Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 21
January 26, 2025
Monarch - Legacy Of Monsters
Just finished watching "Monarch - Legacy of Monsters Series One" released by Warner Brothers, which aired on Apple TV +.
As Jeff H. will tell you, I am a long-time fan of the original TOHO Godzilla movies from the 1960s, 1970s. 1980s, up to the 2000s; and we have seen the new Godzilla/King Kong Monsterverse movies. Personally I think Jeff H. was extremely lucky to have married a woman who also LOVEs watching Godzilla movies too. At least I think those were tears of joy that he was crying when he discovered Imee's [his wife] cache of TOHO DVDs.
"Monarch - Legacy of Monsters"features two parallel storylines. The first, set in 2015 between the events of Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), is centered around Japanese-American Cate Randa, a former school teacher who lived through Godzilla's attack on San Francisco.
When she travels to Japan after her father's death, he discovers that he was also married to another woman and has another family he kept secret from each other.
With her half-brother Kentaro and his ex-girlfriend May Olowe-Hewitt, she searches for answers about her and Kentaro's mysterious father, and finds herself entangled with the titular organization Monarch in the process as they try to discover how their father died and what he was working on..
The second storyline is set in the past, from the 1950s to '80s, and follows Monarch's founders—rising U.S. Army soldier Lee Shaw, and Cate and Kentaro's grandparents Bill and Keiko Randa—as they make a series of discoveries about Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms [MUTOs].
The most notable actors in "Monarch - Legacy Of Monsters" is Wyatt and Kurt Russell as Lee Shaw: a former U.S. Army colonel who joins Keiko and Bill in their investigations of monsters and subsequently becomes involved with Monarch. Kurt portrays the older version of Shaw, encountered by Cate and Kentaro, while Wyatt plays the younger version, responsible for founding Monarch.
The original TOHO series of Godzilla movies and Warner Brother's Monsterverse movies do divide fans of Kaiju movies. I'm a huge fan of the original TOHO Godzilla movies, but I do like the Monsterverse movies. Since both are Kaiju movies, it's best to think of them as two different franchises, parallel universes embracing the same ideas, but with the modern franchise having more twists and turns than the original Godzilla versus King Kong movie which saw an evil Doctor Who who coldly murders his companion - I kid you not, and even ripped off Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
Apple TV + has renewed "Monarch - Legacy of Monsters" for a second season, and it will be interesting to see in which direction they take the Monsterverse and add to its lore.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/375797059206...
As Jeff H. will tell you, I am a long-time fan of the original TOHO Godzilla movies from the 1960s, 1970s. 1980s, up to the 2000s; and we have seen the new Godzilla/King Kong Monsterverse movies. Personally I think Jeff H. was extremely lucky to have married a woman who also LOVEs watching Godzilla movies too. At least I think those were tears of joy that he was crying when he discovered Imee's [his wife] cache of TOHO DVDs.
"Monarch - Legacy of Monsters"features two parallel storylines. The first, set in 2015 between the events of Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), is centered around Japanese-American Cate Randa, a former school teacher who lived through Godzilla's attack on San Francisco.
When she travels to Japan after her father's death, he discovers that he was also married to another woman and has another family he kept secret from each other.
With her half-brother Kentaro and his ex-girlfriend May Olowe-Hewitt, she searches for answers about her and Kentaro's mysterious father, and finds herself entangled with the titular organization Monarch in the process as they try to discover how their father died and what he was working on..
The second storyline is set in the past, from the 1950s to '80s, and follows Monarch's founders—rising U.S. Army soldier Lee Shaw, and Cate and Kentaro's grandparents Bill and Keiko Randa—as they make a series of discoveries about Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms [MUTOs].
The most notable actors in "Monarch - Legacy Of Monsters" is Wyatt and Kurt Russell as Lee Shaw: a former U.S. Army colonel who joins Keiko and Bill in their investigations of monsters and subsequently becomes involved with Monarch. Kurt portrays the older version of Shaw, encountered by Cate and Kentaro, while Wyatt plays the younger version, responsible for founding Monarch.
The original TOHO series of Godzilla movies and Warner Brother's Monsterverse movies do divide fans of Kaiju movies. I'm a huge fan of the original TOHO Godzilla movies, but I do like the Monsterverse movies. Since both are Kaiju movies, it's best to think of them as two different franchises, parallel universes embracing the same ideas, but with the modern franchise having more twists and turns than the original Godzilla versus King Kong movie which saw an evil Doctor Who who coldly murders his companion - I kid you not, and even ripped off Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
Apple TV + has renewed "Monarch - Legacy of Monsters" for a second season, and it will be interesting to see in which direction they take the Monsterverse and add to its lore.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/375797059206...
January 14, 2025
No Way Up
Just finished watching "No Way Up" released by RLJE Films.
It should be no secret that I love schlocky movies and I am a fan of the Sharnado series of movies which I think are real hoot-nannies.
So when I saw the ads for "No Way Up" on YouTube when it was first released in movie theaters I was intrigued, because it combined the airplane disaster premise from the 1970s and 1980s with shark movies. How could I resist when it came out recently on DVD?
On a Vista Airlines flight from LAX to Los Cabos, the plane hits birds and crashes into the Pacific Ocean killing both pilots, along with several passengers. The remaining survivors, Ava (the daughter of a prominent politician) and her boyfriend Jed, Jed's friend Kyle, a young girl named Rosa traveling with her grandparents (her grandmother survived), Ava's personal bodyguard Brandon and flight attendant Danilo, find themselves trapped inside an air pocket at the rear of the fuselage as it sinks to a rock base underwater.
At first, Brandon takes charge, telling the survivors they must stay put and await rescue. On his way to retrieve an oxygen tank from the front of the submerged plane, a tiger shark attacks Brandon through an opening in the side of the fuselage. He manages to escape back to where the survivors are waiting, but is soon dragged back underwater by the shark.
Kyle's arm is severely injured in the crash, so the girl's grandmother, Mardy 'Nana', a former army nurse, treats it in the aft galley with a makeshift splint. Meanwhile, a rescue crew arrives by helicopter to search for the missing plane. The remaining survivors argue over what their next course of action should be, figuring they should do what Brandon would have done. Ava reasons they have three or four hours of air left before they run out. Jed explains that eventually the structural integrity of the fuselage will not hold and crush them inside. At that moment, the wreckage slides down the rock face, dragging them deeper into the ocean before coming to rest on the edge of a cliff leading into a dark abyss.
The survivors decide to leave the aircraft and swim to the surface. Rosa explains that sharks are afraid of air bubbles and they reason they can scare the sharks away with bubbles from their inflatable life vests. They go in search of diving gear throughout the plane. Meanwhile, the rescue helicopter spots debris from the plane on the surface of the water. Two rescue divers are sent down to investigate the wreckage. They encounter the wrecked plane with the survivors but are attacked by the shark from behind as the survivors try to warn them about the shark's presence. One diver is dragged off by the shark while the second goes missing.
The survivors search for the second diver and are attacked by the shark which bites off Jed's leg below the knee. He soon goes into shock and dies. Ava retrieves a bag of scuba gear from the baggage area underneath the plane and the survivors prepare to swim to the surface. Kyle explains he's too afraid to swim to the surface, recounting a moment in his childhood where he dove to the deep end of a pool and was too scared to resurface. Eventually they convince him to leave the plane with them.
The damaged cockpit breaks off and falls into the dark canyon below the cliff. Nana tells Ava to look after Rosa, explaining that she won't be leaving the plane as she would only slow the group down. As the remaining survivors swim through the submerged fuselage to the exit hole, they encounter the shark swimming toward them. Ava uses the bubbles from her life vest to deter the shark from advancing closer and the shark disappears. Kyle takes one last breath of air right before being violently attacked by the shark, allowing the rest of the survivors to exit the plane. They find the missing diver on their way out, apparently having been killed by the shark and use his oxygen tank for air.
