Renewed Top 10 - Horror Directors

It is October again, time for Spooky season. And that means it is time do some horror related content!

So let's start with some directors. Those that make some spooky, creepy, scary stuff.

Now, the list is going to highlight the directors that have made an impact for my viewing. But it does not reflect those that director my favorite horror films overall(that list is coming). Maybe it is the overall portfolio influence, rather than one movie in particular. Consistency and legacy are key for. Body of work as opposed to one shining example. Get the rules?

Top 10 Horror Directors

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: Terence Fisher: British director who focused on Gothic Horror. Hammer Films versions of Dracula, The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein. Now, the movies are pretty good, but the reason he is here is because he launched the careers of LEGENDS Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

Honorable Mention 2: Stanley Kubrick: Kubrick is that one crazy, eccentric artist that just wants the masterpiece. A Clockwork Orange and The Shining are 2 of the greatest artistic movies of all time.

Honorable Mention 3: Guillermo del Toro: I enjoy Del Toro's work. Pan's Labyrinth is creepy as hell. And Hellboy is iconic. But while Hellboy is spooky, it is also a fun superhero movie. A visionary.

Honorable Mention 4: Tim Burton: Burton is one of my favorite directors. Period. But the secret to his spooky is that... it is his style. Famous for movies like Beetlejuice, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland...... it is more the art style, and less the content that makes it spooky, and thus more of his movies are family accessible. Sleepy Hollow was the only real horror movie Burton did. But creepy and spooky is just in his art style

Honorable Mention 5: Ivan Reitman: Ghostbusters. There really isn't anymore you need to say. Ivan Reitman is the reason the Ghostbusters franchise came to life. From an idea... to a realization. And I'm going to mention Jason Reitman, for tackling Ghostbusters Afterlife. It isn't out yet, but if it is a smash hit like the originals, then he deserves to be mentioned here.

10. Andy Muschietti: Responsible for the IT remakes and wonderful unique film called Mama. I personally think he did a GREAT job getting that done. The reason he isn't higher on the list... he is an up and comer. He is has only just begun. And that is what he did? Impressive.

9. Jordan Peele: Who would've thought this comedian would be a genius in horror? I didn't. But Get Out won him an Oscar and Us was a unique take on the doppleganger story. Another who has only just begun.

8. Mike Flanagan: He put out some really good stuff. Responsible for Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil. But the reason I'm a fan is simply... Doctor Sleep. Sequel to one of my favorite horror films off all time, and...... it felt like he made it as an homage to the Kubrick's classic AND adapted the book fairly well. I hope for more, and if he were to do more with King's works, I wouldn't be mad.

7. Tobe Hooper: So many good B horror movies; but also brought us The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, Salem's Lot, and Night Terrors. The resumé speaks for itself.

6. David Cronenberg: Dead Ringers, Stephen King's The Dead Zone, Scanners. All great movies. But... The Fly. The Fly is legendary. Why? Two words: Jeff Goldblum.

5. Tom Holland(no, not that one): The Father of Chuckie!! Created Child's Play... the original Fright Night, The Langoliers mini series, and Thinner! But he gets the spot for giving us such a twisted tale with Child's Play... and launching a franchise that is STILL putting out new content.

4. Sam Raimi: Before he was known for Spider-Man, Sam Raimi gave us BRUCE CAMPBELL. And how? The Evil Dead/Army of Darkness franchise. Sam Raimi also gave us Darkman, which was the first movie I ever saw of one Liam Neeson. But the really reason he makes the list is because...... post Spider-Man, he gave us one amazingly terrifying movie title Drag Me To Hell. If you haven't seen it, do it.

3. Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense. His own series, titles "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". But we are talking LEGENDARY movies: The Birds, Psycho, Vertigo, Suspicion, Dial M for Murder. If you don't know who Alfred Hitchcock is, then why are you here?

2. John Carpenter: Vampires, Village of the Damned, They Live(with Roddy Piper!), Prince of Darkness, Christine, The Thing, The Fog. Such diversity in his horror portfolio... but... he is also responsible for creating what we know as a Slasher Film, when he brought to us Michael Myers and the classic film Halloween.

This was a tough one to call... but here it is...

The Number One Horror Director is......

1. Wes Craven: The original version of The Last House On The Left. The People Under The Stairs. Shocker. Night Visions. Cursed. Red Eye. He is also responsible for The Hills Have Eyes... and he is the father of The Nightmare of Elm Street franchise. But the reason I put Wes Craven at Number 1 isn't because of those movies... it is for the Scream franchise. Freddy Krueger is my favorite slasher killer of all time... the movies are good, but Freddy is what elevated them. But Scream was different. It felt different. And the reason I feel that way is because the Scream franchise is a parody. I know what you're thinking... "No, that is the Scary Movie franchise". And yes... yes you're right. But look at what Scream set out to do. It purposely lampooned the horror franchise and things you are/aren't supposed to do. And then paid off for all of those rules/tropes but swerving the audience out of the killers' identity reveals. And I can appreciate Wes Craven do that in one of his own movies about the genre he helped make famous. That is pretty damn cool to me. And... Wes Craven is responsible for Swamp Thing getting its live action start. Swamp Thing may be an anti-hero now, but that original movie was absolutely a B level horror flick.

