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21.01.2022 FACE YOUR FEARS In 1994, THE STAND miniseries, based on the book written by Stephen King (who also wrote the teleplay) did massive viewer numbers! The plot that focuses on two groups of survivors who face off against each other in a battle between good and evil after a deadly plague kills most of the world’s population couldn’t be more relevant. From memory, the plague starts off as a disease which has flu like symptoms! Will it hit too close to home? Suffer from a strong... build up with a wonky third act that Stephen King works are often criticised for? Be far too 90s to have impact (the high concentration of Gary Sinise seems to carbon date it as such)? Viewing the four-part mini-series over the next week we intend to find out. There’ll be a write up on each episode that plays like a feature film! A 2020 remake is on the way, but with the current state of the world, it’s the perfect time for an eerie re-watch of the original. Feel free to watch along too the DVD is available from JB HI-FI (as a double with the Langoliers grab it on your next essential shopping trip!), the BLU RAY can be snatched up through AMAZON or all four parts are available on YOUTUBE. In these crazy times, we could all do with a calming dream from Mother Abagail (she’s 106 and still makes her own bread, bitches!). See more

17.01.2022 THE STAND PART ONE: The Plague The monster’s coming! Here’s coming! The opening sequence of PART ONE features what seems to be a government made virus getting out of control. The titles show us the aftermath set to Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t fear the reaper perfection! Through various snapshots around America we are introduced to our very Stephen King main characters made up of small-town tough guy, Gary Sinise, object of a teenager’s affections, Molly Ringwald and Ro...b Lowe as a bullied young man who is deaf and mute. The virus, as it turns out, has symptoms of the common cold but then things get a whole lot worse and begin wiping out the population timely much?! As the authorities struggle to contain the virus outbreak, the dialogue is hauntingly real for our current times. If it wasn’t for the 4:3 aspect ratio you’d swear this content was made 3 days ago! The 90s fashion is a reminder of the times though as everyone looks as though they were styled by the wardrobe department on FRIENDS (The one where Rachel gets the flu and wipes out most of humanity!) The series is off to a strong start with all the cast doing great work. Along with the leads, the show features every great character actor of the 90s including Willy from ALF as a sinister scientist who, in this, would have dissected the alien rather than risk the life of his cat! There are also some great uncredited cameos from Ed Harris and Kathy Bates who were at the top of their game at the time. It’s mainly table setting, introducing everyone and setting things up to get the story rolling. There are a few effective scares and there’s no denying how relevant it all feels. The scenes that always stuck with me from when this first aired on TV, and I still found them to be my favs, are when characters have dreams featuring Mother Abagail (played by the great Ruby Dee and, in a brilliant piece of casting, soon to be played by Whoopi Goldberg in the 2020 update). The character is so endearing and the Nick Fury of the show, bringing our heroes together. Even if you don’t want to commit to the full 5 and a half hours (over four parts), the first episode is worth a visit for the curious. After such a strong, appropriate for the here and now build-up, I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to bow out just yet! The Dark man’s coming! Here’s coming! See more

16.01.2022 THE STAND PART THREE: The Betrayal The title of this chapter says it all. We are going to witness a Betrayal! It begins in a warehouse where Gary Sinise (along with his group of survivors) is performing surgery on an unknown person who is badly injured. This scene appears to be part of a larger scenario that we are coming in on the tail end of. Are we witnessing the aftermath of the betrayal only to jump back in time and see what has led to this? No. We move on, not knowing... who this unknown person is or what has happened to them. The scene doesn’t offer anything to the larger story except confusion as to why it was there. It feels like a deleted scene left on the front of the edit timeline or like someone taped over an episode of the FOREST GUMP prequel TV Series, Lieutenant Dan M.D, with the third chapter of THE STAND! Maybe if you’ve read the book it would make sense but it’s a clunky start to the strongest episode since the pilot. As the good survivors gather in the east with Mother Abagail, the cast has grown exponentially with the arrival of more immune dreamers. Almost too much. Characters (one played by the incredible Ossie Davis watch him in BUBBA HO-TEP as he plays a black JFK who helps Elvis fight a mummy in a retirement home) who we’ve never met before have suddenly joined the main storyline. It feels a bit like watching 11 seasons of the WALKING DEAD skipping ahead 10 episodes at a time. There’s also cameos a-go-go with the obligatory Stephen King appearance (his best still being Jordy Verrill in CREEPSHOW), THE STAND director Mick Garris and Tom Holland (not Spiderman, much older and the director of CHILD’S PLAY and FRIGHT NIGHT but there’s a comedy sketch begging to be made!). A lot happens in this chapter. The good survivors attempt to return to civilisation by turning the power back on and cleaning up the dead bodies littering the town there’s a very effective scene where a church is littered with the deceased and a garbage truck is used to assist with the clean-up. The bad survivors are getting underway with a plan in Vegas that involves nuclear weapons and missiles. Our heroes decide to send three spies west to find out what they are up to and, of course, hypnosis is involved to help disguise an identity. Finally, there is the betrayal (nothing to do with the opening scene what was that?!) which sees the loss of some major characters and sets four of our heroes heading west on a mission to confront the Dark Man/Randall Flagg on his turf, where our three spies are already hiding out. Oh, and this chapter’s awesome needle drop is Boogie Fever. There’s a lot to wrap up and only one chapter and 90 minutes left to make a stand (and a satisfying ending)! See more

