SPOILER Magazine September 2021

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by G Welcome back to another amazing issue of SPO!LER!

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September’s always kind of a weird month no matter where we are in our lives. With the sadness of summer coming to a close and the kids heading back to school, at least we can still revel in the pumpkins and skeletons that start to appear on front porches around the neighborhood. Ushering in the new spooky season, we’re giving you a taste of what’s to come in the next issue with a pair of horror features in this one.

But we in the office are not only celebrating the dawn of fall and Halloween, but our 2 year anniversary as a magazine. It’s been an amazing ride so far, but we’re only just getting started. Slowly getting into our own groove, this year’s been even more amazing than the first.

It’s also been quite a year for filmmaker Justin Lin with the release of the ninth and biggest installment yet of the Fast & Furious franchise along with getting a season 3 for his hit HBO series Warrior. This issue showcases the massive impact that Fast & Furious has made in the 20 years since it first debuted as we rank every installment in the saga.

Of course, we thought by now that the world would be done with this dreadful virus. Alas, we’re still dealing with it, but we’ll deal with it together, bonding over our love for comics, television, and film. We truly feel for everyone who’s had an unthinkable time over the past year-and-a-half, but just know that you’re not going through it alone.

We’ve also returned to filming on our Inside Comic Con docuseries, with hopes of a fall 2022 release. Check out our feature inside to learn all about it!

Thank you all again for all your amazing love and support. We hope to repay it to you tenfold with everything we have in the works, as well as with our humble little magazine right here.

I Love You All...

Galaxy Galaxy EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @ComicConRadio september 2021|

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table of contents

FEATURES

44 emily hampshire exclusive interview

SPOILER MAGAZINE TABLE OF CONTENTS

72 Susie Abromeit

40 Chapelwaite

98 Jesse Stanley

the watch 114 RUSHED: Hogan’s House

12 VICIOUS FUN: How to Make an ‘80s Throwback 48 SPO!LER RANKED Fast & Furious Saga

32 Marlon Wayans’ Robin Finally Making His Way Into the Comics

104 Kong Skull Island And Its Pre-Code Origins

the base

24 It Came From The Video Store!

82 at the movies

120 Comic Book Review www.spoilermagazine.com | Follow us on Instagram: @SpoilerMedia

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in 1983, slashers were taking over the horror film genre. The likes of Friday the 13th and Halloween were making their impact felt. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie, realizing that as long as you had a unique hook you could make a popular finished product with a moderate budget. But let’s be honest, it didn’t really matter because people would end up watching them anyway.

Nowadays, filmmakers don’t quite have that luxury. So when a movie comes along that truly stands out, fans of the genre stop and take notice.

Vicious Fun is very much set in 1983, with a pulsating synth score (by Steph Copeland) and smoky, neon-infused locales. In true ‘80s fashion, the goofy protagonist, Joel (Evan Marsh), lives in a suburban neighborhood with his attractive roommate Sarah (Alexa Steele), but finds himself in a mysterious part of town as night falls. Joel is a film critic for a horror magazine Vicious Fanatics, a la Fangoria, and is well-versed in the genre—a detail that, even if not necessarily in-play throughout most of the film, adds a fresh context for what transpires.

He follows Sarah’s new boyfriend, Bob (Ari Millen), to a bar in hopes that he turns out to be married or,

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Vicious Fun/Black Fawn Films/Breakthrough Entertainment

BY ETHAN BREHM

worse, a serial killer. Well, after Joel gets blackout drunk, he accidentally becomes locked inside the bar afterhours, where several serial killers meet in a sort of support group. And wouldn’t you know it: Bob is one of their flagship members.

The other killers think that Joel is a fellow slasher of course, but Bob sniffs him out and now they’re all trying to murder him. That is, except for one killer in particular: Carrie (Amber Goldfarb), who has a secret of her own. She infiltrates these serial killer groups all over the country in hopes of picking off each member one by one. Carrie quickly protects Joel and “together” they’re able to take down one or two of them. But when the police get involved, Bob and the others make their escape, with Carrie and Joel getting arrested as the cops think them to be the aggressors.

Unlike similarly-spirited contemporaries, Vicious Fun is very

much the type of movie that leans into caricatures. Among the group of killers, each one has a certain quirk or attribute that makes him unique. One is a machete-wielder similar to Jason Voorhees, another is a cannibal, another a sociopath clown who takes notes on humans since he can’t relate to them. Bob, on the other hand, is unlike any slasher villain we’ve ever seen, and

that alone makes him this movie’s standout.

As the main villain, Millen is absolutely menacing, with an unpredictable craziness that puts him up there with some of the best loose cannons in horror history.

Operating on an intelligence quotient much higher than anyone he’s in a room with, you simply don’t know what he’s going to do next, but like the best antagonists, you can’t wait to see more of him. The actor totally becomes the wretched Bob and has so much control over his character’s every idiosyncrasy, dominating each scene.

Also contributing to the fun is the trio of idiot cops who give each other excessive high-fives and add something uniquely special to the police station sequences.

Written by Cody Calahan (who also directs) and James Villeneuve, the dialogue dances every step of the way and we’re given just the right amount of background, while leaving some things a fun mystery to be uncovered later on. By the end, there are some details about Carrie that we want to know more about, but there are worse things a movie can do than to build a world that the audience wishes were expanded upon even more. Plus, this leaves room for a potential sequel!

Unless they’re specializing in some sort of torture porn along the lines of Saw, modern horror seems more interested in jump scares or dark imagery than the kind of grotesque schlock that became so ubiquitous throughout the ‘80s. There have been other contemporary slashers, such as Freaky or Happy Death Day—both good movies—which immerse standard genre conventions into high-concepts such as body switching or time loops. But because the premise of Vicious Fun refrains from any sci-fi elements, it becomes much more rooted in the progenitors that birthed it.

There’s no doubt this movie is bloody. Never shying away from the over-the-top Savini-like makeup effects that we witness in classics such as Maniac, Creepshow, or even Friday the 13th, the film really lets

itself loose during a current age that seems to be all but over this kind of roadside gore. However, Calahan, along with makeup and effects teams led by Heather Jennings and Shaun Hunter, not only gives us exactly the unhinged schlock that we’ve been waiting for a modern movie to do, but becomes inventive with his ideas in the process. Very few contemporaneous horror films would feature a cannibal getting strangled with intestines in the very “artless” way that it would have occurred in the ‘80s. The same goes for eyeball-gouging. The last time I saw a literal eyeball in a movie was Nicolas Winding Refn’s high-brow allegory The Neon Demon in 2016. (It definitely plays better here.)

Even before the story evolves into an all-out slasher, it keeps us engaged with fun banter and a lean, clever storyboard. Calahan shows that he’s both a very good comedy and horror director, adept at balancing what should be conflicting tones. Yet, he never falters or makes contrasting characters feel like they’re from different movies entirely.

Joel is the kind of bumbling goofball protagonist that it feels like we’re seeing less and less of these days. There’s a comparison made between his creepy roommate tendencies and the sociopathic nature of Bob. And yet, a line is

drawn there also. These are both archetypes we’re used to seeing in ‘80s cinema, and still this is one of the only movies to ever point out the similarities and differences.

Marsh does such a great job carrying his side of the film as the audience surrogate. We see his flaws and yet root for him anyway.

Joel is both confidently cynical and paralyzingly insecure, depending on what he’s doing. The result is

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Vicious Fun/Black Fawn Films/Breakthrough Entertainment/ Cody Calahan/Chad Archibald/IMDb

something very relatable, with the actor giving us some highly funny moments (such as pulling the fire alarm when the bad guys are trying to get him—as though it does something helpful).

Goldfarb’s Carrie takes the idea of a final girl to a whole new level. More the Bride or Sarah Conner than she is Laurie Strode, the serial killer hunter is the perfect counterpoint for Joel—in fact, they’re almost entirely incompatible, and yet somehow the two actors have the perfect chemistry needed for such discordance. These are two personality types who have probably never interacted before in movie history, much less teamed up together to fight baddies.

Vicious Fun is one of the best ‘80s throwbacks in recent memory, simply because it perfectly captures the ethos of the decade while also crafting a unique premise using traditional genre tropes from that era. I’d much rather sit through this than something like Stranger Things where the pastiche feels more like a gimmick used merely as a selling point rather than a genuine homage coming from a place of love and admiration.

Balancing wicked schlock horror with a delicious ‘80s milieu, Vicious Fun is an incredibly entertaining time travel to an era when movies could just be movies. It lets the subtext speak for itself while succeeding as the straightforward slasher that it very much aspires to be without any fancy tricks or aggressive modern commentary getting in the way.

cody calahan

cody x chad

interview interview SPOILER: What was the conception for the idea of Vicious Fun? CODY CALAHAN: It all started from the title of the movie. I jotted that down in a notebook just thinking it would make a great horror-comedy title. And [the story] went through different iterations and concepts.

Through a lot of pitching back and forth with me and Chad about different ideas, I think it was a couple concepts combined. But it really took off when we knew we wanted to do an ensemble cast of killers we loved from back in the day that we grew up on. It was about trying to find a theme or location that would keep all these people in the same room—why they’d be there.

And through creative deduction, we ended up on the tagline of the movie, “A support group for serial killers,” and it sort of evolved from there.

chad archibald

Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald started Black Fawn Films over a decade ago and have been churning out one indie horror after another ever since, each with the filmmakers’ unique vision intact while continuing to reunite with their roots and why they fell in love with cinema to begin with.

Never succumbing to gimmicky nostalgia, their latest film Vicious Fun is an authentic, aesthetic

treat for fans of ‘80s horror while also serving as a fresh new story that’s more than worthy of being added to, not only the throwback subgenre that’s become popular in recent years, but the lineage of slashers that dates back to its infancy in the mid-to-late ‘70s.

Typically taking turns directing, Cody helms this time around with Chad serving as producer.

The duo allows me to fanboy out as I ask questions both broad and obscure about one of my new favorites, Vicious Fun. They more than oblige, filling me in on what went into the creation of this retro homage as well as plans for a potential sequel (and merchandising) in the future.

SPOILER: How did James Villeneuve evolve your story?

CODY CALAHAN: It was a far more contained character piece [originally]. They never even left the Chinese food restaurant in the version we had put together. And then when James came on, and our story editor Chris Smets, it was nice because we had these rough outlines of these characters—some sketches, images pulled from magazines and the web and other films—and they breathed life into each of the characters. And once they did that, the story started to evolve on its own, which is great because they took it out of this contained environment and ran with it. We let the characters dictate where to go. So James and Chris were really good with managing the budget restrictions that we had, but also not creatively putting themselves in a box.

I actually think it was still sort of contained until we were shooting

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this, I think he read the first draft and just attached himself to Bob and said, “Oh my God, the things I could do with this!” So we started talking, around 2017, 2018, maybe even earlier, about what the character could be. He started to throw out ideas early, and I do remember some of the ideas making their way into the script. It was a long process of designing a character, but to be honest, it wasn’t until about a month out [from shooting] that we started really talking about what we were gonna do with the character. But a lot of it came from Ari. He’s such a good character actor that he brought 90% of Bob to the table, and it was just about tweaking and reining him in, believe it or not, on certain scenes, and pushing him to go further on a couple. But the strength in Bob lies in Ari, and probably the fact that we’d been talking about it for so long.

another movie called I’ll Take Your Dead and we were in a studio that had a hospital and a police station and a bunch of other locations. And I started sending them photos of all of these locations, just because they were things we could get, and that opened the door even more.

But James and Chris, their strength definitely lay in the development of the characters. We sort of knew where the story was going, but the characters took us in different directions.

SPOILER: How long have the two of you been working in tandem and how did that relationship start?

CHAD ARCHIBALD: Man, it’s probably been, what, 14 years now, Cody?

CODY CALAHAN: Yeah, something like that.

CHAD ARCHIBALD: 13, 14 years. We met a long time ago and pretty much became best friends since. We get to work together all the time because we created this company [Black Fawn Films] and both, creatively, are always working on concepts and developing for it. But also when we’re not working, we’re hanging

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out and doin’ what buds do. It’s been great! Since the start, I feel like our whole company’s been a little bit of a family. [Cinematographer] Jeff Maher, [composer] Steph Copeland—a lot of us have worked on the same films, with us and Breakthrough Entertainment.

We’ve been able to grow and evolve together.

SPOILER: Ari Millen is another person who’s been in a few of your films on the acting side. What kind of direction did you give him for the role of Bob? CODY CALAHAN: I have a pretty good shorthand with Ari. We grew up together—his mother’s my godmother kinda thing. We kinda grew up in the same crib, as they say.

So as we grew up, he wanted to act and I wanted to write and direct. We came up in the industry together.

So when the concept came around for Vicious Fun, he sorta knew about it because we bounce ideas back and forth. When he’s reading for a part, sometimes I help with auditions, and sometimes when I have a concept, I’ll run it by him to get his perspective as an actor. For

SPOILER: I love the absurdity of Joel and Carrie teaming up together— two characters who would never be partnered in a movie of any kind.

Were they inspired by anyone?

CODY CALAHAN: Again, it’s really a smorgasbord of characters that Chad and I have grown up on, so there’s not a specific character that [we were trying to recreate]. Obviously there’s references, like he’s dressed like Marty McFly, because growing up those movies [Back to the Future] were such a big influence. But he has sort of the cheesiness of somebody from Scream who knows horror better than the killer himself, but we took a spin on that as well. Joel is the awkward filmmaker that I am— that young wannabe that we all are before we start making films. There’s

Vicious Fun/Black Fawn Films/Breakthrough Entertainment

cody x chad

a lot of my awkwardness in that, and the writers, and Chad.

And Carrie’s basically our version of the most badass final girl we could imagine. Through drafts there were suggestions of, “Are they gonna get together?” But it’s in this world.

Joel’s never gonna get someone like that. So it was important to make it clear that their relationship was more big sister, little brother type of thing. But again, lots of influences from other characters from movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s, but no one specifically.

SPOILER: I think why this movie is resonating so well with fans is because of how honest and justified the ‘80s setting is. It goes beyond just a gimmick. And while the story could obviously take place outside of that decade, there’s an isolation that comes with the lack of resources as well as the attractive aesthetic.

CODY CALAHAN: It’s interesting that you say it’s not just the aesthetic that drives the film. And honestly I think it’s because when we first developed it, in the first draft, it was set in modern day. And it was always about referencing the

throwbacks, but there were cell phones and computers. The opening scene, instead of interviewing the director, he’s on a Skype call. So it was the same version, but a modern day spin on it. But after we got the first draft together we realized that all of these homages we were doing were really fighting against the modern technology. We had already designed the story and characters, but then it wasn’t until after the first draft that we decided to rewrite it and place it in the ‘80s. So rather than jumping on the bandwagon and going, “Let’s make a movie set in the ‘80s and then create our story,” we created it first and we already knew what it was. And then it became more about how we can do this without making it some giant reference or seeming like we’re jumping on the Stranger Things bandwagon—which has already been paved and done so well. Our version of it was more related to our story rather than trying to encapsulate the ‘80s in a snapshot. It was our grungy version of what we remember, but also our interpretation of what a younger audience might think [the ‘80s] is.

CHAD ARCHIBALD: And that was really it. The story was never an ‘80s throwback story, but the characters kind of always were. They’re all designed around characters from the ‘80s. Believing that Michael is a masked slasher dude who goes into a campsite and kills a bunch of coeds and leaves, and now is in a support group, I’m not sitting here watching the movie wondering, “What about all the cameras everyone would have; all the cellphones?” So once the idea popped up, it really just felt like we didn’t have to answer to any of that stuff.

We have these characters in their natural habitat, which is ‘80s films, and we just built it from there. It really wasn’t a decision of, “‘80s films are cool now.

Throwbacks are cool now.”

We have these characters and it makes sense to put them in the ‘80s after we had the whole story done. It did come together well and felt right from the moment the draft was revised.

SPOILER: Was the year 1983 chosen for a specific reason?

CODY CALAHAN: [laughs] We never referenced it in the script, but there was a consensus that we should title card and place it to prep the audience before we dive in. There were a few dates thrown around, but I think because I dressed Joel like Marty McFly, I picked a date before the first Back to the Future came

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out so he could be the originator of the orange vest; the original Marty McFly. And then aesthetically, someone told me that a “3” always looks better than a “4.” So it was just a quick decision.

SPOILER: And then the Mr. Midnight date was October 13, 1966.

CODY CALAHAN: Again, that was just trying to give Carrie’s backstory an age of when all this stuff happened.

SPOILER: Did you guys have an idea of who Mr. Midnight was? Maybe an idea for a sequel?

CODY CALAHAN: Oh yeah. We planned out a whole backstory for Carrie. He’s directly related to who she is, so we have a lot of backstory on him too.

But we created an entire backstory to really figure out what we wanted to put in the film. Previous drafts had more of who she is and her backstory, and more of Mr. Midnight, but we just felt that it took away from the mystery of who Carrie was. But we still have all of that at the ready, and there’s initial rumblings and talks of what a sequel would look like and what Joel and Carrie’s journey would be, and a possible meeting face-to-face with Mr. Midnight.

SPOILER: I’m all for that! You guys nailed that schlock horror so well while not surrendering to it, so to speak. I think schlock horror isn’t what it used to be, obviously, when you talk about where it was in the ‘80s. Do you think that kind of aesthetic is dying?

CHAD ARCHIBALD: I think a lot of schlocky stuff came from just being low budget and that was a result of it. But a lot of those low budget films became bigger films and had cult followings, and inspired filmmakers who loved those movies to create something regardless of the budget, and create good stories that can live in that tone.

Especially when talking about ‘80s films, there are so many that became great, not because they were trying to be schlocky, but they just ended up that way—a happy accident. And it’s inspired filmmakers for years now. If you can

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capture it right and design it right from the start, it’s a lot of fun.

SPOILER: How much of the effects were practical versus CG? CODY CALAHAN: It’s all in-camera, it’s all practical. The only time we used VFX is when we needed to add blood because there were a couple of times where there wasn’t enough [laughs].

And then the only moment that was— it’s not even full VFX, it was just a head replacement—we tried to drop a table on a dummy of the clown when his head gets exploded by Carrie. And they dropped it hundreds of times, it felt like, and no matter what, the blood just would not shoot out on the floor on camera. It would shoot up into the desk, it would shoot up into the crew, it would shoot just off camera. And so later we had to go in and do a face replacement effect on just that one kill. But everything else is your classic dummy and fake body parts and fake arms—people holding their arms behind their backs. It was done traditionally the way they woulda done it back then, which is obviously really important to us. Once we set it in the ‘80s, we said, “Okay, this has to be practical effects.”

SPOILER: Are there any weird Easter eggs that no one’s noticed yet?

CODY CALAHAN: When we designed the film world, there was a budget constraint about getting some titles that everybody’s heard of. Like, we can’t clear to use a Halloween poster in a movie like this. So we ended up using our first films from our back catalogue, stuff we made 10 years ago. We had artists redesign the posters to an ‘80s styling. And they’re [placed] throughout the whole movie, in the director’s room, and Joel’s room.

SPOILER: What are some of your favorite ‘80s horror movies?

CODY CALAHAN: I know going into an interview, I’m like, “Hey, I should think about this because he’s gonna ask what my favorite horror movie from the ‘80s is.” But don’t get me wrong, I love all the slashers and stuff—it’s all stuff I

Vicious Fun/Black Fawn Films/Breakthrough Entertainment

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grew up on, it’s all stuff I had to get from friends, and older brothers of friends, and hide from my parents.

But one that really stuck with me and was a really big influence, just in the silly craziness that helped me find the tone for Vicious Fun, was The ‘Burbs by Joe Dante. It’s never on anybody’s list—which I’m still so surprised about, because it feels like a horror movie and I call it a horror movie, but maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s more of a comedic thriller. But that one has a place in my heart. And talking about Vicious Fun, it feels like that had the biggest influence of tone. When a filmmaker says, “That’s the kind of movie I wanna make,” [for me] it was The ‘Burbs.

