My Review of Kite Man: Hell Yeah! - Season 1 (2024)

 

Written by Dean Lorry And Patrick Schumacker And Justin Halpern And Connor Shin And Chris Marrs And Vidhya Iyer And Katie Rich And Leslie Schapira And Jess Lieberman And Lexi Slater

Directed by Yoriaki Mochizuki And Jeff Wamester And Ben Jones And Joonki Park And Rick Morales And Diana Huh

Kite Man: "Time to wing it!"

If there was an award for a DC spin off show that nobody asked for, wasn't needed and probably would've been better off never being allowed to happen. Honestly, it'd still be Gotham Knights but Kite Man: Hell Yeah! could also have been included in the conversation.

Oddly enough, it might sound like I'm about to be overtly critical on this show, it's just the mentality surrounding it even happening does fascinate me. I mean the title character (Matt Oberg) did seem to have had a divisive reaction on the Harley Quinn show he originated in, so giving him and girlfriend, Golden Glider (Stephanie Hsu) was an odd choice.

The premise being that the madly in love couple decided to buy Noonan's, the shittiest pub in Gotham with the owner, Sean Noonan (Jonathan Banks) still hanging around. As Kite Man and Golden Glider learn to be decent publicans, Lex Luthor (Lance Reddick/Amuche Chukudebelu ) hid the Anti-Life Equation in Noonan's while chaos surrounded the couple and their developing relationship.

The chaos being Golden Glider struggling to control her powers, a toilet that transported anyone who flushed into the 1980s, the recurrence of Glider's selfish mother, Rebecca (Margaret Cho) and a brief arc where secondary villain Helen Villigan (Judith Light) turned Kite Man into the douchey Beast Mode. All of them slightly pale compared to the Anti-Life Equation problem.

There's a lot of fun to Darkseid being a nicely seeded villain in the series. First through having his spoiled niece Malice Vundabar (Natasia Demetriou) and monster cat Cheshire (Dee Bradley Baker) working at Noonan's and then his more aggressive attempts to get the Anti-Life Equation until a well hidden hero thwarted his efforts at the very last minute.

As for the rest of the regulars, the more of Bane (James Adomian), the better. I mean it. He's at his best here, what with standing up to Lex and Helen, nearly winning sexiest villain and taking care of Goldilocks (Carla Delaney). His crush on Rebecca doesn't do him favours but he's a consistent joy throughout the first season.

As for the rest of the characters, there's a nice back and forth between the Queen of Fables (Janelle James) and Joe/Moe Dubrlz (Michael Imperioli) and a slew of familiar faces. Not to mention a few obscure ones to boot. Also not to mention a very deliberate cliff hanger ending to boot.

- The episode titles were Pilot, Hell Yeah!, Grand Reopening, Hell Yeah!, Villigan's, Hell Yeah!, Portal Potty, Hell Yeah!, Prison Break, Hell Yeah!, Mother/Daughter Day, Hell Yeah!, Sexiest Villain Alive, Hell Yeah!, Just Right, Hell Yeah!, To Get To The Other Side, Hell Yeah! and Hero Stuff, Hell Yeah!

-  The deliberate cliffhanger ending was of course, the arrival of Brainiac. Martian Manhunter (Phil LaMarr) stopped Darkseid but Rebecca becoming the Evil Fairy Godmother will be a problem.

- Both Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) briefly appeared in the first episode. 

- Gotham and Pennyworth fans, the fifth episode had Richard Kind and Ben Aldridge as an unkillable health inspector and Malice's evil boyfriend, Jeremy Karne.

- The penultimate episode proved that even a chicken can be corrupted by the Anti-Life Equation and cause maximum damage. 

- Chronology: Not long after the events of the parent show's last season. 

On paper, I'm surprised that Kite Man: Hell Yeah! even worked. It kind of shouldn't but it weirdly did with a slew of decent laughs, violence, and, romance and well executed character arcs throughout. A pleasantly endearing spin off show.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (2011)

 

Written And Directed by Declan O'Brien

Kyle (re Daniel): "They're eating him like some fucked up fondue."

I think it's from this point where the rot kind of began to set in with this franchise. Going down a prequel route, I guess it was a way to bring back the still not developed Three Finger (Sean Skene) but other than that, it doesn't feel like a prequel.

The opening flashback of course does provide some context for Three Finger, Saw Tooth (Scott Johnson) and One Eye (Daniel Skene). They're in the Glenville Sanatorium and it wasn't long before they got loose, killed a bunch of staff members and took over said asylum.

Cut to 29 years later and you've got the latest group of young adults who clearly didn't research their choice of hang out properly. Yes, this bunch are stupid enough to set up camp in the asylum during a snowstorm. I'll admit that I liked the wintry setting for this movie.

As for the cannon fodder in question, there was a whole bunch of them named Kenia (Jenny Pudavick), Jenna (Terra Vnesa), Vincent (Sean Skene), Sara (Tenika Davis), Bridget (Kaitlyn Wong), Kyle (Victoe Zinck Jr), Claire (Samantha Kendrick), Daniel (Dean Armstrong) and Lauren (Ali Tataryn). It's a very bloated cast.

It also doesn't help that none of them are particularly well developed or have much to make them stand out. Anyways, they're trapped in the asylum and get picked off sequentially by the hillbilly family. Kyle has the bright idea of killing them and it's an idea he should've been allowed to follow through with.

The downside was that everyone died, including the few who got out of the asylum and nearly stood a chance of being saved. Yeah, there's an increasing sense of nihilism with this franchise and this one certainly ended on a downbeat note.

- The movie was the first in the franchise to have a lesbian couple but even there's an annoying emphasis on how a male character views them.

- Some of the actors played two roles each, notably Sean Skene. I do find it amusing that every film has a different actor for Three Finger.

- The snow was real, they shot it in Canada and Declan O'Brien even gave himself a cameo.

- Chronology: West Virginia, mostly in the sanitarium in both 1974 and 2003. Even the main action is set before the events of the first movie.

Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings could've won me over with the wintry setting but honestly, I felt cold towards this one. Too many characters and just dreary for most of the time. It's definitely the start of a decline with this franchise.

Rating: 4 out of 10

My Review of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

 

Written by Alfred Gough And Miles Millar And Seth Grahame-Smith

Directed by Tim Burton

Beetlejuice: "I just had the weirdest dream."

Legacy sequels can be a mixed bag, can't they? There are some movies that probably don't need expansion and the one from 1988 arguably could've been that. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this sequel. Fortunately, I really did.

Set in the current day and things are different for Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). Not only has she gotten older and developed a better relationship with stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) but she's also become a parent herself. Yup, she's got her own angsty and resentful teenage daughter in Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and their relationship isn't a good one for most of this movie.

On top of that, Lydia has also turned her ability to communicate with ghosts into a television show and even bagged herself a sleazy fiancée named Rory (Justin Theroux). Yeah, Rory's not someone you'd want to be with and even Lydia seems to barely tolerate his pseudo feminist act.

The better part though would be Lydia having nightmares about Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) with the latter trying to work his way back into her life. Thanks to Rory, Lydia and Betelgeuse did reunite and also thanks to Astrid getting tricked by a killer named Jeremy (Arthur Conti), Lydia really did need Betelgeuse's help in order to get Astrid back from the afterlife.

While all this was happening, the movie had two other characters that needed more time to be developed. There was Betelgeuse's soul sucking ex-wife, Delores (Monica Belluci) and ghost detective, Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe). Both are fun characters but suffer a bit from not enough screen time.

As for the Deetz family, I did like that nearly being sent to the Soul Train and a brief reunion with Richard (Santiago Cabrera) managed to thaw both Lydia and Astrid's fractured relationship. Then there was what happened to Delia. Again, it's a bit rushed and not given enough weight to have the desired effect. Personally, I probably wouldn't have done it but it's a minor complaint in a largely enjoyable second outing.

- Danny DeVito had a fun cameo as a janitor and there was a bit of a bigger role for the shrunken headed Bob (Nick Kellington).

- Shout outs to both Burn Gornan and Amy Nuttall. The former as a funny priest and the latter playing the grown daughter of the realtor from the first movie and be one herself.

- Charles Deetz's death got one hell of an animation and seemed to be a good way to write out that character from the movie. A loophole had Adam and Barbara move on for good.

- That last nightmare sequence really did feel like they were laying the groundwork for a third movie. I think we could get it too.

- Standout music:  Alfie Davis and the Sylvia Young Theatre School Choir's version of Day-O and the Bee Gees Tragedy.

- Chronology: Present day in Winter River, Connecticut. Everyone had moved back to New York City between movies.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice isn't a total slam dunk of a sequel but it definitely worked better than expected. Some plots/characters definitely needed time to breathe but the main action between the title character, Lydia and Astrid certainly made up for things. I wouldn't have said it a few months ago but it does look like there's some life left in this IP to explore.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead (2009)

 

Written by Connor James Delaney

Directed by Declan O'Brien

Alex (re Three Finger): "He eats people. We're his food."

Maybe I've misjudged this franchise a little because while it's still got a massive problem in actually developing it's hillbilly antagonists, it's sort of mixing it up a bit with it's protagonists. A mix up I appreciated here.

The movie opened with a friend group, consisting of Alex (Janet Montgomery), Brent (Charley Speed), Trey (Jack Gordan) and Sophie (Louise Cliffe). Within the first five minutes, they're murdered brutally by Three Finger (Borislav Iliev), with the frightened Alex benched until the second half of the movie.

Anyways, you'd assume that Alex was supposed to be the protagonist of the piece but the main hero this time around turned out to be nice guy cop, Nate Wilson (Tom Frederic). Along with fellow officer, Walter (Chucky Venn), both men are tasked with transferring criminals to another prison. 

Predictably enough, it went wrong and the main criminal in question, Carlo Chavez (Tamer Hassan) along with Floyd (Gil Korilin), Crawford (Jake Curran) and Brandon (Tom McKay) took both Nate and Walter captive while also trying to escape. Oh and there was a scheming involving a lot of money that didn't bring out the good in anyone.

On top of that, the inclusion of Alex in the second also brought the hillbillies out of hiding and it became a fight for survival against them and the criminals. Fortunately for Nate, he had both Alex and Brandon on his side. Unfortunately for Nate, at least one of them betrayed him after they survived their hillbilly encounter.

While it's not unusual to kill off the main hero in a horror movie, this was one time I wished they didn't. I did like Nate a lot more than previous protagonists in the franchise and we definitely need more Final Boys in the genre. However, at least there were some strong kills in this one.

- The film had the most kills but the least amount of mutants and it was Nate who killed Three Finger. 

- Despite being release in 2009, the film has been made two years prior to that.

- Declan O'Brien didn't write this one but he does the next two as well as directing them.

- Chronology: Not long from the second movie and again, set within West Virginia.

Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead certainly changed up the type of protagonist we've had compared to the first two movies and seemed to be a more male leaning compared to the first two movies. The ending somewhat dropped the ball but it's a better movie than I expected it to be. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Beetlejuice (1988)

 

Written by Michael McDowell And Warren Skaaran And Larry Wilson

Directed by Tim Burton 

Betelgeuse: "These aren't my rules. Come to think of it, I don't have any rules."

With a certain sequel making the rounds, I thought it was time I got back to the original before seeing it. Has it held up after 36 years? Of course it has. This was always one of Tim Burton's finest movies.

You've got nice married couple Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) who died at the start of the movie. Instead of moving into the afterlife, they find themselves stuck in their home and are determined to ensure that no one moved in to their humble abode.

What they didn't anticipate was the arrival of the Deetz clan. A family that included Charles (Jeffrey Jones), Delia (Catherine O'Hara) and goth daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder). It also didn't take long for Lydia to be able to see Adam and Barbara and form a connection with them. Considering that Charles and Delia aren't the greatest parental figures, it's not to see why Lydia would gravitate towards a ghostly couple instead.

