On one hand, just 91 days til Halloween! On the other hand, days of heat advisories don't have me looking forward to August.
Series
Dexter: Original Sin (Paramount+)
Like most prequels, my initial thought was "Do we really need this?" The
surprise answer is yes! I enjoyed this a lot more than the New Blood season.
Whoever did the casting here needs an award. Not only was everyone great but
those playing characters from the original series absolutely nailed their
future selves. Thrilled to find out there will be another season.
Gatchaman Progress
Episodes watched this month: 6 Currently up to: 52
Movies
Summer movie watching usually means one thing: sharks!
The Last Breath (2024, Shudder/Hulu)
The premise of a group of college kids diving a WWII wreck sounded
interesting, you need some reason to get the victims in the shark's
environment. From there, it's mostly an average "slasher" where they get
picked off one by one. It's "real life" so there's nothing crazy with the
shark but towards the end it does something I thought was silly which felt
more B-movie than they wanted this to be. This was Julian Sands final film
role and he was the one standout thing in the movie.
As usual, the September Recap is coming to you a day early because
tomorrow starts the 31 day Countdown to Halloween Blog-a-thon! Also as usual, the linked titles below are Amazon affiliate links where I may earn from any qualifying purchases.
Handmaid's Tale (S2, Hulu)
Some of the scariest non-horror stuff ever because it feels like we're one bad election away from it. I've been a fan of Elisabeth Moss after seeing her in 2020's Invisible
Man and she just continues to be amazing in this series, which is also
outstanding.
American Horror Stories (S1-S2, Hulu)
This took up a whole lotta movie time this month but it's good prep for
spooky season. This is a spin-off anthology series where each episode is a
self contained story; very Tales from The Crypt. There are occasional
references to one of the main series stories but you can fully enjoy this
without having seen any AHS. If you know AHS, you're familiar with their
opening credits sequences. They do that for each episode, giving it a unique
sequence which just adds to the fun.
Movies
Horny Teenagers Must Die! (2024, Tubi) Based on the title (and category tags) I assumed this was going to have
some comedic elements to it. As it is, it's a pretty generic "horny teens in
the woods" slasher that might keep you guessing who the killer is...if you're
not really paying attention. If you're going to give your movie a title like
this, you have to deliver on it, especially in the kill department.
Rating:
3/10
Star Slammer aka Prison Ship (1986, Tubi) Back in the 70s & 80s, "women in prison" was a whole sub-genre of
exploitation films. This is one of those but innnn spaaaace. It's got a lot of
the standard tropes of WiP films and plenty of generic sci-fi stuff to make it
entertaining even if it's not a good movie. And how about that knock-off
Raiders music?
Happy October Eve month! As usual, the blog will be going into hibernation for most of September to prep for the 31 day Countdown to Halloween celebration. Also as usual, links below are Amazon Affiliate links where I may earn from qualifying purchases.
On with the show!
Series
Cobra Kai (S6 Part 1, Netflix)
Karate Fight Soap Opera is back! It's still fun but after last season I just
can't take the "serious" parts seriously. Sometimes it feels like a spoof of a
Mexican soap opera with the drama and the who's teaming up with who.
Unsolved Mysteries (S4, Netflix)
I don't know that I needed an episode about Jack the Ripper, it's been
unsolved for a little while now but the Mothman ep was kinda fun. Fun in the
"turn all the lights on your way to bed" way. The true crime eps are where
it's at and they've definitely got some interesting cases.
Files of the Unexplained (Netflix)
Hey, you got your Unsolved Mysteries in my In Search Of! It's like the Time Life Mysteries of the Unknown books in half hour format. If you were the kind of kid that always checked out books about Bigfoot, UFOs, etc, it's worth checking out. The last episode about a beach that's had way more than it's fair share of human severed feet wash up is a must watching because WTF?
I don't know marketing but if I were in charge for this movie, I would have
found a way to not reveal the vampire angle in the trailers. Talk about giving
too much away! Knowing that twist going in, this becomes an average "haunted
house" type movie with a couple of good scenes.
I'm somewhat familiar with the Tarot and I'm pretty sure it doesn't work the
way it does in this movie. I can give them a pass on it because of the great
monster designs that come out of it. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is a little predictable as each character meets their
"foretold" death. It feels like Final Destination by way of Blumhouse which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
May was an odd month for movie watching. It was front loaded with the second weekend of Salem Horror Fest and a couple of other films. There was a long lull and then I packed in a couple more at the end of the month.