CHAD ARCHIBALD: From the ‘80s, I definitely grew up as a Hellraiser fan. I loved all of them though. I grew up watching horror films. I still love them all. I’m literally sitting at my desk with an 18-inch Jason, Pinhead, Jason’s mom with the bag on her head, Blade from Puppet Master, my little pull string Freddy Krueger that talks to you—that was a present I got far too young. But what was so much fun about making this movie was that we got to play with a lot of those. We’re always trying to relive those ideas. We did a movie called The Drownsman years ago that was straight up supposed to be an ‘80s supernatural villain. Because that’s the best part about the ‘80s. These villains just aren’t created anymore.

It’s so rare to have something that McFarlane or NECA would make a toy from. We do a ton of horror conventions and the one thing that’s consistent with all of them is that you’re gonna go to a bunch of booths with Nightmare on Elm Street

Vicious Fun/Black Fawn Films/Breakthrough Entertainment

cody x chad

stuff, with Pinhead stuff, Jason stuff, Michael Myers stuff, Chucky, whatever—they’re always there and are gonna be there for the rest of time. Whereas trying to create one of those characters now is so hard.

It’s a different world that we live in.

Whether it’s technology that screws it all up or what, who knows?

SPOILER: Well the characters in Vicious Fun, I could totally see as figures and merchandise. Have you guys planned on doing anything like that?

CODY CALAHAN: We’ve definitely been approached with the idea of that. In the next couple years, if Vicious Fun gets the legs and turns into a cult thing where enough people would want it, we would definitely be into doing it.

CHAD ARCHIBALD: We’re just gearing up for a physical release that we’re gonna be announcing sometime soon. There’s a ton of great deleted scenes—so many alternate takes where people are improvising.

There are so many goodies on there as well as special

features. We’re playing with a bunch of ideas for that release too. But a big part of it is how many people love the film. So if there’s anyone out there who loves it, retweet about it, post on social media, tell your friends, and get everyone to ask for a sequel. And if there’s enough hype around it then we’ll definitely go ahead and make more.

SPOILER: Do you guys have any projects in the pipeline that you can talk about right now?

CHAD ARCHIBALD: A lot of projects.

CODY CALAHAN: Yeah, we’ve got something that could go to camera this year, maybe in October. And we’re just playing our cards whether we’re gonna rush it and get it shot this year, or wait until next year. But nothing else we can directly talk about yet.

CHAD ARCHIBALD: There is a film we did over the pandemic that we haven’t announced yet either, but should be getting announced in the next couple of weeks. It’s a fun, crazy horror film, sci-fi-ish kinda movie.

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who says zombies have to abide by a strict code?

After all, they’re fictional. Just like time travel in movies, zombies can follow different criteria depending on what the storyteller wants. 1987’s The Video Dead just so happens to be written and directed by someone who has some actual creative ideas regarding the walking dead. He’s invented a set of rules to be obeyed with parameters that are pretty wellthought-out.

There’s a television set that gets mysteriously (and incorrectly) delivered to a famous writer’s house. But the only program he seems to get is a plotless, blackand-white film where zombies walk around aimlessly. He turns off the TV, but it turns back on all by itself.

So he unplugs it, and guess what happens? Yup, it turns on again. We see an electricity effect and watch as several zombies climb out of the screen. Actually, most of the climbing is implied, presumably due to the constraints of a supposedly $80,000 budget. This famous writer gets killed, but we don’t see it. In fact, we don’t see most of the killings in The Video Dead.

Several months later, a new family moves into the house. The teenage children, Zoe (Roxanna Augesen), who’s majoring in aerobics and minoring in music videos (seriously), and Jeff (Rocky Duvall), who apparently wears the same shirt for three days straight,

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arrive first as they await their parents, who are moving back to the United States after living abroad.

One day, an older gentleman from Texas, Joshua Daniels (Sam David McClelland), shows up at their doorstep telling Jeff that he mailed a haunted television to the Institute for Paranormal Research, but instead it accidentally got delivered to their house. He warns Jeff of the horrific evils inside the set, claiming zombie creatures killed his wife. Jeff immediately dismisses the man as crazy, but eventually he and his sister discover the TV and accompanying zombies, and request Mr. Daniels’ assistance after all.

Writer-director Robert Scott may only be working with an $80,000 budget, but his film surprisingly looks a lot better than that. The zombie makeup is far more evocative than most microbudget ‘80s films and the haunting imagery of these creatures inside the TV set feels

straight out of an actual nightmare.

What may seem like bizarre zombie logic to most people who are used to the George Romero world of the undead is actually quite inventive and unique. The zombies in The Video Dead don’t eat people for nourishment. In fact, they hardly eat people at all. Instead, they kill out of resentment—they’re angry that they can’t be human. As they murder their victims, they appropriate human culture: putting on glasses, wearing wigs and dresses, eating real food.

And these zombies can’t be killed in conventional ways either. They can only self-destruct out of boredom if left alone for too long. Most importantly, each zombie is given a unique personality.

The Video Dead/Embassy Home Entertainment/Robert Scott/Forever Bogus/Bryce Shoemaker

Unfortunately Scott dilutes any intensity his film might have. He’s constantly panning away during killings, telegraphing the suspense, and playing down jump-scares.

As a writer, he has a difficult time locking in his characters’ personalities, relying on stereotypes, but then quickly abandoning those stereotypes if they don’t fit into what needs to happen on screen. But who am I kidding? It probably wouldn’t matter anyway.

It’s no surprise most of these actors (along with the director) have no other credits other than this film. The completely garbage performances create an absolutely hilarious viewing experience when paired with the equally abysmal dialogue.

Buried beneath a low budget, sloppily edited, terribly acted, and poorly executed film is an intriguing concept. And part of what makes The Video Dead so enjoyably bad is that it does bring a semblance of creativity to the table at some level.

Certain notions are so ludicrous that we simply have no choice but to accept them as canon within this universe. And we can gladly bunch them together with all of the schlocky B-movie elements because somehow they fit together perfectly.

collector spotlight There are few people who understand the power of nostalgia like Bryce Shoemaker: “archeologist of forgotten media from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early ‘00s.” He’s also the founder and curator of Forever Bogus, a nostalgia outlet that consists of a podcast, a YouTube channel, an Instagram page, and much more. On the podcast, Bryce and his co-host Jayme talk about everything from yesteryear’s mainstream pop culture zeitgeist to something as forgotten about as Tammy and the T-Rex. They also discuss in great lengths the simpler aspects of ‘80s and ‘90s childhood, such as sick days and their favorite Christmas toys. Bryce is also a collector of all things nostalgia, which of course includes VHS tapes. Here, he dives into his own collection and shares with us some of his favorites.

ETHAN: What are the origins of Forever Bogus?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Forever Bogus is a nostalgia brand I created to remind people of our shared childhood experiences. Back in 2012 I lost my first real job out of college and was forced to move back in with my parents for a while.

I found myself slipping into a deep depression until I came across a box of old stuff from my childhood.

It was filled to the rim with my old Nickelodeon Magazine collection, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures, PlayStation One games, and VHS tapes. I dusted off my parents’ VCR and popped in one of the blank tapes not knowing what I’d get.

After some static, the tape held a TV recording of a SNICK lineup from the ‘90s. Watching it brought me so much joy that I could tell it was counteracting my depression. I loved the feeling of nostalgia so much that I wanted to share it with anyone who needed it. Now for the name Forever Bogus… that’s a story for another day.

ETHAN: Other than VHS, what are your favorite things to collect?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Pretty much anything that remotely makes me feel nostalgic. My wife and I have an overabundance of board games, comic books, coloring books, video september 2021|

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watched it 20 times over the last two years.

ETHAN: Rarest?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: My rarest tape is either Street Trash or this odd screener tape used to sell the first season of The Adventures of Pete and Pete and Clarissa Explains It All to retailers. It blows my mind that Nickelodeon/Viacom used a VHS tape to promote their DVD boxsets.

I’ve done a lot of research on the screener tape and have yet to find anything about it. game consoles, and toys. Lots and lots of toys. Gluttony is our favorite sin!

ETHAN: Have you been collecting VHS since you were young or did it resurge after a hiatus?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Growing up I always had a small VHS collection that I could call my own. I put them all to the wayside when DVDs hit the market.

It wasn’t until my freshman year of college in 2008 when I really started collecting VHS again. I went to the thrift store near campus and found a stack of Nickelodeon VHS tapes that I really wanted as a kid but my parents didn’t want to spend the money on. It felt like I was finally able to scratch the decade-long itch I couldn’t reach.

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ETHAN: What’s your favorite genre to collect?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Horror and cartoons have always been my go-to, but in recent years I’ve been searching for the strangest-looking tapes. Some people call them special interest tapes, but my buddy Eli and I like to call them “bizarro tapes.”

These are the ones you pick up and say, “What the hell is this?!”

These could be odd motivational speeches, wild stage performances, lame instructional videos, or even late-night public access shows. The stranger the better!

ETHAN: Do you have a favorite tape?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: That’s a hard one to answer. It’s like asking a parent of 1000+ children to pick their favorite. So, let’s go with the tape I frequent the most, which is Dave Roever’s High School Experience.

Simply put, Dave Roever is a badly injured Vietnam vet-turnedmotivational speaker. In the late ‘80s Dave would go from school to school with his comedy bit intertwined with old views on drugs, sex, alcohol, and AIDs. Needless to say, it’s an hour and a half of pure strangeness.

I love it so much that I’ve probably

ETHAN: Any recent discoveries?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Satan Place.

It’s a shot-on-video (SOV) anthology horror movie that is bats**t crazy.

Big shout out to Eli, owner and operator of Magnetic Magic Rentals, for introducing this one to me. I highly recommend it if you love bad SOV flicks. I believe it’s on YouTube!

ETHAN: What’s your favorite box art?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: My favorite will forever be the box art for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tapes.

Majority of them were hand-painted by the late, great Greg Martin and they were magnificent! However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the box art for Street Trash and The Video Dead. They’re so iconic!

ETHAN: Favorite movie about VHS? BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Adjust Your Tracking!

ETHAN: Weirdest find or the most so-bad-it’s-good?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? starring a coked-out Tim Allen. It’s probably the most awkward tape I have ever watched!

ETHAN: Do you have any movies with an absurd amount of duplicates?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Kiki’s Delivery Service, but it was never intentional.

For whatever reason I kept finding them out in the wild and I’m always like, “Why not? I bet there is someone who’d like this.”

The Video Dead/Embassy Home Entertainment/Robert Scott/Forever Bogus/Bryce Shoemaker

ETHAN: Which tape are you still on the lookout for—your holy grail?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Not necessarily a holy grail but I’ve been looking for Alex Winter’s Freaked for a LONG time now. Why is it so dang-darn hard to find in the wild?!

ETHAN: If you could have a VHS version of a modern movie, which one would it be?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Brigsby Bear deserves a proper VHS release. Kyle Mooney is brilliant in that one and he is also a big VHS collector!

ETHAN: Do you think VHS will make a comeback in the way vinyl has?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: VHS made many comebacks in the last decade.

Recently there is a company starting to grade VHS tapes. I don’t find this to be a good thing for the community. I understand wanting to preserve your tapes, but I don’t like seeing people grading a sealed Karate Kid tape just to sell it on eBay for thousands of dollars. It takes the fun out of the hunt and puts a ridiculous value on something [many of us are] so passionate about.

ETHAN: Do you think physical media will ever truly die?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: No way, dude!

There will always be a group of people who collect physical media just like you and me.

ETHAN: What would you want noncollectors to know if anything?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: You’re missing out! It brings me and thousands of others so much joy.

ETHAN: Any tips for new collectors?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: Always check your tapes before buying them.

There have been many times I found the wrong tape in the case or moldy tapes when I got home. Also, don’t let anyone decide what your

ETHAN: You do so much for the nostalgia community and in perpetuating the culture. What keeps you wanting to collect and continue to build this awareness?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: It sounds silly and a little cliché, but it’s the nostalgia ride. It’s magical to witness someone getting hit with nostalgia when they see something that reminds them of the good parts of their childhood.

ETHAN: Why do you like physical media? What’s the biggest benefit over streaming, if any?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: I love tangible things that bring me nostalgia, and you can’t find that in any replica.

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ETHAN: Do you have any future plans at the moment in terms of your collection?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: I’ve officially run out of room in the Bogus HQ, so I have been slowly thinning out the collection. Selling and giving away tapes that I either have duplicates of or just no interest in owning anymore.

ETHAN: You have such unique ideas for your brand and you do these hilarious eccentric characters like Kenny GG Allin. Have you ever thought about doing some sort of midnight movie host show? I think you’d be great!

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: [laughs] I will have to let Kenny GG Allin know that

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he has a fan! Eli and I host a monthly VHS screening at a local theater here in Kansas City called “Analog Sunday.” It spawned from our Sunday hangs, where we’d load up on junk food and watch a stack of recently found tapes. This is the closest we’ve gotten to hosting a midnight movie show. However, I’ve wanted my own public-access TV show since I was a kid.

ETHAN: What’s in the works for Forever Bogus that you can tell us about?

BRYCE SHOEMAKER: The Forever Bogus Podcast is coming back for our fifth season! I’ve had a blast putting that together with my good friend Jayme Kilsby. We’ve got a lot of great ideas in the pipeline for the new season that I can’t wait to share with everyone. Also, our “Forever BOO!GUS” Halloween season is right around the corner and we have some spooky surprises lined up for our followers.

Check out Bryce’s collection on Instagram @forever_bogus and the Forever Bogus Podcast on your favorite platform!

The Video Dead/Embassy Home Entertainment/Robert Scott/Forever Bogus/Bryce Shoemaker

collection should consist of. Horror movies are awesome and all, but not everyone loves them. Honestly, I think I have more cartoon tapes in my collection than horror movies!

Meet your new sidekick gita is a first-of-its-kind hands-free robot that follows you and totes your gear.

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BY TOM TORMEY

Batmania swept the nation in the summer of 1989. Prince’s Batman theme was on every station, Topps’ Batman trading cards were on the shelves of every candy store, and Batman shirts were on the backs of just about everyone! The Tim Burton-directed Batman was grim, gritty, and full of the brooding characters we’ve come to expect from a Burtonverse film. One character that didn’t make the final cut of the 1989 movie was Robin. However, over thirty years later, Robin is finally joining the fight for Gotham City alongside Michael Keaton’s Caped Crusader in the limited series, Batman ‘89.

Keaton’s casting as the titular hero outraged many when the news first broke over 30 years ago. Fans were livid that Batman’s fabled cape and cowl would be adorned atop the head and shoulders of “Mr. Mom.” Although, the actor’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego alongside Jack Nicholson’s Joker and Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent silenced all the critics. The movie’s star-studded cast also includes legendary actor Jack Palance as crime boss Carl Grissom.

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One character from decades of Batman mythology who didn’t appear on screen was the other half of the Dynamic Duo: Robin.

Burton toyed with the idea of including Dick Grayson in the movie but ultimately decided against it. Storyboards, presented as an animatic recorded for a DVD extra and voiced by Batman: the Animated Series actors Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy returning to voice Joker and Batman, detailing how Robin would have debuted in the 1989 film were released on Hamill’s Twitter account.

The animatic shows the Joker killing Dick Grayson’s family and the rise of Robin seeking revenge on the Clown

Prince of Crime.

In spite of Robin’s omission, Batman was an international hit. It came as no surprise when a sequel was greenlit.

Batman Returns, released three years later, doubled down on the dastardly villains with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Once again, there were plans to include Robin in the movie. With so many talented actors and eccentric characters in the film, hard cuts had to be made to the cast and story. Marlon Wayans, slated to portray Dick Grayson, was one of those cuts.

Wayans was reportedly paid $100,000 for the role of the Boy

Danny DeVito Returns who recently took to Twitter to showcase amazing Robin art for the fourth issue of the series as well as announce this specific Robin’s name: Drake Winston. Hamm’s original name for Wayans’ Robin was Richard Drake, a presumed amalgamation of Richard Grayson and Tim Drake, before Drake Winston’s name was officially announced.

Batman ‘89 #4 goes on sale this November. Considering we’ve waited over 30 years for Robin to join the Burtonverse Batman series, I’m thrilled to say, “I don’t mind the wait.”

Batman/DC Comics/Batman Returns/Tim Burton/Warner Bros.

Wonder. However, with an alreadystacked cast that also included Christopher Walken as the vile entrepreneur Max Shreck, the decision was made to remove Robin from the film. An action figure of Robin went into production for the Batman Returns toy line that, with a new head sculpt, hit the shelves to the befuddlement of fans everywhere. Despite both the actor and character being absent, Wayans has stated in interviews that he received his payment and continues to receive residuals from the film’s release.

Robin eventually joined the Batman franchise with the release of the 1995 Joel Schumacher-helmed Batman Forever where he was played

by Chris O’Donnell. O’Donnell’s Robin once again graced the silver screen in 1999’s Batman and Robin.

Despite Robin’s eventual inclusion, fans continuously wondered about Wayans’ Robin. That is, until now! DC Comics’ latest limited series will be written by Sam Hamm, who penned the original screenplay for the 1989 Batman, and drawn by Joe Quinones,

1992’s Batman Returns introduced the world to the grotesque Penguin played by the talented and affable Danny DeVito.

His portrayal of Oswald Cobblepot is one of the reasons I consider Batman Returns my favorite Batman movie. In honor of the 80th anniversary of the Penguin, who debuted in 1941’s Detective Comics #58, the foul-feathered fiend will take center stage in November’s Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1. Among the star-studded cast of contributing writers is the legendary actor Danny DeVito! DC artist Dan Mora revealed on Twitter that he and DeVito are working on a short story for the November issue.

Between the Batman ‘89 limited series and a Danny DeVito-penned Penguin story, it looks like Batmania is ready to sweep the world once again! september 2021|

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F A N T O U R E X P E R I E N C E T O U R 2 0 2 1

THE TOUR Welcome to the COMIC CON RADIO + SPO!LER MAGAZINE FAN EXPERIENCE TOUR 2021!

This year we’re headed to seven amazing cities, visiting the top conventions across the United States in order to give attendees the memories they deserve. Reaching millions of fans with a unique experience in a way that only Comic Con Radio + SPO!LER can do, this year’s tour will be like no other.

Helping to make each event more memorable than they’ve ever been, what we’re doing has never been done before.

CONVENTION TOUR MAP Washingtong

utah

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such as H. P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, and Edgar Allan Poe, the Epix original series Chapelwaite explores the universe of Stephen King—a master of horror in his own right—in a way that few have.

It’s based on King’s 1978 short story “Jerusalem’s Lot,” about a man in the 1850s who moves to a small town in Maine after inheriting a mansion from his deceased cousin.

There, he finds a map hidden in the library that leads him to the titular town to learn about his family’s secrets. The mansion he inherits is called Chapelwaite, of which this series takes its namesake.

Making its debut August 22nd, Chapelwaite stars Adrien Brody as Captain Charles Boone, the inheritor of said estate. Recently widowed, he and his three children face harsh prejudice and hostility by locals, just as the previous Boones had before them. Now, as a mystery illness plagues the town of Preacher’s

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Corners, the residents notice how things only started to change upon the Boones’ arrival.

Believed to be cursed, the Boones have a rough history with the townspeople, and as Charles struggles with now potentially becoming consumed with the same madness that afflicted his father, he’s forced to face some of his family’s darkest secrets, which may very well be buried within the walls of Chapelwaite.

Chapelwaite is said to be a house

Chapelwaite/Epix

rooted in the gothic horror classics of literature

The Nevers/HBO

BY ETHAN BREHM

where bad things happen and always have, and strange, supernatural things very much still occur. At first believing that the noises and visions were in his own head, Charles will soon learn the truth for himself.

Shot partially on location in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Chapelwaite will be the first series from Epix Studios and its first season will run for 10 episodes, airing weekly. Beginning production back in late 2019, the show only saw a slight delay due to the pandemic.

Atypical of shows and movies based on his work, King was not directly involved with the production of Chapelwaite, but still gave his blessing every step of the way, from

development to reading episode treatments. A mere 20 pages long, the author’s original story, which serves as a prequel for ‘Salem’s Lot and was featured in the awardwinning collection Night Shift, is told mostly through letters written by Charles Boone himself.

