“In the jungle you must wait until the dice read five or eight.” Those immortal words were read out loud by a young Alan Parrish before being sucked into the board game, Jumanji. It took 26 years for Alan to return from the game and be portrayed by Robin Williams in the film. Though it makes some of us feel quite old, it has now been 30 years since that movie came out; we’ve spent more time since the film premiered than Alan spent in the jungle. But with that 30th anniversary, the filming location of Keene, New Hampshire is…
Author: Heath Andrews
The magic of the radio has brought the world a number of unforgettable personalities, songs, and musical experiences. There was a time where it was a wild west of pushing boundaries, seeing what you could get away with on-air, and challenging listeners with the unfamiliar. While a lot of this was being done by shock jocks, there was one man who was doing it through unique novelty music, Dr. Demento. For 55 years, the man has broadcast funny and bizarre songs the world over, and now his time is winding down as he’s set to retire. Starting in 1974, Dr.…
“I want to play a game.” Those immortal words, spoken by Billy the Puppet, ushered in a franchise of torture porn that goes by the name of Saw. When the first film dropped in 2004, it was a commercial success to an insane degree; making $100 million on a budget that was less than $2 million. Naturally, sequels would follow leading up to 2023’s “Saw X.” Then, everything fell apart in a fairly dramatic way. Not like, Jigsaw torture device dramatic, but more creative disputes and intellectual property rights drama. Enter Blumhouse Productions to save the day. The franchise was…
In the pantheon of horror films, there is one that reigns supreme for its raw, almost amateur like excellence. Sure, there are a lot of independent horror movies that have become cult classics, but only a few can stand on their own as being titans of the genre. Leading the exclusive pack is “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Fifty-one years after its initial release, it’s coming back to theaters for one night only, and die-hard fans can probably guess the day and month it’s happening. Following narration from John Larroquette, movie goers were treated to the “real” events that would, as…
As of the time of this writing, we are about a week away from the release of “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.” The sequel to Hideo Kojima’s first game as an independent director (away from longtime employer Konami) is set to be another milestone for the auteur. In the build-up to the game, Kojima’s also announced a number of “Death Stranding” related projects including a live-action film, and an anime. Now it’s getting possible another project in the form of another animated film, possibly. Kojima’s production company, along with animation company Line Mileage, announced they had hired Aaron Guzikowski…
The idea of video games as cinematic achievements seems like it’s more of a recent trend thanks to the advanced hardware of current generation systems and the art of storytelling evolving with games. Games like “Metal Gear Solid” and “The Last of Us” have been cited as helping to bridge the divide between films and video games but the truth is, that link goes even further back. “Dragon’s Lair” from 1983 may be rightly called one of the first cinematic gaming experiences, so it’s only fitting that it receives a full, cinematic treatment with a talented director. If you’ve never…
After all the hype and build up we’ve been seeing for this upcoming biopic, we finally have a trailer for “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.” Our interest in this project was cemented when multi-award winner Jeremy Allen White (“Shameless,” “The Bear”) would play Bruce Springsteen. Not only are those big shoes to fill, but this kind of a role would invariably be compared to others like Jamie Foxx in “Ray,” Joaquin Phoenix in “Walk the Line,” and Timothee Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown.” From the looks of this trailer, White is not just “Born to Run,” he’s born to play…
If there is one universal truth about kids, it’s that they love dinosaurs.The fascination with the prehistoric beasts has permeated popular culture for decades and have made a huge imprint on film and television. That’s just one reason why Sid and Marty Krofft were able to establish a successful franchise in the form of “Land of the Lost.” The surprisingly enduring Saturday morning kid’s show saw the Marshall family of Rick and his kids Will and Holly get transported to a dimension where dinosaurs, advanced primates, and humanoid reptiles reside. While the series has had some revivals in the past,…
It’s not even midway through June and we’re already getting pumped for some spooky happenings in the near future, especially when it comes to a specific horror villain. On the plus, there’s Peacock’s upcoming “Crystal Lake” series. On the negative, “Friday the 13th: The Game” ceased online operations last year. But if there’s one thing better than virtually running from Jason, it’s doing it in real life at Universal Studios theme parks. Starting this September, a new haunted attraction is opening at the Florida based theme park in the form of “Jason Universe.” And while that might sound like a…
Happy Friday the 13th! Why not celebrate with some news about Peacock’s upcoming “Crystal Lake” prequel series? Back in March, Linda Cardellini (“Freaks & Geeks,” “Dead to Me”)was tapped to play Pamela Voorhees. Ms. Voorhees was famously the original killer in the first “Friday the 13th” film before being supplanted by her son for the following installments. But you can’t shake the original, which is why we were excited to hear about Cardellini’s casting for the upcoming project. Now we can happily report that the cast is expanding. Devin Kessler (“Godfather of Harlem”), Cameron Scoggins (“Nashville,” “Shades of Blue”), and…