Tagged: sequel
Insidious 3 Delivers the Scares!
The Insidious franchise is one I’ve been quite intrigued with for quite some time. I really enjoyed the concept of the first movie as it was one of the first horror flicks I’d seen which at it’s core used the OBE (out of body experience) or as many know it Astral Projection as the main plot device. A truly original basis for a “ghost story” and a topic in which the first had gotten me quite interested in researching. It was a breath of fresh air in Hollywood horror, a lean and ultra frightening movie that literally had me cringing in my movie seat. Add in the appearance of Lin Shaye (who’s been in countless movies from my childhood) in a similar role as the kind of Zelda Rubinstein character in Poltergeist for that little bit of nostalgia factor and you have a super fun fright film. However the second chapter didn’t impress, it was bland and a bit boring much like most big Hollywood horror sequels trying to quickly cash in on the success of the first film.

So I had quite low expectations for Insidious 3 and I’ve gotta say it actually turned out to be quite a good time! It’s simple story is about a young girl being terrorized by a weird ass ghost who wears a respirator on his face and leaves behind gross tar like footprints wherever he appears. This one’s focused a lot as well on Lin Shaye’s character and how she joined forces with the two younger paranormal investigators from the first flick.

The movie itself actually has some impressive acting as well when usual the third flick in a franchise can bring a cast of stale actors together for a mega bland script. This chapter also has a ton of scares around every corner. None of these are the kind where loud music blares and it’s nothing scary at all, like a cat jumping out of shelf or something. Nope every scare is actually something pretty gosh dang frightening. The only thing missing was exactly who and what the films creepy villain really was? I guess not everything can be explained right? This one also delves deeper into “The Further” the astral dimension where Shaye’s character really shines, it’s a pretty cool sight to see this old woman battling demon’s there with her dreamlike powers manifesting while she quietly sits in a chair in a deep trance in the “real” world.

Well plain and simple they succeeded in a pretty sweet little third entry in the franchise, it’s already got me excited to re-watch the original again. Check this one out if you’re looking for a nice creepy little movie that gets your hear a racing then this one is certain to do the trick!
Archangel Coming to the Big Screen in Age of Apocalypse?!
This new pic released as concept art for Bryan Singer’s X-men: Age of Apocalypse has got me pretty damn excited. It clearly shows that this “final” installment of the movie franchise will feature once again The Angel, (Warren Worthington III) making an appearance on the big screen! Unfortunately we got a pretty flimsy version of the iconic X-man in Ratner’s X-men in 2006, that’s not to say the casting wasn’t pitch perfect with Ben Foster in the role. It really featured him in a bit role as an easily forgettable part of the critically un-acclaimed movie. So now we’ve possibly got Ben Hardy being cast as that same character in the upcoming movie and really that can mean only one thing. Apocalypse and The Angel on the sliver screen together=Archangel. Check out this pic released yesterday…

So in the pic it looks like Warren is on display, caged in some sort of auditorium. People think this might be some sort of traveling carnival, or an alternate dimension but I think it’s Angel perhaps held captive by some anti-mutant group before they “clip his wings” for show. It also reminds me of an image of Warren when his wings were taken from him viciously by The Marauders during the Mutant Massacre storyline(one of the best), however in the above concept picture it’s not clear if his wings have been impaled.

To me it was a sad day back in the 1980’s for The Angel when this happened and the loss of his wings ultimately lead to him “committing suicide” by crashing a plane he was piloting. We all know though he was far from dead and the next chapter for the character was perhaps the most compelling. Apocalypse saved him from his suicide and turned him into a blue skinned killing machine with razor sharp metal wings. No longer was Warren the blonde pretty boy, now he was a deadly character that could go one on one with the likes of Wolverine and Sabretooth. Archangel is easily one of my favorite Marvel characters of all time but over time they decided to transform him back into the his original form with the feather wings.

