Fri
30
Aug

Voice Actor Armageddon: No Sacred Ointment for Funimation's Leaks

Funimation Dragonball Z

Schadenfreude ran rampant today among anime fans who have found themselves at odds these past several months with a handful of voice actors employed and/or contracted to Funimation, a company licensed to provide English language dubs for Japanese animated franchises, including the extremely popular DRAGONBALL Z.

Funimation has been at the core of a controversy surrounding one voice actor, Vic Mignogna, who has been accused of sexual misconduct and summarily fired from doing further voice acting for the studio. Fans of Mignogna have come together under the banner of #IStandWithVic, claiming no concrete proof has been established, and indeed Mignogna has set up a legal fund for the express purpose of filing a defamation suit. Meanwhile, his accusers have organized under the hashtag of #KickVic for the purpose of protesting conventions that continue to host Mignogna as a celebrity guest.

Thu
29
Aug

Octavia Spencer Disturbs in Ma

Ma on Blu-ray

The scariest horror stories are the ones that feature real monsters: humans.

OCTAVIA SPENCER impresses in every role I've seen her, but MA is the first time I've ever seen her in a horror/suspense role. She doesn't disappoint. In fact, she downright disturbs.

The character of Sue Ann is a mixture of psychoses, springing from a traumatic event in her adolescence. Arrested development, kleptomania, Munchausen's -- all these and more bubble in the cauldron of Sue Ann's plan for vengeance.

MA opens when Erica (JULIETTE LEWIS) returns to her home town with her teenaged daughter Maggie (DIANA SILVERS) in tow. Maggie makes some new friends, who like to party it up. When they try to get an adult to buy them some booze, they meet up with Sue Ann, who agrees to make the purchase. Expressing concern for the teens' safety, she also offers them her basement as a place for their revels. Her catering to them soon has them calling her "Ma," which she encourages.

Thu
29
Aug

Enter to Win Supernatural Season 14 on Blu-ray!

Supernatural Season 14 on Blu-ray

Fourteen seasons. Over three hundred episodes. And the Winchester Brothers are still out there, plugging away at evil and taking out the monsters.

Now you have a chance to have this milestone season added to your video collection, with all the bonus features and the digital version to carry with you so you can enjoy the adventure at any time.

But first you have to acquire this artifact. And for that, you have to...well, honestly, you don't have to do that much. Just check out the form below and pick the option you like best. You can even pick all of them if you'd like to maximize your number of entries and increase your odds.

Be sure to check out our rules and regulations before proceeding, then get on with it and kick some demon butt! (Or, you know, just click some things.)

 

Thu
29
Aug

Block Chains and The Mary Sue’s Ethical Quagmire

Eyes Covered

ComicsGate and GamerGate. The boogeymen that allow the geek and nerd communities to partake in outrage culture continues to be the gift that keeps on giving in that regard, despite the fact that most of the world has forgotten what GamerGate was about (for which Zoe Quinn is no doubt grateful) and ComicsGate exists now largely as a hashtag to market the ideology behind the comics they produce and, yes, deliver.

Not that this stops Anthony Gramuglia, writer at large. In a recent piece for The Mary Sue, Gramuglia conducts “interviews” with a handful of people with axes to grind. The Spectre of Hate is raised more than once, and the fearmongering goes into high gear in order to gin up the clicks. He expands his reach from ComicsGate to the more recent AnimeGate, spun out of accusations against DragonballZ: Broly actor, Vic Mignogna, and the resulting defamation suit that followed.

Thu
29
Aug

Why Oh Why, Waya Woman? Mountain Monsters Begins The Quest for the Spearfinger

Mountain Monsters 602 - Waya Woman

The Appalachian Investigators of Mysterious Sightings (AIMS) team is back in West Virginia, taking the first step in their quest to unravel the mystery of the creature known as the Spearfinger.

Having been given a mission of sorts by a mysterious person who kidnapped Buck last season, the AIMS team must go on the hunt for a handful of strange cryptids, which will ultimately lead them to the big bad monster. They start with the Waya Woman, aka Queen of the Blood Wolves. Unlike the Woman of the Woods, the Waya Woman is a beast, a 7-foot-tall wolf creature that walks on its hind legs.

Tue
27
Aug

Kid Crowdfunding Comics: Pillowman and Blanketboy

Pillowman and Blanketboy

When I was in first grade, I wrote my first play. At a school assembly, I saw that play come to life, thanks to the support of my teacher.

In eighth grade, we had to turn in a paper every week on any topic. I turned in episodic chapters of a monster adventure, and my teacher set aside time for it to be read, by the author, to other classes.

Mrs. Joanne Paul and Mr. Stanley White cultivated those early efforts, allowing me to realize the dream of becoming a professionally published artist.

