Fanarchy (2015)

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Fans get a really bad rap these days and for good reason. The fan community was once derided and ostracized and is now doing the deriding and ostracizing toward anyone that tries to integrate themselves in to a fandom. That said, being a fan or a part of a fan community isn’t always bad, and “Fanarchy” is merely an ode to the fans. Most of all it’s a tribute to how much influence the fan community has had on pop culture at large and how they can use their love for characters and properties to help fuel their lives and inspire hope and strength. No one has been harder on fans than I have this year, but Donna Davies offers up a look at how fans can also do great things and inspire one another to reach for creativity and aspirations.

Davies spans the globe looking at various fans and fan communities that have achieved some remarkable feats. Some of them have become massive pop culture phenomenon, while Davies also sets the light on more personal and touching stories. Some of the more interesting stories involve the career of beloved geek goddess Brea Grant, who is most recognized for her work in shows like “Heroes” and has spent a lot of her acting career producing the kind of work she wants to. There’s also the inspiring story of one of the first fan films ever made for “Raiders of the Lost Ark” which drew the attention of Steven Spielberg. It also became such a fan favorite at festivals that it garnered its own book and is currently being developed in to a movie.

The most inspiring story though is the tale of Maya Glick whose rabid fandom for X-Men character Storm helped her push through some really tough times in her life and helped her grow as a person and find a form of personal victory. It’s also interesting to see how Ms. Glick has absolutely no love for Storm’s depiction in the “X-Men” movies which prompted her to make her own fan film, with a strong and fierce version of her favorite character. In the end “Fanarchy,” is a very breezy and entertaining ode to being fan boy or fan girl. Sure, the fan community has been very dark and volatile over the last few years, Donna Davies does a bang up job of showing how fandom can entertain, benefit pop culture, and benefit the fans personally.

After the End (2013)

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Though many people will probably see “After the End” as a somber look at the end of life, it is in reality a very cathartic look at how death can sometimes be the beginning of a new stage in life. “After the End” is an emotional and brutally heartbreaking look at loss, and how much we’ve all come to fear death and view it as a totality. Who among us hasn’t lost a loved one in our lives? Every single one of us has suffered at least the loss of a pet that has greatly affected us and caused us to re-think and approach the rest of our days in a new respect.

Continue reading →

Hustle, Loyalty, Respect: The World of John Cena [Hardcover]

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

If you’re a fan of one of the most iconic wrestling stars of all time, you’re in for a big treat with “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” from DK Books. It’s the literal encyclopedia of John Cena, chronicling everything from his early life, his childhood, and there’s even a look at the evolution of his character. Cena is one of the most dynamic and charismatic performers from the WWE, as well as one of the most charitable, and he garners a much deerved massive collectible book that provides everything you need to know about the man without marrying him. Delivered to fans in a hardcover book, fans are given a collectible wrist band with the book, and are allowed to read about everything Cena has been through in his entire sports career.

Continue reading →

Love & Mercy (2015)

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Music bio pics are rarely masterpieces, and while “Love & Mercy” is itself a fine movie, it’s not the entry in to the long library in the sub-genre that’s changed my mind about music bio pics just yet. Much like previous films about musical geniuses, the film gets lost in a miasma of pit falls, including the inability to balance the story of the musician and the story of the man himself. So we’re thrust back and forth in to what ends as a flawed, but above average tale about mental illness, and the creation of art. “Love & Mercy” takes the concept of the bio pic above the norm, focusing on Brian Wilson, the founder of the Beach Boys through two stages of his life. One as a young man, and through his perils as a middle aged man. In both stages he’s enduring the horrors of mental illness and is systematically being victimized by someone in his life that he finds incapable of escaping.

Continue reading →

Batkid Begins (2015) (DVD)

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

2013 saw the immense and sudden popularity of The Make a Wish Foundation and the wish they granted, which promised young Miles Scott, a Leukemia patient, he could be Batman for the day. What started out as a silly premise for a public interest news item transformed in to the feel good story of the year, and thankfully it’s still a cute take about the lengths humans can go to give one another happiness and fulfillment. I’m still not sure if it warranted a full length documentary, but “Batkid Begins” is a fine ode to Batman and the human condition.

Continue reading →

Voices of October: Diary of a Halloween Haunt (2015)

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

For some people Halloween is a state of mind and not just a holiday. For the Counelis family, it’s a yearly ritual that begins in the middle of the year and ends when November finally rears its head. It’s refreshing to see a documentary that’s more grounded and down to Earth, and much like films like “American Scream,” Paul Counelis documents his family’s journey to build and construct a haunted house mainly because they want to give their neighbors some memories. Surely there’s a profit to be had by a haunted attraction, but that’s not what the holiday means to Paul Counelis and his large family.

Continue reading →

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Surely, once you see “Going Clear” you’ll have no doubt that it’s a terrifying religion filled with a horrific history, but watched side by side with a film like “Jesus Camp,” and there’s not much a difference. Scientology is just an in vogue religion that’s managed to use its legal force and strong arms to keep the lid about its sordid history tight for many years. “Going Clear” is the really explosive expose of the church of Scientology, an institution that’s garnered considerable influence over the world since its inception.

Continue reading →