For Chapelwaite, showrunners Jason and Peter Filardi took their own approach to the source material by changing details here and there, such as giving Charles children as opposed to a manservant, and refocusing this story with more of an emphasis on the townspeople’s motives and the house itself, rather than the mysterious nearby town of Jerusalem’s Lot (although it’s still included). And yet the Filardi brothers still successfully tap into the unsettling tone that King perfectly harnessed all those years ago.

Co-starring with Brody is Emily Hampshire as Rebecca Morgan, an aspiring graphic novelist in her own right and ally to the Boones. Despite pressure from locals to forgo her

relationship with Charles and his family, she actually assists him in uncovering the secrets hiding in Chapelwaite, while also unraveling a mystery that haunts her own bloodline.

Starring alongside Brody and Hampshire are Jennifer Ens, Sirena Gulamgaus, Ian Ho, Julian Richings, Devante Senior, and Christopher Heyerdahl.

Chapelwaite is the first ever adaptation of the story for either film or television, although there was a

comic book version by artist Glenn Chadbourne for his 2006 collection The Secretary of Dreams, all based on works by King.

Following a long lineage of successful television series based on Stephen King stories, most recently including The Stand and Lisey’s Story, Chapelwaite has the advantage of carte blanche in a way that most of the others, which have direct involvement by King himself, don’t. It’s yet to be seen what lies ahead for the period series, but with a fresh new vision that’s already working only a couple episodes in, there are opportunities on the table here that the others won’t have.

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INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

Emily Hampshire has been on quiet the hot streak in recent years, from Syfy’s television adaptation of 12 Monkeys to the Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek, both of which enjoyed insane amounts of popularity and success and have given the actress even bigger opportunities for the future.

By looking at her, you would never have guessed that her career has spanned nearly three decades already.

As a child actor, she got her start in a pair of episodes on Nickelodeon’s

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Are You Afraid of the Dark? and would continue to amass the impressive resume that she currently holds, with over 80 credits.

With Schitt’s Creek ending last year, the actress was able to parlay its success into a rather unlikely follow-up in the period horror series Chapelwaite which is set in 1850s New England. Galaxy chats with Emily about what it’s like to transition from a snarky, ostensible motel employee to a character like Regina, a highly intelligent writer trying to uncover insidious secrets in a small town.

Acknowledging the fate involved in getting cast in a show based on a Stephen King story (“Jerusalem’s Lot”), the Montreal native explains how she had the King of Horror on her mind even prior to landing the role…

Emily Hampshire/Us Magazine/IMDb/(cover image): Emily Hampshire/S Magazine

inte inte

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emily hampshire

the shops had quarantine signs on them [laughs]. And also being in a lot of those costumes, it does a lot of the acting work for you. And working with Adrien, you just look at him and he’s old-timey, like he’s from the past.

SPOILER: What was it like working with Adrien Brody?

EMILY HAMPSHIRE: He’s a great actor. He’s so professional. When you work with an actor as good as Adrien, they make you better. They can’t help but do that.

SPOILER: Obviously, they’re very different shows, but what was your experience like on this series versus Schitt’s Creek?

SPOILER: What made you want to take this role on Chapelwaite?

EMILY HAMPSHIRE: What’s crazy is that when this part came to me, I had just sold a show that I was gonna be a writer on, and I was reading Stephen King’s book, On Writing. And then I get this script, offered the part to be a writer in this story. So I was like, the universe is telling me, “It’s meant to be.”

SPOILER: Do you believe in the paranormal?

EMILY HAMPSHIRE: I always think I don’t, and then I’m proven wrong. For instance, when we were shooting, the Chapelwaite

house—it’s haunted. Basically, a lot of people died in there and they’re not happy about it. And there was… stuff. For sure something is going on there. So, I wouldn’t say I don’t believe in it...around them.

SPOILER: So you felt energy when you were there?

EMILY HAMPSHIRE: Yeah. Not good energy, but yeah.

SPOILER: How is it being on a set that looks so believable?

EMILY HAMPSHIRE: That was great. The exteriors, where the shops are and everything, it’s like a little old-timey town. And bringing even more reality to it was that all

EMILY HAMPSHIRE: For Schitt’s Creek, I’d show up to work in the morning and I’d take off my black Converse and I’d put on Stevie’s black Converse, and I’d take off my baggy jeans and put on Stevie’s baggy jeans, and sit behind the desk and make fun of David. For Chapelwaite, I come into work and have somebody help me get dressed and tighten me in for 20 minutes. It’s night and day. The only thing that was similar was that the creators and writers of Chapelwaite, the Filardi brothers, in a short period of time I felt like these are my people. They’re gonna be in my life forever. I adore them. And that’s how I felt on Schitt’s Creek [as well]. september 2021|

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BY ETHAN BREHM

THERE’S A CERTAIN TYPE OF PERSON WHO LOVES FAST & FURIOUS MOVIES. Not necessarily the same type of person who loves action flicks or car chases—maybe that too—but one who can appreciate films with charm even despite their shortcomings; who can take the cheesy one-liners with the authentically-inspired racing sequences. There’s a lot to love about Fast & Furious, now nine movies in. And as each new installment has gotten bigger and bigger, and steered away from street racing altogether, most of its fans have stayed on board too.

The films follow a group of street racers, for the most part consisting

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of Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, an alpha dog car-wiz who attracts all kinds of misfits and lost souls to his crew, and Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner, an ex-cop who originally befriends Dom on an undercover mission infiltrating his team of hijackers, but eventually coming to admire and respect the criminal and falling in love with his sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster). Over the years, the two become friends and brothers, despite the rocky start, and set out on various missions together—and separately.

From its humble street racing beginnings in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious to shedding its main characters entirely by the third installment, Tokyo Drift, to making that third installment a prequel to the next three films and including its supporting character (Han) in each of them, joining him together with the two stars from the first movie (Dom and Brian), to turning the series into a string of elaborate heists and its criminal protagonists into unlikely

heroes—and at times superheroes— there may be no franchise that’s endured the kind of absurd lineage that this one has.

Fast & Furious has evolved like no franchise in history, never tonally tied to its predecessors, while at the same time informed by each of them to a fault. Not just growing from moderately tame to wildly insane, but building to its increasingly—and gloriously—ridiculous scenarios and stunts, almost by ear, throughout

Fast & Furious/Universal Pictures

the years to achieve the incredible standard it’s now set for itself and continues to challenge.

The star-studded DNA has eventually evolved more into the Avengers-type of super team (which may have originally begun with 2010’s The Expendables in modern times), even if the approach in Fast Five, a year before the first Avengers movie, was way more earnest and organic of an assemblage than the long-term vision that

was deliberately put into action

by Marvel. And now with F9, the limitations of a super team have been reinvented once again.

With Fast & Furious, every installment is something new and different, with each of the early films playing its part in making the series what it is today: ensemblecasted action movies where virtually anything goes, but with a heart that’s all about the characters themselves—a glorified band of welldiagrammed antiheroes where each one could very well be some fan’s favorite.

Over the years, through all the different iterations and tones, through all the character-shedding and subsequent character reunions,

there’s something that’s always remained the same about these films; something almost intangible.

Held together by sincere themes of loyalty and family—but not in the mafia kind of way because with Dom, it’s either you take it or leave it—and a need for speed, no matter how preposterous, Fast & Furious has always tried to toe the enigmatic line between sentimental and adrenaline-fueled.

What Batman is to his bat suit and bat gadgets, this team of heroes is to their cars, pushing the limits of what’s possible for automobiles and continuing to defy audience’s expectations for what’s possible for action movies as well, much to the incredulity of our own gaping mouths.

Paul Walker’s unexpected death in 2013 adds a whole new layer to these films, and is a major reason why I can’t help but get misty-eyed during the more heartwarming moments in each one.

Whether you’re new to the franchise or a long-time fan, I’m sure you’ll agree that there’s something to love about every single one of these installments. Not included on this list is the 2019 Hobbs & Shaw spinoff movie because, while it’s very enjoyable in its own right, it’s more comedy-focused than anything else and has no firm place in the overall saga that’s been constructed out of the other nine. But considering the crazy world of Fast & Furious, who knows what the future will hold?

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9

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS

Every franchise has one: an installment that goes too far. In the world of Fast & Furious, this may seem like a redundant phrase for many. Yet for fans of this particular franchise, we relish in the over-thetop action tropes and creatively implausible stunts. However, with its eighth installment, the line of plausibility wasn’t crossed with people and cars being physically pushed to asinine extremes, but with lose-lose moral conflicts.

In The Fate of the Furious, or F8, Dom gets strong-armed into joining up with cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron) and turning against his entire team after discovering that she’s kidnapped his infant son that he didn’t know he had. Cipher hopes that his talents will help her get her get a hold of a nuclear weapon so she can have the world in the palm of her hand.

The film takes our beloved antihero and turns him into the most destructive he’s ever been, literally driving through buildings and theoretically murdering thousands

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(2017)

of people via collateral damage in what has to be the biggest innocent civilian catastrophe performed by a protagonist in movie history.

Director F. Gary Gray and writer Chris Morgan make Dom choose between saving his son and saving entire nations. As parents, we always put our children above anyone else, but this film takes the hyperbole too far, even despite Dom’s plans to get himself out of the jam, which the audience is kept in the dark about for nearly 2 hours.

Admittedly, The Fate of the Furious was a necessary, and logical, direction for the franchise to go in.

When you have a series like this, the rule book for potential storylines essentially gets tossed out the window. It won’t always work, but that’s the risk you run when you have a franchise where anything goes. However, if we’ve learned anything from this film it’s that there are certain directions that are more uncomfortable than others.

Morgan may very well be the truest and most consistent action blockbuster screenwriter of the past 20 years, but with this eighth installment he writes himself into a tight corner, with a story that can only go in so many directions once he’s established for the hero a leverage that’s too valuable—even untouchable. And thus, whatever comes afterwards must either follow a reasonable outcome or become unbelievable. As far-fetched as some of these plots have been—let alone their stunts—the one thing that Fast & Furious has kept grounded are its characters. However, with F8, it has a difficult time doing even that.

However, the writer, along with Gray, still finds those iconic Fast & Furious moments along the way, such as the amazing opening street race, which perfectly embodies the “It doesn’t matter what’s under a hood. The only thing that matters is who’s behind the wheel” credo, or Jason Statham entertainingly talking to a baby during a shootout in an homage to Hard Boiled, or the welltimed car-shield during the climax.

Gray also directs one of the best non-car action sequences of the entire series with the prison brawl early on, with brilliant fight choreography, appropriate amounts of speed ramping, and fantastic physical performances by Dwayne Johnson, Statham, and literally every background actor involved.

If any of these movies have abandoned the original Fast formula, this one has, perhaps due to the fact that it’s the first without Paul Walker’s Brian. F8 is probably most similar to Fast & Furious 4 in both its darker tone and the lone-wolfing of Dom. However, where Dom had Brian at his side in the 2009 film, whether he wanted him there or not,

Fast & Furious/Universal Pictures

he’s literally isolated here and it’s unsettling.

Theron is way too sinister as a villain. We literally hate everything about her to the point where it begins to extend outward to the film as a whole. She has far too much screen time for an antagonist that we can’t sympathize with at all. The movie attempts lofty thematic goals, not only challenging Dom’s code, but that of the fans of the franchise as well, and does so with an existential approach that neither establishes a clear motive, nor makes enough sense to actually enable us to consider the polemic.

The Fate of the Furious is more off-the-rails than any other in the franchise, not because of the stunts—those are actually surprisingly (and disappointingly) tame here—but because the main plot is almost too serious to be fun at times. Even the past films at

their absolute darkest have tinges of popcorn entertainment shining through. Here, it’s not until we can get away from our protagonist and antagonist that we’re able to relax.

The moments with the non-Dom crew are entertaining because we’re able to forget what’s at stake, albeit briefly. Newcomer Scott Eastwood as Eric, the by-the-books rookie agent who tags along on the team’s mission, has great rapport with Tyrese Gibson’s Roman, providing a great foil for the famous jokester.

Both characters are punching bags for their respective cohorts, despite their vastly different personalities.

There’s some other fun relationship building between Johnson’s Hobbs and Statham’s Shaw, undoubtedly inspiring their own titular spin-off two years later.

Much more James Bond than Ocean’s Eleven, this 2017 installment ramps up the tech talk and phone conversations in an obvious way, with undoubtedly more screens in this movie than any action

movie I’ve ever seen. The end result, appropriately, is a lessened connection to our characters.

Although once you can look past the uneasiness of Dom sitting on the wrong end of the steering wheel and never paying the consequences for any of his actions, The Fate of the Furious is occasionally as fun as it should be. Yet despite the enormous stakes, the film somehow feels less tremendous than all the others.

Craziest Stunt: Snow ramp for use in submarine explosion

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8

2 FAST 2 FURIOUS (2003)

Gibson is undeniable here, just as it is with Diesel.

If the first film was a delicious heap of self-aggrandized dialogue that became classic quotes, the sequel embraces its banter and is aware of the silliness (and just may have singlehandedly worked the word “bruh” into the mainstream lexicon).

Trading in the LA neighborhood atmosphere for the sunny beach town of Miami, 2 Fast 2 Furious doubles down on the urban vibe with a generation-defining hip-hop soundtrack, sleek racing sequences, and a plethora of neon imports.

The characters here become a part of their milieu in a way that establishes the mindset for the rest of the films. Fast & Furious movies have always been about their inhabited settings nearly as much as the characters that inhabit them.

And with this sequel, the characters are no longer struggling with outgrowing their locale, but trying to adapt to it. As beautiful as the city is, why shouldn’t they be?

Despite having the first and one of the most heartless in a long line of ruthless villains, 2 Fast 2 Furious still never really puts its protagonists on the ropes very much. Brian and

Roman achieve their mission with a decent amount of ease, even if that breezy journey yields an exciting watch. Setting the tone for the outlandish stunts that this series would become famous for, the film features some memorable twists, although the exact details of the job at hand become a little hairy, especially in the final act.

If nothing else, 2 Fast 2 Furious allowed audiences to embark on a thrill ride with little-to-no stress involved, inviting future installments to retain a piece of that same carefree mentality, even though the stakes would objectively get higher and higher.

Craziest Stunt: Driving a car off a ramp onto a boat

Fast & Furious/Universal Pictures

2 Fast 2 Furious may have the lowest stakes in the entire franchise, but this also allows for the fun to be the most carefree. Directed by John Singleton in his first action flick, the sequel plays like a cliche ‘90s shootem-up, but with cars. In a series that’s just one giant guilty pleasure, this might be the guiltiest of them all.

Over the years the film has become the unlikely black sheep of the franchise, but this might be more due to the fact that it’s the only installment sans Vin Diesel. The silver lining is that, looking back, it was the brief space we needed to appreciate Dom and Brian’s brotherly bond that would commence again in the fourth film. And as a big bonus, we were introduced to the series’ comedic relief, Roman Pearce, played

by Tyrese Gibson.

The plot is pretty simple. Brian (Paul Walker), who’s now a former police officer, has relocated to Miami to live life as a street racer. After being arrested one night, the police make a deal with him that they’ll drop the charges if he helps them take down ruthless crime boss Carter Verone (Cole Hauser). Brian recruits his estranged friend Roman, and the two of them infiltrate Verone’s gang.

This gets hairy as Brian falls in love with Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes), another agent deep undercover as Verone’s girlfriend.

Led by Walker, Gibson, and Mendes, 2 Fast 2 Furious gets by on the charms of its stars. Walker is proof that you don’t have to be a great actor to carry a film, and that perhaps great acting might be a little overrated in general—especially when you have his kind of charisma.

You wouldn’t want anybody else in this role, and his chemistry with

7

FAST & FURIOUS 6

What do you do when you pull off a job to end all jobs and get enough money than all your previous jobs combined? You make the motivation more personal. The sixth installment opens with Dom finding out, via DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), that Letty is still alive, and that she’s working for an international criminal mastermind, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), who’s going country to country stealing billion-dollar tech and killing a bunch of people in the process.

The saga could have ended with Fast Five, the ultimate score, but this time our ensemble mega-team is reunited for something bigger. For once the end goal is not about the money (unless you’re Roman). If they successfully stop Shaw then Hobbs

will ensure a full pardon for all their crimes. They can finally have their cake and eat it too.

In a series where each installment feels completely separate from the rest, Fast & Furious 6 was the only one that lacked that individuality upon its release. Suffering a bit from following the behemoth that is Fast Five and the surprise factor that came with it, the sixth movie is also the only one to actually follow suit with its predecessor. Five and Six can be viewed as a pair, even if the latter is less of a heist and more about saving the day.

Despite all the time spent with the villain, he’s one of the weakest in the series. Don’t get me wrong, we can

(2013)

definitely feel his prowess, but he’s not compelling enough to warrant all the attention drawn onto him or to justify the lack of clarity with the mission. Director Justin Lin and writer Chris Morgan do make a point to draw parallels between Toretto’s team and Shaw’s, depicting the real difference between antiheroes and villains, but that might be as far as it goes.

Honestly though, a weak villain motive can’t get in the way of this movie being so undeniably entertaining. Even when there are loads of verbal exposition for stretches, as well as a useless plot point wasted on Brian flying to America just to break into a prison

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and find out information that ultimately goes nowhere, the film still delivers the goods in its isolated scenarios. How some of these sequences relate to the rest of the movie is minuscule, but the flavor they add to the whole package is memorable and I wouldn’t ever take them out.

While Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty puts up a surprisingly fair fight with Gina Carano’s Riley Hicks, Roman and Han (Sung Kang) get absolutely demolished by Joe Taslim’s Jah in one of the most enjoyable instances of an unlikable character taking down a hero/heroes in movie history. Lin makes sure to balance the austere intensity with comedic irony, and wisely refrains from making the sparring match matter all that much—it’s just pure entertainment.

While the rest of the film feels much more significant and emotional than its predecessor, this is one of the rare moments where the narrative can really breathe.

There are a lot of moving parts here, and not a lot of ways to make them flow. Luckily, this time around Lin and company seem to be a lot more free from the shackles of making sure this isn’t a racing movie.

Fast Five adamantly refused to have any real racing, aside from a throw-in scene involving stolen cop cars. But this movie evens the pace with more car action sprinkled in, even during its thrilling airplane climax.

It’s also important to note that this is Walker’s last FULL appearance in the franchise prior to his death (Furious 7 was partially rewritten to film some of his scenes with doubles). Fast Six features his best and most dramatic performance of the series.

In 2013, the franchise around him was changing too. The movies were becoming less about Dom and Brian’s bond, and more about dividing the attention between all the other characters (it’s a good thing we like them all). With this sixth film, we can see how everyone’s matured over the last ten years, and our core team, especially Dom, finally gets to be viewed as the heroes, even if that means they lose some of that mischievous charm in the process.

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Craziest Stunt: Letty bridge-jumping in Spain, and the overall exploitation of jumping onto moving cars

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Fast & Furious/Universal Pictures

FAST & FURIOUS

It’s hard to believe that this was only Dom and Brian’s second appearance together.

The fourth installment in the series also serves as a soft reboot of sorts, continuing the timeline following 2 Fast 2 Furious, but also with a new direction in mind. The second outing with director Justin Lin and the first in which Diesel serves as producer, Fast & Furious shifts the focus from car culture to performing bigger stunts and pushing the limits of automobiles, something we would continue to see more and more of throughout the series.

Fast & Furious may suffer from being one of the most serious of the franchise, but not without reason. Early on in the movie, Dom’s girlfriend Letty gets murdered and now the outlaw spends the rest of the film trying to find her killer to avenge her death. Meanwhile, Brian, who hasn’t spoken to Dom in five years since he helped him with his getaway (in the first movie), thus revealing him to be a cop, is also on her

(2009)

which takes place while taking down a drug cartel—each for his own reason.

