Kindergarten Cop (1990)

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Back in the eighties and nineties, Arnold Schwarzenegger was larger than life. With his large build and thick Austrian accent, his rough exterior was contradicted by his sweet personality. This carries over more than successfully in Ivan Reitman’s “Kindergarten Cop,” one of his many efforts to connect with younger audiences. His transformation in to kids film star is nearly seamless, as he’s able to connect with his primarily younger cast surprisingly well, and garners a strong chemistry with just about everyone in the film.

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Musical Chairs (2014)

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

“Cheer Up. You’re Alive.”

While Susan Seidelman’s musical drama is contrived and formulaic, it gets a free pass mainly for being such a charming romance that at least tries to break its predictability. “Musical Chairs” is the celebration of dance, despite physical disabilities, all the while focusing on a couple that find love through their hardships and their passion for the dance floor. It’s very interesting that “Musical Chairs” really dodges the more conventional aspects of films of this ilk, and also seems to strive for more diversity in characters beyond skin color.

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Last Action Hero (1993) (DVD)

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

I know a lot of people argue that “Last Action Hero” was ahead of its time, but I’d wager a bet we’ll likely never see a time where it’d be considered genius. Director John McTiernan matched with Arnold Schwarzenneger bring movie fans an action movie that never knows what it wants to be. It’s too straight faced to be considered satire, too silly to be taken as an action movie, too menacing to be a kids film, and too juvenile for hardcore Schwarzenneger fans. Yes, even more juvenile than “Kindergarten Cop.”Most of “Last Action Hero” can never decide on putting Schwarzenneger’s character in to the background. Considering he’s mostly just a fictional character that young Danny Madigan worships whenever he visits the theaters, it’s jarring the film basically begins on Jack Slater and his adventures.

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Camp Nowhere (1994)

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

The kids romp “Camp Nowhere” is yet another of the many “Home Alone” clones of the nineties that provides us with kids smarter than actual working adults that happen in to a situation both extraordinary and fantastic. What kid wouldn’t want to make their own summer camp and do what they want rather than stick to schedules, structure and physical activities? “Camp Nowhere” works mainly as a film you have to suspend disbelief for, if only because it’s hard to believe any of these adults could be fooled by children. But then in the nineties every kid was at least ten times smarter than any adult, and they knew their way around the world.

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Fond Nostalgia for “Charles in Charge”

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

It’s funny that even today when my taste is a lot more discerning, I’m very prone to experimenting with television shows. I’m extremely judgmental towards reality shows, but when it applies to sitcoms or animation, I’m very open minded. If you’ve ever seen an “original” sitcom from Nickelodeon’s Nick at Nite line up, you’ll know that you really have to be experimental to watch what they feed their audience. Their sitcoms are shockingly safe, often very bland, and have yet to really break any ground in entertainment. We had a claymation family show, a show about a step mother, and “See Dad Run” which was Scott Baio doing sitcoms again. The show was pretty mediocre all things considered, and I’m not too shocked it’s being cancelled by Nick at Nite.

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Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector (2013)

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Dan M. Kinem and Levi Peretic really manage to pay amazing respect to VHS collectors with “Adjust Your Tracking,” an entertaining and raucous documentary that chronicles the joys and pitfalls of VHS collecting. Kinem and Peretic are the founders of one of my favorite websites “VHShitfest” and put their rabid love for the VHS format to use by profiling some of the most hardcore VHS collectors in America. The interviews and glimpses in to the collecting of the arguably defunct format never lull, and directors Kinem and Peretic manage to really give audiences a look at why this is such an appealing past time.

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