My walk through the darkness is almost over…I’m beginning to see the light. Well, something lighter anyway. WHAT A GIRL WANTS is clearly a movie made for kids – so evidenced by the squeaky clean starlet who plays the lead character. It’s got admirable themes of identity and family, and in the right hands might…
The King of Pain: CAMP CUCAMONGA
This is it gang – the lowest depths of hades. The most excruciating pain this monarch of agony will have to endure. No torture, no abuse, no misery is there…more insufferable…than early 90’s made-for-tv specials. CAMP CUCAMONGA was a movie made by NBC in 1990. The concept was to gather a bunch of actors tv-watchers…
The King of Pain: POPEYE
The descent into darkness continues my friends, and I didn’t expect the darkness to contain such an attempt at levity. Back in 1980, Paramount thought it’d be a great idea to make a live-action adaptation of Popeye. They thought it was such a good idea in fact, that they spared no expense: assigning wonder-producer Robert…
The King of Pain: AIRBORNE
We begin to descend into the darkness today dear friends. Today the pain of my kingdom was inflicted upon me in a whole new way. My half-assed research leaves me unable to prove it, but if I had to make a bet, I’d wager that AIRBORNE was greatly funded by Rollerblade. I make the presumption…
The King of Pain: SPACE CAMP
When did we stop dreaming about outer space? As this film played out, I was fascinated by the scores of kids of all ages who were wildly excited to be at Space Camp. Every character – no matter how cool or uncool they are supposed to be – acts as though getting to go to…
The King of Pain: THREE O’CLOCK HIGH
This film should almost be titled “John Hughes Made It Look So Easy”. I’ve come to the conclusion that sitting down to watch any film aimed at teenagers if you aren’t a teenager is a dangerous proposition. The proposition gets infinitely more dangerous if you’re watching it outside of the era it was made. The…
The King of Pain: SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE
Six or seven years ago I really began to love cooking. There was something about being creative in the kitchen that reminded me of studying art back in high school…exploring something sensory, diving into alchemy. The difference of course was that unlike my oil paintings, my creativity in the kitchen came with an extra level…
