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Reverend's Reviews: Dark, Blond & Red

Another Halloween may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean the holiday’s scary and comedic aspects have to end. I’m a year-round follower of Ghost Hunters as well as other paranormal-themed reality series and the spate of “found footage” horror movies. They are genres ripe for satire and one actor-turned-director, Derek Lee Nixon, has taken advantage of that. His Supernatural Activity will be available on DVDand digital download from Well Go USA Entertainment beginning November 6th.

In the spoof, hot-and-he-knows-it Damon Dealer (the funny and, yes, hot Andrew Pozza, obviously channeling hunky but obnoxious host Zak Bagans of TV’s Ghost Adventures) headlines a myth-debunking reality show. At his girlfriend’s insistence, Dealer leads his crew to a remote Texas town to investigate reported sightings of the Samsquatch, a smaller-than-usual variety of Bigfoot. They soon encounter odd characters and phenomena as Nixon satirizes such movies as The Blair Witch Project, The Last Exorcism, Cloverfield and, of course, the ongoing Paranormal Activity series.

Not unlike many of the shows and films it is sending up, Supernatural Activity is crudely-made and goes on for too long. A number of unintentional misspellings in title cards used throughout the movie also irritated me greatly. However, there are quite a few funny to very funny visual and character gags to be enjoyed. Nixon as well as Pozza and most of the cast possess talent and an obvious affection for their source material that overcomes the film’s low budget and lack of subtlety. Most viewers familiar with the found footage genre will get a kick out of it.

Alas, there are no pleasures to be found in the new DVDrelease Becoming Blond (from Ariztical Entertainment). This simply awful wannabe comedy by writer-director Kevin Duffy involves dead romance languages, nudist octogenarians, scheming gangsters, pampered poodles and sexual confusion. These coalesce about as effectively as oil and water. Casting John Waters favorite Mink Stole would, one could reasonably assume, guarantee some degree of camp credibility but no such luck. Every element of Becoming Blond — the direction, the acting, the photography, editing and sound mix — is just plain bad. Perhaps Duffy inhaled too much hair coloring dye during production? I hate to rail against a movie so thoroughly, but I would feel guilty to learn someone bought or rented this one based on any perceived recommendation from me. Avoid it at all costs.

I can much more enthusiastically recommend a new DVD box setof uncut comedy specials by that flame-haired vixen of stand up, Kathy Griffin. Available now from Shout! Factory, The Kathy Griffin Collection: Red, White & Raw boasts seven of her no-holds-barred shows, with five of them on DVD for the first time. Riffing on everything from reality shows to politics and everyone from Tiger Woods to Sarah Palin, Barbara Walters, Bruce Jenner, Nancy Grace and so many more, the set is a must-have for K Grif fans whether you have previously seen them all individually or not.

While it isn’t a comedy, I would be remiss before concluding my latest review column if I didn’t mention the above-average gay romance, Morgan. Now on DVDfrom Water Bearer Films, not only is Morgan assured, moving and sexy, but it is important for its focus on a seldom-seen population within our community: paraplegic gay men. Leo Minaya gives an excellent performance in the title role, a former athlete confined to a wheelchair in the wake of a tragic accident. He is angry, sexless and hopeless until the day he meets handsome, well-meaning Dean (Jack Kesy). Morgan is scared by his renewed feelings of attraction and love, so the relationship that develops between him and Dean is frustratingly but realistically halting. Director Michael Akers (Gone, But Not Forgotten) deserves kudos for his sensitive handling of their story. Well worth seeing.

Reverend’s Ratings:
Supernatural Activity: C+
Becoming Blond: F
The Kathy Griffin Collection: Red, White & Raw: A-
Morgan: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend’s Reviews: Dead Funny

Even though he passed away in 1989, that hasn’t stopped Monty Python’s Graham Chapman from starring in a new cinematic testament to himself, albeit in animated form. A Liar's Autobiography - The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman — which also features the voices of MP members John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones — will premiere tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on EPIX. It is also having an exclusive, one-week theatrical run starting today at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre, and in 3D no less.

Chapman was the blonde, more athletic-looking (thanks to rugby and mountaineering) troupe player who also had lead roles in their Life of Brian and Yellowbeard films. Born in Great Britain during the outbreak of World War II, Chapman’s eventual comic sensibility was seemingly impacted by the war-time violence he witnessed as a youngster (which may have been the case with all of MP’s members). He was also MP’s sole gay member, and A Liar’s Autobiography explores Chapman’s sexual coming of age in fairly graphic cartoon detail (see clip below). Sadly, Chapman died of throat cancer when he was only 48 years old.


The film is animated in a variety of styles and with numerous amusing touches to illustrate the stages of Chapman’s life. These styles of animation include traditional hand-drawn, both crude and more sophisticated forms of CGI, stop motion (notably during a Sigmund Freud segment which features the voice of “gratuitous special guest star” Cameron Diaz as Freud), charcoal sketches and watercolor paintings. Some live-action archival footage of Chapman and Monty Python is also utilized. All of the vignettes are framed by a theatrical sketch that has Chapman playing Oscar Wilde.

For gay audiences at least, the film’s primary point of interest will be the substantial amount of time devoted to Chapman’s homosexuality. While initially stating “my sexual life consisted of sleeping with women while dreaming about men,” Chapman later determined himself to be 70% gay on the famous Kinsey Scale. He fell in love with the man who would become his longtime partner, David Sherlock, during a trip to Ibiza. Prior to his death, Chapman came out publicly and also admitted to his longtime alcoholism on British talk shows.

As suggested by its subtitle, The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman, A Liar’s Autobiography is hardly dedicated to painting a completely accurate portrait of the late comedian. However, directors Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson and Ben Timlett draw primarily from Chapman’s own reading of his book, so any discrepancies between the subject and the telling are likely the result of liberties taken by Chapman himself. Both the storytelling and the imagery are often beautiful, sometimes baffling, but captivating throughout. To MP devotees, this film will serve as a great companion piece to Holy Flying Circus, a clever exposé of the controversy surrounding Life of Brian that was just released on DVDlast month.

Reverend's Rating: B

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Monthly Wallpaper - November 2012: Cowboys

Yippee-ki-yay! November's Movie Calendar Wallpaper salutes our favorite cinematic Cowboys!

From Butch and Sundance to Jack and Ennis, Woody and Jessie to Rooster... and Rooster, join these good ol' boys (and a couple gals) for a rip-roarin' time all month long.

Just click on the picture above to enlarge it to its 1024 x 768 size, then right click your mouse and select "Set as Background", and you're all set. If you want, you can also save it to your computer and set it up from there, or modify the size in your own photo-editing program if needed.