It's been a rough couple weeks for losing beloved entertainers: Dolly
Parton, Tim Curry, and Peter Cullen all left us last week. If you don't know
Cullen, you've at least heard him as Optimus Prime and dozens of other iconic
cartoon characters.
With the blog rolling into September, regular posts will go on hiatus
while I prep for the annual
Countdown to Halloween
with a post every day in October. Every year I think I don't have it in me and
struggle to find things to talk about but every year I pull it off.
Anyway, let's get this recap on the road!
Series
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO Max)
More like Riotous Gemstones! I've been binging the series over the summer and
just wrapped it up. If Danny McBride knows how to do one thing, it's create
people you wouldn't go near in real life but find some way to make you root
for them.
Another summer binge. This one took me by surprise. Not only is everyone great
in it but this is probably Harrison Ford's best role (sorry Han and Indy!).
It's good to see him get into something with real depth and also show that he
can be funny! This show alone is worth getting AppleTV for.
Gatchaman Progress
Knocked out 5! Currently up to 89
Movies
The Devil's Mouth (2026, Prime) One final shark movie for the
summer. It started off pretty good but once the shark gets going, it basically
turns into a slasher. For some reason, the shark has it out for this tour
group beyond just needing to eat, or maybe he's really hungry. I don't know a
lot about shark eating habits. The ending goes a little too far into action
movie territory antics where the rest was pretty grounded.
I'm a little late on posting these. I picked them up maybe a month or so ago and just never got around to opening them. Questers is a line of collectible, build-able D&D figures aimed at a younger audience.
The line debuted with 12 figures featuring some of the most iconic monsters from D&D's long history. The monsters are "blind" packed in these large plastic d20s. If you click to enlarge, you'll see under the 1 on the top die there's a code indicating what's inside. These capsules snap together really well so if you wanted to, you could roll them if you've got a big enough table.
Each one comes with an easy to put together (mostly) figure, an actual d20, a creature card, a quest starter/checklist, and a mini sheet with five stickers. One of the stickers is made to go on your checklist so you can keep track of the monsters you've wrangled.
The checklist also shows the other figures in the line: eight adventurers and three larger dragons. The dragons look cool but being larger, don't interest me. I may pick up one or two of the adventurers but I'm still on the fence. It looks like you can mix and match outfits and accessories so that could be fun.
Yes, I did "cheat" and use the codes you can find online to get the ones I want! First up is that hard to see geometric goo with the caustic personality: the Gelatinous Cube! I don't know if it's just my Cube, but the pieces don't sit together just right. I do like that they have something inside it so it's not just a translucent block sitting there.
Next is the frightful feline that puts Schroedinger's Cat to shame: the dastardly Displacer Beast. It's kind of fun to see a kid-ified version that you might actually want as a pet...assuming you can get past the twin tentacles on its back. This one's the Ultra Rare of the set so it took a bit of digging to locate him.
For those that may not be familiar with a standard d20, here they are with a LEGO minifig for scale.
There's still a a couple classics I need to get: the mimic and the owlbear. I think I need the homunculus owl too because it kind of looks like Bubo from Clash of the Titans.
If you want to see all the figures in the line, head over to Basic Fun's Questers page. I hope this line does well, there's still plenty of monsters out there I'd love to see get this treatment.
Some people say July 5th is the start of spooky season but I prefer
August 1st.
91 days until Halloween!
Links will take you to a trailer.
In writing the post, I realized there's an unintentional Riverdale reunion among three of the movies. Do you know which ones or am I the only grown ass adult that watched Riverdale?
First, what's with that title? Are they planning a Legally Blonde Cinematic
Universe? That aside, this was a lot of fun. If you like watching Elle Woods
do her thing, you'll get it in spades...pink spades. You can tell the actress
playing young Elle studied her character and mannerisms. The supporting cast
is pretty great too.
Gatchaman Progress
Only 3 this month. Currently up to 85
Movies
Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026, HBO Max)
I'm still holding a low key grudge against this. It is an absolutely terrible
movie if you're wanting a lot of Mummy. However, it's a pretty solid Evil Dead
movie, which I guess should be expected since the director's previous movie
was Evil Dead Rise. My bad for not watching the trailer, I guess. I call this
one Evil Dead Rise 2: Egyptian Boogaloo. Definitely have to give it credit for
"going there" in some scenes and the gore.
