Looking Back at 2020!

2020 definitely wasn't the year that we all wanted but it was the year that we got and we tried to make the best of it.  Sure I had plenty of events that were cancelled or postponed until 2021, AEW in Boston that was first postponed to August 2020 and then April 2021, New Japan returning to Madison Square Garden was cancelled before tickets went on sale.  I had tickets to two great concerts, KISS and Guns n' Roses that have been postponed until August 2021. 

However, instead of focusing on all the things that we couldn't do or didn't get to do I want to look at what we were able to do.

Before the pandemic and Covid restrictions I went to three wrestling shows, went to my first Boston Bruins game with my Dad & brothers, and Kate & I had an overnight get away to New Hampshire where we went to La Festa Pizza and Funspot.

After the restrictions were put in place at first we stayed home and played a lot of basketball, more than we ever had before and continued to play a lot over the summer.  Drive-In theaters had one of their best years in years screening classic movies as new films were not being released.  We took in such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, The Evil Dead, and more. 

When the campgrounds opened Kate, Wesley, & I spent a weekend in Medway at Pinegrove Campground & Cottages.  All five of us returned in July for four nights.  We couldn't do out normal trip to Canada because the borders were and are still closed, but we explored a part of the county.  

We also found and explored many hiking trails locally and around the State.  We even went Apple picking five weeks in a row at five different orchards.  

We even managed to take a nice vacation to Vermont in mid-October when travel was allowed and the numbers were leveled out.  While in Vermont we did do a lot of sightseeing however, almost everything that we did was outside and we had great weather while we explored. 

You can read all about our adventures over at Labbe Family Voyages.

In 2020 I also had surgery, graduated college, self-published two books, and managed to stay connected with my friends even if we didn't get to hang out like we would have preferred.

I don't see 2021 starting out any different than 2020 finished, but I do have faith that by mid 2021 things will be much, much better. 

Happy New Year! 

More About Aspect Ratios

Back in July I made a post about aspect ratios you can read it here.  Well I'm back today with some more information that I learned about aspect ratios in older movies.

On Christmas night the wife and I sat down to watch "It's A Wonderful Life", the timeless Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed 1946 classic.  I had a digital copy on Vudu that I fired up and I was a bit surprised to see it was in 1.33:1 or 4:3 scale.  I looked up the original aspect ratio of the film and fount that it was filmed in 1.37:1, which is essentially 1.33:1.  This lead me to the website The Digital Bits where I learned so much about the early days of Hollywood and how movies were filmed. 

From the late 1890's until the early 1950's all movies were filmed in the same aspect ratio 1.33:1 or 4:3 which means for every four units width the image has 3 units of height. During this time the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the Academy standard 1.33:1.  So all classic films before the 1950's were shot in this format and any anamorphic widescreen cuts of these films the print has been altered to make it look widescreen by cutting off the top and the bottom of the image.

When home televisions stared becoming mass produced the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) selected the Academy Standard as the official aspect ratio for broadcast television.  This is referred to 4x3 or NTSC standard.  

In the 1950's Hollywood started altering the aspect ratio of movies to lure people out of their homes and see movies on the big screen again in a format their home television couldn't duplicate.  Although there are several different versions of widescreen images the most common ones used is the 1.85:1 ratio also known as Academy Flat and 2.23:1 or Anamorphic Scope.

With the home video boom of the 1980's this lead to movies being released in a full frame version via pan and scan.  Essentially the image was modified by cutting of the edges of the film so it would fit the 4x3 home television screen.  Yes you could rent movies in widescreen format but as a former video store employee I can tell you most casual movie fans hated the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.  

It wasn't until 1996 that the first HDTV's were introduced with 16:9 aspect ratio, it wasn't until the mid 2000's that they became mass produced.  I got my first one in 2007.  16:9 is now the standard format for television.  

The X-Files is the first show I remember watching on television in widescreen.  Starting with season five in 1997 they began filming the episodes in 1.78:1.  I have the original DVD releases of the X-Files and Seasons 1 - 4 are presented in the 4:3 aspect.  However, in the digital versions on Hulu and on the home video Blu-ray releases they have altered the images to make them 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen.  This, of course, irrorates me!

As you can see in the example above most people will think it's no big deal, but it does bother me.

Until Next Time!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

This is one of my all-time favorite Christmas specials…

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas

Original Air Date - December 8, 1974 on CBS
Rankin/Bass

This special has aired every year since its first broadcast on CBS until 1994 and on the now ABC Family since 1995. 

I recorded it off of TV probably 20 years ago now so my copy is rough.  A few years back I bought a commercial release but they had cut a song from it, I can only assume because they said the word gay in it.  I’m actually watching it right now on You Tube, it’s a very good copy and it is complete with each song.

It’s about the town of Junctionville, NY where mice and humans live in harmony.  Essentially a letter in the local paper calls Santa a myth, Santa takes exception and returns all their letters.  Local clock maker Joshua Trundle tries to make the clock at the town office play a magical song on midnight at Christmas pleading for Santa to forgive and come see them.  Father mouse’s son Albert, who also wrote the scathing letter, accidentally breaks the clock causing the Trundle family to fall on hard times.  In the end Albert races against time to try and fix it.

Rankin/Bass are very well known for their much beloved stop motion Christmas specials including Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming’ To Town as well as many other animated and stop motion specials for various holidays.

Take the 24 minutes to watch this, it’ll be worth your time!

Last year I was looking on ebay for Christmas record albums and I came across Twas The Night Before Christmas on vinyl.  At first I thought it was just the songs, but once I put i on my turn table I found out that it was the entire special.  It's pretty damn awesome!  The fact that it's a Disneyland record is funny to me. 

Until Next Time!

Rhode Island Comic Con 2014

Reading my buddy Brandon's posts about his experience going to Wizard World in Chicago in 2016 has me thinking about my own convention experiences.   I first posted this on another blog back in 2014 when I got home from the convention.  This is that post and I have expanded it and added detail.  The convention was October 31 - November 2nd, 2014.

 

This past weekend I spent a spectacular time with some great friends in the Ocean State for the 2014 Rhode Island Comic Con. John, Jere, Ju, Jonny, & I piled into Vanna and about 4 hours later we arrived at the Omni Providence Hotel, we made great time.  We were able to check in early and had adjoining rooms which was very convenient.  The hotel is attached to the Convention Center where the Con was being held, and the Providence Place Mall via a skywalk.  Once we parked the car it didn’t move until we left Sunday.  

After getting settled in we attempted to find where we could get out passes as our weekend party pack was at will call.  Turns out we had to go to the ticket master box office at the Dukin Donuts Center, which is attached to the Convention Center, to pick up a single master ticket and then Saturday turn in our ticket for a wrist band that showed we got the weekend pass and were issued another bracelet showing we bought the early bird pass as well.  Those early bird passes paid off more than we thought they would.

