Andyland, USA

I've been thinking about franchise films lately. I don't hate the concept, but I do think that Hollywood is getting carried away trying to turn EVERYTHING into a franchise. It makes sense in some places, particularly when done well (Marvel Studios). Yet a recent article talking of the long rumored “Ghostbusters 3” had Dan Akroyd quoted saying he'd like to turn “Ghostbusters” into a Marvel Universe-esq type film series. I grew up on “Ghostbusters.” My childhood sustenance was based on a steady stream of Ecto Cooler and Slimer toothpaste. The first film I ever saw in a movie theater was “Ghostbusters 2!” Yet, I'm not so sure I want to see an epic “Ghostbusters” saga universe. Despite it being the be all end of all of Hollywood today, the concept of a long reaching franchise isn't anything new. If anything from Hollywood's past mirrors of the modern conceits we're seeing now, it's Universal's classic Horror and Monster movies that span the e...

Welcome to the first week of a little media experiment I call “Andy's Film Club” AKA “Geeky Oprah's Book Club”. To summarize incase you're not up to speed, it's friends watching movies of my choosing over Netflix, commenting on them in a Facebook group, and writing it all up in these here pages. I can't say if this will be a success or not, but regardless I hope it'll perk your interests towards some wonderful films, and be amusing. Our first film, is the 1935 Universal classic, The Bride of Frankenstein . I love The Bride of Frankenstein , it's one of my top ten favorite movies, and quickly became so when I saw it three years ago, shortly after seeing Frankenstein for the first time. Yes, I know, it took me a long time to finally see Frankenstein , and that's something I deeply regret. I only wish when I was younger someone had introduced me to the wonderfulness of Boris Karloff. It's also amazing that Bride is all that too rare of a b...

I have an odd relationship with the movie genre known as horror. I really don't care for it, and I'm not really a fan of scary movies. I like suspenseful movies, and everyone knows I adore Hitchcock, but they are not the same thing. However, there are some films that are horror movies that I like a lot. I like older horror movies, ones where it's not about franchises, or gore, or blood, or creepy people. But onces where there are monsters, weird goings on, and—are you ready for this—a storyline. I love William Castle's horror movies because they are so wonderfully out there. I love campy American International horror movies for their goofiness. But I don't care for slasher films, or any of the current crop of horror hits. But I liked the 2nd Evil Dead film, as it made me laugh really loud. Modern horror fans, regardless if you want to admit it or not, every single movie you've seen in a theater, at home, or on cable, owes it's existence to one set ...