All in Cinematters

IT - The Horror (and Film) We Are Eagerly Anticipating 

IT - The Horror (and Film) We Are Eagerly Anticipating 

Mark Robinson
Cinematters

Leave it to Stephen King to take such sacred things as clowns, red balloons, and birds and turn them against us as harbingers of blood-curdling horror. That's what he certainly did with his 1985 masterpiece IT, the story of seven kids who rally against a disturbing evil that visits their Maine town every thirty years or so, leaving behind a body count with each tarriance. King revels in the adolescent mind and the horrors that lurk there courtesy of the active imagination and innocence. Is it any surprise that King finds the personification of evil residing behind the white makeup of a circus performer whose job is to make kids smile? Pennywise the Clown manipulates our innocence by being OF our innocence. Who hasn't been enticed by a shiny red balloon but never stopped to see the face behind the person who is handing it to us? So much metaphor and symbolism are wrapped up in this, the visages we create for our own evil ends. 

The Last Jedi: What We’ll Be Looking For

The Last Jedi: What We’ll Be Looking For

Mark Robinson
Cinematters

The premiere of Episode VIII in the Star Wars franchise is still about seven months away, but with the recent release of teaser trailer for The Last Jedi, we cannot help but drool at the tempting snippets that have been shared. Not much has been revealed in the teaser, and we didn’t assume we’d be able to glean too much from it. From what we know from The Force Awakens, however, we can surmise that the film will be a much darker installment in the Star Wars saga. As we move ahead, here are some of things we hope to see in The Last Jedi.

Movies Inspired By TV Shows: Are They a Bad Idea?

Movies Inspired By TV Shows: Are They a Bad Idea?

Mark Robinson
Cinematters, Tube Tied

We’ve seen it occasionally happen over the years: movies that hope to cash-in on iconic television shows by using them as a basis for a feature film. Typically, these outings are awful. They seldom do anything to improve upon the performances and premises on which they are based. The recent ChiPs is an example. A bumbling film of poor taste that does damage to the show’s reputation by recreating it as a comedy with insipid, juvenile humor and frankly, poor taste. Other TV to film enterprises include the Scooby-Doo films, Bewitched, The Flintstones, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Brady Bunch, Charlie’s Angels, Dragnet, Dukes of Hazzard, Fat Albert, The Fugitive, Lost in Space, The Smurfs, South Park, Thunderbirds, Veronica Mars, 21 Jump Street, The Avengers, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Inspector Gadget, The Honeymooners, Miami Vice, Mission: Impossible, Star Trek (myriad inceptions), and The Mod Squad. This is just a partial list, but as you glance through it, only a handful stick out as having been faithful, entertaining adaptations of their original sources. Why is it that so many films that found their genesis in popular TV shows have failed to ignite on the big screen? How does this bode for the upcoming and eagerly-anticipated (by some) Baywatch film?  

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Ten Amazing Animated Films That Aren’t Disney

Ten Amazing Animated Films That Aren’t Disney

Mark Robinson
Cinematters

Disney Studios usually gets the credit for most of the great animated films, and rightfully so. They did, after all, essentially create the animated feature single-handedly. They do not, however, hold the corner of the market on all the great animated films that have been produced. There have been many animated films that have stood out as instant classics and others that have gained a legion of followers over time. Here is a celebration of ten amazing animated films that are NOT a product of the House of Mouse.

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