DCU Blog - November 2023 Edition: Superman Major News Items, Productions Resume, Etc

Yup, the strikes are officially over and as a result, a lot of news has trickled over. Notably in regards to the future of DC. 

In terms of Superman: Legacy casting, Nicholas Hoult will be Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo will be Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio will be Eve Teschmacher and Maria Gabriela De Faria will play The Engineer.

James Gunn has also debunked certain rumours about the movie's plot that overzealous scoopers have been spreading.

The marketing has kicked in for Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom but tracking for it's opening weekend isn't particularly great.

Zack Snyder has confirmed that he's done with DC but did express an interest in making a movie about The Dark Knight Returns.

The upcoming fourth season of Superman And Lois has been confirmed to be the show's last. It'll air on the CW in 2024.

There's rumours of a Korean Huntress movie being in development by Jung Byung-Gil, who will write and direct it. 

Lanterns will apparently comprise of ten episodes with Nathan Fillion appearing in three as Guy Gardner.

Harley Quinn has been renewed for a fifth season on Max while Batman will not appear in the second season of My Adventures With Superman.

Both The Penguin and The Sandman have resumed production. 

Anya Chalotra is rumoured to be voicing classic Wonder Woman villain Circe for Creature Commandos. 

The Brave And The Bold's casting isn't something to expect soon, though John Logan is now rumoured to be writing the script. 

Ana Nogueira has been confirmed as the writer for Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow. 

Netflix recently released the first trailer for Dead Boy Detectives, due for release in 2024. A character from The Sandman will appear in the show.

Expect something DC related at CCXP this weekend. I'll cover it next month. Likely going to be mainly about the anime Suicide Squad show next year.

Although it did badly in theatres, Blue Beetle has been a hit for Max. Xolo Mariduena will reprise the role in the DCU.

A Lobo project is also rumoured to be in development. I bet we can guess who'll be playing that role.

That's it for this month and quite a lot to go through. It's only just beginning though.

My Review of A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

 

Written by Jason Filiatrault And James Kee And Sarah Larsen And Doug Taylor And Pascal Trotter

Directed by Grant Harvey And Steven Hoban And Brett Sullivan

Caprice: "Merry Christmas, motherfucker."

I'm going to try and watch more horror themed Christmas movies as we head into December and some less traditional ones too. Mainly horror themed movies during the festive period. Like this one for example.

The title promised A Christmas Horror Story and it does make an effort to try and deliver on that premise. William Shatner's a radio DJ named Dangerous Dan and throughout the movie, it's Dan who tells us four seemingly unconnected stories. I'll go from most to least interesting.

Most interesting was the story of Santa Claus. Only Saint Nick wasn't preparing for the biggest night of the year. He was too busy fending off and killing his zombie possessed wife and elves. Then came a battle with Krampus, only for the story to have the twist of a delusional mall Santa. Easily the best of the bunch.

Coming in second was a family visiting their grandmother who earns them of Krampus as well. This story had a creepy caretaker, a spiteful boy and for some reason, a daughter whose anger also turned her into Krampus. I have to say that Krampus looked suitably creepy in both of the segments.

The third story in my ranking then centred on a police officer, his wife and their son. An encounter in the woods saw the son swapped out for a changeling and a lot of other creepy shit before ending on a more bittersweet note.

The least interesting story but by no means bad focused on a group of kids who broke into their school, which was also an old convert. This one was something of a ghost story with a pregnancy twist and while decent, I found it lagged compared to the other stories.

- The End Credits has Dangerous Dan doing a phone in.

- The movie takes place in Bailey Downs, the same fictional town used in the Ginger Snaps movies and Orphan Black series.

- Standout music: It's Christmas Eve at the start of the movie.

- Chronology: All the stories take pace during Christmas Eve.

A Christmas Horror Story makes a good effort in doing the anthology storytelling and for the most part, it works. The stories are all decent and Shatner's DJ does a good job in relaying them.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Frozen II (2019)

 

Written by Jennifer Lee And Chris Buck And Marc Smith And Kristen Anderson-Lopez And Robert Lopez

Directed by Chris Buck And Jennifer Lee

Anna: "You're the bridge."

Elsa: "Bridges have two sides, and our mother had two daughters."

There was a time when a Disney movie did well and the sequel was a straight to video thing that wasn't as beloved as the original but had its own charm. Frozen changed the game and so does the sequel.

The goodwill from the first movie not only ensured that the sequel was a hit but it only went and surpassed it too. Now the question: is this sequel any good? Why yes it is. It's very good. Very good indeed.

Time has passed since the first movie and there's a childhood flashback where Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) learn of how their parents first met as well as the history of neighbouring tribe Northuldra, adding more context to Elsa's magic. In the present day, it's Elsa hearing voices that drove the main narrative of this movie.

Well, that and the fact that Elsa inadvertently awoke the elemental spirits, which caused a lot of chaos for the Kingdom. This meant that it was up to Elsa, Anna, Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad) and Sven to venture into the Enchanted Forest and solve the current Arendelle problem. Also along the way learn some more family history.

Notably that Elsa and Anna's grandfather wasn't as heroic as previously described and also that Elsa was the first element, bridging the gap between two worlds. Ultimately this movie has Elsa choosing to be the Enchanted Forest's new protector while Anna becomes Arendelle's new Queen as her and Kristoff got engaged.

Along with the journey of discovery, family history, new characters added into the mix, there was a good segment of the movie where Anna and Kristoff were badly communicating with one another while Olaf had his own character arc in between hilariously recapping the events of the first movie to the newcomers. 

