As we countdown to the debut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, details are emerging about ticketing and how you can go about purchasing them. Fandango released this image accidentally but we were able to get a screen shot of it.
It seems as if the people at Fandango had a bit of an itchy trigger finger on the send button, but as you can clearly see, you will be able to purchase a marathon ticket in the same way you were able to before Avengers: Age Of Ultron opened. The run-time for all the films is somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 hours which means if the movie theaters plan on having an early 7 pm screening on the 17th of December, that the marathon would have to start at 3 am. Would you sit through 15 hours of Star Wars?
Following the disappointment that was the Rugby World Cup for English fans Doctor Who can return to its status as top dog of Saturday Night TV in the UK and the episode “Before the Flood” starts out in the most epic way possible – having The Doctor playing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 on an electric guitar.
The previous episode “Under the Lake” ended on a huge cliffhanger with The Doctor seemingly dying in 1980 and his ghost appearing in 2119. Clara and two other members are trapped in the base and have to flee from ghosts wanting to kill them for their energy. In 1980 The Doctor and the other two members of the crew go back to the abandoned village before the flood, trying to figure out how to stop an alien threat and prevent their own deaths.
This episode has a ballsy introduction, having The Doctor speak directly to the camera, describing an event from his past and the concept of a Bootstrap Paradox (as The Doctor says ‘Google it!’). It is a daring opening, setting up the concept of the episode and giving Capaldi’s Doctor more personality and character traits. Capadi is coming more into his own in this version of The Doctor, being more distinctive then he was in the previous season. Capadi is now showing a greater mix of light-heartedness and while keeping his serious side. One of the best moments in the episode is when The Doctor sacrifices one of the people who travel back to 1980 with him and is chastised for valuing one life over another. It hits harder because it was the character who most idolized The Doctor and who was excited to be a part of one of his adventures. This Doctor shows a colder edge to his previous incarnation of the famous Gallifreyian.
“Under the Lake” was a simple base in peril storyline and effective at using its limited space. “Before the Flood” expands on the story, effectively blending the parallel timelines and how they collide together, being a brilliant piece of writing by Toby Whithouse – who brings it all together at the end. In 2119 Clara has to use to intelligence, ingenuity and experience to ensure her own survival and to help The Doctor as much possible – who is stuck in 1980. When The Doctor was unable to return to 2119 because he was stuck in his own timestream and this leads to a story reference to Back to the Future Part II, a movie whose future date, October 21, 2015, is fast approaching.
The premise is The Doctor trying to prevent his own death, but long time viewers know that this was a fake out before the episode even started: there was no way the show would kill off The Doctor. There was obviously going to be some sort of twist and lowered any scene of tension that the episode would have had. We have been spoiled by shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead that is willing to kill of major characters at a moment’s notice.
“Before the Flood” also introduces the villain The Fisher King, the body that was being transported in the previous episode. He was voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, best known for his roles in Shaun of the Dead, Spy and voicing Darth Maul and had Corey Taylor, the lead singer of Slipknot, doing the monster’s roar: they were the best part of the monster. They ensured The Fisher King has a sinister presence, giving him a very menacing voice as he taunts The Doctor and the history of his race. Despite being a fairly generic monster-of-the-week, you would want more of Seranfinowicz’s voice. The design is more disappointing, looking like a very tall cross between the aliens in Independence Day and the Predators. The Fisher King could have been a great villain if he was developed more.
“Before the Flood” is a solid entry for Doctor Who and a slight improvement over “Under the Lake” because of its use of more ambitious writing. Season 9 is so far a massive improvement over the previous one and next up we have The Doctor teaming up with Ayra Stark.
The Horror Advocate makes cases for the under-appreciated cinematic treasures that lurk just beneath your bed. If your horror film is publicly derided, undeservedly ridiculed or generally forgotten, you may find yourself in need of… The Horror Advocate.
Resolved: Trick ‘r Treat remains a criminally under-seen masterpiece that could very well stir young, unawake horror fans into consciousness and guide the genre for years to come.
If I was a parent* whose child wakes them one night in a near catatonic state of fear exclaiming, “Daddy, the little pumpkin boy is after me!”, I’d know they’d found my copy of Trick ‘r Treat and held a wonderfully unsupervised screening. I would probably pick him or her up and let them cold turkey the nightmare in my bed, but inside I’d be smiling, twiddling my fingers like Mr. Burns. Eggcellent.
