Tagged: film

REVIEW: Cleopatra

CleopatraThere is a sumptuousness and exotic look and feel to the Ancient Egyptian culture that I have always been drawn to. The clothing, décor, architecture – it has always been utterly fascinating and their monarchies and dynasties are as rich as any in Europe. One of the best biographies I read in the last few years was Stacy Schiff’s Cleopatra, which mined all known existing records about the Queen and attempts to weave together the most likely version of her storied life and death.

On the other hand, the 1963 spectacle of the same name merely adapted Plutarch’s version of events. Today, Cleopatra has become shorthand for a bloated misfire of a film and is always cited as the one that nearly caused 20th Century-Fox to crumble. The studio survived and has had the last laugh, making a fortune off the film ever since. Out now is the overdue Blu-ray edition and they have lavished much attention on the production so it’s the best version you will find for home viewing.

Starring Elizabeth Taylor, she was in her thirties and at her optimal beauty, making her the ideal lead for the movie. Her stardom was such that the studio was willing to plunk a cool million for her services, setting a new record for actors. They budgeted $2 million for the film but the costly production swelled to a then-record $44 million (over $325 million today) until the next $44-million record film budget, which was, of course, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The film was a labor of love for Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who codirected, cowrote, and coproduced the film. While it made headlines for Taylor’s salary and affair with costar Richard Burton, it also brought home four Oscar Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Effects, Special Visual Effects so it couldn’t have been all bad. And it’s not.

1963_cleo_rex_harrisonWe start in 48 B.C. and end with her death in 30 B.C. and during that time Cleopatra VII rose to rule then oversaw her country’s absorption into the Roman Empire, loving Julius Caesar while using that relationship to protect her people. Gaius Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) chases Pompey to lush Egypt, just in time for a civil conflict as Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII (Richard O’Sullivan) has sent his sister Cleopatra out of the capital city of Alexandria. Caesar and Cleopatra meet, scheme together, and in the process, fall in love, changing the fate of two governments.

They produce just one son, Caesarion, a living symbol of the two countries’ enduring unity but he is so besotted with the Queen, he neglects his duties back home long enough to stir talk of rebellion. In time, he goes home and soon after she comes to visit, he is named dictator for life and subsequently assassinated. Mark Anthony (Richard Burton), the new ruler, eventually follows Cleopatra back to Egypt where they start their own torrid affair, allowing Caesar’s nephew Octavian (Roddy McDowall) to plot his own overthrow.

Taylor 2 Cleopatra

This is a long film, with a lot of lingering views of temples, pyramids, courts, and costumes. Taylor had a record-setting 62 costume changes in this production and we must pause to notice every bangle. The pacing, thanks to two editors, is a little uneven and 20th balked at the length, trimming after its premiere and destroying much of the cut footage. What we get is the 151 minute New York premiere edition, complete with Overture, Entr’acte and Exit Music.

Thankfully, the restoration is brilliant and gorgeous to watch. The colors are vibrant and the action a pleasure to watch. Similarly, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a match so you can hear the sand crushed beneath the sandals.

Given the film’s running time, it is split over two discs but comes with a ton of extras starting with an examination of  Cleopatra’s Missing Footage (9:00), wherein film historian Brad Geagley and 20th Century Fox film archivist Schawn Belston take you through the history.

In Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman, the studio CEO reviews the tortured production, trying to separate truth from myth (30). Cleopatra Through the Ages: A Cultural History offers us Professor and Chair of Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara Stuart Tyson Smith as he talks about the historic personage (8:00).

The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence lets us glimpse at the work retinaed by publicists Jack Brodsky, based in Rome, and Nathan Weiss, in New York until they swapped places. were the publicists for 20th Century Fox during the epic production of Cleopatra. One was stationed in Rome, the other in New York – then they switched places.

cleopatra-1963-300x199You also get the 2001 Commentary track with  Chris Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz, costar Martin Landau and publicist Jack Brodsky.

The second disc offers up Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood, a two-hour film about the making of Cleopatra, which explains that the blockbuster was competing with television, keeping the studios relevant to audiences. As narrated by the great Robert Culp, this makes compelling viewing.

The Fourth Star of Cleopatra is a ten minute short showing some behind the scenes footage of the massive set constructions.

Hard to believe they still had Fox Movietone News in the 1960s, but the disc has footage from the  New York and Hollywood Premieres. (7:00 min).  Finally, all three movie trailers are included.

REVIEW: Captain America (1990)

Captain America Collector's EditionShout! Factory has released a Blu-ray edition of the 1990 Captain America movie, a year after a DVD of the much-maligned film was released as a part of MGM’s Limited Edition collection. They deserve kudos for a nice, clean transfer but clarity and high definition cannot help a really weak story hampered by a low budget production.

