It’s the first Friday in October, and you know what that means! Being Friday means it’s time for the Weekly Weblinks, and being October means there’s a lot of spooky and scary content to be shared. From other bloggers, we have reviews of two spooky flicks for kids, a horror anthology for adults, and an in-depth look at the master of suspense, plus a new sci-fi feature that’s getting a lot of love lately and a whole lotta love for some actors who don’t get the spotlight often.
The press agencies are getting into the Halloween spirit as well, although there aren’t any horror films mentioned in the news bites. No, instead they’re settling for just making the news itself horrifying. You’re sure to find something to scream about, so read on for the Weekly Weblinks!
Blog Posts:
Adam Sandler’s Hotel Transylvania is out this month to give kids some Halloween fun. But is it a trick or a treat? Fogs gives his review, leading off with a lyrical summary of his feelings.
It’s not the only spooky animated feature out this month, though; there’s also Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie. Terrence gives his review at at the Focused Filmographer.
The time-travel action film Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is out as well; Check out Jaina’s review to see if it’s the sci-fi film we’ve been waiting for this year.
Another “Director Talk” discussion is up! This time Fogs, Ian, P.G. Cooper and special guest H.T. Schuyler take on the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock.
To some kids today just the thought of having to watch a movie on VHS is probably scary, if they even know what it is. Dan the Man reviews the 2012 horror anthology V/H/S.
Ruth at FlixChatter is shining a spotlight on some unsung screen stars with her “Small Roles, Big Performances” blogathon. A lot of bloggers are participating; the central hub is here.
News Blurbs:
The 85th Academy Awards, which will take place on February 24, 2013, now have a host, and somehow the Academy has managed to pick someone even less suited to the task than David Letterman. The host of the Oscars this year will be Seth MacFarlane. As Entertainment Weekly says, “God help us, who ever thought we’d be seeing THOSE words all put together?” Maybe we’ll get really lucky, and he’ll do a runner like Eddie Murphy did last year.
How many sequels are too many? Liam Neeson’s Taken 2 is out today, but he says there probably won’t be a Taken 3. He doesn’t see the franchise as being believable past two entries.
ShockTillYouDrop.com has a brief interview with Guillermo del Toro about his upcoming Frankenstein adaptation (one of several in the works). del Toro is also attached to the upcoming Hulk television series, which is apparently awaiting a scriptwriter right now.
In other movie-mogul-turning-television news, M. Night Shyamalan is going to be finding out if people will watch his work on the small screen now that they seem to have disavowed his big screen work. News broke in August about his series Proof for Syfy, about a young man seeking evidence of life after death, and now NBC has picked up the pilot for another Shyamalan-produced series, Lost Horizon, which is reportedly inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.
Strangely, that’s not the only Moby Dick news we have today. Must be the month of Melville. Lynne Ramsay, the director of 2011’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, is at the helm of Mobius, which will essentially be Moby Dick IN SPACE!
Sony Pictures has signed Tom Jenkins and Simon Sharp to write and direct a feature film entitled Giants. It will be about an alien race called the Giants, from planet Gigantus who wage war on Earth after an unprovoked attack — only to find that the “attack” was an accidental loose screw from the Hubble telescope, and the quarter-inch “Giants” are out of their league on Earth. There may be a lack of variety in the names here, but the premise sounds amusing.
Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt will star in All You Need Is Kill, a sci-fi film in which Cruise’s character, a soldier, dies in battle against aliens and is forced to re-live the same day over and over again until he gets it right.
And now, good news, bad news, from an Ivan Reitman interview. Good news: he doesn’t seem enthused about the idea of Ghostbusters 3. Bad news: He wants to do a remake. This franchise is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees are in. Candidates for induction are Albert King, Chic, Deep Purple, Donna Summer, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, the Marvelettes, the Meters, N.W.A., Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Procol Harum, Public Enemy, Randy Newman and Rush. This is the first time Rush has made the ballot, and N.W.A. and Public Enemy are also first-timers. Heart and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were nominated last year but didn’t make the cut. Go here to read more and vote.