Of course, there's also the title attraction of this movie itself. Before he became Batman, Michael Keaton really excelled as the chaotic "bio exorcist" Betelgeuse. Initially he was meant to help the Maitlands with their human problem before he ended up being a bigger problem himself for everyone involved.

Betelgeuse enjoyed toying with the Deetz and their eccentric friends, including Otho Fenlock (Glenn Shadix), the latter being something of an amateur exorcist himself. Otho even proved to be a right danger to Adam and Barbara until Lydia brokered her own deal with Betelgeuse to save them.

Now, I'll admit Betelgeuse's determination to marry Lydia might be the creepiest thing about the movie, but like most of his plans, it's not quite a success and soon enough, he's hoisted by his own petard. As for Lydia, she got to save her surrogate parental figures and co-existence between the living and the dead was achieved. 

- There's a great from Sylvia Sidney as case worker, Juno and a funny last scene where Betelgeuse's attempt of skipping the queue resulted in a shrunken head.

- An animated series came hot off the heels of this show and ran for four seasons. It was loosely based on the movie.

- A sequel called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian almost happened before Tim Burton lost interest in the idea.

- Would be titles for this movie included House Ghosts and Scared Sheetless. 

- Standout music: Dayo (The Banana Boat Song) for obvious reasons.

- Chronology: The movie's set in Winter River, Connecticut with the Deetz being from New York City.

Beetlejuice is an extremely fun movie, affectionately playing on the usual haunted house tropes and subverted them. Everyone gave a fantastic performance with both Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder being the obvious stand outs. Now I'm ready to watch this sequel.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)

 

Written by Turi Meyer And Al Septien

Directed by Joe Lynch

Jake: "Nice ride. You want to take it for a spin?"

Nina: "Why not? It's the least this fucked up family owes us."

In a surprise move, you've got a first sequel that might be somewhat better than the first movie. Don't get me wrong, this still ain't a great franchise but there's a degree put behind the characters this time that the first movie didn't necessarily going for it.

It's also funny because taking a leaf out of Halloween: Resurrection, this movie decided to down the reality TV route with a Survivor influenced show focusing on six celebs being put through their paces by Colonel Dale Murphy (Henry Rollins). Surprisingly, he's a far better character than expected.

Anyways the contestants in question included Kimberly Caldwell (as herself), former football player Jake Washington (Texas Battle), lesbian war vet Amber Williams (Daniella Alonso), skateboarder Matt Jones (Steve Braun), lingerie model Elena (Crystal Garcia) and graphic artist Nina Paps (Erica Leerhsen). Of course, Kimberly's an open kill and got quickly replaced by the similarly unfortunate Mara Stone (Aleksa Palladino).

With these characters, there's something of an effort to try and make them a bit more dimensional and it mostly. Except for Elena, who really was just vacuous and fame hungry but the rest, there's that effort, so I have to give the movie it's due on that front.

It's also interesting the pairing choices. The somewhat immature Matt being paired with the more serious Amber as he comes to respect both her and the fact that she's a lesbian. Then there's the romantic undertones between Nina and Jake as the two of them bonded over tragedy while Dale himself seemed to actually care about the contestants lives to the point where he endangered his own to save them.

Even the inbred hillbillies in this one seemed to have a bit more going for them as characters. They were still picking off the contestants, one by one but there was an effort to explore their disturbed family dynamics. In particular, the creepy Ma (Ashlea), Pa (Ken Kirzinger), Brother (Clint Carleton) and Sister (Rorelee Tio), who were the main threat in this one.

- Three Finger was played by Jeff Scrutton this time while Patton Oswald had a voice cameo.

- Adding to the disturbed scenes, we had that hillbilly baby sucking on a human finger while being bottle fed toxic sludge.

- Original ideas included using both Jessie and Chris from the first movie as well as having Eliza Dushku play herself for the opening kill.

- Chronology: Still set in West Virginia and not long after the events of the first movie.

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End does show that when there's more effort on character, you can get a pretty decent sequel. That's the film's biggest strength, and even the reality TV idea was better handled. I liked this one.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Wrong Turn (2003)

 

Written by Alan B. McElroy 

Directed by Rob Schmidt 

Scott: "We are never going into the woods again."

A few years ago, I watched, reviewed and generally did not care for the reboot movie. I'm not going to lie and say that this is a franchise I hold a lot of reverence for either but I'm going to watch the remaining movies and try to be as fair as possible.

I mean for a first entry, this was actually a pretty good start with enough familiar faces and a premise that mostly lifted from both Deliverance and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It also contained a cast of people from some popular shows and movies at the time, including one actor that I really miss seeing in things these days.

The protagonists of the piece included a friends group. This comprised of engaged couples Scott (Jeremy Sisto) and Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), other couple Evan (Keven Zegers) and Francine (Lindy Booth) and the recently dumped, Jessie (Eliza Dushku). As characters, they're fairly by the numbers and fresh victims for the terror of their new surroundings.

Add into the mix a man named Chris Flynn (Desmond Harrington), whom the friend group crashed into and you've got six characters ripe for the picking. One by one as they try to get help, they find themselves being hunted and picked by a group of feral cannibals. 

The villains then of the piece were the likes of Odets, which included Three-Fingers (Julian Richings), Saw-Tooth (Garry Robbins) and One-Eye (Ted Clark). They're not greatly developed characters but their lack of development doesn't get in the way of their ability to cause maximum damage to our protagonists as Jessie and Chris are the only ones to barely escape.

I'll admit these type of horror films don't connect with me that much and I prefer my villains to have something a bit more to them that cannibal hillbillys on offer here. Fortunately though they're at least competent villains, who despite getting a deserved comeuppance do show their own endurance to setbacks.

- A mid credit sequence did show that Thee-Fingers survived as he attacked a deputy sheriff by the side of the road.

