THE STUFF on Blu-ray from Arrow Video is a release of one of those mid-eighties schlocky-horror movies that you just love to watch because it brings back memories. At least for me it did. It should also serve as a reminder to networks such as SyFy on how to do it right.

I am tempted to use the name of the movie in more than one pun here, but I will try to refrain.

THE STUFF is about, well…stuff: white, gooey, whipped cream looking stuff that is found bubbling up from the ground somewhere up in the frozen north at an oil refinery. And of course the first thing you do when you see something bubbling up from the Earth is to taste it, right?

By Darren Beyer

Science fiction has been a traditionally male dominated genre—at least that’s what I’ve been led to believe over the years. One had to look no farther than the closest science fiction and fantasy convention to see a crowd dominated by males. Look to the shelves of your local Barnes & Noble or the top science fiction lists on Amazon to see stories with male protagonists catering to male readers. That’s why, when talking to my doctor, a woman doctor, about my newly released book, I was surprised about how the conversation went.

“You published a book? I’d love to read it.”

“I don’t know if you’d be interested,” I said. “It’s science fiction.”

“I love science fiction. In fact, I’m part of a women’s book club and we all love science fiction.”

Wait. What?

This week!

• Interview with Matt Macintosh
• Cody Rhodes Released by WWE
• Smackdown to go live, new brand split coming

Interview With Matt Macintosh

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

DEATH WALKS TWICE is a 2-film, 4-DVD Limited Edition set on BluRay and DVD from Luciano Ercoli comprising his classic GIALLO Italian Horror classics: 1971’s DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS and 1972’s DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT.

Both of these movies are considered two of the finest examples of the Giallo genre (think crime, mystery, blood and horror all in one, done in 70’s Italian style) and both star Nieves Navarro (billed in the movies under her adopted stage name of Susan Scott).

YA contemporary is usually not my thing; I do read it, but I'm definitely more of a YA sci-fi/fantasy girl. Also, as a licensed social worker and mental health advocate, I tend to be extra harsh when reviewing books that deal with issues of mental health, mental illness, and therapy. So when I started this book, I was a little hesitant - but by the end, I was asking, "wait, that's it?! I want more!!"

Maguire believes the universe is out to get her. After a string of bad luck and disasters - one of which killed her father, uncle, and brother in a car accident - Maguire has developed a plan to keep herself - and those around her - safe. Basically, she avoids the world by keeping to herself and adopting a series of paranoid rituals for situations she can't avoid, like school. Maguire's biggest fear revolves around being in any vehicle with anyone but herself.

Okay, I'm going to start out saying this: Do not toy with my emotions, Archie Comics! Do not make me wait almost another year for the next installment of this series! I'd been told by my local comics shop guy that the series had been cancelled. I'd gone through my however-many stages of grief and had come to terms with the fact that the best series in all of comics simply had ceased to be.

And then, like the zombies who populate this new world of Riverdale, the series shambled back onto the shelf -- having lost none of its quality, none of its spirit, and none of its overall creepiness. Maybe I will get to find out the rest of the backstory to the Blossoms. Maybe I will get to see more of Jughead's ghost. Maybe I will get to see AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #10 in my lifetime.

At least, I'd better!

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are in the news. That's nothing unusual, they've been there before, back when they headlined the reality-series THE OSBOURNES over a decade ago. After the series, Sharon went on to THE TALK, Kelly went on to have a spot at E! Entertainment, and Jack became a spokesperson for MS awareness. And Ozzy?

Well if you believe the press, Ozzy went for a beautician.

But not everybody believes the press.

Steven Machat was Ozzy's former business manager, responsible for putting together "Blizzard of Oz." In his book, GODS AND GANGSTERS, he discusses the details of Ozzy and Sharon's marriage, intimating that it was a union of financial gain rather than one of romance. And he thinks the whole crazy train the press has been riding lately is all an Osbourne family business decision.

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Natalie Morin

Hollywood thought young adult dystopian films were the next superhero franchises — and that gamble has cost it millions.