As for the newcomers, there was an Arendelle lieutenant named Mattias (Sterling K. Brown), while the Northuldra characters such as Ryder (Jason Ritter) and Honeymarron (Rachel Matthews) worked well in their interactions with Kristoff and Elsa. 

- Elsa got herself a water horse she made solid with ice as well as a white dress halfway through the movie. I liked the salamander too.

- There's a fun post credit scene with Olaf recapping the events of this movie to Marshmallow.

- The Northuldra tribe's culture is inspired the Sàmi who are indigenous to Norway, Sweden, Finland and Northern Russia.

- I get why some saw something between Elsa and Honeymarron but I wouldn't be surprised if the character is never given a love interest in future movies.

- Standout music: Into The Unknown, When I Am Older, Show Yourself and Some Things Never Change?

- Chronology: Despite a six year gap between release, the events take place three years after the first movie and during Autumn.

Frozen II is a triumph of a sequel. No wonder it did better than the first movie. It builds on the characters and takes them all in very interesting directions without diluting what came before. I absolutely loved this one from start to finish.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Frozen (2013)

 

Written by  Jennifer Lee And Chris Buck And Shane Morris

Directed by Chris Buck And Jennifer Lee

Elsa: "The cold never bothered me anyway."

With Disney having a rough time during their 100th anniversary, there was a time when they were at the height of success and one of those times involved this movie. A movie in the shortest time ever became something of a global event.

Loosely based on the story, The Snow Queen and set in the fictional world of Arendelle, the story focused on Elsa (Idina Menzel). Elsa's the oldest child and has a close friendship with her sister Anna (Kristen Bell). Or she did until her ice and snow powers emerged and she inadvertently hurt Anna, changing their relationship for quite a long time.

Elsa became cold and distant with Anna as she struggled to control her powers and on the day of her coronation, her powers revealed themselves to the kingdom in the worst way possible. With Arendelle trapped in an eternal winter and Elsa fleeing in shame of her powers, it was up to Anna to save the day and get her sister back.

Of course Anna had to tread an icy environment and for that she needed the help of an iceman named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and the latter's reindeer, Sven (Frank Welker). It's not long before there's an emerging love story between Anna and Kristoff as well as the introduction to comic relief character Olaf (Josh Gad). Needless to say, Olaf is a delight, albeit rather naive about the dangers of heat to a snowman like him.

As for Elsa, she built herself an ice palace, rejected Anna's attempts of a reunion and then got captured by the scheming Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk) and the more subtle in his scheming Prince Hans (Santino Fontana) of the Southern Isles. The former's more of a bigoted but bumbling oaf while the latter was more quietly callous compared to past Disney movie baddies.

Having Hans portrayed as a pseudo love interest for Anna was a smart move, especially when his real motives came to light and he took pleasure in Anna's need for true love to fix her heart. However unlike Disney villains of the past, he actually survived to face the consequences of his misdeeds. 

As for Elsa and Anna, they more than reconnected with each other with a sibling bond being the thing to save Anna's life. It was a nice twist to a usual fairytale predicament and with Elsa embracing her powers, things did work out well for the Queen of Arendelle.

- The Arendelle setting drew heavily from Norwegian and Scandinavian culture as well as the Sami culture.

- Fans of Tangled get a brief cameo from Rapunzel and Flynn during one scene.

- The Pebble folk  who have their own magic were mistaken for trolls by Anna.

- The end credit has a short scene with a snow creature wearing Elsa's crown. 

- Standout music: The obvious highlights being Let It Go, Do You Want To Build A Snowman?, For The First Time In Forever and Vuelie.

- Chronology: For the majority of the movie, Elsa and Kristoff are 21, Anna is 18 and Hans is 23.

Frozen was a triumph of a movie. A Disney classic through and through, following some of the traditional tropes but also subverting them too. A great cast, brilliant character dynamics, more subtle villains and some of the best musical numbers. A pure joy.

Rating: 10 out of 10 

My Review of Doctor Who: "The Star Beast"

 

Written by Russell T. Davies, from a story by Pat Mills And Dave Gibbons

Directed by Rachel Talalay

The Doctor (to Shirley): "I don't believe in destiny but if destiny exists, then it is heading for Donna Noble."

And just like that, they're back. Probably the most iconic Doctor and companion duo the show has had post 2005. Yes, for three specials to commemorate the 60th anniversary. Except, it's not quite as we remembered.

For instance, David Tennant isn't playing the 10th Doctor as he did between 2005-2010 and briefly in 2013. Instead he's the 14th Doctor and needless to say he's a tad confused by having a familiar face. As the episode indicated, there's going to be a reason for that.

Then there's Catherine Tate's Donna Noble. Last time we saw her, she married Shaun Temple (Karl Collins) and since then they've had a daughter named Rose (Yasmin Finney) while living with Sylvia (Jacqueline King). Oh and Donna gave up her lottery winnings to be more like the Doctor without realising why she did it.

Needless to say, the episode has the Doctor reunite with Donna while properly meeting Rose and Shaun. Soon then, a spaceship has crashed and Rose ended up taking care of a seemingly harmless creature called The Meep (Miriam Margolyes), who ended up causing a lot of trouble for the Temple-Nobles as a race known as the Wrarth Warriors came looking for the Meep.

If you've read the comic (and I did far more recently), then it's not too shocking when it's actually revealed that the Meep was the true baddie of the piece. The switch up from adorable to pure evil with Beep the Meep was handled very well with the character's history and true motives revealed pretty sharpish.

