Before it was re-branded “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,” it was simply titled “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Though the title promised great adventure, director Steven Spielberg and writer Lawrence Kasdan managed to deliver a hero every audience member could watch and relate to, no matter what the circumstance. Harrison Ford managed to depict a ruthless space pirate in “Star Wars” and brings that same charisma and enthusiasm to Indiana Jones, a big screen hero who is dashing and cunning, but just as average as anyone else venturing in to his world.
Tag Archives: Supernatural
The Chosen One: Legend of the Raven (1998)
See, this is what happens when you attempt to placate a hot woman. You end up with “The Chosen One.” It’s safe to say Carmen Electra had absolutely no business being in movies, unless it was in some kind of ironic sense. She was in “Baywatch” for a while, but it’s not like that series ever required anyone to pull in anything but a sub-par performance. It’s pretty interesting that of all the movie roles, she decides to star in a pseudo-supehero movie of all things. She’s not convincing as an action star, as she engages in only two short fight scenes in the entire movie, and doesn’t really sell herself as this heroine.
Hatchet III: Unrated Director's Cut [Blu-ray] (2013)
I’ve warmed up to “Hatchet III” a little bit since I originally saw it. Not a whole lot, but just a tiny bit. Mostly because while Adam Green is still better than what this premise entails, he is actually talented when he decides to be. Like Adam Sandler, he can deliver some true greatness, he just indulges his fan base that asks for more lowbrow entertainment that he makes his bread and butter off of. When most of his fans were mocking Green for directing the PG-13 “Spiral,” I don’t blame the man for sticking to the gore soaked “Hatchet” films to keep his (ugh) “Hatchet Army” by his side.
HazMat (2013)
As a slasher fanatic I really can’t endorse “Hazmat” enough. As a Hispanic male, the almost completely Hispanic cast for “Hazmat” is also another reason why I endorse director Lou Simon’s slasher film. You often see so many slasher films about white kids running back and forth and fighting a slasher, it’s rare that we see a predominantly Hispanic cast facing off against a masked killer.
Mortal Kombat (1995)
After cribbing from the Cronenberg filmmaking handbook in “Event Horizon,” director Paul WS Anderson took the reins of the popular fighting game “Mortal Kombat.” A precursor to his handling of another popular genre game “Resident Evil,” director Anderson handles the adaptation of “Mortal Kombat” much in the way studios enjoy it. He takes a controversial, volatile, and violent video game, and transforms it in to a PG-13 action romp for teenage boys. With “Mortal Kombat” director Anderson almost gets it right. Close but no cigar.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Unrated Version) (2013)
“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” is the best “Evil Dead” sequel we never got. It’s a fast paced horror action hybrid with witches that are monstrous, powerful, and absolutely disgusting. To offset their frightful appearance, Hansel and Gretel are there to stomp on their heads and provide merciless deaths while providing biting bon mots. “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” channels Sam Raimi in many ways; I almost expected Ash to jump out from the woods at some point yelling “Yo, She-bitch!”
Papercuts (2013)
When I finished “Paper Cuts” I was admittedly baffled. I stared at the screen and wondered what the hell I’d just seen and then wanted more. “Paper Cuts” is that very silly but fun horror short film that has great potential to be feature length, with enough resources, and I’d really like to see this be brought to Troma fame for its ability to just cleverly make a great horror villain out of office equipment.