Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me...... So begins the trilogy of Pirates movies. It is difficult to know exactly where to start with these films.....the first is quite likely my favorite of the bunch due to how simple it is before the character of Davy Jones gets introduced and things start spiraling out from there. Let's begin with the key part, the story. For something that's based off of a dark ride the film wonderfully captures the pirates ride and provides a fun adventure even if it does feel like it runs longer than it is. The story centers around our three main characters of Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner and Captain Jack Sparrow. One day a golden medallion falls into the water with Elizabeth and sends out an eerie signal to the evil Captain Barbossa who raids the town she lives in and takes her away. Not wanting to lose the woman he cares for, Will Turner strikes a deal with the charismatic Jack Sparrow and the pair set off for Tortuga so that they can save Ellizabeth and so that Jack can reclaim his stolen ship from Barbossa. Now....a fair bit of the movie feels...repetitive. They go to the secret island where Barbossa hides out, they leave, they go back and do the island scene almost all over again. There is of course large changes between the two trips, but it just feels too similar to me. The fast paced action when it happens is always a lot of fun and the characters make it all enjoyable though and it doesn't fully detract from things. As for the characters perhaps the one biggest complaint I have is how Elizabeth is supposed to marry Commodore Norrington and yet in the beginning scene he looks so much older than her. In the present day, Elizabeth is now older yet Norrington still looks the same. The first scene we encounter Captain Sparrow is rather memorable and goes along quite nicely with the last scene we see of his as he sails away singing. All in all, this is probably the better of the three films since it doesn't tangle itself up in the story very badly and gives a fun, action filled two hours that landlubber and pirate alike will enjoy.

Polly Wants A Treasure

Spin it! Ahhhh, Talespin how I love thee. I mean. YAR me hearties! This be an adventure that only pirates can achieve! We be finding three main things in this here episode that make pirates great. Tricky traps in a cave, green parrots that talk and lots o' booty. When Baloo's attempt to make some quick cash doesn't quite workout, he winds up buying the sea chest of the old pirate Captain Onetoomany which contains the parrot Ignatz. Of course, Don Karnage is after the old chest and sends two of his crew, Dumptruck and Mad Dog to wreck Baloo's cargo in the search for it. However, they leave behind Ignatz not realizing that he is the map to Captain Onetoomany's treasure. Baloo, over the course of the episode takes a large disliking to the feathery stowaway until he is forced to work together with the bird when Don Karnage takes Kit prisoner. In the end, the treasure remains lost thanks to Baloo's bumbling accident when he releases a trap, though everyone makes it out unharmed. As far as Don Karnage episodes go, this might well be a middling one though it is still a lot of fun to watch. I do think though that nothing would be able to top his first appearance in the Plunder and Lightning series premier.

The Real Ghostbusters - Sea Fright

Yaaaar! It be Pirate Week! Due to time constraints ye be getting an episode review this time around. This episode of the Real Ghostbusters is one that I remember well from my childhood having taped it off of the tv onto a vhs one day. Due to this, it is one of the few episodes from this series I remember quite well and thus enjoy a fair bit due to the larger exposure to it. Also, it has pirates so how could you not enjoy this? After their treasure is found and placed in a maritime museum, Captain Jack Higgins and his skeletal pirate crew invade New York City on their pirate ship and promptly begin to plunder it before striking out to find their stolen doubloons. The Ghostbusters however are on the job and after a few encounters with the wily pirates, including an attempted ambush, finally manage to trap them. This episode was actually a bit fun because the pirates themselves seemed to provide a challenge to the heroes, managing to get the better of them a couple times before they were finally subdued. Watching the pirates interact with each other, and with the modern day city was rather fun including a part where two of the skeletal ghosts mistake mannequins for real women who they assume are not afraid of them. All in all this is an enjoyable episode to a great series.

