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…

Yeah, you heard me right. Yours truly wrote something that made the original Batman chuckle. Let me explain…

While on vacation in Los Angeles, I got some great news from the Action Flick Chick that I had won a bag full of ComicCon swag for a contest entry I had posted on her site. The contest: What would be the worst superhero power of all time? So for a larf, I typed out the first thing that came to my mind (cause Coop likes to make the Action Flick Chick laugh) and then set off for Los Angeles for the vaca…

While cruising the Ain’t It Cool News website, I came across the trailer for a new NZ film starring Sam Neill titled “Under the Mountain.” Supposedly it’s a very famous tale that all Kiwi kids grew up with, but how they heck would I know anything about it? Probably another generic kiddie fantasy like “The Last Mimzy” or something lame like that, but I figured but I checked it out anyway… SHOCK!!! I know this story and it’s pretty freakin’ awesome!…

So I turn on the tube today and as I strolled through the Direct TV channels, I noticed that the “Sci-fi” channel has been changed to the “Syfy” channel. The new tagline: “Imagine Greater.”

Nuts.

Now, I knew this was coming. When I first heard about it I just kinda went “Pttthhhhfff!!!” and shook my head in annoyance, but nothing prepared me for the rage I felt when I actually saw the logo newly displayed on the screen. Big deal, you say? BIG DEAL??? You’ve got a lot of nerve, mister. Some of you may not understand the greater picture to this problem so I feel it’s my duty to inform you… The problem here is threefold:

If you don’t have a big cinema multiplex in your hometown, you can venture an hour or more to a city that does or you can choose to stay home and watch a DVD. For the sake of convenience most choose a night at home with a DVD. But what are your options when your local Blockbuster Video store goes out of business as it did recently in my how town of Clarksdale, Mississippi? Or, what if you’re done with antiquated video stores and you’re looking for something better? Fortunately, the modern age provides many options, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages…

Yep, it’s another (sigh) remake. But I actually don’t mind if they update this one since the old 1985 TV miniseries/short-lived series doesn’t hold up well these days. In case you don’t remember, were stil in diapers or sitting around in the guff waiting to be born, “V” begins with a bunch of city-sized spacecraft that appear over every major city in the world (yep, “Independence Day” kinda ripped that part off). Turns out they look exactly like us with the exception of their robot-sounding, metallic voice. Instead of attacking, the aliens announce they are happy to find us and would like to share their technology in exchange for some raw materials such as…

Yeah, so I got a silly hair in me today. Feel free to sing along to the 2nd verse of this one. I remember standing up and saluting the first time I saw this…

You couldn’t get this movie for money or love on VHS between 1987 and the early 1990’s. If you caught it on late night cable, you got lucky. I went through serious moolah at SunCoast to get it. Seriously, I paid $30 for a tape of it just so I could VIEW IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. Now it’s considered a “Turner’s Classic.” Here’s what I believe this means for horror…

I’ll start off by saying you’re not going to see a single battlestar, viper or spaceship of any kind in this entire pilot. There, if you’re still reading you might find this pilot that sets the stage for a new BSG spinoff interesting. It chronicles the origins of the cylon race, tracing it directly back to a tragedy that befalls a Bill Gates-like tech mogul named Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) and lawyer Joseph Adams (Esai Morales). Turns out Adams, who’s last name was originally “Adama,” changed his name due to…

I’ve been silent about Battlestar on this blog. I’m not the biggest TV buff, but when a show strikes my fancy (Heroes, Dexter, Shasta McNasty…) I stick with it until the end.
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If you missed out on the whole “Lost” phenomena that is still occurring, then I’ve got a new show for you that shares similarities with “Lost”, while still breaking new, and in my opinion better ground: “Fringe”. The show debuted late last year to remarkable appreciation from fans (myself included!), and is [...]

I can clearly remember “Silence of the Lambs” when it first released in theaters in 1991. I thought it was extremely effective in its bending of genre stereotypes. It also scared the hell outta me.
“Sweeny Todd” doesn’t quite live up to the legacy of Silence, but it delivers some first class chills, as well as [...]