Friday night featured the Halloween Party, and as none of us are party people we weren’t that interested in going.  However, Ju wanted to at least check it out so Jonny and I joined her while John & Jere checked out Dave & Busters.  D&B turned out to be quite disappointing while the Halloween Party was not!!   

The three  of us met up with Leah, a very awesome young lady who had traveled from the Boston area alone to the con, and eventually John and Jere came down.  Leah is fan of Supernatural and I dare say she likes that show more than I like wrestling, yes that much!  

The Halloween party featured a mechanical bull, karaoke contest, costume, standard high school dance songs like Cotton Eyed Joe, The Macarena, and ect and a few celebrity guests; Brian O’Halloran, Scott Schiaffo (the chewlie’s gum representative from Clerks), Seth Gilliam (Father Gabriel of the Walking Dead), Linda Blair, Anthony Michael Hall, and Cosplayer Belle Chere.  I got my picture taken with O’Halloran, Schiaffo, Gilliam, & Belle Chere.   Linda Blair even showed up to judge the screaming contest!  The Halloween party was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.  We all had a great time.   I even got to tell Anthony Michael Hall my piss-kaw-talk-us story!

Belle Chere as Jessica Rabbit

I was huge fan of Anthony Michael Hall from from many of his movies, but most recently he had been the star of the USA Network show The Dead Zone, based on the Stephen King book.  The show took place in Maine and they used many actually Maine town names and landmarks even though it was not shot in Maine.  They even "went" to Litchfield once, the town I grew up in.  Well in one episode he was looking for the blood mobile and they wouldn't tell him what town it was in only the county and it was Piscataquis, pronounced piss-cat-a-quis but the actress pronounced it piss-kaw-talk-us.  This tickled me and made me laugh so much, so I shared this horribly boring story with Mr. Hall and he patiently listened to it and seemed genuine when he laughed after.

The costumes through-out the weekend ranged from very intricate detailed work that was just fantastic to store bought to meh.  The majority of attendees wore costumes, lots of Dead Pools, Black Widows, Harley Quinns, and lots and lots of cat suits.  There was a few random‘s that surprised me like a Firestar, Darkwing Duck, and very large heavy set male dressed as Elsa from Frozen.   Everyone was very happy to pose for photos if asked and I got a few.  Once of my favorites was a girl with a very nice Captain American contest with the upper portion was actual scales woven together.  The pictures do it absolutely no justice. 

The convention floor was set up left to right with comic artists, vendors, celebrity photos & autographs, and finally celebrity headliners.  The headliners filled a large area as it was anticipated their lines would be long, and they were correct.  William Shatner was there both days and I never saw him once.  

Outside the convention center on the main floor were several vehicles and minor booths set up.  Vehicles included; the DeLorean, Kitt from Knight Rider, Mystery Machine, the batcycle and others.  If you went up to the next floor they had the panel rooms as well as the pro photo op rooms, and a few other attractions.   

We all pretty much did our own thing on the convention floor, sticking together and separating at times.  I had Brian O’Halloran sign my Vulgar DVD, I got a couple trading cards by Curt Hawkins and my photo with him, also a photo with cosplayer Jennifer Rose as batgirl. 

I was at a comic book convention so of course I picked up plenty comics, some of them for pretty darn cheap too spending about $20 on close to 40 books.  Also Jonny got me a Bates Motel room keychain in the style of the old plastic motel key tags, pretty darn cool!  They had a lot of really neat stuff there, and if I had the money I could have spent quite a lot of it. 

 On Saturday Jay joined us as he was there to see and meet Colin Baker the 6^th Doctor.  We did hang out on the floor together for a bit, but mostly he did his own thing as well.  He got a couple signed photos, did the professional photo op with Baker and got that photo signed as well, and attended his Q&A Panel.  Jay had worn a Dr. Who shirt that had the outfits of all the doctors on it in the order with which they played the iconic character.  In the photo Colin pointed to himself on Jay’s shirt, it’s pretty awesome!

Jonny and I attended the end of the Raiders of the Lost Ark panel as we planned on meeting everyone for the Supernatural Panel that was to follow after.  They couldn’t get in because the crowd was so large, so it was just Jonny and I.  Then everyone on the panel except for Jim Beaver, had played bit characters that were only in a few episodes.  The main reason I had wanted to go was to see Mark Sheppard in action as Leah had sold how funny he was at the panels, and he wasn’t even there.  So we left.   

We were pretty tired from being on the floor all day and decided to head up to the room for a spell, knowing we probably wouldn’t get back on the floor.  Basically they oversold the show and the Fire Marshall shut it down and for a few hours they wouldn’t let anyone back in the center, no matter what kind of ticket they had.  People were lined up down the hall ways, around the building outside in the rain, thousands of people.  People were furious and rightfully so, especially the people outside in elaborate costumes that were there for that evening’s costume contest and they couldn’t even get in to have them seen.  Luckily we had the early bird and was able to get in straight away before the chaos broke out. 

Saturday night we all, including our new pal Leah, went to dinner at Joe’s American Bar & Grill.  I had a fantastic burger, cooked to perfection as did Ju.  John and Jere went with the Mac & Cheese  and were very please, Leah the half roasted chicken, and Jonny…I just can’t recall but I’m leaning towards chicken sandwich.  It was fun dinner. 

After dinner we separated as Jonny, John, & Jere headed to the IMAX for a screening of John Wick, Ju eventually made her was back to the room after some window shopping, she almost shared and elevator ride with Brian O’Halloran.  Lean and I ended up heading back to the convention floor for the last half hour of the show.  We grabbed some pictures, browsed a bit, and saw some cool costumes.  The coolest part of all though was that near the elevators of the hotel we saw Scott Wilson, Hershel from the Walking Dead.  I had a wonderful, but albeit, brief conversation with him and I have to admit I marked out like crazy.  He was such a super nice guy and thanked me after I thanked him and he was so sincere about it too.  Then he ended up on the elevator with us, Leah asked him if he was having a good time and he replied, “more importantly, are you having a good time?”  It was so cool!

Jonny, John, Jere, & I finished off the night laughing heartily while watching 22 Jump Street.  The movie is completely stupid, but it is hilarious and was the perfect way to close the night. 

Because of the time change we got and extra hours sleep before checking out of the hotel and heading into the convention center.  I took in two panels this day, one about cosplay costume making that was really enjoyable and the other was phenomenal, Warehouse 13 with Saul Rubinek and Eddie McClintock!

First off they ruled the panel, they cut moderator off immediately and ran it themselves.  When it came time for audience questions Eddie was the one holding the microphone for them even.  In the next room to us was the Walking Dead Panel and the kept erupting in applause, Saul lead us on a loud ovation to out due them, and then when it happened again, he just said “oh fuck them” and continued with his story.  It appears that they characters that they played on the show were just extensions of their natural personalities.  It was a great way to close the weekend before the long drive home. 

