Revisiting a Murder: The Crow: City of Angels

If you know me, you know that my favorite movie is The Crow. I am not saying it is the best movie, but it is the movie I can return to time and time again and walk away satisfied. It is a movie that just strikes all the right chords for this fan. It was one of the first movies that I saw more than once in the theater. I can go on and on about The Crow, but this piece isn’t about that movie. It is about the first of the trio of sequels that were produced, and the only one to that made it to theaters. The Crow: City of Angels was released in 1996, a late August release where it won its opening weekend, but faded pretty quickly. It ended its run with a box office gross just shy of $18 million.

Critical Capsule: Spawn

I decided to revisit the Spawn film the other night. Just as I had suspected it is as bad as it ever was, yet I still find it as compelling as ever. The film is seriously dated and somewhere along the way in adapting it from comic to screen, it lost a good deal of the seriousness and darkness that it had. That said, the hero of Spawn is still a compelling character, a killer recruited by Satan doing his bidding on Earth while thinking, or trying, to do the right thing. I have always loved this character and this film will always evoke a love/hate response from me. For as bad as it is and how much was changed, there are still elements that I like. Michael Jai White, a victim of bad writing, has the physicality to play the role and does his best with what he has. The shining performance belongs to John Leguizamo, legitimately electrifying as the bad guy, a short, fat, white clown. I cannot recommend this movie, but it has a secial place for me.

Movie Review: Hana-Bi (aka Fireworks)

Hana-Bi, or HANA-BI, or Fireworks, if you prefer, was a fascinating viewing experience. I am not saying it was great, although it was certainly very good, it was just something that that I was completely not expecting. It is not so much a movie as it is an existential bi-polar examination of a man who seems to be so disconnected as to not care anymore, although if there is one thing that he does, it is care. It might help that I am not that familiar with the films of Takeshi Kitano, and what I do know makes it a complete surprise to know that he is famous as a comedian. I didn't see that one coming.

Movie Review: Nothing but Trouble (1991)

What else can I say but Wow! Some movies just completely defy explanation and this 1991 oddity is one of them. Nothing but Trouble was Dan Aykroyd’s big follow up to 1989’s Ghostbusters II. Yes, he made some other appearances, but nothing quite as high profile as this exceptional box office dud. The film blends dark comedy with some backwoods horror and splashes with a healthy dose of surreal. It arrived in theaters where it proceeded to go nowhere, it is possible it is more famous for the hate it drew from Roger Ebert than anything else. Do you want to know the craziest thing? I love it.

Retro-view: Natural Born Killers

One of the advantages of living within a reasonable driving distance of an Alamo Drafthouse theater is that it gives me access to seeing older films in a theater on a big screen. In many cases this also means being able to see a 35mm print, which is becoming harder and harder to do. For a movie lover, such as myself, the big screen is the best way to see a movie, even if it is one you’ve seen many times over. The latest example of this is Natural Born Killers, a movie I originally saw in theaters as a homework assignment way back in 1994. Let me say that it was a great seeing it in a theater again.

Retro-view: Se7en

I like to think that I watch a lot of movies. There are movies that get replayed frequently, and there are those that go years and years between viewings. These lesser watched films are not necessarily bad or not worth revisiting, it is just the way it goes sometimes. Even if it is a great movie, I do not always watch them as often. The result of this great time in between viewings means that when I do watch them it can feel like watching them for the first time. This was the case when I recently saw Se7en again. Sure, I remember some, but it is like rediscovering its greatness.

Movie Review: Moonchild (1994)

There are a lot of movies out there. Even if you just consider the ones that you have heard of, that’s a lot of movies. Now, widen that scope and think about all the movies you’ve never heard of, that total number of movies is going to jump way up. I have stumbled across unheard of movies in a number of different ways, one those ways is the Video Vortex series at the Alamo Drafthouse. The series takes obscure, low/no budget, regional obscurities and rips them straight from VHS tape and throws it at the big screen. Is it pretty? Absolutely not, but it is an experience and a fun way to experience often terrible movies.

Movie Review: The Skid Kid

I must admit, I have not seen many movies originating from Union, Missouri. To take that a step further, before the other night, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie originating from there. Now, I can say that I have. That movie is none other than The Skid Kid, a bizarre, super low budget superhero movie that really doesn’t make any sense and really isn’t all that good. The best I can say about it is that writer/director/producer Glen Gruner wanted to make a movie and he went and did it. Forget about how good or bad it is, he went and made a movie.

Screening Report: Demon Knight (10/8/15, Alamo Drafthouse, Yonkers, NY)

The other night I made another of my seemingly weekly trips to the Alamo Drafthouse theater, seems like I am in there all the time. As a matter of fact, I think the servers are starting to recognize me. Anyway, I was there for a 20th anniversary screening of the glorious 1995 film Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight, or as I like to call it, Demon Knight. Expecting something more creative? sorry to disappoint. At the same time, don’t tell me you always use the longer version. I won’t believe you. In any case, I have always loved this movie ever since I first saw it (on film) during its original release.

Screening Report: Terminator 2 - Shocking Dark (7/15/15 Alamo Drafthouse, Yonkers, NY)

I am sure you are getting tired of me talking about how great it is to find 35mm screenings of cult, classic, and forgotten films. Please, do not hold it against me, but there is a good possibility you will be hearing it from me again, and likely many more times beyond that. There is just something about discovering these movies or revisiting old favorites that just gets the blood pumping. Now, this screening was just as much fun, but it was not a film screening, oh no, this was something altogether different. This was a projection of a VHS tape. Yes, you read that correctly. VHS.

