Dillen Danger’s Top S**t Of 2019!

Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Dexter’s Lab and Samurai Jack, has created a completely new animated series, PRIMAL. In my opinion, this is his greatest work to date.

PRIMAL is a savage and sorrowful tale of loss, taking place in a fantastic prehistoric world of dinosaurs, proto mammals, monsters, and cavemen. A world beautifully designed and animated. Plot is driven by action and character acting, the series is 100% dialogue-free. Genndy is giving a masterclass in storytelling with PRIMAL, this is a must-watch in my book.

If you are a parent, prepare to get wrekt.

Hold On, Here It Comes...

Did you like 2016’s The VVitch?
Hagazussa is an Old High German term for “Witch”, and this film has many things in common with The VVitch but is definitely its own amazing movie. I really enjoy soaking in atmosphere when it comes to horror and Hagazussa makes you soak, like goddamn overnight oats. The pacing is molasses and I wanted to just drown in it, I didn’t want it to end.
I gasped out loud and put my hand over my mouth on three separate occasions during this film. Brutality is embraced and nurtured. This IS the most metal movie of the year.

If you are a parent, prepare to get wrekt.

Take your edible now and watch

John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum, Directed by Chad Stahelski.
What can I say, this movie is for fight fans, it’s for action fans, if you aren’t a fan you will get exhausted. You gotta have the lungs and the legs to go all rounds with this one, it’s Non-Stop, Operatic, Gun-Fu, Insanity! I originally thought about showcasing a standout singular fight scene in this movie but I quickly dropped that idea; each sequence of this movie is jam-packed with melee excellence. If you are a fan of the genre, please give it a watch.

Here's Johnny!

I had such a great time seeing Jordan Peele’s US in theaters, the crowd was soo engaged and responsive. This movie is a delight, it is acted superbly, the characters are phenomenally fun. Above all though is the incredible Lupita Nyong’o, pulling double duty as Adelaide Wilson and her counterpart “Red”.

She is so good. She is so good. She is so good. Give her all the gawddamn awards.
Here is Decider’s Anna Menta explaining much more intelligently on why Lupita Nyong’o deserves an Oscar. 

Watch US

Kicking off the year back in January was The Punisher Season 2,  and in Episode 5, One-Eyed Jacks, The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal, gets into a heavy metal throwdown at a Russian gym. The fight is harsh, ugly, kinetic AF, the cheap shots are plentiful and the damage incurred is superhuman. Such a ruthless fight, Bernthal breaks soo many bones with free weights.
If you’d like to read an eliqeunt synopisis of the episode here is Sean T. Collins’ recap.

Witness The Brutality Here

You will undoubtedly read articles declaring 2019 to be the year of Keanu Reeves, and it was. I really did enjoy seeing his face across all media this year. I however submit to you that 2019 was claimed equally to another actor; Ian Mcshane. Mr. Mcshane is human whiskey, he is a beautifully aged and bold element that makes any situation brighter and more celebratory. He is absolutely effortless and immeasurably impactful in any production he attaches himself to. Who else can make the unwatchable engaging like this man? Thank you, Sir.

Here are the movies and shows from the past year that Mr. McShane blessed this year.

“You murdering, thieving, c*cksucker.” Just a sample of the poetry that flows from Al Swearengen in Deadwood the movie. Here is Decider’s review of the film.

Professor Trevor Broom adopts a demon boy in 2019’s Hellboy. Here is Anna Menta with more details on the film.

“Si vis pacem, para bellum!” Winston is operator The Continental in John Wick 3.

Mr. Wednesday, Odin, Woden, The All Father himself in American Gods Season 2.

2019 was a year for violent and impactful storytelling, and here’s just a taste of the year in head trauma…
I am a fan of the comic book and the Amazon series The Boys. I happen to also be a huge Karl Urban fan. Let me tell you, his portrayal of Billy Butcher is something to behold. Here he is in The Boys Season 1 Episode 7 “The Self-Preservation Society”, he seems to be testing the formula for force with a bathroom sink and the guy from The Sixth Sense‘s face. Not sure if The Boys is for you , here is our Stream It Or Skip it review.

Here is Regina King as Angela Abar/Sister Night in Watchmen Season 1 Episode 7 “An Almost Religious Awe”, and wait what is that in her hand?  A hammer… oh my. Whats she doing with it? Is that some poor soul’s cranium? Yes, yes it is. but that’s all I can tell you without spoiling a pretty big reveal. If you’d like any more context for this here’s Sean T. Collins Ep 7 recap.

Hey! Look at that, it’s that fight scene from The Punisher Season 2 that I mentioned earlier in this list. Here we have Frank Castle doing what he does best, mercin’ gangsters. I can’t decide if his victim ends up looking more like Sloth from Goonies or The Toxic Avenger after Castle is done massaging his face with a 5-pound iron weight. Call me an old fashioned 80’s baby, but Gods, I love watching evil Russians getting destroyed.

Wait a second, is that Gallagher or Gallagher’s brother with the Sledge O Matic? I don’t want to give too much away about the movie Midsommar, directed by Ari Aster, it’s not what you think it is. It is beautiful, it is captivating, it is surprising, and yes, it has a couple of scenes that are horrifically brutal. The giant, wooden, sledge hammer here, was actually pretty merciful in its use.  Here is a much more intelligent look at the movie from Meghan O Keffe 

I know, I know, more John Wick 3 content, I’ll make it quick. He FREAKIN’ POUNDS A KNIFE THROUGH THE TOP OF A DUDE’S SKULL.

