Entertainment Earth

8/29/2018

Predator 2: When He Had a Few Days to Kill in LA

Let's continue our tribute to the Predator franchise, with my look back at what is actually my favorite installment in the sci-fi/ horror series, the second film, Predator 2 (1990).

After the huge success of the first film from future Die Hard director John McTerinan and star Arnold Schwarzengger, it was only fitting that a sequel be made. But, one of the many aspects that make this film so interesting is that it took risks. It didn't rehash the story or even bring back Arnie. Although, early on there was a concept of where Danny Glover's character and Schwarzengger would team up and battle the monster. Arnie and wanted more money so his return didn't happen, at all. What we do get is a movie that while looked down upon by critics, and even by a few fans, is a rollicking and wild entry and goes into bold and exciting territory.
Harrigan finds out that the Predator likes to catch some z's in a meat-locker.

It is the future (or at least was when this movie was released) the year 1990, and LA is experiencing a brutal heat wave, as well as an even more brutal gang war fought between the Colombians and the Jamaican drug gangs. As the movie begins, the cops are in a violent gun fight with the Colombians. Soon, we are introduced to our main hero Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) who comes in to lead his crew. They are told to not go in, but Harrigan doesn't play by the book. When, a large explosion comes forth from a window, where the baddies are holed up in, he says fuck it. He goes in with Danny Archuleta (Ruben Blades), who he came up with through the ranks and is a long time friend, and badass Leona Cantrell (the gorgeous Maria Conchita Alonso) and few other cops. Soon they discover that the gang has been mutilated by a fast, unknown assailant, well unknown to them anyways. They think it is the Jamaicans, but we know better.
A little bit after, at headquarters, Harigan is introduced to Special Agent Keyes (Gary Busey) who will be in charge of the investigation. Harrigan also meets the young and energetic Detective Jerry Lambert (the late, great Bill Paxton). Lambert goes to develop a relationship with Cantrell.
Meanwhile, the Jamaicans interrupt one of the Colombians while he's banging a chick. They kill him in a voodoo ritual, only to be slaughtered themselves by the Predator (a returning Kevin Peter Hall). This leads a Harrigan to realize that a third player is in town. And, when Danny is killed by the monster, Harrigan makes it personal. He centers his investigation on Keyes who he knows is not really a DEA guy and knows a lot more than he is telling. It will all lead to a rousing battle between the unstoppable Predator and our tough as nails, if acrophobia (fear of heights) hero.

Predator 2 is one of the most unrelenting and action packed sequels ever made. It really never lets up. From start to finish the action and gore come in and beat you down to the ground. And, who handles the directing job here? It's British director Stephen Hopkins. Hopkins had earlier headed the enjoyable but highly uneven A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. The man already had handled a horror franchise that is driven by its monster. But, while that movie had its ups and downs, Predator 2 is all high notes and then some.
On a side note, between this movie and the awesome "Marked for Death" Jamaican voodoo drug gangs were appearing in violent, early 90's action movies.

Hopkins shows that he is very apt at directing rousing action and solid stunts. There so many wild points here and all are awesome and expertly shot and edited. The bloody beginning is ultra-violent and makes LA look like a motherfucking war-zone. Meanwhile, the nightmarish and violent train massacre scene was probably the nastiest bit of train mayhem in a horror movie, until the ending of Final Destination 3, came along.

He is equally good at the splatter aspect of the film. There is a ton of blood spilled and splattered on various sets. Enough so that the movie had a fuck of a problem wit the MPAA. It took a total of 20 trips with the ratings board to secure an R-rating. Sadly, we never got an unrated version, and I don't think we ever will. It would be nice though, if it ever happened. Regardless, even in its truncated form there are bloody squibs, impalings, slicings, amupations, stabbings, a bisection, a head and spinal cord getting ripped out (albeit in silhouette), and flayed and mutilated corpses galore.
The Predator doing his best "come at me. bro"!