I had been reading the weather updates and it was talking about nothing but snow as we were to head north and back home it was piling up.  Fact is we didn’t really hit any snow until Maine, and nothing that affected the roads until Topsham.  So on the van ride home, we made great time!

Planning for this trip started back in February and culminated 9 months later with a fantastic weekend full of interesting stories and wonderful experiences with some great friends!

Until Next Time!

Scrooge 1935

My all time favorite version of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" is the 1938 release starring Reginald Owen as Scrooge.  I have watched other versions but not for a very long time.  My dad loves the Alastair Sim's version.  I decided to search Roku for other versions and came across this one.  So I thought I would watch and compare them.

Scrooge
1935 run time 78 minutes
Twickenham Film Studios (United Kingdom)

I found this for free on a Channel called Snag Films.  This is the first sound version of the Christmas Carol story.

Seymour Hicks plays the titular roll of Scrooge and he had previously played him on stage as well as in a 1913 silent film version.

Opens in the street with a trio playing music before fading to the back of who I assume is Scrooge.  Camera pans to a cold Bob Cratchit who attempts to put coal in the fire, Scrooge threatens to fire Cratchit.  Fred shows up invites his uncle to dinner and makes his speech about how great Christmas is, Cratchit applauds and Scrooge threatens to fire him.

Closing time and Scrooge grants Cratchit the day off and of course threatens to fire him if he isn't early the next day.   Cratchit heads home through the busy streets of London.  Appears to buy a Turkey.  Scrooge goes to a nearly vacant restaurant.

Next we cut to scenes of several upper crust residents arriving at a large party.  Then down to the kitchen where kids beg from the window.  The cooks throw the kids scraps.  Next we cut to the dining room where the Mayor of London introduces the Queen and everyone rises singing "God Save the Queen."

Back to Scrooge who is not a good tipper. Scrooge gets home and they are able to show Marley's face on the knocker, Scrooge doesn't react.  Once in his room Scrooge settles in for the evening.  A bell rings indicating someone is at the front door, Scrooge checks and no one is there.  Suddenly the voice of Jacob Marley is heard but he is not visible on the screen.  Marley lays out what is going to happen tonight similar to other versions of the film.  Scrooge appears to be able to see Marley but we cannot, we can only hear him.  Either there was an issue with effects or that was how it was meant to be.

At one o'clock the Ghost of Christmas Past appears, it is a man and only a bright outline can be scene.  He shows us the past cutting to a younger Scrooge in his counting house talking to a young couple and I think he basically foreclosed on their home.  They leave in tears as a woman enters, it appears to be Scrooge's girlfriend.  She is appalled at his actions and how unforgiving he is.  He asks for her hand in marriage.  She very dramatically says no.  Old Scrooge is sad.  Next the ghost shows Scrooge kids singing and dancing around a Christmas Tree, oh it's the woman that rejected Scrooge, she is married with a litter of kids.

Scrooge awakens in bed and it's two o'clock the Ghost of Christmas Present is a large man eating a large feast. Scrooge touches his robe and we go directly to church getting out.  Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim are leaving walking home.  In the Cratchit house all the kids are very excitable as they sit down to eat their goose.  They toast to Scrooge, Tiny Tim sings "Hark the Herald Angel Sing."

Scrooge awakens in bed and it's three o'clock the Ghost of Christmas Future has arrived.  We don't see the Ghost just the shadow of his pointing finger and over-sized sleeve.  A group of men stand around talking about someone who has died and how they wonder what they did with his money.  Next they cut to a pawn broker where Scrooges laundress and the undertaker and selling items they have stolen from someone.  They laugh about the fact that someone has died.  Cut to a sad Bob Cratchit standing over a dead Tiny Tim.  The Ghost takes Scrooge to the cemetery and shows Scrooge his own grave and he loses it.

It's Christmas morning, Scrooge his happy to be alive.  His laundress brings Scrooge breakfast.  He sends a boy off the get the prize turkey while he gets ready.  Cut to Fred's house where Scrooge crashes the party.  He wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, cries at tree and they sit down to eat.

We cut to the next day with Bob heading off to work late, he get's there at 25 past nine in the morning.  Scrooge pretends to be angry then raises Bob's salary and promises to be a second father to Tiny Tim, but not his 5 other kids.  He then sends Bob home to be with his family with Scrooge declaring Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone as we fade to black.

The external scenes of this movie are very dark where as the internal scenes are very well lit.  A lot of the dialogue is similar to the 1938 version which I know is pulled from the book.  Scrooge's sister Fan and Fezziwig are not in this version.  I've never seen a version before that has the Mayoral party with the unseen Queen while the patrons sing.

It was a decent flick. I still like the 1938 release better, but I'm glad to have watched this.

Until Next Time

Scrooge 1951

Scrooge
1951 run time 86 Minutes
Renown Pictures

Starring Alastair Sim as Scrooge this is my father's favorite version of the film.  Alastair plays a much more laid back and arrogant version of Scrooge.  In the other versions I've scene Scrooge is mostly played as a grumpy old man.  Critically this is heralded as the finest adaptation and the one that is the closest to the original works.  Although the entire backstory with Mr. Jorkin is not in Dickens story.

The film opens on a bookshelf with copies of Charles Dickens books in identical binding with very ominous music playing.  A hand removes the book and sets it down opening it to a montage of the film credits and the music switches to "Hark the Herald Angel Sing."  This is the adaptation that uses this song in such a prominent role.  In the 1932 release it is the opening & closing credits and Tiny Tim sings it.  In the 1938 release it used in the opening & closing credits and is sung by the parishioners at the church service.

After the credits a narrator opens with the first line of the book as the camera goes into the page fading too a scene of Scrooge having a conversation with two men that ends with Scrooge saying Christmas is a Humbug.  Outside the hall he is stopped by a man who owes him money begging for more time so he doesn't go to debtors prison.

Entering his counting house Scrooge is confronted by two men looking for a donation for the poor and destitute while Cratchit takes his coat. The men are dismissed and Fred promptly enters to invite his Uncle to Christmas dinner.  Scrooge tosses him from his office.  Fred stops off in the outer parlor to speak with Bob Cratchit.

Tiny Tim is shown looking through a display window of some nice mechanical toys.  His mother comes from the butcher shop with their giant prize goose and they head off home.  Back at the counting house Scrooge begrudgingly grants Cratchit Christmas day off, hits up his favorite dive restaurant before heading home where the image of Jacob Marley greets him on his door knocker.  The effects were good on this.

Scrooge retires to his room where strange noises signal the arrival of Marley.  He appears on screen in a transparent state, the effects are quite good.  Marley delivers his message of the arrival of the spirits before departing.

The Ghost of Christmas Past is a long hair angelic elderly man who take Scrooge back to him as a teen at the boarding school where he believes he is being left for the holiday.  His sister Fran arrives to take him home, in this version Fran appears to be older where as in the 1938 version she was younger.  She died giving birth to Fred, as Scrooge's mother died giving birth to him which is why Scrooge doesn't like Fred, similarly as to why Scrooge's father didn't like him.

