- If
ever there was a movie franchise that couldn’t be killed, “Saw” would be it. It’s
a terrifying horror franchise full of psychological and physical pain and
suffering, so extending it to an eighth movie after the previous seven films
have banked a collective $873 million at cinemas
globally is as sure a thing as there is in Hollywood. And so it is that Lionsgate
has confirmed that eighth film while in the process of recruiting writers for
the project. The new film will be called “Saw: Legacy,” with writers Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger
having been selected to write the script. Anyone questioning whether these guys
are capable of writing a great horror movie will probably still be asking those
question after hearing that the duo’s recent projects have included the “Piranha” films and “Sorority Row.” Suffice it to say that
no one has ever mistaken those movies for being good, but maybe original “Saw” director James Wan and writer
Leigh Whannell serving as executive producers will keep this thing on track. It’s
been 12 years since the first “Saw” movie was released and that 2004 success
story took in some $103 million worldwide from a tiny budget of $1.2 million. Boosted
by that success, sequels followed once a year until 2010 and then, after the
release of “Saw 3D,” the money train came to a halt. All seven films followed
the graphic, brutal exploits of a psychotic serial killer known as Jigsaw, who
never murders anyone directly, electing to set up traps that pit two or more
victims against each other to find out whose will to survive is greatest……….
- There
isn't much to like about the tyrannical reign of Turkish despot Recep Tayip
Erdogan. That makes today especially rare and worthy of celebration, bearing in
mind that we may never again have reason to give this man credit for one of his
political decisions. However, even Erdogan seems positive when stacked up
against the filthy, reprehensible habit that is smoking. The repressive
dictator has made a public push to stamp out smoking in his country and after
pushing Turks to put down their cancer sticks, he’s stepping up to reward those
who took up the challenge - or at least didn’t fight back after he snatched
away their cigarette packets and made them promise to quit. In “celebration” of
this occasion, Erdogan hosted a reception for some 300 people who have quit
smoking, including 18 people whom he has personally persuaded to give up. Personal
persuasion may be another way of saying threatening to imprison someone and
take away all their worldly possessions, but if it gets someone to quit lung
darts, then so be it. "There can be no such freedom as the freedom to
smoke,” Erdogan told his guests at the reception, which included a display of
cigarette packets inscribed with the names of their former owners. Turkey
banned indoor public smoking in 2009 and ever since, Erdogan has spearheaded a
government drive to reduce smoking rates in the nation of heavy smokers. Props
to him for doing everything in his power to rip his people’s right to do
something and for the first time in recorded history, picking something that
actually should be taken away……….
- Hockey
is fighting and fighting is hockey. The two entities are inextricably
intertwined and yet, there are standards for what one man can do while
attempting to bludgeon another man with his fists while on the ice. The New
York Rangers are of the opinion that Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds crossed that
line when he attempted to cave in Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh’s face in the
Rangers' 3-2 shootout victory over their division rivals. All Simmonds has
suffered for giving McDonagh a concussion with his punch is ejection from the
game, but Rangers coach Alain Vigneault wants more. "What I didn't expect
was the reaction from the league," Vigneault said. "An All-Star
player gets sucker-punched, goes down. I wonder if that's [Sidney] Crosby, what
happens? What are the consequences? And on top of that, a player breaks his
stick, throws it at the referee. In the rulebook, that's automatic. It's three
games. And nothing happens. It's not even on the sheet after the game."
McDonagh, meanwhile, missed Monday night's game against the New Jersey Devils
because of the concussion, the team announced. Simmonds received a five-minute
match penalty and game misconduct for punching McDonagh, but it was his stick
throw in the direction of the officials that ensured he would no longer be an
active part of the game. Leaving another man in a crumpled heap after suffering
a left cross to his jaw is typically a hockey thing to do, but if it’s seen as
a cheap shot or sucker punch, then odds are someone is going to get jacked up
the next time these division rivals face off on the ice………
- Find
other ways to get your orange on, Massachusetts teenagers. Gov. Charlie Baker
has inked a bill banning teenagers younger than 18 from using indoor tanning
beds, saying the ban will reduce the risk of skin cancer among teenagers. The
new law also prohibits those under the age of 18 from working at tanning salons
or gyms that offer indoor tanning, which might be a bit of an overreach, but
surely comes as a proud moment for Walpole state Sen. Jim Timilty, who has been
working on this legislation for a decade now. Tanning beds in general are
a hazard to the world and a way for karma to catch up with especially vain
people who believe that looking like Donald Trump and John Boehner is
desirable, but sadly it’s not yet possible to travel back in time and erase the
invention of these light-projecting menaces altogether. Supporters of the
Massachusetts bill, including many dermatologists, have warned that people who
use tanning beds have a higher risk of developing melanoma, which is the
deadliest form of skin cancer. “Given the fact that this is something the
legislature has been talking and debating for a while,” Baker said of the bill.
“I think both [Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito] and I felt that it was important to sign
it and put it to bed.” Oh wow, a tanning bed pun, you do NOT get those nearly
often enough. Of course, the dissenting voice in all of this has been tanning
salon owners, the leathery-skinned entrepreneurs who argued that the law would
hurt their business and that indoor tanning is safe as long as it’s done
responsibly. These kooks are using feeble, entirely self-serving logic, of
course, but you know they have to fight for their right to drastically increase
strangers’ chances of contracting skin cancer………..
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