Ken's Alternate Universe!

Addictive Apples

Storybrooke, ME

I’ve been all over the place with my nerd viewing in recent months. I’ve bounced around from The IT Crowd (which I love and recommend) to multiple rewatchings of Star Trek, Star Trek Voyager, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, to shows like Luke Cage and Robotech. My wife, who rarely becomes passionate about any fantasy or science fiction programs, often had me watching Grimm with her. While I enjoyed the series, I never felt a need to continually watch it. In other words, I can view one or two episodes and I’m good for a few weeks. My wife is a rabid fan of the show, however, and has watched all of the seasons repeatedly.

Over the weekend we decided to watch a new (at least to us) series entitled Once Upon A Time. If you know me at all, you know that I am a huge Disney fan. I’m also a big fan of fairy tales. I really enjoy Disney’s take on fairy tales as well and don’t mind the liberties that the Mouse That Walt Built has taken with those wonderful stories. I do, however, find myself hesitant whenever a classic fairy tale is injected into modern times. After skimming the web for information on Once Upon A Time, I was a bit worried over what I might be getting into. Thankfully the show has been a very pleasant surprise.

Be Forewarned: This series has been out since 2011 and I’m playing catch up. Any post I make about this show from here on out will contain spoilers for all of the existing seasons. But don’t worry, I’m still on Season One, so I’m not going to spoil anything recent for awhile!

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The series starts with Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison, Kirk’s mom in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie) reuniting with her son that she gave up for adoption, Henry (Jared S. Gilmore). In Fairy Tale World, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla, Boomtown) storms into the wedding of Prince Charming (Josh Dallas, Fandral in the first Thor film) and Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin, Big Love) and casts a curse in which she’ll be the only person with a happy ending when their tales come to an end. This curse transports numerous popular fairy tale characters to Storybrooke, Maine, where they lose all memories of their former lives and live in a never-ending cycle of life under Mayor Regina Mills (the Evil Queen).

Sounds kinda silly, right? Stay with me here.

Henry shows up at Emma’s home and tells her that she is the key to breaking the curse placed on the people and beings of the Fairy Tale World because she is the daughter of Charming and Snow. According to a prophecy of Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle, Trainspotting, Ravenous, The Full Monty), Emma will return to break the curse on her twenty-eighth birthday. Emma doesn’t believe Henry and brings him home to his adopted mother, Regina Mills.

Henry tells Emma that no one can ever leave Storybrooke because of the curse and that anybody that does try to leave ends up having something bad happen to them. He also tells her that Regina only pretends to love him. Knowing how tough the life of an adopted or foster child can be, Emma decides to stay in town for a bit. She comes into contact with a number of characters in the first few episodes and we get to learn a little about each of them in our world and in the fairy tale realm. She eventually winds up as a deputy in the town under the watch of Sheriff Graham Humbert (Jamie Dornan, Fifty Shades of Grey), who happens to be the Hunstman that was sent to kill Snow White and bring her heart to the Queen.

With each episode, we learn that certain citizens of Storybrooke know exactly what is going on and that many others experience flashbacks to memories of their other life. Mr. Gold (Carlyle) is apparently fully aware of what is going on and makes deals with any and every citizen that becomes desperate in the town. He also manipulates Emma into running for sheriff and thus forcing Regina to run her own candidate. Of all of the characters in the show so far, Gold and Regina are definitely two of my favorites.

Another favorite is Dr. Hopper/Jiminy Cricket, portrayed by seasoned character actor Raphael Sbarge. Science fiction fans will no doubt recognize Sbarge from his time as a recurring character in Star Trek Voyager and as numerous other characters from TV and film in productions as varied as Independence Day, iZombie, Risky Business, and Pearl Harbor. This guy has been all over TV and film and his role as Hopper is excellent. He’s one of the first citizens other than Mr. Gold to stand up to Mayor Mills. He’s also Henry’s therapist, and has a strong bond with the boy.

Meghan Ory portrays Red Riding Hood/Ruby in the series. While she’s primarily nothing more than a source for information and eye candy for the locals, I’ve already looked ahead and know that her character has bigger things to come later in the series.

Josh Dallas’ Prince Charming/David Nolan hasn’t done much in the series so far, but that’s primarily because he’s been in a coma for most of the episodes in our world. He’s been really busy in Fairy Tale Land, though, managing to chase down the wrongfully accused Snow White and eventually fall in love with and marry her. He also slayed a dragon for King Midas (Alex Zahara) in order to bring Midas’ kingdom and his father’s together. I won’t reveal the twist in that particular story if you haven’t seen it yet.

In our world, David has only recently awakened from his coma and is struggling with feelings for Mary Margaret Blanchard/Snow White despite being married to Kathryn/Princess Abigail. He suffers from amnesia and is only beginning to discover his place in Storybrooke.

While the plot left me a bit hesitant at first, one cast member drew me in like a moth to a flame. I’ve always been enchanted by the lovely Ginnifer Goodwin since I first saw her in HBO’s Big Love, and she is the primary reason that I decided to give Once Upon A Time a shot. Her portrayal of a tough, smart, and quick-witted Snow White plays in wonderful contrast to her somewhat meek and caring Mary Margaret. She has quickly developed a strong friendship with Emma, and is only beginning to build her relationship with David. Her story has been very interesting so far, and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

I was entirely unfamiliar with Lana Parilla until seeing this series, but she has quickly become my favorite part of the show. Parilla plays bad at a devilishly good level. I love hating her, and am always surprised by how evil she can be. At one point in the series she physically dukes it out with Emma and despite all of her magical power in the other world, it’s this fierceness and jealousy-driven hate in our world that makes me love her so much. When I grow up and become the Evil King, I hope to rule just as bad as Lana Parilla.

The show overall is extremely fun to watch. There are a few moments were it becomes a bit disjointed, but the ship is usually righted before the end of the episode. I’m only ten episodes in, so I know that there’s a lot of story left to be seen. The CGI and practical effects are pretty good, with the CGI only faltering in a few spots. There’s a Disney purity that lingers over each episode, but there’s an adult tinge to it as well.

As each episode plays out, the story gives the viewer just enough of a taste of what’s really going on to want them to continue watching. That’s the sign of a truly good story, and considering the fact that this particular show is based on stories that have stood the test of time, that’s saying quite a lot.

I give it four poisoned apples out of five.

As always, thanks for reading. Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever watched this series and how much you like or dislike it.

Wanna Be Famous????

On This Very Blog

I’m sure that you are all aware that convention season is upon us. Last year was a bust for me as I only attended one convention (Louisiana Comic Con, which was awesome). This year I plan on attending a few more. I have definite plans to attend CyPhaCon in Lake Charles, LA and Louisiana Comic Con in Lafayette, LA. I also hope to attend Southern Geek Fest in Hattiesburg, MS and CoastCon in Biloxi, MS. Those two are pretty much up in the air at the moment, but I highly recommend attending them if you can. I’m also looking at attending at least one or two other smaller conventions in Louisiana and possibly Texas.

So why am I posting this and how will it make you famous?

Simply put: I want new material for my blog and want your help doing so.

In order to do this, I want to do a few one-on-one interviews in person with cosplayers, other bloggers, artists, authors, convention runners, super fans, and maybe a celebrity or two. If you happen to be any of the things that I just listed, I want to hear from you!

If you are attending any of the same conventions that I am going to and have a few minutes to kill, I want to talk to you. I want to know why you love to write. I want to know what inspired you to create your art. I want to know how long it takes for you to make your costumes. Get the picture????

If you aren’t going to be at a convention but happen to be fairly local to me (from Beaumont, TX to Lafayette, LA and north to Alexandria, LA), I’d love to hang out with you wherever you’d like to meet and talk about what makes you tick.

