Happy Halloween Everyone

It has been a busy weekend with not much time for me to blog :). Recently, I brought my nephew to see the new Goosebumps movie with Jack Black. Surprisingly, the movie was much more entertaining than some purportedly big budget movies aimed at kids and teens. This charming movie is based on the famous 90s Goosebumps novels for kids by R.L.Stine who coincidentally makes a special cameo at the end of the movie. Personally, I never read the books as a kid and neither has my nephew. However, he has better knowledge on the books than me :). Basically, the books are about monsters and other creepy things/places. In the movie, Jack Black plays R.L. Stine who fights off the monsters with the help of some teenagers. Most of the famous (often unique) monsters featured in the books makes an appearance in the movie. My nephew enjoyed telling me the titles of each book in which each of the monsters first showed up in. Although the movie is slow in the beginning, it offers good rollicking fun once the monsters show up. Thanks to the non-stop mayhem that ensues and the comedic talents of Jack Black, the movie is a decent movie for families looking for some light and clean entertainment this Halloween (if you don't mind CGI monsters). The movie is also a  must for those who grew up with the books and the new generation of kids who like the enduring appeal of the books. As Mr Black (or should I say Mr Stine) would say, all his stories has a beginning, a middle and a twist.

           

(Trailer from Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Another thing which I think is worth mentioning is an upcoming documentary "A LEGO Brickumentary". I rarely watch documentaries unless they are really interesting. This documentary is actually a film by Oscar winning/nominated directors Daniel Junge & Kief Davidson and is narrated by Jason Bateman. The film actually examines the humble origins and evolution of LEGO, the global phenomenon surrounding it and its timeless appeal. Most of the footage shows real life fans of LEGO from different walks of life and ages using those famous little bricks in architecture, art and various other ways. Interesting and worth checking out. The blu-ray will be out early next month.  

             

(Trailer Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes Trailers)

If you are interested in viewing Goosebumps (or its 2018 sequel Goosebumps 2 : Haunted Halloween) and 'A LEGO Brickumentary', both are available on DVDs/Blu-Rays from Amazon or via streaming on Amazon Prime. Links below. 

Goosebumps Amazon Prime (paid link)

 

Goosebumps 2 Amazon Prime (paid link)  

 Goosebumps 1 & 2 Blu-Ray Amazon US (paid link)

LEGO Brickumentary Amazon Prime (paid link)

   LEGO Brickumentary Blu-Ray Amazon US (paid link)

Upcoming Movies & Blu-Ray Releases

Haven't made an entry for a long while and I'm sure those occasional visitors to my humble blog were not sure whether I was still alive :). In fact, it was so long ago, that the fonts on my blog actually stopped working! Yes, the fonts actually changed from 'Pacifico' (the font type that I'm using for titles, headings etc) to some ugly font.This is very annoying as I like everything on my blog to remain beautiful and curvy :). Anybody experienced this before on their blog? Since I'm not much of a 'techie', I will be very interested to know the reason for this glitch and appreciate any comments/feedback/solution on this problem.

Anyway, back to the topic dearest to my heart, films. As some might recall from my previous posts, I'm very fond of gothic horror movies from the 90s. Among them is Francis Ford Coppola's version of Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992. Sony has chosen to re-release this movie as the first in its new Supreme Cinema Series with tons of lost, existing and new commentaries, extras and featurettes in one blu-ray disc. The blu-ray disc itself is packaged in a beautiful digibook in a unique clear plastic. I won't go much into the details as you can visit DVDTalk yourselves for a comprehensive review of the release by Francis Rizzo.

 Review by Francis Rizzo (DVD Talk)

However, I just wanted to say that I have been waiting for so long for this movie to be released again properly because it is such a beautiful and well crafted  movie which I truly believe was a labor of love from Mr Coppola. I always thought the movie would get a Criterion release eventually but the fact that Sony chose it as the first movie to be released in its new Supreme Cinema Series does it justice enough. The only gripe I have about this movie is that despite Gary Oldman is an excellent actor, I wish Coppola had chosen a 'hotter' actor for the Count :). Check out the video below for the unboxing of the beautiful set.        

             

Video courtesy of Francis Rizzo (DVD Talk)

Another news that got me excited was an early trailer of 'Pride & Prejudice and Zombies' based on the book by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith which combines two of my favorite things, British Classics and movies/TV series based on books. The movie (think Jane Austen meets The Walking Dead) which stars Lily James, Lena Headey and Matt Smith is set to open in UK on February 2016.

              

(Trailer Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes Trailers)

Heard some good news that one of my favorite TV series from the 90's (loved watching the adventures of this dynamic duo and I don't mean Batman and Robin) is going to be re-released on high definition/ blu-ray. Yes folks, the truth is still out there. All 9 seasons of X-Files will finally be released on blu-ray in a Collector's Box Set on 8th December 2015 (just in time for Christmas, very smart marketing strategy). Since the release is an early announcement  from Fox, it is still unclear whether there will be new bonus materials or individual seasons released. By the way,  X-Files will be returning to Fox TV on January 2016 in a six episode event helmed once again by Chris Carter. David Duchovny (Aquarius) and Gilian Anderson (Hannibal/The Fall) will also reprise the roles of Mulder and Scully. Fox has also released a short trailer for the upcoming six episode miniseries. So I guess the release of the blu-ray box set is not really a coincidence.

In the 90s, X Files was a ground breaking TV show thanks to the creative mind of Chris Carter who tried to replicate his sucess on TV with other series like Millennium and the short lived Harsh Realm . However his other series never garnered the same success and recognition of X Files which even spawned a few movies. Will the new X Files appeal to a newer and more sophisticated audience? Well, that remains to be seen. I guess Fox is willing to take on the gamble since there will only be six episodes and not a full length season. 

             

(Video Courtesy of moviemaniacsDE)

Below are the links if anyone is interested in getting the above blu-rays or book. However, the X-Files Collector's Box is pretty pricey (only for serious collectors).  

Dracula Supreme Cinema Series Amazon US  (paid link)

 

   X-Files Collector's Blu-Ray Boxset Amazon US (paid link)

Pride+Prejudice+Zombies Blu-Ray Amazon US (paid link)

Pride+Prejudice+Zombies Amazon Prime (paid link)

Pride+Prejudice+Zombies Book Amazon US (paid link)    

  Pride+Prejudice+Zombies Graphic Novel Amazon US (paid link)