Next we are at Fezziwig's for the party, Scrooge is scene with his lady Alice pledging his love to her.  Sometime later Fezziwig is shown refusing to sell to a Mr. Jorkin while Scrooge looks on from his clerks table. Mr. Jorkin lures Scrooge to turn on Fezziwig.

Scrooge at his sisters deathbed

We are now at Fan's bedside where Scrooge watches his sister die and with her death his heart turns to stone.  He leaves the room before she can say her finals words which is asking Scrooge to take care of her son.  Old Scrooge begs forgiveness and cries.

Man this Past segment is really long compared to other versions.  Mr. Jorkin introduces Scrooge to Marley upon Scrooges start working for him.  Scrooge and Marley eventually buy out Mr. Fezziwig turning his warehouse into their counting house.  Alice comes back into the picture where she breaks up with him because he loves gold more than she.

Mr. Jorkin talking to Scrooge

We travel a few years into Scrooges life and find out that Mr. Jorkin is being charged with embezzlement.  Scrooge and Marley show their shrewdness by buying the company from the shareholders at 50% the going rate.  We travel to apparently to 7 years in Scrooges past to the night when Mr. Marley died.  He was sent for at 5:45 but at the shop didn't close until 7pm he said he would go at the end of the business day.  Scrooge arrives to find Marley near death who tells Scrooge to change his ways but Scrooge doesn't get the message.

Finally the past is over and we get to the Ghost of Christmas Present.  Once again the spirit is represented by large robbed man surrounded by a feast.  A touch of his robe and we are off into the celebration of that Christmas.  First up is a throng of people around the fireplace singing, yup, "Hark the Herald Angel Sing."  Next we see Bob Cratchit with Tiny Tim on his shoulder, once again eldest daughter Martha is hidden to play a joke on Bob that she's not coming for Christmas this year.  Peter's collar is ridiculously huge, Bob goes to toast Scrooge and his family balks at the sentiment.

We segue to Fred's who also toast his crotchety Uncle before breaking into dance.  Quickly we fade to Alice who is taking care of the sick and indigent.  The present leaves Scrooge in the street and the future appears in the form of a clocked being with only and extended hand exposed.

Our first stop in the future is at the Cratchit household where everyone is saddened because Tiny Tim has died.  We cut to a group of people who are happy to see someone has died and they have taken this persons belongings to sell to Joe the pawn broker.  We see the men that Scrooge was talking to at the beginning of the film, they make disparaging remarks about the recently deceased as well.  Scrooge starts to realize it might be him.  The cemetery is the last stop where Scrooge sees his own tombstone and vows to change his ways.

Scrooge awakens in his room to the knocking of his laundress a new man loving life and Christmas too.  His exuberance and happiness scare her.  He tries to do an handstand in his chair and she runs screaming from the room. Scrooge gives her a raise and the day off.

Scrooge hires a passing boy to buy the prize turkey to send to Cratchit.  Goose must have been cheaper than Turkey then.  The Cratchit's receive the turkey but it doesn't say who its from.  For some reason Tiny Tim feels that is was Mr. Scrooge, but no one else does.

Scrooge arrives at Fred's surprising all in attendance.  He apologizes to Fred's wife, for some reason and not Fred.  Then they all break into dance with Scrooge and niece-in-law leading the way.

The next morning Cratchit arrives at the counting house late while Scrooge pretends to work.  Scrooge makes like he's going to fire Cratchit but instead raises his salary.  This Scrooge wants to help's Bob whole family and not just Tiny Tim.

The narrator returns with Scrooge now having become a loved community member.  Tiny Tim calls out Uncle Scrooge and runs crutchless jumping into his arms before fading to black.

This was a good flick, but I still maintain that the 1938 version is my favorite.

Until Next Time

November Movies

The Birds - Alfred Hitchcock classic

Fantastic 4 (2015) - If you ignore entire history of the Fantastic 4 and watch this as a stand alone film it's actually pretty decent.

Holidate - Netflick original rom-com about two people who agree to be each others date on holiday's or plus one so family will stop setting them up with people.  Solid, I really enjoyed it.

The Last Thing He Wanted - Netflix original with Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck, wicked, wicked slow, can't get it a hard sell

Taxi Driver - My first time through the whole flick in ages

Jasper Mall - Documentary about a dying mall in Alabama that is a representative of malls across the United States.

Extracurricular Activities - Solid Amazon original flick with a great ending.   

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives - I feel you have to watch a Friday the 13th Film on Friday the 13th!  Part VI is may favorite of the franchise.  Vudu had a great deal, the HD copies of the first 8 films for $13! 

Never Hike Alone: Ghost Cut - The three womp stomp Vorhees films combined into one movie

Psycho - Another Alfred Hitchcock classic, the wife and I got on a classic movie kick

Dances With Wolves - I forgot that this flick is three hours long!  Found out there is a four hour cut out there as well.  

A Better Tomorrow (2010) - the original is much better

Mile 22 - Mark Walberg and Iko Uwais action flick, Uwais is so friggin great!  I Forgot the ending of this movie so it surprised me all over again

Bushwick - I watched this on Netflix, it starts Batista and Brittany Snow and came out in 2017 and I don't recall seeing anything about until recently.  Essentially a story about the a portion of the US trying to succeed from the rest of the country and this is there first offensive in Bushwick, New York

Dead Pool 2 - it's awsome!

The New Mutants - I red boxed this, after all the hype and delays I had to watch this.  And now I've watched all the movies in the X-Men franchise.  

Rush Hour 3 - I didn't know my son hadn't seen the final installment in the series. He has now!

When Harry Met Sally - I had never seen this before, I've seen clips and I'm familiar with the premise and my wife wanted to watch it.  I really enjoyed it. 

Iron Mask -  aka Viy 2: Journey to China; a Russian - Chinese co-production, with Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger in supporting roles.  filmed in 2017, released in Russia and China in September 2019, November 24, 2020 in the states. It's pretty good, we get a fight scene between Chan and Arnie so it's worth watching for that.

Rear Window - Our third and final Hitchcock flick of the month, I look forward to watching more with Kate next month. 

Hillbilly Elegy - Netflix original based on memoir, it was decent.  Don't think I'll watch it again. 

Get Duked! - Amazon original, I saw the trailer and thought it would be decent, it wasn't. 

Die Hard - Started our Christmas viewing season off right with a true holiday classic that Kate hadn't seen before.  

Rocky - Kate mentioned that she had never seen Rocky before.....I corrected that immediately. 

Until Next Time!

A Christmas Story 2

Warner Premier

Release Date October 30, 2012

Runtime 85 minutes 

A Christmas Story is a classic beloved holiday movie written and narrated by the legendary Jean Shepherd.  The movie is also drawn from his classic stories.  There have been several movies over the years based on Shepherds works and they are all written and narrated by Shepherd himself.  I have watched and own them all and they are great!