Last year I started my “Ten Burning Questions” posts and while popular, it became difficult to find participants. People enjoyed reading those posts, but only a few brave souls actually agreed to answer questions. By doing interviews in person, though, I hope to get a little more insight to the individuals that I interview.

If you are someone you know is interested in being interviewed, please shoot me a message either through this blog or over on my Facebook page here.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your help!

Shining “Bright”

Orcs and Elves and Fairies, Oh My!

Veteran LAPD officer Daryl Ward (Will Smith) is forced to partner up with the first Orc officer in the country, Nick Jakoby (the completely unrecognizable Joel Edgerton), and ends up taking on a Dark Elf and some bad cops in Netflix’s most expensive original film to date, Bright.

I first heard about this film on Netflix earlier this year. The streaming service heavily promoted the film and successfully grabbed my attention. Despite having a seemingly absurd premise, I impatiently waited for the December 22 release date to arrive and watched the film that evening. Something about the promos really grabbed my attention. Part of me wanted to see just how bad this film could be, but another part of me said that director David Ayer (Suicide Squad, Training Day) might possibly be able to make a decent movie out of this Max Landis (Victor Frankenstein, Chronicle) story.

I held off on writing this review because I also saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi during the same time period and felt that that film was a bit more important to blog about first. This decision allowed me to think about Bright a bit longer and it made me grow to appreciate the film even more.

Minor spoilers ahead, but nothing too surprising.

The story seems a bit silly on the surface. It’s essentially a buddy cop movie about the grizzled veteran (Smith) attempting to survive the day with his new rookie officer (Edgerton)…..who happens to be an Orc…..and Elves and Fairies also exist in this present world. All of the other cops on the force want Jakoby eliminated from his position, and when Jakoby and Ward stumble upon a magic wand and an Elf (Lucy Fry) capable of wielding it, other cops see it as a way to permanently remove Jakoby by killing him and taking the wand for themselves.

Things get even crazier when a local human gang also finds out that Jakoby and Ward have the wand and they give chase. Top that off with the fact that the owner of the wand, the sinister Dark Elf called Leilah (Noomi Rapace), is after them as well, and you’ve got all of the ingredients for a chase film sprinkled with humor that only the combination of David Ayer, Max Landis, and Will Smith can deliver.

Despite having a solid amount of humor throughout, this story is pretty dramatic. There are undertones of racism (from the cops, Orcs, Elves, and humans) and an Uncle Tom factor (the other Orcs hate Jakoby for trying “to be human”) in the film, but these elements simply play out in the background, being injected at moments in the film and then being pushed back while the main plot plays out. Landis could have written a grand social commentary about race relations, but decided to stick with a buddy cop film and it works very well. I’ve read a few reviews where people claimed that Landis squandered a perfect opportunity to address race relations with this film, but I believe that his intention was never meant to address that specific element, only to use it as a catalyst for the main plot.

The Elves in the film are seen as an elite race, being wealthier, more intelligent, and considered more attractive than the humans and Orcs. Fairies are relegated to being a subspecies that are pests and nothing more. This hierarchy plays into the film’s tale, as one of the protagonists, an Elf named Kandomere (Edgar Ramirez), comes across as a bad guy at first, but is really only interested in upholding the law. In fact, I’d say that Razmirez gives one of the best performances in the film.

The rest of the cast does an excellent job. Smith and Edgerton have excellent chemistry on the screen, and Edgerton does a particularly good job behind a ton of makeup. Lucy Fry spends a lot of the film rattling off Elvish until she finally trusts Ward and Jakoby. It’s at this point where we see that there’s more to her than meets the eye. Noomi Rapace eats up every scene that she’s in, commanding the viewer’s attention as she kicks, punches, threatens, and murders her way through Los Angeles. Her two primary followers (Veronica Ngo and Alex Meraz) provide plenty of action as well. Margaret Cho and Ike Barinholtz are excellent as bad cops out to get Jakoby by any means necessary. Happy Anderson channels a young John Goodman as Montehugh, Kandomere’s partner.

The film has excellent practical effects and an excellent soundtrack. It makes perfect sense that Cannibal Corpse would be a band that Orcs would listen to, so it comes as no surprise that their track Hammer Smashed Face is considered “one of the greatest love songs ever written” by Jakoby. It’s these types of light moments and nods that hold the film up between the heavier moments.

It doesn’t surprise me that the professional reviewers shot this film down. I’m pretty sure that their DNA is encoded with an anti-fun gene that forces them to hate any film that doesn’t have some great message attached to it……or they are a bunch of snobs.

There are better fantasy films out there, but for a fun weekend flick that’s actually pretty cool, give Bright a chance to shine. Ignore the critics, pop some popcorn, and enjoy this movie.

Thanks for reading my post. Let me know what you think about Bright in the comments section. I’ll be posting again real soon!

The Force Is Middle Of The Road With This One

In A Galaxy Revisited

2017 has been a good cinematic year for geeks, nerds, and pop culture addicts. Logan, Wonder Woman, Alien: Covenant, Kong: Skull Island, Justice League, and Spider-Man: Homecoming are just a few of the films that graced the silver screen this year. Heck, even Netflix delivered with its most expensive film production to date, the Will Smith vehicle called Bright (which I highly recommend). But of all of these films that we’ve been offered this year, none of them were as highly anticipated as Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

When we last visited the Star Wars trilogy of trilogies, Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) set out to find Luke Skywalker, Han was murdered by that no good, tantrum throwing Kylo Ren, and the First Order lost their shiny new Starkiller Base. Finn was almost killed by, you guessed it, that bratty Kylo Ren, and Mark Hamill made more money with one stare than you or I will ever make in a lifetime.

Which leads us to The Last Jedi.

(Note: Spoilers are coming, but not before my general review.)

The film opens with the Resistance in shambles and the First Order hot on their trail. The Resistance has run out of almost everything and are hoping that Rey and Chewie return with Luke Skywalker, their “only hope” for victory. As the film rolls along at a much slower (but intentional) pace than every other film in the Star Wars universe, Finn and a new character, Rose, head out to find a code breaker to complete their subplot mission while General Leia tries to hold the rebellion together long enough for Luke’s return. Poe goes full wildcard on his friends in another subplot and Kylo Ren reaches out to Rey in the hopes to show her just how powerful she can be with him at her side while she attempts to get trained by Master Skywalker.

As I said before, the film moves at a very slow pace when compared to the other Star Wars films, and I can see where this might turn off some of the fans of the previous films. There are also some actions taken by certain characters (I’ll get into this more in the spoiler section) and by the director, Rian Johnson, that I can definitely see as things that would sour the opinion of loyal fans of the galaxy far, far away.

But with that said, there’s a whole lot to like about this film. For starters, when the action does get going, it rolls full throttle. There are three distinct sequences in the film that were simply amazing to watch. A fourth sequence brought out the detective in me as I tried to decipher what was really going on.

For old schoolers like myself, seeing Carrie Fisher on the screen and knowing that she’s gone meant that I held back tears almost every time she appeared on screen or said anything as did seeing her with Billie Lourd, her daughter. One scene in particular hit me very hard, and I thought that it would be the end of our princess in the film.

Speaking of death in the film, Rian Johnson did an excellent job of making myself and others seriously doubt the safety of a lot of characters. That’s one of the best parts of this film in my opinion, as I never truly knew who was safe and who would be pushing up galactic daisies by the end of the film.

I also really enjoyed the addition of Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran to this film. I had doubts about both of them before seeing the film, but Tran really surprised me and Dern gave what was possibly the best performance in the film.