This process could have resulted in something very cliché and routine, but despite the occasional lazy dialogue and the abundance of platitudes, the story itself is far from formulaic in how it unfolds. There’s a wrong way to handle the fixing of a relationship, but these filmmakers truly understand the weight underneath Dom and Brian’s bond, establishing it as the undercurrent for the future of this franchise, much like it is during the first film. Focusing on the characters first and foremost, just as it’s written into the Fast & Furious DNA, and doing the groundwork to further their stories in a meaningful way, this fourth installment more than justifies its own existence and that of the rest of the series.

A crucial stepping stone for the next chapter in the franchise, Fast & Furious is also a ton of fun. While never trying to be more than it is, the film still manages to level up almost every facet from its predecessors and has since turned out to be the nexus for the entire series.

Craziest Stunt: The tanker truck heist

killer’s trail as he’s connected with a big-time heroin trafficker.

Dom and Brian’s paths cross soon enough, which reunites the two men and forces them to reconcile their differences.

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THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT

“Okay, first you get rid of Vin Diesel in the second film, and now Paul Walker is gone in the third? What the heck is going on here??” Fans were understandably nonplussed when Tokyo Drift was first released back in 2006: Is it part of the actual canon for the series? As it turns out, Justin Lin would have many surprises in store for the franchise and what this film would mean to it. Over the years, the third installment has become a favorite for many.

Looking back it seems like a bold move to have a spin-off movie become the nascent propeller for an entirely new direction for a series of which it was spinning off of in the first place. However, this was not always the plan. Originally slated as a stand-alone with new characters entirely, Tokyo Drift eventually did become canon and,

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timeline-wise, an immediate sequel for the next three films. It’s this very unconventional approach, along with the distinct nature of its predecessor, 2 Fast 2 Furious, that gave the series different branches to build upon.

When something happens twice it’s a coincidence, but after the third time it’s considered a pattern.

If 2001’s The Fast and the Furious set the familial thread that runs directly through each and every installment in this franchise, then Tokyo Drift established a standard of individuality that continued for the rest of the series while also building upon its unified ethos.

Following an American high schooler, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), who’s sent to Tokyo after getting in trouble for drag racing, the movie fully immerses its protagonist into Japanese car culture. Along the way, Sean gets involved with a girl, Neela (Nathalie Kelley), the pseudogirlfriend of the territorial shot-caller D.K. (Drift King, played by Brian Tee) and the nephew of the head of an organized crime syndicate. D.K.’s right-hand man, Han (Sung Kang), takes Sean under his wing to teach him the art of drifting.

The first in a longtime partnership

(2003)

with director and producer Justin Lin and screenwriter Chris Morgan, Tokyo Drift gives an inside look into the drift culture of Japan, and in 2006 was most American’s introduction to the craft. However, Lin doesn’t just rely on the exotic newness of a foreign racing style to drive the film’s appeal, but puts drifting up on a pedestal and makes it look beautiful. When it comes to pure racing, this movie has some of the most stylish and exciting sequences of the entire series. Even if it’s not necessarily the best overall, considering its loose relevance to the rest of the saga, it’s arguably the coolest.

Lin, along with his DP and editing team, has a craftiness behind the camera that feels fresh, especially

Fast & Furious/Universal Pictures

5

for the time, with no wasted shots or lazy cuts, even when the characters aren’t racing. We get a great sense of the space that we’re inhabiting, looking through the lens of an exploratory camera with a mind of its own: following our characters, then departing to trace the room, and then meeting back up again. The director does this on several occasions as he breathes life into every moment he shoots.

Following a more formulaic second installment, Lin’s movie takes risks. It breaks the fourth wall, beats up on its protagonist, and even kills off a lovable character.

The director effectively develops Han in such a limited space to the point that he’s become a resounding Fast & Furious favorite—even prior to his run in the next few films—and his death is probably the franchise’s most heartbreaking moment that doesn’t have to do with Paul Walker.

Other films in the series have a bravado that’s expected considering the magnitude of the heists and the depth of the ensembles, but Tokyo Drift is like the mouthy short dude who somehow ends up taking down all the bigger guys in the room. And in street racing, looks can be deceiving. Fortunately, the former unsung hero of the franchise is finally starting to get some recognition these days.

Craziest Stunt: Drifting through a crowd of people

4

F9 (2021)

After an objective low point with The Fate of the Furious, the franchise needed yet another restart of sorts.

In this year’s F9, Dom and the others get in touch with seemingly every aspect of their own cinematic lineage.

Callback after callback, F9 just might epitomize the Fast series more than any other in knowing exactly how to handle fan service. A reunion of nearly every main character in the history of the franchise (literally), the movie has redefined what it means to play to your core audience without sacrificing much narrative integrity. Accomplishing a nearimpossible character balance, Justin Lin assembles the biggest crew yet and still manages to let everyone shine in his or her own way.

Dom, Letty, and their usual gang of misfits gather together after Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) sends them a distress signal. Apparently one half of a doomsday device called Ares has been stolen by a group of terrorist spies. Dom quickly learns that his estranged brother Jakob

(John Cena) is one of the ones responsible, and so he decides to get involved after initially being reluctant to. He disowned Jakob years ago and no longer considers him family.

Meanwhile, Jakob has always had a chip on his shoulder due to living in his brother’s shadow.

With Lin back to direct for his first outing since Fast 6, the ninth installment very much heads back to its roots, in more ways than one. Serving as an origins story for Dom, F9 interweaves the present day events with flashbacks from our protagonist’s youth, with the september 2021|

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Fast & Furious/Universal Pictures

opening scene set in 1989 as his younger self (Vinnie Bennett) watches his father get killed on the race track. Alongside him is his younger brother, Jakob (Finn Cole), who Dom learns was the one who cut the line to their dad’s engine, thus leading to his death.

More than any other in the series, the physical objective of F9 feels secondary to the personal issues.

The highlight comes from the team splitting up and reuniting with different Fast & Furious alumni across the globe. Mia returns, joining Letty on a trip to Tokyo after they find out that their fallen comrade Han may have had some mysterious ties to the Ares device.

Longtime Fast screenwriter Chris Morgan gets replaced with Lin and Daniel Casey (making this the first non-Morgan entry since 2 Fast 2 Furious), and the change-up is slightly noticeable.

Having a balanced and consistent pace on one hand, thanks to Lin behind the camera, the details of the crew’s mission still get a little foggy, especially as the film tries to convince the audience that the stakes of saving the world are more important than discovering Dom’s past and solving the mystery around Han. This may be so, but we never once believe that the movie actually believes it’s true. Simply put, the universe within Fast & Furious gets intensified so much so that we stop caring about the non-character conflict, and thus, the potentiallyintriguing idea of an Ares device unintentionally becomes relegated

to a mere MacGuffin.

The identity of F9 is very much in its own history, as it should be.

The flashbacks give us some great moments in Los Angeles—where this world first began—which always keep this ambitious entry grounded. Like most of the recent installments, however, there’s a giant lack of car culture, yet this time the cars themselves are hardly ever showcased either, shoehorned in as obligatory pieces rather than glossy gauds to drool over.

But if anything, the added backstory elements have opened up the door to be expanded on even further in future installments.

Bennett may not look quite like a young Vin Diesel, but the filmmakers obviously went for talent over visage, since the actor absolutely nails the conviction for the part and

also Diesel’s guttural cadence.

Despite some lackluster racing sequences and a laughable exploitation of a super-magnet (but would we want it any other way?), this latest entry sets the bar astronomically high yet again while serving its purpose to further connect all of these seemingly tangential films. Filled with selfreferential jokes (“See! What I tell you—not even a scratch!”), some of the wildest stunts compiled into a single movie, and the best surprises since news of Letty’s resurrection in Fast Five, F9 is a love letter to both the characters that inhabit it and the fans who’ve stuck around for two decades; a wild ride that’s insanely fun every step of the way—especially if you don’t think too much about it.

Craziest Stunt: Tarzanswinging on a bridge rope

3

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001)

The one that started it all. Who would have thought that one of the biggest franchises of all time would have such humble beginnings? With a story about street racing culture and an undercover cop who befriends a big-time hijacker, it’s the film’s core values of loyalty and family that have come to inform the rest of the series, infusing it with an obstinate moral code and unique sense of modesty to girdle all its bravado, even during the most insane moments.

A modernized version of Roger Corman and the American International drive-in fodder of the 1950s, The Fast and the Furious follows an undercover cop, Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), as he infiltrates a gang of street racers, led by Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), who are prime suspects in a recent string of hijackings. Brian falls for Dom’s sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster), and soon gets in the alpha dog’s good graces by proving his loyalty.

However, Dom doesn’t know he’s a cop. And Brian is now faced with

a tough dilemma as he, too, has become emotionally attached and doesn’t want to believe that his new friends are guilty of the crimes being pinned on them.

The dialogue is so embracingly cheesy in this early entry that we can turn every self-aggrandized line into a quotable classic. Yet despite the formulaic pretense, The Fast and the Furious continuously subverts expectations even in this seemingly limited and sophomoric space.

Underneath it all, this is a story about the levels of good and bad—a theme which admittedly isn’t all that original in Hollywood, but also one that doesn’t always communicate as well and as subtly as it does here. There are twists in the script, written by Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, and a young David Ayer, even where you least expect it. The film essentially makes the audience give Dom and his gang the benefit of the doubt, but then, without betraying its characters, takes the story to a place we never expect and we’re suddenly forced to make the decision all on our own.

The influential and kinetic camerawork by DP Ericson Core works until it doesn’t, but the adrenaline-fueled racing sequences wouldn’t have become so iconic under more proven conventions.

Director Rob Cohen and his team take risks even when probably advised not to, but now 20 years later we’re glad that they did—the result being a very evenly distributed action film where even the slower parts are highly engaging.

At the film’s core are the relationships it establishes. The growing bonds between Dom and Brian, and, likewise, Brian and Mia, are the lasting legacy of this movie for any fan of the franchise—these bonds that drive the conflict just as much as they allow us to relish in the resolutions.

Diesel is the definite high point among the performances, bringing an emotion to Dominic Toretto that’s absolutely necessary to love the character despite all of his flaws and vices. Launching the actor’s fame into the stratosphere and showing how he could be every bit of the action star Sly Stallone was in the ‘80s, but with perhaps a much more believable mixture of anger and plight, The Fast and the Furious still never requires him to carry the film on his back. His co-star Paul Walker shows us that charm is just as important as conviction when you’re acting, especially when you have as much as he does. Exuding an insane amount of charisma, the late actor ensures that the audience is on board with his character the moment they meet him.

A movie that gets better the more you watch it (and appreciated the more you fall in love with its sequels), The Fast and the Furious almost shouldn’t work as more than a mere display of well-directed action and intensity, but the charms of its leads and their tricky dynamic are the undeniable driving force behind its popularity, and thus, that of the rest of the franchise.

Craziest Stunt: The train track race

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Fast & Furious/Universal Pictures

2

FAST FIVE (2011)

If Fast Four began shedding the street racing culture that had been written into the franchise’s DNA, then Fast Five was the nail in the coffin. The departure was nothing short of deliberate, and a very smart move. Rather than continuing to drink from the same well over and over again, the series evolved, but not without the necessary transitions that took place in the first four movies. With Fast Five, the franchise fully submerges itself into the heist genre and crafts a storyboard that somehow manages to avoid any sort of tunnel vision.

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What does the FBI do when they’re trying to catch the people at the top of the FBI’s Most Wanted list, who just so happen to be helping take down a much more dangerous man? That’s the dilemma The Rock’s character faces in his debut in the franchise as DSS agent Luke Hobbs.

Of course Hobbs is not the star of the film. With Dom having escaped from prison with the help of Brian and Mia, the trio is now in hiding from the law, climbing up the FBI’s Most Wanted List in the process.

During a job gone wrong, three DEA agents get murdered—not by any of our heroes, but by their accomplice who works for Brazilian crime lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida).

Dom, Brian, and Mia find themselves with the upper hand and access to $100 million of Reyes’ money, planning to steal it in one last job that will be able to buy their freedom for good. To get it done, they assemble a team of past confidants (cue epic character montage).

Fast Five isn’t just a heist movie, but a good one. Clear cut and intricate, the details aren’t

convoluted, and the way the plot unfolds is exciting and adrenalinefueled.

The obvious selling point here is the ensemble, but what makes the movie so much fun is how it’s utilized, each character unapologetically tilting the dynamic of the super team in a different direction. The line-up ensures that several dynamics are at play, with a lot of moving parts, all of which come together with a memorable finale and a couple of great twists.

When the film debuted in 2011, it felt like worlds were colliding.

Working with depth established over four movies already, Fast Five

still finds ways to both honor its four predecessors and develop the characters from those movies.

Director Justin Lin not only captures these authentic emotional moments, but enhances them. When Mia tells Brian she’s pregnant, every aspect of the filmmaking comes together to lift the scene up: the music cue, the way he frames the shot so that Dom can be a part of it too, as he should be, and the way Diesel’s face reacts without ever falling into any sort of stock expression. Then later on in the film we get the “Last Supper”inspired meal the night before the big heist, where each character is developed in a more slice-of-life fashion as the director wisely slows down the pace for a moment of brief respite amidst the whirlwind that comes before and after.

The stunts are often laughably implausible—a trend that will not only continue, but get doubled down on with each new installment— especially as we depart from the racing aspect into bigger and bigger jobs. However, our enjoyment of these movies greatly depends on our acceptance of the ridiculous and our appreciation for the charms that justify them.

Fast Five simultaneously takes itself seriously, but also doesn’t.

Rather than using comedy to lighten the mood, it uses the absurdities of a train heist or a giant safe destroying cars on a bridge to do so. If we can

stretch our imagination to believe that a man can turn into a spider, then why can’t we do the same for movies that aren’t rooted in comic books and science fiction? In that regard, Fast Five takes a lot of bold risks and makes the audience believe that these things are possible within this world.

As superhero movies were redefining the idea of “high-concept” in 2011, the Fast & Furious franchise was doing the same for personalstakes, action shoot-em-ups where the fate of the world wasn’t at risk.

Ten years after the release of the first movie in 2001, Fast Five ushered in a new era of action filmmaking and enthusiasm. Future installments may have since gotten us used to this big, bold approach—especially as it relates to cars…yes, cars—but

this was the moment when many people fell in love with the franchise, whether for the first time or all over again.

Fast Five goes full swing into the next phase of the series while also adding to it a whole new layer. Yet another new beginning of sorts, the film finds the sweet spot between where the series was in the past and what it eventually turned into. These movies will likely never be quite like this one—not in terms of quality, but in regards to doing what they do best: surprising their audience. And sitting in that movie theater back in 2011, we finally got to experience how perfect these films could actually be.

Not to mention that in-credits cliffhanger...

Craziest Stunt: Double towing a giant safe through Rio, and the subsequent weaponizing of said giant safe

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1

FURIOUS 7 (2015)

In 2015, Furious 7 was the proper culmination of the franchise up to that point—in more ways than one.

The death of Paul Walker prior to the film getting completed cast an unavoidable shadow overhead.

There’s an emotional subtext present even before that beautiful, and way-too-sad, phone conversation between Brian and Mia, and subsequent farewell between Brian and Dom during the epilogue.

However, the film had a heavy weight written into its DNA already. Dom’s iconic homestead is destroyed, Han has been killed, and Letty still struggles to regain her memory. And now, on top of it all,

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with every meaningful moment Brian has with Mia or Dom, you can’t help but speculate how much of their performance is real emotion.

Following the events of the previous film, in which our team of heroes places Owen Shaw in a coma, Owen’s brother Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) tries to get his vengeance on each of them, starting with Han in Tokyo—tying this movie together with Tokyo Drift. Now Dom, Brian, and the others attempt to get to Shaw before he gets to them.

Meanwhile, Kurt Russell plays Mr. Nobody, the “shadow” leader of a covert ops team, who recruits Dom to obtain a virtually-omniscient computer surveillance program called God’s Eye. In return, he will let Dom use the God’s Eye to find Shaw.

Shying away from the superteam concept established in the previous two films, instead sprinkling the plot with fun cameos, Furious 7 levels up the series without trying to go bigger than its massive predecessors—and

and even keeps The Rock relatively at bay. Although, the film is plenty big regardless of its cast. Director James Wan and writer Chris Morgan focus more on getting back on track with the essence of the Fast & Furious universe. With a poignant attention to character—perhaps due to Walker’s death—and arguably the best action sequences of the franchise, Furious 7 carries a piece from each film in its legacy while also firmly maintaining its own identity.

Wan’s style shines through in this seventh installment, but works symbiotically with the inherent charms of the actors and production design so as to not simply stand on

Fast & Furious/Universal Pictures

its own, but serve a purpose. Wan is a filmmaker known for his focus on storyboarding and dedication to narrative payoffs, even with an intricate plot. And as Furious 7 gets pretty intricate, the director always keeps the audience in view and keeps the story pushing forward with his deliberately kinetic, but steady, pacing.

Previously known for his work in the horror genre, Wan infuses the action film with his typical color grading and intense camerawork, with interesting photography, disorienting perspectives, and music video splicing to match the soundtrack beats. His slick editing and slight sheen make the action sequences feel like a video game, in the best possible way, with a car-studded finale in Los Angeles that feels straight out of Grand Theft Auto. The director handles the chaotic chase scenes with a coherent vision and still finds time to slow down certain shots (but not too many) in order to admire what’s going on around us, or even just to look at the cars.

Furious 7 also has the best array of WTF stunts, but what makes them even more impressive is how they all still feel like they’re in the realm of plausibility. And that’s because most of them are. Apparently 90% of the action sequences were done using CGI, including the famous parachuting cars and Brian’s jumping from a bus falling off a cliff.

And then there’s the epilogue. As Paul Walker’s final film, the tribute to him at the end is beautiful just as it is heart-wrenching for any of us who love this franchise. He and Diesel,

together, are the spirit underneath it all, yet he was always the calming presence who grounded even the most preposterous moments.

Despite about a third of his scenes being filmed with CGI over body doubles—mostly his brothers Cody and Caleb—Walker gives a solid performance with fantastic stunts in his swan song, his prowess as an action star at its peak.

The actor’s sendoff is done perfectly. Rather than killing off his character, the film focuses on Brian’s call to family life, leaving his runningand-gunning with Dom behind. It’s every bit as authentic and poetic as you had hoped it would be.

Where Fast & Furious 6 feels like the entire film is hanging onto its plot for movement, Furious 7 rolls the ball effortlessly. There’s no real sitting and waiting around—only action and reaction. The story behind Furious 7 may have overshadowed the film itself, and understandably so, but it’s perhaps the most “Fast & Furious” installment in the entire franchise and a near-perfect action movie.

Craziest Stunt: Skyscraperhopping in a Lykan

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from all walks of life. San Diego Comic Con as we know it today has been around for 40 or 50 years, but its history is rooted even further back than that.

In May, Geeky Films officially announced INSIDE COMIC CON, a six-part documentary series, as currently in production and expected to be broadcast in the fall of 2022.

The series will break down the history of fan conventions, detail their inner workings, and showcase the culture and massive successes of various fan experiences—Comic Cons in particular.

There’s something almost unexplainable about why conventions are so addicting, and this docuseries will attempt to grasp just how Cons have transcended comic books themselves to become a confluence for fans of television, film, anime, and other various mediums. Talking to attendees from all over the world and getting a feel for their love affair, INSIDE COMIC CON will provide insight to how these events have become the nexus

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point between nostalgia and today’s pop culture obsessions.

Led by the creators of Comic Con Radio, and SPO!LER Magazine, INSIDE COMIC CON will take us behind the scenes of the world’s new favorite pastime while also exploring what it takes to run these massive fan events, many of which bring together hundreds of thousands of people from all around the globe each weekend.

INSIDE COMIC CON will pull back the veil on each stage of putting one of these mammoths together.

Everything from gathering volunteers to landing celebrities and panelists, the series will take you through the steps needed to create these havens for fans, while also showing you the passion of the people who make it all happen, both from attendees and those who literally build these events from the ground up.

