Wrestling With Horror News

Here's some update for my blog, bingo! (Please don't sue me, Libby.)

I went to the Marion County Fair last night with the usual suspects, and it was quite an experience. I mainly went to see the wrestling they were having, but it just wasn't very interesting. The only real highlights were one wrestler throwing a fireball at another, and Tracey Smothers spending more time threatening the crowd than wrestling. And apparently, somebody thought it was a good idea to bring WCW's old International World Title out of mothballs, because Smothers had his own version of the Big Gold Belt (y'know, the one currently held by Chris Benoit) and was claiming that as an "international star," he was recognized as the International World Champion. So Freddie Joe Floyd is world title material? If some two-bit indy promotion called their title a "world title," then I could see it. However, I think the "International World Title" thing was just so Smothers could get some "I'm a big shot because I've worked for WWE, WCW, and ECW" heel heat, since they never specified what promotion that he was the champion of. And calling a title the International World Title is kinda redundant. Wouldn't the fact that it's a world title make it an international title?

Anyway, after the wrestling, I talked Mo (the aforementioned "usual suspects") into getting on a ride. It may be called something different in your town, but the ride was the kind that spins around and pins you to the side. After it was over, Mo ended up getting me to ride it again. And wouldn't you know it, I ended up feeling like everything inside was gonna end up outside. Know what I mean? After getting off the ride, I was a tad on the nauseous side and I also noticed that my wallet was missing too. Turns out it had fallen out of my pocket when I turned myself upside-down on the first ride, and it had went behind the ride's seats. I told the guys working the ride my predicament, and the wallet was lost and found in less than twenty minutes. I got lucky. And good for me, I'm finally starting to get over my nausea.

I haven't done this in a while, but I figure I'll do a little Horror Movie News now.

Story #1: Pro wrestler "Diamond" Dallas Page has been confirmed as a cast member for The Devil's Rejects.

Story #2: Apparently, a new trailer for Exorcist: The Beginning was deemed "too scary for all audiences" by the MPAA. It's a freaking horror movie, it's supposed to be scary! If it's not for all audiences, then make it a red-band trailer and slap it in front of an R-rated movie. This is so stupid. I can watch the evening news and hear about how some American was decapitated by a bunch of Iraqi soldiers and a suicide bomber blew up a bunch of people, but I'm not allowed see a movie trailer.

Story #3: There's a rumor floating around that George Romero's Dead Reckoning (the fourth chapter of his "Trilogy of the Living Dead") has gotten financing and may begin production in October. I'm sure the success of the Dawn of the Dead remake helped. But regardless of the Dawn remake, this is really good. However, I doubt most newer horror fans will go for Romero's slow zombies after being exposed to the super-fast zombies from 28 Days Later and the remake of Dawn.

This is all I have for today. Sutton out.

Things And Stuff

Yo.

Everybody's been celebrating their blog anniversaries lately. That's just dandy, but I have to wait until November to celebrate the three-year anniversary of this here blog. Three years. This blog's the grandfather of the Blog Nation, folks. I've got tenure.

Two new movies in the "Blatant Movie Shilling" segment. Advertised is the documentary Michael Moore Hates America, and Sarah Michelle Gellar's The Grudge (a remake of the Japanese ghost story Ju-On).

That Wayans brothers movie White Chicks just looks awful. I just don't see any humor in two black guys pretending to be white women. I have nothing against crossdressers, but come on. Sorority Boys sucked, and so will White Chicks.

I want to injure the guys behind the Truth anti-smoking commercials, or at least paint a giant Marlboro logo on the door of their offices. These ads are so annoying. I hate smoking, but I hate the commercials too.

Didn't get to the wrestling show in Alton last night, but it's okay. I got to see the OVW TV show. I hear Kris didn't know what OVW was, but has been informed. Now she knows, and knowing is half the battle. :)

Mike's comments don't work, but there's always The Atoll!

You know, I just realized I haven't done a full-fledged movie review in a while. The three Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels and Ginger Snaps 2, however, are ones I want to get around to sometime. The truth is I have a lot of movies I'd like to review sometime, but I haven't been in much of a reviewing mood lately. If you're a fan of my reviews, I apologize for the lack of new ones. Sorry.