The returning cast did solid jobs as well, but I felt that John Boyega’s Finn and Oscar Isaac’s Poe were kind of forced into the script, as the actions of their characters (at least in my opinion) didn’t really amount to anything when the credits rolled. That’s not to say that either actor did a bad job in the film, I just wish that they would have been given more substantial parts in the movie.

Overall, Star Wars: The Last Jedi just seemed to be off balance for most of its run time. There were extremely wonderful peaks and deep, divisive valleys throughout the film, and one character’s actions in particular seems to have ripped the veil in the religion that is Star Wars. What’s funny is that this particular piece of Star Wars controversy didn’t bother me that much, but I’ll get to that soon enough.

The Last Jedi is definitely worth watching, but check your preconceived notions of what shoulda/coulda/woulda happened at the door. A lot of people love the film and just as many hate it. The rest of us are in the middle wondering how the next film will resolve all of the open-ended bits and pieces of this film.

That’s my general review. Below this photo of General Hux, Kylo Ren, and Captain Phasma are my views on specific and very spoiler-infested aspects of the film. Keep reading if you’ve seen the film. STOP if you haven’t watched The Last Jedi yet!

Last Warning!!! Spoilers Ahead!!!

The Last Jedi was definitely interesting to watch. The ending, which gives us a very much alive General Leia Organa, makes me wonder how her role will be played out since Carrie Fisher can no longer play the role. Was Leia’s death scene already filmed for the next movie? Perhaps she was supposed to die in place of Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) but they decided to shelf her death for the beginning of the next film. If so, that’s going to be gut-wrenching for fans like myself that could barely hold back tears when Fisher was on the screen.

Speaking of holding back tears, in the moment where Holdo decides to pilot the Raddus into Snoke’s ship at hyperspeed and she and Leia stumble over “May the Force be with you,” I legitimately shed a couple of tears. To me, that is the point in the film where Carrie Fisher truly said goodbye to her fans. I kept waiting for her to turn around and tell Holdo that she should take her place, but that never happens. I had a similar feeling when the Resistance evacuated Crait. I assumed that Leia would walk out to talk with Kylo Ren in one last attempt to save him and/or her brother, Luke, but that never happened. This more than anything makes me hungry for the next film.

I was also completely disappointed with Benicio del Toro’s role as DJ in the film. His character was completely useless in the film. Hopefully he’ll get a little more action in the next movie. The whole Canto Bight (casino planet) sequence where Finn and Rose meet DJ was not needed in my opinion. I understand that this little side adventure will most likely lead up to “a new hope” thanks to the young rebels inspired by Rose and Finn, but ultimately the only thing that this part of the film did was give Finn a reason to face off with Captain Phasma for (possibly) one last time. I really hope that this isn’t the last we see of Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), but I have my doubts about her ever returning.

In my opinion, Captain Phasma is the biggest waste in not only The Last Jedi, but in The Force Awakens as well. She towered over Finn in their battle but much like Boba Fett (and possibly intentionally like Boba Fett) did in Return of the Jedi, she went out like a chump. Gwendoline Christie deserved better in this trilogy, and I hope that she somehow managed to survive The Last Jedi.

I can’t say enough about Laura Dern’s performance in this film. I immediately assumed that she was either A) a plant for the First Order that was intentionally making bad decisions for the Resistance, or B) Supreme Leader Snoke. Seriously, there were multiple times in the film where Dern’s face made me question her true intentions. I was sad to see her die in the film, because her acting chops knocked everyone else out of the galaxy. I’ve also had a major crush on Laura Dern since I saw her in Jurassic Park, so my opinion might be a little biased. My goodness, how beautiful is that woman??????

Another high point of the film for me was Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico. Seeing her in all of the promotional material and in action figure form, I assumed that she would become what toy collector’s call a “peg warmer,” one of the characters that everyone tolerates but doesn’t really like and whose action figure will be found all alone on the peg long after the popular figures are gone.

Tran did such an excellent job with the role despite being included in a throwaway subplot with Boyega’s Finn and their escape sequence was one of my favorite in the entire film. Oh, and the two other sequences that I hinted at in my general review included the battle between Rey, Kylo Ren, and the Elite Praetorian Guard (the dudes in red around Snoke), and the “battle” that takes place between Ren and Luke Skywalker.

Speaking of that battle, when Kylo screams out for the First Order to hit Skywalker with everything and then Luke knocks a little dust off of his shoulder after the attack, I knew that something was definitely up. Sure, Luke was a powerful Jedi, but nothing like his father or even Obi-Wan Kenobi. Based on the films alone (and not on any of the old EU novels), Luke’s use of the Force extended to blowing up the first Death Star. Vader held back in the hopes that Luke would join him and ended up having to kill the Emperor himself when Luke refused to turn to the dark side. Also take into consideration that Luke had attempted to detach himself from the Force because of his screw ups, and I was left wondering if Luke was a Force ghost already or doing some high level astral projection stuff.

The battle with the Elite Praetorian Guard deserves to be right up there with some of the greatest cinematic lightsaber battles in Star Wars including Kenobi versus General Grievous, Kenobi versus Anakin Skywalker, and Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn versus Darth Maul.

Now, one thing that seems to bother a lot of people about this film is how Luke attempted to murder Kylo Ren before he could turn to the dark side. This particular plot point didn’t bother me that much. Yes, when Luke is telling the story, I got a bad feeling at first, but when he’s almost finished with the story and comes to his senses just a tad bit too late, I can absolutely believe that he’d doing something like that. Remember that Luke made a lot of quick decisions in the original trilogy, and other than his refusal to use his guidance system and rely on the Force to to destroy the Death Star, they often proved to be bad ones (investigating the Sand People, checking out a meteorite just before it’s quitting time on Hoth, leaving Yoda’s training to help his friends, flying along with the Rebellion to Endor, etc.).

I didn’t buy Kylo’s version of the story at all, nor did I buy his explanation of Rey’s parents being nobodies. Of all of the new characters introduced in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, though, Kylo Ren has become the most interesting. I absolutely believe that he wants to join forces with Rey, but he’s definitely not above lying to her to get what he wants. I also believe that he’s leaning more and more to the light and that Rey shows a little dark side potential.

I also think that Snoke might still be around. Remember that if Luke is powerful enough to project his image across the galaxy, Snoke might be able to as well. This could lead up to Kylo Ren and Rey joining forces to defeat him or Rey turning to the dark side and Kylo Ren turning into the hero I’d really like to see him become. Who knows? The Last Jedi was an imperfect mess, but it left myself and a lot of other people with some very intriguing questions.

As always, thank you for taking time out to read my post. Let me know how you felt about the film in the comments section or give me your own theories about what might happen next.

May the Force be with you!!!!

Ho! Ho! Horror!!!!

“Slay” Bells!

Netflix is a funny thing. I often find myself cruising through the films and shows that are provided for my enjoyment and know right away which ones I am going to skip and which ones I’m going to watch. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched and re-watched episodes of The IT Crowd, Cheers, and Stranger Things. I watch a lot of films more than once as well (I’m looking at you Moana and Metropolis). But every once in awhile a film or show catches my eye that’s a little bit intriguing. Films like The Babadook and The Daughter Of Dawn and shows such as Orange Is The New Black aren’t necessarily on my radar, but when I see them, something makes me want to watch them. Sometimes these shows are great and sometimes they completely suck.

A Christmas Horror Story, a Canadian thriller that was released back in 2015, happened to catch my eye one evening while trying to find something new to watch. I’m already a fan of Krampus, another Christmas thriller released in 2015, and seeing Santa Claus taking on Krampus in the preview image piqued my interest. Digging deeper, I found that the film featured a ton of Canadian actors…..including William Shatner, Captain friggin’ Kirk!

