Throwback Thursday: Uncle Buck (1989)

He’s Crude. He’s Crass. He’s Family.

Take a simple comedic setup and execute it with a cast of established and soon-to-be stars and you have the successful result that is 1989’s Uncle Buck. The film was a solid success that held the number one spot at the movies for three weeks. It starred John Candy, Amy Madigan, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffman, and a young man whose career was just about to take off. I’m talking about Macaulay Culkin, of course, who would star in the smash family comedy Home Alone just a little over a year later. It’s probably not a coincidence that the writer and director of Uncle Buck also wrote Home Alone. That writer/director was John Hughes. If you were a child of the 80’s, your life was probably influenced in some way by at least one of the many films that Hughes wrote and/or directed including National Lampoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and many, many more movies.

The film’s plot was basic. Buck is asked to watch his nieces and nephew while his brother and sister-in-law go to Indianapolis to check on her father who had a heart attack. Buck is the only person available to watch the kids and despite his sister-in-law’s protests, he’s left to take care of the family. Buck has never held a real job, never had many responsibilities, and loves to gamble, smoke cigars, and drink. Despite these less than wonderful qualities, Buck proves to be extremely good at watching the youngsters and manages to win over his extremely bitter teenage niece.

The movie is pieced together with one comedic skit after another, each being littered with heart, humor, and in a couple of cases, some pretty sinister tactics. Candy bumbles around as he attempts to do household chores but proves to be quite the cook, especially when it comes to his nephew Miles’ birthday. He stands up to a snobbish principal who believes that his youngest niece, Maizy, is too much of a dreamer. He punches out a drunk clown, takes the kids bowling, and squares off against his eldest niece Tia’s boyfriend on multiple occasions. He also has to reconcile his relationship with his girlfriend, Chanice, who believes that he concocted the babysitting story to get out of work and also fight off the advances of a horny neighbor, Marcie. Marcie also unknowingly becomes a pawn in a battle between Buck and Tia.

Some of the funniest moments in the film come at the expense of Tia’s boyfriend, Bug. Buck threatens him with a power drill, taunts him with a hatchet, and assaults him with golf balls. Bug proves to be the focal point of the divide that grows between Tia and Buck. Buck knows that Bug is up to no good but Tia refuses to see the truth. When things go south between her and Bug, Uncle Buck rises to the occasion and sends Bug off in a very unceremonious (and possibly illegal) way.

The film is loaded with an amazing cast. Candy was already a well established comedy actor by the time that Uncle Buck was released. Chanice was portrayed by Amy Madigan, herself an established actress with a number of amazing performances under her belt in films like Field of Dreams and even more to come in films such as Gone Baby Gone. Buck’s nieces and nephew also went on to bigger things. Maizy was portrayed by Gaby Hoffmann. Hoffmann has had a long and steady career that featured huge hits such as Field of Dreams, Sleepless in Seattle, and Now and Then, a successful theater career, and a number of successful television and streaming appearances in shows such as Girls and Transparent. The eldest niece, Tia, was portrayed by Jean Louisa Kelly. This film was Kelly’s cinematic debut and she would go on to star in a number of very good films on the big screen and in many TV films as well. She is probably best known for her work on Yes, Dear, a popular sitcom that lasted for six seasons. There isn’t much that needs to be said about Macaulay Culkin. Uncle Buck was one of his earliest film roles and could be considered the first major film in a string of huge hits for the actor. Culkin would go on to appear in multiple Home Alone films, My Girl, The Pagemaster, Richie Rich, and a number of other films. Speaking of My Girl, the star of that film, Anna Chlumsky, has a bit role in Uncle Buck as one of Maizy’s classmates. Jay Underwood portrayed Bug, Tia’s boyfriend. He was already a successful actor having starred in The Boy Who Could Fly, Not Quite Human, and The Invisible Kid. He would continue to have a solid career primarily in guest starring roles and in TV films. He also portrayed the Human Torch in Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four film. On a side note, I met Mr. Underwood a few years ago at the Lake Charles Film Festival. He was much nicer in person than he was in Uncle Buck. The final cast member that deserves mentioning is Laurie Metcalf. Portraying the nosy and horny neighbor Marcie, Metcalf has a few great moments in Uncle Buck. Metcalf is arguably the most successful member of this cast. Her career has spanned decades, has been nonstop, and features prominent roles in film, on stage, and on television. She was Aunt Jackie in Roseanne and The Conners, Andy’s mom in the Toy Story films, and Hillary Clinton on stage in Hillary and Clinton.

