Monday, August 19, 2019

#RiffTrax Live – Invasion of the Giant Spiders, Top 15 #MST3K Episodes, Missing Link Review, and Ninja News

I have a post at the IWSG site today - Ten Ways to Support Other Authors.
Please check it out!


RiffTrax: Live – Invasion of the Giant Spiders

Another great show!

First there was a 60’s short with marionettes about phone lines and etiquette. The main marionette’s name was Handy, so the jokes took a bit of a dirty turn.

Then came the main feature, staring Alan Hale from Gilligan’s Island. And yes, his very first line was ‘Hey, little buddy!’

The story of a meteor crashing, creating a black hole, and releasing spiders from another dimension as barely thought out. (The giant spider was a VW with legs!) However, that just gave the guys full reign to make fun of its Wisconsin location and scream ‘Packers!’ often.

At one point, Alan Hale (as the sheriff who never left his office) got a phone call, and Mike said ‘You want me to bend over at a forty-five degree angle?’ It continued, but the funniest part was Bill and Kevin both cracking up at Mike’s deadpan delivery.

This was originally a Mystery Science Theater 3000 movie and props to the guys for not repeating any jokes.

Overall hilarious and the only way to watch the film! If you missed it, the encore is August 20.

Now enjoy some of the preshow slides:


Top Fifteen Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episodes

Why fifteen? Because there were too many for ten!

Spanning almost thirty years and three hosts, here are the funniest MST3K episodes ever:

#15 – Lost Continent – Rock climbing, guys, rock climbing…
#14 – Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders – Stories about artifacts taken from Merlin’s shop, or as I like to call it – ‘Ernest Borgnine Has Bills to Pay’
#13 – Space Mutiny – So bad, they did it twice - it was also a RiffTrax: Live
#12 – Cry Wilderness - The touching story of a boy and his Sasquatch
#11 – Laserblast – one alien weapon, one rock embedded in a goofy kid’s chest, and one Roddy McDowall gleefully going off a cliff to avoid being in the rest of the movie…

#10 – The Creeping Terror – Victims actually have to crawl into its mouth to be eaten. And watch out for the band number – it’ll be stuck in your brain forever.
#9 – Mac and Me – You’ll believe a boy in a wheelchair can fly – and roll down a hill and off a cliff.
#8 – Pod People – Watch Trumpy do stupid things!

#7 – Prince of Space – aka, Attack of the Chicken People.
#6 – Wild Rebels – bikers, drugs, the 60’s, and Ross Hagan – Google him! He did a lot of bad, bad movies.
#5 – Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues – No one puts Boggy Creek Baby in a corner!
#4 – Time of the Apes – no one stays long in Johnny’s world – would you?
#3 – Cave Dwellers – It’s got O’Keefe. How much? Miles…
#2 – Parts: The Clonus Horror – Hi, I’m Peter Graves. Tonight on Biography – I star in a really bad film about clones.

And the number one MST3K episode – 

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster 

Now shag on out there beanie-boy and fix that whoop-whoop noise!


Honorable mention goes to The Phantom Planet and Invasion of the Neptune Men.


How many of those episodes have you seen? (How many of the films have you had the misfortune of seeing without MST3K’s help?) Many are available on DVD, from NetFlix and Amazon, from the MST3K site, and on the MST3K Pluto TV channel. Sadly, you won’t be able to find Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster as they only leased it for five years. Unless you find someone like me who recorded almost every episode and now has them all on DVD!


Movie Review

Missing Link
A British ‘big and unusual game hunter’ travels to the USA to find Sasquatch.
First, I do want to note that the stop motion is amazing. There is also some computer animation blended in the background, and it all looks incredible.
However, the story was rather blah. Plus it was a very uneven film, with sprinkles of humor spread way too thin. It went for cheap, easy laughs. And missed. You want to see a movie about Yeti, go watch Smallfoot instead.
I’m not sure what the message of the film even was. Your dreams will be dashed – just be happy where you are? That’s what I got out of it anyway.
It was made by the studio that brought us Kobo and the Two Strings, which is a far superior film. Kobo was much more expressive, moving, and a complete story.
Unless you just really have to hear Hugh Jackman’s voice (also includes Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Thompson, David Walliams, Timothy Olyphant, and Stephen Fry), I’d skip this one.
Not recommended

Ninja News

Just two weeks left to enter the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Annual Anthology Contest!
Genre is middle grade historical – either adventure or fantasy – and the theme is voyagers.
See the site for full details.

