RIVERDALE meets VERONICA MARS in this new cynical take on Carolyn Keene's iconic girl detective, Nancy Drew.

Nancy (KENNEDY McMANN) is an 18-year-old high school graduate. She's been a sleuth since her early teen years, getting hooked on mystery solving when she broke the case of a missing child. But when her mother died, her world fell apart. She tanked her grades, blew her college admissions, and now works as a waitress in her town that's a mixture of idyllic life and pervasive darkness. But when a wealthy patron's wife is found murdered outside the diner, Nancy and her friends are considered suspects in the crime.

Which is ridiculous, and obviously just the police chief displaying his petty jealousy for all the years Nancy was a pain in his ass, solving crimes he couldn't. Right? It certainly seems that way -- after all, we the audience were witnesses to the entire thing, so we know none of the clue crew committed the crime.

It's the episode we've been dreading, but which we've steeling ourselves for since last March when we received the news of actor LUKE PERRY's untimely passing.

Rather than hand the role of Fred Andrews to another actor, the RIVERDALE writing crew chose to write Fred out of the series, in one of the most down-to-earth, heart-touching episodes of the series.

The Riverdale gang -- Archie (KJ APA), Jughead (COLE SPROUSE), Betty (LILI REINHART), and Veronica (CAMILA MENDES) -- are just starting to get over the horrific events of last season, planning a camping getaway while the town prepares for the first Fourth of July parade since the death of Jason Blossom. That's when Archie gets a life-changing phone call: his father has been killed in a hit-and-run accident.

During a devastating hurricane, a young woman finds herself trapped in the crawlspace of a house with two enormous alligators. Cue the terror.

Haley (MAZE RUNNER's KAYA SCODELARIO) is a professional swimmer who gets a call to check on her estranged father as a hurricane barrels down on the state. Defying evacuation orders, she drives through a roadblock to ensure her father (BARRY PEPPER) is safe.

He's not.

While making a repair in the crawlspace of the family home, he got mauled by an enormous alligator. Fearing him dead, Haley barely escapes the maw of one alligator, but her luck runs slimmer the longer she's forced to find a way out of the crawlspace as the floodwaters rise, threatening to drown them both.

Previously released in two parts, THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN and REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN have now been edited together into a seamless, single movie experience.

Superman (JERRY O'CONNELL) is struggling. As Clark Kent, his relationship with Lois Lane (REBECCA ROMIJN) is difficult to commit to as he has been keeping a huge secret from her. He becomes particularly nervous about this when his parents come to town and meet Lois for the first time. The advice of his fellow Justice League members is that he should open up to her if he wants her to be a larger part of his life.

While we've seen The Monitor, Mar Novu (LaMONICA GARRETT), make a cameo appearance in the season finale of SUPERGIRL, it's his message during this season opener for THE FLASH that really gets the ball rolling for the December 2019 crossover event, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS.

As Iris (CANDICE PATTON) and Barry (GRANT GUSTIN) continue to mourn the loss of their future-daughter Nora, The Flash has kept busy chasing down the mystery of mute speedsters in Godspeed suits. Iris realizes she still has something left of Nora in her dad's garage -- but he's cleaned out the garage, sending Iris to dig through the local junkyard. But when she finds the item, it's sucked out of her hands by the sudden appearance of a miniature black hole. Yes, a black hole. Where did that come from? That's the mystery of tonight's episode.

It's the movie "they" didn't want you to see -- the film that glorified killing to such an extent, it was expected the easily influenced would take it as a training manual and copy the techniques to commit mass acts of violence.

But, thus far, the only reported incident requiring police intervention involved two men arrested for smoking during the film. (No word if the film was at midnight, or if the two smokers watching JOKER were using marijuana. Thank the Steve Miller Band for my going the long way around for that pun.)

So was all the media hysteria for nothing, or was there a predictable risk that JOKER could set in motion a wave of violence among those already suffering mental illness?

