10 "Old" Movies I'd Love To See In Theaters

 As movie theaters have tried to recover from the effects of the covid pandemic, the 2023 Hollywood strikes, and shifting viewer habits. Someone came up with the bright idea to start rereleasing older films in theaters for limited runs. Especially during anniversary years.

I've kind of been on a roll with that this year. Seeing the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 times in theaters this year. The Last Dragon, The Lost Boys. and Back To The Future. There were several more films played in theaters, I didnt get to see primarily because of schedule conflicts.  Each time though I experienced a high from the movies I saw that lasted a couple days. So I started thinking about what movies would Iove to see returned to theaters.

Let's dive into ten movies I'm absolutely seeing in theaters, should they get rereleased.

10 Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm

Batman is my favorite comic book hero, and when it comes to films even the horrible ones like Batman & Robin I enjoy. I wouldn't mind seeing this animated film which is an continuation of the Batman Animated Series on the big screen. Released in 1993 it's not only a great animated Batman film, but one of the best animated films ever. Bad decision making by Warner Bros led to it being unsuccessful at the box office, but it found it's footing on home video. Featuring Bruce Wayne struggling with his past in the form of an ex and an mysterious new criminal tied to his past. 

I'll gladly sit in the theater for an hour plus and rewatch it on the big screen.

9 Stargate 

This 1994 film stars Kurt Russell and James Spader. It follows a team of scientists and military members, who use a device that uses a wormhole and transports them to other universes. They end up in alien realm that reminds them of ancient Egypt and learn about the alien races influence on Earth through time.

The effects belive it or not were considered cutting edge for its time. And the film only scratched the surface of the world it developed. I would love to see this film in theaters.

8 Demolition Man

My favorite Sylvester Stallone action movie, and one of my favorite 90's action films. Facing off against Wesley Snipes in probably his third most iconic role; behind Blade and Nino Brown. Following a cop and criminal frozen in the 1990's, and thawed in the 2030's. Their both out of place not just in time, but the pacifist nature of the world they're now in.

Since I love this movie so much, I know I would get a instant high just sitting in a theater chair to watch it.

7 Final Destination

Before I met my wife I was not too interested in horror films. I had a handful I watched and that was it. One of those films was 2000's Final Destination, with a story based around cheating death and a bunch of deaths that look like freak accidents on the surface. However there is more to the deaths in the movie.

It's one of the first horror movies I actually was a little jittery watching. Its spawned an entire franchise so it was a big deal, and seeing it in the theaters on the big screen. With some popcorn by my side and I think all would be right in the world.

6 Meteor Man

Bruce Leroy was the first Black superhero I remember seeing on screen. 1993's Meteor Man was the 2nd and man did it resonate with me. Written, directed by, and starring Robert Townsend. It follows a D.C. school teacher who suddenly lands superpowers and faces off against a dangerous crime organization.

The movie featured a who's who of Black entertainers at the time. Had classic villains in The Golden Lords, and truly was laid out like a comic book.

The movie deserves way more respect and a theater run would help it get there.

5 Independence Day

Next year will mark 30 years of the film that changed Will Smith's career trajectory. If you don't know the story of this film, an alien attack on earth leads to various survivors coming together. And using their different skillsets to save earth and take down the aliens.

I remember when the film was released in 1996, I was 10 years old and it was a big deal. The special effects were top notch. Created by the same team who created Stargate it also had heart. Right now in these divisie times we in, could remind alot of folks about being united when the human race is under threat.

4 Speed

Another one of my absolute favorite 90's movies. Speed perfectly fits the title and is a non-stop ride. Keanu Reeves is a LAPD cop who has to save a city transit bus laced with a bomb. This role made Hollywood look at him as a leading man. Sandra Bullock who played a bus passenger who steps in to save the day, became a star with this role.

There literally is never a dull moment in the film. Well maybe towards the end, but leading up to that your hearts racing. I would love to see this on the big screen with the big surround system, and become immersed in it like I've never seen the movie.

3 New Jack City

Next March will be 35 years of New Jack City, the crime drama classic. It stars Wesley Snipes as Nino Brown a drug lord who has seemingly taken over New York City. And Ice-T as a cop hellbent on taking him and his organization down, even if it means bending the rules.

Directed by Mario Van Pebbles, who also has a role in the film. With a supporting cast of Chris Rock, Judd Nelson, Bill Nunn, and Allen Payne. The movie is Hella quotable, has a soundtrack that is still amazing, a amazing cast most early in their careers.

I'm holding on tight to the belief that it will get released in theaters to celebrate the 35th.

