Tag Archives: Drama

Battle of the Year (2013)

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The only thing more shamelessly stupid than the utter self-congratulatory premise behind “Battle of the Year” is the god awful product placements. One thing about these stupid dance movies it that they’re a gold mine for corporations to advertise to an audience that likely can’t afford their crap. So we’re shown images of Braun in the background in the first minutes of the film, Josh Peck has a new Sony Ipad because “It’s the future,” he tells main character Josh Holloway. Then there’s an insert of him renting “Planet B-Boy” on Netflix, menu and all.

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Airborne (1993)

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Director Rob Bowman’s 1993 inline skating dramedy “Airborne” is the most nineties-est film of the entire decade, and damn it, I love it. It’s so 90’s, it automatically cancels out “Empire Records” and “Clueless,” combined. I suspect Warner and Bowman expected to begin a brand new nationwide rad inline skating craze with “Airborne,” by pandering to their love for all things extreme and edgy of the sport. Including long hair, surfing, flannel, hockey, and an extreme final race that’s so extreme it’s extra-eme.

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The Big Gundown (1966) (Blu-ray/DVD/CD)

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Lee Van Cleef is a man who makes it look easy to dominate the screen with his presence, no matter what the film. “The Big Gundown” is purely a western thriller for the Lee Van Cleef fans that want to indulge in the sheer finesse and charisma of Van Cleef when he takes turns as the hero. Or in this case, the anti-hero. Van Cleef takes on the role of John Corbett, a man who is not afraid to gun down people that threaten him, but is never trigger happy. He is one of the best bounty hunters in the west, and is a man devoted to his duties. As Corbett, he’s asked by an aristocrat to hunt down a vicious criminal named Cuchillo. He’s wanted for raping and murdering a young girl, and is currently on the run in the west, giving the law a difficult time of finding him.

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After Earth (2013)

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You have to give it to Will Smith. For a man prone to taking the spotlight and eating it up like a gluttonous child, he really is comfortable playing second fiddle in “After Earth.” Clearly just nothing but a vanity project for Smith and his son, he literally passes the torch on to his son Jaden to take up the role of the action hero. Smith meanwhile stays in a space ship for the duration of the film as the Maguffin leading his son to the film’s second Maguffin. It’s all for naught though since Jaden Smith has no screen presence, zero charisma, and can’t act to save his life.

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Highway to Heaven: The Complete First Season (DVD)

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There was an unusual rise of Christian based television shows in the mid to late eighties, and my absolute favorite as a child was “Highway to Heaven.” I already was a huge fan of Michael Landon in “Little House on a Prairie,” so as a young boy I tuned right in to see Landon team up with old co-star Victor French in what was one of the best hours of television during my youth. Even as an atheist, “Highway to Heaven” can be appreciated for being an interesting and entertaining drama as Landon plays the enigmatic Jonathan Smith.

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Violet & Daisy (2011)

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One thing about “Violet & Daisy” that bugged me most, was that it pretends to be about something. When really, it isn’t. We don’t get to meet or know Violet & Daisy long enough to understand their characters or motivation. With the writing and short run time, “Violet & Daisy” portrays the titular duo as two moronic teenagers that happen to be assassins for some kind of gang or mafia organization.

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The Lords of Salem (2013)

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One thing about Rob Zombie as a director is that he’s tasked with finishing one of his many nonsensical horror films with Sheri Moon as the lead. Sheri Moon is not an actress by any definition. She’s mostly suited for silent supporting roles with someone else doing the heavy lifting. Hence why she’s so much fun in “The Devil’s Rejects.” Sid Haig and Bill Moseley are such excellent actors, Moon doesn’t have to do much but work off them. With “Lords of Salem,” Zombie seems to realize Moon can’t carry a movie on her own, so he once again gives Moon a great supporting cast to work off of. When that safety net is gone, Moon mostly plays her role without much dialogue or heavy emoting, as Zombie fills in her bad performance with a ton of surrealism.

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