(Side note... one omission I have is Clive Barker. Yes... he created and directed Hellraiser... the first one... and with hits like Night Breed and Lord of Illusions... Clive Barker should be noted for his work in horror, but he isn't a director. His largest contributions to horror comes from putting pen to paper. Playwright, Screenwriter first, including Candyman. And his contributions do not go unnoticed. His directed movies are great, but so few.)

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There it is. Top 10 Horror Directors.

Anyone you think I left out? Anyone you are surprised I put in it? Let me know down below.

Don't like my list? Make your own.

And as always... share this thing...

Thanks for you time. More Halloween/Spooky themed lists coming this month, and some good reviews hopefully this week.

Until next time...

Don't forget...

The New Review - Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Copyright by Sony Pictures and Marvel Comics

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Starring: Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson

Directed By: Andy Serkis

Concept: Sequel to Sony's solo Venom outing, starting an attempt at a Sony-verse of Spider-Man characters.

Execution:

Cast: Tom Hardy reprises his role as Eddie Brock. Still done very well(but I do wanna point out... Brock in the comics felt like a brute... this Eddie is a putz). And of course, Woody Harrelson having fun, being Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady. And a shout out to Stephen Graham as Detective Mulligan with a very "Danny Reagan from Blue Bloods" vibe going on. And that is a compliment. But for reasons...... everyone else feels like a background character regardless of role. The new characters introduced get ALL of the character development. And that... is okay too. Score: 17/20

Presentation: Andy Serkis knows his CGI. A smaller budget... but still had better CGI than the first movie. Whereas in the first movie, the big fight between Venom and Riot could be attributed to colors blending together, the big fight between Venom and Carnage felt cleaner, more vibrant... and Serkis didn't shy away from better lighting. Visually, it is a STUNNING action flick. Soundtrack-wise... it was missing something. But... it is SO visually stunning for the budget that any point I would deduct for sound would be made up by visual. So... yes... Score: 20/20

Chronicle: So... the plot is paper thin. But... I like to refer to a phenomenon I call "The Expendables Effect". A movie that doesn't have the best plot, but... you shouldn't be watching it FOR the plot. This movie should be looked at as a Symbiote Smackdown and how to get there. And... that's it. Simple... why is Kasady deranged? How does he get the Carnage Symbiote? When is he gonna fight Venom? There... there is your storyboard. Sprinkled in character development. Lack of world building development. I might've been okay wit it being longer(it is a fairly short film), but it really didn't need it. Here for a good time, but not here for a long time. Score: 27/30

Impact: The movie... the movie itself doesn't feel like it has any Impact. It doesn't. I thought Sony was building their own Universe? And Venom was supposed to feel like a cornerstone of that Universe? Why didn't it feel like it? Granted, the movie didn't leave enough time FOR that... aside from Ravencroft, there isn't anything to build off of. Mulligan? But even then... that is self contained. But... mid-credit scene sets up to make the "Venomverse" part of the MCU Multiverse. And... that has some major ramifications. It is the first official non-MCU Marvel movie to be considered canon to this new Multiverse. That makes the moment extra special. But still... I'm struggling with this one. Score: 12/20

Extra Oomph: This goes to Andy Serkis. First MAJOR film he solo directed(2nd Director for Lord of the Rings and some other non-blockbuster stuff). And Serkis showed that he is the master of CGI. But there is an element that some might overlook...... this is a sequel of detailed elements(I tried to find a better why to word it). What I mean is this...... when I director gets hired to take over a franchise or to do a sequel... most of the time, it doesn't feel like the same franchise. But if you didn't know it was a different Director for this movie, would you have been able to tell? Same feel, same banter, same locations, new characters casted within the same puzzle. Look at the X-Men franchise... X-Men and X2 felt like they fit together... but The Last Stand doesn't. Different director. Andy Serkis had new puzzle pieces for Venom that he was able to cut to fit the existing puzzle. And I think that is an impressive feat. I hope he gets to do the 3rd Movie. Score: 9/10

Final Score: 85/100

Final Grade: B!!!!

Conclusion: Don't go into this movie think you are going to get this amazing plot or for it to solidify a franchise in the "Sony-verse". But... if you are looking for a fun, entertaining movie with some action and some humor, this movie has all of that.

