Some franchises are interesting enough to warrant a reboot. But sometimes, the reboot isn't as interesting as the original. 2001's " Planet of the Apes " by Tim Burton is one of those reboots. The story is an interesting variation on the story from the original movie series- but the execution of it was less than stellar.  It lacked the themes and message of the original- which is what made the original a sci-fi classic.  The film comes off as unintentionally silly, and unforgettable. The characters weren't horrible- but weren't memorable.  The only decent character that I enjoyed was General Thade.  While he's a little over the top, I still really thought he was a stand out character compared to the others.  The rest were just kinda... there. The acting wasn't too bad- though once again, the stand out performance was by Tim Roth as General Thade... possibly because of his intensity and over the topness.  The rest were enjoyable enough to s...

Nothing about that headline makes any sense, but what do you expect from a weekend that offers us the latest Disney live action adaptation of an animated classic, and a movie about anti-abortion activism? If that doesn't derail any train of thought, we don't know what will. But Jason, Shawn and Howie are on the Radio NL 610 AM Morning Show to talk the films Dumbo and Unplanned, as well as what to watch at home this weekend.

The Month of Horror can be many things, it's not strictly R-rated, gore soaked fright flicks, there are many different types of movies under the horror umbrella. If something contains the essence of the month of October, and Halloween then I believe that it absolutely counts, and Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is up to its eye sockets in the spooky atmosphere of All Hallow's Eve.

For a movie containing 18 decapitations, it's not nearly as grim as you may think. In fact, I'd say this is one of the more thoroughly enjoyable flicks throughout the Month of Horror! Tim Burton once again re-teams with Johnny Depp for this gothic chiller based partially on truth, although beyond there actually once being a New York inspector named Ichabod Crane, the rest is pretty much fiction.

Many many... many years ago, I watched the original " Planet of the Apes " movies and loved them.  I also found Tim Burton 's rendition enjoyable.  I also really enjoyed the recent reboot, " Rise of the Planet of the Apes ".  At the time, I was rather interested in seeing where they would take the franchise. Well, the wait is almost over as some small appetizing tidbits trickle our way from 20th Century Fox.  One morsel has confirmed that Jason Clarke of " Zero Dark Thirty " fame has been signed to appear in the next installment of the story- " Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ".  While Clarke's role is still a securely guarded secret, it is known that Matt Reeves (" Let Me In " will be directing- and that the script was written by Mark Bomback .  Peter Chernin , Dylan Clarke, Amanda Silver, and Rick Jaffe will be procuding. Other than those names, and a projected release date of May 23, 2014, the only tasty piece of info...

16 16 days until the Mayans may have predicted that we would advance ourselves to the point of accidently sending a monkey into our past. Then travelling to the point where the monkeys have "evolved" into the dominant species. Or something like that.  I'm not even sure anymore. Haha. Depending on what you believe, in terms of time travel, the remake was better than the original, at least for me. Still not a Good, but a fun and silly concept. Bad from me. Also, Mark Wahlberg is a far better actor than Charlton Heston, IMO. That  isn't necessary, but it helps. Haha. I also would recommend the newer Rise Of The Planet of the Apes.  That, I gave a Good.  Either way you look at it, the end is neigh. Monkeys? Sixteen days to find out. 16

So, after my Seagal Sunday, I needed a bit of a break. Haha! 9 is something that I pre-screened for my kids. I'll often screen movies for them, before my wife and I let them watch.  I find the rating system fairly flawed in terms of our parenting style. Their ages are 9, 7 and 5. They've all watched the Transformers movies, except the third one. But my kids will not be watching  9, not because it's too much for them to handle, but because they will likely find it quite boring. They won't really understand the main message and it doesn't offer much else. Where I can appreciate the visuals, it won't be anything new to them. Their generation gets to see lifelike giant robots transform into cool cars, after fighting other giant robots. 9 was like the aftermath of The Matrix mixed with The Borrowers, if they were dolls. Then animate. Really fucking boring. They can watch it if they want, but I know they will lose interest a lot quicker than I did. This ge...

And I'm left wondering what the fuck!?!? I remember the original Dark Shadows TV series and its early 1990s reboot as being moody soap operas about a vampire haunting his family home. This looks more like Austin Powers by way of The Addams Family. Still, it does feature director Tim Burton's unique visual style and sense of humour. And there is little doubt Depp will bring it as the vampire Barnabas Collins. Still, I only laughed once during the course of this preview, and have no desire to watch it again or see the movie. But I post it here so you, fine Basement Dwellers, can make up your own minds. The film stars Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Michelle Pffeifer, Chloe Mortez and Eva Green . . . who certainly brings the sexy here. And we like the sexy in The Basement. Rrowrr! Maybe worth a viewing after all? Or a prolonged stint on Google images? Dark Shadows hits theatres May 11.

That's right bitches, we're featuring a Disney trailer in The Basement! Wanna fight about it? No? Because it's for a Time Burton movie? Good! A stop-motion remake of Burton's 1984 short film, Frankenweenie tells the grimly touching story of a boy and his dead dog . . . which is brought back to life Frankenstein style. Hence the title of the movie. Frankenweenie. This looks a lot like Burton's other kiddie flicks Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Being a new dad, I guess its time to start checking this kind of stuff out. Better Frankenweenie than Sleeping Beauty. Gotta make sure horror is represented, even for the young ones. Frankenweenie arrives in theatres Oct. 5.