With the Meep posing a danger to the planet, it's up to the Doctor and Donna to save the day and for the latter, that meant her memories returning. Surely, this episode ended with Donna's death, right? Er, no. It seems that by having a daughter, Donna passed some of her biological metacrisis on to Rose. 

To be succinct, this meant that Donna wasn't going to be a dead woman, Rose discovered who she truly was and the pair of them let the remaining energy go. Yes, there's some very pointed dialogue about gender identity but it's handled well enough and of course between the Doctor, Donna and Rose, the Meep was defeated. Now we just have to meet their boss. I think we all know who that will be in two weeks time.

As for the rest of the episode, both Sylvia and Shaun had some good scenes with the former being somewhat nicer than she was in the past. UNIT introduced a great new character with scientific advisor, Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley) but the Doctor and Donna's attempts to go and visit Wilfred went horribly wrong thanks to a coffee accident. Anyways on to the next adventure.

- I love the new title sequence, the new tricks on the sonic screwdriver and I really love the spacious new TARDIS interior. 

- Both the Doctor and Donna were talking to the audience, recapping their past adventures and some unseen ones.

- Rose's toy designs included a Dalek, Cyberman, Adipose, Judoon, Ood and a Lupar. The previous three Doctors were also referenced. 

- Kate Stewart got Wilfred into a sheltered accommodation. Wilfred is now 94. I'm guessing we'll see him in the last special.

- The character of Fudge who had a larger role in the comic was more of a cameo here, being a neighbour of Rose's and scared of the Wrarth Warriors.

- Chronology: 15 years since the events of The Stolen Earth/Journey's End.

The Star Beast was a glorious return to form. You'd swear that Russell T. Davies, David Tennant and Catherine Tate never left, given how effortlessly they all slipped back into things. Everything you loved about RTD's writing was present, but sharper and more evolved. Not to mention the clearly higher budget. This set a high standard and I can't wait to see how the next two specials play out.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Doctor Who - 60th Anniversary Blog And So Much More

Yes, it's November 23rd 2023. Doctor Who has turned 60 and this blog will be a mix of celebrating that as well as spoilers for the anniversary specials and beyond. Buckle up everyone.

The celebration part. 60 years is quite a feat for any show and boy, has it been a tremendous journey. So many Doctors, companions, monsters, spin-off's etc but it's finally here. In two days time we'll be getting the first in a row of specials that brings back David Tennant and Catherine Tate as the 14th Doctor and Donna Noble, courtesy of Russell T. Davies. 

Meanwhile a new image of Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor was released courtesy of Whotopia book that came out today. Speaking of books, a new version of the Rose novelisation was released today with coloured illustrations. 

Keeping with the 60th celebrations, Radio Times went all out this week with a gorgeous series of photos and interviews. These included Russell T. Davies, Waris Hussein (director of An Unearthly Child), David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill, Carole Ann Ford, Millie Gibson, Bonnie Langford and the legend himself, Tom Baker.

At 89 years of age, the oldest surviving Doctor was decked out in his classic Fourth Doctor look for the anniversary photoshoot. It was a decade ago that he appeared as The Curator in 50th anniversary, The Day Of The Doctor, so to see him pictured as part of the 60th celebrations is another highlight in a month littered with them. Speaking of classic, be sure to watch the colourised 75 minute version of The Daleks tonight on BBC4 from 7.30pm.

Getting back to the anniversary specials, there's some big stuff ahead for viewers. The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle might have elements of familiarity but at the same time, expect some changes going ahead. There's rumours of how regeneration might handled in relation to the imminent switch up between David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa and that's all I'm saying on the matter. That rumour will likely be very much true. Also expect more of Yasmin Finney's Rose Noble beyond these upcoming anniversary specials while Charlie De Melo will also appear in the series.

Throughout the day, keep an eye on the Doctor Who social media pages with various announcements such as podcasts, water shows and clips all revealed. Oh and Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson's debut episode is now titled The Church On Ruby Road while Shirley Ballas and Johannes Radebe will be appearing in the upcoming series. In terms of Christmas 2024, Nicola Coughlan was officially confirmed earlier this month (though her character's name wasn't) while Millie Gibson will also remain for Series 15. 

Also on keeping with how so far ahead of this show has gotten in terms of filming, we have a prominent recurring character for the series after next. Series 15 will introduce Jonah Hauer-King as a love interest for Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday. On top of that, Series 15 could debut from May 2025 according to Russell T. Davies. The episode currently filming is the fourth episode, directed by Peter Hoar. It involves UNIT (who definitely appear to be more prominent in this new era) and alien protestors. To be this far ahead is definitely a feat for the show.

The 60th anniversary specials of Doctor Who will air/stream on BBC1 and Disney+ from November 25th-December 9th with Doctor Who Unleashed on BBC3. The Church On Ruby Road will air on Christmas Day.

Scream VII - Melissa Barrera AND Jenna Ortega Not Returning (Rant Time) - UPDATED

I was hoping to do another blog about Scream VII. However, this wasn't the sort of blog I thought I'd be doing.

Last night it was confirmed that Melissa Barrera who had been playing main protagonist Samantha Carpenter in both Scream (2022) and Scream VI would not be returning for the upcoming Scream VII, which was confirmed to start filming in early 2024 for a yet to be confirmed release date. The reason for this?

Oh yeah, it seems that Spyglass and Paramount sacked Melissa Barrera for expressing her views on the current situation with Palestine and Israel as she vocalised her solidarity with Palestine. What the actual fuck, Spyglass?

