FANTASTIC PLANET (La Planète sauvage) (1973) is a wholly unique experience in animated features. It was made a couple years before I even was, and to this day they don’t make ‘em like this. Soon, though. One of these days it’s gonna catch fire the way anime giant robots did, or fairy tale musicals, or computer animated comedy adventures with a high concept and it’s funny but then it’s serious but don’t worry also it’s still funny, yet surprisingly sweet. Have you seen any animated movies like that? I’ve seen a couple.
That’s gonna be the pattern with FANTASTIC PLANET, too – every entertainment conglomerate and their sister company is gonna come up with their variation on a bizarre alien world with strange creatures and plants, set to kinda funky psych music, animated with cut-outs of ink and colored pencil drawings, looking like the cover of an old sci-fi paperback that you read and can’t quite figure out which scene they’re depicting there. That’s what the people want so there will be a hundred movies like that and they’ll all blend together and be okay but never as good as the original.
This is the story of a guy named Terr (Jean Valmont, IS PARIS BURNING?), who lives on the planet Ygam. He’s an Om, which is Ygam for human – they were transplanted here, like mogwais (if you, like me, believe the GREMLINS novelization). He narrates the story and in the opening scene he and his mother are chased by Draags, the blue-skinned, red-eyed humanoids who are the dominant species on Ygam. Relative to a Draag, Oms are tiny, maybe bigger than a bug to us, but smaller than a mouse or a smurf. (read the rest of this shit…)
WISHMASTER was a theatrical release, and given its low budget a profitable one. A year later, producer LIVE Entertainment was acquired by Bain Capital, restructured and rebranded Artisan Entertainment. While distributing real movies in theaters (including absolute classics GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI and THE LIMEY), they also started dipping into DTV sequels like the appalling 
I remember seeing WISHMASTER in the theater in 1997. More than that I remember cleaning the theater, because I worked there. There weren’t many people going, so there wasn’t much to clean, but I would try to be around at the very end of the credits because I thought it was funny that you hear the Djinn saying “Careful what you weeessshhh for!” in his ludicrous evil voice. That was the main thing I remembered.
REZ BALL is a recent sports drama that went straight to Netflix. I wouldn’t normally even know about something like that, but it’s co-written by Sterlin Harjo, creator of one of my favorite TV shows ever, Reservation Dogs (2021-2023). This is a little more along the lines of his indie dramas (I’ve previously reviewed his movies 
TRIGGER WARNING is a b-action vehicle for Jessica Alba (
I’m trying not to overdo the horror movies during these times of dread, but I feel very strongly that I didn’t fit in enough Slasher Searching this October. In order to be the change I want to see in the world I intend to continue the mission periodically, free of holiday constraints. So today I have for you a double-header of wrestling themed horror movies. I thought it was a good gimmick when I reviewed 
WRESTLEMASSACRE (2018) is a slasher movie of the 
ANORA is a real knock out of a movie from writer/director Sean Baker, major indie voice of the 21st century known for style on a microbudget, authentic performances by non-professional actors, and being one of the first to shoot an acclaimed movie on an iPhone. I’ll be honest, I’ve only seen 
A couple months ago I got on a Jean-Michel Basquiat kick. You probly know who that is, but if not, he was a New York City graffiti artist in the early hip hop era, transferred his skills to paintings for galleries, became rich and famous and friends with Andy Warhol and stuff in a brief, prolific life before (like so many bright lights) dying of a drug overdose at 27.
Jody Hill’s OBSERVE AND REPORT (2009) was maybe a little ahead of its time. Or at least ahead of me. I guess I didn’t review it, but I remember being a little disappointed at the time, thinking it had kind of a fake darkness to it. I thought it was supposed to be a TAXI DRIVER type portrait of a mall security guard, and it seemed kind of forced to me.
