Cult Classic: Troll (1986)

“That’s my job, kiddo.”

June Lockhart and Noah Hathaway team up to battle the evil Torok in 1986’s Troll. Opinions on the film range from it being one of the worst films ever made to being a cult classic. It’s a cult classic in my opinion, and there are plenty of reasons to watch it. For starters, it features an amazing cast of actors, many of whom were well established in other films and television shows and one particular actor who would go on to be a big sitcom star a few years after the film’s release. It also has some solid creature effects. Sonny Bono has a small role as a swinging bachelor. To top it all off, the actor who portrays Torok, Phil Fondacaro, also turns in one of the best performances in the film as Professor Malory.

The film’s plot is pretty simple. The Potter family moves into an apartment complex on the same day that an evil troll decides to restore his fairy world and overtake humanity. He takes on the appearance of the Potter’s daughter, Wendy, and systemically changes each apartment into a magical forest and the tenants into fairy world creatures. Realizing that his sister is acting strangely, Harry Potter, Jr. (no relation to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter) seeks out the help of Eunice St. Clair, an elderly tenant of the complex who is actually a witch in disguise waiting to fight Torok when needed. Can Harry and Eunice defeat Torok before he completes his transformation of the apartment complex? Watch Troll to find out!

As I already mentioned, many of the film’s stars were well established actors when they appeared in this film. Noah Hathaway was a veteran of Battlestar Galactica and The Neverending Story. His costar on Battlestar Galactica, Anne Lockhart, also has a role as the young version of Eunice St Clair whose elder version is portrayed by Lockhart’s real mother, June. June Lockhart was a veteran of television shows like Petticoat Junction, Lassie, and Lost In Space. She was also in a number of films including She-Wolf Of London before appearing in Troll. Harry Potter, Sr. is portrayed by Michael Moriarty. He appeared in a number of films and television series over the years including Bang The Drum Slowly, L.A. Law, Holocaust, and Shiloh. Shelley Hack portrayed Anne Potter, Harry’s wife, in the film. She appeared in Charlie’s Angels prior to being in Troll and went on to star in The Stepfather and multiple TV films and shows. Jenny Beck plays the Potter’s daughter, Wendy, and the Wendy version of Torok. She’s probably best known for starring as Elizabeth in V: The Final Battle and in the first episode of the series as well. She’s had multiple guest starring roles over the years including shows like Roseanne and Gimme A Break. Sonny Bono, half of Sonny & Cher and a future politician, plays Peter, the resident bachelor of the building. WKRP In Cincinnati alum Gary Sandy has a small role as the pumped up Marine, Barry. Phil Fondacaro stars as Torok and Malcolm Malory in what is arguably the best performance of the film. Fondacaro has steadily acted in a number of popular genre films such as Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi, Willow, The Dungeonmaster, Bordello Of Blood, and The Garbage Pail Kids Movie as well as having tons of guest appearances on television.

Two other actors make appearances in the film that are noteworthy for multiple reasons. Both Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus appear in the film. It’s Louis-Dreyfus’ feature film debut. The duo met in college in Hall’s comedy troupe, The Practical Theater, at Northwestern University and would go on to appear to on Saturday Night Live together. They married in 1987 and have been together ever since. Hall would go on to be a writer on Brooklyn Bridge and both wrote and created the series The Single Guy. He also wrote and created the series Watching Ellie, which starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Of course, Louis-Dreyfus has had an amazing career that has spanned decades. She’s best known for her work as Elaine Benes on Seinfeld, but has also appeared in numerous films including National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She has remained successful on television as well with shows like Veep and The New Adventures Of Old Christine as well as brief appearances in the Disney+ MCU-related series, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Oddly enough, Hall and Louis-Dreyfus appear as a couple in Troll. Louis-Dreyfus plays Jeannette, a tenant of the building, and Hall plays her boyfriend, William. Louis-Dreyfus is transformed into a nymph by Torok because he is mesmerized by her beauty. She spends much of the film nude with strategically placed vines wrapped around her body. She has often stated that she is embarrassed by the role.

