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Throwback Thursday: Teen Wolf

August 23, 1985

1985 was a huge year for science fiction, action, horror, and fantasy films. It saw the release of genre favorites such as The Goonies, Lifeforce, Cocoon, Fright Night, and Red Sonja, to name a few. It was also the year of Michael J. Fox, as he was riding a growing wave of popularity with his hit TV series Family Ties and starred in the biggest film of his career, Back To The Future. That film made nearly four hundred million dollars and spent eleven weeks at number one.

Of course, Fox starred in another, slightly less successful film that capitalized on his fame that was released a few weeks after Back To The Future. That gem was called Teen Wolf and it would open at number two behind Back To The Future on August 23, 1985. The film would go on to make eighty million at the box office and was a solid hit (albeit greatly overshadowed by Fox’s other film from that year).

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve seen this film over fifty times. I stopped counting at fifty many years ago and estimate that I’m probably knocking on the three digit range by now. I’ve watched it more times than all of the times I’ve watched Back To The Future and its sequels.

I really love this film. I’m fully aware that it’s not a cinematic masterpiece nor is it even one of the top ten films from 1985, but there’s something very appealing to me about this little flick. Perhaps it is the fact that Jeph Loeb, writer of television shows such as Smallville, and Lost, and comics including Batman: The Long Halloween, and the film, Commando, wrote this film with Matthew Weisman. It was his first major script.

Maybe it was how cool I thought Jerry Levine was as Stiles Stilinski, or how gorgeous I thought Lorie Griffin (who played Pamela Wells) was every time she appeared on screen. Heck, it could have been Susan Ursitti’s peformance as Boof or even Michael J. Fox’s charisma as Scott Howard. I’m not really sure, but the film has had a hold on me for years.

No matter what the reason is, I can’t seem to get enough of this film. The special effects are actually very good for a film with a production budget of around one million dollars. Scott’s transformation scene was executed with perfection, but his interaction with his father (brilliant character actor James Hampton), was obviously shot on more than one day, as Fox’s makeup (his hair in particular) changed styles during the scene.

It was also very obvious when Fox’s “wolf double” took to the basketball court. Played by Jeff Glosser, this version of Scott had a different face and was a few inches taller than Fox in relation to the rest of the basketball players. With that being said, Glosser did an excellent job of making the rest of the guys on the court look like rookies.

tw2 — Jeff Glosser as Scott Howard “wolfed out” during Teen Wolf.

The film’s soundtrack was great in my opinion. Featuring the work of artists such as Amy Holland and David Palmer, the music perfectly set the tone of a high school circa 1985. Sadly the album hasn’t been available for a long time and the CD version of the album is available on Amazon for over $130 bucks from resellers.

The film has aged well as far as I’m concerned, as its central theme, wanting to be more than average, is timeless. We’ve all been in a situation where we feel that we’re just fading into the background and we want to take center stage. If and when we do become the focal point, how we handle our newfound fame can make or break us, as it does Scott Howard in the film.

The movie spawned a Saturday morning cartoon that I loved and a 1987 sequel called Teen Wolf Too. The film starred Jason Bateman and was essentially the same story as the original film except for the fact that it took place on a college campus and Todd Howard (Bateman) was a boxer instead of a basketball player. I liked it, but I found it to be very boring and more of a remake than an actual sequel. MTV created a 2011 television series as well. I’ve never watched it, but my daughter loves the show.

The film turned thirty-three years old today, and I coincidentally watched it again just the other night. I’ll probably watch it again in a week or two.

Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me. Let me know what you thought about Teen Wolf in the comments section!

Hurricane Pro Wrestling 8/18/18

Beaumont, Texas

I crossed the Sabine River into Texas over the weekend with my family for my fourth round of Hurricane Pro Wrestling. Although I’m still learning about this promotion, it has been around for quite awhile in southeast Texas and has seen steady growth since it first began. I last wrote about Hurricane Pro in June when they crowned their first Women’s Champion, Miranda Alize, in one of the best live shows that I’ve ever attended (and I’ve attended multiple WWE, WCW, NWA, Deep South, and Mid-South shows and tons of independent events over the years).

I wasn’t able to post about last month’s event, but it was excellent as well. New Tag Team champions were crowned when Alex Lane and Ricardo Cage, together known as Make Your Own Path (M.Y.O.P.) successfully took the belts in a three way tag match. Don Rodrigo won the Cruiserweight Championship in a shocking upset over Jared Wayne of the Pump Patrol. The biggest win of the night came when Jordan Jensen defeated long-time Heavyweight Champion Terrale Tempo for the belt. I didn’t get many good shots that evening, but here’s one of Tempo and Jensen hugging in the ring after their match.

On August 18th, all three of the belts won in July were put on the line. The event saw all three belts defended, but not without controversy. The first match of the night saw Don Rodrigo defend his belt against Jared Wayne’s cohort and fellow Pump Patrol stable member, Jonny Flex. I’d love to see these two have a hair versus hair match, as it was a battle of flowing manes in the opening match. The Don defeated Flex, but it was an excellent struggle that saw Flex take control of the match multiple times.

Sorry for the poor quality of my photos. All promotional photos taken from the Hurricane Pro Facebook Page.

The second match featured the high-flying Estrella Galactica taking on Billy Fletcher of the Dark Alliance. The match featured some excellent moves from both wrestlers and Estrella did a great job winning the match despite the occasional interference of Billy’s valet, the lovely but deadly Divinity.