I decided to give the film a go, especially since knowing that with Shatner in it, I was either going to be surprised at how good it turned out or have a good laugh since he is known for doing many things tongue-in-cheek. I’ll get to his performance a little later, but let’s get into the film.

A Christmas Horror Story is actually four stories directed by Grant Harvey (Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning), Steven Hoban (producer of Ginger Snaps and Splice), and Brett Sullivan (Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed). The Ginger Snaps films are actually some of my favorites, so it doesn’t surprise me that that I enjoyed ACHS for the most part. Each story could stand alone, but they were tied together by certain elements and characters such as Krampus, Santa Claus, and a murder that happened at a local school.

The film opens with Santa Claus checking on his reindeer. He’s bloody and looks like he’s been through the ringer. There’s a massive knock on the stable door and then Santa yells, “Who’s there?” Then we cut to Dangerous Dan (Shatner) talking about how much he loves the Christmas season at a local radio station. Shatner’s role in the film is small, but his banter with characters off screen and his constant Christmas updates are actually very key to the film. I won’t ruin anything, but be sure to listen carefully to Shatner whenever he’s on screen.

The stories are intertwined throughout the film. In other words, you get a few minutes of each story and when things get a little intense, the action moves to one of the other stories. This actually hurts the film in my opinion, with the exception of the resolution of the final story. There’s a steady build up each time and then the viewer is whisked away to one of the other tales, cutting any tension that was built to zero.

The first story in the film features three high school students (Zoe De Grand Maison, Shannon Kook, and Alex Ozerov) who sneak into their school to investigate two brutal murders that happened a year ago. We see a video of a cop (Adrian Holmes) going over what he and his fellow officers found at the crime scene. This cop will be explored more in one of the other stories. We’re also introduced to Caprice (Amy Forsyth), who is part of another story in the film.

The three students manage to get themselves locked in the basement of the school and face off against a ghost. The story follows standard “Boo!” scares and is, at least in my opinion, the least enjoyable story. Again, no spoilers, but the ending of this tale left me wanting.

The second story in the film is much creepier. The cop we are introduced to early in the film (Holmes) takes his family trespassing in order to find the perfect Christmas tree. Nothing says “Happy Holidays” like going on private property and pilfering the perfect pine, right? After cutting down the tree and walking back to their truck, the family’s young son, Will (Orion John), goes missing. The cop and his wife (Olunike Adeliyi) frantically search for Will and do eventually find him hiding in a tree, but he’s changed….a lot.

Will begins to act out at home. He stabs his father’s hand at the dinner table with a fork, watches his mother take a shower, and does a few more things to amp up the creep factor. The rest of the story finds the family attempting to figure out what is wrong with Will. Adeliyi shines in this particular story, but all of her excellent acting proves to be fruitless with the weak conclusion to this chapter of the film.

The third tale is one of the best ones in my opinion. In it, we join the aforementioned Caprice journeying with her family to visit her Aunt Etta (Corrine Conley). While visiting with their aunt, Etta highly recommends that they go back home as soon as possible. Her caretaker, Gerhardt (Julian Richings), is particularly anxious for them to leave. Before they hit the road, however, Caprice’s brother, Duncan (Percy Hynes White), manages to break a statuette of Krampus and Caprice steals a little something for herself. Gerhardt becomes visibly annoyed by the family, and they end up leaving in a rush.

They get into an accident and (as any “smart” person in a horror film would do) decide to cut through the woods to go back to Etta’s house. Duncan is taken by something in the forest. Caprice and her parents end up in an old church and believe that they are safe on sacred ground. They aren’t. Krampus shows up and attempts to take out the family. As Krampus deals out punishment, Caprice makes a mad dash to her aunt’s home. A twist is thrown into the narrative at this point, and it’s this twist that makes watching ACHS worth the mediocre school tale and the creepy kid story with a bad resolution tale.

The final story in this quadrilogy features Santa (George Buza) taking on undead elves. The elves manage to infect Mrs. Claus (Debra McCabe) as well, and Santa goes on a killing spree. He has a feeling that Krampus is the cause of all of the chaos, and the film reaches its climax when Kringle and Krampus face off. It’s a fa-la-la-la-fight to the death….and one more twist that ties everything up neatly with a pretty Christmas bow.

Is A Christmas Horror Story worth a look? Yes, but probably just one or two looks. Unlike the Ginger Snaps series of films, I don’t see myself repeatedly watching this movie. I will say that the Krampus creature and the undead elves look great, and the elves are pretty funny with their foul mouths and violent actions.

Everyone in the film does a decent job, with Adeliyi being the only real standout cast member. The action and horror was good but not great, and the music did its job. This film doesn’t deserve to be on any naughty lists, but it doesn’t deserve a Nintendo Switch under the tree either.

As always, thanks for reading. If you’ve seen any excellent Christmas horror flicks, let me know in the comments.

Have a Merry Christmas!!!

My Geeky Christmas List!

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaaaaah!

I am not ashamed to admit that Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the music, the cheesy Hallmark movies, the gaudy decorations, and all of the wonderful smells that range from the pine of the Christmas trees to the cinnamon of the cookies baked for the holidays. I also love the smell of frankincense that fills my church for Advent as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Oh, and I love presents, giving and receiving them, as well!

I also enjoy making a Christmas wish list. I have one over on Amazon (but I’m not shallow enough to link it on this post) that my friends and family use as a guide for picking out a gift for me. I also have one that includes things that aren’t always attainable in this world, such as peace for all mankind, warm food and shelter for the homeless, and at least one gift for every child in the world, no matter how big or small it may be.

For this post I’m going to be making a Geeky Christmas List. Feel free to list any of your own wishes in the comments section below, and let me know what you think about my list as well!

First off, I hope that the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series will be at least as good as the last few. From what I’ve read so far, the team’s dynamic will be changed. How? Raphael will be the leader in this series and Leonardo will have a “rebellious heart” (whatever that means). It looks like Donnie and Mike will remain basically the same characters. Look for Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to hit Nickelodeon next fall. I haven’t seen any artwork for the new series, but it will supposedly follow a more traditional animation style similar to the original 1980’s cartoon. Here’s a look at the logo:

My next wish is that I hope that the upcoming Black Panther film (February, 2018) will bring back a more serious tone to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the latest Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy flicks laying on the humor to annoying levels (at least in my opinion), I hope that T’Challa and the people of Wakanda cut back on the comedy a bit and focus on getting some serious work done. After all, it’s the last move before Avengers: Infinity War hits the big screen (May, 2018). You can’t tell me that Marvel will make Thanos’ attempt at conquering everything a buddy comedy, right? Let’s hope that it’s pretty serious as well.

My next wish is that the upcoming Aquaman film (December, 2018) proves to be a success similar to this 2017’s brilliant Wonder Woman. 2017’s other DC film, Justice League, appears to be somewhat divisive among fans and critics. I personally enjoyed it, but professional critics (and a lot of fanboys) attacked it for its CGI, what they saw as a disjointed plot, rushed story, and, my personal favorite, too much humor. Let’s hope that Aquaman can bring fans and critics together once again. Jason Momoa looked good as Aquaman in the JL film, and gave a nice balance of grit and humor to his character. I believe that he has enough charisma to carry a film on his own, so here’s hoping for a successful cinematic run for Arthur Curry.

