DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART EIGHT

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part Eight: Doc Freak watches as Zombzany begins to struggle with the spell of immobilization that he has placed on Wolf E. Bones. Doc Freak realizes that Wolf E. will soon be free to attack Zombzany again, so he bids both of them a quick farewell and leaves Zombzany's cemetery. Wolf E. Bones once again becomes mobile and attacks Zombzany, who stops him with his scepter. The two of them battle into the night!

This is the final part of Doc Freak Meets Wolf E. Bones. This is also the final video that will be uploaded to this blog. Anyone interested in further videos featuring Zombzany, Doc Freak and others may find them at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ONyPl-PDuq2zhDp2gvDEw?view_as=public

DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART SEVEN

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part Seven: Doc Freak has hidden from Wolf E. Bones until dusk, and he enters the cemetery of Zombzany the Necromancer. He calls for Zombzany, asking for his aid in returning Wolf E. Bones to his non-werewolf zombie form. Zombzany, the master of his domain, approaches Doc Freak and surprises him. Zombzany is aware of Doc Freak's problem and is unsympathetic to his plight. In fact, Zombzany seems extremely amused by it!

DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART TWO

Doc Freak and all his friends and enemies are
back in: Doc Freak Meets Wolf E. Bones - Part Two

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part Two: Doc enters Zombzany's cemetery to dig up a new cadaver for his zombie friend Bill E. Bones, who is currently buried in the rotting remains of a skeleton in another part of the cemetery.

DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART ONE

Doc Freak and all his friends and enemies are
back in: Doc Freak Meets Wolf E. Bones - Part One

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part One: Doc gets a telepathic communication from his zombie pal, Bill E. Bones.

THE THREE STOOGES NEW YEAR’S EVE MARATHON ON MYTV38

Nearly every year since 1985, our local UHF TV channel 38 has run a Three Stooges Marathon. This year apparently is no exception. Here is the article on the marathon from their web site:

Ring in the New Year with five straight hours of pie-throwing, head-smacking, eye-poking Three Stooges action hosted by Dan and Dave Andelman!

Classic shorts include A Plumbing We Will Go, Disorder In The Court, Men In Black, Violence Is The Word For Curly, and many more.

Look for a special midnight music mash-up where the Stooges meet “Gangnam Style”. Special guests include Karlson & McKenzie from 100.7 WZLX, Mix 104.1′s Karson & Kennedy, Gresh & Zo from 98.5 The Sports Hub, and 103.3 AMP Radio’s newest DJ Joe Breezy!

Join the annual tradition on myTV38 – starting Monday night at 8pm!

If you are anywhere in the Boston area, or in the New England area and have WSBK-TV on your cable or satellite provider, tune into channel 38 at 8pm tonight and get 5 hours of slapstick silliness from The Three Stooges!

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS – 2012 – THIS IS ONE CABIN WORTH FINDING!

“You may love The Cabin in the Woods as I did; or you may hate it, but any fan of the horror genre should watch Cabin in the Woods and decide for him or herself.”

Horror, Dark Fantasy and Satire

Starring - Kristen Connolly as Dana Polk, Chris Hemsworth as Curt Vaughan, Anna Hutchison as Jules Louden, Fran Kranz as Marty Mikalski, Jesse Williams as Holden McCrea, Richard Jenkins as Gary Sitterson, Bradley Whitford as Steve Hadley, Brian White as Daniel Truman and Amy Acker as Wendy Lin

Director - Drew Goddard

Writers - Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard

Rated R for strong bloody horror violence and gore, language, drug use and some sexuality/nudity

Runtime - 95 min.

I am a horror film fan. I have been a horror film fan for over fifty years. Some of my earliest movie watching memories are of watching the Universal monster movies. I was particularly enamored of Frankenstein’s monster and even though he gave me nightmares, I insisted on watching Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein whenever they aired on TV. I have followed all the trends of horror films, watching and enjoying the best of them. Despite my dislike of most of the slasher films of the 1980’s/1990’s, the torture-porn of the 2000’s and the recent found footage fad, I have watched all of the best of them and even many of the worst of them. I say all this to give background to my reason for why I think The Cabin in the Woods is the most entertaining horror film I have seen in over a decade!