Match Three of the night saw crowd favorite Bu Ku Dao, the Situ-Asian, square off against the very big and very angry Rex Andrews. The match featured some excellent aerial and ground work from Dao, but the sheer strength of Andrews and his multiple power moves coupled with some excellent submission maneuvers saw him walk away victorious. Both men earned the respect of the crowd after putting on an excellent display of speed, strength, and grappling.

After a brief intermission where some of the wrestlers came out to visit with fans and pose for photos, things got underway in the second half of the evening with a brutal tag team match featuring M.Y.O.P. defending their belts against the hungry duo of Curt Matthews and Jared Wayne, the brains and brawn of the Pump Patrol. The match moved quickly with M.Y.O.P. using their speed and ring knowledge to outmaneuver and outsmart the much bigger Pump Patrol. There were multiple tags during the match and this resulted in a lot of confusion in the ring. Thankfully the referee, Said, kept his head during the chaos and gave a ten count to Ricardo Cage of M.Y.O.P. to give the Pump Patrol the win by disqualification. In the ring, Curt Matthews had Alex Lane pinned for the three count, but this came after Cage was disqualified. That meant that M.Y.O.P. retained their belts on a technicality since the belts can only change hands by pin or submission. The Pump Patrol became enraged, stole the belts from M.Y.O.P., and told them that the only way to truly become the Hurricane Pro Tag Team Champions would be to defeat them.

The next match featured the “Pinfall Wizard,” Steve-O-Reno against the man that the people of Beaumont love to hate, Ashton Jacobs. The duo put on one of the best matches of the night as Jacobs drew a ton of heat from the crowd and Steve-O-Reno won them over with his crazy moves. Victorious last month, Jacobs’ winning streak would come to an end at the hands of the Pinfall Wizard, as Steve-O-Reno would take Jacobs down in the ring.

The night was capped off by a great main event featuring Heavyweight Champion Jordan Jensen defending his belt for the very first time. His competition, Ricky Starks, immediately drew heat from the crowd as he taunted and leered at them. The duo squared off in a fast moving match featuring some excellent high spots and solid grappling moves. Both Jensen and Sparks wowed the crowd with their moves and in the end, Jensen walked away with a successful title defense.

Next month’s show has already been announced. Hurricane Pro will return to the Beaumont Civic Center on September 22nd. The doors will open at 6:30 PM and the first bell rings at 7:00 PM. If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking out Hurricane Pro. Their events are family friendly and extremely interactive. Wrestlers will often come out to visit with the crowd before the matches begin and there’s some great food and items to purchase as well. During the intermission and after the last match, wrestlers will come out once again to hang out with their fans.

If you’d like more information about Hurricane Pro, check out their website here. To get the latest scoop on upcoming events, check out their Facebook page or look for them across other social media.

As always, thanks for reading my post. If you do get a chance to visit a Hurricane Pro show, let me know in advance and we can hang out for a bit.

Deeper, Darker Sea

The Mariana Trench

When I first learned that Jason Statham would be portraying Dr. Jonas Tyler, a marine biologist and paleontologist, in an adaptation of MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten, I visually winced. While I personally have nothing against Statham, I’ve never seen him as more than a standard action flick guy. I found it hard to believe that Statham could pull off the role of a brilliant scientist/adventurer and immediately felt that The MEG was deep sixed before it could even set sail.

Thankfully the Jonas Tyler in the film is nothing like the Dr. Jonas Tyler from the book series. On the screen, Jonas Tyler is a deep sea rescue diver, and Statham is more than capable of pulling this type of role off without any problems. Tyler’s profession was just one of many differences between the book and the film, but it somehow worked just fine. If you’ve read the book (the first of a really fun series), you won’t leave the theater believing that your beloved novel of deep terror has been ripped to shreds. Nope, the film is so different that it’s almost like seeing an alternate universe version of the story.

I won’t go into detail about the differences, but I will give a brief summary of the plot. I promise not to spoil anything, so read on with confidence.

The movie opens in a similar fashion (minus the dinosaur lunch crunch) where Tyler loses friends in a submarine accident while rescuing sailors from a nuclear submarine. Just like in the book, Tyler isn’t believed when he tells everyone that something attacked the submarine and caused the death of his friends. The movie jumps ahead five years and billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson) has just arrived on Mana One, a research facility that he funds that is attempting to prove that the Mariana Trench is much deeper than is believed.

A team is sent down to find out if the trench really is deeper and, yep, it is, and it’s hiding a very big, very hungry secret. The team is trapped in the trench after being attacked by the very same something that attacked Tyler’s rescue team five years prior. Stranded, the crew of Mana One reach out to Jonas Tyler and ask him to save their stranded crew which happens to include his ex-wife, Lori (Jessica McNamee).

Tyler arrives on the scene and manages to rescue the crew with some difficulties that I won’t go into, but as the team resurfaces, they are unknowingly followed by a megalodon. From there, it becomes a battle of man versus beast as the Mana One crew and Tyler attempt to stop the Meg before it kills everything and everyone in its path.

Pros:

The film has an excellent pace to it thanks to the direction of Jon Turteltaub (Cool Runnings, Phenomenon, National Treasure, While You Were Sleeping) and the screenplay penned by Dean Georgaris, and Jon and Erich Hoeber. The story is rather simple: A prehistoric shark escapes the deepest, darkest portion of the sea and goes on a killing rampage while a resourceful and intelligent group of humans try to stop it. Somehow, Turteltaub and company manage to hold your attention while this simple story plays out. Not once did I check my watch during the film, and that’s a huge indicator that I am really enjoying what I am watching.

