Geeking Out About Everything!
Put on your seat belts, crank up some tunes, and hit the highway of horror with me as I take a look at thirty-one horror films featuring vehicles. From classics like Christine to more recent fare like Unhinged, I’m taking you on a road trip that you’ll never forget! The fun starts on October 1st and will tear up the highway until Halloween! Ken’s Alternate Universe may have slowed down over the last couple of years, but Thirty-One Days O’Horror never stops!
With Superman (2025) hitting HBO Max on September 19th, I decided to dig into the ol’ vault and review this set of six Spin Master Superman 2025 six inch action figures that also include a seventh Build-A-Figure. This particular set of figures is budget-friendly, coming in at around seven to eight bucks apiece depending on where you purchase them. Scalpers are selling them at a much higher price on the web, but you can still find many of them in stores. In fact, I’ve been seeing all of the figures in this line at a number of Walmart locations in my region.
The set of figures, each sold separately, features Superman, the Engineer, Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner (Green Lantern), and Metamorpho. If you collect all six of the figures, you can then build Robot #4, better known as Gary. The packaging for each figure is the same and only Hawkgirl technically comes with an accessory (her wings). The articulation is the same as well, with each figure featuring nine points of articulation. POAs can be found at the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. The Build-A-Figure Robot #4 does not move at the head, but does have a POA at the waist, which the other figures lack.
This line is geared toward children, but it is still surprisingly well done. The face sculpts don’t look quite like their film counterparts, although Guy Gardner and Mr. Terrific bear very striking resemblances to Nathan Fillion and Edi Gathegi. The suits look pretty cool as well, especially the matching uniforms of the Justice Gang. Also, while I appreciate the fact that Spin Master put the yellow “S” on the back of Superman’s cape, I don’t care for the way that the cloth cape is attached to the Superman figure. The same can be said for Robot #4’s cape.
If you’re looking for a cheaper option for collecting figures from the Superman film, these Spin Master figures are the way to go. They are brightly colored, very sturdy, and look pretty cool on the display shelf. They are also a few steps down from the looks and quality of the McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse line, but younger fans will definitely love them. I’ve included individual galleries of each figure in the line below, highlighting each figure and the Build-A-Figure piece that they come with in the packaging.
Thanks for checking out my review. These figures really are pretty cool to own and kids will get plenty of playtime out of them!
I saw M3GAN 2.0 way back on its opening weekend. Sadly, I’m just now finding the time to give a brief review of the film. The film pits an upgraded version of Megan against a rogue version of herself dubbed AMELIA, a self-aware android that looks even more human than Megan. The film brings back all of the key survivors from the first film, but dials down Megan and turns her into an action star instead. It was a miscalculation for the franchise, as fans loved how brutal and vicious the original Megan was in the first film. Despite this, M3GAN 2.0 isn’t a terrible film. It’s just not a good M3GAN film.
The returning cast includes Allison Williams as Gemma, M3GAN’s creator, and Violet McGraw as Cady, Gemma’s niece. Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps reprise their roles as Cole and Tess, and get a lot more time on the screen this go round. Amie Donald returns as Megan’s body and Jenna Davis provides her voice. Ivanna Sakhno takes on the role of AMELIA. Jemaine Clement has a small role as Alton Appleton, a brilliant but corrupt tech billionaire.
The cast is fine and the action and special effects in the film are great, but Megan is neutered quite a bit in this film and she has lost a little bit of her bite. Hopefully she will return in a third film with a lust for blood, as I believe that this is what most fans hoped for in this film.
I recommend this film to fans of the first one, but only if they want to see the title character go into a tech and action heavy film.
Despite resistance from a healthy heaping of naysayers and supposed Snyderverse supporters, James Gunn’s vision of Superman took flight on July 11, 2025. I managed to watch it today, July 13th, and have to admit, it’s a great film. It’s hilarious at times, full of action and witty dialogue, and takes a couple of extremely violent and dark turns that reminds the audience that villains are evil.
My review is spoiler-free, so read on with confidence if you haven’t seen the film.
The movie opens three years into Superman’s public life, when his actions to prevent a war between two nations has many of his supporters losing faith in him. Lex Luthor, ever the opportunist, decides to use Superman’s drop in popularity to attempt to finally put an end to his alien menace. Of course, Luthor’s true intentions are much more sinister, and it’s up to Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and the Justice Gang to find out what’s really going on and put a stop to his plans.
