Everyone loves a good shark movie. Ever since Jaws hit theaters and broke box office records in 1975, it’s been a reliable horror movie genre. While everyone knows Jaws is by far the best shark movie ever, there are loads of other movies out there that should make you just as afraid to get in the water. We’re gonna need a bigger boat as we travel these dangerous waters of shark films.

Z​ombie (1979)

O​k. Already I’m cheating, but I mean . . . come on. This has one of the best shark scenes in cinematic history. During an early scene of the movie, a woman decides to go for a swim in the lovely Caribbean waters when a tiger shark appears. As she hides among some of the terrain on the ocean floor, she quickly finds she is not alone. A zombie has found his way into the depths. As she swims away, the zombie turns its attention to the shark. What ensues is one of the greatest shark fights on film, and it’s real.

M​ako: Jaws Of Death (1976)

T​his movie has a little bit of everything. Vietnam war veterans, evil strip club owners, and telepathic connections to sharks. What more do you need? Sonny is in Vietnam and is saved by a mako shark as he is being stalked by the enemy. He decides he loves sharks and is given a magic medallion by a shaman that lets him telepathically communicate with his beloved creatures. When he moves to Florida, he runs afoul of the owner of a local aquarium and a strip club owner who wants to use sharks in one of his acts. They try to convince Sonny to use his powers to help them, but instead, he declares war on those that try to hurt them. Ironically, for a movie that’s pro-shark, many of the tactics used off screen during filming were cruel, with sharks having had their teeth removed prior to filming.

S​harknado (2013)

The cheesy shark film that started a phenomenon! This low-budget horror film seemed destined to follow the other such films that end up on the SyFy Channel, but this one caught on with audiences who fell in love. There ended up being six of these films made over five years. A freak weather accident causes a hurricane off the coast of Los Angeles and picks up a load of deadly great white sharks. It drops them on the unsuspecting public as the city is drenched. Finley has to fight his way to Beverly Hills to make sure his family is safe. The cultural impact of this movie immediately made it one of the best shark movies.

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Another tale that proves that humans should not genetically meddle with ultimate killing machines. Scientists in an underwater laboratory begin altering the DNA of a group of mako sharks. Now they are larger and way more intelligent than they should be. The group funding the project show up to question if it should move forward, but they all end up trapped in the base as a tropical storm rages above. The sharks get loose and begin wreaking havoc upon anyone they lay their eyes on. A fun movie that will have you pumping your fist in the air.

B​ait 3D (2012)

M​ade during the newer 3D craze, this film tries to make the best use of it by sticking you in a supermarket with sharks. A tsunami hits the coast of Australia, trapping a group of people in a quickly flooding grocery store. Among them is former lifeguard Josh who found a new profession after a shark attack. As they begin to wonder when the storm will let up, they realize that the flooded store has a twelve-foot-long shark patrolling its aisles. Now they must figure out how to survive and not become a cleanup in aisle five. Now if only The Meg 2 was in 3D.

The Reef (2010)

P​roving that you should never go sailing with your friends. A group sets out for a fun day of sailing when the boat hits a rock. This opens up the bottom of the ship, and the group has to decide what to do. One of them recommends they try and swim to a nearby island as the overturned boat is being pulled out to sea. As they swim, they are being hunted by a great white shark. They are being picked off one by one as they try to make it to land.

4​7 Meters Down (2017)

S​o not only are you being hunted by a shark, but you’re also trapped on the ocean floor? Sounds like a nightmare. This is precisely what happens to the two sisters as they go on vacation. They decide to do a cage diving excursion, but the cable holding onto the cage snaps. As they settle onto the bottom of the ocean, they see that sharks are starting to appear. Now they only have one hour of air left and can’t leave the cage as the sharks try to wait them out. Can you imagine cage diving and seeing a megalodon just show up like in The Meg 2?

T​he Shallows (2016)

A​ surfer hears about a secluded beach that is supposed to be the ultimate destination to catch some waves. When she heads out, she quickly finds a shark hunting in the area and attacks her. She ends up on a rock only 200 feet from shore but can’t safely make it back without becoming a shark dinner. As she sits trying to figure out what to do, she realizes that high tide is coming soon and the rock she is safe on will be underwater. A great thriller that is tense throughout.

Open Water (2003)

M​aybe the most terrifying thing about this movie is that it’s based on a true story! It will keep anyone out of the ocean. A young couple books a scuba diving trip in the Caribbean. They have such a great time that they are the last to surface in their group. To their dismay, they find that the rest of their group has left them behind after a botched headcount. The couple is left to float out in the ocean and see that sharks could soon be the biggest problem. This one will make your stomach clench the whole time you’re watching it. Beware.