Yep, that’s me with Bug (Jay Underwood). He’s much nicer in real life!

Uncle Buck was no trailblazing film. It was simply a very strong comedy that featured a brilliant cast, a great story, and tons of heart. John Candy appeared in better films before and after this one, but there’s something about Uncle Buck that just sticks with you. Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me today. See you again soon!

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse 2021 Justice League Aquaman

My First Toy Review Of The Year

I’ve been a fan of Aquaman for a very long time. I have fond memories of watching Aquaman as part of the Super Friends cartoon. I also remember his horrible harpoon hand, the cool but short-lived blue stealth suit that he had in the comics, and how he was often the butt of superhero jokes. With the recent DCEU films, Arthur Curry has become bigger and burlier. Jason Momoa’s performance as the half human/half Atlantean (along with Geoff Johns’ work on the character in the New 52) has all but erased the image of a soft, hapless hero in orange and green.

There have been numerous action figures of Aquaman released over the decades by a number of companies including Kenner and Mattel, but McFarlane Toys’ most recent entry is one of the best….and worst figures of the bunch. The DC Multiverse figure from McFarlane Toys came out as a result of the release of last year’s Snyder Cut of Justice League. Like all of the other figures in the line, Aquaman features amazing articulation. Unlike some of the other figures, he isn’t hindered very much due to armor or poor design. His long hair gets a tad in the way when attempting to turn Aquaman’s head but every other part has complete motion.

Like every other figure in this line, Aquaman comes with a collector card and a base. He also comes with his trident and no other accessories. Sadly, McFarlane didn’t include a second head or a second pair of hands to go with this figure. You get the big guy, his trident, a card, and the base. That’s it. The trident that I received was bent somewhat and I’m still working on shaping it. It’s also too large for Aquaman’s hands but I’ll get to that in a minute.

It should be noted that the detail on this figure is great. From the etchings on his armor to the amazing designs on his belt, Aquaman’s armor looks wonderful. The likeness to Jason Momoa is pretty good as well. I like the fact that they captured the scar over his eye. While the likeness isn’t perfect, it’s definitely one of the best resemblances in the 2021 JL figure line. He’s also just slightly taller than all of the other JL 2021 figures which, if I remember correctly, is accurate to the film as well.

As I mentioned earlier, Aquaman’s hand is too small to hold his trident properly. I had to fight to get the staff in his hand and it resulted in the paint on the figure rubbing off onto the trident. Also, when I finally got the trident in place, Aquaman’s thumb sticks out at an awkward angle and it also makes posing the arm tough since the trident naturally wants to lean forward in the ill-fitting hand. That’s a big misfire in my opinion. Couple that with the lack of additional accessories and a warped trident and this figure is both good and bad.

Trident with paint on it from Aquaman’s hand.

I will say that this is a good looking figure. I just dislike the issues that I’ve mentioned. It could have been so much better had McFarlane taken a little more time with the details on the figure itself. It would have been great to have at least one more accessory or a set of hands as well. For fun I’ve decided to include a photo of the JL figure alongside one of the budget figures from the Aquaman film. Both have their own merits and, to be honest, I really dig that budget figure a lot.

Thanks for checking out my post. I’ve only got Flash left to complete the JL 2021 figure line. I’m also hoping to get my hands on a Wonder Woman figure to finish off the group. For some reason I just haven’t been able to find a WW figure that looks like Gal Gadot in the face. Hopefully McFarlane has something coming along soon to remedy that.

2021 In Review

A Look Back At One Of The Most Challenging Years Of My Life

2021 was tough for me. It was tough for a lot of people. I found myself and my family still recovering from 2020’s Hurricane Laura and the damage that she did to southwest Louisiana. We started the year living in a camper trailer while we waited on our home to be repaired. While living in that camper, we faced a record-breaking freeze event in the southern United States. When we were finally able to move back into our home in July of this year, we had no lights in almost all of the house, terrible work done by our contractor who we ended up having to fight just to make our house reasonably decent again, a battle with the insurance company that has left us with no replacements for the furniture that we lost due to the hurricane, and more repairs that we’ve discovered that our terrible contractor missed. To top it all off, we still had to navigate a world battling COVID-19. Despite all of this I managed to continue posting on my blog and all of you continued to read. Here’s my annual breakdown of what all of you enjoyed the most, what you read the most, and what older posts managed to stay relevant this year.

