Why Teens need to watch The Breakfast Club

DEDICATED TO SUMER ODOM - Who shares my love for this film and is a great example of someone to change your life.

Lets be honest, growing up is hard. If you look at many films and TV shows, they rarely ever show the real difficulties of growing up. Sure, in TV series you have a few plots that involve some mishap or loss but all seems to be ok within a few episodes. If anything the only programme that has nailed life as a teenager and the journey of growing up is the UK hit show Skins. Before Skins was around the only film I feel teenagers need to watch to know that growing up isn’t all fun and games and that someone else understands similarities of adulthood is the 1985 hit Breakfast Cub.

Granted, Breakfast Club is coming up to its 30^th anniversary and should be seen as outdated but it’s more relevant than ever!

I’m going to name a few reasons why all teens need to watch this film at least once and why it impacted on me so much.

NOTE: Spoilers for Breakfast Club within the article.

First I’ll give a little background on the premise of Breakfast Club. 5 Teens from different social groups in high school all share a morning detention. Even though they have nothing in common socially, they have more than they think in common in other ways.

Also may I add, I’m aware im adhering to stereotypes and generalising teens into groups but it still makes valid points.

 The High School stereotypes are represented perfectly:

Now a days, stereotypes of high school clicks and personalities have changed but the core of these personalities are still around just with different terms. Breakfast club cast the perfect actors/actresses to play these stereotypes, equally the script has the characters emotional and personal differences represented perfect too. I’m going to go through each character stereotype and why their representation resonates with real life counterparts.

Brian – (Nerd/Geek)

Ahhhh Brian, brilliantly played by Anthony Michael Hall is portrayed as the typical geek in Breakfast Club. The thing is with Brian I find he is more relevant today then before. Geeks are always the punch bag when it comes to stereotypes, even in times where it’s deemed cool to be a geek, actually the difference between geeks and Hipsters (Wanna-be geeks) are massive, I could do another article on that alone but that’s not why we are here. Geeks are classed as young teens who love science fiction, play with games (like World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons) and collect rare toys and are highly intelligent and lack social skills. Hang on, that’s exactly how Brian is portrayed in Breakfast Club. He is the most socially awkward around the other four teens and tries to be useful but comes of as awkward and annoying. I think our geeks of the 2000’s can still relate to Brian. Brian tries to fit in by trying to join in convocations and conforming to what the other teens start doing like leaving the detention area without permission and smoking pot. That’s what makes him relatable to the so called geeks, he has morals and tries to fit in, but he cant have both and unfortunately like teens these days they would rather try fit in like Brian. Even at the end when friendships are established he is still used a monkey to write the essay for the group, another classic stereotype to geeks, they are used by popular kids to do their work and that makes the geek feel like they are friends.

Equally another quality that Brian gets right in Breakfast Club is the stress of grades and maintaining an expectation. One of my favourite scenes in the film is Brian’s speech about maintaining grades and the stress of slipping up and failing his parents. I know a lot of people who are highly intelligent and make one slip up and beat themselves up so much, it’s not needed and that’s why that scene is so powerful.

Claire – (Princess / Miss Popular)

Claire portrayed by Molly Ringwald is the groups prom queen, again the portrayal is so spot on in Breakfast Club. Claire in the beginning of the film is only interested in talking to our other so called popular character Andy. It’s well know school rule that popular kids can only talk to other popular kids and to do anything otherwise would be condemned as social suicide. Like the stereotype of Princesses, Claire is my up her own backside. She doesn’t feel the need to care about any of the others and would rather be spending Daddy’s money. This is one of the strongest representations because unlike the geek stereotype, the princess, miss popular representation is exactly the same as it was back in the 80’s, we all think that because an girl is attractive and talks to a lot of people, she obviously is popular and sleeps with many people and wouldn’t give the time of day to lesser known class mates.

Andy – (Jock/ Prom King)

Again another solid stereotype, like the princess representation, the jock stereotype is still very similar to how it was back in the 80’s. Andy’s character played by the legendary Emilio Estevez is shown to be the tough guy who can talk the talk and will stand his ground against someone who has the balls to argue back. That is exactly how it is in high school these days. Jocks are represented as aggressive, lack intelligence and competitive. Andy’s character is almost a spitting image representation. These days I will say the “lack of intelligence” part to Jocks has slowly disappeared as sometimes it’s the highly intelligent ones who are classed as jocks because they focus on sports rather than education because they think their intelligence will let them sail through classes. Another portrayal done well in the film is the Jocks dislike towards geeks. Andy is cold and ruthless towards Brian at the beginning and Brian’s need to impress him is shown ineffective.

