Halloween-Horror-Spooky Movies Watched This October

I love this time of the year.  October is a busy watching time with it being MLB playoffs, NFL, NBA and spooky movie season.  I don't get to watch as many as I'd like but it's always fun to watch favorites and movies I hadn't seen before.  Here's my list of movies I watched this month appropriate for the Halloween season.  Movies marked with an "*" are movies I watched for the first time.

Dracula (Classic Universal Monsters)
Terrifier*
Wolf Man (Classic Universal Monsters)
Frankenstein (Classic Universal Monsters)
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)*
Haunted Mansion (2023)*
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976)*
The Brotherhood of the Wolf
13 Ghosts
My Bloody Valentine (2009)

Wednesday Television Series

Wednesday:  Always been a fan of The Addams Family and when I saw this one coming out I was as excited as anyone.  The visuals looked good and Jenna Ortega seemed like a natural fit for the character.  This is not an Addams Family series.  It focuses on Wednesday and her adventures at boarding school.  There is plenty here to like.  They build out a good supporting cast of characters and we of course see rest of the Addams family albeit in shorter spurts of action.  I really like the great visuals as well as the "who dunnit" plot that drove the plot.  I really enjoyed Wednesday and hope we'll see a season two.

 

The Midnight Club Television Series

 

The Midnight Club: This one is a good watch.  Not a straightforward thriller or horror series though.  The club at its core tells stories at midnight but what you'll get is a deep dive into the characters and what haunts the hospice they are at.  It can feel like a long road at times but I think you'll enjoy it if you see it through.

   

Random Wax: 2021 Topps Archives Blaster

2021 Topps Archives:  World Series starts today?  Heck yeah we'll do some baseball.  We kick it off with this legend.  Tony Gwynn played in two World Series and batting .371 across nine games.

I really enjoy the different designs in this brand.  Not always a fan of each like this 1957 look but it's still fun.  Yount is a favorite of mine. 

1989 Topps Big Foil Nolan Ryan.

A couple 2001 designs to pair with a Willie Mays 1991 design.

Rainbow Foil parallel for the Aaron Nola card.  2011 is a favorite all-time design of mine.  

These boxes always seem to have good pulls between past greats and current stars.  The retired greats are my favorite though.

Fun Smoltz card back.  I'm a fan of his and I like the 200 win 100 save stat.  Something about that is cool.

A Bazooka Shining Star that comes one in every six packs.  That Trout is a Floating Head insert and Bo Bichette is a 1983 design which is another cool looking card.

Not sure about the 2091 design.  Doesn't do anything for me.  I do like the Poster inserts (The Big Three).

Some Don Mattingly greatness to go along with some current greatness in the form of Freddie Freeman who is only 39 hits behind Don Mattingly on his career.  Great box of cards.

BREAKDOWN:
56 – Total Cards
19 – Retired Greats
15 – RC
10 – 1962
9 – 1957
8 - 2001
7 - 2011
6 – 1973
6 – 1983
4 – 2091
3 – 1991
3 – 1989 Topps Big Foil
1 – Movie Poster
1 – Floating Heads
1 – Rainbow Foil Parallel
1 – Bazooka Shining Stars (1:6)
1 – 1989 Topps Big Foil Blue Parallel

 

My Bloody Valentine (2009)

MBV2009:  I'm a big fan of My Bloody Valentine (1981) and had avoided this sequel not sure what I'd get.  Actually picked up the steelbook of the original this summer.  I'll say this one is watchable.  I know that doesn't say much but it's tough to even find some watchable horror movies sometimes.  The movie is full of cliches, bad decisions, tropes, and I'm not sure there's a likable character amongst the bunch.  I know.  Where am I going with this.  I'll stick with it's watchable.  Like most sequel's of movies that have a following it'll never live up to its predecessor.  Still, I could see myself watching this one again.  Not anytime soon but I would.