If you check the comments that Melissa had made on social media, not once did she say anything that was anti-Semitic in her support of Palestine. Needless to say for the last several hours, Spyglass have deservedly received backlash for their awful decision and criticism for their attempts to justify it. Spyglass have well and truly fucked up here.

Yeah and this blog is being edited because Jenna Ortega will also not be reprising her role as Tara Carpenter for Scream VII. Spyglass are trying to cite that her schedule for the second season of Wednesday (which will film in Ireland in late April 2024) is the main reason but something tells me they're trying to save face and money from both Barrera and Ortega not coming back. 

With both these exits and the unlikelihood that Jasmin Savoy-Brown and Mason Gooding will also come back as Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin, what can both Spyglass and director Christopher Landon do to remedy a shit show the former could've easily avoided by not firing their lead actress? 

A part of me would hope that the online and media backlash would blow up so much that Spyglass would be forced to rehire Melissa Barrera and conclude Sam's storyline but realistically I don't envision that happening.

Another part of me would say to scrap ths movie altogether but again, I also don't see that happening. What I think is more likely to happen would be for an entirely new movie that ditches the Core Four and has a new cast and setting with maybe Courtney Cox's Gale Weathers factoring into the plot but would that work too under the circumstances? Only time will tell.

Either way this was a bad call on Spyglass's part and could very well backfire on them in the long run. 

Scream VII will start filming in early 2024. A release date has yet to be confirmed.

My Review of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

 

Written by Lee Harry And Joseph H. Earle

Directed by Lee Harry

Ricky: "Oh Mother Superior! I've got a present for you!"

Following the controversy but success of the first movie, a sequel had to happen, right? Only problem being that Billy Chapman (Robert Brian Wilson) was killed off. Oh wait, he's got a brother named Ricky. Let's pivot the story around him.

That's exactly what the movie by jumping in time and revealing Ricky (Eric Freeman) to be a raging serial killer being interviewed by his thirteenth psychiatrist. Sadly for Dr Henry Bloom (James L. Newman), the number thirteen really was unlucky for him.

Not only did Bloom learn just how deeply disturbed Ricky was (arguably more than Billy) but he didn't live to tell the tale as Ricky made his escape so he could cause some Christmas terror. Of course before that, there was flashbacks and lots of them. Too many for this movie's own good.

You know your movie might be in trouble when a large portion of it was spent literally going over the main bullet points of the first one. Granted it was from Ricky's perspective but it ate up more time that it should've done in the first place.

Of course we did get to see Ricky adopted into a loving family but that didn't stop him from killing his girlfriend Jennifer (Elizabeth Kaitan) and her horrible ex Chip (Ken Weichert) as well as several innocent people before got back to the present day. The rest of the movie had some old scores to settle.

Mother Superior (Jean Miller) might have been retired and the orphanage shut down but that didn't stop Ricky from dressing up as Santa Claus and going after the wheelchair bound old woman with an axe. Unlike his brother, Ricky was actually successful here but things didn't end so well for him. Or did they?

- Most of the cast from the first movie ended up being credited for this one given the amount of flashbacks used for it.

- I had to laugh at Mother Superior's house address being 666.

- Standout music: Silent Night was used here.

- Chronology: Four years since the events of the first movie.

Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2 was definitely more over the t than the first part. Eric Freeman certainly chewed the scenery big time in many of his scenes but the kills were inventive enough and while sme of the dialogue tried too hard to be funny, one particular line worked well.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

 

Written by Michael Hickey

Directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr.

Billy: "Mommy, you shouldn't have said that. It's naughty to say bad things about old people. Santa Claus will punish you."

Okay, so I'm starting Christmas reviews a month early but I'm spacing them out between other reviews and the first batch will be of the horror persuasion. Not to mention some of them are new to me. Like this franchise for example.

I've been vaguely about the general idea behind this movie for a bit now and last night, I gave it a go. To my intrigue, this was a rather disturbing take on the old "naughty or nice" saying.

The movie started with a young family visiting an old man at a retirement home. The old man in question scared the shit out of his grandson Billy (Jonathan Best) by warning him of Santa's not so nice side. It was a warning that unfortunately was too on point as Billy would soon learn.

Anyways, Billy's parents get murdered by a robber dressed as Santa in the middle of nowhere and both Billy (Danny Wagner) and younger brother Ricky are in a convent orphanage. Billy hasn't gotten over the trauma of witnessing his parents murder and the rather sadistic Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin) only made things worse with her cruel methods of trying to control Billy.

After another time jump, we get to see the adult Billy (Robert Brian Wilson) aged out of the orphanage working in a department store. He's still triggered by Santa Claus and be made into a store Santa only brought out his bloodlust.

The rest of the movie was Billy dressed as Santa murdering anyone who had the misfortune of being in his way. Aside from one person, none of Billy's victims deserved their fate and a showdown at the orphanage brought Billy's killing spree to its own violent conclusion. Oh and the obvious sequel hook, courtesy of Ricky. 

- I can't believe there was a campaign to get this film initially banned. Oh wait, yes I can.

- Other portrayals of killer Santa at the time included Tales Of The Crypt and Christmas Evil. 

- Standout music: Slayrider, Santa's Watching, Christmas Flu and It Must Be Christmas to name a few.

- Chronology: Christmas 1971, 1974 and 1984 respectively.

