Ghoulish Grin Films

 I went to see the new Alien film "Alien: Romulus" at the movie theaters on opening day and was pretty surprised to have received a film that returns the franchise to its horror glory. It's thrilling, gory, suspenseful, beautifully shot, directed, and acted.  I actually enjoyed the philosophical leanings of  "Prometheus" and "Covenant" but the fans seemed to have rejected that film (though it does have its admirers).  And the sequels following the practically perfect first film "Alien" and "Aliens," one of the greatest sequels of all time, weren't up to the standard of those sci-fi classics. Thus...here we are. It was looking as if the Alien Franchise would end up going the way of the Terminator Franchise. Two undeniable classics followed by films that seemed more like cash grabs rather than adding to the worlds created.  I'm not naive. This is how Hollywood works. If something is a hit and successful the powers that be will...

 I went to the movie theaters to see "Deadpool & Wolverine," knowing full well that this was going to be the biggest blockbuster of the movie season. In fact, the week before had seen the release of "Twisters," an unlikely sequel to the '90's hit disaster flick and that seemed to bring a good crowd. But before that? Sadly it's been a VERY lackluster movie year. Movies projected to be hits weren't and others just died a quiet, lonely death at the box office. All those that projected the end of the movie theaters seemed to be speaking the truth. And as someone whose pastime is going to see first run movies in the theaters, these predictions are a hard pill to swallow. I can be as optimistic as anyone, but I can also see the writing on the wall. Streaming is all the rage. Cord cutters have taken to streaming services like Netflix, Disney +, Hulu, Max, and even free platforms like YouTube and Tubi to get their abundant amount of film and television c...