WWE ran it's Great American Bash pay-per-view, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield won the WWE title. Freaking Bradshaw now holds the title previously held by guys like Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Bret Hart. Color me crazy, but that just doesn't sound right. You know, Bradshaw actually wouldn't be so bad if he didn't do Nazi salutes and make fun of Mexicans. I mean, he just comes off as a racist version of J.R. Ewing. If Bradshaw wants to be Ted DiBiase 2004, then he should watch tapes of Ted DiBiase 1988. DiBiase didn't have to resort to racism to get heel heat. But then again, DiBiase's a preacher, and I doubt that sort of thing would fly with the congregation.

That's all I've got to say for today, dear readers. Sutton out.

Freakin' Chuck Norris.

Egads, yesterday was a long day. I caught a 12:15 showing of Dodgeball with Mo, and it's really funny. They make you think Vince Vaughn is the star, but it's all about Ben Stiller. He carries the whole thing. I give it three and a half stars for being great, despite lacking in some parts. And having David Hasslehoff as the coach of the German team is inspired casting. If Norm McDonald has taught us anything, it's that Germans love David Hasslehoff. Anyway, I ended up crashing at Mo's house for the night, and we watched Scary Movie 3. Having never seen it before, I thought that it was funny, even though it was all over the place. I give it three stars.

Quick horror news: According to Variety, a sequel to 28 Days Later is in the works, tentatively titled 28 Weeks Later. It'll be produced by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (who directed and wrote 28 Days Later, respectively), and Rowan Jaffe is in talks to write it. Meanwhile, Fangoria has learned that Universal's Monster Collection will be expanding in the near future. The Creature From The Black Lagoon movies, the Mummy movies (the old Boris Karloff ones, not the Brendan Fraser ones), and the Invisible Man movies will all be released on DVD on October 5. Start saving your pennies, monster movie fans (that means you, Libby).

VH1 makes me happy. They played the entirety of Morris Day's new live album ("It's About Time") last night. The album comes out on June 22, and as I've said in the past, Morris Day and The Time freaking rule.

I have nothing else to discuss at the moment, so I'm ending this one here. Sutton out.

Not All Pro Wrestling Is Great

Hello, dear readers. I can't really think of any particular topic to discuss, so I'll just wing it. But Kris is home, so I'll start by saying welcome back. :)

Very quick horror movie news: Ryan Reynolds (who you may remember as the title character in Van Wilder) has been cast in the remake of The Amityville Horror.

I caught OVW's TV show last night, and it looks like they'll be doing a show in Springfield on July 10th. This is pretty rockin', especially considering Springfield is maybe a 10-minute drive from here. Man, I think I'm gonna end up overdosing on indy wrestling. The indy promotion in Alton I usually go to has a show on the 26th, and another indy promotion is doing a show at the Marion County Fair on the 28th.

But indy wrestling isn't always fun. I went to a show a few years ago (back in 1999, I believe), and there was a good 15 or 20 minute gap in between each match. They weren't intermissions, there was just nothing going on. It eventually got to the point where people just started chanting "refund" and "we want wrestling." The announcer didn't even have a bell to ring until the second match, when he realized he left it in the trunk of his car. The whole show was just so sad and pathetic, and to top it off, the main event ended in a lame double-countout. Thank God there's no tape of it, so nobody will have to be subjected to that crapfest again.

I don't really have anything else to say, so I'm cutting this off here. Sutton out.

I Absolutely Love Movies

Hey look, an update.

I actually have some good DVD news. TVShowsOnDVD.com reports that Pee Wee's Playhouse will be released sometime this fall (possibly November) in two volumes, with a limited edition of the entire show (featuring commentary from Paul Reubens, and loads of Pee Wee related stuff from his archives) possibly being released in 2005. I loved Pee Wee Herman when I was a kid, and the DVDs are going to be definate pick-ups for me.

Also in DVD news: the R-rated and unrated versions of the Dawn of the Dead remake will be available October 5. I'll probably end up buying both, just so I can compare and contrast. They could have done what New Line did with Jason Goes To Hell and put both versions on one set, but eh, I'll take what I can get. That multi-disc set of the original Dawn of the Dead will be released on September 7. It'll be four discs, with the original theatrical cut on one (that disc will be identical to the one that came out when the remake hit theaters), the extended "director's cut" on another, Dario Argento's European cut on the third, and Document of the Dead (a feature-length documentary filmed on the set of Dawn of the Dead) and other behind-the-scenes stuff on the fourth. Meanwhile, Kill Bill 2 will be released August 10, Walking Tall will be released September 28, and Warner Brothers will be releasing a 20th anniversary DVD of Purple Rain. I'm gonna have to get that Purple Rain DVD just for the "Jungle Love" music video that's supposed to be on it. You cannot say anything bad about The Time. That is not allowed.