The Snow Queen (Readers Digest)

This will be the first of two Snow Queen adaptations that I will review, though the second will take a little while to get to. I will start off though by first saying that the Snow Queen is probably one of my favorite stories from Hans Christian Andersen. This Readers Digest version is surprisingly faithful to the original story where it includes the talking flowers, the married ravens and of course the talking reindeer. The story of course is likely well known, an evil sprite one day creates a mirror that reflects the ugliness of the world, twisting and distorting things. One day the mirror shatters and two splinters enter the heart and eye of our main character, Kay. Kay soon is taken away by the Snow Queen who wants him to solve for her an impossible puzzle. Kay however has a good childhood friend named Gerda and she is quite set upon finding her friend even if it means travelling far and wide through the seasons to find the Snow Queens palace to rescue him. The movie falls just short of the hour mark and in a way I think this hampers it a bit since things can feel slightly rushed. The animation is fairly sub par, though it is still better than some of the old shorts I have been viewing as of late. The story itself is well told and I believe only deviates slightly from the story by excluding two lesser characters who help Gerda along her way as well as a small verse being dropped that the two children sing. The rest of it however seems fairly on track from what I can remember. Is it as good as the second version? Probably not, and most people under the target age range might not find a lot of entertainment in it.

Cinderella's Blues

Yet another adaptation of Cinderella, this one has the leading lady and her prince as...cats. This is the second of ten Aesop's Fables. This one is also quite old and is presented in Black and White. There's some grain issues and a little bit of wear quite evident.

The story itself is pretty straightforward and simple, we meet Cinderella who is quite upset as her stepmother yells at her....sort of. The rest of the short plays out as the Fairy Godmother makes it possible for Cindy to head off to the ball where she enjoys a dance with he prince, and a game of hide and seek behind some rather thin trees. After having to run away from the ball at midnight, her prince gives chase and the short ends as they fly off in a helicopter of sorts.

The entire thing is pretty...weird. If you want to see the story of Cinderella there are many other variations that work far better, partly in thanks to bigger budgets and longer run times to really tell the story and flesh the character.s

The Animal Fair

The age of this short is rather evident in a few ways. For one, it's in Black and White which can often be an indicator of how far back you are going. The one thing that actually gives it away a bit more is the fact that music plays so heavily into the short to tell the story, more so than dialogue itself.

The short itself is largely a series of random encounters and gags that go on at a large fair full of animals. There isn't a whole lot to say about the short itself, the episodic nature without a main character to at least follow makes it a bit boring. Perhaps the only interesting gags are the father and son who cheat at one of the fair games, and the piano players near the end. Aside from this the entire thing is rather mediocre and there was little attempt at restoration from what I can gather given how many artifacts were littered through the short.

TMNT - Shredder Strikes Back

Decided to change it up a bit, tonight we're going to take a look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The following four episodes are from one of the newer versions of the gang and aired on Fox.


The King:

This episode takes place partway into the season and has the turtles living in April's apartment, which leads to a bit of craziness. The episode itself follows Donatello as he meets an artist who lives in the basement apartment. The artist is named Kirby, a reference to the big comic artist, and he appears to have acquired a crystal that allows whatever he draws to come to life for a short time. The two bond a bit and find that a portal Kirby drew allows them to and visit a different dimension, which is when things start to get even more crazy as they have to fight to save a town from the evil monsters that the artist had drawn in his spare time.

Shredder Strikes Back - 2 Parter:

This makes up the bulk of the episodes viewed tonight and centers around Shredder as he begins to seek revenge on the turtles for defeating him. The first episode is rather action packed as we follow Leonardo on a training run and is attacked by the Foot Ninjas, the Tech Foot and the all new Foot Elite. While he works to defend himself we often switch back to the apartment where April and the others are simply enjoying a lazy afternoon watching TV and having breakfast. The peace ends, as does the episode, when Leonardo is thrown through the window unconscious.

Part two continues the action as the Shredder sends his forces in to attack the remaining turtles while they are still shocked at what happened. Against rather overwhelming odds, the turtles and Master Splinter fight against the Foot clan as they try to escape the apartment building. Soon though, the villain Hun joins in along with Shredder himself as they raise the stakes. The turtles though find help as Casey arrives just in time to help even the odds up barely. The episode ends with our heroes locked up as the Antique Shop/Apartment are left burning by the Shredder.

Tales of Leo:

Though it's not quite a "part 3" this episode still follows up on the cliffhanger explosion that occurred at the end of the previous, 'Shredder Strikes Back Part 2' and shows how our heroes managed to barely escape. Thought to be dead by Shredder, the turtles retreat with their injured brother to Casey's grandmother's house out in the country. The rest of the episode shows the gang telling the unconscious Leonardo his early adventures and use the stories to help guide him back to them.


