Halloween Horror Countdown: Scream

So meta: Jamie Kennedy urges
Jamie Lee Curtis to turn around
while watching Halloween

Master of Horror Wes Craven (The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street) sparked a resurgence of slasher flicks in the 90s with the release of Scream in 1996. It is a horror film about horror films. The entire Scream series is suspenseful, self-referential, and meta, but as with many film sagas, the first is definitely the best.  When a ghost-faced murderer begins terrorizing teenagers in the small town of
Woodsboro, a group of friends consider "the rules" of horror films as they try to survive. It's an incredibly fun movie to watch with the perfect blend of suspense and wit.

Dracula Untold REVIEW

Many believe that Bram Stoker's Dracula was loosely based off of Vlad the Impaler, a high ranking member of the Romanian court in the 15th century. This film is loosely based on that rumor. Dracula Untold tells the tale of Vlad the Impaler, a Transylvanian prince who becomes the vampire Dracula. During a battle against the Turkish army, Vlad finds his way into a dark cave where a monster who feasts on human blood resides. Legend states that this monster became the way he is after a deal with a demon went awry. After the Turkish army demands 1000 Translyvanian boys as tribute, Vlad seeks out help from the monster in the cave. This monster tells Vlad to drink his blood and he will become like him for three days. However, if Vlad drinks the blood of another human, he will remain that way forever. 

After drinking the monster's blood, Vlad gains super hearing, super speed, and the ability to see in infrared (like Predator). He also becomes sensitive to light, which isn't much of an issue in the perpetually dark Transylvania, and he develops an inconvenient allergy to silver. Vlad's new strength enables him to win a battle against the Turkish army, but during post-battle sexy times with Mrs. Impaler, the only throbbing vein

Dat human blood, doe

on Vlad's mind is in his wife's neck. Vlad then spends the next three days resisting the urge to drink blood while simultaneously fighting off the Turkish army to protect his people. They seek refuge in a precariously perched monastery atop a cliff, where the final battle takes place.

There are rumors that Dracula Untold is the first in a series of Universal Studios's shared universe of classic movie monsters. Next in line is The Mummy, due to be released in 2016. Dracula Untold is director Gary Shore's first feature film and stars Luke Evans (Immortals, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Vlad the Impaler, Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) as Mehmed the sultan, and Sarah Gadon (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) as Mirena, Vlad's wife.

2/5 Dracula Untold was neither terrible nor extraordinary. There was nothing in it that stood out or was particularly surprising, making it incredibly easy to forget, but it was still a better vampire movie than Twilight. 

Tusk: Review

(Under the TUSKan Moon)

Tusk, the latest film from Kevin Smith is his journey into horror, and with any Kevin Smith film it has his own bold take on the genre. Tusk is about Wallace Bryton, Justin Long, (Dodgeball) going to Canada for the Podcast he and his friend Teddy, Haley Joel Osment, (I see dead people) run called the Not-See Party. Their main focus is on raunchy internet videos where they riff and make fun of the internet sensation of the day. When he arrives he finds that the man is dead and he needs to find someone to interview for his show. While in the bathroom he finds a letter posted on the bathroom wall about a man asking for anyone to come to his house to listen about his adventures through life. Wallace takes this chance to interview him and finds him.

When arriving to the secluded house he meets Howard Howe, Michael Parks, (Django Unchained) and he tells him of some of his stories while they drink tea. What Wallace doesn't know is that Howe spiked his tea which knocks him out. When he awakes he is disoriented, and missing a leg. Howe tells Wallace that his best friend that saved his life decades ago was a Walrus. And in horror fashion to rekindle that man on walrus love, Howe turns Wallace into a Walrus.

This is where the films starts to lose momentum.  Smith does not know what he wants to do with the film. It keeps shifting between comedy to horror and it is not able to do both at the same time. Michael Parks gives an electric performance as the villain and he can handle all of Kevin Smith's verbose language. Justin Long also does a good job at playing the douche bag podcast host and he thinks every word he utters is comedy gold. But together they don't mesh well. This film tries to be like a comedic version of The Human Centipede but with a human/walrus hybrid.