That aforementioned resourceful and intelligent group is one of the other reasons that this supposed B-movie is a grade above standard shark films. Most killer shark films feature a ton of inept and completely brainless humans that do stupid things that ends up in them either being eaten or being saved by the heroic lead. In this film, Statham does most of the physical work but he relies on the intelligence of the rest of the group to make things happen. Characters like Mac (Cliff Curtis, who deserves to be a bigger star by now in my opinion), Suyin Zhang (Li Bingbing), Jaxx (Ruby Rose) and The Wall (Olafur Darri Olaffson), all play key roles in the film. Some of their contributions might seem minor, but they are needed and Tyler relies on them throughout the movie until the big climax where Statham goes into full hero mode.

There’s also a perfect amount of humor littered throughout film. DJ (Page Kennedy), The Wall, and Morris provided just enough humor to keep the film light enough to keep watching. There are also a few humorous scenes involving beachgoers and a cute little dog named Pippin that lighten the frantic mood of the film.

Another positive thing about this movie is that the precocious little youngster that’s usually the most annoying person in a shark film is actually one of the best parts of The MEG. Shuya Sophia Cai is adorable as Meiying, Zhang’s daughter in the film. She’s one of the few people in the movie that manages to stay out of trouble for the most part, and she injects some humor into the film as well.

The special effects in a film like this will often be the major determining factor of whether or not a film is B grade or a step above. The film’s special effects crew did a brilliant job of making the megalodon and all of the other CGI creatures in the film look believable. They also did a great job with the gliders used during some of the action sequences. Even in a few of the campier moments in the movie, the shark and the action looked good.

The film also did a great job of generating suspense. Much of the action takes place underwater, and the audience often got a glimpse of it from the actors’ points of view. In one particular scene, Zhang is looking frantically around her trying to find the megalodon. The camera swoops back and forth for the audience until the payoff (which I won’t mention here), resulting in tension and a big “jump” scare for the crowd. There are a few “jump at you” scares in the film, but they aren’t overdone or as forced as they seem to be in similar films.

Cons

I really don’t have that many complaints about this film. It’s far from perfect, but it’s good enough that I’ll let a lot of the negatives slide. For example, DJ could have simply been written as the comic relief (and he is for the most part), but he has moments of brilliance that make him just a little bit better than the standard comic relief in a film like this. The shark is a little bit faster or a little bit slower when need be, but I caught myself pulling my legs up knowing full well that the person the MEG was chasing was going to survive.

Could the acting have been better? Sure. Could the music have been better? Maybe. The bottom line is that I don’t care about these types of things whenever a movie knows exactly what it is (a big popcorn flick) and plays to that demographic in spades, but also strives to be something better than a cheesy creature flick and it works most of the time.

The MEG will not win any awards. It won’t go down in history as the greatest shark movie ever made (but at its current pace, it might just end up being the second most financially successful shark film behind Jaws). It will eventually become one of those films that gets played and replayed a million times on TBS or FX. Some of the cast will go on to bigger things (like the lovely Ruby Rose, who’s already lined up to play Batwoman in the Arrowverse and in a potential series) and others will probably fade away from memory. Jason Statham will probably get a call back for a sequel or two (although fans of the book will be left scratching their heads wondering how that can be), and each sequel will probably be worse than the one before…..

But…..

Let’s relish in the fact that The MEG has already beaten the estimates set for its opening and second weekend. Let’s enjoy watching the snarky professional critics wring their hands and gnash their teeth in misery as the film they trashed continues to succeed for reasons that they can’t understand. Let’s let the big shark be the big shark and eat all of its competition.

In short, enjoy this film as much as it enjoys being itself.

Thanks for reading this post. The MEG is far from perfect, but it’s intelligently campy fun that has action, humor, suspense, and a whole lotta shark. Go see it.

Throwback Thursday: Anaconda

Deep In The Amazon

Sometimes you intentionally go to the movies to watch a forgettable, dumb film. Sometimes the film you believed would be nothing more than a good way to kill an hour and a half becomes something more. In 1997, Anaconda was that type of film for me.

I walked into the theater knowing full well that I was about to watch a terrible creature feature. It starred Jennifer Lopez, a former Fly Girl on In Living Color and fresh from her performance in the title role of Selena, Ice Cube, who at the time was primarily known for his rap career with N.W.A., and Jon Voight, who was thirty years into a career that appeared to be on a slow downturn. The cast was filled out by Owen Wilson, Kari Wuhrer, reliable character actor Jonathan Hyde, Vincent Castellanos, and Eric Stoltz (who received top billing but was barely in the film). Danny Trejo also had a cameo in the film.

Everything about this movie screamed “bad,” but the cheesy movie lover in me demanded that I watch this film. I paid the full evening price, grabbed some popcorn, and took my seat.

At first the crowd was thin, but couples and groups of people slowly spilled into the theater. Once the movie started, the crowd came alive, yelling, cussing, and screaming at the film as it played out. We all started to cheer our heroes and boo the villain. We also cheered on the giant anaconda as it ate its way through the cast.

The plot was pretty basic. A documentary crew on the Amazon River puts their trust and confidence in a hunter (Voight) who tells them that he can help them find the subject of their film, a mysterious tribe called the Shirishama. As time passes, it becomes obvious that the hunter, named Serone, has different plans for the group.

Professor Cale (Stoltz) is seriously injured early in the film. After his accident, members of the crew go missing or die. Terri and Danny (Lopez and Cube) begin to uncover Serone’s true past and the film becomes a race for survival. Serone and the giant snake take turns picking off the rest of the crew and chasing down Terri and Danny.

