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…

Why should you check out the 2nd Annual Clarksdale Film Festival? I can think of a few reasons…

1. Memphis wrestling idols “Superstar” Bill Dundee and Buddy Wayne will be on hand Thursday night for a Q&A following the documentary “Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’.” Anyone who grew up in the area remembers seeing these guys performing on live TV or at the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium. If you missed this event by the time you read this article, pay close attention. There is much more to look forward to the rest of the weekend…

The concept of “In Time” would grab most sci-fi fans immediately. A reworking of the old “Logan’s Run” story, it takes place in a world where overpopulation has pushed society to the breaking point. As a measure of control, people are genetically engineered to live only to the age of 25. After that, they must earn more time in order to increase their (literal) biological clock to continue living. Time is subtracted when you need to pay for things like rent or a cup of coffee. The rich can live forever, frozen at 25 years old. The poor must fight for survival every single day. To make matters worse, time can be taken away by force.

Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) is a working-class guy with a matter of days left on his clock and his mother (the ironically young and beautiful Olivia Wilde) hides the fact that she has even less. One night he saves the life of a…

Michael Williams is a reliable fixture at film festivals in Mississippi and the neighboring states. He’s also very talented, so when he asked me to take a look at his new short film “Illumination,” I jumped at the chance.

His story, clearly influenced by early Spielberg, easily reminds one of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) but with some similarities to Alex Proyas’ “Knowing” (2009). A cheating archeologist (Glenn Payne) discovers what is truly important in his life after his wife (Juliet Reeves) and son (Grayson Easterling) vanish under unusual circumstances. Saying anymore than that would be telling, but Williams manages to draw out some effective suspense through technical expertise and the performances of the actors…

by Coop Cooper
There are many great horror films out there but very few actually take place during or around Halloween. Here are six of the best…

6. “Ginger Snaps” (2000) – Ginger and her sister, Brigitte are two high school Goth outcasts… Until Ginger gets bit by a werewolf. The infection gives Ginger the confidence she’s never had… and an appetite for human flesh. The climax occurs during a Halloween party where Ginger doesn’t need a fake costume to look scary. One of the great underrated werewolf films, “Ginger Snaps” is a sly, grim allegory to the pains of female puberty. It spawned two bizarre and substandard sequels but the original has a large fan following…

“Terra Nova” (Monday 7pm on FOX) – In the future where Earth has become ravaged and polluted, adventurous citizens get the chance to go back in time to the dinosaur age (85 million B.C.) to begin a new civilization. Ex-cop Jim Shannon (Jason O’Mara) breaks out of prison to join his family on a one-way trip to the past. On the other side they encounter two warring factions of humans fighting over a well-protected secret while trying to survive amongst predatory monsters. Plagued by clichés, the first episode rose above the poor writing with big-budgeted special effects and an intriguing mystery reminiscent of “Lost.” Trying to duplicate some of the qualities of “Avatar,” the show employs “Avatar” veteran Stephen Lang to play the gruff militaristic leader of the main colony. The pilot showed a lot of promise. Hopefully it becomes more like “Lost” and less like “Land of the Lost.”(…)

If you had problems with “The Blair Witch Project,” you’ll find yourself frustrated with “Apollo 18” for the same reasons. The actors have to deal with long takes which cause them to ham it up when on camera for too long. Eerie sounds spring up at convenient points to convey tension, for instance: A sudden heartbeat on the soundtrack isn’t natural when the scene is supposed to mimic reality. Plus there shouldn’t be sound in the vacuum of space. The sound design people seemed to forget that one when adding sound effects to the track (in stereo, no less)…

by Coop Cooper

The setup is nothing new. Set in 1873, A man with no name (Daniel Craig) wakes up in a wild west desert with amnesia and a strange bracelet. He runs afoul of an honorable lawman (Keith Carradine) and a ruthless cattle baron (Harrison Ford) who wants his head. Then the aliens attack. Cowboys get blasted and abducted and the Man-With-No-Name suddenly discovers the bracelet on his arm is an alien ray gun. The man teams up with his former enemies and a strange woman (Olivia Wilde) to save the abducted town folk.