There's a lot to cover but I promise if you stick to the end (or just skip there) you'll see something truly original and wild.
Series
Bad Batch (S3, Disney+)
What a great way to end the series! Star Wars animation has been knocking it
out of the park, mostly...see below. I really hope they continue to do long
form story telling because it gives the characters time to shine and grow. I'm
a little sad to leave this crew behind but knowing Dave Filoni, they'll
probably turn up again.
Tales of the Empire (Disney+)
This was good but much like it's predecessor Tales of the Jedi, I don't enjoy
the less than 20 minutes episodes telling a fragmented story to fill in some blanks as much as the
ongoing series format.
X-Men '97 (Disney+) I'm still trying to catch up on the 92 series but man this was amazing!
And my boy Nightcrawler finally gets his moment in the animated spotlight. My
only minor complaint is that it felt like they crammed in too comic story
lines without really giving them time to breathe.
Cult-tastic! Tales from the Trenches with Roger and Julie Corman
(Tubi) This 13 hour (!) series is more Corman than even I could want. Each
hour long episode is dedicated to a specific type of Corman flick like SciFi,
Fantasy, or Monsters. It's fun not only hearing stories about these movies but
also seeing clips from unfamiliar ones. I finally finished the series just a
few weeks before he passed.
It's the penultimate Monthly Media Recap for 2023! As always, links
below are Amazon affiliated and I may earn from qualifying purchases. The
holidays are coming up so use the links to buy yourself, your friends, or even
your enemies something!
Series
Goosebumps (2023, Disney+)
I didn't know much about this going in, I just presumed they'd be redoing the
original stories. Boy was I surprised to get an ongoing series and that it was
TV-14! It's not R but it's not kiddie either. I really like how they worked
multiple stories/objects into one story.
A disgraced cop goes under cover at an amusement park to investigate a murder
that happened in the ghost train ride. She meets two members of rival carny
families and they find there's a serial killer stalking the fairgrounds.
There's a lot going on in this 8 episode series. There's horror, comedy, and
plenty of drama within, and between, the families running the carnival. If
you're looking for something different (and don't mind subtitles) give this a
try!
Loki (S2, Disney+)
I won't say I 100% understood the series from start to finish but I think of
all the Marvel series, this one has the best main character story. While the
fate of the multiverse is on the line, it also gets very personal by focusing
on the characters.
A movie I enjoyed so much, I forgot to include it in the October recap.
Movies like this are why I tend to shy away from low budget indie horror.
It's an anthology and only one of the stories kept my interest. The whole
"lost TV show found on VHS" premise thing didn't work for me either.
If you're looking to see Nic Cage put the beat-down on homicidal animatronic
creatures, this is your movie! Overall, it's just kind of okay. Cage being
Cage and playing the silly situation totally straight is probably what makes
it worth a watch. It's got some fun moments but I feel like it needed a
little more to it.
I'm not as big into DC as I am Marvel but their animated movies are usually
great and this one was no exception. This is a series of linked stories that
take place in a fantasy setting (Did not expect to see Warlord popup!), the
Old West, the 1950s, and modern day. It was really cool exploring the
different settings and seeing "alternate" versions of the Big Three. I guess
this is a setup for the animated version of Crisis next year so that's
something to look forward to.
Rating: 7/10
The Satanic Panic and the Religious Battle for the Imagination (2022,
Tubi)
This documentary follows ordained minister Derek White (aka The
Geekpreacher) as he interviews various people in the RPG biz and
talks about the Satanic Panic from the 1980s. I don't know if you'd find it
as interesting if you're not somewhat into RPGs but it is an amusing look
back at a particular time in gaming history.
Dark Dungeons (2014, YouTube)
If you missed it, I did a
separate post on this last week. It was talked about in the above doc and I immediately knew it was next
on my watch list. Again, you'll get more out of this if you're familiar with
RPGs but it's still pretty entertaining to watch them turn an anti-D&D
religious tract into live action.
I was sold on this from my first viewing of the trailer. However, I wasn't
familiar with the character Onyx before this and I wasn't sure if I'd be
able to get through an entire movie of him after the first few minutes. He's
like an SNL character that's great in short skits but might not be fit for
feature length movies. Luckily, I warmed up to him and was able to enjoy a super fun movie! It's got a very 80s horror/comedy vibe complete with
practical effects.
