Stingray Sam (Sci-Fi, Western, Comedy, Musical... Again.)

Score: 7 Out Of 10.

 

           So, not long after watching "The American Astronaut," it was brought to my attention that writer/director, Cory McAbee, made another film that takes place within the same universe, but is not a direct sequel. That is actually nice because I do not typically enjoy sequels. "Stingray Sam" stars Cory McAbee (yup... wrote, directed and stared in... again), Crugie, and Joshua Taylor. Also, the film is narrated by David Hyde Pierce and all the music is written and performed by The Billy Nayer Show... again (the soundtrack was pretty good this time as well and is also available on iTunes). All in all, this was a pretty fun movie and from what I understand was shot in a way that would make it enjoyable on any device (honestly, I watched it on a 40 in. HDTV, so I can't really speak for how true that statement is). The jokes all work, the soundtrack is pretty awesome and they even manage to sneak in a little bit of social commentary.

 

   The problem with "The American Astronaut" I felt was the pacing. Fortunately this film does not suffer from the same problem. This film moves along a lot quicker. There seems to be two reasons why. 1)The film is broken up into six episodes, each with an intro and it's own set of credits and 2)as a whole, the film is about a half hour shorter.  Unfortunately this seems to lack some of the charm from it's predecessor. The first film just seemed to have more of an edge to it where this film almost seems like an excuse to work out all the ideas that Mr. McAbee could not fit into the first film. Still very enjoyable, though.

 

   Love,

   The B-Movie Guy.

   Twitter: @Bmovieguy   #Bmovieblog   #Stingraysam    Facebook: B-Movie Guy.



 

The American Astronaut (Sci-Fi, Western, Comedy, Musical... yup.)

Score: 8 Out Of 10.

 

          No, you did not read the sub-title incorrectly. This film was in fact a science fiction, a western, a comedy, and a musical, and I promise that all these elements fit together almost perfectly. "The American Astronaut" was released in 2001 and Stars Cory McAbee (who also wrote and directed), Rocco Sisto and Gregory Russell Cook. The plot is that a man named Samuel is an interplanetary trader (a frame of reference for a time period is never specified) who is on a mission deliver a cat, a case containing a real live girl, a boy (who actually saw a women's breast), and some remains while being pursued by an old foe. This is really an understatement for the plot but I am really afraid if I say any more I might spoil the film. There was quite a bit to love about this movie. It was very well written and the dialogue was very witty, the jokes really do make you laugh AND think. All of the actors and actresses turn in performances that really draw you in (I particularly enjoyed the dance scenes) and the music was very well written and performed (the entire soundtrack was performed by The Billy Nayer Show, you can find it on iTunes).

 

        The only negative thing I can say about this film is that it suffered from poor pacing. A lot of times the pacing of a film can really make or brake it but luckily it did not break this film. Although there were times when I felt the movie kinda dragged, they were few and far between. Another thing I should point out is that I do not feel this film is for everyone. I ca not help but feel that a lot of people will watch it and not understand it and give it negative reviews. I promise if you just take the time to sit and think about it, you will not have this problem. The best thing I can say about "The American Astronaut" is that as soon as it ended, I wanted to watch it again.

 

    Love,

    The B-Movie Guy.

Twitter: @Bmovieguy   #BMovieblog   #TheAmericanAstronaut   Facebook: B-Movie Guy