Ava gives the only two air tanks to Danilo and Rosa. As they exit the plane, she inflates their life vests and they quickly float to the surface. Ava is about to exit the plane when she spots the shark heading directly towards her. Without oxygen, she manages to exit through the hole, just as the wreckage slides off the cliff and into the dark abyss below, presumably with the shark inside. As she attempts to reach the surface, she runs out of oxygen, but her life vest carries her up anyway, and she miraculously awakens on the surface, surrounded by nothing but the vast expanse of ocean.
She finds Rosa's stuffed animal floating in the water, but the other survivors are nowhere to be seen. Eventually the rescue helicopter arrives and picks her up, while still carrying the stuffed animal. On board, she finds Danilo and Rosa. The pilot asks if there's anyone else. Ava shakes her head "no". Rosa inquires about Nana, but Ava just embraces her and they cry together. Rosa tosses her stuffed animal back into the ocean as a tribute to her grandparents and the other dead passengers as the helicopter flies off to safety.On a Vista Airlines flight from LAX to Los Cabos, the plane hits birds and crashes into the Pacific Ocean killing both pilots, along with several passengers. The remaining survivors, Ava (the daughter of a prominent politician) and her boyfriend Jed, Jed's friend Kyle, a young girl named Rosa traveling with her grandparents (her grandmother survived), Ava's personal bodyguard Brandon and flight attendant Danilo, find themselves trapped inside an air pocket at the rear of the fuselage as it sinks to a rock base underwater.
At first, Brandon takes charge, telling the survivors they must stay put and await rescue. On his way to retrieve an oxygen tank from the front of the submerged plane, a tiger shark attacks Brandon through an opening in the side of the fuselage. He manages to escape back to where the survivors are waiting, but is soon dragged back underwater by the shark.
Kyle's arm is severely injured in the crash, so the girl's grandmother, Mardy 'Nana', a former army nurse, treats it in the aft galley with a makeshift splint. Meanwhile, a rescue crew arrives by helicopter to search for the missing plane. The remaining survivors argue over what their next course of action should be, figuring they should do what Brandon would have done. Ava reasons they have three or four hours of air left before they run out. Jed explains that eventually the structural integrity of the fuselage will not hold and crush them inside. At that moment, the wreckage slides down the rock face, dragging them deeper into the ocean before coming to rest on the edge of a cliff leading into a dark abyss.
The survivors decide to leave the aircraft and swim to the surface. Rosa explains that sharks are afraid of air bubbles and they reason they can scare the sharks away with bubbles from their inflatable life vests. They go in search of diving gear throughout the plane. Meanwhile, the rescue helicopter spots debris from the plane on the surface of the water. Two rescue divers are sent down to investigate the wreckage. They encounter the wrecked plane with the survivors but are attacked by the shark from behind as the survivors try to warn them about the shark's presence. One diver is dragged off by the shark while the second goes missing.
The survivors search for the second diver and are attacked by the shark which bites off Jed's leg below the knee. He soon goes into shock and dies. Ava retrieves a bag of scuba gear from the baggage area underneath the plane and the survivors prepare to swim to the surface. Kyle explains he's too afraid to swim to the surface, recounting a moment in his childhood where he dove to the deep end of a pool and was too scared to resurface. Eventually they convince him to leave the plane with them.
The damaged cockpit breaks off and falls into the dark canyon below the cliff. Nana tells Ava to look after Rosa, explaining that she won't be leaving the plane as she would only slow the group down. As the remaining survivors swim through the submerged fuselage to the exit hole, they encounter the shark swimming toward them. Ava uses the bubbles from her life vest to deter the shark from advancing closer and the shark disappears. Kyle takes one last breath of air right before being violently attacked by the shark, allowing the rest of the survivors to exit the plane. They find the missing diver on their way out, apparently having been killed by the shark and use his oxygen tank for air.
Ava gives the only two air tanks to Danilo and Rosa. As they exit the plane, she inflates their life vests and they quickly float to the surface. Ava is about to exit the plane when she spots the shark heading directly towards her. Without oxygen, she manages to exit through the hole, just as the wreckage slides off the cliff and into the dark abyss below, presumably with the shark inside. As she attempts to reach the surface, she runs out of oxygen, but her life vest carries her up anyway, and she miraculously awakens on the surface, surrounded by nothing but the vast expanse of ocean.
She finds Rosa's stuffed animal floating in the water, but the other survivors are nowhere to be seen. Eventually the rescue helicopter arrives and picks her up, while still carrying the stuffed animal. On board, she finds Danilo and Rosa. The pilot asks if there's anyone else. Ava shakes her head "no". Rosa inquires about Nana, but Ava just embraces her and they cry together. Rosa tosses her stuffed animal back into the ocean as a tribute to her grandparents and the other dead passengers as the helicopter flies off to safety.
It's not a great movie, but it's a fun disaster movie.
Recommended.
Three-and-a-half-stars.
https://www.amazon.com/No-Way-DVD-Cla...
It should be no secret that I love schlocky movies and I am a fan of the Sharnado series of movies which I think are real hoot-nannies.
So when I saw the ads for "No Way Up" on YouTube when it was first released in movie theaters I was intrigued, because it combined the airplane disaster premise from the 1970s and 1980s with shark movies. How could I resist when it came out recently on DVD?
On a Vista Airlines flight from LAX to Los Cabos, the plane hits birds and crashes into the Pacific Ocean killing both pilots, along with several passengers. The remaining survivors, Ava (the daughter of a prominent politician) and her boyfriend Jed, Jed's friend Kyle, a young girl named Rosa traveling with her grandparents (her grandmother survived), Ava's personal bodyguard Brandon and flight attendant Danilo, find themselves trapped inside an air pocket at the rear of the fuselage as it sinks to a rock base underwater.
At first, Brandon takes charge, telling the survivors they must stay put and await rescue. On his way to retrieve an oxygen tank from the front of the submerged plane, a tiger shark attacks Brandon through an opening in the side of the fuselage. He manages to escape back to where the survivors are waiting, but is soon dragged back underwater by the shark.
Kyle's arm is severely injured in the crash, so the girl's grandmother, Mardy 'Nana', a former army nurse, treats it in the aft galley with a makeshift splint. Meanwhile, a rescue crew arrives by helicopter to search for the missing plane. The remaining survivors argue over what their next course of action should be, figuring they should do what Brandon would have done. Ava reasons they have three or four hours of air left before they run out. Jed explains that eventually the structural integrity of the fuselage will not hold and crush them inside. At that moment, the wreckage slides down the rock face, dragging them deeper into the ocean before coming to rest on the edge of a cliff leading into a dark abyss.
The survivors decide to leave the aircraft and swim to the surface. Rosa explains that sharks are afraid of air bubbles and they reason they can scare the sharks away with bubbles from their inflatable life vests. They go in search of diving gear throughout the plane. Meanwhile, the rescue helicopter spots debris from the plane on the surface of the water. Two rescue divers are sent down to investigate the wreckage. They encounter the wrecked plane with the survivors but are attacked by the shark from behind as the survivors try to warn them about the shark's presence. One diver is dragged off by the shark while the second goes missing.
The survivors search for the second diver and are attacked by the shark which bites off Jed's leg below the knee. He soon goes into shock and dies. Ava retrieves a bag of scuba gear from the baggage area underneath the plane and the survivors prepare to swim to the surface. Kyle explains he's too afraid to swim to the surface, recounting a moment in his childhood where he dove to the deep end of a pool and was too scared to resurface. Eventually they convince him to leave the plane with them.
The damaged cockpit breaks off and falls into the dark canyon below the cliff. Nana tells Ava to look after Rosa, explaining that she won't be leaving the plane as she would only slow the group down. As the remaining survivors swim through the submerged fuselage to the exit hole, they encounter the shark swimming toward them. Ava uses the bubbles from her life vest to deter the shark from advancing closer and the shark disappears. Kyle takes one last breath of air right before being violently attacked by the shark, allowing the rest of the survivors to exit the plane. They find the missing diver on their way out, apparently having been killed by the shark and use his oxygen tank for air.
