Lake Effect comicon this weekend!
I love this con! movie screenings, creators, heroclix tournaments, and admission is free! you’ll find the best deals here and really, it’s always a great time! I’ll have the girls with me (They both got new costumes and I have to recycle my old Spider-Ham outfit. Somehow I don’t think that’s fair) so if you see us, tap me on the shoulder and say hi!
Lake Effect Schedule of Events
- 7:00 – Dealer Setup Begins
- 10:00 – Show opens for general admission
- 10:30 – Scott Pilgrim movie begins
- 11:00 – Door Prize
- 12:00 – Door Prize
- 12:30 – Panel One begins – Small Press discussion
- 1:00 – Door Prize
- 1:15 – Panel Two begins – Original Comic Art discussion
- 2:00 – Door Prize
- 2:15 – Costume Contest
- 2:30 – Panel Three begins – Cosplay discussion
- 3:00 – Door Prize
- 3:15 – Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother movie begins
- 4:00 – Door Prize
- 5:00 – Show closes
Victorian Roses
Here’s some characters sketches from another Angel Lite series I’m not involved in, these are the Victorian Roses. The characters seem kind of mystical, but also with a big Posion Ivy influence. Here are our Heroines.
Tomorrowland
Does anybody else remember going out to see explorers, flight of the navigator, the last starfighter or the goonies as a child? It seems like back then there was an endless stream of adventure films featuring kids for kids arriving at the local cineplexes that we could go to see with their families period it’s not like that any more,today it feels like it’s all franchisees period it’s the latest superhero film, or the latest trend, the craze Harry Potter or hunger games or Twilight. It’s another derivative computer-generated cartoon with the same plan as last five. remember the two Coreys? Could such a phenomena and even exist in today’s cinematic universe? I’m not sure . I can’t imagine seeing something like the Dark Crystal or Dragonworld be created today period and that’s why Tomorrowland is so important period we complain of a lot about the lack of originality of lack of creativity in mannered cinema especially when it comes to genre film the service and horror and sci-fi and fantasy get hit with it the most. But have you looked at children’s cinema today? Seriously, as a father I take my kids to movies on a regular basis and it’s so much of the same stuff and I wonder what happened to the kids movie of my day. And that’s why Tomorrowland is so important. It’s the first time in a very long time that I’ve seen a completely original adventure movie for kids, with kids. Something that isn’t trying to set up a franchise, something that isn’t pulling from the latest teen fad, the hottest new young adult novel or most recent comic book. It’s simply a good adventure film, with an original premise period and that’s something that Hollywood at large and Disney in general is sorely lacking. The trailer covers the plot well enough, although I will admit I was frequently wondering what was going to happen next period it’s not as straightforward as it seems . the performances are well done son George Clooney is on his game here which is nice to see, it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed him outside of the Oceans movie. Our young actresses are perfectly competent and while the film is quite indulgent and CGI it fits within this world. It’s justified by the creativity of the story. I want to encourage everybody to go see this, not just because it’s a good film not just because it’s something safe and entertaining to take the kids to. I want to encourage everybody to go see this because it’s a genuine attempt at an original idea which makes it so very different from everything else there is out there right now
In Defense of Hellraiser Revelations
If Rick Bota and Peter Atkins wer the custodians of Hellraiser in each of their eras, I wonder if that makes Gary Tunicliffe the custodian today.
Really, he’s been around since the early days. doing makeup as far back as 3. He also worked second unit under Rick Bota who pretty much had complete faith in him – any shot of a hand or a back…anything without the actors face in Deader or Hellworld was Gary. He loves the series and you’ll never find a bigger cheerleader for it.
Revelations was made basically to keep the rights to Hellraiser in house. It is the most slapped together of any of the films. Remember that half a million that they had to spend in Romania (to stretch the dollar even further) for Deader and Hellworld? Revelations got $350,000 AND had to shoot in L.A. They also had to be done in two weeks. As you can see, no one at dimension was taking this film seriously.
