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…

With his “H2″ coming out at the end of August, Zombie looks poised to make some additional enemies and solidify the ones he made two years ago. It’s a nice trailer. Very tense and cut together well. It’s also NOT “Halloween.” Here we have “Hobo with a knife” Michael terrorizing Laurie Strode again, but this time not on Halloween…

YES!!! It’s been confirmed over at Ain’t It Cool News. That awesome-sounding script from the 90’s that Rodriguez wrote about Schwarzenegger’s character getting kidnapped by the Predators and put into some sort of zoo or prison and he has to team up with other alien species to escape… Yeah, I always liked that idea. Now Rodriguez gets another chance with the franchise and this time, it’s really moving forward. He’s saying it’s going to be a “reboot,” but no one knows whether that will include…

This has been out for a bit, but after coming across it again I heard the ghostly voice of Deforest Kelly telling me to post it. I swear I don’t know what Carl Urban is smoking but for the first time in his career, he’s finally impressed me. If this clip is any indication, he’s got Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy nailed better than Kelly himself. I’ll know for sure once I hear him say a “Dammit Jim! I’m a doctor, not a ________!” line. Here’s a clip that shows…

I’m mostly agree with Sebastian’s review on this one, but it did not excite me as much as other efforts like “The Insider” and 70’s political thrillers like “The Conversation.” There were some extremely clever (but sometimes confusing) twists and turns. I didn’t feel that the final twist and resolution made for a completely logical or compelling moment, but I appreciated the level of depth the filmmakers managed to achieve. What “State of Play” does add to the table is some pretty insightful thoughts on issues…

Director Kevin Macdonald scores a homerun with this tale of Capital Hill conspiracy and intrigue. Macdonald’s “Last King of Scotland” failed to impress me, but State of Play is the real deal: a thriller with teeth and enough story to keep you thinking well after the last frame rolls. If you like films like “All the President’s Men” and “The Insider”, then this film is for you. U.S. Senator Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is forced to turn to old friend and reporter Cal McAffrey for help after the death of an aide exposes a personal conflict that threatens…

Terrence Howard is Macbeth. That’s not a typo. The “Hustle and Flow” star recently announced plans to not only bring the seminal Shakespearean tragedy to the big screen but to set it in the Caribbean confines of Puerto Rico and cast himself in the title role. No start date has as yet been set for “Macbeth, Mon” but I’ll wager it’ll be a favorite of the Sundance set come 2010. Oh, and Eddie Murphy has decided to reinvent the wheel by taking “Romeo and Juliet” and shifting the focus of the story to Mom and Pop Montague and Capulet; thereby turning the treasured tale of unrequited love into “Meeteth the Fockers”…

No, that someone isn’t me… But, from what I’m hearing so far, I’m not too eager to read the thing. As you might’ve guessed, this time the Chinese invade. This isn’t so fun because it turns the whole thing into a war against races as well as countries (as you might remember, the cast of protagonists in the original “Red Dawn” were all pretty much all white).

(NOTE: Jay is a master of observational sarcasm and a welcome new contributor to The Small Town Critic. Behold his wit and satire in this news item that rightfully scores a solid 10 on the ludicrous scale)…
So Tom Cruise is teaming up with BFF and fellow Scientologist John Travolta
to remake the Newman / Redford Classic “Butch [...]

These are the heroes that just won’t go down no matter what you thow at them. The best of the best. The Greatest. Here’s the criteria I used while making the list… a. The heroes must survive to the end of their film/franchise. b. No superheroes with superpowers. c. Pick heroes who represent cult phenom films. These are my results:

Tarzan’s Magic 8-Ball sez… “Outlook Good.”
Word coming down from my H’wood sources says Jackie Earle Haley’s a lock as Freddy Krueger in the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” remake. He scared me and thrilled the world as Rorschach in “Watchmen” so why not. The guy needs a slam-dunk commercial break in order [...]

What the deuce?
It’s not anything to get excited over, but apparently this is a concept teaser-trailer designed to get studio execs on board with the new “Elm Street” remake concept that Christopher Johnson IV is pitching. Here’s part of the info included on the Youtube page where the trailer appears…
This is NOT produced by the [...]

Star Trek has been a huge force during my life. My mom has always been a huge fan, so that’s how I was initially exposed. Having said that I had missed feelings when I heard they were rebooting the original series with James T. Kirk. I love that they will show what these characters did [...]

This one has me utterly stymied.
A horror version of Willy Wonka. While the other two Wonka incarnations (”Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” [1971] “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” [2005]) had many a creepy moment, I suppose a turn like this was inevitable.
Some of our most beloved fairy tales have received the horror treatment. Anybody [...]

Ah, He-Man. I have fond memories of that guy. I had many of the toys and never missed an episode of the cartoon after school. I even remember the mother of one of my friends clipped the rams-head off of the staff of his Skeletor action-figure because she thought it was satanic. Sigh… good times.
In [...]

Definitely one of the best Jean Claude Van Damme arena fighting movies, “Lionheart” opened theatrically in 1990 and solidified the actor’s action star status.
The story follows Lyon Gaultier (Van Damme) who goes AWOL from the French Foreign Legion when he hears his brother has been killed. He stows away to America to find his widowed [...]

Bear with me here…
During WWII, the Nazis had Stalingrad under siege. The Russians shot their own retreating soldiers and deported the families of those soldiers in an attempt to threaten their troops into fighting harder. Instead, morale plummeted and they became desperate. In a flash of brilliance, the Russian propaganda mongers invented a sniper (super) [...]

Since the success of “The Blair Witch Project,” filmmakers have tried to copy its minimalistic format in an effort to cash in on the gimmick. “Found Footage” films are quick and easy to produce, require minimal editing and are super cheap to shoot. Many critics are quick to condemn these films as amateurish and annoying. [...]

I often imagine how big, Hollywood stars choose their roles. Is it the largest paycheck or the potential for prestige? Is it a passion for a genre or the strength of a script? Is it all those things or do they simply close their eyes and throw darts at a board? I’m sure the answer [...]

I don’t remember liking the TV show at all as a kid. I only saw reruns, but the show seemed dated even in the 1970’s. I never saw the “Get Smart” film “The Nude Bomb,” and I don’t care to. Let’s forget the 1995 “Get Smart” series starring Andy Dick ever existed.
I kind of liked [...]

I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a spoof or what. Some scenes look shot-for-shot identical while others appear completely off the wall. The original “Commando” is a childhood staple of mine. It boosted Arnold Schwarzenegger’s star power and set a new standard for 80’s action carnage. I’d like to know the “why?” [...]