13.01.2022 THE STAND PART 2:The Dreams - Molly Ringwald sews her dead father’s body into a calico bag. It starts off grim. Her nerdy neighbour, who was crushing on her hard, arrives to offer some comfort. They sit in silence while she plays a record Don’t Dream it’s over by Crowded House. So far, this series has a soundtrack that kicks all kinds of arse. As we hear Neil Finn’s lyrics, we’re treated to devastation - cities littered with corpses. The virus has now wiped out all thos...e who are not immune (most of the population). The survivors are struggling to stay alive in a new world where gunshots ring out in the distance. This chapter lacks some of the fun of the first. When the virus hit in the pilot, there was some twisted joy to be had in watching the show mirror our own current situation. This episode deals with the virus aftermath so who knows, give us a week and it might play better?! We spend much of the first half away from our heroes, as the villains are introduced, and while they’re strange, their stories don’t feel as demented as they should be. Maybe they did in the 90s? The horror moments have also lost their impact in Part 2. When our main villain, The Dark Man aka Randall Flagg, reappears with his glowing read eyes, I should feel dread but instead I marvelled at his double denim and glorious mullet. He’s supposed to be pure evil but comes across as a jacked-up Billy Ray Cyrus. Many jokes can be made here but how dare I slander the man who gave us the artist that gave us Wrecking Ball. Things pick up halfway through though with a tense walk through a darkened Lincoln tunnel filled with cars full of dead bodies, a Mother Abagail dream that becomes a Halloween horror nights maze and a completely unhinged Shawnee Smith terrorizing Rob Lowe! Plus, there’s even more epic Ruby Dee performance! Maybe it’s life right now, but I couldn’t help but feel my soul swell every time complete strangers had a positive interaction and became friends. By the end, after a bumpy start, Part 2 will win you over. The dreams have separated the survivors into two teams, and you’ll be ready to see them make their stand! There’s dark and bloody work ahead! See more

03.01.2022 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2020) Dropping onto streaming early (ITUNES, TELSTA BOX OFFICE) thanks to our good friends at corona virus is a video game movie that pretty much does everything right! SONIC THE HEDGEHOG zooms you straight back to the 90s for an hour and a half of fun for the whole family. That’s important to note this is a family film. It pretty much follows the standard family movie blueprint of other movies and squeakquels of this ilk but is elevated by genuine ca...re for the characters, two playful true-to-the-game action sequences and a classic Jim Carrey performance. So much was made of the horrible Sonic design before release (remember the Before Times when the world’s biggest problem was that someone drew Sonic the Hedgehog with teeth??! dark days!) and while the update DOES look better, the movie would work regardless. Ben Schwartz is endearing and manages some genuine heartfelt moments as the heroic hedgehog. It works, especially for younger viewers who’ll be racing around the loungeroom and quoting Sonic sass for days. Quick confession Jim Carrey is one of my favourite performers. He never phones it in and it’s great to see him completely committed to the type of role he made his career on. My minor quibble is I wanted more! If you don’t like classic Carrey, this isn’t going to change your mind. You should stay away, and I’ll pray for your soul tonight! Sure, it’s probably nostalgia talking, but it’s great to have this kind of movie that I would’ve watched as a kid that I can now laugh at with my son starring the Jim Carrey that I was obsessed with in the mid-90s. Speaking of that time period, put SONIC THE HEDGEHOG up there with one of the other better video game adaptions, MORTAL KOMBAT (1995 on ITUNES right now too)! You might disagree with me on that one but there’s no denying that its theme song kicked ass - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOytoGkzLps&pbjreload=10 See more