The Witches Rise

My post about the Witches of Waverly Place from 2020 knocked last year’s biggest post, a gem from 2018 about 3-2-1 Contact, out of the top spot by over six hundred views! The post was clicked on by folks over eight hundred times. My biggest post from 2021 itself was a Spinmaster Toys Batman Action Figure review from January. It was clicked on over two hundred times. In all, I had over six thousand views of my home page this year. As of this writing, my page has been visited over thirteen thousand times since its inception in 2013.

Whatcha’ Lookin’ At?????

A new image rose to the top of the heap of photos that were clicked on my page. A photo of a Bela Lugosi test shot for Fantasia tied with last year’s champion, a photo of Ivy Doomkitty as the Rocketeer. Here’s a list of the top ten most clicked on photos for the year of 2021.

1. Lugosi Test Shot For Fantasia (Tie)

2. Cosplayer Ivy Doomkitty As The Rocketeer (Tie)

3. Spinmaster Collection Foldout

Coming in with a surprisingly strong third place showing is my own photo of one of Spinmaster’s Batman Action Figure Checklists.

4. Wilfred Jackson Test Shots For Fantasia

Not to be outdone by Bela Lugosi, animator Wilfred Jackson’s test shots for Chernabog in Fantasia came in with a solid lock on fourth place for most clicked pics.

5. Spinmaster Batman Action Figures

I started noticing a pattern form with my fifth most clicked photo. My many Spinmaster posts ranked high this year and it came as no surprise that my admittedly blurry photo of four Batman figures came in fifth place.

6. Crestwood Monsters Collection

Classic monsters never go out of style and this photo featuring the legendary Crestwood Monster Books won sixth place this year.

7. Disney World’s Alien Encounter

Disney’s now defunct ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter may be gone, but fans still want to get a look at the evil alien creature that once frightened folks of all ages!

8. MechaGodzilla

So far my list has been heavy on Disney related horror from 2020 with only two Spinmaster photos cracking the Top Ten so far from 2021, but MechaGodzilla makes his way into the eight spot!

9. Hogan’s Heroes Cast

2020 squeaks in with one last most clicked photo for the year with this cast photo from Hogan’s Heroes.

10. One of my most viewed photos of all time

Rounding out the Top Ten is a photo that has consistently been in my top ten lists since I first posted it six years ago. This wallpaper featuring the cast of Star Trek Continues and the post that it is contained within has always been popular with my readers.

Other items of note:

The country that clicked on my posts the most this year was the United States with over seven thousand clicks. From there, the United Kingdom (600+ clicks) came in second, Canada (500+ clicks) in third, Germany (almost 300 clicks)in fourth, and Mexico (200+ clicks) rounding out the top five. Australia came in sixth place with almost two hundred clicks followed closely by India, Brazil, France, and Russia.

I had three months with over one thousand views (March, September, and October) with October closing in on almost two thousand clicks. Last year I made a resolution to reach one thousand views in at least one month. Thank YOU for making that dream come to fruition in THREE months! Will I hit two thousand views for a month in 2022? Only you can make that happen and hopefully I’ll make posts interesting enough to earn your views!

I posted only 113 times this year which was ten less than last year but I’m not complaining considering all of the crap that I went through over the year. I hope to reach 150 in 2022. With November Noise, a planned review of all of KISS’ studio albums, and plenty of other toy, film, and festival reviews, I think that I’ll be able to make it. I also hope to attend a few conventions as well!

Google searches proved to be the way that most folks found my blog. The WordPress reader and Facebook came in second and third with only only point separating them. The AMP Project came in next and then it was Twitter which I’m still trying to navigate and understand.

Thank you again for making this my biggest year for views! That’s four years in a row that my viewership has increased! I appreciate each and every one of you and I hope to meet a few of you this year at conventions. Feel free to contact me via email, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. I really want to connect with all of you!

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse 2021 Justice League Cyborg

My Final Toy Review Of The Year

We’re winding down 2021 and I’ll be posting my End Of Year Blog review on the 31st, but I decided to make one final review before the year ends. I managed to find a McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse 2021 Justice League Cyborg figure based off of Ray Fisher’s portrayal of the character in the Snyderverse version of Justice League. The figures from the this particular version of the film are hard to come by with the exception of Ben Affleck’s Batman figure. I hope to snag the other figures in this line but I am having trouble finding them at a reasonable price.

I’ve already reviewed the Batman and black suited Superman figures from this line and when compared to those two figures, Cyborg is unfortunately lacking. That’s not necessarily McFarlane’s fault, however, as they did an extremely good job of recreating the primarily CGI character from the film. The figure nails Ray Fisher’s look. Sadly, Cyborg has numerous soft plastic parts that make him look a lot like his film version but it’s these parts that make the figure awkward.