The film has an amazing cast. I love Glover in the lead. He isn't your typical action hero. But, the man had, by thus point in time, cut his teeth on Lethal Weapon 1&2, so he knew what he was doing. Plus, he looks and feels like real dude, not a superhuman man like Arnie or Stallone. Blades is a pleasure as Danny, and this was the movie where I really began to like him. Alonso is someone that I had been a fan of before, but this is probably my favorite role of hers. Tough and sexy, she is one ass kicking, take no shit mamacita. Busey is, well, Busey, which is too say he is over the top and wonderfully so. 
And, Paxton is just awesome, he always is and this movie (and Aliens, Near Dark, his own Frailty, and fuck everything with him in it!) makes me miss him so much. Noteworthy is that Morton Downey Jr. plays a tabloid reporter. It is funny cause, in the late 80s he made an episode of his own show, The Morton Downey Jr. Show where he put down violent horror movies, only to appear in this and an episode of Tales from the Crypt... 

Production design is another aspect of this movie that is great. From the blood spattered walls to the meat freezer to the amazing smoke filled Predator ship everything looks cool and exciting. And, speaking of the Predator ship the trophy wall is awesome, as we see an Xenomorph skull. This showed that Alien Vs. Predator was a real thing, at a time when it was only a comic and still several years away from being two movies.
The guy on the left is a little, shy that why he doesn't take off his mask.

No discussion about this movie can be had without mentioning the spectacular work of Stan Winston. He again proves that he was one of the greatest make-up artists in the world. The creature design and look is amazing and life like. While the violence is bloody and realistic.

Originally to be released in Christmas, the sequel actually got pushed a month up to Thanksgiving weekend. It opened in fourth place, but made no where near the amount of money the first movie had made. As a result there wouldn't be another Predator movie till Alien Vs. Predator in 2004.
Mine! No! Mine!

I still fondly remember the movie's trailers and TV spots promising that the Predator was in a new jungle (LA) and was "in town with a few days to kill". Between my love of the first movie, those ads, and the Fangoria articles, I was pumped as fucking hell to see it. I was too young to get in the theaters on my own, so I went with my grandpa, himself, a fan of the first one. I will always remember walking home back from the movies with him, talking about it. For this reason it holds a special place in my heart.
Anyway, I always liked it more than the amazing first film. It is technically not the better movie, but I prefer it. Although, I honest to God love both movies. As a whole, I think the Predator movies are a better franchise than Alien just because even the worst film, AVP, is at least OK (which is more than I can say for shit like Alien: Covenant...). In fact, I would venture in saying that there is little wrong with this movie, in particular. After all, this is an action hybrid and saying that it is all action isn't a bad thing (especially when the action is so goddamn, fucking good!).
A little known fact is the "Skulls" by The Misfits is the Predator's theme song. 

Predator 2 is a fun, wild action/ horror/ sci-fi movie. It is not better than the classic, first flick, but I do happen to like it just a little more. In terms of quality, it is almost on par with it, I think. It has an amazing cast and fun and lively characters. The make-up FX by Winston are, of course, spectacular. And, the action and the gore are utterly unrelenting. So, ignore the critics who look down on it and revisit the most exhilarating non-stop hunt ever, before you go off to see the new one.