I saw this one mentioned a few times recently online and decided to give it
a watch. I guess it's sort of a home invasion movie but the home is a
college campus where most everyone has gone home for break. Some of the
killers masks are made from tin foil and I'm sorry, I just can't take you
seriously no matter how hard you're trying to kill me. The lead girl is good
in her role even though the story can be a little weak.
I'm a sucker for horror set in an amusement park and that usually results in
me sitting through some less than stellar movies. The idea of a horror
themed amusement park is great (even if a couple of the 'mascots' look like
they're Scooby Doo knockoff villains). The plot was actually decent as
slashers go. The killer looks pretty good but has no presence. When he shows
up it's "Oh look, the killer is here to thin out the cast." and sometimes he
seems pretty clumsy with his weapons, which I blame more on the effects work
than anything else.
This is one you have to see it for yourself because there's no way I could
explain how bad it is. And yet, I'm low key obsessed with this now. It's
weird in the way that only an 80s horror movie can be. It seems like Tubi
left the gore in but for some reason censored the word sh!t.
I was going to roll this over into the December watch list but I wanted to
make people aware of it so they could watch it during the holiday season. This is a dark comedy take on the trope of family tension at a holiday gathering where people don't keep their feelings in check. I can even forgive the CGI blood because I had such a good time with it.
It may have started out as Star Trek: TNG's funny cousin but the show really
came into it's own, especially in this final season. Like TNG and other good
sci-fi it tackled modern issues with a futuristic twist.
Another glorious 5 hours spent discussing 80s horror flicks. With this being
the third installment, there were a lot more movies I wasn't familiar with.
It's also got some nice mini-segments featuring horror stars talking about
their careers.
This was mostly pretty good. A couple of the song arrangements were so different from the originals that they lost the catchy bit which makes them easy to remember. Kermit & Fozzy drop in to Unpack their Adjectives and I am 100% behind a Schoolhouse Rock/Muppets crossover!
Red Rose (2022, Netflix)
Me on Friday: Hey, let's check out this BBC 8 episode teen horror looking
thing. Me on Monday: Wow! That was not what I was expecting. I love all the
young actors in this, they feel like a real group of friends and I was pleasantly surprised to see Isis Hainsworth from last year's Metal Lords on Netflix.
A cartoon based on a successful D&D podcast/campaign. While I will
probably never listen to the podcast (it's been going for years) I was really
surprised by the animated adaptation and greatly enjoyed it! It definitely has
the feel of playing D&D. It may be animated but it ain't for young
kids!
Obviously worth watching if you've seen the movie but man, who thought a
making of documentary could get you teary eyed? There were a few spots in the
movie where it looked like it was shot on a stage but seeing just how much
they shot on stage where I didn't think that was is amazing.
This past weekend Mrs Dex and I attended Fan Expo Boston, our first comic
convention since the Covid hit.These things have been around for decades and
they still have co-ordination issues. I'm not saying I could do it better,
just that they should have figured some stuff out by now.
For example, here is a section of the autograph area. It's not even the part
that was really crowded. If you wanted an autograph (whether or not you
pre-purchased it) you had to stand in line. Which is fine, that's unavoidable.
They sold a lot more Ming-Na Wen auto tickets than expected and to keep her
line down, they were handing out numbered tickets. They would then update the
whiteboard near her line saying if you had number xxx or lower, you could get
in the line. Why not just make this policy for everyone? Less time in line
means people have more time to spend money elsewhere! Anyway, I'll try to keep
my griping to a minimum.
There were a ton of cool guests but time (and money) prevented me from getting to meet them. But I can truthfully say I was in the same building as Ewan McGregor so that counts for something!
I decided to give everyone a recovery day before posting the December recap.
Streaming
The Mandalorian (Disney+) - What a season finale! I cannot wait to see where the next season will take us. Fans will be going broke soon as the all the merch is starting to go up for pre-order.
The Witcher (Netflix) - Only about half way in but I am loving it so far. It's been quite awhile since I've played a Witcher game but this feels just right.
The Big Screen
Frozen 2 (2019)
I enjoyed the first one quite a bit so I was definitely up for a sequel. What I didn't expect was that a few minutes into the new movie, I was actually happy and excited to be back with these characters again. I really like how they used local folklore and mythology for the fantasy elements. I don't think it had as great of a soundtrack as the first movie but the one song Kristoff does solo that looks like it came out of an 80s power ballad video is pure gold. And I think he may have become my favorite character in this series.