The film’s makeup effects were handled by John Carl Buechler, who also directed. While the sets were very lush with greenery, it was pretty obvious that most of it was fake. Torok uses a magic ring to transform the apartment tenants into creatures and it uses some pretty cheesy “Green Lantern” type effects to get the deed done. The makeup on Torok was very well done and the puppets used for the fairies, gnomes, goblins, and other creatures were very cool.

While many people hate this film, there’s something about it that I really enjoy. Yes, it’s lame. Yes, some of the acting is subpar. Sure, Harry Potter, Sr. dancing around was weird, but overall this film has a bizarre appeal to it. Check it out if you’d like to see some mid-1980s hokey weirdness…..or if you want a peek at Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a vine thong.

As always, thanks for checking out my post. See you again real soon!

That 90s Show (2023)

That 90s Show. (L to R) Sam Morelos as Nikki, Mace Coronel as Jay, Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen Runck, Callie Haverda as Leia Forman, Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate, Reyn Doi as Ozzie in episode 101 of That 90s Show. Cr. Patrick Wymore/Netflix © 2022

“Hangin’ out….”

Netflix hopped on the nostalgia train with one of their most recent new shows. That 90s Show was announced way back in 2021as a spin-off of That 70s Show with Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp returning as Eric Forman’s parents, Red and Kitty. By 2022 it was revealed that Red and Kitty would take in Leia, the daughter of Eric and Donna, over the summer of 1995 and that she would interact with the locals in Point Place much like her father and mother did in the original series. It was also announced that most of the original core teens from the series would return in one-off cameos or multi-episode appearances. In late 2022 it was announced that the series would be released on Netflix on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

The series opens like the original series pilot, establishing the day, time, and location of the opening scene. Then we are greeted by the very 1990’s sound of Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is In The Heart” and Kitty Forman dancing to it only to be joined moments later by Red Forman. Then Eric and Donna Forman, along with their daughter, appear and the original characters fall right into their traditional roles from the original series. From there the series follows Leia as she is introduced to her next door neighbor, Gwen, and Gwen’s brother, Nate. After quickly bonding with Gwen and hoping to have a more fulfilling teenage life, Leia decides that she wants to stay with her grandparents for the summer. From there, Leia meets the rest of the teens in the show, old fans get a glimpse at more classic characters, and the show spends the rest of its ten episode run developing the new cast and eventually setting up a second potential season.

As expected the series revolves around Leia (Callie Haverda), the sugary sweet and innocent daughter of Erica and Donna as she attempts to experience new things with a host of newfound friends. Her best friend, Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide), represents the angry, Riot grrrrl teen that rose to prominence in the 1990’s thanks to music from artists like Alanis Morissette and Liz Phair. She’s a free spirit that helps Leia make bad decisions (with good intentions). Perhaps her second closest friend in the group is Ozzie (Reyn Doi), an openly gay young man with a steely wit. He’s one of my favorite characters in the series. Then there’s Mace Coronel as Jay Kelso, who also happens to be the son of Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart of the original series. He’s not as much of a dim bulb as his father but he’s just as much (if not more) of a lady’s man. He provides a lot of friction in the series for Red. Sam Morelos portrays Nikki and Maxwell Acee Donovan portrays Gwen’s older half brother, Nate. The pair play the resident couple with Nate being something of a doofus (like the original Kelso), and Nikki being an extremely intelligent and ambitious young lady. Also in the fray is Andrea Anders as the Forman’s neighbor and mom of Nate and Gwen, Sherri. She is sort of a surrogate version of Laurie Forman for Red and Kitty, as she shares many of Laurie’s traits. Sadly the original Laurie, Lisa Robin Kelly, passed away in 2013. Due to Kelly’s personal issues involving alcohol, Laurie was written out of the series for some time and eventually returned in season. Kelly was let go and Laurie would be portrayed in the sixth season of the series by Christina Moore.

The series is okay. I believe that the best way to describe it would be a Nickelodeon version of That 70s Show set in the 1990s. Sure, the kids smoke pot, do plenty of dumb things, and Red still threatens to put his foot in posteriors, but something is missing. The comedy is often forced and downright silly at times. The only new characters that really had any type of impact on me were Leia, Gwen, and Ozzie and, to a lesser degree, Sherri. The 90s references are definitely there, but it is obvious that the series is written by folks firmly planted in the 2020s. Hopefully a second season will be ordered and the show can find its footings. For now, I don’t see myself rewatching the series over and over as I do with the original.

