Tag Archives: movie

Tony On: Pop Culture

MOVIE REVIEW: “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies” is Deliciously Irreverent

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As the saying goes: everything old is new again. Whether it is trends in fashion, styles of music, or even the food and drink we put in our bodies (the “Paleo diet” is from how long ago?), our society has an interesting penchant for liking something, forgetting that something for a while when newer and flashier somethings come along, and finally rediscovering that something and saying “y’know, this something is actually pretty cool.” Even though a timeless work of fiction – such as a Jane Austen novel – is really never truly forgotten, sometimes it does take an infusion of a new idea to bring a classic “back to life,” as it were.

Ironic, then, that the catalyst to reanimate wide-scale interest in Austen’s bourgeois-eschewing “Pride & Prejudice” is a creature that is, by its own nature, reanimated in and of itself: the zombie. Yes, the separate components of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies may not break any new ground on their own, but when these two disparate pieces are “mashed up” together, they become much like Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat, with opposites attracting in the most delightfully random of ways. Continue reading MOVIE REVIEW: “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies” is Deliciously Irreverent →

Tony On: Pop Culture

MOVIE REVIEW: “The Last Witch Hunter” is Bewitchingly Entertaining

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The Last Witch Hunter is an intriguing entry into the world of cinematic fantasy genre.  While it doesn’t particularly revolutionize the way we see witches and warlocks nor does it herald “the next great franchise” of feature films, it is a solid tale packed with great special effects, excellent pacing, a presentation designed for an intellectual audience (relatively speaking, of course), and charming characters that are fairly believable in terms of their place in this witchy world.

Continue reading MOVIE REVIEW: “The Last Witch Hunter” is Bewitchingly Entertaining →

Tony On: Pop Culture

MOVIE REVIEW: “Ant-Man” May Very Well Be Marvel’s Most Entertaining Film So Far

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WARNING: Mild spoilers ahead – I did my best to keep quiet about the big stuff, but some parts of the film required a little explanation in the review.

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MV5BMjM2NTQ5Mzc2M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTcxMDI2NTE@._V1_SX640_SY720_I know what you’re thinking – that’s a mighty bold statement you’re making there in the title, sailor.  Now hold up, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers, I’mma let you finish… but Ant-Man just may truly be one of the greatest Marvel films of all time.  Of all time!

How might this be possible, you might ask?  Well, these folks at Marvel, see, they’ve got this “fun hero movie” formula down to pretty much a science.  Ant-Man will likely resonate with movie-goers in one key way that flying superheroes, mega-powered aliens, and high-tech billionaire genius playboy philanthropists can’t – the “same level” department.  The “I can identify with that guy” department.  The honest-to-God, trying-my-best, life-is-hard-and-I-am-flawed human department.  That’s where Ant-Man lives.  Oh, and it’s really funny, too. Continue reading MOVIE REVIEW: “Ant-Man” May Very Well Be Marvel’s Most Entertaining Film So Far →

Tony On: Pop Culture

REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy

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I knew ‘em before they were famous.

The Guardians as I remember them from back in the '90s. SPOILER ALERT: you'll be seeing none of these characters in the movie.
The Guardians as I remember them from back in the ’90s. SPOILER ALERT: you’ll be seeing none of these characters in the movie.

For those that aren’t as deeply invested in comic-book lore as some of us (what do you expect – one of my first real jobs when I was 16 was in a comic book store, for cryin’ out loud… being knowledgeable about comics was literally my job), the newest cinematic offering from Marvel Comics, Guardians of the Galaxy, may seem a bit more “random” than you are prepared to handle: the film is only loosely connected to the existing Marvel Cinematic Universe that audiences have come to know and love, that of Iron Man, Captain America, and The Avengers fame (among others).  In fact, at this point, the only actual crossover that GotG has with the rest of the on-screen Marvel superhero crew is The Collector, an eccentric, intergalactic keeper of rare treasures and oddities; The Collector was seen in the mid-credits scene of Thor 2: The Dark World as he met with two of Thor’s compatriots and agreed to keep the powerful Aether – one of the six Infinity Stones – in his collection.  He appears in GotG in a slightly-expanded-but-still-fairly-ancillary role.

The Collector is an old-school comics character, making his first appearance all the way back in 1966, and has usually existed in the nebulous area of not quite a bad guy, per se, but not a hero, either.  Over the course of comic book history, he’s had run-ins with The Avengers, The X-Men, and – you guessed it – the Guardians of the Galaxy.  You see, much like the first two aforementioned teams, the Guardians have also been around in print for over 50 years.  From the ‘60s through the ‘90s, the team existed in the 31st Century, a band of intergalactic alien loners that come together to fight injustice (including one character, Major Victory, who possesses and uses Captain America’s very-old-but-very-functional indestructible shield).  These are the Guardians of the Galaxy I grew up with, and they spoke to me, since they combined two facets that I thought were totally tubular: superheroes and science fiction.

Still with me?  Good, although you don’t necessarily need to know all the above info about Guardians of the Galaxy to have a great time watching the film.  All you really need, quite frankly, are your eyes and your ears. Continue reading REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy →

About my writings

Write for The G.A.S.P. Factor!

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Attention writers of all ages and status!

 I’m Tony Schaab, creator of the award-winning review site www.TheGOREScore.com, and I’m embarking on a brand-new review project set to launch soon.  Unlike The G.O.R.E. Score, of which I am the sole author and reviewer, for this new project I’m searching for a talented team of a select few authors to join in routinely reviewing general-horror and science-fiction cinema!

The new project is called The G.A.S.P. Factor, and will be located online at http://www.thegaspfactor.com/.  Much like The G.O.R.E. Score, The G.A.S.P. Factor will provide readers with a detailed review, called Factor Files, centered around four distinct categories.  The intent is that the reviews will be less centered on the reviewer’s opinion alone and moreso on the breakdown of the four different sections, leading to a professional and detailed review that will help set The G.A.S.P. Factor apart from other review sites.

What does this mean for you as a writer and potential Factor File staff member?  Not only will you be a part of a ground-breaking new site that is based on a review system with a proven history of success, you will also gain a new avenue for publication!  The G.O.R.E. Score is not only an award-winning website, but the reviews featured on the site have been packaged into a best-selling book series.  “The G.O.R.E. Score: A Review Guide to All Things Zombie, Vol. 1” has been as high as #18 on Amazon’s Reviews and Guides list, and Volume 2 in the series recently completely sold out its initial preview printing for the HorrorHound convention in Indianapolis.  In this same vein, The G.A.S.P. Factor will be printed as a companion book series and is expected to see much of the same success that its sister series, The G.O.R.E. Score, has.

In addition to all this, there will be a revenue-sharing option built into the contract for any writers brought on to The G.A.S.P. Factor project, so not only will you be a part of an amazing new review site, you will also be a published author with the opportunity to earn additional income based on the book’s success!

I’ll be asking only a select few authors to join me on this endeavor.  To inquire about how you can submit a written audition piece to be considered as one of the new G.A.S.P. Factor staff writers, send an inquiry e-mail to me at tony@tonyschaab.com, and I will respond with specifics regarding your next step.  This is a first-offered, first-served opportunity; I am looking to put the writing staff in place as soon as I have found the few authors whose submissions are approved and have signed their contracts, so DON’T DELAY!  E-mail me today and see if you’ve got what it takes to write for The G.A.S.P. Factor!  I look forward to hearing from you.