Silent Night, Deadly Night moved at a bit of a slow-ish pace but when it got going, it really went to town on the gore. It's probably a film that might have unsettled me as a kid but as an adult, it was still effective enough.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Doctor Who: "Destination: Skaro"

 

Written by Russell T. Davies 

Directed by Jamie O'Donoughue

The Doctor (to Mr Castavillian): "Look, I was never ever here. Never! The timeliness and canon are rupturing. I'm just gonna go and you're not gonna say a word, okay?"

With a week to go until the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) made his glorious return in The Star Beast, it was the chance for Children In Need to give us a taste of what was to come. This could've been a fun but frivolous little scene for charity. Instead it offered something of a game changer for a big bad.

It's been eight years since we've last seen Dalek creator Davros (Julian Bleach) and here he's looking very different. Instead of being horribly mutated and confined to a robotic wheelchair,  Davros was very much able bodied and moving about. I have to admit, it was a little jarring to see at first.

Anyways, this was a prequel to Genesis Of The Daleks, with Davros admiring his unnamed creation and an assistant named Mr Castavillian (Mawaan Rizwan) who ran through some different suggestions to call the destructive creature while Davros left the room. I mean, anagrams are fun, right?

Then the Doctor crash landed in the TARDIS and soon his mouth went away with him. Within seconds  it was the Doctor who gave Mr Castavillian the words "Dalek" and "Exterminate" to play around with. Then he realised the error of his ways and quietly disappeared before Davros entered the room again.

The end result was this - Davros will now be an able bodied man, the Fourteenth Doctor should come with a gag order and a plunger really does look better than a deadly iron claw. Even Davros approved of a design that he hadn't thought of for his iconic killing g machines. 

- There's a comic book called Liberation Of The Daleks that led into the events of this minisode. 

- Nice shout out to Davros's second in command, Nyder. The voice was spot on.

- The Doctor Who Unleashed that accompanied this minisode did give reason as to why Davros will now appear able bodied in future appearances.

- David Tennant filmed this during his birthday. 

- Edlak and Klade were among the suggestions Mr Castavillian had before he learned the name Dalek.

- Chronology: An hour since the events of The Power Of The Doctor.

Destination: Skaro certainly turned out to be a bigger deal than expected. I had hoped Davros would appear but this wasn't quite what I had in mind. Still though, I missed David Tennant and this was a nice prelude to the anniversary specials.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Better Watch Out (2016)

 

Written by Zack Kahn And Chris Peckover

Directed by Chris Peckover 

Ashley (to Luke): "What delusional infant thinks that staging a break-in is going to get you to second base?"

Is it too early to review a Christmas movie? Maybe but this one's in the horror genre so that's my excuse and I was looking for a random movie to watch and stumbled on to this one.

I'm guessing the general behind this one was something in the lines of "what if Kevin McCallister really was just a psychopath?" Because that's pretty much what we got here. Except instead of would be home invaders, it was a babysitter and the child she had the misfortune to look after that night.

Starting with an obnoxious rich couple played by Virginia Madsen and Patrick Warburton, babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) thought she would have an easy night in looking after precocious kid Luke (Levi Miller) before going to college. Oh, how she was mistaken on that one.

Instead not only did she have to fend off a clumsy advance from the smitten Luke but it wasn't long until the latter's dim witted friend Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) arrive and then it appeared the three of them had to fend off a burglar in the house. Except it was actually Luke contriving a scenario to get Ashley to fall in love with him and it gets creepier from there.

By the time we get into the second half of the movie, Luke's revealed himself to be a rather psychotic pre-teen who had no problem keeping Ashley tied up and drugging her. The arrival of Ashley's boyfriend, Ricky (Aleks Mikic) only made Luke even more dangerous than before with a gag from Home Alone shown to be more fatal than comical.

As things further escalated, Luke not only killed Ashley's former boyfriend, Jeremy (Dacre Montgomery) with the intent to frame him but even Garrett and Ashley themselves aren't safe from Luke's increasing bloodlust. The movie does end with a rather decent twist that clearly was meant to set up a sequel.

- There's a mid credit scene where Luke feigned concern for Ashley and wanted to see her in the hospital.

- The original title for the movie was Safe Neighborhood.

- Standout music: Nice use of The Ramones Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight). 

- Chronology: Christmas time of course. This movie despite being set in America was actually filmed in Australia with the majority of the cast being Australian themselves.

Better Watch Out was an unexpected delight. It's basically just an evil Home Alone but it's an effective one. Great cast, nice amount of horror and a nice ending. Definitely worth a watch for Christmas horror fans.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Smile (2022)

Written And Directed by Parker Finn

Rose: "This isn't real! You're not real!"

The Creature: "Your mind makes it real."

This was one of the most talked about horror movies of last year and one I had been meaning to catch up on. I kept seeing that one image of that woman smiling, which did have the desired creepy effect. Now it was time to see if this movie lived up to that image.

The woman in question being a patient called Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey) who has been visiting her therapist, Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon). Laura kept trying to tell Rose of the people she was seeing and the creepy smiles on their faces. Then Laura made that creepy smile herself and killed herself in front of Rose.

It's from that point that everything that could go badly for Rose, does go badly then. Laura's curse quickly became Rose's and she spent the duration of the movie in constant terror. A terror that no one else seemed to take seriously.

The people in Rose's life being her fiancée Trevor (Jessie T. Usher), her sister Holly (Gillian Zinser), boss Dr Morgan Desi (Kal Penn) and her own therapist, Madeline Northcott (Robin Weigert). None of them believed Rose when she tried to tell them about her curse and Rose found herself more isolated as the terror continued.

