The Best Monster Movies Of The 21st Century So Far
Thalassophobia is the fear of large bodies of water, along with what horrors they may hold, and it is a phobia that cinema has capitalized on since its early days. Ever since people have gone out on the ocean, legends have arisen to explain their natural fear of it. The majority of these result in terrifying sea monsters which, as storytelling progressed, made their way onto the big screen.
The megalodon was both an incredible and frightening predator that ruled the oceans some two million years ago. This prehistoric shark grew up to 50 feet in length. If it’s still around today, no sea would be safe. Good thing the megalodon now only lives in books and movies like The Meg, which will be getting its sequel soon.
To appreciate the size and get a glimpse of how mighty the megalodon was in its time, you can head on to sites like Fossilera and get up close and personal with its actual massive teeth. While you’re at it, below are some reasons you need to get excited over the upcoming The Meg 2 movie release…
If you think people had enough of sharks frightening them–at least on the silver screen–then you may be getting the wrong impression. The first installment of The Meg, released in 2018, was a box office hit.
The film about a colossal prehistoric shark starring Jason Statham and directed by Jon Turteltaub raked in an equally massive earning of $44.5 million in its domestic opening alone. It was the biggest opening in the United States that year.
Now, with that kind of box office performance, moviegoers can expect that the sequel can only have bigger, if not better, visual effects. Plus, with Jason Statham onboard to reprise his role from the first installment, one can almost feel the action that will be going on in The Meg 2.
Steven Spielberg’s creation in the seventies made a big splash in cinemas worldwide and captured the viewing public’s imagination–and fear. Since that time, there has been no shortage of monsters from the deep gracing big and small screens. When it comes to bad guys from the ocean, nothing comes close to a megalodon. It’s big, nasty, and one of the terrifying prehistoric predators that can give anyone nightmares. Any monster fan worth their salt wouldn’t want to miss The Meg 2.
The whole world virtually stopped at a standstill during the pandemic. For close to two years now, everyone’s mood has been down, if not depressed. Most people are grappling with what can only be described as a dystopian or apocalyptic atmosphere. So, as cinemas slowly open for business, would anyone even spend money for a movie that will make them feel even more pessimistic? Of course, not.
A megalodon movie will surely provide the fun and adrenaline rush most people have missed out on these past two years. The Meg 2 will be like a magic potion at a time when the world is still reeling from a pandemic.
Movie fans know Jason Statham. He’s a Hollywood A-lister with several action movie blockbusters under his belt. The box office performance of the first installment of The Meg can attest to this action star’s commercial success. That said, seeing him fight off a prehistoric underwater predator–for the second time–will surely be a treat at a time of a pandemic.
The world has lost millions of people in the pandemic. If people can help it, no one would want to see more humans suffer and pass on. While action movies can provide the thrill ride that everyone needs right now, many people would find it distasteful to see one human committing violence against other humans. In other words, enough of human death.
But, it’s a whole different ballgame to see fellow humans fighting off one of nature’s beasts. The Meg 2 will show how humanity will continue to survive as it takes on the classic humans versus nature theme. In a pandemic, the megalodon may very well be a symbolism for the virus that has claimed millions of lives. The Meg 2 should provide some inspiration for moviegoers.
If you’ve watched Steven Spielberg’s classic movie about a killer great white shark preying on people, then it’s safe to say that you’ve seen it all when it comes to shark flicks. Arguably, no other shark movie comes close to it. Every other shark-themed flick that came after it may well be considered as a knockoff of the Spielberg masterpiece.
Well, The Meg and its upcoming sequel are not imitation flicks. Right from the first installment, creators of The Meg have added elements never seen before in cinemas. For one, the prehistoric aspect of the main antagonist adds more mystery to the movie. Both action fans and science enthusiasts will have a field day with a megalodon movie.
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The Tall Dolores (Ed Noon Mystery Book 1) by Michael Avallone
Enter Ed Noon on the world scene. The tallest burlesque queen in the universe hires Noon to find her even taller lover, who has vanished under strange circumstances.
And... The Spitting Image - '2nd book in the Ed Noon series
Noon is caught between two lovely suspects trying to kill the other in order to collect the million dollar payoff!
Review: My Obit: Daddy Holding Me
Description:
The author describes his book this way.
“At the prompting of a marketing friend, I was advised to title this book, My Intensely Madcap, Lebanese/Cajun, Jesuit-Schizoid, Terminally Narcissistic, Food-Focused, East Coast/West Coast, Georgetown/Yale, Career-Changing, Cross-Dressing, Runaway Catholic Italophile, Paradoxically Dramatic, Linguistically Neurotic, Hollywood Academic, ADD-Overcompensating, Niche-Abhorring, Jocoserious Obit. But when my designer pointed out that title wouldn’t fit on the spine, much less on any public display list, I changed my mind. Again! The story of my life.
Which this is at least the first volume of. I hope it makes you laugh, spares you some of my grief, and leads you to insist on telling your story to anyone who will listen.”
Author:
“Dr. Ken Atchity loves being a writer, producer, teacher, career coach, and literary manager, responsible for launching hundreds of books and films. His life's passion is finding great stories and storytellers and turning them into bestselling authors and screenwriters--and making films which send their stories around the world.
