Comic book technology seems to be coming to life with each day and the latest super hero weapon to crash land on our planet is Thor’s hammer Mjolnir.
Mjolnir is infamous for being a devastating weapon that can rival the power of the Hulk and can only be wielded by Thor.
Allen Pan, aka YouTube user Sufficiently Advanced, has brought this other worldly technology to life and the most incredible part is that it works just as Thor’s Mjolnir works on film and in comic books.
Through the help of electromagnets and a fingerprint scanner, the Mjolnir can only be lifted by its creator. Pan gives examples of his hammer in action by going up to unsuspecting people on the street and giving them a chance to feel the power of Thor.
An electromagnet embedded in the head of the hammer creates a magnetic field strong enough to attach to metal objects such as a locked manhole cover. The magnet makes it impossible for those who are not worthy to hoist the fabled hammer.
A conveniently placed finger print scanner which is matched to Pan’s thumbprint shuts the magnet down and gives the impression that Pan is one of the few worthy people in the universe to hold Mjolnir.
It’s always interesting to see how people bring these things to life when they seem so far away in the pages of a comic book.
Check out how Allen Pan makes the Mjolnir and maybe even give it a shot if you are feeling worthy!
The news that Len Wiseman and Bruce Willis are dragging one of the most iconic action heroes of all time back through the mud with Die Hard 6 is many things: shocking, yet not very shocking. Annoying, depressing, cynical, desperate… I could fill pages with adverse adjectives. The fact this new Die Hard is going to be a prequel, dating back to John McClane’s early days on the force, before Nakatomi and probably his marriage and, well, anything this character was built upon in the original is flat out nauseating to even imagine.
This shameful news isn’t anything new out of Hollywood, a place where dreams are brought to life, then systematically destroyed amidst a cloud of soulless apathy and disdain for the general public. I typically don’t give a damn when another sequel to or reboot of a franchise is announced; I get it. It’s about money, quantity over quality. But this is Die Hard, and this has gone too far. No, this already went too far in 2013, when Jai Courtney and a disinterested Bruce Willis blew up Russia in A Good Day to Die Hard. This… this isn’t too far, this is pure madness.
A prequel, aside from being a boring and pathetic idea in general, will finally, after all these years of pain, destroy everything fans of the early films hold dear about John McClane. It’s abhorrent on too many levels to count, but before I get into what has happened and what will happen, let’s remember the good ole days for a moment.
The original Die Hard is a modern American classic, one of the most complete and satisfying action pictures ever made. The story is taut and thrilling, even after thousands of viewings. Bruce Willis embodies the everyman of John McClane, a worker-bee New York cop thrust into an extraordinary circumstance. He defeats a team of terrorists, yet none of the incredible stunts and escapes McClane manages feel trite or void of logic. There is grit and a true sense of reality. When he leaps from the exploding rooftop, his life in the hands of a firehose, you feel his despair. When he pulls those shards of broken glass from his feet, you wince. Because he winces. He’s human, fallible, vulnerable. Willis captures the essence of a real human in the midst of a true battle to survive, and that’s what made John McClane so endearing. Audiences managed to connect with him on another level, a level missing from the bicep-fueled 80s action films of Sly and Arnie.
There are honest connections with McClane. Right before the terrorists seize control of Nakatomi, he has a fight with his estranged wife, Holly. They depart on a sour note, leaving John to lament at his childish behavior, wanting nothing more than to make amends. It’s that precise moment when the siege takes place, adding a certain personal, matrimonial element to John’s desire to get back to his wife. Then there is his relationship with Al Powell, primarily through walkie-talkies. Their rapport turns from utilitarian to personal, building even more realistic and three-dimensional characters. This John McClane was constructed with pathos and humanity. The scene in the bathroom, as John is pulling the broken glass from his bloody feet, is the culmination of three powerful relationships, as he tells his new friend everything he wants to tell Holly in case he doesn’t make it. Again, this John McClane actually fears he may not survive this ordeal; more importantly, his desperation reaches the audience.
Die Hard 2 was inevitable, and a little lighter with McClane. It had to be, given the absurdity of his situation – the same thing happening to the same guy twice. It’s my least favorite of the “original three,” but it’s still leaps and bounds above the latter films. For all it’s Renny Harlin hack-y gloss, there are still moments where McClane resembles the caring and vulnerable person from the original. Namely the plane crash scene, where his attempts to save the flight fail, leaving him quite literally a mess. Die Hard 2 doesn’t work as well as the original, but it’s still very much a John McClane story.
