Road to Justice League - Justice League Dark Review

Note: This review contains spoilers. You have been warned.

Justice League Dark is a direct-to-video animated superhero film featuring the supernatural team of the same name. The movie is the twenty-seventh in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series as well as the seventh movie in the DC Animated Movie Universe. Justice League Dark is the first Justice League film and the second DC animated movie to be rated R. The movie was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment and the distributor was Warner Home Video. Justice League Dark was written by Ernie Altbacker and J.M. DeMatteis and directed by Jay Oliva.


The story is people all around the would are seeing what they think are monsters. The Justice League figures out it's some kind of magical attack, and since they don't deal with magic Batman sets out to find a team who can. With this new Justice League team formed they must find who's causing these attacks and why?

• Negatives

My only problem with Justice League Dark is the team think's Felix Faust is behind these magical attacks. However when they go to confront him they find out it's not him. The reason why this is an issue for me is because we were shown a scene with of him (well a shot of his hand but still) conjuring something. So if he's not the bad guy what was the point of the scene of him casting a spell? If it was to fool us that was not a very good way of doing it.

• Mix

One thing I have mix feelings about is Camilla Luddington as Zatanna. Now her voice isn't bad but the voice she provided made her sound very young. The best way to describe this is Zatanna looks like she's maybe in her earlier 30's in this movie but her voice sounds like she's a teenager.

• Positives

Now one of my biggest concerns was that Batman was going to be the leader or it's another case of him knowing what's best. Luckily that wasn't the case while he does get some awesome moments he's mainly just a supporting role.

Now I've said this a lot and I'll say it again. Warner Bros. and DC brings us another direct-to-video film with some pretty good animation.

Another thing to praise Justice League Dark for is it's something different for DC's Animated Movie Universe. Around this time of their animated film universe they were only focusing on Batman or the Justice League. So it's good to see them do something else and starting with Justice League Dark was a good idea.

Justice League Dark is a refreshing look into the DC Animated Movie Universe, the animation is good for DVD/Blu-Ray standards, and thankfully Batman was just a supporting role. While I did like Zatanna's voice it just didn't look like it belonged for the character that was designed. My only gripe is that lazy Felix Faust twist.

My final rating is Okay

So people that's the end of the road to Justice League. I can't believe next month were getting a live-action Justice League movie I'm so excited for that. Speaking of which I have something special planned before that movie comes out and I go see it. I'll give you a hint it's related to film journalism. So look out for that next month.

State of The Project (Oct 16th - Nov 4th)

Oct 16th - The Exorcist Review

Oct 19th - Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review

Oct 23rd - A Look Back at Stranger Things - Season 1

Oct 26th - Cinematic Disasters - Troll 2

Oct 30th - Road to Justice League - Justice League Dark Review

Nov 2nd - No Cinematic Disasters This Month - This post will go up at 6:00pm Eastern time and 3:00pm Pacific time. The reason for this is I'm going to see an early screening of Thor: Ragnarok. Change of plans, this announcement will still go up at 6:00pm Eastern time and 3:00pm Pacific time. But this is because of family reasons that I don't feel like people need to know about.

Nov 4th - Thor: Ragnarok Review

NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

Cinematic Disasters - Troll 2

Yes! I get to review this glorious masterpiece. Troll 2 is a 1990 horror movie. The film was produced by Filmirage and distributed by Epic Productions. Troll 2 was written by Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi and directed by Claudio Fragasso (under the pseudonym of Drake Floyd).


The story is Joshua and his family are taking a small trip to Nilbog. While there Joshua learns that the town is filled with goblins disguised as humans. Now him and his family must fight there way out of the town before they become a meal for the demonic goblins.

Productions Problems

Now if you look at the history behind the movie it shows that this film was doomed from the start for two reasons. One reason is the original title was Goblins but the United States distributors were skeptical of the film's chances to succeed as an indie film and renamed it Troll 2 in an attempt to market it as a sequel to the 1986 film Troll. Which makes no sense because the movie's antagonists are goblins not trolls but even if they stuck with the more truthful title the movie still would have failed for reason number two. The other reason is Claudio Fragasso brought an all Italian-speaking crew to work with his English-speaking cast. This caused a huge language barrier between the cast and crew. And since the script wasn't written in a way that American's speak this lead the cast having to improvise their lines.

My Thoughts



The movie begins with a story about a boy or should I say a thirty year old man being chased by goblins during the is chase we have the most unfitting music playing. Just listen it's so funny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVEjuQjm-6M. What is even playing? Am I in a chase scene for a horror movie or am I working out with the most flamboyant instructor known to mankind?



Also during that opening story Peter meets with a young beautiful woman with obviously drawn on freckles. I'm not making that up. Here's my proof

Why did they draw freckles of the actress' face? Was it too much trouble for them to have the actress' face the way it was or get an actress who already has freckles? Oh my god this is hilarious. So then during this story Peter eats this green goo that the woman offered him. Not once does he question where did this woman came from?, why is she offering me this weird green substance? or how she just magically appeared after he just hit his head off of a tree branch. And no surprise at all he dies because oh no she was really a troll...sorry I meant goblin since there's no trolls here despite the title.



