The Thing

the thing

Awhile back in my list of 5 horror remakes I loved and during our Halloween special ( Our Favorites, Day 18, The Thing ) I briefly talked about this superior remake from horror master John Carpenter. Beside the cold and isolation and the basic premise, this movie stands completely on it’s own merit.

We begin with a stranger sight, a armed helicopter chasing down a husky through the Arctic tundra. Why would anyone go the trouble you wonder? The guys chased the dog to American outpost where there chopper exploded, leaving the dog with them. They decide to lock it in the kennel with the other dogs and they investigate the other outpost, led by pilot McCreedy. It becomes apparent they found something deadly; they had found a large craft buried under the ice and a lot of dead bodies. Back at there camp, the dog transforms into a horrible monstrosity. The alien is a microscopic organism that takes in the bodies and traits of whatever it comes into contact with, recalling its traits as a defense mechanism. Alone in the middle of frozen nowhere, tensions rise as everyone has to wonder not only can they kill the Thing but who is the Thing?

The Thing is a rare and perfect blend of body horror and suspense. The originality of the creature’s designs steal the show and are things I have rarely seen matched. Kurt Russel as always is awesome as McCreedy but the rest of the cast does a great job. The music is very fitting and well used. What is really cool is rewatching the movie for hidden details, trying to pinpoint  when people were taken by the Thing. Some may not like the unclear ending or that there isn’t a true sequel other than the PS2 game but I love it. In the end, it is one of the best remakes ever and must watch for horror fans. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Thing From Another World

thing 1950

There are rare times I approve of remakes; especially when it comes to ones that seem so close together. As a kid, I remember watching the classic black and white Thing with my parents and later, in high school I wrote a paper on how this movie related to the Cold War.

A reporter visits a isolated Air Force outpost in the far reaches of Alaska. A scientist comes to them requesting aid in investing a strange crash up north. The men go to investigate, finding some large and round buried beneath the ice. They uncover what appears to be a man with what appears to be a flying saucer. The take the frozen man back to the outpost, where it thaws and goes on a rampage, a monster from another world…

As far as old horror movies go, the classic Thing holds up decently well. There is some good atmosphere and music. James Arnes as the creature is pretty effective and he is pretty physically threatening as a big, lumbering creature. The characters are pretty standard for the times with a love story tacked on that doesn’t really add to anything. The movie is definitely a product of its time; there’s no blood, language, and the creature’s origin is really goofy when you find out it’s a “Space Vegetable”. In the end, it’s a decent old time horror movie that deserves a watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

‘Teenage Dream’ Co-Star Accuses Katy Perry of Sexual Misconduct — Variety

Actor-model Josh Kloss, who starred in Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” music video in 2010, has accused the singer of exposing him at a roller skating rink. Writing on Instagram, Kloss described his interaction with Perry: “It was Johny Wujek’s birthday party at moonlight roller way. And when I saw her, we hugged and she was…

via ‘Teenage Dream’ Co-Star Accuses Katy Perry of Sexual Misconduct — Variety

Dragonball Z: Broly, Second Coming

dbz broly 2

It’s really hard to live up the epicness of Dragonball Z: Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan which is still my favorite Dragonball Z movie but it was almost certain the mad Saiyan would return.

Videl, Goten, and Trunks are off on a fun little trip to search for the Dragonballs. When Goten starts crying, something is unearthed. After being defeated by Goku, Broly managed to crawl into an escape pod and find his way to Earth, getting frozen in some mountain ice. The sound of Goten’s crying  wakes up Broly and the rampage begins. Gohan comes to the rescue but he’s no match for the monstrous Saiyan in his Legendary form, it’s going to take everything they have to bring down Broly.

There isn’t much to say, Second Coming is a pretty flat sequel. There isn’t much of a story. Broly just exists to grunt and beat people up; he doesn’t even go full Legendary until the final minutes of the film. It was cool to have Goku’s ghost join Gohan and Goten in a Kamehameha and I did laugh my ass off when Goten pisses on Broly’s face. It’s alright to skip to if you want, there isn’t much you’re missing if you do. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Titans, season 2 trailer

well, I’ll give them this, it looks better than the first but that really wasn’t saying much. I like the bigger cast f characters including Superboy, Aqualad, Wonder-girl, and Krypto the super dog. Fans of the comics knew Deathstroke would pop up as the main villain sooner or later; I can’t tell what I think of his look yet. There are still some cringe worthy moments like Todd yelling ” Titans are back bitches!”. In the end, it looks like a improvement but not too great.

The Howling – Fight Or Flight, Or Just Stand There — On The Subject of Horror

I kept having nightmares where Eddie Quist corners me in a room and turns into a werewolf. This scene plays over and over again and just like Karen White, I just stand there.

via The Howling – Fight Or Flight, Or Just Stand There — On The Subject of Horror

This is What you Want, This is What you Get

want get

First of all, I want to give a shout out to the author of this book, Jim Scheers, who I had the pleasure of meeting in person at the Weird and Wired Bazaar in Scranton a couple of months ago. Thank you for the advice and reassurance.

It’s the 1980’s and the punk scene is alive and kicking with loud, wild shows. For  nineteen year old Nick Leblanche these shows keep him sane from a cold life in suburban hell with his boring, nagging parents and his tedious office job full of gossiping idiots and pressure to stay there and rot. The music gives him a soul. At one of these shows he meet a quiet, sad looking girl named Victoria and from the on things start changing as the scene itself; the shows begin turning out of control violent as more and more skinheads begin turning up, making mosh pits into full fledged riots. Can Nick find himself amongst the chaos of his new friends and the scene he loves?

I have to admit, I was surprised how much I found myself reflecting back to my own age 19 and relating to Nick, growing up in suburbia and loving neu-metal myself. There is a lot of great imagery in the book and was very easy to put myself in the story. The story flows really well for the most part but I found a couple times in the second act where it slowed a bit but to no damning extent. One of the only minor complaints I have is that I wished there was something more extreme to end the second act to give the story a little bit more of a impact. All in all, it’s a really cool look at the 80’s punk scene and a good book I’d recommend. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Boundary gameplay trailer

I have to give a shout out to my pal Speedy for the heads up on this one. While games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and Borderlands: The Pre-sequel have a lot of space and futuristic stuff in them, Boundary looks to be like a standard FPS in the dead of space. Honestly this looks really cool and I see a lot of cool opportunities this game has for some insane Z-G gun fights and some cool multiplayer matches. I’m pretty pumped for it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Take Your Stinking Paws Off Me, You Damn Dirty Ape!

mastermixmovies's avatarMaster Mix Movies

Planet of the Apes is the classic tale of an upside down world where apes are the dominant species. It’s a concept that could have very easily been campy, but everything behind the scenes ensured that wouldn’t be the case. Respected actor Charlton Heston stars in what is perhaps the most iconic (non-biblical) role of his career. Ironically he’s the only major celebrity not wearing a monkey suit. Although the makeup may seem dated by today’s standards, it was groundbreaking at the time. Sure the mouths sometimes didn’t move properly. It didn’t stop the film from winning an honorary Oscar for Best makeup. Coupled with thought-provoking themes of class, humanity, war, and even faith, and Planet of the Apes became one of the most talked about movies of the late 60’s. My parents first introduced us to Planet of the Apes at a very young age. With all its profanity…

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