Each episode will explore a different convention from around the world and show the viewer what goes on behind the scenes. You’ll get interviews with fans, cosplayers,

INSIDE COMIC CON premieres Fall 2022

Pixabay/Illuminerdy/Trey Moore/Denis Poroy/Invision, via Associated Press

for decades, conventions have been uniting fans

retailers, collectors, executives from the comic book, television, and film worlds, as well as celebrities who also happen to be in touch with their own geeky side.

Showrunner and creator Galaxy has worked in the Comic Con universe for over two decades with his flagship show on Comic Con Radio.

He not only knows what it takes to make these events run smoothly and successfully, but he’s also seen firsthand the power of fans and what these conventions mean to them.

The show began filming in 2019 but had to take a halt due to the pandemic. Filming will begin again near the end of this year and is expected to wrap sometime during spring of 2022. While the series won’t get a release until next fall, a short teaser film will debut sometime in the first half of next year.

Comic Con and other conventions like it have moved mountains to help bring comic books, anime, and toys to the mainstream while welcoming in the film and television companies who, in recent years, have embraced the Con lifestyle and the properties they represent. This docuseries will dive deep within the fanbase, talking to attendees about their own fandoms, their dedication to cosplay, and how these conventions were the first to bring them closer to their favorite actors, celebrities, and iconic figures of the past and present. Likewise, there are millions of fans around the world who’ve only ever dreamed of attending an actual Comic Con in person, and so this docuseries will bring these massive fan events into their lives for the very first time.

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INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

Marvel fans will undoubtedly recognize Susie Abromeit

from her time as Pam on the hit series Jessica Jones, but with nearly a decade-and-a-half in the industry, the actress has accumulated quite the resume, including roles in Battle Los Angeles and stints on As the World Turns and Chicago Med. However, prior to her transition into Hollywood, Susie has managed to do it all.

From ranking number 6 in the United States in tennis at 16-years-old, earning her a full ride to Duke, to landing a record deal with Atlantic, the multihyphenate has had a lifetime of experiences already. She sits down with Galaxy to chat about her brief foray into music, as well as the disillusionment that made her want to leave it behind. Admittedly not easy to forgo two careers, especially after dedicating much of her life to them, her past has informed her present, allowing her to gain the perspective needed to make it in this highly competitive industry.

Gathering a novel’s worth of stories in the process, Susie speaks on her friendship with Will Smith and his influence on her life even before the two of them co-starred in the upcoming Venus and Serena Williams biopic, King Richard, as well as her late-night hangouts with Dave Chappelle and his crew, and what makes him truly one of the real ones.

With her latest film, The Forever Purge, the actress continues to set her sights to the horizon as she never shies away from evolving as a person, remembering to leave one foot on the ground, and of course, always keeping it real.

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interview interview

SUSIE ABROMEIT Things. It was a smash of every ‘80s Spielbergesque film ever, but mixed with suspense and horror. It was so well done. I loved the first season.

Susie Abromeit/Matt Sayles/Lapalme Magazine/(cover image):Matt Sayles

SPOILER: Most people don’t realize this, but you were ranked number 6 in the US as a tennis player. That’s amazing!

SPOILER: Everybody knows you from your breakout role on Jessica Jones.

How was it working on that show?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: I read the pilot and I had actually auditioned for Krysten Ritter’s role. But the only person who should have ever played that is Krysten Ritter. So I read the script and I literally put that show up on my vision board. I was like, “I wanna be on this show.” And six months later, I ended up booking the role playing Pam and it was one of my favorite projects. It was such an amazing cast. Carrie-Anne Moss and Krysten Ritter—they were such a joy.

appreciated the comic world. I feel like my guy friends really got me into it [laughs]. And being on Jessica Jones really opened my eyes. But I was such a big fan of the Christopher Nolan Batman films and just how well done those were. A huge fan of Batman. I’m excited for the new one with Robert Pattinson. He’ll be the perfect version of Batman for who he is. I’m definitely a huge Christopher Nolan fan, and also Star Wars. I was sick one day when I was 7 and my mom brought home the originals, and I was like, “Oh my God!” I wanted to be an Ewok. They were so cute!

SPOILER: Were you into comics before that or was this something new to you?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: I never got into comics, but I really loved and

SPOILER: You’re an ‘80s kid? You don’t look like an ‘80s kid.

SUSIE ABROMEIT: You’re very sweet, but I’m definitely an ‘80s kid! It’s the reason I was obsessed with Stranger

SUSIE ABROMEIT: I was training full-time. I was recruited by Andy Roddick’s coach when I was 12. So then I end up going to Evert Tennis Academy, and that coach leaves and coaches Andy full-time.

But I stayed at Evert and knew what I wanted to do.

I had a couple goals that I wanted to achieve but didn’t know, as a 12-year-old, if they were ever going to happen. I wanted to be top 10 in the country, I wanted to be sponsored by Nike, I wanted to have a full ride to Duke University because they were a number 1 tennis team.

SPOILER: And then you ended up going to Duke.

SUSIE ABROMEIT: Yeah, I did! It was either Duke or Stanford, but Duke had a better acting program. I loved it. It was a period of my life where I was traveling the world, playing in tournaments. But I did end up hurting my back. I was on my way.

I don’t know if I woulda been sixth in the world, but I was definitely beating people in the top 100 and going toe-to-toe with people in the top 10.

SPOILER: When did the acting bug come into play?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: I was about 9.

I was a really good athlete, and the first to be picked—boy, girl, it

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SUSIE ABROMEIT

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That’s when I could have gotten an agent, but tennis again took up so much of my time. And then the 7th or 8th grade play, we were putting on Oliver Twist, and I had listened to one of the songs to learn it and did it in a Cockney accent [laughs]. And I auditioned with [that song] and the teacher was so impressed, but it didn’t work out because of tennis. So during senior year of high school, I kept coming back to wanting to act, realizing it was really my calling. At Tim Rozon/SurrealEstate/Syfy/Blue Ice Pictures/Smallz & Raskind/Getty Images

didn’t matter—we’re talking before puberty [laughs]. But then I was also an artist—writer and painter. I was really encouraged by my mom and my art teacher and my other teachers, who would go to my mom and say, “She’s a really great artist.

You need to encourage this.” I always thought I was gonna be a cartoonist or something. And she took me to a camp in Middlesex. Chris Evans actually went to this camp—I think we were there at the same time.

It was a big acting place, but they had everything. You were doing woodwork, making things out of clay, doing all sorts of arts and crafts, but they were preparing you for the industry. It was really cool! And so that’s where I was put on stage and had to do some acting exercises and went, “Oh my God, I love this!”

But at the same time, I was already playing tennis, which took up more of my time.

There were a couple other instances, like when I was 11, 12, when my mom entered me in a Macy’s modeling contest and I won.

some tennis camps there would be skit days, and I remember people losing their s**t being like, “You need to do this! You’re hilarious!”

There was one time I was at Evert and I was just doing impersonations of all the other kids and one of my coaches said, “What are you doing?

You should quit tennis and really pursue this acting thing because this is what you were meant to do.”

I just remember feeling so high after that. So that’s when I was really encouraged by some of the coaches I really respected. And that’s when I went to college and really got to explore it.

SPOILER: You had a song called “Slow Your Roll” with Fat Joe. How was that experience?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: When I was 18, I had the opportunity to work with an Atlantic Records producer.

Celine Dion just had a huge album and he had done one of her songs off the album, and he wanted to work with me. I was like, “Well, this isn’t really the right music.” But the A&R at Atlantic said we should work together, but I was like, “I hafta go to college. My mom will kill me. I’ve wanted this since I was 12, I have a full ride. I’m not putting it aside.”

So my sophomore year in college I was on the tennis team. We were ranked number 1 in NCAAs, and it was a really tough schedule; being a student athlete, that’s basically your life. And I would get these opportunities for music. I ended up booking the lead in a play, but when I had to turn it down because of tennis, yet again, that’s when I was

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SUSIE ABROMEIT like, “Okay, I’ve had enough!” And I quit. And that’s when I was able to focus on acting and singing. So, I called that A&R and was like, “Hey, I no longer have tennis.” And he’s like, “Actually there’s this song with Fat Joe I want you to sing on. The girl we were pushing ended up not working out.” And I was like, “Hell yeah!” So he ends up flying me out to New York and I stayed in this really amazing hotel, first class everything.

Obviously Fat Joe wasn’t there, he pre-recorded his vocals. But I ended up seeing him at some club at some point and I was like, “Hey! We have a song together!” And he’s like, “I know! Come roll with me!” [laughs] He was so sweet. He didn’t say much, but I guess you don’t really talk much in a club, like “HEY! HOW ARE YOU?!” And then we took it to radio stations.

SPOILER: Why don’t you pursue singing more?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: With the watershed moment of MeToo, I wanna say the music industry is the mafia. It is legit very dark, and I managed to avoid a lot of stuff.

Every time I would go work with a producer, they were trying to sleep with me. I was like, “I don’t wanna do that! This is annoying! Please go away!” I think if you’re a band you can go on tour and build up a following that way, but if you’re a pop artist you require a lot more money. It’s a little bit trickier. We would go to a meeting and the VP would be like, “Come see me,” and then he would show up in a robe at his house. We were very lucky we never had to do any shady stuff, but there’s all these loopholes in payola. You find out how things are really done. It’s not like you just have a great song and it gets played. It was kinda dark, man. As an 18- or 20-year-old, it was just not a place where I wanted to be. Billie Eilish has kind of spoken out about it. It’s just how the industry is run. With music, you can immediately move people.

Because there’s so much money and power in it, I think a lot of people who run it, back then at least—it was kind of dark.

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Now the industry has changed a bit. Back then, there were no rules or regulations. It was literally like dealing with the mafia. When I see Britney and Justin Bieber, it’s a real thing—from someone who’s dabbled in that and managed to say, “I don’t wanna be a part of this. I’m not gonna come out with my soul intact.

This isn’t about the music.” But now you can make your own way [a little easier].

SPOILER: How do you like the actor lifestyle?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: Honestly, I wanna be living in nature and have a farm— that to me is so cool; that makes my heart sing. Being able to do art and create the stories I want to tell and working with amazingly talented people, that’s the dream. But as for the lifestyle, I’m not interested in that. I don’t like it. The Hollywood parties are fun, but you get to a certain age and you know what it is. But like, Edgar Wright throws this really cool New Year’s party.

And Edgar is a wonderful human, so naturally you have wonderful people at the party. Really down-to-earth people. And then you have, you know, some other parties [laughs]: There’s too many people, no one really cares about anybody, and everyone is just walking around pretending to be cool. There’s no real conversation. I’m like, “Get me outta here!” But if it’s genuine people, I have time for that.

I mean, if it’s a big Oscar party, those things can be fun. But generally, I’m not holding my breath.

And “clock strikes 12” is always my

SUSIE ABROMEIT and heard how Will would bring donuts to the set in the middle of the night to rally the crew. “Be like Will Smith.” And I shared that with him, and he was so moved by that.

And we’ve kept in touch, and it’s been really cool to have Will Smith as a friend!

Susie Abromeit/Matt Sayles/Diving Normal/Devolver Digital Films

SPOILER: Marvel or DC? SUSIE ABROMEIT: Well, considering I’ve already done Marvel… Actually, I don’t think I can choose. I love Batman and I also love Jessica Jones and the Avengers. I’m totally that nerd who’s like, “I have to go see The Avengers!”

rule. Because after 12 is when people get really drunk, they start saying weird things. I’m like, “This isn’t my vibe.” It also depends on who you’re with. I’ve hung out with Dave Chappelle and his crew, and s**t never gets weird. He’s just Dave all the time. He does his sets at 2 in the morning and then people go out for drinks afterwards, and that actually never got weird, which I really appreciate. Dave Chappelle is one of the coolest cats on the planet. He’s a real person. He lives in Ohio. That’s exactly how I see it. He’s kind of the same, where he can dip in and dip out. What a beautiful existence.

SPOILER: So, tell me about your latest film. How was it working on The Forever Purge?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: It’s a wild ride! It’s very gruesome. I got to work with guns and do stunts. I had the best time. It was all Michael Bay’s team, because he’s producing, and it was the coolest experience I’ve ever had on set, and with this big of a scope.

Michael Bay knows what he’s doing.

The most incredible team of people I’ve ever worked with.

SUSIE ABROMEIT: Working with Will Smith was a bucket list highlight. He’s the best. He’s my favorite. Basically, he’s been a voice in my head, just in terms of how he lives his life, how he treats his career, how he treats people. I was working with this bodyguard on a modeling shoot, and I asked him who’s the best he ever worked with, and he said, “Hands down, Will Smith. Anytime somebody would come up to him and I’d say, ‘No no no,’ Will would correct me and say, ‘No, these are the people who go see my movies and buy my albums, so I will always be grateful for them.’” And that really stuck with me. And I’ve talked to other people

SPOILER: Have you been to a Con yet?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: I have! I did a panel for San Antonio and it was so cool! I love everyone’s cosplay. I was so into it! Those are my people.

SPOILER: Is there anything you wanna tell other fans out there before you head out?

SUSIE ABROMEIT: “Get your Purge on!” The running joke for all the makers of the movie was that it’s a documentary [laughs]. But I’m so excited for this film and it was such a joy to work with everyone. “Please go see it! It’s gonna be a fun ride!”

SPOILER: You’re also starring in King Richard. What was it like working with Will Smith?

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THE SUICIDE SQUAD DIRECTED BY: James Gunn / CAST: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman

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t’s clear pretty early on in The Suicide Squad that James Gunn’s standalone sequel is not only aiming to fix all the wrongs of David Ayer’s polarizing 2016 original, Suicide Squad (without the “The”), but is successfully doing so. Though Ayer shouldn’t bear all the burden of guilt for his own film’s shortcomings since the studio practically set him up to fail by giving the hard-R director a premise ripe for blood and violence, yet constraining him to a PG-13 rating. The limitations forced the writer-director to focus more on the emotional weight of villainsturned-heroes rather than playing in the sandbox that is “psycho villain protagonists.”

The first Suicide Squad not only played it safe, but did so with unfunny, brooding stagnation, seemingly acquiescent to include any sort of action whatsoever while simultaneously struggling to utilize all five of its caricatured

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antiheroes. Gunn, on the other hand, not only utilizes all of his characters effortlessly, but takes bold chances in every single scene, constantly challenging our expectations of what a superhero movie can be.

In the very first sequence of the film, half of the heavily-promoted ensemble cast gets wiped out. In the second, which takes place three days earlier, Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, a prisoner in Belle Reve penitentiary, engages in a profanity-laden shouting match with his teenage daughter when she comes to visit him. Where a typical movie would use this as a setup to the emotional stakes for a protagonist, The Suicide Squad literally has its main character yelling, almost guilting his own daughter, about how he never wanted to be a father to begin with, and, with Gunn’s near-perfect tonal control, almost plays as comedy.

Almost.

Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller,

spearheader of Task Force X— the official name for the titular Suicide Squad—threatens to have Bloodsport’s daughter killed if he doesn’t accept her request for him to join her team in their mission to a former Nazi prison/laboratory in order to assassinate its current leader Silvio Luna (Diego Botto). The verbal melee between Elba and Davis is an incredible display of two great actors giving their emotional all to a scene that not only sets the intensity for the rest of the film, but is already better than anything its predecessor had to offer.

The Suicide Squad/Warner Bros./DC Comics

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Bloodsport’s team consists of several other inmates, including Peacemaker (John Cena), a psychopath who’s willing to murder anyone in order to achieve peace; Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), with the ability to communicate and control rats; King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), an anthropomorphic shark with low intelligence and a hunger for human flesh; and Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), who has the ability to expel explosive polka-dots out of his body. Together they meet up with Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), the two survivors of the first team. By the end of the first act, every single character is showcased, and throughout the mission, those who survive continue to be utilized effortlessly.

Progressing the plot very swiftly, Gunn’s frenetic, relentless pace is no doubt his version of pedal to the metal, even if at times this course correct of the first film’s sluggishness comes at the sacrifice of actual character depth (which Ayer’s version did fairly well). There are moments where it feels like this plot isn’t even inhabited by characters at all, but chess pieces here to help move things forward. But at least there is little emotion threatening to undermine the evenly-distributed tonal flippancy.

Tapping into his horror-comedy roots, Gunn gets to infuse The Suicide Squad with creative gore, carefully-choreographed action, and a darkly comedic schlock which the film is an embodiment of. Gunn still picks his spots to develop one or two of his characters, such as a bus ride

where Ratcatcher 2 and Bloodsport exchange some enlightening dialogue (instead of literally taking a break from the action solely to have emotional conversations, as the first movie does in a bar), or later on with a single line about rats that conveys the full scope of depth that Ayer’s film took 2 hours to explain.

Rather than finding a villain who’s objectively worse than his criminal protagonists, Gunn focuses less on the villains themselves and instead plays with the idea of these protagonists fighting people as bad as they are. Rather than being force-fed sympathy for these antiheroes, we learn right away that they’re actually very bad people themselves. Finding the payoff for

that embeds itself implicitly rather than hitting us in the face. Always a standout in any movie he’s ever in, Elba has never been better than he is here.

Establishing an identity to its comedy as well as the violence that’s ingrained into the action, The Suicide Squad is definitely a director’s film with Gunn as the auteur at work.

Every moment is an extension of his creativity and vision: a colorful, slightly-hypnotic action-comedy with an unstoppable momentum, even to a fault. This is what happens when a studio gives carte blanche to a filmmaker—something DC has finally learned can be a benefit of not having any congruency or as tight of a grip over their own extended

GUNN, ON THE OTHER HAND, NOT ONLY USES ALL OF HIS CHARACTERS EFFORTLESSLY, BUT TAKES BOLD CHANCES IN EVERY SINGLE SCENE, CONSTANTLY CHALLENGING OUR EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT A SUPERHERO MOVIE IS. a theme that almost betrays his main characters, Gunn doesn’t try to make superheroes out of villains, but shows them as the screw-ups that they really are.

Tortured and relatively levelheaded, Elba’s Bloodsport is the heartbeat of the film even when we don’t love his character. As a straight-man, the actor doesn’t react for comedy, but as someone who’s authentically irritated with the fools around him. And yet he’s still capable of maintaining his own buried sense of humanity, with a pathos

universe—and even something that Marvel won’t really allow for with their own tight grip. Gunn ensures that any flaws that arise because of his deliberate execution get overcompensated for with undeniable entertainment, no matter what gets sacrificed because of it.

Joining the likes of Mad Max: Fury Road and Terminator 2, this is one of the most artistic popcorn flicks you’ll ever see, and one you won’t soon forget.

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THE tomorrow war DIRECTED BY: Chris McKay / CAST: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J. K. Simmons

More along the lines of a late ‘00s summer blockbuster than an overripe 2021 big budget action flick, The Tomorrow War oozes with that post-Transformers carefree spirit, but with a time travel spin. Despite having a plot that’s constantly evolving and moving from one location to the next, the futuristic sci-fi action film always keeps its head on its shoulders.

In 2022, a former Green Beret, Dan Forester (Chris Pratt), who’s currently working as a high school biology teacher, fails to get his

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dream job at a research facility.

Down about the news, the family man is hosting a Christmas party at his home with his wife, Emmy (Betty Gilpin), and their young daughter, Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), as the World Cup airs on television.

Then suddenly a group of military soldiers interrupts the broadcast via a large portal in the middle of the field. They inform everyone that they’re from the year 2051 and give a warning that Earth is on the brink of extinction at the hands of alien creatures called Whitespikes.

In the following weeks, society is essentially crumbling to pieces with the news that the futures they’ve been working towards may no longer “matter.” The first ever worldwide draft is instated, where adult civilians of any age are being forced to go into the future and fight, untrained, against the Whitespikes.

Of course, Dan is drafted and sent to the future where he becomes the de facto leader of a small squadron

of very-non-military personnel. It’s there that he learns about his “future past” and how to better appreciate the life he’s actually been given.

Although The Tomorrow War doesn’t necessarily take a whole lot of risks with its story, the way the events unfold is rather unique to this film alone. The plot is always moving in a logical direction, yet one that could only happen with this premise. Rather than focusing on a single mission for its protagonist, the mission, and thus the movie, is constantly evolving as new conflicts arise.

