Jamie Lee Curtis (the “HALLOWEEN” film series) and Leslie Nielsen (“THE NAKED GUN” film and TV series, FORBIDDEN PLANET) star in this celebrated “slasher” horror classic.
Four Hamilton High seniors are hiding a terrible secret. What happened to Robin Hammond six years ago was a game that turned into a horrible tragedy, and someone saw what they did… someone waiting for gruesome revenge! Wearing a black hood and wielding an axe, a killer brutally slaughters the teenagers one by one at their high school prom. As the spotlight falls on the newly crowned prom king and queen, the psychopath will show everyone his new favorite game to play…
Are you ready for a bloody night of “Disco Madness”? Synapse Films is proud to present PROM NIGHT in a beautiful new version, remastered and restored in 2K from the original 35mm camera negative with an all-new 5.1 surround mix.
10:26 Yeah, Imma Look Into Dat! Topic #1: What is your favorite acting role by a musician in a movie? (Inspired by the film, Chappie, featuring Die Antwoord.)
39:17 Dad’s Corner(ed)! Topic #2: How did you learn about puberty? (Oh, no.)
57:47 Hey, That’s Not Funny! Topic #3: Liberals/Conservatives: Pick one and tell us what they do that disgusts you? (Inspired by this study that shows how political viewpoints are heritable.)
1:16:48 What Did We Come to Know? Public Axis is an educational program and at the end, we always ask our guests and listeners, “What did you come to know?” Enlighten yourself.
Let your friends know about Public Axis on Facebook and Twitter and keep those Facebook comments coming at our Happy Campers group!
Hollywood trends usually come and go in waves. As of right now, we can assume that the Block-Buster money is gravitating towards the superhero films. The top grossing films this summer were from Marvel, particularly Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Eventually, everyone is going to get tired of the capes and super powered beings. That isn’t to say that it’s happening anytime soon (we’re writing this while waiting in line for Age of Ultron). However, we can bet that after the end of Marvel’s Phase 3, everyone will be completely burnt out.
So, what would be the dominating genre in the post-Super Hero decade? Well, put on your smoking jackets and pretentious hats, because we’re about to have a tickle and slap fight about it! Here are two theories on which genre wave will hit next…
I find your lack of faith disturbing…
Sci-Fi
Let’s wind the clock back about 20 years. If I were to tell you that a small rectangular device inside your pocket will be able to access more information than an entire college library, you would probably just call me silly and put me in a mental home. Today, we live in an age where we are constantly being streamlined with information in short bits. If we look at these short bits of information, we can detect a pattern in regards of what the media is advertising to the general public: new iPhones, Video Games, computers, cars, social networking, and a plethora of other gadgets. People are getting excited about a piece of technology, and they are willing to wait in line for a full day just to get it. It is within our culture’s enamor for technology, that drives the general audiences towards films that present them with what a future could look like, and how it looks like when it’s being blown up by lasers. Not just aesthetically, but politically and philosophically as well.
You said it yourself bitch… we’re the guardians of the galaxy.
However, it’s not just our love for technology and explosions that drive our interest towards sci-fi. Geek culture entering the mainstream has helped bring about this new age. Before, people were stigmatized if they liked comic-books past the age of 20, but now, comic book films are arguably one of the highest grossing genres. These comic-book films have dashes of sci-fi everywhere, from Iron Man’s futuristic mech-suit, to Thor saying magic and science is the same thing, the general audience has slowly been gaining more interest in a universe that is far more expansive than our own. However, I think the game changer happened this summer with Guardians of the Galaxy. If you were to take Guardians outside of the context of a Marvel film, what you get is a classic and fun Space Opera. It’s Star Wars, with a dash of Star Trek and Indiana Jones, but it has its own distinct personality. By the time Guardians of the Galaxy came along, we were all on board, and made it the highest grossing film of the summer. It is perhaps the film that reignited the flare of the Sci-Fi/Space Opera genre.
May the odds forever be in your favor
With all this talk about comic-books ushering in this new wave of sci-fi, I’m not saying that sci-fi wasn’t popular already. If we look at all the money that recent sci-fi movies have made, they are generally doing good business. Both the Star Trek reboots have done well, and were generally well received. In fact, the two films that are important to look at would be James Cameron’s Avatar and The Hunger Games. Both of these films have performed remarkably well, and have contrasting themes that are common in sci-fi: the fight for a utopia, and the revolt against a dystopia. Granted, they probably did well because of their special effects and spectacle, but I’ll do the pretentious college thing and say that “the popularity of these films may underline our culture’s anxiety of how the government is running the state.”
