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Insidious 3 Attempts to Connect to Teen & Pop Culture

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Insidious_–_Chapter_3_poster The mythology that’s created for the Insidious movies is one that’s rich with evil intent. With departed souls looking for a second chance at life, just what writer Leigh Whannell has crafted for Insidious 3 may well have Aleister Crowley giving his seal of approval. With one witchy woman and a spawn of Darth Maul populating the Further, just how this other side works is much more effective than anything the Poltergeist remake can conjecture.

Instead of a gothic realm populated by corpses, this mirror realm is simply devoid of light and life. In the afterlife according to Whannell, the freaks of purgatory exist because of their own devices. Whether by family neglect or desire by an entity to take a soul for its own, just what’s next for this series of movies requires figuring out who is the star of the show: is it Lin Shaye who is doing her best to give life to an otherwise droll plot or someone else?

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San Andreas Loves to Shake It Up! A Movie Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is ready to shake, rattle and roll in San Andreas. His charm is what carries this film and for fans of his works, this movie is no different from watching, for example, Race to Witch Mountain, which reunites him with Carla Cugino.

This disaster movie is going to change the California coast line and Roland Emmerich cannot be any more prouder. In a plot that’s fairly cut and dry, just what can anyone expect out of this movie that will most likely not get seismophobics out to see? Maybe the story: as with most films in this genre, the tale has to focus on uniting a family who’ve been separated by some domestic squabble. In Ray’s (Johnson) case, it’s with what he could not do to rescue one of his two daughters when he decided to take her on an wilderness outing. As a pilot for Los Angeles Search & Rescue (L.A.F.D.) team, he should realize that he can’t rescue everyone. Since that incident, he’s been wrestling with his demons, and that caused a riff between his wife, Emma (Cugino). The two share a good on-screen chemistry so that may be why they are working together again. Their surviving daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario), has forgiven daddy, but that has not helped this family stay together.

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How to Scare Up a Poltergeist, a Movie Review

Poltergeist2 By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Even poltergeists have trouble vying for attention these days. We’re not talking about how the ‘remake’ compares to the original Steven Speilberg produced and Tobe Hooper directed film but instead, the Enfield haunting (the basis for the next The Conjuring film) suggests that targeting paranormal enthusiasts to earn box office coin is a good way to manifest dollars. Next year’s ghostly themed product has the potential to do far better than this rehash of a familiar tale.

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Oren Peli’s Area 51 Lacks Videogame Style Punch

Area51 By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Okay, I admit it. As a paranormal investigator (not a ghost hunter), I was intrigued with the movie that Oren Peli made with his breakout hit Paranormal Activity. He got a few concepts right in terms of what goes on during a haunting and he also got other things wrong — namely in the fact that Dr. Fredrichs, the supposed investigator, ran with his tail between his legs. The way the cameras are set up and the editing created some good suspense. The back story that was told, spread between the first movie and the latest, provides a great reason to stay tuned. In wondering what this writer/director can do with Area 51, which took years in the making, suggests that this producer has lost his touch. Where’s the suspense? Where’s the drama?

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Is Buck Rogers headed to Cybertron?

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Gil Gerard of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century fame is making a return to the voice acting world. His last credited animation was in Fish Police and since then, the offers did not always appear. He’s open to returning to that scene in an interview he gave to the writers of Otaku no Culture contributing to Island Fantasy Convention, taking place in Victoria, BC in October 2015.

He teased at the fact that he plays “the main bad guy who gets confrontational with Optimus Prime” in an animated episode of Transformers. He did not confirm if that’s with either Robots in Disguise (at least 12 episodes is known to have been broadcasted in Australia) or Rescue Bots.

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The Minions Third Trailer Sheds a Clue with Gru?

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

despicable_me_2_minions-wide The Minions are getting a better explanation in what they’re up to in this new trailer for their self-titled movie. Not only does it summarize the events from the previous two but also it goes into new territory. Just what this film’s story is about gets revealed, and the potential tie-in to how they met Gru — well at least the father of Dr. Nefario might have been revealed. The Queen’s royal guard who protects the Royal Crown looks suspiciously familiar. The plot to steal this piece of history is the deux et machina here, and the tale in just how well these little yellow minions will fare with their chief Scarlet Overkill (Sanda Bullock) from way back then, well 42 years before Gru, shows that no matter how hard they try, the villains just do not understand.

When they are in large group, these boys are proving to be the Keystone Cops for a new generation. When as a trio, their hijinks is like that of The Three Stooges. They’re hilarious in all the crazy hijinks they end up in. The 60’s really has to be worried, fire hydrants notwithstanding.