Willard (2003)

Posted on December 12, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

“Willard” 2003 has a very Tim Burton motif that just didn’t work and with characters that were over the top, and a love interest that’s under-used, it’s not hard to believe there’s barely a story to see here, especially one that is just comprised of Willard seeking revenge on his enemies through the mice. There’s nothing but filler and mild violence that hardly displays the carnage of the mice who are supposed to be the devil incarnate, the devil in Willard, but nothing is accomplished except a lot of tricks involving rats. This time around, there’s a loon playing a loon, in this case Crispin Glover who is delightfully over the top as Willard himself.

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Winged Migration (Le Peuple Migrateur) (2003)

Posted on December 14, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

Though heavily staged, “Winged Migration” gives us a rare and never before seen glimpse into nature and the life cycle and migratory patterns of birds seeking shelter and struggling to survive amidst the common enemy known as Man. Done in a period of four years, “Winged Migration” features a team of incredibly gifted and brilliant Cinematographers that so eloquently capture the essence of the landscapes presented within the hunting and scavenging of these incredible species that it becomes such a thrill to watch.

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Wrong Turn (2003) (DVD)

Posted on November 16, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

Chris Finn is headed for a job interview and is out on the road of the Appalachian Hills in West Virginia, until he gets lost. He enters upon a deserted back road where he crashes into a car and meets five hikers who are also lost. When they go to search for help, they’ll discover they’re being hunted by three skilled deformed freaks who want them for supper. Despite bombing at the box-office and receiving mostly negative reviews from critics, I was surprised that this wasn’t a horrible movie; as a matter of fact this is really creepy and entertaining… and almost underrated. This reminded me of the slew of psychotic hillbilly flicks that have been released over the years, but even though this is routine in its scares and plot, it’s entertaining and never lets go with its thrills and chills.

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Waking Up in Reno (2001)

Posted on November 2, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

For a film with such a great cast like Natasha Richardson, Patrick Swayze, Charlize Theron, and Billy Bob Thornton, it’s hard to believe this is such a bad film. The great cast manages to make due with the horrible script and directing including Theron and Richardson who are great as best friends who discover one another and their personalities. What’s worse is this is not just a bad film but a bad comedy and what makes it a bad comedy is that the script and antics performed by the actors force no laughs from the audience and basically will leave the audience with a stone cold face.

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Welcome to Collinwood (2002)

Posted on November 2, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

Coming across as a pseudo “The Sting” except with much more comedy, five lowlife criminals discover the ultimate heist and decide to pull it off, but discover it’s not as glorious as it may be. This is hilarious. I have never laughed so hard in a modern comedy as I have with this; most of the antics reminded me of an “I Love Lucy” episode from the incident in the funhouse, to the water filled sewer, to when they have to cross the heated pipe and carnage ensues, this is hilarious. Director/writer team Anthony Russo and Joe Russo create fresh and original comedy out of a typical plot for a movie that could have easily fumbled into bad territory.

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Waking Life (2001)

Posted on August 24, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

A nameless young man walks out from a bus station calling his friend from a phone looking for a ride and in come a man dressed as a sea captain driving a boat/car. That’s where the journey begins as the man talks about philosophy which the boy merely disregards as yammering. A young boy in a dream world confronts characters who impart philosophical and existential ideas upon him forcing him to come to grips with his own purpose and existence. What he doesn’t know is where he’s going which the man is talking about in front of him. I was intrigued by where this movie was going and became truly engulfed within the context and meaning of the film itself.

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Wendigo (2001)

Posted on July 7, 2002 by Felix Vasquez

The film and entire story manages to orchestrate under the impression of a very long episode of “The Twilight Zone”, and carefully takes its time setting up the characters which, writer Larry Fessenden (who also directs, and edits) probably knew would ultimately affect the audience in a deep way. Hardcore horror fans probably will eventually become uneasy and impatient, but I was willing to sit through the entire film, because as the story progresses, I was very engrossed. Fessenden manages to skillfully craft a story of such sophistication, that no commercial Hollywood writer would have been able to think of it. Fessenden also manages to create some truly endearing, charming, and very realistic characters that the story revolves around, and I was very captured by the essence of the family.

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