Ava gives the only two air tanks to Danilo and Rosa. As they exit the plane, she inflates their life vests and they quickly float to the surface. Ava is about to exit the plane when she spots the shark heading directly towards her. Without oxygen, she manages to exit through the hole, just as the wreckage slides off the cliff and into the dark abyss below, presumably with the shark inside. As she attempts to reach the surface, she runs out of oxygen, but her life vest carries her up anyway, and she miraculously awakens on the surface, surrounded by nothing but the vast expanse of ocean.
She finds Rosa's stuffed animal floating in the water, but the other survivors are nowhere to be seen. Eventually the rescue helicopter arrives and picks her up, while still carrying the stuffed animal. On board, she finds Danilo and Rosa. The pilot asks if there's anyone else. Ava shakes her head "no". Rosa inquires about Nana, but Ava just embraces her and they cry together. Rosa tosses her stuffed animal back into the ocean as a tribute to her grandparents and the other dead passengers as the helicopter flies off to safety.On a Vista Airlines flight from LAX to Los Cabos, the plane hits birds and crashes into the Pacific Ocean killing both pilots, along with several passengers. The remaining survivors, Ava (the daughter of a prominent politician) and her boyfriend Jed, Jed's friend Kyle, a young girl named Rosa traveling with her grandparents (her grandmother survived), Ava's personal bodyguard Brandon and flight attendant Danilo, find themselves trapped inside an air pocket at the rear of the fuselage as it sinks to a rock base underwater.
At first, Brandon takes charge, telling the survivors they must stay put and await rescue. On his way to retrieve an oxygen tank from the front of the submerged plane, a tiger shark attacks Brandon through an opening in the side of the fuselage. He manages to escape back to where the survivors are waiting, but is soon dragged back underwater by the shark.
Kyle's arm is severely injured in the crash, so the girl's grandmother, Mardy 'Nana', a former army nurse, treats it in the aft galley with a makeshift splint. Meanwhile, a rescue crew arrives by helicopter to search for the missing plane. The remaining survivors argue over what their next course of action should be, figuring they should do what Brandon would have done. Ava reasons they have three or four hours of air left before they run out. Jed explains that eventually the structural integrity of the fuselage will not hold and crush them inside. At that moment, the wreckage slides down the rock face, dragging them deeper into the ocean before coming to rest on the edge of a cliff leading into a dark abyss.
The survivors decide to leave the aircraft and swim to the surface. Rosa explains that sharks are afraid of air bubbles and they reason they can scare the sharks away with bubbles from their inflatable life vests. They go in search of diving gear throughout the plane. Meanwhile, the rescue helicopter spots debris from the plane on the surface of the water. Two rescue divers are sent down to investigate the wreckage. They encounter the wrecked plane with the survivors but are attacked by the shark from behind as the survivors try to warn them about the shark's presence. One diver is dragged off by the shark while the second goes missing.
The survivors search for the second diver and are attacked by the shark which bites off Jed's leg below the knee. He soon goes into shock and dies. Ava retrieves a bag of scuba gear from the baggage area underneath the plane and the survivors prepare to swim to the surface. Kyle explains he's too afraid to swim to the surface, recounting a moment in his childhood where he dove to the deep end of a pool and was too scared to resurface. Eventually they convince him to leave the plane with them.
The damaged cockpit breaks off and falls into the dark canyon below the cliff. Nana tells Ava to look after Rosa, explaining that she won't be leaving the plane as she would only slow the group down. As the remaining survivors swim through the submerged fuselage to the exit hole, they encounter the shark swimming toward them. Ava uses the bubbles from her life vest to deter the shark from advancing closer and the shark disappears. Kyle takes one last breath of air right before being violently attacked by the shark, allowing the rest of the survivors to exit the plane. They find the missing diver on their way out, apparently having been killed by the shark and use his oxygen tank for air.
Ava gives the only two air tanks to Danilo and Rosa. As they exit the plane, she inflates their life vests and they quickly float to the surface. Ava is about to exit the plane when she spots the shark heading directly towards her. Without oxygen, she manages to exit through the hole, just as the wreckage slides off the cliff and into the dark abyss below, presumably with the shark inside. As she attempts to reach the surface, she runs out of oxygen, but her life vest carries her up anyway, and she miraculously awakens on the surface, surrounded by nothing but the vast expanse of ocean.
She finds Rosa's stuffed animal floating in the water, but the other survivors are nowhere to be seen. Eventually the rescue helicopter arrives and picks her up, while still carrying the stuffed animal. On board, she finds Danilo and Rosa. The pilot asks if there's anyone else. Ava shakes her head "no". Rosa inquires about Nana, but Ava just embraces her and they cry together. Rosa tosses her stuffed animal back into the ocean as a tribute to her grandparents and the other dead passengers as the helicopter flies off to safety.
It's not a great movie, but it's a fun disaster movie.
Recommended.
Three-and-a-half-stars.
https://www.amazon.com/No-Way-DVD-Cla...
The Destroyer #95 - High Priestess
Just finished listening to "The Destroyer #95 - High Priestess" released by Graphic Audio back in 2005.
Yes, as you may have guessed, "The Destroyer #95 - High Priestess" was a part of my audio CD tsundoku, antilibrary for about 20 years before I decided to finally get around to listening to it.
It may be worth pointing out that this is the first audio drama CD in the long running Destroyer series by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. I'm not sure why Graphic Audio decided to launch this series with the 95th book in the series. It may have been a rights availability issue.
Now some cautionary words are in order. If you're a devout Wokism devotee, "The Destroyer #95 - High Priestess" is definitely going to trigger you - especially for its violence, so it's best you skip over this review.
Some background on "The Destroyer" series is in order.
The series' hero is Remo Williams, a Newark cop framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for CURE, a secret organization set up by President Kennedy to defend the country by working outside the law. The head of CURE is Harold W. Smith, a man selected by the President not only for his brilliant mind but also because of his integrity. Smith is a former law instructor at Yale and served in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II.
Remo's trainer and father figure is Chiun, a deadly assassin and the last Master of Sinanju. It has also emerged that Remo is the Avatar of Shiva, as prophesied in the legends of Sinanju.
Yes, "The Destroyer" series is campy and not to meant to be taken seriously.
This tale of "The Destroyer" is set during the first year of the Clinton Presidency - or co-presidency as the audio adaptation points out with some very dead-on vocal impersonations of President Clinton and the then First Lady Hillary Clinton.
On a quest to find the newest incarnation of the Bunji Lama, a Tibetan Buddhist Monk and a Mongolian crime lord arrive at the House of Sinanju. to acquire the guidance of Master Chiun on their quest to find the next Bunji Lama. Chuin's price is a roomful of gold, and once the gold is delivered, he turns on the magic oracle - a television, and shows them a rerun of a talk show featuring New Age Diva and Oscar Winning actress Squirrely Chicane, who gladly accepts the role of being the Bunji Lama, and with Hillary Clinton's blessing, sets off to liberate Tibet - only China isn't too happy about the sudden development and sets its sights on killing her holiness the Bunji Lama.
"The Destroyer" series is social satire at its best and at times its worst. If you're easily offended, I'd recommend passing this one by.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/High-Priestess...
Yes, as you may have guessed, "The Destroyer #95 - High Priestess" was a part of my audio CD tsundoku, antilibrary for about 20 years before I decided to finally get around to listening to it.
It may be worth pointing out that this is the first audio drama CD in the long running Destroyer series by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. I'm not sure why Graphic Audio decided to launch this series with the 95th book in the series. It may have been a rights availability issue.
Now some cautionary words are in order. If you're a devout Wokism devotee, "The Destroyer #95 - High Priestess" is definitely going to trigger you - especially for its violence, so it's best you skip over this review.
Some background on "The Destroyer" series is in order.
The series' hero is Remo Williams, a Newark cop framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for CURE, a secret organization set up by President Kennedy to defend the country by working outside the law. The head of CURE is Harold W. Smith, a man selected by the President not only for his brilliant mind but also because of his integrity. Smith is a former law instructor at Yale and served in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II.