The Cabin in the Woods is difficult to describe without ruining the basic premise on which the plot of the film hangs, so I won’t even try. If you watch the trailer for the film, you can tell that this film is not your typical teenagers killed in the woods movie. While the film starts out like every other film of this ilk, it quickly turns into something much deeper, much more disturbing and most unexpectedly of all… one of the funniest dark satires of the horror genre ever made.

The Cabin in the Woods is a dark satire of the horror film genre, but is also perhaps an allegorical parody of our current society as a whole. Dark humor often plays well to some and not to others, so if you don’t like the conventions of all the horror films made in the last thirty years satirized, Cabin in the Woods is not the film for you. However, I personally took Cabin in the Woods to be so darkly humorous as to be almost farcical. The basic premise of The Cabin in the Woods – which I won’t spoil here, because I am trying to convince the few horror film fans that have yet to see it – is the most original, absurd and humorous that I have seen. If you are a knowledgeable and experienced horror film fan, I think you’ll notice and appreciate all the horror film tropes that the film plays with. The Cabin in the Woods is an amazing metaphorical pratfall and a darkly sinister lark, which plays with the common fears of all modern horror films by flipping them upside down and inside out. You may love The Cabin in the Woods as I did; or you may hate it, but any fan of the horror genre should watch The Cabin in the Woods and decide for him or herself.

TECHNICAL: Acting – 9 Directing – 10 Cinematography – 9 Script – 10 Special Effects – 10

VISCERAL: Visual – 10 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 9 Emotional – 10 Involvement – 10

TOTAL – 96

DETENTION – 2012 – DEMANDS YOUR ATTENTION!

“I can only recommend it [Detention] to someone who likes their films filled with dark satire, frenetic pacing and an odd reverence of the pop culture of the 1990’s.”

Horror and Comedy

Starring - Shanley Caswell/Riley Jones, Josh Hutcherson/Clapton Davis, Spencer Locke/ Ione Foster, Aaron David Johnson/Sander Sanderson, Dane Cook/Principal Verge, Walter Perez/Elliot Fink, Erica Shaffer/Sloan, Parker Bagley/Billy Nolan, Alison Woods/Taylor Fisher and James Black/Mr. Cooper

Director - Joseph Kahn

Writer(s) - Joseph Kahn, Mark Palermo and Mark Palmero

Rated R for bloody violence, crude and sexual content, nudity, language, some teen drinking and drug use.

Runtime - 93 min.

Detention is a film that is nearly impossible to describe. It uses the tropes of so many different film genres, that watching it is an almost exhausting experience. However, it is the type of film that if you open your mind to it and allow yourself to adapt to its crazed visual style, I think you’ll find yourself enjoying the wild ride that Detention sends you on.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Riley Jones, the self-described “second biggest loser to walk Grizzly Hills High.” Besides being extremely accident prone, Riley’s biggest problem stems from her crush on Clapton Davis, a slacker hipster liked by virtually everyone, who is dating her former best friend and cheerleader Ione Foster. Riley’s life is further complicated by Sander Sanderson, a friend who continually attempts to have sex with Riley, and Billy Nolan, the school jock and ex-boyfriend of Ione, who is still in love with Ione and keeps trying to beat up Clapton to win Ione back. All this is fairly typical high-school drama. The difference between Detention other films of the ilk are quickly discovered.

Right at the outset of Detention, the most popular girl in school, Taylor Fisher, is killed by someone dressed as Cinderhella, the serial killer from a fictional horror film. Cinderhella begins stalking Riley, but through a series of bazar accidents, Riley survives every attempt on her life. Ione wants to win a dance contest, so she switches bodies with her Mom, who won the same school contest in 1994 and Ione finds herself transported back to that year. We discover the source of Billy Nolan’s testosterone anger and strength is from being part fly, which occurred when he discovered an alien meteorite as a child. This is only some of the weird and strange people and things that you will see in Detention.

