Ant-Man (2015)

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

“Ant Man” seems like a stand alone superhero effort at first, but it fits comfortably in the pegs of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also introduces us to a wonderful superhero who, by all logic, should not have translated in to such a great film. Surely enough, with a script by Edgar Wright (and various others) and an excellent cast (including a welcome Hispanic presence), “Ant Man” is one of the best adaptations of Marvel’s Phase Two in their Cinematic Universe. Like every hero in the Marvel Universe, “Ant-Man” is just an average man thrust in to great circumstances, and he has to earn his stripes as a crime fighter while overcoming his own flaws and insecurities.

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Knock Knock (2015)

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I’m stunned it took two screenwriters and Eli Roth to write what is a remake that steals bits from “Funny Games.” This time rather than the nemeses being petulant snot nosed young guys, the villains in this instance are two gorgeous young girls. “Knock Knock” is the least incompetently made film from Roth’s ever growing film library, and that’s due to the fact that it borrows a lot from “Funny Games,” despite being an admitted remake of 1977’s “Death Game.” There isn’t the sly self awareness, but Roth and co. do eventually realize how stupid their story is and then completely ride off the rails by the second half.

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Easy Money (1983)/Men At Work (1990): Double Feature [Blu-Ray]

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

While “Easy Money” and “Men at Work” are imperfect films, they’re also raucously entertaining and centered on the quick wits of their stars. They’re also original movies about the working class thrust in to funny and unusual situations, from earning a fortune to trying to fight political corruption and a crime ring. “Easy Money” from 1983 is an entertaining and hilarious comedy starring Rodney Dangerfield as Monty, a professional photographer and family man. He’s a man prone to something of a hedonistic lifestyle. He loves his family, and his daughters, but he also loves smoking, drinking, indulging in fatty foods, and gambling almost non-stop.

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Gravy (2015) [Blu-Ray]

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I really wanted to love “Gravy.” In fact during some rare moments it manages to win me over, especially with the way it uses its array of character actors to great effect. “Gravy” sadly falls under the weight of its own self satisfaction, eliciting a ton of flat improv, lame ad libbing, unresolved sub-plots, and a climax that goes nowhere very fast. We follow our heroine for ninety minutes all for absolutely zero pay off. Did Roday and co. run out of money or did they run out of ideas?

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The ‘Burbs (1989)

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

There’s just something about Joe Dante in where he loves to shake up American middle class. We have suburbanites fighting killer gremlins, suburbanites fighting killer toys, suburbanites fighting werewolves, and now suburbanites basically turning on one another. “The Burbs” watches like something of a sick mid-quel of “Rear Window” and “The Trouble with Harry” in where the mundane is flipped on its head and transformed in to a veritable nightmare for a bunch of neighbors in a seemingly small cul de sac.

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Resolution (2013)

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

One of my top ten films of 2013, it’s so refreshing to see indie filmmakers actually try to challenge the conventions of not just horror but of fiction altogether. A film like “Resolution” would easily be a terrible effort in the wrong hands, but the combined genius of Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead make it a success on every conceivable level. This is a more cerebral take on 2012’s “Cabin in the Woods,” where in the world visited by the viewer is very self-aware. In fact, “Resolution” is so much more aware of the audience and yet it still comes out a winner in the end.

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Ticks (1993)

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Even as a kid who pretty much watched anything that was on TV, I fondly remember watching “Ticks” when I was ten, and couldn’t get over how delightfully bad it was. Today, it’s still bad, but more in the so bad its good arena. It pretty much is a monster movie centered on giant ticks that act a lot like the face huggers from “Aliens.” In fact “Ticks” really is “Attack of the Facehuggers,” except these face huggers suck on human blood and don’t really have a queen of their very own. They do however spend the majority of their time chasing around Seth Green and Alfonso Ribiero, so you can’t call it a waste of time. Plus, anything featuring the gorgeous Rosalind Allen is worth a watch.

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