The Last Starfighter (1984)

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

My love for “The Last Starfighter” was cultivated through late night cable television in the early nineties, where I was oblivious to its existence for many years. Yes, it’s a major rip off of “Star Wars: A New Hope,” but that’s what’s so entertaining about it. It embraces its derivative functions, and runs with it to deliver a fun kids space opera that’s simple, but exciting. Director Nick Castle’s “The Last Starfighter” has rapidly become one of my favorite action films of all time as it twists the silliness in to a riveting and rousing fight between an underdog and a galactic force of evil.

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Tarzan (1999)

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ titular Tarzan has gone through a ton of botched adaptations over the last few decades. Speaking as a fan of the character and story arc, Disney’s “Tarzan” is probably my favorite adaptation of all time. Surely, it suffers from Disney tropes that make it very much a Disney movie, but damn it, it’s also a heart felt tale about a hero fighting for his unofficial family teeming with excellent performances and a haunting soundtrack. Plus, it garners the classic Disney themes of lost parents and a child being forced to grow up very quickly.

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Tarzan (1999)

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

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The Mighty Ducks (1992)

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

“The Mighty Ducks” is just one in a long line of “Bad News Bears” wannabes that pits a crotchety man with a bunch of misfit athletes to use sports as a form of self realization. Thankfully “The Mighty Ducks” is one of the best of the bunch, choosing hockey this time to help a group of smart aleck kids come of age. There’s also Emilio Estevez who is a cynical businessman with the heart of a hockey player, who finds that he still loves the game despite his regrets.

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“The Burka Avenger”: Fighting Ignorance with Knowledge

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Knowledge is true power and Miss Jiya, a teacher for a local school in Pakistan wields her knowledge with the ferocity of the superheroine “The Burka Avenger.” In a world where heroines are sexualized, it’s interesting to see that the Burka Avenger primarily clothes herself from head to toe in a burka, which allows her a stealth and grace that make her a deadly opponent; but definitely not deadly in the violent sense, but deadly in implementing non-violence and her intellect to defeat her foes.

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Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

One of the hallmarks of my youth in the nineties, “How I Spent My Vacation” was the credit Tiny Toons finally got, even if it was just on home video. That was okay, since the real fans of the series could take home their favorite Tiny Toon pals and re-visit their wacky summer time and time again. I must have seen “How I Spent My Vacation” a hundred times on VHS, and thankfully (much like the series) the movie holds up surprisingly well, and is still very funny. “How I Spent My Vacation” follows the group from “Tiny Toon Adventures” as they all are pulled in various directions for their summer vacations.

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The LEGO Movie: Everything is Awesome Edition (2014) (Blu-ray/DVD/UV Digital HD)

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

If you told me two years ago that one of the best movies of 2014 would be “The Lego Movie,” then I would never have believed you and probably would have scoffed derisively. I’m so smug. That said, “The Lego Movie” surprisingly didn’t just turn out to be a fantastic movie, but one of the best movies of 2014. It’s an animated adventure filled with heart, laugh out loud comedy, and very relevant commentary about individuality, and the inherent magic and beauty behind collecting and creating. First and foremost, though, it’s an excellent animated adventure for all ages.

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