It feels like science fiction is starting to make a comeback in Hollywood. There's the new adaptation of Dune, a sequel in the works, and a spinoff television series coming soon to HBO Max. Then there's the Foundation series on Apple+ that I keep hearing good things about but haven't seen yet. Then there are the direct-to-VOD and Blu-ray flicks that aren't half bad. So, all in all, the future of onscreen science fiction looks promising. 

Why do movie studios keep modernizing classic novels? Seriously, I'm getting sick and tired of it. Then, again, at least it isn't another straight-up remake. Despite my dislike for this trend, I put aside my bias and watched Twist on Blu-ray a few nights ago. As you might have guessed by the title, it's a modern reimagining of Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist. 

There are way too many getting VOD and direct-to- Blu-ray releases and about 95% of them go under my radar. Occupation: Rainfall (R; 128 minutes) happens to be one of these films. It's an Australian science fiction sequel to 2018's Occupation, with Luke Sparke returning as writer and director.

Let me be honest I had never heard of the superhero Shang-Chi before Marvel Studio's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (PG-13; 132 minutes) was released this year. I was assuming he was a new comic book character. Oh, boy, I was wrong. Shang-Chi made his debut in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973), and his appearance looked like legendary Bruce Lee.  

I wouldn't have even known about The Green Knight (R; 129 minutes) if it wasn't for a YouTube recommendation for the trailer. A24 distributed it to USA theaters on July 30th, 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the UK theatrical debut moved from August 6th to September 24th. Lionsgate Home Entertainment released the film on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on October 12th.

If you haven't heard of the Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (R; 99 minutes), there's a reason why. It came out in the summer of 2021 when hardly anyone was going to theaters in fear of the pandemic. The film came and went as fast as it could, grossing only $70.3 million against a $70 million budget. 

Never say never when it comes to horror sequels, especially when Blumhouse is involved. The Purge franchise should have ended with the third film, Election Year, in 2016. There's a rule in Hollywood that if a sequel makes money, then another cash grab sequel is almost always guaranteed. The prequel The First Purge, which nobody wanted, made over $137 million against a $13 million budget. It was supposed to be the final film of the series. That was back in 2018, the same year the horrible The Purge television series debuted on USA. It wasn't popular with the fans and got canceled after season two. Did the franchise end there? The answer is hell no! 

I knew Hasbro and Paramount Pictures were working on a G.I. Joe prequel reboot, but I must be living under the rock because I didn't realize the film got a theatrical release this year. From what I've read, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins didn't go over well with the critics and moviegoers. Depending on the source, the budget is between $88 - 110 million and only brought in $37 at the worldwide box office. In other words - it was a major flop.

I'm getting to where I dislike almost every book-to-film adaptation that Hollywood cranks out for us poor souls to devour. Instead of going by the book, studios like to water down the story, revamp characters, dumbify the dialogue, and ignore plot points. Why do they do this? Budgetary issues and runtime restraints have something to do with it. Sometimes there are too many cooks in the kitchen - aka too many studio-heads inferring with production. Made-for-television movies and miniseries tend to be the worse (with the expectation of a few Stephen King adaptations and the North and South miniseries from the 1980s).  

Did anyone else besides me forget about A Quite Place Part II even existed? 2018's A Quiet Place was a slick and suspenseful science fiction horror hybrid that I thoroughly enjoyed, except for the sudden cliffhanger ending. At one point in time, I was excited about John Krasinski's follow-up. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and the sequel's theatrical release date got tossed around from March 2020 to September 2020. Then it got postponed to April 2021, pushed back to September 2021, and bumped up to May 28, 2021. Considering the world we currently live in, the sequel did alright at the box office, taking in over $290 million worldwide.

Let's start things off with a quote from COMINGSOON.NET about the new horror flick SEANCE - "Scream Meets Black Christmas." The first thought that pops into my mind is, "Which Black Christmas are they talking about?" Is it the classic 1974 film that everyone seems to love? Or is it the underrated 2006 gorefest remake? (Yes, I said underrated!) Or is it the in-name-only, godawful 2019 remake? As for Scream, are they referring to the 1995 film or its lackluster sequels? Even after viewing the film, I'm still not sure what they meant. It's more like a magicless version of The Craft meets The House on Sorority Row.