Superman is portrayed as honest, loyal to a fault, and almost too trustworthy. He’s the Big Blue Boy Scout in all of his fresh-from-the-comic-page glory, and I’m all for it. The Justice Gang provides additional muscle and plenty of laughs as well, with Mr. Terrific stealing almost all of the scenes that he appears in and Guy Gardner being the lovable douche we all expected him to be in this film. Hawkgirl has a limited role in the film, but she does deliver one of the coolest lines in the film. Metamorpho also appears in the film and is involved with quite possibly the darkest scene in the movie. Krypto is also in the film, and as hilarious as he is, he never gets to be too annoying or overused. Lex Luthor’s cohorts, Ultraman and the Engineer, provide plenty of action in the movie and feature in some excellent action sequences.
The entire cast is excellent. David Corenswet pulls double duty as Superman and Clark Kent, although we don’t get a lot of Clark in the film. His portrayal reminds us of the classic Superman that is both funny and just. Rachel Brosnahan delivers a spunky performance as Lois Lane, calling back to the character as portrayed by the legendary Noel Neill, the original big screen version of Lois. Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific is, well, terrific! He’s funny and cool all at the same time. Nathan Fillion was perfect as Guy Gardner and Isabela Merced swooped in and out of scenes with class as Hawkgirl. Maria Galbriela de Faria does fine as the Engineer. The rest of the cast, which includes Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Milly Alcock as Supergirl, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, and many, many more, all do fine jobs.
As excellent as the cast is in this film, two actors in particular deserve special attention. Nicholas Hoult is, in my opinion, the best live-action version of Lex Luthor ever to hit the screen. He utilizes his devious mind to best Superman on a number of occasions and also knows when to tuck tail and run. He’s both sinister and funny at the same time. I expected Hoult to do a fine job, but he blew me away with his performance. Even more shocking was the portrayal of Eve Teschmacher by Sara Sampaio. Sampaio was AMAZING in the role, making an oft-ignored secondary character into one of the most important pieces of the film.
The film’s special effects are very good. There are some limitations to the CGI, especially during sequences involving a black hole, but they are no worse than the best CGI in recent Marvel films. The music was very well done and honored its roots by calling back to John Williams’ legendary score. My only issues with the film are that Ultraman is something of a dullard and I don’t like a certain plot twist involving Superman’s biological parents.
Overall, the film is a bright, loud action film with hilarious moments and a couple of very disturbing dark moments. There’s a bit of strong language at times, but for the most part the film is friendly to fans ages seven and up in my opinion.
I highly recommend this film. It’s the best DC/Warner Bros. film to come out in a long time. It reminded me of the innocence of the Christopher Reeve films but features action above and beyond the recent Snyder films. Go see it now!
With a cast that featured Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Lilian Bond, and the director James Whale, you’d think that 1932’s The Old Dark House would have been a massive hit. Instead, it fell through the cracks of cinematic history and was believed to be lost at one point. I only recently discovered the film while searching for 1930s films on Amazon Prime. I’m glad that I found it.
The film takes place in Wales on a terribly stormy night. The storm is so bad, in fact, that a young couple, Philip and Margaret Waverton, (Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart), and their friend, Penderel (Douglas), are forced to seek shelter at a dark and mysterious home in the Welsh countryside. Their hosts are Horace and Rebecca Femm (Ernest Thesiger, Eva Moore), an odd pair of siblings that seem to be hiding something, and their loyal but mute butler, Morgan (Karloff). Later in the evening, another couple arrive seeking shelter from the storm. The duo are Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and his companion, Gladys Ducane (Bond). As the group get to know one another, it becomes obvious that there is something very sinister going on at the Femm homestead. The storm rages on as certain members of the group pair off and others deal with psychological terror. Throw in an insane third member of the Femm family and you’ve got a nice mixture of mayhem.
The cast do fine jobs in their respective roles. Titanic (1997) fans may recognize Stuart, who would go on to portray the elderly version of Rose in that film. Douglas, Laughton, and Massey also deliver solid performances. Moore is wonderfully wicked as the twisted Rebecca Femm, and almost steals the show if it weren’t for the performance of the beautiful Lilian Bond. She demands your attention whenever she’s on the screen. She’s a timeless beauty that shines to this day. Sadly, Karloff doesn’t have much to do in this film except lurch about while terrorizing pretty much anyone in his path.