The film was surprisingly fun to watch. It was a lot like a SyFy Channel movie with a few more dollars in the budget. The cast does a great job, chewing and gnashing their way through the ludicrous plot. The CGI and practical effects were also very well done, especially considering how expensive CGI was at the time.

The film was very successful, making $136 million dollars against a budget of forty-five million. Lopez would go on to a massively successful career in both film and pop music. Ice Cube would perform in a host of successful films as well. Owen Wilson’s star would rise as well, featuring in numerous popular comedies. Both Voight and Stoltz had their careers reignited, but neither of them would achieve the success that they had prior to the release of Anaconda. Kari Wuhrer’s career would remain steady, but she has yet to become a breakout star.

If you haven’t seen this 90’s gem, I highly recommend checking it out. Be sure to have a few friends over and a few drinks as well. Make a game out of it. For instance, take a shot every time Ice Cube screams about “getting fuel” and two shots for every time Voight calls Wuhrer “Baby Bird.” Ignore the sequels (I think that there were four). Only the second one was remotely interesting, but it lacked the cheese factor that made the first film a classic.

As always, thanks for reading this post. Anaconda is a must see film if you love creature features. It’s fun, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and is ultimately a great way to kill time without feeling like you wasted part of your life. Stay tuned for more posts in the very near future!

Focus On: Kurt Russell

Pretty Much Everywhere

With almost one hundred acting credits to his name, Kurt Russell has one of the longest and most storied careers in motion pictures and television. I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything that I’ve seen him in over the years. In this Focus On feature, we’ll take a look at Mr. Russell’s amazing career that is nearing sixty years in the making.

His career started in 1962 as an extra on an episode of Dennis The Menace. He then went on to appear in episodes of shows such as Gilligan’s Island, The Fugitive, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Gunsmoke. In 1963 he had a bit part in It Happened At The World’s Fair with Elvis Presley. He also starred in multiple television series as a regular cast member including shows like The Travels of Jamie McPheeters.

As Russell grew older, he began a highly successful run in Disney films such as Follow Me, Boys (1966), The Barefoot Executive (1971), and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969). He would star in ten films between 1966 and 1981 for the company, the last one being the animated The Fox And The Hound as well as appear in multiple roles on Wonderful World Of Color. His big break came in 1979 in the TV movie Elvis, in which he portrayed the King himself. Russell was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his portrayal of Elvis and despite having such a long and popular career, it would be the highest award that he would ever be nominated for as of this writing.

1980 found Russell in the comedy Used Cars. In 1981, Russell took on the first of many iconic science fiction and action roles as Snake Plissken in John Carpenter’s Escape From New York. These two films would set the tone for the rest of Russell’s career as he would (and continues to) star in numerous comedies and action/sci-fi roles.

Horror fans know Russell for the role of R.J. MacReady in the sci-fi horror thriller The Thing. Also directed by John Carpenter, the film made a modest four million over its budget and was trashed by critics. It has since gone on to garner a massive cult following (including myself). Russell and Carpenter would team up again in 1986 for Big Trouble In Little China. The film bombed at theaters, but found its audience on home video and went on to become yet another cult classic for Russell.

Another cult classic for Russell is 1987’s Overboard, a comedy that featured Russell’s longtime partner, Goldie Hawn. The duo had been together for about four years when the film was released and despite bombing at theaters, it gained an audience on home video and television. It is also one of my wife’s favorite films.

The world premiere of Marvel Studios’ 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.' - Arrivals — Russell and Goldie Hawn at the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, 2017.

The 1990’s saw Russell’s star grow substantially. He appeared in a number of highly successful films including Backdraft (1991), Unlawful Entry (1992), Tombstone (1993), Stargate (1994), Executive Decision (1996), and Breakdown (1997). Despite these successes, though, Russell appeared in a few bombs as well. As usual, some of these bombs have become cult classics. Some of the better “bombs” from Russell’s career in the 90’s includes Soldier (1998) and Captain Ron (1992). Russell also reprised his role as Snake Plissken in the 1996 bomb, Escape from L.A., which featured a hilarious surfing sequence with Peter Fonda. It was directed by John Carpenter, adding another film to the Russell/Carpenter roster of films.

The 2000’s found Russell holding his own as an older man in action films, westerns, dramas, and comedies. Some of his most popular roles since 2000 include Coach Herb Brooks in Disney’s Miracle (2004), the superhero father named Steve Stronghold in 2005’s Sky High (also a Disney film), Stuntman Mike in 2007’s Death Proof, and John “The Hangman” Ruth in 2015’s The Hateful Eight.

Of course, Russell’s biggest recent role is Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017). It’s also one of my favorite performances by Russell despite it not being one of my favorite Marvel films. Some of my other favorite Russell roles include Coach Brooks, Wyatt Earp, and The Hangman.

I’ve been a fan of Kurt Russell as long as I can remember. He also seems to be a pretty cool guy off camera as well. I especially enjoy listening to him talk about filming Tombstone. He is often credited by Val Kilmer, who portrayed Doc Holliday in the film, as the person that kept the film from derailing during its production. Russell is one of the most successful steady working actors in cinema. He isn’t always listed with big name stars from the 80’s and 90’s like Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson, but he had just as many or more roles than all of them during that time. He had major successes and terrible bombs, but he always seems to return for one more film.

