Child's Play
Director: Tom Holland
Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Douriff
Studio: MGM
Release Date: September 15, 2009
ASIN: B002BE7JE8
Running Time: 87 minutes
Rating: R

Review:

Child's Play was released to theaters when I was seven years old, but I didn't see Chucky's first outing until the mid-90s on TNT's Monster Vision (when it was on Friday nights). I liked it so much, that I bought the movie on VHS, though it had a white fuzz to the film. I bought 2-5 on a DVD set several years ago and of course, I bought Curse of Chucky this month, but I wanted to own Child's Play on DVD too. I ended up ordering the Blu-Ray + DVD combo as it was cheaper than the DVD version. The DVD in the 2-disc set is Chucky's 20th Birthday Edition which was released in 2008.

Though you probably already know the plot, I'll still recap it for those who haven't seen it. First released in 1988, Child's Play opens up with Charles Lee Ray being chased by the police into a toy store. He is shot and before he dies he does a little voodoo and transfers his soul into a Good Guy Doll.

A struggling single mother Karen Barclay (played by 7th Heaven's Catherine Hicks) can't afford to get her six-year-old son, Andy, a Good Guy doll for his birthday, but luckily her best-friend Maggie finds a homeless man who happens to have the doll and Karen buys the doll. Andy loves the talking doll that calls itself, “Chucky.”

That very night Maggie volunteers to babysit Andy while Karen works the night shift. Karen comes home to a swarm of police cars outside her apartment building. Maggie was pushed out of a window and fell to her death. The only suspect is Andy, who claims his doll Chucky is responsible.

Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas
Director: Chuck Patton
Voice Cast: Don Adams, Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, Erica Horn
Studio: DHX Media Distribution Limited
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Retail: $12.95 
ASIN: B00DT55OSG
Running Time: 30mins.
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

Cartoons ruled television sets in the 1980s and thanks to DVDs; these classic animations are being released for a whole new generation of fans. Inspector Gadget made its debut in 1983 (when I was a two-year-old) and ended in 1986. Inspector Gadget would return in 1992 in a 30-minute Christmas Special on CBS. Now this loveable special, Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas, is available to own on DVD for the entire family to enjoy.

Doctor Claw is up to his old tricks, but this time he is causing mayhem on the North Pole when he released a mind-control device that brainwashes the elves into capturing Santa Claus. He orders the elves to make defective toys, so the whole world will hate Santa. Typically, his evil plans are stopped by Inspector Gadget, but this time he is a step ahead by sending his MAD agents to destroy Gadget.

Gadget has the Christmas spirit and is getting ready for the big holiday day, which he doesn't have a clue that MAD agents were sent after him, but he somehow slips through their clutches. While visiting the mall, Chief Quimby sends Gadget on a mission to stop Doctor Claw from kidnapping Santa.

Gadget, along with Penny and Brain, arrive at the North Pole, where everything looks normal, at least it does in the eyes of Inspector Gadget. He doesn't even recognize his own nemesis, Doctor Claws, wearing a Santa disguise. Of course Penny and Brain automatically notices who is in the Santa getup.

Writing Scary Scenes
By Rayne Hall
Publisher: Scimitar Press
Pub. Date: July 6, 2012
ASIN: B008IEJTSE
Pages: 143

Review:

If you grew up reading Goosebumps books, Fear Street novels and anything by Stephen King, then sooner or later you've probably have attempted to write your own spooky story, maybe it was a haunted house story (I have written plenty of them.). Horror writing may not be as easy as it looks, but you are in luck, as author Rayne Hall has written a book just for this situation, titled Writing Scary Scenes.

Throughout the twenty-six chapters, Rayne Hall will help you write the perfect scary scene that will grab a hold of your readers and won't let them go until their hearts are racing and they're afraid to turn to the next page. Learn how to instantly hook a reader with just a simple line of anxiety and fear. Don't try to use too much gore, though it does work for some tales, but try to show your readers what your character is feeling and describe the atmosphere around him or her.

Remember never to throw a character into an unnecessary scene, but give a clever reason or motivation for what is going on. Have your character isolated from the outside world; turn off the lights, cut the land line and either have the cell phone lose signal or the battery goes dead.