It's all a matter of opinion: I cannot stress enough that THIS is MY opinion, you can either agree with me or not. I don't have to justify my opinion, because *clears throat" that's what this blog is about. Whether I like it or not doesn't mean you have to or not...... I'ts just my justification behind MY recommendation... Which leads me to my FINAL JUDGMENT...

FINAL JUDGMENT: See this movie. It is a great anti-hero romp that will keep you entertained for 90 mins. See this movie... and support any theaters. I don't care if it local or national chain. Let's all go to the movies. Especially this one.

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There ya have it folks! Venom: Let There Be Carnage gets a B!

Not sure what my next review will be, but stay tuned!

Hit up your theaters. Show some love to the movies.

And don't forget...

The New Review - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Copyright by Marvel/Disney

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

(Long title lol)

Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton

Starring: Simu Liu, Awkwafina

Concept: MCU first Asian led movie, looking at Chinese lore mixed with MCU lore. Like an Asian Thor movie.

Execution

Cast: Simu Liu comes through with the young Asian win. Tony Leung was spot on as Wenwu. Support cast was pretty solid. Only issue I have... is Awkwafina. Like with Raya and the Last Dragon, Awkwafina showed us she can be serious, and she isn't annoying. But when she tries to be funny, she rubs me the wrong way. And... well... she is part of the comic relief. It works... but... still. Walking, talking Asian stereotype. Her saving grace is that Ben Kingsley makes his return and assumes the role of comic relief for the rest if the movie. Score: 18/20

Presentation: I've said this before... Disney/Marvel has this penchant for making things look amazing. Every fight scene seems flawless, set pieces look amazing, the cgi even LOOKED real. Even a CGI Dragon looked real. Soundtrack... well... a little bit of it was distracting. A little. Specifically the song during the scaffold fight scene...... it was awkward. But... still fit the film. And as the fight kept on, I forgot the song was playing still...... Score: 20/20

Chronicle: Overall, I wasn't sure what to expect. I don't know enough about Shang-Chi. And I know marginally more about Wenwu. So... I didn't have much to go on, lore-wise. That being said... I'm gonna first say, if it weren't for the cameos of Wong and Abomination(not spoilers... in the trailer), I wouldn't be able to say this was an MCU movie. It was a martial artist epic style movie. Gorgeous locations filled with emotionally driven fights... all wrapped up with some Chinese lore... mixed with family ties that bind... topped two redemption stories going opposite directions. Sounds like alot, but... it isn't. It just all builds together beautifully. There wasn't a scene in the movie that didn't serve a purpose, either to build a character arc or to connect it to something else important. No wasted time. Ecen the fights... each fight scene told a story, and references the story as a whole as you go along. As I said... Martial Arts Epic... like the MCU take on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon... mixing with an entertaining fight/camera Jackie Chan film. Score: 28/30

Impact: Movie sets up Shang-Chi as an important member of the MCU going forward. Maybe as a member of the Young Avengers? Who knows. But what ai do know that this movie deserves praise for making me start to like Awkwafina. But as a movie, it is also the first MCU movie since Covid to NOT be simul-released in theater and Disney+ premium. It also already shatted the box office Labor Day weekend record, even before actual Labor Day. Plus, the first Asian led MCU film... culturally, that can be important, Shang-Chi definitely showed he can stand within the MCU. I'm hoping those that enjoy the movie but don't know about the character in the comics... I hope it leads to more people checking out Shang-Chi in print. Score: 19/20

Extra Oomph: First all all, dammit... Ben Kingsley's return as Trevor Slattery... makes up for his same role in Iron Man 3. And the inclusion of Wong, though brief, has turned him into more than just an assistant/side-kick... maybe the new Coulson? But... best of all, let's talk about the identity of this movie... so many people were like "why make a movie about this relatively unknown character?" Because, look how well Guardians did? And they were relatively unknown(to most). And then...... the MCU movies are superhero films, but the best of them don't feel like superhero films: I.E. like Ant-Man(heist), Ant-Man and the Wasp(prison break), Winter Soldier(spy thriller). So they made a Martial Arts Epic. It doesn't do it AS well as the examples, but you have an MCU film with a relatively unknown character in a non-superhero style movie. Score: 10/10

FINAL SCORE: 95/100

FINAL GRADE: A

Conclusion: This is a really good movie. I went in with no expectations. Only 2 keypoints I wanted them to cover(was Wenwu the Mandarin we wanted him to be and was there a certain "Space Dragon" in it?... yes, to the first... and no to the second, but we got something just as cool). And what I got was a modern Martial Arts Epic. It was smooth... solid... and even gets away with fridging for a different motivation, while NOT making a forced relationship out of a platonic friendship(at least for now). One of the BEST mid-credit scenes in MCU history. This is a wonderful film.

It's all a matter of opinion: I cannot stress enough that THIS is MY opinion, you can either agree with me or not. I don't have to justify my opinion, because *clears throat" that's what this blog is about. Whether I like it or not doesn't mean you have to or not...... I'ts just my justification behind MY recommendation... Which leads me to my FINAL JUDGMENT...

