Stained (UK) (2016)
Everything that could go wrong at tea time. A man is encountering minor annoyances in an otherwise fine afternoon. As he goes to the loo, once he’s done, he discovers that he is completely out of toilet paper. As he hobbles to the corner shop to buy some, he is haunted by his poo, taunting him, threatening him with a stain. Written by Mark A.C. Brown and directed by Phil Haine, Stained takes a basic life event, running out of t.p. and turns it on its head. The film is funny and it’s due in big part to the leads played by Michael Shephard and Chris Spyrides who keep a straight face throughout. Thefilm takes this situation and pushes it to its absurd limit and it works beautifully well.
Tag Archives: Comedy
Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016 Comedy Shorts Block: Part 1
The Phantom Hour (USA) (2016)
A group of people is called to a mysterious castle for various reasons and odd happenings abound. Written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler, this short pokes fun at vampire tropes with a classic dinner invitation set-up and a touch of modernity. Butler’s character of Bryce shows his sense of timing and his humor, being a perfectly awkward and funny assistant or Renfield to Nikolai. The actor playing this vampire, Luke Anthony Pensabene, is nicely impressive while not entirely scary which works in this setting. The film is really funny and goes for it, holding no punches, its old school, classic horror look ads to its fun with its credits in front of the film and nice cardboard décor in some parts. It’s campy, it’s funny, it’s a bit ridiculous, and mainly it’s a lovely horror comedy short, a difficult sub-genre to work in.
RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion (2016)
In June 2016, the folks from Rifftrax finally granted longtime fans the privilege of watching an MST3K reunion. It was pulled off successfully and brought literally everyone who has ever been on the series to riff on some classic and awful educational short films. Not just that, but the crew also had the foresight to bring on Jonah Ray the new human host for the upcoming “MST3K” reboot to throw in some of his own riffs, and warm the audience up to his impending tenure on the Satellite of Love. I’m a big fan of Ray’s, and he has the same affable personality, and humble charm that Joel Hodgson and Mike Nelson had that won fans over. I’m excited to see how he handles the antics on the new show. For fans that missed the live show, the performance is now available for purchase at Rifftrax, and I gladly paid to watch the two and a half hour performance by the entire cast, in person in front of a welcome audience.
Dennis the Menace: The Complete Series (DVD)
After many years of waiting, fans of “Dennis the Menace” finally have their precocious trouble maker on DVD thanks to Mill Creek Entertainment. In 1986, Hank Ketcham’s hit newspaper comic strip was adapted once again in to an animated series that played on Saturday mornings. I watched “Dennis the Menace” a lot as a child as the networks played the series through syndication allowing me to see the show every single day. “Dennis the Menace” is a fun and pleasant animated series that channels the antics of Dennis the Menace, along with the colorful characters and unique world that comes with the territory.
Beauty and the Beast (1991): 25th Anniversary Signature Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
I can’t believe it’s actually been twenty five years since “Beauty and the Beast” actually came to theaters. It’s one of the many Disney films I went to see as a child, and loved it for its amazing animation and fantastic tale. Disney offered up their own twist on the fairy tale many read as children, and it’s a unique iteration that managed to be a huge hit in the 90’s. It is also the last animated movie to be a serious Oscar contender before the Oscars stuffed animation in to their own category away from live action fare. “Beauty and the Beast” thankfully still holds up as a moving and charming tale that takes a very epic tone toward the classic fairy tale.
Night of the Something Strange (2016) [FrightFest 2016]
A group of friends hell-bent on going to the beach for spring break embark on a road trip during which they stop at a small town cheap motel. As they arrive, an STD-like disease is ripping through town. Directed by Jonathan Straiton who wrote the story it’s based on and co-wrote the script with Ron Bonk and Mean Gene. The story they create is completely dependent on gross out sex jokes and monster rape. The film still manages to keep things fairly lighthearted as things are approached in a way that works for its subject matter.
CarousHELL (2016)
I never would have believed it if I didn’t see it for myself. Director Steve Rudzinski is a man who is not satisfied with creating your typical indie fare, and while his films may be a bit rough around the edges, you’re almost always assured an original film that has a keen sense of what kind of entertainment it wants to be. “CarousHELL” is a movie I, for some reason, assumed was some kind of horror anthology, and boy was I way off. Not prone to just delivering a slasher movie you’ve seen a thousand times, Steve Rudzinski offers up a slasher movie you’ve never seen before. Duke is a sentient carousel unicorn who has spent years and years being ridden on by nasty, smelly, and ungrateful children.