Allison – (Basket case/ Social outcast)

Something to be at school almost as worse as a geek is a basket case or social outcast. There is something so great about Ally Sheedy’s performance as Allison, purely because acting as an outsider is a hard task to achieve. We all had that one kid in high school who will sit alone, writing in their book or reading to themselves and are never seen with friends. Allison nails this representation, purely because she doesn’t give a damn, social outcasts are talked about by all stereotypes and mocked and the outcast doesn’t even care. Allison is so oblivious to all digs and cheap shots because she is in her own world, like most typical basket cases. It’s rather sad that this representation is even around to be included but that’s the harsh reality of school. Some teens don’t make or don’t want friends.

Bender – (Criminal / Thug)

Perhaps the most fascinating portrayal of stereotypes in both, Breakfast Club and real life. Judd Nelson’s portrayal of John Bender is the films most memorable, and it’s obvious why. Every class in high school has one teen that looks like a criminal or admits to doing various thug like activities. The Stereotype intrigues me as, like in Breakfast Club the Criminal has a social group and is almost portrayed as popular for the wrong reasons, yet is outcast like the basket case. Bender is the perfect representation of a thug that carries all these characteristics. He is known by the other four teens but they all dislike him, he also calls out the other teens stereotypes and asks them why they almost chosen to be that stereotype. It is a perfect representation of the criminal, they don’t care, they will say it like they see it and most importantly, not is all as it seems.

The truth behind, stereotypes and differences are shown:

One of the greatest (personally) things about Breakfast Club are, when all five teens start talking about their lives and school problems. Again as mentioned in the first section, Bender is the only one to have the balls to call the others out on things. The underlying message of Breakfast club is that these stereotypes are false, and whilst teens have characteristics that make you fit a certain personification, it doesn’t mean you are that representation down to the tee.

Queeny is innocent:

Bender starts on Claire by abusing her about her stereotype of the Princess and how she is the school queen and if she didn’t turn up, school would shut down, he continues to comment on her earrings and how she obviously didn’t work for the money and Daddy brought her diamond earrings for his little girl, causing Claire to lash out. He also pops the question that all high school teens dread, “are you a virgin?” which as a queen of the school she would be stereotyped to of slept with many boys but in fact she admits to the group she is indeed a virgin. This is one the best things about breakfast club, it takes the assumptions and gives you the truth. Most teens assume because an attractive boy or girl is popular, they have slept around or do drugs and much more but really that is a small percentage.

The Jock who hates sport:

Disproving the stereotype that Jocks care about sport alone, Andy confesses to the group that the only reason he does wrestling is so his Dad will be proud and won’t be seen as a quitter. He also then tells the group unlike the convention that Jocks pick on Nerds and abuse them, Andy felt guilty or his actions that led him to detention. His peers pressured him and the expectation to live up to his fathers great stories collapsed on him and he caved thus abusing a Geek. This is one of my favourite (some what relatable) scenes in the film. Andy is afraid to be himself and do what he wants because his parents and peers have set a bar and he is scared to fail his Dad and be outcast by his friends. This is still a problem around high schools these days, children work to live on their parents dream and expectations and is scared to fail.

Basket Case adds fuel to the fire:

Allison final begins to talk to the group half way into the film. When confessing truths about themselves and why they fit into their stereotypes, Allison admits she is a compulsive liar and accepts she is an outcast and adds fuel to the fire, rather than let the rumours get to her. Something that makes the film special is when Claire takes Allison to get a make over, show how beautiful Allison really is. This is another underlying message that beauty in everyone and only takes one person to see it.

The Geek can’t always maintain expectations:

Andy’s confession is a close second in my favourite moments from Breakfast Club but Brian’s confession is the icing on the cake for me. He breaks down to the group explaining to the group the pressures of maintaining expectations and keeping on top of grades is just as hard as keeping popularity. Like princess and jock stereotypes, nerds also have a friend group and showing intelligence is the bond that keeps the nerds friends, he explains that his parents have a bar set on Brian and when he failed to achieve a grade in Workshop his Grade Point Average lowers and he failed his parents are peers thus giving him thoughts of suicide. People who assume geeks are always clever, could not be more wrong, they work just as hard to achieve grades and sometimes put even more pressure on themselves to achieve because they know they should achieve well.

