Fun Fact:

"Anything to vary this detestable monotony."

- Charles Dickens, Bleak House

Darkman by Sam Raimi.

Along with Batman (1989) and Spider-Man (2002), this signals the birth of quirky, inventive, modern comic-book movies. This film was very close to the genre, and it wasn't even based on a comic!

Note: I think the explosion that originates Darkman is meant to be an Alec Holland wink to the masterpiece: Swamp Thing.

Apparently, the ancient Greeks had their own take on the werewolf legend.

On the slopes of Mount Lykaion, worshipers of Zeus-Lykaois (Zeus-the-Wolf) would conduct a ritual in his honor. A ritual that supposedly involved cannibalism and human sacrifice. Inspired by the well-known myth where King Lycaon kills his own son Nyctimus and tries to trick Zeus into eating his flesh only to be found out and transformed into a wolf, the ritual attendance would gather once every nine years in the dead of night and make their sacrifice consisting of a human volunteer and an animal. And after the deed was done, a portion of the volunteer's intestine would be mixed with the animal's entrails. The cult members would then each take a morsel of meat and whoever wound up eating the human flesh was transformed into a wolf.

The kicker is they would be stuck in their wolf form for nine years and the only way to be transformed back would be to abstain from eating human flesh that entire time. Not an easy task for a wolf.

The Shrinking Man (retitled "The Incredible Shrinking Man" in some later editions) by Richard Matheson.

An existential, soul affirming sci-fi adventure of the highest caliber.

A classic.

Sleeping Beauty (1959).

Based loosely on Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale with a number of elements from Peter Tchaikovsky's ballet, including the title, "Sleeping Beauty", the entire musical score, as well as the princess's name, Aurora.

One of my all-time favorite Disney films (along with Fantasia). Sleeping Beauty is a great movie. It's a really simple story, but the art direction and music are really amazing. I mean the art is so unique and beautiful, I can't overstate that enough. No other Disney production really mimics it. The Forbidden Mountain feels like a real place, they totally nailed the mood with this one.

Best character in the movie would have to be Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil. She looks pretty much like most goth girls. In fact, there's strong evidence to suggest that Maila Nurmi, more commonly known as "Vampira", was used as a live-action reference for the animation. The character is just so sinister and Eleanor Audley's voice is so expressive. She even has a pet raven named "Diablo" (the Spanish word for "devil"), I mean, how much more goth can she be?

"Be like water; water has form and yet it has no form. It is the softest element on earth, yet it penetrates the hardest rock. It has no shape of its own, yet it can take any shape in which it is placed. In a cup, it becomes the shape of the cup. In a vase, it takes the shape of the vase and curls about the stems of flowers. Put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Please observe the adaptability of water. If you squeeze it fast, the water will flow out quickly. If you squeeze it slowly, it will come out slowly. Water may seem to move in contradiction, even uphill, but it chooses any way open to it so that it may reach the sea. It may flow swiftly or it may flow slowly, but its purpose is inexorable, its destiny sure." - Bruce Lee

Lluvia en los Ojos (Rain in the Eyes).

Allison Schulnik's great claymation short, “Eager”.

It's hard to believe it, but Hades (the Greek god of the Underworld) had 3 encounters with his nephew Heracles (Hercules) and was left humiliated. Each. Time.

The most well-known encounter is when Heracles travelled to the Underworld to capture the three-headed hound Cerberus for his 12th and final labor. Hades told his nephew that he could only take Cerberus if he could subdue him without using any weapons. But clever Heracles used the impenetrable Nemean Lion skin he wore as a makeshift muzzle and wrestled Cerberus until he was worn out.

The second time, Hades came to the surface to collect the soul of Queen Alcestis, who agreed to die in place of her husband King Admetus. But Heracles didn't like the idea of the happy couple's love being cut short and wrestled Hades into submission, just like he did his dog.

The third instance is the strangest though. When Heracles attacks the city of Pylos after its king refuses to purify him of his sins, Hades arrives to either collect the dead from the battlefield or defend the city (depending on the version). Either way, when Heracles sees his uncle, he shoots him in the shoulder with an arrow and Hades retreats to Olympus where Apollo heals his wound.