Finding a good horror flick with actual scares is hard to find these days, especially with all the unneeded remakes as well as the unwatchable PG-13 found footage ones. In my opinion, the horror genre took a turn for the worse when Scream was released in the middle '90s; though there are a few exceptions, such as Rob Zombie's Halloween, The Conjuring, The Innkeepers, The House of the Devil and Trick'r Treat.

And then there is this year's It Follows, a low-budget independent horror film that frightened moviegoers earlier this year. Sure, it only made over $18 million, but it's budget was around $2 million.

Written & directed by David Robert Mitchell, the film stars Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Oliva Luccardi and Lili Sepe.

I occasionally search the internet about upcoming horror movies, so I was more than aware of all the buzz around It Follows way before it was released to theaters this past spring. I very seldom go to a  movie theater, so I patiently waited for it to arrive on DVD.

The film centers on a college student named Jay (played by Maika Monroe) going on a date from hell with her new boyfriend, Hugh (played by Jake Weary). He knocks her out with chloroform. Then she wakes up tied to a wheelchair in an abandoned building. This is when she learns that Hugh is passing a curse onto her, so for the time being he will be free of it.

Goosebumps Most Wanted: Night of the Puppet People
by R.L. Stine
Publisher: Scholastic
Pub. Date: September 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-0545627757
Pages: 153 pages

Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

I'm sure many people have fond memories of reading the Goosebumps the series throughout the 90s as well as the new generation of kids with the spinoffs Horrorland, Halls of Horrors and Most Wanted. I've been a fan since the first book, Welcome to Dead House, was released in 1992. It' sold over 350 million books worldwide in 32 languages and I'm sure with the feature film being released this Friday that it will become even more popular.

Over the last year or so, I've been reviewing the newest additions to the franchise, which I received my review copies directly from Scholastic. Unfortunately, I didn't receive a review copy of Goosebumps Most Wanted: Night of the Puppet People, but I wanted to feature a post about the title during the Halloween Madness event. Therefore, I ordered the book from Amazon and I received it on the release date.

This time around R.L. Stine adds a twisted spin on the world of puppetry. The story centers Ben and Jenny Renfro, sixth-grade twins whom have always feared puppets ever since they attended a puppet show in Kindergarten. With the Sixth-Grade Variety Show fast approaching, the twins want to come up with the perfect skit, so they can win the $500 prize and outshine Maria and Anna, two classmates that are going to make their own puppets and perform an act during the show.

Having no idea what to do, the twins turn to their pal Jonathan Sparrow (or otherwise known as Bird) to help them come up with the perfect skit. While searching Bird's attic for costumes to wear, they discover three old puppets on strings - a princess, a knight and a sultan. Though Ben is at first against it, Jenny convinces him that putting on a puppet show is the perfect way to win the variety show.

I'm sure almost everyone had heard of the bestselling Goosebumps children book series by R.L. Stine, but the younger generation might not be aware of the author's scary series for teens - Fear Street!

The first Fear Street novel, The New Girl, was released in 1989.  It was one of the most popular book series in the 1990s and has sold over 80 million copies since 2003 (probably a lot more by now). After a nine-year hiatus, R.L. Stine published a brand new installment, Party Games, in 2014; followed by Don't Stay Up Late earlier this year. The third new novel was released a few weeks ago and is titled the The Lost Girl!

Just like all the other Fear Street books, this is set in the fictional town of Shadyside. The novel starts out with a prologue that is set in the 1950 and centers on a Beth Palmieri, a teenager that has witch-like powers that were passed down from her grandmother. After being attacked by a boy, Aaron, whom happens to be the nephew of a powerful man - Martin Dooley, her father is murdered. Beth is the only witness, but she mysteriously disappears.

Fast forward to the present day, where the main character, teenager Michael Frost, is introduced. He is your typical teenager that likes hanging out with his friends, Gabe and Diego. Plus, he also writes the Shadyside High blog along with his other friend Pepper, who has a small crush on him.

While doing some grocery shopping for his mother, Michael runs into a teenage girl who looked like she was trying to steal food. The next day at school he meets this strange girl again and she introduces herself as Lizzy Walker. He is instantly enchanted by her and invites her to go on snowmobile ride with his friends. That's when the unthinkable happens - they accidentally hit a man; though the body vanishes without a trace.

I hate to admit this, but my eating habits haven't been the best as of lately, especially when I've been drinking unneeded energy drinks a few times a week; which has resulted in my pants getting tighter around my waist. Hopefully, I can cut back on the sweets and push myself to exercise a bit more daily, so I can at least lose a few pounds for the holidays.