Remo's trainer and father figure is Chiun, a deadly assassin and the last Master of Sinanju. It has also emerged that Remo is the Avatar of Shiva, as prophesied in the legends of Sinanju.
Yes, "The Destroyer" series is campy and not to meant to be taken seriously.
This tale of "The Destroyer" is set during the first year of the Clinton Presidency - or co-presidency as the audio adaptation points out with some very dead-on vocal impersonations of President Clinton and the then First Lady Hillary Clinton.
On a quest to find the newest incarnation of the Bunji Lama, a Tibetan Buddhist Monk and a Mongolian crime lord arrive at the House of Sinanju. to acquire the guidance of Master Chiun on their quest to find the next Bunji Lama. Chuin's price is a roomful of gold, and once the gold is delivered, he turns on the magic oracle - a television, and shows them a rerun of a talk show featuring New Age Diva and Oscar Winning actress Squirrely Chicane, who gladly accepts the role of being the Bunji Lama, and with Hillary Clinton's blessing, sets off to liberate Tibet - only China isn't too happy about the sudden development and sets its sights on killing her holiness the Bunji Lama.
"The Destroyer" series is social satire at its best and at times its worst. If you're easily offended, I'd recommend passing this one by.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/High-Priestess...
January 12, 2025
Things Will Be Different
Just finished watching "Things Will Be Different" released by Magnolia Home Entertainment.
"Things Will Be Different" can best be described as a science-fiction time-travel crime noir movie that premiered on the big screen at the 2024 South by Southwest festival on March 11, 2024, and was released on DVD back in January 2025 by Magnet Releasing.
I learned about "Things Will Be Different" while watching a review of little known independently produced science fiction movies and it was a highly recommended and looked intriguing enough from the scenes that were shown on the review.
So I decided to take a chance, because as my adorable baby sister Selma Franz, my favorite brother-in-law Chris Franz, and minions Zack and Jeff H. will attest to, I do love shlockly science fiction and other types of movies and I ordered it from Amazon.com.
As frequent readers of my reviews now, I am forthcoming when I receive a DVD, music CD, book, and/or audio drama CD to review, and this is not a review copy.
"Things Will Be Different" begins with the aftermath of a robbery, and it is implied that it is a bank robbery.
Estranged siblings Joseph and Sidney reunite at a bar with $7m in cash following a botched robbery. Joseph has made plans for the two to lay low at a remote farmhouse which apparently contains a closet with the ability to transport occupants into an alternative timeline if they follow instructions in a notebook.
At the farmhouse, with the police closing in, Joseph and Sidney locate the closet and follow the instructions. The process works, and the two leave the closet to find themselves in another timeline but find a nearby church and flour mill mysteriously locked. The notebook instructs them to wait fourteen days before re-entering the closet to return to the present. Sidney reluctantly waits, expressing her desire to return to the present to reunite with her young daughter, Steph. Later, whilst reminiscing about their childhood, Sidney recalls a disco track their mother used to play.
On the fourteenth day, Sidney finds the closet barricaded. Joseph discovers the mill unlocked and finds a decomposed body in the basement, along with a warning informing them they are now stuck in a timeline 'vice' and inviting them to sign the warning in order to comply.
Sidney attempts to flee but becomes violently sick forcing her to return. With no other option, Joseph signs the warning which causes a safe to instantly appear before them. Joseph unlocks the safe and finds a tape recorder which allows the two to record messages and listen to responses from a stranger.
The stranger questions their reasons for being there and states he intends to wipe any trace of their existence to protect the delicate balance of the farmhouse's abilities. He informs them the only way to escape alive is to stay at the farmhouse and kill a mysterious visitor who will arrive at some unknown point in the future.
Joseph and Sidney keep watch at the farmhouse for a year, waiting for the visitor to arrive. One day, the hooded visitor arrives and wounds Joseph. The visitor uses a portable speaker to play Sidney's mother's disco track, before wounding Sidney who retreats into the farmhouse. Finding the closet blocked again, she communicates again with the stranger through the tape recorder who warns her not to break in.
Joseph wakes to find himself inside the church with the visitor. The visitor, unable to talk, forces Joseph to speak to the stranger via the tape recorder and pretend that he has been successful in killing the visitor. Wanting proof of the visitor's death, Joseph tells the stranger he left the body outside due to bad weather. The visitor reveals in writing to Joseph that they are looking for the man who killed their family.
After forcing the visitor to flee, Sidney unmasks the visitor following a violent confrontation and discovers the visitor is her daughter Steph, now an adult. As Joseph arrives, Sidney attempts to protect Steph. Joseph, however, accidentally shoots and kills Sidney. Steph flees through the closet door.
Joseph, now alone, uses the tape recorder to inform the stranger that the visitor has left. Joseph buries Sidney before following instructions from the stranger to wait inside the mill. Joseph is soon transported to an unknown location, where he encounters the stranger from the tape recorder, along with a woman. The two ask Joseph to remember any information about the visitor, but Joseph is unable to.
The two inform Joseph that he and Sidney failed to follow their instructions and as a result are going to have all trace of their existence wiped. Joseph begs to be given one last chance to travel back to save Sidney and rectify his mistakes. The man and woman agree and transport Joseph back to the first day of their arrival at the farmhouse.
Back at the restaurant from the beginning, it is revealed Joseph has repeated the cycle of the events of the film numerous times. Unable to prevent himself from accidentally killing Sidney, he tells Sidney the only way to stop the cycle is for her to kill him at the restaurant, and to leave the money and return to her daughter. Sidney shoots Joseph and flees the restaurant as police sirens are heard approaching.
I believe there are some elements in "Things Will Be Different" are similar to the science-fiction movie "Looper" - a movie I still have yet to see.
"Things Will Be Different" is an intense thriller that is also an intriguing character study of a brother and sister trapped together in an seemingly unending nightmare that has only one inevitable escape.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Things-Will-Be...
"Things Will Be Different" can best be described as a science-fiction time-travel crime noir movie that premiered on the big screen at the 2024 South by Southwest festival on March 11, 2024, and was released on DVD back in January 2025 by Magnet Releasing.
I learned about "Things Will Be Different" while watching a review of little known independently produced science fiction movies and it was a highly recommended and looked intriguing enough from the scenes that were shown on the review.
So I decided to take a chance, because as my adorable baby sister Selma Franz, my favorite brother-in-law Chris Franz, and minions Zack and Jeff H. will attest to, I do love shlockly science fiction and other types of movies and I ordered it from Amazon.com.
As frequent readers of my reviews now, I am forthcoming when I receive a DVD, music CD, book, and/or audio drama CD to review, and this is not a review copy.
"Things Will Be Different" begins with the aftermath of a robbery, and it is implied that it is a bank robbery.
Estranged siblings Joseph and Sidney reunite at a bar with $7m in cash following a botched robbery. Joseph has made plans for the two to lay low at a remote farmhouse which apparently contains a closet with the ability to transport occupants into an alternative timeline if they follow instructions in a notebook.
At the farmhouse, with the police closing in, Joseph and Sidney locate the closet and follow the instructions. The process works, and the two leave the closet to find themselves in another timeline but find a nearby church and flour mill mysteriously locked. The notebook instructs them to wait fourteen days before re-entering the closet to return to the present. Sidney reluctantly waits, expressing her desire to return to the present to reunite with her young daughter, Steph. Later, whilst reminiscing about their childhood, Sidney recalls a disco track their mother used to play.
On the fourteenth day, Sidney finds the closet barricaded. Joseph discovers the mill unlocked and finds a decomposed body in the basement, along with a warning informing them they are now stuck in a timeline 'vice' and inviting them to sign the warning in order to comply.
Sidney attempts to flee but becomes violently sick forcing her to return. With no other option, Joseph signs the warning which causes a safe to instantly appear before them. Joseph unlocks the safe and finds a tape recorder which allows the two to record messages and listen to responses from a stranger.
The stranger questions their reasons for being there and states he intends to wipe any trace of their existence to protect the delicate balance of the farmhouse's abilities. He informs them the only way to escape alive is to stay at the farmhouse and kill a mysterious visitor who will arrive at some unknown point in the future.