It sounds like a no-brainer, right? After reading the rad Batman/TMNT crossover comic series I thought this would be worth a watch. I had high hopes going in as it seemed to start out with a Batman:TAS vibe and then some horribly drawn turtles showed up and the plot degenerated into something silly that I'd expect from the original TMNT cartoon. When you make my boy Donatello look like a dude in a green morph suit, you lose me.
You take the good, you take the bad, you take em both and there you have your average horror anthology. Jeffrey Combs chews up the scenery like the genre pro he is as the owner of an oddities shop where every item has a story. If you can get past the horrible dialog and acting of the first tale, the rest can be entertaining. "The Hand That Rocks the Dreidel" is a bite sized Puppet Master story so it wins the movie for me.
Rating: 5/10 Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
With every new trilogy movie, I need to see it at least twice to formulate a decent opinion and this one is no exception. There's a lot I liked and there's some things that came off as dumb, like(event A happens because we need B next or things happen that end up having no real impact. It's Star Wars, it's a space fantasy and I shouldn't care about "logic" but like the slo-mo chase in The Last Jedi, there are some things I have a problem wrapping my brain around. These feelings generally subside on multiple viewings, listening to podcast reviews, and reading a visual dictionary. We'll see where I'm at after another viewing.
Rating: 6/10
Klaus (2019, Netflix)
I have Mrs Dex to thank for this one, I probably would not have picked it otherwise. It turned out to be a great re-imaging of how Santa came to be from the man that brought you Despicable Me. The animation is fantastic and the story is cute.
Rating: 7/10
Doom: Annihilation (2019, Netflix)
Talk about going out with a whimper. This sequel no one asked for is probably the least entertaining movie I watched all year.Sure, it has things from the game like a chainsaw and BFG but it's also got demons that are clearly people in rubber suits and a cast with less charisma than a box of rocks.
Rating: 2/10
Month
New: 6 Rewatch: 0
Year to Date
New: 75 Rewatch: 3
Here are all the movies I watched in 2019. I stole the idea from Bob Johns at It Came from the Man Cave, go check out his Best of 2019 post! You can get a better look at the movies on my Letterboxd page.
DC Comics began publishing Tales of the Unexpected in 1956. Due to the newly implemented restrictions from the Comics Code Authority, which put the kibosh on horror, this new title was a science-fiction anthology. In 1968, the title was change to simply Unexpected. The series ran for 222 issues, ending in 1982.
Today's feature is issue #220 from 1982.
Although the cover offers Season's Greetings, it's only the lead story that takes place around Christmas with a mental patient on the loose who nabs a mall Santa outfit.
The last story, Trollbridge, was something different with it taking place in a fantasy setting. That's something I don't think happened much in these anthology series.
Also of note in this issue, a Hostess Twinkies ad with Batman and a full page ad for the upcoming new series Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew which was one of my favorite series at the time.
Click the comic cover to be transported back to the early 80s!
Be sure to visit the other Creepmas Creeps by clicking the link below.
Over the remaining days of Creepmas, I'll be presenting some comics featuring stories perfect for reading by the fireplace.
First up is Strange Adventures #79 from DC. The original series ran for 244 issues from 1950 to 1973. This was DC's first science fiction comic and it all began with a comic adaptation of the movie Destination Moon.
Do you want to build a snowman...with laser shooting eyes?
Click the cover to witness the "Invaders from the Ice World"! This first offering only contains the tile story but future Creepmas comics will feature the entire issues, complete with original ads!
Be sure to visit the other Creepmas celebrants by clicking below.
Even though it's not quite Thanksgiving, I've got some leftovers! I had originally planned this for October but couldn't fit it in.
Do you believe...in Ghosts?
DC Comics did from 1971-1982 with its supernatural anthology comic that ran for 112 issues. Similar to other horror comics of the time, each issue contained several short stories. Unlike other horror comics, Ghosts did not have a host character for most of its run. It wasn't until near the end of the series in issue 104 that the Squire Shade showed up to entertain readers. He never really developed into a character but was more your guide to the supernatural.
If you know your DC, you might think Squire Shade looks a whole lot like Gentleman Ghost. If you don't know your DC, check this out!
The Squire was a bit...portlier than Gentleman Ghost but he did have his own stagecoach, so that's something. There's never been any official confirmation these two specters are possibly the same manifestation or even related. However, back during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Squire Shade was removed from existence so I guess that takes care of that.
Back to the comic, I know I read at least two of these issues back in the early 80s and was finally able to figure out the specific ones. Number 105 has stuck with me in particular for whatever reason random things get stuck in your brain. I only really remembered part of the first story and the name Serafina, but I think you'll agree these two images are striking enough to recall decades later.