Director Chris McKay, along with screenwriter Zach Dean, always has a firm grasp on the realities of a bizarre circumstance like this, toeing the line between following unwritten regulations put in place for a blockbuster movie and remembering that there are humans at the center of it. We see Dan break the news to his wife and daughter, each giving a completely different response.

The Tomorrow War/Amazon

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His wife immediately thinks about how he can get out of it: “Let’s run,” while his 9-year-old daughter begins weeping, seeing that there’s no other choice, as children do often accept news they’re given, both good or bad.

At the film’s core is a very sweet father/daughter story between Dan and Muri that drives our anxiety in a way that even the best blockbusters aren’t usually able to do. For instance, in a similar film, Independence Day, we occasionally forget about Will Smith’s character returning home to his kid. But in The Tomorrow War, we can’t stop stressing about it.

McKay lays down an incredible first act, setting up an honest and inspired relationship between Dan and Muri. There’s an early scene where the two of them are talking on the couch and we see, with intimate low angles, from the young girl’s perspective how much of a hero her dad is to her, even if he considers himself a failure.

and spectacular things happening at a familiar-looking sports event. We see the future people arriving on TV, just as those sitting at home would be experiencing it. This doesn’t just look like a typical futuristic movie— it’s tied to reality.

The timeline details can get a tad murky, despite best efforts, and the second act drags a bit long, even if it’s a way of investing in the emotional weight of the

Director Chris McKay always has a firm grasp on the realities of a bizarre circumstance like this, toeing the line between following unwritten regulations put in place for a blockbuster movie and remembering that there are humans at the center of it.

But just as the director brings a level of attention to the small moments, he compliments them by doing so with the big ones as well, such as the arrival of the soldiers at the soccer game where we feel a level of uneasiness seeing such wild

characters, but The Tomorrow War is almost completely entertaining no matter what’s happening. The action sequences are wonderfully composed, utilizing suspense and deliberate choreography of even the grandest explosions and the wildest chaos. Some of the effects get a little wonky during the finale, but it’s the on-location settings and practical set pieces that make this movie feel real.

With a refreshing spin on the stereotype, Pratt brings his everyman approach to the soldier role, as well as his comedic wit which he never overuses. He has great chemistry with every one of

his costars, especially the young Armstrong, who the audience will undoubtedly fall in love with, J. K. Simmons, who plays his brash, estranged father, and Sam Richardson, the hilarious comedic relief as the neurotic, fish-out-ofwater scientist-turned-soldier that Dan takes it upon himself to look after.

Undergirded with poignant themes about living in the moment, even if you think you already know the outcome, The Tomorrow War may follow the rules, but does so in a way that almost always yields entertaining—not frustrating— results. Perhaps a tad forgettable for some, the film is also capable of striking the perfect chord for certain viewers with its fatherly themes and sentimental payoffs. Hitting a majority of its marks, this is one of the few big budget blockbusters with a feel-good message and, most importantly, one that you know the filmmakers believe in as well.

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how it ends

DIRECTED BY: Zoe Lister-Jones & Daryl Wein / CAST: Zoe Lister-Jones, Cailee Spaeny, Whitney Cummings With one of the more on-the-nose films to come out of the pandemic, husband and wife team Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones both write and direct How It Ends, gathering together an assembly of comedic actors to play parts in a story about an asteroid heading towards Earth.

Leaving behind any of the typical rioting and chaos that would likely transpire—at least somewhere—with the news of the end of the world, How It Ends is able to hone in on the bucket list aspect of its premise. Liza (Lister-Jones) has decided, as many here do, to spend her final day alive righting wrongs and making amends with people from her past. After her car gets stolen, she and her younger self (Cailee Spaeny) traverse the Hollywood Hills by foot, where they come across all kinds of eccentric characters. Some are performing stand-up comedy to no one, some are busking for no one, while others are zorbing down an empty street.

Despite getting nearly 200 texts to

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start the day, the fateful world she’s living in feels void of people.

At the end of the night, Liza’s friend Mandy (Whitney Cummings) is hosting a party, at which everyone will expectedly die together (and Pauly Shore will be there!).

Often finding the joke within the joke, the movie plays out like a series of sketches, where one audacious scene after another showcases the writers’—and performers’—willingness to take risks and try new things.

Liza and her best friend, Alay (Olivia Wilde), make amends after years of not speaking (it turns out Liza didn’t believe that Alay could see into the future), but their dialogue plays out as a series of surprisingly distinct interruptions where both characters talk over each other for half of the conversation. Another notable detail in the story is the sudden ability for everyone to see Liza’s younger self, who had typically only been visible to Liza.

The very concept of a personified

younger self opens up new rules and ideas about the emotional capacity for a character like that. Does she feel things that a normal person would?

Does her arc curve in the same way that we would expect a human character’s to? Can younger selves usually see other younger selves?

Lister-Jones and Wein are somehow able to connect this concept to the main premise in a couple of ways so that it doesn’t feel too out-ofleft-field. And there’s still some more exploring that could be done, although the lack of established guidelines very much fits into this sporadic universe that’s been crafted.

At one point we briefly meet another “younger self” character played by Fred Armisen, but the idea ends almost as soon as it begins.

How It Ends/United Artists Releasing/Daryl Wein/Zoe Lister-Jones/Police Story/ Golden Harvest/Media Asia Group/Fortune Star Media Ltd.

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Thriving as a source for humor, How It Ends gives itself a few opportunities to expand upon the vast world that it implies, yet ultimately falls short in that regard. With the streets understandably empty during the daytime, the party at night never showcases a reunion of all of these eccentric personalities that Liza had come across earlier that day.

Most of the cast’s success really hinges on that of the bits they’re partaking in. For instance, Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis—both typically very funny people—play two new age hippies who get a little too long of a comedic rope, and it doesn’t really work. Whereas Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer play bickering neighbors, the former of which doesn’t believe that the world is really ending and tries to get the latter to rinse out his recycling bin, and the exchange is tighter and more realized.

Wein and Lister-Jones keep the tone on an edge between bouncy and weird, making it easier for the

Characters lament their pasts, verbalize their regrets, and even talk seriously about the afterlife. Just because life as they know it is about to end doesn’t mean that they can’t face the looming news with COMPOSURE. audience to better accept anything that can—and will—happen. And going along with the less-pastel Wes Anderson-esque framing and palette, the quirky, expressive musical score by Ryan Miller is appropriately adaptable as well.

While the silliness almost never ceases, the idea of the end of the Earth is treated with frank austerity.

Characters lament their pasts, verbalize their regrets, and even talk seriously about the afterlife.

Just because life as they know it is about to end doesn’t mean that they can’t face the looming news with composure. Despite the surrealistic approach that the writer-director team sticks with, there’s still some truth and realism to how the people in their world are handling themselves. Perhaps more idealistic because of the anarchist outliers that have been scrubbed for the purpose of this iteration, those who remain live out their final hours exactly how people in this self-absorbed Los Angeles bubble would—which may very well be the truest satire of it all.

Outside of the insouciant ad-lib fest and comical what-ifs, there’s still an intrinsic emotional pathos that’s unavoidable with a story like this, showing how people are still tethered to these habitual inhibitions and insecurities, even though they no longer serve a purpose considering their future on Earth won’t exist in a few hours. Yet the movie rejects the trite, artificial, feel-good facade for more of an accepting and surprisingly hopeful attitude. Never undermining any of the emotion, How It Ends always maintains its poignancy to at least some degree, with both ListonJones and Spaeny able to manage any tonal shifts that come their way.

Liza’s estranged mother is played by Helen Hunt, who steals the film on a dramatic level as the only one who never kowtows to the flippancy.

More sketch comedy than it is movie, How It Ends still justifies its randomness with its premise and churns out inventive and ballsy comedic ideas, even if they don’t always work. In one of the first notable results of the pentup creativity caused by a global pandemic, the film is commedia dell’arte in the purest form, a true expression of deliberated concepts unclouded by distraction. And as one character puts it so well, “I think everyone’s just operating on a higher frequency or something.”

b+

retro reactions

apolice story (1985) Whether it’s a car chase literally driving through a shanty town or a glassshattering melee in a shopping mall, Jackie Chan’s Police Story is filled with some of the most memorable action sequences of the ‘80s. Chan’s commitment to these dangerous stunts, most of which he performs himself, makes even the most over-the-top moments so believable. Take the scene where the actor is hanging off of a moving bus: A typical Hollywood movie would just show its hero chasing after the vehicle and then cut to him or her on the back bumper. Yet, the capabilities of Chan, who also directs, allows for a vastly different viewing experience as we get to witness his entire process.

Following a detective who becomes a target for a big time drug lord after he’s assigned to protect a key

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witness, the 1985 Hong Kong film is all about the need to break the rules sometimes in order to get things done.

While this isn’t a concept new to storytelling, it’s interesting to watch Chan’s Ka-Kui spiral downward into insanity as he comes to this realization.

Despite a couple of silly, Chaplin-inspired non-sequitur scenes in place solely to inject comedy (a phone call deluge in a police station ending with Chan accidentally eating pencil erasers), the film, written by Chan and Edward Tang, features a dynamic plot with elaborately-constructed payoffs and dialogue that doesn’t mince words in order to contrive conflict.

Here, Chan’s back is very much against the wall, both literally and figuratively, but his determination is what makes him a hero. Very much a personal struggle as much as it is a tale about retribution, Police Story isn’t just about how skilled our hero is and how hard he hits, but his resiliency to overcome seemingly-impossible obstacles and get back up even when his opponents won’t.

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werewolves within DIRECTED BY: Josh Ruben / CAST: Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, George Basil

A year after the release of his feature-length debut, Scare Me, director Josh Ruben follows up with yet another horror-comedy in Werewolves Within, based on the video game of the same name.

Unlike most werewolf movies, this one doesn’t grapple with the issue of actually becoming a werewolf, but rather the terror that builds up in a small town whose people try to figure out which one of them is responsible for viciously murdering their neighbors each full moon.

Tensions in Beaverfield, Vermont

are already high to begin with. The town, which apparently from this movie only consists of about ten people, is divided on whether or not a new pipeline should be built—an idea proposed by local businessman Sam Parker (Wayne Duvall).

Social discourse is somewhat of a foreign concept to park ranger Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson), who’s just gotten reassigned to Beaverfield. He’s a people-pleaser and seems totally averse to any sort of confrontation. He becomes fast friends with mail carrier Cecily (Milana Vayntrub), who shows him around the town and introduces him to all of the local weirdos.

After the resident yenta’s dog gets eaten, nearly a dozen townspeople gather at the local inn, where they all decide to take shelter for the night and arm themselves with pistols.

After the next few attacks, a visiting environmentalist comes to the conclusion that the animal is, in fact, a werewolf. But since the attacks

Police Story/Golden Harvest/Media Asia Group/Fortune Star Media Ltd./ Werewolves Within/IFC Films/Ubisoft

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are now coming from inside the inn, the people must figure out who the perpetrator actually is.

It’s hard to make a good werewolf movie, perhaps because the concept relies so heavily on makeup and/ or special effects and how much the audience will buy into that as the source of their visual frights.

However, Ruben seems to have found an alternative route here by leaning into the mystery element more than the horror one. And it works!

The director relies a lot on suspense over actual scares, but somehow manages to make this seem like a plus for a movie that promises werewolves (plural). Rather than just allowing his audience to feel robbed of these visual horror moments, he acknowledges that these elements may very well detract from the comedy. The suspense, however, allows for them both to exist simultaneously.

Werewolves Within finds both comedy and suspense through clever direction and editing by Ruben and Brett W. Bachman, respectively. The unique and odd tone is cultivated through these eccentric—and incompatible—personalities who all help create the medley of comedic styles. Richardson and Vayntrub are both that awkward, overlyobservational individuals who seem to lack social skills, while simultaneously having a wry wit that would say otherwise. George Basil and Sarah Burns play the redneck hillbilly couple Marcus and Gwen.

Basil is a take on the brash, smartdumb Jay from Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse movies, but the actor is more controlled and makes his scripted lines feel perfectly offthe-cuff. Harvey Guillén plays the flamboyant Joaquim (“with an ‘m’”) who is relentlessly PC-conscious.

Add in the fact that the characters are all coming from opposite sides of the political spectrum, and you get a recipe for hilarious quarrels.

“All I had to do was plant a tiny little doggy’s collar and spread a couple rumors. Everyone else just took care of themselves with their fear and greed and their own petty nature,”

says the culprit once they’re revealed.

These people are living with a werewolf inside the walls of this hotel, and yet, they’re more concerned with aggressively pointing the finger towards the one responsible than they are actually worried about their own safety—no doubt a conscious decision made by Ruben and his screenwriter Mishna Wolff, who’ve decided to speak on the division that’s currently running rampant in our society and how that

RATHER THAN JUST ALLOWING HIS AUDIENCE TO FEEL ROBBED OF THESE VISUAL HORROR MOMENTS, HE acknowledges that these elements may very well detract from the comedy. The suspense, however, allows for THEM BOTH to exist simultaneously.

Even its ostensibly nonpartisan protagonist gives his two cents indiscreetly. Trying so very hard to say something brave, the film is still very obviously coded towards one side over the other.

Ruben makes sure to throw in plenty of red herrings—some clever, but others a little cheap. There are moments when our actually begins to question if there is even a werewolf to begin with. The director plays with our perspective in order to intentionally mislead us at times, even if it doesn’t make much sense in hindsight.

Despite its foibles, Werewolves Within might be the best werewolf movie in at least 20 years. Placing all the victims inside mostly one location helps to redirect the focus on people’s reactions more so than the creature itself. As the film recognizes, it’s the citizens of Beaverfield who are the most interesting—not the fact that there’s a werewolf. Although we wish its commentary was a little more committed, Ruben’s movie still has some interesting things to say about humans and our willingness, not to conform, but to listen and understand. And better yet, if you can have an effect on the most aggressively stubborn and narrowminded person in a town that’s filled with them, then perhaps there is still hope.

b+

only makes solving problems even more difficult.

However, for as much as the film preaches understanding from both sides, it does little to empathize with one particular side of the line.

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fear street part two: 1978

DIRECTED BY: Leigh Janiak / CAST: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins If there’s one thing a lot of ‘80s horror fails to execute well it’s the presentation of a story’s lore along with its action. This is why many sequels, which rely and build upon the lore established in the first film— relieved of that onus themselves— fare much better at freely telling their stories (if the right directors are involved) since they no longer have to find ways to dole out exposition and backstory.

Fear Street Part Two: 1978 is a perfect example of this benefit, which happens to be shared by several of the best installments of the most famous horror franchises ever. The story of 17th century witch, Sarah Fier, and how she continues to haunt the town of Shadyside was explained in thorough detail in Part One: 1994, often at the expense of that movie’s momentum. But the sequel mostly uses the details of this backstory as context rather than relying on it as a tool for revelation.

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The film opens up still in 1994, with Deena (Kiana Madeira) and Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) visiting Christine Berman (Gillian Jacobs), a survivor of the 1978 massacre at Camp Nightwing where a man with a machete hacked up several counselors and campers. Deena and Josh bring a possessed Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) to Christine’s house and tie her up as they listen to the woman’s story from 16 years prior.

In an ongoing flashback, we see her and her sister during their days at Camp Nightwing. Director and co-writer Leigh Janiak makes sure not to tell us which of the two girls

is Christine until the very end. Ziggy Berman (Sadie Sink) is a hipster camper tormented by bullies who claim that she’s a witch, while her goody-two-shoes counselor sister, Cindy (Emily Rudd), tries to reel in everyone around her, including Ziggy, who nearly gets kicked out of camp. However, when the camp nurse goes crazy and hits Cindy’s boyfriend Tommy (McCabe Slye) on the head, he soon gets possessed by the spirit of Sarah Fier and starts murdering people at camp.

Following the release of 1980’s iconic slasher Friday the 13th, the next few years were filled with its fair share of copycats. However, rarely did we see the kind of campwide panic that we experience in Fear Street Part Two—and that includes Friday the 13th itself (1983’s Sleepaway Camp comes to mind as one that successfully brings the chaos to a widespread level).

But here, the focus is less on the

Fear Street/R.L. Stine/Netflix/Eating Raoul/20th Century Studios/Quartet Films Inc.

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episodic kills than it is on uniting that panic and lore simultaneously, which it does very well.

Taking more style notes from Wet Hot American Summer than Friday the 13th, Janiak makes sure to focus on this summer camp atmosphere, especially early on when we actually step foot in the mess hall and learn about the camp dynamic.

With no time to relax, Janiak, who directs all three Fear Street installments, is actually forced to

Neither Cindy nor Ziggy become empowered by their vices, but pitied because of them. Whereas our hero from the first film is made to be so unapologetic with her flaws that we find no need to sympathize with her. blend her drama much better with her terror this time around, rather than simply alternating between the two. Characters still have plenty of time to chitchat, but not usually at implausible moments.

Both of the emotionally troubled protagonists in this sequel are much more likable than the ones in Part One. Neither Cindy nor Ziggy become empowered by their vices, but pitied because of them.

Whereas our hero from the first film is made to be so unapologetic with

retro reactions

her flaws that we find no need to sympathize with her. Sink and Rudd find the pocket for their dual final girl roles, despite their discordant characters never getting fleshed out any further than predictable archetypes. Yet, unlike 1994, these are still personalities unpinned to modern sociabilities and casual flippancy. Everyone in 1978 is very obviously going through something traumatizing, with the proper emotional responses that follow— nothing like the lightheartedness during the denouement of 1994 when our protagonists find time to crack jokes after witnessing the absolute slaughtering of their friends.

Onlookers may note that Part Two rarely adds to the story of Sarah Fier.

However, it simply serves to expand the world of Shadyside and offers a fun story within that world that’s totally adjacent from that of the first.

Taking place years before the events of Part One, featuring basically none of the characters, the sequel keeps itself relatively detached from its predecessor. However, there is one character in both films (along with the third) that ends up getting more nuance added to his story.

Fear Street Part Two: 1978 doesn’t have the same gruesome detail as Part One, but is a much better movie thanks to likable characters and a smoother narrative. Not quite separating itself from the films that inspired it, this summer camp slasher carries the torch well enough that it increases even more our expectations for Part Three.

3.0 b

b+ eating raoul (1982) A glorification of the mundane juxtaposed with the dilution of the absurd, Paul Bartel’s cult favorite Eating Raoul depicts a dull couple who kills swingers and steals their money in order to earn enough to start their own restaurant. Set in a tonguein-cheek dystopian version of present day 1982 Los Angeles, the story depicts every person in its exaggerated realm as hedonistic, rape-y sex maniacs—all except for husband and wife Paul and Mary Bland (Bartel and Mary Woronov). The Blands live in their modest apartment furnished with mid-century decor, including Formica countertops and a Bakelite telephone, but still the world around them is continuing to progress, now well into the 1980s.

Sordid and at times difficult with its footing, Eating Raoul isn’t for everyone. Our main characters are satirized by the filmmakers and hardly

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ever likable, but that’s very much the point. Touching on the hypocrisy of superiority and the idea that capitalism needs those you despise just as much as those you don’t in order to work, everybody in the movie, including our protagonists, showcases an equal amount of sleaze.

However, Bartel, who also directs, runs into problems when conveying real ideas through a world with almost zero touches of realism.

Despite witnessing a first act that’s riddled with shocking and ludicrous incidents, the audience never becomes more than nonplussed as they watch their characters so heedlessly devolve into the self-absorption they so despise. It’s not until about 40 minutes in when a con man, Raoul (Robert Beltran), gets involved in Paul and Mary’s scheme and our characters finally have some kinesis. As our intentionally-wonky tone solidifies, there’s a certain appealing unpredictability that crops up as well.

Bartel’s biggest appeal, however, is his work behind the camera, with a frame that moves almost always as oddly as its well-hidden cheekiness, never losing its ingenuity.

