The only problem I had with director Andy Dodd’s romantic dramedy is that it wasn’t a little longer. With another fifteen to twenty minutes added, “It’s a Love Thing” could have really become an excellent feature. But that’s a mere nitpick, because “It’s a Love Thing” could have been four hours and I’d still be complaining that it wasn’t long enough. “It’s a Love Thing” is a beautiful and engaging drama about two children in a big world that find one another in the midst of the randomness and find out that love is better than anything around them. Including Star Wars.
Booboo and Fivel Stewart together at last! I’m glad they waited for that right cinematic project to get together and reveal their inner strength as an on-screen duo. Granted, Fivel Stewart is adorable, but “Warriors of Witchcraft” is one of the most uneventful knock offs of 2013. Especially for a movie with such a low budget, and the casting of Eric Roberts as a the school’s overly eager headmaster. The titular characters Jonah and Ella attend after Jonah is kicked out of his old school for fighting. Feeling the need to look after him, Ella follows Jonah to his new school, and before long discovers that this posh mostly bland private school is being run by witches.
Back in the golden days of cable television, Syfy–known as the Sci Fi channel–was rather entertaining. I’d sometimes sit down in front of the television and watch it all day long basking in stuff like “The Twilight Zone,” that horrible show “Sightings,” and “Lost in Space,” while Saturdays brought cartoons, and anime. These days, though, I barely ever want to watch it unless there’s a marathon of “Firefly,” or a crappy television movie on, and even then it’s debatable. I don’t WANT to see “Lake Placid 6,” but… I couldn’t keep from watching it when it premiered! The reason for my hatred of Syfy is because, I have them to thank for my exposure to short independent films.
This is one of the many horror films from the eighties that features the trio of Scream Queen goddesses. Yes, Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens, and Michelle Bauer all star in one of the funniest and best horror comedies of the late eighties. Directed on a very low budget and on very limited scenery, “Sorority Babes” works as a low budget trash fest, and a goofy little time waster you can chuckle to. Tri Delta is looking to initiate their two newest recruits! After catching three nerds from the local fraternity watching the initiation, the trio, along with a few sorority sisters are forced to break in to the local Bowl-O-Rama at night and steal a prized trophy as a prank.
Accidentally unleashing a magical imp within the sacred trophy after knocking it over, they unleash Ol’ Uncle Impy, a magical imp who offers to grant their wildest dreams. After they all take advantage and are granted their own wishes, they find that often times, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Also known as “The Imp,” seasoned director David DeCouteau directs this goofy horror comedy that I was first introduced to back in the nineties. I fondly remember watching the edited version for “Sorority Babes” on USA’s Up All Night on cable television and always wanted to re-watch it.
Years later, I bought the DVD and had a blast. Along with “The Gonk,” and “It’s Party Time” Bob Parr’s “Here In The Darkness,” the theme song to “Sorority Babes” has permanently burned itself in to my brain, and it’s fun to see such an eerie theme song for such a goofy horror comedy. Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer are on the receiving of a lot of gratuitous nudity as they’re spanked in the opening shots of the film for a sorority initiation for Tri Delta. While there, three geeks are caught and are forced in to the final act of being admitted in to Tri Delta. Ol’ Uncle Impy is one of the most unusual horror villains ever created. A combination of low budget puppetry and tricky lighting, he’s a trophy imp that grants wishes, and surely enough he can’t be trusted.
Linnea Quigley co-stars in one of the rare roles where she keeps all of her clothes on as juvenile delinquent Spider. She’s caught breaking in to arcades for petty change, and ends up having to fight for her life and live through the night. Impy can be tricked, but how? Most of the movie spends its time on the wishes granted and the painful fall out that comes from the wishes that begin to turn sour in a matter of hours. One sorority girl wishes to be a queen with her clothes rotting, one character wishes to be rich only for the treasure to be meaningless, and another character wishes for a girlfriend only for this girl to be incredibly aroused and aggressive when it comes to getting laid.
