Even though we have passed the spooky season, I still had a
hankering for some horror movies. After I finished a rewatch of Howling 2: Your
Sister is a Werewolf (yes, this exists and I will talk about this next time), I
got curious about the Phantasm series. The 1978 cult classic was on Prime, so I
thought I’d check it out. It’s actually not my first foray into the franchise.
I didn’t remember who it was (I thought it might’ve been Allison Pregler,
formerly known as Obscurus Lupa), but when Channel Awesome was on Blip.tv,
someone talked about the first four movies. In fact (just checked this), it was
Allison since she used to review cult horror at that time.
After my viewing of the first movie, I saw that Prime had
the rest of the franchise on there, so I decided to go down this weird rabbit
whole. Phantasm was released in 1979 and was written, produced, and directed by
Don Coscarelli. Even though it made some decent money for its budget, it didn’t
fare well critically. Luckily, the positive press came later, and it got
regarded as a cult classic. It took a decade, but it eventually got a sequel in
Phantasm 2. The next movie, Phantasm 3: Lord of the Dead, was released in 1994.
Phantasm 4: Oblivion was released in 1998. It would take almost two decades for
one more to come out, but Phantasm: Ravager was released in 2016.
For my next foray in the wonderful, weird world of music videos, it's time to look at one of my favorite comedic actors: Eddie Murphy. Yes, he actually recorded a few music albums. I guess he thought he could also hit it big in this realm. No, he's not the best singer around, but he ain't too bad. I imagine that he'd do well at a church on any given Sunday. Unfortunately, I'm not talking about the One-Hit Wonder known as "Party All the Time" which was produced by Rick James. No, I got "Whazupwithu," a song off his third album that features one of my favorite singers, Michael Jackson.
I always wondered why I never heard of this song back in the day. I mean, knowing that it was on an Eddie Murphy album definitely didn't help. I saw the video for this a few years ago and was amazed at how horrible it looked. My sister (who's a big MJ fan) sent a reel of it to me on Instagram a while ago. I also saw a reel of the podcast Double Toasted reacting to it, so that's why it's here. I gotta put my piece in on this wholesome horridness.
"The Elephant is dying!" - Excuse my French, but what the hell was that? I had to do a double take at the beginning!
"Eddie Mercury" - I saw a comment on Instagram and that just made me LOL. I definitely see it! I guess Eddie thought he could fill the void left by Freddie Mercury or something.
Why, Michael? Why? - While I could be asking that question to MJ on a plethora of stuff, this is definitely a question that has to be asked. He's featured on stuff for years, but this one is the most baffling to me. Apparently, he liked the wholesome feel of the lyrics, so he agreed to do the song and the video. I can say that at least it looked like they were having fun making the video. Plus, MJ brought his usual A-game to the song.
PBS Intro - This seriously looks like it could be an intro to a kids' learning show. That's not the vibe you should be going for... unless you're trying to create an intro for a kids learning show. It's like the wholesome version of "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood" featuring Michael Jackson as the magic imp!
Disney Channel Feel - All this video made me think of was those Disney Channel drawing bumpers you'd see from the early 2000's. You'd have someone from those shows come on screen and be like "This is Disney" and pull out some magic wand. I almost thought the song was gonna end with Hilary Duff or Raven showing up with that wand!
"Whatzzzuppwithuuu" - I don't know what Eddie was thinking adlibbing that in the song. The song itself is okay at best, but hearing him say it like that throughout the song is hilarious!
The children choir - No comment there. While I got my theories about all that involving Michael, seeing a kids' choir show up here cracked me up. I guess this was shot before all those allegations started.
In the end, this is horrible. The song itself isn't that good, but the video just... dang! I don't know what the heck the creators were thinking about this! At least it's a video you can laugh out loud to. We need some of that these days. It may not be what Eddie Murphy was going for, but not only did he create one of the worst and funniest music videos ever. Anyway, I'm outta here. Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.
