Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

"I may have no choice but to shut this place down and go back to my life as an international playboy." -Uncle Thorny While working on a case, Mystery Inc. accidentally burns down a barn.  To pay for the damage, the gang all gets jobs at a country club for the summer.  However, their employment is quickly in jeopardy as a Lake Monster begins attacking the club.  It's up to Mystery Inc. to solve the case or the country club will be going down the drain. What Works: Curse of the Lake Monster takes all of my complaints from the first movie and fixes them.  The CGI, while still not fantastic, is an improvement.  Plus the movie doesn't have as many special effects as the first, which is the right way to go if you can't have good CGI. The previous movie's villain had a really lackluster design, but this time we get a frog-monster.  It's goofy looking, but it's at least creative.  I laughed every time it came on screen. Fred (Robbi...

"Who in their right mind would bring bears to the beach?!" -Shaggy Rogers When a group of ghosts begin terrorizing Coolsville Academy, a group of four teenagers and a dog are blamed for it.  The teenagers, who discover they all love mysteries, decide to work together to clear their names and find out who is really responsible for the spooky situation. What Works: The Mystery Begins actually does a really good job of capturing the tone of the series.  Its goofy, cartoony fun, plain and simple.  Does that material translate super well to live action?  No, but I give them points for committing to the goofy tone anyway. The cast also does a solid job.  Nick Palatas plays Shaggy and, while he's no Matthew Lillard, he still does a good job of bringing this goofball to life.  He's the best of the group, but I liked everyone in their respective roles. At times, the movie reminded me of The Breakfast Club .  Each member of the gan...

"If you've come to apologize, I forgive you for hitting me with your crutch." -"Henry Gale" "Two for the Road" focuses on Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) as she brings food to Henry Gale (Michael Emerson).  He attacks and nearly strangles her, but she is saved by Locke (Terry O'Quinn) knocking Henry out.  Seeking revenge, Ana Lucia tries to get a gun from Sawyer (Josh Holloway).  He refuses, so Ana seduces him and steals the gun after they have sex. Jack (Matthew Fox) and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) return to the hatch with an unconscious Michael (Harold Perrineau).  When he wakes up, he tells them that the Others are basically savages and only have two guns.  He wants to lead a rescue operation to save Walt (Malcolm David Kelly).  Jack, Kate, and Locke head to the beach to get the guns back from Sawyer, who realizes that Ana Lucia has taken his gun.  Locke realizes something bad is about to happen at the hatch. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) ...

"Darn bushes howlin' at me again." -Jeremiah Wickles Mystery Inc. attends the opening of a museum exhibit featuring the costumes of all the villains they have ever defeated.  The gala is ruined by an Evil Masked Figure and what appears to be a real, live Pterodactyl Ghost, who proceed to steal some of the costumes.  Mystery Inc. gets to work on the case to restore their damaged reputation, but quickly discover that somehow the costumes are being brought to life and the monsters are very real! What Works: Cards on the table, I love this movie.  I know that's probably an unpopular opinion.  In fact, I don't think I know anyone else who shares it, but I won't apologize for it and I regret nothing.  Part of the reason I like it so much is that it feels much more faithful to the cartoon than the first movie did.   Monsters Unleashed isn't nearly as tonally awkward as it's simply silly and goofy the entire time. I love Scooby-Doo a...

"We're not safe anywhere." -Carlos Alvarez Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini) is a social worker and single mother.  Two of the boys in one of her cases are murdered after she took them away from their mother, Patricia (Patricia Velásquez).  Patricia warns Anna that La Llorona (Marisol Ramirez), an evil spirit, is coming for Anna's children and intends to drown them.   What Works: I love Linda Cardellini and I was pleasantly surprised to discover she is the lead in this movie.  She tries her best with what she is given and her character is pretty interesting when it comes to the social work stuff.  One of her coworkers is sent to check in on Anna's kids at one point and it's interesting to see the shoe on the other foot for her character. It's bizarre to see Raymond Cruz in this as the exorcist character.  I can only think of him as Tuco from Breaking Bad  and this character is nothing like Tuco.  Cruz is by far the best ...

"I killed your little brother, but he's dead because you didn't look after him." -Mick O'Brien After an attempt to steal drugs leaves three people dead, 16-year-old Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) is arrested and sent to a juvenile detention center.  Not willing to be intimidated, Mick soon becomes the big dog in the prison, but he makes himself some enemies along the way.  To make matters worse, Mick's rival, Paco Moreno (Esai Morales), wants revenge on Mick for killing his brother and ends up in the same detention center. What Works: The best part about Bad Boys is the tension.  Director Rick Rosenthal does an outstanding job of building the conflict and suspense.  The tension between Mick and his enemies continues to rise and rise until you feel like the movie is going to explore.  It's very exciting.  There's even a scene where a character is carrying a radio that has an explosive inside.  Is it going to go off?  And when?  I...

"Friends don't quit." -Shaggy Rogers Two years after the breakup of Mystery Inc, each member of the gang is recruited to come to an amusement park on Spooky Island.  The owner, Emile Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson), tells them the people that come to the park are having their personalities completely changed while on the island.  The gang goes their separate ways to solve the mystery, but quickly realize they will have to come back together if they want to survive Spooky Island. What Sucks: I'm going to start with what's wrong with Scooby-Doo this time around.  The biggest problem with the movie is the tone.  It's all over the place.  The movie started out as a much more adult-oriented film.  It was supposed to be PG-13 or even rated R and some of the jokes still reflect that, even if most of them were cut out.  Mid-production, they changed the film to be more family-friendly.  They really needed to commit one way or the other...