Basketcase 2 (1990) Horror

Basketcase 2 (1990) - In honor of the lovely ladies at zombiegrrlz.com who in their last podcast covered the crazy assed Basketcase I am reviewing the sequel Basketcase 2. Starting moments after the first film ends. Duane Bradley(Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his growth leftovers brother Beliel both survive the fall from the hotel window. Escaping the hospital the two are whisked away to the house of Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) and her daughter Susan (Heather Rattray). Hidden and recovering they learn that Granny Ruth has been harboring deformed people for years. There is recovery time where Duane falls for Susan and Beliel falls for a deformity in female face. Unfortunately for them a reporter is on their trail and soon they must do what is necessary to keeps Granny Ruth's collection of freaks out of the news. Duane seems never to be able to have the relationship he desires. In this case Susan has a secret that is really funny. There is Beliel freaking out and killing and Duane looking for love away from his brother. There is a hilarious scene of mutant afterbirth making it when Beliel gets it on with his female counterpart. Hot sweaty lumpy love making, that is what we needed. The climax, of the movie rolls in without a spoiler here and in the end you are like "What the fuck?" really though if you take it for what it is it is not horrible. At least this one had less yelling.
Rating ( 4.3)

Avatar (2010) Science Fiction

Avatar (2009) - James Cameron's computer generated animated film about a soldier who goes native on a distant planet called Pandora. Jake (Sam Worthington) a paraplegic marine is recruited to take his twin brothers spot in the Avatar project. Avatars are lab grown bodies that appear like the local natives, the Na'vi, Jake being a twin can make the neuro connection to his brother's and soon in learning the ways of the Na'vi and feeding intelligence back to the military.
When the corporation move prematurely on the Na'vi home tree, Jake must choose sides and does just that. A mix of people and animation I found the world beautiful but also distracting. I have never really been able to get into movies with a lot of animation and I had that problem again. I thought that Cameron did a great job but in the end it just is not my thing.

The story itself was a bit silly, having the rock the mining company is after being called Unobtainium. The story just a moral play about respecting native cultures vs the exploitation of their resources. A mix of native American and eastern philosophies the Pandora, Na'vi connection is nothing really original. As I think about this review I really don't want to dislike the film. It really does hit many of the points of good storytelling. I am sure for people who can get into anim,ated characters this may have seemed really refreshing. I on the other hand am more like thinking the movie was a bit Disney for my liking. The humans in the story are secondary characters and since I just can't seem to connect to cartoons I am not impressed.
Rating (7.1)

Religulous (2008) Documentary

Religulous (2008) - Bill Maher host of Real Time with Bill Maher stars as the atheist asking questions. The strange group of religious people he finds, from a truck stop church, to Creationist museum in Kentucky, to Holy Land an amusement park in Florida. Attempting first to show the irrationality of belief and then the illogical leaps into real world problems created by those belief, Maher uses his skepticism and humor to make his points. He argues against the United States being a Christan nation by using the writings of the founding fathers as evidence as well as historians. Maher in the end, after first exposing the hypocrisy of religion then calls on the growing group of self identified non-religious people to get active and use there votes to change this country.

Rating (6.4)