If you asked me for a confusing Christmas movie, I couldn't think of a better example than Christmas with the Kranks (2004) On the surface, this appears to be a typical holiday comedy aimed at parents and adults. But the films goes a bit farther than it intends, and makes some decisions that still baffle me to this day. It's almost a satire, but that seems to be totally by accident. If you haven't seen it, the crux of the movie is the Kranks want to take Christmas off by travelling to the Caribbean. Now, I understand this is a social faux pas, but when their neighbours find out, they take this too far. The community actually tries to force the Kranks to celebrate Christmas; going as far as to use cult-like intimidation techniques. I get it; Christmas is a big deal around here. But did we need to get the secret police involved? Then, after all that madness, the movie does a complete 720-degree flip. The Kranks stay home, pull together a Christmas party at the last minute, an...

The Fog wasn't the first horror movie I'd ever seen, but it was one of the first that truly lingered in my mind. I can credit Mike S with that, as he'd seen it multiple times, and kept telling me how scary it was... and that every time he watched it, a fog would roll in. Suffice to say, he was willing to put his money where his mouth was, and invited me over to watch it at his dad's place one night. We had our pop and junk food, and were ready to ride the scare train! Well, there was no fog bank that night, but it was a scary viewing experience. And instantly became a favourite of mine. I watch The Fog once a year, usually while staying at a cabin on a lake, and it's one of the few movies that, unlike me, never gets old. There's so much to enjoy, from the charming performances by Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Adrienne Barbeau to the breezy dialogue to John Carpenter's masterful direction. And the story is the stuff of tales told around the campfir...

Reading is a big part of my daily routine during this COVID-19 business, and I'm tearing through a book a week at the moment. So I figured it was high time to dust off the weekly Book Review, and provide like-minded peeps with some possible reading material. Being a huge fan of the Halloween franchise, I was stoked to get my mitts on a copy of Dustin McNeill and Travis Mullins Taking Shape: Developing Halloween From Script to Scream. It traces each film's journey from script to screen, and includes interviews with the directors, writers, producers, cinematographers and even the authors who penned the novelizations. As you can tell, this is a pretty in-depth read. You learn everything you'd ever want to know about the franchise, including all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that resulted in some of the best -- and worst -- movies. To be honest, it's a miracle some of these films were ever made. As a fan, this is a fascinating read. I enjoyed the stories behind ...

The big day is here- Halloween!  And what better way for me to wrap up this year's month-long celebration of all that's spooky, creepy, and scary than with a review of the latest offering in the " Halloween " franchise? It's been 40 years since Michael Myers went on his infamous killing spree in Haddenfield.  While being transferred to a new facility, he escapes... and heads straight for Haddenfield. Laurie Strode has been waiting in terror for the day that Michael would come home.  News of his escape sends her on a dangerous quest to protect those she loves... and leads her to a final showdown with the Boogeyman of her past... 2018's " Halloween " is what I would consider the perfect reboot of this franchise.  While the others in the series were fun, I found the story threads tying them all together started to get silly and rather convoluted.  This instalment goes back to the core concept of what Michael Myers is, and keeps it simple. Mic...

So the big day is upon us. The scariest day of the year. It's Halloween, and we're all entitled to one good scare. Mike S is going to wrap up our Halloween Day by Day his own way, and Marcus Flor has a trick or treat up his sleeve, but I thought it would be fun to share my Top 5 Heroes of Halloween; those characters -- good or bad -- who best represent the holiday, at least to me. So let's get down to business, in no particular order: Laurie Strode As portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis, Laurie is the very embodiment of perseverance, empowerment and sincerity. She is the most recognized Final Girl, and went from being a sweet, innocent babysitter to one of the toughest, most believably broken survivors in film history. She's vulnerable, but there's never any doubt she could kick ass. I like all of the character's incarnations. It's Laurie and Jamie Lee. It just works. Michael Myers A force of pure evil. A killer without mercy. The less we know ...

There's been considerable debate among Halloween fans these last 12 months about which franchise reboot is better, David Gordon Green's Halloween (2018) or Steve Miner's Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. I say they're both great. Decidedly different, but great. I've sang the praises of Green's film before , but haven't revisited H20 in some time. Thankfully a window of time opened recently, and I was able to give it a watch. It was interesting watching a movie that came out 20 years after the original... some 20 years later. Much like Carpenter's classic did in 1998, this flick aged well. There's a few gripes; like all versions of the Myer's mask -- yup, they used multiple masks in this one -- suck. It just never looks good, especially the CGI one that appears in one shot. And Chris Durand tries hard to be a good Michael, but he doesn't quite pull it off. He just doesn't move right. I concede, the sequence where he surprises Laurie...