In today’s world, rummaging through mom and dad’s collection of VHS tapes, discovering the strange titles that hold their interest isn’t commonplace. Now, with the whole of history’s collection of movies and tv available at a moment’s notice, everyone is able to discern their own tastes from the comfort of their own couch. This library of knowledge and entertainment assuredly has its benefits but without essential guidance beginning at the outset, the path to an understanding of the medium becomes more muddled and difficult to navigate. It’s why, as children, we are placed in schools separated by grade level and not just kicked to the curb of the local library by our mom saying, “Go forth and learn, my child!”
Curation is key to the process of a refined education (your experience with The Cabin in the Woods is heightened after you know the unspeakable terror Ash and Friends faced in that horrible cabin 30 years ago). Also key is the idea of accidental curation. I sure as hell wasn’t meant to discover that recorded version of John Carpenter‘s The Thing at the ripe age of 10. My parents had to know, me being the industrious movie fiend I was shaping up to be, that I would subject myself to that torment without their considered approval. But the tape was in the collection, and was hereby dignified with the value that it held value with my parents. That was good enough for me.
I’m not implying that you should encourage your children to go and find all this stuff on their own and I don’t believe that just anyone can handle the horror and understand the meaning of The Shining. It’s because I believe this that I think introducing adolescents to the genre’s offerings should be selected and shown under comforting supervision. Some films are intentionally more harmful than others and many films, while explicit and horrifying in their own rights are completely harmless and healthy in the growth of a young horror mind.
Trick ‘r Treat is exactly in the latter category. The 2007 horror anthology by Michael Dougherty is a sprawling love letter to Halloween. It brings together four intertwining stories, all taking place in the same quaint Ohio town, about people defacing and learning to respect exactly why we celebrate this most holy of unholy holidays. This intertwining nature works so well to set up and pay off all characters and story threads that I don’t want to spoil it here by undoing the knots. It works as the best kind of anthology film, telling one full story through the guise of many smaller ones. Trick ‘r Treat deals with the ideas of lighting jack-o-lanterns, passing out candy, checking your candy, dressing in costume, being a little promiscuous, etc.
All of these issues are ones that growing children are dealing with and will deal with very, very soon. The movie posits that growing up with respect for others and respect for yourself is paramount to being a good person — or at least to not getting your throat cut with a pumpkin lollipop. Stars Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker and Brian Cox all relish their characters’ stereotypes while never actually being bound by them because of the smart scripting by director Dougherty. The gore is abundant and the scares are real and develop naturally but the film is never mean-spirited. Laughs are peppered in just as much as the blood and the film is lit with the comforting hues of fall weather so that things never feel too dark.
The bottom line is that there are moments in Trick ‘r Treat which will scare and amaze children and young teens in ways they might not yet have experienced (a scene involving a few pairs of breasts might likely be their first isn’t played purely as sexual, but rather a transformation into one’s true self). The film walked a very difficult road to the screen and was virtually dumped into a handful of theaters and thusly shoveled onto home video. The film has thrived in that format despite its initial struggles but remains a title that hasn’t received the attention it deserves. It is a holiday movie that should be on rotation just like It’s a Wonderful Life at Christmas. The next time you watch it, consider grabbing your curious 12-year-old who prefers monsters over football and see if Trick ‘r Treat ignites the spark that could create the next Sam Raimi. At the very least, it should deter them from defacing private property for quite some time.
If you haven’t seen it, change that now (it’s currently on HBOGO)!
Wherever man hungers for flesh, “There too Lilith shall repose.” ~ Isaiah 34:14
I recently had the opportunity to screen the new psychological thriller Lilin’s Brood. Intrigued?
Lilin’s Brood is the new psychological thriller written and directed by the creative team, MansA Mojo Brothers (P.W. Simon & Arti Smith) from Some Sirius Ship Productions. The cast is comprised of virtual unknowns, but a couple of times you have ah-ha moments of: It’s ‘that guy’ from that ‘that thing’ you just watched and don’t know their names – tis the curse of the character actors. There are definite aspects of the film I appreciate, but it has flaws as well.
Lilin’s is presented in the “found footage” style akin to The Blair Witch Project. It is the story of a “new media” investigative team, W.H.I.S.T.L.E., which is trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of several men. The men, as far as the team can tell, were not connected to each other in any way. Their personal and private lives did intersect.