Then just when I thought it couldn't get any funnier Joshua's mom comes into his room and Joshua tells her that Grandpa Seth was telling him a story. But before he says Grandpa Seth he covers his mouth. Like he wasn't suppose to say it. It was his oh shit moment. Also is it me or is it weird that he refers to him as Grandpa Seth, why not just Grandpa I don't call my Grandfather Grandpa Edward or Grandpa Ed. Oh and I also most forgot Grandpa Seth is a dead and he's a ghost. So if I have this correct we have a Grandfather telling his Grandson about trolls sorry goblins and how they turn people into there own food with some strange green goo and they live in a place called Nilbog, then after the story within the story is over we later learn that Grandpa Seth has been dead for more than six months and that he's a ghost. That's a lot to take in with only the first five minutes of the movie isn't it?



"Grandpa Seth has been gone for more than six months now. You were at the funeral, and I know it was difficult for you. It was difficult for you. It was difficult for your father, and for Holly, and for me his daughter. He was an amazing man, Grandpa Seth has remained in all of your hearts, but you must banish him from your mind". That's an actually line from the movie. I mean who just tells their kid to "banish" their grandparent from their mind after they died. There is a slim chance that Joshua my have a few screws loose but why did she phrase it like that?


Also I swear Joshua was suppose to be played by someone way younger than Michael Stephenson. I say this because Joshua looks like he's about eleven maybe twelve but for some reason sometimes when he talks it almost sounds like he's six. Because he refers to his dad as daddy and at one point during the movie he calls his sister Holly big sister not sis or Holly just big sister.



Speaking of Joshua here's what he looks like

If this is what the main child star looks like in the movie, then who is the kid on the poster that I'm using?

The movie has terrible acting. Everybody either can't give a convincing human emotion or their so over the top that it's the funniest thing you'll ever see. Actually this works in the movie's favor because typically when I see bad acting I cringe but here with everyone being over the top or not convincing it's actually quite entertaining and I love it. Don't believe me that the acting is bad here are some highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyophYBP_w4 (Did anyone even bother getting rid of that fly on the dude's head?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWmr2jOJjRU (They love tourist in Nilbog but they don't severe coffee? My god these goblins truly are evil.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlXTMH4ovPY (They'll kill the family violently! Oh man they better eat those sandwiches then.)



During the movie Holly thinks that her boyfriend Elliot is gay. She thinks this because he spends a lot of time with his friends. And you know what I believe her. Because almost everytime we're with Elliot his buddies are there with him. When he goes to meet Holly at her house there are his friends and when he decides to go to Nilbog there are his friends. We even have a scene where two of his friends are in bed together. Not joking about that last part, there really is a scene where the supposedly straight friends are in bed together.


The movie's makeup and special effects are just awful. Here are what the goblins look like



Yeah who ever was in charge on the makeup I would have fired them. Now about those special effects. Get a load of what happens when you throw a spear in this movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RV1JHn7hYY. Also who  tries to talk to something that is clearly not human and they hear their friend screaming in pain and think oh yeah he's probably having sex. Worst friends ever!


Ladies and gentlemen I introduce you to what I can only describe as corn porn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG1y3UdqN8w. Believe it or not of all the scenes to leave me speechless this was one of them.



I want you to watch this dinner scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqiucizG4hk. This scene brings up so many questions

1) Who would eat food when it has abnormally bright green stuff on it? Last time I checked food isn't suppose to look like that.


2) Since when did Grandpa Seth get the ability to stop time and What are his limits to stopping time? Oh and by the way he never uses this power again even when he's family is being attacked by goblins.


3) Really Joshua Really!? Of all the ways to get rid of the tainted food you decided to piss on it! Was simply throwing it away too much work for ya?


You gotta love the acting of the father. How didn't he win an academy award for this is amazing performance I'll never know. And how isn't "You can't piss on hospitality! I WON'T ALLOW IT!" Not considered one the best movie quotes of all time (he said sarcastically while writing this). Also I don't know anything about hunger pains but I'm pretty sure tightening your belt isn't going to help your problem.




So that's Troll 2 and wow this is awful. Everything about this movie is bad. The acting is laughable, the dialogue is questionable & odd at best, the makeup and special effects are something only a school play would use, the plot makes no sense, and the title is a complete lie. But you know what that's what makes the movie so much fun. It's like everything that could go wrong with a movie does but instead of it but a painful experience you'll have a great and wonderful time with it. This is definitely one of the movies I recommend you watch if you love bad movies and want a good laugh.



My final rating is So Bad It's Good




The Documentary

If your still want more information about how disastrous this movie turned out you guys should watch the Troll 2 2009 documentary titled Best Worst Movie directed by Joshua himself Michael Stephenson. Not only does it give you details about how bad the production of the movie was but it also tells you what the cast have been up to after the movie and the less than enthusiastic reviews. Give it a watch it's great.