I am beyond stoked for Rian Johnson's upcoming whodunnit, Knives Out. It's got a killer cast, a hip energy, and what promises to be a potential series of films featuring Daniel Craig's Detective Benoit Blanc, a quirky hero in the vein of Agatha Christy's Poirot. The film hits in November, and we've scored a new trailer that's a ton of fun to watch. If the finished film is equally so, this could be a winner for people tired of remakes, reboots and super-hero movies. Check this out: The buzz around this one is unusually huge, with advance word calling it an old-fashioned murder mystery with lots of stars and hilarious comedy. The word brilliant has been passed around too. Johnson IS a brilliant filmmaker. I love Brick, The Brothers Bloom and Looper a lot. And yes, I'm one of the few true Star Wars fans who enjoys The Last Jedi. Then again, I'm not a bitch... Knives Out also stars Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Do...

A couple episodes back, Shawn and I discussed the possibility of two Halloween movies hitting theatres in October of 2020, as was the rumour at the time. And we were OK with it. Now word has hit that Halloween Kills will arrive in October 2020, and Halloween Ends a year later, creating -- and completing -- a new trilogy of films.

One of the things that attracts us to a movie- besides the trailers, is the movie posters.  They have to be eye catching, and able to hint at what the story's about without spoiling it.  They have to make you curious, and want to plunk down your cash to sit in a theatre seat and watch the movie. So, with that in mind, I'm going to present my Top Five Horror Movie Posters:

I was on vacation for a good part of the week, and missed the boat on a few bits of entertainment news. Figured today was a good opportunity to play a little catch up. Below are the stories I think are worth following up with heading into the weekend.

As I sat down to write this, I wondered what the point of yet another review/write up of John Carpenter's seminal movie would be. Writers far more talented, an learned, than I have already said their piece. Film historians and cinephiles have contributed their two bits to this classic film. Do I have anything new to add? Is there more that can said about a movie that made its mark on horror movies -- and cinema in general -- 40 years ago?

As a lifelong fan of John Carpenter's Halloween and the franchise it inspired, catching David Gordon Green's direct sequel to the 1978 original was a bit of an overwhelming experience. Possibly even more so for this critic than seeing The Force Awakens. Suffice to say, that's why my review on our latest podcast was brief, and my thoughts on the Radio NL 610 AM Morning Show even more so.

It's that time of year again (well, almost) and that means everyone is entitled to one good scare . . . even Jason and Shawn. And that's what The Basement Boys are in for with this, the extended cut of Friday's segment on the Radio NL 610 AM Morning Show. Why, because they are venturing out of The Basement and into the cinema to see the new Halloween.

There are a pair of movies vying for your attention this weekend; one of them a highly anticipated follow up to a 40-year-old classic, the other a super charged take a beloved book. Given the differences between the latest Halloween film and The Hate U Give, there's room for both movies at the box office. But, when it comes to dollars earned, Jason and Howie will likely put their money on Jamie Lee Curtis during today's segment on the Radio NL 610 AM Morning Show, starting at 8:20 a.m.

We're only six (ish) weeks away from David Gordon Green and Blumhouse's new Halloween movie, and Universal Studios has seen fit to unleash one more trailer for the sequel/reboot, and it's a doozy. Doozy is, of course, a technical term. We all know this is a direct sequel to John Carpenter's classic, and one that pits Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode agains the terrifying Michael Myers one last (ish) time. So let's cut right to the chase.

After months of speculation by horror fans, the MPAA has finally gone done and handed down a rating for David Gordon Green's upcoming Halloween movie . . . one that should please fans as much as fans can be pleased. Instead of going the PG-13 route of recent Blumhouse horror hits, Green and co-writer Danny McBride went old school, and the movie will indeed be rated R!

Jason and Shawn are back! And this time they bring The Basement into the Radio NL 610 AM studio and join Howie Reimer on the morning show, marking a new era for The Basement Boys. Yup, they've kinda sorta gone legit! Jason and Shawn might be hanging out on the NL Morning Show from here on in, but they're still the same old aging movie geeks. Funny, talented and some times not entirely appropriate. This week they not only riff on new releases The Incredibles 2, Tag and Superfly, they also sound off on the new Halloween trailer and share their thoughts on the little-seen actioner The Hurricane Heist. And yes, they even make fun of old people. Send your hate mail to basementreviews@gmail.com . If you didn't hear the movie-related madness earlier today, you can catch up with it now by pushing play on the player below. And even if you heard the boys during the 8 a.m. hour, it never hurts to listen again. What are you waiting for? Give it a listen, and stick with us...

Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over! The trailer for the new Halloween movie has arrived, and it is more than worthy! John Carpenter's classic score is there. Jamie Lee Curtis is back. All the BS about Michael Myers being Laurie Strode's brother is dealt with. And it looks scary as all get out.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy! That's the sound of mad excitement among The Basement crew as word dropped today that we'll finally get a look at the new Halloween movie when the official trailer hits this Friday.

The Halloween franchise is a strange universe indeed, having been retconned and reimagined several times in its 39-year history. Well, today big news hit about another huge twist in the franchise -- Jamie Lee Curtis will return in the next Halloween film . . . and she's playing Laurie Strode!!