Puppet Master Week: Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge

A fine greetings to you all and welcome back for Day 3 of Puppet Master Week. This next installment of the Puppet Master's franchise is pure flashback as Toulon was removed from the Fatherland during the war. We will have to excuse their lack of continuity as Toulon had already fled to the states in 1939 according to the first film so the fact he is in Nazi Germany in 1941 strikes of a goof. This is Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge.

Jester doesn't like this version of Punch N Judy.

Being a brilliant marionette craftsman and puppeteer, Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe of The Stranglers of Bombay, Yesterday's Enemy, Dolls, Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge, Puppet Master 4, Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter and Retro Puppet Master) entertains the youth of Berlin with puppet shows with political satire of Hitler losing to a puppet named Sixshooter, a cowboy with six arms and six pistols so he is certain not to miss. With him in his theater, his beloved wife of much younger years Elsa (Sarah Douglas of Superman II, Conan the Destroyer, Falcon Crest, The Return of the Swamp Thing, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1 and Strippers vs Werewolves)make a decent living until... a little goosestepping tattletale finklestein rats them to the Gestapo.

Head of Gestapo Major Kraus (Richard Lynch of The Sword and the Sorcerer, Invasion U.S.A., Trancers II, Maximum Force, Merlin, Werewolf, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Halloween, Laid to Rest and The Lords of Salem) is offended at the depiction of Hitler and sends his boys over to Toulon when his boy informs him of the formula injections to the puppets bringing them life when the head of Deathcorp (a reanimate project to bring soldiers back to life and return them to the Russian front) insists on conversing with this alchemist and his formula process in order to make his project a complete success. Kraus' men shoot Elsa, clap Toulon in irons and burn his theater as it is an affront to Da Freur. Clearly those equations, reverse engineering and chemical compositions will just slip from Toulon's mouth now.

Gotta move this body upstate.

After his daring escape from the Nutzis, Toulon demands revenge and even turns his late wife's present into Leech Woman... also just suspend disbelief that Sixshooter was not in the original two prior and he uh... got lost in the move to California. There! Moving along we can see the head of Deathcorp is working painstakingly to decipher the formula and finish his work which of course is of the highest order to Da Freur... like Ilsa's death camp, the SS Love camp, Fraulein Devil and Hell let's throw in Werewolf Women of the SS in there as well.

The puppets spring into action and it looks like curtains for the Third Reich as they systematically proceed whip the Nazis make them very sour krauts.

A couple of snippets on the movie now. Several of the key puppets from the first two are given an origin story as well as the formula is explained. David Allen Productions were back and rocking the animatronics as well as the stop motion animation. Principal photography was done in about 18 days. Previously, the crew was scheduled to go to Romania to shoot in 1991 but the political uprising may have put a damper on that and they thought it was to use Universal Studios back-lot instead.

A few historical inaccuracies aside, this was entertaining more-so than the first two. Gore is not ratcheted up to the same level as the previous but it is still bloody and yeah nudity is brief but available, so parents, you have been warned.

Zombie Ted looks on in horror.

Puppet Master Week: Puppet Master II

Salutations everyone and welcome back for Day 2 of Puppet Master Week. When we last left our maleficent marionettes, they held quite a party for the psychics and that may have ended all in tears. Now, we find the mischievous little monsters breaking into Shady Oaks Cemetery uncovering the grave of Andre Toulon, Pinhead working diligently to clear off the dirt to find his dearly departed master.  This is Puppet Master II.

I still don't see your ball.  just take the penalty so we can play!

With Blade, Leech Woman, Jester and Tunneler by his side, Pinhead pours Toulon's formula over the decaying skeleton giving it life again. Why they waited a year before raising their beloved master, coupled with the fact he has been dead for 50 years, shouldn't he almost be dust?