J​aws (1975)

I​t had to be right? This film not only changed the summer movie season forever but also terrified people of getting in the water. Sadly it also caused a worldwide problem when people began hunting sharks due to fear of this movie becoming a reality. Sheriff Brody thinks a shark may be patrolling off the coast of his small town and tries to convince the mayor to shut the beaches down. He refuses to do so because the July 4th weekend would be an economic disaster. Of course, then a giant shark shows up and kills a little boy. A team is assembled to hunt the shark down and kill it, but not before it takes out most of the crew and sinks their boat. A classic film that is worth a watch whenever possible. A classic film that is worth a watch whenever possible.

Honorable Mention: Jaws 2 (1978)

While making a sequel to Jaws was an act of pure commerce, the first one they did isn’t half bad. This time, a great white stalks a bunch of teens, and despite saving Amity just a few years before, no one believes Brody when he warns them that a shark is on the loose. This benefits from Roy Scheider reprising his role and the classy director of Jeannot Szwarc. That said, the new two Jaws movies are REALLY bad. Wanna know just how bad? Watch the two videos below:

W​hat do you think are some of the best shark movies? Let us know in the comments.

The post The Best Shark Movies Ever Made appeared first on JoBlo.

In case you haven’t heard, Persona 3 Reload is out, and it’s awfully darn good. Whether you’re a longtime series die-hard or just hopped on the bandwagon after Persona 5, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into here. But not every game left us feeling quite so satisfied this week. Read on for our thoughts on Silent…

Read more…

In case you haven’t heard, Persona 3 Reload is out, and it’s awfully darn good. Whether you’re a longtime series die-hard or just hopped on the bandwagon after Persona 5, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into here. But not every game left us feeling quite so satisfied this week. Read on for our thoughts on Silent…

Read more…

With Argylle opening to poor box office and mixed reviews, we’re taking a look back at some of the director’s other – perhaps more celebrated – films. Which of Vaughn’s movies is the best? Have you say in this week’s poll!

The post POLL: What is the Best Matthew Vaughn Film? appeared first on JoBlo.

Director Fred Dekker’s 1987 cult classic monster mash The Monster Squad  (watch it HERE) features variations of the classic Universal Monsters characters Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, and the Gillman, but it wasn’t actually a Universal production. So to avoid getting in trouble with Universal, the movie’s effects crew at the Stan Winston Studio had to create their own specific designs of the creatures… but that didn’t stop them from sneaking homages to the original monsters in there. It has been known for a while now that designers Steve Wang and Matt Rose hid the face of the original Creature from the Black Lagoon somewhere on the neck of their Gillman suit. Now – as pointed out by Monster Squad super-fan Shawn Robare of Plastic Rocket Pop – the exact location of that face has been found!

Thanks to a listing for a Monster Squad Resin Head Casting on eBay, we now have pictures that give a clear look at the Gill-man face that was hidden on the Gillman’s neck, and you can check those out at the bottom of this article. Take a close look at the bottom image in particular. And if you want to own the head casting, all you have to do is go to that eBay link and buy it now for $1,500.

Directed by Dekker (Night of the Creeps) from a screenplay he wrote with with Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), The Monster Squad was inspired by the classic Universal Monsters movies (plus Abbott & Costello and The Little Rascals). The film has the following synopsis: A group of youngsters find themselves up against the combined might of Dracula, the Mummy, the Gill Man, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein’s Monster, who arrive in town in search of a magic amulet. It’s the movie that taught us all that the Wolf Man does indeed have nards.

Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank, Michael Faustino, Brent Chalem, Stephen Macht, Leonardo Cimino, Duncan Regehr, Tom Noonan, Jonathan Gries, Mary Ellen Trainor, Lisa Fuller, and Stan Shaw star.

Are you a fan of The Monster Squad? What do you think of the Gillman having a hidden Creature from the Black Lagoon face on its neck? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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PLOT: Desperate for companionship in the City That Never Sleeps, DOG builds ROBOT, a friend he can grow old with. When ROBOT becomes stranded on Playland Park beach, the couple waits and dreams about their anticipated reunion in unison. As days turn to months, DOG and ROBOT experience separate adventures, changing who they are. When they reunite, will they be the same?

REVIEW: I moved from New York to Canada seven years ago this March. Since the life-altering trip across the border to my new home, I’ve only been back to the Big Apple three times. Of the few things, other than loved ones, that I left behind, New York City shines the brightest, like the Swarovski star atop the Rockafeller Center Christmas Tree. I often dream about returning, and thanks to director/writer Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams, I felt what it was like to be back home and had my spirits lifted along the way.

