Film & TV Reviews

Stephen King’s IT – Chapter 1 Review

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it.jpgOne of the most iconic horror characters in history has got to be Stephen King’s IT and the first time I ever saw it I was 10 when the TV mini-series aired.  I remember having nightmares and hating clowns pretty much from that point on…..I don’t really have nightmares anymore, but I sure do hate clowns still!  Stephen King has always been a favorite of mine and the screen adaptation captures a disturbing quality in this latest version of IT

If you watched the 1990’s version of IT, then you probably loved Tim Curry as his performance of the demonic clown was absolutely amazing, but honestly doesn’t hold a candle to this new adaptation, which brings a new level of visual screen horror to the popular demonic clown.  They’ve done a fantastic job of playing the nostalgic card for those who had seen the older IT, and playing into the new generation with those childhood memories and the perspective they bring to the film.

it-kids.jpegSpeaking of those childhood memories, let’s talk about the story of the Losers Club, those seven kids who got locked into a summer nightmare back in 1989.  Filled with disappearance after disappearance of young people throughout the small town of Derry, Maine these seven kids have a whole host of fears they have to tackle and face, along with that clown named Pennywise, now played by Bill Skarsgard who brings a whole new personification of scary to this story!

One of the best things the director did for part one of the remake of IT was building the foundation of the story with the Losers Club. Each one of the kids has a unique family life, traumatic experiences they’ve had to deal with, friendships and the young cast did an amazing job of building their characters! There was a fine line of exploring the problems each of the kids faced and how they had to overcome those situations and fears. Each one of the kid actors brought a memorable moment to each of their characters, and honestly built a well-rounded movie that didn’t have a monster clown in it.

wp4630763.jpgIT spends a significant amount of its lengthy running time on each of The Losers’ Club’s personal experiences with Pennywise in sequences that are both gruesome and horror inducing.  One downfall to the film is the repetition of how each kid begins to face their specific “Phobia” and how they resolve it.  The typical horror movie, oh look something scary down that hallway moment, where someone wonders off alone to go check it out.  Pennywise being a monster clown, of course, takes advantage of each of those perfectly timed moments where someone wonders off alone to invoke fear and torment each of the kids.  But even if you notice the pattern, each set piece is different enough to be scary and brings each character a well deserved moment of terror in the film.

What makes IT, or at least this first half of IT (since the film adapts only the first half of Stephen King’s novel, which we will be writing the review on IT chapter two in just a few days as well.  The director does a beautiful job of telling Stephen King’s story and bringing the words from his book to life on screen.

Personally, for me, IT captured the look of simpler times from when I was a kid with those constant visual references to 1980s nostalgia, like theater marquees showing double-features Batman and Lethal Weapon 2, or arcade machines of the Street Fighter 1. It’s no coincidence that this new version plays ‘80s nostalgia with the same feel that Stephen King had for the ‘50s in his original telling of IT.  Emotions are more powerful when you’re a child because you’re experiencing them for the first time and IT pulls that scare tactic of beautifully and forces the audience to re-experience that childhood fear.

IT may not be the best Stephen King movie but it sure is one of my favorites!  This movie was all about re-experiencing that childhood horror, with an in your face psychological hit to stir up emotions and connect us to the story.  Nightmares are exactly what films like this envoke and we haven’t seen all of IT yet as we still have part two to review.  Things like IT are an intense roller coaster filled with emotions, jump scares, and a connection to the characters, including the creepy killer clown Pennywise.

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

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The first trailer for Star Wars: Episode IX — which we now know is titled The Rise of Skywalker is finally here! This is the final film in the Skywalker saga which was unveiled at the Star Wars Celebration on Friday 4/12.

Episode IX will pick up years after the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and the remaining rebels of the Resistance have not only survived the onslaught from the First Order, but have reinforced their ranks. They’ll once again take on Kylo Ren’s First Order, but they may also face an old enemy based off the new teaser we got to see. This new trailer shows us wreckage from the Death Star and everyone got a surprise with the ominous laugh of Emperor Palpatine!

Another surprise was Luke Skywalker’s voiceover in the teaser which says “No One’s Ever Really Gone” — perhaps this was a warning, or this may have been to comfort Rey with something she was going through at the time. From the trailer, this movie seems to be about the new generation and what path is ahead of them. Are they getting ready to face the greatest evil the universe has ever seen? Are they ready, and will they be prepared for casualties, loss, emotions, and a final stand?

Will We See Luke Once More?