FINAL JUDGMENT: If you haven't seen it yet, you need to see this movie. Personally, it makes up for my issues in Iron Man 3... and I will even recommend it to those who don't like the MCU, but still like the Martial Arts Epics. Unless you know the MCU references, you wouldn't even know. And there are no REQUIRED MCU movies to see before this one. Remarkable. And fun. Go watch this movie... and if you can, support your local movie theater...... but either way, don't forget to mask up.

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There you go! Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings gets a 95!

While I didn't go in with expectations, I had hopes that it would be at least a good movie. I am very pleased that it was much better than I hoped for. Top 10 MCU for me.

If you've seen it, what did you think? Leave a comment below. What are some suggestions for current or upcoming movies you want to me to check out and review? Leave those below too.

Until next time...

Don't forget...

Renewed Top 10 - Workplace Comedies

Copyright belongs to Disney/Fox

Time for another scheduled Top 10. This is thanks to Joe(shoutout to JOE) for the idea.

This coming Monday is Labor Day, and he thought it would be a great idea to do one for Workplace Comedies! And I agree. So let's set the rules. To qualify for my list, the comedy must either take place in the workplace or be associated with a job/work.

Let's do this!

Top 10 Workplace Comedies

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: UHF: At one of Weird Al's peaks of popularity, he decided to make a movie about losing a TV station in a poker game and using to the trope of the "fledgling marathon" to save it. David Bowie is in it too.

Honorable Mention 2: Men At Work: As far as I know, this was the first movie brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez starred in together(I think only cameos prior to this). About garbage men who goofed up the city together until they find the dead body of a politician.

Honorable Mention 3: The Proposal: Starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, this one doesn't center AROUND the workplace, but... you get the idea. Boss Bullock is faced with deportation to Canada, so she fakes an engagement with her Assistant Reynolds. Comedy ensues. It is a pretty good movie, but it only technically involves the workplace.

10. Empire Records: A group of workers at a Record store try to stop the store from being closed down to a dumb business decision.

9. 9 to 5: Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, & Lily Tomlin play secretaries tired of sexism in the office, so they abduct their boss and take over the office. Breakout comedy for Dolly Parton and an ICONIC song!

8. Barbershop: A Comedy... that takes place... in a Barbershop. Shows off just how awesome of a comedian that Ice Cube is.

7. Horrible Bosses: An over the top comedy about a few bosses that are just... over the top. So their employees decide their lives would be better if they killed their bosses. But a plan is only as good as the minds behind it.

6. The Hudsucker Proxy: The combined efforts of the Coen Brothers and Sam Raimi, this movie is about a greedy executive wants to take over the company he works for by devaluing the company stock and buying a majority share. He hires a nobody to the company...... but surprise, the nobody made the value of the shares skyrocket. Paul Newman... and Tim Robbins!!!

5. Clerks: The artistic piece that made Kevin Smith a nerd icon. Shot entirely in black and white... it follows the story of 2 convenience store employees and the CRAZY antics they deal with.

4. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: There is no better to put this...... this is Will Ferrell at his best, surrounded by the best.

3. Trading Places: Picture this... two Saturday Night Life alumni in their prime finally crossing paths... Dan Aykroyd playing an executive that is framed for a crime he didn't commit and replaced by Eddie Murphy playing a street hustler... finding out about the scheme, they work together to take down those responsible.

2. Office Space: The Eponymous Workplace comedy... directed by animation legend Mike Judge(Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill). Dry... funny... weird... awkward. I don't have a way to explain this movie. If you've seen it, you know. And if you haven't seen it... you should. Quotable... ironically iconic.

And... now... the Number 1 Workplace Comedy is.......

1. Tommy Boy: RIP Chris Farley. Farley was a genius. Characters so dumb they were genius. And paired up with David Spade, you had comedy gold. Owner of a dying auto parts manufacturer passes, and leaves it to his bonehead son. His evil stepmother and her son want to liquidate for the money. Tommy wants to save the company for the workers he has grown attached to growing up. So Tommy joins up with his dad's anal retentive assistant to drive across the country to sell parts. Yes... this is a road trip comedy, but because Tommy is basic a traveling salesman, his workplace is EVERYWHERE!

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There you go.

You like your workplace? Could you make your own comedy IN your workplace? What do you think about the list? Comment... share...

Thank you and enjoy this Labor Day Weekend!

Renewed Bottom 10 - Worst Comic Book Movies

Credit... Google Image Search? (If it's yours... show me. And I will give you proper credit)

The other half of the end-all for the Summer Comic Book works list. You saw a bunch of lists for good content, but what about the bad ones?......

So here we have a list of the worst Comic Book movies, in my opinion. If you don't like something on my list, by all means... make your own list.