No one but Gary. He wrote the script, created some 
spectacular makeup effects (better actually than we’ve seen in over a decade) and worked countless unpaid hours creating new cenobites and new costumes (we haven’t seen new costumes in ten years) and brilliant new designs so this film would have a chance at being more than just a throwaway. Seriously, look at those. This could be straight out of any of the “respectable” Hellraiser films. All of this and the truth is, they weren’t even sure it would ever be released. It just had to be made to keep the rights.
Besides all of this (as if this weren’t all enough), it immediately had two strikes against it.
First, Dough Bradley wasn’t invited back to be Pinhead. This is a shame, but
understandable. Doug is getting older and that collar of his gets bigger with every sequel. But also, there’s no money. He’s not going to play the character just for the love of the game, and dimension wasn’t going to shell out his fee this time. Shortsighted on their part, but then again, on the corporate level, this entire project was.
Second, Clive Barker came out and trashed the movie before it ever hit the shelves. Now THIS pisses me off. In my previous articles, you’ll notice that Barker’s name NEVER comes up as a custodian of Hellraiser. I acknowledge that he created something remarkable in the Hellbound heart, and something just as remarkable in the first Hellraiser movie., But that’s where his involvement stops. He created the premise, but really, Peter Atkins created the mythology when he wrote the second third and fourth films. Most of what we truly love about Hellraiser comes from Atkins, not Barker and I consider him the true father of Hellraiser. I don’t know 
why Barker was so vocal abut this film. His entire involvement in all of the sequels has been to sit at an advance screening, turn in notes (which may or may not be considered) and cash a check. I wonder if he wasn’t paid off this time.
I truly believe all of this contributes to this film being judged to harshly, certainly by the wrong measure. The film tries hard. It’s not a found footage file as is occasionally reported, though there are some found footage elements. Gary tries to recreate as many elements from the original as he can. One family destroyed by what’s in the box. We get the skinned body coming out of the mattress, we get the darkened torture room again 
(something they tried to do in Hellseeker by the way, and failed – Bota remarks about how the room disappointed him. This one is a hundred times better), we get candles surrounding the supplicant trying to open the box. We have complicated adulterous relationships and forbidden sex. We have a puzzle guardian. All of the elements are there. The big problem is I’m sure this is a first draft, with no time or money for revisions. Two weeks means no time for rehearsals, not time even while you’re acting to find the characters…and it’s a shame because I can see what this could 
have been. What it should have been if they’d been given even the meager resources they had on Deader and Hellworld. Over on the Hellbound web, one person remarked “If this were a fan film, I’d be raving about it.” This is a good point, because I know fan films with bigger budgets or at least, more resources and most have far more time.
It’s a shame my biggest defenses are “They ment well” and “there’s worse out there” but that’s really at the heart of it. This is better than any film the Asylum puts out any day of the week. It’s better than the majority of stuff on Sci-Fi, and it has the distinctive flavor of Hellraiser to it.
Ghost Rider : Spirit of Vengance
Half Price books had a sale last week, and I found a bunch of Blu Rays for $1.00! I picked up Spirit of Vengeance because it’s one I’ve been meaning to see but putting off. Truth is I wasn’t a big fan of the first one and I haven’t heard a SINGLE good thing about this one. Still, I was ready to give it a try so Saturday while the girls were at dance I popped it in the PS3 and settled in with a pizza.
It starts off with a surprisingly good action scene featuring the rider himself. Easily as good as anything from the first film and it was good to see the character again. I could see some differences, no spikes (extra animations and cost I’m sure), and a skull that was darker – the entire suit seemed more consumed by Ghost Rider’s hellfire than previously. That’s cool, costumes change with every movie.
It was about half an hour in when I started yelling at the screen. “I thought this was supposed to be a BAD movie!”. It would be my mantra fro the next hour.
Seriously, I’ve heard nothing good bout this, yet I found myself liking this far better than the first one. Nicholas Cage isn’t doing nearly as much of his manic Nicholas Cage thing….it’s more tormented and driven. Danny Ketch shows up and I went nuts! Edris Elba was marvelous as usual and I thought the cuts to the comic style images for backstory exposition to be really effective – it was a look that just appeals to me. Despite the soft-reboot feel (not even that really, or they would have replaced Cage) I really loved the direction they took and the different tone and style really worked for me.
