Tag Archives: Teen

Skateboard: The Movie (1978)

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Now in Limited Release in New York, and California; debuting November 10th in MN, November 15th at the Gateway Film Center in Columbus, OH, November 26th at the The Texas Theater in Oak Cliff, TX, and December 9th/10th at the Cleveland Cinematheque in Cleveland, OH. Check Local Theater Listings.

I guess if you fancy yourself a completist, or have to watch every sports movie ever made, “Skateboard: The Movie” is a fascinating relic of a pretty great bygone era. It’s not at all a good movie per se, but I liked director George Gage’s movie for the way it works as a time capsule for the late seventies. It was a precursor to a lot of interesting concepts, including turning skateboarding in to a bonafide tournament sport, the way the media would inevitably drift over to skateboarding, as well as the whole attitude of the decade. The entirety of “Skateboard: The Movie” is punctuated by a lot of moog/synthesizer music, as well as a ton of pretty good pop rock music that lends it a real energy. 

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“Fun Size”: The Halloween Treat That Deserves More Love

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Along with “Crybaby Lane,” 2012’s “Fun Size” is one of the bastard children of Nickelodeon Studios that they like to pretend doesn’t exist. It wouldn’t be the first time they hung one of their stars out to dry, and it certainly won’t be the last. Say what you want about the legacy of Nickelodeon, but their nastiness is almost equal to their innovation and creativity. Nevertheless, “Fun Size” is one of the very few Halloween themed movies that have nothing to do with the horror genre.

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My Best Friend is a Vampire (1987)

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It’s interesting that Jimmy Huston’s horror comedy has managed to rise above the rest of the teen horror comedies over the years. Even something like “Once Bitten” which had a young Jim Carrey, isn’t nearly as popular as “My Best Friend is a Vampire.” Despite being insanely silly, and features one of the most lackluster romantic interests of the eighties, “My Best Friend is a Vampire” (aka “I Was a Teenage Vampire”) has survived mainly for its very vocal LGBTQ overtones, and a soundtrack that’s better than it has any right to be.

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Teen Vamp (1988)

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“Teen Witch” came in to existence from a studio’s desires to create a “Teen” monster franchise. “Teen Wolf” would give way to “Teen Witch,” and there was supposed to be “Teen Vampire.” Director Samuel Bradford’s super low budget “Teen Vamp” seems to aim to unofficially complete the trinity amounting to a bizarre eighties teen horror series. Although, you could ague “Love at First Bite,” “The Vampire’s Kiss,” and or “Vamp” completed the trilogy; I’d be more hard pressed to argue that “My Best Friend is a Vampire” feels so much more like a natural end to the desired gimmick. “Teen Vamp” is best left in the heap of obscure eighties video store shelf warmers.

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Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3 (2022)

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In 2020’s “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2,” heroine Addison spent a lot of her arc trying to figure out if she was perhaps the “Great Alpha” werewolf. When that was a bust, we were left on a cliffhanger as Addison was left pondering on her origins. And we were given a clue—from outer space. The idea of Addison perhaps being an alien makes a ton of sense considering the character guidelines the movies follow, and with the final movie in Disney’s “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S,” Disney works fast to seal up any and all lingering questions about Addison and Zed.

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Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2 (2020)

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The follow up to the surprise 2018 hit musical is a superior movie in every way possible. Although there didn’t seem to be much that they could do with a follow up, “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2” does a darn good job in amplifying what was so great about the first one; the writers are great at adding on to the whole mythos of the town of Seabrook offering even more characters, more potential for more monsters, and give cheerleader Addison her own arc. While in the original she sought to fit in with the zombies, now she’s looking for her own group, unsure of where she really belongs after her experiences with Zed and Zombietown.

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Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (2018)

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It’s an allegory for class divide. That’s basically all “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S” is. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good movie, but once you can get past the clumsy symbolism of the way the zombies are supposed to be the more impoverished individuals, while the humans are meant to be the upper echelon, “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S” is actually kind of a fun horror comedy musical. You wouldn’t think that they could really pull off a zombie horror comedy for kids, but Disney and director Paul Hoen do a pretty darn good job of it. Even if 2013’s “Bunks” is better.

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