http://www.smalltowncritic.com 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... Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:00:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/10/31/6-great-movies-for-the-halloween-season/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/10/31/6-great-movies-for-the-halloween-season/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:38:24 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=3128 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/10/31/6-great-movies-for-the-halloween-season/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/06/15/%e2%80%9cx-men-first-class%e2%80%9d-is-another-worthy-addition-to-the-marvel-franchise/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/06/15/%e2%80%9cx-men-first-class%e2%80%9d-is-another-worthy-addition-to-the-marvel-franchise/#comments Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:02:23 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=3050 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/06/15/%e2%80%9cx-men-first-class%e2%80%9d-is-another-worthy-addition-to-the-marvel-franchise/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/05/13/thor-silly-but-a-worthy-addition-to-the-marvel-franchise/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/05/13/thor-silly-but-a-worthy-addition-to-the-marvel-franchise/#comments Fri, 13 May 2011 16:00:46 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=3037 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2011/05/13/thor-silly-but-a-worthy-addition-to-the-marvel-franchise/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/10/01/hair-metal-movie-madness-presents-ode-to-slashers-music-from-jason-freddy-and-michael-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/10/01/hair-metal-movie-madness-presents-ode-to-slashers-music-from-jason-freddy-and-michael-by-dark-side/#comments Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:20:11 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2584 Friday the 13th movie franchise? Yeah, I didn't either until a friend reminded me that it existed. FT13 Part 6 was poised to resurrect (literally) the flailing franchise who already saw the demise of it's main character, Jason, in IV and replaced him with a temporary impostor in V. Nobody liked that, so what was their solution for 6? Death to Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back, Kotter. Just kidding, but not really...]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/10/01/hair-metal-movie-madness-presents-ode-to-slashers-music-from-jason-freddy-and-michael-by-dark-side/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/09/27/micro-reviews-via-twitter-mother-monsters-the-killer-inside-me-intruder-drillbit-taylor-the-town-centurion/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/09/27/micro-reviews-via-twitter-mother-monsters-the-killer-inside-me-intruder-drillbit-taylor-the-town-centurion/#comments Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:11:12 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2877 Got a slew of them here. MONSTERS is currently available as a $10.oo rent on iTunes and THE KILLER INSIDE ME will be available on DVD/Blu-Ray tomorrow (Sept. 28)... MOTHER - Poor Korean mom turns detective in an attempt to free her alleged murdering, simple-minded son. Powerful cinema. 5 out of 5 stars. MONSTERS - Immigration statement thinly disguised as arthouse sci-fi. Watchable for critics, unsatisfying for mainstream. 3 out of 5 stars THE KILLER INSIDE ME - C. Affleck plays a psycho lawman in 1960's TX. Brilliant, brutal and one of the best of the year. 5 out of 5 stars INTRUDER - Sam Raimi & crew try to survive a slasher attack in a supermarket. Nice camerawork but lame considering the talent. 2 - 5 stars DRILLBIT TAYLOR - Innocuous comedy where 3 nerds hire a homeless buffoon to protect them from a bully. Cute but hollow. 2&1/2 out of 5 stars THE TOWN - A guilt-ridden Boston bank robber falls in love with a former hostage. Affleck remakes HEAT with kick-ass results. 4 out of 5 stars CENTURION - Spec fiction about what may have happened to the 9th Roman Legion. Sloppy pacing/high watchability. Bloody brutal! 3 out of 5 Thy Twitter has spoken... -Coop ]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/09/27/micro-reviews-via-twitter-mother-monsters-the-killer-inside-me-intruder-drillbit-taylor-the-town-centurion/feed/ 1 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/07/05/micro-reviews-via-twitter-a-team-jonah-hex-macabre-2009-galaxy-of-terror-necromentia-in-america/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/07/05/micro-reviews-via-twitter-a-team-jonah-hex-macabre-2009-galaxy-of-terror-necromentia-in-america/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:52:44 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2782 Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): Yep, I've been slackin'. Maybe it's the weak summer box office releases getting me down. At least I've been watching a lot of low-budget horror... an unapologetic passion of mine. Groovy... IN AMERICA: Fine acting, but ultimately pretentious Oscar-bait about modern Irish immigrants. Includes an AIDS subplot? Ick. 2&1/2 out of 5. NECROMENTIA: Ripoff of HELLRAISER in theme and visuals, but told backwards. Terrific atmosphere and creep factor. Inept story. 