Directed by Joseph Kahn, whose only previous feature film was 2004’s Torque; a visually frenetic, but narratively vacant motorcycle gang movie. Detention has that same visual style, but has a quirky and unique satirically humorous plot and characterization that make it a much richer and rewarding cinematic experience.

None of the young actors are particular standouts. However, Shanley Caswell instills Riley Jones with a certain sympathetic distain that makes her character’s viewpoint of the strange events in Detention feel a bit more grounded than they would with a less talented actress. Josh Hutcherson, who is now better known as Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games, shows a real knack for playing the slacker Clapton Davis with just enough panache to make him likeable even in his worst moments. Dane Cook has many detractors for reasons I’ve never been sure of, but his role as Principal Verge is the most interesting of the few adult roles in Detention.

Because Detention is such an unusual film, I can only recommend it to someone who likes their films filled with dark satire, frenetic pacing and an odd reverence of the pop culture of the 1990’s – or as Taylor Fisher declares at the begining of Detention, “The 1990’s are the new 1980’s.”

TECHNICAL: Acting – 8 Directing – 9 Cinematography – 8 Script – 9 Special Effects – 8

VISCERAL: Visual – 9 Auditory – 8 Intellectual – 8 Emotional – 9 Involvement – 9

TOTAL - 85

MEN IN BLACK 3 – 2012 – THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM

“MIB ³ has everything that you could want from this series:  Ray gun fights, spaceship battles, sci-fi gadgets, cool aliens and most importantly lots of laugh-out-loud jokes!”

Science Fiction, Comedy and Action

 

Starring - Will Smith/Agent J, Tommy Lee Jones/Agent K, Josh Brolin/Young Agent K, Jemaine Clement/Boris The Animal, Emma Thompson/Agent O, Michael Stuhlbarg/Griffin, Mike Colter/Colonel, Nicole Scherzinger/Boris' Girlfriend, Michael Chernus/Jeffrey Price and Alice Eve/Young Agent O

 

Director - Barry Sonnenfeld

 

Writer - Etan Cohen (uncredited) David Koepp, Jeff Nathanson and Michael Soccio

 

Rated PG-13 - sci-fi action violence, and brief suggestive content

1 hr., 43 min.

It has been ten long years since Men in Black ², but I for one think it was worth the wait. Director Barry Sonnenfeld has only directed one other feature film since MIB ² – 2006’s RV – so it was nice to see him return to the cinema with his most successful film franchise. Rumors were that Will Smith was not interested in returning to the role of Agent J and that was why there was such a long wait between MIBs 2 and 3. However, it was more likely that getting both Smith and Jones schedules to match was a more likely cause, as they had publicly admitted to want to return to MIB in 2008. The script, which was originally written by Etan Cohen in 2009, went through several rewrites, right up to the time and through shooting MIB ³, which began in November of 2010. The idea of the time travel storyline was credited to Will Smith by Sonnenfeld, who says Smith came up with the idea during the shooting of MIB². Whoever came up with the idea, it was a good one as it allowed Tommy Lee Jones’ character’s background to be fleshed out more.

 

MIB ³ begins by showing the interstellar criminal Boris the Animal escaping from a prison on the Moon. After crashing his spaceship in New York City, Boris attacks K in a Chinese restaurant telling him, “You’re already dead… you just don’t know it yet”, before disappearing in an explosion. The next morning, Agent J calls K, but doesn’t get an answer, so he goes to K’s apartment and finds a young family living there. J returns to MIB headquarters, asking K’s whereabouts, but no one knows who K is, with the exception of new Chief Agent O, who informs J that K died in 1969.

Earth is suddenly attacked by hundreds of Boglodite spaceships. Agent J asks Chief Agent O why they haven’t activated the ArcNet shield and Agent O realizes that Boris must have traveled back to 1969 to kill Agent K and keep him from activating the shield, which would allow his fellow Bogoidites free reign over the Earth. Agent J finds the son of Obadiah Price – the creator of a time-travel device – and forces him to give him his sole remaining device, so that K can return to the day before Boris killed K in 1969.