Months later, a group of parapsychologists, led by Carolyn Bramwell (Elizabeth Maclellan of Friday's Curse, Jake and the Fatman, Santa Barbara, Puppet Master 2 and Crash and Burn) is trying to discover there is any truth to the ramblings of Alex Whitaker from the previous movie. Claims and accusations of a formula raising the dead does perk some ears up. With that logical conclusion, our brilliant shrinks head for Bodega Bay Inn, to investigate. Along with Carolyn is her brother Patrick (Gregory Webb of Boone, Falcon Crest, Running Mates and It's a Living), Camille (Nita Talbot of Search for Tomorrow, Girl Happy, That Funny Feeling, Night Shift and Spider-Man: The Animated Series) and Lance (Jeff Celentano of American Ninja 2: The Confrontation, Puppet Master II, The Player, Windfall and Moscow Heat) as they just move into to the hotel. Permits, contacting a landlord or executor of the estate is not a big issue apparently.

Medieval Darkman misspoke the words.

Camille is nabbed by the puppets with no hide nor hair of her left to be found. Plot device convenience brings Camille's son, Michael (Colin Bernsen of Double Trouble, Future Shock, Savage Land, The Glass Cage, Sliders and Cover Me) to visit the hotel. As luck would have it a bandaged fellow Eriquee Chanee' (Steve Welles of Biohazard, Shooters, Solar Crisis and Baywatch) standing about the same height and build of Andre Toulon, claims to have inherited the house and was in Bucharest prior to their arrival, graciously allows them to stay and find whatever it is they are looking for. A mystery indeed.

Odd things and deaths occur when it would appear that Toulon resurrected after all these years has gone completely unhinged, claiming that Carolyn is the reincarnation of his late wife. Yeah, that old chestnut that horror gets WAAAAAAAAAAY too often. Will Carolyn's soul and body survive? Are we going to see the book of the dead somewhere in here? And what of Scarecrow's brain?

Just some notations on the film now. David Allen Productions, once again show their capabilities in stop motion animation and animatronics. Creating a new puppet Torch, 4 versions had to be made for safety on the set as he flambes people in different scale and shots. Their puppet could shoot flames as long as 10 feet. When still linked to Paramount for distribution, the studio executives disliked the puppet Leech Woman and demanded it be destroyed because they didn't want her for future sequels. The funny thing is, she has made a comeback for Puppet Master III.... or did she?

With brief nudity, the gore has kicked up a notch but no more than the previous film.

Hey that's not Tom Servo!

Puppet Master Week: Puppet Master

Well let's get this started and welcome to Day 1 of Puppet Master Week. Logically we will begin with the first film but first I wanted to give a little detail on the creator of this bizarre series Charles Band. Less than thrilled how distribution occured in the states and overseas, Band formed Empire Pictures in 1984 to produce and distribute his films and make sure of return on the profits. As the VHS market was just being its mass allotment, Empire Pictures had allied itself with Wizard Video for their contacts and they only became a power in the industry for producing two horror games on Atari 2600 in 1982, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween. Imagine the scandal of horror games pre 8-bit. As Italy had its fluctuation or many economic issues, most of the low budget films Band was making hailed from the region causing him leave and return to the US of A. Forming the company Full Moon Pictures. Aside from ambition behind the scenes, Band started developing scripts of horror genre ranging from period pieces, guy in rubber suits and the love for inanimate objects doing horrible things to people. This is Puppet Master.

Just a little work under the chin and around the eyes please.

Written by Charles Band, our movie starts in 1939 in Bodega Bay, California with an elder man, a puppeteer name of Andre Toulon (William Hickey of Mikey and Nicky, Wise Blood, A Stranger Is Watching, Prizzi's Honor, One Crazy Summer and The Maddening) who has discovered a secret, a formula that brings life to where there was none. A true alchemist whose secrets were handed down to his ancestors for generations. This goes without saying the Nazi party would be very interested in this... you know, the remaining few that did not go after the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail or virtually any other religious artifact. Wonder how that tesseract business went for them. Moving along, a pair of goose-steppers are looking to cease Toulon and his prized puppets when Toulon locks them away in a secret compartment and ends his life with a revolver.

