Random Film of the Day*: The Valley of Gwangi

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

*For the next week or so, I’m going to add a random film the great Ray Harryhausen worked on. The legendary special effects MASTER passed away on May 7, 2013 at age 92 in London and yes, the film world owes him more than they can ever repay…

Gwangi 1969’s The Valley of Gwangi is a bit of a bittersweet classic for many fans of Harryhausen’s work. By this time, stop motion animated fantasy films weren’t drawing the audiences they did ten years earlier, so this film didn’t get the promotion it deserved. It wasn’t the first cowboy meets dinosaur flick at all – that honor goes to 1956’s The Beast of Hollow Mountain, produced by Harryhausen’s mentor, Willis O’Brien.

While that older film’s effects weren’t done by O’Brien (and despite a few cool scenes, it showed), Harryhausen’s vision for the project (which O’Brien had wanted to do for decades) links the two masters together thanks to some incredible animation that ended up being the final dinosaur film he worked on in his career…
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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Promo: Seems Highly Interesting, Everything Looks Dynamic…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

Forget the first ten seconds of tease above, as I’m betting we don’t see any of the first-stringers from the Marvel movies on the show at all during Season One. This frees them up for the money-grabbing they’ll do in feature films and also helps lessen any potential continuity errors in future films. That said, a cameo or two would be cool from a certain group of Four Fantastic folks who should be getting a re-reboot attempt at a film soon enough. of course, I could be all wrong and we’ll see a hero of the week popping in just to get the fans glued to the TV for every episode in droves, but I think Joss Whedon can get it done without all the super-powered assistance. As usual, We. Shall. See. I’m still flipping a coin and deciding whether or not to watch the show or wait for the INEVITABLE home video version that packs in more features and less stupid pop-up ads for other shows, live feedback crawls or whatever other junk ABC and Marvel pack onto the screen that distracts from the action and storytelling…

As Long As YOUR Mother’s Day Wasn’t Like This, It Was An OK One…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

Hey, a little Bugs Bunny goes a long, loooooong way, folks. Of course, the next time you’re at your mother’s place or she’s with you and someone orders coffee or tea, I’m hoping this clip pops into your head at some point. She’ll understand perfectly if she remembers this old gem, but if not… well, you sure have some fast explaining to do, right?

Man of Steel TV Spot #4: Space Pilgrim vs. The World…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

So far, Warner Bros. has been considerably tame with these super-looking Man of Steel clips and trailers, but it looks as if that bubbling enthusiasm is slowing but surely going to be ramping up significantly as the weeks go by. As far as the film goes to some initially skeptical fans (yours truly included), we’re now at the color coded “This had better be REALLY good… or else, grrrr!” stage, but I think Snyder can handle any criticism at this point, as can the cast.

Hmmm.. Let’s see now, there’s going to be something like what, fifteen to twenty TV spots to go? Well, as long as the “less is more” approach is taken, I think we’ll see just enough to tempt us into theaters…

Random Film of the Week(end): Reptilicus

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, horrormovieshows!)

After the successes of Godzilla and other Japanese and American giant monster movies in the 1950’s it seems that a few other countries wanted to get aboard the money train and come up with their own flicks featuring mutated reptiles or other gigantic beasts. Now, Denmark is the absolute last place I’d think of when I think “giant slimy lizard terrorizing the masses!”, but it seems that a combination of national pride and the over-eagerness of its Danish producers to make a big splash onto the scene brought the world Reptilicus … and TWO versions of it, to boot.

If you were a kid growing up in the US in the late 60’s and 70’s, this one was a staple on a few TV channels across the country, popping up either in the afternoon or evening and sometimes late at night to not scare you at all. In fact, I can recall seeing this as a kid and being baffled, then bored, then amazed at how bad and cheap the movie looked, but still watching it to the very end each time…
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ABC & Marvel Say: “Don’t Yield, Back S.H.I.E.L.D.!” I Say “Hold On A Minute, Chief…”

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

Hmmm. I get the feeling that this would do much better as a pay cable series as opposed to being on ABC for a few reasons smarter comics fans can figure out, but let’s see if the disguise Disney/Marvel is putting up works. Sure, Arrow is doing fine on the CW, but I have a few issues with network and commercial cable TV in general (too many damn commercials, those stupid pop-ups that obscure the screen, censors and some parent groups being able to dictate content and so forth and so on, shows getting canned after less than a season once the ratings level off and the non-fans and curious are weeded out, et cetera) to get my hopes higher than a “Meh!” when all is said and done.

I’ll wait for the longer trailer to pop up on YouTube later tonight or tomorrow, as I’m sure as hell NOT going to pump the ratings up on a show they’re trying to get more people to watch (Once Upon A Time) just to see a longer clip. I have more interesting things to do at that time of the night (like finish some games I need to review). Of course, it’s GOT to be better than that action-packed but awesomely awful and hilarious Nick Fury flick with David Hasselhoff, right? RIGHT??