In digging deeper into the lives of the missing men, the investigators – Vanessa, Wolf, Danny, Thomas, and Art – discover a possible connection between the missing and group of brothels. What is interesting about these brothels is that they are rumored to be connected to the illegal organ harvesting and trafficking trade and the team finds this compelling enough to go in search of one particular house of ill-repute.
Their mobile investigative RV gets into an accident, they encounter a creepy stranger that offers help for a ride, and they stumble upon the brothel, or so they think they did. The whore house is run by Madame Plu (Melinda Milton), an odd woman with an indistinct accent (she’s was going for Creole, but at times is waffles on some indistinct African accent). Truthfully, her accent is so “put on” and campy that it becomes annoying and painful to the ears. There is also the African-house music playing in the background that adds to the cheese and euro-trash creep factor.
While waiting, in the brothel, for AAA the cameramen go exploring the grounds in hopes of finding some evidence to link them to the disappearances. Their “bathroom” breaks are covers for them to covertly place hidden cameras around the house. One of the investigators follows a mysterious girl into a secluded lower level. The girl is quite animalistic and she feigns to seduce him and then bites him. He freaks out and gets away and notices that there are men – Johns – kept in the depths. Something isn’t right about this place.
At the same exact moment, Madame Plu is attempting whew Vanessa, the female crew member, into the fold. She wants her to become part of “family.” This female-centric cult dedicates their existence to the service of the mythical being Lilith. The legend goes, she was the mythical first wife of Adam in the Garden of Eden and that she left Adam because she did not want to submit to him. The cult is dedicated to her path and service. There is a lot of lady-parts imagery around. The Madame of the house connects with Vanessa because they are both from Louisiana and she feels a kinship with her spirit. She wants her to succeed her as new leader of the clan.
The crew’s arrival at the door of the brothel falls on a very special night. It appears that it is the night of some sort of mystical birth/rebirth or ascension for their deity Lilith. The male crew members become sacrifices and possibly food. Madame Plu remarks, “Wherever man hungers for flesh, you too shall repose.” Once men pass over the threshold they can never leave alive…it’s a darker Hotel California.
The found footage is dark, confusing, and sometimes terrifying. As a female I like the vagina-centric slant, but I root for some of the men to survive. All men, the weaker sex they may be, do not deserve to die.
The depiction of Madame Plu is annoying and over-the-top. Her accent is never quite right, and the character is so campy and OVER acted that you can barely stand to listen or look at her. Apparently she did not watch True Blood to see, with the exception of Bill Compton, what people from Louisiana are ACTUALLY supposed to sound like. But if you can get past that character the rest of the acting is not too bad and the story moves along well-enough.
The character of Vanessa is portrayed by a fresh face Maxine Goynes and she carries the role with ease. She doesn’t overact; she delivers her lines in a very natural way. She has conversation with her costars in instead of just delivering lines. Brent King (Danny), Martin Sensmeier (Wolf), and Arti Smith turn in nice performances as well. The men also bring a humor and realism to the story with their gross-out behavior – which is often needed in this genre of films so that they are not complete downers.
Although Lilin’s Brood can be a bit convoluted at times – I believe that this can be solved with some additional editing – it is an interesting and worth a watch.
While speaking to IGN during promotional rounds for his upcoming The Last Witch Hunter, actor Vin Diesel gave fans a sneak peak of his take on Black Bolt, the leader of Marvel’s Inhumans. Diesel has himself fueled rumors and has all but admitted to the fact that he will be playing the character in the upcoming film scheduled to be released in 2019 (Despite several unconfirmed rumors to the contrary).
Speaking of the project, Vin Diesel thinks his casting in the role would be genius. Saying
“It would be… put it this way, when Kevin Feige started talking to me about… who would ever think? A voice for one thing and presence for another would be pretty genius – it’d be pretty genius. Whenever my father sends me an email, at the end of it he says ‘stay human’ – and it’s cool and beautiful, but what is he really trying to say. Is he trying to say I’ve been affected by Terrigen Mist? Does he want to cocoon me again?”
At this point, unless Marvel Studios decides to throw fans a curveball, it appears Vin Diesel would definitely be playing the Silent One. Be sure to watch Vin Diesel’s “Black Bolt Audition” in the video above and leave your thoughts in the comments!
HHB Media Caught up with actress Corina Calderon who gave a few tid bits about her experience working on Suicide Squad with director David Ayer. While she couldn’t reveal too much about her character, she did reveal that the character’s name is “Grace” (Speculate away!). Grace could be an original character created solely for the film, but in time we will see if she end up being someone from the DC Comics lore.
