2021 Halloween Movie Recap

Every year myself and my wife compile a list of horror flicks we would like to view during the Halloween season. Unfortunately this year we were thrown some unexpected curves and the list was never made. We have watched a few scary movies, but not nearly as many as in the past. Some have been surprises and some have been not so great. Here are my thoughts on a few of these films.

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (2019)

This movie has been on my "Want To Watch" list for a few years now. I remember reading these books back in grade school and becoming entranced by the gorgeously grotesque drawings of artist Stephen Gammell. One thing this movie did exceptionally well was the ability to bring these illustrations to life!

The story itself reminded me of the Goosebumps movie that starred Jack Black from 2015. Several teens find a haunted book, unleash a bunch of creepy monsters and have to figure out how to stay alive while getting these literary nightmares to disappear. The acting was solid, the effects were a big upside to this film and overall it was an enjoyable watch. Not that I would want to have a repeat watch, but if you were a fan of the books, I say give it a try.

Hell House LLC. (2015)

I had read about this movie on other blogs throughout the years and when I saw it in the free offerings on VUDU, I decided to give it a whirl. This was one of the films that surprised me. It is yet another found footage horror film, but it is presented in such a way that it felt like you were watching a documentary. The premise is that there was a mass casualty incident at a haunted house in New York state and no-one who witnessed the events was able to say what actually happened.

The story of the disappearing haunted house crew and patrons is told through interviews with town officials and found footage from the recordings of the crew and those in attendance the night of the incident. There were some scares, the acting was on par with other low budget horror films and the characters made you genuinely care about what happened to them. I still want to know what really went down at Hell House that night!

Hell House LLC. II: The Abaddon Hotel (2018)

Hoping to get some answers from the original Hell House LLC., I decide to watch part II! This entry was a huge step down from the first film. It felt disjointed, the acting was not great and the story felt like they were making it up as they went along. 

Yes, the creepy clown was back and that's about all this sequel had going for it. I was looking for answers and the film makers tried to provide them, but it was more of a letdown than anything. If you liked the original, I would suggest skipping this one because it kind of ruins the mystique that was built up in Hell House LLC.

Pumpkinhead (1988)

I had not seen this movie in years and decided it was time for a re-watch. This one did not disappoint! Famed creature designer Stan Winston took to directing this 80's monster classic and he did a fantastic job in his debut. If you don't know the story, it's pretty much a revenge flick. A man's child is killed on accident by a few reckless teens in a backwoods town. The man seeks the help of a local witch to help him enact revenge on those who did him wrong. This brings about the resurrection of Pumpkinhead, a mean, ruthless, killing machine!

The creature is beautifully done and creepy, the story is not the most unique, but works and the acting is fantastic for this type of film. Lance Henriksen gives one of his best performances and John D'Aquino plays a great villain. His turn as Joel is a pretty far dip from his portrayal of Todd Gack in the Seinfeld episode "The Calzone". He really has great range as an actor. I know Pumpkinhead was not a huge success when it was released in the late 80's, but this creature feature deserves better than the 3 direct to video/tv sequels it has received. I think it's time we see a full fledged theatrical revival! 

Thankfully, we still have time to view some of our traditional faves like Friday The 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Monster Squad and Trick 'r Treat on Halloween night. I hope you had an enjoyable movie viewing season. I can't wait to get back to our traditional viewing next year and I'm excited to see what ends up on the list in 2021! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2020 Halloween Movie Recap

This year, unlike years before, I decided to scroll through all the streaming services we have and compile a list of 30 movies I wanted to watch during the month of October. We made it through about 20 of them. Some nights I fell asleep early, other nights we were interrupted by restless children. It's all good though, some of my pics were winners others pretty crappy. Here is a quick recap of some of my favorite horror movie watches from 2020.

TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016)

I had been meaning to see this movie since it was released in 2016, but never took the time to watch it. I am glad I waited until the Halloween season to explore this zombie apocalypse film. It was creepy, scary and the claustrophobic atmosphere of being trapped in a train with a butt-ton of flesh eating zombies just added to the fear this South Korean film brought to the table. 

The writing was fantastic and I actually had sympathy for the characters caught on the train and loathed the heartless businessman who would step over anyone to save himself. If you're a fan of the zombie genre, you really need to check this out. It is dubbed, so you have to get used to that, but otherwise an excellent flick.

PROM NIGHT (1980)

I know Prom Night is a slasher flick classic, but I never really had the desire to see this movie. I was way more into Freddy & Jason by the time this movie hit my radar. This year would be my first viewing of this 1980 horror hit and let me tell you it was entertaining. Jamie Lee Curtis plays a character named Kim who is similar to her character Laurie in the original Halloween movie. She is seen as perfect by her classmates and seems pretty innocent, but when the death of her sister years earlier comes back to haunt her, she needs to step up to defend herself. Not only is Kim able to do that, but she also cuts a mean rug on the disco floor. 

