Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 24
December 1, 2024
The Thundermans Return
Just finished watching "The Thunderman's Return" released by Nickelodeon.
Yes, "The Thundermans Return" is a sequel/continuation of the highly popular "The Thundermans" show which aired for four seasons on Nickelodeon before ending it's run, and this movie is a back door pilot to revive the series for a second run, and why not. It's a fun spoof of the Silver Age of Comics, which looks at what happens when super heroes do get married and have children.
Three years after the events of the series finale, when meteors strike Metroburg, the Thundermans step in to save the citizens. After the save, the family want to have a fun night, but it is interrupted when another crime breaks out. When another team called the "V-Team" also arrive, Max ends up accidentally dropping a giant doughnut onto one of their members. Due to this, the Thundermans are fired from the T-Force and are sent back to Hiddenville. While Hank and Barb enjoy their return, and Billy and Nora look forward to a normal high school life, Max and Phoebe are determined to regain their superhero status.
Meanwhile, Dark Mayhem, King Crab and Strongdor are in the Metroburg prison. The V-Team approaches them, revealing themselves to be their children. The children decide to devise their own plan, leaving their parents imprisoned. As the Thunder Twins are desperate to retrieve their jobs, they come up with the "Tree Force". However, the rest of the family prefers to live a normal life.
Meanwhile, at Hiddenville High, Nora utilizes her laser eyes to obtain friends. When Billy couldn't make a friend alone, he uses the same idea. Angered by this, Nora tries to zap Billy, whilst the latter tries to avoid the attacks: this results in Nora zapping off Principal Bradford's ponytail.
Back at home, Barb and Hank, still worried for Chloe's safety, call Cousin Blobbin requesting to borrow his helicopter to monitor Chloe without her noticing. Phoebe's BFF Cherry launches two Splat Shakes that Hank had ordered from Splat Burger up to the helicopter. With Hank failing to catch them, they end up spilling and interfering with the helicopter's circuits. They are forced to make an emergency landing, crashing in front of Chloe and her friends.
After that, Max and Phoebe figure out the V-Team are villains, they go by themselves to their lab to try to capture them, but the evil children see them and tie them, after that, the Thunder Twins are sent to a mysterious place called "The Mayhem Cafe", in which they get tortured by Dark Mayhem's pre-recorded voice guide. After escaping from the box, they get locked in with an upcoming self-destruct.
Meanwhile, the children of the villains are trying to locate the Power Plant, which they find in the Thundermans' house. At first, Hank, who is the only one to know where the Power Plant is, refuses to give it to them, but then Dark Mayhem, Jr. shows him on his phone that Max and Phoebe are getting tortured, so Hank agrees to give the evil children the Power Plant if the Thunder Twins get released after. The children agree to this, and Hank gives them the Power Plant believing the twins would be released, but they lied. The evil children escape with the Power Plant and Max and Phoebe are still trapped in the mysterious place. And when all hopes are down in the Thundermans' house, Billy finds a blue part of the Power Plant that fell off the plant and can make superheroes. They end up feeding pieces of the blue part to citizens, such as Principal Bradford and Mrs. Wong, turning them into superheroes. After being turned into superheroes, they all work together to break the forcefield, and they succeed. Upon succeeding, Chloe teleports them to the location of Phoebe and Max. With Chloe's teleportation needing a recharge, right before the self-destruct, Hank punches the system, causing it to break and allowing them out.
Afterwards, the Thundermans confront the villain's children, who are on the top of Mount Metroburg planning to release the red pieces of the power plant inside of a drone, having their parents view said plan. Whilst the family defeat the Villains, Dark Mayhem's son, Dark Mayhem Jr., releases the red pieces over Metroburg in a drone. Chloe volunteers to teleport someone onto to the drone to prevent them from affecting citizens. She teleports Max and Phoebe onto the drone and they remove the red pieces. With Phoebe being blinded by the wind, she gets blown onto the edge of the drone, about to fall. She tells the two to teleport back without her, but they refuse. Chloe reaches for her hand and they return to the rest of the family safely.
Later, Super President Kickbutt comes back and reinstates the T-Force. The Thundermans agree, but on the condition that their Hiddenville home be their new headquarters. Super President Kickbutt agrees and welcomes the T-Force back to the Hero League.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Dr. Colosso receives a mysterious message from an unknown being, promising a special assignment for him. Then the screen goes black as it says to be continued.
It's a fun movie, and you don't need to have watched the series previously in order to see it.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Thundermans-Re...
Yes, "The Thundermans Return" is a sequel/continuation of the highly popular "The Thundermans" show which aired for four seasons on Nickelodeon before ending it's run, and this movie is a back door pilot to revive the series for a second run, and why not. It's a fun spoof of the Silver Age of Comics, which looks at what happens when super heroes do get married and have children.
Three years after the events of the series finale, when meteors strike Metroburg, the Thundermans step in to save the citizens. After the save, the family want to have a fun night, but it is interrupted when another crime breaks out. When another team called the "V-Team" also arrive, Max ends up accidentally dropping a giant doughnut onto one of their members. Due to this, the Thundermans are fired from the T-Force and are sent back to Hiddenville. While Hank and Barb enjoy their return, and Billy and Nora look forward to a normal high school life, Max and Phoebe are determined to regain their superhero status.
Meanwhile, Dark Mayhem, King Crab and Strongdor are in the Metroburg prison. The V-Team approaches them, revealing themselves to be their children. The children decide to devise their own plan, leaving their parents imprisoned. As the Thunder Twins are desperate to retrieve their jobs, they come up with the "Tree Force". However, the rest of the family prefers to live a normal life.
Meanwhile, at Hiddenville High, Nora utilizes her laser eyes to obtain friends. When Billy couldn't make a friend alone, he uses the same idea. Angered by this, Nora tries to zap Billy, whilst the latter tries to avoid the attacks: this results in Nora zapping off Principal Bradford's ponytail.
Back at home, Barb and Hank, still worried for Chloe's safety, call Cousin Blobbin requesting to borrow his helicopter to monitor Chloe without her noticing. Phoebe's BFF Cherry launches two Splat Shakes that Hank had ordered from Splat Burger up to the helicopter. With Hank failing to catch them, they end up spilling and interfering with the helicopter's circuits. They are forced to make an emergency landing, crashing in front of Chloe and her friends.
After that, Max and Phoebe figure out the V-Team are villains, they go by themselves to their lab to try to capture them, but the evil children see them and tie them, after that, the Thunder Twins are sent to a mysterious place called "The Mayhem Cafe", in which they get tortured by Dark Mayhem's pre-recorded voice guide. After escaping from the box, they get locked in with an upcoming self-destruct.
Meanwhile, the children of the villains are trying to locate the Power Plant, which they find in the Thundermans' house. At first, Hank, who is the only one to know where the Power Plant is, refuses to give it to them, but then Dark Mayhem, Jr. shows him on his phone that Max and Phoebe are getting tortured, so Hank agrees to give the evil children the Power Plant if the Thunder Twins get released after. The children agree to this, and Hank gives them the Power Plant believing the twins would be released, but they lied. The evil children escape with the Power Plant and Max and Phoebe are still trapped in the mysterious place. And when all hopes are down in the Thundermans' house, Billy finds a blue part of the Power Plant that fell off the plant and can make superheroes. They end up feeding pieces of the blue part to citizens, such as Principal Bradford and Mrs. Wong, turning them into superheroes. After being turned into superheroes, they all work together to break the forcefield, and they succeed. Upon succeeding, Chloe teleports them to the location of Phoebe and Max. With Chloe's teleportation needing a recharge, right before the self-destruct, Hank punches the system, causing it to break and allowing them out.
