Shock-O-Rama
by Cary Christopher

Okay, folks, today let’s examine the horror/comedy subgenre.  Notice first that the name of the subgenre is “horror/comedy”, not “comedy/horror”.  The first denotes a generally pleasant experience watching monsters and gore while chuckling occasionally at dialogue or a random slapstick moment.  The latter is what you feel when watching any Wayans Brothers movie.

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Shut Up and Sing
by Cary Christopher

I am no fan of The Dixie Chicks' music.  I never have been and most likely I never will be.  I've given them a shot multiple times and their music is just not my cup of tea.  However I'm a HUGE fan of The Dixie Chicks' conscious decision to stand by their statements and their convictions when it came to being an anti-war and anti-Bush voice in the buildup to the Iraq War.  It's because of their choice to not retract their statement about being ashamed to be from the same state as President George W. Bush, that I jumped at the chance to review this DVD.

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Stranger Than Fiction
by Cary Christopher

It’s funny how as a DVD reviewer, you begin to see how the theme of one film relates to the next in a way that perhaps most people don’t get to experience.  Case in point, I just wrote a review of the movie Babel, a film that examines how the actions of one individual affect completely unrelated individuals around the globe.  The very next film I received to review was Stranger Than Fiction, a movie about how the actions of one single person have a direct and drastic effect on a complete stranger.

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Strangers With Candy
by Cary Christopher

Many television shows consider themselves to be inventive and daring.  Some try very hard to be different and in most cases the results are uneven at best.  Those shows that do manage to be on the cutting edge sometimes become classics and last for years (South Park, The Simpsons).  More often than not though, they get relegated to cult status and are mostly never heard from again.

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 2-Disc Ultimate Ed.
by Cary Christopher

In the annals of horror movie history, it’s hard to imagine a world without Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.  It’s a movie that transcends its own hype (one of the few, I should point out).  In junior high school I remember this playing at the drive-in and kids coming to school bragging about how they saw it.  They said it was based on a true story and that it was really, really scary.

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This Film Is Not Yet Rated
by Cary Christopher

Pissed-off. Frustrated. Betrayed.

These three words best describe how I felt after watching This Film Is Not Yet Rated. As a film lover, that’s saying a lot because very seldom do any of us leave a film and feel anything beyond “entertained”. Furthermore, all I did was watch a movie about the frustrations of getting an “R” rating for an edgy film instead of “NC-17”. It’s not like I actually tried to make an edgy film!

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Thunderfingers: A Tribute To The Legendary John Entwistle of The Who
by Cary Christopher

Years ago, I shared an apartment with a bass player who I also happened to be in a band with. One day, as a joke, I taped a sign to his bedroom door that simply said “Bass Solo = Beer Run”. He proceeded to write a diatribe across that sign that I still have in a keepsake box to this day. The thing is, I was only half joking. I remember going to concerts in the 1980s and suffering through some truly boring bass solos. Most players just don't have the chops to pull off a memorable solo and instead cover that up with theatrics (Gene Simmons, I'm looking at you).

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U2 Popmart Live From Mexico City
by Cary Christopher

U2.

People either love them or hate them.  I’ve rarely found anyone who was on the fence.  I’ve always loved them, so I could never quite figure out what people disliked so much about them.  Was it the overexposure?  Was it the serious themes of their early albums?  Was it the perceived pompousness of Bono? 

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Ultimate Avengers 2
by Cary Christopher

“Avi Arad challenged us to come up with stories that would be impossible for us to produce in live action for any reasonable budget.” – Eric S. Rollman, Executive Producer

Really, if you are a fan of Marvel Comics, that’s the only thing you need to know about Ultimate Avengers 2 before you rush out and buy it.  It’s that simple. 

If you need more prodding, here’s one more reason:  Ultimate Avengers 2 completely and totally fucking ROCKS!

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Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald Volume Three: 1947 – 1950
by Cary Christopher

When it comes to classic animation, there seems to be a divide among aficionados.  There is the Disney camp and the Looney Tunes camp.  I fall very decidedly into the latter.  That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the rich characters and major contributions Walt Disney and his animators brought to the world of animation.  It’s just that Disney’s characters and stories always bored me (with the exception of very early Mickey films).

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Walt Disney Treasures: Disneyland Secrets, Stories and Magic
by Cary Christopher

Disneyland holds a very special place in my family.  It wasn’t always like that though.  When I was growing up in Florida, I spent most of my theme park time going to Walt Disney World and I was of the opinion that Disneyland was some cramped old theme park stuck in the middle of a dirty, grimy city.  For those that don’t know, Walt Disney World is more spread out, surrounded by forest and connected by a series of lakes to hotels, additional parks and a multitude of shops.

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Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit
by Cary Christopher

As an animation fan, I could not be more excited about the release of Walt Disney Treasures The Adventures of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit. A lost piece of animation history, Oswald was the creation of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks who in the 1927 were making a name for themselves in the world of “cartoons”.  Coming on the heels of his “Alice” shorts (which are included here and mix animation with live action footage) Disney was asked to produce entirely animated cartoons.  Oswald was born and from 1927 to 1928 he became one of the most popular cartoon characters on screen.

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War Between The Planets/Creation Of The Humanoids
by Cary Christopher

While writing the Universal Horror reviews with Shawn McLoughlin, he called me on the carpet a couple of times for my appreciation of some “bad” movies (particularly House Of Frankenstein and House Of Dracula).  In my conversation with him, I tried to explain my position.  It’s something I explored briefly in the beginning of my review for Shock-O-Rama and also in my review for Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster.  The concept of a “fun/bad movie” versus a “painfully bad” movie is something that’s not easily explained, but I’m going to give it a shot again with this review, because for once I have a great example of two films that are both bad and genuinely unfunny.

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We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen
by Cary Christopher

Growing up in Hicksville, USA (population 500 dairy farmhands and me), I was somewhat sheltered from the outside world for many years. While other folks in bigger cities were getting turned on to new music in the 80’s, I wasn’t getting exposed to anything that didn’t have the name “Eddie Rabbit” or “Juice Newton” in the singing credits. 

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What We Want, What We Believe: The Black Panther Party Library
by Cary Christopher

When you read the words Black Panther Party, what do you think of?

Do you think of uniformed young men and women, shouting about injustice? Does the image of former leader Huey Newton sitting in prison awaiting a trial on murder charges come to mind? Do you think of struggle? Repression?

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The Wolf Man - The Legacy Collection
by Shawn McLoughlin & Cary Christopher
October 26, 2006

Larry Talbot returns to Wales in order to live on his father’s estate. While trying to save a local woman from a vicious wolf attack, Talbot is bitten and is soon saddled with the curse of the werewolf Upon the rise of each full moon, he changes into a wolf and seeks to kill the people he loves. This classic Universal monster movie features state of the art effects and a fantastic cast, including Lon Chaney Jr. and Claude Rains.

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