Category: childhood nostalgia

Ash vs Evil Dead: Was it Worth the 23 Year Wait?!

Well last night was the night, the wait was finally over, twenty three years after the release of “Army of Darkness” we were given the first episode of the sequel television series “Ash vs. Evil Dead”! It seemed like an eternity and to be quite honest I was never fully convinced we’d ever see Bruce Campbell return as his iconic character Ash Williams. I’m a huge fan of the original trilogy, this was a bit like seeing Harrison Ford return as Indiana Jones back in 2008-it kinda gave me the chills. Yeah Ash is that legendary to me and countless others. So after a rip roaring near perfect trailer for the show the question must be asked was it indeed worth the wait?!

The answer is a solid you betcha! The first episode was awesome and it was truly an incredible moment really seeing Bruce return to his legendary role. He didn’t miss a beat and I’ve gotta say Sam Raimi did quite a nice job directing the pilot episode. We even got a longer run time as well clocking in at around 40 minutes or so. This first episode “El Jefe” didn’t have one dull moment and did a excellent job of giving a bit of Ash’s history once again with the Book of the Dead, while oddly not mentioning any of the events from ‘Army of Darkness’. This is only due to the fact they don’t have the rights to that movie as it stands, and can’t make mention to it in the show because of legal issues. But still that’s fine, us fans all know it clearly happened and the version of Ash we’re getting here is a direct continuation of the Ash we all fell in love with in Army of Darkness.

We notice he no longer works at “S-mart” and instead a similar place called “Value Stop” but after 23 years it’s totally plausible that he made a serious career move(in reality another problem with legal issues from AoD). What made this all even better though is now we really get to know just who the hell he really is. He’s not just simply some smart ass with a chainsaw hand, we get to see what a normal night in the life of Ash is really like. We get to see where he lives (surprisingly similar to My Name is Bruce), where he hangs out, his work life and just how much the guy  likes to party down. This tv series idea was the perfect way to really humanize Ash and I’m pumped to see how this all plays out for him and his new companions.

The episode wasted no time with any B.S. and really jumped head first in the blood, guts and comedy galore. We get a nice introduction to several interesting supporting characters and subplots as well, all so far played pretty straight and serious. We also got some scares, most delivered with real fright behind them. We’ve got a pretty seriously freaky world with our bumbling anti-hero smack dab in the middle of the mayhem. Well done. As far as action and gore go the first episode gloriously delivers that classic frantic 80’s Raimi style. Bruce is definitely giving it his all and it’s clear he knows it’s finally his time to shine in the spotlight again! So we’ve got a neat, simple plot that’s turning into one hell of a road trip adventure. Perfect. I can’t wait to see the next episode!

The special effects were also pretty fucking awesome, we got a ton of blood and some really excellent make up for the new Deadites that appeared. Much of it really did feel like an extension of the original movies. However I was bit surprised to see the amount of CG used on the show. My only real gripe with it was the shoddy digital effects used. The doll scene in particular had some downright horrible CG and we got more digital blood and gore than I would ever want near anything Evil Dead related. I just knew Raimi wouldn’t be able to resist.

Give me puppet or some stop motion animation instead any day of the week. I only say this because it detracts a bit from the tone of the original and honestly if you’re going to CG some shit in 2015 it better look good. But alas, in the end though it delivered on all cylinders and then some proving the charm of Bruce Campbell just cant be contended with. Here’s a series that I’m gonna find a way to see every week, it was a bit of a dream come true. Nice work Mr. Raimi I honestly didn’t think you had it in you….   

Kick Don Bluth in the Butt and Kickstart The DRAGON’S LAIR Movie!!!

Yes! It’s such a pleasure to do a blog post that I really am totally hyped about these days! This morning I got wind of the brand spankin’ new Kickstarter page for Dragon’s Lair: The Movie and this is something I’ve always wanted to see since the 1980’s.

First let me state that Don Bluth was responsible for my favorite animated movie of all time, The Secret of Nimh, a movie from 1982 that still easily holds up today against the mass produced CG animated movies which have flooded the market. If you’ve never seen it you’re missing out big time. Anyway a year later in 1983 we got quite a surprise in the Arcades, when Dragon’s Lair was released-it was the first hand drawn animated video on the scene and it was a true wonder to behold. Yes the 1980’s were a wonderful era.

 

I know many people these days don’t even remember what a video game really arcade is, but back in the 80’s it was the place to be. We’d head off to the mall on a saturday afternoon and spend hours there playing video games and then maybe catch a movie afterwords. Ahh, yes, those were the days. I would spend hours watching my brother play Dragon’s Lair and besides it being a very difficult game it was, for me, just fun to watch the incredibly inventive action sequences & adventure unfold before my very eyes. Dragon’s Lair was total eye candy, I was never very good at it myself but I loved it.