- Apparently Eliza Dushku's character was named after the protagonist in the Stephen King novel Gerald's Game.

- The characters originally were supposed to be in their late twenties before being aged down to appeal to younger audiences.

- Chronology: The movie's set in the woods in Virginia. A couple who were rock climbing ended up being killed at the start of the movie.

Wrong Turn does get this franchise off to a decent start and probably is the best in a slew of uninspired sequels. The leads are good, there's some serviceable dialogue and the gore isn't too over the top. It's a diverting watch at least.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

 

Written by William Hurlbut And John L. Balderston

Directed by James Whale 

The Monster (to Pretorius/the Bride): "We belong dead."

Yes, I'm reviewing the middle part of a trilogy first but I do promise to get to the other movies at some point. I just really wanted to watch this one first. For a film that's drawing close to it's 90th anniversary, there was plenty to enjoy here.

First of all, the Monster (Boris Karloff) himself might have survived the events of his first outing but he's still the village pariah and he's still being hunted and feeling lonely. Yes, there's sympathy to be had for the Monster during the movie.

Then there's also the man responsible for all the mess the Monster had made. It turned out that Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) also survived the events of the first movie, regretful of his actions while reunited with his fiancee, Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson). However his hopes of staying away from his creation weren't meant to be.

In this movie, the Monster had made an ally in Doctor Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger). Pretorius who had a professional rivalry with Frankenstein and forced the latter into aiding him and the Monster by holding Elizabeth prisoner. What was the big plan? Oh, a partner for the Monster of course.

Going by the title of the movie, a bride (Elsa Lanchester) was the order of the day and she appeared almost at the last minute. Of course she wasn't best pleased with the idea of the Monster as a potential mate and their match came to something of a fiery ending. 

- Elsa Lanchester pulled double duty here as she also played Mary Shelley at the start of the movie, recounting the Monster's story.

- Boris Karloff was against the Monster speaking in this movie but not the character getting over his fear of fire by enjoying smoking.

- Henry's referred to as Baron instead of being a doctor in the movie.

- Chronology: Not after the events of Frankenstein (1931).

Bride Of Frankenstein certainly was a triumph of a sequel. While the title character did show up much later than expected and was almost too quickly done away with, she did leave quite an impression. Then again, so did the Monster on his second outing. 

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Devil Rides Out (1968)

 

Written by Richard Matheson

Directed by Terrence Fisher

Duc de Richleau: "You will also remember, Simon, what I said to you about the Angel of Death once being summoned..."

Simon: "...cannot return empty handed."

For my horror reviews for the next two months, I will alternate between the current day stuff as well as a dive into older ones. Anything with the word "devil" will definitely get a closer look and this movie was on my radar for a bit.

Christopher Lee, the horror icon he is. Well, I think this might be one of his greatest performances in the genre. In this occult themed movie, he's playing the role of the erudite Nicholas, Duc de Richleau. He's one of a few protagonists but by far the most charismatic of the bunch. 

Anyways Nicholas and his friend, Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene) find themselves having to rescue corrupted rich boy, Simon Aron (Patrick Mower) from a devil worshipping cult and neeedless to say that wasn't a fun task. It also didn't help that Simon didn't exactly want to be rescued to begin with before he realised the real danger he was in.

Usually with these films, there's also a bit of a love story attached and it's with Rex falling for another cultist who was actually named Tanith Carlisle (Nike Arrighi). It's not the greatest element of the movie but nor did it distract too much from proceedings. Needless to say, the cult in question really don't like having their members snatched away from them.

The cult being devil worshippers led by the threatening enough Mocata (Charles Gray). He does prove to be a decent thorn in Nicholas's side, especially when he adducted the daughter of Nicholas's niece, Marie (Sarah Lawson) and Richard (Paul Eddington). Of course the great plot from Mocata doesn't strictly pan out the way he wanted to. 

Yes, there's a few attempts of ritual sacrifices, characters falling under demonic corruption and of course, a resolution that involved time travel. It's certainly a way to solve the main issue while at the same time, offering a suitable comeuppance to the villain in question.

- This movie was based on a book of the same title by Denis Wheatley that was released in 1934.

- The US version of this movie is titled The Devil's Bride, which does work a little better as a title.

- Mocata does seem to be blatantly based on famous occultist Aleister Crowley. 

- Chronology: Set in 1929 in both London and the South of England. May Day factored into the movie.

The Devil Rides Out might feel tame by today's standards but there are some nice moments that do provide some good scares. Great performances from Christopher Lee and Charles Gray also help elevate a lot of the material too.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Jennifer's Body (2009)

 

Written by Diablo Cody

Directed by Karen Kusama

Needy: "You know what? You were never really a good friend. Even when we were little, you used to steal my toys and pour lemonade on my bed."

Jennifer: "And now, I'm eating your boyfriend. See? At least I'm consistent."

Another movie that was on my to rewatch pile was this late entry from the 2000s that had two very charismatic leads and was a highschool story involving two very unlikely friends that became a right horror show.

The unlikely friends being between popular colour flag spinner Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) and the nerdy Anita "Needy" Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried). It's a friendship that's even pointed out by other characters, like Needy's boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons) as being off and that shouldve been a red fkag about Needy and Jennifer.

That as well as the fact that this movie actually began with Needy in a prison where she's rather violent towards a new staff member trying to help her. Anyways back to the setting of the story, there was an indie group named Low Shoulder, led by Nikolai Wolf (Adam Brody) and said group had designs on Jennifer.

Yeah, the band turned out to be devil worshippers and falsely assumed that Jennifer was a virgin. An assumption that initially worked to their advantage but also saw something of a ravenous transformation in Jennifer herself. She might not be able to eat a rotisserie chicken without vomiting but a taste for human flesh certainly seems to have an entirely different effect on her.

Needless to say, Jennifer's whole new demeanor and zest for life saw her very indifferent towards fellow students being killed in a fire when she wasn't devouring poor Colin (Kyle Gallner). Then there was trying to snack on Chip. Whatever friendship Jennifer and Needy had definitely went out the window by the end of the movie.