Another wish that I have for Christmas this year is that The Walking Dead finds its mojo when it returns for the second half of season eight. With an “all out war” promised at the end of season seven, fans haven’t been offered much in the way of actual conflict. Sure, the season opener featured an attack on the Sanctuary by the Kingdom, the Hilltop, and Alexandria, but it was nothing more than a drawn out action sequence. There have also been character developing episodes that focused on Negan, King Ezekiel and Eugene, but unlike similar episodes in the past (and I know that I’m in the minority when it comes to enjoying these types of episodes), something is missing this time around. At the end of this weekend’s episode, I was completely ready for Eugene to die. He annoyed the fire out of me! Let’s pray that the mid-season finale amps things up and that it will carry over into the second half of the season next year.

My next wish is a selfish one. This year I was only able to attend one sci-fi/pop culture convention. While I really enjoyed my time at Louisiana Comic Con, I sorely missed getting to visit with my friends at CoastCon, CyPhaCon, and Southern Geek Fest. Wizard World has lost my interest thanks to crazy crowds and absurd pricing. I’d much rather stick with the smaller conventions where I can actually here myself talk to other people. Hopefully I will make it to at least one of my favorite conventions this year.

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My list continues with a wish that is really all on me. I hope to catch up on all of the shows that I have fallen behind on over the last couple of years. I’m way behind on Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Gotham, and Doctor Who. Peter Capaldi’s run as the Doctor turned me off to the show, but with a new Doctor on the horizon, I’ve decided to give Capaldi another chance and have started watching that show again. As far as the rest of the shows go, I just need more time. Between work and life, I don’t have time to sit down and binge watch shows like I want to.

I’m not a very big fan of anime, but I do enjoy watching it every now and then. With Batman Ninja coming soon, I hope that it is better than the last Batman anime that I watched, 2008’s Batman: Gotham Knight, which is an anthology of six anime shorts. I didn’t really care for any of the shorts that much, even with Kevin Conroy voicing the Dark Knight Detective. The trailer for Batman Ninja was released in October of this year, and included a peek at a few of the villains that Batman will face, including the Joker and Gorilla Grodd.

Something else that I’m wishing for this year is a truce between Marvel and DC Comics fans over the films, the cartoons, and the comics of each series. I highly doubt that this will happen, but a boy can dream. I enjoy both Marvel and DC’s offerings for different reasons, and while I might be a hardcore DC fan, I won’t automatically dislike any Marvel work just because it’s from Marvel. Let’s all work together to make this wish come true!

Speaking of comics, my next wish is that the Doomsday Clock series from DC Comics is good. I haven’t read any of the DC Rebirth stuff yet (I’m still reading stories from the New 52), but I’m very intrigued by the combination of the Watchmen and the rest of the DC Universe, specifically the interaction of Superman with Dr. Manhattan.

A project that I’ve been waiting on for some time is about to come to fruition. It’s the topic of my next wish, which is that I hope that the screen adaptation of Steve Alten’s first MEG book is successful. I loved the first three books in Alten’s MEG series about Jonas Taylor and his adventures squaring off against Megalodon sharks. The first book, MEG, is probably my favorite, but I also love The Trench.

The film is supposedly coming out in August of 2018. It has been green-lighted, halted, restarted, etc. since the 90’s. The version that is coming out next year will star Jason Statham (Snatch, Revolver, The Expendables) and Li Bingbing (The Forbidden Kingdom). I’ve never been a fan of Statham’s work, but I’m hoping that MEG is more than just another action yarn in the deep blue sea.

Star Trek makes it to my wish list this year as well. I haven’t watched Star Trek: Discovery other than the first episode that aired on CBS Television and probably won’t see it until it comes out on Blu-ray and the fan series Star Trek Continues ended last month, so I don’t have a whole lot of new Trek content to look forward to except possibly reading a Trek book or comic. My wish is that CBS and Paramount come to their senses and loosen up the tight reins they’ve placed on fan produced shows. Star Trek Continues was a brilliant show and it will be sorely missed. Don’t let the good guys suffer for the actions of a greedy few. I guess I’ll just watch some reruns of classic Trek until something new comes along.

My final wish is that all of you have a Merry Christmas. I’ll probably do at least one more post this year for the upcoming Star Wars film, and possibly an End of the Year review. Until then, I want to say that I appreciate each and every one of you that read my posts. May all of your Christmas wishes come true!

It Will Continue In Our Hearts

Second Star To The Right

Star Trek Continues is one of my favorite Star Trek productions, professional or fan-created. If you are a regular reader, you know just how much I love this show. If you’d like an idea of just how much I love STC, read my old post here.

This particular post isn’t a happy one. Nope, it’s very sad. STC has ended its run and I don’t know what to do. Vic Mignogna and company have crafted what I believe to be the greatest fan production of any series ever and now it is done. The show’s finale, a two-parter entitled To Boldly Go ties up the original series and connects it to Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I won’t spoil it, but know that it is a tearjerker in more ways than one. It was emotional for me because it signals the end of the series, but many of the things that happen in this particular episode made me cry as well. You can check it out as well as all of the other episodes at this link.

I’m proud to have been a supporter of and donor to this series. I genuinely believe that everyone involved put their heart and soul into the production and it shines through with each episode. The attention to detail is mind blowing. The costumes are perfect. The music fits right in with the music from the original series. The sets are bright and alive. Each episode leaves me wanting more.

The show also has an excellent cast including Mignogna as Captain Kirk, Todd Haberkorn as Mr. Spock, Chuck Huber as Bones, Chris Doohan as Scotty, and Kim Stinger as Uhura. New characters were also added to the series including Dr. McKennah (Michele Specht), Lt. Smith (Kipleigh Brown), and Lt. Drake (Steven Dengler). The addition of these and other characters only adds to Star Trek’s legacy.

The series also has a long list of excellent guest stars that includes Clare Kramer, Lou Ferrigno, Gigi Edgley, Amy Rydell, Fiona Vroom, and Michael Forest. The Enterprise even channeled Doctor Who with guests such as the sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, and Nicola Bryant, who happened to play one of my favorite Doctor companions, Peri. I could go on, but you should check out the entire cast for yourself here.

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I truly will miss Star Trek Continues. As I’ve stated in previous posts, I’ve met many of the cast and crew and none of them have disappointed me. They care not only for Star Trek, but the fans and friends that have followed their journeys aboard the Enterprise. I wish all of them nothing but success in their future endeavors.

As always, thanks for reading. Be sure to check out Star Trek Continues and also check out the work of Hannah Barucky, whom I completely stole my featured image from (which was edited by James Kerwin) for this post. I purchased one of her prints awhile back and you should too. All other photos were taken from random interwebs sites.

Live long and prosper!

Justice For All!

Mother Boxing The Critics

I saw Justice League on its opening weekend. I waited for over a week to put my thoughts on the film in a post for a few reasons. For one, I wanted to see what others thought about the film first. I knew how I felt, but opinions seemed to be so mixed right out of the box that I wanted to see if I might have missed something in the film. I also knew that there would be fanboys on both sides of the comic and/or movie spectrum screaming about how much DC sucked and Marvel ruled and vice versa, and I wanted those folks to vent as much as possible to see exactly what their pros and cons were about the movie. Finally, it was the Thanksgiving holiday and I just felt like waiting a bit before revealing my thoughts.

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My short review is this: Go see this movie. If you are a fan of the Justice League or any of the characters in this film, go see it. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but it is definitely a wild ride and my second favorite comic book based film from this year. Wonder Woman was tops, with Spider-Man: Homecoming coming in third and Thor: Ragnarok way back in fourth.

This film has some excellent action, well-developed characters (especially considering the run time), a decent dose of humor, and more Easter eggs than you can shake a stick at. As usual, DC injected plenty of hints, winks, and name drops that only their comic book readers will catch, but none of that takes away from the enjoyment of the film for the general crowd.

Go. See. It.

My longer, more in depth review follows. A few spoilers might pop up, but nothing too major.

