Predator- Xenomorph Aside

The Alien franchise crossing over with the Yautja brought a great deal more than the individual creatures and battles.

Beach Boys Christmas

On December first my sister and I gave our Mother her Christmas present, the Beach Boys Reason for the Season Christmas concert in Morristown at MPAC.  My daughter and two nieces came too. Basically it was a girls' night out, plus me.  The younger kids probably knew the Beach Boys from watching Full House, which is likely the only nice thing I’ve said about that series in my life.

2018 Holiday Parade Festivities

GooooooOOOOOOOOOooooOOOOOOOoOOOood Afternoon! It’s Anabelle here, back again at the Traditional Christmas Village. It seems like this year, we got some new residents. Although I’m not going to go off on that tangent right now. Anyway, it is that time of year again: the time for the “I Wish I Was In Jeff’s Village” Action Figure and Hess Truck Extravaganza!

Christmas Village 2018

A Writing American Hero

Or

Here Comes Stan Lee Claus

I originally didn’t want to involve superheroes two years in a row for the annual Christmas carnage atop the frozen Norwegian wastes of Sluttbordet Plateau.  However, with the passing of Stan Lee, this is unquestionably the year a Marvel tribute is needed.

Cobra forces once again are perched atop the plateau.  “Weren’t they defeated by the Justice League?” I hear an outburst or readers cry.

Would you believe, a couple of readers?

Would you believe, it’s just one? (Hi, Mom!)

Yes, Cobra was defeated, but in the Mighty Marvel Manner, the Watcher asks:

“What if Marvel heroes and villains co-created by Stan Lee 

joined in the annual snow covered battle?”

Christmas Calculation!

Looks like a get an early Christmas present this year.  A day off!

For extra credit, my daughter's math class was tasked with writing a math based Christmas carol.

Most others wrote or typed out something short and basic, to a simple song.

She made a giant, multicolored page with images, and parodied a Rankin Bass storytelling number.

I have no idea where she gets it from.

Come back next time for the usual Action Figure based holiday fun.

Bride of Frankenstein Through a Kid’s Eyes

Predator 2 Post

Frankenstein Through a Kid’s Eyes

Predator Post

The original Predator is showered with praise by fans of that sort of thing. 

And I think one of the big reasons that the sequels failed to live up to the expectations of the first for many that are not me, is that folks are a bit confused about what “that sort of thing” is.

Universal Monsters Through a Kid’s Eyes

I should probably take Grandma’s advice and change this to “My Kid’s Eyes” as she gets older, but there’s no way I'm going back and relabeling all the old posts, I’m behind as it is.

Facebook Film Foolishness: Coda

We’ve had impact lists, previously mentioned impact lists, Eighties lists, and two groups of weird non-human lists.  For the musical finale, repeats are allowed, since I made so many rules last week, I’ve limited the selection pool.  However, these are much more rankable than merely using chronological order.

It’s a Rube Goldberg Christmas

Caught two kid’s Christmas movies this week. Oddly both had complex, multi stage mechanisms in them to perform simple tasks.  The reasons were somewhat different, however.

Facebook Film Foolishness: Encore, Encore

Ha! I escaped.  How else could I post the answers to last week’s movie list:

Farewell to "The Man"

Some people you just kind of expect to keep going forever.

That makes it a shock, even at ninety-five, when they don't.

Facebook Film Foolishness Part 6

Here is a reminder of what this week is“10 DAY MOVIE CHALLENGE.”

Following the same guidelines as the animated films, after the original list of course:

Guardian Born, Devil Again

Season Three of Daredevil has ramped up all the successful elements of Netflix Marvel to incredibly impressive levels.

Facebook Film Foolishness Part 5

While I was racking my brain for weeks to whittle down my original list, (And my other list, and my other other list) Jeff challenged me again with a fellow Facebook film fan Chris's more difficult “10 DAY MOVIE CHALLENGE.”

The rules are: you have to post an image of a NONHUMAN NONBLOCKBUSTER movie character that affected you in some way. Even if it was in the background or had only 5 seconds of screen time. Doesn't matter. ***NO JAWS, STAR WARS, ALIEN, THING, ETC. IT'S A CHALLENGE***

So Far, His Youth is Pretty Darn Good

The whole Disney Trip Clan of my immediate family drove out to Port Washington, New York to see my Nth Cousin Xce Removed Bobby Conte Thornton in his oneish man show: Blame it on My Youth, at Eight PM on Friday October 19. 

Because he had a special guest in something he normally does alone (with a four piece backup band) I called it a “oneish” man show.

Because we were worried about making it through start of weekend traffic from New Jersey to Long Island, we left…

Tuesday.

Facebook Film Foolishness Part 4

There is another whole group of ten movies that are portions of my soul that didn’t meet the original requirements, or last week’s. 

They say the first few years of life are key for imprinting on a language. My theory is that the teen years are key for imprinting on movie quotes.  This is a series of films from the 1980’s with varying degrees of mystical or fantastic elements that in most cases I don’t remember the first time I saw them. However, as years have passed they’ve wormed into my brain to a level that most weeks will not pass without me quoting many of them.

We Are Pleased

Usually, I can easily spew forth all kinds of observations about movies, and then I’ll agonize trying to come up with a fun title.