Insidious
Director: James Wan
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey
Studio: Film District
Release Date: July 12, 2011
ASIN: B004LWZW24
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rating: PG-13

Review:

I love the horror films from the 1980s, but Hollywood has replaced them with mindless PG-13 kiddy movies that claim to be scarier, when I actually think the directors or screenwriters were either high during filming or they just lack a single ounce of creativity. I have purposely ignored most recent horror movies, such as the Paranormal Activity which was rated R, though I did watch Mama on HBO last week. To me there is too much CGI and not enough real scares. Insidious: Chapter 2 was released to theaters in September and has become a box-office success. Of course I have never seen the first movie before that is until I ran across the DVD in the five dollar bin at Walmart and I thought I would see what the hype is all about.

Insidious has Josh and Renai Lambert (played by Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) and their three children moving into a new home. Their son Dalton sneaks into the attic to investigate some strange noises he heard. He attempts to climb a ladder to turn on the attic light, but he falls. His parents rush to his aid and inform him to stay out of the attic. The following morning, Josh and Renai find Dalton asleep in his bed and he won't wake up. He is in a coma!

After spending three months in the hospital, Dalton returns home, but he is still in a coma state. Bizarre occurrences begin to happen, like strange voices over the baby monitor, a bloody hand-print on Dalton's bed and a strange male figure in the baby's room.

Many individuals would like to own a business but don’t know what they would do or how to do it. One of the great benefits of owning a franchise is that much of that leg work has already been done for you. The franchisor has already put a lot of effort into figuring out a great business plan, streamlining business practices, and designing a franchise training program.

At the same time, when you buy a franchise, it is still your business. The success or failure of the business will be due, in large part, to your business skills. Following are five tips for succeeding as a franchise owner:

Find the right business for you.

Know your industry.

Remember that it is your business.

Put effort into your own marketing. Stick with the franchise method of business

Choose the Right Business

Halloween is often the best time of year for children. They get absorbed in the whole day; hankering after fancy dress costumes, decorations for the house and themed treats to enjoy. This all sounds great, but the price of everything can soon start to mount up - so how can you keep the cost down but still make sure everyone has a great Halloween?


Buying an entire Halloween fancy dress costume can be very expensive, particularly when you think that there is quite a good chance they will have outgrown it by the following year. If you want to keep the cost down and also get something that can be reused, you may find you're better off investing your money in accessories.

A pair of fairy wings or devil horns can be used at any age and will last for year after year, making them worth the investment. You can then create a lot of the outfits from clothes you already have in the cupboards at home. For example, you can dress your child up as a minion with just some dungarees, a yellow t-shirt and some swimming goggles.




Every child is going to want treats when they go trick-or-treating and is likely to want them to come to after school as well. You can often bulk buy some treats from the supermarket, which can work out cheaper than buying lots of individual items. Some places stock huge tubs of sweets that will last you long after Halloween has passed so you might save some money this way.

Fright Night 2: New Blood
Director: Eduardo Rodriguez
Starring: Will Payne, Jaime Murray, Sean Power, Sacha Parkinson
Chris Waller
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 1, 2013
ASIN: B00DZH8H2S
Running Time: 88 minutes
Rated: Unrated

Review:

 The 1980s had a shockwave of horror movies, from slasher sequels to zombie flicks and of course there is the 1985 horror-comedy Fright Night starring William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowall and Amanda Bearse, followed by a 1987 sequel with McDowall and Ragasdale returning. Then came the 2011 3D remake starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell and David Tennant, which failed to impress critics and moviegoers, barley making a profit. Two years later, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment releases the direct-to-video sequel Fright Night 2: New Blood, which ignored the remake and is actually a new take on the original. Confused yet?

Charley Brewster, his best-friend "Evil" Ed Bates, and his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee are exchange students in Romania, where Charley happens to glance out his hotel window to see a woman biting the neck of another woman in the building across the street. At first he thought it was his imagination, but he soon learns the woman is his Romanian History professor, Gerri Dandridge, who he is starting to suspect is a vampire.

After a fellow classmate goes missing, Charley believes the professor has something to do with it. Later, Charley sees Gerri getting rid of what looks like a body. While she is gone, he sneaks into her apartment, but he has to hide as Gerri has returned. She is not alone as she brought a female prostitute with her, whom she drains and bathes in the prostitute's blood.