Afterwards, the Thundermans confront the villain's children, who are on the top of Mount Metroburg planning to release the red pieces of the power plant inside of a drone, having their parents view said plan. Whilst the family defeat the Villains, Dark Mayhem's son, Dark Mayhem Jr., releases the red pieces over Metroburg in a drone. Chloe volunteers to teleport someone onto to the drone to prevent them from affecting citizens. She teleports Max and Phoebe onto the drone and they remove the red pieces. With Phoebe being blinded by the wind, she gets blown onto the edge of the drone, about to fall. She tells the two to teleport back without her, but they refuse. Chloe reaches for her hand and they return to the rest of the family safely.
Later, Super President Kickbutt comes back and reinstates the T-Force. The Thundermans agree, but on the condition that their Hiddenville home be their new headquarters. Super President Kickbutt agrees and welcomes the T-Force back to the Hero League.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Dr. Colosso receives a mysterious message from an unknown being, promising a special assignment for him. Then the screen goes black as it says to be continued.
It's a fun movie, and you don't need to have watched the series previously in order to see it.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Thundermans-Re...
Cliffhanger
Just finished watching "Cliffhanger" released by Tri Star back in 1993.
I had just stepped into my role as a human resources manager for the Northeast Florida at AMC Theaters when Cliffhanger first hit the silver screens, yet I only remember watching it on HBO when it was made available on cable. While Mom and Selma, and from time-to-time Dad, took advantage of being able to go the movies for free, I rarely took advantage of going to the movies on my off days from work.
My interest in watching "Cliffhanger" again came about after a "legacy sequel" was announced that will star Sylvester Stallone reprising his original role after the success of legacy movies such as "Top Gun - Maverick," "Twisters," and "Beetlejuice, Bettlejuice.
I remembered the "Cliffhanger" was a great movie, so I wanted to see if it stood the test of time - Spoiler Alert - it does!Mountain rescue rangers Gabe Walker, his girlfriend Jessie Deighan, and Frank attempt to rescue their fellow ranger, Hal Tucker, and his girlfriend, Sarah, stranded in the Colorado Rockies. Sarah's harness breaks loose and she falls to her death, and Hal blames a guilt-stricken Gabe, who leaves the ranger service.
Eight months later, Gabe returns to collect his belongings and to persuade Jessie to leave with him. Meanwhile, psychopathic former military intelligence operative Eric Qualen orchestrates the robbery of over $100 million in three suitcases of uncirculated bills. Turncoat U.S. Treasury agent Richard Travers hijacks the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 carrying the money, shooting his team members and attempting to transfer the cases in midair to Qualen and his team of mercenaries aboard a Lockheed JetStar. One of the wounded agent shoots at the thieves before the DC-9 is blown up, forcing the JetStar to crash land in the Rockies and scattering the cases across the mountainside.
Hal remains bitter over Sarah's death, and responds to a fake distress call from the mercenaries, while Jessie convinces Gabe to help. He and Hal are taken prisoner by Qualen, Travers, and their accomplices Kristel, Kynette, Delmar, Ryan, and Heldon. Using Travers' beacon locator, Hal and Gabe are ordered to track down the first case atop a steep rock face. Gabe is tethered and forced to climb and retrieve the case, but Hal warns that Qualen will kill him, and Gabe severs his rope before he can be yanked down. Heldon opens fire and is killed by the ensuing avalanche, which leads Qualen to believe the case is lost and Gabe is dead.
While Hal is forced to lead the mercenaries onward, Gabe races ahead and finds Jessie at an old ranger station. They recover mountaineering gear and reach the second case before Qualen arrives at nightfall, burning the money to stay warm and leaving him a taunting message, "Want to trade?" Using night-vision goggles, Ryan spots Gabe and Jessie, but Gabe blinds him with a flare and the two slide down a slope, Ryan careens over the edge a cliff to his death in a gorge. The next morning, Gabe and Jessie race to beat Qualen to the last case, while Hal tries to warn away two young climbers, Evan and Brett, before Qualen's men open fire. Brett is killed, but a wounded Evan base jumps off the mountain and parachutes to safety.
Frank, scouting the mountain by helicopter in search of his friends, rescues Evan. Kynette confronts Gabe in a brutal fistfight in a cave, but Gabe impales him on a stalactite. Hal alerts him that the gang has rigged explosives above the cave, and Gabe and Jessie narrowly escape. The mercenaries flag down Frank in his rescue helicopter, and Delmar fatally shoots him. When Travers attempts to betray the others, Qualen forces him to stay by killing Kristel, leaving Qualen as their only pilot.
As the mercenaries split up to look for the last case, Hal stabs Delmar in his right leg with Frank's knife, then kills Delmar with his shotgun and escapes, while Gabe recovers the money from the last case. He plants the tracking beacon on a rabbit to frustrate an increasingly unhinged Travers, who rants at Qualen by walkie-talkie, allowing the authorities to track their position. Pursued by Travers, Gabe falls into a frozen river but kills Travers through the ice with a climbing-bolt gun, and is rescued by Hal.
Jessie signals to the rescue helicopter, believing it to be Frank, and is taken hostage by Qualen, who demands that Gabe and Hal surrender the money. Meeting high atop the cliffs, Qualen frees Jessie, but Gabe throws the bag of money into the helicopter's rotor blades, shredding the cash, and tethers the helicopter's winch cable to a cliffside ladder. Hal helps shoot down the helicopter, which hangs over the cliff with Gabe and Qualen atop the wreckage. Gabe fights off Qualen and climbs to safety as the wreckage falls off the cliff, killing Qualen. The authorities arrive as Gabe reunites with Jessie and Hal.
"Cliffhanger" was a runaway success when it was originally released and holds up surprisingly well, and I do see the lure of making a legacy sequel, though I kind-of-wish they don't and that Hollywood will leave well enough alone.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Cliffhanger-Bl...
I had just stepped into my role as a human resources manager for the Northeast Florida at AMC Theaters when Cliffhanger first hit the silver screens, yet I only remember watching it on HBO when it was made available on cable. While Mom and Selma, and from time-to-time Dad, took advantage of being able to go the movies for free, I rarely took advantage of going to the movies on my off days from work.
My interest in watching "Cliffhanger" again came about after a "legacy sequel" was announced that will star Sylvester Stallone reprising his original role after the success of legacy movies such as "Top Gun - Maverick," "Twisters," and "Beetlejuice, Bettlejuice.
I remembered the "Cliffhanger" was a great movie, so I wanted to see if it stood the test of time - Spoiler Alert - it does!Mountain rescue rangers Gabe Walker, his girlfriend Jessie Deighan, and Frank attempt to rescue their fellow ranger, Hal Tucker, and his girlfriend, Sarah, stranded in the Colorado Rockies. Sarah's harness breaks loose and she falls to her death, and Hal blames a guilt-stricken Gabe, who leaves the ranger service.
Eight months later, Gabe returns to collect his belongings and to persuade Jessie to leave with him. Meanwhile, psychopathic former military intelligence operative Eric Qualen orchestrates the robbery of over $100 million in three suitcases of uncirculated bills. Turncoat U.S. Treasury agent Richard Travers hijacks the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 carrying the money, shooting his team members and attempting to transfer the cases in midair to Qualen and his team of mercenaries aboard a Lockheed JetStar. One of the wounded agent shoots at the thieves before the DC-9 is blown up, forcing the JetStar to crash land in the Rockies and scattering the cases across the mountainside.
Hal remains bitter over Sarah's death, and responds to a fake distress call from the mercenaries, while Jessie convinces Gabe to help. He and Hal are taken prisoner by Qualen, Travers, and their accomplices Kristel, Kynette, Delmar, Ryan, and Heldon. Using Travers' beacon locator, Hal and Gabe are ordered to track down the first case atop a steep rock face. Gabe is tethered and forced to climb and retrieve the case, but Hal warns that Qualen will kill him, and Gabe severs his rope before he can be yanked down. Heldon opens fire and is killed by the ensuing avalanche, which leads Qualen to believe the case is lost and Gabe is dead.
