Animal attack movies are a staple of summer cinema

Ever since “Jaws” (1975), animal attack movies have been a staple of popular cinema, especially during the summer months.
They are basically monster movies rooted in reality. That gives them an extra thrill for viewers.
This year has seen the release of four movies featuring great white sharks as the antagonist. The recent thriller “Beast” featured a lion as the big bad.
What follows is a list of animal attack movies from the past two years. I also included the type of animal involved as well as the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes critics score.

Notable recent animal attack movies

The Swarm (2021), locusts, 86% positive reviews
Endangered Species (2021), rhino, leopard, hyenas; 19%
Great White (2021), great white shark, 41%
The Requin (2022), great white shark, 20%
Shark Bait (2022), great white shark, 43%
Beast (2022), lion, 68%
The Reef: Stalked (2022), great white shark, 68%
Maneater (2022), great white shark, 29%

Related article:

The best animal attack movies of the past 20 years (Jan. 3, 2021)

What T-shirts for sale on Ocean City, Md., boardwalk say about U.S. politics

On a recent trip to the Delmarva seashore, I visited the summer carnival that is Ocean City, Md. On the boardwalk, I checked out the T-shirts for sale to see what conservative America on the Atlantic Coast is thinking about national politics.
T-shirts on display portrayed President Joe Biden as a senile idiot and former President Donald Trump as an unrepentant jerk. Vice President Kamala Harris was mostly ignored.
One popular shirt was Trump flipping both middle fingers with the text “One for Joe, One for Kamala.” Others supported Trump’s planned reelection bid with “Trump 2024 – Miss Me Yet?”
The most popular phrase on political T-shirts was “Let’s Go Brandon!”, an anti-Biden chant.
Another turned Biden’s name into an acronym for “Brain-dead Idiot Destroying Entire Nation.”
And one shirt showed a befuddled Biden celebrating the fourth of July on St. Patrick’s Day.
In past years, boardwalk shops promoted a lot of pro-guns, Second Amendment T-shirts. But this year, they were nowhere to be seen. Even conservative America has lost its appetite for promoting guns after the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 and the July 4 parade shooting in Highland Park, Ill.

Related articles:

Summer 2018 beach T-shirts: Fortnite reigns (July 28, 2018)

President Trump a hero in parts of America, based on T-shirts (June 13, 2017)

T-shirts show continued interest in Donald Trump presidency (Oct. 12, 2016)

The most popular movies online that are only available for purchase or rental

Many movies aren’t on streaming services and are only available for online rental or purchase.
Reelgood checked its database for Tech-media-tainment to determine which movies that are only available on a per-title transaction are the most popular right now.
The movies are ranked based on the Reelgood Popularity Score, a computed aggregate of behavioral data on the Reelgood platforms for the past 30 days.
The top two titles now are both horror films from director Jordan Peele. “Get Out” (2017) is first, followed by “Us” (2019). Peele’s latest movie “Nope” is currently in theaters and that likely rekindled interest in his previous movies.

Most popular movies that are only available for online rental or purchase

1. Get Out (2017)
2. Us (2019)
3. John Wick (2014)
4. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
5. Resurrection (2022)
6. Moonfall (2022)
7. The Thing (1982)
8. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
9. The Big Short (2015)
10. Back to the Future (1985)
11. John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
12. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
13. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
14. The Nice Guys (2016)
15. The Innocents (2021)
16. The Duke (2021)
17. Little Women (2019)
18. Rocketman (2019)
19. Spectre (2015)
20. Three O’Clock High (1987)

Photo: “Get Out” movie poster.

The most-wanted TV series that aren’t available online in any form, according to Reelgood

Video fans turn to Reelgood when they’re trying to find where a movie or TV show is available online. But in some cases, those videos aren’t available online in any form, including streaming, rental or purchase.
Reelgood did a sort of its database for Tech-media-tainment to determine which TV series are most in-demand that aren’t available online.
TV shows are ranked based on the Reelgood Popularity Score, a computed aggregate of behavioral data on the Reelgood platforms for the past 30 days.
The most-wanted TV series that isn’t currently available online is “Northern Exposure” (1990-1995). Other TV series that made the list include “Moonlighting” (1985-1989), “Homicide: Life on the Street” (1993-1999) and “Dark Angel” (2000-2002).
Some in-demand shows that didn’t make the top 20 include “Newhart” (1982-1990) and “Two Guys and a Girl” (1998-2001).

Most in-demand TV shows that aren’t available online in any form

(U.S. series except where noted.)

1. Northern Exposure (1990-1995)
2. Unprecedented: Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation (2020, U.K.)
3. Anne of Green Gables (1985-2008, Canada)
4. Jeopardy! (1984-present)
5. The Shining (1997)
6. Moonlighting (1985-1989)
7. Toast of London (2013-2015, U.K.)
8. Return to Downton Abbey: A Grand Event (2019, U.K.)
9. Elvis (2005)
10. Toast of Tinseltown (2022-present, U.K.)
11. Faerie Tale Theatre (1982-1987)
12. The Blue Knight (1975-76)
13. Rose Red (2002)
14. Phoenix (1992-1993, Australia)
15. Townies (1996)
16. Monster (2004-2005, Japan)
17. Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1999)
18. Dark Angel (2000-2002)
19. Land of the Lost (1974-1976)
20. Viz (1990-2011, U.K.)

