LYT Linkage: The Rock, Horror, and Trek Tropes!
I still get paid to write about movies by Slashfilm, and unlike virtually every other site I’ve worked for, they actually recently came out of a period of cutbacks with a lot more work for us, which is nice while it’s lasting. I assume some of my subscribers follow me enough to have seen these, but I equally presume many of you don’t have the time for all that, so here are links to some of my recent pieces for them. (Please excuse any typos in them — I am unable to make any fixes)
The 10 Best Dwayne Johnson Movies, Ranked
"Pain & Gain" is a borderline repellent movie — but it's meant to be. Working on a lower-than-usual budget of $26 million and without franchise demands, Michael Bay unleashed his full misanthropy on this based-on-reality narrative of a gang of bodybuilding ex-convicts on a crime spree. Both Mark Wahlberg and Johnson play meaner and dumber than ever, deliberately so, as gym manager Daniel Lugo and born-again addict Paul Doyle respectively. Yet as they repeatedly assault and try to murder people, we have to wonder — are we supposed to like them? Does Michael Bay? And if not, is there anyone positive to root for in this tale of terrible people?
The 10 Most Common Tropes In The Star Trek Franchise
It generally happens like this: A team is sent to explore a new planet, consisting of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and one or two ensigns we've never seen before wearing the bright red uniform of engineering, security, or operations. By the end of the episode, but usually much sooner, whatever danger lurks on the planet has killed these newcomers. Obviously, the point is to establish a threat, and just as obviously, the show isn't going to kill off its two main characters. Nonetheless, the degree to which the show fails to establish any of these "redshirts" as any kind of characters whatsoever before offing them makes their deaths feel hilariously inevitable rather than meaningful or threatening.
10 Classic Horror Movie Flops That Deserve A Modern Remake
If every '80s kid who's seen Fred Dekker's "The Monster Squad" had done so in theaters, it would have been a hit. Over time, video, and cable, we've gotten to a place where you can now say "Wolfman's got nards!" to pretty much anyone over 40, and they'll know what you mean. Promoted as a monstrous take on "Ghostbusters," it disappointed filmgoers at the time who may have been hoping for something on the same level, and instead they got a movie about a bunch of kids fighting the Universal monsters while making genitalia jokes. On the other hand, it scored one major casting coup — Tom Noonan as Frankenstein's monster — and it nearly got Liam Neeson as Dracula.
I’m already working on the next one. In the meantime, enjoy these.