I’ve had this title and a blank page for over a week, and I’m not sure why.  Its late enough that some spoilers probably snuck in.

Facebook Film Foolishness Part 3

Welcome back to me obsessing about how many movies have driven my personality.

(Part 1 and explanation, and Part 2 of main list)

Here’s a whole other top ten list of movies disqualified based on my already describing the effects of the first time I saw them in previous posts. Clicking on the titles will take you to those posts.

Bayonned Beyond Belief

No, there are no reviews again this week. (Though I will say that Jodie Whittaker is KiILLING IT!!! Love the authoritative flourish she wields the Sonic with.)  Instead is a special - off schedule-  George Award for myself due to shattering a previous record.

Warning

This post contains bad, foul, filthy and unacceptable language - the words that “will curve your spine, grow hair on your hands and maybe, even bring us, God help us, peace without honor.”

This is not a post for children.  Kids, take a hike.

This is also not a post for those adults who are offended by this type of language.  Do yourself a favor, and go read some of my cute stuff before moral outrage can kick in.

Just about everything else on this blog is clean…Stupid sometimes, but clean.

End of Warning.

Facebook Film Foolishness Part 2

Click here for the explanation and the beginning of the list leading into…

Mr. Bemis’s Happy Ending

Venom came out, but with a sinus infection, band performance and a homecoming dance we didn't have time to see it.

I know…priorities.

And there’s a new Doctor. She’s British, she’s fun, she's commanding, and she’s mad, I"m still sure she'll be fine.  But, since we’re starting at the beginning to step by step new viewers in again, I’d really like to see another outing or two where she’s settled in before posting all my thoughts.

I have been watching the Twilight Zone however…

Facebook Film Foolishness Part 1

My friend Jeff on Facebook nominated me for a 10-day movie challenge.

The rules were: Post an image, no explanation (which could have killed me), from 10 movies (and only ten which also could have killed me) that had an impact on me.

Because I love films far more than I hate chain letter type things, I actually did this one, but nominated anyone who wanted to do this and hadn’t been challenged yet instead of putting someone on the spot.

Because after a month of trying to reduce the list it remained in the high twenties, I had to invent my own extra rules.

Here, then, are ten films that had an impact on me…

And I can vividly remember the effect of the first time I saw them…

And I haven’t blogged about that experience already…

And I could miss the beginning on the first viewing but not the end…

And they went on to become “part of me.”

The Healing Power of the Iron Fist

Atlantic City Appendix Two: Summer 2018- Almost Didn’t Go At All

June 24th - 26th

Bondlets: Spectre

2015

Atlantic City Appendix One: Spring 2018- Almost an Extended Stay

April 1st- 4th 2018 

The Predator, and "The Predator"

There’s a new Predator film out.

Finally!

See down below for a spoiler free review.

More importantly, this serves as an introduction to a long delayed tour of the whole franchise.

Atlantic City Summer 2017: Day 6- Almost Blinded

August 11, 2017

These anniversary posts are getting less and less commemorative.

Here's our last day of the trip for post number 800.

Bondlets: Skyfall

2012

Atlantic City Summer 2017: Day 5- Almost New Regulars

August 10, 2017

Ash vs Evil Dead Season Three- the Big Fin-Ash

The third and final season of this continually fun, scary and insane show has reached home release.

Atlantic City Summer 2017: Day 4- Almost a Meal

August 9, 2017

Bondlets: Quantum of Solace

2008

Atlantic City Summer 2017: Day 3- Almost All Together

August 8, 2018

Delayed Disney Deconstruction Descriptions

Given its concept and cast, my daughter and I both had Christopher Robin on our radar since it was announced.

Atlantic City Summer 2017: Day 2- Almost Nomads

August 7, 2017

Bondlets: Casino Royale

2006

Atlantic City Summer 2017: Day 1- Almost a Fantastic Room

August 6, 2017

War for the Planet of the Apes through a Kid’s Eyes

Once again, a review for a franchise that insists on only releasing films when I’m vacationing off the continent is delayed.  The delay extended because my daughter, who laughed at Carpenter’s The Thing and the original Poltergeist  didn’t want to watch “the scary monkeys.”

Unpredictability- the never ending gift of parenthood.

Atlantic City Summer 2017 The Almost Tradition

With our family in desperate need of new summer traditions following the epic level unpleasantness of the loss of Up the Lake, a week of beach days down Atlantic City way seemed a prime contender.

We made it two years in a row before things started to wobble.

A Fold In Time

I guess I’ve gotten behind in my viewing, with this being the first of three increasingly late film reviews.  Blame the flood of superheroes and dinosaurs (Woo!) in cinema.

Peru 2017 Day 15- Three to Two Boogaloo

July 16

Sweet Christmas! In July

I don’t have a whole lot to say about season two of Luke Cage, but I couldn't resist the title.

Peru 2017 Day 14- Beach Review Boogaloo

July 15

Astonishing and Wondrous

Sorry for the delay, I had to go see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom again.

Dinosaurs! Woo!

After the heavy weight of Infinity War, Marvel reminds us these stories are supposed to be fun with Ant Man and The Wasp.

And succeed they did!

Peru 2017 Day 13- Corn Man Woo! Boogaloo

July 14