The Wolfman, Fearnet and Other Things
My apologies for not posting sooner. Life derails you after you’ve been a car accident the size of the Rhode Island. I’m back now and still recovering, but that’s not going to stop me from posting.
As the summer is ending, we move into a new season of scifi and horror. The Wolfman and Avatar highlight the next wave of “must-see” movies while Christopher Nolan’s newest flick, Inception, which looks like a mix between The Matrix and Equilibrium (starring Christian Bale if you didn’t know) and Book of Eli bring up the rear. Let’s not forget about 2012. This summer’s blockbusters were lackluster with Transformers 2 , Harry Potter and District 9 being the best of the bunch. There are some promising movies coming out over the next few months so it should make up for a summer where the blockbusters were supposed to be abundant.
Speaking of movies that have promise, I must talk about Wolfman. This movie has perhaps been redone at least twice, but this one will have a bit of a spin in it. Bencicio Del Toro, uncharacteristically, has signed on to be the lead and the ever cute Emily Blunt co-stars. If you’ve seen the trailer, you know Del Toro turns into the wolf man, but obviously there’s something more sinister that’s going on. Those who have seen the original know that the 2010 version should realistically be called a reimaging, not a remake. There’s lots to be excited about this movie. I highlight this one because, quite frankly, I’m a huge fan of the Wolf Man because the original did a lot for the werewolf genre, but also to filmmaking. I only hope this movie is a good homage to the original. Most importantly, I’m anxious to see if Del Toro can pull off a creature. Make no mistake, it will be hit or miss with him in the role. The Wolf Man also stars Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving. Read more
The Collector: Movie is Chilling, Haunting
If you’re one that liked Saw, you’ll like The Collector. It’s basically a Saw movie with a believable story. I was fortunate enough to watch a special screening in Austin and this movie is haunting. It’s not sadistic killing like Saw was. The killings in this movie had a rhyme and reason (whether it was justified is up to you). In case you don’t know what this movie is, you can see the trailer here. There is the normal fare of blood shed and spillage, but that comes with the territory from this kind of movie. Unlike other movies of this kind, the writers make you feel for the antagonist or protagonist (depending on you interpret things). There has not been a movie I’ve seen that I’ve felt uncomfortable seeing until now. It hasn’t gotten much press because of the bloody nature of the film. Trust me when I say, it’s far worse than Saw. On a scale of 1-10, this movie gets an eight.
Sam Raimi: Full Of Talent, Falling Well Short Of Excellence
Sam Raimi, director of the Spiderman trilogy and the Evil Dead trilogy has returned with an interesting, yet possibly dull movie, Drag Me To Hell. The title alone, not catchy, nor interesting is a new twist to Sam Raimi’s roller-coaster career. His B-movie foray with the Evil Dead trilogy propelled him onto the scene and follows that with a mediocre attempt with the Spiderman trilogy. Though the movie is already edited and set for release this Friday, it is unlikely Raimi will have redeemed himself. The use of below average CG is evident in the trailer and what’s worse, this movie doesn’t take on the seriousness of what a story like this could be. It remains to be seen how the movie will fare, however, with his recent string of work, one can expect it won’t be very good. Apple boy and Allison Lohman won’t be strong enough to carry the movie. Raimi has so much potential and he set himself up to be an excellent director and writer, particularly after the widely popular Evil Dead series. What happened? Maybe the fame got to him or maybe he got lucky. No one knows, but just don’t expect a whole lot from him in the future. Who knows, I could be wrong. But probably not.
Memorial Day Movie Weekend On SciFi Channel
Memorial day weekend will be full of movies and specials. While it is the norm to showcase the Twilight Zone marathon on holiday weekends, the SciFi Channel is doing something different. Starting Friday, May 22, the SciFi Channel will be airing a movie marathon. It will be mixed with SciFi originals with more popular movies like John Carpenter’s The Thing or Judge Dredd. Then on Monday, May 25th, they will air a Land of the Lost marathon in preparation to air the movie that stars Will Ferrell. The schedule will resume to normal after the long weekend, but it is nice to get a good break once in a while.