As I wrote last year:

The film had actually been announced in the early 1980s from Cannon Films but in the intervening years, the studio folded and the right shifted a bit before Menahem Golan mounted it under his 21stCentury banner.

The movie languished in development until the rights were about to expire so director Albert Pyun urged Golan to let him take a crack at getting the film made for about $6 million. Marvel actually approved the script that was shot and Pyun loved its take on America’s fascination with heroism. If only some of that love found its way onto the screen.

The movie was shot in 1989 but wasn’t released theatrically and was finally dumped on video in 1992, where it was met with derisive laughter from comic book fans.

The horrific script from Stephen Tolkin (from a story by Tolkin and Lawrence J. Block) pays lip service to the source material and leaves you scratching your head at the shoddy story construction and utter lack of characterization. Significant changes were made, none of the better starting with giving Steve Rogers polio as an excuse to keep him from enlisting. Then there’s the Red Skull (Scott Paulin) now an Italian fascist, which never made sense. On the other hand, both this film and the current blockbuster made the unnecessary dramatic change in linking Cap and the Skull by having them both be products of the Super Solider formula.

There’s Matt Salinger as Cap/Rogers who is anything but the American ideal and fairly wooden in performance, perhaps because they give him nothing to work with. His first mission leads to the rocket that sent him to an icy sleep in Alaska. He’s found and inexplicably breaks free and rather than ask his rescuers anything, he runs all the way to Canada. There’s little time spent on his cultural isolation and his interactions with others is laughably minimal.

He makes his way back to Venice where he finds the love of life, Bernie Stewart (Kim Gillingham), an old woman, married and mother to Sharon (also Gillingham). He and Sharon then begin running around the world (without cash or passports or any hindrances) in search of the Skull, who apparently heads up an international cabal that directs the world’s affairs. Their current target is President Thomas Kimball (Ronny Cox), who as a boy actually saw Cap in action and has remained fixated on him ever since. He is targeted for his global environmental initiative which inexplicably would hurt the cabal’s interests.

The action is meager, the plotting a joke, the dialogue is flat, and at no time does the script allow the characters breath and expand, absorb the impact of what has been said and done. Fine character actors like Ned Beatty and Darren McGavin are utterly wasted here with nothing to do.

 

The film is supposedly about hero worship hence Kimball and Beatty’s boyhood fascination with Captain Midnight while the film also has references to the Human Torch and Superman which are oddities. Another missed opportunity is the relationship between the Skull (Scott Paulin) and his adult daughter, Valentina de Santis (Francesca Neri), who is dispatched as his assassin. She and her team of well-groomed killers are more joke than threat.

Much as the film looks better than it has since release, it also sounds pretty good, too. The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix makes you long for a proper soundtrack. Shout! deserves brownie points for getting Pyun and Salinger to review this project for a 20 minute bonus feature, new to the disc. Both are fairly honest in their assessment that the film didn’t work although Pyun felt it would have been better with a bigger budget but trust me, it all starts from the story which was weak to behind with.

Paramount Unveils Star Trek Into Darkness SmartGlass Function

1-home-screen-e1369153622642-9032407Just in time for the theatrical debut of the highly-anticipated STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, Xbox 360 owners can experience director J.J. Abrams’ original STAR TREK like never before with Xbox SmartGlass.

Using a SmartGlass-enabled tablet or phone, the STAR TREK SmartGlass experience delivers behind-the-scenes content, deleted scenes, concept art of the U.S.S. Enterprise and more, all time-synched with the film.  The second screen intelligently interacts with the Xbox 360 to elevate the entertainment experience, allowing viewers to boldly go inside the phenomenal reimagining.  Plus, the STAR TREK SmartGlass application even includes a sneak peek at one of the biggest movie events of the summer: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS.

The STAR TREK SmartGlass experience is available now on Xbox 360.

Lots of Looks at Now You See Me

Now you see Me is an intriguing, showy looking film opening on May 31, opposite After Earth. The story pits an elite FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against “The Four Horsemen”, a super-team of the world’s greatest illusionists.  “The Four Horsemen” pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.To entice you, Summit has released the first four minutes of the film along with other clips and cool looking one-sheets.

Additionally, Summit recently announced their Now You See Me “Diamond Heist Challenge.”

In this magical challenge, all thirteen diamond playing cards – from the Ace through the King – have been hidden in various places online, from various websites to social media platforms, even in the New York Times crossword puzzle from Friday, May 3 (your first hint!).  Like the characters in the film, players will have to look closely to uncover the mystery.  Discover the hidden diamonds and join the ranks of the world’s greatest illusionists!

