FOUR EYES REVIEW / Willy's Wonderland

Welcome back to another “Four Eyes” review. We take this moment to share 2 opinions on a single geek topic.

Below both Allan and Justin will each dive into what they thought about Nicolas Cage’s movie Willy’s Wonderland. Join us for a LOVE/HATE recap. Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on social media using #foureyesreview

MOVIE: Willy’s Wonderland

STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Emily Tosta, Beth Grant

RELEASE DATE: February 12th, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH (as of July 2021): Hulu

FROM ALLAN DAVID:

Plot: An out-of-towner’s (Nicolas Cage) car runs over police road spikes. He is stuck in an old country town. To pay for the repairs, all he must do is spend the night cleaning up Willy’s Wonderland (a Chuck E Cheese/Five Nights at Freddy’s type of restaurant). The kids in this town sure know how to have a party. Oh, don’t worry, , that’s not blood on the walls that’s fruit punch.

My Thoughts: Nicolas Cage delivers an Oscar worthy performance as The Janitor. In one of his best roles since Raising Arizona, Nick (that’s what his friends call him) gives depth and complexity to the Janitor. He doesn’t utter a word throughout the entire movie. Which is fine by me.  The Janitor faces off against killer robots. No not the Terminator kind, but the soft fluffy kind. The kind you want to have at your kid’s party. Oh wait…

This movie has a little of everything. Angry townsfolk, blood, robots, superb acting by said robots, and lots of laughs, blood, and pinball. Lots and lots of pinball.

Should you watch it? Hell yes!!! Get off your computer right now and watch Willy’s Wonderland!!! 

FROM JUSTIN POMERVILLE:

I first need to preface that I am a huge Nicolas Cage fan. Cage has this uncanny ability to resurrect his career no matter what. With this ability, he has turned out such amazing and interesting films like Mom and Dad, Mandy, and Color Out Of Space. However, he also has been the butt of a lot of jokes because of the volume of films he has made that have been less than stellar. One such film is Willy’s Wonderland.

Willy’s Wonderland had a simple idea: What if Nicolas Cage was in Five Nights At Freddy's? Cage is the silent protagonist who’s vehicle is disabled outside of a tiny town. He is tasked to clean a run-down “Chuck E. Cheese” style joint called “Willy’s Wonderland”. But, what he doesn’t know is that he is locked in overnight with possessed murderous animatronics.

It’s a creative idea for sure but fails to be entertaining. I don’t mind if your main character is a silent, mysterious type. As someone who is viewing this film, usually by the end of the film we would have learned something about our hero. We learn nothing. He spends the whole movie cleaning, playing pinball, drinking a soda every hour, and killing animatronics. The only interesting element to his personality is that killing is nothing to him. He’s not even surprised that there are giant robotic murder machines. They are a minor inconvenience to him, at best.

Between the shaky camera fights, the illogical character choices and confusing dialogue, this movie is definitely not the worst in Cage’s repertoire. Would I watch it again? No way. However, for those of you who do enjoy it (Allan), I’m glad you do. And I have some amazing news for you, Aftershock Comics is making a prequel comic series this fall. Now you have something to look forward to (and hopefully finally some backstory on The Janitor).

Book Review / Relentless by Jonathan Maberry

RELENTLESS

Release Date: 07/13/21

By Jenny Robinson

** This article will have minor spoilers to previous books **

Over the past 12 years, we have followed Joe Ledger’s mission in preventing one possible apocalypse after another. From keeping a lid on Sief Al Din all the way through to RAGE, Ledger and Echo/Rogue teams have stopped the world from becoming ashes. Strangely in those years and books, I find it easy to forget how Joe has always been rooted in tragedy, redemption and revenge. What has drawn me to this written evolution of Joe is that his redemption is based within honor and promise. His revenge is ultimately granted but at a price. His tragedy is forever on going, yet in spite of it all we can win. He can still see the light. 

Relentless felt different. Relentless is exactly that…relentless.

Let’s start this by saying that I believe this book is completely about Joe, and not so much about Ledger. Not Cowboy or Outlaw. No matter which direction, Book 2 of Rogue Team International focuses more on Joe’s internal war and the effects it has on his relationships. To date there are well over 25 stories that involve Joe. Even though each story has been co-piloted by his Modern Man, the Cop and the Killer (depending on who is telling the story - The Warrior), Joe has always been behind the wheel. Relentless flips that concept on its head.

We have walked “through the valley of the shadow” so many times before with Joe. Each step showing more and more cracks in his patched up veneer. An example I keep thinking about is the events at the end of The Dragon Factory where Joe was left riddled in pain after the loss of Grace, only to be followed by the short story Dog Days with the introduction of Ghost. Ghost’s and Ledger’s story both start rooted in revenge, inadvertently leading to a journey of healing and vindication. The events leading up to Relentless were larger and way more damaging. As readers, we feel we know Joe Ledger. When he is knocked down, he will get back up. We’ve seen it over and over again. This book was the first time I feared how, and if he would actually get back on his feet? What state of mind would/could we find him in? In some cases, dramatic foreshadowing to the events can be found in those previous books. In The King of Plagues, Mr. Church tells Joe “We are of a kind, Captain, and neither of us is holding a candle against the darkness. Like the unknown and unseen enemy we fight, people like you and me, we are the darkness.”