In short, Kurt Russell is awesome.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out some of Kurt Russell’s work. Of all of his films, the ones that I highly suggest checking out are (in order of release): Follow Me, Boys, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Elvis, Escape From New York, The Thing, Big Trouble In Little China, Tango & Cash, Tombstone, Stargate, Miracle, and The Hateful Eight.

Throwback Thursday: Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Yo-ho!

It’s hard to believe that fifteen years have passed since Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was first released. The film spawned four sequels, all to varying degrees of success, that have managed to keep the franchise alive in our minds over the years. Black Pearl is still my favorite of all of the films in the franchise and I have a few thoughts on why that is.

The Cast

Every single member of the cast in this film nailed their performance. So much has been said about Johnny Depp over the years as Captain Jack Sparrow that it’s difficult to add anything new to the conversation. Depp does a great job as the captain who is at times brilliant and at others completely clueless. He’s a slave to his vices and they hold a lot of weight in his decisions. He’s a womanizer, a thief, a drunkard, and, well, a pirate, but he manages to be likeable at the same time.

Orlando Bloom as Will Turner and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann play a perfectly love struck couple. Both of them turn in excellent performances that allow them to show off their comedic side as well. I believed that Will was willing to do anything for Elizabeth and vice versa.

Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa was, at least in my opinion, just as brilliant in his role as Depp was as Sparrow. While Barbossa is definitely a bit more despicable than Swann, he has a certain charisma about him and even a hefty dose of honesty that makes you want to follow him into battle. The rest of the pirates, particularly Pintel (Lee Arenberg) and Ragetti (Mackenzie Crook), did wonderful jobs as well.

Although they don’t get as much attention as Depp, Rush, Bloom, or Knightley, Jonathan Pryce (Governor Swann) and Jack Davenport (Commodore Norrington) are just as worthy of praise. Pryce’s well meaning patriarch was portrayed as a relatively honest man who was just a tad bit cowardly. Norrington was the saddest character in the film in my opinion. He seemed to truly love Elizabeth despite having an ego as large as the British fleet. His character developed even more in the next two sequels.

The Music

If I hum a film’s theme or a particular character’s theme long after I’ve left the theater, it means that the music made a significant impression on me. If I hum those same tunes many years down the road, the film’s score really made an impression on me. Only a few scores have done this to me over the years, most of them composed by John Williams or Danny Elfman, but Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt’s score for Black Pearl is right up there with Williams and Elfman, as I find myself humming their theme at randoms times. The music added to the danger, adventure, and excitement of the story. It also added to the nautical theme of the film.

The Director

Gore Verbinski is a hit-and-miss director. When he’s on, he’s almost perfect. When he’s off, his films are still pretty good, but not for everyone. I thought that he did a great job with Black Pearl and its first sequel, Dead Man’s Chest. His direction in At World’s End was less impressive. To me, the third film in the series was confusing, rushed, and there were character changes that just didn’t jive with me. With Pearl, Verbinski kept things moving at a decent pace that allowed the plot to unfold on its own without falling behind all of the action in the film.

The Source Material

Say what you want about Disney, but they know how to tie nostalgia and adventure together in a film. Many people have fond memories of the classic Pirates of the Caribbean ride located at Disney’s theme parks, so it was a no-brainer for many of them to check out this film. Across all of the films in the series, Disney has managed to weave in certain parts of the ride as an Easter Egg for fans of the theme park attraction. I’m one of those suckers that looks for these Easter Eggs. Since 2006, Disney has modified the ride in their parks across the globe to include characters from the films.

For those unfamiliar with the theme park attraction, Disney made sure to highlight the action in the film’s trailer and used big names like Depp and Bloom to draw in other moviegoers. Everybody loves a pirate, right?

Conclusion

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl wasn’t the first Disney film based on one of the the company’s theme park rides (that would be Tower of Terror, a 1997 television film starring Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst), but it is definitely one of the most successful ones. Pearl grossed just over 650 million dollars. Two of its sequels (Dead Man’s Chest and On Stranger Tides) grossed over one billion dollars each and the other two (At World’s End and Dead Men Tell No Tales) have both cleared the eight hundred million dollar mark. Without the surprise success of the first film, though, none of the sequels might have been made despite Disney saying that a trilogy was planned.

Other Disney theme park-based film franchises began and ended with one film. Tomorrowland (2015) bombed despite having amazing visuals and George Clooney as a star. Disney’s other 2003 theme park film, The Haunted Mansion, wasn’t scary enough for thrill seekers and many found that the plot was too adult for families with younger children. We won’t even talk about The Country Bears (which, sadly, has some brilliant music in it). Only Pirates has seemed to really connect with its audience. Another theme park-based film, Jungle Cruise, is scheduled for release in late 2019 and will star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt. I wonder if it will be the next big theme park franchise film series for Disney?

As always, thanks for taking time out of your day to read my thoughts. Did you enjoy The Curse of the Black Pearl like me? Whether you did or didn’t, let me know what you thought about the film in the comments section.

Yo-ho!

Teen Titans Go! To The Movies!

Jump City

I know that a lot of people (or at least a vocal minority) dislike the Teen Titans Go! animated series on Cartoon Network. They blame it for destroying the extremely exceptional Teen Titans cartoon and even Young Justice even though I believe that Cartoon Network itself should be blamed for the cancellation of either series. They are in the business of making money, and apparently TTG! makes a lot of money for them, so it’s probably “just business” for Cartoon Network. I’ve read many hate-filled diatribes against the series and witnessed plenty of people attacking it on social media.

But you know what? I don’t care.

I love the Teen Titans Go! series and when I found out that a film, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, was on the way, I made sure to put in an extra amount of effort in order to see the movie.