State of The Project (Oct 12th - Nov 2nd)


Oct 12th - Batman vs. Two-Face Review


Oct 16th - The Exorcist Review


Oct 19th - Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review


Oct 23rd - A Look Back at Stranger Things - Season 1


Oct 26th - Cinematic Disasters - Troll 2


Oct 30th - Road to Justice League - Justice League Dark Review


Nov 2nd - No Cinematic Disasters This Month - This post will go up at 6:00pm Eastern time & 3:00pm Pacific time. The reason for this is I'm going to see an early screening of Thor: Ragnarok.



NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

A Look Back at Stranger Things - Season 1

Warning: This review contains spoilers. You have been warned.





With Stranger Things season two premiering in only three days it's time I look back at season one. Stranger Things is a Netflix sci-fi horror web/television series created, written, directed, and co-produced by The Duffer Brothers. The first season premiered on July 15, 2016 with a total of eight episodes.



The story is a boy named Will Byers has gone missing. Will's friends Mike, Dustin, and Lucas go out find their missing friend only to find a girl named Eleven. Eleven somehow holds clues to Will's whereabouts and Mike, Dustin, and Lucas are going to find them out.

• Negatives

One complaint I have is in episode five - The Flea and the Acrobat, Lucas and Mike get into a fight and then they go there separate ways. My problem with this is it felt clichéd. Because you know by either the end of the episode or the next episode their going to apologize to one another and become friends again.

• Mix

I have got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Positives

One thing that the show definitely deserves credit for it keeps you guessing. Throughout the whole mystery you keep wondering what's gonna happen next? And just to keep the mystery fresh the writers throw a twist in there.

Another thing to praise the show for is the performances. The actors who deserve the most credit are Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin, and Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas. They played their respected characters perfectly. These have to be the best performances I've ever seen for a TV series.


Now the world of the Upside Down is very eerie. Look at the place your at right now. Now imagine that place looking like a swamp. That may be very simple but the show does a great job giving it atmosphere. Sure it looks like your place just with dirty water and muck but there's just something about that doesn't feel right.


The final thing I'll praise this show for is they make you care about our protagonist. The writers gave them such great characteristics and development that all you want is for them is get out of this safe and sound.



Stranger Things gives you a great mystery, spectacular performances, the Upside Down has a very simple design but still creepy, and you'll hope that the characters you love will be alright. My only complaint is making Lucas and Mike have a fight when you know they'll be friends again sooner or later.


My final rating is Good


So that was my review for season one of Stranger Things. I can't wait for the second season I'm really excited.


State of The Project (Oct 9th - Oct 30th)



Oct 9th - A Look Back at Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders (2016)


Oct 12th - Batman vs. Two-Face Review


Oct 16th - The Exorcist Review


Oct 19th - Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review


Oct 23rd - A Look Back at Stranger Things - Season 1


Oct 26th - Cinematic Disasters - Troll 2


Oct 30th - Road to Justice League - Justice League Dark Review




NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review

Oh boy have I been wanting to review this for a long time. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is 1988 sci-fi horror comedy film written, produced, and directed by The Chiodo Brothers. It's also the only film to be directed by The Chiodo Brothers. The movie was distributed by Trans World Entertainment.



The story is a supposed comet has landed in the woods on Crescent Cove. But when people find the comet all they find is a circus tent however this isn't just any circus tent. It's a space ship for aliens that look like clowns. Now Mike and a couple of friends have to stop them before they take over the world.

• Negatives

One minor complaint I have is some scenes are just there. You know what I mean? There's one scene in particular where there's a biker gang and one of the members gets into a fight with one of the killer klowns. There was no build up or anything it just happened.

• Mix

I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Positives

I love how the movie has certain nods to other horror/sci-fi movies. Killer Klowns from Outer Space's tagline is "In space no one can eat ice cream". A nice nod to Alien's tagline "In space no one can hear you scream".

One thing to praise this movie about is the humor. What really makes it work is how everybody despite the over the top premise they all play it straight. None of the characters including our comedian relief The Terenzi Brothers are in on the joke and it's just simply brilliant.

The makeup on the klowns are pretty good. The masks have so much detail put into them and it's astonishing. What also makes the klown makeup work is how they all have their own special features. None of the klowns look a like, they are all different from each other.

This movie also shows The Chiodo Brothers special effects talents. Killer Klowns From Outer Space was made with an estimated budget of $2 million dollars but despite the small budget they did an amazing job. What is also incredible is how some of the props they used, you could easily buy at your local thrift shop.

Another thing Killer Klowns from Outer Space does well is the set designs inside the klown's ship. All of the rooms are some kind of derange maze. With each room much like the klown makeup is giving it's own distinguished features.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a film I recommend you see. It has a nice nods to other horror/sci-fi films without feeling like their ripping them off, a great sense of humor, the klown makeup is great, the special effects really show you how talented The Chiodo Brothers are, and that maze sequence is enjoyable to watch. My only problem with the movie is some scenes feel like there just there to pad things out.