The biggest flaws in this figure can be found at his waist and shoulders. The waist hinge is exposed and makes the figure look cheap. The soft plastic shoulder pieces pop up whenever the arms are moved and while the articulation is great, it looks terrible whenever you pose the figure in any fashion with his arms raised. The “glow” from his chest looks more like a bloodstain which it could be as I still haven’t watched this film.

In the case of this figure, McFarlane is darned if they do and darned if they don’t. As I’ve already stated, the figure looks very similar to Ray Fisher’s portrayal of the character in the film but it’s the dead on look that actually hinders the overall appeal of this figure. Children that get this figure probably won’t care whether or not it looks a whole lot like Fisher but the flimsier pieces will most likely break after a little play time. Collectors will appreciate the striking likeness but won’t appreciate the pose options for display. In either case, McFarlane loses.

The figure does come with an arm accessory which separates in from most of the other figures in this line. The accessory attaches at the elbow and looks pretty good but it can be awkward to attach. It also comes with a standard collector card and base.

Ultimately this figure is more of a miss than a hit. I appreciate the attention to detail but am not a fan of the “blood stain” chest glow and the poor articulation pieces. The overall look is great but the flaws that I’ve mentioned make this figure a pass unless you’re a completionist or really love Cyborg. I fall into the latter category and try to snag as many Cyborg figures as I can as they are few and far between. I recommend snagging one of Spinmaster’s four inch Cyborg figures if you can find him. He doesn’t look like Ray Fisher but he’s a brilliant little figure.

Thanks for checking out my final review of the year. This has been a rough year to say the least but I’m alive and my family is healthy. Here’s to a great 2022!

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Three’s A Crowd?????

No, absolutely not. Three isn’t a crowd in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film brings three versions of the beloved Wallcrawler to the big screen in one big film and does a fine job for the most part. There are also five villains to contend with who, surprisingly, work quite well as a whole although a couple of them get shoved to the wayside in my opinion. If you’re looking for my spoiler free review, here it is: If you enjoyed the any of the Spider-Man films that starred any of the three Spideys in this flick, you’re going to enjoy this film. It does a fine job of blending the three heroes and their villains together without getting too confusing. It’s the most solid entry in the MCU since Captain America: The Winter Soldier as well. It’s not the best MCU flick out there, but it is the best one in a long time. Go see it. You won’t regret it.

So there you have it, my spoiler free review. Below this photo of Spidey and MJ, there be spoilers!!!

Spider-Man: No Way Home gives webslinging fans the closure that they deserve with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s respective Spider-verses. The Tom Holland story in this film basically sets up what will most likely be the basis of the plot in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. In the film, Mysterio has revealed to the world that Peter Parker is Spider-Man and, as a result, has pretty much ruined the lives of MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), Happy (Jon Favreau), and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), as well as poor Peter. In an attempt to fix things, Peter seeks out the help of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Strange reluctantly agrees to help Peter but while he’s casting a spell to fix things, Peter alters the spell five times. This results in five villains from other universes entering Peter’s world. It also brings along Andrew Garfield Amazing Spider-Man and Tobey Maguire’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Then things get a little bit screwy. Holland’s Spider-Man decides that he’s going to help “cure” the villains from the other universes and send them home where they will apparently arrive alive and well. By doing this, however, he causes even more trouble for his friends and family. He then teams up with Maguire and Garfield in order to cure the villains and then tries to have everything fixed yet again by Doctor Strange. It’s a pretty good plot but it’s also highly predictable.

Predictable, you say? Yes, it’s absolutely predictable. Of the five villains that come through to Peter’s world, I knew right away that Doctor Octopus and Sandman would want to be cured. Why? Because they really weren’t bad guys in their previous films. They were just good people placed into very bad situations. Electro? Oh, he started out as a decent enough guy, but once he tasted the electricity he wanted more of it. I figured that he would go either way in the movie and he did, literally, go from good to bad to good to bad and then good again. Lizard? Poor Lizard was an afterthought in this film. The one guy that I had complete confidence in going rogue was Green Goblin and he didn’t disappoint. Heck, he even went for the killshot on Aunt May (triggering some Maguire-like vengeance in Holland) and tried unsuccessfully to finish off Maguire’s Spider-Man. Does that mean that I disliked the film? Nope. I really enjoyed it. It was fun to see all three Spideys back on the screen and I loved seeing all of the villains return. But there were a few problems with the film.

