Hide Your Lawnmowers! Dead Serios is Back???

Hoogah-Chakka

Hoogah-Chakka!

Could it be? Central Florida comedy punk metal legends, Dead Serios are going to record a new album? That would be a quadruple badass surgery on my senses. That would make my year! My favorite band of all time coming (once again) out of retirement to show everyone how its done! This needs to happen! 

Bear with me for a moment. Let me reminisce for a moment! I remember my long time best friend at one of their shows in the 90's, during their hit song 'Lawn Care Studs' going, and grabbing a REAL lawnmower, firing it up, and moshing around the pit with it as lead singer, DL Serios led the pit with his sacrificial Playschool lawnmower. I remember seeing 1500 people pack out the Power Station in Melbourne Florida to see the band open for a national touring act, and half the audience leaving after their set, leaving the national band wondering where half the crowd went. 

Dead Serios was the band that every local band wanted to be. They were loud, obnoxious, funny, and extremely talented, and EVERYONE loved them, and still does. You couldn't see them in concert for the first time and not love them. DL Serios is one of the greatest frontmen to ever step on the stage. Bassist, Joe Delcorvo is among the skill set of Steve Harris. Guitarist, Doug Gibson is an upper echelon shredder, who could easily match up with some of the worldwide greats. Drummer, Scooter Greenbud is one of the best drummers in Central Florida, and could fill in for any national band. So, am I excited about this possibility? You betcha!

Anyway, here's the story. Record label, Ghoul Tone Records, who released the Dead Serios tribute album in 2015 has contacted the band, asking them to record a new album. They are also re-releasing the entire Dead Serios catalog, completely remastered! SWEET! And, I was just thinking about asking DL for a bunch of the classic songs on MP3. So, I'm stoked. Now, I'll be able to get ALL of them! And, you will too. Now, we just have to convince the band to play more shows. We all need this. We need the standard setter for local bands back in action. Central Florida needs it. If the band can win enough new fans, we would have packed local shows again. 

We NEED this!
Almost as much as we need Ozzy!

So, at this point, all we can do is hope. We'll probably get a new album, and the remastered catalog. But, in the meantime, here is the original version of the Dead Serios classic, Ranks of the Unemployed. Enjoy!

Yes, I'm a giddy little fangirl over the POSSIBILITY of a Dead Serios reunion.

Its Gerald's Tower! A Tale of 3 King Movies

 

There's a winning formula.

Its right there, if you

just keep your eyes open

 

 

 

Ok, as a long time Stephen King fan (minus his idiotic jabs at our president) I've seen many of his books adapted into movies for both TV and the movie theater. Most of them have not been that good, with a few exceptions, like The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, and a couple others. As good as the original TV series, 'It' was, it was actually pretty cheesy, with the only redeeming thing being the talent of Tim Curry as Pennywise. But, this year has been a gold mine for King, with 3 movies, and several TV series. We're going to talk about the movies "It, Gerald's Game, and The Dark Tower" because they were all big budget hits. Even though Gerald's Game was a Netflix movie, it could have easily been on the screen because its production value was equal to the other two.

 

There are spoilers coming!

 

We'll start first with It because its the biggest blockbuster of the three, and rightfully so. It was brilliantly done, and while it didn't follow the book verbatim, it made its own formula that worked. The book, and the first movie takes place while the group of kids as adults looking back and remembering events that took place during their first brush with Pennywise, the evil monster who eats kids to stay alive. What the 2017 version does is make it all take place when the kids were kids. No flashbacks. The next movie will cover the events as they are adults, returning to take Pennywise down once and for all. It was a great movie, and I imagine the next installment will be equally good. So, while this movie doesn't follow the book as written, it follows the book in content, just in a different order, which is a good thing. And, sorry, Mr. Curry...Bill Skarsgard owned the character. As much as it pains me to say it. Grade: A-

 

Well, DAMMIT!

Next, we're going to talk about Gerald's Game. When I first heard they were doing this movie, I was skeptical. Most of the movie is a woman cuffed to a bed, with her fears manifesting themselves in her mind. I wasn't sure how it could be interesting. Well, leave it to Netflix, because they hit a home run. This movie follows the book verbatim. And, we see her memories, and hallucinations. There were a couple scenes from the book that were left out, but nothing that effected the quality of the story, unlike Cell which was careful to leave out anything cool and interesting that happened in the book. Grade: B+ 

 

Say it aint so!

And finally, we come to the last of the 3. I guess you could say that I saved the worst for last.  The Dark Tower series should be done AS A SERIES by HBO or Netflix. Period. Its too complex for a movie. Even for a series of movies. For one thing, the Roland character, played by Idris Elba is not black. If you've read the books, you know that I'm not making a racist statement by saying that. Just imagine a black character calling another black character 'Honkey.' It just doesn't work. Plus, several key characters were left out, and the one that they do use, Jake is nothing but a pawn in the books. There are 2 other characters who contribute much more to the story. Also, the "Forgotton the face of his father" chants that Roland and Jake recite. If you've never read the books, that makes no sense to you, and seems kind of silly. The 'Man in Black' played by Matthew McConaughey is in a struggle with Roland, but it doesn't end the way it does in the movie. Not even close. And, honestly, when I first heard about this movie, I figured McConaughey would be playing Roland. That would have fit, honestly. And, the Dark Tower itself is not remotely represented in the movie as it is in the books. Not even close. This movie is nothing more than Stargate meets Inception. Avoid this one if you haven't seen it yet. Grade: F

 

So, what's this formula? Its easy, Hollywood. JUST FOLLOW THE DAMN BOOKS! Look at It and Gerald's Game. They followed the books, and are critically acclaimed blockbusters. The Dark Tower was a flop. Look at the other movies that were huge successes: Christine, Cujo, the 2 I mentioned earlier, and others. What do they have in common? They followed the books, and are considered classics. The Lawnmower Man? The Mangler? Not so much. Just follow the books, and you'll get it right! It isn't that complicated!