Shudder Premium Stream

https://www.shudder.com/

The “Shudder” Premium Streaming Service is a online service for media screening streams of your favorite known and unknown horror flicks. I was introduced to it via Amazon as I was seeking to watch the latest/greatest “Creepshow” series online. I fell for the free trial period on Amazon, and so far have been impressed with the offerings. I’ll post more as I give it some time. But currently finding the films I seek.

As of this review, the website offers a free 7 day trial, then $4.75/month. Free 30 day trial on Amazon.com.

5/16/20 Rating: 4 stars out of 5

The Siren (R: 2019)

Horror, Romance, Drama. Rated R. English. Runtime: 1 hour, 18 minutes. Released 2020. [ Amazon ] Director: Perry Blackshear; Starring: Margaret Ying, Evan Dumouchel, MacLeod Andrews; and more.

A tale of a married man returning to a lake where he lost his husband to a monster in the lake. As he’s investigating his loss and what happened, another man who is mute but not deaf seeks to come to harmony with his fear of the water. They both encounter the spirit of the lake, a beautiful sensual siren who falls in love with the mute. Battling her inner demons from continuing to drown her victims, she finds love as a balancer. Drama, violence, and horror befell the trio.

It was very slow … interesting plot, poor acting, inquisitive lore. Originally i tried to watch it while sleepy, and that was a bad mix as it caused me to snooze quickly. I rewatched it the next morning and it captivated my attention, but dragged in several areas. I like the plot, but thought the acting was annoying.

3 stars out of 5

More Siren films:

Sirens – The Series

Drama, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure. 2018-Present. PG-TV. Episode runtime: average of 1 hour. [ IMDB ] Director: Eric Wald, Dean White; Starring: Alex Roe, Eline Powell, Fola Evans-Akingbola, and many more.

The Setting is a small imaginary coastal town in Washington State known for its historic lore being founded upon the battles, interactions, and folklore between humans and mermaids. As a mysterious woman appears in the town, searching for her lost sister, sinister happenings are discovered on a military base; sonic weapons endangering mermaids and sea life off the coast forcing the sirens onto land. Little do most know they’ve been living among the humans undetected for hundreds of years. Sex, violence, inter-specie relationships, and polyamory mixed with the rest of the world’s current themes bring the tales to modern-day issues with a new retelling. A war between the humans and mer-folk is destined.

This is by far my most favorite series today …. right up there with Walking Dead, Vikings, and Game of Thrones. Spectacular acting, incredible plot, adventure, and themes. I love it. I simply am dying to find out what happens next week-to-week since the start of the series from 2018 to present-day 2020.

5 stars out of 5

More Siren films:

Extra Ordinary (R: 2020)

Comedy, Romance, Horror. Released: 2020. English/Irish. Rating: R. Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes. [ Amazon ] Director: Mike Ahern, Enda Loughman. Starring: Maeve Higgins, Barry Ward, Will Forte; and others. Filmed at Charleville Castle, Tullamore. [ 4.5 stars out of 5 ]

Awesome Irish made comedy about a father being haunted by his dead controlling wife who seeks out Rose, a small town local driver’s education instructor who has skills communicating and dealing with ghosts. As they solve hauntings together gaining ectoplasm, they set off to release his daughter from becoming a “virgin sacrifice” into the gates of hell that a local satanist in his castle needs to boost his musical talents in exchange. It’s hiliarious with star acting from “The last man on Earth” fame. Hits home for me as I’ve spent many times at the infamous Charleville Castle in Tullamore, home of Smokin’ Craic and Shakefest as well as many other festivals. Great plot, fabulous Irish humor, cool storyline, and downright fun.

Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse (2016: 16+)

Comedy, Sci-Fi. English. Rated: 16+. Released: 2016. [ Amazon Prime ] Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes.
Director: Etta Devine, Gabriel Diani; Starring: Gabriel Diani, Etta Devine, Janet Varney, and more.

A comedic couple go from barely surviving with comedy acts to one day finding the gird knocked down. As they wait it out until gas and water run dry, they overpack their car to go see a friend on a hippie commune only to find themselves on foot, lacking supplies, and toting their dog n’ cat. A comedic drama about the apocalypse, finding safety, and friends – trying not to get eaten. I found it well plotted, great acting, full of comedic fun. Well done. Dialogue is creative, perfect, and hilarious. Has some spin-offs from “The Last Man on Earth” with humor. [ 5 stars out of 5 ]

AMC A-LIST

AMC Stubs A-List
https://www.amctheatres.com/amcstubs/alist

The AMC Theaters have come out with a fantastic economic awe-inspiring movie pass at their theaters called the “A-List”. It is the companies alternative to the once inspiring “Movie Pass (which is collapsing and should be avoided at all costs). I switched over from Movie Pass back in August when it started to limit only watching 3 movies a month (vs. one a day) and restricted what and when you could watch. I gave up the Movie Pass $9.95/month and the Netflix 13.95/mo for the AMC A-List 19.99/month. It was the best move I could ever make (though I do miss Netflix – just not in my budget. I do still have Amazon prime though for at-home watching still.). It’s a guarantee A-List is better than Movie Pass.