So what makes Justice League such a cool film to check out on the big screen? Here are my pros plus a few cons that may turn some away.

Pros:

The Heroes: Say what you want, but it just doesn’t get any bigger in the comic book world than Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg. The Holy Trinity of Comics coupled with three awesome characters that are just as excellent in their own right means that you’re going to see some excellent action on the screen. Ben Affleck is the best Bat since Michael Keaton, and this is coming from a man who literally talks in Christian Bale Batvoice when he goes to conventions. Gal Gadot has become the face of Wonder Woman for a whole generation. Henry Cavill is given a little more room to breathe in this film despite having less camera time than his friends. He’s a bit more lighthearted and a lot less grumpy (except when he’s freshly resurrected, but I don’t blame him there). Ezra Miller brings a ton of laughs to the film as the Flash/Barry Allen, and I have a feeling that he actually might be the breakout star of the film. Jason Momoa chews through the scenery as Aquaman/Arthur Curry. I initially had doubts about him, but all of my worries were put to rest after seeing him in the film. Ray Fisher portrays Cyborg/Victor Stone with a bit of reservations (intentionally) at first, but as he comes to accept what he is, he opens up to the rest of the group.

The Action: There is a lot of action in this film. From our heroes fighting each other to taking on Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) and his parademons, the action is as big as you’d expect from such larger than life characters.

The Supporting Cast: In all honesty, the supporting cast didn’t have a lot to do in this film, but they all gave solid performances. Amy Adams has gotten better as Lois Lane. Diane Lane is always reliable as Martha Kent. Jeremy Irons gets in a few solid laughs as Alfred, and new addition J.K. Simmons (comic film fans know him as J. Jonah Jameson from the Tobey Maguire Spidey flicks) does a solid turn as Commissioner Gordon.

The Plot: The plot is very basic. An evil force is coming to take over the world and Batman and Wonder Woman know that they can’t defeat it alone. They gather up some super friends and take on the big bad, Steppenwolf. I was glad to see that WB and DC somewhat simplified the story line. In my experience with these recent DC films, they culled a lot of their material from the books (which is a good thing in my opinion), but dug a bit too deep for the general public and comic fans that don’t read DC to keep up.

Cons:

The Lack Of Certain Heroes: As big and bombastic as the group was, a part of me missed characters such as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, J’onn J’onnz/Martian Manhunter, Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, and Captain Marvel/Billy Batson (or for you New 52 and beyond folks, Shazam). There are hints at the Lantern Corps (but I’m not spoiling it), but I really missed all of these guys. Captain Marvel is getting his own film sooner or later, and I hope that this means that he’ll eventually join the League.

The Rushed Resurrection of Superman: While the way that Superman is brought back makes sense in the film, it seemed to happen entirely too quick. Plus, the end of Batman V. Superman hinted that Superman was going to be able to rise on his own, but I guess that was tossed away in the build up to this film.

The Film Length: Clocking in at just under two hours, this was the shortest new DC film so far. Was it due to Joss Whedon’s involvement? Maybe Zack Snyder was told to cut back because so many people said that BvS and Man of Steel were too long? I don’t know, but I do wish that a little more time was given to develop the story. Still, it’s not enough to deter me from watching and enjoying this film.

What others are saying

I’ve seen a ton of gripes, compliments, complaints, and glowing reviews about certain aspects of this film on the web. One of the biggest gripes is the CGI used for Steppenwolf, Superman, and Cyborg. While I can definitely see the reasoning behind the gripes over Superman and understand why many disliked the CGI on Steppenwolf, I don’t get the CGI hate for Cyborg. I thought that they did an excellent job with that animation.

Superman’s chin looks wonky in a lot of scenes and downright terrible in others, but it doesn’t take away from the film in my opinion. Neither does the appearance of Steppenwolf. I’ve seen CGI characters in other films that looked a lot worse than Steppenwolf, but hardly anybody griped about them. He could have looked better but, again, his appearance didn’t take away from the film.

Another major gripe (and this came from a lot of Marvel fanboys) is that Steppenwolf was a boring villain. Apparently the folks griping about this have never watched any Marvel film that didn’t feature Loki (as the main villain), Vulture, the Winter Soldier, or Ego. Ronan, Hela, Obadiah Stane, Mandarin, Malekith, Red Skull, Whiplash, Justin Hammer, Aldrich Killian, Ultron, etc., etc., while all (for the most part) excellent villains on the page, were reduced to one dimensional characters in their respective films.

Of course, there’s always criticism of Batfleck. You already know my opinion of Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight Detective, but many people believed that the violent aspect of the character was dialed back in this film and I have to agree with them. Batman actually got in a couple of excellent one-liners and I must admit that while refreshing to see him lighten up a bit, I missed the excessively grumpy, head-bashing Batman we saw in BvS. Part of me has to wonder, though, if some of the people griping about the lighter Bat in Justice League were the same people that griped about the Bat being too violent in BvS???

There was also some praise on the web for the film as well. A lot of it, rightfully so, was pointed at the performance of Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa. Both of those guys did excellent jobs in the film. Miller was the main source of comedy in the film, and his wide-eyed gaze brought both a childlike wonder to the character and a lighter tone to the film in general.

Aquaman, long the butt of many jokes in pop culture, was portrayed as a gritty loner with a big heart by Momoa. The character’s attitude was definitely culled from Geoff John’s New 52 version of Arthur Curry, and I’d love to see someone make fun of Aquaman in front of Momoa now and see what happens to them!

Final Thoughts

Again, it’s the Holy Trinity of Comics and three other legendary DC characters in a film that’s opening wide the door to the arrival of Darkseid. Why wouldn’t you see this film? Danny Elfman’s score was solid (and resurrected my favorite Batman theme), the action was nonstop, and it whets the appetite for more. Go see this film. I promise that you’ll enjoy it.

Oh, and if nothing else, check it out for the scene where Flash realizes that Superman can see him in the Speed Force…..and those two scenes in and after the credits!

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I Went To A Thor Movie….

And A Comedy Broke Out

Marvel has done it again. Made an excellent film, you say? No. Did an excellent job of promoting and hyping a film that turned out to be less than expected? Yep.

That’s not to say that Thor: Ragnarok is a bad film. It’s just not as great as I hoped it would be and is ultimately a stinker in my opinion. As they did with the last Guardians of the Galaxy film, Marvel used excellent teasers, trailers, and promos to spark interest in the newest Thor film. They even paid big bucks to Led Zeppelin in order to use their legendary Immigrant Song in the film (something that, in my opinion, should have been done with the first Thor film).

When I finally laid eyes on the movie, though, I realized that Marvel pulled the ol’ bait and switch on me. Ragnarok looked and sounded much cooler in the promos than it actually was in its full form……just like Guardians, Vol. 2.

thor-ragnarok-trailer-nfl-opening-night — L-R: Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki.

I so desperately hoped that Marvel would finally get a Thor film right. Captain America was one for three (Winter Soldier was excellent, but Cap’s other films were ho-hum) and he and Thor are my favorite Avengers. Their first films seemed rushed in order to get to the big Avengers film in my opinion, and their debut solo films suffered for it. With Ragnarok, I thought that Marvel might finally have a grasp on a true cinematic version of the God of Thunder.

thor-ragnarok-header — Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

The film definitely looked good on paper. The return of Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, and Tadanobu Asano as the Warriors Three, Idris Elba (Heimdall) and Anthony Hopkins (Odin), meant that there would be some solid acting from the core cast. The new additions of Cate Blanchett (Hela), Karl Urban (Skurge), and Jeff Goldblum (Grandmaster) gave me confidence that I could expect some decent villains. I wasn’t familiar with Taika Waititi’s work on film, but I knew his direction and writing from Flight of the Conchords, and that left me feeling good about him at the helm. Writer Christopher Yost gave me a tad bit of pause, considering the fact that he penned the screenplay for Thor: The Dark World, but I was glad that someone with theatrical ties to the characters was at least a part of the film. He’s also written for a number of animated shows including Star Wars Rebels and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The only real wild cards for me were actress Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie) who I was not at all familiar with and the writing duo joining Yost, Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle. Pearson is best known for his work on Agent Carter, which seems legitimate enough, but Kyle is primarily known for his work on Marvel’s animated films and television shows which are very lackluster for the most part. I’ll talk more on the writing and Thompson later.

