1996’s “Daylight” is pretty much just a nineties version of “The Poseidon Adventure.” There’s an eccentric old couple, a resistant tough guy constantly battling with our hero, a cynical woman who bonds with the hero, an epic disaster that is impossible to rebound from, a moment where our characters have to swim under water to make it to a safe zone hoping to escape inevitable drowning, in the climax we see authorities opening a hatch for our victims to escape through, and like Hackman’s hero, Stallone even screams at god as he fights to live in the climax.
Tag Archives: Adventure
The First Easter Rabbit (1982) (DVD)
Rankin Bass are a humongous part of my childhood. Every single year during the holidays we were treated to their holiday specials on CBS and ABC here in America, and we’d tune in every single time. It was an event. Over the years Rankin Bass have shown that they’re really not the most original studio to have ever dabbled in animation. Stepping back to look over their specials, they’re all basically the same thing with an identical formula that is successful but kind of obvious. There’s the story of a holiday icon born out of coincidence, a supporting cast of children, the evil villain anxious to stop or tarnish the holiday, and of course most of the story is told by an older legendary film icon.
Bugs Bunny's Easter Special (1953) (DVD)
So Easter is coming up and Warner is looking to celebrate that by releasing a small grouping of Easter themed DVD’s. One is a compilation of Bugs Bunny cartoons set to the theme of Easter! Normally I’d call this a lame repackaging in an attempt to gauge money in the spirit of the holiday, but I hate Easter and I love Bugs Bunny so nuts to you. Oddly enough this is actually a movie about Bugs Bunny. For some reason Granny is friends with the Easter Bunny. Sadly he’s very sick and can not deliver eggs to children, so Granny seeks out Bugs to fill in. Bugs can’t because he’s in the studio filming his latest movie and the ever reluctant hero as he is, decides to fill in for the real deal.
Turkish Superman/Supermen Donuyor (1979)
I make no allusions about my passion for Superman. I love the character, I’ve followed him since I was five, and I’ve seen everything I could get my hands on involving him. I even brag to people about it and gladly welcome their mocking. Most recently I was able to grab a copy of “Turkish Superman” a cult classic that has managed to remain an underground joke among movie collectors for decades since its release. A cinematic embarrassment up and down, it’s tough to really hate this when you consider all the quirks behind the production.
Panic Attack! (Ataque de pánico!) (2009)
Inspired by the online short film “Geweldenaren van Ver,” director Federico Alvarez’s short film (made under a five hundred dollar budget) is yet another tale of indie success that most independent directors can only dream of. Uruguayan director Alvarez posted this short film on Youtube back in 2009 and after the video was posted on rapper Kanye West’s blog, it garnered an immense fanbase, currently has over five million views on Youtube, and Alvarez experienced surprising success, “I uploaded Panic Attack! on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of e-mails from Hollywood studios,” said Alvarez.
Now he’s been given a contract by Sam Raimi’s studio “Ghost House Pictures.”
Avatar (2009)
Watching “Avatar” is like watching a magic show. There’s lights, and sounds, and smoke, and hand waving and it’s mesmerizing if you watch without caution, but if you manage to go back stage and see what’s really happening, you’ll find that what show there is is all just an illusion, it’s all just razzle dazzle with an empty center. That’s what James Cameron’s phenomenon is like sitting through. An exhausting two and half hours basically amounts to nothing more than a carnival ride, an experience that’s interesting sure, but easily forgotten once you’ve decided to move on to the next light show waiting for you. I’m not one to besmirch Cameron for giving us this movie because no matter what I say the general consensus has been that American audiences and movie goers around the world have accepted it, but I’m one of the few who see behind Cameron’s smoke and mirrors and just craved more.
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
Comic book geeks like yours truly are at a definite cross roads. Marvel continues to churn out animated series and live action movies like it’s going out of style yet their animated movie gallery has been severely hit or miss, while DC has only released big films from Batman and Superman and yet their animated movie gallery has promised quality almost all the time. I’m just curious when we can get a movie from them that’s longer than eighties minutes. That aside “Crisis on Two Earths” is another graphic novel that I haven’t read and thankfully I went in blind. I consider that an advantage because in the end it allows me to judge the material more objectively.