I admit I was a bit skeptical about approaching “At Capacity” because a lot of these films always feels so cynical, Thankfully, Spencer Jamison is so talented she lends a fresh gloss to a tired formula. Having had its world premiere at the LA Shorts International Film Festival, “At Capacity” is an entertaining and intelligent romance comedy about serendipity and salvaging good out of what might seem irreversibly bad.
The Mexico Trilogy: El Mariachi, Desperado & Once Upon a Time in Mexico Limited Edition [4K UHD/Blu-ray]
The best way to approach Robert Rodriguez’s series of action films are as more avante garde independent films. They’re much more obsessed with the mysticism and the lore of the mariachi than pursuing traditional action films. In the process he loses himself in a trio of imperfect often incoherent action films that, while fun, are hard to follow. “El Marciahi” for instance cost Rodriguez everything to make where he couldn’t even afford to film two takes for a lot of his shots. In spite of the troubles, the film made him an indie legend, inspiring many to go their own gold. “Desperado” is the partial remake and sequel now following Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi. The vengeful and vicious music player travels across Mexico with the aide of a gorgeous local nurse—played by then unknown Salma Hayek–as he sets out to put and end to their reign.
The Bootleg Files: A Doonesbury Special
BOOTLEG FILES 875: “A Doonesbury Special” (1977 animated film that received an Oscar nomination).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On VHS and laserdisc plus a blink-and-you-missed-it DVD release in an anthology collection.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There might be a rights issue that is unresolved.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: A re-release on DVD and Blu-ray is not likely at this time.
As a prefix to this column, I need to confess that I’ve never been infatuated with Garry Trudeau’s comic strip “Doonesbury.” Yes, I am highly aware of its awards and cultural resonance, but I never found Trudeau’s brand of satire to amusing or provocative. That being said, I was curious to explore “A Doonesbury Special,” the 1977 production that marked the only time that Trudeau’s comic strip was adapted into an animated film. Trudeau collaborated with Oscar-winning animators John and Season Hubley on this work – John Hubley died while the production was in the storyboard phase, but he still received co-director and co-producer credit with his wife and Trudeau.
Interviewing Christopher Greenslate of “Bananahead”
For our readers, please introduce yourself.
I’m Christopher Greenslate, writer, director and producer of BANANAHEAD as well as a few other projects. It’s a funny thing trying to introduce oneself in an interview, but I’m someone who grew up in the punk and hardcore music scene and I’ve done a bunch of stuff. Toured with bands, put out records, published some work as a writer, but I’ve been working in film and television ever since I graduated from the American Film Institute back in 2016, and it finally seems like I’m hitting my stride. But I’m hopelessly optimistic, so who knows if that’s true?
The Night is Young (2024) [Popcorn Frights 2024]
It’s not many movies that begin feeling like some kind of goofy fun romantic comedy and transforms in to a war concerning vampires. Patrick Rea is up for the challenge of delivering on a movie with a firm tongue in cheek that’s mostly viewed through the lens of a modern video camera. I’m not too sure how vampires appear on screen but that’s for the artist to decide on terms when it comes to on screen vampires. “The Night Is Young” is a pretty good mixing of genres and sub-genres, centering itself on a woman who is on the hunt for a new girlfriend.
The Five Best Films I Saw in 1999
1999 was such a formative year for many. I was sixteen and experiencing new hobbies, and learning to love movies. And the internet was still in its infancy, transforming in to a fascinating but still mysterious technology. 1999 had much to offer in the way of the film world with studios releasing so many interesting and great films. With the 25 year marked in 2024, I spotlighted five of the best films I saw in 1999.
Bananahead (2024)
Selected to screen at the 2024 HollyShorts Film Festival, director Christopher Greenslate’s “Bananahead” is an unnerving and well told tale about legacy and impostor syndrome. It’s very much a horror movie, but it’s also a very stark movie about hitting a bar that someone previously left and a lot of what they can leave behind after they have gone. Sally Maersk is a stunner in the role as Andi Sanger, a young performer who gives herself the inherent pressure of taking on a role in the adaptation in her mom’s best selling book “Bananahead.”