Joseph and Sidney keep watch at the farmhouse for a year, waiting for the visitor to arrive. One day, the hooded visitor arrives and wounds Joseph. The visitor uses a portable speaker to play Sidney's mother's disco track, before wounding Sidney who retreats into the farmhouse. Finding the closet blocked again, she communicates again with the stranger through the tape recorder who warns her not to break in.
Joseph wakes to find himself inside the church with the visitor. The visitor, unable to talk, forces Joseph to speak to the stranger via the tape recorder and pretend that he has been successful in killing the visitor. Wanting proof of the visitor's death, Joseph tells the stranger he left the body outside due to bad weather. The visitor reveals in writing to Joseph that they are looking for the man who killed their family.
After forcing the visitor to flee, Sidney unmasks the visitor following a violent confrontation and discovers the visitor is her daughter Steph, now an adult. As Joseph arrives, Sidney attempts to protect Steph. Joseph, however, accidentally shoots and kills Sidney. Steph flees through the closet door.
Joseph, now alone, uses the tape recorder to inform the stranger that the visitor has left. Joseph buries Sidney before following instructions from the stranger to wait inside the mill. Joseph is soon transported to an unknown location, where he encounters the stranger from the tape recorder, along with a woman. The two ask Joseph to remember any information about the visitor, but Joseph is unable to.
The two inform Joseph that he and Sidney failed to follow their instructions and as a result are going to have all trace of their existence wiped. Joseph begs to be given one last chance to travel back to save Sidney and rectify his mistakes. The man and woman agree and transport Joseph back to the first day of their arrival at the farmhouse.
Back at the restaurant from the beginning, it is revealed Joseph has repeated the cycle of the events of the film numerous times. Unable to prevent himself from accidentally killing Sidney, he tells Sidney the only way to stop the cycle is for her to kill him at the restaurant, and to leave the money and return to her daughter. Sidney shoots Joseph and flees the restaurant as police sirens are heard approaching.
I believe there are some elements in "Things Will Be Different" are similar to the science-fiction movie "Looper" - a movie I still have yet to see.
"Things Will Be Different" is an intense thriller that is also an intriguing character study of a brother and sister trapped together in an seemingly unending nightmare that has only one inevitable escape.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Things-Will-Be...
January 5, 2025
Fibber McGee & Molly - Too Much Energy!
Just finished listening to "Fibber McGee & Molly - Too Much Energy!" released by Radio Spirits.
Radio Spirits released "Fibber McGee & Molly - Too Much Energy!" back in 2018 and has been sitting in my tsundoku, antilibrary of yet-to-be listened to audio drama CDs - all of which are currently residing on top of my adorable baby sister's gigantic oak roll-top accountant's desk in her old bedroom. I think the roll-top desk is home to about 800-plus audio drama CDs. And this Fibber McGee & Molly collection sat patiently on my sister's desk for nearly 7 years until I grabbed it off one of the many stacks - there are there are 24 stacks that are piled high - taller than myself, Jeff H., and definitely way taller than Zack and my sister.
Fibber McGee and Molly was one of the earliest radio comedies to use an ensemble cast of regular characters played by actors other than the leads, nearly all of whom had recurring phrases and running gags, in addition to numerous other peripheral characters unheard from over the course of the series.
Existing in a kind of Neverland where money never came in, schemes never stayed out for very long, yet no one living or visiting went wanting, 79 Wistful Vista - the McGees' address from the 20th show which aired back in August 1935 onward - became the home Depression-exhausted Americans visited to remind themselves that they were not the only ones finding cheer in the middle of struggle and doing their best not to make it overt. The McGees won their house in a raffle from Mr. Hagglemeyer's Wistful Vista Development Company, with lottery ticket #131,313, happened upon by chance while on a pleasure drive in their car.
With blowhard McGee wavering between mundane tasks and hare-brained schemes (like digging an oil well in the back yard), antagonizing as many people as possible, and patient Molly indulging his foibles and providing loving support, not to mention a tireless parade of neighbors and friends in and out of the quiet home, Fibber McGee and Molly built its audience steadily, but once it found the full volume of that audience in 1940, they rarely let go of it.
It's curious that this collection is not out of print at Radio Spirits - at least it's not listed on their website currently. Now I am only speculating as to the reason why this collection is no longer available from Radio Spirits in CD format - Amazon.com does offer it in Audible. Sales is always a factor in the shelf life of a product. Yet, this collection does include the episodes which introduce the character of Beulah - a black woman who was the McGee's maid - who was actually created and voiced by actor Marlin Hurt - who was, yes, you guessed it, a white man.
Now a word about the character of Beulah - Fibber McGee and Molly loved and adored her, and she was a member of their family, and everyone in Wistful Visa loved and adored Beulah.
Yet with the hate filled Wokism that prevalent unfortunately in today's society, this might have caused this particular collection to be pulled for Radio Spirits' catalog. I don't know. Poor sales could have also caused Radio Spirits to drop this collection.
Speculation gets you everywhere and nowhere all at once.
My favorite episodes in this now unavailable collection are: "McGees Hire Beulah Once Day A Week," "Alice Darling's New Boyfriend," "Policeman's Ball - Uncle Sycamore's Pistol," "Piano Tuner," "Early Golden Wedding Anniversary," "Fibber the Poet," and "A Ride To The Elks."
Highly Recommended!
Ten Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Fibber-McGee-M...
Radio Spirits released "Fibber McGee & Molly - Too Much Energy!" back in 2018 and has been sitting in my tsundoku, antilibrary of yet-to-be listened to audio drama CDs - all of which are currently residing on top of my adorable baby sister's gigantic oak roll-top accountant's desk in her old bedroom. I think the roll-top desk is home to about 800-plus audio drama CDs. And this Fibber McGee & Molly collection sat patiently on my sister's desk for nearly 7 years until I grabbed it off one of the many stacks - there are there are 24 stacks that are piled high - taller than myself, Jeff H., and definitely way taller than Zack and my sister.
Fibber McGee and Molly was one of the earliest radio comedies to use an ensemble cast of regular characters played by actors other than the leads, nearly all of whom had recurring phrases and running gags, in addition to numerous other peripheral characters unheard from over the course of the series.
Existing in a kind of Neverland where money never came in, schemes never stayed out for very long, yet no one living or visiting went wanting, 79 Wistful Vista - the McGees' address from the 20th show which aired back in August 1935 onward - became the home Depression-exhausted Americans visited to remind themselves that they were not the only ones finding cheer in the middle of struggle and doing their best not to make it overt. The McGees won their house in a raffle from Mr. Hagglemeyer's Wistful Vista Development Company, with lottery ticket #131,313, happened upon by chance while on a pleasure drive in their car.
With blowhard McGee wavering between mundane tasks and hare-brained schemes (like digging an oil well in the back yard), antagonizing as many people as possible, and patient Molly indulging his foibles and providing loving support, not to mention a tireless parade of neighbors and friends in and out of the quiet home, Fibber McGee and Molly built its audience steadily, but once it found the full volume of that audience in 1940, they rarely let go of it.
It's curious that this collection is not out of print at Radio Spirits - at least it's not listed on their website currently. Now I am only speculating as to the reason why this collection is no longer available from Radio Spirits in CD format - Amazon.com does offer it in Audible. Sales is always a factor in the shelf life of a product. Yet, this collection does include the episodes which introduce the character of Beulah - a black woman who was the McGee's maid - who was actually created and voiced by actor Marlin Hurt - who was, yes, you guessed it, a white man.
Now a word about the character of Beulah - Fibber McGee and Molly loved and adored her, and she was a member of their family, and everyone in Wistful Visa loved and adored Beulah.
Yet with the hate filled Wokism that prevalent unfortunately in today's society, this might have caused this particular collection to be pulled for Radio Spirits' catalog. I don't know. Poor sales could have also caused Radio Spirits to drop this collection.
Speculation gets you everywhere and nowhere all at once.