Once each of the thirteen diamond playing cards are found, participants can unlock exclusive video content featuring the stars of NOW YOU SEE ME utilizing Blippar, the image-recognition phone app. Each of the thirteen images, whenBlipped, will unveil a unique video.

Here is how to Blipp:

1) Download the free Blippar app from the iTunes App Store or Google Play.

2) Open the app, point your phone at the image and have it fill your screen.

3) Watch the image come to life and view the exclusive video.

Participants can find a list of clues here: NowYouSeeMeMovie.com/DiamondHeistChallenge.

Watch the Instruction Video for more information: 

A series of motion posters featuring the characters were also released.

THE SHOWMAN

THE ESCAPE ARTIST 

THE MENTALIST

THE SLEIGHT 

THE AGENT

THE DEBUNKER 

THE MONEY 

THE ROOKIE

New Who Review: “Nightmare in Silver”

Not since Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park has the an amusement park been made the center of a thriller so perfectly.  The return (and re-threatening) of a classic villain, a heck of a guest cast and a script by Neil Gaiman.  Seems like a dream, but mix it all together and it’s a…

NIGHTMARE IN SILVER
by Neil Gaiman
Directed by Stephen Woolfenden

After last week’s last-minute extortion, Clara’s charges Angie and Artie are granted a trip on the TARDIS to Hedgewick’s World, the greatest amusement park ever.  But hidden beneath it is a dangerous secret – A vast sleeping army of Cybermen, under repair and improvement for a thousand years…and they are ready to return.

GUEST STAR REPORT

Warwick Davis (Porridge) has a list of genre longer than … OK, it’s long.  Starting off with Wicket in Return of the Jedi and Willow Ufgood in the film of the same name, he’s been the star of an amazing list of sci-fi and horro films.  He’s been featured in the Harry Potter films, and was Marvin in the film adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Most recently he was the star of Ricky Gervais’ latest project Life’s Too Short, where he played an over the to version of himself.

Jason Watkins (Webley) is a very busy comedic actor in Britain with quite a resume in genre work. He played Herrick on the British version of Being Human and DI Gilks in Dirk Gently. He was featured in Psychoville, the latest production of Sheersmith and Pemberton from The League of Gentlemen, and just worked twice with the delightful Miranda hart on Call the Midwife and her own show Miranda.

Since Neil Gaiman (writer) last wrote a Doctor Who script (last year’s The Doctor’s Wife, he’s written four of five new books (including children’s books [[[Chu’s Day]]] and [[[Fortunately, the Milk]]]), his novel [[[Neverwhere]]] was adapted for BBC Radio, and he’s probably won a few more awards (including the Hugo for the aforementioned Doctor Who script). He’s in the middle of what he calls his last book signing tour, and is still quite happily married with the musician and internet-enrager Amanda Palmer.

THE MONSTER FILES – The Cybermen are certainly The Doctor’s greatest enemy after The Daleks.  Originally from the tenth planet in our solar system, Mondas, the planet left the sun’s orbit, and to survive, the denizens of the planet began to replace their body parts with mechanical replacements, eventually becoming more machine than humanoid.  They fought The Doctor though many eras, taking many forms as their systems adapted and improved.

In the parallel universe known as “Pete’s world”, the Cybermen were created on Earth, by over-reaching scientist John Lumic as an improvement to the human race.  Things went bad quickly, and soon the world faced a global war with the Cybermen, one they believed they won.  They eventually crossed over to our world a few times, presumably meeting and allying (alloying?) with their Mondasian counterparts, eventually forming the version we see in this episode.

BACKGROUND BITS AND BOBS – Trivia and production details

This episode owes a debt to several past Cybermen adventures.  Neil Gaiman noted that he found the Troughton episode Tomb of the Cybermen to be the most scary of the cyber-adventures, and this story parallels it in many ways.  Both are set many years after the Cybermen were believed destroyed forever, and both feature a massive armory of Cybermen in suspension, awaiting awakening.

A chess-playing Cyberman was the center of one of Mark Platt’s Big Finish Audio adventures, The Silver Turk.  Both Platt and Gaiman’s reference the original (fake) chess-playing automaton, also known as The Turk, run by a chess master hidden within, as Porridge did here.  One of Platt’s plots was used as the base of the first new series adventure, Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel.  Russell T. Davies made sure Platt was paid in full as if he’d written the TV script, and he received a “Thanks to” line in the credits.  The Turk was also the inspiration for the Clockwork Droids in The Girl in the Fireplace.