While Hal is forced to lead the mercenaries onward, Gabe races ahead and finds Jessie at an old ranger station. They recover mountaineering gear and reach the second case before Qualen arrives at nightfall, burning the money to stay warm and leaving him a taunting message, "Want to trade?" Using night-vision goggles, Ryan spots Gabe and Jessie, but Gabe blinds him with a flare and the two slide down a slope, Ryan careens over the edge a cliff to his death in a gorge. The next morning, Gabe and Jessie race to beat Qualen to the last case, while Hal tries to warn away two young climbers, Evan and Brett, before Qualen's men open fire. Brett is killed, but a wounded Evan base jumps off the mountain and parachutes to safety.
Frank, scouting the mountain by helicopter in search of his friends, rescues Evan. Kynette confronts Gabe in a brutal fistfight in a cave, but Gabe impales him on a stalactite. Hal alerts him that the gang has rigged explosives above the cave, and Gabe and Jessie narrowly escape. The mercenaries flag down Frank in his rescue helicopter, and Delmar fatally shoots him. When Travers attempts to betray the others, Qualen forces him to stay by killing Kristel, leaving Qualen as their only pilot.
As the mercenaries split up to look for the last case, Hal stabs Delmar in his right leg with Frank's knife, then kills Delmar with his shotgun and escapes, while Gabe recovers the money from the last case. He plants the tracking beacon on a rabbit to frustrate an increasingly unhinged Travers, who rants at Qualen by walkie-talkie, allowing the authorities to track their position. Pursued by Travers, Gabe falls into a frozen river but kills Travers through the ice with a climbing-bolt gun, and is rescued by Hal.
Jessie signals to the rescue helicopter, believing it to be Frank, and is taken hostage by Qualen, who demands that Gabe and Hal surrender the money. Meeting high atop the cliffs, Qualen frees Jessie, but Gabe throws the bag of money into the helicopter's rotor blades, shredding the cash, and tethers the helicopter's winch cable to a cliffside ladder. Hal helps shoot down the helicopter, which hangs over the cliff with Gabe and Qualen atop the wreckage. Gabe fights off Qualen and climbs to safety as the wreckage falls off the cliff, killing Qualen. The authorities arrive as Gabe reunites with Jessie and Hal.
"Cliffhanger" was a runaway success when it was originally released and holds up surprisingly well, and I do see the lure of making a legacy sequel, though I kind-of-wish they don't and that Hollywood will leave well enough alone.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Cliffhanger-Bl...
Luck
Just finished watching "Luck" released by Skydance Animation as an Apple Original Film back in 2022, and it did receive a limited release in movie theaters before being shifted to Apple TV's online streaming service.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews on Social Media know, I don't subscribe to any streaming services and my only cable bill is for Internet, not cable television. So if I want to see something that is exclusively available online, I have to wait for the release on Blu-ray when it happens overseas - the joys of having a multi-region blu-ray player. Keep in mind that movies and television shows are not always available on streaming services, and old television shows and movies might be edited for content.
Now to address the elephant in the room: I'm assuming that eBay, Amazon, and other online retail websites are doing their due diligence and are not selling me illegal copies and the packaging appears to be legitimate and they appear to be authentic legal blu-rays that are being sold by legitimate vendors.
Now to address the second elephant in the room - John Lasseter. "Luck" was the first movie Lasseter co-produced and released after he stepped down from Pixar and Walt Disney Animated Studios for alleged sexual misconduct toward employees. He wasn't fired, but his contract with Disney wasn't renewed and while there hasn't - to the best of my knowledge - been any payoffs by him and/or Disney for his alleged behavior, Lasseter is still seen as a pariah in Hollywood, but it is important to note that there have been no public claims of sexual misconduct towards him at Skydance Animation.
"Luck" is a bold step for Lasseter who, along with the team at Sky Dance Animation, have a main character who is a young woman who has aged out of the foster care system, Sam Greenfield and is sent out into the world to fend for herself, much to the dismay of her younger friend and roommate Hazel, who is hoping to be adopted soon.
One night, after sharing food with a black cat, Sam finds a penny she hopes to give to Hazel for her collection of lucky items that may help her get adopted. The next day, Sam notices that the penny has made her luck improve. However, she loses the penny by inadvertently flushing it down a toilet.
While bemoaning her error, Sam encounters the cat again and says what happened, which causes the cat to berate her for losing the penny. Shocked that the cat could talk, Sam follows the cat through a portal to the Land of Luck, where creatures like leprechauns create good luck for the people on Earth. The cat, named Bob, needs the penny for traveling purposes and will be banished if word gets out that he lost it. Bob and Sam make a deal to get another penny from the Penny depot for Hazel to use before returning it to Bob. Bob uses a button from Sam to pass off as a penny while she sneaks into the Land of Luck using clothes belonging to Bob's personal leprechaun, Gerry. Throughout the journey, Sam comes to learn that bad luck is managed underneath the Land of Luck.
Following a disaster at the Penny depot which causes Gerry to learn about Sam's identity, Gerry uses a drone to retrieve the missing penny on Earth. However, the drone gets lost in the In-Between, a space between the Good and Bad Luck lands. Sam and Bob go to the In-Between, which is managed by a unicorn named Jeff. Jeff manages the Bad Luck Apparat, a machine that keeps bad luck specks from sticking which feeds the Randomizer, another machine that sends both good and bad luck into Earth. Jeff reveals that he found the penny and has returned it to the depot. Undeterred, Sam decides to visit Babe, the dragon who manages the good luck, in hopes to get another penny. Babe tells Sam how better things would be if everyone had good luck before giving her a new penny. But Sam sacrifices her penny after Bob is caught for faking his travel penny to spare him from banishment.
Still wanting to help Hazel, Sam and Bob decide to temporarily shut down the Bad Luck Apparat to prevent bad luck from going to the Randomizer and give Hazel the luck she needs to get adopted. However, the bad luck specks start to clog Jeff's machines and destroy the good luck and bad luck stones within the Randomizer, which itself brings bad luck to the Land of Luck and Earth. Seeing Hazel did not get adopted because of this, learning that Bob is actually an unlucky English cat and having been found out as a human, Sam sulks in remorse. Bob apologizes and says that Hazel is the luckiest girl for having Sam at her side. Sam realizes things can be fixed because she remembers seeing some good luck in Bad Luck land while on her way to the In-Between.
In Bad Luck, they find it in a tiki bar where the bartender, a root monster named Rootie, who is Bob's old friend, gives them a jar of good luck they have been using. They take it to Babe to forge new good and bad luck stones. However, while creating a bad luck stone, Babe makes two good luck stones, wanting to create a world with only good luck. Before she can place them, Sam tells Babe people need bad luck as much as good luck. Realizing her mistake, she allows Sam to place the bad luck stone, and good luck is restored to normal, where Sam sees Hazel getting adopted by a new family. Bob is offered to keep his job at the Land of Luck, but decides he wants to live with Sam.
One year later, on Earth, Hazel's family spends time with Sam and Bob, who have accepted their bad luck and are getting on with their lives as a new blended family.
"Luck" went through many incarnations before Lasseter took over the helm at Skydance Animation, and it definitely benefited from his involvement and the animation is on par with Pixar and Disney Studios and the story is compelling and goes places his former studio wouldn't dare go.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256733561956...
Now as frequent readers of my reviews on Social Media know, I don't subscribe to any streaming services and my only cable bill is for Internet, not cable television. So if I want to see something that is exclusively available online, I have to wait for the release on Blu-ray when it happens overseas - the joys of having a multi-region blu-ray player. Keep in mind that movies and television shows are not always available on streaming services, and old television shows and movies might be edited for content.
Now to address the elephant in the room: I'm assuming that eBay, Amazon, and other online retail websites are doing their due diligence and are not selling me illegal copies and the packaging appears to be legitimate and they appear to be authentic legal blu-rays that are being sold by legitimate vendors.
