Arc (2004)

Posted on July 9, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

It’s movies like these that still make me hopeful that are still at least some good filmmakers out there, and Steve Gelder has a lot of potential to become one of the best, if only Hollywood could pull their heads out their ass. “Arc” for what was obviously filmed on a low budget has a lot of fine production qualities that manages to enhance a fine production. What “Arc” essentially becomes is a truly bittersweet but inspiring slice of life which Gelder really achieves. Mind you, I’m always weary about independents because they’ll either make my job a lot harder, or a lot easier.

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Drop Box (2006)

Posted on July 7, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

Imagine if a spoiled rich brat like Paris Hilton made a sex tape (I know, it’s a real stretch, but stay with me here) and, in one angry tirade went to cool off and dropped in her rental tape at the local video store and in her frustration, gave them her sex tape instead? Now you know the plot of “Drop Box”, a hilarious observational comedy about a video stores clashing with a pop princess (Rachel Sehl). Except the brat in question is not Paris Hilton, but a bitchy celebrity. But before the actual plot kicks off “Drop Box” is an utterly hilarious story revolving around an irate video store clerk, and from the beginning it’s clear that directors Anesty & Spiros Carasoulos has an actual grasp on what the term comedy means.

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Anthony Spadaccini of Fleet Street Films

Posted on July 6, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

Anthony Spadaccini, a good friend, and founder of Fleet Street films recently agreed to do an interview with us to help promote his film “Emo Pill”. If you’re a consummate reader here at “Cinema Crazed”, you’ll know we’ve reviewed many of Fleet Street Films’ titles from “Unstable”, to “Monday Morning”, and one thing you’ll notice about Fleet Street is that they not only seek to entertain, but they seek out to do so while making a statement. Spadaccini and I have remained in touch for a few months, and I even have a copy of “Unstable” from him, and with his new film “Emo Pill” in production, we thought an interview seemed proper.

Many of Fleet Street’s films are dramas, but true human dramas that concern real life issues such as AIDS, murder, revenge, and our justification of crimes. Incidentally enough, most of Spadaccini’s work has either been praised or completely hated, and that’s due to the utter realism he strives for. If you’re not familiar with Fleetstreet, then it is the pleasure of “Cinema Crazed” to introduce you to the company, and to Anthony Spadaccini, a humble director whose created many very good films that have received quite an amount of feedback from viewers, and we implore you to buy his films and tell us what you think. Spadaccini fills us in on what’s going on in his life and his work, and boy is it ever a work load.

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A Joker’s Card (2004)

Posted on June 24, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

“A Joker’s Card” is possibly one of the more ambitious DC fan films I’ve come across in years. As a comic geek, I’ve admittedly seen very little fan films, but this one was surprisingly good. I wasn’t expecting much in terms of quality, but director Wu takes what he has and turns it in to a very colorful off-beat fan film that spoofs Batman’s rogues gallery. Imagine the villains and heroes off-spring attempting to create their own crimes and chaos. Dick Grayson’s son Nick has a bondage fetish, the Joker’s and Mr. Freeze’s sons are working together to kill Gotham’s off-spring of heroes to inflict their own crimes but are met with obstacles when Wonder Woman’s daughter decides to save the day. I was just laughing my ass from beginning to end because while it is a fan film, its intention is to charmingly spoof the Batman lore and it pulls it off well.

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A Joker's Card (2005)

Posted on June 24, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

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Mean Creek (2004)

Posted on February 13, 2005 by Felix Vasquez

If you could snap your fingers and make your school bully disappear, would you? That is the question posed here in this chilling tale of revenge called “Mean Creek”. Sam is beaten by the school bully George one time too many, and now Sam’s brother and his friends are intent on seeking revenge on George by luring him out to the river and playing a nasty prank on him, but things go horribly wrong. Much like “Deliverance” being a tale of paranoia and the mind becoming the worst enemy after a tragedy, “Mean Creek” is a younger more contemporary tale of an incident spawning a tragedy which has dire consequences.

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Chernobyl Heart (2003)

Posted on September 26, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

On April 25th and 26th, 1986 the worst nuclear power accident in the world, and in history occurred at Chernobyl in the Ukraine (formerly the USSR). The Chernobyl nuclear power plant located had 4 reactors and while testing reactor number 4 numerous safety procedures were disregarded. At 1:23am the chain reaction in the reactor became out of control creating explosions and a fireball which blew off the reactor’s heavy steel and concrete lid. Thus the Chernobyl accident killed more than 30 people immediately, and as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding 20-mile radius, 135,00 people had to be evacuated, a lot of the cleaning workers who came to fix the accident died quickly, and some in a matter of years due to the immense amount of radiation they’d received while cleaning, but Chernobyl left a lasting legacy with the accident, a legacy within the city’s children.

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