It's a bit hard to really say much about the series as a whole, but it does look rather worth a look for any Ninja Turtle fan. The Shredder two-parter definitely stands out as a solid couple of episodes with plenty of ninja action while still moving the story along instead of being a ' Bad guy of the week' type of deal. Perhaps the weaker episode for me is the 'Tales of Leo' since I've never really been too fond of flashback episodes just because of how it generally only acts as filler and slows things down. However, the episode does act as a good breather after the full on fighting seen in the previous couple of episodes and helps to set things up I imagine for what's to come in future episodes.

Looney Tunes: All Stars Final Part

Annnnd tonight we reach the final 3 shorts for this disc of Looney Tunes. We find one excellent short, one rather meh short and a rather good one.


Stage Door Cartoon:

This short opens up like any other, Elmer Fudd trying to get that wascally wabbit to little success. However after a chase lands them both in a theater, the short still follows the same plot but instead introduces a rather nice change of gag opportunities as Bugs uses various means to try and trick Elmer Fudd. The ending itself has a small twist which is kind of fun if you have never seen the short before or if you haven't been told how it ends.


What's Opera, Doc?:

This is definitely the best short on this disc I would imagine, and one of Bugs Bunny's all around best shorts. In this short we find a viking Elmer Fudd who sings "Kill da wabbit!" as he stabs his spear into the rabbit hole. This time however Bugs has his work cut out for him as Elmer has his spear and magic helmet that allows him to use lightning, summon rains and wind. Of course, Bugs still does have his disguise up his sleeve. The opera theme to this short really makes it stand out and makes it better than the usual "Elmer vs Bugs" shorts. This short, much like the last does have a twist to it's ending and one that is rather surprising the first time around. One small thing I enjoyed was the flower at the end with it's water drops looking like tears.

You Ought To Be In Pictures:

This short follows Porky Pig as Daffy tricks him into quitting cartoons to try and be an actor in feature length films. The big difference in this short is that it's all done in live action, but with Daffy, Porky and various other elements done in animation. This is probably the only good thing about the short is seeing an animated Porky interacting with a live world. Of course, this isn't new territory either and had already been worked in about 17 years ago by the Disney company, and before that by another company. I suppose the only good thing about this short, aside from the rather good live-action and animation interactions, is the fact that Porky Pig beats the shit out of Daffy Duck. That makes it all worth it to me but still leaves the short as rather 'meh' in the end for me.

Looney Tunes: All Stars Part 2

Following up with Part 2 of Looney Tunes All Stars, we find a lot of musical numbers, so let's get on with the review!


Katnip Kollege:

The first music oriented short. In here we find an unnamed cat who is attending Katnip Kollege where all the lessons and reports are done in song. This is a bad thing for our main character who apparently just doesn't have it in him to sing like all the others and is promptly sent to the Dunce chair while the others go off to have some fun cuddling and singing together. It doesn't take him long though to finally find what was missing and gets hit with song, giving him a happy ending as he gets the girl. It's...not the greatest short and presents a rather boring story.

The Hep Cat:

This short is a bit of a step up, it's not as music oriented as the others but you still have that feeling you've seen all of this be done elsewhere, and perhaps better. We find the Hep Cat being chased by a rather dumb dog. This pretty makes up the bulk of the short, the dog using various tricks to try and get the cat though to little success.

The Three Little Bops:

Now this short is a lot of fun. The story is basically a reworked version of the Three Little Pigs who are now a band and are playing in the House of Straw. The entire short is narrated through song, aside from spoken lines from the characters that rhyme. The wolf of course shows up and wants to join the band though is turned away due to his corny sound. From here we follow the general story where the wolf keeps trying to be part of them and blows down the houses until he finally goes too far and is defeated. There is a small twist though which I won't mention for those wanting to check out the short.

One Froggy Evening:

What is there to say about such a well known short? This is probably one of the more popular shorts and well known to boot. The story of course follows a construction worker who comes across a frog that seems rather ordinary until he puts on a top hat and starts dancing and singing. Despite what the man tells people, the frog never performs when others are around much to his frustration. After being sent to the mental asylum for a bit, the man is finally released and puts the frog in a 40 story building where he stays until the year 2056. As the short closes the cycle begins all over once more. Definitely an enjoyable short even after having seen it so many times before.