A few things I’ve been told.
“Ghost Rider barely appears in the film.”
To be fair, he appears just as much as he did in the first movie – and we see more of him in this film that we do of Iron Man(in armor) in any of the Iron Man films. I’d like to see more, true, but really, I was led to believe he’s in this way less than the first and that’s just not true.
“It should have been rated R!”
That was never going to happen. Seriously, this isn’t the Punisher and they always said this would be PG-13 and if you were expecting anything else you
deceived yourself. Despite the dark nature of the character, the comics I’ve read have never been particular gory or full of language. There’s violence, but it’s comic book violence and the film still manages to be just a violent than most of the comics I’ve seen. Even more violent than many of them. The action was perfectly satisfying to meant this film delivered exactly what it promised.
“I was filmed on location because they had no money!”
Yes, it was. The implication is that this makes it look cheap I guess. Well it looks anything but cheap to me. They build a logical reason for Johnny Blaze to be on the run and they used the foreign locals to great effect. I can’t argue with this choice one bit.
“Christopher Lambert isn’t in it enough.”
Lambert is in semi-retirement. That he’s in it at all is a shock, and a pleasant one at that. I love his character – I love the look, the attitude, everything. Why are we complaining that he’s not in it enough when we should be cheering that he appears at all?
I love this script, I love this style and I kind of wish there was more of this – I still consider Drive Angry to be the spiritual third part to this unfinished trilogy, indeed it would really finish the arc, but sadly that’s not to be. Now that it’s back in Marvel’s hands, if we ever see more Ghost Rider, it’ll be a significantly different version, and that’s not a bad thing, but I’m still happy that I finally got to see this one and I suspect I’ll be spending a lot more time defending this in the future.
Badi : Turkish E.T.
The guys over at Cracked.com came up with a far better description of this than I ever could.
The American Original:
E.T.
The Foreign Rip-Off:
Badi, a midget wearing a stained turtleneck and a mask resembling an uncooked prawn, lands in a Turkish slum and teaches the audience that the universe is filled with unremitting horror.
Basically that’s it. Aside from the unconvincing suit, this film has not need (or 
desire) to be charming, so we get a beer swilling E.T. that inspires far more fear than friendship. Recommended only if your very into these kind of foreign rip-offs.
Ron’s Big Adventure part five
Part five of my favorite movie! Find your purpose in Ron’s Big Adventure!
Season endings…
You know, I really couldn’t imagine Gotham lasting 22 episodes. It just didn’t seem like the show had it in itself to last and I’m pleasantly surprised that not only HAS it lasted, but that it’s kept us entertained the entire time. This season finale was over the top, but actually didn’t quite feel like a finale, it felt like the end of just about any other given episode.
The news leaked of course that Jada Pinket Smith wasn’t coming back next season, but watching the episode I really wasn’t sure. She certainly seemed poised to come out on top…the fact that she didn’t would have been a HUGE twist if we hadn’t already known she wasn’t coming back. Then again, are we sure about that? Her exit was merely falling into the water…my wife’s first reaction to t hat was “She’s not dead!”. I wonder if Smith will be back in guest roles.
I’ve never thought of Gordon as an action hero, and this was an interesting twist for me. I really like it. The action of the entire episode has been stellar, and of course to see the penguin at the end…it just fits.
When Bruce found the secret entrance to the cave however, my jaw dropped. How long is this hiatus again?
iZombie is still fun, quirky and even keeled. With the exception of the kinda-cliffhanger ending this week, I really didn’t find anything really shocking here. A bit of a drag that the season is so short though. The original order for the first season was only set for 10 episodes, scheduled to wrap on May 19; next week. The good news is that it’s been renewed for a second season, but no word on how many episodes or how long we’ll have to wait. Pretty soon, I’m going to have NO new TV…after all the Flash wraps up tonight….
