The Goonies (1985)

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

If you want a pure unadulterated ride in to the middle of the eighties, “The Goonies” is an inadvertent trip in to the complete mindset of the decade. Cyndi Lauper, adventure, escapism, work out obsession, coming of age, nostalgia for the sixties, a humongous Steven Spielberg influenced narrative, Corey Feldman, Richard Donner, Jonathan Ke Quan, if it was in the eighties, it’s likely here. That doesn’t act as a caveat, thankfully, as “The Goonies” is a very decade relevant film that still manages to work as an excellent child oriented fantasy adventure in the vein of “The Hardy Boys.”

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From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter (2000)

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

There is still no explanation as to the origin of the strip club/temple. Not that I really cared, mind you. In the final shot of “From Dusk Till Dawn,” it was a great final blow to the audience to show how these vampires have likely been committing these slaughters since the mid-1800’s. I didn’t need to know how they got together and devised this idea to lure bikers and truckers to feast on them, but I assume if they’re going to continue the series with a prequel, you might as well give it a shot and explain how the temple came to be. Maybe an 80’s montage set to “Our House” with the vampires building the club and painting it at night or something.

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From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999)

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Let’s face it, someone took a shitty movie about vampire bank robbers and turned it in to a sequel to “From Dusk Till Dawn.” Except it’s nowhere near being a sequel. Even with an appearance from Danny Trejo as the vampire bartender Razor Eddie from the first film, this is a shitty vampire movie someone decided to make in to a sequel. It’s a goofy, campy, and ridiculous vampire movie filled with horrible performances, and a ridiculous premise that does nothing to reconcile itself with the first film. There’s not even a mention of Seth Gecko for crying out loud. Shit, at least re-cast Juliette Lewis’ role as Kate Fuller and follow her along on another vampire adventure, at least.

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From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Not surprisingly, when long time film making pals Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez teamed up to make a horror movie, in the end it felt like two different movies. For folks unaware of the duo’s style of writing and film making, the second half will completely blow away anyone entrenched in the crime drama that is the first half of the film. “From Dusk Till Dawn” begins like a hyper violent take off of “Reservoir Dogs.” Seth Gecko and his brother Richie have broken out of jail leaving a trail of bodies behind, and are now hiding out in a gas station. Just their luck a sheriff comes in to chat with the owner, and thanks to a series of mishaps, Seth and Richie leave the gas station and its workers dead in a hail of gunfire and flames.

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Blade (1998)

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Though the media often cites Bryan Singer for starting the comic book movie boom of the twenty first century with his adaptation of “X-Men,” most comic book fans argue that “Blade” really started it all. “Blade” was a scaled down production based on a popular comic book character and managed to present an epic story with a minimal budget. It’s ironic that the character that would restart the comic book movie boom was a kitschy seventies horror character known primarily for being one of the few minority superheroes in the Marvel Universe. The adaptation of the Marv Wolfman character manages to get the character just right.

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Riddle (2013)

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

It’s a movie about a girl solving a mystery in a town called Riddle. Soak that in. If anything, “Riddle” isn’t a complete loss of time when you consider that Elizabeth Harnois and co-star Diora Baird are mind-blowingly gorgeous. The pair can also provide good performances when given the right material. I’m still not sure why Elizabeth Harnois keeps being handed these roles that straddle the line between horror and drama. Is she trying to garner a fan base while not being pegged a horror scream queen? She’s very pretty and a decent performer. Diora Baird is now and will always be a bombshell of a woman, so her presence is welcome. She has charisma that make almost any movie watchable. That said, “Riddle” is not quite a drama, and not quite a horror film. It’s just right there in the middle for a broad audience.

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Stephen King’s It (1990)

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Stephen King creates the ultimate boogeyman and he is neither man nor monster, despite the visage of a clown called Pennywise. “Stephen King’s It” is filled with the usual King doldrums of a small town with hidden demons, and at least one character that wants to be an author. That said director Tommy Lee Wallace’s adaptation is a great horror film, and a perfectly good bit of nostalgia. “It” gets a lot of flack for deviating from the original novel, but considering it is a television movie, director Wallace does a bang up job. “It” for being only TV movie packs a ton of iconic horror moments, as well as an Oscar caliber performance by Tim Curry.

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