“Or don’t you have the processing power?” Even the last trick is a classic Sci-Fi move – give the computer an impossible problem to solve and it applies more and more power to solve it.  Spock told the ship’s computer to solve for Pi on Star Trek, and Arthur Dent almost killed everyone on the Heart of Gold when it asked the Nutrimatic machine if it knew why he wanted to drink dried leaves in a cup, boiled. As is true of all literature, it’s not what tools you choose to use, but how well you use them, and Neil uses them expertly.

UPGRADE COMPLETE – More than a few science-fiction fans have drawn parallels between the Cybermen and the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation.  The similarity was brought into te light in the recent Doctor Who / ST:TNG crossover in IDW comics, where the Borg and the Cybermen formed a brief alliance.  Here, we see the Cybermen take a bit more of a page from the Borg playbook, with the rapid adaptation and instantaneous assimilation of human beings.

TAKE MY ARMS, I’LL NEVER USE THEM… – Matt Smith’s portrayal of the battle in his head was dramatic and well-done, but the ever so slightly over the top portrayal of the Cyber-planner made me think of Steve Martin playing half of Lily Tomlin in All of Me.  And comic fans will note a parallel evolution in Dan Slott’s current run of Superior Spider-Man, with Peter Parker fighting for control of his mind and body, right down to trying to write messages on nearby pads.

JUST GIVE US ALL YOUR… – Gold has been a steadily growing threat to the Cybermen even since first mention of it as a weakness in the Tom Baker adventure Revenge of the Cybermen.  Originally it coated their respiration systems, causing asphyxiation.  As time passed, gold seemed to affect them as badly as silver did a werewolf.  Here, even in this advanced form, the weakness to gold survived, still in a physical fashion, allowing The Doctor to use it on the exposed circuitry to short out the Cyber-Planner’s control of his mind.

“The Biggest and best Amusement park there will ever be” – Considering the amusement parks that have been mentioned on the series, that’s saying quite a bit.  Disneyland Clom featured the Warpspeed Death Ride, as mentioned in The Girl Who Waited.  There’s been more than a few mentions of Disneyland in the series – a bunch of alien tourists were trying to go to Disneyland and ended up in Wales in Delta and the Bannermen.  The seventh Doctor and Ace visited The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.

“Let me show you my collection” – They raided the prop closet to fill the sets of Hedgewick’s world – there’s a slightly refitted version of the Doctor’s spacesuit from The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe, a ventriloquist dummy from The God Complex, and various aliens from Rings of Akhaten.  There’s a few Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood alumni as well, including a Shansheeth, a Uvdoni, and a Blowfish.

“Do any of you play Chess?” – The Doctor certainly does.  He claims the Time Lords invented Chess; it’s not impossible as one of the traps in The Five Doctors resembled a giant chessboard.  He’s played regular games with K-9, and a high-stakes (and voltage) game against Gantok, an agent of The Silence in The Wedding of River Song.

“You are beautiful” – The Doctor has made a bit of a habit of complimenting particularly well-built enemies.  He similarly admired the Clockwork Droids in Girl in the Fireplace, and the werewolves in Tooth and Claw.

“See You Next Wednesday” – Fans of John Landis perked up at that line – it’s a running gag from his films.  Originally a line from the video call in 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s been a movie poster, a film shown in Feelaround, dialogue in a horror movie, and more than a few other things in his various films.

“The Cyberiad” – As well as having a lovely Roman sound, mimicking several other terms the Cybermen use like Legion, it’s also a deliberate tip of the hat to the classic Stanislaw Lem novel.

“You’re deleting yourself from history.  You realize you can be reconstructed from the holes you left?” – Somewhat verifying the theme that’s been coming up most of the season, following up from The Doctor’s desire to “step back into the shadows”.  But it’s important to note that the first place that was done was in the Dalek database, and it was done by…Oswin Oswald.

BIG BAD REPORT / CLEVER THEORY DEPARTMENT –

“I feel like a monster sometimes” – Warwick Davis delivers a solid performance in this episode, referring to the actions of The Emperor in the third person, and really getting across the heaviness of the crown.  And once again we get a reference to the term “Monster”, that we’ve heard in several episodes. And once again, his actions could easily parallel the way The Doctor feels about himself.

“She’s not our mother” – I can’t help but notice somewhat of a similarity between Angie and young Mels, as played by Maya Glace-Green in Let’s Kill Hitler.  The sass, the overuse of the word “stupid”, but yet the interest in seeing the TARDIS.  And when Clara describes her as being “full of surprises” one has to wonder if there’s not one more coming…

“You’re the boss” – And in this episode…she is.  She’s given charge of the Imperial platoon, and does a VERY good job of taking charge.

