The Suburban Times

A community bulletin board for Western Pierce County.

About Blake Meadowcroft

Blake Meadowcroft was born and raised in Washington state and he’s too lazy to move to another one. He graduated from Charles Wright Academy in 2014, and then Central Washington University in 2018 majoring in Film and Video Studies with an emphasis in critical studies. He was a DJ for two years at 88.1 The ‘Burg, his college radio station, and has some experience in stand up comedy.

In layman’s terms, he’s really good at watching movies and saying if they’re good or not. His parents didn’t really put a cap on how many or what kind of movies he was allowed to watch when he was growing up, so he kind of……went crazy. He is passionate about film history and filmmaking, and approaches his reviews with both a critical mind and a witty sense of humor. He doesn’t like to pick favorites in terms of genre (although if you were to twist his arm, he’d probably go with fantasy). He’s willing to give any kind of movie a chance and doesn’t judge it based on what kind of film it is, but how well it’s made.

Blake has volunteered and interned for multiple film festivals including the Ellensburg, Gig Harbor, and Tacoma film festivals. He lives in Lakewood, and is currently a film critic for Lakeside Living Magazine.

The Haunting (1963) – A Film Review

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Haunted houses have always intrigued me. I'm a skeptic of the supernatural, but I sometimes wonder about the catalysts that make people believe it. You hear stories about why a house gets haunted, but is it haunted by a premature and unjust death, or is it haunted because we perceive it that way due to hearing the stories? Is it the house, or is it just you? Is there a difference? Perhaps, but if … [Read more...]

Chocolate – Film Review

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I grew up watching a lot of Martial arts films, and as much as I love the genre, it's not immune to its brand of formulaic trappings. Mobs of goons are always getting decimated by a single person, and fighters use the environment as weapons. Oftentimes there's a villain that the main character faces off with that has an unusual fighting quirk, and the protagonist is usually the underdog who still … [Read more...]

Film Review: Red Sun

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Have you ever discovered a movie that you didn’t know existed, and you curse yourself for not knowing about it sooner? I had that experience with Red Sun. Two of my favorite actors, Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune sharing the spotlight in a spaghetti western? Sign me up! How has this movie eluded me for so long? Perhaps it’s because it’s not spoken about with the same reverence as other films … [Read more...]

Rock and Rule (1983) – Film Review

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Rock and Rule is a film that I've noticed out of the corner of my eye for years now, but I never got around to watching it until recently. It looked like a movie after my own heart, with some fluid and trippy animation, an awesome rock and roll soundtrack, and an adult tone that set it apart from animated movies for kids. It read like a mix between a Ralph Bakshi production and the film Heavy … [Read more...]

Die Nibelungen (1924) Film Review

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Die Nibelungen (“The Nibelungs”) is a series of two German silent fantasy films released in 1924 based on the epic Germanic poem Nibelungenlied (“The Song of the Nibelungen”), which was written around 1200 AD by an unknown author. It tells the story of a young hero named Siegfried (Paul Richter), son of King Siegmund of Xanten. While learning the art of sword forging from the great blacksmith Mime … [Read more...]

Birds of Prey – Film Review

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I apologize in advance for the information I’m about to exposit, because I’m fairly certain that many people have expunged this information from their memories in order to preserve their mental health. Unfortunately, I need to bring it up to provide context for the film I will be discussing today. That information is this: Suicide Squad is a movie that exists. From its stunningly poor direction, … [Read more...]

Joyeux Noel – Film Review

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On Christmas Eve during the First World War, one of the most unexpected yet heart warming events occurred on the Western Front: French, British, Scottish and German soldiers settled on a cease-fire, exited their trenches, met each other in no man’s land and celebrated Christmas together. They talked, showed photos of their loved ones to each other, exchanged food and drink, sang carols together, … [Read more...]

Fire and Ice – Film Review

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I am a HUGE fan of Ralph Bakshi. If you’re not familiar with him, Bakshi is the innovative director and animator of various independent adult-oriented animated films such Coonskin (1975), American Pop (1981) and Fritz the Cat, which was the first animated film to receive an X rating. While most animated films up until that point were aimed mostly towards children, Bakshi made his films … [Read more...]

The Blob (1958) – Film Review

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Here’s an interesting piece of trivia for you: What do “The King of Cool” Steve McQueen and six-time grammy award winning songwriter Burt Bacharach have in common? Well, both of these special individuals got their starts in the 1958 sci-fi horror B movie, The Blob. McQueen played the hero of the picture, while Bacharach supplied the tongue-in-cheek title track to the movie “Beware the Blob.” They … [Read more...]

Men in Black: International – Film Review

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I had high hopes for Men in Black: International. For the first time in this film series’ history, we have a different director contributing their vision to a Men in Black movie. Instead of the usual Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black 1, 2 and 3), we have F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job, Law Abiding Citizen) taking the helm. … [Read more...]