J tries to avoid K in the past, but of course the younger Agent K arrests J during a car chase while in pursuit of younger Boris. J tells K the truth and K calmly tells J that he will help him to capture Boris and save the Earth’s future invasion by the Bogoidites.

Men in Black 3 succeeds because it develops both the complex plot and the deep relationship between J and K. The time travel story isn’t just window dressing to show J’s comical reaction to the late 1960’s cultural growing pains (which it dose), but to also tell the story of how Agent K became the sullen introverted person in the future. I really liked the way the story blended both these elements, without ever bogging down the pacing of the action or resorting to maudlin melodrama.

Much of the success of MIB can be attributed to Will Smith’s ability to slip back and forth effortlessly between comedy and drama. His scenes with both Tommy Lee Jones’ present K and Josh Brolin’s past K are both funny and touching. Little character touches like the country song that K is listening to in his car is the same in both the present and the past help to create a connection to the two actors that resonates with both characters. Enough can’t be said about Joss Brolin’s performance as the younger K. He doesn’t do just an imitation of Jones’ K, but actually seems to become the character. This makes the time that is spent in 1969 just as enjoyable as the time spent in the film’s present. While Emma Thompson’s Agent O isn’t given much to actually do in MIB ³, her character is very important to the story, so I was impressed by what Emma Thompson did with her character. I really enjoyed a new character that was introduced in MIB ³: the mysterious alien Griffen, played by Michael Stuhlbarg. Griffen is an Arcadian who possesses ability to see all possible futures and it is not as useful an ability as it might seem, as he has a tendency not to see the real timeline until the last possible second.

MIB ³ is filled with all the usual alien high-tech gizmos as in the past two films, but my favorites are the uni-motor bikes that K and J drive in 1969. Rick Baker contributed over 100 alien makeup effects for MIB ³ and every one of them is amazing! There is so much to look at in this film that it is easy to become distracted from the story itself.

Speaking of the story, one noticeable lack of a story element in this MIB film was a love interest for Will Smith’s J. I honestly didn’t even notice this missing element until the film was over, because the story was so focused on the relationship between J and K. There is a minor love element to MIB ³, but I won’t spoil it here; but it is a nice one.

MIB ³ has everything that you could want from this series:  Ray gun fights, spaceship battles, sci-fi gadgets, cool aliens and most importantly lots of laugh-out-loud jokes! This is not only the third film in the MIB series; it may the best one as well.

TECHNICAL: Acting – 9 Directing – 9 Cinematography – 9 Script – 9 Special Effects – 10

VISCERAL: Visual – 9 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 8 Emotional – 9 Involvement – 9

TOTAL RATING – 90

FRIGHT NIGHT - 2011 - A FRIGHTFULLY FUN REMAKE!

“Fright Night strikes just the right balance between horror and comedy, which I think even fans of the original film will appreciate.”

Horror and Comedy

Starring – Anton Yelchin/Charley Brewster, Colin Farrell/Jerry Danridge, Toni Collette/Jane Brewster, David Tennant/Peter Vincent, Imogen Poots/Amy and Christopher Mintz-Plasse/”Evil” Ed Thompson

Director – Craig Gillespie   Writer- Marti Noxon

Rated R – for bloody horror violence and language

1 hr, 46 min.

There have been a slew of genre movie remakes in the past ten years and more often than not, the original is superior to the remake. The few exceptions that spring to mind are: Death Race (2008), the Paul W. S. Anderson remake of the 1975 Death Race 2000 and Dawn of the Dead (2004) directed by Zach Snyder which is a remake of the 1978 Romero classic of the same name. Now another film can be added to this rare list of respectful remakes: Fright Night (2011).

While I enjoyed the 1985 film at the time, more recent rewatchings have not been as much fun; although I must admit I still like Roddy McDowall’s portrayal of Peter Vincent as a horror host. Because I’m not an uber-fan of the original, it probably allowed me to be more open to enjoying the remake.

