Cathy LaFrance

About Cathy LaFrance

Cathy Kramer LaFrance (she/her) A solid Gen Xer from the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Star Wars apologist. Eowyn stan. Unabashed Whovian. Bad b-movie lover, a la Svengoolie and MST3K. Music trivia nerd and record collector. Gluten free and proud of it.

Posts by Cathy LaFrance:

STAR WARS: VISIONS Gives Franchise The Anime Treatment

Cathy LaFrance

It’s no secret that Star Wars creator George Lucas was influenced heavily by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and his film, The Hidden Fortress (1958). But the Star Wars universe is about to come full circle in that connection with the new animated series, Star Wars: Visions. Coming to Disney+ Sept. 22, there will be nine anime-style short films based in the much-beloved Star Wars universe. The films will be available in Japanese and in English dub, featuring some well-known voices: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bobby Moynihan, Shelby Young, Karen Fukuhara, Simu Liu, Masi Oka, David Harbour, Henry Golding, Jamie Chung, George Takei, and Temuera Morrison reprising his role as Boba Fett. “Lucasfilm is partnering with seven of the most talented anime studios in Japan to bring their signature style and unique vision of the Star Wars galaxy to this inspired new series,” says James Waugh, executive producer and Lucasfilm Vice President, Franchise […]

Golden sunrise illuminating tent camping dramatic mountain landscape panorama Scotland

DOCTOR WHO: Whittaker And Chibnall Depart Together

Cathy LaFrance

The news had already been hinted at, but the BBC made it official last week: Jodie Whittaker, the first female actor to play The Doctor, will be handing over her sonic screwdriver to a new incarnation of doctor at the end of her third season. Exiting along side her is showrunner Chris Chibnall, who said in an interview with the BBC, that he and Whittaker made a pact to do three seasons before handing the reins to a new creative team and cast. Whittaker, who was cast by Chibnall, is the franchise’s first female doctor, a choice that ruffled a great many feathers in 2017. But as audiences watched the character development and story arcs, the negative voices were drowned by respect and adulation. Whittaker’s Doctor was recently ranked as the second favorite doctor in a Radio Times poll in 2020. Chibnall’s story arcs opened the door, not just for […]

OCCUPATION: RAINFALL Review: Second installment is more of a drizzle than downpour

Cathy LaFrance

Alien invasion films are nothing new, so it can be hard to find a new twist. In Luke Sparke’s 2020 release Occupation: Rainfall, viewers are offered a familiar problem with some nuance: what if the aliens aren’t the only bad guys? As a sequel to his 2018 film Occupation, Sparke continues the saga of a motley band of Australians who make up the grass-roots resistance against the invaders, the Greys. (Remember, there’s more than one accepted spelling of gray/grey, Americans! And this is an Australian film. Don’t at me.) The Australian government and military are vastly outgunned, seemingly as the rest of the world — it’s made abundantly clear that neither the American or British will be of any help, as they are having their own struggles. But far from dependent on any other states, the government makes its own plan to combat the aliens. This is one of the […]

THE BAD BATCH: Premier Season Continues To Thrill

Cathy LaFrance

Disney+ “The Bad Batch” continues to impress with the release of each episode. Didn’t read the coverage for the pilot episode? FCS has you covered. But here’s your catch-up for episodes 2-4. Starting off in Episode 2, “Cut and Run” we follow the Batch to the planet Saleucami to meet, or re-meet, a familiar character from The Clone Wars, Cut Lawquane, who just had a meeting with Captain Rex, although the reason is still unclear. We met Cut back in The Clone Wars Season 2, Episode 10, “The Deserter.” It turns out to be a good meeting, since the Bad Batch soon become trapped and Cut and his family help them escape the planet. This episode also sees Cut and his wife Suu indirectly teach Hunter some “parenting” skills, as he grows as Omega’s father figure. Next up is Episode 3, “Replacements.” This episode focuses more on Crosshair, as in […]