Teddy and Wallace's girlfriend Ally, Genesis Rodriguez (Upcoming Big Hero 6),  began to search 
from where he goes missing, but even their story line isn't that strong to keep the film going. Also the big reveal which is the linchpin for this film after Wallace's transformation tries to be serious and comes off as comical.

(You know what, nope. I'm out)

Kevin Smith also did the film Red State and with that he had proven that he can create wonderful tension, but this film does not even showcase any of those skills he gained. Tusk tries too hard to become a cult film and tries to be so bad that its good. But when you try to do that it just flops completely. I give this film 2 mustachioed Justin Long's out of 5.

Gone Girl REVIEW:

David Fincher's amazing new drama/mystery Gone Girl is hands down the best thriller in years. It was based off the novel by the same name and was adapted for the screen by the novel's author, Gillian Flynn. The film stars Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, a former writer and current bar owner who finds the spotlight on him when his wife Amy Dunne, portrayed by the incredibly talented Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice, Jack Reacher), goes missing under suspicious circumstances on the morning of their anniversary. The film also stars Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings, Amy's estranged high school sweetheart who attempted suicide after their breakup, and Tyler Perry, who does a fantastic job of not annoying the shit out of audiences across America in his portrayal of Nick's defense attorney Tanner Bolt.

Trent Reznor: musical genius,
Defense Against the Dark Arts professor

Nine Inch Nails front-man Trent Reznor, who also composed for Fincher in The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, delivers yet another outstanding soundtrack. The music is simultaneously disturbing and calming. It compliments the suspense of film perfectly.

To avoid spoiling the incredibly well-paced plot, I don't want to go any further into detail, but I will say that even though there is a cat in damn near every scene, he has nothing to do with the mystery at hand. As the story progresses, the stakes keep getting raised higher and higher. The suspense continues to build until the very end. It will have you on the edge of your seat. It's 2 hours and 29 minutes long and you really won't want to go pee in the middle of it.

4/5 The ending left me and, based off the loud grumblings I heard as the credits rolled, everyone else in the theater unsatisfied. Other than that, it was fucking fantastic.

Edge of Tomorrow REVIEW:

("Live and Let Die... and then do it again")

During a planet wide war with an alien race, a military officer, Tom Cruise finds himself stuck in a time loop where every time he dies during battle he wakes back up on the same day at the same time. As his experience dying in battle increases, so does his fighting skills and when he joins up with a special forces officer, Emily Blunt, who had experienced the same thing, he might finally find a way to beat the enemy for good.

(Why the hell are there aliens on Groundhog Day?)

Edge of Tomorrow, A.K.A. Groundhog Day During an Alien War, was a pleasant surprise this summer. Usually sci/fy war movies are just for the graphics and actors phoning in performances, but this one had much more. The battles were intense and visually amazing, Blunt was an awesome badass you couldn't help but fall in love with, Tom Cruise was on target by being witty and in Action Jackson mode throughout, and the film was actually emotionally powerful at times. It didn't even seem like they were stealing the Groundhog day concept, but instead were reinventing it for a new age.

(Me during most of the battle scenes)

Overall it was one of my Top 5 Films of the summer and will most likely make it into the Top 10 at the end of the year. You don't have to buy but I highly suggest you at least Netflix or Redbox it and make sure to enjoy it on the the biggest TV with the best sound in your home. Because we don't do the decimal system... partly because I don't math well, I rounded up my rating up. 5/5.

The Drop Review

       The Drop is a crime drama set in an alternate universe where Brooklyn is completely devoid of hipsters, PBR, and skinny jeans. It tells the story of a couple of has-been low key gangsters who run a money laundering operation for their new crimes bosses, who are unsurprisingly greasy Eastern Europeans. The setting is cold and dark, the characters are brooding and hold many secrets, and there is an adorable pit bull puppy in it from the very beginning.

