Announcing the 90 Years of Jean Simmons Blogathon!

It's no secret (at least I hope not) that Jean Simmons is one of my favorite actresses. I first saw her in Until They Sail (1957) and since then I've watched every film of hers I could get my hands on. So when Virginie of The Wonderful World of Cinema asked if I would like to co-host a blogathon in Simmon's honor, I jumped at the chance!

RULES:

• First of all, if you don't like Jean Simmons (what's wrong with you?? ;), this blogathon is not for you. We want to honor Simmons, not criticize her.
  
• Make sure you subscribe first. Don't expect us to add you to the roster after the blogathon has started.
• The blogathon will run from January 29-31, 2019, coinciding with Simmons' birthday.
• We will allow up to two duplicates in order to cover as many films/topics as possible. Also, we will allow up to two entries per person so that everyone has a chance to write about what they want. Please make sure it is new content.
• Don't have a blog but want to participate? No problem! Contact me or Virginie and we will be happy to share your post on one of our blogs!
• When you decided on your topic, leave a comment WITH A LINK TO YOUR BLOG and your topic of choice. 
• Lastly, add one of these breathtakingly banners that Virginie made to your blog to help advertise!

Topics already chosen twice:

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Murder, She Wrote
Guys & Dolls
Elmer Gantry
Footsteps in the Fog
The Happy Ending

ROSTER:

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies: She Couldn't Say No (1952) & TBA
The Wonderful World of Cinema: Personal Tribute
Wide Screen World: Star Trek: The Next Generation "The Drumhead" (1991)
Caftan Woman: Murder, She Wrote "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" (1989)
Realweegiemidget Reviews: Dominique (1979)
Hamlette's Soliloquy: The Big Country (1958)
Taking Up Room: Elmer Gantry (1960)
Movie Rob: Footsteps in the Fog (1955) & The Happy Ending (1969)
The Midnite Drive-In: The Blue Lagoon (1949)
Maddy Loves Her Classic Films: Footsteps in the Fog (1955)
Cinema Cities: Guys and Dolls (1955)
Pop Culture Reverie: Dark Shadows (1991)
Pale Writer: Guys and Dolls (1955) & This Could Be the Night (1957)
Silver Screenings: Elmer Gantry (1960)
In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood: The Actress (1953)

The Stop Button: The Happy Ending (1969)
Critica Retro: Hilda Crane (1956)
18 Cinema Lane: Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Film Exodus: Affair with a Stranger (1953)
Blog of the Darned: The Big Country (1958)
The Story Enthusiast: All the Way Home (1957)
Mike Takes On the Movies: Jean Simmons Posters and Lobby Cards
Silver Scenes:  Trio (1950) & The Egyptian (1954)

"Oh, I think this event will be a great success!"

HORROR PACK UNBOXING - September & October 2018

Welcome back for yet another Horror Pack Unboxing! This time around Cory has some catching up to do. He's been busy and wasn't able to cover the September Horror Box. So now, for all of you who are dying to know just what came in September, as well as October, Cory will be discussing BOTH!

CONTINUE READING

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 25, 2018

The Dungeonmaster (1984) Evil wizard Richard Moll forces a nerd armed with a brick-sized Apple Watch to fight various stop motion monsters. God bless Charles Band. TIL: As the good book says, no person can serve two masters, not even if the second one is Bull from Night Court.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of Race with the Devil (1975) - "Haste is of the Devil." - St. Jerome

Thursday Movie Picks: Halloween + Television Edition: The Weird

In several occasions, because of the things I sometimes say out loud without even realising it, I have been told that I'm a weird person, in a creepy, scary way. What I'm trying to say here is, if Netflix (cause in them I trust unless they give me the Iron Fist treatment, in that case, I'd go Punisher mode on them) made a show about me, I'd immediately know what to pick for this week's Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. But since such show doesn't exist --mainly because I'm not famous but also because it'd bore the shit out of y'all-- I had to put on my thinking cap and this is what I came up with.

Santa Clarita Diet (2017-)

Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant) are an ordinary married couple who work as realtors while trying to raise a teenaged daughter (Liv Hewson). Their lives are turned upside down when Sheila stars craving raw meat, specifically human flesh. There's the perfect mix of real life, weird and dark in this show, and I absolutely love it. 

Stranger Things (2016-)

When young Will goes missing, we are taken on a supernatural journey of 3 stories as his mother (Winona Ryder), his brother, his friends and the police chief start searching for him. I loved the first season, a little less the second, but it's definitely worth the time. 

Twin Peaks (2017)

Set 25 years after the murder of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), it follows multiple storylines, most of which are associated with FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (MacLachlan). I liked the original series better but I picked this one because, when it comes to weird, nothing beats this. If you've seen it, then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen it, go see it.

Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

As if Insidious: Chapter 3 wasn't awful and pointless enough, a clear sign that writer Leigh Whennell had run out of ideas, here it comes Insidious: The Last Key, the ultimate proof that Whennell has run out of ideas. 

Set after Chapter 3 and right before the first Insidious, the film mainly revolves around psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye). She is having nightmares with her childhood in New Mexico, where she lived with her small brother Christian (Pierce Pope), her supportive mother, Audrey (Tessa Ferrer), and her abusive father, Gerald (Josh Stewart), who used to hit her every time she claimed she had seen a ghost in the house. It's not long before she gets a call from Ted Garza (Kirk Acevedo), the man who is now living in her childhood house, and asks Elise for help as he believes there are supernatural forces lurking in the house. Reluctant at first, Elise accepts to help Garza and travels to her old house with her assistants, Specs (Leigh Whennell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson).