The 2011 Fright Night follows the same basic plot of the original, with a few minor character, plot and mythology changes. One of the major changes from the original film is that Charley’s friend Ed is the one who discovers that Charley’s neighbor is a vampire and not Charley himself. The other slightly less important change is that Peter Vincent in the remake is a Los Vegas magician and not a TV horror host as in the original. I didn’t think either of these changes affected the overall tone of the film, which is still like the original a blend of horror and comedy.

Charley Brewster is a reformed nerd, who now has a girlfriend and has begun hanging out with the cool kids in High School. Charley’s former nerdy friend “Evil” Ed Lee tells Charley that their old friend has gone missing and they check in on the his house only to find it abandoned. Ed tries to convince Charley that his next-door neighbor Jerry is a vampire and that he is the one responsible for the recent rash of disappearing students. Charley is convinced only that Ed is delusional and is just desperately trying to get his attention.

Ed continues his surveillance of Jerry, until Jerry catches Ed and seemingly kills him. Charley now notices Ed missing and eventually begins to believe that Ed may have been right about Jerry being a vampire. Charley sneaks into Jerry’s house, where he finds that Jerry is storing victims in rooms hidden upstairs to feed on. After narrowly escaping Jerry’s house, Charley goes to Ed’s house to look for Ed’s research on vampires. It is there that Charley sees Peter Vincent’s web site on Ed’s computer, which claims that Vincent is an expert vampire hunter. Charley goes to Vegas and attempts to gain the aid of the flamboyant magician, but Vincent pretends not to believe Charley’s story and sends him on his way.

 

Charley attempts to barricade his home from Jerry the vampire, but Jerry attacks Charley, his girlfriend Amy and his mother Jane in his home, which they flee from in their mother’s car. Jerry chases after them and they survive, but Jane is injured in the fight. Charley once again pleads with Vincent for help and this time Vincent joins Charley to hunt down the vampire and stake him.

There is a lot to like about Fright Night. The direction by Craig Gillespie, who previously directed Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and Mr. Woodcock (2007), shows off a real talent for comedic pacing those other films did not. There are some scenes that stretch out to create tension and then speed up for the inevitable violent confrontation, which are then punctuated by well-timed humor. Some of this clever plotting and humor should be attributed to screenplay writer Marti Noxon, who wrote dozens of scripts for the similarly themed Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV program.

Anton Yelchin, who plays the teenage Charley and is best known to genre fans for playing Chekov in the 2009 Star Trek film, does a fine job playing a former nerd and growing teen, trying to fit into his new social situation. Colin Farrell plays the part of the vampire Jerry with a quite cool air in his human form. But as a vampire, his vicious and malicious ferocity is truly frightening. I also liked Toni Collette as Charley’s understanding Mother Jane and Imogen Poots as Charley’s sweet and strong girlfriend Amy. The standout performance for genre fans is David Tennant, who is best known for playing the Doctor on Doctor Who for three-plus seasons. Tennant as Peter Vincent the Goth Vegas magician is fantastic; playing both the drama-queen stage magician and the slightly cowardly vampire hunter!

Fright Night strikes just the right balance between horror and comedy, which I think even fans of the original film will apreaciate. While this version of Fright Night is definitely more adult in its language and levels of violence than its predecessor, I never felt that any of it was gratuitous or unnecessary. If you’d like a break from the dark and dismal horror films of late, you should give Fright Night a try.

TECHNICAL: Acting – 9 Directing – 9 Cinematography – 8 Script – 10 Special effects – 9

VISCERAL: Visual – 9 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 7 Emotional – 9 Involvement – 9

TOTAL RATING: 88

ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011) INNER CITY KIDS KICK OUTER SPACE ALIEN ASS!

"The action in Attack the Block is almost non-stop, yet the characters and the story are still well defined."

Science Fiction, Horror and Comedy

Starring – John Boyega/Moses, Jodie Whittaker/Sam, Alex Esmail/Pest, Franz Drameh/Dennis, Leeon Jones/Jerome, Simon Howard/Biggz, Jumayn Hunter/Hi-Hatz, Micheal Ajao/Mayhem, Sammy Williams/Probs, Nick Frost/Ron

Director/Writer – Joe Cornish

R – for creature violence, drug content and pervasive language.

