Before Hollywood became obsessed with filming unnecessary remakes, throughout the 80’s and 90’s Hollywood was inspired to fill the multiplexes and video stores with as many horror sequels they could manage to churn out.  Sure, I have a deep seeded obsession with Friday the 13th and the Nightmare on Elm Street franchises, but there are other franchises out there that were blessed with a slew of sequels when the originals, though they hold a soft spot in my horror-drenched heart, just didn’t need to continue the story; it was good as it was and should have been left that way.  And that’s how I feel especially about Basket Case.

“When is everything gonna get back to normal?”

Is a happy, well-adjusted Don Draper a good thing? That’s one of the biggest questions posed during Mad Men’s excellent fifth season, and it’s aimed at the other characters in the show as well as a passionate TV audience that has become seriously invested in Jon Hamm’s suave antihero.

Some bands stand the test of time. Rolling Stones, Beatles, Bon Jovi, Village People, errrr, okay let’s continue. Another of those bands is Queen who some experts have estimated that the band has sold over two hundred million records. Their most famous lead singer is of course the legendary Freddie Mercury. But Freddie Mercury was such a unique personality that he was not always interested in making music with Queen. He had many other interests and this documentary we have today explores them.

“What cannot be disputed is your imagination is the inspiration of a horrendous crime.”

The Raven may not be a turkey, but it doesn’t really soar either. Director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) attempts to fashion a historical fiction around the mysterious final five days of Edgar Allen Poe’s life. A notorious drunk and opium addict, Poe (John Cusack) careens through 19th century Baltimore dead broke, bitter from years of writer’s block, and harassed by the locals for being a blustering has-been. Due to a distinct lack of social sympathy, he can’t even borrow money for a single drink

"In space no one can hear you scream."

It was the tagline that brought us by the droves into our neighborhood cinemas in 1979 to see one of Ridley Scott's two classic science fiction adventures. Alien was one of the scariest science fiction films we've ever seen. It wasn't just the wonderfully organic H.R. Giger designs that had us on the edge of our seats. Scott delivered a claustrophobic nightmare that caged us with this remarkable killing machine. Much the same feeling I had recently trapped in a minivan with a large spider on the prowl.

"Do you want me to give it to you straight?"

When last we left our main characters from the first two Madagascar films they were stranded in Africa after being shipped from their home in the New York Zoo. We knew the sequel was coming. They couldn't have left it any more wide open than they did. Of course, the reasonable questions were already being asked by the time the second film began. Do we really need another Madagascar film? Is there any new territory to explore?

When I first learned that Adam Green (director of Hatchet and Frozen) would be creating a show to air on Fear Net, this seemed like a slice of heaven to me.  I love horror, and with the exception of The Walking Dead and American Horror Story there just hasn’t been much to watch from the genre.  So when I discovered that Green was going to be actually developing a sit-com instead, it would be fair to say I was more than a little disappointed by this news.  But then I was given a glimmer of hope when I heard it would be about a pair of struggling horror filmmakers. As a film graduate and a lover of horror, this instantly became something relatable to me.

This is a film that’s been floating around for some time but under the title The Forgotten Ones.  A simple title change isn’t going to help this film.  The worst part of this train wreck is that it had every chance to be a really good film.  I wish the blame could only go to one person, but there are issues with the illogical script, the direction, the camera work, the editing, and even the sound.  The only things that helped make this film even bearable to watch was the cast (who didn’t have much to work with) and the makeup effects for the creatures was impressive (considering the budget).

“Greed is Good.”

No other cinematic phrase described the 1980’s better. And no other movie captures the financial corruption of the 80’s better than Oliver Stone’s Wall Street. Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a small-time stockbroker, making cold calls to businessmen who won’t give him the time of day.

Started off rocky but pulled it together in the end. That’s my assessment of Suddenly Single, the latest play from established playwright David E. Talbert. Plays are a difficult field to be successful in, as an actor as well as a director; much more challenging than making a film. With a film, thousands if not millions of dollars are spent creating several different detailed environments to better illustrated the fictional world in which the characters live. With a play however, you get one set, and you have to tell an entire story within the confines of that one set.