Written by Pablo Berger and Sara Varon, Robot Dreams begins with DOG, a lonely canine living in Manhattan’s East Village. Spending his nights playing solo Pong games on an Atari 2600 and watching MTV until infomercials advertising spray-on hair lull him to sleep, DOG can’t help but long for something more. He wants a friend, someone he can eat Sabrett hot dogs with while touring Central Park or dance with until his hind paws hurt. One day, DOG builds a robot, a companion, someone to roller skate with and take to the amusement park. As their friendship blooms, DOG and ROBOT become inseparable. That was until, on a warm summer night in the 1980s, DOG had to abandon ROBOT on the beach at Playland Park. With the park closed until June 1st, DOG has no choice but to pass the time until he and ROBOT can be reunited. Until that day comes, they can each have an adventure and see each other in their dreams.

I’d like to know if NEON researched me before sending the offer to review Robot Dreams. I say this because I know I’m JoBlo’s “animation expert,” but it’s almost as if Robot Dreams was made for me specifically. I’m a mark for New York City iconography. I grew up there and remember just as many days of exploring the Concrete Jungle as I do swimming in the Long Island Sound. Arcadia Motion Pictures brings Robot Dreams to life through breathtaking 2D animation, a rare and underutilized art form since Pixar‘s Toy Story made CGI animation the gold standard. Summoning every color in the visible spectrum, Robot Dreams presents a Zootopia-like metropolis populated by anthropomorphic animals. The variety of citizens traversing the Center of the Universe is astounding, highlighting the city’s ability to be a melting pot of humanity. Animality? You know what I mean.

For this New Yorker, there’s nothing more tiring than seeing Hollywood visit the same sites while filming in New York City. Specific locations are iconic for a reason, and I get that. Still, you can’t capture the feeling of visiting the five boroughs without venturing to places people who live there love to frequent, including The Strand bookstore, Playland Park, Greenwich Village, the Flat Iron Building, and the peppering of history-making concert venues like Webster Hall, Knitting Factory, and Save the Robots. Berger’s film cradles the heart of the City That Never Sleeps and brings it to life with vibrant colors, walking pedestrian urgency, and an unabashed sense of pride.

Fueling DOG and ROBOT’s emotional journey is a spirited soundtrack by Alfonso de Vilallonga. Alongside smatterings of 80s-inspired funk, playful piano, and city sounds, Robot Dreams cuts loose with a collection of licensed music that will have you clearing space for a dance party. As I followed DOG and ROBOT throughout the city, artists such as Earth, Wind, & Fire, Buck Owens, The Feelies, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, and William Bell filled the air with energy and hypnotic rhythm.

One of the crowning elements of Robot Dreams is the mirroring of DOG and ROBOT’s emotional states and simultaneous dreaming of one another. Before ROBOT became stranded on the beach, DOG and the automaton forged a bond held together by emotional intimacy. They’re not dating. They’re not sleeping together. However, they often join hands and are unafraid to show others their dedication toward one another. These details make their union multifaceted, so their relationship could represent a dating partnership, adding layers to their intimacy. Their closeness makes the dreams they experience throughout the film all the more powerful.

Regarding dreams, Berger’s film becomes surreal by presenting multiple scenarios in which a DOG and ROBOT reunite. How Berger and Varon pull the curtain back to reveal you’ve been experiencing a lie is clever and challenging to track. The execution left me with questions about everything I experienced, distorting my sense of time and place, as anticipating an event can often do to someone as impatient as I can become.

While Robot Dreams explores loneliness, togetherness, and relationship ideals, it’s also a story about moving on. Life comprises multiple chapters, and learning to embrace change is part of the journey. Without spoiling the ending, Robot Dreams delicately teaches you a valuable lesson about letting go and that finding happiness in something new is okay. Friendships can sometimes be a revolving door, and it’s better to make peace with the unknown than cling to the past.

As I’ve said, NEON could not have found a better mark to review Robot Dreams. In the 1980s, I witnessed buskers play bucket drums in Penn Station like Tool’s Danny Carrey, if he were an octopus. I flew a white Gayla Bat Kite in Central Park with my father. After riding the Cyclone roller coaster, Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island was a regular pitstop. Robot Dreams is a love letter to New York City and on longing and transformative relationships. The film is as close to perfection as I’ve known in my 43 years as an animation-loving New York native. I’ll talk about this movie for the rest of the year, maybe forever.