Before I get into those problems I want to address some of the good things in this film. I’ve already mentioned how much I enjoyed seeing all of the Spider-Men and the villains back on the screen, but there were a lot of other good things about this film. First and foremost, the cast was strong. Zendaya has grown into her version of MJ. I didn’t care for her performance in Homecoming but she has impressed me in both of the sequels. She delivered one of the best performances in the bunch. Garfield comes in a close second and Maguire isn’t too far behind him. Of the villains, Willem Dafoe had the meatiest part as Green Goblin and he was given a lot more to do in this film than in his Maguire flick, but I can’t deny that Alfred Molina (Doc Ock) and Thomas Haden Church (Sandman) both did brilliant jobs as their respective villains. Electro was much better this time around but Jamie Foxx still seemed a bit off as the character. Rhys Ifans didn’t have much of anything to do in this film except to growl a bit and be the butt of a few dinosaur jokes.

I also enjoyed the action in this film. The CGI was obvious for pretty much the entire film, but the story held up enough that I looked beyond the film’s computer-generated shortcomings. I also liked many of the Easter eggs that popped up in the film. My favorite was the “Ditko” graffiti. I’m not going to tell you were it was because I want you to find it for yourself. I also enjoyed seeing Charlie Cox reprise his role as Matt Murdock/Daredevil. Many of the film’s scenes also hearkened back to the films of Maguire and Garfield. I enjoyed many of them but a few of them were pretty heavy handed. I also have to admit that with all of those Spideys and all of those villains running around, the film managed to stay fairly straightforward with ample time given to almost all of the characters. Perhaps the thing that I enjoyed the most is that with Peter no longer known by anybody as Spider-Man, the whole “Stark Industries supplies Spider-Man with all of his suits” business is done! That’s one of the biggest hang-ups that I have had with Holland’s Spider-Man. Overall it was a very good flick but some of the misfires bugged me.

Number One: Who in the heck was in charge of Benedict Cumberbatch’s hair and goatee???? They looked terribly fake on the screen.

Number Two: Why was there so much talking and “witty” banter between everyone all of the time? It’s funny when the Spideys all interact but it gets a bit long in the tooth as it continues throughout the film.

Number Three: We got five villains from the other Spider-verses but we had zero new baddies in Holland’s world unless you count Tom Hardy’s Venom in the mid-credits scene or MIT’s admissions department in the beginning of the film.

Number Four: Speaking of Venom, where was Topher Grace’s version???? I completely hated that character in Spider-Man 3 but it would have been wonderful to see him vindicated in this film. Plus, we could have had a decent Sinister Six outing in the movie.

Ultimately the good outweighs the bad in this film. On the surface it is your typical MCU film, generalized enough for mass audiences and film-only fans of Marvel who will wax (fairly recent) nostalgic about the heroes and villains of past versions of the character. It also contains just enough Easter eggs to appease fans of the actual comic books but also plenty that will make film-only fans feel “in the know” like comic readers. It gives the aforementioned closure to most of the villains introduced in the previous films of Garfield and Maguire as well. It’s a good film that deserves most of the accolades that it will most surely receive. It’s far from perfect but it’s the best Marvel film to come along in a long time in my opinion.

Thanks for reading my review. Please leave a comment whether you agree or disagree with me. I know that there are a ton of people out there that love this film wholeheartedly. That’s absolutely fine with me. I’m glad that they love it that much. I just hope that folks can look at this film beyond all of the hype and the rose-colored reviews that I’ve read so far. It’s good but it definitely isn’t perfect.

Classic Horror: Tremors (1990)

“We Killed That Motherhumper!”

I remember going to the movies in late January of 1990 with my family. My mom and sister decided to see a romantic comedy. My dad chose to join me in watching a flick starring Kevin Bacon (the cool guy that I knew) and Fred Ward (the older, cool guy that my dad knew). The only other thing that I knew about this film was what I saw on the wonderful lobby display that featured a photo of Bacon, Ward, and Finn Carter looking down at a massive monster head that appeared to be coming out of the ground. It either moved up and down or the jaws opened and shut. I cannot recall exactly what it did, but I remember that it moved. I walked into the nearly empty theater where only five or so other people sat and waited for the film to begin. Little did I know that this film would become one of my favorite movies of all time.