John McTiernan returned to direct Die Hard With A Vengeance, and the pure craftsmanship of one of the most forgotten action masterminds is on full display (forgotten mostly because of that whole jail thing, but let’s not bother with that). Die Hard With A Vengeance still has a grip on that McClane persona, and is an adventure film more than a pure shoot-em-up action flick. It works, and it works well, thanks in part to the addition of Samuel L. Jackson, not a comic relief but an actual human in a situation he never wanted to be in in the first place. Does that description of Jackson’s character sound familiar?
This is where Willis should have stopped, but he’s never been the best decision maker when it comes to film projects (Color of Night, anyone?). Willis did stop for a while, 12 years to be exact. Then, he decided to team up with the aforementioned Len Wiseman for Live Free or Die Hard. It’s also known as Die Hard 4.0, for all you cool techie kids. The story deals with cyber terrorism in 2007, which is incredibly dated already. This time around, McClane’s antics become less human. And he’s saddled with real comic relief this time, Justin Long, who’s main purpose is to point out how old and out of touch McClane is now. Because he likes Creedence, shit like that. Now, instead of thinking on his feet and barely scraping out of situations with ingenuity, instead of being driven by fear of death, John McClane has beer muscles. He takes on a fighter jet… with an 18 wheeler. In the city. And his one liners are no longer witty, they are painfully macho and stilted.
The worst thing to come out of Live Free or Die Hard was the box office success. It practically guaranteed a fifth entry, though that took six years. A Good Day to Die Hard is barely a John McClane movie. It’s barely a movie of any kind, with forgettable villains, poor editing, and Jai Courtney. Bruce Willis is there, and he tells us he’s John McClane, but he isn’t. This person is not a vulnerable cop, he’s invincible. He falls through buildings and flips cars and comes out unscathed. And, worst of all, he’s an asshole. Not a charming, sarcastic asshole to the bad guys, but a real prick. I mean, he punches a Russian civilian because he can’t understand him! Perhaps the biggest departure for the character. And he’s supposed to be saving his son, but he doesn’t give a shit about his son and seems generally annoyed with his presence. Probably because his son is Jai Courtney, and I can’t blame him on that.
All of the humanity, which was a bedrock of this icon, has been dissolved and replaced with a disinterested cyborg. What a piece of shit movie.
Really? My son is Jai Courtney? Are you fucking kidding me?
Which leads us to Die Hard 6. This will be a prequel, the early days of John McClane. Why? Why in the hell do we care about John McClane before he became the savior of Nakatomi? That IS John McClane! Prior to Nakatomi, John McClane was a pencil pushing New York cop, a “New York cop,” with “a six-month backlog on New York scumbags [he’s] still trying to put behind bars.” He’s T.J. Hooker, and maybe that’s interesting, but he won’t be played as such in Die Hard 6. Since this is still technically a Die Hard film, this late 70s John McClane will be forced into some extraordinary situation involving terrorists. It will be Bruce Willis bookending the story, telling us about that time way back when that he stopped the world from ending.
Which is why Die Hard 6 will destroy what last shred of John McClane fans like myself hold on to from the original films. Sure, it’s just a movie and it’s easy to mentally disregard this film. But it will exist, and discussions of Die Hard will have an asterisk called Die Hard 6. Excuse me… Die Hard: Year One. Fuck off! This film will upend the character, reshape the myth of McClane into something entirely different, which is worse than just gradually sending him off into asshole obscurity. Make it stop.
UPDATE: Fox has responded to the report that Fantastic Four’s rights are returning to Marvel – it’s “completely untrue.” Marvel has issued a denial as well.
Marvel has reportedly worked out a deal with FOX for the Fantastic Four movie rights, according to Den of Geeks. Marvel gave FOX the TV rights to the X-Men in exchange for the film rights to the Fantastic Four with plans for a 2020 film. Marvel currently has three untitled films slated for 2020.
ComicBook.com adds that the rights to Silver Surfer, Galactus and Dr. Doom were included in the deal.
There has been no official announcement by Marvel or FOX. At this time, I would consider this a hot rumor till a second source comes forward.
UPDATE: Fox has responded to the report that Fantastic Four’s rights are returning to Marvel – it’s “completely untrue.” Marvel has issued a denial as well.