These movies might not all be stinkers, but they are ALL disappointments.

Ready for some garbage?

Bottom 10 Comic Book Movies

Here we go...

Dishonorable Mention 1: Jonah Hex: I have to give credit to Josh Brolin. He did a wonderful job. He really did. If you have to watch this movie, do it for that. But the rest of the movie was boring, banal, and the supporting cast phoned it in.

Dishonorable Mention 2: Steel: I forgot about this movie. This was a last minute edition. And it is because of Space Jam: The New Legacy. I saw someone say on Twitter "why not Shaq instead of LeBron?" One... Shaq isn't an active player. Two... Steel exists. We KNOW Shaq is a horrible actor(but he is a funny dude in the cameos). He is. And Steel was a horrible movie. The reason it isn't on the list proper is partially because it was a last minute addition... and partially because it makes me think of the TV Show M.A.N.T.I.S... and that show did it better. So Steel gets a pass for reminding about this show.

10. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: This sequel had so many issues for me. Let's start with the set pieces. They were restricted. No scope for a movie that would've benefitted from a grand scope. The Cloud Galactus was also a huge let down. And... let's focus on Doom being the villain again. Nothing against Julian McMahon's Doom, he did great in both movies. But the title... the set up... and we got what we got. It's like they got a small budget for this movie, and spent most of it on the CG for the Surfer and getting Lawrence Fishburne to voice him... and not enough for writers or set designers.

9. X-Men: The Last Stand: I was excited for this movie. Getting to see Kelsey Grammer as Beast was going to be a treat. Getting to see my favorite X-Man(Colossus) in action. And okay, that stuff was cool...... and that was it. Screwing up The Phoenix as bad as they did, small continuity issues, and a lifeless plot. How did this happen? X-Men 2 is one of the BEST sequels(in an industry where sequels suck). Followed by one of the WORST 3rd entries in the business... how? Director change...... that is it.

8. Howard the Duck: Supposedly it has turned into a cult classic... creepy ass puppet and all. As a family movie. This... a family movie? It is 3 different kinds of comedies, and it can't decide which it wants to be... and one of them is a Porky's type(without the nudity, that I can remember...). The only real positives for this movie are: Technically it is the first ever Marvel movie in theaters... and the other... it's failure inadvertently created Pixar. George Lucas had just spent $50 million to create a CGI division of Lucasfilms and hopes to turn a profit by producing this movie. He didn't. So he sold that division to STEVE JOBS... and it ended up becoming Pixar. So... credit THAT to this atrocity of a movie. Three positives... Lea Thompson

7. Thor: The Dark World: The first Thor was great. Ragnarok is one of the funniest MCU movies. This one was...... lackluster. It isn't a "bad" movie. And still integral for the MCU overall. But it is a bit confusing the first time going through it. No real memorable scenes. And a villain that, well...... could've been a Power Rangers villain. If you wanna watch all the MCU movies, you have to. But... overwise, be careful with this one.

6. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace: Screen actors guild... typecasting past a 3rd movie with the same name doubles the actor's salary. This is the 4th Superman movie with Christopher Reeve. And... well... most of the money went to Reeve. And he demanded a plot with a message about Nuclear Disarmament. Well he got it. Nothing wrong with that. Hell, they even included the lesser know Superman weakness of Nuclear radiation...... but why do the corporate takeover of the Daily Planet subplot? How did the Luthors screw up the Superman DNA? They combined it with radiation to make "Nuclear Man"... and wow!!! was he such a terrible villain/themed monster?! The 3rd Superman movie was bad... really bad. But this movie took that as a challenge.

5. Batman & Robin: Sonuvabitch... this movie pisses me off so much. And I can't not watch it. Keaton made an Iconic Batman, and a good Bruce Wayne. Val Kilmer made a GREAT Bruce Wayne, and a decent Batman. Clooney... didn't feel like either. O'Donnell was O'Donnell. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't seem like he could be smart enough to be Mr. Freeze(and all of those DAMN ice puns). Alicia Silverstone... underrated sex symbol... let's make her Batgirl, change her backstory, and pander to the audience. Poison Ivy was cartoonish, but at least close to what I expected(the auction scene is still too much). Complete screwed Bane(Bane is a tactical genius in the comics). The only detail I can appreciate is John Glover as Jason Woodrue(the scientist that created Bane and accidentally made Ivy). Jason in the comics is the human name of villain Fluronic Man in the comics, an alien of sorts with similar powers to Ivy. It was a mess. And I still can watch it. Doesn't mean I like it.

4. Catwoman: The last movie I ever walked out on and asked for my money back(and I got it). I was bored. And I get it... Halle Berry... skin tight leather costume... but the movie was BORING as hell. I tried to give it another chance later, and fell asleep on the couch. I wanted to place it higher... but I've never finished it.

