“Back Rooms” was born from the digital age, among the 4Chan and Creepypasta realms. It’s a pocket within our world that is completely cut off from the rest of what we could rationally consider reality. It is a series of endless rooms and hallways that stretch for a nigh infinite space, all of which are typically a noxious yellow, completely void of any life, and filled with the annoying, deafening hum of florescent lights. I’m only vaguely familiar with the meme of the Back Rooms, but it’s been widely circulated and explored much in the vein of other digital legends like the Slenderman and Sirenhead.
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
It’s disappointing that this is where we’ve arrived with the DC Warner animated movies. We went from stellar to “Its fine, I guess.” That’s exactly what “Apokolips War,” the sequel (?) to “Justice League Dark” is. It’s fine. It’s okay. It has all the ingredients to be a damn good epic, but instead chooses gruesome pointless violence, over heart and substance. I’m not one to complain about violence in more mature aimed films, but “Apokolips War” often watches like it’s compensating for the lack of any real substance or entertainment value by splashing the screen with ridiculous violence and gore.
WarHunt (2022)
World War II American soldiers are sent into the German forest to retrieve important items from a crashed plane. There, they meet with something otherworldly and must face more than the enemy they expected.
Injustice: Gods Among Us (2021) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
As a bit of warning, I never played the “Injustice” video game series, nor have I ever read any of the comic books or spin offs. I’m vaguely aware of what the general premise is of “Injustice,” but that’s as far as it goes for me. Considering I was excited about it being adapted in to an animated movie, when the dust settled, I’m very disappointed by what we’re ultimately offered. What is it about DC and Warner unwilling to make a movie that’s longer than eighty minutes? It can’t possibly be for the child audience, as “Injustice” is as gory an Elseworlds tale that I’ve ever seen.
Encanto (2021)
I am elated that Disney and Piax have begun finding the value in and delving in to tales that revolve around people of color. There’s so much rich heritage in the latinx community involving spirituality, honor, love, and the power of family. There’s so much amazing folklore that could really stand to be passed on to a new generation of movie lovers with great respect as presented in “Encanto.” Although it’s primarily about a Latinx family, it’s deep down about generational trauma, and the burdens that our elders can place on the youth, whether they realize it or not
Dane & Arthur: A Forgotten Comedy Team
The comedy team of Karl Dane and George K. Arthur delighted audiences of the late silent movie era and the Pre-Code sound years, but today their films are rarely celebrated and the team is mostly recalled for the tragic death of Karl Dane. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” film scholar Geno Cuddy offers insight into this wonderfully funny duo.
You Have to See This! The Losers (2010)
Streaming On: HBO Max, Youtube, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video
In 2010 movie fans were given two action movies about a group of ragtag military outcasts doing everything they could to prove their innocence and fight a domestic terrorist. There was the long awaited “A-Team” revival and “The Losers.” The latter was based on a comic series from Vertigo comics of the same name, and wouldn’t you know it? The “A-Team” movie ended up being one big rotten egg, while “The Losers” was everything the aforementioned film should have been and received zero fanfare. It’s a damn shame that a decade later, “The Losers” is so utterly unappreciated and overlooked, because—again—this is the type of movie “A-Team” should have been.