My final rating is Good

Proposed Sequel

Now there have been talks of a sequel since the first movie's debut with the title supposedly being Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 3D. Originally it was suppose to come out in 2012 but since then has been stuck in development hell. In 2012, Grant Cramer, who starred in the original movie, revealed that his character Mike would make a return as a town drunk whom nobody believes. His character would serve as a mentor to young street performers who must fight the Killer Klowns when they return. He described his character as "somewhere between the energy of Kris Kristofferson's character in Blade(1998) and Christopher Lloyd's character in Back to the Future(1985)". Like the original film Stephen Chiodo is set to direct and Charles Chiodo is set to produce. With production to take place over 30 years after the release of the first film, the time frame between the two movies will be credited as the longest gap in a horror comedy film series. Then in March of 2016 Stephen Chiodo stated "Right now, we are currently pursuing a long arch series in cable. We wondered, should we do a sequel to the first one or do we do a remake? We came up with a 'requel' - it's a sequel and a remake. We've been developing this for a while. It's a trilogy in four parts, and it really follows the continuing adventures of new people who are experiencing this phenomenon of a Klown invasion, and once in a while you see some of the old guys pop up and hear their stories - find out what happened over the last 25 years. It's fucking great.

State of The Project (Oct 7th - Oct 26th)

Oct 7th - Blade Runner 2049 Review

Oct 9th - A Look Back at Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders (2016)

Oct 12th - Batman vs. Two-Face Review

Oct 16th - The Exorcist Review

Oct 19th - Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review

Oct 23rd - A Look Back at Stranger Things - Season 1

Oct 26th - Cinematic Disasters - Troll 2

NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

The Exorcist Review

The Exorcist is a 1973 supernatural horror film based on William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel of the same name which in itself was inspired by the 1949 exorcism of Roland Doe. The movie was produced by Hoya Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The Exorcist was written by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin.



The story is a young girl named Regan is acting very strange, she's levitating and speaking in tongues. Regan's mother becomes very worried and is seeking help only to hit a dead end. Then a priest named Father Lankester Merrin is sent by the church to perform an exorcism on the girl and hopefully save her.

• Negatives

I have nothing to say. Let's move on.

• Mix

I have nothing to say. Let's move on.

• Positives

One thing this movie does right is it makes you feel for Regan and her mother Chris. The film shows us that their just a mother and daughter who love each other and then when Regan becomes possessed all you want is for them to get out of this alive and well.

Another thing I liked about the movie is how there's a slow process for Regan's possession. It's not just things get weird and then poof she's now a demon. They take their time with it and the way they do it is simple, Chris tries everything she can before calling an exorcist then things get get crazy.

There are a lot of good scary moments. Now I watched the extended edition of this movie so I got that really distributing spider-walk scene. Seriously that scene scared the hell out of me. And also there wasn't a scene that I felt it was a jump-scare, always got to give credit when I film does that.

The Exorcist contains what I think are you the best performances in a horror movie. Linda Blair was fantastic, she pulled off being a sweet girl and then when she was possessed she gave me chills. Ellen Burstyn was astonishing as Chris.



The Exorcist is one of the best horror movies to be made. The film really makes you care for Regan and Chris, I loved how Regan's possession takes it's time, the movie has some truly scary moments, and above all else the performances are amazing.

My final rating is A Must Watch

List of Accomplishments

Not only did The Exorcist did financial well but there is not a shadow of a doubt that critics loved it. The movie went on to be nominated for eleven awards and won six of them. Here's the list

Academy Awards

Nominated for Best Picture - William Peter Blatty

Nominated for Best Actress - Ellen Burstyn

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor - Jason Miller

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress - Linda Blair

Nominated for Best Director - William Friedkin

Won an Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay - William Peter Blatty

Nominated for Best Cinematography - Owen Roizman

Nominated for Best Film Editing - Jordan Leondopoulos, Bud S. Smith, Evan Lottman, and Norman Gay

Nominated for Best Production Design - Billy Malley and Jerry Wunderlich

Won and Award for Best Sound Mixing - Robert Knudson and Chris Newman

Golden Globe Awards

Won an Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama

Won an Award for Best Director - William Friedkin

Won an Award for Best Supporting Actress - Linda Blair

Won and Award for Best Screenplay - William Peter Blatty

Nominated for Best Actress - Ellen Burstyn

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor - Max von Sydow

Nominated for New Star of the Year - Linda Blair

Then in 2010 the Library of Congress selected the film to be preserved in their National Film Registry as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

Sequels & Television Series

What with the film being such a big success it was really no surprise that the film would later get sequels then a television series. In 1977 there was Exorcist II: The Heretic, then The Exorcist III in 1990, then in 2004 there was Exorcist: The Beginning and a year later there was Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. Then eleven years later Fox aired The Exorcist TV series on September 23, 2016. The series would later get a second season titled The Next Chapter and it aired on September 29, 2017.