Fantaspoa Review: CEMETERY OF THE LOST SOULS, Giving The Devil His Due

Cathy LaFrance

European colonizers brought any number of things with them to the New World (you know, death, disease, forced religious conversion), but in the 2020 release, Cemetery Of The Lost Souls (O Cemitério das Almas Perdidas in Brazilian Portuguese), a Satanic priest was the unexpected arrival to the South American landscape. Told in alternating plots between two time periods, we learn the story of how Satanic acolyte Cyprian (Renato Chocair) saves the ship from sinking and guaranteeing a safe arrival to the shores of Brazil. The Christian priests on board don’t completely understand the bargain they’re making and soon end up serving Cyprian. The colonizers’ first encounter with the indigenous inhabitants leaves nearly all of the “Indians” (sic) dead, save the beautiful Ayra (Allana Lopes). She is kidnapped and held against her will as Cyprian’s slave. Father Joaquin (Ciao Macedo), still mostly loyal to his Christian religious teachings, wants to save […]

THE BAD BATCH: Animated ‘Star Wars’ Offshoot Takes Off In Top Notch Form On Disney+

Cathy LaFrance

As if we needed more reasons to celebrate May the 4th, Disney released the new Star Wars series, The Bad Batch. The Bad Batch is set between Revenge of the Sith, and A New Hope, or if you’re all about the new stuff, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – S7, and Rogue One. The first episode starts off just about 10 minutes before Order 66 – the order to wipe out the Jedi. We first meet Jedi master Depa Billaba, and her padawan Caleb Dume, or as anyone who has watched Star Wars: Rebels knows him as Kanan Jarrus. They are quickly overrun by battle droids, but the “Bad Batch,” Clone Force 99, crash in, literally, and save the day. Shortly after Order 66 is executed, many clones are recalled to Kamino for a mandatory assembly, and then we see the infamous Palpatine Galactic Empire speech from Revenge of the […]

MORTAL KOMBAT Review: A Noob’s View

Cathy LaFrance

Consider me mildly impressed. Mildly. I just saw the Mortal Kombat movie in the theater, and as a casual viewer and MK noob, I can’t say I was either over- or underwhelmed. Remember, the key words here are “casual viewer.” My basic knowledge of Mortal Kombat goes back to warm September nights at a midwestern university in 1993, when over-caffeinated boys would scream “Mortal Kombat!” across the dormitory quad at each other. As a 21-year-old girl trying to get a date, I found it strange and endearing. I managed to play the game (don’t even ask me which video game system) a handful of times, but as someone who peaked with Frogger and Pitfall on the Atari 2600, this kind of game and system weren’t my cup of tea. With my recent side gig of “amateur movie reviewer,” I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the film so many […]

CLIFF WALKERS: Chinese Spy Thriller Comes to US Theaters in April

Cathy LaFrance

Set in 1930s China, acclaimed director Zhang Yimou’s spy thriller CLIFF WALKERS will come to US and international theaters on April 30. CLIFF WALKERS is director Zhang Yimou’s first foray into the spy genre. Set the puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, the film follows four Communist party special agents who return to China after receiving training in the Soviet Union. Together, they embark on a secret mission code-named “Utrennya.” After being sold out by a traitor, the team find themselves surrounded by threats on all sides from the moment they parachute into the mission. Will the agents break the impasse and complete their mission? On the snowy grounds of Manchukuo, the team will be tested to their limit. Zhang Yimou’s work has been seen in the United States since 1990, when his film Ju Dou was the first-ever Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award […]

PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN Is Ready To Bathe In Your Blood. Or not.

Cathy LaFrance

In case you think horror films take themselves too seriously, check out PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN, an unexpected dark comedy. Written and directed by Steven Kostanski (The Void, The Divide, Father’s Day), the film turns the concept of “evil alien conqueror” on its head. Siblings Mimi and Luke unwittingly resurrect an ancient alien overlord who was entombed on Earth millions of years ago after a failed attempt to destroy the universe. They nickname the evil creature Psycho Goreman (or PG for short) and use the magical amulet they discovered to force him to obey their childish whims. It isn’t long before PG’s reappearance draws the attention of intergalactic friends and foes from across the cosmos and a rogues’ gallery of alien combatants converges in small-town suburbia to battle for the fate of the galaxy. The film stars Nita-Josee Hanna (Books of Blood, 4teen), Owen Myre (“NOS4A2,” Alternate Ground), Adam Brooks […]

