Like pretty much any documentary involving the video age and golden age of horror “Screaming in High Heels” is a love letter to the genre, and a requiem for a period of horror and filmmaking that is dead and buried. Granted there is the occasional Danielle Harris and Diora Baird, but the facet of the scream queen is defunct, thanks to a new wave of horror directors who feel they’re above such elements. Scream Queens were once upon a time a big lure for potential horror audiences to a new title. Director Jason Paul Collum sets the spotlight on three of the most beautiful women to ever rule the horror world, and examines the highs and lows of being a scream queen.
Tag Archives: Comedy
Batman (1966)
So we learn in ten minutes of “Batman: The Movie” that Batman manages to store and keep handy a Bat Copter in a warehouse manned by a bunch of workers without actually giving away his identity as Bruce Wayne, office buildings oddly house a large group of scantily clad groupies all of whom will willingly stand on a launch pad to wave at Batman (so much for covert operations), and that Batman labels the ladder in his copter with “Bat Ladder.” Oh so this is the Bat Ladder! I often get it confused for the Hyena Ladder and the Panther Ladder. Good thing it’s labeled. Prudent. Also, even if a shark is robotic, it’s vulnerable to shark repellent.
The Bat (1926)
Batman creator Bill Finger cites 1926’s silent crime thriller “The Bat” as one of the primary inspirations for Batman. And it’s easy to see where he draws his influences from. The Bat in this film is actually a criminal and a master one who steals from the rich. Like Batman he has a bat beacon, he brands all of his calling cards with a bat shaped symbol, The Bat dresses up like a giant bat with a cape and all, and rather than a utility belt, he wields a utility bag where he stores his tricks and supplies including a bat shaped grappling hook. The similarities just don’t stop there. The Bat climbs tall buildings with his ropes and uses the rooftops as his stalking grounds, lurking in the darkness.
James Batman (1966)
It would be a rare treat if one of the many Batman rip-offs from one of the many foreign countries would actually get Batman right. I think my head would explode if I stumbled on to a Batman wannabe that channeled the tone of the Batman comic books. But, like every other Batman knock off, “James Batman” is a copyright infringing take off on the Adam West Batman series even including a variation of the iconic theme song. This version of Batman however is played as a buffoon by Filipino comedy star Dolphy who takes on the cape and cowl and makes Batman someone as immeasurably incompetent as Inspector Clouseau.
Ted (2012)
For a purported comic genius his knuckle dragging fans claim he is, Seth McFarlane really does lob something of a soft ball in his cinematic debut. I can just imagine Seth one day playing with a teddy bear and giving it foul language in his Peter Griffin voice while laughing hysterically and snorting another line off his Asian hooker’s backside, thus leading to writing the script for “Ted.” McFarlane’s cinematic debut is nothing short of abysmal and infantile with the basis of the film centered on a talking live teddy bear with a foul mouth and serious sex addiction. His owner and friend is a man child whose own immaturity borders on mental retardation at times. But hey, “Family Guy” fans might just find this to be genius. Because talking inanimate objects is comedy gold apparently.
Our New Favorite Distraction: Gravity Falls
Jason Ritter, Kristen Schaal, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Linda Cardellini. You can’t not love “Gravity Falls” with a voice cast like that. Delivering a Halloween treat three months before my favorite holiday, “Gravity Falls” sets down upon two siblings who incidentally happen to be vacationing in Gravity Falls Oregon, a town filled with the supernatural and the paranormal that keeps them on their toes and constantly in peril. Imagine if agents Mulder and Scully were a young boy with an eye for the suspicious and a girl with a few screws loose and you basically have “Gravity Falls.” And is it any wonder that the theme song sounds like a lighter variation of the “X-Files” theme song?
Alyas Batman en Robin (1991)
Holy Smokes, Batman and Robin! Oh my god, Batman and Robin! Praise the lord, Batman and Robin! Shoot now, shoot, Batman and Robin! Let’s Do Bruce Wayne now, Let’s do Dick Grayson now! They Are Apart of Me!
Come on, everybody sing along! What does “Alyas Batman en Robin” teach us? It’s always a good idea for any crime boss to gun down their own henchmen when they manage to apprehend new fire arms for their operation. No new henchmen to do your bidding? Hell, just hire new ones, they’re always available in the trades I assume. When you’re holding up a bank, it’s good to have a musical number while holding people at gun point. And the bank tellers will be so inspired by your musical prowess they’ll dance along while you sing. Crime bosses apparently do nothing but sit in their mansions donning their costumes awaiting guests like Catwoman does. Batman oddly has his own brand of tea and milk ready in the bat cave.