REVENGE OF THE NERDS
Stranger Things kids confront a bigger, badder monster, Chris Lackner writes.
MOVIES Big releases on Oct. 27:
Suburbicon; Jigsaw Big picture: Suburbicon is a scary, not-so-subtle stab at the heart of our modern world. George Clooney directs this Coen Brothers dramedy about a peaceful, idyllic suburban community with not-so-buried secrets. Set in 1959, the story centres on stoic husband and father Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) who must navigate the community’s rotten, violent, secret core.
Meanwhile, Jigsaw offers a bloodier kind of horror as a twisted serial killer, John Kramer, is apparently back from the dead — and coming up with even more creative ways to get people to kill each other.
Forecast: Take your pick. Suburbia or serial killer. What scares you the most? Tough call.
TV
Big events: Michael Jackson’s Halloween (CBS, Oct. 27); Stranger Things (Netflix,
Oct. 27); The David S. Pumpkins Halloween (NBC, Oct. 28)
Big picture: The artist who gave us Thriller inspires a new animated holiday special featuring the voices of Lucy Liu, Jim Parsons and more.
Meanwhile, my surprise favourite show of 2016, Stranger Things, returns with a vengeance. The ’80s nostalgia horror trip continues as the Upside Down comes back to haunt the small town of Hawkins, Ind., with a vengeance.
From Steven Spielberg and Stephen King to Ridley Scott, the classic sci-fi-horror tales of the era are referenced — some overtly and some demonstrably (e.g. Jaws poster, Ghostbusters Halloween costumes).
A band of nerdy young super friends must once again unite to save the day. This time the monster is bigger, badder and more ambitious. Far more than the town is at stake.
Finally, David S. Pumpkins is another animated special voiced by the likes of Peter Dinklage and Tom Hanks — and based on the latter’s holiday SNL sketch.
Forecast: Trump? Natural disasters? Losing Tom Petty and Gord Downie. Monsters be damned! Before long, we’re all going to wish we lived in the Upside Down.
MUSIC
Big releases on Oct. 27: Kelly Clarkson (Meaning of Life);
Lee Ann Womack (The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone)
Big picture: Clarkson finds the meaning of her musical life in her first studio album after finishing the recording contract she garnered on American Idol.
Free to make her own path, her eighth effort could mark the beginning of new sonic experiments. Meanwhile, old-school country girl Womack wins the award for best album title that could also be the name for your next favourite indie rock band. On her latest, she substitutes Nashville polish for Texas twang.
Forecast: Lady Gaga will release a surprise Halloween single — a cover of the Monster Mash, and the video will co-star the monsters of Sesame Street. (At least she would if I had anything to say about it.) @chrislackner79