Loved those dance scenes! Tense moments, some twists and throw in Leslie Nielsen as Kim's Dad and you have a winning formula for a great 80's slasher flick!

The Ritual (2017)

The Ritual was a movie that actually was not on my list. After a few nights of watching some 1980's horror movies, my wife wanted something more recent. We decided to watch this movie about 4 men who take a trip in memory of their fallen friend. These English blokes decide to go backpacking in Sweden. While there one of them is injured and they decide to get him help by cutting through an off trail forest. Nothing bad could come from that, right? Well it does get bad from there! The movie turns to psychological scares at this point, since you never really see what begins to hunt these friends in the forbidden forest, but by the time you do see the monster it is a shock! 

This thing is massive, deadly and pretty damn cool looking. The end left me scratching my head a little as the final 2 friends are taken in by a cult as a sacrifice to this monster that they believe to be a god. It is worth a watch and I'm glad it made it's way into my queue this Halloween! 

Hobgoblins (1988)

This was one of those movies that was so bad, it was good! I knew from the beginning that this would be a Gremlins rip-off much like Munchies, but still I wanted to see these little goblins raise some havoc! You see, these magnificent monsters have been locked up in an old defunct movie studio film vault because when they landed on the lot decades before, it was discovered that they had the ability to make people live out there wildest fantasies...with deadly results! A new young security guard frees them and it's up to him and his friends to destroy these fiends! 

The acting is below average, the effects are iffy and the story is not the greatest, but damn was it a fun and extremely weird ride! On a side note, there was an after credit scene! This was probably one of the first. Can't wait to see the 2009 sequel!

Of course there were more movies watched, these were just some of the ones that stood out. Also viewed for the first time and enjoyed were Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Hubie Halloween, The Babysitter 2: Killer Queen, Hatchet and Demonic Toys.

It really was a great movie viewing season this year, but like all good things it has to come to an end and I decided this final week would be dedicated to some of the classics that I've already watched a million times, but still love like Friday The 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street and Monster Squad. The final film this year will be Trick 'r Treat on Halloween night. I hope your movie viewing was as enjoyable as mine this year. I can't wait to see what ends up on the list in 2021! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Memorable Goonie Moments

Last week myself and my wife decided that we would take the kids to the local drive-in theater to see Ghostbusters! My wife had a night off from work and we were ready to go...except the weather did not want to cooperate. It rained like crazy and we missed the opportunity to go. Upon checking the movie lineup the next week, we discovered The Karate Kid and The Goonies were playing! We had to go! The Goonies is one of my favorite, if not my favorite movie of all time.

You see, our family was planning on taking a trip to Astoria, Oregon this summer so we could see some of the sites from The Goonies in person. These would include Haystack Rock, Clatsop County Jail, the Walsh house, the Oregon Film Museum & Cannon Beach to name a few. Of course those plans were cancelled due to COVID-19, so getting to see The Goonies on the big screen for the first time in my life was a small but fantastic consolation.

It really brought back great memories for me and watching my kids laugh and enjoy the movie truly made me appreciate this film on another level. I can still remember seeing the commercial for this movie on TV when it was released in theaters all the way back in the golden age of 1985. I was five years old and saw these kids on an adventure that seemed like nothing I had ever witnessed before. The images of them sliding down the water slides was burned into my head. 

My family rarely went to the movies at that time. There were 7 of us, so my parents probably had to take out a short term loan to take us. Therefore I never was able to view The Goonies on the big screen. It wasn't until 1986 when The Goonies was released on VHS that I would finally see it! My neighbor's grandma got him a copy and we watched it at his house. To this day, I swear the part with the octopus was included on this video!

Anyway after seeing this movie, I was immediately in love with it! Data was my favorite character and I even tried to create my own gadgets just like him. I use the word "gadgets" loosely because they included taking a piece of screen from a screen door and attaching it to the front of my bike as a bug catcher and putting a piece of twine that was used to wrap our Christmas tree up for transit up my sleeve so if anyone tried to kidnap me, I could eject it and tie up the would be bad guys. Not the most inventive, but still this movie captured my imagination in ways no other movie had before. The only thing that really stunk was that the movie I loved so much never had a toy line come out, but we did have The Goonies II video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System!

Finally, I was able to take on the roll of The Goonies in an attempt to defeat the Fratelli family and save...A MERMAID! Yup, you take the lead as Mikey and you need to save your Goonie pals from the clutches of Jake, Francis and Ma Fratelli by using weapons like yo-yos, slingshots and boomerangs before finally releasing the mermaid Annie from her watery prison! 