Rating: 6/10
The Long Walk (2025, HBO Max)
How do you make an interesting movie when 99% of it is teens walking?
Excellent writing and great actors. This really sucked me in. I feel like I
got to know these guys and when it's time for some of them to leave, it hits
you. With what the movie gives you (not a lot), the premise doesn't make
much sense but it's more about the journey.
Rating: 8/10
*Enola Holmes (2020, Netflix)
Pre-game rewatch to gear up for the newest installment. Didn't remember a lot
of it so I had a good time all over again. It's good to see MBB playing
someone other then Eleven, especially a character that's more light hearted.
Rating: 7/10
Forbidden Fruits (2026, Shudder)
Tosses The Craft, Heathers, and Mean Girls into an upscale clothing store in a
mall. Overall, I liked it but there are some parts where the pacing was a bit
slow. It's definitely got "a vibe" that you can't help but feel throughout.
Unfortunately, I'm on a different wavelength but I predict it's going to find
cult status with people that feel the vibe.
Rating: 6/10
Obsession (2025, Peacock)
Well deserving of all the praise (and money!) it's gotten. I only knew Inde
Navarrette from TV's Superman and Lois but she hits this out of the park and
into a whole other ball field! She deserves an Oscar nod for this
performance. Creepy and sometimes shocking, this is the perfect case of being careful what you wish for.
Rating: 9/10
Spooktacular! (2023, Prime, Shudder, Tubi)
A documentary about the first Halloween horror theme park: Spookyworld! It's
not often you get to see a doc about something in your state...at least one
that doesn't involve an investigation. Even if you've never heard of it, if
you're a lover of Halloween, there's plenty to enjoy in seeing how this local
legend came to be.
I had such high hopes for this after seeing the trailers. What happened? For
the amount of fighting and kool moves it has, it's kind of boring. There's
little to no oomph in the fights no matter how kool they look. But I will say,
they don't hold back on the fatalities when they come along. It's got a 2020s
budget with a 1990s script. They should have made Johnny the main focus and
let Karl Urban do his thing..although it's weird hearing him do an American
accent.
Rating: 6/10
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026, Hulu)
Scream queens Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton teaming up? Yes, please! This
picks up right at the end of the first one and continues the cult craziness
with more of the comedy and violence that made that one so much fun. Plus now
you've got Elijah Wood and Sarah Michelle Gellar in the mix!
Rating: 8/10
Masters of the Universe (2026, Prime)
At best, I've been a casual MotU fan. I watched the cartoon and only ever had
a Skeletor figure because he looked cool. That said, I feel like this movie
had a target and shot with 100% accuracy. This is the Flash Gordon for the
2020s, except they knew what they were making. It's an incredibly fun action
movie that serves up plenty of knowing winks to its fan base. Oh, and if
you're worried about Jared Leto being in it, don't. You won't even notice him
because you never see his face.
I remember a while back seeing the first series of Marvel Doorables and thought it was cool they were starting to do those after Star Wars. And then recently I saw series 3. Not only did I not ever see series 2 but there were two waves for that series! I'm kind of annoyed at that now that I know they exist, some of my favorite characters were in series 2!
But anyway, on to series 3...
I immediately recognized the outer ring on the packaging as one of Dr. Strange's portals. Series 2 had similar packaging but again...never saw them. Back when the Star Wars ones debuted, I started keeping this list of codes bookmarked on my phone. It's not the best to work with on a phone screen but it's definitely helped me zero in on the ones I want. Mrs Dex calls it cheating because it removes the surprise. I like to think of it as avoiding having duplicates and getting my favorite characters.
Speaking of codes...
They haven't gotten rid of them but they're certainly making them harder to see by using black printing on a black background. I had to use my phone's flashlight to help make them easier to read.
Let's see who I got (spoiler alert: I already knew).
First we've got Elektra and Moon Knight. MK is the main reason I picked up this one. He's got a pair of crescent darts and Elektra's got her itty bitty sai.
Next is Jubilee and a "special edition" Vibranium Miles Morales.They did an awesome job on Jubilee not only with her powers in full effect but blowing a gum bubble. Classic! Miles is obviously a chase figure being somewhat translucent, similar to the Star Wars hologram figures.
