The Lie, Welcome to the Blumhouse, Review!

The Lie is part of the Welcome to the Blumhouse anthology of films that is streaming on Amazon Prime.  The Lie as well as Black Box started streaming on October 6th.  It is based on the German film We Monsters (2015).  The film is written and directed by Veena Sud who also wrote and directed The Stranger, a thriller series on Quibi.  The beginning covers the birth of a couple’s daughter, Kayla, and her growing up on camera.  Her parents are Rebecca (Mireille Enos) and Jay (Peter Sarsgaard).  Enos was in the Good Omens series.  Sarsgaard starred in the dramatic series The Looming Tower.  They seem like a fun, well adjusted family.  Now on a rainy car trip, Kayla (Joey King) now fifteen, is in the backseat with her headphones on.  King played Christine in The Conjuring (2013).  Her mother reminds Kayla to have her inhaler.   Her step-father is dropped off at the airport.  Kayla wants to stay home, but her mother is going to drop her off at for a ballet retreat.  Kayla is not excited about it.  

They reach the apartment and Kayla says that she is hungry.  Jay appears and offers her pancakes.  They are joined by Trini (Dani Kind), Jay’s girlfriend.  Rebecca leaves to work as a lawyer.  Kayla enters her father’s car frustrated.  Jay enters the car, finds out his ex-wife didn’t know about his girlfriend, then drives.  On the road, Kayla is excited to see her friend sitting at a bust stop, Britney (Devery Jacobs).  They offer a ride to Britney, she stares at Jay driving, she likes the music which is from Jay’s band.  Kayla notes the mark on Britney, self-inflicted?  Britney asks Jay to pull over so she can go to the bathroom.  Kayla and Britney head off to the woods.  After some waiting, Jay walks in the snow, calling out for his daughter.  It is snowing, he calls out for both girls, and then there is a scream!  

He runs towards a bridge, Kayla is sitting on the edge of it, the river is rushing below her.  Jay grabs her off of the railing and asks about her friend, Kayla looks towards the river, and Jay sees Britney’s pink purse on the river bank.  Jay runs to the river bank, jumps into the icy river, and calls Britney’s name.  Kayla picks up Britney’s phone.  Jay runs back to the car looking for Kayla’s phone.  Kayla admits, “I pushed her.”  A truck approaches and Jay has them hide at the side of the car.  Jay has them back in the car, panting, and then he continues driving.  He is nervously walking to Rebecca’s office and mentions that their daughter is in the car.  At the outside of the building, Rebecca says Kayla is a “spoiled brat” because he lets her get away with everything.  Jay goes to find Kayla who is on a swing saying she can’t breathe.  He wants to bring her back to his loft, but his ex-wife pulls Kayla away.  At home, Kayla is on the couch with her mother, she asks Jay if “she is pretty.”  

There is a phone call from the ballet school.  Jay suggests to tell them that Kayla is sick.  Kayla is taking a bubble bath, Rebecca enters and sees a tear in her pants, she demands to know what happened.  Rebecca enters, stunned, Jay is standing silent.  Later, Jay wants a lawyer for his daughter.  Rebecca says that Kayla will be tried as an adult.  She wants to drive to the river, but Jay says that the fall, the river, and the cold would have killed Britney.  This seems like a morality play of parents covering for their child.  It could be that both girls are playing a trick on Jay.  The difficulty is that there is no body.  Another part is that both parents don’t go over the exact events, exact words said, with Kayla.  The best route would be to call the police and say that both girls were on the bridge, but Britney fell in an accident.  Rebecca takes Kayla’s pants to a grill and burns it.  She sees Kayla is asleep in her room and closes the room.  

In the morning, the river is rushing, and then we see the body of Britney!  Rebecca is startled awake.  A dream?  Later, Sam (Cas Anvar), Britney’s father, shows up.  Rebecca tries to lie that her daughter is in the hospital.  This also involves Detective Tagata (Patti Kim).  The blame is shifted to Sam.  Kayla admits to her father that the boys pay attention to Britney and she was jealous of her.  The incident tears both families apart.  If this is a mindgame played by both girls, it is cruel, if it is just Kayla as a plot to get her family back together, then this is evil.  If not, then both parents are complicit in what would be the death of Britney.  The truth will come out, it always does. The Lie is about deception between broken families and the lies we tell ourselves, jealousy, and what parents will do to protect their children.  