50 years later a gathering of psychics Alex Whitaker (Paul Le Mat of American Graffiti, Melvin and Howard, Wishman, Lonesome Dove: The Series and American History X), Dana Hadley (Irene Miracle of Midnight Express, Inferno, Puppet Master and Walking Thunder), Frank Forrester (Matt Roe of Puppet Master, Child's Play 2, My Blue Heaven and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult) and Carissa Stamford (Kathryn O' Reilly of Married with Children, Jack's Back, Saturday the 14^th Strikes Back and Top of the Heap) get in touch with some college colleagues Neil Gallagher (Jimmie F. Skaggs of Lethal Weapon, Cutthroat Island, Hollow Man and Catch Me If You Can) who is not melon crazy but has found Toulon's hidden treasures.

Meatloaf looks on confused as ever.

The four agree to meet him at the late Toulon's home, already envisioning fortune and glory but don't count your Sankara stones yet, folks. There is bound to be more than a few problems. No sooner do they arrive that all the psychics recieve premonitions of death or death still to come and meet Megan (Robin Frates of Puppetmaster, The Arrival, Man's Best Friend, One Night Stand and The Round and Round) who is apparently Neil's wife has news that Neil shot himself. Yeah you can see that being an issue. Alex and the gang were attempting to find the secrets of Toulon's alchemy that hails from Egyptian practitioners...when they were putting hot pokers up nostrils and preserving organs in jars. With each psychic having a unique gift it is their hope to unlock these secrets. Frank and Neil's research has almost pinpointed everything they need but now the party seems taken back by all of this. Meanwhile unaware of this, our cast is being haunted by tiny puppets that seemingly have been animated by Toulon's formula as they stalk their late master's would-be grave-robbers. Will any of our psychics get out alive? Can these dastardly dolls be burned and destroyed?

A few comments about the movie now. The practical effects for the puppets from David Allen Productions was amazing. From stop motion animation and animatronics these killer puppets are maiming in style. Originally slated for a theatrical release, our movie had to go with a straight-to-video instead due to Band feeling it would do better in the rental market which given its popularity gave it cult status and the grounds for a sequel or nine in this case.

I got no strings, to keep me down!

The Puppet Master Week

Okay, before we begin the week of terror (for my brain) I would like to take this time to point out some amusing notions for it.  Initially, I bought Puppet Master and all its sequels for this week and days later I became a proud member of Amazon Prime.   Thanks again Mom for that gift.  Will make movie and TV reviews a whole lot easier.  So rather than purchase this collection, I could have easily viewed it on Amazon Prime, but hey no one can predict events well so I have 9, yes I said 9 movies of which, the first 5 will be viewed and only if I feel like punishing my psyche will I watch the other 4 remaining.

Hey little lady, the safety word is pumpkin.

Full Moon Entertainment was one of those production companies in the latter 80's, early 90's that did their level best to give Horror B-Movies a place in the cinema world.  Regardless of the budget, talent or screenplays, each film that was immortalized on film stock was deemed worthy of the backing.  From the quadrilogy known as Subspecies to the bizarre Sci-fi collective of Trancers, Full Moon Entertainment has given each film from camp to creepy its due so why not focus on one of their most productive cash cow productions.  Writer/producer Charles Band cut his teeth under the first film and it found an audience in no time thanks to the VHS (Video Home System for you younger readers) generation in rentals and purchases.  Admittedly the potential of a stinkball movie is going to happen with titles like: Test Tube Teens from the Year 2000, Castle Freak, Dragonworld and Blonde Heaven but in spite of that, you can find some gems among the films.  

And while most of the horror genre via Full Moon has a fair degree of nudity and gore.... Puppet Master is no exception.  Yeah you thought I had some positive comments about it, didn't you?   Truth of the matter, the films are professionally done, the musical score has a nice eerie feel to it and you will find that the actors are quite competent but... killer dolls may need a new spin.   Will these movies be a complete waste of time or will we be entertained?

Tune in and find out!!!   Just remember I am the one that has to watch this and then put an objective review on my findings.  Not always easy.

Steal my name will you, Snipes?  I don't think so.