I loved the movie. My dad loved the movie. Hardly anybody else in the world watched the film until it was later released on home video but when they finally saw it, they loved it as well. It shouldn’t have worked. It was really nothing more than a decently funded B-movie about sand worm monsters that gobble up humans, sheep, horses, and anything else that caused vibrations on the surface of the planet but it worked. It co-starred Michael Gross as the gun-happy survivalist named Burt Gummer. Up until that point Gross was best known as the kind, progressively liberal public television station manager Steven Keaton from Family Ties. Burt was the polar opposite of Steven Keaton and it worked. Reba McEntire, who was already a successful country singer who didn’t need the money, portrayed Burt’s wife, Heather, in her acting debut. She was brilliant and added a ton of humor to the film. She shouldn’t have been such a great character, but she worked. All of it worked. It was a pure joy to watch this film.

In the film, Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward play Val and Earl, two handymen intent on leaving the sleepy little ghost town of Perfection, NV, for the bright lights and better opportunities in nearby Bixby. Perfection has a population of fourteen, but on the day that Val and Earl finally leave for greener pastures, the population begins to drop quickly. They find Edgar, the town drunk, dead from dehydration on an electrical tower. Then they discover the decapitated head of Fred poking out of the ground in his garden and all of his sheep mutilated. They rush back into Perfection to warn the others that a killer is on the loose. Meanwhile, telephone workers and the local doctor and his wife meet the same fate as Edgar and Fred.

Eventually Val and Earl face off with one of the monsters and survive its attack whenever the beast accidentally kills itself while trying to ram through a cement canal after which they meet up with Rhonda LeBeck (Carter), a graduate student that they met earlier in the film. Based on seismology tests that she’s been running in the valley, she determines that there are at least three more of the creatures still stalking the valley. The trio spend the night on a rock, one of the few places where the monsters can’t reach them, and then make a mad dash back to town. From there they make plans to finish off the remaining monsters and head for the mountains to get help. It will take all of the surviving citizens of Perfection to battle with the beasts.

While the monsters were definitely an amazing part of this film, it was the cast that made this movie so much better than it should have been. Bacon and Ward were hilarious as Val and Earl and I wish that they would team up for one last run in a Tremors sequel. Gross and McEntire were cast perfectly for their roles as Burt and Heather. Carter’s Rhonda was the most level-headed member of the group, but even she had a few great comedic moments. The rest of the cast was filled out by Tony Genaro as Miguel, Charlotte Stewart as Nancy and Ariana Richards (who would later star in Jurassic Park) as her daughter, Mindy, Bobby Jacoby as the annoying Melvin, Victor Wong as Walter, and Richard Marcus as Nestor. They all did wonderful jobs in their roles.

All of the creature effects were practical. Life-sized models and miniatures were used to shoot the creatures as they attacked both below and above the surface. Excellent camera work was utilized to recreate the movement of the creatures in the ground. There were also a ton of explosives and weapons (Burt and Heather’s gun “cabinet”) used as well. All of the effects looked believable.

Shockingly, professional critics appeared to enjoy the film for the most part, with only a few naysayers in the bunch. As I’ve already said, the film is a decently funded B-movie that works. It features stereotypical characters and monsters that somehow manage to rise to another level. This movie is fun and you should see it if you haven’t yet. Its blending of horror, action, and comedy is…..Perfection.

This movie is one of my favorite films of all time. It spawned five sequels, one prequel, and one television series that lasted for one season. All of the sequels and the prequel were released direct to video. The first sequel, Tremors 2: Aftershocks, starred Fred Ward and Michael Gross. All future films and the television series would star Gross as Burt Gummer with the exception of Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, where Gross portrays Burt’s great grandfather, Hiram Gummer. The third film would also see all of the first film’s survivors return with the exceptions of Ward, Bacon, McEntire, and Carter. A second television series starring Kevin Bacon was being developed in 2017 but failed to get picked up by SyFy or any other channel.

Thanks for reading my post. I love this film and have enjoyed all of the sequels and the prequel to varying degrees. The first film was perfect but, as I’ve already stated, I’d love to see Val and Earl face off with the monsters just one more time.

Throwback Thursday: Flash Gordon (1980)

“Flash Gordon. Quarterback. New York Jets.”

Entirely over the top and insanely fun to boot, 1980’s Flash Gordon is loud, brightly colored, and completely bonkers. It features a stellar cast loaded with actors who are well known in the science fiction and fantasy genres and boasts a soundtrack written and performed by none other than rock legends, Queen. The film is based upon the King Features Syndicate comic strip of the same name that was created by Alex Raymond.