The film centers on Robin, who is upset that the Teen Titans are looked down upon by everyone, including their fellow superheroes. To quote Superman, they are a bunch of “goofsters” that seem to cause more trouble than they prevent. After blowing an attempt to stop Balloon Man from wreaking havoc in Jump City and receiving a scolding from the Justice League (who save the day) for their failure, Robin and Co. attempt to get into the premiere for Batman Again.

Trailers for films coming out next summer, next, next summer, and even next, next, next summer appear as if they might be about Robin, but turn out being for, um, other associates of Batman that will remain nameless. Enraged, Robin determines to get his own movie to prove that he’s a true superhero. He’s convinced by his teammates that in order to get a film, he needs an arch nemesis.

Enter Slade, aka Deathstroke (although they never call him by that name), who the Teen Titans attempt to stop from stealing a crystal for his ultimate weapon (which will remain nameless). They fail yet again, but continue to try and stop Slade as he continues collecting items for his weapon.

The Teen Titans take a few other humorous measures in order to win their way onto the big screen, including an extremely funny sequence where they go back in time to prevent the creation of some of DC’s biggest heroes. Even funnier is their attempt to restore those heroes’ creation stories.

Will Robin achieve his dream of becoming a movie star? Will the Teen Titans get it together long enough to stop Slade? You’ll have to watch Teen Titans Go! To The Movies to find out. You won’t regret it.

The film roles along at a quick pace with just one moment in the third act that drags a bit. The struggle against Slade begins to wear thin for a little while, but a not-so-surprising twist occurs that injects new life into the plot.

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The cast features all of the original voice actors for the Teen Titans Go! series. Tara Strong (Raven), Khary Payton (Cyborg), Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Hynden Walch (Starfire), and Scott Menville (Robin) have these characters down pat. Their comic timing was dead on as well. The supporting cast featured Nicolas Cage as Superman, Will Arnett as Slade, Kristen Bell as Jade Wilson, Jimmy Kimmel as Batman, Halsey as Wonder Woman, Meredith Salenger as Supergirl, Lil Yachty as Green Lantern, Wil Wheaton as the Flash, and a whole host of other celebs big and small in some hilarious roles. Be on the lookout for Michael Bolton as Tiger and Patton Oswalt as Atom. They are featured in a couple of my favorite moments in the film. There’s also a couple of cameos from one particular person that always seems to find their way into comic book films. I won’t spoil who that is in this review.

The music is fun and inventive in the film. It features some hilarious takes on standard tunes typical of most children’s movies including inspirational tunes, songs meant to amaze, and an occasional rap. My kids and I sang along with and laughed at the songs the entire time.

The animation is exactly what you’d expect from Teen Titans Go! Warner Bros. didn’t stray too far from formula with the design of the characters and blended different types of animation in at just the right moment for humorous effect.

Speaking of humor, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies has something for everyone. They have slapstick comedy and sophomoric jokes for the youngsters, but for comic and comic film fans, the humor goes much, much deeper. TTG! hits high and low with punches directed at themselves, other shows on Cartoon Network, and the many, many films featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and pretty much every other stereotypical superhero film out there. Some of the jokes cut very deep and some of them are just stone cold (especially during one hero’s origin story sequence). I was shocked at how brutal some of the in-jokes were in the movie. No stone was left unturned (including Martha). Just know that the adult humor is brilliantly hidden from the kiddies and the slapstick comedy is fun for everyone.

One of the best things about this film is that some of DC’s classic heroes that aren’t necessarily front and center these days gets to shine in this film, even if it’s just for a moment. It was great to see the Spectre, Booster Gold, Red Tornado, and other heroes on the screen. It was also cool to see the Challengers of the Unknown on the big screen. I’m sure some of you are googling them as I write this but trust me, they are real DC heroes.

DC and Warner Bros. obviously had a great time making this film. It was nice to see them take shots at their many films and classic characters. This movie is funny and worth seeing in a theater. If you’re still sour over the cancellation of Teen Titans, get over yourself and smile for a little bit by watching Teen Titans Go! To The Movies. It’s one of the best superhero films I’ve seen in a long time!

Thanks for reading my review of Teen Titans Go! To The Movies. It really is an excellent film that is great for the whole family. It has an excellent blend of humor for kids and adults. Sadly I didn’t get to see Ant-Man And The Wasp before it left theaters, so I’ll have to wait on my review for that film. There’s still a chance that I’ll get to see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom before it leaves theaters and I’ll review it if I can.

Until next time, true believers!

Throwback Thursday: Degrassi High

Toronto, Ontario, 1980 Something

Growing up in rural Louisiana in the 80’s/90’s meant that cable television was a wild dream and the local ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS affiliates were my primary viewing options. As a teenager, most of the characters that I was given to identify with came packaged in comedies like Saved By The Bell and California Dreams or soap operas such as Beverly Hills, 90210. These shows, while entertaining to a degree, didn’t present teens with a realistic view of life.

Thankfully our friends to the north, specifically Kit Hood, Yan Moore, and Linda Schuyler, saw a need for a realistic program that tackled tough issues that tweens and teens faced on a daily basis. After Schuyler’s series The Kids Of Degrassi Street came to an end in 1986, Degrassi Junior High began airing in 1987. The series carried over a number of the actors from Kids and placed them in new roles. The series continued until 1989 when most of the kids moved on to high school. This gave life to Degrassi High.