For my last post on some horror themed properties, I thought
it was time to return to the CW. No, there aren’t any superheroes present, but
we do have beings with some pretty cool and deadly powers. I just didn’t
realize that it would spin off from a vampire soap opera of all places.
I have only seen two episodes of the Vampire Diaries. One
was probably airing after Smallville years ago, and the other was a possible
binge for me and Liz to go down on. Our trip in the VD universe actually
started with Legacies, their latest and last show. She got me started on it, and after a while, we finished binging it on Netflix. As for the Originals, the first
spin-off show, I got curious about how everything led up to Legacies. After the
pilot episode, I had to watch more, and a new binge was born. The Originals got taken off of Netflix
during our watch, but I found it on Freevee. You know I gotta like a show if
I’m hunting for it all over these dang streaming channels! So, what do I think
about these two shows?
Comic books and horror go together like oatmeal and sausage…
what? It’s a good meal combo! Anyway, we have gotten quite a few horror movies
based on comic properties over the years. The first one I can really think of
is Swamp Thing the 1980’s. Of course, DC and Marvel have been over this for
years with characters like Swamp Thing, Blade, John Constantine, and others
characters hitting live-action. Even Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of
Madness tried its hand at horror and succeeded in my opinion. Don’t know if it
succeeded at the Multiverse aspect though, but that’s another story.
Today’s post is going to be about some comic movies that
don’t have that DC bullet nor the Marvel insignia on it. Marvel and DC are not
the only ones that have put out good comics, folks. Diversify that shelf or
longbox a bit. First, we got The Crow from 1994 starring Brandon Lee, a movie
that I have been wanting to see for years. Next, we got Spawn from 1997, a
movie that I kinda had to fill out the list with. I am no Spawn fan, but it has
Michael Jai White, so it can’t be too horrible… right? Finally, I got a double
watch from my recent COVID sit: Hellboy and Hellboy. Yes, I made that confusing
on purpose. First, it’s Hellboy from 2004 with Ron Pearlman. Last, it’s Hellboy
from 2019 featuring David Harbour.
Next up for the month, I decided to go down a more sci-fi
path. Instead of trading punches with the supernatural, we got some pesky
aliens to look at. As usual, I got four picks for this one. First up is one
that may not count in the “evil invading aliens” topic, but I just re-watched
Dark City from 1998, and I gotta talk about it. Next up is the classic Invasion
of the Body Snatchers from 1956. I was originally going to re-watch its 1978
remake for this, but I never saw the original. Next, I got Strange Invaders, a
1980’s throwback to 50’s B-movies. Yes, that doesn’t sound too great. Finally,
we have End of the World from 1977 featuring Christopher Lee. I say featuring
because he’s only around for like 8 minutes or something. Dang cover art!
Well, we’re in the spooky season, and I got a few movies and
shows I want to talk about. I know I got a post about monster dramas in me
somewhere, but this isn’t the time! No, I got a hankering to revisit a few
sequels to classic horror movies. It’s funny because I think I saw all of these
before I saw their first movies. I know I can say that for Jaws, Predator, and
Halloween. Those came much later in life. I’m not so sure about Hellraiser. I
may have seen Hellbound before the first one, but I’m not sure. I know I somehow ended up seeing bits of Hellraiser
3 when I was pretty young. I don’t know how the heck that happened!
Today’s picks are a bit random but still fit in that “scared
crapless” genre. First, we got Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 from 1988. Next up, we
broach the sci-fi genre with Predator 2 from 1990. If you thought running in
the jungle was bad, try running in Los Angeles.Next up, the animals decide to get involved with Jaw 2 from 1978. Finally,
I gotta end it in a slashing good time with Halloween 2 from 1981. So, let’s see what other messed up stuff Clive Barker can bring to screen.