The Criminal who cares:

After giving stick to the entire group about their problems, it finally comes to Bender and what makes him so different and why he chose to act as a criminal and thug. It turns out he never intended to be like this but coming from a abusive home where he is beat and parent don’t care for him, he assumed the whole world was the same, so assumed if no one cares, neither should he. Underneath the hard exterior, Bender has heart and longs for real friends and someone who cares for him.

All Stereotypes underneath, are the same people:

The message that Breakfast Club so powerfully delivers, is that no matter what background you come from, no matter what stereotype you adhere to, you aren’t so different. As the film progresses the five teens learn that their similarities are closer than they thought.

The main similarity the teens share is the stress and broken relationships that they have with their parents. They fear that they will end up becoming their parents. Even though they all have different problems, the pressure of living up to expectations, the lack of care from their parents and the fear of becoming them, brings the group together as they realise they aren’t so different. Be the pressures of living up to a parents expectation of intelligence, passion for sport, maintaining an image or the lack of care from parents, the teens realise we all have problems and having stereotypes that label us makes life no easier.

The harsh reality of school:

The best part about the film is near the end, Brian asks the group, after detention, once they resume school the next day will things change and will they be friends?

Now the cliché obvious ending would be that the group all act as best friends and their fellow class mates are shocked and the high school stereotype would be banished.

BUT

Andy takes a page from Bender and admits that even though they have bonded and are aware of each others deepest secrets, talking to one another would be social suicide and won’t happen. Claire insists to Brian she would say hi to him in the hall way, Andy knows for a fact that won’t happen. Even with the fantastic ending of Andy kissing Allison and Claire kissing Bender, the fact is my friends things will go back to the social norm and perhaps the friendships will be secret kept for that day only. The harsh reality is if you belong to a social clique, you haven’t got much room to befriend other ones unless you risk losing your main social group. That’s what makes Breakfast Club so damn good, they could have gone the Hollywood route and the group become friends which forever changes how stereotypes are looked at but they didn’t. Granted in the years that have followed, teens have a lot more room to befriend various groups of people but they have core “Stereotyped” groups they belong to. Equally I know from experience that talking to someone different or socially accepted somewhere else can change your views on things and give you more understanding into people’s lives and reasons for choosing the social clique they are in, perhaps it’s not always choice, remember that.

I love this film and it’s interesting how this film takes on high school and the problems between teens and the relationships of both peers, teachers and parents but its realistic and that’s what makes it so relatable to me.

I hope you enjoyed this blog and I also hope that if you have watched Breakfast Club, it resonates as well as it did to me.

Why Marvel NEED to add Black Panther to Phase 3 -

Lets face it, Black Panther is one of the most wanted Marvel films around lately and whilst Marvel is very busy already gearing up Phase 3 and announced Ant-Man and Doctor Strange already for the next Phase, people are still wondering why Black Panther isn't a set in stone confirmed Phase 3 film?!

Out of all the Marvel Heroes, Black Panther is easily one of the most interesting and coolest character around and many fans are eager for a theatrical release. I'm going to list a few reasons why Marvel would be smart to add BP into Phase 3. 

1. He has a Interesting story  - 

Black Panther's origin story is very cool, he has a very troubled childhood which leads him into ritual trials in Wakanda in which he defeats his Uncle (The existing Black Panther) in which becomes linked to Panther God Bast. Once he becomes king he turns his country into a high tech wonderland! This origin story is a great story and Marvel needs a new fresh story to play with. If they don't even go with an origin story and jump into Black Panther as he may be already established. (see more on point 4.)



2. He would be the first Black Superhero in Marvel's Cinematic Universe - 

Ok, so Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) is a part of Marvel's Cinematic Universe but he isn't around a lot. Adding T'Challa to the Universe finally brings a different Culture into play, look at the Avengers so far they are all of similar ethnic backgrounds, if Marvel start bringing in new ethnics like Black Panther it will look great for Marvel showing they aren't afraid to have all types of superheroes. Face it, the world is afraid of stereotyping and being racist on films, Ironman 3 (SPOILERS) stopped Ben Kingsley's Mandarin (an Asian ethic) being the Villain and instead made Guy Pierce's Killian the bad guy, are Marvel afraid of stereotyping? Well how about having a African superhero! That will give confidence to many other films to start including different ethnic cultures without fear of backlash. 



3. He is the Batman of the Marvel Universe - 

Black Panther has very similar qualities to Batman, his Mother died at childbirth and his father is murdered, sound familiar? then T'Challa becomes king and uses his money to create advanced technology. Hell, his suit even looks like Batman's!! Batman is one of the most popular characters around, if Marvel have someone who has that similar vibe that may attract audiences, also it may keep fanboys who want another Batman film happy.