We all saw Luke pass at the end of The Last Jedi, but death in the Star Wars universe isn’t always the final end.  With this new trailer, we don’t see Luke, but we did get to hear him speaking. What did Luke mean when he said “No One’s Ever Really Gone” and will we get to see a Skywalker force ghost appearance in the new film? One can hope for sure, but it does bring up a lot of questions as to what Luke knew before he passed and what about Rey? Could the title Rise of the Skywalker actually be referring to Rey? Was Kylo Ren lying about Rey’s parents; if he was lying, it could mean Rey is part of the actual Skywalker family.

Has Emperor Palpatine Returned?

The only thing we have to go on here is the evil laugh we heard at the end of the trailer, which leaves almost unlimited room for speculation. As we all know Emperor Palpatine was killed at the end of Return of the Jedi, or was he? We never actually saw a dead body after Vader thew him down the reactor in the Death Star. Even if they did show us a body, I don’t think that truly means he was dead. All the films have established that anyone powerful enough in the Force could come back as a force ghost to speak with the living.

This has been seen throughout the Star Wars films with multiple Jedi who have returned to speak to Luke throughout the series to pass on wisdom, or offer some type of guidance. Could we now see Luke doing the same to Rey as Yoda once did for Luke?

What about Kylo’s Helmet?

While we don’t see Kylo wearing his helm in the trailer, we do see the helmet being fixed by someone. It’s clearly not Kylo himself repairing the helm due to the fuzzy hand we see. Who is this strange figure that seems to be caring for Kylo’s helm?

Wreckage Of A Death Star?

During the trailer we see our heroes come upon a huge chunk of what looks to be a destroyed Death Star in the ocean of a strange planet.

The Death Star.

There were two Death Stars that we know about from the films, and even more from all of the books. One was blown up in deep space, and the other was destroyed near the forest moon of Endor. Could this be a third Death Star that we never saw in the films….or from what I personally think….this is actually wreckage on Endor itself. We’ve never actually seen Endor in the movies, so we don’t have a way to visually compare the planet from the trailer to the canonical Endor. We also know that The Force Awakens almost featured a scene where Rey traveled to Endor to learn about Jedi history but that never made it to the final film.

We will have to wait until Christmas to finally see what surprises the Star Wars universe holds for the Skywalkers…..and their final story in the film series.

All Things Geekery Podcast: S3E2 – Superhero Madness

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Welcome to Season 3 Episode 2 of the All Things Geekery Podcast – Superhero Madness

In this episode, the geeks are back to discuss all the upcoming superhero & villain films coming out this year and what our thoughts are on each.