The WEP Challenge for August is Red Wheelbarrow.
Post your entry this week and then add you link to the WEP site.










Anyone else catch the RiffTrax show? What are your favorite MST3K episodes? Seen Missing Link? And are you entering the IWSG Anthology Contest or WEP competition?

See you all September 4 for the next IWSG post day – and the deadline for entering the contest!

And be sure to check out Ten Ways to Support Other Authors.

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Insecure Writer’s Support Group, Hobbs and Shaw Review, August Movie Preview, and Lots of News

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.


My awesome co-hosts today are Renee Scattergood, Sadira Stone, Jacqui Murray, Tamara Narayan, and LG Keltner!

August 7 question - Has your writing ever taken you by surprise? For example, a positive and belated response to a submission you'd forgotten about or an ending you never saw coming?

This whole author thing in general I never saw coming.

But having a couple of my books hit the top of science fiction on both Amazon US and UK definitely took me by surprise!

Plus all the support when I got online surprised me.

What’s surprised you?


And quick report – I did get a lot written last month!

Don’t forget, only one month left to enter the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Annual Anthology Contest!
Genre is middle grade historical – either adventure or fantasy – and the theme is voyagers.
See the site for full details.






Here is August’s IWSG Instagram:
 


The WEP Challenge for August is Red Wheelbarrow.
Use the time between now and then to write and edit your entry, so you're ready to post your direct link at the WEP site between August 21 - 23.









Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw – Movie Review

It continues the story with Hobbs and Shaw working together to find a deadly virus.
You know what you’re going to get with this franchise. If you’re a fan, you’ll enjoy it. If not, skip it.
I’m capable of leaving my brain at the door and just enjoying the crazy stunts and ridiculous, over-the-top action sequences. And those bat-crap crazy moments are spectacular.
The interaction between the leads is filled with funny insults and snarky comments. Toss in Ryan Reynolds (playing himself so well) and Kevin Hart and it’s funny from start to end. Idris Elba is a convincing and ruthless villain, and Vanessa Kirby is a kick-ass heroine.
As with the rest of the franchise, it’s all about family bonds.
And lots of wild car stunts.
Highly recommended.


New Releases!

Peel by Angela Brown
Published by Book Jaunts
Find it on Amazon and several other sites

Fractured Princess by Debra Renee Byrd
Available on Amazon in paperback eBook

Emergency Transmission by Sean McLachlan
Fourth book in the Toxic World series
Find it on Amazon








August Movie Preview

Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for August! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

9 –

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
A group of teens face their fears in order to save their lives.
Director: André Øvredal
Stars: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Dean Norris
PG-13 – they might actually have to rely on scares rather than gore.





16 –

47 Meters Down: Uncaged
Four teen girls diving in a ruined underwater city quickly learn they've entered the territory of the deadliest shark species in the claustrophobic labyrinth of submerged caves.
Director: Johannes Roberts
Stars: Nia Long, John Corbett, Sophie Nélisse, Brec Bassinger
Because there were so many unanswered questions from the first film…



23 –

Angel Has Fallen
Secret Service Agent Mike Banning is framed for the attempted assassination of the President and must evade his own agency and the FBI as he tries to uncover the real threat.
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Stars: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Piper Perabo, Lance Reddick
How many things can fall in one guy’s lifetime?



Anything about your writing surprise you? Catch Hobbs and Shaw yet? Entering the IWSG Anthology Contest? (Less than a month!) Writing for WEP? And what movies will you be seeing this month?

My next post will be August 19 when I report on the final RiffTrax of the summer - The Giant Spider Invasion!