One of my favorite things about Doorables is the package is usually some sort of display for the figures. Let me tell you, between the tiny space and curved walls, it's not easy standing them up in there! It's hard to see but there's a removable cardboard background with a helicarrier on it. Looking at more series 2 pics online, it looks like there's different backgrounds you can get.
If you want to see who all is in Series 3, check out the Doorables Wiki. As you might guess from the name, they also have every other Doorable series cataloged there too!
I tried to find an image of a fun 15th birthday cake to slot in here. Either I didn't look hard enough or there's just some really bland images out there.
I can't believe this thing is still going after 15 years! If you're one of the handful of people reading this, thanks for stopping by. If you're not...let me know how you're seeing this.
Here's a look at the Top Ten posts of all time.
Last year, I said I didn't think anything would ever dethrone the top two posts, but I was wrong!
Coming from out of nowhere, the August 2025 Monthly Media Recap jumps in at the number two spot. It wasn't even in last year's top ten! I wonder what it is that made it so popular over the last 365 days? The venerable Andy Gibb poster drops two spots to fourth place. There was a time when he was THE most popular for many years.
So glad this came back but not thrilled with the season only being 6 episodes.
Maybe there's more coming? Anyway, the addition of Fred Armesin this go round
as a shady casino owner is extra icing on this already delicious show.
Like seeing a couple of old friends and jumping right back into things. Is it just more episodes of Regular Show? Yes! And that's the best praise I can give it.
This horror thriller mini series is a slow burn that keeps you guessing if
something bad is really going to happen (spoiler alert: it's in the title) or
if it's in the main characters head. The burn pays off in the climax with one
of the most horrifying scenes I've seen.
Guy Ritchie returns to Holmes with his signature style for an extremely
entertaining and fun ride. If I could have binged the whole thing in a day, I
probably would have. Sherlock is great but Moriarty oozes scoundrel charm when
he's on screen. It's got plenty of twists and turns to keep you
guessing.
Don't listen to the whiny fanboys. If you're thinking about seeing this, do it! It's definitely not Superman. It's a bit grungier, for lack of a better word. Kara is not the shining beacon that her cousin is. This is about her figuring out the kind of person she wants to be. Milly Alcock is the best thing about this movie and I hope we get more of her. If you have a problem with Krypto, I can only assume you've never owned a dog or just hate animals.
Rating: 7/10
You Might Be the Killer (2018, Tubi)
Take The Mask from the movie of the same name but replace Loki with Jason
Voorhees and you get this quirky, comedic summer camp slasher. It doesn't
tackle meta quite on the level of Scream but I have to hand it to them for
doing something original. Definitely a must for slasher fans.
While the first half wasn't as interesting because I didn't know a lot of the
movies, I really started getting into horror in the late 90s so there was a
lot more here that was familiar to me. It was also fun to see the evolution of
the teen slasher post Scream.
Scream 7 (2026, Paramount)
As much as the original Scream redefined horror, the series has become the
very thing those characters were making fun of. It's not terrible but it
doesn't feel like it was necessary other than to introduce Sydney's daughter
to possibly carry the final girl torch. There are a couple of good kills and I like that the trailer doesn't show the biggest plot point (which ends up being a bit of a let down that they didn't go further with it). I don't get how/why this series keeps going with different people
being Ghostface but I'll keep turning up to see what weird hoops they'll jump
through to make it happen.
Rating: 5/10
They Will Kill You (2026, Netflix)
I put the trailer here but I'm begging you, don't watch it if you plan to see
the movie. This insane melding of Tarantino and Sam Raimi should be
experienced blind for maximum fun! This movie is crazy and unpredictable. The
cinematography choices are chef's kiss and the fight scenes are as wild as a Saturday
afternoon Hong Kong flick!
I don't know, I didn't love it like a lot of people do. I can't put my finger
on it but something about the whole viewing just felt a little off for me, like
I was watching a three episode season finale arc condensed into a movie. I
will say, the female anchor at the end of the movie deserves an award for her
performance.
Somewhat recently, I started seeing ads online for these and thought they were cute. I happened to find them in a local store over the weekend and couldn't pass picking one up. Plus, Labyrinth is seriously under represented in the merch department.
What you get is exactly what it says on the box: a 3" mystery reversible plushie. There are six in all including the door knockers, Ludo, a Firey, goblins, the worm ('ello!), and Jareth.
