Tag Archives: A

Arkham Rising (2012)

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This is one of the few fan films I’ve seen that doesn’t take place prior or subsequent a film, but during the film. Unofficially considered a part of the Nolan Batman mythos, director Tito Guillen’s short is set during the time where Bane has defeated Batman and now sets every criminal in Arkham free to do whatever their hearts desire. With a thick sense of tension and dread, along with a wonderful score that channels Nolan’s films,  “Arkham Rising” is a simple and short look at madness being unleashed.

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Apocalypse of the Dead (2009)

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I don’t know why indie filmmakers are still under the delusion that referencing horror maestros in some form during your film is clever or cute. Granted, it worked to some effect in “Night of the Creeps,” and in a slight degree in “Final Destination,” but now every indie filmmaker who drudges up a zombie movie feels the need to reference George Romero or Tom Savini in some way. There is actually a character off-screen named Agent Savini. Come on, quit it. I’m surprised there wasn’t a Romero hospital by Fulci street and Nicotero Lane. Hey, that’s going in my screenplay! “Apocalypse of the Dead” basically combines “Assault on Precinct 13” with “Dawn of the Dead” and completely throws the shit in the fan.

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Aladdin (1992)

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Back in 1992, my family and I went to see “Aladdin” when it premiered in theaters. Many years ago, it was one of the best movie going experiences of my life, simply because as an experience, “Aladdin” succeeds in entertaining. As a movie it’s one of the sleekest and most memorable entries in the animated Disney library thanks to its wonderful voice acting and snappy musical numbers. Before “The Lion King” introduced us to Hakuna Matata, it was hard to think of an ear bug more memorable than “Friend Like Me” as sung by the Genie. Many years passed, “Aladdin” is still one of the more top notch efforts from Disney Animated studios, even if it does manage to show its wrinkles two decades later.

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The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

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ZwstoaTWhile deep down Sony engineered a reboot of “Spider-Man” in an effort to secure the rights, “The Amazing Spider-Man” uses the opportunity to correct the mistakes made by previous franchise runner Sam Raimi. Where Raimi opted for camp and schlock with his installments, “The Amazing Spider-Man” launches a more dramatic approach. Where Raimi opted for the traditional Spider-Man, Marc Webb constructs a more radical re-thinking of the Spider-Man mythos. And unlike Raimi, director Marc Webb opts to side step the camp flavor as much as humanly possible. This reboot is much more true to the Spider-Man we all know and love, and thankfully it’s a superior film that promises to age better than Sam Raimi’s films.

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An American Werewolf in London (1981)

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anamericanwerewolf“An American Werewolf in London” is almost the perfect horror comedy and romance that never quite relies on either genre to move its story and deliver its horror. That’s pretty shocking considering John Landis was often a director known for comedies. Occasionally dark and almost always adult, Landis was once a man known for rich and iconic comedy films. “Animal House” and “The Kentucky Fried Movie.” Need I say more? With “An American Werewolf in London,” the stark comedy can often incite laughter, but it’s so dark it almost feels like awkward laughter most of the time. It’s just uncomfortable laughter because when there’s a laugh to be had, it’s at the expense of someone or something gruesome. When something is horrific it has a true sense of humanity behind it and there isn’t a cheap play for gross out sequences.

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An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)

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werewolf-in-parisThis movie proves without a doubt that just because you have a snazzy set of computers and artists, doesn’t mean you can replicate good old fashioned special effects. Sometimes the actual material and human actors can be much more effective than dapper computer animation that, even in 1997, looked like cut scenes from a Playstation video game. Of course it’s not like studios ever really learned their lesson after “An American Werewolf in Paris” landed with a thud in 1997. They just tried and tried until they succeeded. Supposedly in development for six years, “An American Werewolf in Paris” feels as if someone had the bright idea to remake the John Landis eighties classic “An American Werewolf in London,” backed out, and then kicked up production again once computer technology advanced. And then somewhere along the line a remake of a classic horror comedy became a stale and brutally underwhelming horror comedy that failed to amount to even an ounce of the charisma and brilliance that the first film did.

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Airplane! (1980)

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b9Fu48FIs there a comedy more perfect than “Airplane!”? I ask you. It’s in the list of the five perfect comedies ever made, and is definitely one of my top ten comedy films of all time, as well as one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s a film that appeals to folks who appreciate subtle comedy, raunchy comedy, silly comedy, and comedy that doesn’t require any thought at all. There are sight gags, puns, word plays, double entendres, and gratuitous nudity. There’s action, romance, suspense, stunts, and two jive talking passengers no one understands. There’s Kareem Abdul Jabar being Kareem Abdul Jabar, Peter Graves being a lunatic, Leslie Nielsen delivering the most genius deadpan comedic performance of his career, Lloyd Bridges who has an unusual history with recreational substances, and Ethel Merman for some reason.

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