The friendship between Jennifer and Needy was the driving force behind the movie with both Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried delivering immensely on that front. There's an underlying tension between both characters that certainly transcended friendship as Needy's action beyond their dynamic certainly attested to.

- In a post credit scene, Needy avenged Jennifer by killing Low Shoulder in their hotel room.

- J.K. Simmons had a very funny part as teacher Mr Wroblewski. Chris Pratt even pops up as a cop who Jennifer was fooling around with.

- Standout music: Black Kids I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You, Foreigner's Urgent and Florence And The Machine's Kiss With A Fist.

- Chronology: The movie's set in the fictional town of Devil's Kettle, Minnesota.

Well, I had a lot of fun with Jennifer's Body. An excellent teen comedy with the right amount of horror, a good commentary and excellent performances from both Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. Some of the dialogue also really packed a punch. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Heathers (1988)

 

Written by Daniel Waters

Directed by Michael Lehmann 

Veronica: "I just killed my best friend."

J.D.: "And your worst enemy."

Veronica: "Same difference."

I fancied a bit of a black comedy and I went with this one from the late 1980s. It's been on my list to watch for a bit now and honestly, I do wish I had watched it earlier.

To say that Heathers wouldn't go on to influence the likes of Mean Girls and Scream Queens would be an understatement. Everything you like about those, this movie did it first and a tiny bit better. Notably with the title itself.

Yes, you've got Heathers - three of them in fact. These included the leader, Chandler (Kim Walker) and her put upon sidekicks Duke (Shannen Doherty) and McNamara (Lisanne Falk). The three of them set the tone at their highschool and in the mix was a Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder), who's become increasingly disillusioned with the callous tone set by the Heathers at school.

Meeting with the somewhat psychotic J.D. aka Jason Dean (Christian Slater) saw Veronica getting corrupted by his influence and it wasn't long before Heather Chandler ended up being the first victim. Veronica did feel a bit bad for killing her best "friend" but J.D.'s bloodlust became a massive problem as the movie progressed.

Veronica might not have approved of her boyfriend's action but J.D. definitely had no problem in making two idiotic football players, Ram (Patrick Labyorteaux) and Kurt (Lance Fenton) look like a suicidal gay couple. Then there was the murderous pair turning on each other to boot. All because Veronica developed a conscience. 

As the remaining Heathers went opposite ways in character development, suicide became a teen trend and then there was both Veronica and J.D. in one explosive showdown. Let's just say the prom didn't get cancelled and Veronica found alternative means to spend her time.

- The suicidal passages were from The Bell Jar and Moby Dick as they couldn't use The Catcher In The Rye.

- There was an idea for a sequel involving a President Heather and yeah, I wish that had happened.

- Standout music: The uses of Que Sera, Sera by Syd Straw (start of movie) and Sly And The Family Stone (end of movie) as well as Teenage Suicide (Dont Do It) by Big Fun.

- Chronology: The movie is set in Ohio during the 1980s.

Heathers certainly set a tone to some later dark teen comedies and TV shows and it's a delightfully macabre look into the corruption of youth. Genuinely biting lines, funny scenes, great performances and so on, I had immense fun with this.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

Wonder Woman - Episodes 56-59 Reviews

My final blog and it's been a very fun two months watching this show in the longest time and going over each episode. 

Episode 56: The Boy Who Knew Her Secret: Part 2

The second part had two problems for Wonder Woman. The first one being the invading alien race in question trying to force her to stay out of their business by making her forget she was Wonder Woman but that one kind of didn't last too long when a forgetful Diana interacted with Skip and "Wonder Woman". The other being Skip being aware of Wonder Woman's true identity and the latter's attempts to make her forget not working. Yeah, even Diana got duped by the power of a tape recorder. Oh and there was a choice bit of dialogue that was very relevant to the next episode. 8/10

Episode 57: The Man Who Could Not Die

This was the last episode to be filmed for the show and also should've been the last one that aired. I say this because this episode served as a prelude to what a fourth season would've looked like had the show not ended. Gone was Steve Trevor and Washington and instead you had Wonder Woman relocate to California where she got a new boss, a precocious wise cracking kid sidekick, an invulnerable monkey and a former football player turned computer scientist turned invulnerable man named Bryce Candell (Bob Seagren), whom Wonder Woman had decent chemistry with. It's very much a pilot episode for Season 4 and while I definitely would've written out the kid sidekick, this could've potentially worked had things gone differently for the show. A shame we'll never know. 7/10

Episode 58: Phantom Of The Roller Coaster: Part 1

Yeah, for a series ender, I'm not sure this two parter was the best idea. It's almost like this whole two parter should've aired before The Boy Who Knew Her Secret because it's pretty much just a spoof off The Phantom Of The Opera throughout with a disfigured and generally sympathetic man named David Gurney (Jared Martin) who generally "haunted" the rollercoaster. There's also Leon Gurney, also played by Jared Martin too, so you do get a bit of a dual performance in this one. 6/10

Episode 59: Phantom Of The Roller Coaster: Part 2

The last ever episode and it's mostly to round off this fairly middling two parter. There's a nice reunion between both David and Leon as they work with Wonder Woman to stop a foreign spy ring threat but compared to the three episodes that preceded this two parter, it's not a very engaging ending for the series. Saying that, ice enjoyed the catch up in the last eight weeks and Lynda Carter really did cement herself as an icon for this career defining role. 6/10.

Well, that's my series rewatch of Wonder Woman complete. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. 

My Review of Warlock III: The End Of Innocence (1999)

 

Written by Bruce David Eisen And Eric Freiser

Directed by Eric Freiser

Warlock: "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it."

In our third entry for this franchise, we've got another Warlock in the shape of Philip Covington (Bruce Payne) and in flashbacks, he showed his nastiness by targeting a mother and daughter. Not surprising was the fact that they posed a threat to him and they trapped him in a house.