My favorite episodes in this now unavailable collection are: "McGees Hire Beulah Once Day A Week," "Alice Darling's New Boyfriend," "Policeman's Ball - Uncle Sycamore's Pistol," "Piano Tuner," "Early Golden Wedding Anniversary," "Fibber the Poet," and "A Ride To The Elks."
Highly Recommended!
Ten Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Fibber-McGee-M...
Hellboy - The Crooked Man
Just finished watching "Hellboy - The Crooked Man" released by Millennium Media and Dark Horse Entertainment.
While I believe that actor Ron Pearlman who portrayed Hellboy in the first two Hellboy movies directed by Guillermo del Toro is the best actor who has stepped into the role of this unique comic. book horror superhero, actor Jack Kesy does a decent job of stepping into Pearlman's acting shoes for the role.
I did enjoy watching "Hellboy - The Crooked Man," but I was shocked that it incorporated the works Manly Wade Wellman and his character Though fans refer to him as Silver John or as John the Balladeer, the stories simply call him John. He is an example of the loner hero. The stories are set in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. The historical period is never explicitly indicated, but appears to be mid 20th century.
John, whose last name is never revealed, is a wandering singer who carries a guitar strung with strings of pure silver. He is a veteran of the Korean War and served in the U.S. Army as a sharpshooter (in the novel After Dark, he mentions that his highest rank was PFC). In his travels, he frequently encounters creatures and superstitions from the folk tales and superstitions of the mountain people. Though John has no formal education, he is self-taught, highly intelligent and widely read; it is implied that his knowledge of occult and folk legendarium is of PhD level (in the novel The Hanging Stones, he receives word that Flornoy College is awarding him an honorary doctorate for contributions to folklore and folk music). This knowledge has granted him competent use of white magic, which he has used on occasion to overcome enemies or obstacles, but it is primarily his courage, wit and essential goodness that always enable him to triumph over supernatural evils (although the silver strings of his guitar and his possession of a copy of The Long Lost Friend are also powerful tools in fighting evil magic), while basic Army training allows him to physically deal with human foes. He has an implied mystic link of some sort to John the Baptist, and much of his personal philosophy can be traced to a "primitive" Gospel-based Christianity.
In the 1950s, B.P.R.D. agents Hellboy and Bobbie Jo Song are tasked with transporting via train a toxic supernatural spider to their headquarters. However, when they cross the Appalachian Mountains, the spider suddenly enlarges to monstrous proportions, forcing their train car to overturn and the spider to escape. Hellboy surmises that the spider grew due to something evil haunting the area, admitting that he heard it calling to him. Left stranded, Hellboy and Bobbie Jo wander until they meet Tom Ferrell, a local who's recently returned to atone for past sins - who bears some strong similarities to Silver John. The agents accompany Tom to speak with Cora Fisher, a witch and Tom's ex-girlfriend, only to find the house and Cora's body empty.
As they wait for the demonic familiar to return with Cora's full body, Tom regales to the agents he once met Effie Kolb, a witch that attracted him towards witchcraft and convinced him to make a deal with an entity known as "The Crooked Man." At Effie's suggestion, Tom used a cat carcass to summon the Crooked Man, that whatever bone he held once the entity arrived would become his lucky bone. However, the sight of the Crooked Man terrified Tom enough to have a change of heart and discard the lucky bone, but it would always return and kept him safe from harm. Tom intends to face the Crooked Man once and for all. When the familiar returns Cora's body, she reveals to Tom that the local witches want her soul.
To Tom's shock, Effie arrives on a white horse to collect Cora's soul. After Hellboy threatens Effie, Tom removes the horse’s bridle, and it suddenly transforms into Tom's father as Effie escapes. Tom and his father reconcile briefly before he dies. The following morning, Tom, Cora, and the agents walk to a nearby church, owned by Reverend Watts, to bury Tom's father, but Cora is attacked and killed by a demonic snake. Hellboy kills it, but its bites show him visions of his mother Sara, a witch who made a deal with a demon.
The survivors reach the church, where they are confronted by the Crooked Man and his servants. Tom is tempted to return his lucky bone but Hellboy stops him. As Hellboy battles the demonic horde, the Crooked Man attempts to entice the blind Reverend with youth and sight in exchange for giving up Tom. Watts refuses to give in to temptation and blesses a shovel with Tom's lucky bone that allows Hellboy to weaken the Crooked Man and neutralize his forces.
Hellboy and Tom chase the Crooked Man to an abandoned mansion but are assaulted with traumatic visions. Bobbie Jo, believing the Crooked Man draws power from the town's mines, reaches a tunnel system via an access under the church. She disrupts the Crooked Man's power source with a spell, which frees Hellboy and Tom from the visions and they destroy the Crooked Man.
In the aftermath, Effie ages rapidly, and Tom places the bridle that had turned his father into a horse on her. Hellboy and Bobbie Jo are rescued, Tom feels a weight has been lifted from his soul, and a white horse wanders with a warning written on its hide stating, "Beware! I am a Witch!"
It's a good Hellboy movie and there is a surrealistic horror element that makes the movie deliciously creepy.
Strongly Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Hellboy-Crooke...
While I believe that actor Ron Pearlman who portrayed Hellboy in the first two Hellboy movies directed by Guillermo del Toro is the best actor who has stepped into the role of this unique comic. book horror superhero, actor Jack Kesy does a decent job of stepping into Pearlman's acting shoes for the role.
I did enjoy watching "Hellboy - The Crooked Man," but I was shocked that it incorporated the works Manly Wade Wellman and his character Though fans refer to him as Silver John or as John the Balladeer, the stories simply call him John. He is an example of the loner hero. The stories are set in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. The historical period is never explicitly indicated, but appears to be mid 20th century.
John, whose last name is never revealed, is a wandering singer who carries a guitar strung with strings of pure silver. He is a veteran of the Korean War and served in the U.S. Army as a sharpshooter (in the novel After Dark, he mentions that his highest rank was PFC). In his travels, he frequently encounters creatures and superstitions from the folk tales and superstitions of the mountain people. Though John has no formal education, he is self-taught, highly intelligent and widely read; it is implied that his knowledge of occult and folk legendarium is of PhD level (in the novel The Hanging Stones, he receives word that Flornoy College is awarding him an honorary doctorate for contributions to folklore and folk music). This knowledge has granted him competent use of white magic, which he has used on occasion to overcome enemies or obstacles, but it is primarily his courage, wit and essential goodness that always enable him to triumph over supernatural evils (although the silver strings of his guitar and his possession of a copy of The Long Lost Friend are also powerful tools in fighting evil magic), while basic Army training allows him to physically deal with human foes. He has an implied mystic link of some sort to John the Baptist, and much of his personal philosophy can be traced to a "primitive" Gospel-based Christianity.
In the 1950s, B.P.R.D. agents Hellboy and Bobbie Jo Song are tasked with transporting via train a toxic supernatural spider to their headquarters. However, when they cross the Appalachian Mountains, the spider suddenly enlarges to monstrous proportions, forcing their train car to overturn and the spider to escape. Hellboy surmises that the spider grew due to something evil haunting the area, admitting that he heard it calling to him. Left stranded, Hellboy and Bobbie Jo wander until they meet Tom Ferrell, a local who's recently returned to atone for past sins - who bears some strong similarities to Silver John. The agents accompany Tom to speak with Cora Fisher, a witch and Tom's ex-girlfriend, only to find the house and Cora's body empty.
As they wait for the demonic familiar to return with Cora's full body, Tom regales to the agents he once met Effie Kolb, a witch that attracted him towards witchcraft and convinced him to make a deal with an entity known as "The Crooked Man." At Effie's suggestion, Tom used a cat carcass to summon the Crooked Man, that whatever bone he held once the entity arrived would become his lucky bone. However, the sight of the Crooked Man terrified Tom enough to have a change of heart and discard the lucky bone, but it would always return and kept him safe from harm. Tom intends to face the Crooked Man once and for all. When the familiar returns Cora's body, she reveals to Tom that the local witches want her soul.