Click To Listen – S3E2: Superhero Madness

Show Notes

  • Captain Marvel
    • Release Date: March 8, 2019
    • What We Know So Far
      • Marvel’s first female-led superhero film will revolve around the most powerful character in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.  This iteration of Captain Marvel will focus on the character of Carol Danvers, whose adventures are earthbound but whose powers are based in the cosmic realm. Joss Whedon wanted to introduce the character at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, but Marvel didn’t want to bring Captain Marvel into the MCU fully formed without first telling her origin story.
      • This film will be a prequel to the MCU, taking place in the 90s and bringing back Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson for the first time since The Avengers. Moreover, the comics characters the Skrulls are the villains with a story revolving around the Skrull vs. Kree war, which explains why Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou are reprising their roles from Guardians of the Galaxy as Kree. That could have major repercussions leading into Avengers 4, but Captain Marvel will also give us a two-eyed Nick Fury. Jude Law is set to co-star as the alien Mar-Vell.
  • Hellboy
    • Release Date: April 12, 2019
    • What We Know So Far:
      • Hellboy creator Mike Mignola came up with the story for this new reboot as opposed to moving forward with the third film in Guillermo del Toro‘s established franchise, and Stranger Things standout David Harbour fills the role of the titular character for director Neil Marshall, who helmed The Descent and a couple standout Game of Thrones episodes. The film has loosely based the Rise of the Blood Queen arc with Milla Jovovich filling that villainous role, while Ian McShane plays Trevor Bruttenholm and Daniel Dae Kim fills the part of Ben Daimio. Oh, and this is 100% Rated R.
  • Shazam
    • Release Date: April 5, 2019
    • What We Know So Far:
      • Making his superhero movie debut, Dwayne Johnson opted to take on the role of the villainous Black Adam in this DC comics adaptation, but Warner Bros. subsequently decided to hold Johnson for a separate Black Adam movie so Shazam will be all about that hero. Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg is directing, and this served as Warner Bros.’ next DCEU film in production after Aquaman.
      • Zachary Levi is the title superhero character, with Asher Angel playing his boy counterpart Billy Batson. The story revolves around a young boy who can transform into a powerful superhero simply by uttering the word “Shazam!”. Mark Strong is playing the film’s villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.
  • Avengers Endgame
    • Release Date: April 26, 2019
    • What We Know So Far:
      • The conclusion to the epic two-part Avengers storyline will close out Marvel’s ambitious MCU with a bang. The title, Avengers: Endgame, has finally been revealed, if not the story, confirmed cast, etc.
  • Dark Phoenix
    • Release Date: June 7, 2019
    • What We Know So Far:
      • The sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse has been firmed up as Dark Phoenix, which will tackle the beloved Jean Grey story arc from the comics that was first broached (and botched) in X-Men: The Last Stand. X-Men writer/producer Simon Kinberg has penned the script and is making his directorial debut on the project, which also stars Jessica Chastain as maybe the villain Lilandra and is bringing back pretty much the entire main X-Men cast. The movie won’t be skimping on the weirdness, as it’s been confirmed that the story will find the X-Men finally venturing to space. Hans Zimmer is coming out of superhero movie retirement to compose the score.
  • Spider-Man Far From Home
    • Release Date: July 5, 2019
    • What We Know So Far:
      • Not much. Bolstered by the positive response to Homecoming, director Jon Watts returned to direct, and screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who came on to rewrite Homecoming, wrote the script.
      • Jake Gyllenhaal plays comics villain Mysterio, although Mysterio is a good guy in this movie. Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders also co-star, adding a S.H.I.E.L.D. presence to the whole shebang.
  • The New Mutants
    • Release Date: August 2, 2019
    • What We Know So Far:
      • Writer/director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) has been attached to direct New Mutants for some time now, but 20th Century Fox finally moved this thing into production after the success of Deadpool and Logan. The film is both YA-esque and horror-tinged in tone, revolving around a group of much younger mutants in the X-Men universe than the adults from the proper X-Men movies. The story will also ditch traditional superhero costumes and supervillains in favor of telling a story about these young mutants locked up together in some facility, mirroring a horror haunted house vibe. James McAvoy has been rumored to be reprising his role as Professor X in the film.
      • However, just a few months before the film was set to hit theaters in April 2018, Fox pushed the movie back 10 months to 2019 to take over Gambit‘s previous spot. No official explanation was given, but rumors swirl that Fox tested the film and decided it “wasn’t scary enough,” so some additional photography may be in order.
  • Joker
    • Release Date: October 4, 2019
    • What We Know So Far:
      • This is a weird one. In the wake of Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, and with Wonder Woman proving to be a massive success, Warner Bros. began changing up its plans for the DCEU. One idea is to kickstart a new arm at WB that will develop and produce one-off DC Comics adaptations not connected to the DC Extended Universe, meaning filmmakers can come in, try something really radical, and not have to worry about setting up a franchise or fitting into an established timeline. The first of these to hit the trades was a Joker origin movie directed by The Hangover and War Dogs filmmaker Todd Phillips, who is co-writing the script with The Fighter scribe Scott Silver. The idea is to craft something in the vein of Taxi Driver, a gritty, hard-boiled crime picture set in the early 1980s.
      • The lead actor would not be Jared Leto, but someone else entirely—WB reportedly wanted Leonardo DiCaprio, and when he passed they moved on to Joaquin Phoenix, who signed on after prolonged negotiations. The movie began filming in September 2018 and wrapped in December.
  • Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
    • Release Date: February 7, 2020
    • What We Know So Far:
      • This project hit the fast track at Margot Robbie‘s urging, as the Harley Quinn actress lobbied Warner Bros. an DC to put together a female-centric DC movie based on the Birds of Prey comics. The studio not only put this together but has Cathy Yan in line to direct based on the strength of her indie feature Dead Pigs. The idea is to potentially introduce a few DC comics characters in this film, like Batgirl, which would then pave the way to their own solo films a la Black Panther and Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War.
      • This project is a priority for Warner Bros. and could begin filming at the end of 2018. Jurnee Smollett-Bell plays Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is Huntress, and Rosie Perez is The Question, while Ewan McGregor plays villain Black Mask.
  • Gambit
    • Release Date: March 13, 2020
    • What We Know So Far:
      • Channing Tatum has been keen on playing the X-Men mutant for a while now, and 20th Century Fox finally pulled the trigger on a standalone movie for the fan-favorite Cajun. Production had initially been slated to begin Fall 2015, but when it was pushed back to early 2016, director Rupert Wyatt abruptly dropped out due to personal reasons. Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) subsequently signed on to direct, and while producer Simon Kinberg told us the film will be a heist picture and a “sexy thriller”, the film was pulled from its October 2016 release date and sat in limbo for a bit.
      • Gambit was officially back on track with Pirates of the Caribbean and A Cure for Wellness director Gore Verbinski taking the helm and a Valentine’s Day 2019 release date, but Verbinski dropped out two months before filming was set to begin and Fox is once again on the hunt for a director. Joshua Zetumer (Patriot’s Day, RoboCop) penned the most recent draft of the script, but this entire film could be scrapped or reconceived once the Disney/Fox deal goes through.
  • Wonder Woman 1984
    • Release Date: June 5, 2020
    • What We Know So Far:
      • Very little, but Wonder Woman marked a major turning point for the DCEU with wildly positive reviews and massive box office, so anticipation is high. Patty Jenkins returns to direct a story that takes place in the year 1984 against the backdrop of the Cold War (timely!), with Kristen Wiig playing the villain Cheetah and Chris Pine somehow reprising his role as Steve Trevor. The film was originally scheduled for release in November 2019, but Warner Bros. opted to push it into the summer corridor of 2020.
  • Black Widow
    • Release Date: TBA
    • What We Know So Far:
      • A standalone Black Widow movie has long been requested by fans, and Marvel Studios is finally pulling the trigger—although all official details will be under wraps until Avengers 4 hits theaters so as not to spoil how that film wraps up. Scarlett Johansson handpicked indie filmmaker Cate Shortland to direct after an exhaustive search, and the most recent draft of the script was written by Jac Schaeffer. Early word is that this movie takes place before the events of The Avengers, but again all confirmed details are under lock and key at the moment.
  • Suicide Squad 2
    • Release Date: TBA
    • What We Know So Far:
      • David Ayer definitely isn’t coming back to direct this sequel, and Warner Bros. looked at some intriguing names for his replacement. Mel Gibson was approached towards the end of 2016, but Warner Bros. eventually moved on and offered the movie to Jaume Collet-Serra of The Shallows and Non-Stop fame to take the helm, only to see him pass. Gavin O’Connor (The Accountant) was subsequently set to direct, but when his take came out similar to the plot of the Birds of Prey movie—which is going into production first—he became frustrated and moved on.
      • Subsequently, Warner Bros. tapped former Guardians of the Galaxy 3 filmmaker James Gunn to write a script from scratch and potentially direct. The idea is for Gunn to craft whatever kind of story he wants, which means we could be in for a complete reboot of this franchise.
  • The Flash
    • Release Date: TBA
    • What We Know So Far:
      • Miller made his brief debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but he’s a fully fledged star of the Justice League. After tasking Phil Lord and Chris Miller with penning a treatment only to see them head off to direct the Han Solo Star Wars film (and then leave that), the studio subsequently tapped Seth Grahame-Smith to make his directorial debut on the superhero picture. Alas, after the disappointing reception to Batman v Superman, Warner Bros. opted to change course and parted ways with Grahame-Smith, seeking to find a more established filmmaker in his stead. They settled on Dope filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa, working from Grahame-Smith’s script that was a buddy film of sorts between Flash and Cyborg. But after months of developing the project and with casting underway (Dopestandout Kiersey Clemons landed the role of Iris West), Famuyiwa exited the project in late October.
      • This put the March 2018 release date in doubt, as it was dependent upon production getting underway in early 2017. Miller was then due to start filming Fantastic Beasts 2 in mid-2017, which would push production of The Flash to late 2017 or early 2018, meaning the March 2018 date was impossible. The film does now have a pair of directors though. Names like Robert Zemeckis were bandied about early on, but WB settled on Vacation and Game Night helmers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein to direct Flashpoint, who also co-wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming.
      • Warner Bros. announced at Comic-Con 2017 that this Flash movie will be an adaptation of the Flashpoint time travel comics storyline, which could give WB a way to reboot the DCEU somewhat. But it’s unclear if that’s still the plan.
      • The long road to getting The Flash movie off the ground hit yet another speed bump in October 2018, when it was revealed that production is being delayed from Spring 2019 to late 2019 due to the fact that the script wouldn’t be ready in time and Miller once again has to shoot Fantastic Beasts 3 starting in July 2019. As a result, The Flash movie isn’t expected to hit theaters anytime before 2021 now.

