After four “Hotel Transylvania” movies it’s pretty obvious that by now, even Genndy Tartakovsky. I think despite his name being plastered all over this new sequel that he probably didn’t have much to do with its creation. Now that the series is four movies deep, along with a short lived TV series, “Transformania” feels so much less like a high stakes sequel, and a lot more like an extension of the TV series. Watching it, it felt like the studios merely took four scripts for the cancelled series, and stapled them together to create this hodgepodge adventure.
Tag Archives: Horror
We Don’t Talk About Tatum Enough
Most recently I was discussing the “Scream” movie series with someone online, and while discussing Tatum Riley, they made the statement that she literally contributes nothing to “Scream.” I completely disagreed. Not only is Tatum Riley a major contributor to the fate (and genesis) of Sydney Prescott, but she’s easily the most important character of the first “Scream,” barnone.
Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993) (Unrated Version) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
There’s still a lot of value in the “Maniac Cop” horror movies (the first two are still top notch slashers), especially as they can be creepy slasher films that confront racism, classism, police brutality and police corruption. The first two “Maniac Cop” films almost hit the nail on the head, all the while “Badge of Silence” doesn’t do much with the formula at all. In the end of the day its low budget is its downfall as the movie does almost nothing to match the pacing and suspense of the first two movies.
The Legend of La Llorona (2022)
La Llorona, or the Weeping Woman, is the basis for this attempt at a scary movie about family, roots, and curses.
Five Great Video Store Scenes in Movies
Movie fans continue to celebrate the video store to this day, and for good reason. Once upon a time if you wanted to watch a movie that you didn’t own, you’d have to get dressed, go out, and peruse aisles upon aisles of movies looking for the right movie to take home for a few days. Although it seems kind of like a chore, there was a sense of community and camaraderie with the very good video stores. You communed with others to find the newest release on video, and always pretended not to sneak a peek in to the Adult movie section.
Movies still have a tendency to pay homage to the video store era, and these are five of my favorite video store scenes from feature films.
Maniac Cop 2 (1990) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
One thing you have to give it to the “Maniac Cop” movie series (as well we William Lustig and Larry Cohen) it that it tends to off the more interesting characters without much preamble amounting to some great plot twists. I never expected Tom Atkins to die in the original “Maniac Cop,” and it’s kind of a surprise to see Bruce Campbell, the dashing hero from the original movie, murdered brutally by the titular Maniac Cop. It’s a great entry way in to such a weird, zany slasher series.
You Have to See This! Last Night in Soho (2021)
Streaming On: Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play Movies & TV
While director Edgar Wright is still fresh in to his career and has churned out so many superb films, his ambition has managed to help elevate him in to a better filmmaker, one of bigger substance and larger scale. “Last Night in Soho” prove it, as it feels like that poppy bizarre sixties thriller that we might have actually seen in the sixties. Perhaps starring Natalie Wood? Maybe Peggy Lipton? “Last Night in Soho” has everything going for it; it’s the type murder mystery that audiences have been craving. It has a unique horror bent, and Wright has delivered on pop culture cult films like “Shaun of the Dead” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.”