Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

 "BYOB!  Where's the party at?!" -Sami Layadi It was nice to have a merge episode that didn't make me completely rage.  The last five merge episodes have all been tainted in some way.  Two had the Hourglass Advantage, two had the Edge of Extinction, and one was literally my least favorite episode of Survivor of all time.  To have a good, old-fashioned, chaotic merge episode was a delight.  I even like the win your way into the merge component now that the Hourglass has gone.  Anyway, let's take a look at who played well and who sucked. Played Well: Let's start with the Coco crew.  I thought they were going to be the most fractured group coming into this episode.  Ryan even talked about turning his back on all of them, but the group held tight in this episode.  Ryan and Karla both won their way into the merge via challenge.  Ryan was an absolute badass in the challenge as well.  The group as a whole managed to sniff out that Eli...

 "Part of me is just ready with the knives." -Karla Cruz Godoy I hate the Knowledge is Power Advantage with a passion and I was ready to rage about it being back in the game.  Luckily, it was knocked right out of the game in this episode and I couldn't be happier.  I doubt it, but hopefully it's gone for good this time.  Anyway, let's take a look at who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: Let's start over on Baka.  Jeanine found the Beware Advantage and, although she doesn't seem to know it, she's in a very dangerous position on the tribe.  I think it was a good move for her to take it and she managed to turn it into a Hidden Immunity Idol.  I also don't mind that she Risked Her Vote.  I think she's in a position where she could use another Advantage, plus she has the safety net of her Idol. I loved that Elie encouraged Jeanine to take the Beware Advantage.  She knows where it is and didn't receive any of the penalty.  That's p...

 "I'll light the match." -Corey Cunningham 4 years after the events of Halloween Kills , the town of Haddonfield has struggled to move on from the slaughter committed by Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney).  As Halloween approaches again, evil looms over Haddonfield once again in the form of Myers and perhaps in the form of someone else. Spoiler Alert for Halloween Ends .  This movie has a ton of issues that I won't be able to get into without spoilers.  This movie sucks.  Read ahead at your own risk. What Works: The best part of this movie is hands down the opening sequence.  I love it.  It's shocking and darkly hilarious.  It has nothing to do with Michael Myers, but his presence still looms largely over all of it.  Instead we get a babysitter, Corey (Rohan Campbell), accidently killing a kid in front of the kid's parents.  I laughed so hard and it's a memorable way to open the movie. I will give this movie some credit for trying somet...

 "Something really bad's gonna happen tonight." -Jonathan Shaw A year after the events of the first movie, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) is back to bring some murder and mayhem to Halloween.  However, he may have finally met his match when he takes on Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera). What Works: David Howard Thornton was the best part of the first Terrifier .  He's absolutely incredible as Art. While Art doesn't get as many iconic moments this time around, Thornton still does a brilliant job as the character. I do respect the filmmakers for how gory they made these films.  It's far beyond over the top and we get one of the goriest movies I've ever seen.  They certainly didn't pull any punches. What Sucks: This movie is nearly 2 and a half hours long.  No slasher movie needs to be 2 and a half hours long.  This was an absolute slog to sit through and it was one of the most miserable cinematic experiences I've ever had.  This movie is not nearly...

 "No more watching movies.  I'm gonna make a movie!" -Randal Graves After surviving a heart attack, Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson) determines that he hasn't done enough with his life.  He decides to make a movie about his life and to set it entirely at the Quick Stop.  He enlists everyone he can to help relive their lives through a movie. What Works: Clerks III  is at its best, not when it's a comedy, but when it's a drama.  There are darker moments in the film that deal with death.  The emotional at those moments is very mature and well-handled.  I didn't care for this movie as a whole, but there was a moment that had me tear up.  The scenes with Rosario Dawson's  character are especially good. This is a comedy and some of that comedy works.  Justin Long has a quick cameo appearance and is the funniest part of the film.  He's absolutely hysterical. Finally, the 3rd act of the movie is very good.  At it's core, this series ...