So if there's one horror movie to watch this Halloween season or any Halloween season, it's definitely The Exorcist.

State of The Project (Oct 4th - Oct 23rd)

Oct 4th - The Thing (1982) Review

Oct 7th - Blade Runner 2049 Review

Oct 9th - A Look Back at Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders (2016)

Oct 12th - Batman vs. Two-Face Review

Oct 16th - The Exorcist Review

Oct 19th - Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review

Oct 23rd - A Look Back at Stranger Things - Season 1

NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

Batman vs. Two-Face Review

Batman vs. Two-Face is an animated superhero film and the sequel to Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders. It's produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The movie is written by Michael Jelenic and James Tucker and directed by Rick Morales.



The story is after an accident at the Gotham State Penitentiary distract attorney Harvey Dent becomes the criminal know as Two-Face. With Harvey's new persona he becomes one the biggest crime bosses in Gotham City. Batman and Robin are called into action to deal with this new threat to society.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Mix

Now my opinion on the animation still remains the same. Like the previous movie the animation isn't bad their are just times when it's kind of stiff.

• Positives

This movie much like Return of The Caped Crusaders has great humor. Only here I think it's way better. I do have a favorite moment but I'm not going to tell you what it is because it's a spoiler. The only hint I'll give is there's a drive-in theater scene and I want you to pay attention to the film that's playing.

Another thing I liked about Batman vs. Two-Face is he does contain some dark moments. But not too dark that I think it would be categories in the same league as the Tim Burton Batman films, The Dark Knight Trilogy, or the DC Extended Universe.

Once again were given great performances. Adam West and Burt Ward still have great chemistry, William Shatner did a pretty good job as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and I know I criticized Julie Newmar in my review for Return of The Caped Crusaders but after hearing her again I just got use to her voice.


Yet again we get to have a fun time searching for some easter eggs. The one I found is that internet meme of Batman slapping Robin. Don't worry about that being awful the filmmakers did it in a way that wasn't cringey.



Batman vs. Two-Face is yet another great love letter to the 60's Batman show. It has good humor, some pretty good dark moments without going too extreme, the voice acting is spot on, and more easter eggs to find. The only grey area is the animation. But above all else it was great to hear Adam West play Batman one last time.



My final rating is Good



State of The Project (Oct 2nd - Oct 19th)


Oct 2nd - Cinematic Disasters - Jason X


Oct 4th - The Thing (1982) Review


Oct 7th - Blade Runner 2049 Review


Oct 9th - A Look Back at Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders (2016)


Oct 12th - Batman vs. Two-Face Review


Oct 16th - The Exorcist Review


Oct 19th - Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review



NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

A Look Back at Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders (2016)

With everybody being excited about Batman vs. Two-Face, I thought it would be a good idea to review the previous movie Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders.


Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders is a 2016 animated superhero film based on the 1960's Batman show. The film was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. It was also distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders was written by Michael Jelenic and James Tucker and directed by Rick Morales.


The story is The Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and Catwoman have teamed up and are planning on stealing The Replication Ray. However during this adventure Batman is starting to act very strange.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Mix

One thing that's a mix bag is the animation. Now there aren't any scenes that are poorly animated not by any means it's just there are some parts where the animation can be kind of stiff at times.


Another thing I was in a grey area on is Julie Newmar as Catwoman. She doesn't have a bad performance it's just her voice sounds tired. Which I really shouldn't complain about because she was 83 when she did this but I felt like maybe the editing team could have done something more to help her performance.

• Positives

One thing I think people will love about this movie is the voice acting. It's a amazing how Adam West and Burt Ward sound almost the same just like they did in the show. I especially loved Jeff Bergman, William Salyers, and Wally Wingert as Joker, Penguin, and Riddler. Their impressions of those characters were dead on.


The movie is a great homage to the 1960's show. You get Kapow! or Bam! bubbles, an over the top plot, Robin saying Holy a lot, ridiculous traps, and that classic announcer.


I loved the movie's sense of humor. All the jokes got me to laugh. One of my favorites is when Dick Grayson/Robin is practicing ballet dancing and he says he feels ridiculous wearing tights.


Return of the Caped Crusaders also gives you a fun time looking for some easter eggs. One of those being a quotes from the classic graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns and Batman(198



Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders is a very fun and enjoyable movie. The voice performances are well done, the humor is quite funny, there are lots of easter eggs to find, and it's a great homage to the classic tv show. The only things that good have used more work were Newmar's voice acting and the animation.



