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…

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…

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 …

Once again the fine staff of the Oxford Film Fest have topped themselves to produce the biggest turnout yet. My congratulations to all involved and I already can’t wait to see what is on the menu for 2012.

Films I saw (in no particular order):

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter):

New stuff and old! Run out and see “Scott Pilgrim”!…

EXPENDABLES: Supergroup of action stars battle a banana republic dictator and CIA traitor. Watchable but sloppy filmmaking. 2&1/2 out of 5

SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD: Bassist must defeat 7 evil exes of new gf in order to woo her. Brilliant videogame-styled romp. 4 out of 5

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD: Outrageous Korean remake gives new life to the Spaghetti Western classic. Kang-ho Song = amazing! 3 out of 5

THE EDUCATION OF CHARLIE BANKS: Sociopath befriends a college boy who ratted on him as a teen. Great characters, lame conclusion. 3 out of 5

VIRUS: Energy being lands on ship, declares humans a “virus” & proceeds to kill a salvage crew. Cheesy despite big budget. 2&1/2 out of 5

RUNAWAY: Cop who takes down malfunctioning robots discovers a plot to use robots as assassins. Selleck, Simmons, Crichton, cool. 3 out of 5

I AM THE CHEESE: A mentally unbalanced kid trying to find out what happened to his parents. Depressing drama delivers. 3&1/2 out of 5

Thy Twitter has spoken.

Here are the movie titles that – when you see them – completely grab your attention. Whether they are the best piece of cinema of all time or a complete piece of crap, one thing cannot be denied… You gotta love that title. Here are the 10 best movie titles of all time in descending order all the way down to #1…

(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:

I love everything about Spaghetti Westerns. No doubt, Sergio Leone made the best of them. His “Once Upon a Time in the West” ranks as my favorite western of all time. His “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” ranks as my second favorite. Now after having seen his near-forgotten “Duck, You Sucker!”… I believe [...]

Ever since “Dances with Wolves” and “Unforgiven” won big Oscar gold in the early 1990’s, the studios have put out at least one big-budget western per year in the hopes of attracting the same critical and commercial success. While some of these are rootin’, tootin’ action films, many fall under the category of “revisionist westerns.” [...]

2007 was such an excellent year for mainstream American art films, that
I’d hate to pick a favorite. “No Country For Old Men,” “There Will Be
Blood,” and this film are three films that I never would have imagined
sharing the same Oscar nominations… but there they were. They all
deserved it. All three of them were easily the [...]