In the film, Ming The Merciless has decided to toy with (and ultimately destroy) planet Earth by using a weapon to cause seemingly natural disasters on a catastrophic scale. On the planet, the brilliant and slightly mad Dr. Zarkov determines that an outside force is causing the devastating events and plans to pilot his rocket to their source in order to end the destruction. He tricks Flash Gordon and Dale Arden, fresh from a plane crash, into going with him to the planet Mongo. On Mongo, the trio quickly find themselves at the mercy of Emperor Ming. Ming orders the execution of Flash, the wiping of Zarkov’s brilliant mind, and that Dale becomes his newest bride.

All three of our heroes manage to survive their fates to some degree. Dale uses cunning to slip out of Ming’s clutches. Flash is aided by an unexpected traitor to Ming’s empire. Dr. Zarkov uses his amazing mind to defeat the brainwashing and even enhances his already powerful brain.

As the story continues, Flash attempts to unite the kingdoms of Arboria and Sky City by convincing their respective leaders that combined, they can overthrow Ming and his minions. Prince Barin of Arboria doesn’t trust Flash nor does he trust Vultan, leader of the Hawkmen in Sky City. He and Flash ultimately battle one another in a whip duel. The result of that duel (no spoilers, I promise), leads up to an attack on Sky City and the eventual bonding of Sky City and Arboria against Ming and his army. Will Flash save the day? I’m not telling you. You’ll have to watch the film for yourself!

This film is just fun to watch. It’s crazy and doesn’t really make that much sense but it doesn’t have to in order for the viewer to have a good time. This movie hearkens back to the whizbang days of early science fiction and fantasy where lasers, spaceships, monsters, and other genre tropes didn’t need to be explained. You simply accept them for what they are and move on with the film, book, radio broadcast, etc. The brightly colored costumes and sets also remind me of the days of films shot in Technicolor.

The film’s greatest strengths are found in its cast and the music by Queen. The persistent dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh of a piano gives the entire film a sense of urgency. It seems like the music is always building up to the next big explosion, battle, or fisticuffs. The cast features Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol Brian Blessed, Timothy Dalton, Mariangela Melato, Richard O’Brien, William Hootkins, Robbie Coltrane, John Morton, Kenny Baker, Deep Roy, George Harris, and many, many more stars that appeared in films that include multiple Star Wars films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, numerous James Bond films, Doctor Who, the Harry Potter films, The Highwayman, Thunder in Paradise, Game of Thrones, The Neverending Story, and countless other science fiction and fantasy films. In other words, if you’ve ever watched a fantasy or sci fi film or television show, odds are that you’ve seen a few of the faces in Flash Gordon a time or two.

This movie isn’t for everyone. It’s probably too much for “serious” fans of science fiction to really enjoy and a tad bit too insane for hardcore fantasy followers. That being said, if you can toss out logic for a couple of hours, I’m sure that you’ll become a fan of this brilliantly crazy film. If nothing else, watch it to hear the great Queen soundtrack!

Thanks for reading my post. I’ll have a few Christmas themed posts next week!

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse 2021 Justice League Superman

“I just miss him….I miss him so much.”

When the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League was released, fans finally got to see the Big Blue Boy Scout in all of his black-suited glory. Cashing in on the opportunity to sell some toys, McFarlane Toys released the black suit Superman figure and folks like myself ran to the stores to get him. In all honesty he was a bit hard to find, but I managed to get my hands on one of the figures a few weeks ago and am finally getting around to reviewing it.

If you are familiar with any of my other McFarlane reviews, you already know what to expect articulation-wise. The figure features excellent articulation from head to toe. He has over twenty POA. The likeness to Henry Cavill is pretty decent as well. The figure’s cape is soft plastic. I prefer it this way, so I won’t complain about it. It looks good no matter how you pose the figure.

My only complaint about this figure is the massive lack of accessories. Sure, he’s Superman, so I don’t expect him to come with any gadgets or gizmos like I would expect to find with a Batman or Nightwing figure, but I’d love to have at least one other set of hands or possibly a head to swap out on the figure. Instead, we get the standard collector card and a figure base that allows you to have Supes stand or fly. I chose to have him fly on my shelf, and he looks pretty good.

If you’re a fan of Superman, get this figure. If you’re a fan of the Snyder cut, get this figure. The only way that I wouldn’t suggest getting this figure is if you absolutely hate Superman, the Justice League film, or Zack Snyder. Otherwise this is a definite purchase for all of my fellow action figure freaks.

