Mutant Chronicles: Theater Release Quality
As promised, here is a review of Mutant Chronicles. Overall, not bad. In many parts of the movie, the flow and story arc went hand-in-hand, giving the movie some kind of believability even though it is a scifi movie. I am big on character development and believability. Thomas Jane and Devon Aioki, were the most well developed of the bunch. Ron Perlman wasn’t bad either. The movie tried to emulate styles of The Spirit, 300 and Sin City. It is my theory that the failed attempt at a theater release was due to the attempted style of this movie, which the public was still getting used to. When you see the movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Through the movie, you had a sense of apathy for the characters because of the hopeless situation they found themselves in. As many movies of this nature do, they attempt to divide the movie into two parts: Watered down storyline, then the action to resolve the issue. This is a different story. There’s not as much action in this movie as one would expect based off of previews, but the movie will pleasantly surprise you. On a scale of 1-10: 8.
Mutant Chronicles to Make SciFi Premiere
Lots of talk has been centered around whether or not Mutant Chronicles will ever get a release. They will, but it won’t be a theatrical one. It will air on SciFi Channel at 8:00 CT on Saturday. Chronicles stars Thomas Jane (Punisher, Kill Shot), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Blade II). It was heavily built up and advertised in 2008 but the marketing died down since then. Because of the stylish violence and a low approval rating on the rough cut of the film, it was scratched from a theatrical release. So as not to wallow in the losses in profit, it was decided to release it straigth to television or DVD and that is where it it will be. The trailer can be seen here if you need a refresher on what the movie is about. Watch for my review shortly thereafter.
Comedy-Horror: Genre Unto Itself Or Stupidity
I watched the remake of Night of the Living Dead and Killer Pad. Not knowing what to expect, I took an open mind going into it. There is no possible way I can get that time back in my life so I have to say, I’m pretty disappointed. That leads to this post. Why is there a propensity to write or direct horror-comedy? It doesn’t really lend or give justice to the fact that horror is designed to be horror or scifi, sometimes both. By adding in another element to the horror genre is like adding oil to water. It doesn’t work. Bruce Campbell says, “It’s a genre unto itself.” Sorry, Bruce, but that’s not the case. Comedy-Drama (Dramedy) works. Those genres are at least close enough to warrant a hybridization of the two. Romantic comedies or romantic dramas are good, too. But comedy and horror? To me, that cheapens the idea of what horror and scifi is supposed to be. It is supposed to take us to another element. Sometimes it’s supposed to make us think, suspend us in a reality we’re not familiar with. Read more
Promising New Shows For SciFi
With the SciFi Channel presumably losing viewers have a promising lineup in the months to come. It is highlighted by the new show Warehouse 13 (think Indiana Jones and the Kindom of the Crystal Skulls meets Sanctuary). Shows will return like Sanctuary and Eureeka (on contract for two seasons). A much-anticipated Stargate: Universe will debut in the September-October time frame, but not before airing the two movies Stargate Continuum and Ark of Truth before the premiere. Primevil has shown modest ratings, but nowhere near where producers like it to be. It has also been rumored that the SciFi Channel will do away with ECW on Tuesday nights in the fall and move it to Spike TV or a local network. It will be an interesting few months for lovers of the scifi channel. There is much to be excited about and much to be anticipated.
The Brilliance Of Twilight Zone, Sadly Underrated
I’m as much of a scifi fan as the next person, but I have to say when people utter fandom and scifi together, they often don’t touch on the Twilight Zone. Rod Serling’s baby aired for over five seasons and 156 episodes. Can anyone deny the genius or refute the brilliance of Serling or anyone associated with the series? Episodes such as “Terror at 30,000 Feet,” “Get A Life,” or “The Fear” gave meaning to the Scifi and horror genre because of the dimension of paranormal activity that was existent with those and many, many others. So how come no one cares that much about TZ? Has it been lost in the quagmire of time as better graphics occur or have scifi and horror writers and directors forget that good scifi and horror doesn’t need tremendous amounts of blood to be good? I go with the latter. It is sad that many have forgotten about the great show that brings back so many memories. It was a work of art that Twilight Zone and most of all, it’s a work that continues strongly in some, but sadly not in many others. TZ brought out interesting concepts and theories that many scifi writers and talk about and write about now. Arguably, the Twilight Zone is the best science fiction show that is the most underrated and forgotten.
