When you go through the genres of movies that Hollywood puts out, you’ll inevitably come across a batch that are known as “chick flicks.” These are usually sappy and romantic, featuring some hot guy in the male lead as some kind of love interest. That is not the genre being featured in today’s batch of movie reviews. Instead, these two films could represent a new breed of “chick flick,” empowering women with the ability to succeed and overcome on their own. Enjoy!
Whip It (2009)
I can’t recall where I first read it, but this synopsis is perhaps the most concise summary of Whip It: Imagine if Juno never got knocked up and you’ll have a good idea what Whip It is all about.
Ellen Page stars as Bliss Cavendar, a small-town girl who is generally unhappy with her life. She’s anything but popular at school, she doesn’t earn any tips at her diner job, and she’s at a loss with what she wants to do with her life. Her mother is trying to push her into beauty pageants, but Bliss isn’t at all enthusiastic about those endeavors. One day when she goes into the city to buy some boots, however, she sees a flyer for a roller derby league and she gets intrigued.
She eventually sneaks out, watches a match, and tries out for one of the local teams. Bliss manages to “find herself” and she finally manages to find happiness in her life, but the poor girl has to keep it a secret from her family. You can probably guess what happens next. Whip It
Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)
What happens when you cross Blade, Matrix, Buffy, ninjas, and Men In Black? Tossing in a guy that looks a little too much like Elvis Costello for good measure? As strange as it may sound, that’s pretty much the impression I got from Blood: The Last Vampire
Taking place in post-World War II on an American army base in Japan (confused yet?), this movie follows the undercover adventures of Saya. She’s the last true vampire and she hunts the demons who are hiding all around us. She also seeks to extract revenge on the person who killed her father. Yes, some guys may be able to get their “Japanese schoolgirl” fix and blood junkies might enjoy the fight scenes, but the strange mashup of themes ruins this film.
It’s almost as if they were trying to stretch a small budget into something that they could not. The visual effects leave much to be desired, especially the more gory moments when it’s clear they lack the polish of better vampire movies. From what I understand, you’re much better off watching the anime movie
Whip It looks like a B movie from the picture, and the blood and vampire stuff is just not my cup of tea. I guess having kids has changed my perspective on movies.
I really had absolutely no interest in watching either one of these movies…even when I saw them pop up on shares.
agree with ray , i don’t even know who is the girl on the movie