 "Thank you, Jeffrey." -Dwight Moore What an absolute meltdown.  This was a pretty average episode of Survivor until it wasn't.  I was genuinely surprised by how it shook out.  Plus we get some cool new challenges.  Anyway, let's figure out who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: I only have members of the Coco tribe to talk about here and even then I have mixed feelings.  On paper, Geo seems like the obvious person to vote out.  While Lindsay's paranoid was bad, was it really bad enough to vote her out?  Was it just first vote jitters?  I think I probably would have spared her this time, but if it happened again, I would have voted her out.  That seemed to be James' attitude as well, at least at first.  He was very chill about all of this.  The fact that he ended up flipping on her feels pretty telling to me.  I'm going to trust the castaways on this one and give both James and Karla the benefit of the doubt....

 "I just need to show them something." -Desmond Hume "Happily Ever After" begins with Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) waking up on Hydra Island.  He attacks Widmore (Alan Dale) in a rage before being placed inside an electromagnetic crate, which had just killed a member of Widmore's team.  Widmore's test exposes Desmond to a high level electromagnetism. In the flash-sideways, Desmond exits the airport after meeting both Hurley (Jorge Garcia) and Claire (Emilie de Ravin).  His limo driver, George Minkowski (Fisher Stevens), takes him to his employer's office, who turns out to be Charles Widmore and the two of them actually like each other. Desmond is sent to babysit Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) after he is released from jail.  Widmore's wife, Eloise (Fionnula Flanagan), is throwing a charity concert, where her son, Daniel (Jeremy Davies), will be performing along side DriveShaft, but Charlie isn't all that interested.  During his near death experience on...

 "I don't know." -Riley McKendry Riley McKendry (Odessa A'zion) and her boyfriend, Trevor (Drew Starkey), break into a warehouse and find a puzzle box.  After solving it, Riley begins seeing twisted beings who threaten to take her with them unless she gives them someone else in her place.  When someone close to her goes missing, Riley has to discover the secrets of the puzzle box if she is to have any hope of saving them. What Works: Man, is it nice to have a Hellraiser movie that looks this good.  The theatrical movies all came out in the 80's and 90's, and while they have their charm, they definitely feel like they are from the 80's and 90's.  The rest of the series is pretty much straight to video trash and they all feel cheap and ugly.  This Hellraiser simply looks good.  It keeps the tone, but takes Hellraiser into a modern era and you love to see it.  The design of the Cenobites and everything from their dimension feels a lot like the movie ...

 "Just checking." -Geo Bustamante Episode 3 of Survivor 43 was a pretty average episode of Survivor .  Pretty straightforward, but enjoyable, if not spectacular.  That's okay.  Not every episode needs to be jaw-dropping.  That said, we still need to figure out who played well and who sucked.  Let's take a closer look! Who Played Well: We'll start over on Baka.  Gabler may be annoying the girls on his tribe, but I like how he, Sami, and Owen are luring them into a false sense of security in regards to Gabler's Idol.  The three of them have complete control of their tribe.  I also liked that Owen volunteered to go on the journey to stop Elie or Jeanine from getting an Advantage.  And letting Noelle take the Advantage instead of Risking his Vote was a smart move. Moving over to Coco, just like Owen, it was smart for James to let Noelle have the Advantage rather than Risking his Vote. I also really liked that Geo checked under the sit-out be...

 "I'm just a regular gal living a boring, normal life." -Lily Munster Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie) falls in love with stand-up comedian and singer, Herman Munster (Jeff Daniel Phillips), and the two lovebirds quickly get married, much to the displeasure of Lily's father, the Count (Daniel Roebuck).  After losing their castle, the family decides to leave Transylvania and move to Los Angeles, but discover they may have trouble fitting in. What Works: The thing I admire most about this movie is director Rob Zombie's passion for the material.  It's well known that he's a super-fan of the original show and that love and care definitely show.  I may not have really liked the movie, but I'm glad Zombie got to make it and it makes me respect the movie a lot more. The one thing I absolutely loved is the atmosphere.  The movie does a great job of making spooky vibes.  Sure, it feels like a Halloween special, but I'm okay with that.  Spooky vibes are my thing.  ...