Hello there and Happy Halloween!
The way I trick or treat continues to change. Yes, I’ll still take Snickers, Baby Ruth, Milky Way, Almond Joy, and Twizzlers if you offer.
But, this is more my way of thinking now!
I’ve only posted two new features over the past six weeks.
The first was about the biggest events and my 100 favorite songs of the second era of my life from 1999-2021 (since I did one last year for my first 35 years).
Here’s the link: https://anthonypeoples.wordpress.com/2021/10/08/my-life-the-next-era-1999-2021/
The last one was some stories about my recent birthday trip to Greece.
Here’s the link: https://anthonypeoples.wordpress.com/2021/10/22/my-big-fat-greek-holiday-2021/
I supplied the links if you didn’t get a chance to read them the first time or if you want to re-visit them.
While I’m not ready to start back my weekly “Random Friday Thoughts”, I want to share some with you this week just for the fun of it.
Happy Halloween! Be safe and beware of psychos!
I don’t mean the ones that are intentionally scary because of Hollywood and Halloween! 🙂
A “HAPPY HALLOWEEN” MEMORY!
Ten years ago, my golden retriever, ABBA, went trick-or-treating for the last time.
Here she is during “surgery”!
She went as a lobotomized dog with a rubber brain under the bandage. However, as you can see, she decided that part wasn’t for her when the trick-or-treating started! 🙂
ABBA was such a trooper and she got her own fun-size “3 Musketeer” bar and loved eating it!
Yes, I took it out of the paper! 🙂
At the bottom of today’s blog, another fun and very scandalous Halloween flashback of me partying in Houston in 1992!
“HALLOWEEN KILLS”
After a year delay because of the pandemic, I was excited to see “Halloween Kills”. After seeing it, I’m glad I watched it for free on Peacock instead of paying to see it in the theater.
First I’ll share what I liked about the movie: I loved that some of the actors from 1978’s “Halloween” returned. Some may be in 2022’s “Halloween Ends” and a few won’t!
The movie also filled in some of the blanks from what happened in 1963 when Michael Myers first killed to his 1978 killing spree in the original movie that kicked off the franchise.
To add to some of those tidbits, a new actor played Dr. Sam Loomis and the resemblance was startling! (Donald Pleasence died in 1995 after starring in five of the franchise’s first six movies. “Halloween Kills” is the 12th installment!)
The next to the last kill in the movie was phenomenal and the moment of death is classic. Also, the final kill was surprising and shocking!
Now what I didn’t like about it!
For starters, the lack of a storyline for Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode! After seeing this movie, I get it that they’re saving her for the “finale” (yeah, right) of the franchise.
The whole mob scene at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital went on way too long. The mentality of the mob was eerily similar to the real-life deadly events at the Capitol in January 2021 in Washington D.C. And, to think that the fictional mob scene in “Halloween Kills” was shot in the fall of 2019!
While I enjoyed the movie as a whole, I’ll never watch it again!
This movie’s predecessor, 2018’s “Halloween” made $255.6 million worldwide. “Halloween Kills” is a box office smash at $93.8 million worldwide against a $20 million budget.
Final thoughts: The trailer is better than the movie, you see many of the kills, you saved money by not going to see it, and you didn’t waste almost two hours!
GRADE: C
P.S. ONE MORE “HALLOWEEN KILLS” THOUGHT
Watch the 2018 “Halloween” movie instead. It’s much better.
Here’s what I said back then and I gave it a “B”:
“It was very entertaining and I loved the winks back to all of the other movies in the franchise that this one pretended didn’t exist.
I loved that the movie was very violent (Michael Myers as a practicing dentist!). It could be because he’s psychotic and has been locked up and drugged for 40 years!
While the movie was great, it didn’t scare me since nothing can compare to the 1978 original!”
“CRUELLA”
If horror isn’t your thing and that brand of “Halloween” violence may be too much for you, another fun Halloween-ish movie to check out is “Cruella”. (“Halloween-ish” because Cruella likes to dress up!)