We however in the past few years saw the Archangel persona return and join X-Force where he lead the team to murder the resurrected incarnation of Apocalypse as a young boy. So I can say with certainty that we are going to see Archangel on the big screen because lets face it to include Warren Worthington and Apocalypse in the same flick and not follow this story line would be a crime! Don’t screw this up Singer!!!
Revisiting Anthrax’s ‘Twin Peaks’ Tribute (and Judge Dredd)!
So with Twin Peaks set to be revived soon I can’t help but wonder if maybe this time around legendary metal band Anthrax will finally get the respect they deserve for being big fans of the show! Back in 1993 they released ‘The Sound of White Noise” which was honestly never an album I ever got 100 percent behind. I guess I was extremely partial to Joey Belladonna and this album marked his departure as lead vocalist.

Well Anthrax always had rad subject matter to their songs, lets face it they are metal nerd fanboys and many people don’t realize “Black Lodge” from this album was written about Twin Peaks. Heck they even got the Twin Peaks score conductor Angelo Badalamenti to help them write the song. This album had a much more grunge sound to it as it seemed all bands around this era were changing their sound and trying to cash in on the whole grunge fad at the time.

But still let’s not ever forget that Anthrax delivered the best metal song about Judge Dredd called “I am the Law” and can you believe that two damn Dredd movies materialized and neither of them include this song in the soundtrack?! What a fucking crying shame!! Wake the fuck up Hollywood don’t take Anthrax for granted!! Here’s the video for Black Lodge in case you missed it back in 1993!
AND here’s “I am the Law” again, maybe they will put this in that rumored Dredd sequel!
The CRITTERS are Back from the Eighties?!!
It seems the Critters back! There’s rumors going around that Warner Bros is getting ready to revive the 1980’s classic flick with a reboot or sorts. Well we all know that this new version of critters will most likely be nothing like the original movies, but a fan took matters into his own hands and came up with this awesome short film, Critters: Bounty Hunter.

This is pretty rad and it feels just like the 80’s Critters franchise we have grown to love over the years. Jordan Downey put this cool little six minute film together and if Warner wants to get the spirit of the original they should really be taking notes on this sweet little short! This is the type of Critters that we want. I’m starting to feel like the fan made movies are better than what Hollywood is coming up with these days- Check this shit out!
A New Actor Replaces Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones!!
Well, sorta! I just had to share this cool video called “Indiana Bones: Raiders of the Lost Bark”! Check this rad little video out and see what grand adventure this canine version of Indy gets into! I’d rather have this cool dog pick up the character than Shia Labeouf any day!!
JJ Abrams Universe ‘Star Trek 3’: Who’s Really Got The Cred To Direct?!
A couple nights ago I finally got to see Chris Nolan’s “Interstellar” and it was an incredibly thought provoking science fiction flick, one I’d love to sit an analyze for hours with friends on it’s meaning and scientific relevance. Movies like this are what often times I truly love about Sci-Fi, a great mind bender. Don’t get me wrong I’m totally down for the laser battling, space adventuring of Star Wars but a part of me hopes NOT to get too much of that in my next Star Trek movie. The reboot/sequel JJ Abrams did was a downright awesome movie, filled with action, great fx, the perfect amount of nostalgia but by the time the second movie came around, trying to recreate the Khan storyline I’d somehow began to realize that JJ was better suited for Star Wars than Trek. Let’s face it the two franchises are indeed very different beasts and for a moment during Interstellar I delightfully pictured a Christopher Nolan helmed Star Trek film in my mind.

So today as I think about entering the theater to see a new Star Trek movie I hope for something a little different, something perhaps a little more challenging to the mind. I think back to some of the classic original series episodes which the crew face threats or situations that truly perplexed them all (The City on the Edge of Forever, The Changeling, Amok Time, Obsession, The Corbomite Manuever). I’m talking classic plot driven science fiction. That’s exactly where I’d love to see Kirk & Spock head of to. Sure giant aliens are rad, and who doesn’t love a good space battle with two opposing ships blasting the shit out of each other?! Well sometimes I like my Trek with a little more mind and that’s why of the directors being considered to helm the next movie I’m really hoping they give Duncan Jones(who is indeed in the running) for the job.