During my research, I also found the cover for 110 which instantly brought back memories of the story "The Game of Electronic G-H-O-S-T". Although reading it now, the story is a bit silly.
If you need to inject a little spooky into your Turkey Day, click on the cover images to grab a PDF copy of the comic complete with original ads! The lead story in 110 is even set at Christmas, how's that for festive?
I held off on posting this yesterday, presuming everyone would be too hung over to look at the internet. Happy New Year!
Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
I'm just here for the giant robots fighting things and the movie had enough of that to keep me interested. The plot is like something from a Saturday morning cartoon but again, give me giant robots and I'm set.
Rating: 6/10
This is an R trailer for nudity
Sorceress (1982, Prime)
This movie is not great. The acting is terrible. The beast-men costumes are laughable. There isn't even really a Sorceress in the movie, just a Sorcerer!
I pretty much fell in love with it after the first 15 minutes. It really is so bad it's good. Okay, maybe not good but definitely fun! It's got a cheesy sense of humor like it's laughing at itself which just makes it that much more endearing.
Rating: 7/10 for the fun factor. If that trailer doesn't get you all in, nothing will.
Slay Belles (2018)
I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I love Barry Bostwick's Santa, the Santa lore, and the Krampus. On the other, most of the time I can barely stand 2/3 of the leads and he occasional really terrible EDM music. It's a good time but it feels like a lot of the beginning is watching the girls frolic around before anything actually happens. If I'm thinking three attractive women in skimpy outfits wandering around an abandoned amusement park is wasting time, you're doing it wrong.
Rating: 6.5/10, if you want to learn more about the park where this was shot check this out
Hardcore Henry (2015, Netflix)
Straight up over the top, balls to wall, crazy sci-fi action flick all done from the first person view. Not much else to say other than it's a lot of fun.
Rating: 8/10
All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018)
An oddball holiday horror anthology. Each story stands on its own and most of them have a bit of humor to them, mostly dark. It's also got a weird wraparound story that frames the anthology. There are a couple of stand out stories, the rest are okay at best.
Rating: 6/10, give it a spin
Aquaman (2018)
Look, I don't know what you're expecting from a movie based on a comic book character that is primarily known for talking to fish but this was more fun than I was expecting. What it lacks in acting and logical story, it makes up for with visuals. The way Momoa delivers his one liners and strikes poses for a beefcake calendar, I feel like he's the only one that knows what movie he's in. Everyone else seems to think it's community theater Shakespeare.
Rating: 7/10
You Can't Do That on Film (2004)
As much as I watched this show, seeing the documentary makes me realize just how much of the show I never saw. A lot of the cast that show up for interviews came after I stopped watching. Not that it's a bad thing, I was just hoping for more from the likes of Christine and Lisa. I was very happy to see a lot of Les Lye. All in all, if you were a fan of the show at any point, I think you'd get a kick out of hearing the stories.
Into the Dark: Pooka! (2018)
I had a good time with this one. It was a bit odd but that's one of the things that kept me interested. I can't say too much without giving anything away, it's best you see it for yourself! Be warned, you will get an annoying song (and maybe even a dance) stuck in your head.
Rating: 7/10
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
For lack of a better word, amazing what they managed to do here. I was going to wait for home video but I saw so many people praising it, I had to see it. Happy to say it deserves all the praise! I thought the jerky animation would bother me but it really is like a comic book come to life. This had everything I could want in any superhero movie.
Rating: 9/10, hoping the end credits is a hint of things to come.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005, Netflix)
It's been a long while since I read the book bu from what I remember, it seems like they did a great job of adapting it. It definitely has that odd British sense of humor so if you don't know the book and hate Monty Python, you should probably pass on it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I wrapped up Season 2 of Voltron and what a finale! I'm really glad I decided to give this a look since all I knew about it before was there are five lions that combine into a giant robot.
Also on Netflix, started Santa Clarita Diet and am LOVING it.
Funny and gory/gross? Yes, please!
What have you been watching? Let me know in the comments!
Everything is still awesome in the LEGO-verse! This was just a ton of fun. Kids will love it because it's LEGO and Batman, adults will appreciate the Bat-history and jokes. I've seen some people not liking the fact that the movie crosses into the wider LEGO-verse but I thought it was great.
Cool: Egghead cameo! All the Bat-references.