Cut to the current day where it's set in an Irish town of generic description with an American group of characters, the main protagonist was a woman named Kris (Ashley Laurence). She's inherited the creepy house and with that, she's become a new problem/potential sacrifice for a still power hungry Covington. 

With Kris include her boyfriend, Michael (Paul Francis), kinky couple Scott (Rick Hearst) and Lisa (Angel Brois), stoner Jerry (Jan Schweiterman) and Robin (Boti Bliss). It turned out that the latter also happened to be a witch. Unfortunately for Robin, that didn't do any good as she was nowhere near as powerful as a determined Covington.

Throughout the movie, this Warlock pretty killed all of Kris's friends and lover, one by one. He subjected them to various levels of suffering as he made his way towards sacrificing Kris. It turned out that he wanted to mother a race of evil with an evil consort and Kris was needed for that one.

The movie does fill in the obvious connection between this Warlock and Kris and it's a decent enough reveal. I found Kris's circle of friends to be somewhat blandly drawn out with Robin being horribly wasted. Kris herself was a bit of a miss following previous protagonists in this franchise but this new Warlock was menacing enough.

- I do think by bringing in a new actor, it probably was a good idea for the Warlock to be a different character too.

- In folklore, children who are born with the caul over their faces are a sign of good luck or magical ability.

- Standout music: Chris Frankfort's Judgement Call.

- Chronology: It's Ireland in the 1990s as well as an unspecified time period for the opening scene.

Warlock III: The End Of Innocence was an okay entry in a franchise that's mostly been okay so far. I did like the change of location and a new Warlock but found most of the main players to be bland. 

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Warlock: The Armageddon (1993)

 

Written by Kevin Rock

Directed by Anthony Hickox

Warlock: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the scaredest one of all?"

Following the events of the first movie, you'd think the titular Warlock (Julian Sands) would've been done with but alas, not quite. Whatever pact that guy made with Satan, he's certainly making sure he can be on the mortal plane for as long as he can.

Of course with the Warlock being the only returning factor from the first movie, we needed a new environment and newer protagonists for him to go up against. In the distant past, there were Druids who stopped a Satanic ritual with six rune stones. 

In the present day, it's those stones that play a part in the Warlock's latest plan along with our heroes of the piece. Yes, you've got a teenage couple named Kenny Travis (Chris Young) and Samantha Ellison (Paula Marshall) as a new source of contention for the Warlock. One of them far more than the other if we're being honest here.

Anyways Kenny and Samantha are madly in love and desperate to leave their small minded town behind them. They're also descendants of the Druids that previously ruined the Warlock's plan and it's not until halfway through the movie that their respective fathers Will (Steve Kahan) and Ted (Bruce Glover) try to prepare their kids for their destiny.

Speaking of destiny, the Warlock does seem more cruel in this second outing as well with the gleeful way he turned one guy into a hideous art piece and scalped a woman in a car he acquired. He doesn't hold back in causing as much destruction as he can when crossing paths with both Kenny and Samantha.

The last act then was a battle of wits between the Warlock and the teenage couple. For a moment it did seem like the former was about to win before getting sent straight back to hell instead. As for Kenny and Samantha, they're a decent pairing throughout the movie. 

- Zach Galligan popped up as Douglas during the film. Theres also a brutal death at a fashion show for the unfortunate Paula Dare (Joanna Pacula).

- Originally Frank LaLoggia was slated to direct this sequel but his vision was too expensive. 

- That scene involving a poor dog being eaten was by far the grossest thing in this one.

- Chronology: Druid times for the opening flashback before we got a 1993 setting for the rest of the movie.

Warlock: The Armageddon made for an okay sequel. There's some decent moments overall and the new leads are fine. I didn't find it bad but I also didn't find it compelling either. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 

Wonder Woman - Episodes 52-55 Reviews

My penultimate blog for this show and the episode have rich recluses,video dating, a human jinx and the start of an invasion two parter.

Episode 52: The Richest Man In The World

Reclusive rich people were the order of the day, especially Marshall Henshaw (Richard Slate), whose elusiveness nearly lost him his own business along with some backstabbing partners. Fortunately he seemed to have had a protege in Barney (Barry Miller) who wanted to help him along with Wonder Woman. Fans of the Shazam TV show will recognise Miller as Mike from that show. 7/10

Episode 53: A Date With Doomsday 

Video dating being a central plot to this episode certainly made for a fun time. Yes, it became so central that even Diana had to try and go undercover as a lonely singleton, much to the disbelief of the baddies using the set up for their bigger scheme. Steve got a little bit more to do in this episode and Wonder Woman had another costume variation in an overall very enjoyable episode. 8/10

Episode 54: The Girl With The Gift For Disaster

From video dating scheming to a human jinx. This episode had the  unfortunate Meg (Jane Actman) having her jinx like powers being exploited by the worst people, including her boyfriend, Mark (James Sloyan). He won't be winning boyfriend of the year anytime soon but at least by the end of the episode, Meg's luck changed for the better. Did the show really hook her up with Steve in that last scene? 7/10

Episode 55: The Boy Who Knew Her Secret: Part 1

I've tried to avoid splitting the two parters into separate blogs but getting to the end, it looks like I'd have to split this one. Anyways you've got the boy in question being a teenager named Skip (Clark Brandon) being the only one in his small town not being taken over by aliens and the possessive pyramids. Wonder Woman herself almost fell victim to possession and there's a good cliffhanger moment to lead into the next part. 8/10

My last blog will conclude The Boy Who Knew Her Secret as well as the episodes The Man Who Could Not Die and Phantom Of The Roller Coaster Parts 1 and 2. 

My Review of Warlock (1989)

 

Written by David Twohy

Directed by Steve Miner 

Giles: "So, you fear me."

Warlock: "'Tis I who others fear."

Giles: "Not you, the magic."