My final rating is Good



State of The Project (Sept 28th - Oct 16th)


Sept 28th - Plans for October


Oct 2nd - Cinematic Disasters - Jason X


Oct 4th - The Thing (1982) Review


Oct 7th - Blade Runner 2049 Review


Oct 9th - A Look Back at Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)


Oct 12th - Batman vs. Two-Face Review


Oct 16th - The Exorcist Review



NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

Blade Runner 2049 Review

Blade Runner 2049 is a neo-noir science fiction film and the sequel to the 1982 film Blade Runner. The film is produced by Alcon Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Thunderbird Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, Torridon Films, and 16:14 Entertainment. Blade Runner 2049 is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green and directed by Denis Villeneuve.



The story is Officer K of the Los Angeles Police Department has found a long-time secret that has the potential to plunge society into chaos. During this investigation it leads him to former blade runner Rick Deckard, who has been missing for 30 years.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Mix

I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Positives

One thing to love about Blade Runner 2049 is the cinematography. Everything about the film's setting is just visual eye candy. You could look at the cinematography all day and still fall in love with it.

Now this was my first time watching a Denis Villeneuve film and I got a say I see why people like his stuff. His directing is very good. Each of his shots are gorgeous and I'm looking forward to see what he does next.

Blade Runner 2049 has a very simple mystery to it. I won't tell you what it is because this is a non-spoiler review but what I will say is despite it's simplicity it does leave you guessing. And just when you thought you had it solved they throw a twist at you.


This movie has spectacular performances. Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling are great together. And even though Jared Leto is in a supporting role he was awesome and the character he played that being Wallace.


Now the movie doesn't have a lot of action in it which is fine but despite that they were great scenes.




Blade Runner 2049 is an example of a sequel done right. The action was good, the performances were incredible, it has a simple but interesting mystery, Denis Villeneuve has great directing, and I loved the visuals.



My final rating is A Must Watch



State of The Project (Sept 25th - Oct 9th)


Sept 25th - The Top 4 Cinematic Universes That I'm Skeptical About


Sept 28th - Plans for October


Oct 2nd - Cinematic Disasters - Jason X


Oct 4th - The Thing (1982) Review


Oct 7th - Blade Runner 2049 Review


Oct 9th - A Look Back at Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)



NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

The Thing (1982) Review

The Thing is 1982 horror film and technically a remake of the 1951 film The Thing from Another World. Both those movies were based on John W. Campbell Jr's novel Who Goes There? It's produced by The Turman-Foster Company and distributed by Universal Pictures. The Thing was written by Bill Lancaster and directed by John Carpenter.


The story is a group of research scientist in Antarctica are distributed when a helicopter pilot and his sled dog arrive at their base. Then everything becomes a horrifying nightmare. A strange alien creature is consuming and taking the shape of the one of the group members one by one. Now they must find out which one of them is infected and stop this monster.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Mix

I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Positives

One of the best things to praise about John Carpenter's The Thing is the amazing designs to all the different appearances to The Thing. They are so creative and nothing I've ever seen before. And not only are the good monster designs there also spectacular practical effects as well. They effects team did such an excellent job with these monsters. They even pull off some amazing stuff considering this film didn't use any CGI on them especially since this was a time when CGI wasn't a common thing nor was it ever used.

Another thing to like about the movie is the performances. Not only does our main star Kurt Russell give an awesome performance but really everybody does. There was never a seen where I felt like they were just phoning it in or their not even trying. What really help give them was the fact that they were actually filming in freezing weather and they also felt sick to their stomachs when they looked at the prosthetics.

The movie also gives you a great guessing game. Because like the characters you don't know who's infected with The Thing unless they do either a blood test or when it's too late for them. Now I've seen this movie at least three times and I knew when a something bad was going to happen I just didn't know from which person. I don't know if that's just great filmmaking or I suck at remembering things either way I love it.



I also liked how the ending is left ambiguous. Because at the end of the movie we don't know which survivor is infected or maybe there not infected at all and like the characters were such being paranoid.



The Thing (1982) is one of many great horror movies. It has great performances, gives you a very creepy guessing game throughout it's runtime, I love the ending, and above all else the special effects are amazing and one of the best highlights of the movie.



My final rating is A Must Watch

Initial Reactions


Now today The Thing is regraded as one of the all time great horror movies but when it was released in June 25 of 1982 many critics and audience members hated it. People while praising the technically effects also found them repulsive and excessive. Even Roger Ebert, one of the best film critics thought the movie was disappointing and even thought he found it scary and thinks it's a good "barf-bag" movie. He also criticized what he felt were poor characterizations and illogical plot elements giving the movie 2½ out of 4 stars. Vincent Canby of the New York Times called The Thing , "a depressing, overproduced movie that mixes horror with science fiction to make something that is fun as neither one thing or the other. Sometimes it looks as if it aspired to be the quintessential moron movie of the 80's". The movie was also criticized for being too slow and not only that but it was also nominated for a Razzie Award for Worse Musical Score. So yeah people weren't very happy with the film they got.