Lame: The only thing I didn't love in this movie was the Joker. That should never be a thing. You should never walk out of any Batman movie and think Joker was meh.
Rating: 9/10
Super (2010, Netflix)
The trailer makes it look a lot more humorous than it is. Not that it's not funny, because it is but it's more of a dark humor. I really like James Gunn's different takes on the superhero genre. If someone in the real world got it in their head to play Deadpool, it would be this movie.
Cool: You laugh but sometimes you're not sure if you should be Lame: Being a real world superhero with no powers? Not fun.
Rating: 7/10
Finding Dory (2016, Netflix)
Pretty typical Pixar movie: beautiful to look at, fun for kids of all ages, and it has some emotional beats to it. Of course, when I say "typical Pixar" what I mean is it's standing above most "regular" movies.
Cool: Gerald the sea lion might be my new favorite Pixar character Lame: No complaints here!
Rating: 8/10
Kill Command (2016, Netflix)
The trailer pretty much tells you everything you need to know. What it lacks in story or sci-fi ethical dilemmas it makes up for in action. I guess I was expecting something more Black Mirror and less straight horror movie in its stylings.
Cool: Plenty of action Lame: The horror movie-like ending
We went to see the LEGO Batman Movie this weekend and in keeping with spirit of its predecessor, everything was awesome! I'm not going to go too much into it but there are spoilers ahead.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
The movie is incredibly packed with references to Bat-history. Now, I don't consider myself a hardcore fan by any stretch but I think I did pretty good at catching a lot of them. There are plenty of YouTube videos out there if you want a full run down but I wanted to mention a couple of things that stood out to me.
We get to see pretty much every Batsuit you could imagine, but what's this?
That's not a Santa Batsuit, it's a KRAMPUS Bat! It looks more Santa than Krampus but given Batman's rep, I guess it makes more sense to be something to be feared. I'm just happy to see Krampus getting more mainstream.
One of the most fun things is that this Batman has experienced everything you've ever seen Batman in: comics, cartoons, movies, TV, all of it. While Batman '66 may not have had villains on par with what we're used to today, I enjoyed seeing cameos by the likes of King Tut, who got his own minifig.
But there was one cameo in particular that made this grown man squee with delight...
Egghead, who was portrayed by none other than Vincent Price!
He didn't have any lines, which is probably for the best. So now, I 'm totally justified in demanding an Egghead minifig, right? Oh, and while you're at it, LEGO, Gentleman Ghost please!
Nothing from Bat-history is too obscure.
Even the Wonder Twins and Gleek show up at a Justice League party!
At first, I thought that was Krypto dropping the beats but why does he have a green cape? I forget which character but someone calls out that it's Wonder Dog. Yet I didn't see Marvin and Wendy anywhere. What up with that?
I guess that's one mystery they wont' solve.
You might be carrying around another Bat Easter Egg! In the movie, the Batcomputer is played by Siri and he addresses her by saying "Hey, 'puter." So if you have an iDevice, you might want to give that a try.
In case you missed the news, DC Comics has launched a series of comics featuring beloved cartoon characters being updated, rebooted, re-imagined, whatever you want to call it. The first was Future Quest which crosses over Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, Herculoids, the Galaxy Trio, Birdman, and more into a shared universe.
Scooby Apocalypse is next up to bat and was released a couple weeks ago. Naturally, there's been a lot of skepticism, to put it lightly, about all of these books. We geeks don't like people messing with our beloved childhood icons...until we see someone do it right and then we forget how much we hated the idea when we heard about it.
Let me lay it out and then I'll get into my thoughts.
Spoilers ahead, if you care.
It's sometime in the future and Daphne is the host of a failing paranormal reality show that's been shuffled off the knitting channel at 4am. Fred is her cameraman and secretly pines for her. They're at the Blazing Man Festival to meet up with a government lab scientist, Velma, promising a big story that might get them back on top.
Meanwhile, Shaggy, who works at the same facility as a dog trainer, has snuck out smartdog prototype Scooby to the festival for a bite to eat. The all come together and Velma takes them through the underground facility amid a ton of exposition.
The all new Scooby gang
She eventually leads them to the facility's super-secret Safe Room where she explains the true agenda of the Project Elysium: seeding the planet with nanites to make people not only less violent, but more submissive. The nanites have already been spread and wait to be activated by the scientists from the Safe Room. Suddenly, the room goes into lockdown.
Someone has activated the nanites!
As the gang wonder what has happened, we cut to a splash page of the above ground world where there's an all-out monster war including werewolves, mummies, gill-men, winged demons, and some suspiciously familiar looking xenomorphs.