This actually wasn't that bad of a game. Was it great, no. But it was entertaining and fulfilled my cravings for more Goonies for a little while. It would be many years before we saw the next big Goonies merchandise release.

It was 2007 when Mezco Toys released a line of The Goonies action figures. Sadly to say these came out at a time that I did not have the disposable income available to use on toys. Now if you check ebay you can't find a single carded or loose figure for under $50 each! 

Luckily in 2014 Funko released a line of The Goonies ReAction figures. I really love these figures, because I feel that this is what we should have gotten back in the 80s if a line of toys was created. They just have the look and feel of a line created during my childhood. Our local Barnes & Noble had them on sale for around $8 each and I bought one of every character and they are fantastic! That takes us back to present day. I will always cherish these memories and am thankful for everyone who worked on this movie and brought it into my life. Maybe next year myself and my family can finally embark on our own Goonie adventure. Until then, at least we have Cyndi Lauper's song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" to rock out to! ENJOY and always remember "Goonies Never Say Die"!

Movie Memories: Star Wars The Special Edition

Not that long ago on the planet Earth the year was 1997 and I was 17 years old. Star Wars was celebrating it's 20th anniversary and George Lucas was re-releasing his masterpiece to theaters with upgrades to special effects, new CGI characters and extended scenes. I was excited and so were my older brother and some of our friends. We had grown up playing with Star Wars figures, collected TOPPS Star Wars Cards and watched the Star Wars movies! Here is a picture of us in our early 80s glory days...on a tractor like gangstas!

It was February and we had our tickets to see Star Wars: the Special Edition at the Rockaway Town square Mall in NJ. We had plenty of time to kill, so we hit up our usual money dropping stores like...

Babbage's for our video game needs...

 KB Toys for our collecting and toys/cards needs (Mostly, this was just me that wanted to go here)...

 Modell's for our sporting goods and favorite team apparel needs (Mets, Jets, Nets & Devils!)...

This weird sculpture that had been in the mall for years in the 80s was now outside for all to admire. Have no idea what it is or what it is supposed to be, but it brings back memories and looks cool...

and of course Sam Goody for our music needs! But on this trip we made an unexpected detour to a store we usually don't shop at and that was JC Penny!

We were there because allegedly a buddy of mine had spread a rumor that it was really easy to shoplift jerseys from this store and one of my friends, who will remain nameless, got the idea that he would partake in this crime. He spotted his target, grabbed it and tried to make a break for the exit, but was stopped by Mall Security. The jersey he was after...

New York Knicks guard Latrell Sprewell! Anyway, my friend was detained in the mall offices for a while and since my brother was over 18, he was able to bail my friend out. In the time that it took to get him out though, we had missed the movie! I never did get the chance to experience Star Wars in the theater and I still have the movie ticket somewhere in a forgotten box of memories. I will never let my friend forget about the time he made us miss Star Wars! On a side note, he did have to do community service for his infraction and while doing this service he met a girl who became his live in girlfriend for a few years. So. I guess that worked out. Here is the trailer for the movie that brings back these painful memories...Star Wars: The Special Edition!

Retro movies to watch with the kids!

Myself and my wife got word from our school district on Monday that school will be closed for the next 2 weeks due to the Coronavirus. We have been brainstorming ideas on how to keep these kids busy and free from bickering and fighting. One idea I had was to immerse and educate the kids on some of the great movies from decades past. I searched through our options of streaming services, VHS tapes, DVDs & Blu-ray disks and so far this is what I have come up with.

The Karate Kid: Part III (1989)

Yes, I know this is probably the most hated of all the Karate Kid movies, but we have watched the first 2 so it only makes sense to finish the original trilogy. I'm sure my kids will love Daniel's slow turn to the dark side and the crazy overacting of Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver.

Batman (1989)

My family just recently wrapped up watching all of the Spider-Man movies including the original trilogy, Amazing Spider-Man movies, Homecoming and Far From Home. It only makes sense to now move on to a marathon of Batman movies starting with the classic 1989 film starring Michael Keaton & Jack Nicholson.

The NeverEnding Story (1984)

My kids are just starting to become interested in movies that are not animated and that opens them up to all sorts of possibilities. I really believe they will enjoy the action and adventure in this movie. I know I did when I was their age. 

Willow (1988)

Once again, like the NeverEnding Story this movie is filled with fun, adventure and action. Last week my kids and wife watched "The Lord of the Rings" and they really liked it. I think this movie will have the same effect on them, plus it's been a while since I have seen it and I can't wait to revisit the world of Willow Ufgood!

The Black Cauldron (1985)

I have never seen this movie! This is something I wish to rectify while we have the time at home. From what I have seen in the trailers, I may be more excited to watch this than the kids!