3. Judge Dredd: So let's see if I got this right... Stallone... playing the titular Judge Joseph Dredd, a character who is the Law, dedicated to it. And famous for not revealing his face and not having friends. Stallone removes the helmet in the first act... and they pair him with Rob Schneider in a buddy cop style comedy portion of the movie. The only good part was Rico, and they turned him into an over-the-top Bond-like villain. Oh, and don't forget the attempted elaborate plot so thin that even Stevie Wonder could see right through it.

2. Justice League: The Josstice Cut. Joss Whedon. Screwed this up. I don't want to dwell on this. It is very public what happened, and how he ended up with this in his lap. Small details that didn't need to be changed... details added to "Whedon" it up... and in the Snyder Cut, Flash & Cyborg were HUGE heroes... but for some reason, Whedon made them almost worthless.

And the WORST Comic Book Movie...

1. Fantastic Four(2015): Let me begin by saying this movie isn't just the worst comic book movie, it is one of my least favorite movies of all time. Also... let's also talk about the cast... the director... this heaping pile of garbage is in no way their fault. Great cast... you can clearly see what the director was going for. No... I blame the Fox execs. They should've left him alone. The first part of this movie is pretty good... up until they get their powers, Reed escapes, and the one year time jump. Then you start seeing evidence of reshoots(like Kate Mara wearing an obvious fake blonde wig in some parts and not in others)... and so much build up for a climax that never happened. Like an trying to edge an orgasm that you forgot to go back and finish. The ends with an abrupt fade to black, like how Avengers: Age of Ultron did... and this didn't earn that. The overall finished produce felt like. 100 minute long trailer for a movie that would've been GREAT that we never got. Did I say finished? Sorry... cobbled together like a broken piece of IKEA furniture, and you can't tell whether it's a table or a toilet. That is this movie.

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There it is... the garbage.

What do you think? Too harsh on some? Disagree with one? Did I forget some?

Comment and Share.

And thank you following the series!!!

Renewed Top 10 - Comic Book Movies

Credit goes to Matt Groening/Fox/Disney... YOU KNOW WHO HOMER SIMPSON IS!!!

Here we are! The end of the Comic Book series. As planned, this will have 2 posts: a Top 10 and a Bottom 10(I know a few of you are looking forward to the Bottom list!!!!).

The rules are simple... movies. Yes, these movies appeared on the other lists. That... is how this works. And there is representation from each list.

This one was the most difficult off all the lists, because there are sooooooo many good movies on this list, and the top three, I had so much trouble getting it just right for me. Some of you will be shocked. But you'll understand it. If not... well, it is MY list. Go make your own.

Speaking of my list... I am going to preempt this one by saying descriptions and explanations might be shorter or non existent, given these are on their own lists. And if you want more, please go check out their lists. See how they stack up on their own lists.

Now... let's get at it...

Top 10 Comic Book Movies

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: The Crow: Dark... broody... so much you think it's a Batman movie, or at least a Tim Burton film But it isn't. It's a Brandon Lee movie. His last one... and one of the best! A rising star gone way too soon from an accident no one could see coming.

Honorable Mention 2: Avengers Infinity War/Endgame: The two part epic ending to greatest multi-project shared Universe in film history. The ensemble cast or ensemble casts.

Honorable Mention 3: Sin City: A rare example of adapting the source material to the screen that actually works. Visually stunning, weaved tales, black and white with a splash of color.

10. Logan: Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in all of his bloodthirsty, gory glory. Claws out... and a great family film. No... not "show it to your kids" family film. But father/son with Xavier and Logan... and father/daughter with Logan and Laura. Perfect send off ol' Canucklehead!

9. Thor: Ragnarok: Best of the Thor franchise(so far). Funny as hell, AND the first MCU movie in which the heroes fail their mission. Foreshadowing Infinity War!!!

8. Joker: A non-Superhero, Oscar winning performance about one bad day getting stretched for a wholly terrible life. Art Noir... for a character you never thought could be a subject of such a movie.

7. The Dark Knight: Christopher Nolan made this wonderful trilogy about how Batman could work in reality. At the heart of this trilogy is a Oscar winning performance from a Joker that played Gotham like a fiddle. Another rising stsr gone too soon, more Oscars in his future he never got to experience.

6. The Suicide Squad: The Non-Sequel where James Gunn was enticed by DC with free creative control. And not only was it better than the original, it was one of the better comic book movies of the decade

5. Deadpool 1 & 2: Ryan Reynolds IS Deadpool. And he knew it. That is why forced Fox's hand to get the first movie made. He proved an R Rated superhero movie could work... and make money. Which it did. And the sequel was even better. Now we wait on Disney to get this third one made. It'll sell... it'll make money... and Ryan will get more of them.

4. Guardians of the Galaxy: I still regard this as the biggest risk in the entire MCU. Fairly unknown characters in a space epoch that was as bonkers and it was beautiful... all with a memorable soundtrack.