2 The Matrix

I was 13 years old when The Matrix premiered in 1999. I saw it on VHS later that year and I was blown away, like many others with the story. I remember going online and reading clues and easter eggs in the film. Of course the action and fight scenes sparked a whole new wire fu craze leading into the early 2000's. 

Anyone who has seen The Matrix knows how good it is. I'm hoping some movie theater wises up and plays it in theaters for a special screening.

1 Dick Tracy

Released in 1990 and starring Warren Beatty as the titular character. This film is a true comic strip bought to life, the sets and the core colors used. To the cast of characters, the makeup and prosethics just the vibe of the movie. The story is honestly secondary to the asethics and cast put together for the film.

Seeing this movie on the big screen and the all the colors bought to life. Especially if the movie is remastered, would be a sight to see to me. Disney dropped the ball for the 35th, let's hope they are planning to celebrate this movie in the future. 

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5 Best Original SuperHero Movies

 

Last week was the 30th anniversary of Damon Wayans superhero comedy BlankMan. Acknowledging the film's anniversary, got me thinking about superhero movies not based on comic books. Depend on who you ask BlankMan is one of the best original superhero movies ever created, while good I wouldn't quite go there. Here's my 5 best original superhero movies.

5. Big Hero 6

For the life of me, I don't understand why Big Hero 6 is not more popular. Released in 2014, the film follows a young teenager Hiro who is essentially a child prodigy and his robot Baymax. Along with his friends they become a group of superheroes protecting the city of San Fransokyo. The story is more so about how they got to the point of being superheroes. Covering the friendship between Hiro and Baymax, as well as Hiro's relationship with his older brother Tadashi. The film also covers grief, betrayal, and self-doubt strong subject matter for Disney films. 

4. Incredibles

The older I get, the more relatable The Incredibles becomes. The basic premise of the film is former superhero Mr. Incredible (civilian name Bob Parr) is a middle-aged man supporting his wife and three kids. He's experiencing a bit of a middle life crisis in the mundane day to day life and yearns to get back in the thick of things. He get's his wish when a new supervillain wrecks havoc on the town, along with his old sidekick Fro-zone and his family they save the day. As 40 come's knocking I totally can relate to that. 

3. Darkman

Before Sam Raimi directed the Spider-Man trilogy of films starring Toby Maguire in the 2000's, he directed an off-beat original superhero movie called Darkman. Starring Liam Neeson in the original and Arnold Vosloo (Imhotep in The Mummy films) in the two direct to cable sequels. The main character is Peyton Westlake a scientist who is working on synthetic skin for burn victims, after he himself becomes a burn victim due to criminals attacking him. He uses his synthetic skin and new found strength to exact revenge.

The film is very grounded in reality, while also paying homage to the noir genre of film. It's very underrated, and was the catalyst for Raimi eventually directing Spider-Man.

2. Meteor Man

If you know me, you know I love Robert Townsend's 1993 film Meteor Man. The film follows Townsend's Jefferson Reed a Washington D.C. school teacher who is struck by a meteor fragment and gains new powers. He uses these newfound powers to save the neighborhood from the campy drug dealers The Golden Lords led by Simon, complete with all members sporting gold hair and gold accented throughout their attire. 

The movie featured a who's who of Black talent in Hollywood at the time, is funny and a tad bit inspiring. The movie never take's itself too serious and set's out to feel like a live comic book when comic book films weren't  necessarily popular. It's a shame the movie isn't more revered as it truly is special.

1. Hancock

Hancock for all intents and purposes should have been a franchise, with at least a trilogy of films. The 2008 film stars Will Smith as an alcoholic bum superhero, who causes massive damage whenever he feel's like saving the day. He has a love/hate relationship with the general public and officials of L.A. He saves Jason Bateman's advertising executive character Ray Embrey who help's him rehabilitate his image. Hancock soon learn's more about himself thanks to Ray's mysterious wife Mary, while saving the city from a criminal out for revenge.

Besides the interesting take of a disgruntled superhero that doesnt want to be one, the film has quality jokes, good special effects and decent fight scenes. The backstory between Hancock and Mary and their past deserved to be covered more in sequels. I was really intrigued by that backstory and it made the film have it's own mythology much like a comic book.

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Give Us A Meteor Man Cartoon!

 My brother and I are huge fans of the 1993 film Meteor Man. We were recently discussing is it time for a remake of the movie and I instantly shot it down, Hell No leave the movie as it was!! Is exactly what I said lol. Then for some random reason a thought popped in my head. Meteor Man is owned and was released by MGM Studios, MGM is currently in the process of being bought by Amazon. Amazon needs fresh content to convince people to use prime video and compete with more popular streaming services. Lastly studios love digging in the archives for the next big property they can introduce to a new generation.