Related articles:

The most-wanted movies that aren’t available online in any form, according to Reelgood (Aug. 14, 2022)

Photo: “Northern Exposure” promotional art.

The most-wanted movies that aren’t available online in any form, according to Reelgood

With the explosion of video streaming services and online rental and purchase options, Reelgood has proven to be an invaluable service for people looking for movies and TV shows to watch online.
Unfortunately, a lot of movies and TV shows aren’t available in any form online. They aren’t on subscription streaming services or advertising-supported streaming services. And they also aren’t available for per-title rental or purchase.
Reelgood did a sort of its database for Tech-media-tainment to determine which movies are most in-demand but aren’t available online.
The data excludes movies released this year, because they might still be in theaters or could be online shortly.
The movies are ranked based on the Reelgood Popularity Score, a computed aggregate of behavioral data on the Reelgood platforms for the past 30 days.
The most sought-after movie that’s not available online is the horror classic “Near Dark” (1987) from director Kathryn Bigelow. Other top unavailable titles include director Kevin Smith’s “Dogma” (1999) and the Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie “True Lies” (1994).

Most in-demand movies that aren’t available online in any form

(U.S. movies except where noted)

1. Near Dark (1987)
2. Dogma (1999)
3. True Lies (1994)
4. Public Hero Number 1 (1935)
5. Alluda Majaka (1995, India)
6. Predator: Catching the Black Cab Rapist (2021, U.K.)
7. The Tunnel (2011, Australia)
8. Us, aka Vi (2013, Sweden)
9. Young Frankenstein (1974)
10. The Others (2001)
11. Bring It On (2000)
12. Sandman (1993)
13. The Island (2020, Australia)
14. Nussa (2021, Indonesia)
15. Amigas de Sorte (2021, Brazil)
16. Roses. Film-Cabaret (2021, Ukraine)
17. Vultures, aka Urubus (2020, Brazil)
18. Om! Crush on Me (2021, Thailand)
19. Small World (2021, Poland)
20. A Tale of Old Cities (2021, South Korea)

Related articles:

15% of top movie musicals are not available online (June 25, 2022)

15% of top film noir titles are not available online (June 26, 2022)

7 movies recommended by Quentin Tarantino are not available online (June 27, 2022)

More notable movies not available online: filmmaker and critic picks (June 29, 2022)

Photo: “Near Dark” movie poster.

Unaired TV pilots I’d love to see

The recent decision by Warner Bros. Discovery to scrap its nearly finished superhero movie “Batgirl” shocked a lot of people. It doesn’t happen often in movies at that late stage, but it happens a lot in the production of potential television series thanks to the pilot process.
Many TV pilots never see the light of day and are shelved, locked in vaults, and not released.
What follows are some examples of unaired TV pilots that I’d be curious to see.

New Warriors

In 2017, Freeform passed on “New Warriors,” a TV series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The pilot starred Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl.

The Greatest American Hero

In 2018, ABC passed on “The Greatest American Hero,” a reboot of the 1980s comedy-drama superhero television series. The pilot for the new series starred Hannah Simone from “New Girl.”

Surveillance

In 2019, CBS rejected a pilot for conspiracy thriller drama “Surveillance,” starring “Chicago PD” alumna Sophia Bush.
“Surveillance” was described as a complex and timely spy thriller centered around the head of communications for the NSA (Bush), a charming operative who finds her loyalties torn between protecting the government’s secrets and her own.

Prism

Also in 2019, NBC nixed the drama series “Prism.” The pilot cast included Malin Ackerman, Ramon Rodriguez, Mykelti Williamson, Chloe Wepper, David Alpay, Brooke Smith, Sara Rue, Joe Tippett and Alex Neustaedter.
“Prism” was inspired by “Rashomon,” the 1950 Japanese period psychological thriller directed by Akira Kurosawa. “Prism” was described as a provocative exploration of a murder trial in which every episode was told through the perspective of a different key person involved.

Untitled Game of Thrones prequel starring Naomi Watts

As HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones” was ending, the network ordered pilots for two prequels series. One of those, “House of the Dragon,” premieres on Aug. 21. The other untitled “Game of Thrones” prequel starring Naomi Watts did not move forward after its pilot was finished in 2019.

Powerpuff

In 2021, the CW decided not to move forward with “Powerpuff,” a live-action series based on the popular Cartoon Network animated show “The Powerpuff Girls.” The pilot starred Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron, Yana Perrault and Donald Faison.

