X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

At the end of the day, “X-Men Apocalypse” is a big step up from the films in the series that preceded it, but it’s still just a Bryan Singer “X-Men” movie. Its two and a half hours of surface level action and superficial ideas that still haven’t broken in to the more complex themes of prejudice, racism, hatred, and bigotry that have made the X-Men property so beloved and widely embraced. Six movies later and only now FOX seems to be getting that a big advantage of the “X-Men” movies is that there are so many fascinating heroes and average people turned in to heroes of varied shapes, sizes, and colors. Only now that Marvel has embraced the team movie are Singer and FOX transforming the “X-Men” in to a team franchise.

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Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf (2015)

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I bet you’re wondering the same thing. In order for a whalewolf to come to life should a werewolf bite a whale, or would a whale bite a werewolf? If a whale bit a human would it become a werewhale? Hey, the logic I’m posing is just as silly as the logic in “Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf,” a movie that’s much more fun than it has any right to be. Right off the bat, the thing to remember is the movie doesn’t take itself seriously at all. This is about a movie where a sharktopus are murdering people left and right and our main heroes aren’t all that emotionally distraught after the fact.

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The Babadook (2014)

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

In a time where studios aim for shocks over substance, especially with the advent of the found footage sub-genre, it’s great to see a horror movie that’s horrifying and about something. Director Jennifer Kent’s first outing as a horror director is a downright flawless effort that doesn’t just shock audiences, but has a ton of subtext, and undertones that deserve to be examined by literally everyone. It’s not just a movie about a mother and son being terrorized by a monster, but a movie about the mother and son dynamic. More to the point, it’s about the birth of a child, and how blame can often be misplaced on the unborn child for circumstances beyond their control.

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Earth vs. the Spider (2001)

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Director Scott Ziehl’s “Earth vs. The Spider” is an often overlooked and extremely obscure film, and for good reason. It’s a relative rip-off of David Cronenberg’s “The Fly,” and let’s face it: There’s no reason to call this movie “Earth vs. The Spider” at all. I fondly remember this being featured on Cinemax here in America in a Stan Winston horror movie showcase. His company rehashed American International Pictures films, but in name only. As is the case with “Earth vs. The Spider,” which isn’t a masterpiece, but isn’t bad for a hokey shamelessly derivative monster movie.

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

It’s surprising how quickly “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” becomes a vanity project for director Kenneth Branagh. Rather than a tale of a monster wreaking havoc on his master, the film feels more like Jane Austen co-starring the monster who is kind of a nuisance and then becomes a threat to his creator. I’ve rarely seen Frankenstein movies where the creature is the third banana, but lo and behold Branagh pulls it off in what is more a film about Victor Frankenstein having a lover’s spat with his wife, who discovers her husband has committed some evil selfish acts. To his credit though, Victor Frankenstein is no hero. He’s selfish, self-centered, and has a God complex, but Branagh is very obsessed with chewing the scenery. So much so that he even manages to outdo Robert DeNiro.

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Bride of the Monster (1955)

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

This is the story of a man, his giant, and an Octopus. And the man’s experiments involving kidnapping people and turning them in to—something. I think giants. Let’s go with giants. Said doctor also has a fondness for his giant octopus which, whenever he decides to leave his lab, comes across the octopus that seems to gleam at him from behind his glass. The doctor often smiles and waxes poetic about his friend that he hopes will never murder him in a shallow pool of cold swamp water. The thing I like about Ed Wood’s movies is that his villains just aren’t very smart.

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Zarkorr! The Invader (1996)

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Felix Vasquez

It’s pretty clear directors Michael Deak & Aaron Osborne either created a giant Kaiju movie with a sense of humor, or a Kaiju movie that is actually a spoof of Godzilla. There can be no other reason to explain the inadvertent comedy and utterly atrocious performances in “Zarkorr! The Invader.” It’s a film so bad but so utterly entertaining that you’ll likely laugh along with its idiocy as it takes you on the roller coaster ride.

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