My name is MICHAEL F. HOUSEL, author of THE HYDE SEED; THE PERSONA TRILOGY; and MARK JUSTICE'S THE DEAD SHERIFF #4: PURITY. My short fiction is featured in THE PURPLE SCAR #4; RAVENWOOD, STEPSON OF MYSTERY #4 & #5; and THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE #2 & #3. My additional works can be found in Eighth Tower's DARK FICTION series and Main Enterprises' WHATEVER!; PULP FAN; MAKE MINE MONSTERS; SCI-FI SHALL NOT DIE; THE SCREENING ROOM; *PPFSZT!; and TALES FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY.
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Saturday, June 28, 2025
MR. LOBO'S CINEMA INSOMNIA: A HARD DAY'S NIGHTMARE, THIS SATURDAY
Thursday, June 26, 2025
R.I.P. LALO SCHIFRIN
You music moved generations, making the greatest films even greater.
Your Mission: Impossible theme is one of the best that ever was or will be, and your other small-screen contributions aren't too shabby, either, which include Mannix; Planet of the Apes; Starsky and Hutch; Medical Center; Glitter; Most Wanted; Chicago Story; and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
For the big screen, you went over and beyond the call of duty with Cool Hand Luke; Bullitt; The Cincinnati Kid; Enter the Dragon; The Four Musketeers; Che!; THX 1138; The Amityville Horror; Amityville II: The Possession; Dark Intruder; Rollercoaster; The Sting II; The Competition; Voyage of the Damned; After Sunset; Bringing Down the House; The Fox; Where Angles Go, Trouble Follows; Black Moon Rising; the Rush Hour trilogy; The Eagle Has Landed; Kelly's Heroes; Joe Kidd; Coogan's Bluff; The Beguiled; and the Dirty Harry franchise.
Your varied music came across as jazzy, tension-wrought, innocent and seasoned, with each excellent example linked to their source, but independent at the same time. You were amazing and spellbinding, Mr. Schifrin, and your works will take their place among the most influential of all time.
I SAW M3GAN 2.0
It was only a matter of time before the synthetic, little darling, M3GAN, resurfaced on the big screen. M3GAN 2.0, which reunites the first film's director, Gerard (Housebound) Johnstone and his cowriter Akela (Malignant) Cooper (prompted by suggestions from filmmaker James [Aquaman/The Monkey] Wan), is the anticipated result: a movie that takes it's titular character's formidable abilities to higher heights.
And to accentuate the point, M3GAN, a "model 3 generative android" (played by Amie Donald and Jenna Davis), is a tad taller: the increase being her request when she agrees to have her consciousness transferred to a new shell. Prior to such, her mind exists in a toy-like body that projects a cartoon face: nice and cute on the surface, but that doesn't mean the restriction is safe and secure.
The reason for M3GAN's risky resurrection is to pit her against a counterpart, AMEILIA, an "autonomous military engagement, logistics and infiltration android" (played by Ivanna Sakhno), built as a defense weapon, culled from M3GAN's hacked programming. AMIELIA isn't an obedient soldier, and once she runs amok, M3GAN acts as an opposing force, much to the dismay and direction of the previous movie's resumed leads, Allison Williams' Gemma (M3GAN's designer), who's now dabbling in cyborg tech, and Gemma's niece, Violet McGraw's Cady, who's since acquired martial-arts skills on a par with Steve Seagal's. (Jemaine Clement portrays a corporate maverick who wants Gemma under his thumb; Tim Sharp is a F.B.I. guy who suspects the worst; and Brian Jordan Alverez, Jen Van Epps and Aristotle Athari are Gemma's in-touch colleagues.)
The robot-vs-robot lead-up references other uncanny, movie melees (e.g. those of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman/King Kong vs Godzilla/Freddy vs Jason/Alien vs Predator), but the novelty isn't merely a matter of favoring the lesser of two evils, due to M3GAN's ambivalent tendencies.
Watching the adversarial robots prance and, in M3GAN's case, dance, is a major highlight, but with that comes an obvious need to surpass the original.
The first film's dry wit (mixed with its gruesome killings) felt organic, and thanks to its clever subtleties, it was the type of movie one appreciated more with repeated viewings. For M3GAN 2.0, the approach feels way more layered. It's a crutch that's plagued other imagi-sequels, including Child's Play 2, Bride of Re-animator and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, where there's the constant push to surprise, making the scenarios, in particular the humorous ones, feel superfluous. (As part of its supplemental ingredients, M3GAN 2.0 alludes to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and therefore the Star Trek episode, "The Changeling," Metropolis, Terminator, Alita: Battle Angel and believe it or not, Austin Powers, when it comes to its amusing espionage: a bulky blend, indeed.)
Because of its overreach, I can't say that M3GAN 2.0 is superior to its predecessor (it's no Bride of Frankenstein, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Aliens or Dawn of the Dead), but I'd be remiss if I said it wasn't worth one's time. To a respectable extent, it still entertains (while never daring to be a virtual emulation, like Friday the 13th Part 2 or Return of the Living Dead Part II), doing a decent job of setting up audiences for M3GAN 3.0, which as long as this one draws a decent dollar, appears inevitable.
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
SO LONG, JACK BETTS (AKA HUNT POWERS)
You occupied every cinematic corner (often under the virile moniker, Hunt Powers), having become one of the world's most prolific performers.
Just look at your vast, television credits: Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Man Who Never Was, 12 O'Clock High, The F.B.I., It Takes a Thief, One Life to Live, General Hospital, Search for Tomorrow, The Young and the Restless, All My Children, The Guiding Light, Falcon Crest, Generations, Remington Steele, The Detectives, Kojak, Monk, Mike Hammer Private Eye, Perry Mason, Checkmate, The Doctors, In the Heat of the Night, Sisters, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, My Name Is Earl, Friends, MADtv, Zoey 101, Sisters, The United States Steel Hour, The DuPont Show of the Month, Deadly Game, The District, The Unit, The Mentalist and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.
And you excelled yet again for the big screen with Sugar Colt, A Barrel (Coffin) Full of Dollars, A Fistful of Death (Ballad of Django), Dead Men Don't Make Shadows (Hallelujah for Django), One Damned Day at Dawn ... Django Meets Sartana, Django and Sartana are Coming ... It's the End, Down with Your Hands ... You Scum!, He Was Called the Holy Ghost, Rum Runners, Sinatra, Bye Bye Monkey, Mockingbird Don't Sing, The Next Best Thing, Just My Imagination, About Last Night, True Rights, Critical Mass, Running Mates, The Assassination of Trotsky, Falling Down, 8 MM, Office Space, Silver Skies, The Bloody Brood, D-Railed, Gods and Monsters, The Chair, Spiderman 2002, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. (Also, we mustn't forget that you played Dr. Seward in Broadway's Dracula, and if but for a brief but important spree, stood in for Raul Julia's Count.)
It's actors of your caliber (well rounded and diverse) who make cinematic scenes click. You did so time and again, Mr. Betts, giving us visions that were bleak and bright and (for the long, historic haul) pleasingly venturesome.