With that being said, this is nothing more than speculation, and with speculation comes multiple theories, so I will hand the keyboard off to Marcus Baker, to offer a different perspective on this issue!
Anime and Manga
Thanks Angelo! First off, I should say that I don’t believe the trend will ‘end’ because in a lot of ways, superhero movies are their own type of film now. Much like their source material, films like The Dark Knight and The Wolverine adopted the tropes of their genres (Crime and Samurai, respectively) and drew acclaim for tailoring their style to the genre. We see this all the time within the MCU, where all of the films take on a different tone and genre. And with every major studio scrambling to ‘Marvel-ize’ it’s comic book properties, we’ll likely see this kind of diversification throughout comic-based cinema.
♫ We’re in the money! ♫
With 31 superhero movies set to open up at the box office between now and 2020, there’s almost certain to be a saturation point. Just as the beefy action heroes of the 80’s gave way to the John McClane, flying-by-the-seat-of-his-pants action heroes of the 90’s, at a certain point, the movie going public will simply tire of seeing Bruce Wayne’s parents die or watching Captain America struggle with the corruption of American ideals. Yes, you can drench a movie in new tropes, but ultimately, you’re still watching the same character commit many of the same actions (Bond films have a different mechanism for dealing with this, but that’s beside the point). This wave of films that’s been building over the past 15 years is starting to crest, just as every studio is trying to surf it.
There’s no use in hiding…
When it crashes though, something will have to take it’s place. And while I can’t rightly say I know what that will be, I have my speculations. Just as the American box office is dying away, foreign audiences are becoming more and more crucial to a film’s box office success. And with the Asian market growing quickest, I believe it won’t be long before we start to see prominent Manga and Anime become Hollywood’s next big cash cow. Similar to how Die Hard shifted the action landscape, all it will take is a flash in the pan to start the gold rush. We’ve seen Hollywood’ attempts to get a live action Akira off the ground, and there’s long been talk of James Cameron adapting Battle Angel for years. I think if an anime-based film became a box office juggernaut, then the studios would surely shift to accommodate that. They go where the money goes, and if the money is in the Asian market, they will cater to them.
But where does that leave superhero movies? I can’t really say. I will say that I’ll be sad when the genre eventually does peter out. Over the past 15 years, we’ve seen some truly inspired films come out of the movement, and some fantastic filmmakers have come to prominence as well (the cult of Nolan was practically built on it). Though some other type of film will surely flood the market, I don’t think comic book films will ever never truly be gone from theaters. As with comics, they will grow, change and ultimately come back stronger than before. That’s what the movies taught me, anyway.
Well, there you have it! Of course, we good be wrong in our speculations, but that’s where you come in! What say you Ussians?! Comment below and discuss with the Us!
Let’s hop into the Wayback Machine here folks (my dog and Mr. Peabody are good friends, so I got to borrow it) and I want to take you back to just a little over a year ago, the tail end of September in fact, when a new show first graced our screens. That show was Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it was… meh.
The show had a huge hype train behind it as it was going to be tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Plus, it was going to see the return of a fan favorite character thought killed off, Agent Phil Coulson, played by the remarkably talented Clark Gregg. Gregg of course slipped right back into Coulson without skipping a beat, but he was surrounded by a bunch of stock characters nobody gave a crap about.
Agent Coulson and… these other people!
So the first few episodes roll out and it seems like we have an understanding of how the show works: 1. Coulson and Co. are ordered to find a dangerously powerful person or thing and 2. they find said person or thing that may or may not have some tangential connection to the MCU while beating up a bad guy or two along the way. Wash, rinse, repeat. It wasn’t a bad plan nor was it a bad show, it was however a bit too predictable and lacking in its own identity.
Then there was this little known movie, what was it called again?
Oh yeah, that one.
Cap ended up not only blowing up the box office, but the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. went with it! I remember sitting in the theater almost choking on my popcorn as I watched the flick. Didn’t Marvel have this whole TV Show dedicated to S.H.I.E.L.D.?! Now what the hell were they going to do?! Their answer was to fully commit to what had happened in the movie and watch as our agents scrambled around as their entire organization dissolved in front of their eyes at the hands of Hydra. Bodies started dropping, tying up loose ends and potential plot lines that didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Even a member of Coulson’s team turned out to be a plant with deadly motives of his own.