Now to address the second elephant in the room - John Lasseter. "Luck" was the first movie Lasseter co-produced and released after he stepped down from Pixar and Walt Disney Animated Studios for alleged sexual misconduct toward employees. He wasn't fired, but his contract with Disney wasn't renewed and while there hasn't - to the best of my knowledge - been any payoffs by him and/or Disney for his alleged behavior, Lasseter is still seen as a pariah in Hollywood, but it is important to note that there have been no public claims of sexual misconduct towards him at Skydance Animation.
"Luck" is a bold step for Lasseter who, along with the team at Sky Dance Animation, have a main character who is a young woman who has aged out of the foster care system, Sam Greenfield and is sent out into the world to fend for herself, much to the dismay of her younger friend and roommate Hazel, who is hoping to be adopted soon.
One night, after sharing food with a black cat, Sam finds a penny she hopes to give to Hazel for her collection of lucky items that may help her get adopted. The next day, Sam notices that the penny has made her luck improve. However, she loses the penny by inadvertently flushing it down a toilet.
While bemoaning her error, Sam encounters the cat again and says what happened, which causes the cat to berate her for losing the penny. Shocked that the cat could talk, Sam follows the cat through a portal to the Land of Luck, where creatures like leprechauns create good luck for the people on Earth. The cat, named Bob, needs the penny for traveling purposes and will be banished if word gets out that he lost it. Bob and Sam make a deal to get another penny from the Penny depot for Hazel to use before returning it to Bob. Bob uses a button from Sam to pass off as a penny while she sneaks into the Land of Luck using clothes belonging to Bob's personal leprechaun, Gerry. Throughout the journey, Sam comes to learn that bad luck is managed underneath the Land of Luck.
Following a disaster at the Penny depot which causes Gerry to learn about Sam's identity, Gerry uses a drone to retrieve the missing penny on Earth. However, the drone gets lost in the In-Between, a space between the Good and Bad Luck lands. Sam and Bob go to the In-Between, which is managed by a unicorn named Jeff. Jeff manages the Bad Luck Apparat, a machine that keeps bad luck specks from sticking which feeds the Randomizer, another machine that sends both good and bad luck into Earth. Jeff reveals that he found the penny and has returned it to the depot. Undeterred, Sam decides to visit Babe, the dragon who manages the good luck, in hopes to get another penny. Babe tells Sam how better things would be if everyone had good luck before giving her a new penny. But Sam sacrifices her penny after Bob is caught for faking his travel penny to spare him from banishment.
Still wanting to help Hazel, Sam and Bob decide to temporarily shut down the Bad Luck Apparat to prevent bad luck from going to the Randomizer and give Hazel the luck she needs to get adopted. However, the bad luck specks start to clog Jeff's machines and destroy the good luck and bad luck stones within the Randomizer, which itself brings bad luck to the Land of Luck and Earth. Seeing Hazel did not get adopted because of this, learning that Bob is actually an unlucky English cat and having been found out as a human, Sam sulks in remorse. Bob apologizes and says that Hazel is the luckiest girl for having Sam at her side. Sam realizes things can be fixed because she remembers seeing some good luck in Bad Luck land while on her way to the In-Between.
In Bad Luck, they find it in a tiki bar where the bartender, a root monster named Rootie, who is Bob's old friend, gives them a jar of good luck they have been using. They take it to Babe to forge new good and bad luck stones. However, while creating a bad luck stone, Babe makes two good luck stones, wanting to create a world with only good luck. Before she can place them, Sam tells Babe people need bad luck as much as good luck. Realizing her mistake, she allows Sam to place the bad luck stone, and good luck is restored to normal, where Sam sees Hazel getting adopted by a new family. Bob is offered to keep his job at the Land of Luck, but decides he wants to live with Sam.
One year later, on Earth, Hazel's family spends time with Sam and Bob, who have accepted their bad luck and are getting on with their lives as a new blended family.
"Luck" went through many incarnations before Lasseter took over the helm at Skydance Animation, and it definitely benefited from his involvement and the animation is on par with Pixar and Disney Studios and the story is compelling and goes places his former studio wouldn't dare go.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256733561956...
Dan Curtis' Dracula
Just finished watching "Dan Curtis' Dracula" released by Dark Sky Films.
Dan Curtis is perhaps best know for his contribution to vampire and Gothic lore with the introduction of the sympathetic Vampire Barnabas Collins in the daily weekday soap opera "Dark Shadows." So when Dark Shadows ended its five year run back in 1971 it was only natural that Dan Curtis would make made-for-television supernatural horror movies, which were surprisingly highly popular in 1970s despite network censors. On a side note, Curtis would go on to direct the World War Two miniseries "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" in the 1980s.
I believe "Dracula" was Curtis' second foray into supernatural Gothic horror movies for television - the first being "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," which also starred Jack Palance in the title role. It's interesting to note that this movie was released in movie theaters in Europe. Also of historical note, "Dracula" was preempted by President Richard Nixon's on-air announcement that Vice-President Spiro Agnew was resigning. It was immediately rescheduled and was a ratings hit.
Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay and took a different approach to the previous adaptations of Bram Stoker's original Gothic novel.
The Dracula shown here is unusual in that his past existence as a human being, is tied in with the main plot. Adding a touch of realistic humanity to him I've never seen managed in any other version, as well as showing a tinge of the tragedy of immortality in Dracula's loneliness and grief over his dead wife, whom he can never re- join in eternal rest.
Dracula is also menacing in his blunt and straightforward way of confronting those who displease him. His savagery casts an ever present sense of menace throughout the film.
Jack Palance came as close as any actor to date in surpassing the sensual, yet horrifying animalistic depiction of Dracula once portrayed by the late legendary great Christopher Lee.
Strongly Recommended for Palance's performance as Dracula.
Five Stars.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303287722253...
Dan Curtis is perhaps best know for his contribution to vampire and Gothic lore with the introduction of the sympathetic Vampire Barnabas Collins in the daily weekday soap opera "Dark Shadows." So when Dark Shadows ended its five year run back in 1971 it was only natural that Dan Curtis would make made-for-television supernatural horror movies, which were surprisingly highly popular in 1970s despite network censors. On a side note, Curtis would go on to direct the World War Two miniseries "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" in the 1980s.
I believe "Dracula" was Curtis' second foray into supernatural Gothic horror movies for television - the first being "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," which also starred Jack Palance in the title role. It's interesting to note that this movie was released in movie theaters in Europe. Also of historical note, "Dracula" was preempted by President Richard Nixon's on-air announcement that Vice-President Spiro Agnew was resigning. It was immediately rescheduled and was a ratings hit.
Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay and took a different approach to the previous adaptations of Bram Stoker's original Gothic novel.
The Dracula shown here is unusual in that his past existence as a human being, is tied in with the main plot. Adding a touch of realistic humanity to him I've never seen managed in any other version, as well as showing a tinge of the tragedy of immortality in Dracula's loneliness and grief over his dead wife, whom he can never re- join in eternal rest.
Dracula is also menacing in his blunt and straightforward way of confronting those who displease him. His savagery casts an ever present sense of menace throughout the film.
Jack Palance came as close as any actor to date in surpassing the sensual, yet horrifying animalistic depiction of Dracula once portrayed by the late legendary great Christopher Lee.
Strongly Recommended for Palance's performance as Dracula.
Five Stars.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303287722253...
November 24, 2024
Zagor - Shadow Of The Vampire
Just finished reading "Zagor - Shadow Of The Vampire" by Guido Nolitta, Gallieno Ferri, and Alfredo Castelli published by Epicenter Comics.
"Zagor - Shadow Of The Vampire" collects "Zagor Against The Vampire" and "Vampire Returns" which ran from July- September 1972 and January - April 1981.
Throughout the series, it is strongly suggested that Zagor, although not a demi-god that he claims to be, is indeed in Manitou's good graces and on more than few occasions he has served as a champion of heavens against the forces of evil drawing his strength from the divine intervention (best example being the storyline of Hellingen's Return - episodes #275 through #280). Later stories have also hinted that Zagor's great abilities could come from him being a descendant of an Atlantean royalty or perhaps a reincarnation of an ancient African deity.