Three Cellphones out of Five!  

#TheLie, #WelcometotheBlumhouse, #VeenaSud, #JoeyKing,#MireilleEnos, #PeterSarsgaard 

The Outpost, “For the Sins of Your Ancestors”, Review!

The Battle of The Outpost with the Prime Army concluded last season, but the war continues!  Talon has brought in the Blackbloods to defeat the Prime Army, but now they have taken over The Outpost.  A Blackblood is supervising the workers in a quarry.  Garret Spears (Jake Stormoen) and Tobin (Aaron Fontaine) are working on the stone when the overseer beats on a prisoner, Sammie (James Downie).  Garret goes to protect him, but is beaten in turn.  Talon watches on horseback from above the quarry.  Zed (Reece Ritchie) rides up on his horse and says that the prisoners have to be able to work.  Captain Calkussar (Patrick Lyster) goes to help Sammie.  At The Outpost, Zed talks to the leader of the Blackfists, Yobahn (Predrag Bjelac) about keeping the queen alive.  If the queen dies, Zed says, the humans will revolt.  The bloodied Garret looks up to see Talon stand next to them.  

                         THE OUTPOST -- “For the Sins of Your Ancestors” -- JESSICA GREEN -- Aleksander Letic/ NBCU International.  

Night, at the tavern, Garret says he can’t believe it has been thirty-nine days since the takeover.  Tensions are high so Garret is told to wait.  I like that we start off at a dark place and that there is no immediate escape attempt.  He moves a wooden chest to chip at the wall.  A sword is held above the sleeping Gwynn who suddenly wakens.  Zed uses his power to have the Blackblood swordsman to stand down.  A Locuri stands watch at the wall.  Morning, Zed explains the situation to Talon.  She then goes to the room of Gwynn watched over as a prisoner.  Talon tries to say she is loyal to Gwynn and hopes to save her from the Blackfists.  Janzo (Anand Desai-Barochia) consoles his brother, Munt (Adam Johnson).  A Blackblood woman, Wren (Izuka Hoyle), arrives to tell Janzo that she is taking his lab and he is curious about the box that she is carrying.  Janzo takes his belongings and leaves.  A fellow scientist?  She seems like a goofy addition to the cast.  Talon is working out in her room when Janzo bursts in to stay with her.  

Zed walks The Outpost, but is surrounded by Yobahn and the Blackfists.  He uses his power to freeze Yoban and fights with the other Blackfist warriors.  Yobahn grabs hold of Zed, but he breaks free, the swords are about to overwhelm him when Talon arrives!  She makes short work of the Blackfists, crosses swords with Yobahn, but knocks him down.  The remaining Blackfist aims his crossbow at Zed, but Zed uses his power to turn the weapon Yobahn!  He spares his rival’s life and walks away with Talon.  Zed wants to bring the Blackblood priestess, Yavalla, from the portal.  Talon is suspicious about the mining which Zed explains is for a crystal.  At Janzo’s lab, Wren is working on a solution, but it explodes in a pinkish puff, and she starts gagging.  At the tavern, we have a painting of The Mistress, honored by her sons, Janzo and Munt.  Janzo sees the Blackblood entering coughing.  They argue, Munt looks at them, it must be love.  

THE OUTPOST -- “For the Sins of Your Ancestors” -- IMOGEN WATERHOUSE -- Aleksander Letic/ NBCU International.  

At the mines, the prisoners work tirelessly, an older man is shifting through and discovers a crystal.  Yobahn walks over to examine the crystal, it looks like a purple stone is embedded in it, and pockets it. The Blackfists ride away.  Wren is working in Janzo’s lab when Yobahn brings her the crystal.  She puts a solution on the crystal and it is successful.  Yobahn says to tell her mother, Yavalla.  The prisoners return from their work shift and Garret checks on Sammie who is resting.  Sammie tells them that there is a food shipment arriving in the night.  The Lu-Qiri will be moved away so they will not startle the sheep.  He pulls away the wooden chest to reveal that he finished the tunnel!  Every character in The Outpost has some form of redemption.  Garret says that they will rescue the queen!  Tobin and Garret break through the tunnel carrying rope.  They make their way up to the battlements.  A Blackblood guard is resting against the window when he gets a surprise!  The other guard is taken care of by Tobin.  

