In spite of many other genre fans and movie critics objections, I’ve always found “Cat’s Eye” to be something of a near flawless horror fantasy thriller. It’s one of the finest anthology films I’ve ever seen. And sadly enough it’s the anthology film I wish “Twilight Zone: The Movie” could have been. Hell, “Tales from the Darkside: The Movie” is the anthology movie I wish “Twilight Zone: The Movie” could have been, and I’m not even that much of a fan. But I digress. “Cat’s Eye” is a near perfect horror anthology film that adapts various Stephen King short stories with the wrap around of a seemingly sentient stray Tabby cat who incidentally always seems to find himself playing an important role in every one of the segments of the film. Whenever a segment begins he’s just there, but oddly enough he’s also a character on a mission of his own and we want to know what he’s up to.
Tag Archives: C
Creepshow 2 (1987)
What with the resurgence of the anthology sub-genre in the eighties, and the release of the hit horror film “Creepshow” that managed to be a near flawless masterpiece, a sequel was not only inevitable, but a no brainer. Director Michael Gornick’s follow-up to “Creepshow” is admittedly a much more low tech and less enthusiastic outing for the series, but damn it, it sure is a lot of fun. Granted the film falls short of being excellent, but as a follow-up to the riveting and entertaining original, it’s a very strong and occasionally creepy sequel. It’s been one of my favorites since I was a kid, and though it’s shown its wear since 1987, it’s still a fun horror film. Lacking the star power and novelty of the first film, “Creepshow 2” slims down the story count and relies more on a bleak atmosphere.
Creepshow (1982)
George A. Romero’s “Creepshow” is almost a spit in the face of everyone who decried comic books a sheer stain on humanity and the youth, blaming the colored pages for the evaporation of morality in the fifties and sixties. “Creepshow” is an absolute celebration of horror comics and a love letter to the EC generation who had their stories robbed by hack psychologists who blamed comic books for homosexuality, crime, murder, and drug use. “Creepshow” is a joint effort from many people just filled with talent that simply can not hold this entire film at times. An absolute orgy of laughs, scares, and thrills, “Creepshow” is one of the finest, if not the finest anthology horror film second only to “Black Sabbath.”
Caesar and Otto's Deadly Xmas (2012)
As a follow-up to “Summer Camp Massacre,” Caesar and Otto’s latest adventure with psychopaths and horror icons isn’t quite as good. It definitely has its share of laughs and head scratching moments that have become standard with the comedy duo of Caesar and Otto, but the sad part of “Deadly X-Mas” is that it really loses steam in the final ten minutes. In either case, Caesar and Otto are able to come out looking great in the end as one of the few comedy duos with antics built on and around the horror film. They’ve confronted almost every situation imaginable, and still haven’t died.
Cherry Bomb (2011) [Blu-Ray]
If there’s one chief complaint I have for “Cherry Bomb” is that the performances from the entire cast leave much to be desired. Every single cast member can never seem to decide if they want to play this material over the top like a grindhouse film or with dramatic intensity. The most jarring caveat is from star Julin who can also never seem to decide if she wants to play Cherry Bomb as a ditzy psychopath, or a dignified warrior woman. Sometimes Cherry can barely shoot a sniper rifle, and then other times she’s engaging in hand to hand combat with a master assassin and setting off clever booby traps.
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope (2012)
Well how about that? Someone finally gets it. Morgan Spurlock has become one of the most notable documentary directors of all time and thankfully with “Comic Con Episode 4” he chooses to spotlight an area of the world that garners a lot of attention and acclaim and yet rarely gets looked upon with much respect. It’s so easy to kick at fan boys in today’s pop culture storm because they’re simply the easiest targets around. But what Morgan Spurlock accomplishes with the help of Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, is depict fan boys in a light we rarely ever see: human. In the grand tradition of films like “Trekkies,” Spurlock spotlights the entire comic con experience from multiple angles to allow the general audience to explore that comic con as a whole is not just a simple gathering of fan boys across the world, but a testament to hard work and for some, a day that decides the rest of their lives.
Chronicle (2012)
If history has taught us anything, it’s that time and time again it all comes back to the same old adage. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely. A bold mix of “The Craft” and “Akira,” director Josh Trank completely embodies such a notion with “Chronicle” a film that demonstrates what occurs when sentient power is put in the hands of three people with major chips on their shoulders and a god complex. “Chronicle” is in essence a superhero movie without a comic book source, but deep down it’s a brilliant examination of what could happen if real amazing power were to belong to average human beings with their own vendettas and selfish goals. No matter how good a person, deep down we all know it would become incredibly disastrous and absolutely and chaotic.