Universal Dork

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  • Movie Review: ‘The Mind’s Eye’ Is Early 90’s Movie Mayhem!

    I checked out the ‘The Mind’s Eye’ the latest feature film from up and coming horror director Joe Begos last night and it was well worth the seven bucks spent on Googleplay for the rental. As I mentioned in a recent post it’s been described as the perfect sequel to Cronenberg’s classic “Scanners”. I’d say that’s a great description of what you’re in store for with The Mind’s Eye. The movie set in 1990 certainly feels like it was indeed made back then and set in the same Scanners universe. It’s a mean, gritty little movie that’s packed with exploding heads and gore a plenty. There’s no comedy mixed in either which is nice when a director is taking some chances delivering a no B.S. action movie on a low budget.

    It follows two people on the run from a sinister government organization who’re hellbent on weaponizing the their telekinetic powers. The movie’s over the top villain, a normal man who’s figured out how to harvest their powers for his own however is hot on their trail along with a gang of goons ready to be torn to pieces. It’s a simple plot and maybe not the most original concept as the movie clearly borrows from ‘Firestarter’ & Brian De Palma’s ‘The Fury’ but you know what? That’s totally ok-because ‘Stranger Things’ was amazing and really a just a full on rip off of similar movies as well. We’ve also got Graham Skipper back in the lead who previously starred in Bego’s first flick ‘Almost Human’ along with Larry Fessenden in the role of his father. I never tire of seeing Larry show up in my horror movies, he’s a great addition to this one as well though his role is quite brief.

    The cool thing about this movie is that it really does feel like it’s been plucked from the late 80’s. Begos uses his effects wisely and nothing that he does feels like it would have appeared in a movie after 1990. You won’t get any CG here everything is done by way of practical effects making everything feel way more organic and real world. While not being a better movie than Scanners (But better than it’s many sequels) it certainly feels like a lost sci-fi/horror movie from the era, one that you might be hunting down today for a rare vhs copy of.

    As cool as all this is there are points in the movie where you’re hoping for the psycho-kinetic battles to go a bit farther than they did. Begos doesn’t give you much new to chew on here and I was hoping a few times for things to get a bit more batshit crazy towards the end. Perhaps if Begos was given a bigger budget he’d have been able to expand on the genre rather than keep it evenly at bay. Either way if you come in it not expecting anything more than a cool ass movie that feel like it was made back in 1990 you won’t be disappointed. I’ve a feeling we’ll be seeing Joe Begos rise to the top of the horror genre in the next few years, I’ll definitely be there again for his next movie.

  • Hunt For The Wilderpeople and You’ll Find the Year’s Best Comedy!!

    Last night I saw one of the best movies of 2016, Hunt for the Wilderpeople is comic genius. Let’s not waste anymore time this summer talking about big bloated comedies like the new Ghostbusters. Hunt for the Wilderpeople not only delivers the laughs but also has a huge heart. You’d really expect nothing less to from Taika Waititi who’s brought us incredible comedies like Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in Shadows. Starring one of personal faves Sam Neil who brilliantly costars along side equally brilliant new comer Julian Dennison who’s absolutely gut-busting in his role of a young troubled preteen who’s sent off to the wilderness of New Zealand to live with his new foster parents.

    From this point on the movie is jam packed with comic brilliance as some unfortunate events send him and his new “uncle” (Sam Neil) on an incredible journey into the Wilderness. The locales of their adventures are completely stunning as well and there’ never a dull moment between the two of them as they play off each other in so many ways. 

    It’s really been a while since I’ve seen a movie as enjoyable as this in so many ways. Now let me also say the movie is not all a warm snuggly package. It also delivers it’s fair share of tears, thrills as well as some surprisingly exciting action sequences. There’s a great sequence involving a giant wild boar that’s pretty amazing as well. Julian Dennison is fully on top of his game here as the heavy set wannabe self proclaimed “gangsta” kid who does pretty much anything he wants when ever he wants he’s paired up with the gruff and tumble Sam Neil, who plays a crafty backwoods survivalist who becomes hell bent on disappearing into the woods.