PS2 Week: Silent Hill 2

Howdy boys and girls and welcome back for Day 4 of PS2 Week. Well I had lined up a Bassmasters game of fishing excitement to the likes no other fishing game could muster... but then I remembered it was a fishing game and that is dull in my book. So howsabout a horror game sequel that is sequel in name only??? Say Whaaaaaa???? But Jake that only happens in the volley of cheesy B-movie horror movies you sift through. Well you are wrong, strange person that comes into my apartment to shout at my head. Need better locks. I speak of a game giving third person view, showing us bizarre clues, keys and other such useful items in a sleepy, forgotten town. This is Silent Hill 2.

Stop following me, John Carpenter musical score!!!

The survival horror game got its sequel but in title name only as we roam about in the boots of James Sunderland as he searches endlessly for the whereabouts of his wife Mary, who died of an illness three years prior which her last known location was Silent Hill. Finding an obscure note from his wife telling him to meet her in their special place in Silent Hill. Trudging through this now insane monster ridden town, James encounters Maria, who bares an uncanny resemblance to his wife, who claims to not know his wife and has no idea how she ended up in this town.

Terrified to be alone, Maria convinces James to let her tag along with him as they search the area for clues leading them to the long since abandoned hospital where our old friend Pyramid Head chases them, kills Maria while James narrowly escapes. Making his way to the local hotel where James and Mary spent vacation time, James runs into Maria alive and whole. Is James going mad? Is he on a fool's errand? Will Silent Hill relinquish its hold on him?

My God, I really do look like Sean Bean.

A few technical differences from the original, you no longer have that herky jerky tank turret turning to face opponents. The heads up display is gone but if you pause the game it will have the map layout as you have explored it, the clues that you have gathered and the detailed notes to each clue and mystery being solved. There is at least six ways the game will end at which gives you a fair amount of elbow room and room for error and wisdom.

As far as influences you got the feel that the folks of Team Silent dabbled in a bit of Hitchcock, David Chronenberg and even a smidgen of David Lynch giving it a psychological thriller combined with terrifying imagery, eerie sounds and a musical score that always sets the scenes. With 3D environments similar to Tomb Raider, the game's graphics are sharper, the characters physical appearances are better defined and game play via controller is improved dramatically. The unveiling of each environment feels almost like Alone in the Dark back in '92 with its depths of shadow and contrast. A warped vision providing hours of entertainment but not much in the way of sound sleep.

Some sprucing up and some throw pillows... nah it'll look like crap still.

PS2 Week: Guitar Hero II

Hi there gang and welcome back for Day 3 of PS2 Week. Well we have explored two action adventures games and now is clearly the time to change over to another genre. How about one of the highest grossing emulator franchises? Simulating rocking out with a controller shaped in the form of an electric guitar and playing along with notes scrolling towards the player, this sequel managed to sell just a little over 3.1 million copies since 2007. Sold individually or bundled with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller, this game as been proven fun for all ages. This is Guitar Hero II.

How sick is this drawing, right?

Released by Harmonix, published by our friends at Activision and finally distributed by RedOctane this second installment of Guitar Hero was released for PS2 and Xbox 360, each having different box cover art as well as the Xbox 360 was bundled with a white Gibson guitar controller. Both controllers were wired but RedOctane also sold a wireless controller solely for the PS2. With more than 40 popular songs, a few of them cover versions recorded specifically for the game and crossing more than 50 years, this game is an all-age game having characters on stage at concerts playing notes as fast as possible and as accurate to give perfect score. Ranging from Easy to Hard, the band takes on each gig as the song of choice starts belting out and you keep up with in following notes and color context to match the buttons on the guitar. With not only the licensed music came showing of the licensed instruments from speakers to drum sets, each guitar, speaker, bass and drum kit got its spotlight making the manufacturers a bit happier to get new and existing generations involved in music.

In case some of you players were not born in the 80s.

On Career Mode, players create a band name and select a guitarist from the run of characters available, Each of the eight character provide a unique take on rock music at the start of the game : Eddie Knox, Axel Steel, Casey Lynch, Lars Umlaut, Izzy Sparks, Judy Nails, Johnny Napalm and Pandora. Better performances means better cash and the ability to purchase better equipment.