A Christmas Story 2 features the same characters from Shepherds works however that is where it ends.  I cannot find one trace of any written works of Shepherds involved in this story, and I have read 5 of his books.

A Christmas Story 2 is not good.  The underline back story is actually really good, however the slapstick and day dream segments are excessive.  They tried to spoof as many moments and elements from the original as possible.

I can't imagine I'll ever watch this again.

Until Next Time

Thanksgiving Traditions

When it comes to Christmas my family and I have many traditions to celebrate the season.  I can't say the same for Thanksgiving.  The only constant since 2013 is that Kate is going to cook us a fantastic meal.  In fact that is why Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, "Because the only expectation is a good meal, and I've got that down."  She certainly does!

I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade every year.  I'm not sure why because the constant lip synced singing always drives me crazy, but there's something about it that draws me in.  This year they still had a very scaled down version of the parade with a combination of live and pre-taped performances.

They also had to get clever and rely on a lot of local, as in acts in New York State, that could appear in it like the Coney Island Mermaid Parade and the Big Apple Circus.  They pulled it off with a very successful show.  Another tradition is that I watch football, but that's common practice for me on Sunday's and Thursdays depending on the game. 

A lot of other people watch the parade and football every year.  One tradition that is unique to me is that every year on Thanksgiving I watch the I Quit Steel Cage Match between Tully Blanchard and Magnum TA at Starrcade 1985.  From 1983 - 1987 Starrcade was on Thanksgiving Night, then in 1987 WWF started the Survivor Series forcing Starrcade to move to December.  

I've always wanted to go to Wrestling on Thanksgiving night.  Back in the day that was always a big night for wrestling and the record books will show that every territory ran on Thanksgiving night.  In fact many southern indie promotions still do!  

What are you Thanksgiving traditions?  

Until Next Time!

A Shooting Star or a Meteor

 The other night, Tuesday November 17th, I work evening shift at dispatch getting out of work at about 11 pm.  Walking towards my van I do what I always do walking outside on a clear night which is look up at the sky.  I absolutely love looking at the night sky, there is just something magical about it and it doesn't get old for me. 

On this night walking to my van I saw a bright light shoot across the sky!  It happened fast and when I saw it I yelled out "a shooting star!"  but no one else saw it.  It was big and bright and seemed to get bigger and brighter as it went leaving a streak of light for a tail behind it.  And then, just like that, poof it was gone.  It was marvelous!

My initial reaction was that it was a shooting star, but it looked to big and too low for that.  I stood there for several minutes with my eyes darting around the night sky and didn't see another one.  A quick google search showed me that the Leonids Meteor shower was at peak the night of the 16th into the 17th so my thought is that it was a remnant from the Leonids.  

I want to go to one of the places that is certified Dark Sky parks so I can see the night sky with no light pollution.  https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/finder/  There is one in Maine, but I've been there during the day time and it's not a place you want to drive at night.  The "roads" are not great.  

I've always wanted to be able to take pictures of the night sky, I even bought a really nice camera but I really don't know how to use it proper.  I've read stuff online but I really thinks I need to take a class on it and have someone look at my camera.  I wanted to take an Adult Ed class on it, and once I finished my college classes I was going to, but you know, Covid.  Luckily there's still time. 

Until Next Time! 

My First Con: Supermegasfest 2006

Reading my buddy Brandon's posts about his experience going to Wizard World in Chicago in 2016 has me thinking about my own convention experiences.  

Back on November 18, 2006 my buddy Jay and I went to Supermegafest in Framingham, Massachusetts.  Supermegafest is typically a one or two day convention at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel.  Neither Jay nor I had ever been to a convention of any kind before and there were a lot of celebrities there that we both wanted to meet.

I made the drive to his house in Wales, Maine early that morning and then we headed south to the show.  We stopped for breakfast on the way at the Cracker Barrel and got to the convention right at start time.  There were many people there that I wanted to meet but the "con" prices shocked me.  I had meet several wrestlers before at wrestling events and typically they charge like $5 to sign a card for you and then take a picture for free, here at the convention it was $30 for a combo which I couldn't justify.  However there was two people that I wanted to meet and, unlike the wrestlers that I thought I would meet again someday I didn't want to miss out on meeting Casandra Peterson and Yvonne Craig. 

The main draw that day was Billy Dee Williams but it was $60 for a photo, again compared to today's prices a steal but back then it was just t o much.   My buddy and I were sitting in the break area with a snack and Billy Dee was walking directly towards us, no doubt to a door that lead out back as he had yet to come out for his signing and appearance, he was just getting a water.

Anyhow, as he nears us I say, "Hello Mr. Williams. How are today?'

He replied "Doing good fella's, do-ing good." Looking over his sunglasses with a smile and a nod without breaking his stride.

I usually don't get starstruck, I manage to stay calm a level-headed 99% of the time, it's because of my job as a 911 dispatcher. However, Billy Dee Williams is so friggin' cool and there must be something about his voice because, apparently, everything he says is smooth. Not to mention it's Lando friggin' Calrissian!!!

The convention was in one large ballroom with the vendors and celebrities and the snack area in a separate room, also there were vendors in the hallway leading to the convention room.  By today's standards this was very small and intimate.  

I got wrestling cards signed by Virgil, Captain Lou Albano, & "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff.  Ironically I have never meet Albano nor Orndorff since this show and Albano passed away in 2009.   Jay was super excited to meet Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's and she played the singing telegram lady in the movie Clue.  She was very sweet and super nice to talk too.  

We looked at several vendor tables, the only thing I recall buying was a one shot comic Saw: Rebirth which was a prequel to the first film.  

I did meet Yvonne Craig, who is best known for playing Batgirl in the 1960's movies.  I'm a big fan of her from that series.  I have her book, From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond, and asked her to sign it, she checked the book and noted that I had a bad copy and exchanged it for another one.  Apparently a who batch printed with faulty binding and the center color pages would fall out.  She signed my book and I get this picture taken with her.  

She had a chair next to her for fans to sit in, I do wish she wasn't in front of mirrors.  She was very kind and gave all the time I wanted to talk about the Batman series.  Please forgive my facial hair it was a very regrettable experiment.  

Jay and I both got signed photo's and our picture taken with Cassandra Peterson, better known as Elvira.  She was not in her Elvira costume, which would have been cool.  Her line had been very long through out the day and we finally got to her after she had been there a few hours and she couldn't have been nicer to us and was very approachable.

We only saw a few people in cosplay through-out the day.  For my first convention this was an eye opening experience and it educated me as to what to be prepared for in the future.

Until Next Time!

The Difficulties Deciding What Movie To Watch

Some people joke that the hardest decision of the day is, what are we going to have for dinner?  For me though it's, what movie am I going to watch?  Some days it's easier than others and those are the days when an anticipated film opens in the theaters, or comes out on home video, or drops on a streaming service.  On an average day though, I can waste so much time trying to find a movie to watch that by the time I pick one out it's now too late.