Heads Up! That’s the full review of the series. Following the photo below I discuss the cameos. Don’t read it if you don’t want spoilers!!!!!!

There were plenty of expected cameos on the show. All of the original teens returned with the exception of Danny Masterson as Hyde (legal issues). Lisa Robin Kelly (Laurie) passed away as did Tanya Robers (Midge). Topher Grace (Eric), Mila Kunis (Jackie), and Ashton Kutcher (Kelso) all had one episode cameos. Laura Prepon (Donna) appeared in multiple episodes and directed the final two episodes of the series. Wilmer Valderrama (Fex) features in a multi-episode arc involving Sherri. Of all of the original teen characters, he looks to be the one who will continue to appear in the second season if there is one. Don Stark (Bob) makes his hilarious return in one episode. Hopefully we will see more of him in future episodes. Tommy Chong wanders in and out of a couple of episodes as Leo. Pastor Dave, portrayed in the original series by Kevin McDonald, is mentioned by name but not shown on screen. There’s also an hilarious cameo by Brian Austin Green as David Silver from Beverly Hills, 90210. Hopefully we’ll see more characters like his or 90s actors pop up on the show like 70s stars did on the original series. The most shocking and funniest cameo came from Jim Rash reprising the sinisterly funny Fenton, arch nemesis of Fez. I screamed his name out loud and laughed entirely too much. The return of Fenton gives me hope that even more minor and/or recurring characters will make cameos. It would be great to see Caroline (Allison Munn), Pam Burkhart (Brooke Shields), Big Rhonda (Cynthia Lamontagne), Casey Kelso (Luke Wilson), or other characters return. Hopefully that happens.

So, there you have it. That 90s Show is good but something is definitely off with the show. Hopefully a second season will remedy this and will get even more episodes. I want to like this show but it just doesn’t grab me like the original one.

Thanks for reading my post. See you again real soon!

Violent Night (2022)

Decking the halls…..and the crooks!

David Harbour pounds, punches, slashes, slices, and dices his way through director Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night. In the film, Harbour portrays Santa Claus, THE Santa Claus, who finds himself caught in the middle of a hostage situation involving a greedy family, an even greedier gang of villains, and a young girl who still believes in Santa and the magic of Christmas. After initially planning to skip out on the affair, Santa Claus decides to help the young girl, Trudy (Leah Brady), and her family. What ensues is a ton of holly jolly violence.

All of the villains in the film use handles like Krampus, Tinsel, Gingerbread, and Frosty. The group is headed up by Mr. Scrooge (John Leguizamo), who plans to take the Lightstone family hostage, break into the family safe, and run off with three million dollars in cash. His plan initially works like a charm, but when Santa arrives, things begin falling apart. Santa’s first few interactions with the mercenaries are clumsy and feature a lot of lucky breaks for Santa. As the villains become more dangerous, Santa Claus draws on his bloody past as a Viking warrior and uses “the bad things that he did for good” with a little help from Trudy.

Aside from Trudy and, to a lesser degree, her separated parents, the Lightstone family is just as unlikable as the villains in the film. Beverly D’Angelo turns in a wicked performance as Gertrude Lightstone, the family matriarch. Alex Hassell and Alexis Louder portray Jason and Linda Lightstone, Trudy’s parents. Edi Patterson plays Jason’s sister, Alva, and Cam Gigandet plays her Hollywood actor boyfriend, Morgan Steel. Alexander Elliot play’s Alva’s son, Bertrude “Bert” Lightstone. He’s an annoying, entitled social media influencer who actually gets some solid laughs in this film.

The film mixes brutal violence involving everything from guns and woodchippers to snowballs and Christmas tree stars. Santa is also very fond of a sledgehammer that he finds in a shed on the property. The special effects appear to be primarily practical with a few CGI moments thrown in when it comes to some of Santa’s more magical moments. It’s a funny and brutal flick and I honestly believe that it will become an adult Christmas classic.