The Flash. Man, what a great show. It’s kept me on a consistant high throughout the season, and my girls are SO into it. Really, this is what fans have been saying all along as production companies struggle to crack the “formula” for the superhero shows. Just embrace it. revel in it. The Flash knows exactly what it is and we love it for that. The reverse flash arch has been trhilling and even a little wierd – we got used to Wells as a mostly good guy and I’m missing him back at HQ, but on the other hand, I’m dying to see what happens next – and the fact that tonight is another Team up episode? Yes please. I’m only sorry it has to break for a while. Really bummed, but then again, when it comes back next year, it’ll have even more company with the new Firestorm/Atom/ Black Canary show. Can’t wait.
Crossovers at Pop!
Wow! 100 meetings! With Marvel’s “Secret War” looming over us, this is the right time to delve into our favorite crossovers, both between different companies and in house. Join the west side meeting in Parma at 6:30!
Mad Max : Fury Road
I hit the advance screening of Mad Max Fury Road last night, if you want to read my review, head on over to http://kreepykastle.com/mad-max-fury-road/ and then when you’re done, check out today’s new Violent Blue!
12 Hours of Terrible
I attended the Cedar Lee’s “12 hours of Terrible” marathon this weekend, a great bit of fun from the same people who bring us “12 Hours of Terror” every October. It was a little sparse, about thirty people in the theatre with me, but most of us lasted from 6pm on Saturday night until 6AM Sunday morning.
What I was really excited about was the fact that four of these films I had never seen at all. Of the remaining three, Masters of the Universe was the only on I’d seen on the big screen before, and that was back when it was released in 1987. So a few reactions….
1. Over the Top.
I had no idea Georgio Moroder provided the soundtrack for this, and I really like the music. It’s shot and lit perfectly, obviously done by someone who really understands how to film Stallone. It’s a very 80’s film, with great action and good pacing. It actually passes the watch test.
The big problem is that it’s the worst possible subject matter. Seriously, arm wrestling and trucking….and you’re going to make a Stallone movie out of that (Big credit by the way to creating suspense during the arm wrestling tournament)? The other thing is….guys, this is a Lifetime Television script. It really is. It’s like every other lifetime film where the music is used to create the emoptional tone and moments, while the hero is this soft non-threatning man mourning the loss of his dead wife. The genres don’t work together. Sorry.
This is the kind of film that would work really well on evening television while you’re doing soemthing else. I don’t hate it actually, but it’s really a bad idea.
2.Miami Connection
I’m slow. I know, but I had no idea this was a ninja movie. I’ve only seen kind of blurry shots of the poster and even then, the ninja is the least obvious part of that collage.
The preformers here give “Fateful Findings” a run for it’s money as worst actors ever. It’s really bad stuff. We have a rock band (leaning towards the disco variety) that sings about Tae Kwan Do. They’ve gotten into trouble with a group of Flordia ninjas led by the brother of the band’s newest member (the girlfriend of the guy in the poster). It was never going to be art, but this premise couls still have worked if they’d had actors and a director capable ofpulling it off. I can;t decide it it’s to earnest or not campy enough. I really just don’t know.
I want a Dragon Song T-Shirt.
3. Plan 9 From Outer Space.
All that ever really needs to be written about this I think already has been. It’s really not the worst film ever made (that’s a lable that’s usefull for marketing purposes and little else). Heck, it’s not even the worst film in this marathon.
Perhaps multiple viewings have diluted the offense. I know Bela isn’t going to match his stand in and I expect trees and graves to wobble and strings to show on the saucers. It does make a big difference seeing it in a theater too, the changes in film stock and bad effects are far more obvious, but still I like it, and any chance to see Lugosi on screen is a good one.
4. Drive Angry 3d
I really don’t understand why this is considered a bad film. I genuinely like this, and always have. It was a trip to get to see it in 3d, just like My bloody Valentine 3d, it was really made for it and the opening and closing sequences in Hell especially are perfect for it.
This time around something occurred to me and I wonder if any of it was intentional. This is really the perfect third entry in the Ghost Rider trilogy.
Stay with me on this.
Cage is playing a post-Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze. He really is, it feels like the “Spirits of Vengance” era Blaze from the 90’s comics. No longer cursed, but still damned. We don’t need Ghost Rider or even a motor cycle, because this closes his story arc perfectly. In fact, it’s possibly the best of the Ghost Rider films. Pity it isn’t really one of them.
5. The Baby
I seriously have no idea what I just watched.