4. He would make a cool addition to The Avengers - 

Black Panther would add some diversity in more ways than one, he is a great fighter and is quite brutal which means he would do well in the action scenes and would stand well with someone like Hulk or Captain America, also with Robert Downey only signing to Avengers 2 and 3, Ironman's addition in Avengers will decrease and with additions of new characters more than likely in each Avengers film, Black Panther could get his first onscreen appearance in Avengers 2 and set up a film afterwards.



5. There are some very underrated actors who could bring T'Challa to life -

Forums are constantly throwing names around to play T'Challa and even lately there are news reports of names been dropped for the role. To name a few of the fan favourite are those like Michael Jai White, Aldis Hodge, Idris Elba and many more. I am on the side of having a lesser known actor play T'Challa and a person favourite for me is Mahershala Ali who played Mombasa in 2010's Predators. 



Honestly If a Black Panther Film was announced for Phase 3 along with Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, I would say Phase 3 could be something very special indeed. 

The Fast & Furious : Tokyo Drift - Great stand alone film.

EDITORS NOTE: Sorry for such a long period without blogs, i'm a busy guy.

With Fast & Furious 6 out very soon (and i'm very excited for it) I thought a Fast & Furious related blog would be fitting, instead of doing one on the franchise and story of Dom and Brian (Vin Diesel and Paul Walker's characters) I thought about Tokyo Drift.

Tokyo Drift completely moved away from both the first two films story lines and set up a new one

Now I know Han is in fast 4,5 and 6 which means Tokyo Drift essentially is the last in the franchise (unless part 7 changes that) but I honestly think Tokyo Drift is actually a better film as a stand alone, If you take out Vin Diesel's cameo at the end, the film is a great action, adventure film. 

I'm going to list a few reasons why Tokyo Drift is better as a stand alone film - 

1. New characters, New story:

With The Fast & The Furious sending Dom of into the sunset in the gorgeous Toyota Supra and 2 Fast 2 Furious giving Brian and Roman and clean slate we essentially didn't need any ties to Tokyo Drift. TD introduced Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) a troubled teen who loves to race, when he gets kicked out of school and sent to Tokyo to live with his dad, he is embraced by the Drift scene. Already this plot is nothing like Fast 1 or 2 (or 4,5 and 6) the latter films all include trouble with the law, family and freedom. TD is about a young lad taking a shine to drifting and the typical action esque subplot of him falling for a girl he shouldn't. Now I'm aware Han is back for 4,5 and 6 but his life before TD doesn't matter as such, his role in TD is a lot bigger and more important as he sees the real potential Sean has for Drifting. 

2. It Could have set up its own franchise:

As said above, the film was a new plot with new characters, if the film didn't have "Fast & Furious" tied to it we may of seen a sequel or two, it isn't the critically favourite film out of them all, but if it was a stand alone film it may of had a better chance of continuing a story. I know many fans want Sean to be included since part 5 obviously 4,5 and 6 are all prequels to TD and from what early rumours are saying is that 6 brings us up to TD. So if fans want some more Sean, why not continue his story away from F&F tagline.

3. The Time line confuses that S**t out of people:

Again mentioned in point 2. Everyone when they saw part 4 was like "Why is Han here?" then fans obviously   realised that part 4 is a set up to TD and was a nod to Dom's cameo in which he says Han and him rode together. Han himself the in part 4 "I hear there's some crazy s**t going on in Tokyo" this led fans to believe they was giving a nice send off to Han and explaining Dom's arrival in TD. Then Part 5 came along and brought Han back?! Ok so he never made it to Tokyo or "SPOILER" survived a car explosion (doubtful) then once again Part 5 nods to the audience that Han "one day" will go to Tokyo, we assume he will go after 5 ended. Now to part 6, he is back again! which means this film (part 7 can't be explained until 6 is released) is now indicating TD isn't far away, the clues are all over part 6, First off Dom says in TD; "He has all the time in the world" part 6 indicated they all get full pardons. Also fast 6 gave Han a promotional poster in which he has his amazing RX-7 from TD, now if he has that car it must be close to Tokyo time because most the car the group have explode! 

