2022 saw the release of the long awaited “Top Gun: Maverick,” a movie that worked as a legacy sequel to the classic action film “Top Gun.” Despite long delays in its release and some bad press, “Top Gun: Maverick” earned great reviews, and a banging box office making it one of the highest grossing movies of the year. With “Top Gun: Maverick” paving the way to be considered a classic soon enough, it’s a great example of a legacy sequel. Here are five other great legacy sequels that I loved.
History is Made at Night (1937): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
Frank Borzage’s hybrid of genres has apparently been a film that has been neglected for a long time and not given a proper restoration. With Criterion they ensure a long lasting release of what is a pretty engaging mix of drama, comedy, romance, and yes, a disaster film. I’m not sure if I was as wild about “History is Made at Night” as most movie buffs seem to be, but Frank Borzage’s film is a success at being entertaining and engaging. Borzage is able to bounce between themes rather well, balancing out dread and whimsical romance well.
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama 2 (2022)
David DeCoteau’s low budget 1988 cult film “Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama” is one of my all time favorite video store gems, and the follow up to it has been in the works for almost thirty five years, oddly enough. I don’t know if we really needed a sequel, but nevertheless we have “Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama 2” as brought to us by director Brinke Stevens.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
One of the things I loved about “Love and Thunder” is that Taika Waititi holds true to the message that Stan Lee held for his heroes. Anyone can be Spider-Man. Anyone can be an X-Men, and in “Love and Thunder” anyone can be a mythic hero. While it does in a sense take away value from the concept of Mjölnir, the concept behind “Love and Thunder” is a wholesome one, one that celebrates its audience of children and inspires heroism in the vein of virtue and morality and less on revenge or malice.
BAD MOVIE MONDAY: BLOOD FEAST (1963)
The film I’m reviewing today is the granddaddy of low budget trash. There had been low budget movies before, of course, and many were pretty trashy. However, none of them had been quite as shameless in their crass exploitation of sex and violence as this one. I can only imagine what the crew cut and beehive hair crowd of 1963 must have thought watching this for the first time.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Prest-O Change-O (1939)
2023 marks the 85th Anniversary of Bug Bunny’s first animated appearance in 1938’s “Porky’s Hare Hunt.” Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we’re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We’re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too.
Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.
Prest-O Change-O (1939)
Directed by Charles Jones
Produced by Leon Schlesinger
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Rudy Larriva
The Two Curious Puppies is easily my least favorite series of Merrie Melodies shorts, as it’s basically more of a series derived on being cute. I’m not against cute, but the Two Curious Puppies are almost too saccharine for me. Sure, the animation from Rudy Larriva is fantastic, but there’s only so much you can do with two mischievous puppies that get in to all sorts of misadventures. They’re thankfully not the sole stars of “Prest-O Change-O” as they’re complimented by one naughty rabbit. Yes, Happy Rabbit is back! But this time he’s in Technicolor! It’s the wave of the future!
Skinamarink (2023)
**Mild Spoilers Included in Review**
One of the exciting things about intelligent horror is that it can often inspire a lot of debate and interpretations among the fan base. They’re fun to read, and will be with “Skinamarink” now in the annals of the horror film. Like most modern horror, “Skinamarink” built its reputation going viral on the internet with its word of mouth as a terrifying movie. I’m happy to say that “Skinamarink” is quite terrifying but not in the ways you might think.