They remove the wooden door bar and see Gwynn asleep.  She kisses Tobin and then sees Garret.  They prepare her and have her in a robe.  This is tense!  They lower down from the wall on the ropes, Tobin and Gwynn kiss until interrupted by Garret.  A guard is knocked out and now Garret and Tobin have swords.  They see the sheep brought in and rush through the closing of the portcullis!  Suddenly, a Lu-Qiri drops down and slams back Tobin. Garret is dropped by the Lu-Qiri which presses his foot on his chest!  Zed is watching Talon when Gwynn, Tobin, and Garret are brought in.  Yobahn wants them executed.  Zed orders the death of the men.  Talon stops Yobahn from killing Garret by saying she will bring in Yavalla.  She opens the portal, a Lu-Qiri steps out, and then Yavalla (Jaye Griffiths)!  A king priestess?  This is The Outpost!  She goes over to Rosmund and says that there should be peace between Blackbloods and humans.  Yavalla releases all of the prisoners within The Outpost.  The moment between Talon telling Garret what she went through is great plus of course they kiss.  I hope we get into the threat of Yavalla.  It seems she is looking for a way into a paradise using the crystal.  It seems too to have easy peace and paradise with The Outpost!     

Four Daggers out of Five! 

#TheOutpost, #FortheSinsofYourAncestors, #JessicaGreen, #JakeStormoen, #AnandDesaiBarochia, #ImogenWaterhouse, #AaronFontaine, #IzukaHoyle 

Happy Birthday Guillermo del Toro!

 Happy Birthday Guillermo del Toro!  His first film was Cronos (1993) which was a horror movie involving a device to keep owners immortal.  It co-starred his long time co-star Ron Perlman.  He moved from there to The Devil’s Backbone (2001) which began his collaboration with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro and composer Javier Navarette.  del Toro entered the studio system with the horror movie Mimic (1997) which was a brilliant film about a CDC doctor who uncovers a strange breed of insect underneath New York.  Next, he directed Blade II (2002), a masterful entry in the vampire action franchise.  del Toro then directed Hellboy (2004) based on the Mike Mignola comic book.  It featured Ron Perlman as the demonic anti-hero.  One of his best films is El laborinto del fauno or Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) as it is better known.  A dark fantasy that blends Alice in Wonderland, fairy tales, and the harsh reality of the Spanish Civil War.  It won the Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, Cinematography, and Make-up. He followed it up with Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). 

                              Guillermo del Toro, Barnes and Noble, 2010, photo by the author. 

In 2008 he formed the production company Cha Cha Films with fellow filmmakers, Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.  Guillermo del Toro worked on a television series and later turned into a trilogy of books starting with The Strain (2009) with co-author Chuck Hogan.  In 2013, he directed Pacific Rim (2013) merging his love of kaiju and mecha.  del Toro co-directed with Hideo Kojima the video game P.T., in the Silent Hill franchise, for PlayStation 4.  He directed the pilot, “Night Zero” (2014) of the series The Strain when the series arrived for FX.  Afterwards, he directed the Gothic horror movie Crimson Peak (2015).  del Toro abandoned plans for an animated series and instead Trollhunters was made into a book in 2015 with co-author Daniel Kraus.  The animated series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia with Dreamworks Animation was finally realized in 2016 to 2018 for Netflix.  In 2017, Guillermo del Toro opened his house, so to speak with the touring exhibition Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters.  He finished the year with The Shape of Water which won him the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture.  3 Below: Tales of Arcadia was in 2018 and now the Wizards animated series.  del Toro is currently working on the Pinocchio film.  Happy Birthday Guillermo del Toro! 

#GuillermodelToro, #PansLabyrinth, #TheShapeofWater, #Pinocchio 

Downtown Disney: Disneyland Backlot Premiere Shop!

