Inside “Heroes of the Golden Mask” there’s a great film desperate to bust out. It has a cool concept, some solid animation, and a neat mythology behind it. It’s just once you get down to the nit and grit of the narrative and some lingering plot holes, it never rises above being just average. It’s definitely a direct to video kind of animated movie better suited for basic cable, despite its best efforts. That’s not for lack of trying, though. Director Sean Patrick O’Reilly has a large career in producing budget animation. He and Arcana Studios have helped engineer titles such as “The Steam Engines of Oz,” and the mildly amusing “Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom.”
SILEO (2022)
The search for meaning, and why we exist is a question that plagues most sentient things on the planet. Although we’d probably be better off merely surviving day to day there’s the curse of the conscious being that we have to know why. That’s basically the premise for “SILEO.” Three years in the making, director and animator Demeter Lorant has build a dystopian, cold world where everything and every facet of society is run by machines. The machines have evolved to such a point that even the older models are being rejuvenated bit by bit. When GEFF 325520-BD, a fixer unit robot, decides to halt production, he goes on a quest to figure out why he’s there.
Reality (2023)
Director Tina Satter’s account of the interrogation of agent Reality Winner is perhaps one of the more tense thrillers of the year. It’s filled with so much suspense and tension from the moment Reality Winner pulls up to her drive way. Although the movie is simplistic and relies on a very small cast, Tina Satter is able to evoke a ton of really edge of the seat interplay between the characters. Based on the play “Is This a Room,” the dialogue is based almost completely on the transcripts between the federal agents and Reality Winner, and the respective cast is remarkable.
Mad Heidi (2023)
Tickets are now on sale at Fathom Events; coming to theaters nationwide for a special one-night engagement on Wednesday, June 21st at 7pm, local time.
A lot of the media likes to use the words “Indie film” whenever referring to a movie that isn’t entirely mainstream. The word has been homogenized over the years, as films like “Mad Heidi” are lost in the shuffle. “Mad Heidi” is a real indie film that worked hard to get a distribution deal, and it is here for us to gorge on. According to the press release, “Mad Heidi” initially made waves for its innovative crowdfunded approach, bypassing traditional financing tactics to ensure that the film’s original vision was preserved while placing profits back in the hands of the creators and backers. Even if neo-grindhouse isn’t your cup of tea, “Mad Heidi” deserves a lot of love for its willingness to embrace its indie roots, while also being literally as cheesy as it can possibly be.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Wackiki Wabbit (1943)
2023 marks the 85th Anniversary of Bug Bunny’s first animated appearance in 1938’s “Porky’s Hare Hunt.” Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we’re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We’re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too.
Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.
Wackiki Wabbit (1943)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Ted Pierce
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ken Harris
When push comes to shove, I always think of “Wackiki Wabbit” as my favorite Bugs Bunny short ever made. There are a lot of competitors that just barely edge out this one, but Chuck Jones’ more self contained adventure with Bugs is easily my favorite. It’s one I always really go back to and re-visit and never stop laughing through. Bugs is just at the top of his game, and the villains of the piece are a mix of pathetic and devious. Yeah, they’re trying to survive, but so is Bugs. I always wonder why they didn’t just ask Bugs how he survived for so long on the island. You know what?
I’m over thinking the short. That’s not a caveat of the whole shebang, it’s just something that pops up if you pick apart the whole situation.
5 Scary Movies to Watch if You’re Afraid of the Dark
With Stephen King’s “The Boogeyman” now in theaters and wreaking havoc, I thought it’d be fun to take a look at five great horror movies for nyctophobes. If you’re terrified and absolutely petrified of the dark, these five movies use the darkness not just as a plot device, but as their primary setting. Things that go bump in the dark are what these movies thrive on offer some pure terror, and I highly recommend them as chasers for “The Boogeyman.”
Renfield (2023): ‘Dracula Sucks’ Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
Chris McKay’s take on the Dracula dynamic with Renfield has a lot going for it, but it also has so much stacked against it from the starting gate. In a year teeming with Dracula iterations, “Renfield” has a real shot at standing out among the other interpretations of Bram Stoker’s lore, but never really rises to the occasion. That’s mainly because while the concept is interesting “Renfield” never decides what it wants to be. It wants to be a satire on “Dracula,” and a commentary on abusive relationships. It tries to be a cop action, a buddy comedy, a vampire film, and straddles the dangerous line of being a satire on the abuser and abused relationship at times.