4. The Concept of Drifting is a lot of fun.

In honesty TD and maybe Part 4 was the last films to feature cool tricked out cars and street racing, whilst Fast 5 was awesome and the car sequences were amazing, they skipped out on a few scenes that could have been nostalgic to watch. Now the Drift scene was a lot of fun to watch, the final race on Drift mountain was a great race sequence and took a new spin on street racing. I personally love drift racing its a new spin on racing and made TD a lot more interesting to watch. 


So what do you think guys, Would Tokyo Drift make a better stand alone film?

Dredd : Justice wasn't fulfilled with this movie -

The Crime - Been a Damn Good Movie, The Sentence - No Sequel.

2012 was full of many movies, some that were box office smashes - The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit. Others were critically panned - Battleship, Resident Evil: Retribution, This Means War. Then there is films that were completely and unfairly overlooked - End of Watch, Seven Psychopaths, Dredd.

Whilst a lot of the underrated and overlooked films still made a decent amount of money, Dredd unfortunately bombed and bombed big time.

Bombs Away -

Upon it's initial release in the UK, Dredd 3D opened on a sunny September weekend to just £1 Million, yet it claimed 1st place on the box office charts so there was hope America would take to Dredd and rake the money in. Once released in USA, it bombed majorly only earning just over $6 Million. It was predicted to make at least $8 Million on opening weekend alone.  

Sentence: Death, by relation. 

Dredd didn't have a leg to stand on unfortunately. Whilst Dredd is based on a comic (quite a well known one at that) most people remember the god awful 1995 film that was "Judge Dredd" staring Sylvester Stallone. That film is not anything close to Judge Dredd's comic character and most fans will know this, due to Dredd having the 18/ R (Varied Countries rating) it means only adults could see the film, it also meant more than likely audiences who are old enough to see it are old enough to remember the original. Most of these people assumed it was a sequel to the original and didn't bother taking a second glance. 

Sentence: Death, by rating

Another one of Dredd's pitfalls was the rating, now personally i'm still glad the producers stuck by their guns and made it a hard 18 which is very much like the comics, but in cinema world that is a big barricade. The fact you are instantly stopping anyone under 18 from seeing the film means you're taking a huge percentage of the population away. Again it was the producers decision to stick by it and in all fairness Dredd in the UK was the first 18 rated film to top box office since Saw 3D in 2010 which is merit in it's own accord. 

Sentence: Death, by rubbish marketing

Now I'm going to have to blame Dredd's downfall majorly on Lionsgate now, Lionsgate normally are amazing with marketing and really push their films. Dredd from what I remember had 1 trailer released about a month before it's release, which only played on 15 rated films or higher (once again taking out a high percentage of the audience ). When the film was released I don't remember any banners on buses and no tv spots. The only thing Dredd got from Lionsgate marketing wise was a billboard, and I only remember seeing it on one billboard! Lets face it, some films get better reception and gather audiences from trailers and tv spots if you don't give any to Dredd how do people know it's even out? Even for Its DVD and Blu-Ray release instead of giving it a December release which would end up been a lot of people's christmas present, they released mid January which is after sales and after christmas, people are less likely to spend after these periods. Another lazy thing Lionsgate did is only release Dredd in 3D, they refused almost every cinema a 2D print, this will affect sales due to some people don't like 3D or aren't willing to pay almost double a 2D print. I went to see Dredd twice in 3D and it is one of the best 3D made films i've seen. 

Justice: The power of cult films

Dredd once released was backed by almost every website and review resource possible, whilst they weren't enough to bring a huge crowd it did make some people change their minds. Dredd since its release has already gained a following, especially now it is on DVD and Blu-Ray. I have read many forums stating they regret not seeing Dredd in theatres and as a consolation they brought the film on DVD or Blu-ray. Sales for Dredd on both platforms charted 1st upon release in UK which was great! Dredd still is trickling in sales and I suspect within a few years will become a huge cult film standing up there with films like Fight Club, Pulp Fiction and many others. 

Unknown Fate, Keeping Hope:

Whilst in recent interviews Adi Shankar the Executive Producer has stated that a sequel for now is highly unlikely due to Dredd not being able to surpass its budget, he is thankful that the fans who have saw it, loved it and he stated they are attempting to do some short films like The Punisher one- Dirty Laundry  Again it may take a few years but if enough people get behind Dredd, a sequel may come into action and if it does I really hope Karl Urban and Olivia Thrilby reprise their roles as Urban was a phenomenal Dredd.

What will it be? Sequel or Death?

So people, you going to keep Dredd alive for years to come, bringing it to Cult status? I hope so.