People debate how much was planned out and how much was the showrunners scrambling to rework the show to address audience concerns, but all agree that the rise of Hydra injected new life into the series. Like Coulson, the show was back from the dead, and it now had drive, purpose and teeth. Suddenly, our once seemingly invincible team had their backs to the wall, unsure what to do, and just trying to avoid being arrested or killed on sight. Without Coulson’s unwavering dedication to his job (his vocation in life), the team would have fallen apart. The end of the season would see Nick Fury leave the rebuilding of S.H.I.E.L.D. to the one person he felt would do it right this time, Agent Coulson.
Paid the cost to be the boss, Coulson and HIS Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Speaking of the other agents, the rise of Hydra gave them the one thing they needed desperately, their own personalities. Fighting for their very survival we got to see deeper into what made May, Skye, Fitz, Simmons, and even Ward tick. They became people instead of just characters occupying positions on some TV show checklist and we found a reason to give a damn about them.
This fall saw season two start and the show hit the ground running. Coulson is slowly rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D., but with the world’s governments and Hydra still after them, its dark days full of desperate gambles and deals with devils. Phil’s on a whole other level now and it is exciting to see what lengths he’ll go to to keep the organization he loves so much alive.
Coulson’s core team continues to grow and adapt to their new situations causing loads of character growth as you see characters in positions and having to perform actions you never thought you see them do. It’s refreshing to see because no character is getting painted into a box as being only one thing, a thing that can happen quite often in ensemble cast dramas. The new editions to the team fit right in and thankfully add to the show instead of diluting it.
Adrianne Palicki, you make a way better Marvel than you did a DC
So, for those who checked out early on the first season I suggest giving the show a second chance. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find. For those who’ve avoided the show outright, what are you waiting for?! There is this cool spy/sci-fi action show out there right now for your enjoyment. It is full of fun,wit and charm, and you my friend are missing out. Do something about that.
When you host a political satire TV series, sometimes the audience is on board and sometimes they’re not. Oh, and apparently sometimes your obviously satirical interviews land legitimate journalists in Iranian prisons.
Jon Stewart, of The Daily Show, makes his directorial debut with this biopic account of reporter Maziar Bahari, who spent several months incarcerated by the Iranian government for capturing evidence of corruption with his camera. Government officials used an appearance on The Daily Show as trumped-up evidence that Bahari was a spy for the west.
Brian, Chris, and Ed, who are all absolutely spies for the west, come together to bathe themselves in Rosewater. Would the film be revolutionary? What would be their final verdict? Fortunately, you won’t have to wait 118 days to find out! Just press play on this Highly Suspect Review!
Earlier this year, I tried to sit down and think of 30 things I wanted to accomplish by the time I turned 30. This was actually a much harder task than I had initially thought it would be. Luckily, some things that were already planned for this year could be used such as going to Brazil, or seeing a World Cup game live. Other things, such as finishing the novel I’ve been working on in my free time (which I don’t have), I was just trying to put a deadline on. Eventually the list made it to about 12 things before I set it aside and ended up too busy to revisit it.
Well, last week, I turned 30, and apart from the fact that it’s a hell of a lot harder than the last time to get back in marathon shape, so far I haven’t seen much difference. I’m still too busy for my own good, spend way too much time thinking of new ways to teach students about quadratic equations when they still use their fingers to add, and basically wondering what I’ll do when I grow up. So of course, it’s a little depressing when I’m planning my month and trying to find a smidge of time to go see Mockingjay when it comes out to find that Jennifer Lawrence is only 24 and kicking my ass at life. Although, that said, I’m happy for her. I like her. She’s funny and witty, unlike some of those other 24 year old stars who probably still use their fingers to add.
Still, at 30 I thought I’d be a bit more grown up, mature, cultural; Not that spending the Saturday night before my 30th at home with Fern dining on pizza delivery and Mountain Dew while watching the Avengers again isn’t cultural. It totally is. But still, I decided to give myself a boost by doing a bit of research. As I started, I realized that there are tons of men who make a name for themselves later on in life: Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, Dustin Hoffman, Dr. Seuss, Stan Lee. The list goes on and on, but the women I found who became stars after 30 gave me great hope–Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe winners (Kathy Bates, Jane Lynch, Lucille Ball), media moguls (Oprah), globally known artists (Vera Wang, Julia Child), and some of the best comediennes of recent years (Melissa McCarthy, Jenna Fischer, Kirsten Wiig)–but there were three that were like beacons to me and my crazy, off-the-wall dreams: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and J.K. Rowling.