More Predator Tribute:
Horror Crush: Kristen Hager

8/27/2018

Horror Crush: Kristen Hager

With The Predator, one of my most hotly anticipated movies of the year, coming out next month, on September 14, I thought this be a great time to show some love for the one of my favorite franchises, Predator! Today that love will be directed towards the gorgeous Kristen Hager, the latest induction into the Horror Crushes section!
Kristen Hager was born on January 2, 1984 (34 years old) in Red Lake, Ontario. She began her acting career in television. But, the first time that I saw her was in 2007's Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem.
A sequel to 2004's Alien Vs. Predator, AVPR is actually the superior movie of the two franchise crossover movies. AVP is honestly highly mediocre. Hampered by a shitty PG-13 rating, it is awful whenever the humans are onscreen but fun when the monsters fight. This sequel is kinda brain-dead, but it is mean-spirited and fun. Taking place immediately after the aforementioned movie, the Pred-Alien has chestbusted out of his way of a Predator. Fully grown he and his Xenomorph cohorts go on a killing and reproducing spree in a small town. One lone Predator leaves his home-world to eliminate the nasty, acid-bleeding, fuckers.
The movie, itself, is kind of underrated, I think. Now, by no means is it great. Most of the characters are slasher level/ cardboard thin. It also is way too darkly lit, where you do not see jack shit at times. However, I always have a blast watching it. There is some great gore and is wonderfully nasty. A kid gets killed and a pregnant chick is inseminated by the Pred-Alien making chesbusters (yes, plural) come out of her, instead of her expected baby.
Hager isn't really given much to do, except look good. She does this excellently, though and if there were awards for that she would surely have got a strong nomination in '07. Her scene where she tries to hook up with our lead in her undies is quite fetching. She has an amazing body, and I remember being blown away by her beauty and her butt.
But, if I liked her in AVPR, it is in the excellent North American series remake of Being Human from the SyFy Channel (2011-2014) that I fell in love with her. The series is about a trio of supernatural beings (a vampire, werewolf, and ghost) who live together. Hager plays Nora, who becomes the romantic interest and eventual couple of our werewolf hero, Josh.
Hager is wonderfully likable in this role. She adds a lot of pathos and heart to the story and her role. I loved her relationship with Josh. Of course, she also looks breathtakingly beautiful. I really and deeply miss this wonderful horror/ dramatic comedy series.
In 2012, she appeared in her next genre movie, the horror-comedy A Little Bit Zombie. I honestly have never heard, much less seen this one. However, it also stars the lovely Crystal Lowe (who perhaps should be added to Horror Crushes? What do you think?). If you have seen this one, please let me know your thoughts on in the comments section below.
Blonde, beautiful, and talented, Hager has been a favorite of mine since I first saw her. And, my fandom for her has only since grown. A wonderful actress, it is with great honor and joy that I add her to the Horror Crushes of this site! And, be sure to let me know if you are fan of hers in the comments section below!

8/23/2018

8/20/2018

Monster-Mania August 2018

This past weekend of August 17-19, 2018 was another edition of the always kick ass horror convention, Monster-Mania. My friend and I attended on Sunday the 19th. As always, we had a fucking blast!

The first celebrity I met was the gorgeous Ashley Laurence. She played Kristy Cotton in Hellraiser I&II, Hellraiser: Hell on Earth, and Hellraiser: Hellseeker, as well as appearing in other movies. I've had a childhood crush on her ever since I first saw her in Clive Barker's original classic. A movie that is one of my top favorite movies, of all time. As such, I have wanted to meet her forever, but she was never at any con, that I went to. This made her the person I was most looking forward to meeting on this day. 

Let me tell you, Laurence is a complete sweetheart. She talked to us for a while, enough so that her handler actually had to tell us to move since people were waiting on line for her. Aside, from her sweetness, she is still absolutely stunning! Beautiful inside and out, and having played one of the greatest final girls in one of the longest running franchises in horror hsitory, Laurence is a legend and a must meet for any fan!

After meeting her, the eternally beautiful Lisa Wilcox, who played Alice, another of the genre's best final girls, in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4&5, came up to talk to us. She loved the patches on my battle-vest. That made my day! Imagine that, one of my childhood crushes flattering me, in that manner! She is always so sweet in person. I told her that I first met her at a Chiller, which she, in turn, told me was her first con, ever!

Speaking of A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master, I met the lovely Tuesday Knight, who toke over for Patrica Arquette in the role of Kristen in that fun and highly successful sequel. She is a wonderfully friendly lady and signed my Blu-ray box set of the franchise. 

The other autograph I got was from Nancy Stephens, who played Nurse Marion Chambers in Halloween 1&2 and Halloween H2O. This was her first con on the east coast. We lucked out, catching her right before she left (she had to be out of there in 5 minutes!). She was such a sweet lady, that it was great to get her to sign my Blu-ray of John Carpenter's classic first entry in the franchise. 

I  also got a pic with Sid Haig (this is actually my second time meeting him), from many, many movies, including, of course, playing Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, and the upcoming 3 from Hell! He looked ill, which honest to God, has me worried. I hope it is nothing serious and that he gets well soon (if he is indeed sick). Regardless, he is so nice in person! Fellow Rob Zombie co-star and friend, Bill Moseley was next to him wearing a Space Force uniform (a reference to one of an endless bit of ridiculous shit said by President Donald Trump...). They both joked about it, and it ultimately shows how cool and awesome they are. And, most importantly, what great friends they are to each other.  