Parker Davis is an eleven-year-old boy with a dream. Since the age of three, he has been expanding the universe of his own superhero creations: Pillowman and Blanketboy. And thanks to the advent of crowdfunding, he's close to seeing those heroes star in a published comic book.

Mon
26
Aug

LEGO DC Batman: Family Matters Combines Two Adventures into One LEGO Movie

Batman Family Matters, LEGO DC

There's a new villain haunting the dark streets of Gotham City -- and he knows the secrets of the entire Bat-family!

Who is this mysterious Red Hood (JASON SPISAk), and how is he so familiar with Batman (TROY BAKER), Nightwing (LOREN LESTER), Robin (SCOTT MENVILLE), Batgirl (ALYSON STONER) and even the latest member, Batwoman (TARA STRONG)? That's the mystery they have to solve before Gotham is blown to smithereens, as the Red Hood has set five bombs to go off in town, each guarded by an Arkham Asylum super-villain. 

Mon
26
Aug

Rocketman Gloriously Magical, Brutally Real

Rocketman Bluray

In terms of sheer visual spectacle, ROCKETMAN is without peer. Brilliantly mixing magical metaphor with raw reality, this film straddles the boundaries between musical and biopic.

From the very first scene and the very first note, ROCKETMAN is riveting. The film opens with the adult Elton John (played superbly by TARON EGERTON) strutting into an addiction support group in full sequined regalia. It doesn't feel like it could be real, and it's the most subtle part of the film, as it's used as a storytelling device throughout the movie. As we progress, we return to this device, each time with more of the costuming stripped away--a metaphor for deconstructing the mythical Elton John and getting down to the man himself.

Thu
22
Aug

One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana, Gore!

The Banana Splits Movie

There have been several efforts to destroy my childhood by revamping and modernizing classic characters. But I have to give props for someone who goes all-out to in-your-face do it.

The Banana Splits were the hosts of a Saturday morning kids show. They were a rock and roll group comprised of Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky--an anthropomorphic dog, gorilla, lion and elephant. It was silly, it was slapstick, and it was a bit psychedelic (although my tolerance had already been set high thanks to LIDSVILLE and THE BUGALOOS).

This film from Director Danishka Esterhazy takes a decidedly different course with these beloved and/or forgotten (take your pic) children's icons, turning them into animatronic actors who go on an unexpected crusade of slaughter, answering the age-old question: What if the Terminator had been a furry?

Thu
22
Aug

Introducing: Bulletproof

Bulletproof

You've seen the banners. You've seen the tweets and the Facebook postings. BULLETPROOF is coming...

But what is BULLETPROOF? And when is it coming?

Time for the Critical Blast staff to sit down and have a little geek out about the Disney/Sony custody battle over Spider-Man, the upcoming CW crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths, the continued tomkinging (yes, we've verbed it) of Batman this week -- oh, and lots and lots of discussion about BULLETPROOF, including the hotly anticipated release date!

Click and enjoy. (And if you like this type of content, by all means click that Subscribe button. It costs nothing, and it means the world to us!)

Wed
21
Aug

A Return to the Dark Forest Opens Doors for Season of New Investigations for Mountain Monsters

Mountain Monsters Season 6

It's been 18 months since Mountain Monsters finished its fifth season run on Destination America. That's 18 months since Huckleberry pulled a tiny skull out of Jeff's nose, and since Buck was forced to ride away to places unknown with a masked man in his truck.

But now they're back,having moved to the Travel Channel, and after a much discussed and often maligned season, in which the team went from single-episode monster hunts to a season-long story arc, the Appalachian Investigators of Mysterious Sightings (AIMS) team has found a way to segue out of that adventure and back into looking for the monsters in the mountains.

Tue
20
Aug

Going Behind the Mountain Monsters with Colt Straub

Colt Straub and Trapper

It's been 18 months since we left the Appalachian Investigators of Mysterious Sightings (AIMS) team in a cliffhanger of a search in Lee County, Virginia.

A lot has happened since that time, including a shift from the Destination America network over to the Travel Channel. With the debut of a new season imminent, we lunged at the chance to talk with Colt Straub, the executive producer behind the fan-favorite series, MOUNTAIN MONSTERS, to find out some of the things that make it work, and how things are going to shake out in the new season.

Catch the new season of MOUNTAIN MONSTERS Wednesday, August 21, at 9pm ET/PT.

Tue
20
Aug

Vampirella's Second Issue Beautiful to Look At, Impossible to Follow

Vampirella 50 Years #2

There's been a lot of hubbub and hullabaloo over the 50th anniversary celebration of Dynamite Comics' VAMPIRELLA. Getting Christopher priest onto the writing chores and having him backed up by Ergun Gunduz in the art department set expectations pretty high.