Follow me on Twitter - @AselmanFilmBlog

Friday The 13th Sequel: Why it Should Be Made -

Come on fanboys, fess up! This reboot was one of the better ones to be churned out in the last 10/15 years. Friday The 13th was a reboot that I actually watch every year or so and each time I do, I enjoy it a little more. I watched it about 6 months ago and thought "they should really do the sequel". 

I looked around the internet for any news or updates on part II and whilst there are a few things, there isn't anything 100%. Also whilst looking for updates, I noticed there are a lot of fans who still wish for a sequel which is more than I can say for Nightmare on Elm Streets reboot. 

The last real news items that gave anything, first was a year and half ago (roughly early 2012 maybe late 2011) where Platinum Dunes producer Brad Fuller said that a script for Part II has been completed and they just await the green light from New Line. That sounds good right? Well the fact that was over a year ago and the light isn't green still, makes me wonder if New Line want the sequel. The other news item was very recent, Corey Fieldman was talking to Ain't It Cool and discussed his hopes to create a sequel to his Friday movie - FT13th Part IV - The Final Chapter, styling it like Halloween: H20 he would like a much older Tommy Javis take Jason on again, this news was January 2013 so the fact there is talk again is hopeful. Unfortunately I doubt Fuller's script had Tommy involved which means that script now dies or Tommy wont return. Either way that means the sequel is still on hold. 

Anyway I am still hoping for this sequel, and i'll explain why this sequel can work and why it should be made...

NOTE: ***Mild spoilers for Evil Dead Reboot***

The Reboot gained a new crowd as well as bringing the old back -

Friday the 13th was released in 2009, which means it was over 6 years since the last Jason installment (Freddy Vs Jason). That means you will have the younger crowd (under 18) who watched FVJ now at an age where they may see Jason in cinema, there's one section of the crowd. You then get the Hardcore fans who grew up watching the Franchise and want to see what their beloved character will be like almost 30 years later. Then you get the new age, the people who may not of been familiar with any of the classic Friday films but are horror fans and will go to watch it. Now these crowds have all watched Friday's reboot they may all crave a sequel, that's a big fan base you could please...

The Sequel will also bring new fans -

Following from the previous statement, Friday's reboot brought a new crowd into Jason's world and for the ones who enjoyed it will tell other about it, if a sequel is released within the time frame of 2013-2014 i'm very sure with horror craze still running strong Friday's sequel will easily gain even more new fans, add that to the classic fans and reboot fans you have some cash coming your way New Line.

It's one of the better horror reboots -

Let's compare the competition - 

Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - Rubbish back story, Freddy was dull and violent instead of brutal and scary and instead of taking it to new directions they had similar characters.

Halloween 1 (2007) - I actually like Halloween 1's reboot, but it's a very marmite film, the back story to Michael to me was clever and once they got to him grown up, I enjoyed the pace of the film. Others are the opposite and hated the back story.  

Halloween 2 (2009) - Halloween 2 on the other hand is god awful, the plot was ridiculous the nod to the original sequel (the hospital) was briefly skipped by and the whole Michael's face getting shown just takes the whole mystery of the killer away. Don't even get me started on the ending of that film either! 

Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) -  I don't really have much to say expect, over the top violence, boring story and the fact it's a sequel to the 1970's one is stupid. Also the fact 3D is in the title.

Evil Dead (2013) - This again was one of the better reboots, taking the same sort of plot like the original but shifting it to different characters and having different reasons for being at the cabin was cool, plus I enjoyed the little nods to original. You can't beat a good chainsaw attack.

I could carry on with the lists of reboots but looking at the most recent and well known ones like above, the only ones that are in my head as good as Friday's reboot is Halloween 1 and Evil Dead. 

Friday's plot was an obvious nod to the franchise's first 3 films but yet took its own spin on the story (like Evil Dead) to make it their own film. The kills were brilliant in Friday compared to other films. Not only were Jason's kills not to over the top (compared to Texas Chainsaw) they were creative, my personal favourite two of FT13th reboot is the sleeping bag over the fire kill and crossbow on a boat. I also found the cast of Friday easier to watch compared to some, they clicked better as a group.

Reboots do get sequels -

Halloween got a sequel and Evil Dead has one in the works, it goes to show if a reboot gets enough attention and pays the box office you can get your sequel. Now Evil Dead done $26 Million on it's opening weekend. Evil Dead's budget was $17 Million so of course a sequel was going to happen when you surpass your budget in the first weekend. Halloween's budget was $15 Million by the end of its theatrical run Halloween made $80 Million therefore Halloween 2 wasn't far behind.