If you enjoy overly violent films that are loaded with action, comedy, and even a little bit of heart, Violent Night is definitely a must-see film. It’s a well written and executed film and I hope that a sequel comes along in the near future.

Thanks for checking out my review. Give Violent Night a look. I think that you’ll enjoy it!

Throwback Thursday: 1997 Toy Biz Spiderman Web Force Tank Attack Daredevil

The Man Without Fear!

During the 1990’s I spent most of my time in college classes, at the movies, or hanging out with friends. While I did rediscover comic books, I pretty much stopped buying and collecting toys save for the random action figure, die cast car, or sports cards. Toy Biz was one of the few companies that managed to catch my eye during this time. One of the figures that I purchased and still have to this day is Toy Biz’ Spiderman Web Force Tank Attack Daredevil.

I don’t know what happened to the tank accessory over the years. I’m assuming that it was left behind in a dorm room, one of the many apartments that I lived in, or possibly in an old trailer that I lived in until I could afford a home of my own. In any case it is long gone. Apparently it could be broken up into multiple pieces that snapped onto the body of Daredevil. It also had a firing missile

The figure itself was and still is amazing. Daredevil is super articulated (especially for the 1990’s) and can be posed in all sorts of positions. He has no trouble doing the splits or hanging from a cabinet door (like he did in one of my apartments). The only thing that Daredevil can’t do (apart from using his eyes), is hold anything. His hands are molded in to perpetual fists, so he can only shake them in anger at a car that blows its horn at him.

My 1997 Daredevil action figure posing with my 2003 Opening Weekend ticket for the Ben Affleck Daredevil film.

I love this figure. He’s been with me through thick and thin and spent the last two years in storage thanks to Hurricane Laura. I now prominently display him in my office at work. Despite edging close to thirty years of age this figure’s joints are still great. Boy, Toy Biz knew how to build’em.

Do you have this figure or any other figures from this line? Let me know in the comments.

As always, thanks for reading my post. I’ll see you again real soon!

Sick (2022)

“Do you have a mask?”

Spoilers In Review!!!!!

Kevin Williamson of Scream fame teams up with Katelynn Crabb (additonal crew and assistant to Williamson on 2022’s Scream) to write a Scream knock off that utilizes phones, multiple killers, and even a one word title. What it doesn’t include is likeable characters and humor. Director John Hyams keeps the pace up and actually whittled this little spooker to just under ninety minutes which at least gives you the notion that you didn’t entirely waste your time watching this film.

In the movie, social media addicted Parker (Gideon Adlon) and her intelligent and COVID-19 wary friend, Miri (Bethlehem Million) head out to Parker’s family cabin way out in the middle of nowhere to enjoy time off from college due to COVID restrictions. Unknown to the duo, DJ (Dylan Sprayberry), an old flame of Parker’s, decides to follow them up to the cabin in order to spark up a little romance. He fails. He also realizes that he and the girls aren’t the only ones in the cabin. A pair of killers (Why does that sound familiar????) collect the phones of the group and then attacks them. DJ attempts to fight off one of the killers as the two young ladies flee but he fails in a very dramatic fashion. Then Parker and Miri face off with their assailants and use everything that they can, from the internet to boat paddles, in order to stay alive. Parker finally manages to get to safety (or so she believes) and the third act kicks off yet another killer entering the melee. Why are the killers after Parker and Miri? Because Parker infected a loved one of the trio of slashers who ends up dead thanks to COVID. Yep, the slashers are COVID extremists. “Cough…..sprays Lysol.”

This film isn’t that great. It was quite surprising to see Jane Adams, veteran of stage and screen, pop up in this flick. It was absolutely no surprise that she turned in the best performance of the entire cast. None of the characters are worth cheering for and, in all honesty, I wish that the kill count was a bit higher. There just weren’t enough people in this film to make it interesting and none of those that were in it were likeable. It’s essentially Scream without the humor or a hero and fewer kills.