The film is far from James Whale’s best work, but it is a serviceable horror film. Unlike other Universal films of the time, the horror doesn’t live within a monster, it’s in the minds of the group trapped in the Femm home. I definitely recommend checking out this flick. It’s a fun ride with a great cast.
Thanks for checking out my review.
While cruising around on Amazon Prime last night, I found a nice little gem entitled The Comic Shop. I was completely unaware of this film, but considering how much I enjoy reading comic books and hanging out at my local comic shop, I decided to give this film a look. It’s nothing flashy or earth shattering, but I really enjoyed it.
The film stars Jesse Metcalfe (John Tucker Must Die, Desperate Housewives) as Mike, the owner of a slowly dying comic book shop on the Las Vegas Strip. At one time, Mike dreamed of being an illustrator but decided to settle for the security of his own store. Assisting him at the shop is Alex (Tristin Mays of MacGyver, The Vampire Diaries). Mike’s shop has yet to recover from the damage done by the COVID-19 lockdown, and a new comic shop is threatening to close him down permanently. Hoping to stay afloat, Mike goes all in with an old friend who is pushing a new independent comic label. Along for the ride is Brandon (Micah Giovanni), a budding artist who is struggling with being the new kid in town and failing miserably in his relationship with his father. Mike and Brandon bond over comics and artwork and Mike helps Brandon mend his relationship with his dad. Alex goes to work for the competition whenever Mike has to let her go to save money and she ends up being used by the new store to try and take down Mike for good. What happens next? Check out The Comic Shop to find out the rest of the story.
The film has a couple of cool cameos from Carrot Top and Eric Roberts. The acting is okay. It’s just a fun, lighthearted film that most of the family can enjoy. Do know that there are a few brief moments of strong language.
The film has a strong message of finding common ground with those who don’t necessarily share your interests. It also encourages folks to pursue their dreams and take a chance every now and then. It’s not a perfect film at all, but it is a nice way to kill a couple of hours in the afternoon. It’s available on a number of free streamers and on Amazon Prime. I recommend it, but don’t expect it to blaze any new cinematic trails.
Thanks for checking out my post.
Fueled by his hate for the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro unleashes the power of fear with Parallax. Released in 2024, two years after the Hal Jordan Parallax figure, McFarlane Toys does a decent job of capturing Sinestro in all of his Parallax empowered glory. The figure utilizes the exact same mold as the Hal Jordan Parallax figure and thus features the same amount of articulation points, which is twenty-five.
Aside from the paint applications, which are composed of pink, black, and white on a gold base, and Sinestro’s head, there aren’t any differences between the Hal Jordan version and Sinestro’s version of Parallax. Sinestro does come with one lone construct, a yellow Parallax construct, but that’s it for accessories. He does come with the token base and collector card, but nothing else.
Sinestro’s articulation is very stiff. His cape is one solid piece. Thankfully, McFarlane has moved away from the molded capes and have chosen to finish out their DC Mulitverse run with wired capes in their final figures. Sinestro’s face looks amazing, properly evil, but the paint apps on the body are hit and miss.
I understand why McFarlane chose to reuse the Hal Jordan mold and I really love Sinestro as a character, but I don’t recommend purchasing this figure unless you’re a big Sinestro fan or can find it on clearance like I did. McFarlane’s run with DC is almost over, so be sure to grab some of your favorite figures before Hasbro gets their hands back in the DC Multiverse.
Thanks for checking out my review. I have plans to review quite a few upcoming McFarlane figures, so keep an eye out for them.
While St. Valentine’s Day is no stranger to the horror genre, with films like Valentine (2001) and both of the My Bloody Valentine films (1981, 2009) being some of the more popular movies in this vein, 2025’s Heart Eyes takes the beloved holiday into a humorous but very enjoyable direction. The film stars Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding as two advertising agents forced to work together to stop a relentless serial killer known as the Heart Eyes Killer or “HEK” for short.