Movie Review: Back from Hell (1993)

Some movies beg to be skewered. Some movies fail on pretty much every level and are made with an astounding level of incompetence. However, not all movies can be judged the same way. You cannot just parse the elements, you have to put them into some manner of context. The thing is, it may be easy to rip into a bad movie, but you have to ask if it is truly deserving of the ire you can bring to the table. This is where a movie like Back from Hell enters the picture. It is not a good movie, but I found it incredibly entertaining.

Movie Review: Leprechaun 4 - In Space

Despite taking 1996 off, the Leprechaun franchise was clearly not over with. I mean, Leprechaun 3 (the first to be released direct to video) was the biggest selling direct to video title of 1995. Consider that the budget could not have been too high, there really wasn't a question that there would be another incarnation on the home video market. It doesn't really matter how bad the movies were, people were buying them, and when there is money to be made, movies will be made. Now, the key is to freshen things up. We have had the gold bit, the wife bit, and then more gold, what to do to bring some new life to the franchise? Send it to space!

Movie Review: Leprechaun 3

Sometimes I wonder how Leprechaun became a series. The movies are not particularly good and only two ever hit the big screen. The first one was modestly entertaining, the second was pretty awful, and the third falls somewhere in between. After the second film failed to gain cinematic traction, grossing $2.2 million (it opened in limited release to about $.25 million), the third film was changed from a 3D theatrical release to a direct to video title. To its credit it was the biggest selling DTV title of 1995. Still, the movie is not all that good. Its one saving grace? Warwick Davis.

Movie Review: Leprechaun 2

The Leprechaun series of movies are kind of an odd duck so far as horror franchises go. With six movies (seven, if you count the recent remake/reboot), only two ever landed on the big screen. After watching this first sequel it is easy to see why. The series is not particularly graphic or salacious, it is kind of a crossover horror/comedy you can use to introduce people to horror in a safe fashion. I guess. The original 1993 movie had a certain amount of charm, a delightful performance by Warwick Davis, and an early appearance of Jennifer Aniston. This one, not so much.

Movie Review: Killing Car

The other night is was scrolling through my Netflix queue looking for a movie to watch. I did not know what I was looking for, just something older that I may want to write about. I chose poorly and ended up with the 1954 science fiction feature Gog. What a bore that was, sure it had some interesting ideas, but I had no interest in writing about it. So, last night I went back to the well and stumbled across Killing Car. It had a release date of 1993 and had some interesting cover art. As I pressed play, I had absolutely no idea what I was in for. Some would probably say I struck out again.

Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Last summer Michael Bay produced a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. It was not all that good, albeit not as bad as I was expecting it to be. Still, watching it made me nostalgic for original live-action Turtle movie way back in 1990. It came a year after Batman, which I believe is the movie that cemented my love of movies, but that is a discussion for another time. The Turtles came to the big screen with plenty of hype and anticipation and I was ready for it. I loved the movie as a young teenager and surprisingly, I still love it now, and I do not think it is purely for nostalgic purposes.

Movie Review: Candyman

In my estimation, he does not get the same respect that other horror killers do. He may not have the notoriety of a Freddy, or a Jason, or a Michael, or a Pinhead, but he should not be forgotten or underestimated. He should stand as an iconic killer of the 1990's, not to be overshadowed by the likes of Ghostface. Seriously, if you match them up, the all too human Ghostface would be gutted from groin to gullet. Of course, I am talking about none other than Candyman, the movie and character that would put Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen on the map. It is a movie that mesmerizes, haunts and terrifies. It holds up to this day and should not be forgotten.

Movie Review: Phantoms (1998)

After watching the latest film from David Fincher, the fantastic Gone Girl, I decided to step into Ben Affleck's past and revisit one of his horror entries. That movie is none other than Phantoms, a favorite whipping boy of the horror elite. At this stage of the game, it has largely been forgotten, or, at most, relegated to the infamous bit in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, when the duo meet Ben Affleck (playing himself) and saying "You the bomb in Phantoms, yo!". To be honest, I was really rather curious to see if it remained as terrible as I remembered it, or if time had been kind enough to let it be revealed as something more, something worthy of our time rather than a perpetual Affleck career speed bump.

Reviews in Retrograde: Black Dog

Critical Outcast isn't my first attempt at a website, I had a few stutter steps in the late 1990's and early 2000's. These attempts generated a whole bunch of poorly written, often very short and spoilerific reviews. I recently stumbled upon them in my archives and thought you may be interested in seeing some of these early attempts at writing. They are as they were then, I make no apologies for how bad or how short they are. Feel free to have at them with reckless abandon! I present to you: Reviews in Retrograde.

Movie Review: Return of the Living Dead 3

After spending an evening revisiting the classic Return of the Living Dead and discovering that I had never seen Return of the Living Dead Part II, I decided to complete the trifecta and watch Return of the Living Dead 3 (which I know I had seen before). There is nothing like spending some time with some zombies, sure they are pretty much everywhere these days, but that has not diminished their effectiveness, it just might take a touch longer to uncover the good ones. In any case, the third return film is my second favorite of the three (we won't bother with those two that were on TV later on). This one also changes the formula, while remaining a recognizable part of the series.