I was last at Downtown Disney to check out the Star Wars Trading Post and now it was for the opening of the Disneyland Backlot Premiere Shop at Stage 17!  I got through the fever check and security at about 10:10 a.m. so there already was people shopping.   There are signs for Studio 17 throughout Downtown Disney.  I walked past World of Disney and little past the Disney’s California Adventure entrance.  The Studio 17 entrance is right at the gates where you enter from Harbor Boulevard.  It is a decent wait socially distancing and you move from the ticket booths.  There is a sign overhead  for the Disneyland Backlot Premiere Shop that leads backstage.  

                            Disneyland Backlot Premiere Shop, photo by the author. 

The first thing you see is Stage 17 which contains the shop, it has a poster for Artemis Fowl in it which is typical for studio buildings, the path is lined with cast members.  Turn the corner and then there is another stage with Black Widow, Mulan, and Soul posters.  You are allowed to take pictures at the back stage of Disney’s California Adventure, I think, but I will only post pics of the store.  This is a left turn and leads to the Premiere Shop sign and through the doors is the stage.  The stage was used for Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It! which was at DCA until 2004.  I was told that the Black Panther meet and greet was outside of the stage area.  This would be in the Hollywood Land area of DCA. It is interesting to step into DCA even if it is back stage!  

                          "King Chad" mural at Downtown Disney, photo by the author. 

There sections like Nightmare Before Christmas, Coco, Jungle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion sections.  There is artwork and post cards of the attractions from Wonderground Gallery!  One of the few items that are unique to Stage 17.  I also saw a number of BB-BOO20 figures which I’m told is sold out online.  Basically it is the same merch as World of Disney, since it has been crowded, the store is for overflow for World of Disney.  I found the queue has shortened at that store.  I have been away for so long, the parks, that I had zero sales resistance.  It got to the point that I had forgotten about the Chadwick Boseman mural.  This is at the former ESPN Zone building across from the Earl of Sandwich restaurant.  “King Chad” was the work by Nikkolas Smith.  A castmember is there, but of course can’t take pictures since they can’t touch objects from guests, so hopefully you have a friendly guest in line if you need a photographer!  If you have not gone to Downtown Disney, it is a safe, shopping experience!       

Swamp Thing, “Pilot”, Review!

Swamp Thing has debuted on the CW, based on the Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson comic book, set in the dark bayou with some vines that are rising up against people! The character was introdd in House of Secrets #92 (1971) before appearing in his solo title dealing with the supernatural. The series took a literary turn with Alan Moore and artists Stephen Bissette and John Totleben starting with Swamp Thing #21 (1984).  

Wes Craven wrote and directed the Swamp Thing movie in 1982. Seven years before Tim Burton’s Batman. This was about the time that the sequel, Return of Swamp Thing (1989) directed by Jim Wynorski, director of low budget, campy movies. The Swamp Thing (1990-1993) was developed for television by Joseph Stefano who adapted the Robert Bloch novel, Psycho (1960), for Alfred Hitchcock. The pilot is directed by Len Wiseman, director of the Underworld movies.  

The series is produced by James Wan and developed by Gary Dauberman, who wrote the Annabelle films, and Mark Verheiden, a comic book writer who also wrote for the Constantine (2014-2015) series. The series premiered on the DC Universe on May 31, 2019 and was quickly cancelled. It may have new life with the CW. The pilot opens at night at the swamp with a boat of men tracking a signal. They drop boxes into the dark river and find that the boat engine has died.  

Then, the boat is rocked and vines pull one of the men into the dark water. We get a Jaws-like shot of the man swimming until he is pulled under! Then, there is an Evil Dead pov of vines crawling towards them. Another throws an explosive in the water sending the vines shrieking. The boat is lifted from the water by vines and one man is pierced through by them! The survivor, Eddie Coyle (John Bishop) reaches the shore and then sees the vines closing in. The music by Brian Tyler is moody, but not evocative of the bayou, I want jazz, some saxophone or even a banjo.  

We get “48 hours later”, a class is going over fairy tales, a girl, Susie (Elle Graham) coughs and starts to bleed from her nose, she tries to get the teacher’s attention, but collapses! Graham starred in Stranger Things as Sara Hopper. This shifts to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a young boy shouts in French waving a machete to protect his sister. He is trying to ward off a health care worker in a hazmat suit, very close to our frightening times.  