Well, it’s September, and I’m feeling… eh. The kids are back
in school, so you know that “Down with the Sickness” is going to be played a
lot in many homes. Lately, it’s been hitting us with Liz and Andy being a
little down for the count. Even though I’m not around here as much anymore, I got
to talk about some Superman comics. I might even throw in a certain show that’s
recently made it to Max. Today’s pick is Superman and the Authority, a
miniseries that was starting just as Andy was being born. In fact, I got the
first issue the day I closed my pick list at the Great Escape in Nashville. If
there was one thing that was gonna get me to come out and get the whole trade,
it would be Grant Morrison.
Now, the story behind this mini is a weird one that involves
a defunct idea called 5G… no, not that 5G on your phone or in the airwaves. I
don’t know everything about it, but it was another reboot that Dan Didio wanted
to do. The key word is “wanted” because that whole idea blew up in smoke and
Didio was let go from DC afterwards. The ideas (That whole DC Future event
after Dark Knights Death Metal) kind of made their way into the comics, but
things remained the same. I did hear that one idea was to take an older Superman
down an authoritative route, but Morrison said “I say thee nay” or something
and instead wrote about a lower-powered Superman forming a team of lesser-knowns,
villains and sometimes killers. Yeah, that also sounds weird, but this is
Morrison we’re talking about.
Well, it has been a two-year wait, but after this recent
re-watch, it’s time to return The Matrix once again. When I heard that there
was another Matrix coming, I was whelmed. The casting also got me excited
though I was a little saddened to see that Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving
weren’t returning. The hype for The Matrix Resurrections really didn’t hit me
until the first trailer came, and I gotta say that was one awesome trailer. So,
this film is either going to be a hit or a trainwreck. Knowing the Wachowskis
(and we only have one with Lana), it could go either way. So, The Matrix
Resurrections was released toward the end of 2021. Since we were still in the
pandemic, the WB was releasing most of their newest movies in theatres and on
HBO Max at the same time. By the way, that merger with Discovery sucked in all
kinds of ways.
I didn’t realize that 2020 was the last time I really talked
about anything Star Wars here. It’s not like I haven’t been watching what
Disney+ has been putting on. I will say that with the overload of content (Star
Wars or otherwise…) getting through it all has been kinda tough with a 2
year-old in tow. Besides, my binges into other shows (Grimm, Different Strokes,
Picket Fences, and now Legacies) with Liz have been really fun. So, I’ll start
off this little project with the shows and seasons I’ve actually finished. It
honestly hasn’t been that many. Since these may get a little long, I’ll leave
it to three shows today.
Star Wars: Rebels
Yeah, it’s not part of the current Disney+ roster, but it’s time
to get this out. I ended up binging Rebels toward the end of 2019 during
Christmas break, so this has been a long time coming. For those who don’t know,
Star Wars: Rebels aired on Disney XD from 2013-2017. It was about… well,
Rebels! Basically, the show’s about a group of the Rebel Alliance fighting
against the Empire a few years before Episode 4: A New Hope. We got two Jedi
(or 1 ½ Jedi),a Mandalorian, a Twilek,
a… thing that’s from Ralph MacQuarrie’s concepts (I don’t know what Zeb is!),
and a cussing droid making the Empire look like idiots.
While it took a while for me to take to the show, this was
pretty good. It does its best to introduce new characters and concepts while
being pretty familiar. I thought that the crew of The Ghost were pretty good.
Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) was an awesome character and is probably one
of the best Jedi put to screen. I also like Sabine Wren (Vanessa Marshall),
Hera Syndulla (Tiya Sircar), Zeb (Steve Blum!), and… I guess Ezra Bridger (Taylor
Gray). There was a reason it took me a while to like this show after all.
I’m surprised that I haven’t talked about these movies here.