One thing that this film does manage to do is get one thinking about extremists on both sides of the COVID-19 pandemic. I saw the worst come out of people during the pandemic. From idiots tearing into a minimum wage employee who asked them nicely to wear a mask in the store to masked individuals chewing out random people in the streets for not wearing a mask, I saw a lot of ugly people during the lockdown. Those aren’t memories that I want to relive, but Sick makes you look those memories directly in the eye.

Thanks for checking out this post. I don’t recommend Sick unless you really, really have nothing to do for about ninety minutes. There are much better slasher flicks out there like Scream, Halloween, and Friday The 13th.

YouTube Wednesday: Funko DC Comics Bombshells Mystery Minis Valentine’s Day Walmart Exclusives

Hearts Of Heroes (And Villains)

Welcome to the first ever YouTube Wednesday review! This is a new feature that I’m trying out in which I’ll post one of my video reviews from YouTube (yeah, I have a YouTube channel). I am not a professional so I don’t have any bells or whistles in my videos. I keep it pretty straightforward. Click on the video below and then let me know what you think about it the comments!

Two notes on this review: I incorrectly called Mera “Merida” in the video (cuz I’m an idiot) and the figures are essentially re-releases of the latest Funko Mystery Minis DC Bombshells but with Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman, and Harley Quinn in Valentine’s Day paint.

Thanks for checking out my review. See you again real soon!

Mattel The Hammond Collection Dr. Ellie Sattler (2022)

“Look, we can discuss sexism in survival situations when I get back.”

Dr. Ellie Sattler (as portrayed by Laura Dern) is one of my favorite characters from the Jurassic Park franchise. The character is great on the screen and in the books. Plus, having a massive crush on Laura Dern and seeing her in her field research outfit in the original film didn’t hurt my opinion of the character! Until recently I never acquired any collectible items featuring Dr. Sattler from the franchise but that all changed whenever I found Mattel’s The Hammond Collection Dr. Ellie Sattler 3.75″ Action Figure on clearance.

I personally loved the Mattel Amber Collection that featured 6″ action figures with excellent articulation and amazing likenesses to the characters from the films. I have the Owen Grady figure from that line as well as the second version of Dr. Ian Malcolm and the original dilophosaurus. I was unable to acquire the Dr. Sattler figure but she’s on my wish list. The Amber Collection was apparently not cost effective nor was it profitable for Mattel, as they ended that particular line for the Hammond Collection. The Hammond Collection arrived in 2022 in order to offer collectors and children alike the opportunity to acquire their favorite characters and dinosaurs at a slightly lower price point and on a smaller scale but with similar detail and accessories.

The Hammond Collection 3.75″ Dr. Ellie Sattler figure is pretty decent. The likeness to Laura Dern is okay but not great. They nailed her suit from the film. I counted seventeen points of articulation on the character and she comes with peg holes in her feet for stands. As far as accessories go, Dr. Sattler comes with a massive leaf from a veriforman plant (the one she nabs while riding in the Jeep after initially arriving at Jurassic Park) and a second set of arms that allow you to recreate the “That is one big pile of sh!t,” scene featuring Dr. Sattler digging deep into the poop of a sick triceratops. The arms feature the poo-covered rubber gloves that Dr. Sattler puts on before doo-doo diving to find out that the dino’s illness is a result of consuming West Indian lilac and, yes, I initially believed that the leaf that comes with the figure was West Indian lilac. I totally forgot about the early leaf grabbing scene. In case you are wondering, Dr. Sattler can’t hold anything with the poo hands but her standard clean hands can hold the included leaf.

Overall she is a pretty decent smaller scale figure. I’ve just been collecting six and seven inch figures for so long that I’ve become a bit spoiled. While I probably won’t collect many more figures in the Hammond Collection, I’ll definitely keep an eye out for figures of Muldoon (which arrives on store shelves this month) and Dr. Alan Grant (already available). Not surprisingly, tons of Jurassic World Dominion figures are available on shelves at the moment. I may or may not grab some of them.

Thanks for checking out my post. I’m starting the year off a little slow but I promise to post more soon. I’ve already lined up two conventions and plan on attending at least two more this year. I’m also helping out with the Lake Charles Film Festival, Calcasieu Short Film Festival, and Calcasieu SerialFest this year. Keep an eye out for posts on those events as they draw closer. Oh, and here’s a shot of the lovely Uncanny Megan cosplaying as Dr. Sattler. It appears that Uncanny Megan has stepped away from cosplay and convention life for the time being. Hopefully she’ll return as she has been one of my favorite cosplayers over the years. See you all real soon!