Another worker enters and takes off her mask, this is Abby Arcane, played by Crystal Reed. The actress had the part of Sofia Falcone in Gotham (2017-2018). She speaks softly in French to the boy to help his sister. Abby takes up the young girl and later is met by her co-worker, Harlan Edwards (Leonardo Nam) about the hemorragic fever. Nam played Lutz in the Westworld series.  He gives her a report that she has been recalled back to Louisiana by the CDC. They are driving in her former hometown, Marais, Louisana, in a jeep.  

Abby is given the case and announces the plan to the hospital staff. In the hospital room, Abby looks at the ill Susie and a strange, tiny branch on her pillow. She sees a man looking through files, this is Alec Holland, Andy Bean plays the character. Bean was in the dramedy Here and Now.  His scientist is more intrusive than the original character and there isn’t any sparks between Bean and Reed, maybe he needs to be more swampy. He is escorted out of the hospital.  

Abby drives over to the Coyle house, she is joined by the police officer, Matt Cable (Henderson Wade). He also played a police officer, Sheriff Michael Minetta in Riverdale (2018-2019). Cable is also brash, kinda breaking into the house without permission, and shouting out Coyle’s name.  Neither of the male leads are strong. They hear sawing noises and Cable draws his gun.  It is Alec sawing to take a sample with headphones on. He points out Eddie Coyle who is covered in vines!  The police are investigating the house and Alec explains to Abby that he was hired by Avery Sutherland. He wants to take her to his lab out in the swamp.  

They take a boat out to his lab, she points out his designer flip flops showing he is not a local, the lab is a large log cabin built over the water. Alec has been tracking a mutagenic strain that has been spreading around the swamp. He places Spanish moss in a container and a few drops of the sample causes the moss to almost burst out of the container. Abby gets a call that Coyle’s body is ready to be examined. At the Marais Town Hall, there is an emergency meeting, Alec is there watching, attending is Avery Sunderland (Will Patton). He was in the Shots Fired criminal drama.  

Sunderland tells the town that he lives in Marais and also notes his wife, Maria (Virgina Madsen).  The actress was Madeline Hawthorne in American Gothic and also Helen Lyle in the horror movie Candyman (1992). There is also scientist, Jason Woodrue (Kevin Durand), Vasiliiy Fet was played by Durand in The Strain, and also blind fortune teller, Xanadu (Jeryl Prescott). She was Jacqui in The Walking Dead. I’m familiar with all of the characters and who they will turn out to be in the story. The show is slow paced, Alec’s transformation is in the opening of the movies, but also offers more in the moody horror. Swamp Thing is gradually paced, needs a stronger cast, but has some terror from the Little Shop of Horrors vines!  

Three Vines out of Five!  

#SwampThing, #GaryDauberman, #MarkVerheiden, #LenWisman, #CrystalReed, #AndyBean, #WillPatton, #AndyBean, #VirginiaMadsen, #KevinDurand, #JerylPrescott, #WillPatton 

Strolling through the (Theme) Park One Day: Knott’s Fall-O-Ween!

Knott’s Berry Farm has the Fall-O-Ween event which is five food items that you can find all around the park!  It has started on September 25th and it ends on November 1st.  This seems to be the only theme park, besides SeaWorld, in the Southern California area that is open.  I was excited looking at the park gates because I knew they are not closed!  The procedure was going through the gift shop for the security check.  It was a fever check cannon.  

Then, it is a queue that was short and then the security check. Afterwards, it is the gate, they give you an Adult Tasting Card that you scan and take your picture.  You buy the card in advance, $35, it looks like many dates are selling out now!  You get five food items with the card.  Once you enter the park there is a pumpkin Fall-O-Ween sign!  There was one downside, at night, the Boothill Cemetery, was crowded.  It is a small area without room to social distance, I avoided it.  I also want to stress that I saw two cast members go out of their way to inform guests to put their masks over their noses properly which is the first time I've seen this action.      

                          Calico Railroad train with spooky fog and ghost, photo by the author. 

I also bought the t-shirt & pin, after months without going to a theme park, I have almost zero sales resistance.  I then went to Ghost Town, I really liked the dressed-up skeletons, and my absolute favorite is a scare actor.  He was dressed like the mayor, dark coat and hat, plus he had a pet vulture.  The scare actor asked passer bys their name, had them flap their “wings”, squawk, and then thanked them!  