Looking at this poster I was kind of expecting a comedy, but man, this film is serious as a heart attack. THe premise is basically a 21-year-old man wit hteh mentality of a baby, dressed like one, kept in a crib, fed bottles by his mother who may or may not be keeping him like that and stunting his development.
It feels like the sort of thing I’d see at Cinema Wasteland. I can’t say I liekd it, but I’m glad I saw it, and never expect to again. It might work better for me as more of a horror story, or as I mentioned, a comedy. To play it straight like this comes off more disturbing than anything else.
6. The Happening
I think I would probably be disappointed in this film if I’d gone to the theatre and paid 10.50 to see it. As part of a marathon 
like this was probably the perfect way to watch it.
I think people may be a little to hard on this movie, the ones I was in the theatre with certainly were. There’s a level of hate aimed at it simply because its a M. Night film and not on it’s own merits or flaws. It’s not Mark Whalbergs finest moment, but it’s certainly not his worst performance either. In fact the least likable character in this movie is Zooey Daschenel who I just want to bash over the head and be done with here.
The thing that struck me the most here was how this is considered a mainstream film. This isn’t mainstream. This is torture porn. Just as much as Hostel, the Happening is absolutely torture porn. It’s 90 minuets of watching people die horribly and reveling in it while fleeing from it and I don’t enjoy that.
7. Masters of the Universe.
I’ve watched it dozens of times over the years on VHS and DVD, but haven’t seen this on the big screen since I was a kid. The thing about seeing this in the theatre now is how many great (and some not-so-great) details I miss. The skull in Evil Lynn’s jeweled headpiece, the spotted flesh on Gwildor that smooths out in lower resolutions, the dragon seal on the doors inside Grayskull that matches the seal on He-Man’s Harness. No new or special insight here, just a great visit with old friends on a larger screen that I’m used to and all the better.
I’m hoping this happens again. The film selection made for a really great night, to say nothing of the trailers and oddities played in between. I think I’d prefer it at the Capitol, it’s a more comfortable atmosphere but either way, I can’t wait to see what happens next year.
OSS Zombie Walk at the Spitfire
Joe Ostrica and Old School Sinema have been putting on Zombie walks for as long as I can remember. They started over at the Five O’Clock, then more recently had moved the event over to Mahalls. This time around we met at the Spitfire Saloon.
The Spitfire is a Cleveland favorite for many people, featuring 50 diffrent types of beer and reguarly showcasing punk bands, and a zombie walk seems like a logical pairing.
It was a lighter turnout, possibly because it was the first time at this venue, but a beautiful day and you could still see some of the FCBD influence in the crowd with the Joker and of course my zombie Iron man. I wasn’t able t ostay as long as I wanted to seeing this was sandwiched inbetween my FCBD activities and the later 12 hours of terrible marathon, but still managed to get in, haunt and run. Pictures below!
Save the Dawn of the Dead Bridge!
In 1978, George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead forever changed the face of horror. DOTD is not only an entertaining horror flick, it’s a deep social commentary co-mingled with drama and action that still holds relevant even today.
Monroeville Mall, where a large portion of the film takes place, has since changed dramatically. One of the few staples that still remains from Dawn of the Dead, the bridge, is due to be demolished and scrapped in just a matter of days. It’s not been disclosed to us what day that will be, so the need to act fast is of the utmost importance.
As the situation currently stands, the removal is already set in motion. If the bridge is demolished, it will then become property of the demolition company. It may be re-purposed or simply tossed out.
If we can garner enough signatures, we would like to house the bridge in a facility where fans can continue to visit it for years to come. Kevin Kriess has agreed to make it a permanent part of The Living Dead Museum in Evans City, PA. Our goal is for the demolition company to take it apart with care and turn it over to the Living Dead Museum to be reassembled.
If we want to save the bridge from being destroyed forever, please
SIGN AND SHARE! Thank you!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/785/166/923/save-the-dawn-of-the-dead-bridge/
Avengers 2 and Free Comic Book Day
Oh I hurt.
