Remembering MY STEPMOTHER IS AN ALIEN...

Overlooking the fact that this 1988 comedy flick is only 19% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, just thought I'd reminisce about My Stepmother Is an Alien here!

Back when I was young, I developed a huge crush on Kim Basinger after watching Tim Burton's first Batman movie (where Basinger played photojournalist Vicki Vale) at the theater in 1989. So of course, I had to rent [or should I say, I asked my parents to rent (which, in hindsight, is really awkward)] My Stepmother Is an Alien on VHS afterwards.

I was so mesmerized by Basinger's role as extraterrestrial vixen Celeste Martin that My Stepmother was probably one of the things that enhanced my obsession in space exploration (eventually leading me to create a blog devoted to human spaceflight 20 years later). So much so, that there was one night where I stood outside my house, looked up into the sky, and wished that there was a beautiful blonde alien woman lurking somewhere among the stars...

Keep in mind that I was only 10 at the time!

With 4,834 confirmed exoplanets in the universe as of September 1, it's not farfetched to think that a celestial being that looks like Vicki Vale could be living on a world hundreds of light-years away. Or maybe it is.

Happy Last Day of September!

Quick Review: MALIGNANT...

Earlier today, I watched James Wan's newest horror flick Malignant at my local AMC theater. And needless to say, that was one crazy twist at the end!

SPOILER ALERT: The theatrical trailer made it look like this was yet another scary movie where the main protagonist, Madison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis), was haunted by a shadowy demonic figure whose evil deeds were being shown in visions that she was having at home. But nope, it turns out that Madison's turmoil was caused by a parasitic monster, named Gabriel, who somehow learned to effortlessly dispatch his enemies using fisticuffs—and a makeshift dagger—like he was John Wick or something!

When all is said and done, Malignant is about family...and it's Madison's stepsister Sydney Lake (Maddie Hasson) who motivates her to overcome her (literal) inner demon to be normal again. Of course, being normal again seems like it's going to be a tall order for Madison—as Gabriel left a large trail of bodies in his wake by the time he was defeated. And Madison, though being an unwitting victim in all of this, will have to answer for his bloody crimes.

Malignant may not have been as scary as Wan's 2013 horror hit The Conjuring, but this latest flick has one of the best twists I've ever seen on the big screen...not just for a horror film, but for any film in particular.

There's no reason why we couldn't see Gabriel rear his ugly head (pun intended) again in a Malignant sequel! Carry on.

Quick Review: CANDYMAN...

A few hours ago, I watched the horror film Candyman...an update on the 1992 original and a directorial piece by rising filmmaker Nia DaCosta (who helmed 2018's Little Woods and will direct the 2022 Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels).

Candyman was not only a horror movie, but DaCosta's interesting take on police brutality, urban gentrification and the yearning of aspiring (and struggling) artists to find motivation for their next showpiece.

I never saw the 1992 original film, but I'm familiar enough with it to know that that was a nice callback at the ending of the newest cinematic iteration of Candyman. SPOILER ALERT: Daniel Robitaille makes a guest appearance. That is all.

Video of the Day: THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS Trailer...

Neo and Trinity are back!

Even though Laurence Fishburne isn't returning as the red and blue pill-offering Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections (that role now belongs to newcomer Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), it's great to see Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss once again play the characters that brought them to stardom in 1999's The Matrix.

The Matrix Resurrections begins where 2003's The Matrix Revolutions left off: Neo becoming one with the Matrix after he helped defeat Agent Smith in an epic rain-soaked battle, Trinity mysteriously showing up even though she supposedly died in Revolutions, Sati now "grown up" (and portrayed by Priyanka Chopra Jonas), Niobe (reprised by Jade Pinkett Smith from Revolutions) continuing to fight for the Resistance, and the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) still up to no good in the virtual world created by the Machines as well.

Other talented cast members in The Matrix 4 include Neil Patrick Harris, Daniel Bernhardt (as Agent Johnson), Jessica Henwick, Ellen Hollman and Christina Ricci.

Directed by Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections will premiere on HBO Max and in theaters nationwide on December 22. I definitely plan on watching it on the big screen! Happy Thursday.

Movie Review: SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS...

Yesterday, I went to my local AMC theater to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) newest installment, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Needless to say, this film was a blast! As someone who originally started his career as a stunt performer, Simu Liu did an amazing job conveying the emotional and physically badass nature of Shang-Chi that makes him such an interesting character and superhero.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton succeeded in showing the two sides of Shang-Chi...one side being a normal guy who just wants to live his life in San Francisco singing at karaoke bars and happily parking cars as a hotel valet. And the other side being a conflicted would-be assassin who's trying to get out from underneath the shadow of his powerful but tormented thousand-year-old father.

In regards to Shang-Chi's father, the legendary Tony Leung (from such movies as 2002's Infernal Affairs and 2013's The Grandmaster) did an outstanding job playing Xu Wenwu. In The Legend of the Ten Rings, we find out that Wenwu is so powerful (and he aptly proved it in this film) that a terrorist "who brought America to its knees" based his persona after him as inspiration several years back. That terrorist, of course, was The Mandarin—and The Legend of the Ten Rings managed to tie this subplot with the events of Iron Man 3. Yes, one of the main characters from that 2013 film made a cameo in this movie...and no, it's not Tony Stark.

In terms of the remaining cast members, Shang-Chi featured both well-known and up-and-coming performers in this movie. Along with Leung, the formidable Michelle Yeoh (of 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and 2018's Crazy Rich Asians) appeared in Shang-Chi as his aunt, Ying Nan.

Meng'er Zhang was fierce as Shang-Chi's sister, Xialing (the owner of an underground fight ring in Macau), and Fala Chen did a terrific job winning Wenwu's respect and his love as Li, the future mother of Shang-Chi and Xialing.

And adding additional heart and humor to The Legend of the Ten Rings was Awkwafina (who appeared in 2018's Ocean's Eight and alongside Yeoh in Crazy Rich Asians) as Shang-Chi's overly-Americanized friend, Katy. Awkwafina had a couple of hilarious lines in this movie—one of them being her comment about how Shang-Chi didn't do a very good job concealing his identity by changing his name to...Shaun. To paraphrase: "It's like changing your name from Gina to Gina." (The second version sounding like vagina.)

Overall, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is one of the best MCU movies yet. Clearly, the fight scenes in this film were inspired by Jackie Chan flicks and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The origin story of this superhero was very emotional...and if you at least stay for the mid-credits scene, you'll see that a huge future lies in store for Shang-Chi as he finds himself involved with the Avengers in a post-Thanos universe.

Will I see Shang-Chi at the theater again, you ask? Absolutely! How can I not make a repeat viewing of a movie that successfully debuts an Asian superhero in one of the biggest cinematic franchises in history?

To borrow a memorable quote from the Legend of the Ten Rings: "If you aim at nothing, you hit nothing." Happy Labor Day weekend.