While me and Liz were visiting some family, they were watching the latest Men
in Black movie, Men in Black International. I hadn’t made my way around to
seeing it yet especially since I knew it wasn’t received well. It turns out
that Liz hadn’t seen any of the MIB movies, so we had a bit of a project back
in March. All three of the original were on Netflix, so we were able to revisit
a bit of childhood nostalgia… well nostalgia for me. I’d seen all three movies
though I didn’t remember much of MIB3.
For those who don’t know, Men in Black was based on some
comics of the same name, so you can also throw Men in Black in the comic book
genre. They were done by Aircel Comics (which got bought out by Malibu Comics)
in the 90’s. The series revolves around a secret group of government agents who
interact different paranormal and extraterrestrial beings on Earth. They’re
either protecting them or making sure they stay in line and don’t go on murder
sprees. The movies just revolved around the alien stuff. The first movie was a
big success and even spawned a pretty cool animated series that I fondly
remember. It gets pretty spotty after that, but that’s how these franchises go.
So, what did I think of all four movies?
I didn’t realize that I had another one in me. Recently,
I’ve been looking at some of Peter Gabriel’s music. You wouldn’t think that a
37 year-old Black dude from the country would be into some Gabriel, but here
were are. I mean, I did do a post on Genesis and Phil Collins, alright? I lost my
“Awesome Black Dude” card years ago, and I don’t even know how I got it in the
first place! I also didn’t realize that did a quick post on his biggest hit
“Sledgehammer” years ago. Weird, huh?
Now, I’ve had his greatest hits album for a few years, and
for some reason, listening to “Red Rain” for the first time in years sparked
something in me. By the way, Stewart Copeland (the drummer from the Police) had
a part to play in the song, and I think that’s another reason I kept coming
back to it. I was scouring YouTube for some more hits I hadn’t heard before. I
ended up looking at some of the early music he did after he left Genesis back
in the 70’s and ran into a familiar tune, “I Don’t Remember.” Apparently,
Gabriel had more than a few versions of the song out there, and it does show up on the greatest hits album.
The song was ultimately was released on his third solo album in 1980. It got a
music video in 1982, and… well, there’s a reason there’s a post for it here.
So, what in the heck is up with this video?
That Bass – The first thing you hear is the bass from Tony
Levin who’s a great bass player. He’s mainly known for being the bass player
from King Crimson, another Prog Rock group from the 70’s. Here, he’s playing a
special instrument called the Chapman Stick which gives a pretty unique sound.
A Man in Search of Something – We got Gabriel in the video
in search for something. What it is, we don’t know, but my guess is a distant
memory. I mean, walking through disheveled places littered with pictures,
plasters of his face, and a crazed traveling dance group must mean something.
WEIRD WHITE FOLK – Yeah, if you’re feeling unsettled by the travelling dance crew from Arkham Asylum, you’re not the only one. This was weird. I don’t
know if they’re supposed to be demons, old memories taken form, or what. They kinda remind me of those aliens from Dark City. I
know that they do make the video cool and kinda unsettling. It feels
like Gabriel played with the box from Hellraiser, and these Cenobite wannabes
popped out!
Random Shamans – Yeah, what were the random shamans who use
blowdarts and sit in disheveled apartments gonna do? Apparently transform into
those white ghost/demon/alien things which is what happens to Gabriel towards the
end. We even get a nod to another music video he did during this time, “Shock
the Monkey.”
Overall, it’s a weird but good video. It also helps that the
song itself is pretty good. Somehow, Peter Gabriel also evoked that weird,
unsettling vibe to the album version of the song too. It kinda makes me want to
check out the rest of that album. I’ve heard a couple of more songs from it and
thought they were pretty good. Heck, since Gabriel’s released another album, I
might go on and do a true deep dive. Anywho, I’m outta here. Peace, God Bless,
and be careful out there. Also, make sure you don’t invite that traveling dance group from Wherever anytime soon. They'll either have sights to show you or want to whisk you away to their homeworld.
You know, I haven’t talked about any weird music videos for
years, so I might as well try to get back to that. This is called “Random
Thoughts,” after all. Besides, some of these need a talking!