Portland Trail Blazers Season Preview

For Portland this offseason was all about trading Dame.  It set them up for moving forward with Scoot Henderson as the face of the franchise.  In doing so they added Malcom Brogden, Robert Williams and DeAndre Ayton.  I'm not a fan of Ayton but maybe he can finally find another gear.  They also have draft picks that may come in handy down the line.  They have young talent in Anfernee Simons, Shadeon Sharpe, and Jerami Grant.  And Brogden was is the reigning 6th Man of the Year.  It feels like the team is guard heavy.  It'll be interesting to see what Chauncey Billups can do with the lineup.  The team has to be better.  They basically tanked last season.  Do they get to 40 wins.  I don't know.  The West is so tough so that may be too much to ask for right now.  What we all want to see is Scoot succeed.  He doesn't have to be a top ten player in the league this season.  But he needs to show signs he can lead this team moving forward.  I would be happy with 40 wins but would be happier if everyone stays healthy and we see signs this team looks like it'll be a playoff team and contender in years to come.

Atlanta Hawks Season Preview

The Hawks offseason really came down to moving off John Collins and extending Dejounte Murray.  Getting off John Collins was huge.  Atlanta gave him a five-year $125M deal and instantly regretted it.  What they were thinking I'll never know.  They've tried trading him for two years and finally were able to offload him to Utah.  While the return isn't anything to write home about it gives them more cap flexibility.  Extending Murray was also key.  He's needed to bring balance to the team and defense that Trae Young doens't know how to play.  The Hawks are solid at center with Capella and Okongwu.  De'Andre Hunter may be becoming the scorer they need him to be but it's still early to tell how consistent he'll be or if he can take it to another level.  After that I just don't know.  Bogdanovich can shoot and provide some scoring off the bench but after that there's a lot of unknowns.  Maybe Saddiq Bey or AJ Griffin take big steps but I don't see a path to major improvement without multiple players getting much better.  I don't think Murray and Young can carry this team.  I do think Quin Snyder was a big add as coach.  Can he make the difference this season? Maybe they get in as a #8 see but that feels like the best we can look forward to.  Hopefully I'm wrong.    

Random Wax: 2021-2022 Hoops

21-22 Hoops:  A couple of games on tap tonight as the season kicks off.  Trae Young gets the start here.  I can't say I'm confident Atlanta will be any better this season but as a fan you always have hope before the season starts.  I love the NBA and I'm excited for the new season.  Plenty of good teams and storylines to watch play out.

None of these guys are on the same teams now.  I scanned these in two years ago.  McCollum is in New Orleans, Chris Paul is on the Warrior and Dillon Brooks is in Houston.  I like this set's design and I've opened plenty in the past.

Kuminga is the standout amongst these young players averaging 9 PPG for Golden State in each of his two seasons.

I like Lights Camera Action inserts.  John Wall's time in Houston was short but this card is evidence he was there.  I don't think he's signed with a team for this season.

Andre Drummond on a Teal Explosion parallel.  Grimes had a solid season in New York while Russ is taking his game back to LA with the Clippers.

I love Kawhi.  When he's on the court he's one of the greats in the league.  Unfortunately, he hasn't played more than 60 games in a season since the 2016-2017.  Fingers crossed this is the season his body lets him play a full season.

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
6 – RC
1 – Arriving Now
1 – Frequent Flyer
1 – Lights Camera Action
1 – Teal Explosion Parallel

Random Wax: 1990-1991 Score Hockey

90-91 Score Hockey:  Hockey season has started so I'll throw out some hockey.  We'll start with a Luc Robitaille with some photography trickery.

Probably not a great design but it's one I enjoy.  I'm not a big hockey guy but I do like hockey cards.

The Tim Kerry photo is a good one.

Fun cards.  Enjoy!

BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
4 – NHL Prospects
1 – All-Rookie Team
1 – Hall of Famer
1 – First Team All-Star Team

Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)

Brotherhood of the Wolf:   Wow did I like this movie.  Randomly saw it mentioned online and the visuals from the trailer really pulled me in.  It's in French and while I did a quick search for an English version I went with the French version (Amazon Prime for me) and watched it with English subtitles.  Sometimes a dubbed movie can be more distracting than reading subtitles.  It's a fine line but I wanted to hear the original actors.  I'm so glad I did.  Reading subtitles is annoying but there was something about hearing it the way it was made.  The visuals didn't let me down.  I really like how the movie was presented.  The plot itself was simplistic - a period piece where folks in France are killed by a mysterious creature.  From there the different subplots and storylines make it so interesting to watch.  The movies is long at 2 hours 22 minutes but it never felt long.  I never wondered when it was going to end.  There are plenty of twists and turns, some you will probably discern on your own, but others that help it pay off at the end.  The actors did a really good job and the pace, action, and settings hit right.  I really enjoyed this movie.  I will say I think I've seen it before.  I obviously didn't appreciate it back then but there were so many moments that came back to me but never did I remember actually watching the movie.  I highly recommend this one and it's perfect for this time of the year.