There's a 6 page backup story titled "When Shaggy Met Scooby" that shows Shaggy's first day on the job as dog trainer and how he basically prevents Scooby from being killed by the successful, more aggressive smartdogs.
I think this issue suffers from the same thing as a lot of pilot TV episodes: they have to drop a lot of exposition to get things ready for where they're going. But it also helps get in some background on where these familiar characters are in this reality. Shaggy looks more hipster than hippie. Scooby is a failed prototype with implants that allow him to speak but he doesn't speak as well as the other smartdogs, keeping his trademark speech pattern.
I'm not a big fan of the art style. No wait, now that I went back and looked it over, it's the faces I'm not digging. I much prefer the cartoon style of Jim Lee's cover art than what's in the book. But maybe "more cartoony" won't fit the tone of the book once it gets rolling. It does have a Teen rating after all. The character design is about what you'd expect for the slightly future forward gang and keeps the color schemes they're known for. Fred now sports a neckerchief instead of an ascot. Strangely absent from this first issue is the Mystery Machine, but I'm sure it's coming. How can you do Doo without it?
The story has me...intrigued. We've got a secret government project and what looks to be all sorts of monsters coming up. It probably won't be for every Scooby fan but for now, I'm interested to see where they go with it and if nothing else, there's monsters.
Welcome back for another movie month in review. And check out that snazzy logo, huh? I figured it was about time I tossed something together so that when I post to social media there's some kind of image to entice people to click it.
As always, title links will take you to Amazon to purchase the movie (or anything else) and contribute a couple coins to the AEIOU coffers.
Jurassic City (2015)
Barely on par with your average SyFy Original Movie. I don't expect much of a plot but there has to be a better way to get a few sorority girls into a correctional facility than for a DUI charge. Also not sure why the dinos are being brought there, but to be honest, I wasn't giving it my full attention because it was so ho-hum.
Cool: I love Ray Wise but even he can't make this much fun Lame: Mostly takes place in a prison and doesn't take on the titular city until the end
Rating: 3/10
Seeing BvS made me realize I'd fallen behind on my DC animated movies!
Batman vs Robin (2015)
Continuing the story from Son of Batman, lil Damien starts getting rebellious and falls in with the Court of Owls. I've been wanting to read the Court of Owls story but never got around to it. They managed to fit it in here but even without knowing about it, it feels like a lot may have been left out.
Cool: Seeing this may finally get me to pick up the comics Lame: Damien is still a character I love to hate
Rating: 7/10
Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
I really like that DC is establishing an animated movie universe. This one opens up the Bat Family bringing in Batwing and Batwoman (Kate Kane) who, along with Damien and Nightwing dressed as Batman, have to rescue a captive Bruce Wayne.
Cool: More villains than you can shake a batarang at Lame: Just like the live action, I don't like it when they kill off any of the bad guys
Rating: 7/10
The Boss (2016)
Not as many laugh out loud moments as you might expect but it was good. The plot is nothing new but it's the actors that make it fun to watch. I didn't know Tyler Labine and Peter Dinklage were in this!
Cool: Dinklage absolutely steals all his scenes. The troop vs troop girl brawl in the streets. Lame: Melissa McCarthy...again, funny but playing pretty much the same character she always does. I really hope she does something different in Ghostbusters.
Rating: 6/10
#Horror (2016, Netflix)
When I found this on Netflix, I challenged myself to watch it. I mean, how many movies have # in the title? There's a really good story at its core, but I feel like it's a little hampered by the girls being pre-teens. If these were older girls and the script was tweaked, this could be a Scream for the social media generation.
Cool: I really like the plot idea of exploring cyberbullying. I thought most of the girls were really good in this for being so young. Lame: I can't tell if this is supposed to be serious or satire at times and that makes it hard for me to figure out how much I enjoyed it. When the girls tag photos they use a hashtag at the start and end of the words...why?
Rating: 5/10
C.H.U.D II: Bud the C.H.U.D. (1989)
Straight to video PG zom-com. It's funny, but in a so bad it's almost good way. I got a very strong Return of the Living Dead vibe from it despite it not being a lot more tame. Almost like it could exist in the same universe. Also got a very strong Brendan Frasier/Encino Man vibe from Bud.
Cool: Plenty of familiar faces like Norman Fell, June Lockheart, and Robert Vaughn Lame: Needs more gore! No C.H.U.D. creatures.