Well, those are the movies on the list for now. I am sure it will expand as we continue this lockdown from school. If you have any suggestions for a father of three kids under 10 years old, please shoot me a message or make a comment below. In the meantime, enjoy some movies and stay healthy!

Throwback Jam of the Week: 2/24/20

Throw on your wetsuit and head to the Deep Blue Sea as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: L.L. Cool J

Song: Deepest Bluest

Album: Deep Blue Sea: The Soundtrack (1999)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A

Bonus Fun Fact: This song was the only single off this soundtrack album. L.L. Cool J was quoted as saying "This was my finest shark-related song ever. I can't believe it didn't chart."

TMNT Movie Knockoffs

In my searches for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles items on ebay, I kept stumbling upon listings for Ninja Turtles 6 piece Classic Collection sets. These sets looked just like the Playmates TMNT Movie figures that were released in 1992, but the price was only around $13 for the 6 figures! Obviously these had to be knockoffs, but the quality in the pictures looked so good. Finally, out of curiosity I pulled the trigger and bought these Turtle boys from China! 

Donatello

Leonardo

Michelangelo

Raphael

 So, obviously you can see the differences in the side by side pictures. The knock off Turtles seem to only have 2 head sculpts. Raph and Don are styled after the Playmates Donatello and Mike and Leo look to be styled after the original Playmates Leonardo figure. The belts also come in two varieties Mike's and Don's. Those differences don't bother me too much, but some of the quality control issues seem common with these types of toys. You have extra plastic around the heads and the paint applications are less than perfect and they are made from hard plastic instead of the rubbery feeling stuff used to make the green teens in 1991. But one cool thing about these toys is the weapons! They are painted to look like the real thing and are not the standard brown color that came with the Playmates movie Turtles. Pretty cool, except Leo's swords are significantly warped. I'll have to figure out a way to correct that.

Master Splinter

Here is where these knockoffs get a little cray-cray! Master Splinter looks nothing like his Playmates counterpart. He looks more like a ninja raccoon with his gray fur and black coloring around his eyes. His fur is definitely not flocked and he is missing his robe. He does come with his bow and arrow though. I gotta say, I kind of like this take on the mutant master. 

Foot Soldier

Here is the rare example of how I actually think the knockoff figure improves on the original. I like the black coloring of the Foot Soldier over the gray of the Playmates version and the gray around the arms, legs and belt really pop against the dark of the body sculpt. Kind of reminds me of the Foot Ninja from the For Kids series. One not so cool thing is how they packaged him with the Foot Bopper weapon that was originally included with Movie Star Leonardo. Overall, I am pretty impressed with this set. I didn't pay all that much for it and they seem to be some of the better knockoff TMNT toys that I have seen around. Now take a look back at the commercial from 1991 promoting these awesome new toys featuring the movie likenesses of our favorite Turtle Teens!

Pictures from the Past

Almost a year ago the television station that I work for celebrated it's 60th anniversary. Part of my job as Promotions & Marketing manager was to help promote the milestone. We had an entire floor of the local historical museum dedicated to the history of television and I produced a 5 minute video showing our past and how we are moving towards the future. In preparation for these projects I had to dig up some historical documents, old props & equipment and search through our old photos to find the things that told the story of the station. I found some great stuff, but some of it didn't exactly fit what I was looking for like this great shot above of the kid in the Coors Light "SilverBullet" car. Here are a few more great pics that I found!

 This picture is from a telethon held at the station in the late 70s/early 80s. The caption said something like "TVs Tracey Gold joined us for this fundraising event". Wow! Tracey Gold that was big time back in the day. I'd be happy if she stopped by for one of fund raisers today!

This kid with the Boglin was pretty lucky. I always wanted one, but never got it. I had to live out my Boglin dreams with my friends toy! The guy looking on was our longtime graphic artist. He worked at the station for over 30 years and went from creating chalk drawings for newscasts to creating graphics using Photoshop and After Effects. He retired a few years back, but was a great guy to work with and learn from. Kind of the Yoda of the station.

Here is a picture of some of the staff back in the 90s at the local theater premiere of Dick Tracy! I haven't seen that movie in years. Thinking I should give it a watch sometime soon. It would be cool if the station hosted movie premieres again. Maybe I'll have to get on that?

Here are pictures from another station hosted movie premiere event in 1990 for DuckTales: Treasure of the Lost Lamp the Movie! I loved this film, but never got to see it in theaters. Maybe Disney should re-release it for it's 30th anniversary in 2020? If you have not seen this movie, you need to! It's got action, adventure, peril, a genie, Mrs. Beakly and Christopher Lloyd as the main bad guy. If that doesn't sell you, maybe this commercial will?