 

2023 Zerocool Stranger Things Season 4 Blaster

Stranger Things 4: Zerocool picked up the license for this franchise and I saw this blaster on Fanatics.  Fanatics owns both Zerocool and Topps who previously owned the rights.  I like Stranger Things and try to grab at least a blaster of these when for each season.  Winona Ryder as Joyce is one of the things that makes the series so good.

 Season 4 is set in 1986 and this design puts off an appropriate 80s vibe.  I'm okay with it though I think they could do a bit more with the border.  That Will card is a one per pack Surfer Boy Pizza Yellow Parallels.  The vertical cards are what I call character cards and are the first 30 of the base set.

The next 70 cards are these horizontal offerings.

Three of my insert pulls.  I like the Coming Soon! Video Store Ads inserts.  Two of them here with The Rainbow room really looking nice while The Nina Project didn't have the same cool look to it.  The Vecna's Curse Lenticulars cards have that 3D card feel and are good looking cards as well.  

Actually didn't see much of 11 in my pull.

The backs are nice.  They have a smaller duplicate of the front photo and nice write-up with some details about what is going on.  The bottom border graphics have an eerie/cool look I like.  I like them.

Gotta have a bad guy right and this guy is bad.

These are my Quotes inserts.  A bit underwhelming to me but I'm not complaining.

This Upside Down insert of Eddie is my favorite card.  Upside Down is a layered acetate inserts set and the colors and this photo work for me.  I love Eddie and this scene is classic.  Fun box.  Some good cards.  I like the series and I'm looking forward to the final season.  I probably won't search out more of these but you never know if they end up being discounted.

BREAKDOWN:
42 – Total Cards
7 - Surfer Boy Pizza Yellow Parallels
3 – Quotes
2 – Coming Soon! Video Store Ads
1 – Upside Down
1 - Vecna's Curse Lenticulars

 

Haunted Mansion (2023)

Haunted Mansion: This updated version of the movie Haunted Mansion was a good watch.  It was funny and interesting.  The characters were good and I like the story.  Really good casting here and some fun moments.  I will say it could have been tightened up some.  I also wish the ghosts would have played a much more active role in the story.  Believe me they were key but I thought they could have more interactions / a relationship with the main characters.  No reason to have hide them as much as they did.  It's PG-13 and I'm not sure younger kids would be that interested but you never know.  Also why wasn't this in theaters this month?  Just curious.  I recommend it if you're looking for something lighthearted and spooky to watch this month.

Random Wax: 2019 Score Football Hanger Box

2019 Score:  This is my twelfth post on this set.  Do I like it?  Yes.  A lot.  I really think Panini nailed it in their homage to 1989 Score Football.  Nice pull from this hanger box even if it is of an OSU alum.

I'm a big fan of almost all things this set does.  I really like the design and the photography. A couple of PC guys here in Luke Kuechly and Larry Fitzgerald.

Some decent rookies in my pull.  There are a ton of rookies in the set so your pull can be hit or miss.

Epix is always a favorite with collectors.

Signal-Callers' horizontal look gives us another look at QBs from the league.

I like the Fantasy Stars and Throwbacks inserts.

Nice jump shot.

NFL Draft inserts give us another look at rookies including the current star receiver for the Eagles, A.J. Brown.

Great photos here highlighting nice catches.

Consistently the photos shine.  I found these boxes over at Blowout Cards for $12 a piece.  Felt like a good price so I didn't hesitate when I saw them.  This isn't the easiest set to find at a good price so I jumped.

Another insert I like.  PC guy Todd Gurley really looks good in that old school Rams uni.

Huddle Up is a solid insert even though there isn't a lot of pizazz to it.

I have three more of these hanger boxes to show off over time.  It really was fun opening these up and remembering how much I like the set as well as just looking back at the different stars at the time.  Great set and plenty of variety here to enjoy.

BREAKDOWN:

60 – Total Cards

12 – RC

4 - Captains

4 – Purple Parallel

3 – Epix

3 – NFL Draft

3 – Signal-Callers

2 – Throwbacks

2 – Fantasy Stars

2 – All-Hands Team

1 – Huddle Up

1 - Celebration

1 – College Jerseys