M3GAN 2.0, Elio, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Dangerous Animals, & War of the Worlds

Finally, I discuss the last theatrical movies I’ve seen in the past two months; however, first I’ll discuss an already infamous film that debuted on Prime a few days ago. It’s a “new” movie although was filmed in late 2020 (!) and shelved until dumped on streaming. It’s a movie entirely viewed on a computer screen a la Unfriended or Searching; Ice Cube (!!) plays a member of DHS (!!!) who reacts to an alien invasion; while not the worst movie I’ve ever seen (even worst ever released by a major studio) the plot made zero sense, the effects were atrocious, there’s rampant Amazon product placement… while hysterical at times, most of it was painful so that’s one only for the veteran bad movie lovers.

Thankfully, the films I saw theatrically were all better than War; this includes a revival of the original Friday the 13th on Friday, June 13th; that was a blast. Elio was chosen at the last minute one night due to a change in my schedule… long story. The movie flopped at the box office but that was due to marketing and a (deserved) lack of trust in Disney. I thought it was a pretty good tale that looked nice; the obvious references to certain 80’s sci-fi movies also helped. Yes, I do know that there were "production problems" and that hampered the film.

M3GAN 2.0 also flopped; while flawed, I was still amused by the goofy spectacle that was an action thriller sequel to an original horror movie. I do appreciate the sequel wasn’t a rehash of the first as happens far too often. Meanwhile, Dangerous Animals was an obscure Australian movie (which will be available soon for streaming on Shudder) which was also flawed yet the premise of a serial killer using sharks to kill was at least original, and Jai Courtney was better as an OOT personality rather than that milksop character he played in that horrible 5^th Die Hard movie which I don’t consider canon in my Die Hard universe.

Finally, there’s the “legacy sequel” to I Know What You Did Last Summer, which follows the model that the 2021 Scream legacy sequel created. Those two Summer movies from the late 90’s I always thought were goofy and only OK; thus, when this new version was also goofy and only OK, I couldn’t be disappointed. Whether or not it was the intent to make fun of Generation Z and its insufferable lingo, that’s how I took it & that aspect was enjoyed. It was also nice seeing those old faces from the 90’s again.

I’ll be back late in the month; there’s a few ideas for activities I could be a part of.

Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osbourne, Orlando City SC, A&W, and Noodles & Company

My apologies for not doing one of these sooner when I’ve been thinking to for awhile now. The preceding month hasn’t been full of incident… or at least moments worthy of discussion here. I did visit a Noodles & Company restaurant; there was one prior experience, albeit many years ago. There’s no good reason for not returning—the macaroni and cheese I had was as fine as I remembered it being back then. Besides eating at a Bojangles that’s been open in Clermont since last year, an A&W restaurant one day (there’s only 3 in Florida now), and a Potbelly Sandwich Works just opened in Davenport-last year I ate at the location in Orlando; in a past life I ate at one of their locations in Illinois-there isn’t much for me to discuss.

Then again, do you blame me when it’s been HOT in Florida? It’s hot even by Florida in Summer standards. In addition, late July was the 5^th (!) anniversary of Mom passing away; I made it through that day alright. Tomorrow I’ll finally discuss all the movies seen theatrically since June but for now, two big deaths then the one interesting night I had… attending an Orlando City SC soccer match for the first time in ages.

I never viewed Ozzy Osbourne’s “reality” show as it was never of interest to me; however, in terms of his music (whether with Black Sabbath or solo) there was no shortage of great music from him. While struggling w/ sobriety for years, I’m glad that despite some (alleged) bad moments from him, he lived to the age of 76; that is amazing considering the amount of drugs and alcohol he consumed for years. As for Hulk Hogan… what a complicated legacy.

Terry Bollea the man did and said various controversial things that won’t be repeated here. Hogan the wrestler, though… what a performer. The OOT personality, his charisma, the way he got fans into the match as the villain beat him up… there are fond memories of him in the ring throughout my childhood. I also won’t forget my buddies back in Illinois cheering him on back in the day, or the random sports bar I went to in Bloomington during my college days viewing WrestleMania 18 where he fought against The Rock and the crowd there went wild for him as well. I never saw him in person although I did visit his restaurants in the Tampa area & his beach shops. I saw him wrestle live twice: against Ric Flair and against Sid Vicious. I even saw Suburban Commando on the big screen as a kid. Thus, Hulk Hogan the character at the very least will be missed.

Finally: last month I went to see the Orlando City SC soccer club play live for the first time since 2018; I hadn’t been in their Inter & Co stadium since late 2019 when a college football game was played there. They tied w/ an inferior team (CF Montreal) 1-1 yet the stadium is still nice & so was the atmosphere; like in European matches, there’s a supporter section bangin’ the drum all day, waving banners, & chanting. It won’t be that many years before viewing any one of their matches live.