Fat Freddy

Finished a new entry while waiting for my Thanksgiving turkey to finish cookin'... Grimgotts, "Lions of the Sea" - U.K. medieval/folk/symphonic fantasy metal via our pal Stormspell. This style isn't really my thang (sorry Stormy!) but if ya dig Rhapsody (Of Fire), Labyrinth, Domine, etc. go nuts. https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Grimgotts-Lions-of-the-Sea-2017-Album-Review

2 more Goodwill scores: Blondie - The Best of Blondie (I've wanted this one for awhile...but till now, every one I've come across in the thrifts turned out to be an empty CD case, a wrong disc in the case, or a beat up, scratched-to-hell copy. Victory at last! Haha.) Ted Nugent - Weekend Warriors

Goodwill Store stop: Children of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet? Foreigner - Records

New entry, and hey, I actually wrote about an album that is NOT on Stormspell Records... for a change. :rofl2: For my latest installment of "Forgotten Hard Rock Albums," I dug an old favorite outta the cassette stash... https://spinditty.com/genres/Forgotten-Hard-Rock-Albums-X-Sinner-Get-It-1989

"Vampirella" (1996) Roger Corman produced this direct-to-video cheapie based on the cult horror/sci-fi comic book heroine. "Ella," a sexy bloodsucker from a planet of vampires, comes to Earth in a skimpy outfit to hunt down the evil vamp who killed her stepfather. This campy nonsense suffers from a serious case of mis-casting, especially former Bond girl Talisa Soto in the title role -- who's purty but not statuesque or chesty enough to fill out the Vampirella costume. The Who's Roger Daltrey (!), who hams it up big time as the bad guy, seems to be having fun though. I've seen worse but even on a Corman budget this could've been so much better. "AC/DC: The Brian Johnson Years" I had to check this out after hearing the news about Malcolm Young today. This is one of those cheap, no-frills "unauthorized" documentaries, in which U.K. rock critics like Malcolm Dome and Jerry Rutherford give an album-by-album run down of the Brian Johnson-era of AC/DC. Some bootleg-quality vintage live clips pad things out to feature length. Nothing earth shattering here, but a fun watch for fanboys.

Damn. This sucks. It's been a rough year for the Young family... Angus & Malcolm's older brother George (ex-Easybeats, he also produced much of AC/DC's early catalog) passed away just a few weeks ago. This one hurts though. Let There Be Rock was the first rock album I owned. It ignited a lifelong obsession with loud 'n' obnoxious music. AC/DC started it all for me. I owe them everything. R.I.P. Malcolm... and thanks....

Stormspell domination continues... Third album from Ancient Empire, the US' answer to science-fiction obsessed bands like Iron Savior and Scanner. https://spinditty.com/genres/Ancient-Empire-The-Tower-2017-Album-Review

Stormspell domination continues... Third album from Ancient Empire, the U.S.' answer to science-fiction obsessed bands like Iron Savior and Scanner. https://spinditty.com/genres/Ancient-Empire-The-Tower-2017-Album-Review

Found these two super cheap on bootleg haven iOffer, so I couldn't pass them up. Obviously I have no illusions that these are legit pressings. I was just glad to fill a couple of outstanding collection holes. Don't judge me. X-Sinner - Get It Black Sabbath - Headless Cross

"The Revenant" (2015) A lone frontiersman (Leonardo DiCaprio) survives a grizzly bear attack, being left for dead in the wilderness, and brutal winter weather so he can make his way back to civilization and get revenge on the guy who killed his son. Westerns are usually not my meat at all but this one drew me right in. A beautifully filmed epic of survival (based on a true story!) that earned Leo a well deserved Oscar.

"Trainwreck" (2015) Stand-up comic Amy Schumer (more or less playing herself) makes her film debut as a drunken, bed hopping magazine reporter who finally lands in a "real" relationship with a nice guy (SNL's Bill Hader), then nearly blows her chance at happiness with her bad habits. Schumer's good for a few laughs, but this is basically a foul-mouthed Lifetime Movie. "Green Room" (2016) A small time punk rock band lands a last minute gig at a sketchy club (run by even sketchier people) in the middle of nowhere...but when they witness something that they shouldn't have, they have to fight their way out. A claustrophobic thriller with a great performance by Sir Patrick Stewart (!) as the Big Bad.

"Lucy" (2014) A woman (Scarlett Johansen) accidentally receives an overdose of a dangerous new synthetic drug, which gives her unexpected powers and abilities. Naturally, she uses this advantage to get even with the Asian mobsters who dosed her in the first place. This weird mix of shoot-em-up action flick and metaphysical sci-fi from Luc "Fifth Element" Besson is not what I was expecting at all, but it turned out to be a cool watch.

"Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) After the lukewarm reception to George Lazenby's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," Sean Connery returned to the James Bond role one "last" time. In this installment 007 investigates a diamond-smuggling ring that leads him from Amsterdam to Las Vegas, where Blofeld and SPECTRE are using the gems to create a deadly laser satellite weapon. I'm sure fans were glad to see Sean back in the tuxedo again at the time, but "Diamonds" is not top drawer Bond by any means - Connery's clearly only in it for the paycheck and the entire production seems campier than usual. This one might have worked better if it had starred Roger Moore.

"The Lego Batman Movie" (2017) Gotham City's greatest hero gets locked in Arkham Asylum, travels to the Phantom Zone, battles a whole mess o' super villains and monsters, and learns what it means to be part of a family in this loud, candy-colored, hyperactively-paced animated adventure from the makers of "The Lego Movie." The jokes come at rapid fire speed, the graphics are colorful and wacky, and there are lots of affectionate jabs at the Batman legend. This may be the weirdest Bat-adaptation I've ever seen but it was also a ton of fun!

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) James Bond travels from the Riviera to the Swiss Alps, romances a countess and battles Blofeld's plot to commit worldwide germ warfare via a squadron of specially-trained ladies he calls his "Angels of Death." George Lazenby's first and only spin as the "new" 007 is a mixed bag; the action sequences are great and Diana Rigg is an appropriately foxy Bond girl, but the leading man's near-total lack of acting experience keeps it from making the leap into the top-tier Bond. If Lazenby had stuck around he might have developed into a decent 007; unfortunately he followed the dubious advice of his manager, who told him the Bond character would be 'passe' in the 1970s so he turned down a multi-picture contract and went straight into the "Where Are They Now" file. Great career move there, George!

"Get Out" (2017) An African-American man and his white girlfriend head out to the country to spend a weekend at her parents' estate. Though he's already expecting an awkward, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" type scenario, our hero soon learns that there's something even more sinister going on behind the scenes of the ol' homestead... This horror/suspense thriller was a massive box office hit earlier this year and I can see why. This one sucks you right in and keeps up a feeling of dread throughout. Good stuff.

"Furious 7" (2015) Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and the rest of the street racing crew are off on another globe trotting adventure where they're targeted by a British bad guy (Jason Statham) with a personal vendetta against them. As usual, many cars are crashed, bullets fly, and lotsa stuff blows up. Sadly, this seventh "Fast & Furious" installment was also the final one for Walker, who died during filming. I've only seen one other "F&F" movie besides this (and I'm not even sure which one it was!), but I dug this flick anyway, it's big, loud, dumb, destructive fun.

More Stormspell fun: Detest - The End of All Ends From-the-vaults release by an obscure '80s/early '90s Swedish band. Kinda like a mish mash of early Manowar, Metal Church, and Candlemass. My review: https://spinditty.com/genres/Detest-The-End-of-All-Ends-2017-Album-Review

More old school Metal fun from our buds at Stormspell ! Raging Fate, "Gods of Terror" - Germanic power/speed metal (tho they're actually from Sweden) ala Rage, Grave Digger, early Helloween, etc., etc. Badass album cover too. https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Raging-Fate-Gods-of-Terror-2017-Album-Review

More old school Metal fun from our bud Stormspell! Raging Fate, "Gods of Terror" '80s German style power/speed metal (even tho they're actually from Sweden) ala Rage, Grave Digger, early Helloween, etc., etc. Badass album cover too. "Purifying Fire" on YouTube: (shameless plug) album review at my blog: https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Raging-Fate-Gods-of-Terror-2017-Album-Review

"Stephen King's 'It'" (1990) Six friends who defeated a child-eating monster when they were kids return to their hometown as adults when the evil resurfaces 30 years later. This two part mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic suffers in some areas due to its made-for-TV limitations - boiling an 1100 page book down into three and a half hours of TV will do that -- but it features great performances all around (particularly Tim Curry's bravura turn as the evil clown "Pennywise") and manages to sport some genuinely creepy moments. Surprisingly enough, this "It" is still holding up pretty well.

More Goodwill scores: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Sinner Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle and Chronicle Vol. II

The Dark Tower was a massive box office failure so if I had to take a wild guess, I'd say... probably not.

The Outer Limits, Apocalypto Out late November from Stormspell Records. Second album by these old school Bay Area thrash worshipper from Bulgaria. For fans of classic Exodus, Testament, Forbidden, etc. Review @ my blog on HubPages (shameless plug, shameless plug) https://hubpages.com/entertainment/The-Outer-Limits-Apocalypto-2017-Album-Review "Greater Than God" on YouTube;

#3 of my latest six pack from Stormspell: The Outer Limits, Apocalypto - ol' skool Bay Area style thrash metal from Bulgaria. Mosh it up, yo. https://hubpages.com/entertainment/The-Outer-Limits-Apocalypto-2017-Album-Review