We take a look back at the consoles that left their mark on the history of gaming and paved the way for the technology of today.

Stephen King is a renowned author of the horror and thriller genre. With a collection of over 50 novels, roughly 200 short stories, and over 15 film adaptations, King is, without a doubt, one of the most successful authors of all time.

The first Stephen King book I ever read was Christine when I was thirteen. It was my mother that first suggested I read the book. King is her favorite author and as a young teenager, I desired something more challenging to read instead of the classic tween novels from authors such as Andy Griffiths. She suggested this book to me because it was the first Stephen King book that she read when she was around my age, and it is one of the less grueling and psychopathic novels by King that would help me wean myself into the genre.

Christine was first published in 1983 by Viking Press. The story surrounds a bright red 1958 Plymouth Fury that has something very different and very special about it since it first came off the production line. The car originally belonged to a man named Ronald D. LeBay who endured a series of family and close friend’s deaths during the time that the car was in his ownership. After many years he decided to free himself from the Plymouth, and sold the car for $250 to a young college student named Arnie Cunningham.

Arnie is forced to store the car in a do-it-yourself mechanics shop because his family, and even his best friend, severely dislike the car. As he spends time repairing the care he becomes disconnected and cynical yet gains more self-confidence. The appearance of both the car and Arnie change dramatically overtime. Seemingly impossible repair jobs get fulfilled, though they don’t seem to be done by the pimple-faced and pale young Arnie who now seems to have a flawless completion and more adult appearance. Arnie and the car become more and more connected with each other and he names her Christine.

Arnie becomes ultimately obsessed with Christine, becoming withdrawn towards everyone in his life including his girlfriend and parents. Dennis, Arnie’s best friend, learns that there is more to the deaths related with Christine, especially in the past when it belonged to LeBay. He pieces together the notion that LeBay may have deliberately sacrificed his own daughter to make Christine a receptacle for his spirit because he forcefully took her into the car when she began chocking on a hamburger. Dennis becomes increasingly concerned for Arnie, especially when he learns of all the deaths that have occurred within Christine. As time goes on, an increasing number of car-related deaths occur within the small town.

Within the novel, there are various car-related mini poems, usually at the beginning of each chapter. These are excellent little breaks in the story and they are all matched with the era, adding to the ambiance of the novel. It is well written, using direct colloquialism to piece together each character’s personality. It is also graphically detailed to bring further drama and suspense to the story.

After reading Christine I became captivated by King’s writing and genre. I have had a love for the author ever since. Christine is certainly an excellent starting place for any new King reader, and a definite book to add to your to-read list if you are already enchanted by King’s works.

Marvel Studios is infamously known for hiring up-and-coming independent directors to assemble their focus-grouped-to-death features, but when was the last time they brought one with such an established style and cult fandom as Sam Raimi? The man behind The Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell, Oz the Great and Powerful (well … we can forget about that one), and yes, the initial cinematic outings of Spider-Man was brought on to spearhead the newest Doctor Strange project after Scott Derrickson, director of Strange’s first solo adventure, left over “creative differences.” It was assumed Derrickson wanted to make Marvel’s first real horror-ish outing just a little too scary – then they brought on the guy who gets his kicks directly from campy frights.

It’s no surprise, then, that there’s an interesting tension at play within Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the strongest MCU outing since Black Panther, that’s nevertheless as much Marvel Machine as it is Raimi enjoying his return to the big screen after almost 10 years away, deploying every trick he keeps up his sleeve. It’s a movie well-suited to his sensibilities, full of monsters, portals to other worlds, evil spiritual books, doppelgängers, eyeballs where they don’t belong, and even the undead. When he’s able to let loose, it’s a total blast that’s replete with creative scene transitions, generous use of Dutch angles, a few jump scares, weird grunge guitar riffs, superimposed editing, and some appearances of his signature projectile POV camera effect.

Harder to determine is how much say Raimi had over Michael Waldron’s script that has the ultimate obligatory task of moving the greater universe along, which means this is still an MCU movie that is forced to go through the motions. We catch up with Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) not long after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, as he saves a multidimensional traveler named America Chavez (Gomez) from a giant, one-eyed alien monster trying to kidnap her for her powers. Strange attempts to enlist the help of Wanda Maximoff (Olsen), still reeling from the events of WandaVision, in protecting Chavez. Things don’t go as planned, to put it lightly, and Strange and Chavez end up in a multidimensional chase to outrun the evil that threatens them.

As is requisite for these films, all of this means dealing with a lot of info-dumping and clunky exposition shot in generic coverage about this film’s context within the MCU at large. Being a sequel to both Doctor Strange, WandaVision, and a general extension of the franchise, it also cannot escape feeling like various parts and ideas cobbled together into a single entity that, surprise, doesn’t always mesh. That said, there are portions outside of the genre leanings that are pure echoes of the more overt earnest sentimentality and attuned sense of story and character present in Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy that find their way into this. Even the quipping is amazingly reduced down to the absolute barest essentials. There are several truly touching moments around the climax that feel downright refreshing in how they allow the emotional character beats to just breathe.

Also noteworthy is how surprisingly mean this is able to get at times. This is maybe somewhat pushing the boundaries of a PG-13 rating, but it certainly is pushing the boundaries of what has been acceptable in the MCU up to this point. One particular segment around the halfway mark has some kills that carry a genuine sense of shock from just how bleak they are. This seems about as far as Marvel would be willing to go on the gore and scares while still maintaining the brand identity, but it’s the most revitalized the franchise has felt in a long time. There are plenty of reservations to be had about the baggage that comes with it, but it’s also just a ton of fun to sit back and watch the keys to the castle get handed over to someone who knows what to do with it.