The only person who did believe was her police detective ex boyfriend Joel (Kyle Gallner) who helped Rose uncover the patterns of previous victims of the same curse. All of whom with gloomy outcomes, which even Rose couldn't avoid.

The final act has a suitably creepy confrontation between Rose and the trauma feeding demon. It's not a good ending for Rose but the obvious sequel bait with Joel has its own potential considering how much he knows about the demon going forward.

- There's a prequel short film called Laura Hasn't Slept, with Caitlin Stasey as Laura first experiencing the curse.

- Originally aimed as a streaming release but got a theatrical one and now a sequel will be released October 18th 2024.

- The victims were all people who witnessed death, including Rose herself.

- Chronology: It came out in October 2022, so I assume around then.

Smile has certainly made a name for itself and it's a very strong debut for Parker Finn with a strong lead performance from Sosie Bacon. It does meander a bit at times and some of the jump scares have been done better elsewhere but I liked a lot of what this movie did. 

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of The Marvels (2023)

 

Written by Nia DaCosta And Megan McDonnell And Elissa Karasik

Directed by Nia DaCosta

Kamala: "Oh my God. We're a team?"

Monica: "Oh, no, no, no. We're not a team."

Carol: "We're not a team."

2023 has seen the MCU take something of a critical battering. No longer have hey a safety net and like the DCEU, they're in a position now where critics are falling over themselves to tear down the very thing they've spent too long propping up.

I bring this up because The Marvels itself really does seem to be on the receiving end more than any Phase 5 project so far. Is this film really that bad? Actually, no, it's not but there are legitimate criticisms that shouldn't be ignored about the movie or the MCU in general moving forward.

If you've already seen WandaVision and Ms. Marvel a lot of this will be easier to follow. If not, it generally brings you up to speed as Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) finds herself teaming up with Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani). These three ladies themselves are this movie's biggest strength.

Thanks to a quantum entanglement due to their respective light related powers (that also caused switching places), Carol, Monica and Kamala have a hell of a time getting used to one another at first while banding together as shit goes down. There's some great scenes with Carol and Monica going over past traumas while Kamala's general fangirl moments are nicely timed.

As a team, the three ladies are a delight with natural chemistry between them. Unfortunately for a great team, they're saddled with one of the worst villains the MCU has committed to the big screen to date. Enter, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) and add her to the list of poorly thought out baddies in this franchise.

To be fair, Zawe Ashton does try her best but Dar-Benn is such a thankless role and on paper, she should've been an instant hit. She had a decent motivation in her resentment towards Carol (calling her the Annihilator certainly struck a nerve) and even had the second bangle while wanting Kamala's but she's poorly handled from start to finish that not even her defeat is satisfying to watch.

As for the rest of the movie, Samuel L. Jackson was on better form here than compared to his Disney+ show while Kamala's family are entertaining being thrown into the mix. There's some great scenes involving the Flerken while Monica's outcome definitely set up an interesting plot but will it be enough to save the movie's box office? Likely not tbh.

- Carol had a marriage of convenience with a handsome prince named Yan (Park Seo-joon). His planet gave us a musical sequence and Carol a Disney Princess look.

- King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) popped up to help Carol with Skrull refugees after Dar-Benn destroyed their sanctuary.

- Last scene had Kamala recruit Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) for a new team while also mentioning Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton).

- Post credit scene saw Monica in a parallel universe where she met a superhero version of Maria (Lashanna Lynch) and Beast (Kelsey Grammer).

- Standout music: I'm obviously picking Beastie Boys Intergalactic because the way it was used was great.

- Chronology: Present day New Jersey as well as the S.A.B.E.R. ship, as well as Hala, Tarnax and Aladna. 

The Marvels isn't quite the disaster area some critics want it to be, in terms of quality but nor was it the slam dunk that it should've been either. At worst, it's an average that coasts on the chemistry of its main team but falters with a very weak villain and script respectively. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Doom Patrol's 4x12: "Done Patrol"

 

Written by Shoshana Sachi And Ezra Claytan Daniels 

Directed by Christopher Manley 

Rita (to the gang): "It's time to disband. The Doom Patrol is no longer but first, we have one last assignment."

Well, there it is. Four seasons and forty six episodes later and the era of the DC Universe shows (remember that?) in live action has come to an end. It's been interesting to say the least.

I remember not really having much anticipation for this show prior to its airing. It only turned out to be the best of the shows we got. With characters who well and truly endeared themselves in their own strange ways.

Last we left, Rita was dying and Immortus was winning. The Were-butts also were on the rampage and the rest of the Doom Patrol were fucked. In the first ten minutes, Immortus and the Were-butts were dealt with in a surprising method of defeat. A win is a win, right?

The Doom Patrol got their victory by inadvertently pairing their two biggest problems together in a beneficial way. A thriving and successful Immortus turned out to be less homicidal too. She even gave the gang toenails to restore their longevity.

Sadly, it was too late for Rita, who became a ghost, watched her body get burned up like smelling rubber and reunited with Malcolm in the afterlife. Rita and Laura shippers almost had their ship but alas, it wasn't meant to be. 

As for the rest of the gang, two queer ships did get their happy endings with Larry/Rama and Jane/Casey and I was happy to see that play out. Cliff lived his final days with Clara and Rory and Victor got the future we saw in the previous episode. Oh and Laura went firestarter on the Ant Farm, so she wasn't too sad. 

- The gang watched one of Rita's old movies after her funeral. The various items on her pyre were nice nods to her.