Since this seemed like a goofy, high-concept gimmick, I was curious as to why it had attracted A-list heavy hitters like Craig, Ford and “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau…

The simplest plot description I can manage from this whole mess: NASA actually went to the moon in 1969 to investigate a crashed ship only to discover Soviet cosmonauts had beaten them to it. The artifact the Soviets bring back eventually causes the nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl and has the power to bring all enemy robots (Decepticons) to Earth. The technology falls into the wrong hands and the heroic Autobots must team up with the humans once again to thwart a massive invasion of evil alien robots.

This is the most mindless and loosely-plotted story in the franchise so far…

An intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps chooses a brash test pilot named Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) to become its first human officer. Unfortunately for Hal, his Lantern predecessor was killed by a planet-devouring entity dubbed Parallax who sets its sights on devouring the Corps-protected planets starting with Earth. Hal must overcome his crippling fear in order to save the Earth and prove himself a worthy keeper of the peace. Green Lanterns have a very appealing and powerful weapon. A ring that harnesses the energy of pure willpower, then projects it into whatever form the wearer imagines. It’s like a portable hologram projector, except the holograms have a physical form. This weapon with unlimited possibilities is the reason we haven’t seen a “Green Lantern” movie until now. Portraying the power itself requires the most modern computer generated effects and a $100 million-plus budget. The power also provides the potential for unlimited silliness…

The most positive thing I can say about “Super 8” is how well it captures the style of those films from 30 years ago. Foul-mouthed kids? Check. Supernatural forces? Check. Sweeping music designed to fill the audience with wonder? Check. Grandiose action scenes? Check. Upbeat resolution? Check and mate. It takes elements from “E.T.,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Jaws” and so many others, you’ll feel waves of nostalgia during many of the key moments, especially in the first half. For this reason alone, I can almost recommend the film…

I had almost given up on the “X-Men” franchise after the misfire that was “X-Men 3: Last Stand” and the abysmal “Wolverine” spinoff. “Black Swan” director Darren Aronofsky recently teased comic book fans with a promise to make a higher-quality “Wolverine” film set in Japan (one of the most famous story lines in the character’s history) only to kill the project without adequate explanation. That news sunk my hopes even lower. At this point, a classic “X-Men” story taking place in the 1960’s didn’t make much sense to me. They had already modernized the original team members for the 2000’s and made them all youngsters. Thankfully with a bit of creative canon-bending, the gamble worked and audiences finally have another decent “X-Men” movie to enjoy…

I had many favorite superheroes as a kid but Thor ranked among the highest. He had the power of flight and strength of Superman, he commanded the elements, he wielded a magic weapon and he ruled an entire kingdom. I held out little hope anyone would adapt him into feature film without making him look as silly as Batman in the 1960s TV show. Finally, “Thor” has arrived and although some of the silliness persists, it holds up well enough to usher the God of Thunder into the “Avengers” superhero team movie next year…

by Coop Cooper

As educational institutions gear down for their summer sabbatical, Hollywood gears up to release their highest-budgeted films. This tradition seems to arrive earlier each year, but the first of these mega-budget projects usually arrive in May. The May blockbusters are strategically placed in this month, often under the assumption the studio heads feel the films are weak, risky or may not compete against the reliable mid-summer releases. Sometimes the reason is simply beating other films to the punch and audiences occasionally find some some pleasant May surprises. Here’s what’s coming next month: CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE AT THE CLARKSDALE PRESS REGISTER WEBSITE

It’s been a long ride but the wait is nearly over for fans of the “Harry Potter” series. Since the release of the seventh and final book, legions of loyal readers have awaited the film adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” which was mercifully split into two films to accommodate as much of the story as possible. “Part 1” released last year and now arrives on DVD (for sale only, rentals will be made available on May 10th). “Part 2” will release in theaters this summer on July 15th.
Instead of spending their senior year at Hogwarts; Harry, Hermione and Ron go on the run as…

By Coop Cooper

One highly anticipated sequel (“Tron Legacy”) and one Oscar-winning film (“Black Swan”): Both are now available on DVD for you to buy or rent.