Rhapsody Rabbit:

This rather fun, and once again music oriented, short finds Bugs Bunny in the role of a rather skilled piano player who is performing a recital. There is entertainment abound as Bugs does his best to perform though encounters a few initial bumps at first before finally going to war with a small mouse who seems to have taken an interest in playing piano with Bugs. Just when Bugs thinks he's finally won though, the mouse ends it by outdoing him in performing the final piece. Definitely one of the better shorts on this set of cartoons.

Show Biz Bugs:

Our final short for tonight is also one of the most fun. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are working together in a show, though much to Daffy's frustration he isn't being given top billing, a proper dressing room or the applause he feels he deserves. Bugs Bunny however continually earns the crowds favor with his dancing, magic tricks and juggling. This pushes Daffy a bit too far and he finally pulls out an act that no performer has ever done and involves ingestion a lot of explosive materials before finally swallowing a lit match that blows him up. He finally earns the applause, though can no longer perform after his stunt leaves him body less.

Looney Tunes: Video Show Collection

A slight deviation from the plan, but still working on Looney Tunes for today. This collection of shorts is coming off of a VHS so the quality of how the shorts look isn't that great.


Devil May Hare:

This short pits Bugs Bunny against the Tasmanian Devil. The short is rather fun since it's a nice deviation from the usual Bugs vs Elmer or Yosemite. There isn't a whole lot to say really, I've never been a huge fan of Taz so this short is a little bit middling when it comes to Bugs shorts.

Birds of a Father:

This short stars Sylvester and his son Sylvester Jr. as the father once again tries to get his son to hunt and do things that cats should do. Of course this clashes with Sylvester Jr's more peaceful approach to birds and even goes so far as to try having a fake fight with his bird friend. A rather fun short, and a nice switch up from the usual Sylvester and Tweety plots.

The Ducksters:

Daffy Duck.....what to say....sometimes he's great, and sometimes he's rather annoying as a character. This short is alright, but is slightly annoying the longer the short goes on. As usual Daffy is paired up with Porky Pig who is the poor victim of Daffy's antics as he plays a TV show host and inflicts constant pain on Porky.

Zipping Along:

Road Runner vs Wile E. Coyote. It's...actually a bit hard to really review these shorts given how it's impossible at times to tell one from the other. While the gags are different, the same background and same general plot wear rather thin. The character of Wile. E Coyote is quite fun however and tends to make the shorts so enjoyable ultimately.

Room and Bird:

Tweety, Sylvester and Spike the Dog all go at it in this short. Something that adds a little extra to this short is the fact that they are stuck in a building that doesn't allow pets. This brings in a new character who does his best to try and catch the three in the act of terrorising each other. A rather fun short, though probably not quite among the best.

Ant Pasted:

Elmer Fudd shows that is able to carry a short well enough without any other big name characters. In this July 4th short, Elmer Fudd takes on a Donald Duck role as he attacks as a villain towards a group of ants with fireworks. However, these ants won't take it without declaring war and begin to fight back in a war of firecrackers.

Mexicali Schmoes:

Our final short pits Speedy Gonzales against Slowpoke the cat. While Speedy can be a rather hilarious character to watch, there isn't a huge attraction to the character though for me. He almost seems like a copy of the Road Runner though sadly doesn't have the same great villain that the Road Runner has.

Looney Tunes: All Stars Part 1

Back Alley Oproar:

In this short we find Sylvester as he does his best to sing loudly much to Elmer Fudd's dismay. This is one of many opera/stage shorts that we will be coming across from Warner Brothers, though it's not quite one of the best. The gags are fun, and Sylvester is always a favorite to watch which is a bonus.

Book Revue:

A bit of an odd one. This short is mostly a series of random jokes about book titles as we see the characters on the cover come to life and interact with each other. However this short is actually quite similar to one that will be reviewed a little further down which acts as a hamper to both shorts in the end. While it's not one of the best Warner Brothers has to offer, it's certainly an entertaining one just given the varied titles used in the jokes.