So here we are in 2015 and (the now retired from animation) Don Bluth is being challenged by fans to make Dragon’s Lair into an old school style animated feature film via Kickstarter!! The good news is that Don Has officially accepted the invitation. Bluth started out working as an animator with Disney in 1971 having films like Robin Hood & The Rescuers under his belt, he later left and started his own animation company.

So fans we all need to support this venture, get a full on Don Bluth revival going on here, How amazing would it be to see a classic animated Dragon’s Lair feature movie? Who knows maybe if this happens we could get him to do a ‘Space Ace’ movie!!!

I’ve really been missing those classic hand drawn animated feature films, they had so much damn character, I think the world just might be a little better place if we could get this one made, check out the Kickstarter Page right HERE-let’s head into the Dragon’s Lair again!!   

Please Don’t Bring Darth Vader Back from the Dead!!

We’ve all heard the rumor mill this week about all things Star Wars all the damn time 24/7. To be completely honest I’m trying to avoid as much of all that as I possibly can-I would really like to see Episode 7 without knowing the whole damn plot and every one of it’s secrets ahead of time! Remember when you used to see a movie and it was a total surprise? Now days every website is trying cash in on spoilers & rumors on our favorite movies. However when I saw the rumor posted that Hayden Christensen is in training to return as Darth Vader in Episode 8 I couldn’t resist.

I’m really hoping that this is just one big fat lie. Not because I dislike the prequels (which I totally do) but I really think it’s time to let go of good ol’ Lord Vader. Yeah he was an amazing villain, one of the best, most iconic of all time. But let’s face it his story has been told and his demise was perfect, bringing him back from the dead would only diminish how important his role was in the entire saga!!

It’s a “do it merely to cash in” move that puts pleasing the fans above a compelling story. Let’s face it too, Darth Vader IS dead! We even saw George Lucas replace Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Chistensen’s version of “ghost” Anakin back in his “improved” version of Return of the Jedi.

I’m also totally ok with bringing back Actors like Ewan Mcgregor to play Obi-Wan Kenobi in spin-off flicks. So no I’m not just prequel hatin’! Let’s move forward with Star Wars, keep little bits of the old but we really are fully capable of having a new villain again who’s just as potent as Darth Vader!  I mean I’d like Hayden to get one more chance to really redeem himself in the role – But what do you think? You want to see Darth Vader back from the dead in the flesh? Could they do it tastefully?

Ahhh the 1980’s When You Could Call Freddy Krueger on the Telephone?! Those Were the Days…

There’s been a lot of talk lately about another rebooted Nightmare on Elm Street flick getting ready to be made, hell we’ve even had Robert Englund telling us he thinks it’s going to be a “Dream Warriors” remake. Well you know how I feel about it, just get Robert Englund back as Freddy dammit! What’s the problem Hollywood are you all braindead?!

Anyway thinking about good ol’ Fred got me thinking about the old 1980’s and how when you got bored on a Saturday night you always had the option of giving the dream demon himself a call on the telephone! Yep that was thing back then call up Freddy and have him tell you some scary ass stories! Of course I never actually called, but I always wanted to!! So I checked on Youtube and sure as shit there were the commercials! 1-900-909-FRED! Yeah he really was always there for us teens back then!!

Oh yeah and in the 1980’s Freddy even appeared on Dramarama records! Whatta guy!

In the 60’s “Cookie Man” Protected the Earth’s Cookies From Evil Greedy Puppet Monsters!?!

One thing i love is an old vintage commercial! Here today we’ve got one from the 1960’s for Chips Ahoy cookies that features the original superhero Cookie Man in all of his glory! I love that he protects cookies from all the evil weird ass puppet monsters of the world! Those monsters are truly things of nightmares!! Damn! Check it!

Vintage Star Trek Mego Action Figures! Plus the History of Mego!!

I was walking to work today and passed by a giant tree with a huge bulbous moss covered root system and all around it were a bunch of action figures set up, no kids there playing just the action figures hiding out. For a split second I was transported back to simpler times when I was a kid and the highlight of my life was playing with awesome action figures all day and running around outside trying to find the coolest places for them to adventure! Ahhh to be a kid, how wonderful it truly was.

Well I decided to check out some action figure commercials on Youtube and came across this awesome collection of Mego Star Trek Action Figures commercials. As I watched them I imagined all of the cool spots today that I could play with these guys. Check this out:

Yep, I played sooo much with Mego Action figures they were my favorite and so naturally i found it incredibly awesome that someone had mad a Youtube video about the history of Mego!! If you were as a big a fan as I was then this will be pretty interesting for you as well. There is a reason why they are still called the world’s greatest action figures!!

Pulse Pounders: Lost Sequels To Charles Band’s Classic Horror Flicks!