While, there was probably more cosplay the day before, there was a little on display on this Sunday. Here are two cool ones that I got to photograph:

Of course, I also bought some swag:
Blu-rays: Cathy's Curse (f rom Severin Films, at their booth, naturally) and Night Angel (I picked it from the Diabolik DVD booth)
A print of a painting that I have seen online everywhere featuring various horror characters and monsters. It was signed by the artist, Byron Winton. He does amazing work, as you can see, and talked to us for a while. He too was really nice.
And, finally from over at Fright-Rags, I got an officially licensed Garbage Pail Kids T-shirt of Jabbed Jason. It is a parody of the classic poster art from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. 

Here are my two autographed Blu-rays, A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection and Halloween, signed by Tuesday Knight and Nancy Stephens respectively.

Anyway, another awesome Monster-Mania has passed us by, and I can't wait for the next one, next year!

8/17/2018

Porn Flashback: Dulce Neves

All pictures are from their respective owners.

Ah, Dulce Neves, how I love, thee! A very prolific porn performer, during her time in the biz, she is seemingly underrated and, possibly, forgotten. But, not by me and my Spank Bank Hall of Fame (can I make this an actual thing?)! Hence, today in Porn Flashback, I will be taking a look at this beautiful and sexy, Latin stunner!
Dulce Neves was born on May 28, 1980, making her a Gemini (like, myself) and 38 years old. Her many aliases are as follows: Dulce (which is how is usually credited), Dolce Vita, Pixie, Adora, Dolce, Dulce Vita, and Shari (amateurcreampies.com). She started shooting in 2000, when she was about 20 and worked till 2007. She appeared in more than 81 scenes during her long career. Any scene of hers was quite frankly a winner in my mind, heart, and pants. She was bisexual and shot straight, lesbian, interracial, anal, and pregger scenes. She always came off as hot, nasty, sexy, and dripped sex appeal out of every pore of her beautiful body. Just looking into her eyes, seeing her naughty smile, hearing her talk, and/ seeing her naturally beautiful body was enough to drive one crazy.
Her guy-girl stuff is nice, and her anal scenes were even hotter. I mean that ass was amazing!! The the three pics below are from Latin Fever 17. There is no anal or facial in it. But, she looks great (duh!) and is still worth checking out.
But, in the end, my favorite scenes of hers, were always her girl-girl stuff. She clearly loved working with other girls. In fact, I first saw in Hot Latin Lesbians 2. She appears in what might be the movie's best scene, the third one. In it she has a smoldering fuck session with the gorgeous and naturally busty Adara, who on top of everything has a hot, British accent! Anyway, both girls are gorgeous and have great bodies, especially those booties! They clearly seem to like each other, a lot! As such, it is one of my most watched scenes (on a side note, the fourth scene with Aurora and Katrina is another one I watch a lot) of all time, and one I use lots of Kleenex with!
 Another great example of her shooting with a fellow Latina is her scene with another personal favorite mamacita of mine, the lovely Kat. This scene is from the excellent No Man's Land: Latin Edition 6, which has to be one of my favorite, if not actual favorite, series that is no longer made. Can someone please make more all-Latina, all-girl movies? Thank you in advance if you do just that!
Finally, for an extra nasty scene, involving really big toys, check out her scene with yet another fav babe of mine, Lena Ramon. It is from Muffin' Stuffin' Lesbos 3.
She would go on to also do preggar work including working with Rodney Moore in Scale Bustin Babes 15, which can be found in a shorter version in the first MonsterFacials.Com: the Movie.
I miss Dulce. She was so fucking beautiful, sexy, and nasty. Her gorgeous, big, brown eyes, long, hair-  sometimes straight, usually wavy, KILLER body, awesome, no make that truly, AWESOME ass, and gorgeous face make her a sight to behold. Her performances were amazing and breathtaking. Dulce fucking ruled and that is the motherfucking bottom line! Whatever she is doing nowadays, I hope she is happy and well. We will forever be happy watching her classic scenes.