So because Zagor cuts across all genre, it isn't unusual for him to go up against the supernatural.
What is perhaps unusual is the homosexual undertones in "Zagor Against The Vampire" in which Baron Rakosi wants Albert Parkman to be his eternal companion and includes a fight to the death with Zagor.
Zagor and Chico become involved when their friend Buddy Parkman asks them keep an eye on his son Albert, who is leading his first wagon train out West, and on the trail, they encounter Baron Rakosi's men who are traveling to the Baron's homestead in America. What follows is a tense game of cat and mouse as Albert is attacked and is slowly dying from a loss of blood.
In "Vampire Return", the Baron is brought back to life through devious means and now target of the vampire's desire is Albert's wife and Zagor is once again battling for the life of his friends against the vampire.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/165506306877...
"Zagor - Shadow Of The Vampire" collects "Zagor Against The Vampire" and "Vampire Returns" which ran from July- September 1972 and January - April 1981.
Throughout the series, it is strongly suggested that Zagor, although not a demi-god that he claims to be, is indeed in Manitou's good graces and on more than few occasions he has served as a champion of heavens against the forces of evil drawing his strength from the divine intervention (best example being the storyline of Hellingen's Return - episodes #275 through #280). Later stories have also hinted that Zagor's great abilities could come from him being a descendant of an Atlantean royalty or perhaps a reincarnation of an ancient African deity.
So because Zagor cuts across all genre, it isn't unusual for him to go up against the supernatural.
What is perhaps unusual is the homosexual undertones in "Zagor Against The Vampire" in which Baron Rakosi wants Albert Parkman to be his eternal companion and includes a fight to the death with Zagor.
Zagor and Chico become involved when their friend Buddy Parkman asks them keep an eye on his son Albert, who is leading his first wagon train out West, and on the trail, they encounter Baron Rakosi's men who are traveling to the Baron's homestead in America. What follows is a tense game of cat and mouse as Albert is attacked and is slowly dying from a loss of blood.
In "Vampire Return", the Baron is brought back to life through devious means and now target of the vampire's desire is Albert's wife and Zagor is once again battling for the life of his friends against the vampire.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/165506306877...
Bodies
Just finished watching "Bodies" - a Netflix Limited Series.
"Bodies" is a British science fiction mystery thriller television miniseries primarily written and created for Netflix by Paul Tomalin and directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner and Haolu Wang. It is based on the 2014-15 DC Vertigo graphic novel of the same name, written by Si Spencer and illustrated by Dean Ormston, Tula Lotay, Meghan Hetrick and Phil Winslade. The series consists of eight episodes and premiered on Netflix on 19 October 2023.
The series begins in the present day with Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor), a London detective sergeant, engaging in a foot pursuit in the middle of a far-right rally and stumbling upon a body on Longharvest Lane.
In 1941, a detective (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd’s Whiteman) in bomb-rattled London gets a mysterious call to go to Longharvest Lane to make a pickup. There, in the middle of a torrential downpour, he finds a body.
In 1890, a Whitechapel detective (Kyle Soller‘s Hillinghead) is summoned to an alley on Longharvest Lane, where he finds a body.
All four detectives have found the same body. Naked. Shot through the eye, but with no bullet to be found. A strange hashmark or glyph tattoo on the wrist.
As the story progresses, the mystery of the body discovered by all four detectives across the decades is unraveled to be the result of a conspiracy of one man who rightfully shouldn't exist at all, and that the body was the result of his desire to create his own existence at any cost to humanity.
While "Bodies" has been a big hit for Netflix and there is some talk of a sequel since all the detectives seem to be aware of the changes in the timeline in the end, let's hope not because writer Si Spencer has passed away and did not write a sequel to his original graphic novel.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335309859112
"Bodies" is a British science fiction mystery thriller television miniseries primarily written and created for Netflix by Paul Tomalin and directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner and Haolu Wang. It is based on the 2014-15 DC Vertigo graphic novel of the same name, written by Si Spencer and illustrated by Dean Ormston, Tula Lotay, Meghan Hetrick and Phil Winslade. The series consists of eight episodes and premiered on Netflix on 19 October 2023.
The series begins in the present day with Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor), a London detective sergeant, engaging in a foot pursuit in the middle of a far-right rally and stumbling upon a body on Longharvest Lane.
In 1941, a detective (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd’s Whiteman) in bomb-rattled London gets a mysterious call to go to Longharvest Lane to make a pickup. There, in the middle of a torrential downpour, he finds a body.
In 1890, a Whitechapel detective (Kyle Soller‘s Hillinghead) is summoned to an alley on Longharvest Lane, where he finds a body.
All four detectives have found the same body. Naked. Shot through the eye, but with no bullet to be found. A strange hashmark or glyph tattoo on the wrist.
As the story progresses, the mystery of the body discovered by all four detectives across the decades is unraveled to be the result of a conspiracy of one man who rightfully shouldn't exist at all, and that the body was the result of his desire to create his own existence at any cost to humanity.
While "Bodies" has been a big hit for Netflix and there is some talk of a sequel since all the detectives seem to be aware of the changes in the timeline in the end, let's hope not because writer Si Spencer has passed away and did not write a sequel to his original graphic novel.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335309859112
Saltwater Cafe
Just finished listening to "Saltwater Cafe" the latest album by my good friend Steve Orchard that was released a few weeks ago by A.D. Music.
Now if memory serves me correctly here, "Saltwater Cafe" is Steve's 23rd album with A. D. Music since he signed with the label back in 2011 and, if I'm wrong on this Steve I will apologize in advance, I believe its his first album that was released electronically released without a CD version.
Which absolutely gobsmacked Steve - okay, I'm probably over exaggerating here- when he found out that I had actually purchased the download of "Saltwater Cafe" because he knows that I have a really strong preference for owning physical copies of books, movies, music, audio dramas on CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays.
As frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Linkedin, Goodreads, and other social media sites know, I always reveal whenever I am friends and/or have a connection with a writer, musician, actor, artist, and/or performer; and although we have never met in person, we have been friends for nearly 20-years ago, every since I, as a complete stranger but a fan of his music, reached out to him in an email, and the rest they say is history.
Oh yes, I did provide the vocals for the track on "Space Travel Expands The Mind" from Steve's album "The Third Alien" which actually shocked me when Steve asked me to provide the vocals and I was hesitant to do so because he wanted an authenticate American, and despite being a natural born American, French, not English was my first language and I had to learn to speak English at a normal speed and not the speed of French - so most people when they hear me speak think I'm British because I speak with precision. I was somewhat shocked when Steve reassured me that I actually sounded like an American to him.
There are 12-tracks on "Saltwater Cafe" and if I'm not mistaken - keep in mind that my musical training is limited to voice - Steve used a mix of electric and acoustic guitars, along with pianos and synths and percussion instruments, along with vocals - not mine this time...LOL.
Now what Steve didn't know is that I actually like walking the along the three mile stretch of beach between Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach here in Jacksonville when Autumn and Winter arrives, so I greatly enjoyed the ocean/beach theme of "Saltwater Cafe."
My favorite tracks on "Saltwater Cafe" are: "Dormant Volcano," "Memory Lane," "Spring High Tide," "Diamond Minds," "Desert Oasis," "The Reef," and "Treetops."
I can't wait for for Steve's next album.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
http://www.admusicshop.com/product/st...
Now if memory serves me correctly here, "Saltwater Cafe" is Steve's 23rd album with A. D. Music since he signed with the label back in 2011 and, if I'm wrong on this Steve I will apologize in advance, I believe its his first album that was released electronically released without a CD version.
Which absolutely gobsmacked Steve - okay, I'm probably over exaggerating here- when he found out that I had actually purchased the download of "Saltwater Cafe" because he knows that I have a really strong preference for owning physical copies of books, movies, music, audio dramas on CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays.
As frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Linkedin, Goodreads, and other social media sites know, I always reveal whenever I am friends and/or have a connection with a writer, musician, actor, artist, and/or performer; and although we have never met in person, we have been friends for nearly 20-years ago, every since I, as a complete stranger but a fan of his music, reached out to him in an email, and the rest they say is history.
Oh yes, I did provide the vocals for the track on "Space Travel Expands The Mind" from Steve's album "The Third Alien" which actually shocked me when Steve asked me to provide the vocals and I was hesitant to do so because he wanted an authenticate American, and despite being a natural born American, French, not English was my first language and I had to learn to speak English at a normal speed and not the speed of French - so most people when they hear me speak think I'm British because I speak with precision. I was somewhat shocked when Steve reassured me that I actually sounded like an American to him.
There are 12-tracks on "Saltwater Cafe" and if I'm not mistaken - keep in mind that my musical training is limited to voice - Steve used a mix of electric and acoustic guitars, along with pianos and synths and percussion instruments, along with vocals - not mine this time...LOL.
Now what Steve didn't know is that I actually like walking the along the three mile stretch of beach between Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach here in Jacksonville when Autumn and Winter arrives, so I greatly enjoyed the ocean/beach theme of "Saltwater Cafe."
My favorite tracks on "Saltwater Cafe" are: "Dormant Volcano," "Memory Lane," "Spring High Tide," "Diamond Minds," "Desert Oasis," "The Reef," and "Treetops."
I can't wait for for Steve's next album.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
http://www.admusicshop.com/product/st...
The Satanic Mill
Just finished reading "The Satanic Mill" by Otfried Preussler, translated by Anthea Bell, published by Macmillian Publishing Company, Inc, back in 1973.
Yes, "The Satanic Mill" is part of my "Great Re-reading of Favorite Books from my Youth" project, and yes, it was one of the books that Mrs. Saunders, the woman who "oversaw" my sixth grade classroom at Stone Street Elementary School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina unsuccessfully tried to prevent me from reading back in 1974.
It was the breathtakingly haunting cover by Murray Tinkelman of horses and a carriage that caught my full attention when I was looking over the offerings on the Scholastic Press/Weekly Reader Book Club Order Form.
"The Satanic Mill" is a masterpiece of fantasy literature that is often overlooked in the 21st Century. It's original German title is "Krabat" and Preussler won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Award) for this work.
A little bit of biographical background on Preussler: He was drafted into the German army during World War II and was taken prisoner in 1944 when he was 21 years old and spent the next five years in POW camps in the Tatar Republic. After his release, he became a primary school teacher and began writing and publishing children's stories.
And no, Preussler being a German author was not the reason why Mrs. Saunders objected to me reading the book. [For those who wonder why I still harbor a grudge against Mrs. Saunders - she believed that people should act in the way she believed to be "proper" and even tried to tell me how I would never be happy if I didn't conform to her expectations of who I should be. She and I had mutually hated each other and she left teaching after I was removed from her class by my parents' request. She was that bad, and part of her behavior was rooted in anti-Semitism and her anger that I didn't conform to her social expectations. And you should never forget the people who tried to bring you down, because you leave yourself open to abuse from others like them.]
When "The Satanic Mill" was first released back in 1971 in Germany and translated into English back in 1972, it quickly became the "Harry Potter" of that era, garnering a loyal international following.
Krabat is a character in Sorbian folklore, also dubbed the "Wendish Faust". The first records of him were mentioned in 1839 minutes of the Akademischen Vereins für lausitzische Geschichte und Sprache, but all writings of the association were lost. Krabat evolved from an evil sorcerer into a folk hero and beneficial trickster in the course of the 19th century. Preussler wanted to make the story about Krabat his own and took a different approach to the re-telling the folk tale, much like Robin McKinley would do decades later in her masterful fist novel "Beauty - A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast."
[Note: I still enjoy reading and studying the origins of folk and fairy tales which would probably still get Mrs. Saunders upset over my chose of "inappropriate" reading material. She did report Mom and Dad to the military police because I was reading "Star Born" by Andre Norton during lunch - that was a really fun day - NOT! Ironically, it was that, and not telling me every day in class that I needed to accept Jesus as my lord and savior in order to fit in with everyone in the class that got her in the most trouble - a teacher can't file a false police report just because she doesn't like a student reading a science fiction novel.]
Set in the beginning of the 18th century during the Great Northern War, the story follows the life of Krabat, a 14-year-old Wendish beggar boy living in the eastern part of Saxony. For three consecutive nights, he is called to a watermill near the village Schwarzkollm through a dream. Upon heeding the call and arriving at the mill, he begins his apprenticeship as a miller's man. He soon joins the secret brotherhood, composed of journeymen and apprentices, and discovers that the skill he is meant to learn through this apprenticeship is black magic. The first magic powers Krabat acquires are rather harmless, such as the ability to turn himself into a raven. Other peculiarities of this watermill include the lack of any outside visitors, including farmers who would have brought grain. The only visitor to the mill is Goodman, who may be the devil, although this is never made explicit.
The senior journeyman Tonda, Krabat's best friend and older brother figure, dies, ostensibly of an accident, on New Year's Eve in Krabat's first year at the mill. Tonda offers strangely little resistance to his own death. Krabat's suspicions of foul play are further reinforced when another journeyman and friend, Michal, dies the following New Year's Eve. He soon realizes that the master is bound in a pact to the Goodman: the master must sacrifice one journeyman every year on New Year's Eve, or perish himself.
In Krabat's third year at the mill, the new student turns out to be Lobosch, a fellow beggar boy with whom Krabat used to travel before following the master's call to the mill. to Lobosch he becomes a similar "older brother" figure as Tonda was to him in his first year: he helps Lobosch regularly by mindering his pain in secret and helps him with the hard work, gives him advice and consults him when needed.
Wishing to take revenge for his friends' death, Krabat secretly trains to increase his mental strength so he can see eye to eye with the master. His quest is aided by Juro, a journeyman skilled in magic who has been playing the fool to avoid the master's attention. Whilst the two leave the mill at Easter to receive "the marking" (a process where the brotherhood members have to spend a night outside at a place where someone died forcefully, mark each other with the sign and vow to the master to serve him) Krabat wanders out of himself to see the and speak to his long sought love. A girl from the nearby village, a church singer. Krabat learns that to end the spell, his lover must challenge the master for him; then whoever loses the challenge, the master or the two lovers, will die. The master offers Krabat another solution: He will retire and let Krabat inherit the mill, along with the pact to the Goodman; but Krabat refuses to perpetuate the evil pact. So the challenge goes ahead, and the girl's task is to distinguish Krabat from the rest of the journeymen, all of them are standing in a row, while she is - unexpectedly - blindfolded. Nevertheless, she manages to pick Krabat out by the fact that he fears mainly for her life, while the others fear mainly for their own. Ultimately, she rescues Krabat from death, and they and the journeymen escape the mill. The master is left to die in the burning mill on New Year's Eve, while the survivors lose all their magic powers and are now simple millers who have to provide for themselves through normal hard work.
"The Satanic Mill," being a banned book by many church organizations here in the United States because of the dark magic and satanic rituals involving pentagrams used through out the novel, surprisingly is a stunning story of the redemptive power of love and faith - though I would be remiss if I didn't point out that it is the Christian faith that redeems, saves, and frees Krabat.
Now as to why Mrs. Saunders attempted to prevent me from reading "The Satanic Mill." It was offered as a choice by the Scholastic Book/Weekly Reader Book Club and having lost the war with my parents over what books I may order and read - she didn't put in an order once and was taken to task for it when Mom and Dad complained to the principal - she tried another approach.
Apparently, this was from what Mom and Dad told me, she had taken it upon herself to check with the other teachers in Stone Street Elementary School, and I was the only one who had ordered "The Satanic Mill" and it was bad enough that I was the only Jewish child in the school at that time. So if she gave me the book when it arrived, she would be supporting Satanism, and she didn't want to do that because it was bad enough that she was teaching a "Christ-Killer."