Morgan on Media 
Ghostbusters is a sacred part of my childhood. Though if Ivan Reitman’s got a hand in the remake… well, it might not me so biblically diabolical, right? Right?!
I love that Liam Neeson that a third Taken would be beyond the realms of reality. HA! Well, he’d need a new family member to get taken, right 😉
Cheers for the link back, Morgan!
You’re welcome, Jaina.
I can’t see a Ghostbusters remake working at all… I mean, so much of what made that work was the actors involved. It’s the same reason I don’t think a third movie where they “pass the torch” to a new generation would work.
I haven’t seen either of the Taken movies yet, but just knowing the premise of the first, I was surprised to see a sequel get made. 😀
Ghostbusters is definitely about the actors involved. You’re dead right there. I can’t imagine anyone else as Ghostbusters. I remember hearing a rumour that Eliza Dushku might be involved and I might have just vomited. Something about needing to have “female” Ghostbusters. Not only can she not act, but hello… Janine!
Taken films are just ridiculous trashy action films. Liam Neeson needs a new schtick. Every time I got to an HMV here, they have the blu-ray for Taken right next to Unknown. The covers are identical!
Ha! That’s funny about the DVD covers.
Yeah, Eliza Dushku has been rumored (actually suggested by Aykroyd) along with Alyssa Milano. If they were to put together a new team, women would be a reasonable inclusion (I never saw Janine as a Ghostbuster making sense even when they tried it in the cartoon), but I’m just against the idea of new Ghostbusters at all. It always seemed like Winston was getting the short end of the stick as it was in the movies, do they really think they can have proper character development for everybody with even more characters?
Great news post.
Taken 2 doesn’t have great buzz and getting hammered on rotten tomatoes at 17%; I did like the first one. That upcoming Cruise movie is an odd flavor Groundhog Day meets Source Code with a dash of Predator although all those are good films. Del Toro will probably make a sensational Frankenstein, but again it’s hard to imagine Hulk on TV without thinking Ferrigno.
RockNRoll HOF inductees are interesting especially Rush and Heart.
I wonder what the best rock and roll movie soundtrack(s) would be?
Nice post. 😉
Taken 2 is getting hammered, huh? That’s too bad… maybe they went one too many sequels already. 😛
The Cruise film sounds interesting, though I could easily see it turning out bad.
I agree that it’s hard to think of the Hulk on television without picturing Lou Ferrigno. To be honest, if they had eschewed the CGI and just used him in the movies, it probably still would have worked. 😀
R&R HOF inductees definitely have some worthy nominations. Personally, I think Albert King, Heart, Joan Jett, Deep Purple, and Rush all deserve to be in for sure (in King’s case for the influence of blues on R&R, just like B.B. King.) Best R&R movie soundtrack is an interesting question… might have to ponder that one.
Hey thanks for the link love, Morgan! Thank goodness Liam Neeson still have some good sense in him, I think Taken 3 would be ridiculous!
You’re welcome, Ruth! And yes, it’s nice to see a measure of discretion on Neeson’s part, when lately it’s seemed like he’d take anything they offered him.
Exactly! He’ll soon become the next Nic Cage if he’s not careful, ahah.
I’ve been comparing him to Michael Caine — a great actor who keeps taking roles in terrible movies.
Hey, hey, hey! Thanks for the linkage Morgan!
Welcome as always, Dan!
Liam Neeson doesn’t see the Taken franchise as being believable past two entries? Maybe he hasn’t watched this one yet… he’d revise his estimates downward even further. LOL
Ha! Didn’t think much of it, huh? As I was saying to Jaina, I haven’t even seen the original yet, but the premise seemed like a bit of a stretch for sequelization.
First one’s decent enough if you stumble across it. I wouldnt go out of my way for it though. 😀 And this one? Eesh. 😀
Gotcha, gotcha. Hey, is your Taken 2 review spoiler-safe for people who haven’t seen Taken 1? Obviously I’m not going to be watching it any time soon, but your negative reviews are fun to read.