http://www.smalltowncritic.com COOP COOPER is an independently syndicated film critic with a split personality. His "Southern Side" prints mainstream reviews that appear in various print publications across the mid-south. His "Dark Side" from Los Angeles befouls the site with reviews of horror and grindhouse flicks. Welcome to the site where COOP's two halves (and his contributors) review and debate the latest film/DVD releases... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:01:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/07/27/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-pecker-watching-the-detectives-salvage-2006-salvage-2009-2012-apaches/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/07/27/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-pecker-watching-the-detectives-salvage-2006-salvage-2009-2012-apaches/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:15:23 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2802 Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): Nothing brand new here, but I just can't get the energy up to go see WANTED II... I mean, SALT... THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO: Quirky autistic hacker chick fights crime and has a lot of sex in Sweden. High brow yet boring. 2 out of 5 PECKER: Photog's quick fame ruins lives of loved ones. Semi-autobio of John Waters. Clever allegory for artistic expression. 3&1/2 out of 5 WATCHING THE DETECTIVES: A girl (Lucy Liu) uses wild pranks to woo a nerdy boy (Cillian Murphy). Well-written indie rom-com. 3&1/2 out of 5 SALVAGE (2006): Girl relives her death at the hands of a serial killer over and over. Above par indie horror with a great twist. 3 out of 5 SALVAGE (2009): Mother searches for daughter during invasion by soldiers hunting a murderous mutant. Good tension, lame BBC plot. 2 out of 5 2012: John Cusack tries to save family from the apocalypse. Worst disaster movie ever. Roland Emmerich should take up bowling. 1 out of 5 APACHES: Sinister 1977 British public service film about irresponsible brats dying in farming accidents. Brutal and brilliant. 4 out of 5 Thy Twitter has spoken.]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/07/27/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-pecker-watching-the-detectives-salvage-2006-salvage-2009-2012-apaches/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/06/21/micro-reviews-via-twitter-get-him-to-the-greek-bitch-slap-the-calamari-wrestler-tales-from-the-script-uwe-bolls-rampage/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/06/21/micro-reviews-via-twitter-get-him-to-the-greek-bitch-slap-the-calamari-wrestler-tales-from-the-script-uwe-bolls-rampage/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:47:37 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2779 Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): Got some high-rated exploitation (and one documentary) this time around! All of these movies are terrific, especially Uwe Boll's surprisingly powerful RAMPAGE (who would have expected that one?)... RAMPAGE: Uwe Boll knocks one out of the park. Hyperviolent domestic terrorist shocker delivers. Hell freezes over. 4 out of 5 BITCH SLAP: Fun, hyper violent, tongue-in-cheek exploitation about 3 sex bombs killing each other over loot. 3&1/2 out of 5 THE CALAMARI WRESTLER: Japanese wrestler dies and reincarnates in a mansized rubber squid suit. New camp classic. 4 out of 5 TALES FROM THE SCRIPT: A little bitter, but a must-see doc for anyone even remotely interested in screenwriting. 4 out of 5 GET HIM TO THE GREEK: Russell Brand = comedic genius. Best drug freak out scene of all time. Can't stop giggling. 4 out of 5]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/06/21/micro-reviews-via-twitter-get-him-to-the-greek-bitch-slap-the-calamari-wrestler-tales-from-the-script-uwe-bolls-rampage/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/27/strategies-for-women-to-convince-their-men-to-go-see-chick-flicks-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/27/strategies-for-women-to-convince-their-men-to-go-see-chick-flicks-by-coop/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 16:43:15 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2755 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/27/strategies-for-women-to-convince-their-men-to-go-see-chick-flicks-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/19/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-crazies-rec2-from-paris-with-love-how-to-train-your-dragon-shes-out-of-my-league-ninja-assassin-legion/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/19/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-crazies-rec2-from-paris-with-love-how-to-train-your-dragon-shes-out-of-my-league-ninja-assassin-legion/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 16:54:55 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2748 Coop's most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): THE CRAZIES (2010): Great first half, effective scares (pitchfork!) but ignored much of what worked in the original. 3 stars [REC]2: Creative continuity/action/camerawork, but "Exorcist" twist undermines the mythology of original. 2&1/2 stars FROM PARIS WITH LOVE: Travolta = over the top and action scenes = outrageous, a must see for action fans. 3&1/2 stars HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: Better than AVATAR in story and intent. Total pleasant surprise. Take kids now. 4&1/2 stars SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE: Sub-par comedy. Baruchel unlikably insecure. Cop-out ending. Title ironically true. 2 stars. NINJA ASSASSIN: Good gore. Bad CGI shurikens. Rain = ok. Lead actress sucks. Sho Kosugi rocks. Lame plot. 2 stars. LEGION: Amazing concept. Angels + weapons = BOOM. Weak execution. All characters unlikable. Wings clipped. 