I never had the pleasure of riding the famous Disney attraction but I know enough about it to understand the particulars of the story and its appeal. After the somewhat awful 2003 attempt with Eddie Murphy, Disney takes another crack at adapting one of their most iconic attractions. In the end it amounts to a very entertaining and heartfelt horror comedy that I imagine will allow for a good gateway for budding horror fans. I won’t proclaim it as a masterpiece, but when all was said and done, I was so much more satisfied than I was with the 2003 first attempt.
Tag Archives: Fantasy
The Primevals (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
Although Charles Band and his studios are mainly known for horror, Band also dabbled heavily in to action, comedy, porn, and yes, especially fantasy films. “The Primevals” in spite of its limited budget is perhaps the most complete and richly developed Charles Band backed film I’ve ever seen in the studio’s entire history. David Allen has a clear vision of what kind of adventure film and he fully realizes it in what is such a fun, inventive and vintage action adventure. With obvious influences from Harryhausen, RKO Pictures, movie serials, and the Fleischers, “The Primevals” is a damn good bit of matinee fare that I could easily myself re-watching and re-watching on VHS when I was a kid.
Barbie (2023)
The idea of turning “Barbie” in to a feature film has been something Mattel has been grappling with for a very long time, and there was no other way to bring her to the big screen without turning her in to something of a meta comedy. Barbie is revered but also reviled for being beautiful, because with a lot of reasonable vitriol, Barbie has been considered a vapid unrealistic representation of beauty. “Barbie” seeks to confront a world that not only holds women to unrealistic standards, but also presents us with a Barbie whose own unrealistic standards are finally dawning on her. This forces her in to something of an existential crisis where she’s forced to look for the origin of her existence and how she can obtain that sense of perfection.
Cobweb (2023)
I’ve always had a soft spot for horror movies that present themselves as dark twisted versions of fairy tales, and Samuel Bodin’s “Cobweb” is one of the highlights of the sub-genre. “Cobweb” is a dark and twisted tale of family that watches almost like and Edward Gorey folktale that’s suddenly sprung to life. It’s shocking that Lionsgate hasn’t promoted this movie at all, since as we’re entering in to the Halloween season gradually, “Cobweb” is the perfect dose of autumnal tinted horror. Director Samuel Bodin manages to concoct a mystery horror film that is not just creepy, but suspenseful and twisted all at the same time.
Astonishing Tales of Terror: Rocktapussy! (2022)
I appreciate what Andrew Cymek, who writes and directs “Rocktopussy!”, tries to with his feature film, utilizing as many resources as he can to deliver something that unabashedly melds Heavy Metal, Barbarella, and HP Lovecraft. I’m not sure what he has planned for future films or if there’s going to be more movies under the banner of “Astonishing Tales of Terror,” but “Rocktopiussy!” is off to a good start with a movie that while it doesn’t deliver completely on promises made in the trailer, is at least a fun time with some midnight movie potential.
“My Adventures with Superman” is a Great Addition to the Superman Lore
While I spent the last week finding time to finish the first two seasons of “Superman & Lois,” I set aside time to watch the highly anticipated “My Adventures with Superman,” which stealthily premiered on Cartoon Network’s adult programming block Adult Swim. That in and of itself is bizarre, as there’s nothing adult about “My Adventures with Superman.” The series is highly stylized to look like anime, but there’s no swearing, or intense violence, or any kind of sexual content. This is as wholesome and pure as Superman’s been in a long time, and it’s actually a series I’d recommend to literally any Superman fan young or old.
BAD MOVIE MONDAY: Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
I’ve never liked reviewing a film right when it comes out. You get caught up in the hype whether you like it or not, swallowed into the propellers of either the always positive marketing machine or the always negative social media rage engine, both of which are revving at full speed. So your review suffers because you can’t stay impartial in that sort of environment. It’s like trying to judge the power of a hurricane while standing in the eye of the storm. I saw this movie a few years ago. I won’t say that I “watched” it because that wouldn’t be accurate.
I played it on a streaming service and then sort of half glanced at the screen. Now, in the interest of science, I’m going to watch it again because I feel it’s a good example of what I like to call “advertiser friendly corporate content.” This is the sort of movie that has an insultingly low opinion of its audience. It’s cynical, insincere, soulless, lazy, and ultimately empty. It’s to cinema what school cafeteria food is to cuisine.
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