John Carpenter's Response


John Carpenter would let respond to the negative feedback twice. He's first time was back in 1985 and he had this to say "I was called a pornographer of violence. I had no idea it would be received that way. The Thing was just too strong for that time. I knew it was going to be strong, but I didn't think it would be too strong. I didn't take the public's taste into consideration". Then in a Time Out magazine back in 2010 he said this "I take every failure hard. The one I took the hardest was The Thing. My career would have been different if that had been a big hit...The movie was hated. Even by science fiction fans. They thought I had betrayed some kind of trust, and the piling was insane. Even the original movie's director, Christian Nyby, was dissing me.




Accolades


The Thing would later go on to be nominated for Best Horror Film and Best Special Effects by the Saturn Awards but lost to Poltergeist and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. The film was also nominated for Worst Musical Score from the Razzie Awards and thankfully lost to The Pirate Movie. Seriously The Thing nominated for a Razzie what the hell?




Cancelled Sequels


In 2003 the Sci-Fi Channel (SyFy) was planning to do a four hour miniseries titled Return of The Thing on was planned to come out in 2005. John Carpenter thought the series should proceed, but Sci-Fi later removed all mention of the project from their homepage. Then in 2009 there was a positive review of the abandoned screenplay published in Corona's Coming Attractions.


In 2004, John Carpenter said during an interview for Empire magazine that he had a story idea for The Thing II. The story centers around the two surviving characters MacReady and Childs. However Carpenter felt that due to the higher price associated with his fee, Universal Studios will not pursue his storyline. Carpenter also indicated that he would be able to secure Kurt Russell and Keith David for the sequel. In his story, Carpenter would explain the age difference of the actors between the two installments by having frostbite on their face due to the elements until rescued. The assumption of the sequel would rely on a radio signal being successfully transmitted by Windows before Blair destroyed the communications room. After the explosion of the base camp, the rescue team would have arrived and found MacReady and Childs still alive. Since then John Carpenter hasn't giving any other details about the story.



Prequel

In September of 2006, Strike Entertainment the studio that produced Slither(2006) and the 2004 remake of Dawn of The Dead announced in a Fangoria magazine that they were looking for a writer or writers for their prequel to The Thing. The studio would later accept a script written by Eric Heisserer also titled The Thing and filming began in March 22, 2010 and ended in June 28, 2010. The movie was released on October 14, 2011 and received mixed reviews.




Theme Parks

The Thing also received it's own attraction in 2007 for Universal Studios' the Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, Florida. The attraction is called The Thing - Assimilation, guest walk though Outpost 3113, a military facility where the remains of Outpost 31 were brought for scientific research. Scenes and props from the movie were recreated for the attraction, including the bodies of MacReady and Childs. Then in 2009 the event's icon house Silver Screams contained a room based on the film. Universal Studios would feature an attraction based on the 2011 prequel during it's 2011 edition of Halloween Horror Nights.



Comic Books

The Thing would later appear in comic books but it went under the 1951 title The Thing from Another World to avoid possible legal issues and confusion with the Marvel Comics' character the Thing. All of the comics were be published by Dark Horse Comics. Here's an entire list of the comics, number of issues and links expect for the last two stories. Sorry about that.

The Thing from Another World - 2 issues

http://readcomiconline.to/Comic/The-Thing-From-Another-World/Issue-1?id=85026&readType=1

The Thing from Another World: Climate of Fear - 4 issues

http://readcomiconline.to/Comic/The-Thing-From-Another-World-Climate-of-Fear/Issue-1?id=59867

The Thing from Another World: Eternal Vows - 4 issues

http://readcomiconline.to/Comic/The-Thing-From-Another-World-Eternal-Vows/Issue-1?id=93318

The Thing from Another World: Questionable Research - 4 issues and appeared in Dark Horse Comics #13-16

The Thing: The Northman Nightmare - 1 issue and a promotional tie-in for the 2011 prequel




So The Thing (1982) didn't get the big approval the studios and filmmakers hoped for when it first came out but through time it definitely became one of the kings of horror. And today we are all love this timeless classic.



State of The Project (Sept 23rd - Oct 7th)


Sept 23rd - The Lego Ninjago Movie Review


Sept 25th - The Top 4 Cinematic Universes That I'm Skeptical About


Sept 28th - Plans for October



Oct 2nd - Cinematic Disasters - Jason X



Oct 4th -The Thing (1982) Review



Oct 7th - Blade Runner 2049 Review




NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.

Cinematic Disasters - Jason X

Jason X is a 2001 horror/sci-fi film and the tenth film in the Friday The 13th franchise. Jason X was also the fourth and final time Kane Hodder would the character Jason Voorhees. The film was produced by Crystal Lake Entertainment and Friday X Productions. It was distributed by New Line Cinema. The movie was written by Todd Farmer and directed by James Issac.


The story is it's 2455 and a group of students on a filed trip have found the frozen body of Jason Voorhees. They take his body onto there ship then when Jason is unfrozen he goes on a murderous spree. Now the teens must get off the ship before their all slaughtered.