“You’re the impossible girl” – While it’s not the first time she learned about The Doctor’s fascination with her, it’s the first one she remembers, presuming she indeed doesn’t recall the events of Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.  And with the finale only days away, we clearly haven’t got long to wait to learn more.

NEXT TIME ON DOCTOR WHO – The Question is asked.  Who will hear the answer? The Name of the Doctor, this weekend.

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Ray Harryhausen, 1920-2013

ray_harryhausen-5886923He brought out dreams to life.

Raymond “Ray” Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) died today at age 92, leaving behind a legacy of pioneering special effects work and a filmography that has deeply influenced writers, artists, and filmmakers for generations.

Dubbed by Starlog as “The Man Who Work Miracles”, he was one of the most influential movie makers who was himself inspired by Willis O’Brien’s stop-motion animation in King Kong. He took O’Brien’s efforts and improved upon them, branding it as Dynamation.

mjy0090-8864937Although he resided in England for the majority of his adult life, Harryhausen was born in Los Angeles. King Kong was the spark that set him on a course towards a career in film, meticulously creating miniatures that could be photographed a few frames at a time followed by the tiniest of movements, followed by more frames, until the model appeared to move across the screen. This was done with artistry and engineering know-how long before Industrial Light and Magic brought computer-aided technology to the process.

When the legend met the student, they bonded quickly and Harryhausen was given pointers to improve his work through trial, error and art classes. Along the way, he befriended fellow Angelino Ray Bradbury, just at the beginning of his fantastic career. Little wonder they both belonged to Forrest J. Ackerman’s Science Fiction League, linking the trio until their deaths.

beast-from-20000-fathoms02-5938313Like O’Brien, Harryhausen strove for realistic creatures to confront the live-action performers, drawing inspiration from the myths and legends familiar to people the world over. He began his professional career with George Pal, contributing to his series of Puppetoon shorts. World War II intervened and Harryhausen was assigned to the Special Services Division, continuing to make movies. This proved an invaluable tutorial and lab for experimenting with his animation techniques.

Soon after leaving the service, he embarked on the first of several dream projects that would dot his career. He did some demo footage based on H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds but the project never materialized. Instead, he was hired to work on Mighty Joe Young, letting the master and student work together and earning them earning them the Academy Award in 1949 for best Special Effects. Harryhausen was hired solo to provide the effects to The Monster from Beneath the Sea. When a connection was made to Bradbury’s story “The Fog Horn”, the film was renamed The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, the story’s original title and was released to acclaim and box office success in 1953.

By this point, Harryhausen had developed the technique that saw him shoot the actors then animate the creatures, splitting the image between foreground and background, the latter becoming a rear projection with the models before it. With mattes, the images were combined and Dynamation was born, although it was named later.

thegoldenvoyageofsinbad-2-8624227Harryhausen continued to evolve his work and then made the leap to color with The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in 1958. By now, he was partnered with producer Charles H. Schneer – beginning with It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) — who helped him perfect the shift to color, experimenting with different stocks until the look was right. Given the requirements of the models, Harryhausen became far more intimately involved in the story than most effects men ever did, ultimately co-directing many features although Director’s Guild rules denied him his proper credits.

The Sinbad series of films found an eager audience in the later 1950s and early 1960s as all things fantastic played well on screen. It offered adults, and their children, a wholesome escape from the Cold War tensions. It wasn’t all fantasy and monsters as Harryhausen and Schneer also produced several science fiction tales, such as 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957).

jasonandtheargonauts11-300x213They continued to produce works that stretched the imagination until 1963 and what is considered by many his finest outing, Jason and the Argonauts. Here, there was the amazing complex battle with the skeletons and the multi-armed gorgon. Little wonder that Tom Hanks, who first saw it as a kid, proclaimed years later, “Some people say Casablanca or Citizen Kane…I say Jason and the Argonauts is the greatest film ever made!”

Despite this pinnacle of technological achievement, tastes were changing and he endured a series of box office failures. After losing his contract with Columbia Pictures, he wound up in England working for Hammer Films’ One Million Years B.C. (1967). That film’s success allowed him to on to make The Valley of Gwangi (1969), a labor of love considering it was O’Brien’s unrealized dream project.

Harryhausen endured a lean 1970s, kept in the minds of readers thanks to Ackerman’s devoted retrospectives in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Finally, thanks to Star Wars, inspired in part by Harryhausen’s work, the appetite for fantasy was back and he revived Sinbad beginning with The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.  This and its sequel Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger were suddenly feeling dated and jokey, not at all what modern day audiences found palatable.

gwangi_curious-1386283He put everything he had into his Greek myth opus Clash of the Titans (1981), working with protégés Steve Archer Jim Danforth, much as O’Brien mentored him. With a star-studded cast and the addition of the impressive Kraken, the film was a last hurrah but for audiences now used to computer-generated effects, it looked and felt dated. Harryhausen was effectively retired, like it or not.