The 2019 family-friendly drama, When We Last Spoke, scored big ICVM wins at the Crown Awards at the National Religious Broadcasters 2021 Christian Media Convention, held on June 23rd in Grapevine, Texas. Inspired by the novel of the same name by Marci Henna, the heartwarming film received awards in each of the five categories, including Best Narrative and Best Picture. The late Cloris Leachman won Best Supporting Actress, Melissa Gilbert (Little House on the Prairie) won the Silver Award for Best Actress, and Corbin Bernsen won the Bronze Award for Best Actor.  

Why do I waste my time reading reviews written by the mainstream media? I rarely read other reviews before writing my own, but tonight I found myself reading a few for the vampire-flick Jakob's Wife. I usually don't care what a critic thinks of a horror film, but a specific Variety review from March ticked me off. The critic, who I won't name, stated Jakob's Wife is nothing more but "a cheap and cheerless vampire movie knock-off." Why does a vampire movie have to be cheerful? I take it this so-called critic has never watched a vampire movie? And, no, the Twilight Saga doesn't count. Cheap? It's a low-budget, B-grade horror film, enough said. A knock-off? Of what? Sure, the vampire looks a hell of a lot like Count Orlok from Nosferatu and Kurt Barlow from Salem's Lot, but I would never call it a knock-off. Good grief! Ever heard of a homage?!

Yesterday, Lionsgate Home Entertainment released Spiral: From the Book of Saw (R; 93 minutes) on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD. It's also available on Digital and Demand.

The Saw film series is one of the slickest and sickest horror franchises in recent years. I've been a fan of these films ever since I rented Saw on VHS in early 2005. (Yes, I know I'm old.) While there have been a few half-ass sequels (Saw V and Saw 3D), I've continued to watch each new film, even 2007's reboot sequel Jigsaw. I was skeptical when I first heard that Chris Rock would produce and star in the spinoff Spiral: From the Book of Saw. Sure, he's good at comedy, but I had my doubts he could carry a horror film.

Movie theaters are nearly dead here in the United States. While the COVID-19 pandemic is taking the blame, I believe it has more to do with Hollywood running out of ideas. All they have been pumping out for the last decade is bad remakes or CGI bloated superhero tales. Yes, I understand the latter makes money, but only a handful of these films are actually good. Then there are the artsy dramas that receive awards and get high praise from mainstream critics. Nobody in Hollywood will admit it, but these artsy movies are downright horrible. If a film isn't trending or doesn't contain a political message, the critics will more than likely give it a negative review. This is what happened with this year's action-thriller, THE MARKSMAN.

The horror genre has changed significantly throughout the last decade. Minus a few supernatural flops, like this year's The Unholy, only studio-proven IPs (Halloween, The Conjuring, Saw, etc.) receive the red carpet rollout in theaters. The rest typically head straight to VOD or the $5 DVD bin at Walmart. With so many new low-budget horror films, it can difficult for me to keep up with all the release dates. RLJE Films released the occult-thriller SON (Not Rated; 98 minutes) to DVD and Blu-ray on May 18th. If I hadn't received a press release, I wouldn't have even known about this movie, which stars Andi Matichak, who co-starred in 2018's Halloween and will appear in its sequel Halloween Kill later this year.

For many months there has been a lot of talk & hype around the Canadian indie horror-comedy PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN (Not Rated; 94 minutes) from writer/director Steven Kostanski (The Void, Leprechaun Returns). The film was to debut at the South by Southwest film festival last Spring, but the premiere got canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later in 2020, the film was screened at the Beyond Fest, Monster Fest, and the Sitges Film Festival. RLJE Films and Shudder (owned by AMC Networks) bought the distribution rights and released the film to theaters and VOD in January 2021. The film landed on DVD and Blu-ray on March 16th, 2021.

A few nights ago, I watched a disturbing but entertaining thriller DONT TELL A SOUL (R; 96 minutes) from writer and director Alex McAulay. Like many films from 2020, its planned film festival premiere got delayed to the Fall of 2020. Saban Films snatched up the North American distribution rights and released the film to theaters and VOD in January 2021. Lionsgate Home Entertainment released it on DVD and Blu-ray last week.  

The action-adventure film VANGUARD (PG-13; 107 minutes) landed on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital last week from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. It's written and directed by Stanley Tong and stars the legendary Jackie Chan.  

The plot is cliched and confusing at the same time. Qin Guoli is a Chinese accountant living in Great Britain. He tips off Scotland Yard that the terrorist organization Brothers of Vengeance is forcing him to finance a project by their leader, Maasym. SPOILER WARNING: United States forces kill Maasym during a raid. His son, Omar, survives and wants to get his greedy hands on his father's money, so he hires a mercenary gang to kidnap Qin and his wife, Meiwei.