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All Things Geekery Podcast S2E15 – The Endgame

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Welcome to Season 2 Episode 15 of the All Things Geekery Podcast: The Endgame

In this episode, we’re talking about the new trailer for Avengers 4 and all the HYPE along with it!  We’re also sharing our thoughts on Destiny 2’s latest DLC; Black Armory and the new Dawning event that just hit!  

Click On The Link To Listen

Show Notes

  • Avengers 4 – Endgame
    • It was a great trailer that showed nothing
    • Why is Tony Stuck without Nebula
    • Could we see a possible introduction of Captain Marvel in this film, by her finding Tony Stark floating in space ie: She rescues Iron Man
    • Thanos is still enjoying his peace on the farm
    • Cap is back to his Winter Soldier look but all black – everyone is in mourning
    • We get a small glimpse of Hawkeye, but he isn’t wielding his famous bow this time, instead, he has a sword
    • Ant-man makes it out of the Quantum zone
    • Could we see the Quantum Zone introduce alternate timelines to the story
    • This trailer honestly brings up more questions than answers and the film doesn’t release until April 2019
  • Black Armory Thoughts / Controversy
    • First content addition(critical call out) that did not include story mission and instead added new “Escalation protocol” type events called forges
    • Right off the bat, we could tell this was endgame content
    • It was odd not to have something like that was a bridge between those that were still leveling up to 600.  The starting forge was recommended to be 620-630. So this left a lot of people behind in the experiencing the Black Armoy content.
    • With that said how does that compare to a game like World of Warcraft the when new content releases it  – most times only the top level get to immediately play it with other still having to work through the other content
    • Now Destiny is a different game so bridging could have been made
    • The is where most of the controversy was and how some of the player bases reacted
  • The Raid –  Different, New Mechanics, a Good change to the raids we have seen before with sparrows now an addition and needed skill in the raid along with tanks.
    • In prep for the raid most had already hit max level as the raid dropped – with that said all the mechanics were in place to make it for a raid fun
    • There have been idea floated around that level cap should be locked until raid drops and then grind happens – but there is always worry about people “rigging” the system with having loot pre-staged to pop to gain the level advantage
  • The Dawning Returns
    • Eva Levante returns after a very long hiatus from the game
    • The dawning event brings a new feature never seen before in Destiny, or at least never in this style.  We now have the ability to cook items for specific quests and rewards through Eva Levante’s crafting oven
    • We’ve got more triumphs to go after, new loots, new winter-themed gear which has been fairly engaging to grind for
    • There are 16 cooking recipes you have to learn to earn triumphs, and also a hidden recipe/triumph for master Rahoul where you have to combine the wrong ingredients
    • There is also an exotic quest tied to a new Dawning themed sparrow – Good call back to the age of triumph armor and all the unlocks we had to do for it to reach its full potential – Why do they not do more of this?

Be sure to subscribe to the All Things Geekery Podcast with any of your favorite podcast apps. Stop by and drop us a review so we know how we’re doing.

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The Greatest Captain Returns

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BlaugustRebornLogo2018

We are in the age of revivals lately for classic TV shows that we all loved like X-Files, Lost in Space, and even a good old modern spin on Evil Dead to name a few.

Just a few days ago one of my favorite shows of all time had some very exciting announcements, from the one and only Patrick Stewart!  Yes that’s right, Patrick Stewart announced recently that he will be reprising his role as Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series for CBS all access.  Needless to say the internet and Trekkies worldwide went bonkers about the news.

Of course, bringing Picard back has a weight to it for the fans and brings huge excitement….it does beg the question of is it a good decision to revise his role?  Most of the modern day remakes lately have had mixed reviews and up’s and downs at best so this move to revise a Star Trek show could fall in to a fate just like these other shows have.  My personal opinion is the show will do well because of the fan base and nostalgia around the Star Trek franchise.  Patrick Stewart has aged well and I’m hoping his return to the screen will be a huge success for the franchise.

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When announcing the news at the Star Trek Las Vegas convention, Patrick Stewart said the team hasn’t even started writing scripts for the show yet.  We don’t know much about the show, but what we do know is it will take place 20 years after we last saw Picard.  One of the things I loved about Star Trek the Next Generation was the stories and plot and Stewart will be an executive producer on the new show and will be involved in the story.  Captain Picard was originally introduced to the fans in 1987 which is mind boggling as I was only six when TNG debuted.

The last time we saw Picard on the big screen was in Star Trek: Nemesis so I’m excited to see where the future of Star Trek goes now that Picard is returning.  If you look at the rich history of this franchise it has spawned multiple shows, movies, and a fan base that is massive!  Take Star Trek: Enterprise for example which is set a hundred years before Captain Kirk’s era, or the JJ Abrams reboot which retold Kirk’s origins and early years of a star fleet officer.  Where could they go with this new show…..well the book is basically wide open for any number of stories and directions.

Stewart did mention he is excited to come back and reprise his role and is looking forward to seeing the creative process and working with the teams again.  I wonder who else we will see return on this new adventure? Will we see any other old familiar faces make appearances or any cameos in the show….or will we see a whole new cast?  I’m truly excited about this new venture into the Star Trek franchise and I do hope we get to see the deck of the Enterprise one more time!

Lost in Space – Season 1 Review

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BlaugustRebornLogo2018Hello everyone!