His books include, most recently, novels The Messiah Matrix and Seven Ways to Die (with William Diehl) and nonfiction books for writers at every stage of their career. Based on his teaching, managing, and writing experience, he's successfully built bestselling careers for novelists, nonfiction writers, and screenwriters from the ground up.
Atchity has also produced 30 films, including Hysteria (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy), The Expatriate (Aaron Eckhart), The Lost Valentine (Betty White), Gospel Hill (Danny Glover), Joe Somebody (Tim Allen), Life or Something Like It (Angelina Jolie), The Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes, Shadow of Obsession (Veronica Hammel), The Madam's Family (Ellen Burstyn).”
Appraisal:
Memoirs are an interesting beast. Some I’ve read have been people who I have a lot in common with, growing up in the same environment geographically and culturally, where I find myself comparing our respective life experiences and how we viewed them, sometimes adjusting how I view some things in subtle ways or feeling validated that the author and I are in agreement. Other times the memoirist and I have nothing obvious in common, yet I realize in contrasting our different lives that there are still commonalities with everyone that are part of the generic human experience. These can also help me understand people not like me, which has obvious benefits.
This memoir, billed as volume 1 of Kenneth Atchity’s autobiography, fell somewhere in the middle. I’ve written more than a few book reviews in my time, but never for the big publications that Atchity has. I’ve made a few career or life decisions that were outside the norm, shaking things up with a purpose, which Atchity does. But mostly his experiences were much different from mine, growing up in a much different environment, in a different time, with a much different relationship with his family from what I’ve experienced. He’s also risen to the top of multiple fields, overcoming lots of challenges on the way, learning as he goes, making mistakes, and learning still more from them. In the process of learning about his life, I think I learned a bit more about myself, and maybe picked up a few ideas to help guide me in the future based on the lessons he’s learned from life thus far.
Buy now from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
So adult language.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ***** Five Stars
Reviewed by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 100-105,000 words
Veteran Hollywood multi-hyphenate George Gallo (“Bad Boys,” “The Comeback Trail”) is attached to direct “Gambino,” a high-end biopic about organized crime boss Carlo Gambino that Gallo is co-writing with two-time Oscar winner Nick Vallelonga (“Green Book”).
The ambitious project, announced in Cannes, is being lead produced by Julius R. Nasso, also a Hollywood veteran, best known for his production partnership with Steven Seagal that went sour. Nasso more recently shepherded “Narc,” and is among producers of Susanne Rostock’s Harry Belafonte doc “Sing Your Song.”
Nasso has acquired rights to the novel “Gambino: The Rise” by Pierre James which delves into the U.S. story of Cosa Nostra starting from its roots in Italy and the role played by Carlo Gambino, who was its boss from 1957 until his death in 1976 of natural causes in his Massapequa, Long Island, home.
“I have known this story all my life,” Gallo told Variety, speaking from Los Angeles.
Gallo added that Gambino’s world is very different from that of “The Sopranos,” noting that Carlo Gambino came from an educated background and was a quiet, soft‐spoken man with a courtly manner.
“He was a businessman in a darker universe,” Gallo said. “A tremendous Machiavellian money-maker; that’s why he got to the top and stayed there for decades.”
The “Gambino” film will be “a tale of money and power as the world changed around him,” and also, of course, of betrayals and violence. “But there won’t be a lot of people getting whacked,” the director went on to point out.
Gallo also noted that he’s been friends for decades with Vallelonga and Nasso. Nasso in turn has been pals for ages with U.S.-based Italian singer/songwriter and music producer Tony Renis, who is also among producers of the “Gambino” film. Renis is also set to play Gambino as an old man and is in charge of the film’s music score.
Vallelonga, speaking in Cannes, noted that the approach he and Gallo are taking is: “This is not just a mob movie. We’ve seen a lot of that. This is Shakespearean; it’s on that level. We have to elevate the material, and that’s what we are going to go for.”
“Think of ‘Once Upon a Time in America,’ said Nasso who started out in the film business as an assistant to Sergio Leone. “The book starts from when Gambino was a young boy, so there will be three characters playing the one [titular] role,” he added.
Nasso said he is looking to start pre-production on “Gambino” in Italy in January. The plan is for cameras to start rolling no later than July 15, 2023. The producer intends to reconstruct New York between the 1950s and the 70s at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios and shoot the entire film in Italy.
Nasso and his team have also been scouting locations in Italy’s southern Calabria, Puglia, and Campania regions.
Casting, for which Nasso said he is seeking A-list Hollywood talent, will start as soon as the screenplay is ready. Meanwhile he is recruiting the film’s below-the-line crew in Italy and is in talks with triple-Oscar winner Dante Ferretti who is based at Cinecittà , to come on board as the film’s production designer he said.
“Gambino” is being produced by Julius R. Nasso, Tony Renis, China Bridge Capital founder and CEO Edward Zeng, and Santo Versace, who is an investor, and president of, Italy’s Minerva Pictures.
Minerva chief Gianluca Curti will serve as executive producer, as will Helena Zeng and Ken Atchity.
The film is being produced by Nasso Production, which is as Nasso-Zeng company. Pic is fully financed by Edward Zeng and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, who were both present at the film’s Cannes announcement.
Minerva Pictures will be handling international sales, excluding U.S., on “Gambino.”
(Pictured above from left: Tony Renis; Nick Vallelonga; Julius R. Nasso in Cannes)