Achy. Tired. That was a long weekend. We’ll get to 12 hours of terror and the zombie walk later, but for now I just want to talk about Free Comic Book Day. This actually seems like the perfect place to discuss Avenger Age of Ultron a bit too. I’m not reviewing this movie. If you want that, there’s literally thousands of reviews out there. I just have a couple minor observations.
I like this movie. I liked the first one as well, there’s some confusion about that because I do say some negative things. Like the first film, I don’t think this is the greatest comic book film ever, but I like it.
It’s long though….man it is long. They spend a lot of time trying to introduce new characters and in a lot of ways really end up trying to cram too much into one movie. This actually might have been better served as two 90 minuet films instead of the two and a half hour long opus we get.
I like the new characters, don’t get me wrong. I like them and I enjoy seeing returning support cast like War Machine and Falcon .The end where we see the potential “New” team lineup is exciting, but man it really did feel like they were trying to shoehorn them into this narrative. Just too long. absolutely failed the watch test.
The other thing about this movie is the fight sequences. There’s a trap that action sequels frequently fall into. It has to be bigger, better, more explosions, more fighting, bigger conflict. That’s fine, but there’s also such a thing as too much scope. Revenge of the Sith had this issue with the beginning space fight. There was so much going on I couldn’t focus on anything, it was just amass of shapes flying around the screen, occasionally punctuated with a burst of light. Transformers constantly does this. The Matrix Reloaded is perhaps the most infamous example actually, with fight sequences so long and confusing I got bored.
AOU isn’t quite this bad, but they really did overload thier set pieces. With all the metal and debris and smoke flying around, I kept getting lost, trying to figure out what was going on. Joss Whedon needs to rein it in a bit, cut a few more seconds here and there and stop moving the camera so much.
A good film though. I love their versions of vision and Scarlet Witch and I again, Avengers manages to be a better Iron Man film than any of the ACTUAL Iron Man movies themselves. I am really eager to see what comes next.
So anyhow, I got off work, grabbed dinner and hit Carol and John’s to get in line for the Midnight release. I arrived about 6:45 and the line had already started. The party officially begins around 10 when the doors to the art show and the guests opens, then drinks and snack are at 10:30, but people get there long before that and by the time it got dark, the line stretched the length of Kamm’s Plaza. I found myself with some Pop members hanging out and discussing movies and comics – the time flew by fast. People had started to get smart here too, there was a Heroclix game going on in front of us (I was invited to sit in, but politely declined because let’s face it, I suck) along with card games around us and a group right next to us that would frequently break into singalongs.
No, not kidding. In fact, When the Ghostbusters car arrived, they all ran out into the street singing along with the song blasting from the automobiles speakers.
I broke out the Mr. Freeze costume around 9:45 and then barely sat down again untill it was time to head in for comics.
Between the midnight event and the day itself I got about 25 titles, but missed out on a few I had wanted (poor planning, and I though York wasn’t doing it this year. They did NO advertising and wern’t on the FCBD website) but still managed to have a great day constantly running into friends and freezing my way through the night!
Of course, Freeze wasn’t the only costume I put on this weekend…but more on that later. right now, here’s my photos for the event, and don’t forget, a new Violent Blue will be posting today!
12 hours of terrible and Free Comic Book Day
Remember how the Capitol does that great horror marathon every october? 12 hours of Terror? Well this year, they’re trying something diffrent – a spring marathon of bad films – 12 hours of terrible!
The 1st annual 12 Hours of Terrible includes a full night of terrible movies! $30 day of show, opening at 6:00pm Saturday.
Sometimes a bad movie is so terrible it’s better than a good movie. For one night the Cedar Lee Theatre is going to embrace bad as the new good with our first annual 12 HOURS OF TERRIBLE when we showcase these 7 films that have to be seen to be believed: Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Happening, The Baby, Drive Angry 3D, Miami Connection, Masters of the Universe Movie and Over the Top (film). Attendees who stays for the entire series from beginning to end will receive $5 back as their reward.
I love Drive Angry, I love MOTU, and I’ve never seen several of these but always wanted to! I cant wait until tomorrow!
But tonight, I’ll be up at Crol and John’s for the Free Comic Book Day party, and getting into the Freeze suit once it gets dark!
Argo City Comics 