I’ve seen just one Aquaman and two Cyborgs in the wild. I have yet to see a Wonder Woman figure on the shelf nor have I seen any traces of a Flash figure. I’ll probably break down and purchase at least one or two more of this series. I’d love to complete it, but I don’t see that happening because of eBay jerks and resellers. In any case, I want to thank you for checking out my post. I have a cool little Throwback Thursday scheduled for this week and next week will be all about Christmas. See you again real soon.

Masters Of The Universe Revelation: Skeletor

Nyaaaahhhhh!

Behind every great superhero is a super villain who keeps them on their toes. Few super villains have had an impact on their adversary as Skeletor has had on He-man over the years. The duo have been at each others throats since the 1980’s and they show no signs of stopping any time soon. Based upon Kevin Smith’s recent Netflix series, Masters of the Universe Revelation, Mattel’s Skeletor figure is one of the best figures in their Revelation line that I’ve found.

Not only is the box that Skeletor comes in a work of art, the figure itself is great. Many figures in this line feature loose articulation, but not Skeletor. His arms, legs, hands, feet, and head move with ease but also maintain whatever pose I position them in for display. That’s a rarity in this line. I’ve had to readjust my Skelegod figure from this line multiple times as he slowly leans forward every few days.

Skeletor features almost thirty points of articulation (the box has lied about the POA on every figure I’ve acquired in this line). He comes with his iconic ram’s skull staff, his gold staff, and an extra set of hands. He also has a soft goods cape. It’s simple but works with the figure. His chest armor can be removed as well. I’m hoping that a Panthor figure will be released so that I can have him and Skeletor face off against He-man and Battlecat. While the figure looks great for the most part, there is a bit of discoloration on the rear armor plate (see in gallery at bottom of post) and a slight scratch on the same plate as well. Other than those mistakes, the figure is pretty flawless when it comes to paint apps.

Whether you are an old school MOTU fan or you want to introduce the characters to your own children, this Skeletor figure is perfect. Not only does he and the other figures in this line work great as toys for kids to play with, they look pretty sweet on the display shelf as well.

A face only a mother could love.

I have a hunch that these figures will be big sellers for Christmas. The initial line release sold out rather quickly in my area, but the current release seems to be holding on the shelves a bit longer. As Christmas gets closer, I’m sure that they will fly off of the shelves and end up in the hands of kids of all ages.

Thanks for checking out my post. More figure and film reviews are on the way!

NECA Defenders Of The Earth: Flash Gordon

Finally!!!!

I finally managed to get my hands on the Flash Gordon figure from NECA’s Defenders of the Earth line! The figure eluded me for months. Sure, Flash was one of the first figures that I saw on the peg at Walmart, but I decided to wait on purchasing him after I picked up the Phantom and Ming The Merciless. I paid full price for Phantom, less than half for Ming (who was on clearance), and finally found Flash at my local comic shop, Paper Heroes, in Lake Charles, LA.

As you can see in the photos above, the box was pretty banged up. I still haven’t decided whether or not to keep the box or just stow the accessories away in a different container. I open almost all of my figures, so tossing the box isn’t that big of a deal for me. I may clip his information off of the back and keep it just because, but I’m probably going to chunk the box.

The figure itself looks pretty amazing. I only have two complaints but they are both major in my opinion. First, the joints on this particular figure are ridiculously stiff. Flash’s left arm in particular is almost locked into place. His right leg turns in for no apparent reason and no matter how much I twist it out, it slow ticks back in again. My other complaint is the same complaint that I’ve had for both of the other figures released in this line. NECA’s paint flakes right off whenever I remove hands to swap them out and you can clearly see where paint chipped off at the top of the foot. It’s really aggravating, especially considering the fact that these figures retail on average for thirty buck a pop.

Other than those complaints, this figure looks excellent. He comes with three hands to swap out with the pair that is attached to the figure in the box. He also comes with Flash’s sword, a blaster, and two blaster effects that are standard for all of the figures in this line. The sword is especially nice.

NECA recently announced the upcoming release of three new figures of the Phantom, Flash, and Ming based upon their King Features Syndicate comic strips. These are the figures that I’m most excited about at the moment. I’m also waiting to hear if and when the Mandrake The Magician and Lothar action figures will be released from NECA’s Defenders of the Earth line. You can see an image of the three King Features figures below.

I’ve included a few more looks at my Defenders Flash figure below as well. It’s a really nice figure and I’m glad to have it in hand, but the stiff joints and lackluster paint makes me a little doubtful that the upcoming figures will be much better. Oh, well, thanks for checking out this review. I know that I’ve been a tad quiet lately, but that’s about to change! See you soon!