Meteor Man is the perfect property for that to happen....by way of a cartoon series. A Meteor Man cartoon that maintains the same comedic tone as the film with maybe a small dash of the violence depicted in Invincible would be a hit in my opinion. Since its an cartoon, it could be set in the same timeline of the original in the 90's or be moved up to present day with a slightly new take on Meteor Man.

Jefferson Reed could still be a teacher trying to maintain the balance of being a superhero, being a positive influence for his students and include his desire to make sure Meteor Man is portrayed as a positive Black role model through the media. 

The neighborhood and the wacky character's Jefferson knew and loved would have to be highlighted in the show as well. Such as old school music loving but trying to remain young Earnest (James Earl Jones). We can't forget his inner circle of his parents (Played by Robert Guillaume and Marla Gibbs in the film). His best friend Michael played by Eddie Griffin, who wanted to be Meteor Man for his own dating gain. They all could be developed more and have bigger roles,  in supporting Jefferson's mission as Meteor Man.

It's so many avenues they could go with the character's with more time to flesh the story out over 10 or so episodes. It'd also be interesting if the the subplot from the movie, of Jefferson frequently losing his powers if he doesn't touch the meteorite was added to the series and how he goes about maintaining his powers during his day to day life. Does he drink energy drinks non-stop since using his powers drains him?

The cartoon and Meteor Man's journey would not be complete without The Golden Lords being involved in the story. The Golden Lords are a underrated group of villains where every member hair is dyed gold and their attire included gold of some sort. The leader of the group Simon and the group themselves could be fleshed out a bit more regarding what their exact goal was. Was it just to run D.C.? or world domination? Simon's boss Anthony played by Frank Gorshin (The Riddler in the 60's Batman series) and his organization could be portrayed as well, maybe as the overarching villain. The cartoon would get hella bonus points if Roy Fegan is able to return and voice Simon. 

Of course if this were to come to fruition, Robert Townsend has to be involved in the development of the series. If not, maybe some like me who loves the movie 1,000 times over could do the series justice (just throwing it out in the universe). Meteor Man deserves some love and we the fans deserve some sort of continution of the property to enjoy time and time again.

When the movie was released, Marvel released a limited edition comic book series of Meteor Man. Let's get some corporate syngery going and bring that back as well.

Amazon make it happen, We need a Meteor Man cartoon series. 

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Robert Townsend Deserve's His Flowers Now

 Today is the 30th anniversary of one of my favorite movies The Five Heartbeats. Watching the movie which is a beloved amongst the Black culture, I thought about just how much Robert Townsend has given the culture that is often acknowledged but really overlooked. With The Five Heartbeats Townsend was a star in the film, in addition to producing, writing, and directing the film. That's alot of hats to wear for a movie that is about as close to perfection as they come.

Looking over his filmography his first major break in Hollywood was Hollywood Shuffle. Another film he starred in, produced, wrote and directed. The movie is a satire on the Hollywood industry and it's treatment of Black actors when it comes to finding the "right" role, very relevant today as it was in the 80's when the film was made.

In 1993 before Blade, before Black Panther, hell a year before Blankman. He gave us the first Black superhero on the big screen I remember Meteor Man. A film that at the time had a who's who of Black actors and actresses in it (Marla Gibbs, James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby, Luther Vandross, Robert Guillaume, Don Cheadle) and the list goes on and on. This film employed alot of Black people and likely inspired the next generation.

Those three films are probably Robert's most well known contributions to Hollywood, but it doesnt stop there. He directed Eddie Murphy's RAW standup movie, he wasn't credited but I'm inclined to believe him and Keenan Ivory Wayans helped write some of the jokes for the film. He directed B.A.P.S, starring Halle Berry and Natalie Desselle. Carmen:An Hip Hopera, Holiday Heart, Playin' For Love, Living For Love: The Natalie Cole Story, and The Little Richard movie are some of the additional films he's directed.

On the TV side, he created and starred in one of the WB's first sitcoms in the Cosby inspired Parent'Hood which ran for five seasons. He had his own variety comedy special on HBO called Robert Towsend and His Partners in Crime. Directed episodes of Love Is, Black Lighting, Last O.G., Soul Food and American Soul along with other TV series.

For some reason when the conversation about legendary or most influential Black filmmakers comes up. Robert Townsend is almost never bought up, not sure if thats just because he's never came across as a guy who really cares for the spotlight. In any case he has provided the culture with so much, and it's time we start giving him his flowers now. 

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