Valkyrie-Ragnarok-Thor — Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie.

Mild spoilers ahead!!!!!

The plot of the story takes place roughly two years after the events in Age of Ultron. Thor finds himself at the mercy of the demonic Surtur (voiced by the always brilliant Clancy Brown) who has plans to unite his crown with the Eternal Flame stored deep within the vaults of Asgard in order to trigger Ragnarok, the end of everything. Obviously Thor escapes, steals the crown, and heads back home to restore his father to the throne. He outs Loki as the false Odin and then the duo find their father (with a little help from a “strange” friend) exiled on Earth. Odin tells the pair that he is about to die and that their older sister, Hela, the Goddess of Death, will be released from her prison and will put Ragnarok into motion.

When Odin passes, Hela immediately arrives on the scene, destroys Mjolnir, and chases Thor and Loki across the Bifrost Bridge, successfully tossing them both out of the Bridge’s path. Thor ends up on Sakaar, where he is captured by Valkyrie and sold to the Grandmaster as a gladiator. Loki also crashes on Sakaar, but uses his charms to win the favor of the Grandmaster. Thor fights Hulk in an epic battle (one of my favorite scenes in the film) and they eventually reignite their friendship.

thorragnarok-hulk-gladiator2 — Hulk gets ready to pound Thor into a pulp.

thor-ragnarok-le-grand-maitre-et-valkyrie — Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster.

At the same time, Hela has taken over Asgard, selected Skurge as her executioner, and is trying to hunt down Heimdall, who has stolen the sword from the Bifrost Bridge and is thus preventing Hela from leaving Asgard in order to begin her domination of the universe.

Thor-Ragnarok-Glowing-Eyes-Lightning — Thor getting lit.

Back on Sakaar, Thor has convinced Valkyrie, Loki, and Hulk to team up with him and battle Hela for Asgard. He has also freed all of the gladiators, including Korg (voiced and motion captured by Waititi), who starts a rebellion against the Grandmaster (something that he has planned for a long time). Thor and company then steal one of the Grandmaster’s ships and fly through a wormhole dubbed The Devil’s Anus in order to quickly get to Asgard. A big battle ensues, people die, lots of lightning and thunder, etc., etc. You’ll have to watch the film in order to find out the rest.

PROS:

The cast: As expected, the established actors in their roles were excellent. The writing derailed three of them, though, and I’ll get to that later. I can see no one else as Thor besides Hemsworth. The same goes for Hiddleston as Loki, Elba as Heimdall, and Hopkins as Odin. The new cast members were hit and miss. Tessa Thompson did a fine job as Valkyrie. I hope that her character is fleshed out a bit more in future Marvel installments. Karl Urban did a decent job with what he had to work with, but the writing hurt his character as well.

The action: The action sequences were fast, well executed, and surprisingly full of violent deaths. Much like her brother Loki, Hela has a penchant for throwing blades at her opponents. The size of the blade varied depending on her mood. We also got to see Thor really thunder and lightning things up, which I missed in the other films. This is the first PG-13 Marvel film that I would consider cautioning parents with small children about. Despite no blood, there’s a lot of violent death.

The music: The music set the tone of this film perfectly. Mark Mothersbaugh perfectly scored the film, injecting just the right amount of suspense, humor, or whatever else was called for scene by scene. Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin is used sparingly, which is a good thing, but used at just the right moments when needed. There are a few other nice musical Easter Eggs dropped in for the sharp listener, but I don’t want to spoil them here.

CONS:

The writing: More than anything, this film’s writing derailed it at every turn. I’m all for injecting humor into a film, but cracking nonstop jokes while people are dying all around completely breaks any and all tension in a scene. I won’t name specifics, but there are quite a few times whenever a character throws in a joke at the worst moment (and no, it’s not Loki every time).

Speaking of Loki, he’s terribly written in this film. Yes, I know that he’s the God of Mischief and I also know that the character has been a go-to for injecting humor into the multiple films that he has been a part of, but making him no more than a gag-a-minute funny man really depressed me. Loki deserved better, as did Cate Blanchett’s Hela, who delivers a couple of terrible one-liners herself.

Hulk is reduced to a giant toddler. Much like Loki, he’s given a lot of opportunities to throw in humor at inappropriate times. Did anybody writing this film realize that it’s about Ragnarok……the end of everything……as in everybody and everything dies…..forever??????

Thor loses a bit of his swagger in this film as well. He’s supposed to be unsure of himself, but Thor’s ego always comes through in every situation. Hemsworth has to tromp through forced humor as well.

The varied levels of strength: No one seemed to be able to set a limit to Hela’s power in the film. Early on she crushes Mjolnir like it’s an afterthought. Later in the film, when she’s supposedly stronger, she takes a beating from Thor, amazingly recovers, and Thor is suddenly unable to beat her. There’s also an army of the dead that enters the battle (no spoilers as to who they are) who are seemingly hard to stop but fall to pieces at the business end of a pair of M-16’s from Earth.

Jeff Goldblum: I know that I’ll get more hate than I can shake a stick at for this, but Jeff Goldblum was annoying in this film. I love the guy in pretty much everything else that I’ve ever seen him in, but his portrayal of the Grandmaster was too much. Basically take everything that made Goldblum’s Ian Malcom cool in the Jurassic Park films away, inject a heaping dose of his insecure David in Independence Day, and top it off with Goldblum’s over-the-top real life persona and you have the Grandmaster. Goldblum can be hilarious, but he irked me to no end in this film.

Cate Blanchett: Again, this will probably draw a lot of hate mail from my three readers, but I just didn’t buy Blanchett as Hela. I was hopeful that Marvel finally lifted their dull villain curse with the wonderful Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but they proved that the curse is alive and well with Hela. Despite being all powerful, she was dull. Bad writing really hurt Blanchett’s performance, but there were times where I would look at her and see a “Remember the size of the check you’re cashing. Just chew your way through this and get back to good roles later” look on her face.

In conclusion:

Thor: Ragnarok failed to add anything memorable to the MCU. Goldblum was annoying, Blanchett appeared to just be walking through the scenes. Sif (Jaimie Alexander) wasn’t even in the film.

Yes, it’s definitely action packed and chock full of sophomoric humor that seems to be spilling from an ever-growing wound in Marvel’s writer corral, but if this is the future of the MCU, I don’t have very high hopes.

Please, Marvel, if you’re reading this (and I know you aren’t), get better writers. Lay off of the Whedon-inspired humor a bit and give us a meatier story. You literally took one of the most apocalyptic battles in comic history and turned it into a buddy comedy. It was definitely noisy and teetered on Technicolor brightness, but it ultimately turned into a pile of forgettable fluff. Please give Thor a better story. Please????????

Thanks for reading, folks. I’m chapped about this film and I think it’s pretty obvious that I am. If you have a differing opinion (and I know somebody does, because I’m definitely in the minority on this one), let me know in the comments. Feel free to share this with friends and family, too. I want their opinions as well.