It was the CW series with what was perhaps the most off-putting promo trailers ever created. BATWOMAN starred RUBY ROSE as Kate Kane, and our introduction to her had her uttering a sequence of lines that came off as smarmy and militantly feminist, claiming the Batsuit would be perfect "when it fit a woman," and remarking that she wasn't going to let the credit for her work go to a man (after, of course, borrowing everything right up to the reputation of the man who built it).

When the pilot finally aired in its totality, we do get the line about the Batsuit, but given that it wasn't so concentrated with similar lines, it was easier to swallow.

The Fabulous Fox Theatre kicked off their 2019-2020 US Bank Broadway Series with one of the most popular and enduring classics of the genre in Hello Dolly! Since the curtain first rose on this show back in 1964, launching headliner Carol Channing's career into orbit, the Michael Stewart (book) and Jerry Herman (music and lyrics) sensation has earned the admiration of millions of fans the world over. First-timers and longtime fans alike cheered and clapped enthusiastically throughout the performance at the Fox.

Ever heard of progressive metal? Think of a progressive rock band such as Rush or Yes with soaring vocals and prominent bass, keyboards and synthesizers, and then toss liberally with heavy metal guitar and drums ala Metallica. That’s how an associate of mine described the sub-genre for which Dream Theatre and Queensrÿche are the best known examples. They played the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis on October 2, 2019, right next door to the home opener for the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the St. Louis Blues. Even against such a crowd next door, Dream Theatre’s “Distance Over Time Tour” filled the venue reasonably well.

After having endured the dark debacle that was passed off as TITANS on the DC Universe streaming service, I was once bitten, twice shy about DC Universe's other original series, DOOM PATROL, a spin-off of the TITANS series (having made a guest appearance that season).

Trepidatiously, I began watching the opening season, hitting the play button like clicking the pull/spin switch on video slot games, hoping this one was going to roll up better results than TITANS did.

Jackpot!

Every month the staff at Critical Blast combs the cosplay community for up and coming cosplayers who deserve to have a broader audience for their work, taking into account not only costuming skills and spirit, but also how they use that ability in service to others. Through this, we've not only met some talented cosplayers, but also some fine human beings.

This month our quest carries us across the pond, to meet a cosplayer who's super -- and a little bit crazy! Displaying not only skills and talent, but also an outstanding attitude, our Bombshell of the Month has banded together with other cosplayers to be a part of a fun-filled charity group. Intrigued? Then read on, as we proudly present to you our...

Back in the day when the UNCANNY X-MEN were jumping from one classic arc to the next classic arc, the House of Ideas threw a huge curveball at us when it was revealed Jean Grey had been possessed by a cosmic entity so powerful that it could -- and did -- destroy planets. And even though she was supposedly cured of this, there was still a need to balance the scales of justice. She couldn't just walk away from a genocide unscathed. The death of Jean Grey for the actions of the Phoenix Force was more than just a classic story -- it was a pivotal milestone in the history of the X-Men.

Getting an accurate retelling in a movie was a hopeless case from the beginning. To do it even the slightest justice would have required a season of a live-action X-Men series.

So what we get with X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX is pretty much a standalone film that uses some of those ideas and character names, to tell a completely different story.

John Waters’ film Cry-Baby hit theaters in 1990 to modest fanfare despite an eclectic cast featuring then-rising stars Johnny Depp and Willem Dafoe, punk rocker Iggy Pop, future talk show host Ricki Lake, and former adult film actress Traci Lords. It became a cult classic over the years, and spawned a rather unsuccessful musical adaptation in 2007, lasting less than two months on Broadway. Five years later, Scott Miller’s New Line Theatre bought the rights to the show and produced a smaller scale production that ran to strong acclaim. With their well-earned reputation as a theatre troupe that is willing to take on challenging material or Broadway misfires, Miller and company are presenting the second run of Cry-Baby in St. Louis from September 28^th – October 19, 2019 to opening their 29^th season.