Of course, I'd be happy with whichever one I got, but I just happened to grab Jareth! His alternate form is the snow owl. You could have this on display and it would just be a cute plush owl to the casual person that isn't obsessed with Labyrinth. Turn it inside out and...
you've got the Goblin King himself! The hair is kind of fun, if not a little weird. He's got the pendant from the movie and they even gave him two different colored eyes.
The extra special icing on the cake was seeing the Labyrinth graphics inside of the box. One of the corners is marked "glue tab" so I think they intend you to be able to easily pull it apart to use as a display.
In addition to the other five mystery plushies, TeeTurtle also has larger ones: 4" Didymus/Ambrosius, 6" Jareth/Sarah in ballroom attire, and an 8" Ludo. They also have a whole line of mystery plushies including Sesame Street, TMNT, D&D, and Dark Crystal.
I will be talking a little about The Mandalorian and Grogu, but no spoilers, I promise!
Gatchaman Progress
Slacking this month and didn't watch any. Currently up to 77
Streaming
The Boys S5 (Prime)
Great social commentary wearing a cape. It may be the final season but they're still going strong with the over the top gore and gross out moments. They did an amazing job and managed to give a satisfying wrap up. Not sure if we need a prequel
spin-off series but I trust Eric Kripke and more importantly, Jensen Ackles
will be back so I'll be tuning in.
Maul: Shadow Lord (2026, Disney+)
I don't know if anyone thought it was a good idea when Maul showed up alive in
the Clone Wars series but they've proved that it was more than just a cheap
gimmick. Of course, if you're not up on your Maul history, you won't get as
much from this series but it's still really, really good!
This is essentially and 80s action hero movie with loads of effects, puppets,
and stop motion and I'm here for it. The great things is, they made this so
anyone can go see it but they also put in a ton of stuff that will have long
time fans doing the Leo pointing meme without it feeling like fan service. The
best compliment I can give it is that it's the kind of movie that will get a
kid to love Star Wars.
Rating: 8/10
Night Patrol (Shudder, 2025)
Justin Long continues to make his mark as a Scream King in this bad cops vs
street gangs flick with a vampire twist. The action and effects are great. The
final act goes a little wonky and doesn't seem sure which direction it wants
to go but it's still a good time.
Rating: 6/10
Thrash ((2026, Netflix)
The decent effects put this a notch above the average SyFy Original. The
characters are all fairly one dimensional and I was never really rooting for
any of them. They knew this storm was coming and didn't leave so that's on
them! The ending has a couple of eye roll inducing bits that are more action
movie camp than the rest of the movie which just made me sour on it even more.
Rating: 4/10, if you want to see this kind of thing done
well, watch Crawl instead
Continuing on into the 90s, this 6 hour documentary takes a look at some of
the iconic horror movies of the time. I LOVED the 80s version of this but this
one was a little bit of a slog for me. Not because it was lesser in quality
but because I wasn't as familiar with a lot of the movies covered. Still, it
was fun and gave me a few things to throw on my watch list.
Send Help (2026, Hulu)
Sam Raimi injects his dark humor into this mashup of Castaway and Misery.
Rachel McAdams may never be a convincing mousy/frumpy type but she's really
great when she goes psycho! I had a lot of fun with this one because it keeps
ramping up the crazy as it goes.
I was braced for the worst when starting this horror anthology. The opening
story is terrible, but thankfully only a little over 5 minutes and is the
worst of the bunch. The second segment (I Love You So Much, It's Killing Them)
is by far the high point. The rest after that are decent, and short, enough to
stay entertaining.
Rating: 6/10
Anaconda (2025, Netflix)
Not linking the trailer because it gives away some of the best gags in the movie! It probably could have been a little better story-wise but Rudd and Black help make up for it. There's a couple of genuine laugh out loud moments and at the end of the day, it's a perfectly fine movie to turn off your brain and have some popcorn.
I finally broke down and picked up the Gourd Horde figure from the
Stranger Things: Tales from '85 animated series line.
I haven't watched the show yet but it's kind of hard to pass up a weird,
pumpkin-headed creature.I'm kind of on the fence about the show. Of course, I'd love more Stranger stories and this looks like a fun 80s Saturday morning show. On the other hand, it introduces at least one new kid to the gang so unless they die, it''s kind of odd they never get mentioned in the main show.