In the last few
years, I’ve been trying to make my music catalog a little deeper. Thanks to
Pandora, I’ve been able to listen to more than just the popular songs from
certain groups. One of those groups was the funk/soul group, Cameo. Now, I only
really knew about Cameo from their biggest hits like “Word Up” and “Candy”.
What I didn’t know was that this group had quite a few hits under their belt.
They started in the 70’s with a big booming band akin to most funk groups from
that time. The changing music scene of the 80’s whittled that 14-member group
to about five guys, but the funk persisted!
Now, the group had some wild music videos. Heck, most
artists had some wild music videos in the 80’s. Today’s is no different. “Back
and Forth” was a modest hit off from their biggest album, Word Up! I picked
this because it goes into Weirdtown in the first second. Here are just some of
things you’ll come across here:
FLOATING CODPIECE – Seriously, the first thing you seen on
screen is Larry Blackmon’s red codpiece coming at you on screen! Yeah, it lets
you know to not take things seriously, but still, what the heck? It even makes
cameos (no pun intended) throughout the video swinging like a pendulum!
Sexy Dancing – If there’s one thing you’ll run into with
Cameo’s videos, it’ll be a bunch of attractive people dancing. Of course, you
got the women, but also get the men in on the action. Even some of the members
try to dance… just try. There’s reason they stick to just singing and playing
music. If you really want to see the band get down, check out one of their first videos, "Shake Your Pants."
Romance Troubles – The song’s message is pretty simple: love
is a battlefield… wait, wrong artist. Anyway, anyone who’s been in a
relationship knows that it can be a lot of “back and forth” between two lovers.
You end up seeing two members getting into spats with their pretty nimble
ladies and then going to the club for funsies.
Body builders? – Apparently, someone had a bit of muscle
fetish because we get a couple of body building men and women here. Even Larry
Blackmon tries to show off his chiseled-ness.
MILES DAVIS? – So, you’re wondering who the dude decked in
black staring deep into your soul is, well that’s the legendary jazz musician,
Miles Davis. It’s definitely one of the most random cameos ever. He did some collaborations
with the group, so I guess that’s why he’s here. Either way, Random! It also
doesn’t help that he looks like he might fight you in the corner of a dark
alley!
………………………………..
In the end, it’s just another weird music video for Cameo.
It’s not their best video or song, but it’s a good one. For me, their best song
is either “Word Up” or “Attack Me With Your Love”. Those videos are pretty wild
too. They have one that I may talk about one day because it is wild. Anyway, I’m
outta here. Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.
Also, don’t say Miles Davis’ name in a mirror five times in
a row, or you’ll be visited by him like he’s Candyman or something.
Well, as Timberland once said, “I shouldn’t have left you
without a dope beat to step to.” I’ve been on a bit of a sabbatical from the
blog. Heck, I was barely posting for
these last two years already. It’s not that I ran out of things to say. I just
went to other platforms to say or see them. I never forgot about ‘ole Blogger
though. There’s also the fact that I’m a family man these days. Things with Liz
and Andy are good, fun, and sometimes a bit tiresome, but that tiresome part
comes when you’re chasing a 19-month old around the house.
Another thing that took a lot of time from here was today’s
subject: Elden Ring. Back in August 2022, I thought I’d bite the bullet and see
what this Elden Ring game was all about. Well, it’s April of 2023, and I’ve put
about 238 hours into this one playthrough… no, I don’t have a problem! When
you’re married, have a toddler, have a job and other hobbies, you’d don’t get a
lot of time to game. Outside of a couple of other games, Elden Ring has been
the main game I’ve been on since that time. There were times where I wanted to
give up, but I just wanted to see it through to the final boss, and I’ve made
it there. Now, that final boss may stay unbeaten (this game was hard), but at
least I can say that I ran the race.
.gif)
.gif)
