A long time ago, in a galaxy very near, an iconic franchise was born... Rebels have just stolen the plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon.  The brave Princess Leia has been captured- but the plans are nowhere to be found.  Will she crack under the vicious interrogation of Darth Vader? Meanwhile, a chance encounter with two droids soon propels a young farmer into the larger galaxy... a galaxy in peril as he seeks to rescue the princess... and begin the journey to fulfill his destiny.. . Despite it's age, " Episode Four: A New Hope " holds up extremely well- much better than the prequels, certainly.  It's a well crafted, coherent, and well paced fantasy quest movie in space.  There is an excellent balance between the action, the drama, and the humour.  While the plotline is fairly predictable when examined via tropes used in the fantasy genre, it's still an enjoyable hero's journey type of story. The characters- while also pretty predictable in th...

Like many, I was skeptical of a Child's Play remake, especially considering Don Mancini continues his run of original Child's Play films. Suffice to say, I gave it a pass when it hit screens last summer. But it recently popped up on Shudder, so I said "what the hell," cracked open a cold one, and gave it a watch. And I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. The film loosely follows the original. There's Andy (now much older) and his mom, who still works at a store, only it's a low-rent Wal-Mart clone. Gone is the serial murderer/possession angle. Now Chucky is a kind of Siri who's been tampered with by a disgruntled assembly line worker. These changes enhance the movie. I'm glad they didn't go for a carbon copy of the original. I love Mancini's Child's Play, but this one feels fresh and timely. It has something to say about the dangers of our connectivity, and how artificial intelligence can turn against us. Sure, that message isn...

Two trailers on a Thursday? Really Jay? Yes, mofo. Really! Because this new Child's Play remake/reboot trailer looks like a lot of cold-blooded fun, and it also gives us a first hint at what Mark Hamill's Chucky voice will sound like. In my opinion, no one does better psychopathic cartoon character voices than Luke Skywalker.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear as Jason and Shawn take a step back in time to a classic episode of We Came from the Basement! That's right, we'll be revisiting old episodes from the previous six seasons of our show, ones fans and us Basementites feared long gone. This week, we return to the eve of the Mayan apocalypse and our December 2012 episode featuring reviews of The Hole and Airborne. Or, as we said way back then:

UPDATE: The folks at JoBlo.com report that Carrie Fisher's reps have come out and said that Princess Leia was joking when it came to statements about her involvement in Star Wars: Episode VII: "She was joking. Nothing has been announced." Well . . . damn :( We'll be bombarded from now until its 2015 release date with enough casting rumours to fill a Death Star , but it seems Princess Leia herself has confirmed she'll be back in the J.J. Abrams -directed Star Wars Episode VII . The actress and author said so in an interview with Palm Beach Illustrated, where she was asked more than once if she was coming back for more Star Wars and answered in the affirmative. Word has also been swirling around the Interwebs that there's a good chance Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill will return, and that we can expect official word to that effect any time now.   I'll believe it when I see it, but I also have to admit -- I'd like to see it. If done right tha...

The Hole Jason: In many ways, The Hole is more of a tribute to 80s cinema than J.J. Abrams' Super 8. For one, it's directed by one of the finest purveyors of 80s movie making -- Joe Dante. You know, the guy who made Gremlins, Explorers, and Inner Space? Hell, when it comes to horror, this is the dude who made the original Howling and Piranha But is this movie any good? Yarp. The creepy kid and creepy doll sequences are beau-coup scary. Actually, this movie really took off for me when the ghost of the dead kid AND the creepy clown were introduced, almost simultaneously. Actually, every horror sequence in this movie works. Flawlessly. I admit, I'm a bit too old to fully enjoy The Hole. This would be a perfect flick for someone in his early to mid teens. Hell, even the jail bait that is Haley Bennett is cast strictly to entice young male viewers.  That said, my son will love this shit when he is old enough to fully appreciate it. And I know I will watch this a...

Just in time for the Mayan apocalypse comes the mid-season finale of Film Reviews from the Basement, the official radio show/podcast of We Came from the Basement. And how do we bring 2012 -- and potentially the world --  to an end? With the return of not one, but two, icons from Jason and Shawn's youth! First up is The Hole, directed by legendary 80s filmmaker Joe Dante. The same Joe Dante who made Gremlins, The Howling and the original Piranha. This time, Dante tackles a Nickelodeon nightmare about two brothers who discover a mysterious hole in their basement. Said hole then unleashes their inner nightmares . . . and Haley Bennett. Is The Hole any good? Stick with us! And stick around for the return of Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, in the British thriller Airborne. Hamill plays an air traffic controller trying to save passengers on a transatlantic flight as they disappear one by one, much like his career. Then it's time to unleash the fury that is Jon Cross of t...

So says Entertainment Weekly reporter Geoff Boucher, who claims he has a source close to him saying Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are all "upbeat" about returning to the Star War franchise now that Disney has bought Lucasfilm and set a 2015 date for Episode VII's release. I can understand Hamill and Fisher being up for a return trip to that galaxy far, far away. But Ford, who has never had a kind word for any of the Star Wars scripts, strikes me as someone who could care less about the franchise. And this is an unconfirmed source coming in early on what is surely the tip of the tsunami of Star Wars rumours now that a film is in pre-production. Where gonna hear a lot more of these in the years leading up to the new film. But . . . how cool would it be to have Ford back in saddle as Solo, if only as a guest appearance? Very fucking cool. Ditto Fisher and Hamill when you come to think of it. I guess we'll all just have to stay tuned. PS: Lucas won't...

Not in the Han-got-tired-of-Luke's-bullshit-and-knocked-his-ass-the-fuck-out kind of way. But veteran actor Mark Hamill does star in the new Twilight Zone-esque thriller Airborne, due Oct. 2 from Image Entertainment. As Britain is battered by a storm, one last plane takes off. Shortly after, the handful of passengers start disappearing one by one. Those who remain frantically try to discover who or what is behind the disappearances before they share the same fate. British thrillers can be pretty good -- Kill List and the Disappearance of Alice Creed anyone? -- and it's nice to see Hamill get some work. Airborne also stars Alan Ford, Gemma Atkinson and Julian Glover. No trailer, but we do have a clip for your eye holes. This could be one that turns up early into Season Four.