Marvel has reportedly worked out a deal with FOX for the Fantastic Four movie rights, according to Den of Geeks. Marvel gave FOX the TV rights to the X-Men in exchange for the film rights to the Fantastic Four with plans for a 2020 film. Marvel currently has three untitled films slated for 2020.
ComicBook.com adds that the rights to Silver Surfer, Galactus and Dr. Doom were included in the deal.
There has been no official announcement by Marvel or FOX. At this time, I would consider this a hot rumor till a second source comes forward.
Marvel has been making deals to regain film rights to expand their cinematic universe. When Marvel was in financial trouble in the late 90s, the company sold the movie rights to their characters. Little did they know they would become a cinematic cash cow. Then Marvel was bought by Disney in 2009, purely for the vast amount of characters to make films from. The big three movie properties that Disney and Marvel would like back are Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and the X-Men. They were able to work out a deal with Sony for Spider-Man. The X-Men will probably never return to Marvel because there are so many characters to pull from and the universe works on its own. The Fantastic Four franchise on the other hand, is film series in a hot-mess and Fox has been able to find the formula for a successful film. The door is open for Marvel to regain the rights to the Fantastic Four. Marvel sees an opportunity…
The X-Men are coming to the small screen, David Madden, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company announced the network is developing an Hellfire series. The show will be a partnership with 20th Century Fox Television and Marvel Television.
Set in the late 1960s, the series follows a young Special Agent who learns that a power-hungry woman with extraordinary abilities is working with a clandestine society of millionaires – known as “The Hellfire Club” – to take over the world.
“We are thrilled to partner with Marvel to bring this world to television and build upon the vibrant mythology that has captivated fans for years,” said Madden. “These powerful and dynamic characters are complicated and larger-than-life, the pace and visual imagination are unrelenting, and the story takes place during one of the most explosive eras in recent history. We are so looking forward to working with this incredibly talented team.”
“HELLFIRE is a unique opportunity to be able to go deeper with some of these extraordinary characters, but to also dramatize new characters and give TV viewers a chance to experience this expanded world in an explosive way that everyone will be talking about,” commented Jonathan Davis, President, Creative Affairs, 20th Century Fox Television. “The action at the center of HELLFIRE will be dynamic and will satisfy the rabid fans, but that said, newcomers will surely be addicted too!”
Hellfire is the working title and no release date has been announced.
Hellfire is a co-production of 20th Century Fox Television and Marvel Television. Evan Katz, Manny Coto, Patrick McKay and JD Payne are co-creators. McKay and Payne will write the pilot script, based on a story by Katz, Coto, McKay and Payne. Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory will executive-produce the pilot, alongside Katz and Coto, who will serve as showrunners.
Ok Flash fans, pick up your jaws because the DC Universe just got immensely bigger.
In last nights episode of The Flash, almost no time was wasted from episode 1 to 2 as the concept of the Multiverse came into fruition. Newly-introduced Jay Garrick has seemingly served as the overseeing voice, taking over for Harrison Wells as the one who knows so much.
A product of the newly-named “breach,” Garrick was quickly put under the microscope by Barry, clearly still hesitant in the trust section after his experience with Wells. An issue that was noticed early on and explained later on in the episode. While still widely misunderstood, Jay was put to the tests nonetheless, through physical testing and a hidden lie detector, which he passed, everyone but Barry was still convinced that his intentions were good and not with a hidden agenda.
Right off the bat, Jay made his presence a worthy addition, quickly jumping into his knowledge of the Multiverse, a concept that has been in the background for the past six months leading up to the past episode. Despite his lack of his speed, it was his wit and knowledge which served his purpose more than his most well-known ability.
Piggybacking off his knowledge, the Ronnie Raymond-less Dr. Martin Stein went to the drawing board, literally, to lay out what he knows now.
Introducing, Earth Two.
With the “Infinite Earths” laid out on the board, you begin to see where this storyline is headed. Explaining his experience with the seasons main antagonist, Zoom, Jay describes his story of his battle with Zoom in Earth Two’s Central City when, out of the sky, the parallel opening of the black hole that bridged both planets and brought Jay to Earth One. Explaining that one person on one planet might be a completely different person on another, which proves to be a bit of a plot twist later on.