2&1/2 stars.]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/19/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-crazies-rec2-from-paris-with-love-how-to-train-your-dragon-shes-out-of-my-league-ninja-assassin-legion/feed/ 2 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/02/24/oscar-mine-are-weeners-a-hopeless-slackass%e2%80%99-guide-to-handicapping-the-academy-awards-by-jay/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/02/24/oscar-mine-are-weeners-a-hopeless-slackass%e2%80%99-guide-to-handicapping-the-academy-awards-by-jay/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:28:56 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2644 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/02/24/oscar-mine-are-weeners-a-hopeless-slackass%e2%80%99-guide-to-handicapping-the-academy-awards-by-jay/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/01/07/up-in-the-air-2009-movie-review-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/01/07/up-in-the-air-2009-movie-review-by-coop/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:26:58 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2625 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/01/07/up-in-the-air-2009-movie-review-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/16/belated-zombieland-2009-movie-review-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/16/belated-zombieland-2009-movie-review-by-dark-side/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:10:09 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2575 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/16/belated-zombieland-2009-movie-review-by-dark-side/feed/ 1 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/25/the-informant-2009-movie-review-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/25/the-informant-2009-movie-review-by-coop/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:27:22 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2520 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/25/the-informant-2009-movie-review-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/05/boondock-saints-ii-all-saints-day-finally-has-a-trailer-i-still-cant-believe-it-actually-got-made-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/05/boondock-saints-ii-all-saints-day-finally-has-a-trailer-i-still-cant-believe-it-actually-got-made-by-coop/#comments Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:25:10 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2468 (NOTE: I'm delaying the next installment of HAIR METAL MOVIE MADNESS #11 for another week. Partially due to this week's technical difficulties but also so I can save up some of the good horror ones for the month of October. Plus, this news was too juicy and I had to jump on it ASAP...) My love for Boondock Saints (5 out of 5 stars!) has no bounds. Which is why with a heavy heart I still feel that a sequel should've never been made. Why? Because writer/director Troy Duffy didn't deserve one. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Saints involve a pair of illegal immigrant Irish twins, the McManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) who get in a scrap with some local Russian mobsters in a Boston slum. After killing the mobsters in self defense, the brothers simultaneously get a divine vision instructing them to...]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/05/boondock-saints-ii-all-saints-day-finally-has-a-trailer-i-still-cant-believe-it-actually-got-made-by-coop/feed/ 2 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/29/hair-metal-movie-madness-10-reform-school-girls-1986-has-a-rockin-and-controversial-soundtrack-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/29/hair-metal-movie-madness-10-reform-school-girls-1986-has-a-rockin-and-controversial-soundtrack-by-coop/#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:00:10 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2443 Reform School Girls (1986) is not a movie to be taken seriously. At all. I didn't understand that when I first saw it. I thought all R-rated movies were serious and therefore this was serious. I figured reform schools were evil places filled with bad, naked women... something that scared yet intrigued me. Kinda made me feel like "bad girls" new secrets and things that normal people weren't supposed to know about. Mystery and danger. Thus started my obsession of...]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/29/hair-metal-movie-madness-10-reform-school-girls-1986-has-a-rockin-and-controversial-soundtrack-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/10/new-mystery-team-short-film-will-get-you-psyched-for-the-movie-release-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/10/new-mystery-team-short-film-will-get-you-psyched-for-the-movie-release-by-coop/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:41:25 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2371 first trailer for MYSTERY TEAM, it's been high on my must-see list. The idea of three Scooby-Doo, Hardy Boys wannabes still acting like their 10 while in high-school is funny enough, but throw them in to real-world crime and adult situations and you have a recipe for genius. For Comic-Con the "Derrick Comedy" group put together a short film titled "The Case of the Haunted Hotel" and it's got some perfectly hilarious moments where innocence meets extremely uncomfortable situations...]