So this week has been quite the blur due to the busy schedule and I had a couple days I wasn’t feeling well.  Needless to say I haven’t felt like writing the last couple days and my mind has been out of it today honestly.

I know this week was supposed to be about connecting and potentially co-working on things with someone….but with not feeling well and my brain being mush tonight’s post is all I could focus on and put together.

This post really has nothing to do with this weeks theme in Blaugust, but like I said my brain has been mush the last couple days and this is fresh on my mind.  My family and I love to binge watch a good show when one does come along which happened just recently with Netflix’s Lost in Space.  In my personal opinion it’s one of the greatest sci-fi remakes of our time and an amazing family adventure series as well!

First off let’s jump in with the….what made the show so great!

Creators Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless did an absolute amazing job bringing the show back to life and giving it a great 21st century look.  The world was absolutely beautiful and the characters in the story were so like-able….well most of the characters anyways.

Who wouldn’t love the Robinson family which personally was the shows strongest point for sure.  If you’re not familiar with the story…..here’s the what on the story!

If you haven’t seen the show yet, well then ****SPOILERS AHEAD****

Let’s start with the Christmas Star….yes that’s right the Christmas Star!  This object is a mysterious object that crashes into Earth which forces humanity to look for a new habitable world to call home.  Humans have a base ship of sorts called The Resolute which is leading the mission for finding this new home.  They also have smaller jump ships called Jupiter ships, which is what the Robinson family use for a large portion of there exploration.  The Resolute runs into a massive space-time disruption event of some sort which forces an evacuation of the Resolute, and a crash landing from the Robinson’s in one of the Jupiter ships on an unknown world.

The show really starts to take root here and show it’s colors and genius with the Robinson family at the center of it all!  One of the best parts of the show is how the Robinson’s are a dysfunctional mess but they don’t really see it at first and truly just stumble over one another.  Especially when it comes to working together.  The creative writing done in this show was crazy good and the writers used a ton of flashback scens to really tie the story in together. The flashback are what help bring all the information to the table and really allowed you to connect to the Robinson family.

That classic saying from the show so became a hit so many years ago is back as well!  Yes, that’s right, “danger Will Robinson” is back with a very creative new presentation of the beloved robot.  The robot has a very unique story and is quite different from any other that has ever been told to date.  One thing that does remain close to it’s original roots is Will’s relationship with the robot which becomes apparent quite early on of how distant Will’s father has been, and that’s why Will is looking to the robot for friendship.

As far as the Robinson ladies of the show they are pretty amazing when it comes to the dynamic they bring to the table.  Maureen, the mom, ultimately is the leader of the group.  The daughters also bring a weight to the show that really draws you into the family dynamic.  One of my favorite characters in the show is Judy, the oldest daughter which I think has the most baggage and biggest change in the show.  She has a massive weight on her shoulders and has gone through some pretty traumatic experiences in her life already even with only being 18.

Now let’s move on to the worst part of the show for me….the villain!

Dr. Smith played by Parker Posey is one of the most manipulative characters I’ve seen on screen before.  Dr. Smith comes into the good graces of the Robinson’s early on but they don’t understand the evil they just let into the family.  Dr. Smith lacks complexity which is ultimately why I don’t like her, but also because she’s the bad guy and I’m not a bad guy fan…no matter how good the actor is.  The writers even tried to give some backstory on Dr. Smith but I think by the time it happened people were probably already set on the decision of “I Hate This Character” and didn’t care.  Personally in my opinion Dr. Smith’s character added nothing to the story.

Overall though I think this series is a massive win and something you could sit down and enjoy with the family together!  The Robinsons are an amazing family and have a huge story of survival and redemption they tell all along the series.

Writing Something a Bit Different – Stranger Things Season 2

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BlaugustRebornLogo2018Hello again fellow bloggers!

I can’t believe we are almost wrapping up with our first week of Blaugust already.  Today’s post is a bit off from my normal advice type write up as I just felt like doing something different.

This post may not be completely directed towards making a better blog, or writing in a more creative way….but it’s about something I love and have a passion for and that’s great quality Sci-Fi / Horror that sucks you into the show!

My best advice for you all is if you want to write about something then jump in and do it.  Don’t worry about whether you think someone will read it or not, because I can almost guarantee you someone out there will enjoy it.  Stepping out and writing something you enjoy and are passionate about makes a world of difference as the readers pick up on that.

I meant to do a review of this show months ago when it came out, and completely forgot about it……so here is my review of Stranger Things Season 2!  If you have never seen the show then you are missing out!