Now before I get into the review part of this post I want to tell you a few things. It was for me anyhow tough to pick which bad Friday The 13th film to review. There's Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday or Jason X. But I thought to myself which one of these films had the dumbest idea and so I picked Jason X. Also funny story of how this film was made. This was Todd Farmer's only pitch he gave to New Line Cinema thinking this was a way to advance the film series and New Line Cinema was like yeah sure why not we still have that Freddy Krueger/Jason Voorhees crossover film stuck in development hell so let's make your awful premise into a movie. So enough of that let's get into the review.

My Thoughts

I already have a problem with this film in only the first three minutes. Why's that let me explain in four words Crystal Lake Research Facility. Yeah Crystal Lake went from being a summer camp to a research facility. So were off to "good" start I can't wait for more.


In the Crystal Lake Research Facility they have successfully captured Jason and were never told how they did that. Typical it is best to keep things a mystery but this is one of the things that need explained.

Then we get our first look at Jason and man does his new hockey mask suck. Both the eye holes are sucked in so now we can see both of his eyes and for whatever reason the costume designers decided to combine both the nose and mouth piece together. Also the mask is too small, so whenever Kane Hodder has to act like he got kicked in the chin and has to move his head upwards you can see his chin. What's even more weird is New Line Cinema used a hockey mask in their previous Friday The 13th film Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and it looks good

The mask used in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

So why didn't they just use this hockey mask instead of the one we got for Jason X? I don't get it.



Then the movie continues to piss it's audience off because the security guard that was watching over Jason is killed but you don't get to see it. When you make a slasher movie like these the worse thing you can do is kill a character whether big or small off screen. It's just lame and cheap.



Then just to make matters worse we have this nipple scene

https://youtu.be/jblzpuNNsKM?t=100

You know what the saddest thing is about that scene? It's the only scary part of the entire movie.



The movie has no creative death scenes. Throughout Friday The 13th's history you would sometimes get a very creative kill but here a large majority of them is just Jason snapping someone's neck, stabbing them, slicing someone's throat open. The only good kill is this frozen head smash one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE83HUOXfh8. Also the movie was so desperate for another good death scene that they ripped off the sleeping bag kill from Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood.



None and I mean none of the acting is believable expect for Kane Hodder because all he had to do was act like Jason Voorhees which he does great at. Everybody always sounds like their reading directly from the script like it was their second take or they always talk in some sort of I'm trying to give some sort of emotion but not really. All of it was just painful to watch.


At one point in the movie a group of soldiers have to attack Jason. Not only don't we get any good deaths but we don't get any good action. It was just the soldiers looking for him and then they predictable get killed off. Also the scientist named Rowan once said that Sergeant Brodski is all alone down. The main problem with that line is how does she know that? She never saw any of the soldiers and there were no security cameras to show her and the students that. So how does she know this?



Now let's talk about "Uber Jason". Just look at him

Guys this is not Jason Voorhees. This is a villain meant for the Power Rangers. I'm not joking. All you have to do is tone down his violent streak and give him a cheesy bad voice and this design is all set for an episode of the Power Rangers.

Look at this special effect when Jason punches off Kay-Em 14's head off.

https://youtu.be/YEHbl1gwuZ8?t=191

Wasn't that just an unconvincing effect? That looked terrible and I noticed it when the footage was at it's regular speed when you slow it down it's even worse.

So I think I made it not big surprise that I hate Jason X. The premise is stupid, the acting is terrible expect from Kane Hodder, a lot of times our characters are brain dead morons, that nipple scene was gross and distributing, the death scenes minus the frozen head one were boring, I hate Uber Jason's look and overall it's just an awful movie.

My final rating is Destroy It!

Other Media

Now this aspect of Friday The 13th didn't go away like many people hoped it would. There have been five novels based on Jason X. Here's the list

Jason X (a novelization of the movie)

Jason X: The Experiment

Jason X: Planet of the Beast

Jason X: Death Moon

Jason X: To The Third Power

It didn't stop there either, Avatar Press released two comic books related to Uber Jason. The first one was called Jason X Special published in October of 2005 and the other one was when Uber Jason fought classic Jason in the two issued comic series Friday The 13th: Jason vs. Jason X published in February of 2006. Then Gun Media released a Friday The 13th video game at one point during the game's early development they had a poll held by the developers to determine the different incarnations of Jason Voorhees one of them being Uber Jason. The character didn't get enough votes to be put in the game. However Gun Media didn't rule out the possibility of Uber Jason he could always be a DLC, shortly after the game was launched Ronnie Hobbs a producer for Gun Media and one of the co-creators of the game asked fans on Twitter for help locating any good quality Uber Jason mask and costume.

State of The Project (Sept 21st - Oct 4th)


Sept 21st - Differences Between Captain America: Civil War and Marvel Comics' Civil War


Sept 23rd - The Lego Ninjago Movie Review


Sept 25th - The Top 4 Cinematic Universe That I'm Skeptical About


Sept 28th - Plans for October


Oct 2nd - Cinematic Disasters - Jason X


Oct 4th - The Thing (1982) Review




NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.