Uncanny Megan as Dr. Ellie Sattler. Photo by Dallas Nagata White.

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Infinite Frontier Grifter (2022)

“People who don’t like me call me Grifter.”

Whether you first heard of Grifter when he was part of the WildC.A.T.s of Image comics as I did or didn’t discover him until DC Comics eventually acquired WildStorm and put him at odds with Batman, one thing is for certain, he’s an irresistibly cool character. Armed to the teeth and ready to fight at the drop of a hat, Grifter has been one of my favorite characters to read over the years. McFarlane Toys gave us a figure of Cole Cash/Grifter in 2022. Despite one obviously terrible misfire, the figure is awesome.

The figure is surprisingly hefty. It’s one of the most solid figures from the DC Multiverse line in my opinion. He’s also a tad bit taller than most of the other McFarlane figures that I own. The articulation is great and Grifter pretty much has all of his range of motion. The only exception is his head, which is pretty much rendered immobile by Grifter’s mask and his high collar. The paint apps on the figure are excellent as well. I did notice that the figure photo on the packaging and collector card features black gloves. My figure came with red gloves.

Grifter comes with a base, collector card, a dagger with a serrated side and a katana blade. This of course brings up the biggest miscue with this figure. Grifter is known for his guns. This figure comes with ZERO guns. Sure, I know that McFarlane doesn’t have control over this due to Warner and DC clauses on toys, but it really stinks that Cole Cash arrives without firepower. I won’t take off any points for this, but be ready to purchase a separate accessory pack from McFarlane if you want to pose Grifter with a firearm.

This is an excellent figure overall. Even with the limited head articulation and the lack of guns, Grifter looks amazing on my shelf. I definitely recommend picking him up and I also recommend snagging an accessory pack to allow Cash to carry some heat. This is a must-buy figure for WildC.A.T.s fans and/or those who miss the good ol’ Wildstorm days.

Thanks for checking out my first post of 2023! I’ve already got a few more posts planned for January, so keep your eyes peeled!

2022 In Review!

The Year That Lightning Struck!

2022 was certainly a banner year for my blog. I am deeply honored that so many of you read my posts and click on the photos that I share. It amazes me how people from all over the world check out my blog and put up with my silliness. This was a record-smashing year for my blog and I thank and love all of you for making this year so successful! Due to the massive success this year, I will be expanding and updating my blog at some point in 2023. Please be on the lookout for a few changes coming up in the near future.

Let’s take a look at the year’s most clicked pics:

Coming in at #1 is this photo of KISS and a few of their closest friends:

The second most clicked pic was this photo from the film Weird Science:

The third most clicked photo was surprising, as it’s of voice actor Hynden Walch:

Hynden Walch

Sitting at number four is this classic from Flash Gordon:

The fifth pic that my readers clicked on was this photo that I took of a Spin Master figure of Batman without his mask:

The sixth most clicked photo on my blog was this one of KISS with their second drummer, the late Eric Carr:

Number seven, for reasons that I don’t know (cough, cough), is this lovely still from Edward Scissorhands:

Number eight belongs to Christie Brinkley from National Lampoon’s Vacation:

The ninth most clicked photo from my blog this year was of KISS:

At number ten we have the lone returning photo from previous years. Ivy DoomKitty definitely touched a nerve with my readers as she has consistently appeared on this list ever since I first posted this photo from a post from November of 2020:

When it comes to my posts, last year’s winner and runner-up for views remained in first and second place, respectively. For some reason people really, really love my posts on the Wizards of Waverly Place and 3-2-1 Contact!. The post from 2022 that received the most views was my The Year Of KISS post that focused on their album Hotter Than Hell.