2 out of 5 GALAXY OF TERROR: Goofy, gory Corman shocker. Flimsy storyline with some neat H.R. Giger visuals and monsters. Worst ending ever. 2 out of 5 MACABRE: Better than average, ultra-gory killer family story out of Indonesia. Creepiest lead villain in Asian movie history. 3&1/2 out of 5 JONAH HEX: Cool comic book premise gets railroaded into cinematic hell. Everything sucks, especially Jonah's face makeup. 1&1/2 out of 5 A-TEAM: Sloppy... but great actors/characters have undeniable chemistry. Nice action. Better than THE LOSERS. Murdock rules. 3&1/2 out of 5...]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/07/05/micro-reviews-via-twitter-a-team-jonah-hex-macabre-2009-galaxy-of-terror-necromentia-in-america/feed/ 1 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/19/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-crazies-rec2-from-paris-with-love-how-to-train-your-dragon-shes-out-of-my-league-ninja-assassin-legion/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/19/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-crazies-rec2-from-paris-with-love-how-to-train-your-dragon-shes-out-of-my-league-ninja-assassin-legion/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 16:54:55 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2748 Coop's most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): THE CRAZIES (2010): Great first half, effective scares (pitchfork!) but ignored much of what worked in the original. 3 stars [REC]2: Creative continuity/action/camerawork, but "Exorcist" twist undermines the mythology of original. 2&1/2 stars FROM PARIS WITH LOVE: Travolta = over the top and action scenes = outrageous, a must see for action fans. 3&1/2 stars HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: Better than AVATAR in story and intent. Total pleasant surprise. Take kids now. 4&1/2 stars SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE: Sub-par comedy. Baruchel unlikably insecure. Cop-out ending. Title ironically true. 2 stars. NINJA ASSASSIN: Good gore. Bad CGI shurikens. Rain = ok. Lead actress sucks. Sho Kosugi rocks. Lame plot. 2 stars. LEGION: Amazing concept. Angels + weapons = BOOM. Weak execution. All characters unlikable. Wings clipped. 2&1/2 stars.]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/19/micro-reviews-via-twitter-the-crazies-rec2-from-paris-with-love-how-to-train-your-dragon-shes-out-of-my-league-ninja-assassin-legion/feed/ 2 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/14/dark-side-returns-to-review-the-human-centipede-2010-and-to-pitch-director-tom-six-some-suggestions-for-sequels/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/14/dark-side-returns-to-review-the-human-centipede-2010-and-to-pitch-director-tom-six-some-suggestions-for-sequels/#comments Sat, 15 May 2010 02:02:38 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2731 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2010/05/14/dark-side-returns-to-review-the-human-centipede-2010-and-to-pitch-director-tom-six-some-suggestions-for-sequels/feed/ 5 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/07/dark-side-says-the-new-dvd-release-trick-r-treat-2009-is-greatest-halloween-movie-that-doesnt-feature-michael-myers/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/07/dark-side-says-the-new-dvd-release-trick-r-treat-2009-is-greatest-halloween-movie-that-doesnt-feature-michael-myers/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:59:23 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2553 Saw IV and then Saw V the following year. Not seeing an end to the Saw tradition of releasing a high-grossing film every Halloween (Saw VI releases this month), The WB decided to dump Trick 'R Treat to a DVD/Blu-Ray release for Oct. 6 and market the hell out of it for one month. What a low-down, dirty shame. One of the best Halloween movies of all time, it gets delayed for two years and it doesn't even get a theatrical release. I hope someone leaves a flaming bag of crap at the Warner Brothers studio gate for that one...]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/07/dark-side-says-the-new-dvd-release-trick-r-treat-2009-is-greatest-halloween-movie-that-doesnt-feature-michael-myers/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/04/hair-metal-movie-madness-11-leatherface-has-a-laaz-rockit-in-his-pocket-care-to-blast-off-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/04/hair-metal-movie-madness-11-leatherface-has-a-laaz-rockit-in-his-pocket-care-to-blast-off-by-dark-side/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:47:22 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2544 Texas Chain Saw Massacre III: Leatherface (1990) was the biggest budget production of the original Chain Saw franchise before Michael Bay got his grubby little hands on them. It starred a young Viggo Mortensen as the handsome and deadly "Tex", reliable character actor Tom Everett as a babbling maniac and genre legend Ken Foree as a heroic survivalist nut. Oh yeah, and Leatherface sports a sweet mullet...]]