GUNDAM to become live-action Netflix film

Cathy LaFrance

Jordan Vogt-Roberts has been set to direct and produce Legendary’s first-ever live-action feature film version of Sunrise’s GUNDAM for Netflix. Brian K. Vaughan is penning the script, as well as executive producing the project with Cale Boyter overseeing on behalf of Legendary with the Sunrise creative team. The massively popular Mecha anime and science fiction media franchise is Sunrise’s multi-billion-dollar property that was created in 1979 and has spawned a multi-platform universe encompassing televised anime, manga, animated films, video games, plastic models, toys, and novels among other media. Gundam continues to dominate Bandai Namco’s earnings almost forty years after its inception. Gundam saw a rise in popularity in the United States by the mid-1990s. The story for the live-action film version of Gundam is being kept under wraps, but the original Japanese series is set in the Universal Century, an era in which humanity’s growing population has led people to […]

SILAT WARRIORS: DEED OF DEATH Panel Interview, Release Announced By Well Go USA

Cathy LaFrance

The success of Geran, a 2019 Malaysian martial arts movie, should be an opening for action films from Southeast Asia, says film director Areel Abu Bakar. The award-winning, albeit first-time director was interviewed Friday, April 9 via Zoom from Malaysia along with one of the film’s actors, Megat Sharizal. The late-evening discussion was sponsored by Columbia University’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month organization and co-moderated by students from the university, which is based in New York City. Malaysia is 12 hours ahead of NYC — so it was already Saturday morning for the director, actor, translator, and what seemed to be a live audience there. Called Silat Warriors: Deed of Death for the international film market, the movie premiered virtually for American audiences in 2020 at the 19th New York Asian Film Festival, where it won the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema. Director Abu Bakar, who […]

Put Your Seatbelts On! Final BLACK WIDOW Trailer Drops Fast And Furious

Cathy LaFrance

Few moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have had as much impact as Natasha Romanoff’s self-sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. Black Widow has long been one of the MCU’s favorite characters, so her untimely demise was heartbreaking on multiple levels. While a stand-alone Black Widow movie has been in development (and stalled) since April 2004, Natasha will finally get her chance to come to terms with her past in Marvel Studio’s Black Widow in July, simultaneously on the big screen and through rental via Disney+. The first official trailer dropped March 9, when Marvel was still hoping for a May release. But Marvel fans got an Easter present with the April 3 final trailer. (Wait. I see what you did there, Marvel Studios. Final countdown much? 4-3-21??) In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy […]

WANDAVISION: We Watched It, So You Don’t Have To. Here’s Why Cathy And Christina Think You Should!

Cathy LaFrance

Christina and I may be a bit late to the party, but better late than never! Perhaps a surprise hit of late-pandemic-era streaming (suck it, Bridgerton), the Disney+ mini-series WandaVision quickly achieved cult status with Marvel fans and TV buffs alike. The series begins, quirkily echoing TV sitcoms of years gone by: I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Full House, Malcolm in the Middle, and even modern-day favorites like Modern Family and The Office. But the decade-by-decade progression of American TV had a darker secret belying it. SEASONE ONE Episode Guide Episode 1: Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience I have a theory that you can’t really judge a TV show by its pilot. When I start to watch a show, I like to give it at least 3 episodes before I feel like I can rightfully decide if I like it or […]

AGENT REVELATION Review: Derek Ting’s Latest Reveals Some, Asks More

Cathy LaFrance

Derek Ting’s second film in his Agent series is all about show and tell, with a side of hide and seek. Agent Revelation (or Agent II), Ting’s sequel to his 2017 film Agent Intelligence, picks up where the first film left off: Jim Yung (Ting) has found and partnered with Dr. Victoria Jansen (Carole Weyers), who is investigating why the red alien dust, now referred to as “ash,” hasn’t affected Jim in the same way it does with others, who become empty vessels for the alien consciousness. Jansen has no answers for Jim, nor for her as-yet unknown superior. Jim and ex-girlfriend and medical resident Angela Porter (Marikah Cunningham) recover from the deaths of their friends Seth and Lucy, who had been possessed by the aliens, and begin working in tandem with the researchers and soldiers at a secret training facility. Jim, while seemingly having been exposed to the ash, […]