I really hope everyone has a chance to flap their wings.  I saw other scare actors, but mostly in passing.  I went to the Calico Saloon and picked up a boysenberry smoothie.  Very refreshing with the heat!  I went to the Ghost Town Candy Store to get a Sarsaparilla, it wasn’t at the saloon, and then got hungry.  Ghost Town has the fog and lighting at night.  I went to the Roaring 20’s area to get a sausage and chicken jambalya at the Charleston Circle Booth.  It was tasty, not too spicy, with big pieces of sausage and chicken.  

Later, I got Sweet Chili Chicken Drumsticks from the Spurs Booth next to Ghostrider.  Knott's is known for chicken, this is not fried, but it is covered with sweet chili sauce that is sticky like caramel, and afterwards there is a little heat, not great when you are wearing a mask!  At the Roaring 20’s is Knott’s Bear-y Tales!  It will be open when the park officially opens.  When I was a kid, it was the best ride, a dark ride through the world of Knott’s bears.  The best part was the smell of boysenberry pies!  

I was told by a cast member that the ride has guns so you can protect the boysenberry pies!  This is from the previous ride, Voyage to the Iron Reef, it closed in January, a fair 3D shooting ride with some steampunk.  The best part is that the steampunk continues in Bear-y Tales.  Next to it is the store, Into the Fog: A Scary Farm Tribute, there is a bit of a wait.  There are vintage posters of the first Halloween Haunt before it took off to other theme parks.  The walls have various artworks, my favorite is “`Til Death Do Us Part”, by Brandon Starr, a lenticular print of a bride who transforms into a spooky look.  I saw a section on Elvira merchandise because she entertained at Scary Farm for years.  I was not familiar with the recent mazes.  

                                   Sweet chili Chicken Drumsticks, photo by the author. 

Then, I went to Log Ride Mix-up right next to the Timber Mountain Log Ride.  The booth features the Orange Creamscicle ICEE float.  This ranks as one of the top refreshing and delicous drinks!  An ICEE with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Lastly, I went to the Camp Snoopy Trick-or-Treat Trail.  This was $8 for adults, but worth it.  Simply because there is no Halloween for Angelinos.  The funny part is that the closed rides has skeletons having fun on them!  

There were also wagons with skeleton drivers and horses.  Woodstock has invaded with some alien friends in a flying saucer!  Also, an animated band of a werewolf, alien, Yeti, and vampire, the Calico Coffin Creepers!  The best was an animated rock troll!  There was a scare actor, playing a fun scarecrow, I noticed he was doing a Ed Wynn-voice.  This is the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins (1964).  I sensed this more than Ray Bolger from The Wizard of Oz (1939). There is still occasions for fun that is safe and Knotts Fall-O-Ween is one of them with some great food and drinks!  

#KnottsBerryFarm, #FallOWeen, #GhostTown, #CampSnoopy  

Proposal of a DC Mask Wearing Series!

Right now, we of course are in the midst of a pandemic, and part of this is wearing a mask when outside in groups.  There are superheroes that wear masks, Batman wears a half-mask exposing his mouth, but the rest of the Trinity, Superman and Wonder Woman, really don’t have need of a mask. Still, there is artists reflecting the responsiblity of mask wearing with superhero characters. Jorge Jimenez posted on Twitter on July 3rd Twitter, “Hey friends! It’s time that we are all Superman, that we all save lives.. there are children watching us, and we have to decide how we want to inspire them.” 

He posted a picture of Superman flying and wearing a mask along with the Jonathan Kent Superboy.  Jimenez added over criticism that Superman does not need to wear a mask, “note: Superman doesn't need to do 99 percent of the things he does, he just does it to inspire others, to do things right. ;) that´s the point.”  Superman did wear a full helmet in Superman: Future’s End #1 (2014).  Batman has worn various gas masks including Batman: The Dark Knight #15 (2013).  So there is precedent for super heroes to wearing full masks.  So a one-shot special could benefit charities, but it would not make a great impact.  A limited series or a company wide cross over would get interest even outside comic books.  