With 52 (clever) breaches all over Central City, Zoom brings his second captive to the Earth One Central City, Eddie Slick A.K.A. Sand Demon. It’s interesting to point out that Zoom does not seem phased by the breaches, and seems to have the ability to bypass through the multiverse, bringing E-2 meta-humans to E-1 to kill The Flash.
Investigating what was first thought of as a fire, Barry was met by a new enemy. Their first encounter was a typical introduction, with the meta-human just a bit more cunning than our hero, unleashing a sand/human cell attack and quickly dissipating from the fight. Facing his defeat, Barry returns to the scene of the fire along with Joe, both as an observation of the fire and as a second glance to pull a clue to his new adversary. Facing a new enemy is nothing new to Flash and the rest of the S.T.A.R. Labs team, but this time, Barry has help that he does not necessarily want to trust in. Garrick is locked away in the meta-human suppression bay.
Acting as an undertone in the plot, Caitlin Snow (Raymond) was clearly awe-struck by the alternate Flash, putting some twist on her complex love life, whether or not is just shock and awe of the man who was shirtless for a good portion of the episode, or until the absence of Ronnie from the show is explained, what will happen between Caitlin and Jay? We may not know for some time.
Following the dismantled Anti-meta-human police force, Joe West meets a new character, Patty Spivot. In the comics, Spivot was a lab assistant to Barry, and she suffers the same fate as Barry: a bath of chemicals that grants her super speed but with disastrous results. While it remains to be seen what kind of character Ms. Spivot will become, one thing is for sure, she desperately wants to defeat meta-humans. Stiff-armed on numerous occasions by Joe, Spivot finally gets into his “no code” a little bit when she apprehends Slick on the street while he is pursued by Joe. She later reveals to Joe her true intentions, her tragic backstory with Mark Mardon murdering her father and why she is determined to hunt the metas. Seemingly fit story for a superhero.
Back into the main story, we get a bit more of a taste of Cisco’s abilities, as his “vibe and visions” are appearing more and more frequently. While it’s no secret that Cisco has meta-human capabilities, and even becomes a hero named Vibe, we are certainly a ways off from seeing any sort of suit in real time. I’m not excluding any sort of future scenes that might lay over a present day episode. When his observations of the sand/cells turns into one of his vibes, he sees where Slick is when West and Spivot take him down.
Once in the interrogation room, West goes at Slick, who checks out to be in Blackgate Penitentiary at the time that the S.T.A.R. Labs event happened, therefore, he would have been unaffected by any sort of meta-human event. However, we are dealing with numerous Earths, each with their own parallel person. That’s right, two worlds, two Eddie Slicks. It’s the Sand Demon who ends up taking Spivot hostage in a small fight outside Central City Police Department. After trial and error, it was time for Barry to come to terms with the truth and put his faith in a man he doesn’t know much., leading to the culmination that are the Flashes of two worlds, and we see the Speed Force grow by one.
In Cisco’s research, his vibe occurs once more and sees where Spivot is located and what Sand Demon has in mind for Barry, a concussive bomb which affects Barry and jay, but can absorb into his own body. This catches the attention of Doctor Stein, who begins to see a change in Cisco and ends up confronting him on the change. Cisco would reveal his ability to Stein, setting up a long process which we will see over the next few episodes.
In her first ever appearance, we meet Iris’ mother and Joe’s wife, who we do not hear her name. Their conversation is brief, as she is wanting to see her daughter and Joe for the first time in a long time. Also appearing for the first time this season was Harrison Wells in a flashback. A group of kids, one would believe included Barry, are led on a tour of S.T.A.R. Labs, which Wells appears out of an elevator and greets the kids and the camera cuts to black and credits roll.
On the analysis side of things, lets look at this Multiverse from the outside.
There are numerous personalities spread across an unknown amount of Earths, something that we don’t quite fully understand in its entirety. Thinking back to the scenes that we see in the end of season one, we saw Caitlin Snow as Killer Frost, but we don’t know if that was E-1 Caitlin, E-2 Caitlin or E-43 Caitlin. Just be aware, we will see a lot of different characters in the coming months, potentially years. It does seem that the E-1 Cisco is the one that becomes Vibe somewhere down the road, although where he hones his skill and focuses into becoming a hero, that remains light years away.
With Mrs. West coming into the picture, what does this mean for the appearance of Wally West? With the casting completed, it’s only a matter of time before we see how he comes to Central City. My thoughts, is it possible that when Mrs. West left, she was already pregnant with Wally and her resurfacing is with the news that Joe has another child? Likely? Likely not? You be the judge.