Both series tackled many heavy issues that weren’t found on any other teen based series at the time. Degrassi Junior High took on teen pregnancy when one of the core characters, Spike (Amanda Stepto), became pregnant. She went through with the pregnancy and gave birth to a daughter, Emma, who would eventually be the character to bridge the series into 2001’s Degrassi: The Next Generation. The series also placed characters in situations involving child abuse, bullying, epilepsy, alcohol and drug abuse, and young romance, among other things.

Degrassi High dealt with many of the same issues as Degrassi Junior High, but on a much larger scale. Students dealt with racism, divorced parents, cancer, mixed race relationships, and abortion. Suicide was featured from the point of view of both the individual that committed the act and those left behind after the deed was done. As in real life, some of the teens made good decisions, but many of them made the wrong choice as well. They handled the consequences of their actions to varying degrees.

Of course, the series wasn’t entirely focused on turmoil. There were plenty of fun moments littered throughout the series as well. Many of these moments played out through the actions of Joey Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni), Archibald “Snake” Simpson (Stefan Brogren), and Derek “Wheels” Wheeler (Neil Hope). The trio formed a band known as The Zit Remedy and had one hit (at least on Degrassi Street). They often found themselves in awkward or silly situations that provided a much needed injection of humor in an otherwise very dramatic show. Another strong comedic source was the relationship between Alexa Poppadopolos (Irene Courakos) and Simon Dexter (Michael Carry). Simon did pretty much any and everything that Alexa told him to do. The pair would eventually marry on the show.

The series was responsible for a number of my earliest crushes including Spike, Caitlin Ryan (Stacie Mistysyn), Stephanie Kaye (Nicole Stoffman), Heather and Erica Farrell (Maureen and Angela Deiseach), and Michelle Accette (Maureen McKay). I also idolized a lot of the teen guys on the show, hoping to be as cool as they were in my opinion. I really identified with Snake’s awkwardness and the somewhat nerdy Yick Yu (Siluck Saysanasy) and Arthur Kobalewscy (Duncan Waugh).

Despite its sometimes controversial content (at least in the eyes of adults in the late 80’s), the series was wildly popular in Canada and became very successful in the United States thanks to PBS. When the series was given new life in 2001, fans of the classic series tuned in with just as much or more enthusiasm as did the younger demographic that the series was aimed at on television. Fans wanted to catch up with Joey, Snake, Wheels, Lucy, Spike, and Caitlin. Through Emma (played by Miriam McDonald in the new series), classic characters were tied to the new series and it went on to have a fourteen season run before spawning yet another series called Degrassi: Next Class.

Most of the cast members from Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High faded out of the spotlight once the series ended. Dayo Ade, who portrayed BLT in the series, has gone on to have a solid acting career with roles in everything from Lost to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Anais Granofsky, who played Lucy Fernandez, has had multiple supporting roles and works behind the camera as well. Stefan Brogren, Pat Mastroianni, Stacie Mistysyn, and Amanda Stepto all returned to the series with Degrassi: The Next Generation. Both Brogren and Stepto were regular cast members for most of the seasons, with Mastroianni and Mistysyn having recurring roles. Sadly, Neil Hope passed away in 2007. Estranged from almost all of his family and friends, his death wasn’t learned about by them until 2012.

Few shows had an impact on me as did Degrassi. I lived for the day to day lives of these teenagers, many who looked, acted, reacted, or dealt with issues just like I did at the time. The series was a trailblazer then and its impact can still be felt today. In all of television history, few shows were willing to take on the issues that this series tackled.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. I’ll have a few reviews in the near future and hopefully another Focus On feature. Did you watch Degrassi back in the day? If you did, let me know how you felt about the show and if it had an impact on your life in the comments section.

Outpost: San Antonio, TX

Remember The Alamo!

My family and I took a quick trip to San Antonio, TX a few weeks ago and, as always, the place didn’t disappoint us at all. We arrived late in the afternoon but had enough time to venture to the Alamo, where Texian and Tejano soldiers and numerous volunteers from the United States of America (of which Texas was not a part of at the time) bravely died defending their belief in a Texas free of Mexican control. Estimates of the actual number of those that died vary between 150 and 250 brave souls. If you’ve never been to the Alamo, I highly recommend visiting it at least once in your lifetime. It is a truly moving experience to visit this place.

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Outside of the front doors of the Alamo is a great monument to the defenders of Texas. It is a massive monument and does well to honor those that fought at the mission. Across the street are a number of stores, restaurants and tourist venues.

After a brief visit in downtown San Antonio, we headed to our hotel, the Hilton San Antonio Hill Country. I highly recommend staying in this hotel as it is located near SeaWorld San Antonio. It offers a shuttle to and from the park and also has nightly attractions for the entire family. You can roast marshmallows and make s’mores in the campfires located in the courtyard at night. You can also watch a family movie, play basketball, eat hamburgers and hot dogs, or swim in one of the three pools or relax in the jacuzzi. There’s also a restaurant on site and a gym with ellipticals, weight machines, and other exercise equipment. This is our favorite hotel in the area and have stayed here on multiple occasions.

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On our second day in San Antonio, we visited SeaWorld San Antonio. We rode all of the big coasters including the Steel Eel, the Great White, the Wave Breaker, and the Shamu Express. We watched a few shows as well. My personal favorite was the Beluga Whale/White-Sided Dolphin, and Macaw show, Ocean Discovery. I also enjoyed the Animal Conservation Center. There we got up close and personal with an owl and learned about animals that are cared for at the park that aren’t necessarily of the aquatic persuasion.