AMC A-List, for $19.99/month, allows you to watch up to three new releases a week, with the ability to reserve tickets well in advance (no extra cost/free), and be able to see them in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3-D, or any of the premiere viewings (something you never got with MoviePass) – there are no restrictions, no blackout dates. You can watch the same movie again and again. You can hold up to 3 reservations at a time. You also get AMC Stubs Premiere status – up to 10% back on food/drink purchases, and priority lanes. In addition, free size upgrades and refills of drinks and popcorn, discounts on concessions, and AMC Stubs point excelling to the ability to get $5 vouchers every time you hit 5,000 points. The only downfall is having to show your ID when checking in (no waiting in lines though) and your app ticket on the phone. Unfortunately, you can only use the movie for yourself, and can’t say use two of your three tickets to take your son to the movies. But you can reserve/pay for their tickets on the phone app alongside yours so you can sit together. Obviously, this deal only works at participating AMC theaters. (I’ve only run into one AMC that doesn’t participate out of the several dozen I’ve gone to across the country) Smart move on AMC’s side, gaining dedicated customers through the deal, as I no longer go to movies at any other theater than AMC now. (or at least since I’ve joined 4 months ago) In fact A-List this week announced it just hit over 17 Million members.

2026 Update: I still think the value of A-List is phenomenal, but unfortunately this year – I’m stepping back and quitting the program. Its a sad farewell, but time-wise, economics, and the growing sprawl of congestion/traffic/travel of the Emerald sludge-pit known as Seattle … I’m just not into the commute. I live an hour away from the closest AMC, so for the 4 movies a week for $25/month package to be worth it, I wound up having to do two double-features each week to make it profitable. Given the hour commute each way, the fact the AMC near me isn’t timing the movies properly for double-features, and the annoying fact that AMC feels like we should have to watch 20-30 minutes of previews and ads before we watch the movie … its just too much. AMC … you can do better. (Also odd experience a couple weeks ago when I bought the large refillable popcorn … instead of refilling the bucket like they used to as much as you like, this time they took the bucket and gave me a smaller plain cardboard “box” filled with popcorn … it felt cheap and ending. I have no clue if you can refill for a third, it makes it feel unwelcomed. At the absorbant price of popcorn at the movies, no thanks. So I bid you farewell AMC A-List, for now at least, its not worth the 14 hour committment a week to use you. (Monday: hour drive to theater, movie 1: approx 2 hours plus 1/2 hour ads. 1/2 hour – hour between movie showings. Another 1/2 hour ads. 2 hour movie, hour commute home. Thursday: same thing: = at least 14 hours in traffic, congestion, and aggressive drivers = no thanks). I bid you farewell on March 11th when my paid subscription lapses.

The Lost Smurf Village

Smurfs: The Lost Village, Rated PG
~ 1h 30min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy | 7 April 2017 | Director: Kelly Asbury; Writers: Stacey Harman, Pamela Ribon; Starring; Demi Lovato, Rainn Wilson, Joe Manganiello, and more at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2398241/ ~

My son and I took advantage of the cheap dollar theater viewing of this re-made classic from my childhood adapted with modern animation and special effects – which both of us thoroughly enjoyed. My son Cian was dancing in joy down the aisles to the music and had a smile from cheek to cheek. Definitely a good kid movie. It offers more modern perspectives on the Smurfs as Smurfette follows a mysterious map on a quest with Brainy, Clumsy, and Hefty as they delve into the Forbidden Forest only to discover a lost village of Smurfette’s in Amazonian woman fashion. The secret of why for so long she was the only female in her village is now revealed. Gargamel is involved deeply and has the plot to take over the Smurfs again with his actions foiled by Smurfette. High action and modern empowerment.

Rated: 4 of 5 stars. ~ Review by Leaf McGowan/Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions ~

If you would like to contact the author about this review, need a re-review, would like to advertise on this page, or have information to add, please contact us at technogypsie@gmail.com.