A Corny Concerto:

Elmer Fudd leads this short as he acts as the conductor for a corny concert in which we watch two stories unfold to music. This is similar to some Disney shorts and keeps in theme with the idea of operas that this disc has. It's alright, though we've seen Elmer Fudd do better and is rather lacking without Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck to play off of.

Have You Got Any Castles?:

This is the short that is very much like 'Book Revue' though it's still a bit early to decide which does the general story better. I am tempted to say this one though since there are so many fun references shown in this. Also, one reason I'm tempted to say it's better is due to the fact we see Dr. Jekyl, Fu Man Chu, the Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein dance together. Though that is just four book references seen here among quite a large number.

Hollywood Steps Out:

This short follows in the same vein as 'Book Revue' and 'Have You Got Any Castles?' though this time is more directed at Hollywood actors and actresses at the time. Sadly a lot of stuff in this short probably falls a bit short for those of us who don't get the references being made, but for those that do get it (or have more knowledge on this time period) will probably enjoy it quite a bit. Bette Davis is mentioned though not seen, along with Bing Crosby, Dagwood and Blondie and a host of other well known as they sit around eating and drinking at a restaurant.

I Love to Singa:

The final short tonight, this one is about a tiny owl who is born into a family of singers and music enthusiasts. However, his parents are not all that happy about the fact that their son is a crooner. After being forced to try his parents type of music, the young owl is kicked out and wanders off to the nearby radio station. Upon arriving there he finds a music contest and decides to enter immediately becoming the most popular person with his crooning song. The parents decide they were too harsh and rush off to apologize to their son and all join in with him for one last verse of the song as he's handed the prize.


As far as Looney Tunes shorts go, these probably wouldn't be ranked among the most memorable or best, at least not compared to some of the ones that will be seen in Part 2 of this disc. However that's not to say that they are terrible either. All of them have had a lot of care in being made, and back during their hey -day were probably popular for the references and inside jokes but have dated a bit.

Winnie the Pooh: Everything's Coming Up Roses

This review shall go over four episodes from "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." One small thing to note about this VHS is that it opens with my favorite opening for the Walt Disney VHS'. This of course gives it some extra Awesome points. ;)

First up is 'Eeyi, Eeyi, Eeyore' in which our donkey friend is given a seed by Rabbit who claims it's worthless and won't grow. Pooh and Tigger decide to lend a hand by disguising poor Piglet as a flower to be helpful which leads to Rabbit handing over his garden to Eeyore thinking that he is a better gardener.

Following this episode is 'My Hero' where Piglet saves Tigger from a puddle and the bouncy tiger decides to become Piglet's servant to repay him. However our tiny hero finds that Tigger is just a bit -too- helpful and tries to turn the tables so that they can be even.

"Honey For A Bunny" is perhaps my favorite of the episodes. One day Rabbit decides to be rid of his bookend bunny who is missing it's mate. After a series of trading and gifting the bookend, Rabbit finds it at Pooh's house and mistakes it for the missing mate. He strikes a deal to trade the bunny for five jars of hunny though finds he's one jar short. This leads to Tigger helping out as the duo tries to get that last jar of hunny, only to find out in the end he did all that work for his original bookend.

Our last episode/segment is 'Owl Feathers' where the Hundred Acre Woods seems to have a lot of feathers floating about. Rabbit, Tigger, Pooh and a magician in-training Piglet decide to investigate and seem to feel that the feathers belong to Owl, (though Tigger claims it's horse feathers), and Rabbit claims that Owl is going bald. This causes poor Owl to become a bit depressed and finds he can't fly anymore even though it's all in his head and prompts Piglet to jump in to help with a little bit of 'magic.'

All four episodes are rather fun, especially for those who love the show and/or the characters themselves. Not all the gang appears though, Roo only pops up for one episode and sets off the chain of tradsies in 'Hunny For A Bunny' and Kanga is missing completely. Also not around is Christopher Robin for the large part of these and only shows up at the end of 'Owl Feathers.'

The animation is rather standard for the time it was released, and even though it is a bit outdated I find that I actually prefer it compared to some of the animated shows on t.v today even if they are being made with more updated technology. Our opening song is bouncy, enjoyable and just as memorable as the Ducktales or Darkwing Duck themes. :)

Blackie the Sheep - No Mutton For Nuttin'

Blackie the Sheep returns once more as he works to outsmart the Wolf who is intent on eating him for supper. These Blackie shorts are actually rather similar to the Warner Brothers of the time, though these shorts don't have the same charm and iconic characters.