Don’t Have Time To Read Novels? Try These Excellent Short Stories
While many of us simply do not have the time to read a full-length novel, we do have the time to read short stories. The following is my list of the top 5 short stories (some are well known while some aren’t). Let me know your thoughts about them:
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, Harlan Ellison: This futuristic short story tells the story of humans trapped inside the belly of a machine. Not to give anything away from the plot of the story, it does have subtle inuendos of life, religion and politics. Reported to have been written in only one day, Ellison does excellent work in focusing on the depravity of man and the reliance of something higher.
The City, Ray Bradbury: This chilling story is pretty short; roughly 4,000 words. It’s haunting and will leave you breathless at the shocking conclusion. This is different from Farenheit 45. It’s scarier and much more complex in its makeup. The city runs amok and the soldiers sent in are in for a surprise.
Dagon, HP Lovecraft: Dagon was adapted into a movie and surprisingly the movie was just as good, if not better than the story. It explores the Cthulu Mthos and was the first short story to implement the mythos and feature the creature itself. The story centers on a man who is addicted to drugs and wants to end it because of something that happened in World War I.
Johnny Nmemonic, William Gibson: You might be more familiar with this as a movie starring Keanu Reeves. The story focus on a data trafficker and his role with various clients. This is a very high tech story and concentrates on the theme of nanotechnology and future technologies (some that have been explored after the story was written). Nmemonic can seen as a short story that could very well be the most underrated short story of our time with huge future implications.
“Repent, Harlequin!” said the TicToc Man, Harlan Ellison: The story focuses on a man who chooses not to be controlled by the “Man” and becomes an individual in a dystopian society. It is very satirical, but it takes a close look at what a dystopian and totalitarian society is like and the dangers of falling into it if we are not careful.
I Eat My Words: Drag Me To Hell Was Pretty Good
Call it what you will, but after thoroughly trashing Sam Raimi’s new thriller Drag Me To Hell before I laid an eye on it, I judged it. I can truthfully say now that the movie was not bad at all. In fact, the movie was pretty good. It had the right amount of chills to make you stay on edge and the ending could or could not have been predicted, but it left you wondering “what’s next?” The intensity of some moments make you jump and you just started feeling really bad for Alison Lohman half way through the movie. Justin Long is serviceable, but the other cast members were great. (No you do not see Stan Lee in it anywhere.) From a horror point of view, it did what it was supposed to do and Raimi went back to some of the Evil Dead roots. Combined with a haunting score and decent graphics, the movie quite possibly has saved Raimi from critics for a while. I won’t lie, the gypsy woman was creepy and she alone took the movie to new depths. On a scale of 1-10, I give this movie a 9. For those fans whom I offended by blasting Raimi in a previous post, I apologize.
New Stargate series and Sanctuary = Awesome Friday Lineup
For Stargate fans who thought it was over…it’s not. Stargate Universe is the third installment of the series behind SG-1 and Atlantis. It is set to come out in the fall in the late September/early October timeframe, about the same time all new shows will be airing. Stargate Universe will not see any cast members from Atlantis or SG-1 and the storyline is nearly stand alone. The plan for SciFi Channel is to air the new Stargate with Sanctuary for a killer Friday night lineup. Sanctuary has been contracted for another full season. Tentative dates for both shows’ premiers is September 25th or October 2nd. Those are ball park figures based off the schedule of other shows who are planning to air their premiers in the fall. If anything changes, I will be sure to let you know all the details.