Related articles:

‘Batgirl’ joins list of notable unreleased movies (Aug. 6, 2022)

Warner Bros. Discovery Takes $825M Write-Down on Content Following High-Profile DC Axings and TBS-TNT Cancellations (The Hollywood Reporter; Aug. 5, 2022)

10 noteworthy TV dramas that never aired (Jan. 10, 2021)

Release the unaired TV pilots (Jan. 6, 2021)

Unaired TV pilots: Wonder Woman, Day One, Hieroglyph (Jan. 31, 2015)

Photos: “Powerpuff” promotional art (top), Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl in the unused TV pilot for “New Warriors,” and Hannah Simone from “New Girl.”

‘Batgirl’ joins list of notable unreleased movies

This week, Warner Bros. Discovery announced the controversial decision to not release its big-budget superhero movie “Batgirl” either in theaters or on its streaming service HBO Max. It will shelve the $90 million movie and take a loss instead of throwing good money after bad promoting it.
It’s the highest profile movie to date that won’t be released despite being practically finished.
Wikipedia lists a bunch of American movies that have been completed or were mostly finished but have never been released for various reasons.
What follows is a list of unreleased movies, including when they were filmed or their original planned release year, and a little description for each.

• “Amy Makes Three” (2015), a psychological thriller movie starring Torrey DeVitto and Mike Doyle.
• “Behind the Sightings” (2017), a horror film inspired by the 2016 evil clown sightings.
• “Big Bug Man” (2006), an animated television movie featuring voice performances by Brendan Fraser and Marlon Brando.
• “Bill Cosby 77” (2014), a stand-up comedy film starring Bill Cosby, which Netflix shelved after Cosby was accused of sexual assault by several women.
• “Black Water Transit” (2009), a crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and starring an ensemble cast including Laurence Fishburne and Karl Urban.
• “Chief Zabu” (2016), a socio-political comedy about a New York real estate developer who tries to take over a Polynesian nation.
• “CobraGator” (2014), a monster movie for the Syfy Channel, directed by schlockmeister Jim Wynorski.
• “Cocksucker Blues” (1972), a documentary film directed by still photographer Robert Frank chronicling The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972 in support of their album “Exile on Main St.”
• “The Debtors” (1999), a comedy film starring Michael Caine, Randy Quaid, Udo Kier, Catherine McCormack and Scott Wilson.
• “The Fantastic Four” (1994), a low-budget superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics series. The movie was hastily produced by Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger so Eichinger could retain the Fantastic Four film rights.
• “Glitterati” (2001), a drama film directed by Roger Avary and starring Kip Pardue.
• “The Good Life” (1997), a crime comedy film starring Frank Stallone.
• “I Love You, Daddy” (2017), a comedy drama film written and directed by Louis C.K. and starring C.K., Chloë Grace Moretz, Pamela Adlon, John Malkovich, Rose Byrne, Charlie Day and Helen Hunt. The film was shelved after C.K. was accused of sexual misconduct.
• “Killing Winston Jones” (2014), a dark comedy film starring Danny Glover, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Masterson, and Jon Heder.
• “The Long Home” (2015), an indie drama film directed by and starring James Franco. It also stars Josh Hutcherson, Tim Blake Nelson, Courtney Love, Timothy Hutton, Giancarlo Esposito, Ashton Kutcher and Josh Hartnett.
• “The March of Time” (1930), a Pre-Code musical film by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
• “The Marshal of Windy Hollow” (1972), a Western film that reunited several well-known B-movie actors from 1940s Westerns for one last outing.
• “Morrissey: Live at the Hollywood Bowl” (2009), a film documenting a live performance of Morrissey at the historic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on June 8, 2007.
• “My Name Is Legend” (1975), a Western film starring Tommy Kirk.
• “Nothing Lasts Forever” (1984), a science-fiction comedy drama film written and directed by Tom Schiller. It featured Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Zach Galligan, Sam Jaffe, Mort Sahl, Lauren Tom, Imogene Coca, Apollonia van Ravenstein and Eddie Fisher.
• “Prankstar” (2006), a mockumentary independent film starring, written, and directed by Tom Green.
• “The Price” (2016), a British-American thriller film directed and written by Siofra Campbell. The film stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Shannon and Matthias Schweighöfer.
• “Queen of Media” (2011), a drama film starring Robin Givens. The film is loosely based on the autobiography of New York City radio host Wendy Williams.
• “Sin-Jin Smyth” (2006), a horror movie starring Roddy Piper and Jonathan Davis, vocalist of the nu metal band Korn.
• “Temptation” (2004), a rock music movie musical starring Adam Pascal, Alice Ripley, and Zoe Saldana.
• “Those Who Wander” (2015), an independent comedy film written and directed by Abigail Ann Schwarz.
• “Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales” (1969), a drama film directed by then-film student Penelope Spheeris and starring comedian Richard Pryor.

Let me know if I missed any good ones.

Related articles:

Unreleased American films (Wikipedia)

HBO Max’s $90 million Batgirl movie is headed to the vault (The Verge; Aug. 2, 2022)

Photo: “Batgirl” starring Leslie Grace.