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Four Movie Characters Who Should Have Gotten Their Own Film

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When people talk about a movie, the main characters and the stars who play them are usually the ones who come to mind. However, as an avid movie watcher, I know the best films are the ones with strong supporting players who don't always get the fanfare they deserve and, in some cases, are even wrongfully vilified (or correctly vilified). Some of these supporting characters are even intriguing enough to justify their own film - either a spin-off movie or an origin story. While this has happened, there are plenty that didn't get that love that should have. Here are four I think are perfect examples, though not necessarily by the same actor/actress for obvious reasons. Maleva - The Wolf Man (1941) Before there was Larry Talbot ( Lon Chaney, Jr. ), there was Bela ( Bela Lugosi ), the gypsy fortune teller who bit Larry and changed him into a werewolf.  While Bela's origin story might also have merit, it is his mother, Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) who has always intrigued me most. ...
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Book Review: They Do it With Mirrors by Agatha Christie (1952)

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Synopsis: Even though they still correspond by mail, Jane Marple hasn't seen her long-time friend, Carrie Louise in years. That changes, however, when Carrie Louise's sister, Ruth, suspects something is wrong and arranges for Miss Marple to stay at Carrie Louise's estate, Stonygates, under the pretense being a post-war charity case. Soon after arriving, Christian Gulbrandsen, Carrie Louise's stepson from a previous marriage and one of the overseers of the juvenile delinquent home located on the property, is murdered. During the course of the investigation, another sinister truth is revealed - Christian believed someone was trying to kill Carrie Louise. Review: Our library is officially closed for a month as of yesterday, but I made sure to be prepared by checking out a stack of books to hold me until it's re-opened. This included They Do it With Mirrors , which I finished reading early this morning. I think I can honestly say this was the best Miss Marple book I...
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Movie Review: Corsair (1931)

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Synopsis: After helping his college football team to a win on the East Coast, star football player John Hawks meets beautiful heiress Alison Corning at a party. Alison, taking a shine to Hawks, convinces her father, Stephen, to hire him as a stockbroker but the job doesn't work out because Hawks doesn't like the way Stephen swindles widows and the poor. Determined to make money without taking advantage of the innocent and knowing Stephen also runs a bootlegging operation, Hawks uses his ship, Corsair , to hijack boats owned by Stephen's partner, Big John, and sells the spoils to Stephen at a discount. However, it is only a matter of time before Big John comes up with a plan to stop him. Who's in it? The movie stars Chester Morris , Thelma Todd, Fred Kohler, Emmett Corrigan and Ned Sparks. Review: I thought about watching another Dick Tracy movie this morning but changed my mind when I came across Corsair and thought it sounded interesting. After I finished watching ...
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My Thoughts After Re-watching Alien (1979)

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We had late-night tornado sirens last night which, fortunately, led to no damage but did leave both of us feeling exhausted today. So, rather than try to focus while watching a new movie, I decided to put on Alien because I'd seen it enough times to know what happened if I fell asleep. Here are some thoughts I had while re-watching it: I am admittedly not a science expert but I'm pretty sure smoking cigarettes in an oxygenated environment, like Nostromo would have had, isn't a good idea. Then again, they were using flame throwers without incident, so I guess the only danger as far as this movie was concerned was lung cancer. Why did the entire crew need to go to the planet? Nostromo had a shuttle, why not just send two or three to the planet on that rather than risk everyone's lives and the ship itself? John Hurt 's death scene is one of the best things about this movie. He did come a bit close to overacting, but he was one of the few crew members to go out in ...
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Movie Review: Glass (2019)

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Synopsis: After superhuman David Dunn, now known as the Overseer, tracks down Kevin Wendall Crumb, aka the Horde, and frees the teenagers Crumb has kidnapped, the two men battle it out but are soon both captured by a team led by Dr. Ellie Staple, who institutionalizes the men in the same facility currently holding supervillain Elijah Price, who now calls himself Mr. Glass. Dr. Staple tells the men their powers aren't real and instead are the result of delusions created by a brain condition she believes she can surgically correct. Glass, however, suspects they are being lied to and works out an escape plan that will also expose the truth. Who's in it? The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson , James McAvoy , Bruce Willis , Anya Taylor-Joy and Sarah Paulson. Review: My wife and I planned on watching Glass last summer, after first watching Unbreakable and Split . However, the movie wasn't available on any of our streaming services or at our library and I wasn't sure I'd...
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Movie Review: Dick Tracy (1945)

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Synopsis: A serial killer calling himself Splitface is demanding money from seemingly random people then murdering them anyway. Police Detective Dick Tracy is assigned to the case, much to the chagrin of his jilted girlfriend, Tess Trueheart, who soon finds her own life in danger. Who's in it? The movie stars Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, Mike Mazurki , Jane Greer and Lyle Latell. Review: The movie Dick Tracy has been in my film library for several weeks, but I wasn't completely sure if I wanted to watch it. I've never read the comic, and my only knowledge of the character came from the somewhat terrible 1990 Warren Beatty movie, so I just didn't know if I would enjoy it. I finally decided to give it a try this morning and it was admittedly pretty good. One of my biggest concerns about this movie was I was afraid the film would assume I read the comic and therefore would need no introduction to the characters, villain background, etc. That, however, turned out not ...
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Movie Review: Dead of Winter (2025)

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Synopsis: A recently widowed Barb drives to a remote lake in Minnesota to honor her late husband's final wish and stumbles upon a kidnapping. With no cell signal and the nearest town two hours away, she attempts to take matters into her own hands against the well-armed kidnappers. Who's in it? The movie stars Emma Thompson , Judy Greer , Marc Menchaca, Laurel Marsden and Gaia Wise. Review: My wife was scrolling through our movie channels while having breakfast this morning and came across Dead of Winter. At first, I wasn't sure if it was going to be a movie I would enjoy enough to justify it making me feel cold (I had enough of snow and cold this year). However, it turned out to be an interesting watch. There were a couple things that really stood out for me about this movie. One of the main ones was the choice to have the main protagonist, Barb (Thompson) be someone in her 60s rather than in her twenties or thirties. This added a whole new element to the character becau...
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