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/10/new-mystery-team-short-film-will-get-you-psyched-for-the-movie-release-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/07/funny-people-2009-12-movie-review-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/07/funny-people-2009-12-movie-review-by-coop/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:09:52 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2359 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/07/funny-people-2009-12-movie-review-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/21/mystery-team-trailer-gives-scooby-doo-a-dose-of-reality-with-hilarious-results-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/21/mystery-team-trailer-gives-scooby-doo-a-dose-of-reality-with-hilarious-results-by-coop/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:32:45 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2281 Scooby Doo. Even when I was a kid I watched it and I just didn't get it. Four nitwits and a talking dog against corrupt real estate scam artists (but no real monsters) really bugged the hell out of me. When the Venture Bros. made fun of Scooby Doo by turning the characters into deranged, over the hill degenerates, I couldn't have been more amused. It appears the creators behind Mystery Team aim to accomplish a similar feat by taking a Hardy Boys-like team of youthful sleuths, letting them grow into adulthood and having them take on a adult-level caper with all of the vile, lurid elements that go along with real-life crime. ]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/21/mystery-team-trailer-gives-scooby-doo-a-dose-of-reality-with-hilarious-results-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/15/oh-no-you-didnt-5-cheech-chong-have-remade-tron-no-im-not-kidding-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/15/oh-no-you-didnt-5-cheech-chong-have-remade-tron-no-im-not-kidding-by-coop/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:00:43 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2255 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/15/oh-no-you-didnt-5-cheech-chong-have-remade-tron-no-im-not-kidding-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/14/has-dark-side-become-jaded-about-jennifers-body-the-answer-is-yes-in-todays-installment-of-i-am-a-hater/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/14/has-dark-side-become-jaded-about-jennifers-body-the-answer-is-yes-in-todays-installment-of-i-am-a-hater/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:55:36 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2245 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/14/has-dark-side-become-jaded-about-jennifers-body-the-answer-is-yes-in-todays-installment-of-i-am-a-hater/feed/ 3 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/10/hair-metal-movie-madness-special-edition-4-pee-wee-and-dee-snider-burn-in-hell-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/10/hair-metal-movie-madness-special-edition-4-pee-wee-and-dee-snider-burn-in-hell-by-dark-side/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:47:12 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2205 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/10/hair-metal-movie-madness-special-edition-4-pee-wee-and-dee-snider-burn-in-hell-by-dark-side/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/24/oh-no-you-didnt-4-mcconaughey-gary-oldman-playing-his-dwarf-twin-brother-tiptoes-review-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/24/oh-no-you-didnt-4-mcconaughey-gary-oldman-playing-his-dwarf-twin-brother-tiptoes-review-by-coop/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:23:18 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2107 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/24/oh-no-you-didnt-4-mcconaughey-gary-oldman-playing-his-dwarf-twin-brother-tiptoes-review-by-coop/feed/ 1 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/17/what-we-do-is-secret-and-bronson%e2%80%a6-2-amazing-biopics-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/17/what-we-do-is-secret-and-bronson%e2%80%a6-2-amazing-biopics-by-coop/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:36:41 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2037 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/17/what-we-do-is-secret-and-bronson%e2%80%a6-2-amazing-biopics-by-coop/feed/ 1 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/12/the-hangover-2009-12-movie-review-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/12/the-hangover-2009-12-movie-review-by-coop/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:00:59 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2021 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/12/the-hangover-2009-12-movie-review-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/11/oh-no-you-didnt-3-someone-who-has-never-seen-a-star-wars-movie-tries-to-explain-it-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/11/oh-no-you-didnt-3-someone-who-has-never-seen-a-star-wars-movie-tries-to-explain-it-by-coop/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:00:11 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2013 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/11/oh-no-you-didnt-3-someone-who-has-never-seen-a-star-wars-movie-tries-to-explain-it-by-coop/feed/ 2