Category Archives: Editorials

Editorials

‘MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVOLUTION’ spoiler-free review

Image Leave a comment

Many people have been asking for my opinion about Kevin Smith’s latest work on the He-Man franchise for Netflix. As a huge fan of He-Man, I am always excited to see new content related to my favorite fandom. I recently pre-ordered an Orko figure by Mondo and even took an extra job temporarily to feed my collector’s itch and expand my MOTU collection. He-Man was the first hero I ever knew and I’ve always been fascinated by the champions and evildoers’ conflicts across Eternia. As I looked back at my work, I realized (kinda shocked by) how much time I’ve dedicated to this subject alone. Fair to say I might be a little obsessed, to be honest.

A few years ago, when the trailers for Kevin Smith’s Masters of the Universe started appearing, I was excited to return to Eternia and enjoy new adventures. The show promised beautiful animation and had some great voice talents like Mark Hamil (The Joker, Batman Animated, and Arkham games series) and Tony Todd (Candyman, Hatchet, Venom in Sony Spider-Man 2). However, that enthusiasm quickly faded like a fart in the wind once the show actually streamed. I’m not one of the fans who hated it to the point of wanting Kevin Smith’s head on a silver platter, and I don’t think the show was as bad as festering hemorrhoid like many let on about. Frankly, I found the two MOTU Revelation shows to be sinfully boring. The biggest issue was the show’s blatant disregard for the established lore created by the talented and imaginative minds behind the legendarium.

So when MOTU Revolution was announced it was met by a very barren field with maybe an occasional cricket chirp. Maybe a yawn could be heard too. You follow? No one out there (but maybe a handful of folks) gave a single shit about anything more Smith’s team had to bring to Eternia. He already drove everyone off and, frankly, it would take nothing short of a miracle to bring back that offended fan base. Myself included. I was the target audience for a new MOTU series but not even I could dig deep enough to find one good fuck to give about Revolution.

I was completely surprised once Revolution finally streamed. I couldn’t stop watching it and found myself invested, excited, and even entranced by what I was seeing. It was like all that old magic came rushing back to me. Watching each episode back-to-back was a refreshing experience that felt like a return to the glorious days of high adventure. Swords and sorcery flowed across each consequential story, connecting them in a pattern that enhanced and deepened the lore and awe revolving around Castle Grayskull. The show joined both those who protect her and those sworn to take her by force in what can be nothing short of a true classic Ultimate Battleground – something that He-Man has always been known for.

Every episode is well-written, with magic vs technology, and good vs evil all woven together in a sovereign tapestry. Episode one sets the tone, and the series builds on it, culminating in an epic battle between the Masters and the Horde Empire, and, oh yes, He-Man battling none other than Skeletor. It’s a fantastic ending that lives up to the legendary comic runs.

I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers (and believe me I want to go over everything here) but Revolution is packed with throwbacks, homages, and plenty of Easter eggs. However, the show doesn’t rely on these nods to make the story work, and they aren’t just there to wink at the camera. Instead, they’re part of a larger tapestry that’s woven throughout the show and provide something new to discover with each rewatch, and it’s a testament to the show’s quality that I’ve rewatched this thing multiple times now. I also appreciate how Revolution not only respects the established He-Man lore but in fact, adds to it. That’s something not easily accomplished and they did so brilliantly.

Indeed the adventures continue and are a must-see. The team did their homework this time around (a sweet fan of mine said they must have read my articles…bless you for that) and set out to actually tell a genuine Masters of the Universe story worthy of Grayskull.

I would love to go over all the Easter eggs and surprises here so maybe that’ll be a new article. In the meantime do yourself a favor and watch MOTU Revolution.

Manic out!

Editorials

50 Years of Fear: A Look Back at the Audience Reactions and the Phenomenon of “The Exorcist”

Image 1 Comment

Christmas at the cinema has been a long-standing holiday tradition for many families. After a chaotic morning of shuffling around from house to house opening unwanted presents of socks and fruitcakes while dealing with overly loud in-laws, one tends to want to wind down with a good, wholesome film.