I've tried in the past to think about it during the day so that night I'm ready to go and it doesn't seem to work out.  Or I start a movie and I get half an hour in and its's just not very good.  So then I'm left with deciding do I want to finish this movie or just shut it off.  

Other times I'm just not in the mood for that genre of flick or not in the right frame of mind to watch it.  I get really frustrated with myself too!  The queues of my streaming services are full of movies that I thought looked good and wanted to watch at some point, some of them have been in there for years.

Back in October I found a page on Wikipedia talking about a group of directors they called the Splat Pack.  Coined in 2002 they list a collection of violent and gory films like Saw, Hostel, and ect.  I thought, this list is perfect, I'll watch these films.  However, I have seen every film on the list. 

Right now I"m working on making a list of movies and when I want to watch a film I'm just going to put on the movie at the top of the list and then cross it off.  I need to just take overthinking out of the equation.  Hopefully I can make this work.

It was so much easier back in the day when we rented movies at the video store.  You brought them home, you had a finite amount of time to watch them and if you didn't watch them you just wasted money. 

Until Next Time!

Book Club: Things I Can't Explain Chapters 35, 36 & 37

Welcome to the Things I Can't Explain Book Club, this post I'm looking at chapters 35, 36, & 37.  You can read my buddy Brandon's thoughts on the chapters here.  You and read about the other chapters by looking at this blogs past posts.

Chapter 35:  Clarissa follows Roxie to a bar and confronts her.  Basically Roxie states that she and Nick have been shit for a long time, and the reason she crashed the wedding was because she wanted to see BRB in person.  BRB, well that's Nicks nickname for Clarissa before he knew her name.  She called him CCG: Cute Coffee Guy and she was BRB: Blonde Reporter Babe.  Roxie tells Clarissa that Headspace is for rent because Nick left town, maybe he went to LA she doesn't know. 

Chapter 36: Still depressed and on a self imposed shut in Clarissa is awoken by Norm knocking on her door.  Turns out MT sent him because people have been trying to reach her.  Clarissa notices that Norm is dressing like a "normal" person, isn't referring to himself in the third person and learns that he has is own MTV program.  Turns out her article was amazing and went viral.  It launched Nuzegeek into the stratosphere, and is why he got the show.  MT is waiting downstairs to talk to her.  

Chapter 37: This chapter takes places sometime later, Clarissa made a good amount of money from the article to bring her debt current.  Her parents have patched things up and are living together again taking it one day at a time.  It's been several months since Clarissa last saw Nick, we learn about what she has been up to.  She goes down to the Brooklyn Bridge where she and Nick had that special moment and we learn about a letter from Sam that she hasn't opened yet.  She finally accepts that Sam was never coming back to Manhattan, he's a Marine Archaeologist and needs to be where that is.  Nick suddenly shows up, states he did go to LA for awhile but he's back and had been building up the courage to talk to her and comes down here nightly in hopes of seeing her.  The book ends with Clarissa telling Nick that no explanations are needed. 

Thoughts:  All in all I really enjoyed the book and this further adventure of Clarissa in her mid twenties.  In the end of the story they do wrap things up in most all aspects of her life and leave us with her and Nick apparently going to make a go of being together.  

Until Next Time!

Book Club: Things I Can't Explain Chapters 33 & 34

Welcome to the Things I Can't Explain Book Club, this post I'm looking at chapters 33 & 34.  You can read my buddy Brandon's thoughts on the chapters here.  You and read about the other chapters by looking at this blogs past posts.

Chapter 33:  Clarissa heads down to a fancy coffee shop and meets up with her parents who have flown in their marriage counselor from Austria to meet with them.  Apparently they were doing Skype sessions.  The counselor tells Clarissa that she is showing signs of Paranoid Schizophrenia which she doesn't take well, because why would she.  Instead Clarissa flips it on her mother, as does her father Marshal.  It quickly becomes about Janet and her perfectionism and Marshal's feeling of inadequacy.  Clarissa abruptly leaves when she sees Roxie walk by.  

Chapter 34: Clarissa spends this short chapter chasing Roxie down.  She loses sight of her a couple times and ends up outside Nick's Studio Headspace and she sees that there is a "for rent" sign outside it.  The Chapter ends with Roxie opening the door to the studio startling Clarissa.

Thoughts:  This book is rapidly coming to an end and with only three chapters and less than 20 pages it's not leaving me all warm and fuzzy that we are going to get a satisfying ending. 

Until Next Time!

Book Club: Things I Can't Explain Chapters 31 & 32

Welcome to the Things I Can't Explain Book Club, this post I'm looking at chapters 31 & 32.  You can read my buddy Brandon's thoughts on the chapters here.  You and read about the other chapters by looking at this blogs past posts.

Chapter 31:  This chapter is Clarissa full of self pity and depression.  She gets home from the wedding, her cat Elvis is missing and she ignores Nicks phone calls.  She disconnects from social media and the world for several days.  Elvis still hasn't returned.  She forces herself to finish the article and oversleeps the deadline, but she emails it to MT to say that she did it.  The email comes back undeliverable, she tries again and it is returned again.  She thinks about emailing it to Dartmoor, but decides to go back to bed. 

Chapter 32: A strong work ethic that Hugh beat into her drives Clarissa out of bed and to the Nuzegeek offices to hand deliver the article.  She even takes the time to dress nicely for her believed firing.  When she gets there that evening the offices are quite, she sees MT and Norm making out near the lounge and just avoids them placing her article on MT's assistant Druscilla's desk.  As she tries to slip out Druscilla sees her and tries to tell her that they got her article and MT wants to talk to her, but Clarissa still full of self loathing just leaves.  Outside the offices she runs into a disguised Ferguson who she thinks is attacking her so he knocks him down and kicks him.  Once she realizes her error he tells her that everyone is worried and that no one can get ahold of her and that Mom & Dad will be here tomorrow.  Ferguson is wearing a disguise because he just go out of Jail and his SEC agreement doesn't allow him to be seen with Family members.  

Thoughts:  I don't think there is anything else that I need to say in addition to my chapter summaries.  

Until Next Time!

October Horror Movies & More Month

I attempted to do an October Horror month watching something horror related each day whether it be a movie or television show and sadly I was unable to accomplish that as I missed three days.  However, there were a few days where I watched multiple horror themed movies or programs. 

1st - Antebellum  - great flick, not what I expected based on the trailer, but I really enjoyed it.  

2nd - Ash vs. Evil Dead season 3 a bit embarrassed to say that this was my first watch through.  I didn't have Starz when season 3 first aired in 2018, and I did pick it up on bluray but it was all about waiting for the right time to binge it.  Life get's in the way sometimes and it got in the way a whole ton.  Today, my buddy John and I took vacation days sitting down and watching all 10 episodes.  LOVED IT!

