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…

I can’t get through a Bret Easton Ellis novel but I sure have loved the movies made from his books. Less than Zero, American Psycho, Rules of Attraction… all great. I love how he mixes 80’s decadence with cultural decay and urban horror. His characters are hardly likable but it’s always the grim satirical statement behind the work that I dig so much.

So when I heard the adaptation of his collection of interlocking short stories The Informers was being dubbed…

Coop here reporting from Los Angeles. While I’m in town, I thought I’d find some interesting film industry folks to learn more about what they do. Luckily, I stumbled upon some old friends who enlightened me to a part of the business I knew very little about.

Of all the individuals in film, few are as mysterious and unique as those who do stunt work. Not only do these artists employ acting skills, they also harness fierce athletic abilities to achieve seemingly impossible (or painful-looking feats). Those who perform stunts form a very tight circle in the business; and in the case of women, one of the tightest circles in the entire industry…

Coop here. David Lynch’s puzzle of an Oscar-nominated film is always a hotly debated topic when it comes down to deciding what the whole thing was all about. I like a challenge and “Mulholland Drive” provides one of the most intriguing head-scratchers out there (not to mention some terrifying scenes). Big Whoop thinks so as well and she’d like to issue a challenge to you: Discover the secrets of the film by following these clues and mulling over these questions while you watch the movie…

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…

Films featuring giant fighting robots are never intended as high art. Designated as summer blockbusters, these big-budgeted crowd pleasers emphasize huge explosions, excellent special effects, big actors and PG to PG-13 ratings… something the whole family can enjoy, right? But what happens when a directing/producing team is so out of touch with the real world that they throw good sense to the wind and let inappropriate, even downright offensive elements creep into what was supposed to be a decent film for both kids and adults? You get…

I once had a roommate/friend in college who flat-out refused to come to visit me and my family in Mississippi. He thought the south had such a bad reputation that he was bound to experience something so offensive to his beliefs that he would not be able to keep a civil tongue. We were in Dallas, Texas, at the time, mind you. I suddenly became self conscious when I learned that people from parts of Texas or even other parts of the South regarded Mississippi as backwards, unfriendly to outsiders, racist and dangerous. Was my home state that bad? Sure, history played a part in the…

“Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” Did you see it? I didn’t. Looked insulting, idiotic and – dare I say – stupid. Kevin James doesn’t amuse me in the slightest and I couldn’t imagine anyone liking it… but by May of 2009 it had made $145 million domestically. It scored a mere 33% on RottenTomatoes.com (meaning only 33% of movie critics gave it a positive review)! How could this happen? Let me explain…

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:

Haven’t seen this one in about a year, but no matter what you’ve seen…
YOU CANNOT HANDLE THIS HORROR MOVIE.
It’s horrific in the extreme as only the (recent) French can accomplish. I’ve seen nothing like it and I don’t expect to see a competitor soon… Unless this “Martyrs” movie is as slick as they say. Only [...]

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It’s STILL a work in progress, but as far as you are concerned, it’s ready to roll.
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I saw this two days ago, yet did nothing. Now the major news outlets are starting to report it, so I guess I’d better say something. This so-called “leaked” document is a fake. It contradicts the protocol by which the Academy follows to the letter, so there’s no reason to believe it is in any [...]

FROST/NIXON ***
Torn from the pages of history, “Frost/Nixon” tells the story behind the interview between British talk-show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) and former U.S. President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) after the Watergate scandal. Frost pushes hard to secure the interview, offering a tidy honorarium and recruiting political analyst James Reston Jr. (Sam Rockwell) and [...]