Also, on the topic of Zoom’s ability to slip through the breaches unscathed, is it possible that Ronnie is actually in another Earth? If the singularity that opened up at the end of season 1 brought Jay, Zoom and numerous amounts of parallel meta-humans, is it possible that Ronnie was transported elsewhere? Short answer, yes. Again, with Legends coming out and Ronnie not a part of the cast, it leads to some thought, where is he?
What are your thoughts on the season so far and last nights episode? Comment below!
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: Guillermo del Toro‘s 1997 film, Mimic, makes cool the uncool and revels in its man-vs-nature-vs-science practicality.
This week, Guillermo del Toro releases another passion project of his with the Gothic romance, Crimson Peak. That film, which promises Victorian-clad Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain fighting for love and against their pasts in one of the most gorgeous haunted houses ever, looks willing and able to substantiate this square premise. Looking back on a lot of del Toro’s work, his ability to turn his boyish sensibilities into something adult and smart has become a through line. He presents his subjects and details sincerely and doesn’t wink at the onscreen happenings. In other hands, the material could come off as cheese or as gawkish immaturity, but in del Toro’s, it all shines and draws us in.
By his own admission, Mimic, as it was released and even as it stands with a new director’s cut, is not the film del Toro wanted to make. Between the demanding nature of producer, Bob Weinstein, and the on-set tension among the film’s leads, it’s a miracle Mimic was made at all. Lo and behold that the film doesn’t just exist, it almost sings.
In turn, del Toro makes heroes out of entomologists, discusses the intricacies of insect protocol and throws goop, guts and blood at every inch of the frame. Through the lenses with which Mimic was marketed and released, it’s no wonder that the film didn’t catch on with mainstream audiences that thought they were seeing a slick, Hollywood horror-thriller. It’s not that it isn’t that to a certain degree, it’s that it is so much more and has a very human heart and a very dark heart.
Following the outbreak of a cockroach-borne disease that has almost killed all children, Dr. Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) discovers a way to harness nature to combat itself and eradicate the disease. The plan, which involves the creation of a new species of insect whose high metabolism causes it to secrete a toxin deadly to roaches but grow and evolve at an exponential rate, is thought to have worked but, in true nature-run-amok fashion, only causes bigger problems.
This is a story about the hubris of humanity; what happens when science tries to take control of nature. We’ve seen this template hundreds of times over with films ranging from Jurassic Park to The Fly. Looking purely at the film’s goals, it doesn’t do much different with the genre which, ultimately, is what keeps it grounded from being a transcendent moment in horror. Instead, Mimic focuses on the people thrust together in this situation, attempting against all odds to destroy the abominations they’ve created. The ways that the public exalts the initial cure of the disease, juxtaposed against the private victory when humanity is really saved in the end brings full circle that humility is key to existence.
Where del Toro and the producers misfire with the plot or story, they succeed in the development of likable, human characters. The cast which includes Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Charles S. Dutton, Josh Brolin, Giancarlo Giannini and Doug Jones (and a Norman Reedus appearance as a kooky garbage collector!) more than do their jobs against what can easily be considered some cliched dialogue and circumstance. It isn’t easy to create characters we want to see survive and the film isn’t afraid to do away with anyone and everyone.
And doing away with characters is something del Toro does extremely well.
The production design for his films has a fabled history and this, as his first English-language feature debut, sets the bar for his wet, filthy, rich worlds. The monster designs are some of the creepiest and most ingenious seen in years. The practical effects let us buy that these things could have come from a natural world and they are both bumbling and menacing enough to make us really believe in the danger. The creatures’ “mimicking” techniques play less of a part than the title implies, but the reveals of how this is done result in some of the best shocks in the history of the genre.
Guillermo del Toro’s populist sensibility isn’t populist in the traditional sense. His touch is mistaken for something easily digestible when his style is much more fetishistic with its detail and intent. These “mainstream” films of his paint in such broad strokes that it’s easy to mistake them for being simple. Mimic is pure childhood imagination smashed against an adult understanding of the world.
iZombie continues where the first episode left off and begins hinting at some of the season long plotlines we’ll be treated with. But what does this mean for the characters and what exactly can we expect from the second season of iZombie?
