Tag Archives: Adaptation

Heavy Metal (1981)

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There was always something about a rotoscope animated astronaut driving a top down corvette convertible from space to Earth that always screamed the eighties to me, and surprisingly it still works in encapsulating the surrealism of “Heavy Metal.” If you can accept the film for what it is, which is basically a man’s wet dream filled with misogyny, sex, big breasts, and mild exploitation, “Heavy Metal” is a solid animated anthology with some damn good music to accompany its epic sprawling tale. After the astronaut Grimaldi brings home mysterious green orb from space for his daughter, he’s melted and his daughter is shown by the sentient sphere named Loc-Nar, the extent of its power and influence through time and space.

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5 Controversial “Star Wars” Developments We Don’t Hate

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For years I wrote off “Star Wars” as another typical classic film I had zero interest in watching until 1998 when sheer boredom gave way to curiosity. Managing to borrow the original trilogy on VHS from my aunt, I watched it in one entire sitting and loved every minute of it. Since then it’s been a very hectic relationship with the series packed with a lot of love, and a lot of bile. In 2015 “Star Wars Rebels” made me realize I still love the series after a self inflicted hiatus, and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” finally confirmed I wasn’t quite ready to abandon this series just yet. Like any other “Star Wars” geek I have controversial ideas about the series I love and hate, and these are five of the controversial aspects from the whole shebang I don’t hate.

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Our 10 Worst Movies of 2015

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With the good comes the bad, and 2015 had its fair share of awful films that left audiences and critics running for the doors. There were some films we outright refused to see this year, so you won’t see “The Human Centipede 3” on this list, nor will you be seeing “Joe Dirt 2,” either. We just will not go out of our way to watch a David Spade vehicle. We also didn’t bother with “The Cobbler.” There’s only so much Happy Madison junk we can stomach.

Bad Movies in 2015 that almost made the list includes the pure havoc Happy Madison wrought with the terrible Pixels, the brutally unfunny Paul Blart Mall Cop 2, and the absolutely unwatchable The Ridiculous 6. We almost included Johnny Depp’s terrible Mortdecai, the piss poor lazy prequel Pan, and also considered the Adam Green self love fest Digging Up the Marrow. We also considered adding the lame and dull We Are Your Friends, and seem to be one of the only five people on Earth who hated Bone Tomahawk. There were just more deserving candidates. On to the Worst of 2015…

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Our Top 10 Films of 2015

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I have to admit, 2015 was a great year for movies. We saw a huge glut in horror films, the welcome ongoing resurgence of the anthology film, Tarantino smashed in to theaters with his new film, and audiences told Hollywood which type of nostalgia is genuine, and which is just exploitative crap trying to take our cash. Some nostalgia like “Creed” and “Goosebumps” were a success, while other efforts like “Jem and the Holograms,” and “Tomorrowland” bombed big time inspiring groans and eye rolls. Most of all we saw the return of “Star Wars,” the “Jurassic Park” series, and the Western. To add some pleasing news to the latter, Kurt Russell was a part of two of the most talked about Western entries of the year. Long live Snake Plissken.

As always our commitment to covering the indie film world has prevented us from watching every movie in 2015. Especially now with many films available on various formats in digital and physical form. It’s tough to keep up. But out of the large array of films we saw in 2015, these were the best.

GREAT MOVIES that almost made the cut includes the horrific We Are Still Here, the darkly funny and creepy The Visit, the underdog superhero flick Ant-Man, another Marvel Cinematic Universe installment The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the shocking and haunting dramatic thriller The Gift, the meta horror comedy adventure Goosebumps, the wonderful feature film adaptation of Charles Shulz’s comic strip The Peanuts Movie, the beautiful Pixar animated drama Inside Out, the gory Tarantino mystery The Hateful Eight, the sequels Fast and Furious 7 and Mission Impossible Rogue Nation, the entertaining horror anthology Tales of Halloween, the gripping documentary Call Me Lucky, and Ridley Scott’s exciting survival drama The Martian. Now on to the Top 10…

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Our 5 Choice Indies of 2015

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Cinema Crazed is pretty much a one man operation, so as always, we weren’t able to watch every single film sent to us this year. We have so much to do, and so little time to do it in, but we try our damndest to watch everything that comes down our pipe. The year has been good for indie filmmaking, as Hollywood are taking more and more chances on indie filmmakers and budding storytellers.

As with every year, this is a list of the five best Indies we saw in 2015. While there were many A+ Indies, these five stood out and stuck with us for a long time.

While a few of these movies can be viewed online legally for free, we encourage you to buy these films. Buying them helps the filmmakers, it helps them go on to make another movie you might enjoy, and it helps the small companies that are funding these directors and excellent storytellers. The indie film community needs as much support as it can muster up. Without Further ado… Continue reading →

The Peanuts Movie (2015)

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I wish Hollywood would display this much respect and restraint with Dr. Seuss as they have with Charles Shulz. As a hardcore fan of Peanuts, I was initially very weary about how the series would be treated for a more mainstream modern audience. Thankfully my fears were laid to rest watching “The Peanuts Movie,” which isn’t just an adaptation of the original series, but is also a love letter to boot. Fans of the series will love how Steve Martino treats Charlie Brown and his world, opting for a wholesome respectful film, rather than ramming in pop culture references, and a sugary pop soundtrack. There’s nothing remotely cloying or obnoxious about “The Peanuts Movie,” and the new animation format even works in the series favor.

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Pan (2015) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]

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Another in a line of 2015 films I really wanted to love, “Pan” left me bored, and asking did we really need a prequel? Did we really need to end the movie on Peter and Captain Hook giving one another uncomfortable glances knowing soon they’d become deadly nemeses? Why is Captain Hook called Hook if he doesn’t even have a Hook? Why is Tiger Lily played by a Lily White Actress? Hey, at least Hollywood keeps giving consistently flat Rooney Mara jobs, and turns Tiger Lily in to the heroine of a movie that’s supposed to be about Peter Pan. Or is he Peter who is a Pan? Or is he a Pan Warrior Named Peter?

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