There may be two possible story points for superheroes to wear masks.  One is that a super villain could have developed a weapon, something like a poison, that could attack superhero breath tracks.  Too on the mark.  The second is that a supervillain or group has developed technology to track superheroes through their breaths so their civilian identities would be compromised.  The other heroes that don’t worry about their identities like Aquaman would wear the masks to help their teammates.  The point of this comic book would be to have a re-design of full masks for the superheroes to wear.  This of course is perfect for Halloween and for cosplayers.  The masks could be designed by Jim Lee or an artist like Jorge Jimenez.  The turn around for comic books requires several months so a one-shot could be published showing designs by Jim Lee or Jorge Jimenez and some text explaining the event.  This event could get the attention of main stream media and bring interest in young people and all comic book readers to wearing masks.  

#DCMasks, #Superman, #Batman, #WonderWoman, #JorgeJimenez 

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, “Camp Cretaceous”, Review!

The series is developed by Zack Stentz who wrote the screenplay for the sci fi movie Rim of the World (2019).  The showrunners are Scott Kraemer and Aaron Hammersley.  Kraemer was a writer for the Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness series.   Hammersley also worked on that show and his last series as a writer was Star vs. the Forces of Evil.  The computer generated animation is by DreamWorks Television Animation.  All eight episodes has begun streaming on September 18th and currently streaming on Netflix.  We start from a world view down to a pan throught the jungle to the Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous gate.  Then, we get a T-Rex bursting through the gate and bellowing!  We get a radar scan of Isla Nubar and a report of two “friendlies” that need extraction on the north east corner of the island. 

Then, we get a man in a hat and vest, Dr. Meriweather, guiding someone through the jungle.  He reaches a rock wall and then has his friend look out into the jungle.  The man says they are safe and that they should reach the helicopter.  A velociraptor appears in the tree branch above, they are more careful hunters and would encircle the “friendles”, but they start to run.  The velociraptors calls in others to join the hunt.  The kid, Darius (Paul-Mikél Williams), whom we get the pov perspective stumbles and finds velociraptor bones.  Paul-Mikél Williams.  Williams voiced Jack Ledger in the DreamWorks Animation series Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy. He stumbles into a river and the man is attacked by the velociraptors!   The boy hears growling and looks up to see a T-Rex closing its jaws on him!  Game Over!  We see with a VR visor startled by his brother, Brandon (Benjamin Florez Jr.).  He hopes to complete the game and win a trip to Jurassic World, very Ready Player One.  I do like that we see a contest as way of getting to the island.    

His brother calls Darius a “dino-nerd” and mentions their father who passed away.  Darius stares hopeless at the computer screen.  He takes a dinosaur tooth necklace to bed.  We see the prehistoric figures around Darius’ room.  The clock ticks as suddenly Darius wakens with inspiration and rushes to his bookshelf to research dinosaur behavior.  I like that we can see Darius’ research component not a gamer book.  Darius has his VR visor and continues the game.  He is of course startled by the T-Rex and runs back to the velociraptor bones.  The T-Rex approaches as Darius finally finds a velociraptor skull and activates it!  This causes a velociraptor screech that has the velociraptors pounce on the T-Rex as the helicopter arrives.  Darius enters the helicopter and gets a Congradulations Player screen!  Mr. DNA invites Darius as the first player to complete the game to the adventure camp, Camp Cretaceous.  Darius rises his visor shouting to Brand and his mother.   

This shifts to the approach of Isla Nubar, we of course get the swelling of the John Williams piece, the passenger cruise ship reaches the docks.  The campers are given a welcome speech by Dave (Glen Powell), the goofy camp counselor in a red shirt.  He voiced Trent in the DreamWorks series All Hail King Julien: Exiled.  Ben is at the dock overcome with sea sickness.  A jeep screeches to a stop at the dock and out comes Roxie (Jameela Jamil), head counselor.  Jamil voices Sloane in the Crossing Swords animated series.  Dave explains that the campers have won contests and others have had VIP invites.  What is confusing is that there is not a map so we and the campers can orient ourselves on locations.  The pink haired girl is taking video with her phone.  Darius is excited about the dinosaurs.  Roxie explains that they will have behind the scenes tours and other activities.  It is strange that the counselors don’t explain what is the objective of the camp, to learn about dinosaurs and explore the island with kayaking? The vlogger, Brooklynn (Jenna Ortega), wants a better introduction. Ortega voiced Princess Isabel in Elena of Avalor.  