Getting it out of the package was a bit of work. It's got way
too many of those elastic-y things holding it in the plastic. Once I got it
out, I was surprised at how much articulation they packed into this thing for a $10 3.75" figure!
I was just expecting a basic 5 POA, but no! The head has a good range of
up/down motion and it's got articulation at the shoulders, elbows, wrists,
hips, knees and ankles. And a bonus action feature: if you press down on the
stem, you can make the jaws chomp.
Granted, because this is designed to be a creature that lopes on
all fours, you can't really use that articulation to do as much as you could
with a bipedal figure but it's still cool to have options. The vines on the
back kind of give it a Carnage/Venom vibe. There's also "hidden" paint that
can be seen under a special flashlight (black light) that comes with one of
the other toys.
These guys would make good pets or a hunting pack of minions for 6" scale figures.
Or downright terrors when facing off against LEGO minifigs.
If you're looking to start your own Gourd Horde, I believe this line is a Target exclusive as that's the only place I've come across them so far.
Recently, Super 7 had a big clearance blowout and had this series of blind boxes for 50% off! Unless it's a character I really, really like, I have a hard time spending $20 (or I guess they're now $25?!) for a carded, 3.75" 5 POA figure. But for $7.50 a pop on blind boxes? I'll take my chances.
Especially with a can't miss wave like this: Bert, Ernie, Guy Smiley, and Oscar. Three of the main stars plus Guy, who's also a favorite. Everyone has their favorites, but to be honest, I couldn't be upset at getting any of the Sesame Street cast.
First pull was Bert who comes with a pigeon, naturally! Everyone knows Bert, from the iconic pointed head to the striped shirt, but have you ever really looked at his outfit? Take it all in. Is he wearing a long sleeved turtle neck under the stripes? I have to give him props for sticking with those shoes throughout the decades.
Here's a closer look at the pigeon, which fits right in his hand. It's a good place to keep it. It tends to fall over a lot when standing on its own.
Next up was Oscar and a teeny, tiny Slimey who comes in a plastic bag because he's very easy to lose! I love the design on this one. There's a vertical slider on the back so Oscar can go into the can (closing the lid) or be popped up. The lid does go straight up which I didn't notice until after I took the photo.
It wasn't hard to tell this was Oscar when I felt the black plastic bag so I was a little bummed at first when I opened the last one and felt another Oscar, until I opened it...
and found that it was the glitter chase version of Oscar! Even Slimey has a metallic finish. It's hard to capture but Oscar is also glittery. I bet he would HATE that!
There's enough difference in their coloration that they could be different characters. Maybe the glitter one is a cousin that lives in rich people's trash of Beverly Hills?
This past weekend, I swung by the LEGO store to see if they had the new series of blind boxed minifigs and got a little bonus!
In my local store, there's usually a little table setup by the entrance to greet customers or show off a recent set. I wasn't really paying attention because I knew what I was there for. One of the employees said "Hey, do you want a free mini-build of the Mandalorian's N-1 ship?" Of course I said, "Heck yeah!"
They also had Grogu ears but I wasn't quite feeling those.
On to the minifigs!
I can't believe they're up to series 29 with these! As usual, they had a full set on display but I didn't see the packs so I asked if they had them in store. The cashier said they're keeping them behind the counter and then pulled out a list to show me what they have in stock. Apparently a lot of people are hunting for the Bionicle figure (#3). One site that's selling individual figures has him for $15, 3x the MSRP!
Unfortunately for me, the Trash Monster (#6) is also quite popular due to his new parts and was sold out already, so I'll have to keep looking for him. But they did have the other ones I was looking for: Monster Hunter (#4) and Cute Witch (#10). I try to keep my minifig collecting in the monster/Halloween area.
Initially, I wasn't going to get this figure but seeing it in person convinced me. She's got a very Van Helsing vibe going on. Short of being an actual monster, you can't get much closer to a monster themed figure than a monster hunter! There is so much detail packed on this one! In addition to the incredible detail of her clothing, there's an assortment of vials on her right shoulder and back.
She's also got a double portrait: one smiling and one with a smirk. I love how they gave her a duster with the mini-cape. The gun is pretty cool too with a big knife slung under for the fighting gets up close and personal.