Since it was July, it was very hot at the park. Luckily we found the Chill Out Bar located next to the Great White roller coaster. The bar offered liquid nitrogen frozen ice cream and a number of cool adult beverages including frozen Jack & Coke. The best part of the bar is that you get to keep the cup that your drink is served in when you’re done! Oh, and it’s one of the few places in the park that serves drinks with straws. The straws are paper, though, and completely biodegradable.

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We also went to Discovery Point, located just outside of the entrances to SeaWorld San Antonio and Aquatica, the SeaWorld water park. There, visitors are given the opportunity to have experiences with dolphins, beluga whales, and sea lions. There’s also Explorer’s Reef, home to a number of sharks and exotic fish.

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SeaWorld San Antonio offers both education and fun. My entire family enjoyed the day at the park and plan on returning again in the future. There’s still plenty of things left for us to explore at the park, and I recommend allowing at least two days to really take in many of the attractions.

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We left early on Sunday morning after attending Mass at Prince of Peace Catholic Church near our hotel. We then made an unexpected trip back to Austin (but no sightseeing this time) and then headed home later that evening. Our trip naturally included a few stops at Buc-ee’s Travel Centers across Texas and when we got home, we immediately wanted to return to San Antonio.

As always, thanks for reading. I’ll have a post about the latest Hurricane Pro Wrestling event that I attended in Beaumont, TX in the very near future. I’m still hoping to check out Ant-Man and the Wasp and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom before they leave theaters, and I also want to see Teen Titans Go! To The Movies. If by some miracle of fate I get to see any of these films, I’ll post a review.

Throwback Thursday: Godzilla (1998)

Twenty Years Ago

Today’s edition of Throwback Thursday may not necessarily be a good memory for some of my readers. It features an infamous version of a beloved kaiju that was meant to be a tentpole franchise for TriStar Pictures. Sadly, the film was ripped to shreds by critics and fans had mixed reactions to the movie.

Godzilla has been a major part of Japanese culture since 1954. There have been multiple films about the giant lizard with atomic breath. In fact, there have been almost thirty films created featuring the King of the Monsters. In 1998, Hollywood took a shot at making their own version of the big lizard and bombed despite pulling in a profit on the film.

The film definitely had a few things going for it before its release. There was a massive marketing push prior to the film that gave potential audiences only a glimpse at Godzilla’s foot. Specific instructions were given to all of the marketing partners to not reveal the monster in its entirety. I remember being harassed by customers at Kay-Bee Toys (I was working there during the film’s release) who wanted a sneak peek at the beast. We had a bunch of merchandise on the shelves featuring the classic look of Godzilla as well as Mecha Godzilla, Mothra, and other popular kaiju. This only made customers want to see the monster even more. I had customers come into the store daily for a couple of weeks prior to the film’s release begging to see the new toys for the film. They were wasting their breath, as we didn’t get the toys in until the week of the film’s release and we weren’t allowed to open the boxes until after the movie’s release.

Along with the excellent marketing strategy, the film was under the guidance of Dean Devlin (writer/producer) and Roland Emmerich (director/writer). They were fresh off of the successful popcorn flick Independence Day and had two other popular films, Universal Soldier and Stargate, under their belts. The duo appeared to be unstoppable when it came to making blockbusters at the time.

The film also had a solid core cast that included Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer. It was also expected to be the film that launched Maria Pitillo into mega stardom but she instead received a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress. I’ve never seen why she was even nominated for the award. Her character was thin from the get-go and that wasn’t her fault.

The film’s supporting cast was also excellent. It included Kevin Dunn, Michael Lerner, Arabella Field, Doug Savant, and Nancy Cartwright. My personal favorite supporting actress in the film was Vicki Lewis. I fell in love with her in 1995 when I first saw her on the sitcom NewsRadio. I’ve actively sought out her work ever since. Eagle-eyed Degrassi High fans might even catch a glimpse of Pat Mastroianni, who is best known for his role of Joey Jeremiah from the Canadian teen drama.

The creature effects looked pretty good. They were primarily CGI with a few practical effects thrown in for good measure. The baby Godzillas in the film reminded me of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park. The destruction of the city was also a combination of computer and practical effects.

Despite having all of this going for it, the film was still panned by critics. They complained about everything from the absurdity of the story to the terrible casting choices (at least in their opinion). Moviegoers made the film a success, but it wasn’t enough for the studios to move forward with a second and third film as was originally planned.

For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the film. I tossed out everything that I knew and loved about the original Godzilla films and watched it for what it was: A Devlin-Emmerich Popcorn Flick. These guys were Michael Bay before Michael Bay was cool. All of their films have sleek productions and moments of awesomeness, but ultimately they are forgettable flicks that wow the eyes but do nothing for the brain.

I own the film on DVD. I watch it from time to time. I’m especially fond of watching it when it is raining outside and the temperature is slightly cool. I don’t know why, but it just feels right to watch the film in this fashion.

How about you? Did you enjoy this film or wish it would be banned from the planet? Let me know in the comments section. Oh, and if you happen to run into Vicki Lewis, tell her that I still have a major crush on her.

Thanks for reading. I’ll have an Outpost entry on my page in a few days and hopefully a review of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Ant-Man and the Wasp soon!

August 23, 1985

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Beaumont, Texas

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The Mariana Trench

Pros:

Cons

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Deep In The Amazon

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Pretty Much Everywhere

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Yo-ho!

The Cast

The Music

The Director

The Source Material

Conclusion

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Jump City

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Toronto, Ontario, 1980 Something

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Remember The Alamo!

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Twenty Years Ago

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