Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Forget what Hollywood has tried to feed you, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2” is the actual sequel to Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece, and is widely embraced by horror fans as such. It’s the wacky and surreal embracing of the madness from the first film carried over from the nihilistic cynical seventies, in to the consumerist eighties, where the Sawyer family is now devoting their lives to mutilating yuppies, and going around the world selling their own brand of chili that’s made of people. Hooper’s sequel is a massive tonal departure from the more disturbing original, introducing actual nemeses for the Sawyers including Lefty, a vengeful cowboy hell bent on bringing down the Sawyers, and Stretch, a hapless DJ who becomes the unfortunate recipient of attacks by the Sawyer family when she hears them murdering two victims when one of them calls her randomly.

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Everything is Terrible! The Movie (2009)

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Even without the hilarious small edits and cuts made by “Everything is Terrible!,” their film comprised of clips and long montages of bizarre footage from news reports is so funny and bizarre, it warrants watching twice, and heavy analyses. When we look back at the VHS generation, we can look back at “Everything is Terrible! The Movie” and either remember that the generation was not all peaches and cream, or was maybe even better than we remember. It’s tough to believe that so much of the unusual, silly, and over the top infomercials and instructional videos were paid for, and made for the utmost sincerity of selling us something or teaching us something.

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Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986)

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

“Madonna can go to hell as far as I’m concerned! She’s a dick!”

If aliens ever came down to Earth and wanted to know what the eighties were like, they could look no further than the time capsule that is “Heavy Metal Parking Lot.” It is, as many have described it, the viral video before viral videos existed. I’d love to see a documentary about this film some day, or perhaps an actual feature made around the events that occur in the fifteen minute documentary. It’s a hilarious and often absurd look at a certain time period where everyone wore mullets, walked around without shirts, bragged about doing drugs, and women were often very proud to admit they wanted to “fuck” certain band members’ “brains out.”

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Five Great Films Set Over The Course of a Night

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

One of my current favorite directors Richard Linklater has currently released his spiritual sequel to his hit 1993 film “Dazed and Confused” entitled “Everybody Wants Some!!”, another drama comedy about a group of young people trying to survive the seventies. After his heavy and meaningful “Boyhood,” it’s nice to see Linklater coming back to a breezier departure that promises to be just as raucous and funny as its predecessor “Dazed and Confused.” Since I’m excited for “Everybody Wants Some!!” and consider “Dazed and Confused” a favorite of mine, I thought I’d list five great films that unfold over the course of a single night much like “Dazed and Confused” does. What are some of your favorites?

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Dazed and Confused (1993)

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Richard Linklater is a master at handling multiple storylines as well as various characters, allowing them to gel in to one very cohesive cinematic experience. Other directors would have a hard tie balancing out so many storylines, but “Dazed and Confused” manages to not only unfold in to a fun narrative, but also builds a myriad fascinating characters you’ll either love or hate by the time “Dazed and Confused” is over. A virtual successor to “American Graffiti,” this time Linklater follows a slew of characters over the course of one hectic night in the late seventies, as summer begins and school finally lets out. Director Linklater doesn’t have a singular thread bonding his characters, save for his ensemble’s core desire to find one last adventure before the summer comes around demanding some new form of responsibility outside of school.

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VHS Massacre: Cult Films and the Decline of Physical Media (2016)

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

For other documentaries about the VHS resurgence and the nearing end of physical media, a lot of directors have spent their time trying to figure out where it all began and celebrate the idea of the VHS boom of the modern era. “VHS Massacre” seems to be standing in ground zero of the end of physical media and trying to figure out where it’s all going, rather than where it all began. For many of us that have reveled in the new wave of VHS appreciation, we all know how it began. VHS won over Beta, despite the latter have more quality simply because VHS had more appeal to its product. It cost less, the tapes stored more footage, and porn became almost exclusive to the format. But with the rise of digital media, VHS has gone the way of the dodo, now relegated to good will bins and mom and pop stores deep in small towns and counties.

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Selective Listening (2015)

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

It’s so very rare to see a film like Tim Prescott’s, and one that is so genuine and original. Prescott’s film reminded me a lot of something from Charlie Kaufman of Spike Jonze in where our protagonist is a victim of their mental disability and it somehow unfolds in to an interesting tale of whimsy and tragedy. I can’t believe what I was watching when I sat down to view “Selective Listening.” At times I was baffled, other times I was confused, but throughout the entirety I was completely compelled. “Selective Listening” is a unique take on mental illness, as we center on nice guy Harrison. Harrison is a normal guy who lives alone in his flat, except he’s a victim to his obsessive compulsive disorder. It also doesn’t help matters that he’s a victim of schizophrenia and he can often hear various voices in his head.

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