8/16/2018

KING COHEN (Review)

Title: King Cohen
Writer/ Director: Steve Mitchell
Cast: Larry Cohen, J.J. Abrams, Rick Baker, Eric Bogosian, Richard J. Brewer, Jon Burlingame
Min: 110
Year: 2018

This documentary deals with the career of prolific filmmaker Larry (Black Caeser, It's Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent, etc) Cohen. It goes from where he grew up to how he started on TV, eventually writing scripts for it. From then it moves on to his directing movies and talks about all of his films, inter-cut with scenes each of them. It ends with him present day and still churning out scripts, even though he no longer directs. The documentary features interviews with those who have worked him in movies, those who are his friends and admire him, his ex-wife and current wife, and, of course, the man, himself.
King Cohen is an excellent documentary from start to finish. As a long time fan of Cohen, I found it to be a labor of love and tribute to the man. By the end, of it I gained even more respect for him, than I already had.

It opens with with J.J Abrams talking about how he admires Cohen and how they first met. It really helps to set up the loving tone of admiration for the legendary filmmaker that is carried throughout is hour and fifty minute running time.  From there it heads right into us seeing Cohen at a convention, and we meet one of his adoring fans (who holds an autographed DVD copy of Cohen's Bone). As someone who goes to conventions regularly, it got me even more into viewing the docu. And, made me hope that someday I may be lucky enough to catch him at one.
Hearing Cohen talk is a true treat. His stories about his childhood in New York, going to the movies, college, trying out stand-up comedy, etc tell us so much about this fascinating man. It further helps us movie buffs connect to him, even before his actual film-making life begins to get talked about. These talks with him are even more fascinating when he begins discussing his filmography.

Even better, is hearing others talk about him. Whatever their relationship they have or had with Cohen, everyone has nothing but good things to say about him. And, what a cast it has of people being interviewed! Michael Moriarty. Yaphet Koto, Barbara Carrera,Traci Lords, and other contribute amazing stories and praise. Fred Williamson alone tells awesome stories about shooting Black Cesar and its sequel, Hell Up in Harlem and, later on, Original Gangstas, are worth seeing and hearing all on their own!
But, even more exciting than hearing them talk about Cohen so highly is hearing legends like Joe Dante, John Landis, and motherfucking Martin Scorsese sign his praises. I absolutely loved hearing them talk so highly about someone I think is sometimes overlooked.
Most importantly, I felt I learned much about Cohen. I didn't know how much TV he had done in the beginning of his career. The man is a triple crown holder: producer, writer, and director, something that is rare and mentioned with great admiration, deservedly so, in this film.
His own admiration for legends like composer Bernard (Psycho) Herrmann and actots Sam (Return to Salem's Lot) and Betty (Wicked Stepmother) Davis led him to work with them. Particularly moving is hearing about his friendship with Herrmann, who composed the phenomenal scores to the first two It's Alive movies for Cohen. Cohen and other would ultimately attend Herrmann's funeral. This part is one of countless of highlights of this amazing flick!

All of his movies are talked about in the order they were released, save for the It's Alive Trilogy, which are talked about all at once. Of course, as a horror fan, the parts that interested and excited me the most was the talk of his magnificent genre work. While, I enjoyed the clips from all of his films, it is the horror stuff that I savored the most. And, movies like the wonderfully bat-shit crazy God Told Me To, the aforementioned It's Alive Trilogy, Q: The Winged Serpent (my favorite film of his), and The Stuff can be talked about for hours in my book.
King Larry is the best documentary I have seen all year and one of the most enjoyable ever made about a single filmmaker. It is impossible to not love Cohen, and after you are done watching this you will love him even more. It is incredibly through, right up to the very end of it, and as such very informative. But, most importantly it is a loving tribute to a truly great talent that deserves more recognition than he sometimes gets, in particular by modern audiences. This next part may seem like something cliched to say, but fuck it, it's how I feel. If you only see one documentary about a filmmaker this year make fucking sure it is this one! In fact, even if you see a million of them, still see this one. You know what? Just fucking see King Cohen!

 

4 out of 4