Also today we watched the first episode of Monsterland on HULU, not what we expected. 

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) - classic flick that doesn't get enough love

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)  - a brilliant sequel that plays off the original extremely well

3rd - Haunting of Hill House episode 1 & 2

4th - Haunting of Hill House Episode 3

5th - Leatherface

6th - Haunting of Hill House Episode 4 & 5 - BENT NECK LADY!!!

7th - Haunting of Hill House Episode 6 & 7

8th - Haunting of Hill House Episodes 8, 9, & 10

Haunting of Bly Manor Episode 1 - super slow start, not as good as Hill House

9th - We Summon The Darkness - solid flick that wasn't what I expected it to me. 

Casper - Kate, Canaan, Wesley, and I saw this at Pride's Corner Drive In.  Earlier in the week Kate had said that she wanted to watch this movie but we didn't own it and it wasn't streaming anywhere.  Then Thursday she saw it was at the drive in and boom, we went.

10th - Monster Squad - such a childhood classic!  This was a family movie night flick at Kate's cousins, we were supposed to have an outside screening of Hocus Pocus but the weather disagreed and we moved it inside and switched films

Night of the Demons (1988)  I decided to watch this after we got home.  I haven't watched it in years, but it is just as I remember it.

11th - Garfield's Halloween - Addison wanted to watch this together, so we did/  She watched his Thanksgiving and Christmas specials right after. 

12th - Scare Me - Shudder original with Aya Cash about people telling stories to scare each other during a stormy night

13th - Never Hike Alone In The Woods - Friday the 13th fan film, sequel to Never Hike Alone. Excellently done!

14th - nothing

15th - Haunting of Bly Manor Episode 2

16th - The Mortuary Tales - watched this on Shudder, anthology film with stories of varying levels of goodness.  It's worth a watch for the final story.  

17th - Hocus Pocus - Family movie night at Kate's cousin's house outside on the 100 inch screen.  We had a fire going but it was a bit cold getting into the upper 30's.  

18th - Halloween  IV: The Return of Michael Myers

19th -  nothing

20th - Random Acts of Violence 

21st - nothing

22nd - It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown - a traditional classic that for the first time since it air in the 1960's it's not going to be on network television!  Apple TV bought the rights to the Peanuts and it's airing exclusively there.  

23rd - Hubie Halloween - Adam Sandler character driven flick, it was what I expected it to be and I really enjoyed it.  I don't know if I'll watch it again, but we enjoyed it. 

24th - Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers

25th - Supernatural - I got caught up on the episodes from the final season that had aired.  Honestly it's not great but it is the final season with only a few episodes to air that didn't make it before the pandemic shut down production last spring.  

26th - Disney Halloween shorts on Disney plus, various classic Disney shorts including The headless horsemen, which was not as good as I remember it, not even close! 

27th - Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers

28th - Bad Hair - Hulu original about woman who gets a weave that feeds off blood, it was solid. 

29th - Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

30th - Garfield's Halloween

31st - Ernest Scared Stupid, Halloween (1978) Halloween II (1981) and Haunt.  Big marathon style movie day end the season.  Three classics and a new Shudder original in Haunt.  It's pretty damn good and worth your time to check it out! 

Until Next Time

The Confusing Continuity of the Halloween Franchise

John Carpenter's 1978 masterpiece Halloween is one of my all time favorite movies and is really the start of the slasher franchises.  Along the way there have been several sequels, one that had nothing to do with the originals, a reboot, and a few sequels that retconned the story.  Retcon is retroactive continuity.

Original Timeline:

Halloween (1978) - - Halloween II (1981) - - Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers  - - Halloween V: The Curse of Michael Myers - - Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers

Michael Myers kills his sister on Halloween night in 1963, fifteen years later he breaks out of the asylum and attacks Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween Night 1978 killing several.  With Dr. Loomis tracking Michael down he is shot and falls off a second floor balcony.  Michael, having escaped attempts to kill Laurie at the hospital that she was brought too and we now learn that they are brother and sister with Laurie having been adopted by the Strode Family.  Laurie manages to get away when Dr. Loomis sets himself and Michael on fire killing them both. 

Halloween Eve 1988 the comatose Michael is being transferred to Smith's Grove when he overhears the ambulance personnel commenting that his sister Laurie was killed in a car crash years earlier and that he has a niece, Jamie, living in Haddonfield.  Micheal awakens killing the ambulance crew and heads to kill his niece, ultimately he kills a lot of people just not her.  Dr. Loomis is back hunting down Michael again, but the citizens of Haddonfield repeatedly shoot Michael until he falls into and old mine.  Jamie who had been dressed as a clown like her uncle the night he killed his older sister, attacks her adopted mother with scissors. In 1989, Michael, of course, survives the mine and awakes after a one year coma.  Jamie is now a mute from the trauma and is in a children's clinic.  She is telepathically linked to her Uncle and suffers nightmare and seizure.  Loomis is back and eventually, after Michael kills a lot of people, he manages to tranquilize Michael so he can be taken into custody but suffers stroke in the process.  Being held in the local jail, a group of men in black come and kill everyone and take Michael away.  Later it is retconned that they took Jamie that night as well.

Six years later, a pregnant Jamie gives birth to her Uncle's son.  In this flick Michael is controlled by a cult using the Runic Symbol Thorn and the cult must sacrifice his next of kin on the night of Samhain or Halloween.  Jamie escapes with her son but is later tracked down and attack by Michael at a bus station, depending on the version of the film you watch she is either killed there or at the hospital later.  Dr. Loomis is back to hunt down Michael, but so isn't Tommy Doyle, who is suffering from his own PTSD issues from that faithful Halloween night 18 years ago.  We also meet Laurie's cousins Kara and her son Danny, we also meet other Strodes but they don't matter.  Danny also hears voices to kill for him, as in Michael, which makes no sense because there is no blood relations as Laurie was adopted by the Strode family.  In the end Michael kills a lot of people, the cult falls apart, Michael gets away and Loomis screams in anguish.   

Stand Alone:

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

The Silver Shamrock mask company using black magic to control the children

Second Timeline: 

Halloween (1978) - - Halloween II (1981) - - Halloween H20: 20 Years Later  - - Halloween: Resurrection 

Michael Myers kills his sister on Halloween night in 1963, fifteen years later he breaks out of the asylum and attacks Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween Night 1978 killing several.  With Dr. Loomis tracking Michael down he is shot and falls off a second floor balcony.  Michael, having escaped attempts to kill Laurie at the hospital that she was brought too and we now learn that they are brother and sister with Laurie having been adopted by the Strode Family.  Laurie manages to get away when Dr. Loomis sets himself and Michael on fire killing them both. 