Spoilers
The episode starts of with Major feeling guilty about his first hit seen last week. Overall this episode hints at a far greater focus on Major. Major has always been the most transformative character, but this season seems to ramp it up to a far greater degree. With his relationship with Liv still a little messy, and now a drug problem propping up. Even if Ravi seemed to enjoy the Utopium more.
Speaking of Ravi, he must be incredibly desperate for the cure if he’s willing to take it directly for “research purposes.” I guess Blaine hasn’t had much luck yet.
Speaking of Blaine, he’s had a lot of trouble this episode. Unable to find any tainted Utopium, at least so far. His side business is floundering, and he’s about to start a freaking war to change that.
Max Rager didn’t really do anything this episode, we had some scenes with the secretary, nothing more than a sidekick role so far however. Liv’s family wasn’t in the episode at all, it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. Also Peyton hasn’t been seen either. This isn’t surprising, her character was written off due to another project. She had left so suddenly though, that I would be surprised if she doesn’t show up again at some point, but this might have to wait until season three.
Season two seems to have some quirks in comparison to its previous season. One being the over-the-top brain’s Liv has been eating. ‘Grumpy Old Liv’ definitely had this, ‘Zombie Bro’ overflowed with it, and the upcoming episode ‘Real Dead Housewife of Seattle’ doesn’t seem to lack any either. It’s unclear whether this is a positive or negative change as of yet. These first two episodes and the personas that came with them have been a lot of fun, but could also wear itself out pretty easily if not handled correctly.
The other trend is the focus on more sympathetic crimes. In particular the confession scenes, our killers aren’t just killers, they are portrayed as normal people caught up in emotion. Over the lose (or perceived lose) of a loved one. Given the preview for next week it seems unlikely that this will continue, but it is an interesting observation nonetheless.
Princess Sparkles at its glittery best
As for the crime itself, it was interesting. Even if the murder weapon seems to be a knitting needle. Liv’s visions were almost completely useless this episode, which makes sense considering the lack of connection between the murderer and the victim, but it was frustrating for the visions, which really set the crime aspect of iZombie apart, to be severely underutilized this episode.
Liv’s frat boy persona was a ton of fun to watch though, Rose McIver continues to show her ability to play many types of Livs. Furthermore, you can tell she has a lot of fun as the role, being able to play with so many different stereotypes.
If I were to guess, the season’s plotlines will be as follows: First we have Major with the drugs and zombie killing. Max Rager must have something else up its sleeve, most likely involving Liv more personally. The hunt for tainted Utopium will continue, probably unsuccessfully, Blain’s about to start a war with “The Boss.” Clive is probably going to learn about zombies and Liv’s… diet.
Overall the episode continued the status quo in both episodic stories and overarching storylines, but didn’t really do anything to set itself apart. It was a fun episode, if a little forgettable.
Probably my favorite Halloween film to watch, EVER! It’s one of the earliest sightings of Fairuza Balk on film. She stars as Mildred Hubble a not so stellar example of a witch in training. This TV movie takes place in an all girls school which happens to double as a prestigious witch academy – think Harry Potter but with only skirts. Mildred can’t seem to do anything right and is constantly the brunt of her peers and teachers torment. But in the end this black sheep and hopeless little witch saves the day. Also in the cast: the Facts of Life’s Charlotte Rae doing double duty as the headmistress Miss Cackle and her evil twin Agatha; Diana Rigg as Miss Hardbroom (Snape in a dress); and Tim Curry as The Grand Wizard (poor choice of a title). It’s silly and sweet and worth watching. Growing up isn’t easy!
You can’t go wrong with a gang of imaginative kids who have their own club dedicated to horror films, monster, ghouls, AND they meat in a tree clubhouse. That’s the Monster Squad. It’s a film about a group of kids who find themselves stuck in the middle of battle between good and evil. All the classic monster are present – Count Dracula, the Wolfman, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein’s Monster, A mummy, and a vampire bride – and they all want to see the world overtaken by evil. The kids discover The Count’s plan and set about to thwart him and his gang of ghouls. Did you know that, “Wolfman’s got nards?”Andre Gower, Stephen Macht, Tom Noonan, Ryan Lambert, Jon Gries, and Mary Ellen Trainer star is this classic teeny-bopper horror is NOT for the faint at heart or for pussies. Dracula has a bite.