Next is Cute Witch and her cat. I've lost count of the number of witch minifigs I have! She's quite different from most of the others though with her bright colors and kitty...socks? Boots? I'm guessing they're boots. The skirt piece is a reuse of the one they had for last year's build-a-minifig witch.
She's also got two portraits: winking smile and big, happy smile. I stole the cauldron from the D&D Tasha minifig and ended up counting all my witches and this one makes number seven!
You can get a full rundown on every figure in this series at Jay's Brick Blog.
Not much to say at the top here, so let's jump right in!
Gatchaman Progress
Only watched 2, most of the time I would have been watching this went to the new Darth Maul mini-series. Now up to: 77
Streaming
Malcolm in the Middle (2026, Hulu)
Bringing back a beloved show seems to be the "it" thing to do recently.
Surprisingly, the ones I've watched have been good and do a great job of
picking up the story decades later. If you're
a Malcolm fan, this 4 episode mini-series is absolutely
worth the watch.
Movies
The Mortuary Assistant (2026, Shudder)
I didn't watch the trailer so I had no idea this was based on a video game
until I was reading up on it after watching. All I can say is, I hope the
movie is more enjoyable to people that have played the game. It does start
off pretty good but then takes a turn into "been there, done that" horror
tropes.
Speaking of video game movies that I sat through...Again, hopefully game
fans got more out of this than I did. The Marionette is a great design and
gives the creepiest moments in the movie but we don't see it all that much.
Between the plot, the good and bad animatronics, and it being two years
since I saw the first one, I was a little confused as to what was going on.
But at least we get Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich in a movie again...even
if they don't have scenes together?
Rating: 4/10
Moving on to things I actually liked this month...
Hive (2026, Tubi)
This one took me by surprise. I thought it was going to be one kind of movie
and then it turns into this weird concept that's kind of silly but also
unsettling. It's definitely not something I've seen in a horror movie
before. The kid actors, especially the main little girl, are all fantastic
and creepy when they need to be.
Rating: 7/10
Deathstalker (2025, Shudder)
After seeing Manborg and Psycho Goreman, I will watch anything
that Steven Kostanski has a hand in. He makes B-movies with the full
awareness of what he's doing and winks at the audience while doing it. This
is so much fun! It's over the top with plenty of practical effects. As soon as the killer fantasy metal soundtrack kicks in, you know you're in for a wild ride! It's less Conan and bit more He-Man (complete with bumbling mini-magician) which gives it a different feel than the 80s sword and sorcery films it's paying tribute to.
Rating: 7.5/10
Red Sonja (2025, Tubi)
This fantasy flick is a bit of a mixed bag. It does a good job of making up for it's low budget with decent effects but it does occasionally get slowed down by some clunky dialog scenes. I will say, they do a good job of her origin story and evolving her into the badass warrior she should be by the end. For a movie, it's okay. If this was a TV pilot, I'd be tuning in every week.
Did you sing the show theme when you read the post title? Then you remember
the PBS science show
3-2-1 Contact. It's kind of funny how you can trace my growth as a human through the PBS
shows I watched growing up. Contact was an instant favorite as they explored
science principles in fun ways and also introduced The Bloodhound Gang, a
group of teen detectives that solved crimes using science.
I could probably go on about the show but, as the title says, I'm talking
about the accompanying magazine. I recently discovered there's about
90 issues uploaded to the Internet Archive. Being a fan of the show, I did get the occasional magazine and it's crazy
how many covers I recognize. Me being me, I keyed in on the cover of the
October 1982 issue which mashes up two of my favorite things: computers and
Halloween. I was thrilled to see this "Special Computer Issue" has a story
about Tron.
Tron had just come out in July, which was probably bad news for any kid just
finding out about the movie in October! The article spends time with Larry
Elin, one of the computer graphic artists that worked on the movie. He worked
at MAGI (Mathematical Applications Group, Inc) one of the first 3D computer
animation companies.
Not only was he an animator, but also the VP in charge of hiring some of
the other folks that worked on the movie. He worked on the iconic vehicle
sequences in the movie including the Lightcycles, Tanks, and Recognizers.
MAGI was located in NY and this page mentions how Disney execs in CA wanted to
see how the effects scenes were progressing every day. They had a "computer
link" to share the scenes coast to coast. I'm curious what that involved in
the early 80s!
