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…

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter):

I got to conduct some great Q & A’s for some terrific films at the FEEL GOOD FILM FESTIVAL this past weekend. I met some truly gifted filmmakers and inspirational people.

I’d like to thank these special guests for affecting me the most: Cheryl Hines for her big intro, Shirley Jones for classing up the joint with her presence, Marty Ingles for reminding us what this festival is really about, Leeza Gibbons for singling me out with a nice compliment, writer/director Lexi Alexander for the lively discussion, producer/actor Googy Gress for his sincere enthusiasm, the League of S.T.E.A.M. for entertaining us all weekend and motivational speaker/actor Nick Vujicic for the sheer inspiration he gave to us all with his fantastic short film The Butterfly Circus (watch here!).

I’d also like to give big high-fives to all of the coordinators and volunteers for making the festival such a fun and engaging experience. I had a great time bonding with you all.

Finally a big congratulations to producer/actor Joe Russell and writer/actress Casey Strand from the short film “Strawberries” whose engagement I helped orchestrate during one of the more memorable Q & A’s.

I wish I had seen them all but of the ones I did see, here are the films that I felt were the best (in no particular order)…

Hey folks. Dropping the word that I’ll be in Los Angeles the weekend of Aug. 13 for the Feel Good Film Festival. I’ve been asked to introduce some of the features/short films and run the questions & answers session after each. This will be my first year to attend the festival, so I’m excited to get out there and meet the filmmakers, press and organizers involved with the event which will take place at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theater in downtown Hollywood. The festival, which apparently has grown significantly since its beginnings, has quite an impressive indie film line up.

Come by, check it out and find me on the red carpet!…

Here’s the official Press release with details on each film being screened…

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

(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…

Just saw the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated (3 out of 5 stars) about how how the Motion Picture Association of America has one of the most powerful, secretive and arbitrarily unchecked bureaucratic systems in the U.S. When you can hand down a rating for a movie (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17) and not have to give a reason, nor reveal who made the decision, you’ve got an abuse of power there, sir! While I usually don’t have too many qualms with their system – because frankly…

Finally we get to see what David Lynch has been up to since the bafflingly boring “Inland Empire.” Despite the failure of “Empire” (I’m gonna play naïve and blame it all on his going ape with a digital camera that he wasn’t used to working with), most of his films are considered…

I’m notoriously down on documentaries. They’re usually preachy, partisan and have an agenda that rubs me the wrong way. Then there’s “Love the Beast.” I had no idea Eric Bana was obsessed with cars to a point where he had kept his 25 year-old Ford GT Falcon Coupe in pristine working condition since the day he bought it new. If you’re never heard of this car then you must be an American. They never released the Falcon over in the states. However, it is the car used in the first two “Mad Max” films and…

Most pro-Christian films usually only get an audience of the most devout within the religion. Even with celebrities like Kirk Cameron championing the cause, very few quality Christian productions make it to the mass audiences. I remember as a kid being encouraged by the faculty at our (churched-based) elementary school to go see a film titled “Joni” (1980) in the theaters. It was a Christian inspirational story about a real-life woman (Joni Eareckson) who learned to paint with her mouth after becoming a parapalegic. I remember seeing it a couple of times, but it didn’t distract me much from my “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” kick. Flash forward to 2009: A Christian film has finally caught my attention with a terrific trailer. “The Cross” is a documentary about…

I came for a rock show… I ended up reviewing a movie.
The local Clarksdale, Mississippi newspaper said some guy named Dex Romweber, a 80’s rockabilly and alternative icon was going to play on St. Patrick’s Day evening at 7:30 at the old, Delta/Tyson single-screen movie theater downtown.
“Say wha?” I said.
The seats [...]

I’m very happy to hear this. I saw “Anvil!” back in June 2008 and thus ensued one of the most fun movie-going experiences I’ve ever had (go here to read my ANVIL! review). Like a documentary/mini-concert hybrid, the film tells the story of a band who influenced 99% of the heavy metal and thrash bands [...]

I hate documentaries. They have an agenda, they’re preachy and too damn… based in reality. Can’t a man go to the cinema anymore and watch aliens blast the hell out of New York only to have Snake Plissken kick their butts and send them cryin’ back home to mama? (Damn, somebody make that movie and [...]