It’s really sucky that Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse’s horror comedy “Summoning Sylvia” is one of the genre gems that audiences seem to be sleeping on. I say that because “Summoning Sylvia” is everything you can want in a horror comedy. Not only does it adhere to the classic supernatural movie tropes, but it also subverts them by unfolding a very heartfelt narrative with richly developed characters. While a film like this could have served the fully LGBTQ cast as stereotypes, directors and writers Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse introduce these characters one by one and then smash our pre-conceived notions.
Belle de Jour (1967) [LA&M Film Fetish Forum]
Luis Buñuel’s film is not just a celebration of protagonist Severine’s penchant for sadomasochism, but it’s also an examination of her desire for it. When we first meet Severine, she’s riding in a carriage with her husband. After some words are exchanged, he violently tears her off and drags her in to the woods. There she’s tied up, whipped, and savaged by his two coachmen, both of whom delight in taking advantage of her. We then see it’s nothing more than a depraved fantasy from a woman who is absolutely bored. As someone who is a part of the elite, who finds herself in the mountains at a ski lodge every weekend, she desires something so much more that money can buy.
Brightwood (2022)
The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. While “Brightwood” is in essence a horror movie, deep down it’s a movie about a toxic relationship. The couple we meet in Dane Elcar’s horror film are stuck in an endless circle of pain, abuse, and infidelity. By coincidence one fateful day, they find themselves stuck in an endless time loop near a pond. The setting for “Brightwood” comes off as very unassuming, but director Elcar manages to really inject a sense of terror within this scenic pond. The moment both characters realize that they’re probably stuck in this endless circle, it pits them against one another.
STRAIN 100 (2020)
If you like your apocalyptic fiction compiled a lot of the same old tropes you’ve seen a thousand times, then “Strain 100” might be up your alley. It’s “The Walking Dead” with a convenient dash of “The Last Of Us” thrown in, and none of the real social commentary or rich character focus. For all intents and purposes, “Strain 100” has some good ideas and fun moments of zombie carnage, but it’s bogged down by so many editing and writing problems from the outset. The zombies are pretty much the best aspect of the movie, truth be told.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hold the Lion, Please (1942)
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.
Hold the Lion, Please (1942)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Ted Pierce
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ken Harris
“Hold the Lion, Please” is one of the many shorts where we’d meet a one and done villain for Bugs Bunny. In 1942 he was still being developed and despite Elmer Fudd, none of the big guns have appeared quite yet. The shorts would shuffle through a lot of potential villains here and there, but it’d be a few years yet until anything solidified. What we do get is Leo the Lion, a pretty fun and funny one and done (though, technically he’d appear in other Looney Tunes films decades later) overall nemesis to Bugs Bunny. “Hold the Lion, Please” writer Ted Pierce does a bang up job playing the soft spoken middle aged lion who is seeking to prove himself once and for all. Continue reading
Kalley’s Last Review (2020)
Man, Julia Bailey Johnson’s short horror film “Kalley’s Last Review” is gruesome. I mean it’s not just gruesome, but it’s also a sharp edged commentary on influencer culture and review channels on youtube. It’s kind of like watching someone just gradually descend in to madness, and while you really want to stop them, you can only just sit and watch them slide further.
Last Call (2022)
There’s a lot of head scratching moments during director Becca Kozak’s horror comedy “Last Call,” and that’s both a good thing and a band thing. Director Kozak definitely relies on not really leaning on expectations, but that leads us down a bizarre narrative that I, frankly, wasn’t too clear on. It’s unpredictable, and weird, which is a plus. But I couldn’t quite understand to what end our villains were working toward.