3. Zack Snyder's Justice League: I am a firm believer that a studio should not always listen to the hardcore fans. And it isn't because they know or don't know what is best. But because you can't please everyone all the time. Especially comic book nerds. But this is one of the times I'm glad Warner did. Zack Snyder is a visionary... and no one will every have the vision he does. That is the point(there are other directors that applies to, as well). Warner finally gave in. And we got a 4 hour Apology letter to the DC fans.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: The best of the MCU. And it was a mold-breaker. While most of the rest of the MCU were these amazing Superhero epics, Winter Soldier wasn't. It was a great spy thriller with some of the best action sequences in the entirety of the MCU(that Elevator scene!!!)... and driven by an interesting story. And not to mention the awesomeness that is Robert Redford with yet another great performance.

And my number one Comic Book Movie............

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: This was a masterclass in Superhero movies. Oscar winning in animation, and well deserved.

-Great ensemble voice cast? Check

-Absolutely stunning animation feeling like it was ripped from pages of a comic book? Check

-Worthwhile emotional story at the core? Check

-Off kilter humor to keep the levity going? Check

-The most Stan Lee Cameos in a single comic book movie? Check

The movie is just...... great. Jarringly beautiful in many ways. Who would've thought the team behind "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" could make a 5-star comic book movie? If I did a review of it right now, it would still get a 100. If you haven't seen it, you should. End of story. End of list.

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There it is... the list. The list of the lists. The big one this summer has been leading to.

I'm proud of it. How many did you read? Check them out if you haven't?

What did you think of the big one?

Thank you for following along. Drop a comment. Share the posts. And enjoy the movies!!

Reboot Versus - Mortal Kombat Beatdown

Copyrights belong to New Line Cinema, Warner Bros, and Ed Boon

Here is a new segment... making 2 reviews(or more), whether they are using the same review structure or not, and fitting them together accordingly... but pitting them against each other.

As the name implies, we are going to review an original and a reboot... at the same time. The catch is......... they will be scored on the merits of its own work, but comparisons will be made with their own scoring system.

Best way to do this is by giving it a go.

So let's do this.

UNLOCKABLE GEM

Mortal Kombat 1995(MK95)

Starring Robin Shou, Christopher Lambert, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

Reboot Versus

MODERN CLASSIC

Mortal Kombat 2021(MK21)

Starring Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson

Directed by Simon McQuoid

Concept: Earthrealm's champions must defend against an invasion from Outworld. Based of the video game series of the same name.

Era:

MK95: The Infancy of the Video Game movie craze.

MK21: Post Detective Pikachu world where video game movies can actually be great.

Execution

Here we go...

Cast:

MK95: Robin Shou was convincing as Liu Kang, Tagawa legendary as Shang Tsung, Lambert as Raiden was awesome for a Highlander fan, Linden Ashby WAS Johnny Cage. And the one to mention most is Trevor Goddard, a Kano SO good, it changed the canon of the character in the video games. But... who is Art Lean? Score: 18/20

MK21: Casting in this movie is tricky. Nearly EVERY character is spot on. The issue is, there are so many characters. The cast seems bloated. But... the real issue will be addressed in a moment. Before that, Shang Tsung badass, but never fought. Kano... stole the show... and there was just... a lot of characters. But... who is Cole Young? Score: 14/20

THE LINE: So, MK21 had a diverse cast(more ethnically accurate to the games lore), but they had so many characters, there wasn't enough time devoted to enough of them. MK95 had a smaller focused cast, one that fit every character, and even though Raiden wasn't... right... Lambert's raspy voice was MUCH better to understand. Advantage: MK95

Presentation:

MK95: Practical effects, not much in the ways of CGI, as expected. The era had plenty of practical effects it was the tech at the time. But... we ARE going to bring up the MPAA rating here... a PG-13 movie based on M-Rated gaming content. There was a bit too much Street Fighter in my Mortal Kombat. No blood, no guts, no gore. Was this even a Mortal Kombat movie? This is hurt it more than most people realize... though... the soundtrack is legendary, and the reason KMFDM became my favorite band. Score: 6/20

MK21: Less practical effects and more CGI. But... this movie went for the Hard R. Blood, guts, gore, flashy fatalities! It was all there. Goro looked a bit wonky in CGI, but Reptile looked great. This soundtrack though was...... forgettable. Score: 15/20

THE LINE: Presentation wise... as awesome of a convoluted story the MK game franchise has, people play it for the gore. So... people should want to see it in the movies. Advantage: MK21

Chronicle:

MK95: Faithful recreation of the story from the first Mortal Kombat game. There really isn't any other way to put it. Score: 20/20