Stranger Things Season 2 Trailer

 

With the Sci-Fi / Horror genre it is already a tough market and the first season of Stranger Things did it beautifully.  Click here to see my review on Stranger Things season one.  Even though season one was a massive success it doesn’t guarantee that the writers can reproduce that for future seasons.  With excellence and a massive crowd following comes the pressure and expectation to deliver something not only equal but surpass what you did the previous year.

With all the perfect that season one was, it was hard to believe that season two could ever live up to that standard or even come close to being better.  Stranger Things Season 2 had so many things working against it, including some saying that the ambiguous ending in season one was the perfect place to end the show.

The Duffer brothers had a huge task ahead of them and they chose to ignore all the naysayers and jumped right in and started working hard.  They have an insane universe they have built and one that the fans can’t get enough of and that is what make this show so good.  Stranger Things Season 2 was an absolute hit with the fans as it continues to build upon the rich story, incredible cast and expands the world of Hawkins into an epic great of it’s time.

What has made this show a success so far and why do the mix of kids they have playing these parts work so well?  It’s extremely rare for a series like this, especially one dealing with kids, to dive deep into the mental aspect of what going through a traumatic event really looks like.  The Duffer brothers do this so well though as from a shows standpoint it would just be easier to pretend like the events with the Demogorgon, Eleven’s disappearance, and Barb’s lack of justice didn’t happen; forgetting all of those essential stories would have been simpler, but not nearly as compelling.

The writers did an amazing job of adding a ton of depth to the story and characters this season.  Right from the beginning, we know that there’s something not quite right with Will…one of the main characters, who was stuck in another dimension for most of Season one. His classmates call him “zombie boy,” since they all believed he was dead and now he is just the weird kid that got lost in the woods. For a kid who went through what Will did, this isn’t an easy thing to hear or live every day at school now.

All the boys are back in season two again with a lot more screen time which is always great as we get to learn a lot more about each of them this season.  Dustin is still my favorite character out of the crazy boy club and a close second is Mike’s character.  Though Mike this season is really struggling with Eleven’s disappearance and the actor does a great job of showing the mental wear and tear it’s causing him.

It wouldn’t be a new season of the show without some new blood added to the mix and Maxine (Sadie Sink) or Max as she calls herself in the show is just what the show needed.  She gives the boys a tussle for their money in this season and quickly becomes a part of the group.  They added a few others to the mix but Max is really the one that stood out to the most for the story and character development.  Eleven also makes her return and the Duffer brothers didn’t disappoint one bit with her entrance back to the screen. Again, the Duffer Brothers are expanding the Stranger Things universe beyond the confines of Hawkins, so expect to journey to new locations.

So what about that giant monster in the trailers….what the heck is that thing?  Yeah, it’s scary and huge and makes the season one Demogorgon look like a teddy bear. This ominous shadowy demon is the main antagonist, and let’s just say the gang has their hands full in dealing with this crazy creature. The Upside Down is alive and well here, but with a villain this big, more of Hawkins is getting pulled into the madness.

One of the great parts of this season that makes it so captivating is it’s not just physical dangers lurking around every corner.  It’s the mental aspect that draws you in that are played so well by the kids and parents….it’s all the stress points in the show that make you sit on the edge of your seat and wonder whats next.  Though this season is a massive success it also has it’s faults as well, and there are moments when the tone of the show changes abruptly which I thought hurt certain episodes.  Even though the show does have some hiccups and strange pace in places it was overall a favorite in my book. I can’t wait for season three and what the Duffer brothers are bringing to the screen.

Castlevania: Season 1 Review

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Castlevania-Netflix-Logo-and-Vlad-1-750x422Hollywood isn’t known for adapting popular video game franchises to film or television that ever become fan favorites.  For the most part over the years video games that have come to the big screen have flopped at best.  Every once in a while though you have a little gem like Castlevania come along that brings life back to this genre.

If you are an 80’s baby you probably played Castlevania as it is one of the most iconic video games ever created!  With the series based off the Castlevania games it draws very heavily from the 1990’s Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse which follows Vlad Dracula Tepes (voiced by Preacher and Outlander’s Graham McTavish) has returned and unleashed a horde of demonic monsters against the peasants and clergymen of 15th Century Wallachia, and only a motley crew band of monster slayers which includes a discraced nobleman Trevor Belmont (The Hobbit’s Richard Armitage), magician/scholar Sypha Belnades (Alejandra Reynoso) and Dracula’s half-breed son Alucard (Battlestar Galactica’s James Callis) have the power to restore peace to the land.

