Tag: Parody

Is It Die Hart or Die Harter? Movie Version Review and Sequel News.

Kevin Hart’s manic exuberance in Die Hart gets played up for different reasons. Can he become a different kind of talent that he’s not?

Die Hart 2 Movie PosterNot everyone knows Kevin Hart starred in a TV series which follows a fictional version of himself as he learns how to become an action star. Die Hart was released in 2020 on Quibi as 10 minute shorts, and to find an edited together movie on Amazon Prime is more of a reminder. That’s because Die Harter is set to debut on Roku on March 31.

From the official synopsis:

After achieving his dream of becoming a bona fide action hero in Die Hart, Kevin Hart now wants to cement his legacy as the greatest action star of all time. He’s developed a concept for a revolutionary movie where the action is so unscripted and unexpected that even Kevin won’t know what’s coming next. But his myopic dream comes with a blind spot, and he soon finds himself the victim of an evil revenge plot, orchestrated by someone from his past.

In the sequel, Kevin must enlist the help of his favourite co-star Jordan King (Nathalie Emmanuel, returning for season 2), his over-eager assistant Andre (Ben Schwartz), Andre’s mom Cynthia (Paula Pell), and legendary Hollywood stuntman Mr. 206 (John Cena) if he wants to survive.

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The Al Yankovic Story is Not Weird at Al. Just Bonkers.

MTV helped catapult Weird Al to fame. Without those crazy music videos, I don’t think he’d be as famous as he is now. Not every detail of the Al Yankovic story is recounted here.

The Al Yankovic StoryAvailable to view on Roku enabled devices

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is one of those ridiculous fictional biographies to not take seriously. It’s a parody more than anything else, and it’s delightfully nutters when the humour gets cranked up to 12. If there’s any authenticity to who Alfred Matthew (played by Daniel Radcliffe) was before he found fame as a comedy genius, it’s probably in how much Dr. Demento (Rainn Wilson) is a huge influence. But even before he fell in love with that radio show, he had a talent that needed to be nurtured.

There are some seeds of sincerity here and there, but knowing facts from the heavily embellished moments requires memorizing everything revealed about the man in VH1’s Behind the Music profile. As that documentary revealed, the record label, the Scotti Brothers, took a chance on Al. They knew he had a subtle and understated style. They allowed him to not pull any punches.

Also, MTV helped catapult this comic musician to fame. Without those crazy music videos, I don’t think he’d be as famous as he is now. This detail isn’t explored in the film, and that’s surprising when considering how important it helped this musician’s career than the accordian. I imagine the real Weird Al and Eric Appel who co-wrote the screenplay together didn’t want to bog the story down, since it would have to mean recreating all those manic music video moments–something that an older Radcliffe may not be able to do.

Continue reading “The Al Yankovic Story is Not Weird at Al. Just Bonkers.”

The Iké Boys and Saving the Day, Namely the Hell that was Y2K

Not every question raised here needs to be answered here in The Iké Boys. The concept behind this film is a fond look at how anyone can be heroes for more than just one day.

The Iké BoysShout! Factory
Coming to Digital and VOD Oct 11th

The Iké Boys is more than just a hero’s journey about two guys from Oklahoma who want to escape from the ho-hum. It also takes a peek back in time, when Japanese pop culture became part of the western media fixture in the 90s, and recognises what is great. We’re allowed to believe in miracles, and get to be a power ranger! The best part of this movie is that it includes vintage style anime and sentai action in its presentation.

In the case of Shawn Gunderson (Quinn Lord) and Vikram ‘Vik’ Kapoor (Ronak Gandhi), they’re not so ordinary in the sense that they’ve been branded losers in high school. That is, all they have is their anime fantasies to keep them happy. The latter dislikes the label and wants to be part of the crowd. He’s trying to do more with his life, but when Miki (Christina Higa) arrives, that one step forward (he’s crushing hard on her) ends up being two steps back as things go terribly wrong for them.

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It’s Better to Stay Behind than Escape From Area 51 …

This film is a spoof of a genre, much like how Lost Skeleton of Cadavra exists as a cheap sci-fi comedy.

Escape from Area 51 (2021) - IMDbBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Cleopatra Entertainment

Available on VOD 

Home Video & Soundtrack Release
Sept 7th (Amazon link)

Not every movie about UFOs deals with conspiracies. The sci-fi stoner comedy Escape From Area 51 momentarily plays with the storm Area 51 movement–which was what caught my attention–before dealing with the plot at hand. This movie’s story pairs well with Shae Sterling’s Alien Addiction for its low brow humour. I’m certain there is no family connection with David Sterling, the producer behind this work. It’s doubtful that director Eric Mittleman, who also co-wrote with Ted Chalmers, Carlos Perez and Robert Rhine, even knows of the New Zealand made film.

Curiosity seekers may well be hard pressed to find something to like about this work. It’s basically a T&A schlocky feature with a lot of sexual innuendo that will get fans of Donna D’Errico (Baywatch) giggling. She plays the alien who was locked up at the facility and when she makes the mistake of using her alien tech; it draws Sklarr’s attention (Chris Browning, Sons of Anarchy). He’s been scouring the galaxy because there was a War of the Worlds between their civilizations in the past… Well, maybe; I had to make this joke somehow.

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Ahoy There! Indie Publisher Immediately Sets Sail into Bookstores Worldwide!

“We’re pleased as punch to be partnering with Simon & Schuster with a deal that will allow us to expand our distribution in such a significant way,” said AHOY Publisher Hart Seely. “We can’t wait to foist our stable of oddball titles onto the unsuspecting masses and introduce a whole new audience of folks to Dragonfly and Dragonflyman, Jesus and Sunstar, and the staggeringly drunken Edgar Allan Poe.”

Preview] AHOY Comics' 6/10 Digital Release: CAPTAIN GINGER – Season Two: 'Dogworld' #3 – PopCultHQAHOY Comics—the independent publisher making a name for itself with clever and irreverent titles like Second Coming, The Wrong Earth and Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Blood—will be distributed in bookstores by the publishing firm Simon & Schuster as of March 2021. The publisher also announced its fall publication schedule which will include trade paperback editions of several of its comics. Diamond will continue to distribute AHOY’s titles into comic shops.

“We’re pleased as punch to be partnering with Simon & Schuster with a deal that will allow us to expand our distribution in such a significant way,” said AHOY Publisher Hart Seely. “We can’t wait to foist our stable of oddball titles onto the unsuspecting masses and introduce a whole new audience of folks to Dragonfly and Dragonflyman, Jesus and Sunstar, and the staggeringly drunken Edgar Allan Poe.”

Continue reading “Ahoy There! Indie Publisher Immediately Sets Sail into Bookstores Worldwide!”

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