Like Raising Arizona without the pathos, Eating Raoul asks the audience—not challenges them otherwise—to be as ambivalent as the characters on screen, regardless of their horrific acts. Yet here, the lack of sympathy will be a problem for some viewers who aren’t satisfied with the pitch black comedy at hand.

However, it’s that very twisted pseudo-conviction on display that turns the creative control behind the lens into a creative force on screen.

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JOHn AND THE HOLE

DIRECTED BY: Pascual Sisto / CAST: Charlie Shotwell, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle With a title like John and the Hole, one would assume it to be a film that evokes curiosity, nervousness, or perhaps even excitement. However, director Pascual Sisto approaches his feature length debut with an objective observationalism and a plodding, nearly pretentious pace.

But that’s not to say the movie isn’t interesting.

It follows a 13-year-old boy as he drugs his parents (Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Ehle) and older sister (Taissa Farmiga) and places them in a 20-foot hole in the ground.

The premise instantly sparks comparisons to Home Alone or the lesser-known House Arrest.

But where the two ‘90s films feature child leads who experience catalysts which pave the way to their newfound freedoms, the titular John (Charlie Shotwell) does not.

John keeps to himself, using stupidity and aloofness in order to gain an advantage with others.

He asks weird questions—many

of which he already knows the answers to. His self-curated situation further elaborates that he’s an unappreciative hedonist void of emotion. It takes a talented actor to carry a film as a detestable protagonist and Shotwell nails the unpredictability and unreadability of the title character, always keeping us bought into the realism of the story.

The typical viewer will undoubtedly be turned off from the villain protagonist here. After all, John is a spoiled brat, to say the least.

Coming from a very wealthy home in suburban New England, any onlooker would wonder what on Earth he could be longing for. He has two caring parents and a loving sister who puts up with his absurdities.

Each night the four of them sit down for dinner—together. And yet John still traps them at the bottom of the old emergency bunker for days on end. Simply put, he’s a psychopath.

Just as John has no motive, his family also has no lesson to be

Eating Raoul/20th Century Studios/Quartet Films Inc./John and the Hole/IFC Films

eating atm raoul (1982)

taught—punished for crimes they haven’t committed, apologizing only because they assume they must’ve done something bad. While they are innocent, the director makes sure to show us how these well-off people handle a situation like this, only ever worrying so much about their wellbeing, as if they’ve been groomed to know that nothing bad will ever truly happen to them.

The relatively healthy household only makes the inciting incident all the more uncalled for. Much like with Joe Spinell’s serial killer in 1980’s Maniac, Sisto never tells us how to feel about his lead. However, more concerned with what his film is saying rather than providing suspense, the director has John carry on more meditatively than Spinell, who gives us much more shocking situations.

Sisto and screenwriter Nicolás Giacobone seem almost resilient to provide any plot points that would add tension to the overall story.

Interesting developments unfold, but never beyond mere character study. At one point John’s mother’s coworker (Tamara Hickey) stops by and starts to catch on to his lies since John lacks the social skills to properly pull off this crime. But still this never goes anywhere either.

Fortunately the very exercise of

observing John living with his own peculiarities is enough to sustain our interest as we clamor to see what happens next—even if the result is a little anticlimactic.

There are also a series of cutaways about a seemingly-unrelated story of a little girl which first pose the idea of the film as an allegory—the plot holes caused by the extreme circumstances only solidifying it.

The girl, Lily (Samantha LeBretton),

Just as John has no motive, his family also has no lesson to be taught—punished for CRIMES they haven’t COMMITTED, apologizing only because they assume they must’ve done something bad.

John’s, yet similar. Coming from a lower class, single-parent home, she’s informed by her mother that she will be left to fend for herself from now on. For John, he abandons his parents and chooses adulthood.

For Lily, she’s forced into it. It’s here Sisto implies that affluent children are allowed more time to grow up, yet perhaps have more of a desire to do so.

On occasion, Sisto deals with John as a sane, sympathetic protagonist, and this is the only time the director ever truly falters—even though this is kind of a big deal. The entire movie hinges on John being psychotic, so when the filmmaker attempts to breathe traditional humanity into him, it undermines everything he’s established beforehand. The ending needs to match something with thedarkness of Maniac, but instead it reaches for something epiphanic.

Despite the muddled themes, there’s still a lot to think about with John and the Hole as long as you don’t view the film as being rooted in reality. The only question is, will people care enough to think about it long after it’s over?

c+

exists in perhaps a tangential universe as John. Or maybe it’s the same—we never find out, but the theories online are wild.

Lily’s situation is different from

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Other Notable Releases

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INTERVIEW BY GALAXY INTRO BY ETHAN BREHM

If you didn’t know any better, you would never guess that the ruthless and powerful vampire/oracle on Van Helsing, which just concluded its five-season run earlier this summer, was portrayed by Jesse Stanley, whose comforting enthusiasm and earnest sense of humor are completely mutually exclusive from her character Bathory’s personality entirely.

The young actress really wowed audiences with her conviction in the role and how easily she’s able to cultivate the sense of curiosity surrounding her character. With her performance on Van Helsing, Jesse’s career should be on the up and up, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for her.

Jesse gets deep with us about acting technique and performance philosophy, offering advice for aspiring actors alike. We catch up with the young star about what she’s got in store in her post-Van Helsing life and some other things that might not necessarily be on her resume.

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erview erview SPOILER: Of all the roles you have played in the past, which is your favorite?

JESSE STANLEY: I got to play Malvolio in a commedia dell’arte version of Twelfth Night. I played him as a sort of mob boss gangster and it was the most freeing and fun time I’ve ever had on stage.

SPOILER: What attracted you to a career as an actor?

JESSE STANLEY: Getting to try out living as different people—with different histories and ways of seeing the world than me. Also, I get a huge rush being on stage.

SPOILER: When was your first role as an actor?

JESSE STANLEY: When I was 7 I played Simba in a summer music theater production of The Lion King. I was tiny and I remember the

jesse stanley

costume lion head was too heavy for me, so I struggled to keep it level.

JESSE STANLEY: Oh, I don’t know!

You’d have to ask actors that I’ve worked with.

SPOILER: How do you show your castmates the importance of communication?

JESSE STANLEY: I think I just try to establish a connection when we’re working through the scene and let them know I am listening to them; that what they are saying to me is landing and impacting how I’ll respond.

SPOILER: In which area would you like to improve as an actor?

JESSE STANLEY: I want to get better at judging a character’s actions from my [Jesse’s] point of view. Sometimes I make a snap judgement about something on my first reading of the script and it can be really hard to unthink as I work on understanding what makes the character do the things they do.

SPOILER: How do you like to encourage ideas in others?

JESSE STANLEY: When I’m working in a collaborative creative setting, I don’t hold back. Oftentimes this means I’m throwing out a lot of bad ideas amongst a few good ones.

SPOILER: Describe your acting style.

SPOILER: Think about a demanding director, professor, or castmate.

What made him or her difficult?

How did you successfully interact with this person?

JESSE STANLEY: Actors can be total narcissists with fragile egos.

I have worked with actors who refuse to be affected or moved by their scene partners and it makes for a difficult scene that is void of anything spontaneous. I’m not saying I always manage to be open to spontaneity either, but I try!

Jesse Stanley/Ruth Crafer/Kristine Cofsky/(cover image): Jesse Stanley/Kristine Cofsky

SPOILER: When you suffer a setback, how does that emotionally affect you and your work?

JESSE STANLEY: This industry can be tough on your pride and can really test your perseverance.

Setbacks can send me into a tailspin of self-doubt. But ultimately I keep coming back to choosing this career and to the craft.

SPOILER: What sort of acting roles will you be seeking in the future?

JESSE STANLEY: Gritty, unusual, funny women who don’t fit into a particular box. Women who you can’t say, “Oh I’ve seen her before.”

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jesse stanley SPOILER: What has been your greatest accomplishment as an actor?

JESSE STANLEY: Understudying all of the female parts in Macbeth and being called to play Lady M with one day’s notice.

SPOILER: What’s the biggest audience you’ve performed in front of?

JESSE STANLEY: Probably about a thousand-seat theater.

SPOILER: What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not on set?

JESSE STANLEY: Hang out with my new baby boy!

SPOILER: What director would you drop any project you’re currently working on to go work with?

JESSE STANLEY: Paul Thomas Anderson.

SPOILER: Tell me about what you’re working on now.

JESSE STANLEY: I’m working on an indie feature—producing and acting—

Jesse Stanley/Van Helsing/Syfy/Kristine Cofsky

SPOILER: Do you believe in the paranormal?

JESSE STANLEY: Yes, in the sense that I think there are events happening around us beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. I don’t know what I believe exactly but I think there are other life forms out there that are probably watching us self-destruct and are shaking their heads. with a small group of actors and crew who are all close friends. We started shooting at the beginning of the pandemic when we isolated together in a cabin on a lake. It’s a horror film as you may have guessed!

SPOILER: Who is your favorite actor and why?

JESSE STANLEY: It changes all the time when I see new films and series, but currently it’s Frances McDormand after seeing Nomadland. She’s just able to convey such a striking emotional inner life.

I could watch her watch TV and I’d be totally rapt. She inhabits the character so fully that she’s totally un-self-conscious—unless selfconsciousness was a facet of the character she was playing.

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SPOILER: Do you have any special skills?

JESSE STANLEY: I can pick almost anything up with my feet. I have very dexterous toes.

SPOILER: Tell me something I may not know from reading your résumé.

JESSE STANLEY: I like doing my own stunt work whenever I’m allowed.

SPOILER: What advice can you give to a new actor starting out?

JESSE STANLEY: Don’t assume you’ve ever “figured it out.” The best actors I’ve ever worked with are still very curious about their work.

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in 1933, rko´s pre-code masterpiece king kong changed moviemaking forever.

With groundbreaking effects and set design, and inventive horror tropes, many of which are still used today, the film has become one of the most influential of all time. Where most other monster movies of that era adapted literary classics, such as Dracula or Frankenstein, King Kong was totally original.

It stars Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham, an eccentric filmmaker who attempts to make a movie on an uncharted island upon hearing

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rumors of a giant ape who lives there, along with other various prehistoric creatures. He asks a naive young woman, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), to star in the picture, much to her excitement. However, upon arriving on the island and entering the ape’s habitat, the titular Kong seems to take a liking to Ann, kidnapping her and taking her back to his lair where she now must be rescued by her love interest, played by Bruce Cabot.

Eventually Denham captures the ape and brings him back to New York, selling tickets to

see him shackled in chains in a Broadway theater. Rather than respecting nature and leaving it be, man has now tried to exploit it for money so others can gawk at it, only escalating matters into an all-out war with Kong. Outsiders who don’t know the context just see a scary ape destroying their city. The subtext is never explicitly stated, nor should it be. This sort of presentation of themes was more common back then. We were tasked with reading between the lines ourselves.

If nothing else, 2017’s Kong: Skull Island follows suit in that regard. The writers take the basic framework from the 1933 film and tweak it here and there to justify the new adaptation. Instead of taking place in the present-day ‘30s, the story is set in 1973 amidst the Vietnam War. Rather than an ambitious filmmaker with a pipe

King Kong//RKO Pictures/Kong: Skull Island/Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

BY ETHAN BREHM

dream, following a rumor of an ape to an island in the South Pacific, it’s a government employee with a well-researched theory, trying to convince senators to provide a team to accompany him to the island without getting laughed out of the room. This version of Skull Island has the primitive natives, the log-wall fortress, a daring hero and a blonde leading lady for the ape to fall in love with. And while it may not break nearly the kind of ground as the pre-Code original, it gives us a lot of the elements we want in a movie and executes them masterfully.

Despite the 1933 film inspiring an entire kaiju sub-genre, which includes the likes of Godzilla, Gamera, and the more modern Super Sentai (along with its American iteration Power Rangers), there were only five American live-action adaptations for the character prior to the release of Kong: Skull Island in 2017, most notably Paramount’s 1976 remake and Peter Jackson’s 2005 epic, even though the Eighth Wonder of the World had been in the public domain for years (a whole other saga in itself). So Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures decided to produce the boldest and deepest King Kong film yet as the second installment of their recently-launched MonsterVerse. 84 years later, the themes had already been

explored and written to death, and thus the task for screenwriters Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connolly was to figure out an entirely new way to tell a similar story; not to repackage the same message, but to give it a new context. And with that new context, a whole new batch of themes were able to emerge organically.

John Goodman plays Bill Randa, the head of a secret US government organization called Monarch, whose main focus is in researching Earth’s most hidden

creatures.

He eventually gets the funding he needs and recruits an Army unit, led

by Lieutenant Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), who accompanies him to Skull Island under the pretense of seismic research. In reality, Randa is investigating the Hollow Earth Theory, a folkloric idea about sections of the Earth which contain hidden underground tunnels where mythological creatures reside.

Randa also recruits famed British tracker James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and anti-war photographer Mason Weaver

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King Kong in Film:

King Kong (1933)

Son of Kong (1933)

King Kong//RKO Pictures/Kong: Skull Island/Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures/ King Kong vs Godzilla/Toho/ King Kong

(Brie Larson) to help them on their journey and document their travels.

When their team of helicopters arrives on Skull Island, they begin dropping bombs on the previouslyuntouched lush landscape and disrupt and destroy much of the wildlife there. The troops are then greeted with a 104-foot tall gorilla who begins effortlessly slapping down helicopters and killing those inside. They fire their weapons on him, but he remains standing until all of the helicopters are down.

With some dozen survivors split up into two groups in separate parts of the island, they now have only a few days to find each other and make it back to the rendezvous point by the designated time.

Although the blame for this conflict is pretty obvious, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts does something else very similar to directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack of the 1933 original in that he doesn’t lean into any judgement of what his characters are doing. We see these troops dropping bombs, and yet we’re not told who to root for—that’s left up to us. For the first hour there’s no clear antagonist.

After all, in war it’s not always that black or white. Characters have growth, regressions, and sometimes redeem themselves.

And other times they never get the chance to. The true villain evolves over the course of the film as we see two contrasting perspectives slowly develop away from each other: one that sees Kong as a

creature to be killed, and one that sees him as a creature to be protected. Even though they all start out on the same relative side, depending on which group of survivors these people wind up with, it’s their perspective that informs their beliefs—also much like war. But no matter what, there are no archetypal sketchings.

For a big budget blockbuster, Kong: Skull Island is more astute than most, with a very obvious, but unique and powerful theme at its center. The movie opens in 1944 during World War II when

King Kong vs.

Godzilla (1962)

King Kong Escapes (1967)

an American fighter pilot and a Japanese fighter pilot both land on Skull Island. At first these men engage in close combat trying to kill one another, but eventually we find out that the two former enemies at war become like brothers, a la Hell in the Pacific, as they both end up stranded on the island together for years with giant creatures trying to eat them alive. Suddenly the war doesn’t

King Kong (1976)

King Kong Lives (1986)

The Mighty Kong (1998)

Kong: King of Atlantis (2005)

even though he rocks the tone a bit, his moments are always entertaining.

Marlowe informs Conrad and Weaver that, in fact, Kong is the protector of the innocent on this island, and that the real evil lies underground in the form of vicious creatures known as skullcrawlers. Since Packard

King Kong (2005)

Kong: Return to the Jungle (2006)

Paramount Pictures/King Kong Lives/De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/Kong: King of Atlantis/BKN International

seem all that important to them anymore.

Half of our 1973 team finally meets up with one of these World War II veterans: Hank Marlowe (John C. Reilly), who’s been stuck on Skull Island for nearly 30 years and has found refuge amidst its indigenous peoples. Essentially alone for years following the death of his Japanese comrade, Marlowe explains that he can no longer tell whether he’s speaking or thinking.

Reilly is the comedy relief, and

and his men on the other side of the island don’t see things from this vantage point, they’re still on the hunt to kill Kong for murdering their men—never once considering that it was they who started the fight in the first place by bombing the ape’s home. As one soldier puts it, “Sometimes an enemy doesn’t exist until you go looking for one.”

Kong: Skull Island is a definite parallel of war, with the conflict in Vietnam serving as a subtext.

We’re told how people enlist either voluntarily with the hope of finding something, or involuntarily, fighting a battle (and often getting killed) without ever knowing what they’re fighting for—much like the characters in this film who were

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

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Kong: Skull Island/Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

lied to about their mission. VogtRoberts still manages to show the unfortunate brutality of war that defies all poeticism. We learn early on that no character is safe just because they’ve been developed in this story or because we like them.

Perceptive religious allegory also permeates the film as Jackson’s character has a misdirected anger at his protector—the God-figure in this story—and tries to eliminate him. But when you suppress the good, the evil comes out to play and it’s very hard to get rid of it.

“It’s time to show Kong that man is king,” says Packard. Yet it wasn’t even the bombs that created a hell for these people, but how they conducted themselves afterwards.

Did they ever realize that they were at fault, or were they simply redirecting blame to Kong for all of their misfortunes? Their bad luck has nothing to do with the hand they were dealt, but how they’ve chosen to play that hand.

On a technical level, VogtRoberts imbues a beautiful energy behind the camera with thoughtful composition, picturesque framing, and a plethora of incisive and effective rack focuses. There are no wasted shots in this film as the director successfully executes a fully thrilling and emotionally engaging cinematic experience.

Simply put, this is the paradigm for why we go to the movies.

As Jackson’s Packard becomes our villain, almost origins storyesque, Larson and Hiddleston become our human heroes. While Hiddleston grounds the film as a serviceable Bruce Cabot-type who combines swashbuckler bravado with a stoic strength, Larson carries the picture in a big way as the emotional center and performs as if nobody told her that this was merely a summer blockbuster.

Amidst all the destruction, the actress actually conveys real looks of terror on her face; she’s really acting. For her, this is not just an

action film, but a work of art. She’s the Fay Wray this time around and a true presence in this film.

There’s a tendency when remaking a movie, or retelling a story, to lean into ideas laid out by those before you. However, you could say that without the 1933 original, the filmmakers behind this 2017 entry may not have been as inspired to create something so complex and intricate. Not only were they challenged to reimagine these themes, but to present them in a way that feels uncharted.

They weren’t merely reinstating old commentary, but interweaving it with characters who are just as complex.

In 1933, King Kong proved that a scary monster could have a wonderful spirit and the ability to impact those around him for the better—that is, if they cared enough to look. Kong: Skull Island possesses the same kind of intention, with the film itself being a window into ideas that are seldom presented in the cinematic medium, let alone this effectively; let alone in a big budget, mainstream tentpole. A film so pure in vision, it’s one of the few that manages to entertain and fulfill us on an aesthetic and emotional level on the surface, while also challenging us mentally and philosophically upon digging deeper. Kong: Skull Island is exactly what you would want any movie to be, and with it, VogtRoberts has successfully created his own modern masterpiece.

SPOILER MAGAZINE

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IN 1978, ANIMAL HOUSE FIRST GLORIFIED FRATERNITY culture and the antics that went along with it. The film changed the landscape of cinema forever, but perhaps the bigger impact it had was in celebrating, if not skewing the perspective of, college and partying in general. 43 years later, Rushed takes a much different spin on the topic. However, it’s less of an indictment on the fraternities themselves than it is on the harmful attitudes that some of them tend to uphold, along with the powersthat-be who enable the behavior to continue.

“I’m not against the institution of fraternities—my husband was in a fraternity. In every institution a bad apple can be the ruination,” says Siobhan Fallon Hogan, writer and star of Rushed.

For years, the countless injuries and deaths associated with the rigorous and often embarrassing hazing challenges required for membership have been swept under the rug. That is, up until the last decade or so.

As of 2019, 44 states have laws that prohibit hazing. And yet only

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ten of those states consider these crimes a felony. Even still, many fraternities have simply reframed the term “hazing” as “initiation.” With her latest film, Hogan shines light on the horrors of hazing and how it affects the loved ones of its victims.

The actress plays Barbara O’Brien, a loving mother and wife devoted to her Catholic faith. As her oldest son Jimmy (Jay Jay Warren) prepares to rush for a college fraternity, Barbara shows her support by calling him every morning to make sure that he has the fraternity’s pledge memorized. She worries about Jimmy just as she does with all her children, but having a kid away at

Rushed/Zentropa Entertainments/Vertical Entertainment/Siobhan Fallon Hogan

BY ETHAN BREHM

college is a different kind of worry altogether. Yet never in a million years did she actually think her worst nightmares would come true.

