Bad movies are a very common thing these days. Particularly, movies released direct to DVD fall into this sad category. One such cinematic disaster,Rites of Passage is the subject of this review and the flaws contained in this flop are almost too many to count. The film is a thriller with a relatively good cast but has an unfortunate combination of a laughably bad script and weak direction. These two negative factors basically destroy the movie and make Rites of Passage one of the year’s worst films.
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Alex Cross
When one hears the name Tyler Perry, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Madea, of course. Perry has had a successful career in comedy, drama and sitcoms. He usually dons a lady’s wig and dress to transform into the annoyingly unfunny Madea. This character has been seen many a time in Perry’s productions but on October 19, audiences will see a new side of Perry in Alex Cross, an action-drama about a revenge-seeking cop hunting a psychopathic assassin. The film is filled to the brim with cliches and results are rather average, if not below so.
New York Comic Con Round-Up: Bruce Timm, A Legendary Afterparty, and a Very Spidey Sunday
Saturday started out as a party, well sort of. I interviewed two notable members of the DC animated universe. The first was producer/animator Bruce Timm, a legend in the animation game. His work on Batman: The Animated Series is the stuff of legends and during a roundtable interview, I sat with other journalists, soaking in all the awesomeness that is Bruce Timm. He talked about his career, his current projects and where he wants to go from there. Much of the same occurred with my interview of Andrea Romano, casting director for much of the DC animated universe. I also interviewed Briana Evigan about Grimm Fairy Tales and got to learn about the talented actress’ current projects.
New York Comic Con 2012 in Review: Day 2
After easing into Day 1 of the New York Comic Con and re-familiarizing myself with the terrain of the Jacob Javitz Center, I was ready to tackle Day 2. Friday, October 12 was a day which saw an increased number in Con attendance. Nearing the work-free weekend, people flocked to the Con in an attempt to soak up all the geeky awesomeness which included celebrity appearances by Christopher Lloyd, Briana Evigan, and more, panels and whatnot. With many panels, the ones I attended on day 2 were very film and TV-oriented.
New York Comic Con 2012 in Review: Day 1
The Jacob Javitz Convention Center, a modern marvel. This gargantuan facility is a few blocks wide and filled with huge chambers and many, many rooms. There is a ton of space for whatever you want. For the purposes of New York Comic Con, that space holds geeks, geeks and the paraphernalia they so adore. This is the seventh year of NYCC and it seems that with every year, the crowd grows bigger. Thousands of pop culture enthusiasts congregate here for what is one of the biggest entertainment events of the year.
Holy Motors
French cinema has a tendency to be a little strange from time to time. The classy European country releases films that are visually striking, thought-provoking and downright good. Holy Motors is one such film and the results from writer/director Leos Carax’s (Boy Meets Girl, The Lovers on the Bridge) bizarre work of art are very captivating. One must go into the film with an open mind because the story is rather surreal and the characters, truly unique. It is a French film that doesn’t really address any important issues. It is like true art. It simply exists to be marveled at.
Wake in Fright
The Australian Outback is known to be tough, rugged and inhospitable. This is a harsh reality made very clear in Director Ted Kotcheff’s gritty 1971 drama Wake in Fright, a strange film recently restored in a new 35mm print. The film takes an average Joe and puts him through a crazy ordeal of alcoholism, violence and mild homoeroticism. The story follows young and dashing schoolteacher John Grant (Gary Bond) who has taken a post in the Australian Outback. He plans to go to Sydney to visit his girlfriend but in order to do that, he must catch a flight from the middle-of-nowhere mining town Bundanyabba or known by the locals simply as “The Yabba”. Once there, John encounters a slew of colorful characters, most of whom find a passion for drinking copious amounts of beer, gambling and brawling.
The Do-Deca-Pentathlon
Sibling rivalry is very common in families. Brothers and sisters play, fight or both to try and best one another to declare absolute superiority. This age-old phenomenon of kids competing to eventually be declared “better” is a truly fascinating thing and in Jay and Mark Duplass’ independent dramedy The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, actors Mark Kelly and Steve Zissis battle 20 years after they finished competing which ended in a tie. On September 27, The Museum of the Moving Image held a very special screening of the film followed by a Q&A session with Kelly, Zissis and one of the writers/directors Jay Duplass.
Dark Shadows
In the last decade, renowned auteur Tim Burton has sort of dropped the ball creatively. After 2003’s Big Fish, the goth filmmaker sadly stopped making quality films. It seems he has sold his soul to Disney and now only makes kid-friendly dark comedies with the exception of Sweeney Todd. He puts Johnny Depp in everything because the Burton/Depp collaboration is one which warrants great commercial success but offers nothing new in terms of artistic innovation. Dark Shadows is the eighth collaboration between Burton and Depp and unlike a fine wine, their team-ups don’t get better with age.
Touched by an Angel: The Sixth Season
In 1994, CBS premiered the spiritually-themed drama Touched by an Angel, a show about troubled souls guided by three angels on Earth. Roma Downey, Della Reese and John Dye are the angels and in each episode they help someone in need. The sixth season is now out on DVD and it is jam-packed with Godly goodness.
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