When a car is forced off the road and the driver awakens with head trauma and amnesia, he arouses the curiosity of the nurse taking care of him. But this John Doe (JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS) may just be a hunted serial killer who's been leaving a trail of dead young women throughout the Midwest. The lead FBI investigator (MALIK YOBA) thinks they've got their man, but Nurse Diana (FRANCESCA EASTWOOD) sees something in the injured amnesiac that leads her to believe he's innocent -- even if he did have the latest victim trussed up in the trunk of the car he wrecked.

When Karen helps John escape the clutches of the law to prove his innocence, flashes of his lost memories begin to return, making it quite possible he really is the serial killer everyone claims him to be.

Take the family on an exquisite, imaginative tour of Asia courtesy of Dreamworks' newest animated feature, ABOMINABLE.

Yi (CHLOE BENNET, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.) is a young girl with a driving ambition. Her day is spent sprinting from job to job, scrounging up cash and grunging up her appearance. Her mother (MICHELLE WONG) and grandmother (TSAI CHIN) are unaware of how she spends her time, or why she's gone all day long. We quickly learn that Yi is saving up to travel the world, so see all the places her recently departed father wanted to take her. 

While spending some quiet time in the hideout she has built on her rooftop, Yi has an unexpected encounter -- with a Yeti! She names the big fuzzy creature Everest, after the mountain she believes to be his home. But Everest didn't just wander onto Yi's roof by accident. He's an escapee from what was to be a major zoological exhibit, and the man behind his capture, Mr. Burnish (EDDIE IZZARD), wants him back at all costs.

It's the third year that Turner Classic Movies has held their "Bring TCM to Your Hometown" contest, and for the Gateway to the Midwest, the third time was the charm. After what the network termed an "overwhelming response" from St. Louis residents, TCM prepared to bring the classic MGM film, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS" for a free screening at the historic Tivoli Theatre.

But it wasn't just a free movie the town was getting. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz escorted film star Margaret O'Brien for the event, to make the screening all the more special for fans.

1982 movie The Dark Crystal is probably better categorized as a cult classic rather than as a bona fide classic. So its entrance into 2019 popular culture will have taken many by surprise. The Jim Henson Company collaborated with Netflix to produce a ten-episode prequel to the original film. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance explores the magical world of Thra, in which Gelflings look to rebel against the tyrannous rule of the Skeksis.

Starting out as a B-team of heroes in the CW's Arrowverse, DC's LEGENDS OF TOMORROW has evolved from being a time-traveling adventure story that didn't take itself too seriously to being a full-out sitcom of superheroes who reference the main continuity but who remain unaffected by it -- and, apparently, don't affect it all that much themselves, despite what should be some world-changing impacts -- particularly given the very public appearance of some very supernatural happenings.

In all of comics history, there has perhaps not been a comic so divisive, so defended, and so derided as Ethan Van Sciver's CYBERFROG: BLOODHONEY. And all that before the book was even printed. Seen as one of the hallmark titles of the amorphous ComicsGate movement, the title and creator have taken heat over timeliness and finances. The book raised nearly a million dollars in pre-sales through multiple Indiegogo crowdfunding efforts, and arrived just shy of being one year late of its estimated release date.

This week, the book began arriving in the hands of those who had backed it, and almost immediately new rumors began to pop up: poor paper quality, water damage, digest-sized. None of that is true. CYBERFROG: BLOODHONEY is of standard dimensions, and over 80 pages. The cover is very sturdy, the paper is of better stock than your average floppy, and the ink is smear-resistant.

Has it really been 15 years since Lindsay Lohan and Tina Fey introduced us to The Plastics and the Burn Book? Time has really flown -- but the girls have never looked better than in this 15th anniversary Blu-ray, celebrating this milestone event.

Being the fashion-conscious person you are, you naturally must own this. But you don't have to tell your friends you won it from us -- it'll be our secret. All you have to do is follow a few simple rules (and we do have rules) -- but they're, like, super easy. You can visit our Facebook page, our YouTube channel, or do some Twitter things. Any and all of them will add entries for you and increase the chances that your name will be selected at random as our winner.

So get to clicking below -- and remember: On Wednesdays we wear pink!