Stranger Things Part Deux

I blew it

Yes, last month I promised all three of my readers that I would be blogging every single day for the month of October. I planned on watching at least one horror film per day and then reviewing it or an aspect of the film, a character, actor, etc. I made it thirteen days in and then I missed day fourteen. I blew it. Day fifteen came and went (and I even watched films to blog about) and that quickly turned into day twenty, twenty-five, and then Halloween showed up. I’m sorry for dropping the ball, gang, but life and laziness got in my way.

With that said, however, I did watch a ton of horror flicks (that I didn’t blog about) and the second season of Stranger Things. I really enjoyed the first season and had high hopes for season two. Other than one episode, season two was great. I’m hungry for more!

A few mild Season Two spoilers lie ahead! Season One will definitely be spoiled if you haven’t seen it yet.

Season Two of Stranger Things opens with a quick look at a young lady named Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) who possesses mental powers and a tattoo similar to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her gang as they enjoy a little criminal activity in Pittsburgh. We are then transported to lovely Hawkins, Indiana where our four heroes, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Will (Noah Schnapp), are getting back to a somewhat normal life minus their friend and savior, Eleven. It has been almost one year since the events of Season One, and after seemingly sacrificing herself to the Demogorgon, the boys assume that Eleven is either dead or lost in the Upside Down. Mike repeatedly tries to make contact with her, but with no success.

Faithful viewers know that at the end of Season One, Hopper (David Harbour) is seen leaving Eggo Waffles and other food in a container in the forest near the lab. In Season Two we learn in the first episode that Eleven is alive and well and being hidden by Hopper in his grandfather’s old cabin.

We’re also introduced to a couple of new characters in the form of Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery from the recent Power Rangers film) and his stepsister, Maxine “Mad Max” Mayfield (Sadie Sink, Blue Bloods, American Odyssey). Billy plays the big bad that provides trouble not only for his sister, but for last season’s “started-off-as-a-jerk-but-became-a-cool-guy,” Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). As the new girl, Max is viewed by Lucas and Dustin as a potential new member to their group, especially when they find out that she has beaten Dustin’s top score on Dig Dug.

Nancy (Natalia Dyer) feels terrible that she can’t tell her friend Barb’s parents about what really happened to Barb (Shannon Purser) during the events of Season One. She dogs Steve about it but he’s afraid that something bad could happen to them if they expose the truth. After telling him off, Nancy teams up with Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), to take on the lab and gets an assist from a humorous conspiracy theorist (Brett Gelman).

Will’s mom, Joyce (Winona Ryder), has fallen for her old classmate and perpetual nerd, Bob Newby (portrayed by 80’s legend and Lord of the Rings actor, Sean Astin). He goes out of his way to normalize life for the Byers family, usually with goofy results. I was suspicious of his character at first, but he proves to be a loyal companion not only to Joyce, but to Will as well. Be sure to watch for a few winks and nods to some of Astin’s classic 80’s roles.

Paul Reiser, known for successful films such as Aliens, Beverly Hills Cop I & 2, and Diner, as well as the highly successful sitcom Mad About You and the somewhat successful My Two Dads, portrays Sam Owens, who has assumed direction over the Hawkins Laboratory. I really liked his character in this series. Reiser has always been one of my favorite actors, and he knocks it out of the park in Stranger Things.

Another character introduced this season that deserves mention is Lucas’ little sister, Erica (Priah Ferguson), who doesn’t have a lot of screen time but completely steals every scene that she’s in during the season. I hope that we see more of her in the future. She was hilarious!

Eleven quickly becomes tired of being cramped up in Hopper’s cabin and repeatedly asks him to let her explore the outside world. Fearing for her safety, Hopper denies each request. After one too many broken promises, Eleven starts to venture out on her own and soon finds her real mother (Aimee Mullins). This leads Eleven to discover that she has a “sister” who shared a room with her at the lab. This girl is Eight, or Kali, and Eleven sets out to find her.

Kali (center in the picture above) has the ability to create visions in the minds of anyone that she faces off against. When Eleven finds her, they form an uneasy bond. Eleven is glad to find someone else like her, but doesn’t agree with the shady operation that Kali is running with her friends (Kai L. Greene, Gabrielle Maiden, Anna Jacoby-Heron, and James Landry Hebert). In a very Yoda moment that is ripped almost directly from The Empire Strikes Back, Kali shows Eleven how to channel and focus her powers to move an eighteen wheeler much like Luke attempted to free his X-Wing from the swamps of Dagobah. While Luke failed due to the distraction of his friends being in danger, Eleven succeeded. Like Luke, she also left her “training” to help her friends in need.

The episode where Eleven finds her “sister” completely derails the season for a moment. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand why Eleven needed the guidance of Kali, but it just seemed like the episode was shoehorned into the season. I didn’t completely buy into Kali and her gang. They seemed too over the top and unbelievable even though they were based off of standard street thugs common in 80’s films. That’s saying a lot considering the fact that this series also features an Upside Down world, Demogorgons, and a girl that can rip you apart with her mind. The episode broke the rhythm established by every other episode in both seasons, and it’s my least favorite episode so far.

While all of these events are going down, Will is experiencing “episodes” where he briefly breaks into the Upside Down (not intentionally) and then pops back. These “episodes” get worse as the season plays out, and he is eventually taken over by them. His situation is what draws Eleven back to Hawkins, but I don’t want to spoil what’s going on with him just yet. This season is still too fresh and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone that hasn’t seen it.

Mike feels like an outsider in his own group. He can’t find Eleven and doesn’t like the fact that Lucas and Dustin have allowed Max to infiltrate their group without consulting him first. He’s also extremely (and rightly) worried about Will.

Lucas falls for Max, but so does Dustin, which puts some tension between them. Lucas also suffers at the hands of his little sister, whom I’ve already mentioned. He and Dustin eventually get over their squabble about Max and with her and Steve set out to help Will. Again, I won’t give away too much so as not to spoil anything.

Oh, and Dustin raises a Demogorgon in his bedroom. He finds a “puppy” in his trash can and secretly keeps it in his room. As it quickly grows, it becomes a “demidog,” or young version of a Demogorgon. You’ll have to watch the series to see what happens next.

One character that I want to bring special attention to is Steve Harrington. Considered a big jerk for most of Season One, Steve finds himself in a state of limbo at the beginning of Season Two. Despite still being considered a couple, friction over the death of Barb and what to do about it creates a divide between him and Nancy. With the arrival of Billy Hargrove, Steve is no longer the top dog on the basketball team or with the ladies. He basically ends up as an outsider who ends up in a friendship with Dustin due to the events happening with the rest of the core Hawkins kids.

Steve comes to realize that Dustin looks up to him and takes on the role of a leader. Does he have all of the answers? Absolutely not. Like most of us, he figures things out as he goes along, makes great decisions, makes terrible decisions, but does it all with the intention of helping the ones that need him. Dustin needs Steve’s guidance with girls. Max needs Steve to stand up for her whenever Billy tries to stop her from seeing Lucas. Dustin, Lucas, and Max need Steve to stand between them and sure death when a pack of demidogs attack. Steve stepped up big time this season, and it shows us that Joe Keery is an excellent actor. He took a run-of-the-mill character that could have easily fallen into the background and made him one of the best characters on Stranger Things.

The guy is a hero. We all need a Steve in our lives.

Thanks for reading. I hope that I haven’t spoiled too much for anybody. I highly recommend watching this season of Stranger Things as well as Season One.

Go out there and find your Steve!

Storybrooke, ME

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“Slay” Bells!

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Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaaaaah!

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I blew it

A few mild Season Two spoilers lie ahead! Season One will definitely be spoiled if you haven’t seen it yet.

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