At this point, I think it comes without saying that the plot is a mess. It somehow manages to be even more convoluted than it was in the previous instalments, it makes no sense whatsoever and therefore the several twists and turns Whennell tries to pull off are confusing and lack any logic. The problem here though is that Whennell tries too hard to add elements that would connect all the films of the franchise together. If only he had just stuck to telling Elise's story, about her childhood and origins, if properly executed --which is a huge if when it comes to this franchise and horrors in general--, it would have been such an interesting and gripping story.

As for the characters, they did something good here. Although I often found Lin Shaye's performance as Elise to be too overdramatic, Elise has always been a solid character, probably the best in the Insidious series. Thankfully, she keeps getting stronger with Insidious: The Last Key. First, it's refreshing for a horror to focus on an old lady instead of the typical hot chick who often happens to be blonde and dumb. Second, the character is nicely developed, her background story is compelling and you'll end up caring and rooting for her. Most of the credits I guess goes to Shaye who yet again gives a strong performance. Her calm presence is a true joy and she proves to be more than capable of carrying the film on her shoulders.

The same, unfortunately, can't be said for the rest of the characters and cast. The first barely has a characterization and absolutely nothing resembling development; the latter isn't terrible but isn't that good either.

Universal Pictures

The direction, third change in four movies, is now in the hands of Adam Robitel whose previous works include Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. Do I need to say more? Seriously, this guy can't even make the film even --while the first part is slightly scary with your typical horror movie scare jumps, the second part is so flat it wouldn't even scare a child. As for the atmosphere and tension, there's basically none. Sure, you can blame the characters for it as we know from previous films nothing bad will happen to them, but it's definitely Robitel and Whennell's fault if the film has so much comedy which feels forced and never works. This comedy completely ruins the tone of the film and any chance it could succeed as a horror movie.

Leprechaun 4: In Space Movie Review

Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996)

Rent Leprechaun 4: In Space on Amazon Video
Written by: Mark Jones (characters), Dennis A. Pratt
Directed by: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Starring: Warwick Davis, Brent Jasmer, Jessica Collins, Debbe Dunnning
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A deadly leprechaun holding a galactic princess hostage runs into a platoon of space marines.

Verdict
While I was never bored, this is not a good movie. Production, script, dialog, acting, and anything else are all lacking. It's the kind of movie where no idea was thrown out. It's frequently ridiculous, and nothing follows logic. That's kind of the point. This movie never set out to make sense but the low budget makes many of the effects look silly. This movie is the result of someone really liking Alien and Aliens and trying to recreate the movie in their backyard with a leprechaun instead.
Skip it.

Review
This was the fourth in what currently is a seven movie franchise, though only the first two were released in theaters. An executive saw the poster for Apollo 13 and had someone replace Tom Hanks face with the leprechaun. That is the origin for this movie.
I always joke that franchises like The Fast and the Furious or Die Hard should set a sequel in space, though this may not be the best test case.

This provides no backstory or explanation for anything. It's the future, the leprechaun in in space, and there are marines flying to the same planet for no distinguishable reason. That's the premise. I don't know if the marines were flying to this planet for the leprechaun, or leppy as I'll refer to him, or if this was a coincidence. That point is unresolved. I was surprised when Leppy covers a grenade with his body and gets blown up early in the movie. I knew he was coming back, but I found it odd the marines kept thinking they could just shoot him dead when they've already seen that doesn't work.

Why does Leppy have a light saber? Because it looks cool of course.

This falls prey to a lot of tropes like the pretty doctor who goes planet side for no reason, the crazy scientist, a stupid romance, shallow marine characters, and the invincible villain. Debbe Dunning from Home Improvement plays a marine that is little more than a sex object.

I don't know why, but Leppy made a conscious decision after being exploded to go upstream as a marine urinated on what was left of the body. Leppy then remains, ostensibly in the man's urethra for an extended amount of time. While I get it's movie logic for the big reveal of Leppy leaping out of the man's crotch, the special effects are beyond terrible. The goal and the result are miles apart. While it's supposed to be Leppy leaping out of the urethra it clearly looks like Leppy jumping out of a hole covered with a blanket in front of a man.
Why did Leppy hide there? As we see later in the movie Leppy has the power to do pretty much anything. He can get blown up and just reappear. He probably can teleport. I suppose he is just a psychopath that likes toying with people.

What follows is a cat and mouse game as Leppy has preternatural knowledge of the ship. He is everywhere, picking off the marines as he goes. Oh, there's also a cyborg Dr. Mittenhand present just to chew scenery. His motorized wheelchair, like all the props were built from hardware store parts that probably came from the discount aisle.

I was more than half way through the movie before I realized the shoddily applied paint to the leprechaun's teeth was intended to make them look pointy. That was a question that plagued me for most of the movie. Leppy could have ended this movie in a matter of minutes and I wish he had.

The end goes off the rails, there's a cross dresser, a human spider, guess the password, and a twenty foot tall leprechaun. I don't know why the few marines are still trying to kill him when Leppy has died and come back multiple times already. This movie ends with Leppy giving the remaining marines the finger, but that may just be a meta joke directed at the audience.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 24, 2018

Gorp (1980) Meandering Meatballs wannabe has Dennis Quaid heading up the kitchen crew at a Jewish sleepaway camp. If ever a bunch of kids needed a Jason Voorhies... TIL: Fortunately the Kashrut was negated for Christians because kosher campfire fare sounds pretty unappealing.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of Enter the Fat Dragon (1978) - "God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." - Dwight L. Moody