    Neil and Dennison though are not the only ones who bring the laughs, the rest of the cast as well, the actual “hunters” are a riot as well. A truly well rounded cast of comedians. We’ve got a great story of healing and adventure set in the breathtaking deep woods of New Zealand that will leave you smiling for days after viewing. Don’t miss this awesome movie if you get the chance to see it on the big screen you won’t be disappointed. Easily one of the best comedies & movies of the year so far…

  • Best of VHS Box Art: It’s Alive!!!

    Here’s a favorite of mine that fully succeeds in the creepy concept of “less is more” for one hell of a scary ass movie cover! Yeah “It’s Alive” is a pretty cool ass little monster movie all the way back from 1974. The cover here has always stuck with me as we get the creepiest baby crib scene of all time. This crib merely features the clawed hand of the Davis baby, that pesky little infant creature who no matter how much killing it does is still fully loved by his parents ’til the end. The movie itself delivers the chills and the Davis Baby is brought to life in an incredibly realistic way via some wicked practical effects, especially being that it was 1974 it’s pretty dang impressive. A truly awesome & effective cover that still gives me the creeps today….

  • The Mind’s Eye: The Scanners Sequel You’ve Been Waiting For?!

    Here’s something to check out this weekend, a brand new release if you’re craving something on the retro side of science fiction horror. The Mind’s Eye is the second movie from Joe Begos and it looks like another winner. I dug his first movie “Almost Human” which was neat little alien flick that also had that retro 80’s vibe to it part Invasion of the Body Snatchers and part Fire in the Sky. Now we’ve got his undenialble homage to Cronenberg.

    Borrowing a more than it’s fair share of Scanners, boasting a lot of exploding heads and psychic warfare this movie sounds like a damn good time for a Saturday night. Add to all that another awesome movie poster (Almost Human had a great one too) and some Larry Fessenden to the cast – This one is on the top of my list of new Horror and was just released yesterday for a limited theatrical run and VOD!

     

     

     

  • Comic Cover of the Week: John Byrne’s Classic Hulk!

    John Byrne had an amazing yet short run on The Incredible Hulk in 1985 and back then I was more than thrilled that he’d taken over the title as write AND artist! Byrne’s my favorite comic artist of all time and The Hulk my favorite superhero so this was to me a match made in heaven. Issue #314 was a great start and had great simplistic cover of the Jade Giant front & center along with some of his most devious villains! Yeah Modok too by Byrne is also a treat! Covers like this one prove that keeping it simple can be incredibly effective sometimes. I totally miss these awesome old school style Hulk stories. Today we have the Hulk killed off and replaced with the Totally awesome Hulk who’s alter ego is Amadeus Cho. Not a fan. I’m hoping someday Marvel can get back to what really worked for the Hulk and worry less about pandering to the mainstream narratives by changing their superheroes into other people. Ahhh…well at least I’ve got the classics to revisit!

      

  • Black Hammer #1: The Quiet Life After Superhero Retirement?

    I read a cool little debut issue for Dark Horse’s new series Black Hammer by Jeff Lemire & Dean Ormstom. This comes at a good time for me personally as I’ve been seriously missing a good solid superhero comic book to read. I’ve more or less given up on the Marvel & DC universes at least for the time being as it feels a little too fan calculated these days. So here on the shelves was a new series featuring a weird story about a team of retired superheroes who for ten years have been forced to live in rural small town somewhere presumably in the USA (though they may be somewhere else entirely). The team disappeared and have been thought dead since their victory in a giant battle to save the planet. 

    So here they sit all reacting differently to their predicament as they share a house as a “family” on a farm. Some enjoy the quiet life while others are obviously feeling trapped. The interesting thing about the first issue is the mystery of where exactly they are, how they got there and why they for some reason are unable to leave. I highly doubt this quiet life will continue on this way for too long.

    For the time being though this first issue delivers the intrigue as we realize one the children of the superheroes, working as a reporter, seems to be getting ready to try to figure out just what happened to them all. The comic is a solid first issue that brings along with it enough gusto to inspire me to drop another 4 bones on the second.