There is not a whole lot to say about tonight's short just due to the fact we've seen this all before, and done better. From the predator character trying to eat the hero, to the slapstick humor it's just not as good as other content out there.

Blackie the Lamb - Sheep Shape

This...is such an odd cartoon to me. An Wolf with no name decides that in order to get into a club to see 30 girls that he's going to need some money. Leaving the club, he comes across a newspaper article that mentions how Blackie the Lamb has just come into ten thousand dollars and decides to steal the money.

The short is easily divided into three parts, the first introduces us to the Wolf and his intention. Following this is a series of gags involving the Wolf as he tries to steal the money from Blackie the Lamb until he succeeds. The final part is watching the Wolf in the club as he tries to steal a kiss from a girl, though the girl is more interested in the money. At the end we find out the girl was Blackie all along and he waltzes away with his money and leaves the Wolf laying in the street.

The animation is alright and sort of lacks an iconic character to help carry the short in the same was as Betty Boop or Popeye. Though of course, I did not grow up during the time this was released so it is also possible that Blackie the Lamb was popular back then but just did not have the same lasting power as other cartoon short characters. Worth a watch for those curious or who are cartoon short fanatics.

Next of Kin

Next of King follows police officer Truman, played by Patrick Swayze, as he investigates the death of his brother and is pulled between his loyalties to the law, his wife (played by Helen Hunt) and his brother (played by Liam Neeson).

After his brother is killed, Truman tries to follow the law and stick to the proper procedures, however this is made difficult when his country family decide that it's an eye-for-an-eye and they want justice now. Also included in this film are Adam Baldwin as the over enterprising gangster, Ben Stiller as the heir apparent and Andreas Katsulas as the head gangster.

The film itself is....rather average, especially compared to other films released during 1989. I wouldn't call it a must see, but it's not a bad film either just....middling which makes it a little bit hard to review this since there really isn't a whole lot to say. I think the only real complaint I have is how the cemetery scene at the end pits Swayze against a group of gangsters wielding machine guns while he takes them on armed only with a knife and a bow and arrows.

A Ride For Cinderella

Something I found funny about this short is that is largely comes off as a slightly long commercial for Chevrolet since it is presented by them, and given how Cinderella drives a car around much to the Prince's approval.

The short itself has rather decent animation for the time that it was made, though it honestly isn't as good as Disney or Warner Brother shorts released around the same time. Instead of following the story of Cinderella we find that she is already at the ball and...for some reason the stepsisters know it's her. Unhappy that the Prince is choosing her over them, they go to a Witch and enlist her help in trying to make things miserable for Cinderella by using various spells that all wrap up with her saying how evil she is and that she hates herself.

Thankfully though, there is a Chief Gnome and his Horse Hopper present to save the day as they work to undo what the Witch does and helps Cinderella get home safely. The following morning the Prince arrives and they agree to be wed.

There isn't a whole lot of good to say really about the short....it was alright, there are far worse out there. However there are also a lot of shorts that are out there which are better, aside from the two previously named companies I would suggest going and watching Popeye, Betty Boop or Felix the Cat sooner than this.

Plane Crazy

Plane Crazy, perhaps one of Disney's biggest achievements considering it was animated by Ub Iwerks almost entirely. This was largely due to the fact that Walt and his remaining crew worked in secrecy on the debut of their brand new character: Mickey Mouse.

The short itself is relatively simple, Mickey Mouse is fascinated by Charles Lindbergh and sets out to fly in a plane of his own. He enlists the aid of the barnyard animals to help him build a plane, though this one fails. His second however, made out of a car and turkey feathers works much better and he even manages to get Minnie Mouse to come flying with him. Things however go wrong when the plane begins to go out of control and crashes.

Despite such a simple plot, this short is still rather amazing because of the fact that Ub Iwerks was singled out as the animator for it in the title credits, something which Disney would not do later on. But wait! There's more! The short itself is a step up from the previous Oswald shorts in a couple ways at the least, not only are the backgrounds more detailed but also in how the point of view is always changing. This is most evident when Minnie is alone in the plane when things change from side to side, also later on when the plane begins to spiral down the POV shifts to look straight at the ground and spins about during that sequence.