I've also read that Columbia is releasing a 20th anniversary DVD of Ghostbusters in October. I already have the 15th anniversary DVD (it was the first DVD I ever bought, actually), so unless there's something on there that really grabs my attention, like a full cast commentary or the Ray Parker music video or something like that, I doubt I'll pick it up. The weird thing is that I was actually thinking about Ghostbusters getting a 20th anniversary DVD a few days ago. Too bad New Line already did the Nightmare on Elm Street box set, because that series could always get the 20th anniversary special treatment as well.

In other news, CBS and New Line have announced plans to do a reality show called Nightmare on Elm Street: Real Nightmares. CBS has ordered six episodes of the show, to be hosted by Robert Englund (without the Freddy makeup). At the start of each episode, participants will reveal their worst nightmare, and a visual effcts team will create it. The participants willthen have the opportunity to face their fear. So basically, the show is like a cross between Scare Tactics and Fear Factor.

I'm watching the original Rocky on AMC right now, and it made me remember some of the fun moments I had in college. Rocky IV was popular among the guys in the dorm that I hung out with. We'd often get into long, drawn-out discussions over the difference in Rocky and Ivan Drago's training. Drago spent all his time in a lab running on a treadmill and punching stuff, while Rocky pulled Paulie on a horse carriage and climbed a mountain. We just knew that Rocky was gonna kill the guy because of one reason: he climbed that mountain. See, the mountain wasn't just part of his training, but it was also a metaphor. If Rocky could conquer a mountain of nature, he can conquer the mountain that is Ivan Drago. Y'know, you haven't lived until you've been with a bunch of college students waxing philosophical over Sylvester Stallone movies.

I'm out of topics right now, sorry. Sutton out.

I Don't Steal Baseballs

Hey, folks. This week seems like it lasted forever, and I think the next two will feel just as long. We miss you, K. All of us.

I saw a clip of the St. Louis Cardinals/Texas Rangers baseball game on the 11:00 news, and some big guy jumped over a row of seats and pinned a four-year-old boy to the seats with his legs so he could grab a foul ball. The TV announcers rightfully started heckling the guy, while the crowd in the surrounding area started a "give him the ball" chant. Later in the game, some teenager gave the boy a foul ball he caught, and both teams gave the kid bats and balls. Reggie Sanders from the Cardinals even went into the crowd to give the boy his bat. He ended up leaving two innings later, unfortunately before one of St. Louis's players could give him a Cardinals T-shirt that he'd written "Tough Guy" and "Ball-Stealer" on. Folks, some people deserve a sledgehammer shot to the groin, and that guy is one of them.

The week felt long enough, but it was also a very long weekend. Saturday, I took in that indy wrestling show I mentioned. That blindfold battle royal... it was different. The rules were like this: a bunch of people wearing hoods were in the ring, and if you left the ring or had your hood taken off, you were eliminated. It wasn't necessarily a good match, but it was funny.

Yesterday, I went up to Louisville with my homeboy Mo to get his computer looked at by a long-lost friend of ours. We had a pretty good time, despite the awful heat and humidity. We watched Eurotrip while we were there, which had some good laughs, but dragged in places as well. I'll give it two and a half stars for basically being Road Trip in Europe. The needless male nudity didn't help any. Anyway, we also made a run to Best Buy, where I picked up the Clerks soundtrack. Good stuff, that CD is.

I also heard on the news that a casting session for extras for Cameron Crowe's upcoming movie Elizabethtown was held today in (where else?) Elizabethtown, Kentucky. E-town is only 45 minutes from here, and it's too bad I didn't get to go, because I'd have totally tried out.

I don't have anything else to say for now. Sutton out.

MTV Movie Award Winners & More

All the way back in April, I posted the nominees for the MTV Movie Awards. I figure it's about time I name the winners...

• Best Movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Best Male Performance: Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• Best Female Peformance: Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Volume 1
• Best Comedic Performance: Jack Black, School of Rock
• Best On-Screen Team: Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, 50 First Dates
• Best Villain: Lucy Liu, Kill Bill: Volume 1
• Breakthrough Male: Shawn Ashmore, X2: X-Men United
• Breakthrough Female: Lindsay Lohan, Freaky Friday
• Best Kiss: Owen Wilson, Carmen Electra, and Amy Smart, Starsky & Hutch
• Best Action Sequence: Battle at Gondor, The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King
• Best Fight: Uma Thurman vs. Chiaki Kuriyama, Kill Bill: Volume 1
• Best Dance Sequence: Seann William Scott, American Wedding

I'm still bummed that Freddy vs. Jason didn't get a Best Fight nomination, especially since the show had a horror theme. Oh well, can't have my way all the time.