MK21: First 3rd of the movie was way too much exposition, because it has way too many characters. As mentioned in cast, it is bloated. And in that first 3rd, you can feel it. That being said, after the exposition...... they built a good, original story from it. I was impressed that were able fit as much together as they did. Like a puzzle with some many pieces, a few seem missing, but it still looks like the picture on the box. Score: 25/30

THE LINE: For the first time, seeing a Gem vs a New... it gets to highlight how they are weighted differently. MK95 was faithful. MK21 was original, with deep roots. And... for me... impossible to choose. Advantage: Neither

Impact/Legacy:

MK95(Legacy): Here is where I'm probably going to get the most flack, but hear me out. MK95 does NOT have much of a Positive movie Legacy. It pains me to think about it, but it doesn't. Street Fighter came first... the first MK game led to controversy and the creation of the ESRB rating system... but the movie made a PG-13 movie in M Rated material, and in the case of MK, that is integral to its legacy as a movie and as a game series. The sequel was hot garbage. And... director Paul W.S. Anderson was so convinced he did a good job overall...... he ruined the Resident Evil movies... by making them. Score: 8/20

MK21(Impact): 2021 Reboot... didn't make much of an Impact either. It happened. But it was trying to be more than it really was. And it didn't need to be. You watch the Expendables to see badass legendary actors kick ass... you see MK to watch people get killed in glorious fashion. And... it at least pulled that off. It isn't epic like Sonic or Detective Pikachu for their overall impact to the sub-genre, but it is important nonetheless. Score: 10/20

THE LINE: This was tougher than I thought, but in reality... neither movie makes the grade in the overall scheme, but one does edge the other out. Advantage: MK21

Extra Oomph/Nostalgia:

MK95(Nostalgia): While I feel like MK95 doesn't have a positive legacy, it still stands out. That is different. Regardless of whether or not it has a positive legacy, it is still a beloved movie of people that are part of that era: gamers. It is still one of the best video game movies. Quotable("Handful of people on a leaky boat are gonna save the world?" "Exactly!" Or "IT HAS BEGUN!!!") If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. And... again... the soundtrack is a masterpiece of Techno. One of the only movie Soundtracks from the 90s I owned, and I liked playing it while playing the game.(hopefully you readers now fully understand the difference between Legacy and Nostalgia... the former is for the influence on the genre, the latter is for how memorable the movie is). Score: 20/20

MK21(Extra Oomph): The difference in era for video games... 95 came out near the beginning of the MK franchise... 21 came out after ELEVEN games in the main series. THAT IS A WHOLE LOT OF LORE TO TACKLE. As we saw with M. Night and The Last Airbender, you can't fit so much lore into a tiny, roughly 2 hour package. So the best thing to do is be original. Pay homage to the source material, but make it your own(I feel the same way about comic book movies... so many comic issues, not enough screen time). While I DO applaud them for being original is how the story plays out(even Cole Young was at least understandable). It didn't hit the mark, but I praise them for not trying to be perfect. Score: 8/10

Side note: the reason I champion MK95 for being perfect for story... it had one game worth of lore to work off of. But MK 21 can be more original because there has been SO MUCH LORE, what do you do with it? Also, different weighted scores, because Nostalgia is more Important than the Extra Oomph... but the same purpose.

THE LINE: So... MK95 hasn't stood the test of time... but I still love watching it(like Bloodsport lol). And no matter if I got my R-Rated Gorefest or not... Covid ruined my enjoyment of MK21. A full theater would've made it so much more... gruesome. Advantage: MK95

Final Scores!

Mortal Kombat(1995): 72/100

Mortal Kombat(2021): 72/100

(Same score? Was it intentional? No)

Final Grades!

Mortal Kombat(1995): C-

Mortal Kombat(2021): C-

The Line

Mortal Kombat(1995): 2

Mortal Kombat(2021): 2

Winner: Tied!

Conclusion: Neither of these movies were perfect movies. Not even B grade movies. But for the right demographic, either can be hits. Or...... both... or neither.

It's all a matter of opinion: I cannot stress enough that THIS is MY opinion, you can either agree with me or not. I don't have to justify my opinion, because *clears throat" that's what this blog is about. Whether I like it or not doesn't mean you have to or not...... I'ts just my justification behind MY recommendation... Which leads me to my FINAL JUDGMENT...

FINAL JUDGMENT: Yes, they tied. But this was the best example of how reboots can be loved, but for different reasons. I love the original 1995 Mortal Kombat. It is important to me in that genre of video game movies... but the PG-13 based on M-Rated Material irks me to this day, and it STILL happens(example, Ghost In The Shell). The 2021 Reboot was as advertised: bloody, gory, unapologetic, even it had so much going on.(even though it handled it better than MK: Annihilation). I love them both. For different reasons. And yes... equally.

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There you have it. Both movies got a 72!

Surprised?

Any other reboot you think deserves to be pit with an original? Lemme know below. Share this thing.

And above all else... don't forget...