Robyn Lively is Louise Miller an unpopular, nerdy, sweet 15 year old girl who has a crush on the hottest, most popular guy in school. One night while riding her bike she gets into an accident and knocks on the door of a strange house. She encounters Madame Serena, Zelda Rubenstein, who is a seer, and it is revealed to her that she is reincarnated witch and old friend of Serena’s. On her 16th birthday she is due to come into her powers and she takes advantage of her new-found talents. She wants the hottest guy in school to like her and she realizes that the only way to do this is for her to become popular. She casts a spell, she becomes popular, and then the spell gets out of hand. Her admirers turn stalkers! She realizes that popularity isn’t everything and that true friendship and being who you are is more important. It is soooo 80s, so cheesy, and fantastic.
The WITCHES! This is an incredibly creepy film that all kids who are not afraid of their own shadows, and that like horror films, will love. This film is based on the Roald Dahl’s novel by the same name. It is the story of a a young boy, Luke Evesham, a precocious child on holiday with his grandmother Helga. He has a vivid imagination and, she [Luke’s grandmother] plays into it with her stories of witches and their dislike of children. Luke, the inquisitive child that he is, becomes preoccupied with the idea of witches and female demons that hate children and want to destroy them. While on holiday he stumbles across a group of such women, in disguise, attending a convention for like-minded others. Luke discovers their plan to exterminate children and must thwart their efforts in order to save the world’s children from imminent demise. Angelica Houston is the Grand High Witch!
This is one of two films starring Christina Ricci to make the list and the second for Angelica Houston.
Duh duh duh duh duh! *snap, snap* Duh duh duh duh duh! The Addams Family is great film to watch with the kids. The cult classic comic and TV series from the 1960s is brought to life and given a bit of polish to delight audiences of all ages. Morticia (Angelica Houston), Gomez (the late Raul Julia), Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd), Wednesday (Christina Ricci), Thing, and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), make their way to the big screen. Twenty-five years after the disappearance of Fester. Gomez laments about his disappearance and how much he would like his brother back in his life. His lawyer -Gomez’s- who owes a lot of money to a loan shark notices that her son, Gordon, resembles his missing brother. They hatch a plan to have him pose as Fester and steal the Addams’ fortune. Little does everyone know that Gordon is the true Fester Addams after all. Check it out!
Another kid-centric film that will thrill the family. We meet 300 years after the Sanderson sisters are executed for practicing the dark arts. A spell is broken by a new kid in town and the sisters come back to life. The brood have just one night, Halloween night, to ensure that they will continue to walk amongst the living. Three kids and a cat with a human soul must save the town’s children from the wicked witches who plan to lure them in and drink their life essence to remain young and nubile. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy star as the Sanderson sister backed up by a cast of virtual unknowns and Thora Birch. It is a great film to catch during the Halloween season and super family friendly.
Who doesn’t love Casper? Where most references to ghosts paint them as scary characters, Casper is a sweetheart. Carrigan Crittenden, Cathy Moriarty, inherits a haunted house from her late father. She discovers that within the house lies hidden treasures but every attempt to find the goods is thwarted by the ghosts of Casper’s mischievous uncles, Fatso, Stretch, and Stinkie. She hires a paranormal therapist, James Harvey, Bill Pullman, to rid her house of the spirits. Harvey, along with his young daughter Kat (Christina Ricci), move into the house and get to work. The shenanigans that transpire will entertain the entire family.
The made for TV movie is another one from Disney. Now generally I do not easily recommend Disney channel things, but I just like this movie. It stars the legendary Debbie Reynolds as Aggie Cromwell, a lovable grandmother who comes to visit her daughter and grandchildren on Halloween. The children don’t know much about her, but she has always been an eccentric character. What her grandkids don’t know is that they she is a very powerful witch from an old-established and so are they. She has come to them on the holy night of All Hallows Even with the intent to get her daughter to agree to reveal that they are witches and to start training her eldest daughter, Marnie, in the craft. Mom says, “No,” grandma leaves, and the kids follow her home to Halloweentown. Upon entering the town the realize that something is terribly wrong and the Cromwell/Piper clan must save the day.
Ryan Coogler who made a name for himself with Fruitville Station and is currently handling the next Rocky Balboa installment with Creed, is being pursued by Marvel to direct Black Panther, according to Heroic Hollywood.
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay most recently passed on the project.
Joe Robert Cole is rumored to be the one Marvel wants to write the script.
All we know for sure is that Chadwick Boseman has the lead in the film that will be out on February 16, 2018.
