Old Hat For ‘Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood’

The following post contains spoilers!  After the fan backlash over Friday the 13th : A New Beginning which attempted to take the franchise in a different direction where Tommy Jarvis turns into a killer following too much trauma, Jason Vorhees was brought back from the dead in the sixth movie.   Incidentally, the fifth movie made more money compared to its meager budget asContinue reading “Old Hat For ‘Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood’”

‘War Machine’ Stalls On Cliches

The problem with a movie like War Machine is that it’s two different cliched stories that never do make for an entertaining feature. It’s basically An Officer and a Gentleman meets Predator.   It’s the type of movie they used to release in the 1990s and 2000s in movies during the less active months before they were regulated to video rental shops and TBS’ Movies For Guys Who Like Movies. Part ofContinue reading “‘War Machine’ Stalls On Cliches”

‘Storm Of The Century’ Still Hits Hard Many Years Later

When New England recovering from the huge snowstorm that hit less than two weeks ago, I’d thought I’d look at Storm of the Century which Stephen King wrote specifically for TV. Set in February 1989, it aired as a three-part miniseries in the middle of February 1999.   Now, Stephen King adaptations are mostly hit or miss. But his work on TV has been less than stellar. There wasContinue reading “‘Storm Of The Century’ Still Hits Hard Many Years Later”

‘Scream 4’ Brought Franchise Back To Life, For Better And For Worse

The Scream franchise has divided horror fans for the past 30 years. I think it’s mainly because horror movies exist on the fringes of entertainment, a step up from porno flicks and raunchy sex comedies. They’re really never supposed to be big-budget high concept movies. But if done right, it can still be a critical and commercial success.   The first Scream movie was released during the ChristmasContinue reading “‘Scream 4’ Brought Franchise Back To Life, For Better And For Worse”

‘The Pledge’ Showcases Tom Noonan’s Talents Alongside Jack Nicholson

When you’re about 6-foot-5, actors like Tom Noonan’s imposing size were mostly cast as villains and antagonists. Yet his dual role in Last Action Hero both as The Ripper and himself showed that deep down he was just a regular person who got the acting bug and went with it.   His brother, John Ford Noonan, was an actor and playwright himself. And hisContinue reading “‘The Pledge’ Showcases Tom Noonan’s Talents Alongside Jack Nicholson”

‘Valentine’ Turns 25

A movie like Valentine basically asks us to believe that the one character we know is the killer isn’t the killer. In all fairness, David Boreanz only had about two weeks to film all his scenes in this movie and his character of Adam Carr never does really seem to fit the storyline.   I don’t doubt there were script changes during filming which meant some of hisContinue reading “‘Valentine’ Turns 25”

‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ Only Briefly In Lackluster ‘Friday the 13th’ Entry

Before Kangaroo Jack deceived a whole generation into believing that the premise of a movie was different than how it was advertised, there was Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. You could also say the same thing about The Full Monty by the way.   By 1989, horror movies were scrapping the bottom of the barrel of filmmaking. Critics detested them. Audiences were staying away.Continue reading “‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ Only Briefly In Lackluster ‘Friday the 13th’ Entry”

‘Outland’ Bends Genres For A Gritty Sci-Fi Neo-Western Crime Thriller

I was a young kid one night when I was channel surfing back when there weren’t that many channels and I found Outland on the late show. Just for FYI, that was back when TV stations ran movies in the wee hours instead of shutting off their broadcast signal.   All I remember from the movie was an actor who I didn’t realize was Sean ConneryContinue reading “‘Outland’ Bends Genres For A Gritty Sci-Fi Neo-Western Crime Thriller”

‘Stranger Things’ Ends With A Bang

TV shows are always problematic in what the writers had intended and what the public ends up wanting. Let’s not forget that sometimes an actor’s portrayal of a character never full works out. Or the actor leaves or sadly dies.   Ten years ago when the Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross) were putting the final touches on their first season, they probably didn’t anticipate the cultural phenomenon the show wouldContinue reading “‘Stranger Things’ Ends With A Bang”

‘Return Of The Living Dead Part II’ Never Does Work As Well

By the winter of 1988, zombie movies were dead…for lack of a better word. Horror movies in general were in rare supply by then. Parental groups and an almost universal distaste for the genre by the most famous and professional critics meant most of the horror flicks were the bottom of the barrel, about a small rung upContinue reading “‘Return Of The Living Dead Part II’ Never Does Work As Well”