Watch Updated Trailers For Summer’s Biggest Blockbusters
Forget the teasers, here are the updated trailers for this summer’s biggest movies:
Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince
District 9 Trailer Here, Not to be confused with Halo
District 9, a movie produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neil Blomkamp, is not a decoy title for Halo. It is about a race of aliens who is forced to live amongst humans. That doesn’t nearly go along the lines of Halo. Don’t let the rampant rumors fool you. The trailer can be seen here.
The movie will be shot in documentary style, much like Cloverfield and the Blair Witch Project.
Have No Fear, Battlestar Fans: Caprica, BSG’s Prequel Coming
For Battlestar: Galactica fans, have no fear. The much-anticipated prequel to Battlestar: Galactica is coming on DVD and digital download on April 21st. Caprica will take place approximately 50 years before the events of BSG take place. Esai Morales and Eric Stoltz star as two power hungry individuals who try to take advantage of the artificial intelligence discovery which ultimately leads to AI destruction. Caprica won’t tie up anything from BSG; rather, it is straightforward and there are no strings attached. Preorder is now available but those intending to download must wait until the 21st to do so.
Romero Fails to Live Up to His Own Genius
George Romero, progenitor of the Dead series has, in very few ways, failed to live up to those famous movies. I sat down and viewed a recent Romero film, Bruiser, which he also wrote. While the direction of the film was good, the storyline was not. Couple Bruiser with his most recent attempt at a zombie movie, Diary of the Dead, and one has to wonder what happened to such a creative genius. Could it be that he faltered under his own genius or is it the fact that he’s given up? I go with the former; the latter seems rather pretentious because he created a genre that’s at times hard to duplicate. I find it rather difficult to think someone gave up on his craft. After all, Ernest Hemingway collapsed under his weight as a literary mastermind so it’s not uncommon in the literary business. The chilling suspense and the action of his Dead movies are far from a movie like Monkey Shines or Bruiser where the storyline is often convuluted with watered down themes that fail to make the viewer cheer for the protagonist. Rather, his latest string of films, including Diary of the Dead, fail to make viewers understand the deeper meaning of conflict as expressed in his Dead movies. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Romero and his previous works, but in an age where writers are resorting to cliche and generic prose…Romero is no different.
Monsters vs. Aliens, fun, new for the family
Dreamwork’s new hit Monsters vs. Aliens is in a word, fun. It’s comedic wit and more than decent voicing makes this movie very family friendly and can even be enjoyed by fans of science fiction or adventure. Sure, this movie is void of gore and extreme violence, but the movie still shows areas of science fiction mixed with the occasional story arc of a scifi movie. The viewer will recognize many voice talents such as Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Hugh Laurie and they deliver a wonderful performance. And, dare I say, fits the characters they all play very well. Monsters vs. Aliens employs a simplistic story line with not a lot of structure, but there’s not a lot of need for structure, particularly in a kid’s movie. This movie isn’t an inquisitive movie like the Seventh Seal. There are mild themes of violence it is very stylized and cartoonish. Nothing too frightening to the child, for sure. This movie, dare I say, is appropriate for all ages. For the rough and tough exteriored person, this movie will still have themes that you’ll enjoy. I give this movie a 9.
Does Anybody Know About FearNet?
FearNet, a free on-demand service provided by some cable companies offers a collection of Science Fiction, Horror or Fantasy movies for free. They range from old classics such as Night of the Living Dead and Evil Dead to current horror like Saw III or a collection of all the movies in the After Dark Horrorfest. Whatever suits your fancy, they offer at least 15 movies to choose from. They do filter in movies often so because a movie is in the queue does not mean that the movie will be there for long. For more information on FearNet, check out fearnet.com. Most likely, if your cable offers the option of on-demand, FearNet is included with that, however, because some cable companies have barriers on FearNet, it is best to check with the cable provider first to see if it is included. If it is not, you can add that to your cable package. Movies in the past have been Night of the Creeps, Nightwing, Prince of Darkness, Warlock, Resident Evil and Leprechaun.