Robot Dreams

PERFECTO-MUNDO

10

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George R.R. Martin is currently “depressed” according to a recent blog post, and he’s partly blaming social media, calling out “anti-fans” who get off on thrashing pieces of entertainment and art rather than sharing a recent work they loved.

In a post titled “Dark Days”, George R.R. Martin reflected on the “nightmare” that was 2023 and how “rational discourse” appears to be over in our country. While some of this related to the political climate, he showed worry over how many treat movies and books. “I take solace where I can.   In chocolate thrones, if nowhere else.   In books.   In films and television shows… though even there, toxicity is growing.  It used to be fun talking about our favorite books and films, and having spirited debates with fans who saw things different… but somehow in this age of social media, it is no longer enough to say “I did not like book X or film Y, and here’s why.”  Now social media is ruled by anti-fans who would rather talk about the stuff they hate than the stuff they love, and delight in dancing on the graves of anyone whose film has flopped.” This is the part where his fans get pissed that he has time to write an 800-word blog post but not a couple pages of The Winds of Winter.

Similar sentiments were shared by fellow author Stephen King, who posted on social media earlier this month that “adolescent fanboy hate” was to blame for The Marvels bombing at the box office.

Really, both George R.R. Martin and Stephen King have some good points. While “anti-fans” can’t solely be blamed for the failure of The Marvels, negativity spreads fast on social media (probably more so than positivity) and has the power to alter the prospects of movies, TV shows and books. Martin calling out these “anti-fans” obviously won’t sway the mindsets and habits of these social media users – even he recognized his power is limited – but we all know how much more fun it can be to read a one-star review than a four-star. At the same time, is it worth it to keep spitting venom when the damage is already in progress?

Do you agree with George R.R. Martin in his take on social media behavior? Give us your thoughts below.

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Quentin Tarantino is doubling down on his film criticism, as he not only has his 10th and final feature, The Movie Critic, on the horizon but also has a follow-up to his book Cinema Speculation in the works.

As he revealed on the Pure Cinema Podcast – which frequently promotes goings-on at the QT-owned New Beverly Cinema – the Cinema Speculation sequel will be his next book. While Tarantino didn’t provide any details as far as when Cinema Speculation II: Electric Boogaloo will hit shelves, he did mention one title he would be covering: Peter Bogdanovich’s 1972 screwball comedy What’s Up, Doc? On that movie and its cast dynamics, Tarantino said, “I am a big fan of everybody in this movie, but I’m a particularly big fan of Ryan O’Neal’s job as Howard Bannister. I think it’s one of the great straight-man comedy roles. I think he’s really, really terrific. And as a matter of fact, it reminds me of something. I love Bringing Up Baby as much as anybody––especially as much as a Hawks lover would love it. I actually think Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal are better than Grant and Hepburn in there. They’re so terrific together, combined by the fact also that Ryan O’Neal is acting opposite to comic tornados, in the case of both Barbra Streisand and Madeline Kahn.”

Cinema Speculation was a major hit upon release, marking Quentin Tarantino’s first venture into film criticism and analysis published in book form. While it wasn’t an autobiography per-se, it gave fans an insight into his moviegoing habits from his earliest days. There, too, were retrospective pieces on classics like Bullitt, Dirty Harry, Taxi Driver, and many more. Each of the dozen-plus essays is well worth the read, whether you’ve seen the movie or want to discover something you missed on your own journey through cinema.

Another movie Tarantino touched on in the interview – his extensive critique of which would be a worthwhile addition to the Cinema Speculation sequel – was Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), which he says he easily gets caught up in even though it has an “abysmal” sound mix in the first act. He also shared that he bought an IB Technicolor print as a gift for Richard Linklater but ended up keeping it for himself.

Which movies do you hope Quentin Tarantino covers in the second Cinema Speculation book? Give us your picks below!

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Do you smell what The Rock is cookin’? Well, Roman Reigns does, as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returned to WWE this Friday, all but guaranteeing a showdown between the “cousins” at WrestleMania XL.

During a promo between Reigns and Cody Rhodes on Friday’s SmackDown, The Rock emerged with his signature theme, causing an eruption from the WWE fans in attendance. After pointing out the goosebumps the reception gave him, The Rock entered the ring and embraced Rhodes. With an unheard whisper, both Rhodes and fans got the message: The Rock may have just punched his ticket to WrestleMania. It was a hell of a twist to the promo, which found The Rock and Reigns standing in the ring together, the champion holding his belt while the WrestleMania banner hung above.