The last page of the article shows someone programming a Grid Tank
into the computer. Another article in this issue features a young girl named Cori Grimm
that makes computer graphics for some
educational games. If you want to browse the full magazine, you can find it here.
I'll leave you off with the theme here but there's also plenty of full episodes up on YouTube if you want to dive down a nostalgia rabbit hole.
For an April 1st post, there's not a lot of stinkers this month!
As usual, linked titles will take you to a trailer.
Gatchaman Progress
Only watched 2. Now up to: 75
Streaming Series
Wonder Man (Disney+)
The MCU TV series can really shine when they take a chance and do something
different. This isn't a "superhero" show. It's a show about a guy making his
way through life that happens to have super powers. I love how they made
"Wonder Man" an 80s sci-fi movie icon and that they brought back Trevor. who
has no trouble stealing the scenes he's in. Looking forward to season 2!
Ted (S2, Peacock)
Simultaneously more crass than last season (hilariously so) but also balanced
with an equal amount of heart. MacFarlane has said this is the last season due
to the cost of the show which is really too bad because it's just so damn
funny.
Movies
Project Hail Mary (2025, IMAX)
I've only really seen Gosling in Barbie and the Fall Guy and he does a phenomenal job here. His co-star is no slouch either and will likely be one for the record books. There was a lot more comedy that I was expecting which is kind of ironic as Lord and Miller were booted off Solo: A Star Wars Story for trying to make it more comedic. If you're on the fence about seeing this in a theater, do it! The little kid in me that used to stare at the moon through a telescope and wonder what was out there is glad he did.
Rating: 9/10
The Last Video Store (2023, Shudder)
The Videonomicon, a strange video tape, traps two people in a video store and
forces them to face off against movie characters. I often rip on low budget
horror but then there's ones like this that have something special that I
thoroughly enjoy. Just about everything hits for me: the synth score, the meta
movie tropes, and the knockoff fictional stereotypes of famous movie
characters. Horror kids that grew up renting everything and anything in the
80s, this one's for you!
Solid action movie with a social commentary that's a little too close to home
these days. It's one of those movies where some things don't make sense if you
stop and think about it, but it's also not that kind of movie and before long
there's another action set piece to keep things moving.
Speaking of movies that don't make sense... I mentioned with the first one of these how
crazy it was that Someone constructed these elaborate escape rooms which must
cost into the billions and that's even more true here. Not only that but it
feels like things happen because that's the way they have to in order for the
plot to progress. Even just the way the main characters are forced together
must have taken an improbable amount of planning. Still, kind of a fun watch
for the traps.
Rating: 6/10
Alligator (1980, Prime)
This is one of those movies that was always at my periphery of horror. It was
always on the rental shelf, frequently saw it popup on TV but for some reason
never watched despite it being one of my favorite sub genres: giant animal on
the loose. It may be a B movie Jaws knockoff but they pull it off! I was
surprisingly entertained for the whole thing
Rating: 7/10, not really but it was a fun watch
Alligator 2: The Mutation (1991, Prime and
YouTube)
As much fun as the first one was, this direct-to-video bomb needs an MST3k
treatment to get to the same level of fun. It's a poor retread of the original
and everything about it is worse. The plot, the acting, the effects, you name
it. At one point, the alligator is making its way through a fair and it's
clear they're just shooting the snout from the side while it's on a dolly,
rolling it through the crowd.
Have you ever watched a movie that you've never seen but parts of it felt
familiar? That was my experience here, very odd. Anyway, it's a pretty wild
ride and if it's possible seven years later, best to go in blind. The plot
becomes apparent to the audience almost immediately but the build up to the
main character being let in on it and the roller coaster that follows is
wonderful and the dark humor woven in is chef's kiss.
Rating: 8/10
Relaxer (2018, Shudder)
I feel secure promising you, you've never seen and will never see, another movie like this in your life. The basic plot is about a guy trying to get to the Pac-Man kill screen on New Year's Eve 1999. The whole movie takes place in his living room with the occasional visit from oddball characters. And there's some extra weird layered on top of all this. It's something you have to see for yourself because I sure as hell can't explain it! While I kind of get what they were doing and the performance of the main character was fantastic, it's just a little too out there for me...and I love Rubber!