To Tom's shock, Effie arrives on a white horse to collect Cora's soul. After Hellboy threatens Effie, Tom removes the horse’s bridle, and it suddenly transforms into Tom's father as Effie escapes. Tom and his father reconcile briefly before he dies. The following morning, Tom, Cora, and the agents walk to a nearby church, owned by Reverend Watts, to bury Tom's father, but Cora is attacked and killed by a demonic snake. Hellboy kills it, but its bites show him visions of his mother Sara, a witch who made a deal with a demon.
The survivors reach the church, where they are confronted by the Crooked Man and his servants. Tom is tempted to return his lucky bone but Hellboy stops him. As Hellboy battles the demonic horde, the Crooked Man attempts to entice the blind Reverend with youth and sight in exchange for giving up Tom. Watts refuses to give in to temptation and blesses a shovel with Tom's lucky bone that allows Hellboy to weaken the Crooked Man and neutralize his forces.
Hellboy and Tom chase the Crooked Man to an abandoned mansion but are assaulted with traumatic visions. Bobbie Jo, believing the Crooked Man draws power from the town's mines, reaches a tunnel system via an access under the church. She disrupts the Crooked Man's power source with a spell, which frees Hellboy and Tom from the visions and they destroy the Crooked Man.
In the aftermath, Effie ages rapidly, and Tom places the bridle that had turned his father into a horse on her. Hellboy and Bobbie Jo are rescued, Tom feels a weight has been lifted from his soul, and a white horse wanders with a warning written on its hide stating, "Beware! I am a Witch!"
It's a good Hellboy movie and there is a surrealistic horror element that makes the movie deliciously creepy.
Strongly Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Hellboy-Crooke...
Bedrooms & Hallways
Just finished watching "Bedrooms & Hallways" released by BBC Films and First Run Features.
Now is probably a good time to give my semi-regular review disclaimer: I have no problem with reading, watching, and/or listening a wide diversity of books, movies, DVDs, music, and audio dramas. I draw the line at x-rated material, though I have watched x-rated movies, the black and white first Godzilla Movie when it was released here in the United States had an x-rating. So if you're the type of gets all twisted up into knots because of a good old-fashioned British Sex Farce/Comedy, then this review, and probably me as well, aren't a good fit for you.
Leo has been having a horrible time of it with relationships and decides to to with one of his straight friends to his "Mens" group. The men sit around pounding on drums, trying to figure out what has gone wrong in their lives. Well in the course of the group it comes out that our guys is gay and when asked who he finds attractive in the group he names Brenden. Well Brenden is flattered but straight......At least he says he is straight until he kisses Leo and ends up in bed with him. Later on, with his attraction to Brenden still in place he bumps into one of his best friends from school whom he hasn't seen in years. She is upset and in the process of breaking up with a man named Brenden - the one and the same man Leo is now sleeping with. Meanwhile, his roommate who is a bit of a dizzy boy having an affair with a real-estate agent who loves having sex only in the expensive homes he has listed.
MILD SPOILER ENDING ALERT - "Bedrooms & Hallways" still remains a controversial comedy because Leo, who is gay throughout the movie, ends up in a heterosexual relationship.
It's a pleasant little comedy and an enjoyable way to spend time. Though there is an odd time shift throughout the movie.
Recommended.
Three Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Bedrooms-Hallw...
Now is probably a good time to give my semi-regular review disclaimer: I have no problem with reading, watching, and/or listening a wide diversity of books, movies, DVDs, music, and audio dramas. I draw the line at x-rated material, though I have watched x-rated movies, the black and white first Godzilla Movie when it was released here in the United States had an x-rating. So if you're the type of gets all twisted up into knots because of a good old-fashioned British Sex Farce/Comedy, then this review, and probably me as well, aren't a good fit for you.
Leo has been having a horrible time of it with relationships and decides to to with one of his straight friends to his "Mens" group. The men sit around pounding on drums, trying to figure out what has gone wrong in their lives. Well in the course of the group it comes out that our guys is gay and when asked who he finds attractive in the group he names Brenden. Well Brenden is flattered but straight......At least he says he is straight until he kisses Leo and ends up in bed with him. Later on, with his attraction to Brenden still in place he bumps into one of his best friends from school whom he hasn't seen in years. She is upset and in the process of breaking up with a man named Brenden - the one and the same man Leo is now sleeping with. Meanwhile, his roommate who is a bit of a dizzy boy having an affair with a real-estate agent who loves having sex only in the expensive homes he has listed.
MILD SPOILER ENDING ALERT - "Bedrooms & Hallways" still remains a controversial comedy because Leo, who is gay throughout the movie, ends up in a heterosexual relationship.
It's a pleasant little comedy and an enjoyable way to spend time. Though there is an odd time shift throughout the movie.
Recommended.
Three Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Bedrooms-Hallw...
The Garfield Movie
Just finished watching "The Garfield Movie" released by Sony Pictures back in 2024.
Well, at least I spared myself the price of a movie ticket, soda, and a popcorn. "The Garfield Movie" is definitely NOT a great movie and it a mainly a montage of classic Garfield comic strip sketches to a story about Garfield and Odie being kidnapped by a crazy jilted feline lover of his long missing father who may have abandoned him when he was just a young kitten when they were living on the streets.
Anyone familiar with cartoonist Jim Davis' iconic feline character knows, Garfield doesn't like to move around very much. He likes to eat, particularly pepperoni pizza and lasagna, and he likes to lie around and make sarcastic comments. In other words, he's not a cat of action. And yet for some reason, the creators of the new animated film revolving around him think that what the audience really wants is to watch Garfield engage in Mission: Impossible-style, stunt-laden violent mayhem with visually flat, with compositions that seem oddly half-populated and cheap and is littered with product placement.
Can NOT Recommend.
Zero Stars.
Well, at least I spared myself the price of a movie ticket, soda, and a popcorn. "The Garfield Movie" is definitely NOT a great movie and it a mainly a montage of classic Garfield comic strip sketches to a story about Garfield and Odie being kidnapped by a crazy jilted feline lover of his long missing father who may have abandoned him when he was just a young kitten when they were living on the streets.
Anyone familiar with cartoonist Jim Davis' iconic feline character knows, Garfield doesn't like to move around very much. He likes to eat, particularly pepperoni pizza and lasagna, and he likes to lie around and make sarcastic comments. In other words, he's not a cat of action. And yet for some reason, the creators of the new animated film revolving around him think that what the audience really wants is to watch Garfield engage in Mission: Impossible-style, stunt-laden violent mayhem with visually flat, with compositions that seem oddly half-populated and cheap and is littered with product placement.
Can NOT Recommend.
Zero Stars.
December 30, 2024
The Lost Worlds of 2001
Just finished reading "The Lost Worlds of 2001" by Arthur C. Clarke, published by Signet Books in paperback in 1972.
I believe that Clarke's "The Lost Worlds of 2001," was the first time a book was published which explored the genesis how a science fiction short story can evolve into a novel and movie.
And yes, I did read "The Lost Worlds of 2001" as part of my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books From My Youth" project.
I discovered "The Lost Worlds of 2001" on the shelves of the new arrival section in the Science Fiction section of Michele's Bookstore in the Bryn Mar Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I got my re-reading copy on eBay.
Clarke provides insight on how Stanley Kubrick contacted him with the goal of having him write a science fiction novel that would serve as the basis for the "ultimate" science fiction movie and in addition to including various drafts of the original novel that eventually became 2001 - A Space Odyssey, this book also contains the original short story "The Sentinel," which serves as the basis for 2001 - A Space Odyssey, which Clarke revealed that he originally wrote with the hopes of winning a short story competition which he lost.
Also of note is that Clarke reveals that Kubrick wanted to have Frank Poole brought back to life, but Clarke talked him out of this notion. Decades later, Clarke would revive Kubrick's idea of the resurrection of Frank Poole in his final Odyssey novel "3001 - The Final Odyssey."
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-World-200...
I believe that Clarke's "The Lost Worlds of 2001," was the first time a book was published which explored the genesis how a science fiction short story can evolve into a novel and movie.
