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
Tag Archives: Adventure
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.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022) [Digital]
After four “Hotel Transylvania” movies it’s pretty obvious that by now, even Genndy Tartakovsky. I think despite his name being plastered all over this new sequel that he probably didn’t have much to do with its creation. Now that the series is four movies deep, along with a short lived TV series, “Transformania” feels so much less like a high stakes sequel, and a lot more like an extension of the TV series. Watching it, it felt like the studios merely took four scripts for the cancelled series, and stapled them together to create this hodgepodge adventure.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
Watching the sequel to the shockingly successful “Venom” is like watching a screensaver. Sure, there’s a lot of activity and colors, but at the end of it, nothing has actually happened; and then you move on to the next thing. This schlocky follow up to the goofy “Venom” leans more heavily in to the mid-nineties silliness mixing a buddy action comedy with a body horror film. Normally that could be a formula for success, but—again: screensaver.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Not many younger fans know this, but once upon a time, before Marvel became another arm of Disney, Spider-Man was basically Mighty Marvel’s equivalent to Mickey Mouse. He was the most relatable, most accessible, and most liked hero, even when the company was as its worst. Easily the biggest movie of 2021, “No Way Home” is a glimpse in to what makes Spider-Man such a timeless hero and why so many people continue connect to our favorite Friendly Neighborhood Wallcrawler.
Vivo (2021)
“What difference can one song make?” asks the titular Vivo. The answer is: A huge difference. One song can change the world. It can transport us back in time. It can sadden us, lift us up, and inspire us. “Vivo” is about the value and power of music, and it’s coordinated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a man who has spent a lot of his career trying to promote the power of music, and how creativity in music can help and shape how we think. “Vivo” is a movie that kids deserve to experience for that fact, alone.
“Beavis and Butt-Head Do America” is the Zenith of the 90’s Most Notorious Duo’s Popularity
I was lucky enough to live through three generations of animated characters that not only drove adults crazy, but caused unnecessary havoc in schools and church for me. First there was Bart Simpson, who I remember listening to my teacher lecture us about him being a bad influence. In the late nineties we met a foursome of foul mouthed boys from “South Park” that also sparked immense hysteria and controversy. In between though there were two products of the 1990’s. They were the slacking, burnt out rocker, bare minimum, anti-establishment pair of losers who did nothing but watch TV and try to get laid.
They were known as “Beavis and Butt Head.”