One the best ways to give in to your afternoon cravings without the all the unwanted sugar and other junk is to make yourself a protein shake!

Recently, I was sent a container of Zahler Whey Protein Meal Replacement Powder, which comes in many different flavors, such as Toasted Coconut, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Apple. The flavor that was sent to me was Cappuccino!

Unlike a lot of protein mixes, this one has only 1 gram of sugar per serving. It has 25 grams of protein per serving (1 scoop). It also contains BCAAs, Essential Amino Acids and Non-Essential Amino Acids, which will help a person burn body fat and gain muscle, if you are exercising regularly.

If you follow my blog regularly, then you would know that one of my favorite genres to read is Christian romances, preferably historical fiction set in the 1800s. In the past I've stayed away from any novels set during WWI or WWII as the plots never appealed to me; though I've broken that rule from time to time when the books featured Amish characters.

I'm sure many horror fans (me included) will be watching the season premiere of The Walking Dead this Sunday. And a few others will be patently waiting for Halloween Night for the first episode of Ash vs Evil Dead (which also includes me). I guess you can say that I like any television series that has a horror theme. Yes, that even means that I watched the short-lived Witches of East End!

I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of the series before since in it aired on Lifetime. It loosely based on the books by by Melissa de la Cruz. The series debuted in the fall in 2013 and centered on Joanna Beauchamp (played by Julia Ormond) & her two daughters, Ingrid (played by Rachel Boston) and Freya (played by Jenna Dewan Tatum). Their lives are turned upside down when Joanna's sister Wendy (played by Mädchen Amick) arrives and forces Joanna to tell the girls the truth that they're immortal witches from Asgard.

Plus, a curse was played on Joanna and Wendy years ago. Wendy was cursed with nine lives, the ability to turn into a black cat and every time that she dies, she comes back to life within hours. Joanna was cursed with seeing her daughters die in their twenties and immediately becomes pregnant with them again. This cycle is repeated over and over, to the point where she had hid the girls' heritage from them.
 
The first season was basically a cheesy soap opera with love triangles, silly plots and so-so acting, but for some strange reason I still watched it. Oh, wait, it probably has to do with the fact that the all the actresses gorgeous.

Anyway, Season two debuted in the summer of 2014 with little advertisement from Lifetime. The first episode picks up shortly after the season one's finale, which showed what happens to Killian Gardiner (played by Daniel Di Tomasso). Meanwhile, his brother Dash (played Eric Winter) is experimenting with his new-found powers. Who are these guys? Well, Dash is Freya's ex-fiance and Killan is her soul mate. Remember, I said this was like a soap opera!

Tomorrowland
Director: Brad Bird
Cast: George Clooney. Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy and Hugh Laurie
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Retail: $39.99
ASIN: B00WAJ8OLG
Running Time: 130 minutes
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD and Blu-ray this Tuesday from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is the fantasy-adventure Tomorrowland. Directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles), the film stars George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy and Hugh Laurie. Bonus Features on the Blu-ray includes Remembering The Future: A Personal Journey Through Tomorrowland With Brad Bird, Animated Short: The Origins Of Plus Ultra, Casting Tomorrowland, A Great Big Beautiful Scoring Session, The World Of Tomorrow Science Hour - Hosted by Futurologist David Nix, Deleted Scenes, Brad Bird Production Diaries, Blast from the Past Commercial and 4 Easter Eggs.

Loosely inspired by the Disney theme parks' Tomorrowland attraction, the film centers on a Florida teenager, Casey Newton (played by Britt Robertson), who has a niche for technology and science. She also has a wild streak that gets her into trouble with the law, which doesn't sit well with her father (played by Tim McGraw), a  NASA engineer.

After being bailed out of jail, a police officer hands over Casey's belongings. She quickly notices that one thing isn't hers - a strange-looking pin that is embossed with a "T" symbol. When she touches the pin, she sees a glimpse of a futuristic world!

With a quick internet search, Casey finds no information on the pin, except that a Houston memorabilia store has been looking for it. She is determined to find out what the pin is and travels to Texas, but upon arriving she is attacked by robots. Luckily for her, she has a new-found friend - an Audio-Animatronic robot named Athena (played by Raffey Cassidy).

Now with more evil robots hot on the trail, Casey and Athena must seek out the inventor Frank Walker (played by George Clooney) to help them travel to Tomorrowland save it from extinction.