John Otteni

I made a mockumentary about hunting vampires

Freaky Fridays: Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning

Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)

Before I begin my review of Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, I have something I need to get off my chest. This week, Paramount pulled the Friday the 13th reboot from its scheduled release date of October 13th, 2017. Rumor has it the reboot, which was going to be helmed by Breck Eisner (The Last Witch Hunter, The Crazies) is dead and buried. “What happened?” Sifting through the rumor mill, it sounds like Paramount didn’t have any confidence in Part XIII being successful based on the failure of their latest Ring reboot. You know what I have to say about that?

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Freaky Fridays: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Before I sat down to watch Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, I went to IMDB to try and find as many sequels as I could that included the subtitle: “The Final Chapter.” I’m sure I’m missing a few, but here are the titles I found:

Walking Tall: Final Chapter (1977)
Angel III: The Final Chapter (1988)
Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter (1994)
Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (2010)
Lake Placid: The Final Chapter (2012)

And how many of these films received a sequel, remake, or crossover?
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Freaky Fridays: Friday the 13th Part III

Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

“Did Friday the 13th Part III save the franchise?” The reason I ask is because I can’t fathom this series could have sustained itself for thirty-plus years with a villain with a sack on his head. It is worth noting the second film was more expensive and less successful than the first. Yet the third film had a better opening weekend than the first and was the highest grossing horror movie of 1982 after Poltergeist. All thanks to a hockey mask.

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Freaky Fridays: Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th (1980)

Happy Friday the 13th! In honor of this superstitious holiday, I have taken it upon myself to watch the Friday the 13th series. That’s right. For the next 13 weeks, I will be reviewing a Friday the 13th film every Friday. Why? Because It’s a franchise I’ve never given the time of day and what better time to start then on Friday the 13th? So strap in, it’s gonna be a long ride… to Hell!

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John’s Top Ten Movies of 2016

2016 may have been a bad year for politics, celebrities and gorilla memes, but it was a great year for movies. Even in the dark months of January and February, I had films like The Witch and Deadpool to keep me warm. Spring arrived with a bloom of superhero movies, some good (Captain America: Civil War), some unspeakably horrible… *cough, Batman vs. Superman.

The summer brought fun-in-the-sun family films; Finding Dory, Pete’s Dragon, and what I can only assume is the heartwarming romantic comedy that is Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. Fall delivered understated dramas; Moonlight, Arrival, Manchester by the Sea. And Winter was ruled by Star Wars. Star Wars will rule Winter from now until the end of time.

Films I missed but wished I had seen before our deadline include; Manchester by the Sea, Hell or High Water, Paterson, Indignation, Certain Women, The Dark Horse, Edge of Seventeen and that O.J. Documentary everyone’s been raving about. I’ll get to those films eventually, until then, here’s what I did see and enjoyed in 2016.

Honorable Mention
The Handmaiden
La La Land
Sing Street
The Witch

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John’s Top Ten TV Shows of 2016

So many great shows so little time. I remember a day when I had to struggle to find good shows. A time when My Name is Earl and The Office was the most solid block of TV available all week. Times have changed. Every day we have more and more ways to watch great television. I hate to say it, but I think TV has finally edged out movies and I don’t see it ever going back. But can there be too much of a good thing? As I ponder this question why don’t you check out my list of shows that I actually watched and enjoyed.

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