Holt’s Ally McCabe, a young woman that has given up on love, and Gooding’s Jay Simmonds, a hopeless romantic, find themselves in a fight for their lives as they battle HEK. The killer has made a habit of killing multiple couples on Valentine’s Day in Boston and Philadelphia in the last couple of years, and has now made his/her way to Seattle to add to the kill count in 2025. Although HEK targets couples, anyone that gets in the way is a potential victim. HEK uses a number of weapons to deal out death, using everything from a good old-fashioned machete to a crossbow on his/her victims. As the body count rises, so do the feelings between Ally and Jay. Do they survive the most terrifying romantic night of their lives? Watch Heart Eyes to find out what happens!
I really enjoyed this movie. It has the perfect blend of humor and horror. It borrows heavily from the Scream franchise and Ghostface fans will quickly pick up on the similarities between the films. It was also nice to see Devon Sawa chew his way through the film as Hobbs, a macho detective hunting for the Heart Eyes Killer along with his buddy, Detective Shaw, portrayed by the always lovely Jordana Brewster. I don’t need to mention the fact that Sawa has been a staple of the horror genre for decades thanks to his work in the Chucky TV series and in films like Idle Hands and Final Destination, but it’s worth saying. Brewster is no slouch when it comes to horror films, either, having appeared in The Faculty and in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. There’s also a nod to her work in the Fast & Furious franchise as well. The rest of the cast has little to do in the film, but I did like Gigi Zumbado as Ally’s friend Monica and I always love seeing Michaela Watkins on the screen. She’s hilarious as Ally’s boss, Crystal Cane.
If you enjoy the Scream franchise or modern slasher films in general, give Heart Eyes a look. It has a great blend of humor, horror, and action and you won’t regret watching it. Hopefully we get a sequel to this film. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for it if and when a second film goes into production.
I was a bit conflicted as to how I should approach 2024’s Nosferatu. The film, directed by Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Northman), is a remake of F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which was a ripoff of the original Dracula story by Bram Stoker. I really enjoyed Murnau’s silent tale, and I loved Eggers’ The Northman and really liked The Witch, but everything about Nosferatu feels forced.
The acting is all over the place, with Lily-Rose Depp winning the overacting award, Nicholas Hoult looking confused the entire time, and Bill Skarsgard hidden under a hulking mass of makeup, belching out muddled lines in long, drawn out monologues. Aaron Taylor-Johnson was a surprise to see in the film, but he seemed just as confused and out of place as Hoult. Willem Dafoe portrayed von Franz as a spastic old man. Only Ralph Ineson as Dr. Sievers seemed to have a hold on what he was doing in the film. This may be due to the fact that he already worked with Eggers in The Witch.
The pace of the film was slow. The cinematography was drab, intentionally, I know, but it was almost too drab, as if to make you feel some sort of impending doom while watching the film. The payoff that this drab look and feel arrived at was nothing special. In fact, the classic 1922 ending was much, much better.
In short, I didn’t care for this film. It was boring, too long, and full of bad acting and forced atmosphere that just never connected with me. Give it a look on Peacock if you’d like, but you aren’t missing much.
I grew up reading the stories of Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern. He’s always been my favorite member of the Lantern Corps even though I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the adventures of other Corps members such as Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Kilowog, and others. For some reason, I just love the character of Hal Jordan. That being said, I had to get my hands on the Walmart Exclusive Gold Label Green Lantern Hal Jordan figure. I found him on the peg in store one day, and didn’t hesitate to add him to my collection.
Hal comes with the standard collector card and DC Multiverse stand. He also comes with two constructs, a boxing glove and a rocket pack. McFarlane remains insistent on keeping accessories to a bare minimum, but in the case of the Green Lantern, I’ll let that slide.
The figure features the same mold used for earlier Green Lantern figures, including the Endless Winter John Stewart figure. That figure features the same hole in its back that fits the rocket pack that comes with the Gold Label Hal Jordan, so now you have something to plug in back there if you so wish and happen to have that figure. What sets this particular mold apart is the fact that it has some decent weight to it. The John Stewart figure is extremely light and feels cheaply put together. The Hal Jordan figure also features much tighter joints than the Stewart figure.
The paint apps look very nice. Hal’s green paint has a nice sheen to it that sets it apart from the more dull green apps of other Green Lantern figures in the McFarlane lineup. His white gloves look wonderful as well. The only minor complaint that I have is the fact that his shoulder joints feature a black spot where the hinge is located.
With great articulation and an amazing overall look and design, I definitely recommend this Hal Jordan figure to anybody that is a fan of ol’ Highball. Pick it up if you can find it at Walmart or order it online.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 