Damnit. Timothy Woodward Jr’.s “Til Death Do Us Part” is a wonderful idea, one ripe for a great horror comedy with a ton of action and what we ultimately got was just… not what I was completely expecting. Granted, the movie does have a wonderful grasp on what it’s trying to do, but the delivery just felt off. It’s a movie that clocks in at almost two hours, and rather than charge in head first with the laughs and action. Instead the movie takes a lot of time, at least twenty or thirty minutes, establishing the initial storyline and back story.
Tag Archives: Romance
Tokyo Pop (1988)
Opens with a New 35th Anniversary 4K Restoration by Indie Collect in New York at BAM Rose Cinemas on August 4th and in Los Angeles at the American Cinematheque on August 11th, followed by national expansion.
Watching Fran Rubel Kuzui’s gave me a mysterious sense of déjà vu as her movie “Tokyo Pop” is very much about a misplaced American experiencing culture shock and alienation in an Asian country. Then I realize that Sofia Coppola pretty much conveyed almost the exact same narrative in her acclaimed “Lost in Translation.” Fran Rubel Kuzui’s “Tokyo Pop” from 1988 was an obvious influence that apparently never really was discussed very much. So much of “Tokyo Pop” is similar in tone, aesthetic and the idea of using media as a means of helping people to connect. With “Tokyo Pop” characters Wendy and Hiro use music as a means of connecting in a world where they’re separated by language and culture.
Haunted Mansion (2023)
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.
Fallen: The Search of a Broken Angel (2023)
I have to say I liked a lot of what director Alex Kruz brings to the table in terms of a film that’s very much about fate, and purpose, and existence. While “Fallen” can be tough to follow in its first few minutes, Kruz does manage to really catch the audience up. “Fallen” wears its influences on its sleeve, relying a lot on spirituality to punctuate what is in its core a tale about love and finding love.
Blackout (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
I think when it’s time for distribution that audiences (especially long time fans) might just connect with what director Larry Fessenden puts down here. As for me, it lost me after the blood soaked prologue. Like most film outputs from Fessenden, “Blackout” suffers from a lot of sub-plots that are either left dangling or abruptly closed, all while never quite deciding on a tone. Is “Blackout” a horror drama, just a drama, or a drama comedy that happens to have a werewolf?
“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.
Joy Ride (2023)
There’s been this subtle movement to break all of the stereotypes of Asians in cinema and fiction in general, and I’m enjoying it. “Joy Ride” is one of the newest entries in this new wave of mainstream Asian cinema that appeals to a niche audience but is also broad enough for everyone to relate to. “Joy Ride” is a film I liken very much to “Bridesmaids” and “The Hangover” to where four friends go through a sense of self realization, all while wreaking havoc on one big road trip. The foursome in “Joy Ride” are all wonderfully fleshed out individuals that are seeking fulfillment and a sense of purpose, and they end up finding it. This is all in service of their friend Audrey whose attempts to seal a big deal at her law firm send her on the journey she didn’t know she needed.