Amidst the typical stresses that come with making the transition to college, especially away from home, Jimmy undergoes a truly awful hazing experience that results in his death. To make matters worse, the university, as Barbara learns, prefers to sweep these incidents under the rug. Jimmy’s mother and father (Robert Patrick) discover that Jimmy’s death was no anomaly either. In hopes of making a difference, Barbara travels from town to town in a red minivan to meet and connect with other parents who have lost their children to hazing incidents also. However, the fierce

mother repeatedly runs into walls on an administrative and judicial level.

And so, as Barbara takes matters into her own hands, Rushed also emerges as a revenge thriller of sorts.

While Rushed won’t be the first film to tackle the concept of hazing in a catastrophic way, it’s sure to do so with a personal touch and a thrilling, unified vision. “I have three kids. And when they go out at night, you’re in the fetal position worried sick if they stop answering their phones and they don’t come home—it’s very upsetting. And if your mind goes to a certain place, your mind runs wild.

So when they go off to college and you read about all these incidents— anything can go on in college. Kids are crazy. It’s really from the point of view of a mom lying in bed letting her imagination go insane,” says Hogan about how she came up with the idea for the film. “I’m thinking, ‘If something did happen to my college kid, what would I do?’ And obviously I’m insane, because if you go to the movies, you see what I would do.”

Director Vibeke Muasya, known for helming the 2010 drama Lost in Africa, takes the reins here to establish a spiritual undercurrent while never shying away from the dark realities and modern sensibilities inherently involved in the world being depicted.

While very much acknowledging that it’s still a form of both art and entertainment, Hogan’s script never detracts from the seriousness at hand. “If you’ve got somebody bad at the top, what are you gonna do?

Are you going to follow the leader or are you going to stand up and do the right thing? And if someone’s in trouble, are you gonna cover for the bad guy or are you gonna call 911?

That’s the message in this movie.”

To join her in her screenwriting debut, Hogan recruits many of her past costars, most notably Robert Patrick who she’s worked with on several projects. “There are only 2 people in the cast of 47 who I haven’t worked with before.”

Along with Patrick and Warren are Animal Kingdom’s Jake Weary as the antagonistic president of the fraternity, former NFL linebacker

Phil Villapiano as the university president, Frasier’s Peri Gilpin as the mother of a fellow victim, and rapper Fat Nick and comedian Jared Sandler as well.

But as Siobhan reunites with many members of her work family, it was also very much a family affair in the literal sense. The actress’ real-life son and daughter, Peter Munson Hogan and Sinead Hogan, have roles in the film too, and her husband, Peter, took off two months from his job building houses in order to help his wife. Her own home was even repurposed to be the main frat house for filming. “We shot it in four weeks. My driveway had 5 four-ton

trucks and 6 porta potties. And my poor husband would move the porta potties so the trucks could get out every morning, and he herniated two disks in his back. It was terrible. He couldn’t move and I was like, ‘Listen, I’d love to help you, but we got a movie to do.’ ...He loves it! He’s back on board for the next one.”

Hogan acknowledges that her project has been a real grassroots effort, even going so far as to muster up the courage to ask friends from her hometown in New Jersey for help. “People were like, ‘Here’s 100,000,’ ‘Here’s 100,000.’

It was crazy!” The experience has been so lovely for the actress—now screenwriter—that she’s already in pre-production for her second film, Shelter in Solitude, reuniting once more with Robert Patrick and longtime friend Dan Castellaneta from The Simpsons.

It’s obvious that people just love

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over the kids. But then when things go wrong, she’s got her son’s back.”

Allowing for the personalities of the O’Briens to show through amidst their tragedy, Hogan ensures that the audience will come away with a personal connection to the family as well. These are real people at the end of the day, who still have emotions and character that will shine through even in their darkest moments. Barbara is a woman of faith, and despite dealing with something in a very human way, it’s that very faith that still guides and informs her, even when she may not necessarily want it to.

Hogan, herself, attributes her

prolific career to her own faith. “I pray my ass off!” And at 60-yearsold, the actress’ patient prayers are paying off as she’s finally able to see the fruits of her labor as a screenwriter for the very first time —a brand new career, if you will.

“Life is interesting. You gotta be patient. And you get more patient as you get older. Have faith. You got someone watching over you. You’re not alone.”

Rushed/Zentropa Entertainments/Vertical Entertainment/Siobhan Fallon Hogan

working with her, and for good reason. “I [treated the set] like a play. There’s no ‘above the line’ or ‘below the line,’ where there’s divas and you say, like, ‘Oh, I’m eating first ahead of the prop guy.’ I don’t believe in that. We are all in this together. We all have a common goal.”

Although she would never toot her own horn, Rushed is a real star vehicle for Siobhan, an actress who’s been in the industry for over 30 years, with roles ranging from the sedated wife of an alien-abducted farmer in Men in Black to the unrefined, chain-smoking school bus driver in Forrest Gump. For her latest role, the SNL-alum puts on display, yet again, her uncanny ability to embody literally any character type, showcasing her dramatic chops, but also doing so with her famous dry wit when appropriate.

The actress aims to show a virtuous, yet flawed, human being in Barbara who, at the end of the day, just wants to make right by her family. “She’s a helicopter mom, and you think she’s kind of annoying because she’s totally domineering

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SPOILER MAGAZINE

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SUperman: son of kal-el #1 writer: Tom Taylor | Artist: John Timms | colorist: Gabe Eltaeb

what’s it about?

It’s easy to be skeptical of someone other than Clark Kent using the Superman moniker.

In the pages of Superman: Son of Kal-El, Jon Kent struggles against the weight of his lineage, the son of the galaxy’s greatest hero, Superman, and the world’s greatest reporter, Lois Lane. Jon attempts to find his place in the world as he figures out how to be the savior our society demands but also the catalyst for change it needs. With his head full of doubt and his future uncertain, Jon Kent turns to the one friend he can trust, Damian Wayne.

the good

Tom Taylor’s writing and John Timms’ art go together like peanut butter and jelly; smooth and with a taste that’ll stick around for a while. The last few years of Jon Kent’s history, from his introduction to the comics until present day, can be convoluted to say the least. This is a great jumping-off point that doesn’t require a doctorate in DC history to decipher. From the first panels which showcase the

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birth of Jon Kent while the Justice League wards off an attempted planetary invasion (emphasis on “attempted”) to Jon’s heart to heart with Damian all while they fend off a ninja assassination attempt, the entire issue is a fun trip through the DCU and Jon’s life.

the bad

If you’re a Superman purist who’s not adjusting well to the rapid changes the Big Blue Boy Scout and his supporting cast of characters have endured over the last few years then this series is definitely not for you. It might be hard to accept someone else wearing the big red “S,” going by the name Superman, and fighting for truth, justice, and a better world (rather than the American way). For everyone else, this book is going to hook you for sure!

score

9.0

Superman/DC Comics/The Me You Love in the Dark/Image Comics

the me you love in the dark #1 writer: Skottie Young | artist: Joge Corona | Colorist: Jean-Francois BeauLieu

what’s it about?

In this first of this five-issue series we’re introduced to Ro Meadows, a successful artist who hit a creative wall. She seeks out a rental home to sequester herself, get some drawing done, down more than a few bottles of wine, and commune with the ghost that she believes inhabited her rented abode. After weeks of nothing, no drawings created or ghosts to speak of, what happens when Ro finds out she was right about the house after all?

the good

After the success of Skottie Young and Jorge Corona’s Image series Middlewest, I had high hopes for this book and it certainly didn’t disappoint. You

are almost immediately drawn into Ro’s world, and although her intentions aren’t clear as of yet (Why did she seek out a haunted house to work in?), what is clear is that there’s a lot more to Ro Meadows than meets the eye.

Corona’s art is engaging and does a spectacular job of telling the story with little dialogue.

Horror books are big again, and with this being a limited series, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where Ro goes.

the bad

Horror is big in the funny pages again. Every publisher seems to be getting their hands on some great stories from super teams of writers and artists. With so many amazing books to choose from, you’ve got to choose wisely. This issue does a great job setting the stage for what’s to come in the remaining four issues, but this seems like something I’d enjoy as a trade rather than picking it up issue by issue. I may be looking forward to seeing where this story goes but I think I can wait a few months more for the collected issues.

score

8.0

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the joker presents: a puzzlebox #1 writer: Matthew Rosenberg | Artist: Jesus Marino | Colorist: Ulises Arreola

what’s it about?

The Gotham City Police Department has a holding cell full of Gotham’s deadliest foes.

Commissioner Jim Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock are trying to solve a mystery. They have a dead body on their hands and they need to know how it got that way. No one is talking; not even Killer Moth. No one except… the Joker!

characters this vast, each villain is wonderfully written in their own “voice.” The art is kinetic and organic while invoking a Neil Adams-ish quality.

the good

the bad

This book is wild! Seeing the recounting of the night’s prior events through the eyes of the Joker is worth the price of the book alone. Joker’s version of events is both disturbing and hysterical. The story is paced perfectly and, with a cast of

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Are you experiencing Joker fatigue? It seems like every corner of the DC Universe for the last few years is colored in the Joker’s distinctive green and purple. The Joker is our unreliable narrator throughout this issue. Despite how well written, drawn, and laid out this issue may be, if you’ve met your Joker quota for the month, you may want to skip this. Something else to consider is that the version you pick up on the shelves and the version that is available via DC Universe Infinite are different as the Infinite version contains additional pages called a “Bonus Box” that significantly adds to the story.

score

8.0

The Joker/Justice League/DC Comics

justice league infinity #2 writer: J.M. DeMatteis and James Tucker | artist: Ethen Beavers | COLORIST: Jorge Corona

what’s it about?

The golden android Amazo is on a quest to find out his true purpose in the universe. His journey has taken him through the vast cosmos and now he finds himself in a twisted mirror room.

As the glass in the room shatters, so does all of reality. Superman finds himself thrust into a world ruled by a totalitarian reich led by the enigmatic Great Leader.

In Superman’s place, Overman, a dark version of the Man of Steel, arrives on our Earth and faces off against Lois Lane, the Justice League, and a returning Martian Manhunter. Will the League be able to stop Overman before he destroys our Earth? And how will Superman find his way home?

the good

If you loved the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series as I did, then you’re going to love this title. It is a perfect spiritual sequel to both shows. The art and writing perfectly capture the look and feel of what made the DC Animated Universe so endearing and timeless. The issue is filled

with callbacks and allusions to events within the shows while simultaneously driving the story forward. If you grew up with Justice League on Cartoon Network or enjoyed it as an adult as I did, you’re in for a treat with this series.

the bad

If you’re not familiar with the Justice League animated show this series may be a bit overwhelming. It certainly assumes that you know your DCAU history. DC is riding a wave of nostalgia with series such as this and the upcoming Batman ‘89 and Superman ‘78 but nostalgia is not enough to keep readers coming back for more. If you are familiar with both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited shows, this issue and its events might feel familiar.

Seeing Overman only served to remind me of the two-part episode “A Better World” which introduced us to the Justice Lords. I think it’s time to give the “What if Superman was evil?” trope a much needed rest.

score

7.0

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savage avengers #23 writer: Gerry Duggan | artist: Patch Zircher | Colorist: Java Tartaglia

what’s it about?

With the looming mega-event The Death of Doctor Strange set to hit shelves in September, Savage Avengers #23 gives us an idea of what might bring on the Sorcerer Supreme’s untimely demise.

Conan and Doctor Strange team up to halt Kulan Gath and put an end to Shuma-Gorath once and for all. We also find out what oddities Strange keeps in his refrigerator and why he needs to order a new microwave.

the good

Patch Zircher’s art is amazing.

Working on a Doctor Strange book presents its own unique obstacles but, I would imagine, one of the greatest challenges is taking the traditional comic book

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layout and turning it on its head.

Zircher creates panels that my college-aged self would’ve hung on the wall and illuminated with a blacklight. Although Conan joined Marvel a number of years ago, it’s still a cool thing to see him interacting with the Marvel 616. As I mentioned the upcoming Death of Doctor Strange titles are coming and this is as good a place as any to jump right on in.

the bad

This issue is not really a Savage Avengers book as much as it is a solo Doctor Strange one. As Marvel gears up for yet another mega-event, you might want to pass on this title as it will undoubtedly be summed up in a two-sentence editor’s note in an upcoming issue. That’s not an indictment of the work put into the book—it is a fun and interesting story—but an indictment of Marvel’s (and DC’s) need to have annual mega-events with a thousand-and-one tie-in books. If you’re not interested in checking out the upcoming Death of Dr. Strange series you might want to skip this one.

score

7.0

Avengers/Marvel/The Nice House on the Lake/DC Comics

the nice house on the lake #2 artist: Alvaro Martinez Bueno | writer: James Tynion IV | Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

the good

what’s it about?

How would you cope with the end of the world? Would it make it harder to deal with it if you knew your lifelong friend, someone who loves you with all their heart, might be responsible for it? The lake house inhabitants are starting to get a better idea of what’s going on beyond the invincible walls that are keeping them. Are they prisoners or were they saved? Is this Heaven or Hell? As the survivors start to take inventory of the house’s abilities and layout they must answer these questions for themselves before Walter, their enigmatic benefactor, decides for them.

Nice House on the Lake is one of the most unique and original horror comics I’ve ever read.

The use of transcripts, video surveillance, social media, and other storytelling instruments is a clever way to progress the story as well as remind us that the survivors are being watched. It’s hard not to envision yourself as one of the lake house inhabitants.

How would I react? What would I do next? The cast of characters are varied enough that you can see yourself in one of them. You feel their sense of panic and fear alongside their sense of awe and wonder. The beauty of the lake house is perfectly juxtaposed with the horrors that exist outside its walls.

the bad

This is going to be a stretch because there’s not much to gripe about! Every panel is a visual treat. Even a mundane panel of something like a college dorm room pops with extraordinary detail. The only issue, and this is probably more on me than the writing team, is that I’m terrible with names and they’re not used frequently enough for me to know who’s who without referencing the first issue.

score

9.0

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the nice house on the lake #3 Artist: Alvaro Martinez Bueno | writter: James Tynion IV | colorist: Jordie Bellaire

what’s is about?

Sam, Molly, Ronnie, Ricky, and the other survivors are coping with the end of the world and their lake house imprisonment in very different ways. Is the lake house the perfect vacation spot to ride out eternity, with unlimited eggs for breakfast and every movie you could imagine in your own private theater, or is the lake house a cage and are its inhabitants playing some sort of weird game designed and implemented by Walter? The mysterious statues that surround the lake house are explored further in this issue while raising more questions as to their purpose.

the good

Last issue gave us a better idea of how big the house is and what rooms exist within it. This

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issue gives us a slightly better understanding of how far and wide the property surrounding the lake house goes. We’re starting to see a clear distinction among the survivors between those who can accept the lake house and those who can’t. I find that fascinating. How much of their acceptance is free will versus what Walter wants them to think? Once again the stylized art and page layouts are absurdly clever and engaging.

the bad

Three issues in and we have more questions that need to be answered and hardly any that were answered. I have no doubt that this super team will be able to piece this puzzle together but I hope it isn’t rushed. I’m desperate to see the events through Walter’s eye; to know what he knows. Some readers who are looking for a more traditional narrator or main protagonist might be put off by the rotation of both from issue to issue. I see it as a clever way to tell the story through the lens of the different characters but others may be turned off by it.

score

9.0

The Nice House on the Lake/Static/DC Comics

static: season one #1 artist: ChrisCross | Writer: Vita Ayala | colorist: Draper-Ivey

what’s is about?

The Milestone Universe is back and Static is leading the charge!

An experimental gas explosion, the Big Bang, has killed many in Dakota City, but others like nerdy teenager Virgil Hawkins were endowed with amazing superpowers. Virgil inherited the ability to manipulate electromagnetic fields and now has the power to enact real change. But first he has to learn to control it.

the good

Take one part animated Static Shock add one part original Milestone Static, and a dash of Ultimate Spider-Man and you have Static: Season One! Heroes develop their powers in secret,

determined to protect the ones they love. Right out of the gate that doesn’t seem like an option for Virgil as the school bully, granted superheat powers by the Big Bang and referring to himself as Hotstreak, comes burning down Virgil’s door in the middle of family dinner. If you were a fan of either the original comic series or cartoon that it inspired you’re in for a treat. ChrisCross’ art and Vita Ayala’s writing blend together beautifully.

the bad

The comparisons between the Ultimate Spider-Man and Static are easy to make and hard to avoid, between their accidental acquisition of power to their

struggle to control it. What makes Static an iconic character isn’t necessarily on full display here, although I thought the last few pages and panels are amazing.

Ayala has her work cut out for her as she showcases what makes Virgil his own hero.

I have no doubt we’re going to see great things from this team and the Milestone Universe.

score

8.5

the suicide squad: king shark #1 artist: Scott Kollins | writer: Tim Seeley | Colorist: John Kalis

what’s is about?

The breakout star of James Gunn’s 2021 standalone sequel The Suicide Squad takes center stage in this six-issue limited series.

Shark is on leave from the Squad along with super-villain—er, supervandal—the Defacer, to whom King Shark has taken a liking.

King Shark’s father has called him home but before he can return he must overcome an obstacle in the form of Dr. Grace Balin, aka Orca the Whale Woman!

the good

Like many characters that appear and become popular in media outside the comics, King Shark’s appearance matches that of his movie appearance, although he maintains his comic book

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intelligence. This book perfectly capitalizes on Shark’s cinematic debut. The story is fresh and the art is spot on. Like James Gunn, Tim Seeley is masterfully getting us to root for characters that we would normally dismiss.

This issue does a great job of acknowledging the decades of history that Shark has and his current stint in the Squad while giving him a chance to shine as his own character. If it’s done right, we could be looking at DC’s next big thing.

the bad

Defacer and King Shark are underdogs in every sense of the word. Whether it’s their mutual dismissal by those around them or by readers consuming their stories, neither character has ever been a “main eventer.” If you’re not interested in cheering for the underdog then this book is definitely a pass for you. You don’t need to be an expert on DC mythology and history to understand the events of this book but it would be helpful to watch 2021’s The Suicide Squad before you do.

score

9.0

King Shark/DC Comics/Fantastic Four/Marvel

fantastic four: life story #1 artist: Sean Izaakse | Writer: Mark Russell | colorist: Nolan Woodard

what’s is about?

Celebrating 60 years of Marvel’s First Family, Fantastic Four: Life Story takes us back to the 1960s.

This book seamlessly blends real world events and the genesis of the Fantastic Four in a way that lifelong fans of the Four will appreciate and new fans will welcome. When President John F. Kennedy asks you to build him a rocket, you better build him a rocket. Reed Richards creates Kennedy an experimental craft that he, along with Sue Storm, her kid brother Johnny, and his pal Ben Grimm, pilots into space.

The experience will change them forever and what they see may bring about the end of the world.

the good

If you’re not familiar with the Fantastic Four this is the perfect book to pick up. Mark Russell has the dubious honor of cherrypicking from 60 years of Fantastic Four mythology and American history to meld together the quintessential story. The team’s potentially dated origins and costumes seem fresh in the hands of Russell and Izaakse. As

the Marvel Cinematic Universe gets ready to welcome Marvel’s First Family into their ranks, this book will reacquaint newcomers and veterans alike with the Four’s origins. A homerun for Marvel!

the bad

I don’t envy the task that Russell and Izaakse had to tackle with his issue and the subsequent issues and eras to follow. However, this issue is perfect. I’m open about the fact that the Fantastic Four are not in my top 20 list of superheroes. I can see why people enjoy the stories and the characters without question, yet always said my favorite version of the Fantastic Four was Pixar’s The Incredibles. Well, if this is what I’ve missed out on, I’m not afraid to admit I was wrong. Fantastic Four: Life Story is my book of the month.

score

9.5

september 2021|

I 131