And while this new iteration of VAMPIRELLA has some intense scenes, and plays with some interesting notions and aspects of her life, all set to some absolutely brilliant and lush panel work from Gunduz, I can't help but feel that I'm jumping around to random pages from different stories.

When we closed out the first issue, Vampirella walked away from a plane crash, and we then see her baring her soul to some bizarre psychologist. In the last panels, we meet Vampirella's mother, Lilith.

Wed
14
Aug

Sons of Chaos a Lushly Illustrated Look at Ottoman War

Sons of Chaos hardcover

The average  person today, when asked about Greek history, will probably recall the days of Plato and Socrates -- as though the country leapt straight from the days of philosophical and mathematical breakthroughs and went straight into the 21st century.

So when I read that SONS OF CHAOS was about the Greek war for independence, I was at a loss. When did Greece belong to someone else? When did this war occur?

Surprisingly, the war was relatively recent, as historical epochs go: the 1800s, in fact. When, you know, there actually was an America, so the fact that I did not know about this is a bit embarrassing. However, when it was explained that this was one of the wars of the Ottoman Empire, that, at least, was something I had heard of, so I felt a little better.

Wed
14
Aug

Chrisley Knows Best Stars Indicted on Bank Fraud Charges

Todd and Julie Chrisley - Indicted

It seems no reality show goes on for very long without one or more of the stars making news for reasons other than the show. HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS went through the drama of Joe and Theresa Giudice having to serve sentences for financial fraud. SURVIVOR's Richard Hatch put his time into the system for failing to pay taxes on his million-dollar winnings.

Now the judicial spotlight is on Todd and Julie Chrisley, the leads of USA Network's CHRISLEY KNOWS BEST. The Chrisleys, and former CPA Peter Tarantino, were all charged August 14, 2019 in Georgia’s Northern District. The charges are numerous, and include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, actual wire fraud and tax evasion.

Somewhere, original reality star focal point Al Capone is chuckling: "They never learn."

Tue
13
Aug

Bizarre Bump-Offs and Extraordinary Exits: History's Weirdest Deaths

History's Weirdest Deaths

The Internet has made famous the Darwin Awards -- people who died in such fashion as to have done a benefit to humanity by removing themselves from the gene pool. But people have been making their final exit in unusual ways long before we were able to share such stories in a viral fashion.

James Proud has collected these historical horrors (and sometimes hilarities) in this comfortable-sized hardcover, HISTORY'S WEIRDEST DEATHS, featuring over 120-pages of anecdotes, peppered with the occasional page of factoids and tidbits -- ending, appropriately enough, with famous last words.

Tue
13
Aug

5 Top Casino Games Based on Movies

5 Top Casino Games Based on Movies

Often on this site, you will find list for the top 10 movies or the top 5 moments from a particular flick, but we thought we would reverse it and have a look at the top 5 casino games that are based directly on movies. There is actually a huge number of casino games based on movies out there, and you would be surprised to see some of the movie titles that have been released as officially branded slot games. Dirty Dancing, for example, became a smash hit slot game for Playtech, and you wouldn’t necessarily think the Patrick Swayze hit would match up to the world of casino gaming.

Sun
11
Aug

Mountain Monsters Returns with Sixth Season

NEW YORK (July 15, 2019) – Deep in the Appalachian Mountains, creatures both legendary and terrifying lurk among the shadows, evading capture at every turn. Season Four of the cult-classic series
“Mountain Monsters,” moves to its new home on Travel Channel with a special two-hour premiere on Wednesday, August 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, reuniting the fearless team of hard-core trappers to
confirm the sightings of these fabled monsters. Calling themselves the AIMS team – the Appalachian Investigators of Mysterious Sightings – this rip-roarin’ group of self-proclaimed “hillbilly hunters” treks
through the depths of Appalachia’s mountain forests, searching for creatures of mythical origins, determined to track down proof these monsters still roam this region today.

Sun
11
Aug

For Comics Fun, Monster M.D. May Be Just What the Doctor Ordered

Monster MD preview

Dr. Wyatt Black has an unusual practice. Actually, the practice is quite normal -- he's a medical doctor. Doctor Black's patients, on the other hand, are far from normal. Many of them are beyond the pale (and, sometimes, beyond the veil). And they usually aren't the kind who can make an appointment to come into his office.

Fortunately, Dr. Black makes crypt calls.

Sun
11
Aug

Jacob Cooney's The Assault an Assault on Heist Films

The Assault

The tagline for the film reads, "Every Heist Needs a Getaway."

This film is a good excuse to exercise the getaway before getting into the heist.

The action, such as it is, happens in a small town town where Detective Tom Broza (TOM SIZEMORE) has just relocated from the big city of New York. Why he left, we don't know, but we can surmise that Bruza was too incompetent to be kept on the force given the way he handles this case.

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