I kid you not. She said that. Anti-Semitism was, and still is for the most part, acceptable in oh-so-polite society. And no, even that admission by her in front of my parents and the principal was not enough to get her fired from Stone Street Elementary School. Pity we didn't have social media back then. And no, despite my parents frequent requests to have me transferred out of her classroom, it took Mrs. Saunders leveling a false charge of abuse by my parents because I was reading a novel by Andre Norton months later that forced her to "retire" from teaching and my fellow classmates and teachers at Stone Street Elementary School blamed me for that and verbally let me know it. By this time there was only about a few weeks left in the school year and my parents kept close tabs on what was going on with me in school.
"The Satanic Mill" was reprinted by NYRB Kids in January 2024, and there have been several movie adaptations of Krabat's tale.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Satanic-Mill-O...
Yes, "The Satanic Mill" is part of my "Great Re-reading of Favorite Books from my Youth" project, and yes, it was one of the books that Mrs. Saunders, the woman who "oversaw" my sixth grade classroom at Stone Street Elementary School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina unsuccessfully tried to prevent me from reading back in 1974.
It was the breathtakingly haunting cover by Murray Tinkelman of horses and a carriage that caught my full attention when I was looking over the offerings on the Scholastic Press/Weekly Reader Book Club Order Form.
"The Satanic Mill" is a masterpiece of fantasy literature that is often overlooked in the 21st Century. It's original German title is "Krabat" and Preussler won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Award) for this work.
A little bit of biographical background on Preussler: He was drafted into the German army during World War II and was taken prisoner in 1944 when he was 21 years old and spent the next five years in POW camps in the Tatar Republic. After his release, he became a primary school teacher and began writing and publishing children's stories.
And no, Preussler being a German author was not the reason why Mrs. Saunders objected to me reading the book. [For those who wonder why I still harbor a grudge against Mrs. Saunders - she believed that people should act in the way she believed to be "proper" and even tried to tell me how I would never be happy if I didn't conform to her expectations of who I should be. She and I had mutually hated each other and she left teaching after I was removed from her class by my parents' request. She was that bad, and part of her behavior was rooted in anti-Semitism and her anger that I didn't conform to her social expectations. And you should never forget the people who tried to bring you down, because you leave yourself open to abuse from others like them.]
When "The Satanic Mill" was first released back in 1971 in Germany and translated into English back in 1972, it quickly became the "Harry Potter" of that era, garnering a loyal international following.
Krabat is a character in Sorbian folklore, also dubbed the "Wendish Faust". The first records of him were mentioned in 1839 minutes of the Akademischen Vereins für lausitzische Geschichte und Sprache, but all writings of the association were lost. Krabat evolved from an evil sorcerer into a folk hero and beneficial trickster in the course of the 19th century. Preussler wanted to make the story about Krabat his own and took a different approach to the re-telling the folk tale, much like Robin McKinley would do decades later in her masterful fist novel "Beauty - A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast."
[Note: I still enjoy reading and studying the origins of folk and fairy tales which would probably still get Mrs. Saunders upset over my chose of "inappropriate" reading material. She did report Mom and Dad to the military police because I was reading "Star Born" by Andre Norton during lunch - that was a really fun day - NOT! Ironically, it was that, and not telling me every day in class that I needed to accept Jesus as my lord and savior in order to fit in with everyone in the class that got her in the most trouble - a teacher can't file a false police report just because she doesn't like a student reading a science fiction novel.]
Set in the beginning of the 18th century during the Great Northern War, the story follows the life of Krabat, a 14-year-old Wendish beggar boy living in the eastern part of Saxony. For three consecutive nights, he is called to a watermill near the village Schwarzkollm through a dream. Upon heeding the call and arriving at the mill, he begins his apprenticeship as a miller's man. He soon joins the secret brotherhood, composed of journeymen and apprentices, and discovers that the skill he is meant to learn through this apprenticeship is black magic. The first magic powers Krabat acquires are rather harmless, such as the ability to turn himself into a raven. Other peculiarities of this watermill include the lack of any outside visitors, including farmers who would have brought grain. The only visitor to the mill is Goodman, who may be the devil, although this is never made explicit.
The senior journeyman Tonda, Krabat's best friend and older brother figure, dies, ostensibly of an accident, on New Year's Eve in Krabat's first year at the mill. Tonda offers strangely little resistance to his own death. Krabat's suspicions of foul play are further reinforced when another journeyman and friend, Michal, dies the following New Year's Eve. He soon realizes that the master is bound in a pact to the Goodman: the master must sacrifice one journeyman every year on New Year's Eve, or perish himself.
In Krabat's third year at the mill, the new student turns out to be Lobosch, a fellow beggar boy with whom Krabat used to travel before following the master's call to the mill. to Lobosch he becomes a similar "older brother" figure as Tonda was to him in his first year: he helps Lobosch regularly by mindering his pain in secret and helps him with the hard work, gives him advice and consults him when needed.
Wishing to take revenge for his friends' death, Krabat secretly trains to increase his mental strength so he can see eye to eye with the master. His quest is aided by Juro, a journeyman skilled in magic who has been playing the fool to avoid the master's attention. Whilst the two leave the mill at Easter to receive "the marking" (a process where the brotherhood members have to spend a night outside at a place where someone died forcefully, mark each other with the sign and vow to the master to serve him) Krabat wanders out of himself to see the and speak to his long sought love. A girl from the nearby village, a church singer. Krabat learns that to end the spell, his lover must challenge the master for him; then whoever loses the challenge, the master or the two lovers, will die. The master offers Krabat another solution: He will retire and let Krabat inherit the mill, along with the pact to the Goodman; but Krabat refuses to perpetuate the evil pact. So the challenge goes ahead, and the girl's task is to distinguish Krabat from the rest of the journeymen, all of them are standing in a row, while she is - unexpectedly - blindfolded. Nevertheless, she manages to pick Krabat out by the fact that he fears mainly for her life, while the others fear mainly for their own. Ultimately, she rescues Krabat from death, and they and the journeymen escape the mill. The master is left to die in the burning mill on New Year's Eve, while the survivors lose all their magic powers and are now simple millers who have to provide for themselves through normal hard work.
"The Satanic Mill," being a banned book by many church organizations here in the United States because of the dark magic and satanic rituals involving pentagrams used through out the novel, surprisingly is a stunning story of the redemptive power of love and faith - though I would be remiss if I didn't point out that it is the Christian faith that redeems, saves, and frees Krabat.
Now as to why Mrs. Saunders attempted to prevent me from reading "The Satanic Mill." It was offered as a choice by the Scholastic Book/Weekly Reader Book Club and having lost the war with my parents over what books I may order and read - she didn't put in an order once and was taken to task for it when Mom and Dad complained to the principal - she tried another approach.
Apparently, this was from what Mom and Dad told me, she had taken it upon herself to check with the other teachers in Stone Street Elementary School, and I was the only one who had ordered "The Satanic Mill" and it was bad enough that I was the only Jewish child in the school at that time. So if she gave me the book when it arrived, she would be supporting Satanism, and she didn't want to do that because it was bad enough that she was teaching a "Christ-Killer."
I kid you not. She said that. Anti-Semitism was, and still is for the most part, acceptable in oh-so-polite society. And no, even that admission by her in front of my parents and the principal was not enough to get her fired from Stone Street Elementary School. Pity we didn't have social media back then. And no, despite my parents frequent requests to have me transferred out of her classroom, it took Mrs. Saunders leveling a false charge of abuse by my parents because I was reading a novel by Andre Norton months later that forced her to "retire" from teaching and my fellow classmates and teachers at Stone Street Elementary School blamed me for that and verbally let me know it. By this time there was only about a few weeks left in the school year and my parents kept close tabs on what was going on with me in school.
"The Satanic Mill" was reprinted by NYRB Kids in January 2024, and there have been several movie adaptations of Krabat's tale.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Satanic-Mill-O...