The other day I watched House and last night, I thought I'd try another horror movie from Steve Miner. I went with this one, trading in haunted homes for some sorcery and it was a good choice. There was fun to be had here.

We started in 1691 Massachusetts where a witch hunter named Giles Reference (Richard E. Grant) had the titular Warlock (Julian Sands) on trial for a multitude of crimes and was about to have the Warlock executed. However the Warlock had Satan in his corner and ended up being saved at the very last minute.

Now, being saved for the Warlock meant a change of scenery. He was brought to 1989 Los Angeles and quickly took shelter with waitress Kassandra (Lori Singer) and the latter's gay roommate, Chas (Kevin O'Brien). Yay for an out gay character. Boo, that he's also the first onscreen victim of the Warlock and all because Chas had a magic ring on him.

As for Kassandra, not only did she have to deal with the death of her rooommate but she quickly got caught into both Giles and the Warlock's enmity with one another. She also had to retrieve her bracelet back in order to avoid ageing to death for a good portion of the movie.

As for the Warlock, Julian Sands does tether between being genuinely menacing (he killed an unbaptised boy for flying ointment) but he's also rather theatrical with his interactions between Giles and Kassandra. As for his defeat, it's a use of something that Kassandra needed to live but sealed the Warlock's fate.

Of course going back to Giles and Kassandra, they do make for great team with both Richard E. Grant and Lori Singer playing off each other well. It's amusing to see Giles cope with the late 20th century while also letting his guard down with Kassandra and getting justice for his late wife. They're good foils to the Warlock.

- The original idea for the movie was the Warlock going to the 20th century to avoid religious persecution, only to experience it there too. That's an idea a future remake should do.

- Witches often used the fat of children to make a flying ointment. At least this happened off screen.

- The Warlock kissed Chas in order to kill him but also showed mercy to a pastor and his wife. 

- Chronology: 1691 Massachusetts and 1989 Los Angeles.

Warlock certainly was an enjoyable movie. Some good performances from the three leads, gruesome kills (on and off screen) and a nice battle of wits between everyone here. Now on to the sequels. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of House (1985)

 

Written by Ethan Wiley And Fred Dekker

Directed by Steve Miner

Aunt Elizabeth: "It won Roger. It tricked me. I didn't think it could, but it did. It's going to trick you too, Roger. This house knows everything about you. Leave while you can!"

Roger: "No!"

I'm starting my horror fest a month earlier and while I might not be reviewing the sequels for this franchise immediately, I just had to watch this last night. I'll admit that it was a first time watch.

So, what the hell was this movie about? A haunted house presumably. You've got former Vietnam vet turned author Roger Cobb (William Katt) moving back into a childhood home of his aunt's while also coping with losng his son, Jimmy (Erik and Mark Silver) and his marriage to Sandy (Kay Lenz) falling apart. Oh and penning a book about his war experience that his horror fans aren't pleased with.

Then there's the house in question. Yes, it's haunted by a variety of nasty things as well as his aunt Elizabeth (Susan French) and Roger found himself having to deal with this. At the same time, he also had a new best friend in Harold (George Wendt) and a would be love interest in Tanya (Mary Stavin), but the lattet saw him more than a babysitter a potential boyfriend.

As the movie progressed, you had Roger convinced he murdered his estranged wife halfway through the movie while trying to keep Tanya's boisterous son from being snatched by Critters. Then there was also the Vietnam flashbacks where a past misdeed of Roger's had present day consequences.

The monsters in question (critters, witches, skeleton soldier, etc) looked pretty damn good but were more funny than terrifying. In fact the comedy in this movie far outweighed the actual horror and by the end of the movie, there's a personal victory of sorts that while decent did come across as a tad unearned. 

- There are three sequels to this movie as well as an upcoming reboot, due out next year.

- Roger's books at his signing were Blood Dance and Sword Of Bad. He seemed to have a certain disdain for his fans. 

- Standout music: Clint Ballard Jr's You're No Good.

- Chronology: The movie came out in 1985 and there was those Vietnam War flashbacks for Roger's backstory.

House ain't a classic but it's entertainingly daft while trying to cover serious topics about war and loss. The monsters do look great and Roger's an engaging enough protagonist. It just gets a bit too silly for it's own good with a family reunion that felt rushed by the end.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Trap (2024)

 

Written And Directed by M. Night Shyamalan 

Cooper (to Lady Raven): "I think you're looking for me."

The pitch for this movie was something in the lines of a Taylor Swift concert meeting The Silence Of The Lambs. That pitch alone seemed like one hell of a wild idea and it's one that nearly worked. I'll admit that I may have enjoyed this movie a little bit compared to others. 

In terms of characters, you've got an affable dad named Cooper Adams (Josh Garrett) who decided to reward his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) getting good grades by taking her to the concert of Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). I'd say that was a nice reward for a teenager.

The concert itself certainly felt like a concert because we get a lot of songs from Lady Raven that made up over half of the movie. Of course, considering the director in question, a twist had to occur. Also a movie title needed to be explained as well. 

Lady Raven wasnt just playing a concert but she was also bait in a very convolutedly thought out trap by the FBI to catch the serial killer known as the Butcher. Yeah, suddenly Cooper wasn't just a nice dad after all but also a serial killer about to get caught by a very determined profiler named Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills). 

From this point onwards, there's an entertaining but bizarre chain of events in which Cooper preyed on getting Riley on stage with her idol during a segment in order to escape backstage. It kind of worked but Cooper had to out himself as a killer to Lady Raven and made the horrible mistake of underestimating her.

I know the nepo baby thing has become a bigger issue than it used to be but I have to admit that for a relatively inexperienced actor, I thought Saleka Night Shyamalan actually did a good job as the pop singer caught up in this. She worked brilliantly alongside Josh Hartnett and her singing was good. I also just got a kick out of how resourceful she turned out to be against Cooper.

As for Cooper, we got something of an obvious backstory about why he became a serial killer but there was a nice reveal in the fact that it was actually his wife Rachel (Alison Pill) who brought about his downfall. As for the ending, I didn't mind the ambiguity too much but I wouldn't expect a sequel anytime soon.