I know there’s a select group of people who probably actually care about the films of Charles Band, but to me he’s a legendary dude in the scheme of cheezy horror flicks of the 80’s! So I’m thrilled myself, just to find out about this lost movie called “Pulse Pounders” which was filmed way back in 1987 and has never really seen the light of day! This flick is an anthology, consisting of three tales of “terror” one being an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Evil Clergyman starring Jeffrey Combs, the next being a sequel to the movie “Trancers” and the last being a sequel to one of my favorite ridiculously awesome movies of the 80’s The Dungeonmaster which stars Richard Moll & W.A.S.P…….yeah the metal band!

Now the first two segments were actually already released, the Lovecraft tale was released on dvd in 2012 (I have not seen it yet) and the Trancers one was released in 2013. However the segment I’m most excited for has yet to see the light of day, perhaps saving the best for last?

Anyway if you have not seen The Dungeonmaster I highly recommend hunting that down and watching it with plenty of booze and a good group of friends. It’s the perfect party flick. Don’t believe me check this out:

So the movie is planned to be released in it’s entirety on the Full Moon Streaming site, as far as I know it hasn’t been featured there yet but this news which may be old news to some of you has got me quite excited! It’s a rare treat when you find out that a movie that’s been shelved for over two decades gets a real release. In this case a movie I never even knew existed. Supposedly the company set to release the movie folded back in the late 80’s. So hopefully this will be worth the wait! 

Iron Maiden RETURNS & Eddie Goes to an Evil 80’s Arcade in Their New Video!!

Iron Maiden is the best metal band of all time and they’re back with a new album ready to drop! “Book of Souls” will be out on September 4th of this year and I’m totally pumped for it! I’m even more pumped to see them live again as they’re easily one of the best live bands out there despite the band forming way back in 1975. These guys have more spastic energy than most bands in their twenties and blend a good amount of amazing theatrics into their live shows. So now Maiden returns, a band not guilty as selling out or changing their sound like bands like Metallica remain guilty of doing. Nope Maiden has kept their sound true for the most part their entire career. 

They’ve got a brand new song called ‘Speed of Light’ that just so happens to haveT cool new video to go along with it. This one’s a classic style Iron Maiden power metal anthem! They’ve still got the metal magic so check this one out as their mascot ‘Eddie’ decides to hit the arcade and literally ends up being sucked inside of the video games!! I’m so pumped on this!!

Who Should Star as Freddy Krueger in the Next ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Reboot?!

It seems these days Hollywood really isn’t all that interested in making good movies when it comes to our pop culture icons. Instead of giving the people what they really want they’ve continuously tried to give us all what THEY think we want. So it’s no surprise that they’re going to give us yet another go round at “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. The 2010 film was a failed attempt to modernize the story and give it to a whole new younger generation. The film was total bore and featured a new actor as Freddy Krueger. It came and went really without anyone giving a shit about it. Now it’s time again to try and revive the franchise which lead to the question of who’s going to wear the legendary glove? I’m fairly certain it’s NOT going to be Jackie Earle Haley, who did an ok job trying give Freddy a new spin. Still the fans were not happy with the flick. However fans of the franchise do clearly know what they want in A Nightmare on Elm Street and it ain’t a new actor playing Freddy!

So let’s just get this out of the way. Let’s not kid ourselves Hollywood. You want a successful new Nightmare on Elm Street movie? One that’s going to excite people? You want to make a big deal out of it? You want social media to go nuts about it? You of course want to make BIG money more than anything else, because we all know that’s what it’s really all about for Hollywood right? Well then listen up you greedy cash hogs to this here rather unimportant trivial little blogger who’s an actual real fan of the movies. It’s simple, get ROBERT ENGLUND back.

You don’t need a younger more hip actor to play Freddy. Nope. The people that wanna see this movie want one thing. The real Freddy. Englund is NOT too old for the role. Let’s face it his face is covered by latex it doesn’t matter if he’s 85 years old. People want the real deal. Have you really payed attention to what JJ is doing with Star Wars? Case closed. Robert Englund should be Freddy. You already know the answer to success here, don’t fuck it up again.

R.I.P. Rowdy Roddy Piper!!

Some sad news hit us today as we have just learned Roddy Piper Passed away unexpectedly today from cardiac arrest. Roddy was a legend as a wrestler and also as an actor, starring in some of my favorite popcorn flicks like ‘Hell Comes to Frogtown’ and ‘They Live’.

Piper was only 61 years old too and from what I understand has several movies set to be released and a few he was still working on. One I’d been most excited for is ‘Portal to Hell‘ which I covered here a while back as well as a few other movies in post production ‘The Chair’, ‘Green Fairy’ and ‘Betting on Baker’ which I’m going to have to do a little investigating on now.

He also this year, had a cool graphic novel released Rowdy ‘Roddy Piper: Monster Killer’ that I need to check out and also his popular podcast called Piper’s Pit he’s been doing for quite some time now. So a sad moment as he was a legend and had so much more to offer us all. He was a big part of my childhood as my favorite pro wrestling villain of all time! You’ll be missed Roddy! Check these out for some classic Piper! The first one is pretty awesome, the pilot for the TV show “Tag Team” which a lot of people never even knew existed!