This year was the 35th anniversary of A LOT of pop culture franchises, in particular were two lifelong favorites of mine; Transformers the animated series and Ghostbusters. Hasbro and Takara Tomy celebrated the occasion by blessing us with these magnificent bastards. It’s wild how well these mashups work, the aesthetic is perfect. Somebody please buy these for me.

This Optimus Prime Ghostbuster is a repaint of the Masterpiece line Optimus, designation “MP-10G”. It is not cheap, but you can buy me one here… 

This slick lil’ robot, Ectotron is an all-new original design. Ecto 1 in vehicle mode and Ectotron, The Ghostbusting Transformer in robot mode. You can order me this one, here…

If you’d like to learn a little more about The Transformers 35th anniversary, I wrote a little something for the occasion back in september. 

Peter Jackson created They Shall Not Grow Old using original footage of the First World War from the Imperial War Museum’s archives. The vibrant life given to this footage through cutting edge software and painstaking research results in an extremely human story about some of the most horrific experiences ever endured.

I dreamt about this film for a week after seeing it.

Watch On HBO

One lazy Monday night I got a Facebook message from an old, dear friend of mine from my animation school days, and he was essentially like: Dude I saw something and need someone else to see it, and you’re the only person I know that I can show this to… I immediately thanked him for thinking of me and clicked the link as fast as I could.
This is a music video featuring the metal super duo of Rammstein’s Till Lindemann and Peter Tägtgren of Swedish death metal band Hypocrisy. The song itself is catchy especially if you like your metal to the slight folk tilt, the last 1/3 does devolve/erupt into Lindemann’s more typical Rammsteiny sound. The video is shot very cinematically and is essentially a call back to high-end rock videos from MTV’s early 90’s peak, except explicit AF.
I am going to say this one more time, this video is Not Safe For Work. Have fun.

There it is… That’s the most safe for work action I could gif out of this music video.
If you want to watch the video, here it is…

The Head Hunter, Directed by Jordan Downey

The Head Hunter is a metal fairytale with minimal dialogue, limited set pieces, and a simple premise. This grim tale is executed with a creativity that is not hindered but actually enhanced by its budgetary limits. The practical effects are exceptionally good and used strategically and sparingly. The landscapes of Portugal and Norway paint an atmospheric backdrop would make any D&D, folk metal fan squeal.  This is a must-see for any fan of the genre.

The Head Hunter is the second most metal movie of the year.

Watch Now

Luc Besson’s ANNA is fine. The plot is not particularly original and if you have seen a few of his films, you know what you are going to get with Anna. There is however a particular scene that would have any fan of the genre howling with delight. Anna is sent to eliminate a target in a fine dining establishment, which leads to the epic slaughter of countless bodyguards. A key ingredient that makes this scene stand out is the kinetic flow of the fight. Anna rolls, slides, and spins from adversary to adversary, making split-second decisions on what particular method to dispatch her opponent. Anna executes an advanced hand to hand style that is a fun blend with some Israeli and Russian influences, and the restaurant itself plays a major role in this frantic action sequence. Any and every object around Anna is a weapon and I have to admit I saw some things I hadn’t seen done in a fight before. Welcome to Anna’s butchery.

Where to stream Anna

After 16 years and 193 issues Robert Kirkman ended his critically acclaimed series published through Image Comics. I have to admit around issue 100 I became less diligent a reader of the Walking Dead comic, but with the surprise announcement that it was all coming to an end , I eventually caught up. When I finished that final issue I came away with a smile, something I really did not anticipate. Kirkman buttoned up his series in a very graceful way, ending a series that I’m pretty sure at any other publisher would have gone on forever.

If you are in Brooklyn or the NYC area at all, you can get a copy of this trade or any other comic at ANYONE COMICS, located at 1216 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11225
Not lucky enough to live in Brooklyn, Click here to find a local comic shop near you! 

An intriguing story.
Innovative game play.
Beautiful retro inspired pixel art design.
An ultra hip and infectious synthwave soundtrack.
Come on. What more do you want? Play this game.

Buy Katana ZERO

Throughout my life I have watched Joe Bob Briggs present his favorite horror/exploitation/grindhouse/schlock films on various channels… Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater on The Movie Channel, TNT’s MonsterVision (with mailgirl Honey Gregory), and now thanks to SHUDDER we were blessed with more Joe Bob Briggs content this year with The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs! SHUDDER created a live stream app so we can all watch just like old fashioned appointment TV, the social community while the movies play is Soo fun, Soo many like-minded people communicating their love for this demented shit. I feel the dark lord’s mighty hand at work here, we are truly blessed to have more Joe Bob Briggs in our lives.  
In many ways, he was my first film teacher and I feel that he has been that to many other teenage dirtbag horror fans. Please tune in with me.

Stream The Last Drive-in

Welp, this movie, this fucking movie, it got under my skin and affected me in ways I did not expect. I really did love it from beginning to end. Ari Aster has given me two of my favorite movies of the decade in just the last few years. I don’t want to give much away with this one, I feel it’s best viewed going in with as little information as possible. I will say that unlike so many other films in the genre and in direct contrast to Mr. Aster’s previous film, Hereditary, Midsommar takes place almost entirely in bright direct sunlight. It is the warmest horror film I have ever experienced.
Here’s some more about Midsommar from Anna Menta… 

It's a bear