While it came out in May, I just saw it on my flight back from Greece and it was very enjoyable.
This movie introduces us to Estella Miller, who as an adult becomes Cruella de Vil. Oscar winner Emma Stone (“La La Land”) is incredible.
But, my favorite character was Baroness von Hellman played by two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson (one of those Academy Awards was for acting and the other was for writing.)
GRADE: B
HOLD UP, ONE MORE “CRUELLA” THOUGHT
While Stone was incredible as a young Cruella and will be returning in the sequel, she’s no Glenn Close from 1996’s “101 Dalmatians” and 2000’s “102 Dalmatians”.
But, then again, Emma Stone has an Oscar and Close is, sadly, an eight-time Academy Award nominee without a win! Sacrilegious.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Who doesn’t love donuts (or doughnuts)? I know they are so, so unhealthy, but yum.
“THE DONUT KING”
I just watched the informative and entertaining 2020 documentary, “The Donut King”.
It tells the story of Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy, who came to United States in the 1970s, and built a multi-million dollar empire by baking donuts.
I was blown away by the fact that almost all of the privately owned donut shops in California at one time were owned by Cambodians!
This is a great rags to riches story! But, there’s a twist — how he ends up losing his fortune!
GRADE: B+
ANOTHER NIGHT AT THE “DISCO”
If you regularly read my blog, you know that I was absolutely enthralled by Kylie Minogue’s critically acclaimed, “Disco” album last November. It brought fun and optimism to a pandemic world!
And, I almost lost it in the fall of 2020 when Kylie commented on my tweet!
Now, I’m so excited that Kylie is ready for another round of late night partying, escapism, and disco beats with “Disco: Guest List Edition”!
It features duets and remixes with Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware, Gloria Gaynor, and Years & Years (Olly Alexander).
While that would be exciting enough, there’s also going to be a deluxe version, which features five discs (the original “Disco” deluxe album, the new Guest List Edition of duets and remixes, the Live Infinite Disco Livestream concert DVD, and a CD disc of the music from that virtual concert, plus a BluRay of the concert!)
I’m in heaven!!! I’m also captivated by the new video from Kylie and Years & Years “A Second To Midnight”, the album’s first release.
I keep watching it over and over! Is it November 12th yet? I want my new “Disco”!
AND, ONE MORE KYLIE NOTE!!!
The Queen liked a second tweet of mine this summer with three blue hearts! 💙💙💙
Now, if only there could be a “Disco 2022 Tour”, I’d never have to see another another concert after that!
“PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY”
My final movie thought is about “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”. While it was entertaining, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the original.
Back in the spring of 2018, I highly recommended “Peter Rabbit” and gave it a “B+”!
GRADE: C+
“AMERICAN HORROR STORY: DOUBLE FEATURE”
The latest season of “American Horror Story” just wrapped and it couldn’t end soon enough.
It was divided into two parts (six episodes of “Red Tide” and four episodes of “Death Valley”).
While I enjoyed some of it, it was the worst season of “American Horror Story” and there have been some stinkers!
I definitely didn’t enjoy most of the season, yet I kept watching!
GRADE: D
Now that this season is over (and the series has been renewed for three more seasons!), how do the ten seasons rank in my opinion?
#10 “Double Feature” (season ten, 2021)
#9 “Freak Show” (season four, 2014) — The highlight!
#8 “Hotel” (season five, 2015)
#7 “Roanoke” (season six, 2016)
#6 “Apocalypse” (season eight, 2018)
#5 “Coven” (season three, 2013)
#4 “1984” (season nine, 2019)
#3 “Murder House” (season one, 2011)
#2 “Cult” (season seven, 2017)
#1 “Asylum” (season two, 2012)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Houston 1992
And, then there’s this one from 2010. I think I made a great Lady Gaga!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Anthony
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