A mere four years ago, the first movie in the “Hunger Games” franchise made a whopping $421 million at the U.S. box office (inflation adjusted). Thereafter, movie producers everywhere raced to find the next big young adult dystopian cash cow. But hard as they tried, filmmakers could not recreate the initial success of "The Hunger Games" — not even in the final installment of the series itself, which saw almost a 50 percent drop in box office earnings.

When it comes to writing, the most challenging format has probably got to be writing comics for an established character. You don't have a blank slate, you've got players with a history of interactions, burdened with years of baggage that you can't just shrug off; characters who have seen it all, done it all, showed it all -- and you're tasked with using them in new ways for an audience that has read it all.

It can be done, but rarely, and when it is, it gets people's attention.

Scott Snyder, you've got our attention.

Action Comics #52 (Super-League) by Peter J. Tomasi, Dale Eaglesham, and Scot Eaton

Summary: Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman are heading back to the Batcave to try and get a lead on “Fire Superman.”  Superman’s powers are fading; he even ends up almost falling out of the sky while trying to fly.

Mae #1

I'm old. No, I mean I'm ancient. Yesterday I rounded the corner on forty-nine, and for my birthday DC put out a bunch of books. Never mind that it was a Wednesday anyway. I'm old, let me think what I want to think.

Being old, I'm jaded. I was a comics reader -- a DC reader -- at the twilight of the Silver Age, into the dawn of the Bronze Age. And, God help me, I've tried to stick with it through the years, through all the twists and turns, the bad decisions and some good ones. I'd pretty much given up through the New 52, reading only a very few titles that still made sense to my history-filled mind that wouldn't let go of the past. So when I saw that DC was going through a "Rebirth" my initial reactions were cynical: "Well, that sure lasted a long time."

So, everyone has seemed to have lost their shit today with the reveal of Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 that CAPTAIN AMERICA HAS BEEN HYDRA FROM DAY ONE!! 

Now, I do plan on writing a review of this issue in next week's Front Lines column, I have had to argue against this stupidity all day, so I figure I would do it on my home turf.  I love how worked up people are about this. You can tell none of them actually read the comics that lead into this. Avengers Standoff offers at least three possible explanations for how this comic went down.

1. Red Skull mind implant after their encounter in Avengers Standoff

There was never a doubt that Daisy Ridley was going to be an actress. It was in her blood. What couldn't have been seen was how quickly all that study and hard work would pay off once it was put into practice. In relatively no time she was acting on British television, starring across from such names as Jeremy Piven.

That may have made her a passing name in England, but it was her role as Rey in STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS that propelled her to stardom faster than the Millennium Falcom making the Kesel Run.

Not that long ago, in a theater very near you, the legacy created by George Lucas took its next giant leap forward in its cinematic evolution. And fans around the world responded resoundingly.

Bringing back Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in the roles they made iconic in the 1977 STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE (yes, starting with Episode IV confused us old timers even back then), STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS carried the story forward, creating new villains in the person of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), new heroes like Finn (Jon Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) -- and introducing a whole new generation of fans to Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, and Jedi Luke Skywalker, not to mention the ever-present droids C-3PO and R2-D2..

Beth Harrington directs and co-produces this important and informative documentary that follows the modern river of country music back to the winding stream that is it's source -- The Carter Family.

Before there was country music, before there was a Grand Ole Opry, there was A.P, Sara and Maybelle Carter. THE WINDING STREAM follows in great detail how these three family members became the foundation cornerstone of American country music, without glossing over the family tragedies and heartaches, including A.P.'s singular focus on collecting songs from the mountains and Sara's eventual divorce. The documentary is never dry, and is wholly engrossing, telling the story without the benefit of any dramatic re-enactments, relying instead on actual footage, photography and, of course, recordings of the songs and interviews.

The Critical Blast Best of Awards added some new categories this year, among them Best Novel. And the first novel to win that category beat out (albeit narrowly) such books as WRITTEN IN THE STARS (Aisha Saeed) and ZEROES (Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti).

Announced on EW.com the digital comic service, comiXology, has launched a new NETFLIX-style service that allows users to read unlimited digital comic books for a flat monthly fee.