Now they are pretty decent figures for sequels to be green light, Friday the 13th had a $19 Million budget and made over $90 Million on its theatrical run! Why hasn't this got a sequel out this year is beyond me when it performed just as well as Halloween, to make matters worse Halloween 2 (after the stick and criticism) is still getting Halloween 3D. 

Horror Films are still huge in the film industry -

Whilst horror films don't do Avengers or Dark Knight box office performances of $1 Billion, horror films over the past 10 years have regained a following. If you look over the past few years you have had some big horror franchises breathe life into horror, Saw & Paranormal Activity, plus you got the newer films that are gaining a following; Insidious & Sinister and many more horror films have gained huge crowds of people and the horror genre is as big as it was back in the 1980s. Look at Texas Chainsaw, that sequel has been in development hell for a while, since Paranormal Activity and Saw arrived, studios decided they would give it ago. New Line should have faith and throw Friday The 13th Part II out to the world, the will easily make their budget back. 

The ideas for Part II were sounding awesome -

When the script was announced as complete, Fuller gave away a few teasers of what to expect in Part II. The best thing they said was, JASON IN SNOW! I mean come on imagine a bunch of teens getting attacked by Jason over Christmas, it sounds almost poetic ("Almost"). Another Idea thrown around was having a back story (Halloween Style) in which showing Jason at camp as a boy getting bullied seeing what caused him to snap. Mentioned briefly in the introduction was Corey Fieldman wanting to have Tommy return to take Jason on many many years on, that could be ok if the script can explain the events right (remember Tommy as a young adult already took Jason on again in Part VI- Jason Lives) but if they can get around that or act as part VI never happened it could be interesting. 

If released this year it will be the 13th Film of the franchise on the 13th on 2013 - 

If that isn't a tribute to the film and fans I don't know what is! The Friday 13th's are in October and December, that plenty of time to get things moving. 

Overall -

As far as reboot of the horror genre go, Friday the 13th is one of the more popular ones in slasher/ horror fans eyes. Look on forums or comment sections to FT13th related news people are asking for a sequel. I'm pretty sure they will eventually release one, look at the time it taken Jason X to get made after Jason Goes to Hell was released, it is inevitable whilst horrors are popular and whilst sequels create money. 

I Just wish it was sooner rather than later. 

Let me know what you think of horror reboots and do you want a Friday sequel.

Follow me on Twitter - @AselmanFilmBlog

My top 5 Best & Worst Blu Ray Covers (Superhero Edition)

Lets face it we love superhero films. From Batman Returns to The Avengers there has been many comic book based films released in the last 30 years and since the Blu Ray craze has increased we have seen many of these beloved (and not so beloved) films re-released onto Blu Ray format.

After looking through my vast Blu Ray collection I noticed some comic book based Blu Rays has some amazing covers, others though are awful. This got me thinking which comic book based blockbusters have memorable Blu Ray covers, be it because they are amazing or because they are completely tragic. Covers and posters for films can sometimes make a movie that is awesome (I’m looking at you Dark Knight Rises) look cheap and some very bad movies look great. Shall we start with the top 5 worst covers then.

  

5: Dark Knight Rises: Standard Edition

Lets face it Dark Knight Rises was a great film, It’s up their as one of my top Batman films, but this front cover is so boring and is exactly like the poster they released months before the cinematic release. The cover uses the original teaser poster and then shoves Batman on the front, such a lazy attempt. What is more appalling about this cover is all the marketing they put into DKR and the completely awesome 2^nd teaser poster from December 2011  (Bane walking away from the broken cowl) they give us this boring and unimaginative front cover, Tut, Tut.

   

 4: Fantastic Four & Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer:

No a fan favourite by a long shot anyway, so adding more fuel to the fanboy fire is the cover work for both films. The first films Blu Ray art work is so typical and actually looks like a 90’s early 2000’s film still, at least with the X-men films the cover art makes the films look remastered, Fantastic Four does not. Then with Rise of the Silver Surfer, we get an almost identical cover with the characters slightly moved around then adding the Silver Surfer on the top, sloppy work. In my humble opinion the Surfer was the best thing about FF: ROTSS (don’t get me started of cloud Galactus!) and I have the special edition DVD of this film which just has the Surfer on the front and I actually think it’s a better cover for this reason.