And yes, I did read "The Lost Worlds of 2001" as part of my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books From My Youth" project.
I discovered "The Lost Worlds of 2001" on the shelves of the new arrival section in the Science Fiction section of Michele's Bookstore in the Bryn Mar Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I got my re-reading copy on eBay.
Clarke provides insight on how Stanley Kubrick contacted him with the goal of having him write a science fiction novel that would serve as the basis for the "ultimate" science fiction movie and in addition to including various drafts of the original novel that eventually became 2001 - A Space Odyssey, this book also contains the original short story "The Sentinel," which serves as the basis for 2001 - A Space Odyssey, which Clarke revealed that he originally wrote with the hopes of winning a short story competition which he lost.
Also of note is that Clarke reveals that Kubrick wanted to have Frank Poole brought back to life, but Clarke talked him out of this notion. Decades later, Clarke would revive Kubrick's idea of the resurrection of Frank Poole in his final Odyssey novel "3001 - The Final Odyssey."
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-World-200...
Red Shoes And The Seven Dwarfs
Just finished watching "Red Shoes And The Seven Dwarfs" released by Lionsgate.
"Red Shoes And The Seven Dwarfs" is a rather well done spoof of traditional Walt Disney fairy tale movies, in fact the opening titles declare in defiance of Walt Disney Studios that the movie's title is "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs" before the title changes Snow White to Red Shoes.
There is actually a Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale called "Red Shoes" which this movie gives a nod to.
A group of heroic princes called the Fearless Seven—Merlin, Arthur, Jack, Hans, and identical triplets Pino, Noki and Kio—save a Fairy Princess from a dragon. However, once they see her green face, they assume that she is a witch and attack her. To teach them a lesson, she curses them to transform into green dwarfs whenever people look at them, and the only way to undo the curse is if they receive a kiss from "the most beautiful woman in the world".
Seven years later, the King's overweight but strong daughter, Princess Snow White ("Snow"), returns to her family castle, where her stepmother, Queen Regina, has taken over. She finds a diary about how Queen Regina had taken over the kingdom with a warning from her father, the rightful king, not to touch the shoes she finds hanging on a tree. Snow puts on the shoes regardless, and they transform her into a slim version of herself. Queen Regina suddenly attacks her, unaware that she is Snow. Snow escapes but crashes at the dwarves' house, alerting the seven nearby. They prepare to attack, thinking she is the Fairy Princess, but welcome her into their home upon seeing her. In the dwarves' house, Snow is shocked when she sees herself in the mirror and introduces herself as "Red Shoes". The seven are immediately smitten by her and strive to impress her so she might kiss them. Regina hires the selfish Prince Average of a neighboring realm, who sends his soldiers after Snow, though she is saved by Merlin. Average attacks the dwarves and tries to abduct Red Shoes but fails. That night, Snow and Merlin grow emotionally closer. Regina gives Average and his bodyguards a magic apple and turns them into monsters.
In a secluded forest, Snow tries to give Merlin a hint about her real self but instead confesses her feelings for him, and they kiss. Merlin is shocked to see that the kiss did not undo his curse as he still thinks Snow is the prophetic beautiful woman. He fights off an attack by Average, who falls into a river, taking Merlin with him. Snow saves Merlin but accidentally loses her shoes, exposing herself as Snow White. She tells Merlin that he would not have helped her real self, so Merlin leaves, ashamed. She then puts on her shoes again in an attempt to reconcile with him, knowing Merlin likes her for her looks more than herself. Merlin talks with his dwarf self and, realizing that Snow White likes him for himself, decides to help her. In the forest, Queen Regina disguises herself as Merlin and asks Snow to eat the apple and take off her shoes, but the real Merlin arrives, and the exposed queen escapes with Snow.
Queen Regina tries to force Snow to eat the apple. When her stepdaughter refuses, she threatens to kill a captured Merlin. Snow tells Merlin to save her father and eats the apple, transforming her into an apple tree. Merlin fails to escape from queen's mirror until the other dwarves save him. Merlin sacrifices himself by falling down the castle with Regina to save Snow. Pino, Noki, and Kio take him to Snow, and he admits his sincere romantic feelings before dying in her arms. Snow gives Merlin one last kiss, reviving him and restoring his human form for good. They happily accept each others' appearances, while the other dwarves remain confused by Snow White's true appearance.
In the end credits, Snow and Merlin marry, while the other princes find their own unusual-looking girlfriends. The Fairy Princess fishes Average out of a river and turns him into another green dwarf after he makes a rude remark.
It's a rather fun movie that offers some very simple truths without being too preachy.
Recommended.
Three-and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Blu-ray-Versio...
"Red Shoes And The Seven Dwarfs" is a rather well done spoof of traditional Walt Disney fairy tale movies, in fact the opening titles declare in defiance of Walt Disney Studios that the movie's title is "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs" before the title changes Snow White to Red Shoes.
There is actually a Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale called "Red Shoes" which this movie gives a nod to.
A group of heroic princes called the Fearless Seven—Merlin, Arthur, Jack, Hans, and identical triplets Pino, Noki and Kio—save a Fairy Princess from a dragon. However, once they see her green face, they assume that she is a witch and attack her. To teach them a lesson, she curses them to transform into green dwarfs whenever people look at them, and the only way to undo the curse is if they receive a kiss from "the most beautiful woman in the world".
Seven years later, the King's overweight but strong daughter, Princess Snow White ("Snow"), returns to her family castle, where her stepmother, Queen Regina, has taken over. She finds a diary about how Queen Regina had taken over the kingdom with a warning from her father, the rightful king, not to touch the shoes she finds hanging on a tree. Snow puts on the shoes regardless, and they transform her into a slim version of herself. Queen Regina suddenly attacks her, unaware that she is Snow. Snow escapes but crashes at the dwarves' house, alerting the seven nearby. They prepare to attack, thinking she is the Fairy Princess, but welcome her into their home upon seeing her. In the dwarves' house, Snow is shocked when she sees herself in the mirror and introduces herself as "Red Shoes". The seven are immediately smitten by her and strive to impress her so she might kiss them. Regina hires the selfish Prince Average of a neighboring realm, who sends his soldiers after Snow, though she is saved by Merlin. Average attacks the dwarves and tries to abduct Red Shoes but fails. That night, Snow and Merlin grow emotionally closer. Regina gives Average and his bodyguards a magic apple and turns them into monsters.
In a secluded forest, Snow tries to give Merlin a hint about her real self but instead confesses her feelings for him, and they kiss. Merlin is shocked to see that the kiss did not undo his curse as he still thinks Snow is the prophetic beautiful woman. He fights off an attack by Average, who falls into a river, taking Merlin with him. Snow saves Merlin but accidentally loses her shoes, exposing herself as Snow White. She tells Merlin that he would not have helped her real self, so Merlin leaves, ashamed. She then puts on her shoes again in an attempt to reconcile with him, knowing Merlin likes her for her looks more than herself. Merlin talks with his dwarf self and, realizing that Snow White likes him for himself, decides to help her. In the forest, Queen Regina disguises herself as Merlin and asks Snow to eat the apple and take off her shoes, but the real Merlin arrives, and the exposed queen escapes with Snow.
Queen Regina tries to force Snow to eat the apple. When her stepdaughter refuses, she threatens to kill a captured Merlin. Snow tells Merlin to save her father and eats the apple, transforming her into an apple tree. Merlin fails to escape from queen's mirror until the other dwarves save him. Merlin sacrifices himself by falling down the castle with Regina to save Snow. Pino, Noki, and Kio take him to Snow, and he admits his sincere romantic feelings before dying in her arms. Snow gives Merlin one last kiss, reviving him and restoring his human form for good. They happily accept each others' appearances, while the other dwarves remain confused by Snow White's true appearance.
In the end credits, Snow and Merlin marry, while the other princes find their own unusual-looking girlfriends. The Fairy Princess fishes Average out of a river and turns him into another green dwarf after he makes a rude remark.
It's a rather fun movie that offers some very simple truths without being too preachy.
Recommended.
Three-and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Blu-ray-Versio...