One last thing to really make a note of here is that Mickey is still far from the mascot that we know today, or even knew twenty years ago. His appearance is more oval shaped and he has spindle limbs, as well his personality far more mischievous as he forces a kiss from Minnie. Quite the change would be made to him, and Minnie over the coming decades.

Remake Review Rumble.

Oof what a title. This time around I thought I might try something different. I gathered together the remakes of three of the most iconic horror figures and sat through all three in a row to see which of them stands out. All three movies will receive a small review and a rating based off several factors which include:

- Characters
- Plot
- Scares
- How much has changed from the original
- The Slasher

With that said, let's get started with the first film.

Halloween

Now, I've already reviewed this one in the past so I will make this rather brief. Nothing has changed. The characters are still horrible and impossibly hard to root for, mostly due to the plot and dialogue being rehashed from Rob Zombies other films. Everything is taken to the extreme through the entire film to the point of it just being plain stupid. Michael Myers loses a fair bit of points since he has changed a fair bit thanks largely to how we spend so much time with him while he's young. Scares are minimal, limited to only two, which is pretty bad considering the films length. One small thing to nitpick is that in the beginning the report is giving us exposition in great length on what we just saw two seconds prior even though there is no way he should know all of that information so early on - especially when the bodies are still being wheeled out of the house covered up.

2/5 stars.


Nightmare on Elm Street

Again, another film that I have already reviewed. So, not a whole lot has changed exactly with this film either. The movie actually isn't all that bad, certainly a step up from Halloween. One thing that this film definitely lacks compared to the other two is a body count, which is kept rather minimal in Elm Street. Part of me is sort of torn on the topic, while I do enjoy seeing all the silly teenagers meet their ends due to being struck with Stupidity (or at least most of the time) I also don't mind a minimal body count if it suits the story. I don't honestly think it would have hurt to have a couple more deaths here or there seen or referenced, but as it is things are still alright. My main issue in this film is that Freddy just isn't Freddy anymore. While he still has the same hand and basic look, his face is far too clean looking compared to Robert Englund's look which I found much scarier. While on the topic of scares, this one is also rather lacking for me, but more than makes up for it in other areas. The only other small annoyances are the "Did he or didn't he?" plot and how Nancy is rather....distant as a character. I much prefer the original heroine over this remakes Nancy.

3/5 Stars


Friday the 13th

Finally a film I haven't seen prior to this! It's also, possibly the most entertaining of them despite being so vastly changed from the original film. Friday the 13th opens it's credits by showing us the ending of the original first film in which Pamela Voorhees stalks her last victim and meets a grisly end instead. We then open up to our victims. Sort of. It turns out this first batch of victims only set up things for the rest of the film and we proceed to spend a good deal of time watching them interact before being easily dispatched by our killer. One small note for this group is that I cheered when the extremely annoying guy was picked off, sadly he would be replaced not long after by someone worse.

A few weeks pass in the film and we meet our actual victims for the rest of the film which include a stoner, a token black guy, our main girl, the annoying guy and three other fodder characters who don't' have a whole lot to them. We also meet our hero played by Jared Padalecki who is in search of his sister who is currently a captive of Jason underneath one of the old cabins. This sort of ties in the second films elements in which Jason finds the heroine to resemble his mother, making it easy for her to fight back against him and uses it to her advantage.

The film generally plays out as one would expect it to, though the characters, save for one, can be rather fun to watch. I of course say this in comparison to Halloween's crew. One main reason this film is rather changed from the original is that it actually ties in elements from the first three films including Jason wearing a sack over his head at first, to finding his mask. The only minor annoyance is how smart Jason appears to be in keeping electricity running in his underground hideout and how he has searchlights set up above ground around the cabin. This felt a bit off from the stalker in the woods vibe that he's better known for.

3/5


So there we have it. Three remakes in one day, phew. All in all I found the Friday the 13th remake to be just a bit more enjoyable than Nightmare On Elm Street, and Halloween brings up the rear. There is a small chance though that it would have ranked higher if I were to have added The Fog remake in as well...but that's a different story for another time!