November 17, 2024
Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire - Season 2
Just finished watching "Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire - Season 2" released by AMC.
Modern re-tellings/re-imaginings of classic literature/media are always fraught with danger because they often stray so very far from the intent and purpose of the original source material.
Rice's "Interview With The Vampire" was one of the modern 20th Century examples of the traditional Gothic novel that I had read and written about for my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Gothic Literature from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington back in 1988, so I wasn't happy by the WOKE retelling of both series of "Interview With The Vampire."
It is the first series set in the Immortal Universe, a shared universe based on Rice's novels. A series order was made in June 2021, after AMC Networks purchased the rights to intellectual property encompassing 18 of Rice's novels in 2020.
The series premiered on October 2, 2022, with the first two seasons covering the eponymous novel. In June 2024, the series was renewed for a third season, to cover the second book "The Vampire Lestat" - a sequel I didn't care for when I attempted to read it when it was first released decades ago.
In this version, it still centers on the life story of vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, as told to veteran journalist Daniel Molloy, to whom he previously gave an unpublished interview in 1973 - which is a change from the book and the first of many changes. An affluent black man in the 1910s New Orleans, Louis is romanced and later made a vampire by the charismatic Lestat de Lioncourt. But Louis struggles with his humanity, and the introduction of Lestat's newest fledgling, the teenage vampire Claudia, only strains their relationship further. In the present, Daniel begins to doubt the veracity of Louis' story, noting differences from the earlier version - especially Armand's part in the tale - a 514-year-old vampire who is Louis' current lover. He saves Daniel's life during the first interview. Armand first appears under the disguise of Rashid, Louis' dutiful servant.
Sticking to the original story would have been better.
Recommended for die-hard fans of Anne Rice's works, but be prepared for the many changes made to the source material.
Three Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Interview-Vamp...
Modern re-tellings/re-imaginings of classic literature/media are always fraught with danger because they often stray so very far from the intent and purpose of the original source material.
Rice's "Interview With The Vampire" was one of the modern 20th Century examples of the traditional Gothic novel that I had read and written about for my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Gothic Literature from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington back in 1988, so I wasn't happy by the WOKE retelling of both series of "Interview With The Vampire."
It is the first series set in the Immortal Universe, a shared universe based on Rice's novels. A series order was made in June 2021, after AMC Networks purchased the rights to intellectual property encompassing 18 of Rice's novels in 2020.
The series premiered on October 2, 2022, with the first two seasons covering the eponymous novel. In June 2024, the series was renewed for a third season, to cover the second book "The Vampire Lestat" - a sequel I didn't care for when I attempted to read it when it was first released decades ago.
In this version, it still centers on the life story of vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, as told to veteran journalist Daniel Molloy, to whom he previously gave an unpublished interview in 1973 - which is a change from the book and the first of many changes. An affluent black man in the 1910s New Orleans, Louis is romanced and later made a vampire by the charismatic Lestat de Lioncourt. But Louis struggles with his humanity, and the introduction of Lestat's newest fledgling, the teenage vampire Claudia, only strains their relationship further. In the present, Daniel begins to doubt the veracity of Louis' story, noting differences from the earlier version - especially Armand's part in the tale - a 514-year-old vampire who is Louis' current lover. He saves Daniel's life during the first interview. Armand first appears under the disguise of Rashid, Louis' dutiful servant.
Sticking to the original story would have been better.
Recommended for die-hard fans of Anne Rice's works, but be prepared for the many changes made to the source material.
Three Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Interview-Vamp...
Dead Boy Detectives
Just finished watching "Dead Boy Detectives - The Complete Series" released by Netflix.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media sites know, I do not subscribe to any streaming services or buy digital copies of movies, books, music CDs, and/or audio dramas unless I have no choice but to. Yet, just because a movie and/or television series doesn't have a release on a physical DVD and/or blu-ray here in the states, doesn't mean that there isn't a region free physical copy that hasn't been released in another country and is being offered for sale on eBay, which is where I've been getting a good portion of DVDs and blu-rays of shows that I'm interested in seeing. Of course, I am assuming and believing that eBay is doing their due diligence by not allowing illegal copies to be sold. It also helps to have a region free blu-ray player.
Dead Boy Detectives is an American supernatural horror detective comedy-drama television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the DC Comics characters of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The series stars George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, Briana Cuoco, Ruth Connell, Yuyu Kitamura and Jenn Lyon, and follows Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne, who decided not to enter the afterlife and instead stay on Earth to investigate crimes that involve the supernatural.
Plans for a television series began in September 2021, when a pilot was ordered by HBO Max for a TV series based on the Dead Boy Detectives comics. The series was given green-light by April 2022. However, it was moved to Netflix in February 2023. Gaiman later confirmed the series would be set in the same continuity as The Sandman, with Kirby set to reprise her role as Death in the series.
Dead Boy Detectives premiered on Netflix on April 25, 2024.
The series received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its writing, directing and tone, as well as the performances of the cast and visuals. In August 2024, the series was canceled after one season.
I enjoyed watching the series and it shares the same wackiness and sensibility of Neil Gaiman's universe and there has been a lot of disappointment over the cancellation of this series which ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.
The Dead Boy Detectives are not really major players in Gaiman's Sandman universe, but they do have a strong cult following - yet that is not enough to save a television/streaming service show, and there is the little manner of the sexual abuse charges being and/or that were leveled at Gaiman - and nothing will get a show pulled off the air sooner than a hint of impropriety by the creator, though I do recall reading an article where Netflix stated that second seasons of shows are way more expensive than the first season, and like it or not, businesses do have to turn a profit and low ratings for a cult/niche show don't pay the rent or the employees.
That said, I would have enjoyed a second season, but I do like what we got with the eight episodes of "Dead Boy Detectives."
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/405343712409...
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media sites know, I do not subscribe to any streaming services or buy digital copies of movies, books, music CDs, and/or audio dramas unless I have no choice but to. Yet, just because a movie and/or television series doesn't have a release on a physical DVD and/or blu-ray here in the states, doesn't mean that there isn't a region free physical copy that hasn't been released in another country and is being offered for sale on eBay, which is where I've been getting a good portion of DVDs and blu-rays of shows that I'm interested in seeing. Of course, I am assuming and believing that eBay is doing their due diligence by not allowing illegal copies to be sold. It also helps to have a region free blu-ray player.
Dead Boy Detectives is an American supernatural horror detective comedy-drama television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the DC Comics characters of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The series stars George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, Briana Cuoco, Ruth Connell, Yuyu Kitamura and Jenn Lyon, and follows Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne, who decided not to enter the afterlife and instead stay on Earth to investigate crimes that involve the supernatural.
Plans for a television series began in September 2021, when a pilot was ordered by HBO Max for a TV series based on the Dead Boy Detectives comics. The series was given green-light by April 2022. However, it was moved to Netflix in February 2023. Gaiman later confirmed the series would be set in the same continuity as The Sandman, with Kirby set to reprise her role as Death in the series.
Dead Boy Detectives premiered on Netflix on April 25, 2024.
The series received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its writing, directing and tone, as well as the performances of the cast and visuals. In August 2024, the series was canceled after one season.
I enjoyed watching the series and it shares the same wackiness and sensibility of Neil Gaiman's universe and there has been a lot of disappointment over the cancellation of this series which ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.
The Dead Boy Detectives are not really major players in Gaiman's Sandman universe, but they do have a strong cult following - yet that is not enough to save a television/streaming service show, and there is the little manner of the sexual abuse charges being and/or that were leveled at Gaiman - and nothing will get a show pulled off the air sooner than a hint of impropriety by the creator, though I do recall reading an article where Netflix stated that second seasons of shows are way more expensive than the first season, and like it or not, businesses do have to turn a profit and low ratings for a cult/niche show don't pay the rent or the employees.
That said, I would have enjoyed a second season, but I do like what we got with the eight episodes of "Dead Boy Detectives."
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/405343712409...
