Back in the nineties, there was this strange movement to take pulp and serial heroes and revive them for a modern audience. Everything from Flash Gordon to Doc Samson were revived. Some of them, like “Zorro,” were big hits, while a lot of them surprisingly missed with audiences. I’ve always loved the pulp and serial heroes, but a lot of the box office and ratings for movies and television decided that they were best left in their era. One of the bigger movements was to place serial heroes in to the future. So, The Phantom was placed in to a futuristic setting, and Sherlock Holmes was brought back a la “The Demolition Man.”
Tag Archives: Science Fiction
My Top Five MCU Villains
It’s all been leading up to this! After the end of “Iron Man” where Tony Stark is confronted by Nick Fury about the Avenger Program, here we are about to enter in to the iconic “Infinite Gauntlet.” We fans spent years just hoping for a good Captain America movie, now we’re here optimistically awaiting their third battle for the fate of Earth. While the MCU villains get a bad rap I think they all brought something to the table. Here are five of my absolute favorites from the entire library.
You Have to See This! Freaked (1993)
I would call “Freaked” a spoof, but a spoof of what?
All I know is that it is something of a cult film and simultaneous antidotal piece of good old fashioned schlock in a decade that took movies very seriously. Even horror was somewhat stern for a long time until Wes Craven injected some humor in to it. “Freaked” feels like something out of 1987 that crept in to 1993 and it still rings as truly one of the more fascinating cult films I’ve ever seen. My memory with “Freaked” goes back to 1994 when my dad rented a copy for me. Little did he know what the hell we were in for, as “Freaked” teeters between completely surreal black comedy and an acid dream splashed on to film.
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998) [Blu-Ray]
Boyd Kirkland’s “SubZero” stands as not only one of the best animated Batman films of all time, but one of the best Batman films, period. In a time where Warner were handing us goofy films like “Batman Forever,” behind the scenes, Bruce Timm took the material seriously, delivering entertaining mature fare like “SubZero.” Something of a sequel to “Deep Freeze,” Kirkland’s film is also a stark contrast to last year’s “Batman and Harley Quinn,” choosing to expand on the hit episode, rather than repeat the same beats ad nauseum like the latter chose to.
Justice League (2017) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
At the end of the day I think “Justice League” is a very—okay movie, with glimmers of greatness. But that’s the problem, sadly. Fans waited and waited, and didn’t want an okay movie. We fans wanted a great movie, and despite bringing in Joss Whedon in the final hour, “Justice League” feels less like the beginning of an epic saga of superheroes, and more like a throwaway episode of a mediocre superhero series. And what with “mustache gate” and the continued controversy over the original cut of the film, “Justice League” will carry a lot of baggage with it forever. Which is sad, because I still didn’t hate it as much as I did “Batman v Superman.”
Five Movies to Watch After Marvel’s “Black Panther”
With Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther” storming the box office, I implore you to check out these five movies, all of which carry the same themes and ideas from the film. Marvel’s African American superhero is finally getting the love and adoration he deserves, the added icing on the cake is the wonderful film that brings him in to his own unique and fun action movie with Black Panther in his world.Without further ado, here are five great movies we suggest after “Black Panther.”
Feel free to post your own suggestions in the comments!
Night of the Living Dead (1968) [Criterion Collection] [Blu-Ray]
Although George Romero wasn’t as particular or gung ho with his filmmaking as Stanley Kubrick was, you can’t really sit through “Night of the Living Dead” without feeling like everything is so deliberate. Like what is the significance of Barbara looking through the music box? Why did Johnny approach Barbara with his gloves on? And why did Romero blatantly film one of the dead with its eyes moving? Was it was considerably faint attempt to humanize the monsters that we’d see be hit with fire and shot to death throughout the film? Or was it his reminder that through and through these were once people with human impulses and their urges for human flesh are still a part of some human impulse? “Night of the Living Dead” is so nightmarish and intricate that I love picking it apart every single time I’ve seen it and it leaves me stunned every single time.