1 hr., 28 min.

Director and writer Joe Cornish tells one one of his young actors in the blu-ray extras "Rap the Block" that he was inspired to make Attack the Block by the kids fighting off the aliens on their farm in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs (2002). He wanted to transplant that story into the inner city block of Heygate Estate of Southwark London that he grew up in, because he thought that the kids of the block would present a much more difficult problem to invading aliens. The aliens in Attack the Block never had a chance!

The story begins with a young woman heading home at night from work when she is surrounded by a gang of teenagers from the block, who threaten her with a knife and and demand her valuables. The mugging is interrupted by a ball of fire that falls from the sky, smashing into a near-by car. The kids investigate and find an alien creature, which the leader Moses kills defending himself. They take the corpse of the alien back to their block, thinking that it may be worth something. They store the body in the weed room of their friend Nick's top-floor block apartment and return outside to do battle with more of the invading aliens that are raining down on their block.

What separates Attack the Block from the more recent alien invasion movies is that the main characters are all young kids. More importantly, these young teenagers are street toughs who must overcome their own inner block conflicts in order to defend their turf. You grow to like, or at least understand each one of these kids; particularly the quiet leader Moses.

The action in Attack the Block is almost non-stop, yet the characters and the story are still well defined. While the aliens are basically black furry men-in-suits, they are complimented with glowing teeth, which is all that you can see of them in the dark. For fans of pre-CGI monsters, the aliens of Attack the Block are a blast!

Give Attack the Block a rent and see if you like its unique take on the alien invasion genre. I know I look forward to returning to Attack the Block again.

TECHNICAL: Acting - 8 Directing - 10 Cinematography - 9 Script - 9 Special effects - 8

VISCERAL: Visual - 10 Auditory - 9 Intellectual - 8 Emotional - 10 Involvement - 10

TOTAL RATING: 91

ZOMBZANY AND MAJOR MANIAC'S SCI-FI MARATHON - PART NINE

In Part Nine, the penultimate episode of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon, Zombzany is laying prone pinned to the ground by an alien creature. Major Maniac approaches the entangled combatants and encourages the alien “critter” to stop playing with his food. Slowly, Zombzany and the “critter” become untangled and Zombzany demands to know who and what the alien creature is. Major Maniac explains that Grimlin, or “Grimer” as Maniac prefers to call him, is a shape-shifting alien that rescued him from an “involuntary spacewalk” that involved Russian cosmonauts and an empty bottle of Vodka.

 Zombzany quickly tires of Major Maniac’s dialect-infested discourse and demands an answer as to why Maniac has invaded his sacred cemetery by crash-landing his space vessel in it. Major Maniac tells Zombzany that “fer a dead galoot, you sure is impatient,” and then proceeds to explain to the hoary horror host that he needs a lesson from himself in “how to host a real nitro orbital zippy Sci-Fi Marathon!” Maniac invites himself into Zombzany’s tomb, where he can fill in for Zombzany as the host for the final flick of the evening.

Enjoy Part Nine of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon!

ZOMBZANY AND MAJOR MANIAC'S SCI-FI MARATHON - PART SEVEN

In Part Seven of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon, Zombzany exclaims that the end of the previous film has brought on the night. Bill E. Bones is a little too excited and breaks out into song, which Zombzany brings to an abrupt end with a well-placed blow to Bone‘s thick skull. Zombzany tries to recall something about the next sci-fi film of the marathon, when Bones disturbs him several times with an emergency. Zombzany declares that his zombie servant has interrupted him for the last time and hurls Bones into the ether with some type of spell.

Almost immediately thereafter, a loud crash can be heard in the distance and Zombzany is suddenly pelted with debris and smoke from the unknown craft or object. Undaunted, Zombzany orders Myron the zombie cameraman to start projecting the next film, while he exits his tomb to confront whatever or whoever has dared crash land in his cemetery!

