One of the main draws to director Rajeev Dassani’s “Watercolor Postcards” aside from its positive message, is the wonderful cast he assembles. His film is colored with an array of brilliant character actors, from Jonathan Banks, to John C. McGinley. Keeping the film afloat though is the sheer excellent performance from Bailee Madison. I’ve been a fan of her performances for years, and here she handles what could have been a goofy character with grace and subtlety allowing for a protagonist filled with an endless supply of hope and faith that makes her look strong rather than naïve.
Tag Archives: Drama
Ghost World (2001)
I know a lot of these coming of age dramedies about young people learning to move on with their lives is supposed to include bouts of self loathing, but “Ghost World” tends to play it a little too far, most times. Director Terry Zwigoff’s adaptation of the Daniel Clowes’ graphic novel is considered a cult classic, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what. It’s such a cloying, misleading, and obnoxious movie with trite ideas that, despite my repeated tries I can never get around to remotely enjoying this.
Escape From Garden Grove (2014)
I like how director Mathilde Dratwa’s short tale of coming of age and growing up doesn’t try to be anything but itself. Right until the very end, it’s a cute and very bittersweet tale about accepting adulthood, and the grim realities of being an adult. Sometimes we have to forgive, sometimes we have to forget, and a lot of times running away from problems solves nothing. Martine Moore is adorable as young Sophie, a teenage girl who breaks in to Garden Grove old folks home to break out her grandmother Faye. Faye is a bit eccentric and somewhat odd, but Sophie only feels solace in confiding in her and her alone.
Sleepaway Camp (1983): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD]
One of the interesting aspects of “Sleepaway Camp” that’s managed to keep it legendary is that, despite not being a very good horror movie, it garners a shocking surprise ending that no one saw coming. Even during its initial release. Though it’s mostly common knowledge among horror buffs, if you’ve never been aware of the closer to “Sleepaway Camp,” you’re in store for a pretty haunting final scene that will boggle your mind. Despite the low tech approach, it still warrants a gasp from me to this day and is a worthy turn of the screw that earns the entire film a place on any horror fans’ collection. Scream Factory gives the new Collector’s Edition the absolute best treatment possible, and it’s nothing short of an impressive re-release for horror fans both old and new.
The Walking Dead #127
Did the show affect the comic book, or did the comic book affect the show? That’s something I’d love to know down the line, since Robert Kirkman didn’t just help reboot the series after the season four finale of “The Walking Dead” TV show, but he rebooted the entire damn series, period, in issue 127 of “The Walking Dead”! Not only does it have a brand new scheme and has been set on a whole new course, but damn it, it’s set two years in to the future, and even has a new logo. A new logo!
Rosemary’s Baby (2014)
There’s a challenge presented with the quasi-remake/new adaptation of the Ira Levin novel “Rosemary’s Baby.” The Roman Polanski masterpiece has been seen by everyone, and it’s been remade and copied a hundred times over by studios since its initial release, and is still being remade unofficially. So how can “Rosemary’s Baby” seem fresh in this day and age? The writers and Lionsgate go about it the wrong way, obviously. They over sexualize, over stylize, and remove any and all themes of feminist repression from the source material. It’s also what made the original Polanski film such a biting horror film. Even in 2014. It was a woman seeking independence and doomed to motherhood by a cult who’d bred the son of Satan through her.
Rifftrax: Cool as Ice (1991)
Full Disclosure: A screener for “Rifftrax: Cool as Ice” was sent to us legally for review purposes.
Mocking “Cool as Ice” is a Herculean task even for the guys at Rifftrax. The movie is such a straight faced movie filled with inexplicable montages and horrific writing, not to mention star Vanilla Ice is such an empty void, it’s a challenge to ridicule him when the occasion calls for it. “Cool as Ice” is still as awful as ever, and while the episode from the Riff Trax gang isn’t their best, it’s still filled with a ton of one liners that will inspire raucous laughter.