As far as overall views are concerned, 2022 blew every other year out of the water! In total my blog posts were viewed 22,745 times! That’s about twice as many views as it received in 2021. Last year I had three months with over one thousand views. This year I had over one thousand views for EVERY SINGLE MONTH! Of those months, five featured over two thousand views and August had a whopping 5,452 views! Thank you so much for these amazing numbers! I was only hoping for one or two months with more than two thousand views but all of you blew me away with your dedication to my blog!

People from sixty-nine different countries visited my blog this year! In first place was the United States of America with 14,571 views. That’s over twice as many views as the US gave me last year! The United Kingdom came in second with 1,494 views followed by Canada with 1,031 views. Australia and Germany chipped in over four hundred views apiece. Mexico and Brazil came next with over three hundred views each. 242 good people of France also checked out my blog. From there, countries like the Philippines, Ireland, India, Spain, and Russia viewed my posts just under two hundred times each. Thanks to all of you across the world for checking out my posts!

I fell three posts shy of my goal of one hundred and fifty posts this year. That’s okay, however, as I hope to reach that goal next year. I plan on writing more Throwback Thursday posts and plan on bringing back Dimestore Reads, Tunes, and November Noise. That will definitely get me close to my goal.

Google proved to be the primary way that people came across my blog this year. It was followed by Reddit, Google Image Search, WordPress Reader, Facebook, and two newcomers to the list, Twitter and Instagram.

This is the fifth year in a row where I had more views and more clicks on photos. THANK YOU!!!!!! I hope that I can continue to post interesting film, toy, book, and music reviews. I also plan to attend more conventions. Let me know if you want me to check out anything specific in 2023.

Again……THANK YOU!!!!!

The Year Of KISS: Monster (2012)

“Cause money makes the rules!”

KISS pulled their way back into the mainstream spotlight with Sonic Boom. Despite constant criticism from “fans” upset with the fact that Ace and Peter had been replaced by Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, makeup and all, the group continued to tour successfully, selling out multiple shows and putting out more and more merchandise for KISS Army members and others to scoop up for their collections. While Sonic Boom was definitely worth the wait, fans wanted more. KISS appeared eager to comply. Gene Simmons constantly hinted at and teased at the notion that a new album was in the works. After a three year and three day wait and multiple delays, Monster was released on October 9, 2012.

Unlike Sonic Boom, Monster was not released exclusively by one retailer. Advertising was relatively limited to television, radio, and magazine interviews although the band did publish a literal “monster” book that stood three feet tall by two and a half feet wide that featured 127 pictures from the band’s long history. In true KISS fashion, only one thousand copies of each version of the book were released. There were ten country flag covers to choose from and each book featured a signature page with autographs from the current members of the band.

The album featured twelve songs with a bonus track, Right Here Right Now, on the Tour edition of the album and a live version of King Of The Night Time World added to the Japanese release. A deluxe edition was also made available that featured a sixty-four page booklet. Two singles were released for the album. The first single, Hell Or Hallelujah, was released in July of 2012 nearly three months before the album’s release. It peaked at #36 on Billboard’s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart. The second single, Long Way Down, crawled to #26 on the Billboard Heritage Rock Chart. The album itself performed extremely well, debuting at #3 on the Billboard 200 Chart. It was the third consecutive album to reach the top three on that particular chart, joining Psycho Circus (peaked at #3) and Sonic Boom (peaked at #2).

Track Listing:

  1. Hell Or Hallelujah (Single)
  2. Wall Of Sound
  3. Freak
  4. Back To The Stone Age
  5. Shout Mercy
  6. Long Way Down
  7. Eat Your Heart Out
  8. The Devil Is Me
  9. Outta This World
  10. All For The Love Of Rock & Roll
  11. Take Me Down Below
  12. Last Chance

Personnel: Paul Stanley (lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (lead and backing vocals, bass), Tommy Thayer (lead and backing vocals, lead guitar), Eric Singer (lead and backing vocals, drums), Brian Whelan (piano on Freak)

As they did with Sonic Boom, KISS limited input from outside sources and players, with only Brian Whelan and a choir on All For The Love Of Rock & Roll contributing on the album. All songs were written by the four members of the band with Paul Stanley penning or co-writing ten of the album’s twelve tracks. Tommy Thayer wrote or co-wrote nine tracks on the album. Gene Simmons wrote or co-wrote six tracks. Eric Singer co-wrote Back To The Stone Age with the rest of the band. Paul Stanley and Greg Collins handled the album’s stripped down production, all of which was done on analogue equipment that gave the album a much meatier, thicker sound than Sonic Boom. The album truly does have a full sound that is both sludgy and crisp at the same time. Of all of KISS’ latter albums, it’s probably my favorite sounding album of the bunch.