HUNTED Review: When The Prey Becomes Predator

Cathy LaFrance

With a nod to the “Little Red Riding” Hood fairy tale, Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted is a slick and intense revenge fantasy film. Every woman wants to be taken seriously. And in movies, as in real life, it’s hard to work around some of the professional pitfalls set by centuries of patriarchal traditions. So this is where we meet Eve (Lucie Debay), who is working in the male-dominated field of construction. Her male boss indicates that she’s too nice in her business dealings, and if she doesn’t work up to his expectation, he’ll send her male colleague to finish her job. Unsettled by the pressure, red-jacket-clad Eve ignores calls from her significant other and goes to a bar for a drink and some dancing. A casual flirtation goes incredibly awry, and Eve finds herself held captive by two men from the bar, nameless characters called The Handsome (Arieh Worthalter) and The Accomplice (Ciaran […]

Amazon’s LORD OF THE RINGS-Based Series Takes Another Step Forward

Cathy LaFrance

Need more Middle Earth in your life? Who doesn’t! Amazon revealed a sneak-peak at the synopsis for its long-awaited Lord Of The Rings series Wednesday, and it will whet your appetite for second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea…oh, you get the picture. According to TheOneRing.net: Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series […]

SYNCHRONIC Review: A Slow Time In New Orleans

Cathy LaFrance

The Big Easy has long been a natural backdrop for thrillers and dramas, but with Synchronic, New Orleans gets a different kind of party. Paramedics and age-old best friends Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) begin to find themselves at the scenes of unusual overdoses, murders, and deaths. Nothing adds up until Steve realizes the common thread among all deaths is a synthetic party drug called Synchronic. He gets pushed to his limit when Dennis’ daughter Brianna (Ally Ioannides) goes missing from a party where she herself has taken the drug. Tormented by memories of loss, Steve buys out what he hopes are the last remaining doses of the drug in order to destroy them. But a chance meeting with the drug’s creator tempts him into trying the drug itself. Dr. Kermani (Ramiz Monsef) follows Steve home, even breaking into his house to try to find these last doses. […]

EVERYTHING ‘MANDALORIAN’: Part Two – A Look Back On Season Two, And The Future Of The Series

Cathy LaFrance

In continuation from last week’s piece, Film Combat Syndicate contributing writer Cathy Kramer LaFrance shares her overview of both seasons of The Mandalorian, which wrapped its second season releases earlier this month. It does contain spoilers, so consider yourselves warned, and the same goes for Everything Mandalorian: Part One which you can read here. S2, EPISODES 9-16 Season 2 is where we see so many people we know! Still on the run from Moff Gideon and the Empire, Mando and the child focus their efforts on finding any remaining Mandalorians who may be able to help them find the Jedi. Mando does odd jobs like passenger transport to barter for information, getting him closer to any remaining Mandalorians. After a false start, Mando and the child get rescued by a team of Mandalorians, including Bo-Katan Kryze and Koska Reeves. Mando is intrigued by their seeming cavalier ways, including their preference […]

12 SLAYS OF CHRISTMAS: Cathy And Christina’s List Of Non-Traditional Holiday Thrillers To Enjoy This Season!

Cathy LaFrance

Sleigh bells and reindeer and sappy Christmas wishes: It’s that time of year when Lifetime and Hallmark play holiday movies back to back, and although the actors change and the music may vary, the plot basically remains the same: if someone is bitter, they find happiness thanks to Christmas; if someone is single, they find love thanks to Christmas; and so on and so on and can we get some better viewing options? If you agree with the above rant, have we got a treat for you! A couple of us here at Film Combat Syndicate decided to put together a list of non-traditional Christmas movies you should watch this month. In no particular order, here are the films as stored in the gallery below, or simply scroll down if you’ve opened this article via Twitter. THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993) What it’s about: Jack Skellington lives in Halloween Town […]

EVERYTHING ‘MANDALORIAN’: Part I – A Look Back On Season One

Cathy LaFrance

So unless you’ve been living under a rock, or (GASP!) you don’t like Star Wars, you know that the hottest property in our favorite galaxy far, far away is The Mandalorian, a spin-off series chronicling the adventures of armored bounty hunter “Mando” Din Djarin and his ward, Grogu. Yes, Grogu. You know, The Child? Baby Yoda? Yeah, that one. The finale to season two dropped Dec. 18, so now we have time to parce the fine details provided us and ponder the future of our beloved, beskar-clad Dad and his crew before season three arrives at some point in 2021. For those who don’t have access to Disney+ (I have kids. Of course I have Disney+), allow me to offer you a primer on The Mandalorian, seasons 1 and 2 before we get to the heavy lifting. THE BASICS: The Mandalorian hearkens back the feel of what the original Star Wars: A New Hope movie […]