Yes, David Bowie’s son has already given us a couple great, more mind bending science fiction movies. ‘Moon’ being one of my favorite modern Sci Fi flicks and ‘Source Code’ being a totally solid twisting puzzle of movie. I feel Jones could really deliver us a great classic/modern space adventure with nods to The Twilight Zone which also had it’s influence in some of the best original Trek episodes. “Into Darkness” felt a little like Star Trek for people with ADD and the last thing I want to see is someone like Justin Lin (The Fast and the Furious movies) taking the reigns, who is indeed a contender. So I’m putting it out there, endorsing Duncan Jones as the perfect man for the job, heck I’d say he could even write the thing. However even if he didn’t write it knowing he was at the reigns would give me hope for a good script to be approved and to get a truly unique science fiction adventure beyond the stars with the USS Enterprise!
Why Does the New ‘Mad Max’ Trailer Look So Awesome?!
I had to weigh in on this new Mad Max trailer and I have to admit I wasn’t the least bit excited about this whole thing. I haven’t seen much success by bringing back these classic movie franchises into the current world by way of rebooting or giving us the sequel we’ve “always dreamed of”. Let’s face it there have been a ton of less than impressive, totally forgettable films out there recently masquerading under the names of the movies we loved as kids. Most of them seriously, seriously suck. So to hear that a new Mad Max was on the way to me sounded like yet another weak ass attempt to yet again capitalize off of our nostalgia. But then the trailer dropped and it appears that Mad Max: Fury Road clearly ain’t fucking around!

So what gives? Why is this trailer so awesome?! Well for one it’s George Miller who’s directing, who also helmed the previous two Mad Max flicks of the 1980’s and it’s a continuation of his vision. Even if we don’t have Mel Gibson returning, who I think would have if he hadn’t turned into the world’s biggest douche bucket! Second he made it clear that he wasn’t focusing on modern CGI to bring this one to life, and the realism can clearly be seen in the trailer. He’s used 80% practical effects, with actual living human stuntmen, real car crashes and shot the film on location rather than putting everyone in front of a green the entire time.

By the look of the trailer you can see he’s using the prefect blend of CG and real world to make this one of the best looking, most exciting flicks(hopefully) of 2015. Let’s be honest here, I don’t think CG has much of a place in the action film genre, perhaps that’s why a great action flick is a dime a dozen these days. This is a breath of fresh air, and I’m starting to see a trend happening if even a little bit in Hollywood. Let’s hope this one has a great story to go along with it’s incredible visuals and action!
The Lucas Special Edition Teaser for Star Wars Episode VII-Best Thing Ever??!
So I haven’t weighed in on the new Star Wars “The Force Awakens” Teaser yet! I’ve gotta say when I first saw it I wasn’t particularly impressed. It didn’t look terrible and it honestly didn’t really give us a helluva lot to reeeeally get super pumped about. At first I thought it may have been too CG heavy, but perhaps what we are seeing isn’t actually all CG? Perhaps it’s utilizing the models and practical effects that it promised and it just looks damn good?! So my conclusion, thus far it seems like it’s on the right track and we won’t really be able to tell how good this could really be until the proper trailer drops. I just hope that droid rolling like ball isn’t a “Jar 2D2” type character!

But then today I saw the “Lucas Special Edition” version of the trailer, obviously a joke, but a damn funny one it is! The truth behind it is that the “Lucas” version really might have probably looked something like that if he had his hands on it for real! Seeing this actually make me appreciate the real teaser much more, because it reminds me to quit bitchin’ because if Lucas was directing it could be a heck of a LOT worse potentially! Check this shit out, it’s pretty amazing-I’ll be watching this Lucas version of the teaser more than the real thing!!
Also this totally blows my mind, that Lucas did have this shit planned since back in 1983 as you can see in this old interview clip from Hamill! Color me totally impressed George!!
Help Rowdy Roddy Piper Open The ‘Portal to HELL’!!!
The world always needs more of Rowdy Roddy Piper! Duh! Who doesn’t love ‘They Live’ or ‘Hell Comes to Frogtown’ or classic WWF Wrestling?! Well if you don’t then there’s probably something seriously wrong with your brain or you just don’t like having fun. So I’m thrilled to hear that Piper is currently involved with a project via Indiegogo called “Portal to Hell” which is an indie horror film which pits Piper against Cthulhu and his minions!