Thankfully, his work was rediscovered with h advent of magazines like Starlog, the rise of cable television, and a new generation of fans enchanted by his creations. As a result, he released several lovely books about his career:  Film Fantasy Scrapbook, An Animated Life, The Art of Ray Harryhausen, and A Century of Model Animation. With the arrival of home video, Harryhausen personally oversaw the restoration and transfer of his films, from VHS to Blu-ray.

Clash-Of-The-Titans-Kraken-300x208Harryhausen relocated to England in 1960 and in 2005, donated his archive, some 50,000 pieces, to the National Media Museum in Bradford, England. His efforts have not gone unrewarded such as being given the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for “technological contributions [which] have brought credit to the industry” in 1992, handed to him by Bradbury, and a special BAFTA award, delivered by director Peter Jackson.

Hollywood didn’t forget Harryhausen either, with Columbia’s parent, Sony, naming their main screening theater after him and his receipt of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

His influence and spirit will live on for generations to come thanks to his films being available to enjoy and the generations of filmmakers he inspired.

 

GRIND PULP PODCAST LAUNCHES!

Samaritan by Bobby Nash

The Grind Pulp Podcast is a new review podcast that has released their first episode. In addition to discussing New Pulp, the podcast also reviews New Pulp stories and movies, including Samaritan by Pulp Ark Award Winning Author, Bobby Nash.

About Grind Pulp Podcast:

Grind Pulp Podcast was created for the discussion of film and speculative fiction selections related to Grind Pulp. What is Grind Pulp? We’re so glad you asked. Imagine you’ve woken up beneath and overpass surrounded by bottles of rotgut with a mirror shard in your hand. Your clothes are soaked in neon green blood, and your pants are down around your ankles. You pull them up and begin to wonder what wild ride brought you here. That wild ride is Grind Pulp.

The Grind Pulp Podcast is hosted by Andrew Crevier, Jeronimo Brown, and James Malone. Listen to episode 1 here.

Official Trailer for Horror Convention Documentary FANTASM Now Online

fantasm-kyle-kuchta-e1367340389771-4415692Filmmaker Kyle Kuchta has released the official trailer for his forthcoming horror convention documentary Fantasm. <a href=”

Fantasm analyzes the tight-knit community that attends horror conventions in an exploration of how the genre brings fans together. “Fantasm was filmed over six conventions, and I felt myself growing closer and closer to the genre that we all love so much,” says Kuchta. “It means a lot to be able to share that love with people, and that’s what Fantasm is all about.”

In addition to a variety of devoted fans, Fantasm features insight from popular horror actors and filmmakers, including Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Tom Atkins (Escape from New York), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2), Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger) and more.

With production complete, Kuchta is currently focused on editing Fantasm. The documentary will be submitted to film festivals in the fall, with an official premiere to be announced. An abridged version of the film will screen for free at Syracuse University’s Shemin Auditorium as part of the school’s Class of 2013 Film Showcase on May 4th.

New Who Review – Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

  • News
  • April 29, 2013

were_going_to_the_centre_of_the_tardis-5302149

She’s the only character on the show to appear in almost every episode.  She’s the TARDIS and she’s as important to the series as The Doctor himself.  So it’s nice when we get a story that features her  in a major way.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE TARDIS
by Stephen Thompson
Directed by Mat King

Trying to get Clara and the TARDIS to get along,  The Doctor tries letting her fly the ship, shutting off some of the higher more complex functions…like the shields.  This exposes the ship to outside detection, and detected it gets, but space salvage collectors the Van Baalen Brothers.  Using an illegal magna-grab system, they grab the TARDIS, causing a massive overload in the ship, one that flings The Doctor out of the doors, and Clara rolling back deep into its corridors.  The Doctor is forced to engage the brothers to help him save Clara, and later, keep the TARDIS from exploding and destroying much of the universe.

The main threat of the episode is effectively a condensed version of the arc plot from Matt Smith’s first series – the destruction of the TARDIS causing a rift in time, and held in stasis by the TARDIS itself.  Even the solution – the Doctor telling himself what to do to fix it has been done in Moffat’s two-part short for Comic Relief Time and Space, and to a more in your face level, the earlier special Time Crash.

