Day 290: The Last Horror Film (1982)

Yesterday I ventured to Worcester, Massachusetts to attend the 13TH Annual Rock And Shock Horror and Music Convention for the second year in a row. While I was there, I stopped by the Troma booth and decided that this year I would pick up a film from them and I chose The Last Horror Film which is also today’s film. Vinny (Joe Spinell) is a New York City taxi driver, but that isn’t Vinny’s passion in life. All Vinny wants to do with his life is be the best horror director in the world and he hopes that his crush Jana Bates (Caroline Munro) will star in it. So, he packs up his things and he heads to Cannes, France to try and get her to star in his film. Meanwhile, people that are close to Jana are starting to get killed and Vinny is suspected of the murders. The film also stars Susanne Benton (Catch-22) as Susan Archer, Glenn Jacobson (Trick Or Treats) as Bret Bates, Judd Hamilton (Maniac) as Alan Cunningham, David Winters (West Side Story) as Stanley Kline, Devin Goldenberg (The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood) as Marty Bernstein, Filomena Spagnuolo (The Godfather) as Vinny’s Mother, J’Len Winters as Girl In Jacuzzi, and the film was directed by David Winters. To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.

Day 212: Sling Blade (1996)

I am trying to explore more and more titles from the past to watch that I have never seen that maybe had some critical acclaim. That is why I chose to watch today’s film Sling Blade which was written, directed, and stars Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa). Karl Childers is a mentally challenged individual who has spent most of his life inside of a metal institution because of the fact that he killed his mother and her lover when he was 12. When he is finally released because he was deemed well by the state, he is released into the real world where he befriends a child named Frank (Lucas Black) who lost his father. Watch as Karl tries to adjust to real world and all the challenges that it brings his way. The film also stars John Ritter (Bride Of Chucky) as Vaughn Cunningham, Robert Duvall (The Godfather) as Karl’s Dad, Dwight Yoakam (Panic Room) as Doyle Hargraves, J.T. Walsh (A Few Good Men) as Charles Bushman, Natalie Canerday (Walk The Line) as Linda Wheatley, James Hampton (The China Syndrome) as Jerry Woolridge, Brent Briscoe (The Dark Knight Rises) as Scooter, Christine Renee Ward (Tree) as Melinda, and Rick Dial (Crazy Heart) as Bill Cox.

This is a very interesting film and an amazing performance from Billy Bob Thornton who subsequently won an Oscar fro Best Screenplay, but did not win the Best Actor award. It was crazy to see a young Lucas Black in the film, but he deserves a nod for doing a great job playing alongside Thornton. One of the the things I liked right off the bat from the film was when a couple of girls were going in to the hospital to interview Karl. They’re talking about how he’s a murderer and there’s J.T. Walsh talking about murdering a girl to Billy Bob Thornton tricking you into thinking that J.T. is the murderer the girls are talking about. There’s no action in the film, but there is plenty of drama and great acting. John Ritter does an amazing job playing a gay man in Arkansas who battles the fact that he isn’t socially accepted. Instead of being scared of Billy Bob Thornton’s character Karl, everyone seems to open up to him instead of Dwight Yoakam’s character who is the antagonist of the film. He’s the guy that represents everything that was wrong about Karl’s childhood and what set him off then. The ending is kind of shocking, but you understand why it happened and you kind of commend him for doing it. In a way he was saving the boy from a life of agony because it was right in his mind. I absolutely loved the film and I recommend watching it. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.

Day 33: Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993)

I was inspired today by a simple conversation and there was an animated film that I had never seen that I wanted to. I chose to watch the 1993 animated film Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm which featured the voice of Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) as Batman. In the film, a mysterious figure is murdering all of the crime bosses of Gotham City and it’s getting blamed on Batman. All of these things are starting to happen as soon as an old flame (Dana Delany) from Batman’s past re-enters his life. Now it’s up to Batman to find out just who is killing these men before anyone else is taken out for good, but he’ll have to dig deep to figure it out. The film also stars Mark Hamill (Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope) as The Joker, Hart Bochner (Die Hard) as Arthur Reeves, Stacey Keach (American History X) as Phantasm, Abe Vigoda (The Godfather) as Sal Valestra, Dick Miller (Gremlins) as Chuckie Sol, Efrem Zimbalist Jr (Hot Shots!) as Alfred, Bob Hastings (General Hospital) as Commissioner Gordon, John P. Ryan (It’s Alive) as Buzz Bronski, and the film was directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce W. Timm.

I want to start this by saying that I absolutely loved this film and if you were a fan of that Batman: The Animated Series (which was the best) then you will love this one. You can’t have a Batman film without The Joker and he makes an appearance in this one. Mark Hamill created an iconic voice for The Joker that is absolutely untouchable in my opinion. The great thing is that both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are returning for the rated R animated film The Killing Joke and that has me excited. The film has all the aesthetics that you loved about the animated series where it’s dark and it takes place in the 50’s so the clothing and styles are amazing. The film kind of goes an explains a little about Batman’s past through some flashbacks that we get about his relationship with Andrea and how he got started as Batman. I also love the hints of comedy that they throw into the film as well with Alfred and his untimely entrances into a room when Bruce is busy with the ladies. The film is amazing, the story is great, and the kids can certainly watch it and I suggest you educate them on this series as it’s still untouchable in my opinion. I am going to give Batman: The Mask Of Phantasm an A- for a final grade.