I love these women. One of my presents that I received for my birthday was Poehler’s new book Yes, Please. They are everything I strive to be as I stand in front of middle school girls everyday who worrying more about how tight their pants are rather than how to pass a class. They’re smart, funny, talented, and damn it, I want to hang out with them. (So Amy, Tina, Jo–if this gets to you, call me. We’ll grab a beer.) The best part about what I found was that each of them didn’t even begin to make their marks on their field until after they turned 30, and look at what they’ve accomplished since then!
I definitely walked away with a renewed sense of hope about anything I want to do, and who the hell cares if I didn’t cross it all off my list before I hit 30. I’m still well on my way to achieving what I want to, and age is just a number.
Greatness abounds in this episode of Digital Noise. That’s not to say that all the titles are great, even as Brian and Richard sift through a higher-than-usual number of recent theatrical offerings. However, there are a few outstanding gems among the rough, and even the worst titles make for some hilarious and, at times, highly inappropriate banter.
Richard and Brian desolate Smaug, crash Planes, and get all up in the latest Step Up movie. They also whack poetic about The Sopranos Complete Series box set. Top that off with an amazing documentary giveaway and you’ve got yourself one epic episode.
Oh, and you won’t believe what the guys unanimously choose as their pick of the week! I mean, you can probably believe it, but you shouldn’t have to.
Please use our Amazon links here below for all your online shopping needs! We really appreciate it!
2) Tweet at us with the answer to this hypothetical: Imagine every movie you’ve ever seen is based on a true story. Choose one movie character and tell us what the documentary of that character’s real story would be called. (Example: Candy Creeper: The Willy Wonka Story).
3) Add #DogGiveaway
4) We’ll select our favorite answer and contact that winner via Twitter (open to U.S. residents only).
Purportedly, Dumb & Dumber To is a comedy sequel…so why did it make us so sad? The Unusual Suspects hope that despite their apparent creative bankruptcy, the Farrelly Brothers can show them the funny with this followup to their 1994 hit.
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are back as Lloyd and Harry on a new adventure through the valley of the lowest common denominator.
Will Brian, Chris, J.C., and our newest reviewer Diva Del Mar be able to mine some enjoyment from this seemingly unnecessary sequel? Listen to this Highly Suspect Review and find out!
On January 4th 2015, Global Force Wrestling will be hosting New Japan Pro Wrestling’s ‘Wrestle Kingdom IX’ live on pay-per-view. An event of this magnitude deserves, no, requires only the very best at commentary. No one could have guessed that the man whom Global Force Wrestling CEO and founder, Jeff Jarrett, would secure to call the action would be WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross.
“When you think of the great events in wrestling over the past 30 years one of the things they have in common is the man behind the microphone. And that man is Jim Ross,” said Jarrett, who had been working feverishly for close to two months to secure ‘good ol’ J.R.
Ross has been an industry mainstay since he first started doing play-by-play for NWA Mid-South, working for several years with the company, even as the company aligned with Jim Crockett Promotions, then becoming NWA World Championship Wrestling and stayed with them in the early years of WCW breaking off from the National Wrestling Alliance. In 1993, Ross was hired by the then World Wrestling Federation and has enjoyed a prolific, if tumultuous, career there until his release in September 2013.
“I am truly honored and excited to have been asked to be a part of this historic event,” said Ross. “To be able to return to my roots and to provide play by play for an amazing, pro wrestling product will be special. I never thought I’d ever return to ringside for a wrestling event but this opportunity was just too special to turn down.”
Wrestle Kingdom IX will come to you live from the Tokyo Dome on pay-per-view and will be available on Verizon Fios, Comcast, U-Verse and DirecTV.
Personally speaking, Jim Ross could be calling a high school wrestling bout and he will make that bout a show for the ages. Jarrett couldn’t have made a better move for Wrestle Kingdom IX as far as presentation is concerned. Here’s hoping this leads to J.R. getting the itch to want to return to full time commentary.