THE MONSTER FILES – The TARDIS is both the setting and primary antagonist of the episode, trying to keep itself safe as well as keep the Van Baalen Brothers powerless.  There have been a number of TARDIS-centric episodes of the series, in an attempt to give some glimpse into its workings. The Edge of Destruction was way back in the first series, and was the first opportunity to both open up the backstory of the show, and the first time it was suggested that the TARDIS was at least some form of sentience – it tries to warn the crew that it was heading back to the beginning of time. We got a mini-tour of the ship in The Masque of Mandragora in which we first see the second control room, and a very large boot cupboard.  The Invasion of Time promised a deep look inside the TARDIS as The Doctor must face invading Sontarans- alas, a strike meant that the planned TARDIS sets were never built, leaving them to film in a disused hospital. We saw sevela new rooms, including a wardrobe and the Zero Room in Castrovalva.  Neil Gaiman’s previous episode The Doctor’s Wife showed a lot of the interior of the ship, as well as a major insight into her character. One of the downloadable video games, simply titled TARDIS, gave a look at many of the rooms in the ship as well,

GUEST STAR REPORT

Steven Thompson (Writer) has admitted in interviews that he has a handful of dream episode he planned to pitch for the show, including a way to bring back the Krynoids from The Seeds of Doom. Moffat pithced this story to him, he decided it was a much better idea, and went off to write it. Thompson  has written three episodes of Sherlock, last coming over to Doctor Who for The Curse of the Black Spot.

BACKGROUND BITS AND BOBS – Trivia and production details

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div id=”article-copy”>A WHOLE LOT OF RUNNING – Last seen in the aforementioned The Doctor’s Wife, we get another iteration of the classic “endless corridor” gag in this episode.  Doctor Who is notorious for this set-up – a simple set of two or three corridors, set at an angle to each other, and with a bit of careful cinematography, you can make them look like an endless set of twists and turns.  At least a couple of these corridors were built right along with the new set – we see The Doctor head down one to look for his the garage in The Bells of Saint John.  In the case of The Doctor’s Wife, the corridors were built expressly for the episode.  They also knew the episode was coming, so they left the Tennant control room set standing expressly for its use.…AND A ROOM AND A ROOM – We get a fleeting look at the swimming pool (last seen in Invasion of Time), the library (and a VERY interesting book), and what looks like an observatory.  The Telescope within is very reminiscent to the light collection weapon from Tooth and Claw.  It’s likely that it’s just a quick re-use of the model by the special effects team as opposed to it being the actual device from that episode.WE NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY – In that storage room Clara enters we see The Doctor’s (and River’s) crib, one of Amy’s hand-crafted TARDIS toys, a magnifying glass used (among other times) by Donna Noble in The Unicorn and the Wasp, and an umbrella that many presume is Victorian Clara’s from The Snowmen, it actually more closely resembles the umbrella carried by the eighth Doctor in Paradise Towers. VOICES FROM THE PAST – As Bram starts to dismantle the console, we hear voices from past adventures, including Susan, The Third, Fourth, Ninth and Eleventh Doctors, a couple of the Companions, and finally Five, complaining that Ten had “changed the desktop settings”.  Susan was allegedly the one to name the TARDIS, but in later adventures the name seems to be an official one.  Pertwee was the first to use the term “dimensionally transcendental”, techspeak for “bigger on the inside.  Baker’s line is from <a href=”

target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> the single best explanation of  dimensional mechanics ever, given to Leela in Robots of Death.

“Basic mode? What, because I’m a girl?” – Well, The Doctor tried to teach Rose to fly the ship once, tho just as practice, and if she’d been actually been doing it, she’d have killed them both.  So for The Doctor to actually let Clara try flying the ship at all if quite a gesture of trust.  Glad it went so well.

“Well put – ‘Whoa’ and “awesome’.” – The Doctor describes the TARDIS as “infinite” – likely he’s either just engaging in hyperbole to make a point, or he’s referring to it being infinitely configurable.

“So that’s who…” – The mystery of The Doctor’s name has been a running theme for most of the current run of the show, and has become a major plot thread since the end of last season, supposedly culminating in the last episode of this series, The Name of the Doctor.  Theories have flown thick and fast as to the secret – is he hiding an act of evil in his past, or is he simply keeping it a secret so he can’t be traced back to his youth and destroyed?  In many cultures, knowing an enemy’s true name is the key to controlling or destroying them.

“The Eye of Harmony – exploding star in the act of becoming a black hole” – Mentioned just last week, the Eye of Harmony was first mentioned in The Deadly Assassin as the primary power source of the Time Lords.  Initially described as an actual black hole, here tweaked to be one in the act of a-borning.  Also, while initially described as being buried under the council chamber of Gallifrey, here we see the Eye is within, or at least accessible from, the interior of the TARDIS.