They are interrupted by the landing of a helicopter, Roxie sighs, this is the arrival of the preppy Kenji (Ryan Potter).  He also voices Hiro in Big Hero 6: The Series.  The campers climb into a truck with the counselors up front.  Darius looks admiringly at Brooklyn taking selfies when Kenji slides in right next to him. The campers quickly put on their seat belts as the truck takes off.  Then, we get Brooklyn’s vlog perspective talking to her Brooklanders.  She has the other campers introduce themselves starting with Darius.  They are interrupted by Brooklander, Sammy Gutierrez (Raini Rodriguez).  Starehe in The Lion Guard animated series was voiced by Rodriguez.  She mentions that her family supplies all of the beef in Jurassic World.  Sammy likes to be part of the 27 million followers of Brooklyn.  The truck comes to stop with the appearance of a dinosaur.  I’m amazed that security is not interested in the arrival of the campers and that they don’t escort them on the long road to the camp.  Ben (Sean Giambrone) is of course worried.  The actor has provied many voice roles including Joshua in the Harley Quinn series.  The counselors leave the truck with their shock poles. The campers look as their counselors move into the jungle.  Still, Darius hears some rustling behind them!  

The dinosaur roars and leaps at Darius knocking him down.  He sees that it is a small dino and it is caught by Roxie who puts it in a cage. Darius identifies it as a Compsognathus, this is the same species that attacks the girl in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and was also in the Michael Crichton Jurassic Park (1990) novel.  It is a clever way to introduce the Jurassic Word dinosaurs.  The campers are excited to enter the Camp Cretaceous gate!  The truck finally reaches the camp and the campers are in awe of the Dino-sized treehouse.  Brooklyn records the introduction of the camp, Kenji says his dad’s penthouse on the island is more impressive, so Brooklyn talks to Yasmina (Kausour Mohammed).  She provided voices in the Cannon Busters animated series. A great voice cast!   Yasmina is an athlete, but shy around cameras.  The diversity of kids is great, but I think all of them should be interested in dinos especially going to the park.  I think they should have different fields of interest, young dinos, herbivores, sauropods, etc.  Roxie notes that the camp is getting ready for 500 kids.  Darius wanted to get a good look at the Compy, but the Jurassic World worker drives it away in a jeep.  The campers watch from the top of the treehouse at the dinosaurs being herded back to their enclosures.  The counselors have them zip line over them!  Seems a bit dangerous, but an impressive view of the dinosaurs.  Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous explores the park in full where we only got glimpses in the films, fun, but also some story faults!  

Four Compys out of Five! 

#JurassicWorld, #CampCretaceous, #PaulMikelWilliams, #JennaOrtega, #RyanPotter  

Happy Birthday Brie Larson!

Happy Birthday Brie Larson! She has had a career in tv including the Raising Dad (2001-2002) comedy series.  Larson played Emily Stewart sister to Sarah Stewart played by Kat Dennings.  Then she was in the popular Disney channel movie Right on Track (2003).  Larson was in the episode, “Slam” (2008) of the supernatural series Ghost Whisperer.  Larson is also a musician and played Envy Adams lead singer of The Clash at Demonhead.  This was in the brilliant Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). Next, she played Kate Gregson, the daughter of Toni Collete’s character, in United States of Tara (2009-2011).  

Larson was in the action comedy 21 Jump Street (2012).  Another memorable part was as Rachel showing up in episodes of Community as the romantic interest of Abed Nadir played by Danny Pudi.  She won the Academy Award for Room (2015) as the mother of a son played by Jacob Tremblay who need to escape their abductor.  The dramatic film featured a screenplay by Emma Donoghue adapting her novel.  She faced King Kong in the MonsterVerse film, Kong: Skull Island (2017).  Larson also co-starred with Samuel Jackson in the comedy film, Unicorn Store (2017).  She starred as the lead superhero in Captain Marvel (2019).  Captain Marvel was also ater in Avengers: Endgame (2019).  Larson starred in the biographical drama, Just Mercy (2019), as Eva Ansley.  Happy Birthday Brie Larson!

#BrieLarson, #ScottPilgrimvstheWorld, #Room, #CaptainMarvel