Monthly Movie Recap - November 2017

Posting this a day early because December begins the 13 Days of Creepmas! Not a whole lot of movie watching last month but I suspect some of you saw at least one, if not two, of the flicks I took in.

Thor Ragnarok (2017)

I heard someone call this Asgardians of the Galaxy and that about sums it up perfectly! You've got your classic rock plus plenty of humor and action. Quite different from previous Thor movies but in the best way possible. If you're a comic fan and don't have a dopey grin on your face during the opening fight, you should probably walk out.

Cool: Limiting myself to a few choice picks: Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, Korg (and Miek's sweet moves), the Thor/Hulk bromance, the synth score.

Lame: The Warriors Three get shafted. They need to figure out what to do with Loki, I prefer him when he's menacing.

Rating: 8/10

Justice League (2017)

Is it high cinema? No. Is it a fun popcorn movie that you shouldn't over analyze? Yes! Maybe it helps that I went in with low expectations but I had a good time with this. I say give it a chance if you're interested.

Cool: Flash was fun!

Lame: Some parts are like video game cutscenes, but I guess that's just Snyder. I can't remember how many shots I saw of upskirt/Wonder-butt. She deserves much better than that! Also, didn't need to see the Bat- or Super-bulges. My biggest gripe with this movie? Flash's horrible costume.

Rating: 6/10

Now Playing Podcast is doing the Hellraiser series as part of their Fall 2017 donation drive. Since I never got beyond the third one, I decided to start at the beginning. Yes, I'm going to make myself watch the entire series, for better or worse. I know we all know at least the basic premise of the movies but I wanted to post the trailers because sometimes it's fun to go back and watch trailers for movies you know.

*Hellraiser (1987, Netflix & Amazon)
Yep, still as freaky and creepy as I remember it being! Some of the effects work doesn't hold up well after 30 years but the Cenobites and Frank's skin suit are still amazing.

Rating: 6/10

*Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 (1988, Netflix & Amazon)
Like any good horror series, you want to know more about the main baddie. Watching Hellbound is like opening the box: you get what you want but it's definitely not in the way you hoped. This is a good example of "typical 80s horror" but not a great sequel. I couldn't help laughing every time the doctor Cenobite/monster thing came on screen.

Rating: 3/10

Bedeviled (2016, Netflix)

I'm starting to develop a taste for horror involving cell phones/social media. It's definitely not that any of the movies have been good, I'm just curious how they go about creating a story around modern tech. This one was a neat idea but like the actors, it does the minimum to get by. This has no business being rated R, the only way I knew characters were killed is that they stopped appearing in the movie.

Cool: There are a couple of genuinely creepy moments. I really like Mr Bedeviled, I think with a better movie, he could become a horror icon.

Lame: The kills mainly happen off screen.

Rating: 4/10

Month Total

 New: 3  Rewatch: 2

Year Total

 New: 56  Rewatch:7

Creepmas Time is Here!

What's this? What's this?

It's that time of year again where we turn to our patron Saint Skellington for all things wicked and wintry! Spread the word far and wide!

Creepmas is when we October Children take back a few days from December to balance out holiday decorations taking over Halloween shelf space. If you'd like to join our celebration, head over to Creepmas.com to sign up and snag your 2017 blogger badge! Not a blogger? You can join in by tagging your social posts with #Creepmas and/or #MakingCreepmas.

What's Making Creepmas you ask?

It's an image challenge for each of the 13 days of Creepmas. 

You can find more info about it at Creepmas.com.

Boo Halloween Special (1980)

Halloween may be gone but that doesn't mean you have to wait another year to celebrate it!

The Museum of Classic Chicago Television posted the below video to their YouTube page last week. This Canadian Halloween variety show/special was produced in 1980 and aired on WGN in 1982. And like any good variety show, a couple of celebrity guests drop by: Dionne Warwick and Rip Taylor.

It's just as weird and cheesy as you'd want anything from the 80s to be. Plus, there's a healthy does of nostalgia because all the commercials are intact. There's even a Foods International Coffees one with Lea Thompson.

But maybe my favorite part of this whole thing (aside from Rip Taylor because how can you not love Rip Taylor?) are the Star Wars knockoffs. Around the 25 minute mark, the scene moves to The Spook Easy, a monster bar that I guess in in the castle? Even monsters need a place to kick back, right?

It instantly made me think of the cantina from Star Wars. There's a band playing and the monsters look more like Star Wars aliens than creatures of the night. The band looks kinda sorta familiar which only solidifies the Star Wars connection.

And then there's these two bar patrons who are trying to pick each other up, only they're not sure what sex the other one is...awkward.

A big shout out to the Plaid Stallions Facebook page for bestowing this gem into my life.

Salem Halloween 2017

Well, it's November 1st which means it's time for the annual PHSAD - Post Halloween Season Affective Disorder. The good news is I've got some pics from Salem last night, thanks to my mom and wife. I can't exactly work anything in costume.

Also, Creative Salem has a TON of photos of people in costume round Salem and from the Halloween Ball at the Hawthorne Hotel. Absolutely worth checking them all out!

Nightmare was well represented this year.

There were also quite a few Beetlejuice costumes out there.

One of my favorites. Simple but looks great.

This homemade Gremlin is wild!

And an amazing homemade Alien.

This Gomez Addams should be dressed as John Cleese!

There were about 6 of these dinos traveling in a pack having a grand old time chasing each other and bumping into themselves.

It wasn't as crowded as previous years, but maybe that's because it was a Tuesday night. There was a huge police presence and some intersections were blockaded with school buses but I never really thought about it until seeing them. Sadly, these are the times we live in. But despite that, I'd say I had an above average night. No costume issues and plenty of people wanting to take pics with the Salem Creep made for a fun time!

There's more pics over on Flickr. 

I'm going to go enjoy the last day of my mini-vacation.