“Black Swan” tells the harrowing story of a talented, yet emotionally repressed ballerina named Nina (Natalie Portman) who suddenly receives the role of her career playing the Broadway lead in “Swan Lake.” When the sleazy and demanding director (Vincent Cassel) challenges Nina to tap into the dark side of her personality in order to play the sinister Black Swan role, she begins a slow spiral into madness. The conniving upstart Lily (Mila Kunis) both seduces Nina and threatens her career, propelling Nina’s insanity into disturbing realms of paranoia and hallucination.

“Black Swan” emulates the unsettling art-house horror films of Roman Polanski and David Cronenberg, but manages to remain explainable enough for general audiences to digest. It punctuates the more disturbing scenes of… CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW AT THE CLARKSDALE PRESS REGISTER WEBSITE

Coop here. I released the trailer for THE BEST DAY on Facebook this past weekend and have gotten a very positive response so far.  Now that I’m back from teaching my screenwriting workshop at the Crossroads Film Festival (thanks to all of you who attended), I finally have the opportunity to release the trailer by way of a blog post where it will reach many more viewers…

A few details about this sci-fi/horror short:  It was filmed in four days in December 2010 entirely in Clarksdale, Mississippi by myself and a crew of locals.  It stars Anna Carson Tyner as Jenny, Amye Gousset as Mommy, David Dallas as Daddy and Lois Erwin as Miss Vargas.  The film is currently in the final stages of post production.

Logline:  Little Jenny wishes nothing more than to reunite with her “sick” mommy and daddy, but poor Jenny will live to regret this wish…  again, and again, and again.

CLICK “Read More” below to watch the trailer…

The military battles swarms of merciless aliens in Los Angeles while a group of civilians caught in the middle try to survive the onslaught. So goes the basic plot line for two separate movies, one of which arrived on DVD this week (“Skyline”) while the other has played in theaters since March 11 (“Battle Los Angeles”).

“Skyline” offers no major Hollywood stars but it does give us an old-fashioned monster movie with new-fashioned effects. It follows a group of vapid, spoiled tinseltown 20-somethings who party a bit too hard and sleep through the opening moments of the alien invasion. When they eventually come to, they witness a flying hoard of techno-organic machines/vacuum cleaners sucking humans up into the air. The military responds and their morning hangover becomes a fight for survival as… READ THE REST OF THE STORY ON THE CLARKSDALE PRESS REGISTER WEBSITE

No nonsense this year. I have not the taste nor the stomach for it. I just hope that James Franco understands the folly of hosting during his own nomination. The acid may dissolve him permanently due to overexposure and he shows no signs of relenting. Don’t push our buttons too hard, Frank…

Besides that, Hi …

The film is written, produced and directed by Coop Cooper (The Small Town Critic) with a production crew that consists entirely of Clarksdale, Mississippi residents.

“The Best Day” is a 15-minute science fiction short about an innocent child in a dire situation. Jenny arrives home from school, excited that newly “resurrected” Mommy has returned, only to find that something is very wrong with her. When Mommy’s memories fully return, so do the tragedies of the past. They were once human, now part of a cruel experiment that repeats over and over… and it is all Daddy’s fault.

THE CAST…

I’ve been pretty busy lately, neglecting the site a bit, and the press release below explains why. If you live within driving distance of Clarksdale or Oxford Mississippi and you have an interest in acting, you might wanna read this…

SHORT FILM PRODUCTION IN CLARKSDALE, MS – A short film will be shot in Clarksdale this December. The film is written, produced and directed by Coop Cooper. Lois McMurchy has been cast as the villain and two non-speaking roles will be played by crew members. The crew consists entirely of Clarksdale area residents.

“The Best Day” is a 15-minute science fiction short about an innocent child in a dire situation. The child arrives home from school, excited that newly “resurrected” Mommy has returned, only to find that something is very wrong with her. When Mommy’s memories fully return, so do the tragedies of the past. They were once human, now part of a cruel experiment that repeats over and over… and it is all Daddy’s fault.

The film’s rating falls into the PG to PG-13 range due to intense situations. The shooting dates will be two weekends, December 4th – 5th and 11th – 12th. CLICK BELOW TO LEARN MORE…