re-imagine “Red Riding Hood. And surely enough they never seem to think of an interesting enough idea for a franchise of any kind. I wish they’d stop by now. “Red Riding Hood” is Catherine Hardwicke’s efforts to transform “Red Riding Hood” in to this Puritanical, Stephanie Meyer tinted romance horror film that never works as well as it wants to.
The Substance (2024)
An actress facing agism decides to give a black-market drug a try to see what her other self could allow her to do.
The Hobbit (1977)
Although not as good or edgy as Ralph Bakshi’s more adult interpretations of the “Lord of the Rings” novels, Rankin Bass’s “The Hobbit” is a very good animated movie that gets about as dark and edgy as possible. The movie is a nice and swiftly paced seventy seven minutes, allowing for this single adventure to go from point A to point B without ever missing a step. Unlike the bloated trilogy we saw from Peter Jackson, “The Hobbit” gets the job done significantly better, even if the pacing is particularly rushed.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Bunker Hill Bunny (1950)
Editor’s Note: Cinema Crazed founder Felix Vasquez Jr. began the “Every Bugs Bunny Ever” series on January 3, 2023, with the goal of reviewing the cinematic output of the most popular star from the Warner Bros. animation studio. Felix passed away yesterday, and I will be inheriting the series and continuing with this weekly output in tribute to Felix’s legacy and his love for animated films.
Bunker Hill Bunny (1950)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Ken Champin, Virgil Ross and Arthur Davis
Music by Carl Stalling
“Bunker Hill Bunny” takes place during the American Revolution – specifically, the Battle of Bagle Heights. As battles go, this was on the small side, with the red-coated Hessian mercenary Sam von Scham (our old pal Yosemite Sam) taking on patriot Bugs Bunny. The rivals are in adjacent forts, with Sam firing multiple cannons at once from a might stone structure while Bugs shoots off a single cannon by reaching out of his hole-in-the-ground residence and pulling a string attached to the weapon.
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Little Vampire (Petit Vampire) (2020)
Based on the Children’s book series The Little Vampire, from German writer Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, the story from the author has been adapted before, most notably in the 2000 live action kid’s film. This version is directed by Joann Sfar with about as much competence as is humanly possible, and it’s sadly hindered by the poor American dub that sadly almost seems exclusively available. I wonder if there is a version with the original voice track, but sadly the movie isn’t so good that I will necessarily go and seek it out.
Felix Vasquez Jr. (1983-2024)
Felix Vasquez Jr., the film critic and publisher of the Cinema Crazed website, passed away today at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, New York, at the age of 41 after a brief illness.
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The Elderly (Viejos) (2023)
Raúl Cerezo, and Fernando González Gómez’s horror thriller may not be the most entertaining genre film, but it certainly is one of the most depressing movies about aging I’ve ever seen. With movies like “The Elderly,” although there is almost certainly another horror element waiting around the corner, the pair of directors are keen on depicting aging and being elderly as perhaps the most horrific circumstance to ever find ones self in. “The Elderly” is a lot about this inexplicable series of events involving the local elderly population, many of whom are becoming violent toward their family and toward themselves.