    Artist Dean Ormstom also brings some serious character with his unique art that would fit in perfectly in books like Hellboy & BPRD. So if you’re looking for something different than what the “big two” are churning out these days this is a great first issue worth your hard earned cash.

  • M. Night Shyamalan is Out of His Mind!!

    So the trailer for M. Night  Shyamalan’s latest movie “Split” just dropped and it looks like he just might have another winner under his belt. His last movie “The Visit” was in my opinion a damn fine fright flick. I’ve always known the guy just needed to let go of the whole “family” style supernatural thriller and just go full on into the horror genre. I’m not sure what rating this movie is going to get but I’m hoping perhaps this one will get an R rating and see Night really cut loose. I mean he did some pretty shocking shit (literally) with The Visit. This one totally grabbed me with the trailer as we see James McAvoy playing a full on crazy person suffering from some serious multiple personality disorders!!

    The synopsis:

    “While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.

    Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.”

    It seems that McAvoy’s character has some final personality manifesting itself that is referred to as “the beast” which sounds like it could really go in any direction knowing how Night’s movies usually operate. I for one have never given up on M. Night Shyamalan and I’m pretty happy to say I’m stoked on seeing this come January 2017!

  • Best of VHS Box Art: The Spookies!!!

    Here’s an incredible piece of artwork from an awesome 80’s horror movie called The Spookies. I’ve always loved this cover and remember it from waaaaay back when I was a kid in the video store. I only recently saw the movie and it was a damn fun time. I come to find out that the movie was actually supposed to be called “Twisted Souls” and had financial problems causing  post production on the movie to come to a halt in 1984. A year later the movie was pieced together with a different director filming additional story lines to finalize the movie in a somewhat cohesive manner with the existing footage. If you get a chance to check out The Spookies it’s worth it, especially if you were a fan of the video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. It feels like these guys must have been big fans for sure! 

  • HarmonQuest: Real Life Animated Dungeons & Dragons Sessions?!

    This rad series called HamonQuest is fucking awesome. It takes a real life D&D game and puts it into an animated adventure as it’s happening! What a brilliant idea, I wish I would have thought of this. I always imagine what our games of D&D might look like if we could see them on screen with all of the ridiculous scenarios and decision making that ends up going on.

    I always as a DM plan for a serious game but then when you get the actual group together and people begin smoking weed, drinking or being caught not paying attention you often times get a totally different storyline than what you may have originally planned for. Ultimate rpg buffoon-ery to the max. That’s fine by me too, I totally dig the unpredictable nature of a D&D session. Well HarmonQuest puts that grand idea into perspective in an incredibly entertaining way. Check this shit out! 

     

    Check out the whole series on youtube and get ready to laugh your ass off!

     

  • The 12 Other Movies That Surely Inspired Stranger Things!

    “Stranger Things” is the series to binge on this summer, I absolutely loved it. Secondly it’s very obvious that The Duffer Brothers are fans of The Goonies, E.T., Poltergeist, Gremlins, Close Encounters and fully succeeded in replicating the nostalgic vibe of those movies for the Netflix series this summer. They gave us that special feeling we’ve all missed for so many years, especially if you grew up in those times. People are already clamoring for a second season, so what are we all supposed to do in the meantime? Well I’ve put together a list of some movies that I think likely were an inspiration to the hit series that you might have totally missed out or haven’t seen in a while! 

    Most of these flicks follow the “Amblin” formula. Amblin cranked out a lot of the spooky 80’s Speilberg style movies. It was a formula that seemed to put kids on dangerous adventures, most often supernatural ones, usually in small towns or the suburbs and most often trying to prove to their parents some crazy story to be true with often times unlucky results. These stories were filled with wonder and most of all they were so undeniably fun to watch that to see a series like Stranger Things in this day and age is a breath of fresh air. So here today in response I’d like to honor 10 of the lesser known movies you’ve gotta hunt down if you dug Stranger Things as much as I did.

    1.  The Gate (1986) To say they weren’t influenced by this movie when making Stranger Things would be a crime!!

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