- Cliff saw glimpses of Rory's future before dying and Jane took on the moniker of Kaleidoscope or Kay for short.

- Did Matt Bomer and Brendan Fraser film new scenes for the episode? I don't think they did.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Done Patrol offered a strong ending to a fantastic series. It's been a crazy four seasons but even without the massive overhaul that DC has been undergoing, this was probably the right time to sign off. It's been fun though.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Lords Of Salem (2012)

 

Written And Directed by Rob Zombie

Margaret: "We've been waiting, Heidi. We've always been waiting."

After his foray into the Halloween franchise, I guess you couldn't begrudge Rob Zombie for wanting to do a movie where he would complete creative control over. Also a fascination with the topic at hand certainly helps.

The topic being of course witchcraft and the Salem Witch Trials. I can see why it's a topic that interested Zombie as a writer and director and the results here might be the best thing he's actually helmed in his career.

As a director, I do find Zombie to be divisive and often find his aesthetic can be a bit too crass for its own good. Aside from maybe one or two moments, this might be one of his more tasteful films to date where once again, a certain someone's the leading lady.

Yup, going from playing psychotic serial killers to the mother of the most iconic fictional serial killer, Sheri Moon Zombie has a more different role in this one. In this movie, she's a radio DJ named Heidi LaRoc, co-hosting a show with Whitey (Jeff Daniel Phillips) and Munster (Ken Foree). It's implied that Heidi and Whitey have an out of work relationship too but that's far from the main point of this movie.

The main point being a record left at the station, specifically for Heidi by a band named The Lords. The record's awful but the results on the other hand trigger Heidi throughout the movie with visions of Satanic rituals, sexual assault and a creepy leader named Margaret Morgan (Meg Foster). Needless it's more than enough to drive Heidi crazy and relapse.

On top of the creepy ass visions, there's a local author named Francis Matthias (Bruce Davison) who realised that Heidi was really Adelaide Hawthorne - a descendant of the pious reverend who executed Morgan's coven. Not only that but Heidi might be destined to carry in the next big evil. Yeah, I mean the antichrist.

While Heidi's a decent enough protagonist, the most entertaining characters are actually her landlady Lacy (Judy Geeson) and the latter's nutty sisters, Megan (Patricia Quinn) and Sonny (Dee Wallace). Yes, they're a fun coven of baddies and their corruption of Heidi/Adelaide does end this movie on an interesting enough note.

- There was a subplot called Frankenstein And The Witchhunter, which was scrapped from the final cut.

- The novelisation of the movie which Zombie co-wrote with Brian Evenson has significantly different stuff from the script itself.

- Standout music: Velvet Underground's Venus In Furs was nicely used here.

- Chronology: Present day Salem for the majority of the movie with flashbacks from the Witch Trials. 

I got to admit, I really enjoyed The Lords Of Salem a lot more than I had anticipated I would. A largely engaging script, solid performances, better taste and a rather cryptic left me satisfied with this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Five Nights At Freddy's (2023)

 

Written by Scott Cawthon And Seth Cuddeback And Emma Tammi

Directed by Emma Tammi

Steve: "And you only have to worry about one thing. Keeping people out. And, and you know, and keep the place tidy."

Mike: "That's two things."

Full disclosure: I have never play this game and likely won't either but I've been curious about this movie for a while now. The trailers certainly sold it for me but did it turn out to be as good as it looked?

For the most I would say yes to this. It helped that it had a likeable main protagonist with Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson). Mike's an ordinary guy trying to look out for his younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio). Sadly for Mike, he has a few obstacles against him.

Notably his ruthless Aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson) who won't stop in order to separate Mike and Abby. This included getting Abby's babysitter, Max (Kat Conner Sterling) and getting the latter's family to sabotage Mike's latest job. However that's something that turned out to be fatal for Max and her family.

Speaking of Mike's new gig, it's one that career counselor Steve Raglin (Matthew Lillard) encouraged him to take - a security guard gig at an abandoned family restaurant. An ordinary however it's not as Mike soon realised the animatronic creatures. - Golden Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy and Freddy Fazbear are possessed by dead kids.

Yes, there's a big plot about dead children, including the murder of Mike and Abby's brother, Garrett (Lucas Grant) and Mike spends a good portion in dreams wanting to bring his brother back and nearly losing Abby as a consequence. Then there's also policewoman Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail).

Again as someone unfamiliar with the lore of this franchise, the reveal of her being the daughter of the real villain was a decent twist. The real villain being serial killer William Afton, aka Steve Raglin aka the Fazbear Entertainment founder. Lillard makes the most of his killer reveal and he's a solid baddie whose reign of terror on children saw him get his just desserts.

- The Jim Henson company did a wonderful job with the animatronics.

- Nice use of Atari computer graphics to fill in the backstory for Freddy's in the movie.

- Blumhouse did a dual release on Peacock and in theatres like they've done with other movies.

- Chronology: 80s flashbacks with present day setting.

Five Nights At Freddy's I get the feeling might have appealed more to newbies like myself than the game fans. It's an enjoyable outing with good performances and some family friendly gore to boot. Given its success, a sequel will definitely be happening.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Doom Patrol's 4x11: "Portal Patrol"

 

Written by Chris Dingess

Directed by Christopher Manley

Willoughby (to Cliff): "I've seen and done some nastiness in my time but taking longevity from a dying man, that's truly fuckery."

We're into our penultimate episode of the series and with one more episode, there's so much at stake. Notably our favourite band of misfits defeating both Immortus and the Were-butts. Can they do it?