Naked and Afraid (NR)

Naked and Afraid
~ rated: TV-14, each episode approx. 43 minutes | Adventure, Reality-TV | TV Series (2013– ) * https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3007640/ ~

One of my favorite reality shows – Naked and Afraid is an American reality series networked on the Discovery Channel featuring two survivalists (XL features numerous contestants) – usually a man and a woman who have to survive an extreme environment with nothing but their naked bodies, a rough cross-body satchel containing a personal diary, camera, a map, a necklace with a hidden microphone, and one personal survival item. The series began in 2013 and airs weekly for the season’s length. They are set to attempt to last 21 days in this state. The two strangers, one man, one woman, meet for the first time and given a map showing the basics of their surroundings and where on day 21 they need to be for extraction if they can last that long. To survive, they must quickly acquaint themselves with their environment and build shelter, find water, food, and craft their necessary clothing if possible. A camera crew follows them but may not interfere unless a severe medical emergency occurs or if they call for a medic. Candidates can “tap out” or quit if they can’t make it. It covers incredible social dynamics, drama, action, and adventure. I’m very impressed with this show.

Rated: 5 of 5 stars. ~ Review by Leaf McGowan/Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions ~

If you would like to contact the author about this review, need a re-review, would like to advertise on this page, or have information to add, please contact us at technogypsie@gmail.com.

Minecraft

Minecraft

I was introduced to this video game by my 5-year-old son … who by watching youtube videos learned how to play it completely on his own. I’m not a fan of video games as I believe they are a complete waste of time. I’d rather be blogging. However, I did see an increase in agility, concentration, learning, growth, and development of his mind since he took on this hobby. Apparently, Minecraft is such an infamous game amongst the youth, is notably known to teach kids how to code. I’m all for that. It is defined as a sandbox video game that was created by Markus Persson in Sweden. It was later developed by Mojang.

The game presents players with a block-based 3-D gaming environment that they can completely manipulate and be creative with by moving blocks, digging, breaking, and developing. It can be played solitary or in multi-play. The game focuses on exploration, resource gathering, crafting, and combat. The game offers multiplayer modes online as well as a survival mode that requires players to build a world, eat, maintain health, and interact. It is an award-winning program and is embedded in social media, merchandising, and a conference called MineCON. By 2018 it sold over 144 million copies of the game making it the second best-selling video game of all time.

In 2019, my 5-year-old has asked for me to play with him through the “multiplayer” function and use of servers. I am at a conundrum getting this set up for my son, and it has quite a bit of complexity in order to do so. I was unsuccessful in trying to get it set up so that one could play on the laptop and the other on the kindle. Thanks to my brother Dr. Mangor, a great tutorial he shared for setting up a Minecraft server on your own computer can be found here: https://www.godaddy.com/garage/how-to-make-a-minecraft-server/?fbclid=IwAR0k_PXDVk9JGu6PfDXhQjvhMjF3ClusX9x9XZK_GJ5h1d7rR1ty0yQ_8HY. I was unsuccessful I believe because I was attempting to do it on a hotel shared WiFi signal. Here is also a great place to check on server status https://dinnerbone.com/minecraft/tools/status/.

Rated: 4 of 5 stars. ~ Review by Leaf McGowan/Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions ~

If you would like to contact the author about this review, need a re-review, would like to advertise on this page, or have information to add, please contact us at technogypsie@gmail.com.

Bibliography and Recommended Resources:

Jurassic World (PG-13: 2018)

Jurassic World (PG-13: 2018)
~ 2h 8min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | 22 June 2018 | Director: J.A. Bayona; Writers: Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow | Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, and more – see https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4881806/ for details. ~

While visiting Carlsbad, New Mexico exploring the caverns and geology of the area, we treated ourselves to the opening of Jurassic World using our Movie Passes. The theater was so-so, but the movie grandiose fun. It kept us on the edge of our seats. A new twist and change of plot with the Jurassic Park series and being the great fans we are, it was exciting with the atypical Hollywood special effect splendor. My son even got scared by the dinosaurs which was a new evolution for him.

The story returns three years after the Jurassic Park theme park was closed and all the remaining dinosaurs in danger of another extinction due to the island’s volcano erupting and exploding towards the destruction of the island. Investors seek out Owen and Claire to return to Isla Nublar island to save the species. But the investors aren’t honest with them and want to auction off the dinosaurs instead with the raptor “Blue” to be the main target. They fight to save the dinosaurs and the world which is now in danger from more than the volcano. Great plot and storyline. We very much enjoyed the film.

Rated: 4.5 of 5 stars. ~ Review by Leaf McGowan/Thomas Baurley 

If you would like to contact the author about this review, need a re-review, would like to advertise on this page, or have information to add, please contact us at technogypsie@gmail.com.