Corina further discussed her on set experience watching Jared Leto play iconic Batman villian, The Joker and calls his performance “brilliant” and that she was amazed by it. She elaborates saying
“I was amazed, just fascinated, just memorized watching him. Even when he was going to get his mic checked, in between scenes or setting up another scene, watching him, really gave me this freedom. A whole new freedom as an actress, and I just felt brave, watching him go and just…it was an amazing lesson.”
For more from Ms Corina, be sure to check out the video above. Corina Calderon joins a trove of recent cast members all singing praises for Leto’s turn as the Clown Prince of Crime. This definitely bodes well for the highly anticipated DCEU release and surely raises a lot of expectation where “The Joker” is concerned.
What do you make of Corina Calderon’s comments and who do you think she might be playing in Suicide Squad? Leave your thoughts below!
Directed by David Ayer from his script, Suicide Squad stars Will Smith (Deadshot), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), Jared Leto (the Joker), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Jai Courtney (Boomerang), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Cara Delevingne (Enchantress), Jessie Eisenberg (Lex Luthor), and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Killer Croc), with Raymond Olubawale (King Shark), Jay Hernandez, Ike Barinholtz, Jim Parrack, Adam Beach, and Scott Eastwood. The film releases on August 5, 2016
With Crimson Peak, director Guillermo Del Toro delivers an sumptuous, operatic, and most certainly blood-soaked homage to grand Gothic romance cinema of the past. Thanks to its breathtaking visual style, a strong, literate script and compelling performances from its leads, the film remains riveting and suspenseful despite it at times being a bit predictable. For the more discerning and well-traveled film fan, it’s a movie experience you’ll find yourself seduced by, even though you recognize all the tropes at work. For the casual movie goer, it’s just gruesomely gorgeous fun.
The setting is Buffalo, New York in 1901. Young American heiress Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland), who since she was a child has had an affinity for perceiving the supernatural and who has since channeled her imagination and intellect into the pursuit of writing, finds herself courted by two very compelling suitors. One is her childhood friend Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam), a gentleman scholar who has the approval and support of Edith’s protective father, Sir Carter (Jim Beaver). The other is Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), an Englishman new to America who immediately draws Edith’s attention with his charm and immediate appreciation of her artistic ambitions.
In the course of Thomas courting her, Edith also comes to know his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), who is ever by Thomas’s side and shares her younger brother’s ambition to rebuild their family’s fortune through a machine Thomas has invented that he hopes will revolutionize clay extraction for use as building materials. Edith’s fascination with Thomas soon blossoms into love, and after Sir Carter’s untimely demise, she leaves America with the Sharps as they return to the ancestral home in England, Allerdale Hall, a bleak and ominous-looking manor sitting alone atop a snow-covered hill in the middle of nowhere that itself sits above a substantial red clay deposit. The house proves both mesmerizing and terrifying to Edith, with red clay oozing from the floors and staining the white snow surrounding the building as the entire house slowly sinks into the earth with every heavy footfall. Snow and patches of sunlight fall into the decrepit halls from holes in the high ceilings, and shifting, shadowy forms creeping through the corridors just outside of her vision, invisible seemingly to all but her.
Settling into her new life with the Sharps, its not long before Edith comes face to horrifying face with the shadows that haunt the enormous house. Those encounters, in turn, lead her to clues regarding the family’s secret history, a history that brother and sister each have ample reason to keep hidden from her. As she peels away layer after layer of deceit, it becomes painfully clear that something horrible happened at Allendale Hall, and will happen again should Edith not be able to escape from her new “home.”
Visually, Crimson Peak is yet another masterwork from Del Toro, the creator of Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim, a seemingly endless delight for the eyes, particularly for fans of period and costume dramas and classic horror films. While the elaborate Victorian Era costumes and the design of the film’s ghosts is as impressive as you might expect from a Del Toro production, without question the most striking element on film here is Allendale Hall itself, its every hallway, winding staircase, and darkened room exuding mystery and menace. In every appreciable way, the house is as much a character in the film as the people living in it, a living, breathing, decaying monument symbolizing the fallen grandeur and internal corruption of the Sharps themselves. Imagine what the Addams Family or the Munsters might imagine their ultimate dream home to be, then make it even creepier, and you’ll have a sense of what this house looks and feels like. It simply must be seen to be believed.
