Tripping the Rift: The Movie (2008)

Posted on April 11, 2008 by Felix Vasquez

My first experience with “Tripping the Rift” was on the television show “Exposure” on the Science Fiction channel where the series that displayed a variety of independent filmmakers and their short films aired a special “Star Wars” tribute episode. “Tripping the Rift” was one of my favorites of the episode and it powered on to be a cult spin-off that I never sadly watched while it was on the air. “Tripping the Rift: The Movie” is a serviceable pop culture love letter, with not a single hint of originality, but a great energy that makes it worthy of the watch, even for people who have no idea what the plot is. Because, I sure as hell don’t. I know it’s a Canadian cartoon of the Canuck persuasion, and has a really hot computer animated chick in it.

Continue reading →

Antebios (1998)

Posted on April 11, 2008 by Felix Vasquez

When I was a wee lad, all I wanted to do was review movies. And not movies made by people I’ve never heard of, either. No, I just wanted to see what was in theaters, and what Dreamworks and or Paramount had to offer. I wanted to review movies that people knew about in my local theater. And then came “Exposure.” A favorite of mine when the Science Fiction Channel was starting in the US, “Exposure” showed me that indies are always as good and (many times) better than the mainstream. I explored some of the early work from masters like Tim Burton like “Frankenweenie.” For an hour every Sunday, I watched indie shorts, and loved each and every one of them.

Continue reading →

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town (1977)

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Felix Vasquez

So I sat here trying to think of reasons why I liked “The Easter Bunny…” and then after about three hours of sitting still and looking into a wall, I realized that I was being a little too easy on Rankin Bass. Even in this day and age, there’s a certain charm to Rankin Bass and their stop motion creations. “The Easter Bunny…” has a great visual sense with character designs and pastels that are aesthetically pleasing and rather appealing to the eyes, and they’re always nothing short of superb when providing special effects, even considering the time these movies were made.

Continue reading →

Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008)

Posted on March 17, 2008 by Felix Vasquez

Many people will reason for “Horton” that it’s a good movie because, it’s much better than the previous attempts. And frankly, I’m not buying it. Is “Horton” as bad as the previous live action attempts? No way in bloody hell. But is it good enough to be a classic? No way in bloody hell. “Horton” makes the right decision of using animation this time around and pumps the screen with skilled comedians and it pays off to a certain extent as the adventures end up rather amusing. As an animated effort, it has the right idea, it just doesn’t know how to compose Seuss without turning itself into another “Shrek,” and I prayed this movie would have sense enough to not aspire to appeal to that audience and yet it did.

Continue reading →

Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3)

Posted on March 15, 2008 by Felix Vasquez

I’ll tell you what the fundamental problem with “Serenity: Better Days” is, so far. There’s too much fore-shadowing to “Serenity.” There’s so much it became pretty irritating to read at times. Wash makes a hint at the possible getting together of Kaylee and the Doc, and heck even the cover has Wash and Zoe holding hands. We know what happens in “Serenity,” there’s no need to keep connecting the dots to remind us this is a sequel to “Those Left Behind,” and the second part of the comic book prequel… you follow?

Continue reading →

Hawk Jones (1986)

Posted on March 14, 2008 by Felix Vasquez

And now for a trip down memory lane: Back when I was a young lad, my dad used to look for kids movies we could watch whenever we were up to no good and around our block there was a store that had an incredible collection of movies for sale. The selection was absolutely fantastic, with movies that were very hard to find and rare, and became even more so once the Blockbuster’s and Netflix’s of the world choked them out. Either way, he bought us this movie called “Hawk Jones” on VHS for a mere five bucks and boasted about its surefire entertainment value. Well, he wasn’t incorrect.

Continue reading →

Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina (2007) (DVD)

Posted on March 10, 2008 by Felix Vasquez

There’s simply no denying it; “Appleseed Ex Machina” has some utterly incredible animation with some of the best character designs I’ve seen in the CGI field in years. The landscapes are extraordinary, the visuals are absolutely dazzling, and much of the action is committed with a tight editing brilliance that keeps the action in a constant rapid fire pace. The “Appleseed” films always have the most dazzling computer animation, even if you don’t always receive the most enriching experience. If you recall our early review of the first “Appleseed” movie, you’ll remember that we pretty much disliked everything it stood for. It was overly complicated, cliché, tedious as all hell, and was pretty much existent for its incredible animation with zero substance to provide its audience. Okay, so John Woo allegedly produced this sequel, so what? “Appleseed Ex Machina” is just the same movie as its predecessor, except just boring with a little more to offer, which isn’t saying much when you consider the first film’s goals.

Continue reading →