   

3: Green Lantern: Extended Cut

I think my problem with this cover is that our “Hero” is unmasked and I think that’s stupid, maybe it’s not a just enough reason for second place but then again it’s not exactly a imaginative cover either. You have Ryan Reynolds at a slanted angle with the lovely over the top CGI city in the background. I think we have seen that similar cover many times before. I think with GL cover art they are trying to sell Ryan Reynolds more than Green Lantern no offence to Mr Reynolds because I actually enjoy some of his films quite a bit, Green Lantern is the point of the film, then again most fans want to forget this film exists.

2: Ironman 2:

I remember seeing this artwork on Amazon before it’s official release date back in 2010 and I thought, “No way this is the cover, Its’ just a scene from the film.” Looks like I was wrong, this is one of the most boring covers out of all my films let alone comic book hero films. The first Ironman DVD and Blu Ray covers were awesome I loved the Blu Ray cover from IM1, this attempt is pure nonsense a blue back ground with the Mark V armour in action, nothing special at all. The could of at least ripped of Ironman 1’s DVD art like the did for their Theatrical poster.

  

1: Spiderman 1-3 (Re-release)

There was no way of me picking just one cover here. The original covers for these films were perfectly fine and looked cool, these new covers are almost as bad as Ironman 2, the blue back around with Spidey and the Villain of the film, not even decent action shots of the 2 facing off they are just posing. It’s a shame these films got awful cover arts because Spiderman 1 and 2 are classic films and Part 2 is still considered one of the best comic based films around.

  

BEST: 5: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.

To me this cover sums up my memory of Superman, the classic “costume under the shirt” this is a classic cover but is still fresh and looks amazing. The artwork is a simple yet effective and brings back some sense of nostalgia to older viewers with the classic scene. My favourite Superman film fittingly has my favourite cover out of the Superman collection.

  

4: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

I get that the Ghost Rider franchise isn’t a fan favourite and like I said before some posters or cover art make bad films look great. GR: SOR is a great example. Just a simple shot of our “Hero” well more like antihero, on a black background looks pretty badass, I’m sorry but Ghost Rider is cool, the films are not but the character itself is awesome and this cover grabs Ghost Rider’s essence in one simple picture, if I didn’t know how awful this film was I would of brought it purely from the cover. 

3: Avengers Assemble

One of 2012’s best films, let alone one of the best comic book movies around, and to go with that title is one of the best covers for Blu Ray, who imagined seeing Hulk, Thor, Captain America and Ironman all on one Blu Ray cover?! I didn’t until September last year. This is a truly awesome cover and a fanboy’s dream cover. I will note I did bash Green Lantern for having a unmasked hero, but everyone knows Tony Stark is Ironman so I’ll let it slide, plus this cover is too awesome to hate on.

  

2: Dark Knight 2008 Version/ Batman (1989)



I’m sorry folks, this was a split decision, I am an avid Batman fan and have since about 5, and both these cover arts are both amazing. So I’ll start with The Dark Knight cover. Let’s face it TDK was all about the Joker, and what a better way to show that by having The Joker as the only character on the Blu Ray cover. I think having this cover shows how strong a character Heath Ledger’s character is and for that reason alone is why it takes joint second, fantastic cover! Now moving onto Mr Tim Burtons dark and gritty take on Batman. This cover takes the second place mantel also because it’s just a newer version of the DVD art, the original 1990 DVD art was recognisable anywhere in UK, USA or any country the film was released. The Batman Symbol from that cover became iconic and stood the test of time, and became even more popular once the animated series came along (how great was that TV series?). Some of you may think Burton’s Batman cover is a cheat because you then have Returns, Forever and (unfortunately) Batman & Robin, but if you think about it, the original Batman logo is the mascot for the following 3 plus Batman Forever & Batman and Robin have the stupid add on like the question mark behind the logo and the Robin/ Nightwing symbol on B&R. This would of original been my number 1, until January 14^th came…

  

1: Dredd:

This is not just the best cover on a Blu Ray to me, it was my film of 2012. Dredd was a underdog to many fans and critiques due to the original Judge Dredd film which was god awful. This on the other hand wasn’t. The art for this Blu Ray reflects how the film is to me, and that my fellow readers is pure awesomeness. The cover shows Dredd with his badass pose with his badass gun standing near flaming building and it’s just brilliant, I actually want a canvas art for my wall of this cover because it is a great piece, maybe I’m being a little unfair because as I said Dredd was my film of 2012 and I want it to be recognised as the great film it is, I hope more people appreciate this film and bath in it amazing front cover.

How does my list sound? Tell me what you best & worst Blu Ray comic book film covers are.