While the house might be the most memorable character in Crimson Peak, the actors themselves are pretty compelling here as well, in particular the lead trio of Wasikowska, Hiddleston, and Chastain. as Wasikowska brings a pitch perfect blend of curiosity, naiveté, and strength of will to Edith, while Hiddleston, fresh from playing Asgard’s master mischief maker Loki in Marvel’s the Avengers and the Thor films, proves to be an equally perfect fit as the manipulative but emotionally conflicted Thomas. Chastain, in turn, is barely contained malice bubbling under a thin veneer of English civility — she chills in her every scene, with her every word and gesture, even when those gestures resemble affection.
What makes their work collectively here so remarkable is that though the characters themselves are pastiches of classic Victorian characters from the great novels of the period — Edith reminiscent of Jane Austen’s Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey, Thomas every bit a Byronic hero akin to Jane Eyre‘s Edward Rochester, and Lucille drawing from the same darkness as Jane Eyre‘s Bertha Mason, the “madwoman in the attic” — the actors bring those characters to life in a way that’s vibrant and accessible to modern audiences. (Oddly, Charlie Hunnam is the odd man out here, the British actor in the production not allowed to use his native accent, whose character’s story arc most resembles that of Raoul from The Phantom of the Opera, and is similarly underdeveloped and bland.) Put another way: if you love period films and their romantic storylines, you’ll recognize the character types in play in Crimson Peak, but thanks to won’t look or sound cliché to you as the film progresses. And if you’re not the sort to sit down and binge on whole seasons of “Downton Abbey”, you’ll still get caught up in the wicked game being played throughout the film, because it’s just executed that well.
All that said, it’s hard to imagine a film like Crimson Peak, with its R-rating and admittedly narrow appeal in terms of the tastes of the masses at the box office, being much of a success financially when set up against more family-friendly and upbeat fare. Why is that relevant? Because it means that Crimson Peak might not be in theaters very long, and that means you shouldn’t wait long to see it. It’s beautifully crafted entertainment from one of this generation’s most artistically-gifted directors, and it should experienced in the dark, on the big screen, where you can lose yourself in the macabre splendor of the production, be appropriately spooked when its ghosts come calling, and on the edge of your seat as its bloody mayhem gets rolling.
Crimson Peak
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro.
Running Time: 119 minutes
Rated R for bloody violence, some sexual content and brief strong language.
Michael Bay is a director whose signature, “everything blows up,” is well known among film buffs and general audiences alike. To most people he is not a director of substance but he is undoubtedly the king of popcorn flicks. Critics, for the most part, have not been kind to his films and 100% of the films he has directed lie within the 1-3 stars out of 5 for most mainstream critics with large audiences. He started his film career interning for George Lucas on Raiders Of the Lost Ark filing storyboards when he was only fifteen. His experience working on the film and seeing the final product in theaters (He had thought the film was going suck based on the storyboards (remind you of anyone on this site?) that he worked on) he decided that he was going to become a director. After doing his graduate work he attended Art Center College of Design. The same school that has produced Directors Tarsem Singh, Zack Znyder, Cinematographer Larry Fong and other notable film makers (Now we see why they’re all very stylish directors). After a string of Commercials (with one he did for the Red Cross winning a Cilo Award), he caught the eye of Jerry Bruckheimer who gave him his first break as a director and introduced the world to Michael Bay, with Bad Boys starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Today on “By the Numbers”, we will be looking at what the world is saying about Michael Bay with their money. For someone with such a repertoire, it is quite astonishing that he has not been relegated to Joel Schumacher levels of career decline and even more incredible is the amount of success his films still achieve financially. Which outside its purpose to entertain, is the main reason why films are made. All numbers used will be a sum of all production costs and advertising and relevant one will include revenue from product placement.
His first film, Bad Boys (1995), was produced with a total sum of $19 Million. He was a new director and for Bruckheimer, 19 million was minimum risk. The film grossed$141,407,024. While it failed with critics (only rated 4.9 out of 10 by most), it was a success with the audience. Following the Success of Bad Boys , he developed a strong partnership with Jerry Bruckheimer and his next endevour was the critically panned The Rock (1996) , starring Nicholas Cage and legendary Bond actor, Sean Connery. It was produced with a $75 million and went on to gross $335,062,621 worldwide. This was followed up with Armageddon starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck which was produced on a budget of $140 million and went on to gross $553 million worldwide. As with every hollywood success, a sequel was bound to be made and Bad Boys II was released in 2003 on a budget of $130 million and grossing $273,339,556 worldwide. Almost twice as much as the first one. Bay’s only failure in the Box Office was The Island. A film that only made $46 million domestically but went on to make $172 million worldwide on a126 million budget. By the numbers, that’s still a win and it grossed more than his first film even though it made less profit. It was a financial success. Bay explained this saying the studio didn’t use his marketing plan and he believed this caused audiences to “Confuse about what the film was about” during the campaign.