I mentioned the edited TV version of Back To The Future a while back. I'm watched the TV version of Mallrats on the USA Network, and the dubbing is just too awful for words. And I think it's the first time in a long while that I've actually seen something on the USA Network that wasn't Law And Order or an Adam Sandler movie.

Y'know, both Ray Charles and Ronald Reagan passed away this week. It seems like there's a rule that celebrities die in threes. I don't wanna sound morbid, but I wonder who the third one will be. Maybe Marc Anthony's previous wife will kill Jennifer Lopez for stealing her husband.

Sylvester Stallone is set on making Rocky 6 and Rambo 4. Rocky 6 just has to be made, just because Rocky can't go out on that crappy excuse for a film that was Rocky 5. I love the first four Rocky movies, but the fifth is just horrible. Meanwhile, I think Rambo 4 would also be a cool idea, especially with all the recent 80s nostalgia. We need more movies like Rambo. I like intellectual movies and all, but sometimes, I just wanna see guns and explosions. Y'know, if John Rambo was a real guy, we should have just sent him over to Iraq by himself and the whole thing would have been settled in three weeks. Him or MacGyver.

New Line is releasing a movie next month called Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle. Product placement has gone too far.

Jake Gyllenhaal looks too much like Tobey Maguire for his own good. It's scary.

Nothing else to talk about now. Sutton out.

More Wrestling And Horror

I haven't blogged in a while, so I figure I will now.

Me and some friends are going to another indy wrestling show in Alton on Saturday, and the main event is a "blindfold battle royal." Me and Mike were talking about this a few days ago, and the idea of a blindfold battle royal sounded odd to both of us. Regular blindfold matches aren't all that great to begin with, so having a battle royal with all the participants wearing blindfolds doesn't sound like it's gonna be too good. But I'm a mark for battle royals, so maybe I'll end up liking it after all.

Quick shots of horror movie news: Porn star Ginger Lynn has been cast in The Devil's Rejects, and New Line has greenlighted Final Destination 3. It'll be written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and the rumor is that it will be in 3-D and take place at an amusement park. On the topic of horror movies, I found two articles at MTV.com. One covers the genre's recent rebirth and the other covers the trend of remaking Asian horror movies.

Nothing else to report on today. Sutton out.

I Am The Most Random Person Ever

I caught The Day After Tomorrow at the new theater in Danville last night. It wasn't a bad movie, but it there were things in it that didn't make a lot of sense to me. Like one scene where Dennis Quaid apparently walks all the way from Washington, D.C., to Manhattan during a blizzard. Wouldn't he have passed out from exhaustion or hypothermia? And I didn't know that people can outrun a sudden drop in temperature, but it's apparently possible. Then again, I've heard the filmmakers have said most of the science errors were intentional for dramatic purposes, so I guess it isn't that big of a deal. Anyway, I'll give it a three out of five. It's good, but not great. But the tornado scene was awesome, and the storms in the 20th Century Fox logo were a neat touch.

The new theater in Danville was neat, but it seemed kinda tiny. There were only seven or eight rows in the particular screen I was in, and the screen it self was only five feet or so off the ground. So even the front row is a good seat there. If Danville wasn't 45 minutes away, I'd go there all the time. It's a nice place.

I seriously need to invest in new shelves for my DVD collection.

Huh, apparently there is a wrestling channel in England. According to their site, they air Ring Of Honor, NWA-TNA, CZW, 3PW, CMLL, a British promotion called "the Frontier Wrestling Alliance," classic Memphis wrestling, NOAH, and New Japan. They're gonna be starting a news talk show, as well. I hope something like that can be started in America too, just because I wanna see some Ring Of Honor and CZW without having to track down their videos.

I think it's finally safe to say that Tatu has officially fallen off the musical radar. It's been over a year since "All The Things She Said" was released and to my knowledge, there wasn't a follow-up single. My guess is they didn't realize there isn't a very big American market for gay Russian schoolgirls that sing techno music. And I don't even think "All The Things She Said" was a big enough hit to even call Tatu one hit wonders.

That's all I can think to say for now. Sutton out.