Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

 "Maybe you brought the nightmare with you.  And maybe, it will die with you." -Jean Renault "Checkmate" picks up with Major Briggs (Don Davis) explaining what happened to him to Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean).  Briggs doesn't remember much, except for a large owl.  He also has three triangular scars behind his ear.  Briggs starts to tell them about his investigation into the White Lodge, but two military police offcers arrive to take Briggs away. Dick Tremayne (Ian Buchanan) recruits Deputy Andy (Harry Goaz) to help him investigate what happened to Little Nicky's (Joshua Harris) parents.  The two of them sneak into the orphanage over lunch and Dick finds Nicky's file.  They are walked in on by two prospective parents that are there to see the child they are adopting.  Dick tries to stall them by saying the child isn't feeling well. Shelly Johnson (Mädchen Amick) grows frustrated in taking care of Leo (Eric Da ...

 "Is that the new Tamagotchi?" -Rudy Reyes While trying to get a job to help his struggling family, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) comes into contact with an alien scarab that attaches itself to him.  To the shock of Jaime and his family, the scarab gives Jaime superpowers.  Unfortunately, Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) needs the scarab for her new weapons program and will do anything to get it back. What Works: I was really skeptical of Blue Beetle when I first saw the trailer.  This was a superhero that I had never heard of and the trailer made the movie look like a very generic superhero origin story.  Add on DC's track record as of late and I was considering skipping this movie until the reviews dropped.  While this is a fairly generic superhero origin story, it's a very well made one.  It has a lot of heart and a lot of craft.  If we're going to keep making this kind of movie, this is the way to do it. This is a very family-oriented superhero m...

It's that time again: The Snubby Awards!  For those of you who don't know, the Snubby Awards take a look at all of the Best Picture nominees from a given year and determine if the best film won or if another was snubbed.  If that's the case, they win the coveted Snubby Award! This time we'll be taking a look at the 2003 Oscars, which was a solid, but flawed selection of films with only one true masterpiece in the bunch .  The nominees were: Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,  and The Pianist  with the winner being Chicago .  Did Chicago deserve to win or did another movie get snubbed?  Let's find out! #5. The Hours The Hours is a day-in-the-life film following three women in three different time periods, all of whom are connected to the book Mrs. Dalloway .  Even though this is my least favorite nominee, it's still a really good movie.  The performances are excellent across the board, especially from Nicole K...

 "Coop, I may be wearing a dress, but I still pull my panties on one leg at a time if you know what I mean." -Agent Denise Bryson "The Black Widow" picks up with Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) dropping by Ben Horne's (Richard Beymer) office.  Ben asks Bobby to follow Hank Jennings (Chris Mulkey) and photograph everything he does.  Bobby gets some incriminating photos and gives them to Ben. The newly married Lana Milford (Robin Lively) discovers her husband, Dougie (Tony Jay), is dead from a heart attack.  Doguie's brother, Dwayne (John Boylan) blames Lana and Hawk (Michael Horse) comforts her. Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) starts looking into buying a cottage in Twin Peaks.  He ends up visiting Dead Dog Farm, which hasn't been looked at by buyers in a year.  However, Cooper discovers tire tracks from multiple vehicles outside, as well as baby laxative and cocaine inside. Dick Tremayne (Ian Buchanan) learns that his charge, Nicky (Joshua Harris), has been f...

 "This is truly a terrible idea." -Jonas Taylor Five years after the first film, Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is still part of the research team that is focused on exploring the Mariana Trench.  When an expedition goes wrong, Jonas and his team discover another mysterious expedition on the Trench floor and even more deadly creatures in the abyss. What Works: I love Jason Statham.  He always gives it his all, no matter how dumb the movie is.  I would say especially if the movie is dumb.  He's one of the only actors who can deliver some of theses lines believably.  He fully commits to the role and has the charisma to back it up. I will give the middle section of the movie credit for being something different from the first film, even if the execution is bad.  There is a large section of the film where our heroes are trapped on the ocean floor.  It's a cool idea and I kinda wish this had been the entire movie, if they had done a better job.  The...

 "I'm gonna light a vanilla candle and it's gonna be a game-changer." -Gabbie Disgraced astrophysicist Ben Matthias (LaKeith Stenfield) is hired to help investigate a potential haunting at a mansion owned by Gabbie (Rosario Dawson).  He doesn't find anything, but after leaving the mansion, Ben discovers that ghosts have followed him home to get him to go back to the mansion.  Ben and Gabbie assemble a team to investigate the haunting so they can all leave the mansion in peace, but discover a sinister force behind everything. What Works: I'm a big fan of the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland.  I would say it's my favorite ride at the theme park.  I just love the spooky atmosphere and all of the care and detail put into the ride.  I really enjoyed the references to the ride in this movie.  I didn't find them distracting or anything.  They were just extra flavor that I appreciated, especially the use of chairs that look similar to the carts you sit ...