Overall the Castlevania games are exploration in the world than story and plot, and this story isn’t one you’d think of when it comes to making an animated adaptation of. So why makes Castlevania different, and why did it have success? A lot of it had to do with who ran the show and who was in charge.  Executive producer Adi Shankar has sort of built a second career out of crafting unauthorized, adult-oriented reboots of popular franchises, including 2012’s Punisher: Dirty Laundry and 2015’s Power/Rangers. If you want to craft an R-rated overhaul of a popular video game franchise while still retaining the core appeal of that franchise, Shankar is the man you call!

Good shows come down to not only directing, producing, and people in charge but an amazing team of writers as well!  Writer Warren Ellis, a man known for blending high-concept science fiction and black, nihilistic humor in his stories, but he’s primarily known for his comic book work (Planetary, & Transmetropolitan).

Seeing the teaser for Castlevania immediately had me excited, but also cautious at the same time as adaptations like these are almost never done well!  So I waited, and waited, and waited some more before finally parking in front of the screen to hit play and Castlevania starts off on the right foot by focusing not on the Belmont family, but Dracula himself. The series opens with a fateful encounter between the reclusive vampire king and an aspiring scientist named Lisa (The Mentalist’s Emily Swallow). That opening scene nicely sets the tone for the series, establishing Dracula’s tenuous connection to the human world and giving him real motivations for terrorizing the land of Wallachia. While Dracula has little overt presence in the series after the first episode, it’s satisfying to see Ellis treat his main villain with depth.  Dracula has at least a shred of tragedy about him in any incarnation, but that angle is really played up here, and it’s done very well!

In addition to creating a sympathetic villain in Dracula, the early portions of the show help establish the general themes that dominate the episodes.  This adaptation is as much about fear and the reasoning of people, as it is man and monster.  Both Dracula and the monster hunters are forced to choose whether they believe humanity can rise above the dark age this show thrusts you into.  I love how the show pulls you into the live of Trevor Belmont which is the last surviving son of the disgraced family, one who’s tempted to simply sit back and let those who wronged his family suffer their just fate.

Netflix pulled out the stops and spared no expense to get some amazing actors for the voice cast, forgoing the familiar names in the voice acting world in favor of some very big-name actors. For the most part, the actors do justice to their characters. McTavish and Callis in particular stand out as they channel the pathos and suffering of their undead characters. There are times when the actors (Armitage especially) speak too softly and become drowned out by the music and sound effects, but there is a passion to the performances that you don’t always find in projects like this.

Amid all the crazy character drama and clashing between science and superstition, Castlevania never loses sight of the classic appeal to the game series. There’s plenty of action to go around, even though we don’t get to see a lot of the monsters from the game. The series does an amazing job of pulling the world of Castlevania to the screen for our eyes to see. This series may draw mainly from Castlevania III in terms of plot, but it’s far more influenced by games like Symphony of the Night when it comes to the lovely art style.

 

All Things Geekery Podcast S2E4 – Avengers: Infinity War

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Welcome to Season 2 Episode 4 of the All Things Geekery Podcast – Avengers: Infinity War

***THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Today the Geeks, explore the cosmic universe of Avengers: Infinity War! We share our thoughts, favorite moments and all the things that blew our minds! Ten years in the making and 18 films later, the Russos give us everything a die hard Marvel fan could ever want! What surprised us the most, how do we dub this cinematic event, how do earth’s mightiest heroes respond?

Be sure to subscribe to the All Things Geekery Podcast with any of your favorite podcast apps. Stop by and drop us a review so we know how we’re doing. Thanks for listening, and we can’t wait to hear from you!

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ALL OUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter @detachedgaming
Twitter @victus_darkaero
Twitter @allthingsgeekry
Blog @ http://www.allthingsgeekery.com
Blog @ http://www.ahobbitsjourney.com

All Things Geekery Podcast S2E3: Journey To Infinity War

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In this episode:

We cast our thoughts about the latest installement for the MCU and The Avengers Infinity War! We breakdown some of our favorite characters, delve into the Infinity Stones and talk predictions!

Show Notes:
– First off we discuss the Infinity Stones, and where they came from and what we did and didn’t like about the MCU introductions vs. the comic introductions.

– We take a quick look at the history of Thanos and breakdown where he came from and why he is trying to destory the universe!

– We talk about our favorite Avengers!

– We give our overall pre-review and predictions of what we think is going to happen in the film!

 

Be sure to subscribe to the All Things Geekery Podcast with any of your favorite podcast apps. Stop by and drop us a review so we know how we’re doing. Thanks for listening, and we can’t wait to hear from you!

SUBSCRIBE

ALL OUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter @detachedgaming
Twitter @victus_darkaero
Twitter @allthingsgeekry
Blog @ http://www.allthingsgeekery.com
Blog @ http://www.ahobbitsjourney.com

 

See more of our episodes on Podbean:  http://allthingsgeekery.podbean.com/