     

(That's not the Pitbull we're talking about)

(This one)

      
      The Drop seems to be another sad, dark, super-serious movie, and in many ways it is. The actual subject matter is quite heavy and there is a fair amount of blood, murder, violence, and general New York-style thin crust sketchiness. And then there's this cute puppy, whining and licking things and hopping around like a little ball of fur. This movie has a lot of black humor, and anyone who enjoys finding humor in the sadder things in life will enjoy this movie a lot.

                First off, the acting in The Drop is great. Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, and the girl without the dragon tattoo all do a great job of bringing otherwise normal, relatively boring characters to life. They all feel like people you'd meet on a typical winter day in Brooklyn and the accents are done perfectly. The Russian gangsters pull off the "intimidating foreigner" thing very well, and even the puppy delivers a grade-A performance. Did I mention that there are no hipsters, either?

                The story is also very competent and concise. It leaves out unnecessary elements such as over the top sex scenes, car chases, huge explosions for no reason, robots, and corny one liners. The Drop forgoes these overdone crime movie antics for more nuanced things like repeatedly running a person over, delivering a long rant to a dead body, and stealing someone's umbrella. It has a specific story to tell and it tells it in a very straightforward manner. This sounds simple because it is, and that simplicity allows you to get deeply involved in the characters and their situations without trying to follow a over complicated plot, which leads to a very engaging movie going experience.

                And then there's the humor. The Drop is chock full of amusing moments if you can manage to view the dark subject matter in a humorous way. It may not have been the intention for certain parts to be funny, but there are a few clues in the movie that make me think it was. The biggest of those clues is the puppy. Of course its presence serves a symbolic purpose, bringing up themes like nature vs nurture, needing to be rescued, and not judging things by their looks. All of that could have been accomplished with an older, less heart-meltingly adorable puppy, though. The fact that they decided to use this puppy, who is just as goofy, fuzzy and uncoordinated as you want it to be, belies some intention for the movie to have lighthearted moments. The humor in this movie is great because it manages to be funny without breaking viewers out of the trance it puts them in. Every laugh feels like it belongs.

(Sigh, James Gandolfini's last role)

                The Drop was a breath of fresh air in a world of dark, heavy movies and shit-tastic found footage horror films. It is a well made movie with great acting, an interesting and engaging story, and a humor element that differentiates it from its oh-so-serious peers. Go watch this movie! While you're there, don't be afraid to laugh at the funny parts and coo over the puppy whenever its on screen. 5/5, definitely see this! The Drop is in limited release, but you can get showtimes near you HERE.

UPDATE: Supergirl Television Show in Development, Comicbook Geeks Spin Top to Make Sure They're Not Dreaming

UPDATE: CBS has order a series commitment for Supergirl as a one hour drama. Here is the official synopsis of the show.

"Born on the planet Krypton, Kara Zor-el escaped amid its destruction years ago. Since arriving on Earth, she’s been hiding the powers she shares with her famous cousin. But now at age 24, she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be."

Looks like the development of the series is now moving forward faster than a speeding locomotive! (... It's Friday, puns are going to happen) No one has been cast yet for the title role of Supergirl, but with this series order it is almost a guarantee that the show will premier by next Fall. Also with this being on CBS the thought of this maybe being a spin off of Smallville is pretty much kaput.

---

Marvel might be kicking ass at the movies, but DC is adding to its reign of television. This fall season alone sees three new DC television shows (Constantine, Gotham, and The Flash) premiering. And now there is news that another superhero is getting the small screen treatment. A Supergirl television series is in development from CW's Arrow and soon to be premiering spin off The Flash executive producer and writer Greg Berlanti.The show is still in its early stages so it does't even have a network yet, but it could get off the ground very quickly depending on how the new superhuman Flash show does. As of now expect an episode for Fall 2015 at the very earliest.

(She kicks ass, takes names, and makes us geeks reach for our inhalers to help breath regularly again)

Supergirl is basically Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-El, and shares his powers and also his weakness... but not his love of wearing fake glasses and working for the Press. There is no word on whether this would be connected with the older CW young Superman series Smallville, but it most likely won't.