Going by the end of this episode, the answer might be yes. For the most part, the majority of the team were chucked into a portal before ending up inside Victor, who along with GRID and Keeg might have solved their longevity problem.

The solution being supplanting the gang (except Victor) into different portals to get longevity. Each a different time and each of them featuring Niles Caulder. Yes, the show got Timothy Dalton back for one more episode. They also made sure not to waste him.

In 1948 Paraguay, it was up to Cliff. However he ended up causing Niles's paralysis and got guilted by Willoughby into not taking the longevity. Niles and Cliff got some great scenes in this episode as the latter got to hash out a lot of issues with his former mentor. 

Also at the Ant Farm in 1949, Laura had fun knocking out Niles and impersonating Niles to her former self. Laura also failed in her mission but she rather violently hashed out some issues with her past self.

Then there were Larry and Jane back in the manor in 1996. The former got distracted by his past self and the Negative Spirit but left with a future spoiler about himself and Keeg. Jane had the best scenes with Niles and made the biggest emotional breakthrough she's ever had. She might have failed with getting the longevity but hey, she's Kaleidoscope now, so that's a victory.

As for Victor, he got in contact with a future Derek and the latter's student Joy helped him find a back door solution to the portal problem. With that, we've got a team determined to save the world.

- Rita was mentioned a lot but didn't appear at all in the episode. 

- Willoughby had a concoction to help Niles forget about future events. 

- Laura revealed about her own parents turning on her when she first discovered her powers. 

- Chronology: 1948 Paraguay, 1949 Ant Farm and 1996 Manor as well as an unspecified future.

Portal Patrol was a nice little trip with a nice outcome. I don't know if the gang will actually get their longevity back but at least they have each other's back. I'm going to miss this show next week when it ends.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Doctor Who - Welcome To The Whoniverse (Warning: Spoilers Ahead)

It's November and that officially means that it's the month of Doctor Who. 

Strap in, because there's a lot to cover here. It's gonna be a fun time.

BBC iPlayer have kitted out an entire Whoniverse section for fans (UK mainly, boo rights issues) to enjoy multiple eras concerning the show.

This includes ....

Doctor Who (1963-1996)*

Doctor Who (2005-2022)

Tales Of The TARDIS

Doctor Who Confidential 

Torchwood

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Class

K9 & Company: A Girl's Best Friend 

Doctor Who: The Infinity Quest

Doctor Who: Dreamland

Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And The Legendary Tapes

The Science Of Doctor Who

Doctor Who At The Proms

Whose Doctor Who

An Adventure In Space And Time (coming soon)

A fantastic selection with over 800 hours worth of content. Sadly due to a certain petty manchild, An Unearthly Child is omitted from this otherwise impressive amount of content. Also keep an eye on a 75 minute colourised version of The Daleks, due to air on BBC4 on November 23rd.

Released this morning, we got the six part series called Tales Of The TARDIS. An interesting format in which former Doctors and companions reminisce over past adventures within the confines of a memory TARDIS. 

Steven Taylor (Peter Purves)/Vicki Pallister (Maureen O'Brien) - The Time Meddler.

Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)/Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury) - The Mind Robber

Jo Jones (Katy Manning)/Clyde Langer (Daniel Anthony) - The Three Doctors

Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison)/Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) - Earthshock

Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker)/Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant) - Vengeance On Varos

Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy)/Ace McShane (Sophie Alfred) - The Curse Of Fenric

Having seen most of these scenes through certain means, I will admit they're all brilliant. Expertly written by Russell T. Davies, Pete McTighe and Phil Ford and directed by Scott Handcock, it's a wonderful concept and one I hope is revisited with other former Doctors, companions and spin off characters. 

Meanwhile SFX Magazine have all the goods in relation to the 60th anniversary specials and beyond that. A 28 page special with Russell T. Davies spilling the beans over some very interesting stuff.

In relation to the anniversary specials, we can expect a flashback to the original Toymaker (Michael Gough) himself, Wild Blue Yonder being "weird" and "the most astonishing barricade you'll ever see". The three specials are not a three parter and while there are plans for spin-off's, a UNIT one isn't one of them. As for beyond, ooh, there's a lot to get excited for.

In a move that will be stoking debate for years to come, expect a number resetting with Ncuti Gatwa's first two series being referred to as Season 1 and 2. Russell T. Davies also confirmed his plans for four series of Doctor Who with stories he's been wanting to tell for 40-20 years and even yesterday so to speak. The first episode will also feature nine babies as part of its plot. 

However with filming for Series 15/Season 2 now started, some guest cast have already been spotted on set. Filming for Christmas 2024 has revealed both Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Bridgerton) and Joel Fry (Game Of Thrones, Cruella) both on set. Nicola Coughlan already appeared with Ncuti Gatwa in Barbie this year and was rumoured for the show for a while now. Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday has yet to be confirmed for the second series for the 15th Doctor. 

Also be sure to catch David Tennant on BBC4 tonight in Talking Doctor Who with the 60th Anniversary Concert, hosted by Jo Wiley while the show will have a crossover with Bargain Hunt on November 23rd. Not to mention that Series 4 marathon this weekend on BBCAmerica and there's this year's Children In Need on November 17th, which will feature a new sketch for David Tennant's 14th Doctor. 

It really is the bestest time to be a Doctor Who fan.

The 60th anniversary specials will air on BBC1 and stream on Disney+ from November 25th to December 9th as well as getting physical releases from December 11th.