Rating: 5/10
On a side note, check out the link to see the 8 movie collection this is part of.
You can't spend a better $5!
It's been a long time since there was a Mail Order Monday and I was struggling to find something to write about this week. Ok, maybe struggling isn't the right word.
More...how you say? Lazy.
Back in 1978, DC comics published an over-sized 72 page comic pitting The Man of Steel against The Greatest. And for the low price of $3, you could have sent away for it. Adjusted for inflation, that works out to about $11 today!
As a kid, I absolutely loved the Treasury size comics because they were huge (10" x 14") and they didn't usually do "regular" stories in these books. It was almost always something special that demanded a bigger size.
Here's a quick rundown of the plot:
It all starts when an alien race called the Scrubb demands Earth's greatest champion fight their greatest. Of course, Earth don't want no Scrubb but if Earth refuses, the Scrubb will just blow us up anyway. Initially Supes steps up, being the good guy that he is. But Ali argues that he's not from Earth and says he's the greatest. The aliens are intrigued and decide to let the two duke it out for the title of Earth's greatest fighter. To make it more interesting, the fight is to be on the Scrubb home world which orbits a red sun, effectively putting Supes on even ground with Ali.
Supes takes a beating and eventually hits the mat. Ali goes on to face the stronger alien champion. Seems fair, right? While Ali gets pummeled by the alien, Superman has made a recovery and tries to sabotage the Scrubb armada. Ali gets a second wind and knocks the Scrubb champion out of consciousness and the ring! Go Earth!
The Scrubb leader finds out about Superman's sabotage and decides to take out Earth anyway. But before he can, the Scrubb champion overthrows him and the Earth is saved. Later, Ali reveals he somehow figured out Superman's secret identity but assures him, he'll keep the secret, declaring them both the Greatest.
The full wraparound cover is pretty cool. It features a ton of notable (at the time) faces including celebrities Ron Howard, Donnie & Marie, and Dick Clark; sports stars like Joe Namath and Pele; and a host of DC comic staff and comic characters. You can see Batman in the bottom right next to Lex Luthor and Sonny Bono. How's that for a combo?
If you like movies and need another social network, come find me on
Letterboxd. They
just put out an iOS app so you can take it on the go too.
Zootopia (2016)
Not surprisingly, this movie is a lot of fun, has heart, and some great
characters. What is surprising are the themes of bullying, not judging someone
based on stereotypes, and going against the odds to be what you want to be. I
don't have kids, but if I did, I would want them to see this!
Cool: Having the animals maintain their normal size relative to each
other makes for some great scenes and interactions.
Rating: 8/10
Stunt Rock (1978)
An Australian stunt man goes to LA and meets a stage magic/rock band act called
Sorcery. The trailer makes it look more action packed than it is. Most of the
action is just stunts, there's not much of a story or plot to the movie and
there's quite a bit of Sorcery performing, which is a great thing! I liked the
music so much, I picked up the soundtrack from Amazon (linked above).
Cool: Sorcery, with their mix of 70s supernatural rock and stage magic,
are just as much the stars as the stunts of real-life stunt man
Grant Page. If Deep Purple and Alice Cooper had a bastard son, it would be
Sorcery! Lame: There's the thinnest of plots but I didn't really mind as there's
plenty of stunts and Sorcery!
Rating: 6/10
Re-Kill (2015, Netflix)
This found footage (or found on DVR) movie follows Re-Kill Division units
Cops-style as they try to prevent a new zombie outbreak from happening. Since
it's a found TV recording, there are fake commercials a la Starship Troopers
every so often that keep it entertaining.
Cool: Plenty of bullets and blood Lame: Shaky cam is shaky; Fast zombies
I've had this one on my watch list for a long time and finally got around to
it. I guess I'd heard so much love for it that I was expecting more out of it.
It wasn't bad, just not as good as I was hoping.
Cool: CHUD design Lame: Not enough CHUD! End was disappointing
Trying to to get too spoilery. The movie looks great when it's not too dark.
Once we get to the Big Fight, it's good but the script reasons for it starting
and stopping are not. I really liked it while watching it but the more I think
about the details after the fact, the more I realize I shouldn't really think
about the details.
Cool: I'm absolutely looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie now! The
straight out of Arkham Knight fight scene vs the goons.
Lame: Luthor, I didn't like this characterization or how
non-intelligent his plans are. Also, Supes should be more intelligent than
this.
Rating: 6.5 averaging the bad writing against the action and being well
shot