Fans initially expected a showdown between Reigns and Rhodes at WrestleMania XL, as Rhodes won the men’s Royal Rumble match last weekend, giving him a shot at the title of his choosing. The obvious choice was Reign’s Universal Championship, which he has held for more than 1,200 days. Rhodes failed to win last year under the same circumstances, setting up an inevitable win this time around that would let him “finish the story.” But that story may have to wait…and so will we, as the WWE will hold a press event on Thursday to presumably confirm the Rock/Reigns match.

The Rock has propositioned a match against Roman Reigns before, but it didn’t seem as likely until everything aligned through both injuries – CM Punk tore his tricep at Royal Rumble – and behind-the-scenes drama, as Vince McMahon recently resigned over damning allegations. With Punk out, that leaves Rhodes to challenge Seth Rollins for his World Heavyweight Championship. Further, The Rock – who serves on TKO’s board of directors – stepping into the squared circle could help bring some much-needed positive press back to the WWE.

According to The Internet Wrestling Database, The Rock hasn’t had a match in WWE since WrestleMania 32 in 2016 (although that six-second squash hardly counts); prior to that was WrestleMania 29. If he keeps with this pattern of premiere events, The Rock will no doubt be headlining this year’s WrestleMania, ideally on night two.

The Rock returning to the WWE is huge news, but these particular circumstances may rub fans the wrong way. Is he worthy of a title shot against Roman Reigns even though Cody Rhodes had a long-developing story going? Give us your take below.

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What exactly is a legacy sequel? According to the internet, it is “a work that follows the continuity of the original work(s), but takes place further along the timeline, often focusing on new characters with the original ones still present in the plot.” And boy have they gotten popular. From The Exorcist: Believer to Halloween 2018 to even Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they’ve been churning out steadily. Hell, we got a freaking Mutilator 2 out of it (and who would have ever expected that?). And it’s hard not to wonder why we’re getting so many.

Originality can be a hard thing for financiers to gamble on. This is why we find ourselves amid trend after trend that takes over movie theaters until the general public is sick of it. As soon as something hits, they go after it like rabid dogs till there’s nothing more to pick from the corpse. And the cycle repeats. Superhero movies were the latest casualty. In 2015, we saw Star Wars return with A Force Awakens, but I’m a horror guy, so I’ll use an example from the horror world: 2018’s Halloween. This saw the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to the role that made her famous in Laurie Strode. They ignored all of the sequels outside of the original and set to tell a story across three films. Except, that’s not really what happened, and they betrayed the entire concept of a legacy sequel.

While Halloween 2018 was presented as the first of a new trilogy, there wasn’t much of a plan after this entry. David Gordon Green and Company really just did things on the fly. Which is why when Halloween Ends came long, the point of it being a legacy sequel seemed lost upon the filmmakers. The characters we know from prior movies don’t even act like themselves, character arcs are recycled or ignored and we end up spending more time with a completely new person. So what was even the point? It could have just been a regular sequel without any of the characters from 2018 or Kills and DGG could have done his dumb Corey Cunningham story.

Then there was The Exorcist: Believer. I’ve come to this movie’s defense multiple times and still don’t think it’s the bad movie that some claim it to be. But the stuff that IS bad is everything related to the original Exorcist AKA all of the Legacy Sequel aspects. Get rid of those elements, and it would be a unique possession story. After Believer one thing became clear: Legacy Sequels have got to go. Because the more they’ve stuck around the more filmmakers seem to completely lose the point of them. We want to see these characters return and honor what came before it, not completely flip the characters on their heads. There’s nothing more insulting than having a character we’ve known for decades, return in a Legacy Sequel, only to die to service newer characters we care less about.

And that’s not to say there aren’t some great Legacy Sequels. Heck, in many ways, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare could be considered a Legacy sequel, so the style of film has been around for quite some time. But the laziness that has become synonymous with them is getting too apparent. It seems many filmmakers just think that bringing back past characters is enough, while paying no mind of keeping them consistent or putting them into an interesting story. It’s simply “Hey, this person is returning so fans should be happy.”

I was fed up with Legacy Sequels once Halloween Ends came along and was completely irrelevant to the rest of the series. After setting up multiple movies of “Laurie is going to go after Michael” we instead got “Michael sleeps in a sewer and gives his mystical powers to an awkward car mechanic.” Just make sequels and get away from the Legacy aspect. We do not need to see these people return to roles 30+ years later when those new roles essentially tarnish the prior legacy. Which makes the point of these sequels completely moot. Here’s hoping they finally just focus on making good movies instead of who they can bring back. But the cynic in me is hard to convince.

What do YOU think about Legacy Sequels? Do you think we should move on from them? Or do you think we should give them another chance? Comment below and let us know!

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