There’s something interesting about the influx of films about capitalism and massive corporations being tailored as approachable biopics. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this growing sub-genre of corporate/consumerism biopics feels slimy and calculated. These aren’t movies so much as they are commercials and often cheerleaders for the idea of humanizing faceless corporations and “average” CEO’s whose life literally depends on a business decision. Despite some interesting aspects to it, “The Beanie Bubble” is yet another dose of corporate capitalism being lionized in a big budget, star studded movie. “The Beanie Bubble” is vaguely about the Beanie Babies craze of the 1990’s, but it’s a mostly fluffed up, mostly fictional account of Ty Warner and how he went from billionaire to has been seemingly overnight.
Tag Archives: Dark Comedy
Bottoms (2023)
It’s pretty disappointing going in to a movie expecting so much and leaving it felt like it could have been so much more. While many have sung the praises of Jennifer Seligman’s “Bottoms,” I am sad to have left it feeling generally indifferent. It has an interesting premise and has a good time taking its LGBTQ premise and fitting it right in to the myriad coming of age high school comedies, but so much about “Bottoms” felt so under developed and incomplete. Apart from its absolutely bizarre premise, “Bottoms” spends most of its run time trying to figure out what it wants to be.
A Shining Example (2023) [Fantastic Fest 2023]
Director Clarke Wolfe really has her eye on the ball when it comes to delivering darkly comic horror, and “A Shining Example” seems like she has so much more in store for us. Wolfe’s short horror film is an ode to “The Shining” that’s set in contemporary times dropping us in to a much more relatable conflict. What’s interesting about Wolfe’s film is that she sets up so much ambiguity that we’re never quite sure what’s fiction and what’s character Aiden’s imagination taking shape when all is said and done.
Satanic Hispanics (2022)
“Satanic Hispanics” really is an experiment that I want to see more of. Not only is it a great horror film, but it’s also a pretty great horror anthology that implements the Latin folklore very well and creatively. It’s an admirably ambitious film one packed with so much talent in front of and behind the camera, and it might even spark some interest by horror fans to delve deeper in to the Latin folklore and monsters. “Satanic Hispanics” is an anthology of five short films from some of the leading Latin filmmakers in the horror genre. The cast in each short are predominantly Latin with a slew of stellar supporting actors and actresses alike.
Hundreds of Beavers (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
A fur trapper facing a harsh winter falls for the trader’s daughter and must trap hundreds of beavers to prove himself.
Til Death Do Us Part (2023)
Damnit. Timothy Woodward Jr’.s “Til Death Do Us Part” is a wonderful idea, one ripe for a great horror comedy with a ton of action and what we ultimately got was just… not what I was completely expecting. Granted, the movie does have a wonderful grasp on what it’s trying to do, but the delivery just felt off. It’s a movie that clocks in at almost two hours, and rather than charge in head first with the laughs and action. Instead the movie takes a lot of time, at least twenty or thirty minutes, establishing the initial storyline and back story.
“Twisted Metal” is a Wild Ride, Flaws and All
There was just something so appealing about playing “Twisted Metal” as a kid. I fondly remember when it first came out on Playstation in 1995 and was hooked. When we got our first Playstation we played “Twisted Metal” for hours, finding new ways to eviscerate our opponents and win the battles. For those that have never had the pleasure, “Twisted Metal” is a based on an all out free for all battle video game where you man one of multiple armed vehicles in an attempt to come out the victor. The big bad of the game you’d have to ultimately face off against was the armed Ice Cream car with the clown on top called “Sweet Tooth.” There was always room for “Twisted Metal” to become something of a live action property, but now that video game movies are on the verge of become hotter than ever, it seemed like the right time for an adaptation.
Director Spotlight: Your Friends & Neighbors/Possession/The Shape of Things/Nurse Betty (DVD)
Neil Labute is one of my favorite directors, he’s a man who specializes in making movies about the ugliness of humanity, and he never really aspires to pull punches. Before being sadly well known for his god awful “The Wicker Man” remake, Labute delivered on some unique arthouse cinema, all of which garnered some big star power. They acted as the cushioning for the inevitable upsetting story that Labute would unfold for us. I guarantee you at least one of these movies in this “Director Spotlight” DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment will make you want to punch something out of sheer anger.