Meanwhile, the janitor of the Bowl-O-Rama is unfortunately stuck in his bathroom and oblivious to the horror happening all around him. Quigley decided she wanted a role as a punk this time around, and dons the punk attire as heroine Spider, who fends off the monsters machinations through this bowl o rama. Keeping money tight, the movie is set in the bowl o rama over night where no one is around, giving DeCouteau a real advantage in giving the setting mood and atmosphere without trying too hard to light the sets. Of course, all of the horror and turmoil dies out before opening time at the bowl o rama. This allows the characters to roam around chasing each other, and learning about the convoluted origin of Ol’ Uncle Impy and how he can turn a good wish in to a bad situation.
I, for one, love Uncle Impy. He’s a bargain basement villain who could have worked in a sequel if they ever had the budget for one. I could see the allure of asking for a wish from the Djinn in “Wishmaster,” but from a little demon in a bowling trophy? Come on, kids. Just say no. “Sorority Babes” is one of the last gasps of eighties horror, and it’s a delightfully goofy delicacy you can kick back to. If only to see Quigley reprise her punk attire yet again. Whether you know it as “The Imp,” or “Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama,” this is a heck of a good horror comedy with the trifecta of scream queens doing battle with a horrific imp. They just don’t make movies like this anymore.
As far as animated efforts from Tim Burton goes, “Frankenweenie” isn’t such a bad bit of fan service. Director Tim Burton has always expressed interest in remaking his short film “Frankenweenie,” and it’s a shame since the original short isn’t a bad movie. All things considered, it’s short, sweet, and to the point. Not to mention it’s cute, sad, and has that Burton American Gothic whimsy we’d later see in “Edward Scissorhands.” With 2012’s remake of “Frankenweenie,” director Tim Burton is able to do pretty much whatever he wants, while expanding on an already interesting twist on Mary Shelly’s story.
Such a simple premise should have delivered a bland and somewhat forgettable animated film, but what Dreamworks manages to pull together is not only impressive, but surely one of the best films of 2012. “Rise of the Guardians” is a testament to the magic of folklore and the strength of belief. Though it’s not an outright declaration of theism, “Rise of the Guardians” places a lot of power on the strength of belief on sentient beings and what they can do for those that place importance in them. “Rise of the Guardians” is a film that all audiences will truly enjoy that manages to unite some of the most iconic magical beings to form the ultimate super team.
For aspiring animators and or fans of “Rise of the Guardians,” this hardcover look at the development of “Rise of the Guardians” from a series of eight young adult books that were compressed and transformed in to a marketable fantasy animated film will be thrilled to learn all the facets and elements of the film that were finely tuned and included to give the movie that extra dimension.
Though the film is primarily built around the belief in deities, the film implements a lot of international aspects that reflect belief including the Middle Eastern influence on the Tooth Fairy’s costume, as well as the Bunny’s giant egg sentinels, all of which were influenced by Eastern mythology. There’s also a detailed glimpse in to the creation of the realms for the guardians, including the small trinkets and interesting details added to certain background and environments, including North’s toy shop, and the detailing of his Yeti workers, all of whom were a fine addition to the story.
Such a simple premise should have delivered a bland and somewhat forgettable animated film, but what Dreamworks manages to pull together is not only impressive, but surely one of the best films of 2012. “Rise of the Guardians” is a testament to the magic of folklore and the strength of belief. Though it’s not an outright declaration of theism, “Rise of the Guardians” places a lot of power on the strength of belief on sentient beings and what they can do for those that place importance in them. “Rise of the Guardians” is a film that all audiences will truly enjoy that manages to unite some of the most iconic magical beings to form the ultimate super team.
For aspiring animators and or fans of “Rise of the Guardians,” this hardcover look at the development of “Rise of the Guardians” from a series of eight young adult books that were compressed and transformed in to a marketable fantasy animated film will be thrilled to learn all the facets and elements of the film that were finely tuned and included to give the movie that extra dimension.