> http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/10/04/hair-metal-movie-madness-11-leatherface-has-a-laaz-rockit-in-his-pocket-care-to-blast-off-by-dark-side/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/04/halloween-ii-2009-movie-review-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/04/halloween-ii-2009-movie-review-by-dark-side/#comments Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:30:32 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2464 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/09/04/halloween-ii-2009-movie-review-by-dark-side/feed/ 3 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/25/inglourious-basterds-2009-movie-review-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/25/inglourious-basterds-2009-movie-review-by-coop/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:00:18 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2436 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/25/inglourious-basterds-2009-movie-review-by-coop/feed/ 2 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/22/hair-metal-movie-madness-9-wes-craven-orders-assistant-director-skinner-to-shock-peter-berg-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/22/hair-metal-movie-madness-9-wes-craven-orders-assistant-director-skinner-to-shock-peter-berg-by-dark-side/#comments Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:59:59 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2427 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/08/22/hair-metal-movie-madness-9-wes-craven-orders-assistant-director-skinner-to-shock-peter-berg-by-dark-side/feed/ 2 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/03/public-enemies-2009-movie-review-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/03/public-enemies-2009-movie-review-by-coop/#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:33:11 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2165 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/07/03/public-enemies-2009-movie-review-by-coop/feed/ 2 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/18/watch-10-minutes-of-trick-r-treat-online-film-soon-to-be-finally-released-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/18/watch-10-minutes-of-trick-r-treat-online-film-soon-to-be-finally-released-by-dark-side/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:55:32 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2081 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/18/watch-10-minutes-of-trick-r-treat-online-film-soon-to-be-finally-released-by-dark-side/feed/ 1 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/10/a-picture-of-mickey-rourke-as-whiplash-in-iron-man-2-holy-smokes-this-is-for-real-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/10/a-picture-of-mickey-rourke-as-whiplash-in-iron-man-2-holy-smokes-this-is-for-real-by-coop/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:11:16 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=2005 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/06/10/a-picture-of-mickey-rourke-as-whiplash-in-iron-man-2-holy-smokes-this-is-for-real-by-coop/feed/ 0 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/05/26/top-11-baddest-killer-robots-by-coop/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/05/26/top-11-baddest-killer-robots-by-coop/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 18:00:39 +0000 admin http://www.smalltowncritic.com/?p=1911 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/05/26/top-11-baddest-killer-robots-by-coop/feed/ 40 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/02/15/make-a-movie-with-uwe-boll-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/02/15/make-a-movie-with-uwe-boll-by-dark-side/#comments Sun, 15 Feb 2009 01:00:00 +0000 Coop http://smalltowncritic1.wordpress.com/2009/02/15/make-a-movie-with-uwe-boll-by-dark-side/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/02/15/make-a-movie-with-uwe-boll-by-dark-side/feed/ 2 http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/01/30/dark-side-announces-the-best-movie-villain-of-2008-who-will-claim-2009-updated/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/01/30/dark-side-announces-the-best-movie-villain-of-2008-who-will-claim-2009-updated/#comments Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:00:00 +0000 Coop http://smalltowncritic1.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/dark-side-announces-the-best-movie-villain-of-2008-who-will-claim-2009-updated/ http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2009/01/30/dark-side-announces-the-best-movie-villain-of-2008-who-will-claim-2009-updated/feed/ 42