October 29, 1998 Michael, who survived the fire, breaks into Loomis' retirement home in Langdon, Illinois and steals the file on Laurie Strode killing a few people on the way.  Evidently Laurie Strode faked her death, moved to Summer Glen, California becoming Keri Tate the headmistress at a private school.  Her son John is 17, and shockingly she is super over protective of her son.  The majority of the school goes on a trip to Yosemite, Laurie, her son, his girlfriend, two of their friends, and Laurie's boyfriend, and long with the security guard are at the school when Michael arrives and commences to killing everyone. The movie ends with Laurie stealing the van that has Michael's body in it, the van crashes when he attacks her, he's pinned between a downed tree and the van and Laurie beheads him.  Oh, Michael was coming for Laurie now because John was 17 the same age as Laurie when he tried to kill her the first time, I know weak sauce.

Apparently though we find out that it was a paramedic that Michael changed places with so he survived! Three years later on Halloween 2001, Laurie now institutionalized over the guilt of killing an innocent man, is attacked my Michael, but she's been waiting for him and lures him to the roof, but her fear of killing the wrong person gets the better of her and she tries to unmask him Michael stabs her and throws her off the roof killing her.  (I have a problem with this, she has never seen his face before how would she know what he looks like?)  A year later a bunch of college kids are filming a reality show at the old Myers house in Haddonfield so Michael shows up to kill them for trespassing in his home.  Michael is electrocuted and his body is taken to the morgue but as the coroner goes to examine his body Michael awakens.

Halloween Resurrection was by Rick Rosenthal who also directed Halloween II so that's cool.  Also the DVD release of Resurrection in the bonus features has the raw camera footage from the the camera the actors had.  

 Halloween (2007) - - Halloween II (2009)

I'm not going to break down these flicks, both written and directed by Rob Zombie and are not attached to any other Halloween flicks.  Danielle Harris stars in both as Annie Brackett and was in Halloween 4 & 5 as Jamie Lloyd, Laurie's daughter.  

The first film I think is an amazing look at Michael as a child and how he became the masked killer.  The second film is pure garbage.

Third Timeline:

Halloween (1978) - - Halloween (2018) - - Halloween Kills (2021) - - Halloween Ends (2022)

Michael Myers kills his sister on Halloween night in 1963, fifteen years later he breaks out of the asylum and attacks Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween Night 1978 killing several.  With Dr. Loomis tracking Michael down he is shot and falls off a second floor balcony. 

October 29, 2018, Michael has been at Smith's Grove for 40 years since that faithful night.  Laurie still lives in Haddonfield and has been waiting and preparing for 40 years for Michael to come for her.  She had a daughter that she also trained for Michael's return, but the State took her away when she was 12 years old.  Laurie also had one grandchild.  A blogger writing a story on Michael visits him and Laurie, he even has Michael's original mask.  On Halloween Michael is being transferred and escapes, he starts killing folks, gets his mask back, and goes after Laurie.  But again she been waiting and her house is one big booby trap.  She traps Michael in the panic room basement and sets the whole house on fire, the film ends with the house burning down around him.  A post credit scene we can hear heavy breathing.  

A year later the two sequels were announced, originally to be released in 2020 and 2021 but Covid pushed them back a year.  Nick Castle returned and the Shape, John Carpenter executive produced the flick, and it was released by Blumhouse. 

I enjoy the majority of all the Halloween movies, except Halloween II (2009) but I think Storyline 3 is my favorite.  

Until Next Time!

Book Club: Things I Can't Explain Chapters 29 & 30

Welcome to the Things I Can't Explain Book Club, this post I'm looking at chapters 29 & 30.  You can read my buddy Brandon's thoughts on the chapters here.  You and read about the other chapters by looking at this blogs past posts.

Chapter 29: Nick and Clarissa go out on the dance floor, they have themselves a nice dance to Howie Day's "Collide" and even share a kiss at the end.  And then someone drives their motorcycle into the party, it's a very drunk Roxie who wants to fight Clarissa.  Roxie professes her love and Nick leaves with her.  I'm under the assumption he just wanted to get her out of there but they leave it with Clarissa feeling like Nick chose Roxie over her. 

Chapter 30: Rupert and Jody are giving Clarissa a ride home as she thinks back on the night moments after Nick and Roxie sped away.  Essentially Clarissa is coming to terms, over dramatically, that she is a failure at life since the Post closed and has been faking her way through life.  She does come clean to her mother and father, but not specifics just that she's been lying.  She realizes that she lied not because of her parents problems but because of her mother's condescending dismay and disappointment in her.  Her dad tells her that they don't care about that stuff, they care about her. 

Thoughts:  What in the actual fuck, was my exact reaction after reading chapter 29.  It was so over the top and absurd that it was almost a turn off.  Roxie driving into the party is exceptionally unrealistic.  Walking into it drunk, sure, crashing her motorcycle into it...no. 

Until Next Time!

Book Club: Things I Can't Explain Chapters 27 & 28

 

Welcome to the Things I Can't Explain Book Club, this post I'm looking at chapters 27 & 28.  You can read my buddy Brandon's thoughts on the chapters here.  You and read about the other chapters by looking at this blogs past posts.

Chapter 27: We are at the infamous wedding.  It's expensive, it's extravagant, it's over the top and the chapter is really short.  The biggest drama at the wedding during the ceremony is that Wendell can't break the wine glass under the towel per the Jewish tradition, he even tumbles over trying to get it to break.  He does eventually succeed, but that's it.

Chapter 28: Clarissa and Nick enjoy the reception, but Clarissa just wants to get out of there, however she wants to come clean to her parents first.  Genelle tries to insult Nick and Clarissa and fails, however succeeds in revealing to Nick why Clarissa can't stand her.  She finally gets to talk to her parents but Dartmoor shows up announcing himself of her new boss and finding out that Clarissa hasn't told them about the Post closing and her new job, which he finds delicious.  Janet is angry and refuses to listen to Clarissa and instead wants to go and watch Wendell and Genelle first dance. 

Thoughts: I expected more from the wedding chapter, however the reception chapter was what I expected.  Nothing can go smooth for Clarissa.  I keep expecting Sam to show up but with 50 pages left in the book I don't see it happening.    

Until Next Time!

Book Club: Things I Can't Explain Chapters 25 & 26

 Welcome to the Things I Can't Explain Book Club, this post I'm looking at chapters 25 & 26.  You can read my buddy Brandon's thoughts on the chapters here.  You and read about the other chapters by looking at this blogs past posts.

Chapter 25: Clarissa spend this entire chapter in her own brain over going to the wedding.  She got ready too early and then started dreading that Nick was going to no show on her.  Of course just as she is at the peak of anxiety Nick arrives. 

Chapter 26: On the back of Nicks motorcycle Clarissa breaks down the different phases of her life, from adolescence to adult hood.  I enjoyed the comments on her "Explains it all" phase.   

Thoughts:  These chapters where more about Clarissa being in her own head focusing on the now for her in Chapter 25 and the past in Chapter 26.  Neither built the overall story line of the book but did give us a deeper insight into Clarissa herself. 

Until Next Time!