It’s a good time to be a Batman fan. With another movie coming up, a new prequel series, and the Adam West Batman show finally coming to DVD this year, Mill Creek is wise to release the forties theatrical serials for Batman fans daring enough to venture in to the sketchy movie serials of the 1940’s. Don’t go in to this string of movie serials expecting modern Batman, or even Adam West Batman. It’s a very low budget adaptation of the Bill Finger character that also is heavily steeped in racial stereotypes. If you can consider the context of the serials, you may just enjoy the two disc DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment.
Tag Archives: Crime
Nurse 3D (2013)
If there’s anything really good I can say about “Nurse 3D” is that you certainly won’t be bored. Will you be entertained? Well, that’s debatable, but bored? Likely not. I certainly wasn’t bored through “Nurse 3D.” Granted, it’s one of those so bad it’s good exploitation horror movies, but it’s definitely a good time, and kept me watching from minute one. It also has its fair share of gorgeous women including Paz De La Huerta, and Katrina Bowden. Broken down objectively, director Douglas Aarniokoski’s “Nurse 3D” is simply just another obsession horror film, but takes the formula and completely drops it on its head. Director Douglas Aarniokoski films the story in a pulpy glossy lens, that makes the film feel like a neo-noir horror comedy very detracted from reality.
Bazookas: The Movie (2009)
If you loved films like “Porky’s,” or “Hot Resort,” then Michael G Leonard’s indie exploitation comedy is right up your alley. It’s as if someone took a script from 1983 and fitted it for modern times, without trimming any of what made eighties films so much damn fun. The gratuitous nudity, shameless innuendo, busty babes running around and frolicking, and the plot of the underdogs battling an evil corporation for control of a community, it all here and then some. You know where the director’s head is when the prologue of the film begins on a racquet ball match between a gym owner’s son and a gorgeous woman and ends on her topless and smashing her chest in to a glass window.
Captain Phillips (2013)
One thing that director Paul Greengrass seems intent on exploring is that “Captain Phillips” by no means turns in to “Air Force One.” Tom Hanks as Captain Phillips doesn’t fight people, he doesn’t gain the ability to operate hand guns, and there isn’t a catchy one liners he spouts at his Samalian kidnappers. Captain Phillips is first and foremost a human being under very stressful conditions, doing whatever he can to keep his crew alive. Even if it means sacrificing himself. Tom Hanks gives one of the most amazing performances of his career, playing what is one of the most average men thrust in to a perilous situation.
The Shadow: Collector’s Edition (1994) [Blu-ray]
I love pulp heroes and classic superheroes from the 1930’s. If you were around during the 90’s, you will remember many of the heroes that studios attempted to revive for big franchises and massive movie series. And sadly they all failed. From Tarzan, and The Phantom, right down to The Rocketeer, they were all fun movies, but audiences wanted no part of their worlds. “The Shadow,” the biggest inspiration for the creation of Batman, is still one of the most underrated superhero adaptations ever made, but one that unfortunately never bloomed in to a full fledged film series.
Night of the Demons III (1997)
Movie three and I’m still not sure about what Hull house is, or why it hasn’t been torn down yet by the city. We know it’s built to keep out demons, and we know a man is accused of slaughtering his entire family (all of whom likely possessed by demons), but beyond that we’re not given anymore information. There’s still a lot of material to be mined from the concept, but director Jimmy Kaufman is mainly here to bring us through the motions. Angela is back, and she’s preparing another Halloween party for demonic minions. That’s about it, and that’s all we’re really getting for this final outing. Unlike the second film, Kaufman doesn’t do much with Kevin Tenney’s original premise.
Counterparts (2014)
Director Patrick Rea’s tale of sibling rivalry and back stabbing that progresses well in to the supernatural is a devious and fun little short film that I enjoyed a great deal. It’s a sick and slick look at karma and really does build upon a slew of characters, all of whom are slimy and very much based on self-gratification and self-preservation, blood bonds be damned.