Review: "Thunder Force" (Netflix)

by Christopher James

Longtime friends McCarthy and Spencer in "Thunder Force."Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer are already acting superheroes. Over their long careers, they’ve stolen scenes from the best, been nominated for Oscars (with Spencer winning in 2011), and headlined comedy, drama and horror films. There’s nothing these women can’t do… until now. Thunder Force is their kryptonite. There’s no superpower in their arsenal that can save this comedy, which is completely devoid of laughs. 

Thunder Force takes place in a world much like our own. The main difference: mysterious intergalactic rays touched down in the 80s and gave a few bad apples superpowers. These super individuals, called Miscreants, use their powers to terrorize everyone in sight. If only bad guys are given powers, how are the good guys ever going to prevail?

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What Other Movies Should Get The Justice League Snyder Cut Treatment?

By: Christopher James

Sequel culture has led to remake culture and now... recut culture?  HBO Max recently released Zack Snyder’s four hour cut of Justice League to subscribers. Snyder left the film in 2017 in the wake of his daughter’s suicide, leaving the project in the hands of Joss Whedon. When the film was released in November, Justice League was savaged by critics and audiences alike. The two hour film had very little character development, laughable dialogue, an unmemorable villain, bad CGI and made very little sense. Sequel culture has led to remake culture and now to recut culture of movies of the recent past.

While we prefer new movies and the classics to reworking old-IP, why not join in on the fun and ponder the alternate realities of what could’ve been had Justice League been 4 hours or had Mrs. Doubtfire been rated R? If streamers have hoards of IP and buckets of money, what other cuts of old movies should they bring to life?

Here are ten suggestions…

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Almost There: Delroy Lindo in "Da 5 Bloods"

by Cláudio Alves

Last week, in the aftermath of the Oscar nominations, I asked you, dear readers, to vote on which performance should get an "Almost There" treatment. Of the fifteen possibilities, your choice was clear – Delroy Lindo in Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods. He got nearly a quarter of the votes, and so, here we are, ready to dissect an achievement that, months ago, seemed like a sure bet in the Best Actor race. The role in question is that of Paul, a war veteran who, along with his brothers in arms, returns to Vietnam in search of a lost treasure and the remains of a mentor…

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FYC: " Húsavík" for Best Original Song

by Cláudio Alves

2020 was a horrible year in many regards. Too many to count if we're being honest. Still, I'd like to highlight that, as a Eurovision Song Contest fan, it was especially disheartening to see the show be canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis. It's obvious why it couldn't happen, but, if there ever was a year that needed the cheering effect of that joyful camp explosion, 2020 was that year. Thankfully, both for me and my Eurovision-loving family, Netflix had an Easter Egg-filled delight to assuage the pain…

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Best International Feature: France, Portugal, Spain

by Cláudio Alves

Europe is the most represented continent in the history of the Best International Feature Oscar. However, while some of its countries are regularly honored, others have been submitting for decades without luck. France, for instance, is the reigning champion of the category, having been nominated forty times. In contrast, Portugal - my country – holds the record for the most submissions without a single nod. For this chapter in our trip through world cinema, we arrive at these two nations' 2020 submissions as well as Spain's Netflix contender…

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