Enjoy Part Seven of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon!

ZOMBZANY AND MAJOR MANIAC'S SCI-FI MARATHON - PART SIX

In Part Six of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon, Zombzany attempts to find some information on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s horrific acting from the evening’s previous film in his Encyclopedia of Horror, but is unsuccessful. Zombzany’s lack of knowledge on the science fiction film genre is making hosting the Sci-Fi Marathon nearly impossible. Zombzany continues to harass his zombie servant Bill E. Bones as to the location of his Science Fiction Film Encyclopedia and Bill (who hid the book in Part Five) claims he has Sebastian looking for it in every grave. With much distain, Zombzany introduces the next Sci-Fi film of the marathon.

Enjoy Part Six of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon!

ZOMBZANY AND MAJOR MANIAC'S SCI-FI MARATHON – PART FIVE

In Part Five of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon, Zombzany receives another call from Major Maniac. Maniac complains to Zombzany that he is not using “that there nitro orbital zippy script” that he faxed him. Zombzany informs the Major that he will not be using the script that is full of “imbecilic idioms”! Zombzany hangs up the phone and is about to continue the SF Marathon by reading another entry from his Science Fiction Encyclopedia, when he notices that it is missing.

Enjoy Part Five of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon!

ZOMBZANY AND MAJOR MANIAC'S SCI-FI MARATHON - PART 2

In Part Two of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon Zombzany is awaiting the arrival of Major Maniac’s script to introduce the sci-fi movies. It is being received via FAX, which obviously Zombzany knows nothing about, as he is unable to even pronounce the word. The script is handed to him by his faithful zombie servant Sebastian and as Zombzany reads it he realizes that the script is still in Major Maniac’s somewhat eccentric dialect. Zombzany stomps out in a huff and leaves Bill E. Bones to introduce the first film of the sci-fi marathon.

Enjoy Part Two of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon!

ZOMBZANY AND MAJOR MANIAC’S SCI-FI MARATHON - PART 1

This video of Zombzany and Major Mac Maniac is from sometime in the late 1980's. Zombzany and Major Mac Maniac's relationship goes back to the 1970's when both of them were late-night movie hosts at different UHF TV stations. Zombzany, of course, ran old 1930's and 1940's horror movies on KARP-TV and Major Mac Maniac ran "classic" sci-fi movies from the 1950's and 1960's on WARP-TV. Despite the differences in their shows and the distance of their respective broadcasting partners, somehow Zombzany and Maniac developed a rivalry with one another. At the end of the 1970's, both of them found themselves out of work, as most UHF TV stations at that time cut back on their local programming in favor of syndicated shows.

Apparently, sometime in the 1980's, both of these former TV movie hosts began supplementing their meager broadcast TV income by hosting prerecorded sci-fi and horror movie marathons for various fan groups. In this video, Zombzany is sitting in an obviously mock tomb set, reading his favorite classic horror film book; while Bill E. Bones sits beside him reading a zombie comic book. The phone rings and it is Major Maniac calling from his "space station" to ask Zombzany for a favor. When Zombzany finds out that this favor is to host a sixteen hour sci-fi movie marathon in the Major's stead, he initially refuses. However, Major Manic calls in a "marker" and Zombzany reluctantly agrees to the hosting appearance, after haggling with Maniac over his cut of the payment for the gig.

Enjoy Part One of Zombzany and Major Maniac's Sci-Fi Marathon!

ZOMBPETTO'S JUST SAY F-U TO DRUGS PSA

This is a Public Service Announcement against drug abuse that was recorded by Zombzany in the early 1970's.

Zombzany began a children's show in the late 1950's titled Zombpetto's Puppet Palace. It featured Zombzany as Zombpetto, who wore a clownish outfit and stood on a minimalist set that featured a puppet palace and little else. In the early days, Zombpetto's puppet pals were two simple sock puppets; one black sock name Meany and one white puppet name Weany. I have one rare kinescope video copy of this show somewhere, which I hope to upload sometime.