This fourth passenger now in Joe’s head “The Darkness” is fueled and fed by the mutual loathing between Ledger and Santoro. Rafael Santoro has been a constant since his introduction with the Seven Kings. The proven confidence of the Spaniard has always played out in a sort of background sense. RAGE/Relentless brings that to the foreground. The absolute hatred Santoro and Ledger have for each other became paramount. Santoro has always been a force but somewhat shadowed by the larger names like Hugo Vox and Kuga. With Rafael directly murdering Joe’s family, he struck the most disruptive personal blow Joe has ever taken. Personally speaking, Kuga took a back seat in this story. Kuga's self-confident attitude in comparison to Santoro’s self-assertiveness cannot compete. Santoro is and always has been a monster. 

I enjoyed how Joe’s story is told largely by others in Relentless. It has that “outside looking in” sensibility. The supporting cast show more of who Joe Ledger truly is than he ever could. It refreshes the importance of family and simple togetherness. There are so many examples of sacrifice within this story which drives in the importance of that fact. In my unexpected surprise, some of my favorite parts was in Toy’s development in Relentless. I believe it is some of the most enlightening and captivating character growth. Toys possesses a lot of parallels with Ledger. Both men’s love toward Junie Flynn being a big reason for both’s salvation. I wonder how Toys would have landed if he grew up with a support system like Joe, or how Joe would have turned out vice versa. Those conversations between those who love or hate Joe felt to me like closing the circle of the tragic events at the end of RAGE. Those secondary character’s role in that support circle being the deciding point on how and if Joe can overcome his obstacles, and see the light again.

The surprising twist is the inclusion of Mr. Sunday within the terrifying evil and science that exists in this world. The supernatural throwbacks and wicked wrongfulness Mr. Sunday brings only add to the terror. This has me excited and mortified for what happens next. Concerning (you know who), I feel our beloved characters are waiting for the other shoe to drop. The idea of his return is almost unbearable. 

This unabated story started early with the tech of Dog’s of War, and ultimately joined with the bio-terrorism in Rage. That convergence will take time to recover from.  My only question is… will they all be able to? Will the stakes of the war continue to grow, and become impossible? The past always finds it’s way back.

In conclusion, let’s continue the previous quote above from Mr. Church to Joe Ledger,

“In some ways we are more like the things we're fighting than the people we're protecting. Granted our motives are better--from our perspective--but we wait in the shadows for our unseen enemy to make a move against those innocents with candles. And by that light we take aim.”

For more coverage, please check out Matt’s (Two Broke Geeks) review Fourteenth Interlude: Matt Reviews Jonathan Maberry's "Relentless"

Find more about Jonathan Maberry at www.jonathanmaberry.com

Macmillan Publishers / Relentless - A Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International Novel (Rogue Team International Series Volume 2).

Queen Mary Dark Harbor 2019

Mazes, monsters, and hidden bars...oh my! The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor is back and Atomic Geekdom's own Jenny and Patrick take it on with help from our friend Director Dave Palamaro. It's a scary good time! (evil laugh)

The Walking Dead at Paley Fest 2019

On March 22nd 2019, Atomic Geekdom hit the red carpet to talk with the cast of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Join us on the red carpet and dive into the characters first hand. Season 9 has been a gift to us comic book readers with its adaptation of the comic. It was a blast talking with the cast on how they see their characters and where they want them to go.

Atomic Geekdom would like to give a BIG shout out and thank you to Paley Center for yet another great year of fan coverage with Paley Fest. The organization provides such considerable attention to media that we are truly grateful. Please be sure to check out their site (www.paleycenter.org) for membership opportunities and other upcoming events.

Photo: © Michael Bulbenko for The Paley Center for Media

LA COMIC CON 2018

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride

This was my first time doing the Haunted Hayride. It has been on my list for years now since it screams Los Angeles. A haunt deep in Griffith Park at the old zoo, that alone is the makings of something great. 

What I really enjoyed about this one was the community feel. It is much mellower than some of the other haunts, but I think that is what gives it some charm. Kids and adults alike can enjoy and be scared without any lasting trauma (but some keeping with some good jump scares). The kids we encountered were excited, parents were wide-eyed, and everyone having a blast. They do such a great job with costumes and set design, that gives it chemistry unlike any other. Piled in the back of a tractor full of hay, we round the trail with something new at every turn. The actors are what really bring this to life. From zombie rock stars to killer bikers, each embraced their rolls and had the spectators closest to the edge of the cart shrieking with terror and delight. I sat in the center and had an absolute blast watching everyone trying to avoid the ghouls as they lean in.

There are a few mazes to partake in as well. The “Trick or Treat” maze was a more safe for the younger crowds. Each door you approach had some new character to make you jump and interact with. On the opposite side of the spectrum was the “House of Shadows” maze. I will warn anyone with light sensitivity issues to maybe avoid. It took me a good half hour to get my head refocused when done. Noise, strobe lights, dead ends and mischievous characters leading you astray, by the end I felt the walls were moving on me. So in summary it gives you anxiety, which is what an intense maze should. 

Take a ride through the woods of L.A. and enjoy being scared within nature.

Article by: Jenny Robinson / Video by: Patrick Nagy / Photos by: Scott Feinblatt