- M. Night Shyamalan popped up as well, playing the uncle and groupie of Lady Raven. A mid credit scene had a character's reaction to his Butcher encounter. 

- Both Lady Raven and Josephine Grant pretending to be Cooper's mother felt like a nod to certain horror sequels. I also love that the latter character is named after a Doctor Who character. I hope that was intentional.

- Standout music: Lady Raven's whole set list for her concert. Okay, the songs Dreamer Girl, Release and Save Me.

- Chronology: Present day Philadelphia.

I actually liked Trap a lot more than most did. Yes, there's a lot of it that feels nonsensical and you could argue there's too much time spent at the concert itself. There's also the fact that for a movie about a serial killer, it's bloodless with would be victim Spencer getting rescued but I kind of dug the absolute bonkers approach it had and I had fun with it. It could've done a slightly shorter runtime though.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

DCU Blog - August 2024 Edition: Dead Boy Detectives Cancelled, Super/Man Arrives and The Penguin Release Pattern

Yes, it's been another merry go around for DC fans this month with a mix of good, bad and unsurprising developments.

Joker: Folie A Deux will be hitting the Venice Film Festival September 4th and WB/DC Studios have been ramping up the TV spots and promo pics. Harry Lawtey has also been confirmed as Harvey Dent for the movie.

Matt Reeves has been active on social media more recently, promising that things are progressing with The Batman - Part II. Filming will commence in early 2025 for it's October 2nd 2026 release date.

Mike Flanagan has expressed an interest in working on a DC project. Just give him one, James Gunn.

Michael Keaton has admitted to not being too upset that Batgirl had been cancelled in recent interviews for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. 

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story had its first trailer released during the week. It'll premiere in US theatres on September 21st and 25th while UK/Ireland will get it on November 1st.

In celebration of Jimmy Olsen, James Gunn unveiled Skyler Gisondo's look as the character for the upcoming Superman (2025) movie. July 11th 2025. Sean Gunn's Maxwell Lord will appear in the movie.

Filming for Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow will supposedly start in January 2025. The film is slated for June 26th 2026.

Several Batman movies have returned to theatres leading to the character's 85th anniversary. Which one is your favourite? 

While the first episode of The Penguin will premiere on HBO/Max from September 19th, the remainder of the series will be Sundays 9pm from September 29th. SkyAtlantic will air the limited series the next day. Robert Pattinson will not appear in the series as Batman/Bruce Wayne.

Superman And Lois has moved up and will now premiere it's fourth and final season from October 7th on the CW, kicking off with a double bill. Tom Cavanagh will play a new character.

ARGUS will make their DCU debut in the second season of Peacemaker, which is still currently filming. John Cena has confirmed the show will be released on Max in 2025. Joel Kinnaman is rumoured to be returning as well.

An animated series focusing on Deadman is rumoured to be in early development for the DCU.

In news that will sadly shock no-one, Netflix have cancelled Dead Boy Detectives after one season. 

The Sandman has completed filming for its second season. Netflix will release it in 2025. A third season is probably unlikely if I'm being honest.

Vanessa Baden, Justin Britt-Gibson and Breannah Gibson are among the writers and producers with Tom King, Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof for the upcoming Lanterns series for HBO. Filming will start in 2025.

Expect a Superman comic box set in 2025 to coincide with the release of Superman (2025). The titles will include All Star Superman, Superman For All Seasons, Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow and Kingdom Come.

What a month it's been for DC fans, huh? Let's see what next month brings, shall we?

Wonder Woman - Episodes 48-51 Reviews

Okay,so this selection of episodes, there's fake aliens twice over, as I fi convention and the singing talents of Lynda Carter.

Episode 48: Going, Going, Gone

So this episode started off with what appeared to be a UFO encounter but seeing isn't always believing as this episode also revealed. Instead of aliens, you had Sheldon Como (Hari Rodes) putting on quite the light show in order to distract from his real plans while Diana found herself in a rather tight spot that nearly did her in. Given that we've had alien encounters in the previous seasons, I was a bit disappointed this was a fake out. 6/10

Episode 49: Spaced Out 

I enjoyed this one a bit more. Diana having a mission that took her to a sci fi convention, hosted by the enthusiastic Sylvester (Steven Anderson), a thief named James Kimball (René Auberjonois) who tied up Black Avengers actor (Ken Wilson) and posed as the costumed hero for his own purposes. There was also a plot about finding a laser crystal, a guest appearance from Robby the Robot and a fair bit of gentle poking about sci fi conventions in general. Yes, this was an enjoyable one. 8/10

Episode 50: The Starships Are Coming

Two episodes close together and both being UFO fakeouts was a surprise. This time, you had a budding journalist Henry Wilson (Jeffrey Byron) taken in frobt of his clandestine girlfriend, Lilibet (Mary Lou Stern) with Wonder Woman determined to find him. There's a moustache twirling villain in Mason Steele (Andrew Duggan) with Diana placed in another damsel in distress moment while a former guest actor popped up as a different character. There's also a new girl at the IADC named Bobbie (Sheryl Ralph Lee) in the small amount of screen time Steve Trevor has here. 7/10

Episode 51: Amazon Hot Wax

It was around this time in real life that Lynda Carter herself had released her debut album Portrait. While undercover as a singer named Cathy, we got to see Diana record the songs Want To Get Beside You and Toto (Dont It Feel Like Paradise). She's got Avery nice singing voice in an episode where musical hijinks were happening throughout. Disappearances were being faked to clear debts, musicians were kidnapping another musicians. Managers were being shifty and so on. All in all, it's a fun episode with some nice guest stars like Rick Springfield and it's well worth the watch. 8/10

My penultimate blog will cover the episodes The Richest Man In The World, A Date With Doomsday, The Girl With A Gift For Disaster and the first part of The Boy Who Knew Her Secret.