Evidently, Zombpetto's Puppet Palace was fairly successful as the show lasted into the mid 1970's. It seems Zombzany liked to tap into the trends of the times for his puppet show and in the 1970's Zombpetto's Puppet Palace starred two hairy hippy puppets named Leach and Bong. I'm amazed at some of the drug references that Zombpetto got away with on this show! Perhaps this anti-drug PSA was a way for the station that aired Zombpetto's Puppet Palace to demonstrate that it was in no way supporting or condoning the casual use of drugs or narcotics of any kind. It's ironic that Zombpetto's Puppet Palace was most likely written by, directed by and produced by the very drug using hippies that this spot is denouncing.

Zombpetto's Puppet Palace is one of my personal favorite shows featuring a nom de plume of Zombzany, because this character's dress and personality are the complete opposite of his own. Just that red ball nose is enough to crack me up every time I watch one of these shows! Enjoy this video of Zompetto's Puppet Palace anti-drug PSA!

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD - 2010 - SUPER-OIR SATIRE

I was reluctant to watch this movie based on two things: I never read the comic and I am really getting tired of the superhero genre in general. I do read contemporary comics, but I stopped reading superhero titles many years ago; even the satirical ones. That and the fact that the artwork for the comic Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is very much in the Manga “big-eye” style kept me from even trying to read it. The last superhero film with a similar contemporary feel that was also based on a comic that I watched was Kick-Ass. I didn’t enjoy that mostly due to its use of realistic violence while it still attempted to generate humor. There is no comparing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World to Kick-Ass, because the two films are completely different in tone.

If you are not familiar with the comic (I’ve read that it is a fair adaptation of the source material) and you are expecting a superhero action flick with perhaps a touch of hip humor, then you are in for a surprise. The surprise will be either an unpleasant or pleasant one depending on your ability to adapt to director Edgar Wright’s somewhat unorthodox pacing and scene transitions. For once I’m glad I didn’t do my homework on this film, because I would have discovered that Edgar Wright directed both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, neither of which I thought was funny in the least. Luckily for me, after adjusting to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’s unique visual style and directing, I found myself completely wrapped up in the story of a lovable loser who falls in love with the girl of his dreams, who just happens to have seven ex-boyfriends that are inexplicably super-powered and ready to fight our nebbish hero “to the death."

The cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World really helps to bring to life the somewhat one-dimensional characters. Michael Cera plays the lead Scott Pilgrim with just enough sincerity that you find yourself rooting for him in his seemingly impossible quest to get and keep the girl of his dreams. Mary Elizibeth Winstead plays said girl-of-Scott’s-dreams Ramona Flowers with a bored and reserved air that inexplicabley makes her character even more likable and attractive (despite the awful multi-colored wigs she wears throughout the film). There are so many great young actors in this film that you’ll find yourself looking them all up because so many of them are recognizable to us genre fans!

Another thing that makes Scott Pilgrim vs. The World a unique visual as well as auditory experience is the music! Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Beck, Metric, Broken Social Scene, Cornelius, Dan the Automator, Kid Koala, and David Campbell all contributed to the film's soundtrack. Beck composed the music played by Sex Bob-omb in the film, which is the band that Scott Pilgrim plays in. Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene wrote all the songs for Crash and the Boys, which is a rival band in the film. Metric are the influence of the band Clash at Demonhead in the film and contributed the song "Black Sheep" to the film, which is the song Scott’s ex-girlfriend’s band plays in the film. All the music is loud, raw and has a very mod-punk garage feel to it!

One last word of warning to superhero fan purists: this film never gives any rational explanation for why almost every character in this film has some sort of super powers! Only the villains – The League of Evil Exes – are given any kind of back story as to how they arrived at their super powers and this is done mostly for humor. If you can deal with this one major incongruity then you’ll be able to enjoy the rest of the movie. This odd blend of super-heroics, comedy and romance is definitely not for everyone. But, if you are tired of the more traditional superhero films that have been released in the last few years, then treat yourself to the oddly comic romantic heroics of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

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