BIG BAD WOLF REPORT / CLEVER THEORY DEPARTMENT –

Many have expressed regret that all of the events have been forgotten by The Doctor’s companion and the Van Baalen brothers, to which I retort, exactly how much have been forgotten?  Gregor doesn’t remember the events of the adventure, but certainly recalls his shred of decency, resulting in him treating tricky with more…humanity.  And Clara says she doesn’t want to forget “all” of what’s happened.  She’s traveled in time enough that she’s potentially able to keep events erased from time in her mind, as The Doctor tries to do with Amy about Rory at the end of Cold Blood.

“What are you? A trick? A trap?” – For two weeks running we get validation that there’s nothing special about Clara, save for being a strong feisty girl.  Here she gets told about her other iterations, and doesn’t know a thing about them.  But again, it’s not known how much of this revelation she’ll remember.

NEXT TIME ON DOCTOR WHO – Mark Gatiss, Diana Rigg, Strax, Jenny and Madame Vastra.  The Crimson Horror, one weekend hence.

REVIEW: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

roger-rabbit-blu-ray-e1366753582488-7293084Every now and then an anniversary comes along and it makes you pause and realize just how much time has passed and how much the world has changed. Twenty-five years ago, the idea of mixing animation and live-action was nothing new, but using computer-enhanced animation was a fresh approach. Then there was the mind-blowing idea of mashing up every animated icon from the golden age of animation. Yes, Disney and Looney Tunes side by side. The Fleischer Studios creations hobnobbing with the others. It had never been attempted before and was cause for celebration.

In the two and a half decades that have passed, Disney’s attempt to turn Gary K. Wolf’s protagonist into a cartoon perennial has petered out. Roger Rabbit was first born in Wolf’s 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? and was turned into a major player thanks to Robert Zemeckis’ ambitious adaptation followed by a series of shorts featuring the bunny. Sadly, he hasn’t been seen since 1993’s “Trail Mix-up”.

As a result, the anniversary release of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is cause for celebration and reflection. First, the film has been released for the first time on Blu-ray and looks wonderful. The combo pack comes with both a Blu-ray and DVD but no digital copy. The murder mystery featured Bob Hoskins as the proverbial private eye hired to investigate the alleged murder, bringing him to Toontown and its wacky inhabitants. There, you could see Donald and Daffy, Bugs and Mickey; imagine the pairing and there it was. Thanks to the production prowess of Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, everyone happily signed off on their creations being a part of the fun.

roger-rabbit-e1366753617899-4637323The film nicely mixed the film noir aspects of the real world with the slapstick shenanigans of the denizens of Toontown. It’s 1947 and Eddie Valiant is spying on Roger’s wife, the curvaceous Jessica (voiced by Kathleen Turner). Given the challenge of crafting a unique, distinctive cartoon voice, Charles Fleischer succeeded admirably. Roger’s disbelief at the revelation that Jessica has been playing pat-a-cake with Acme Corporation owner Marvin Acme (the late, great Stubby Kaye) is filled with pathos. When Acme turns up dead, Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) accuses Roger of the crime and the chase is on.

Nearly stealing the show is cigar-chomping Baby Herman (voiced by Lou Hirsch), sick of being an infant after five decades. But he’s a sidekick in service to the bewildered Rabbit. And when the chips are done, Herman stands by roger’s side. The humans do a fine job treading the line between playing things straight and interacting with just enough exaggeration to work well with the toons.

The novel had the unique aspect of the characters speaking with tangible word balloons that become slid objects and fill the air (he also used comic strip characters rather than cartoon players). Instead, Zemeckis filled the screen with larger-than-life antics and cameos galore (my favorite may be Snow White helping the disguised wicked stepmother down the street).

The transfer to high definition is handled with the usual Disney excellence and makes for a very pleasurable viewing experience. The sound nicely compliments the video so sit back and enjoy.

There should be fresh bonus material but we’re left longing. Instead, the DVD material from the last DVD release is here, some of it upgraded to high def. As a result, you still get Audio Commentary from Zemeckis, Marshall, associate producer Steve Starkey, screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, and visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston; the three Roger Rabbit Shorts (“Tummy Trouble”, “Roller Coaster Rabbit”, and “Trail Mix-Up”); Who Made Roger Rabbit (10:55) featuring Fleischer; Deleted Scene: The Pig Head Sequence (5:30); Before and After (3:07),  live-action shots followed by their blended counterparts; Toon Stand-Ins (3:14), the on-set rubber puppets designed to guide the animators; Behind the Ears (36:37), the standard Making Of; On Set! (4:50), behind-the-scenes footage; and, Toontown Confidential, a separate pop-up track featuring text-based facts and trivia.

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