The album was touted by the group to be a “meat and potatoes” rock album with no ballads or filler. They definitely delivered that with Monster. The album is loaded with straight ahead rockers. It feels a lot like many of AC/DC’s 1980’s releases, a true hard rock album that’s simple, loud, and fun to listen to at home or on the road. I believe that this 80’s feel is primarily due to the contributions of Tommy Thayer who did the same thing on Sonic Boom. He’s definitely got an ear for meaty rock tracks.

My favorite track on the album is Hell Or Hallelujah. It’s a fast-paced rocker with amazing guitar work by Thayer and solid vocals from Stanley. Last Chance is another hard rocker that I really enjoy. Wall Of Sound is probably Gene’s strongest track on Monster. It’s a pounding track that punches at you and I really enjoy it. The Devil Is Me is another solid Gene track as is Back To The Stone Age. Eric Singer slows things down a bit with his lone lead vocal track, All For The Love Of Rock & Roll. It has a boogie-woogie, almost 1950’s vibe to it. It’s one of my favorite tracks on Monster and it’s also the most unique song on the album. For some reason Paul Stanley’s Freak speaks to me. The lyrics aren’t necessarily groundbreaking and it’s outsider subject that has been visited by numerous bands over the years, but I really do enjoy listening to this song. Tommy Thayer’s lead vocal beast, Outta This World, is really fun. While I think that When Lightning Strikes from Sonic Boom is the better of his two vocal performances, Outta This World is definitely a very close second.The only track that I’m not totally cool with is Take Me Down Below. Lyrically it’s the weakest track on the album and feels like a weak attempt to recapture some of KISS’ cheesy glory found on songs like Love Gun and Read My Body. Musically, it’s just as solid as everything else on this album.

The music is excellent on this album. Stanley, Simmons, Singer, and Thayer are definitely synced together well and it shows. Gene’s bass is plodding, thick, and murky when necessary and it provides a great backbone for the entire album. Singer is as Singer does, providing perfect timing on each track with his drum work. Paul’s vocals are good andd work well with the overall sound of Monster. His rhythm guitar keeps provides a nice layer of sound on each track. Thayer’s guitar work is amazing. Of all of his work with the band, he sounds his best on this album. In my opinion this is the first album where Thayer gets to really show off a little bit of himself on solos. Overall, Monster can be played end to end without the need to skip a track.

October of this year marked the ten year anniversary of the release of Monster. As it stands, this will most likely be the band’s final studio album. Both Gene and Paul have talked about their reasoning for not releasing new music over the last decade. When recently asked about the possibility of new music from the group, Paul Stanley said, “I came to the conclusion that it (new music) can never compete with the past….it hasn’t the connection to important times in your life.” Simmons, as usual, took a more financial view on releasing new material stating, “KISS is not a charity. Working your ass off to have somebody download or stream your music for free is not my idea of how things should be. When you don’t put a value on music, it doesn’t have value.” Tommy Thayer said similar things in recent interviews when asked if he will release new music after KISS’ End Of The Road Tour finally draws to a close. He said that he’ll continue doing things musically but will most likely not release a solo album. No stranger to playing for numerous bands at the same time, Eric Singer will probably keep rolling along, picking up jobs from whatever bands want him. He and Paul Stanley have worked on Stanley’s solo projects before, so maybe they’ll work together in the future. Whatever happens, one thing is certain: KISS has definitely left their mark on rock n’ roll and the music industry as a whole.

Thanks to each and every person that has been along for the ride during The Year Of KISS. I hope that you’ve all enjoyed my look at the studio albums, band members, and memorabilia over the course of this year. While I may never do another year-long series on a band I will definitely continue reviewing the occasional album, old and new, when I see fit. Keep on rockin’!