Enter The Exorcist, which opened nationwide in theaters the day after “Jesus’ birthday” on December 26th, 1973.

A bit of a stray from good ol’ Rankin Bass entertainment, eh?

When it comes to The Exorcist, you can’t even to attempt to argue that BOTH the 1971 novel and 1973 film are nothing short of a massive achievement in both the horror genre and filmmaking in general. What many people call “The scariest movie of all time” has left its imprint of terror on people. In 1973 when the film first premiered it caused QUITE a stir all over the nation. It was like nothing anyone has ever seen on screen, or even witnessed at a theater. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was the first to bring serious public controversy and horror to movie audiences with the shocking shower scene, but The Exorcist raised the bar far higher than anyone could ever imagine, and audiences were absolutely not ready for this shit. You’ve heard the stories: people fainting in the theaters, vomiting, some bolting out the door like a bat out of hell to their closest church out of fear and to repent.

Goddamn. What a beautiful site. I wish I could have experienced this phenomenon.

The Exorcist opened the same day in 24 theaters in 21 metro areas in the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday, December 26th, 1973 with strategically creating a sense of scarcity by adding new theaters slowly over the course of the following months per the studios. The results made The Exorcist a smash hit, even beating out The Sting which was released on Christmas Day and as far as Holiday theatrical releases go- The Exorcist is only trailing behind TITANIC as far as gross income.

Of course, we have to value the other strategic promotions from the studios, where they really ate up the “getting ill” inside the theater aspect. That alone piqued people’s interest, only making them want to watch it more-as human nature goes, you tell us not to touch something, it makes us only lust after it all the more. This movie was not expected to do well. However, after the news pounced on the rumors of people fainting in the theater, people lined up in droves in freezing temperatures to get in on The Exorcist phenomenon.

Bless those people’s frozen chops for helping make The Exorcist one of the highest-grossing R-rated films of all time and giving the world a Christmas miracle: One where it centered around, ironically, a demonic possession.

Editorials

(VIDEO) That Deleted Scene From “The Fly” 1986 That Went Too Damn Far

Image Leave a comment

David Cronenberg’s THE FLY is highly regarded by us horror fans as not only one of the greatest remakes of all time but, quite possibly, one of the most gorgeous representations of practical effects in horror films to this very day. In the 35-plus years since the movie’s release, horror fans and aspiring filmmakers look at THE FLY slightly different to the average moviegoer. While the typical viewer sees shock and horror, we see the most tragic love story ever told. Ok, it’s also one of the grossest love fests ever told but nonetheless, tragic as hell. And the following deleted scene just validates that point even further.

The infamous monkey-cat deleted scene most of us have seen already is grotesque in nature and mostly unnecessary. I say mostly because I’m not too crazy about watching animals being mutilated- but it also touches on the absolute desperation at this point in the film for Seth Brundle. You could see the defeat in his mangled face after the terribly gone wrong experiment on the roof, and ummm, ripping off an insect leg that had spawned from his stomach with his mouth. Stating the whole scene is slightly painful to watch would be the understatement of the century- and of course, this deleted scene in particular is no exception to the argument either.

At the height of the end of the film where Brundle ninja attacks Stathis from the ceiling of his now Fly Nest and vomits on the hand and foot of Veronica’s ex, there’s an extended scene where Seth takes the severed foot of Stathis and treats it like the testy morsel he believes it to be. The easy movie-goer in me just thinks this shit is just straight-up nasty, HOWEVER, since I also analyze everything to death, it also demonstrates just how far gone Seth was at the end. This attack had nothing to do with Veronica. It had everything to do with his infamous monologue of “insect politics”. The insect inside him has mostly taken over at this point, with the last moment of humanity in Brundlefly is shown when Veronica asks him to stop before he kills Stathis. Shortly after, he sheds his outer skin to expose the creature it has become.

Don’t watch this while eating lunch, folks. Since the YouTube video is age restricted, just click watch on YouTube in the video box or right here!