On the top five highest grossing films on his resume, the lowest, the critically pannedPearl Harbor Starring Ben Affleck and Cuba Gooding Jr made $449,220,945 worldwide in 2001 on a budget of $140 million. His most recent “small” film (Pain and Gain) made$94,794,814 on a $26 million dollar budget (which people would attribute to the star power of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and before that he had Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2011. The conclusion (At the time) to a Franchise that had been brutally panned by critics since its beginning and yet continued to make more than its predecessors. The numbers for the Transformers Franchise are known to almost every fan and it are a testament to the financial success of Michael Bay as a director. Besides box office receipts, that franchise was Bay’s forray into heavy product placement. The series has a collective cume of $2,669,807,552 worldwide on a collective budget of $710,000,000. Product placement campaigns with Cheverolet, Mountain Dew and Samsung alone have garnered the franchise over $1 billion collectively and theme parks and other media based on the film franchise continue to rake in revenue. All of which have Bay as director amd consultant respectively.
By The Numbers concludes that, with their hard earned cash (or whatever dubious ways people make money these days), the movie going audience has proven that despite what film analysts and critics may say, they enjoy the product that Michael Bay is selling and have thus encouraged the upcoming fifth entry to the Transformers franchise and the abundance of Michael Bay produced media (Films, TV shows, electronics endorsements and such).
His latest venture back into the Transformers Universe, Transfomers: Age Of Extinction, while panned by both critics and fans alike, made $1.104,000,000 on a $210 million budget. It also had the distinction of being the ONLY film of 2014 to earn over One Billion dollars at the box office, which has directly led to Paramounts vigorous expansion plans for the franchise. Michael Bay might be a hack where critics are concerned but he is without a doubt a box office darling.
Like him or not, Michael Bay is : WINNING BY THE NUMBERS
So what did you think? Like the feature?
Please like and share for more “By The Numbers” and don’t forget to leave your thoughts below!
NEXT on By The Numbers with Majeed: JOSS WHEDON
Rating System Index in no particular order
WINNING : Positive across the board
WINNING CRITICS: Critics/Popularity agree on popular verdict but numbers don’t
WINNING BY THE NUMBERS: Critics and Popular verdict is negative, but numbers are winning
I’m still taking suggestions for more ratings as we move forward
Stella Artois is a big brand beer that is held in high regard, so when I found their Apple Cidre, I had to give it a shot. The season also had an impact on my desire to try their autumnal spirit. Apple-infused drinks and those similar in nature (looking at you pumpkin ale), tend to have a strong flavor that results in the drink being abandoned. The quality and reputation of Stella Artois products gave me the intrigue necessary to answer the age old question, “how ’bout them apples?”
Taste
Often times flavored beers walk a fine line between flavorful and overpowering. Stella Artois Apple Cidre actually has a flavor that is more reminiscent of apple juice than an alcoholic beverage.
Body
The usage of apple flavor is just right and the carbonation isn’t too overpowering. They are advertised as being brewed from fresh picked apples and they even carry the signature smell of a basket of fresh picked apples.
Price
A 6-pack costs $8 and change, and they are certainly worth every dollar.
Presentation
A nice clean wrapper that’s nondescript and doesn’t use any apple imagery, which seems to be the going trend for all other breweries that produce Apple Cidre.
Final Sip of Stella Artois Apple Cidre
As I reach the final sips of this apple cider I realize why I don’t care for these type of drinks. After the second one I began finding points of the taste that didn’t meld with my own tastes. The aroma begin to have too much of a cream or yogurt like smell which was too sweet for my liking. They are great for having just one but I think that 6-pack will be consumed by house guests as I have likely had my last one.
Michael Peña crushed his role as Luis in Ant-Man, so why not give him a full minute to give us the 411 on home theater release of the film.
Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
Ant-Man is directed by Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian and T.I.
Ant-Man will be available OnDemand November 17 and Blu-ray/DVD December 8.
Marvel Studios recently green the sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp will be in theaters on July 6, 2018
Monkeys Fighting Robots talked with Peña right before the release of Ant-Man.