Here’s what they had to say about it thus far:
“Director Vivieno Caldinelli and writer Matt Watts are embarking on a short film called PORTAL TO HELL, with hopes of expanding it into a feature. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will star, and the producing team includes Todd Brown of THE ABCs OF DEATH and THE RAID and Andrew Rosen of TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL, with MANBORG’s Steven Kostanski on board to create the FX.
The synopsis: “Jack [Piper] is a simple man with simple needs. Mostly he just needs to be left alone to read his book. It’s a good book and he likes it…or, at least, he would if the tenants of the building he manages weren’t so damn needy. And it’s not just blown fuses and clogged toilets… No, when the building power goes out, the culprit is a pair of Cthulhu-worshiping tenants opening a portal to the demon city of R’lyeh in the basement. Does this count as building maintenance? Is battling the supernatural part of Jack’s job description? Maybe not, but if Jack can’t close the portal, the entire building and—let’s face it—the whole world is screwed.”

Sounds like something to get behind to me! I’ve always hoped Carpenter would get Piper back for a They Live sequel, however that’s a pipe dream I guess (no pun intended). This though sounds just as good and has cult classic written all over it. I think Piper has that same appeal as someone like Bruce Campbell and honestly I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t been called upon sooner for projects like this one. It’s about time we get him back in the spotlight, he a cool guy, with a lot of interesting things to say and hell he even lives in oregon (where I do). So help spread the word and support this project at their Indiegogo page ! It’s a known fact – the world is always a better place with moreRowdy Roddy Piper!
Was ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Dumb Enough?!!
I am a big fan of much of Jim Carrey’s 90’s comedic roles, I love the Ace Ventura franchise, Liar Liar was brilliant and of course Dumb and Dumber is one of my favorite comedies of all time. I was thrilled to hear that a real sequel was finally going to happen for Dumb and Dumber, let’s try and forget that there was a low profile prequel back in 2003 called “Dumb and Dumberer” (great title though) which did not star Jim Carrey or Jeff Daniels and it was pretty terrible. So now we’ve got a reunion of sorts nearly 20 years later with the new movie. It’s always a tough call on whether or not they can recreate the magic of previous works, whether it be a band reforming or team of actors and directors targeting our nostalgia.
So did Carrey, Daniels and The Farrelly brothers give us a worthy sequel? I’d have to say they gave it a decent shot, and there were some genuinely funny moments but in the end I think the movie tried a bit too hard with a much too complicated, almost carbon copy of the first, weak ass plot. This like the first in many ways, takes our two favorite aging numbskulls on yet another road trip. It places them in a completely ridiculous story that seems almost as unnecessary and dumb as the leads. I like stupid, but I love it more when Harry and Lloyd are placed in a more believable world and they interact with people who aren’t necessarily in on the joke as well. Just seeing what the two of them are up to these days would have been good enough for me without involving a ridiculous murder plot with characters that are equally as stupid, but not nearly as funny as and Harry & Lloyd. That being said there’s no shortage of the crude humor of the first and in many ways it goes even further down the truly “dumb” route. Exactly what you might expect from these two morons who appear to have aged quite a bit but remain the same mentally as they were 20 years ago.
Now don’t get me wrong I totally think Carrey & Daniels still have the chemistry and had the plot and writing been more solid the movie would have been a real winner. It’s great seeing Carrey back at what really made him shine, ridiculously stupid characters, because no one can do it quite like him. The two of them are clearly having a great time onscreen together. That being said I feel perhaps the real problem here is maybe the Farrelly Brothers, I mean think about it, what was their last genuinely funny movie? I’d say they have three, Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary- were all excellent and those were also their first three movies. I hope that this spawns a third film for the real Harry and Lloyd, I’d honestly like to see these two get another shot with different directors and writers, because even though this one missed the mark their still two of my favorite movie idiots of all time. I’d say this one is worth a view but don’t expect the riot of the first flick!