Even better though is the Multiplayer options. Co-op allows a bass or rhythm guitar to share score, the rock meter and show off star power via star power meter. This is the only multiplayer mode in which a song can fail. Face-Off the same feature from the original game but with a few tweaks. Players chose their own difficulty for each song and the scores are weighted accordingly, so the player on Easy with less notes might not out and out lose the expert tagging most of his or her notes. Pro Face-Off puts the players playing the same guitar track on the same difficulty level.

The immense success of this game brought us an expansion pack entitled Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s prior to the release of Guitar Hero II: Legends of Rock.

Voted in 2006 as Best Soundtrack, Best Music Game and Best Play Station 2 Offline Multiplayer Game it is no wonder that households, college dorms and shabby furnished apartments were rocking out to this easy to understand and fun to play game. I'd wager $50 that this was the reason for more than a few minimum wagers calling in sick for a few more hours of game time but that is just my theory.

Expert level is murder on the fingers!

PS2 Week: Spider-Man 2

A big greetings and welcome back to Day 2 of PS2 Week. We are slamming into high gear with a fast paced story arc enthused Marvel Comics character that many of us know. After the success of its predecessor Spider-man, a few complaints went out on the game's handling and lack of Spidey like capabilities and the folks of Sony heard their cries. A loosely based adaptation of the film Spider-Man 2 was called into production and the cast of the film voice cast the lot. Activision went to work creating a single-player action adventure to the likes the wall-crawler fans had not seen. This is Spider-Man 2.

Concrete can chafe a butt folks,  just an FYI from Spidey.

Made for PC and platform consoles such as: Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, N-Gage, Mac, Nintendo DS and PSP (Playstation Portable) this game got standing reviews and love as it had the option to continue on the storyline after the tutorial (voiced by that Bruce Campbell fellow of Evil Dead and Burn Notice) or allowing you to do side quests fending off thugs and baddies in true red and blue Spidey fashion. With street scum armed with SMGs, pistols, crowbars and bare knuckles you can easily dispatch them with a few punches and puns. Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire of Deconstructing Harry, Pleasantville, Wonderboys, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Labor Day and Pawn Sacrifice) of has been in the spandex for two years cutting down on NYC's crime rate all the while trying to balance school, work and being with his family and friends when he has to thwart a museum art heist, the muscle bound Rhino starts tearing up downtown Manhattan and you guessed it, a certain superhero has to put the kibosh on that. No, not Superman. Spider-Man. Sheesh, get with it.

Hehe just mooned Trump.

Following the unfortunate creation of Doctor Octopus (Voiced by Alfred Molina of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Species, Chocolat, and An Education) in the film, the blame for all his failures, foibles and the loss of his wife is clearly Spider-Man's fault so why not start some crime? According to the Spider-Man universe, science just equals bad. Unlike its predecessor, this game lets Spidey go all over Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, Ellis Island and even Liberty Island to help and aid folks calling out his name, giving him hero points to put to skill sets and upgrading his performance over all. A bit like steroids without all that abuse. The 3D aspect of web slinging is like nothing else of its time. Given the typical jumping and static swinging, we finally explore Spidey's full range capabilities of swinging and their cause and effect as you are on the move. We are also reintroduced to villains such as: The Shocker and Mysterio distracting our hero with their tomfoolery and general bs but our boy can still put the hurt on them and give them to the cops. Black Cat makes a lengthy appearance voiced by Holly Fields (Brimstone, Wishmaster 2, Fishes, Hip, Edgy, Sexy, Cool, JAG, Shrek 2 Video Game, The Still Life and Superman Returns Video Game)

Interesting little side note here is the console game and the PC game differ quite a bit. In the PC game, Doc Ock is already who he is, the tutorial on managing powers and skills is once again narrated by Bruce Campbell and Rhino busts out of prison after a riot. It's the little things that make the difference from time to time. With the PS2's freestyle web slinging, baddie bopping and in general freedom that is allowed you swear you just stepped into the comic book.

Rhino may not be MENSA material.