Alright, you big radioactive lizard, that’s it. We’re ONLY at what, the THIRD new TV ad and it’s already a “nothing stops it, not even the bomb!” moment? Well, okay then. I guess that’s a good thing, right? Although I’d have personally preferred a gag clip insert of Slim Pickens riding that H-bomb down to glory from Dr. Strangelove to no effect (this time) just to get people who remember that film chuckling and those who’ve never seen it (but need to) wondering where the hell that scene came from. Yaaaa-hooooo! Anyway, Godzilla opens here in the US on May 16, 2014.
(thanks, Joblomovienetwork!)
Hmmm. Usually, these modern sci-fi/horror flicks don’t phase me one bit because it’s all the same thing they try for and often fail at miserably on a few fronts. I do like what I see here so far from Alien Abduction, although I may be the only one who finds films about alien abductions pretty dull in general (sorry, Barney and Betty Hill!). That said, this is one to watch for me when it suddenly pops up on cable a few months from now. The sci-fi/horror genre certainly needs a good kick to the pants, so here’s to hoping this one delivers the goods and then some…
Of course, the ultimate in-joke is being IN a theater watching Godzilla when there’s a Godzilla-like event that suddenly happens outside (eek). What with all these natural and man-made disasters taking place on a seemingly regular scale, I think I may hold out on seeing this in a theater after all. I’d probably be the first one out the door to run screaming down the street into a manhole or newly opened fault line break anyway (which would make it into the inevitable Hollywood movie that pops up about whatever event takes place because SOME people never believe the news or what’s in a work of non-fiction until they see it recreated with actors they “know”. Now, hmmmm… who’s going to play me in that disaster flick? I’ll take some ideas now in case I’m not around to see the profits from the movie…
Say “Hello” to the Amazon Fire! Sure, it’s only $99 and does that newfangled streaming thing everyone with a proper connection loves (despite some silly issues), but that extra $40 for a controller to play games? Bleah. Amazon could have subsidized that or at least made it cheaper, as I can see multiplayer gaming for families in the same room getting expensive with a few controllers (which this thing hopefully supports). Anyway, If I were to get one of these, I’d only use it for gaming, as the movies I like tend to not be on a streaming service at all or show up, but then disappear after a while, making it tough to have an actual “library” one could call one’s own.
I have a few other issues with this box (and any other “streaming” box out there), but I know most of you are drooling and whipping out that credit card. Well, if you DO grab this, make sure to shell out for that controller and ABSOLUTELY buy Telltale Games’ wonderful, well-written and frightening as hell The Walking Dead game. It’s quite playable even if you’ve never picked up a controller before and if you’re a fan of the comic and/or TV show, it’s a MUST because it introduces a whole new set of characters and situations that will have you hooked in right from the start.
Me, I’ll be hoofing it like hell to some high ground or way out of town while you’re down at getting stomped upon level doing semaphore with a traffic cone on each arm hoping the big guy can decipher them and not crack up before he puts a foot on your head. I bet that zombie apocalypse bag you have in the hall closet has nothing useful against Godzilla at all unless you thought of making CHOKING HAZARD T-shirts and that monster can read. Which gos back to the sense of humor thing, mind you. What DOES Godzilla find funny these days? Inquiring minds want to know!
So, here we go again on a few fronts. Yeah, yeah, Hercules has been in the movies for decades and sure, this new film trailer hits all the notes it needs to in terms of the usual action movie bullet points. On the other hand, color me bored and waiting for the cable premiere because this myth has been busted too many times previously in some eternally wretched Hercules flicks. Lou Ferrigno and Luigi Cozzi still hold the golden crown as far as the gold standard of awfulness when it comes to the hero. But at least both films stand up in terms of sheer camp craziness. I mean, in the first film, Herc throws a BEAR he’s just punched out into SPACE which turns it into a constellation for cryin’ out loud! You just can’t top that no matter how many light years better your special effects are. As usual, we’ll see what happens with this newer flick, but I don’t have my hopes up that it will be as fun (or funny) as any of the others.
Since we’re now in summer blockbuster mode something like eleven months out of the year, I may as well post this big new trailer for the big new upcoming mutant-packed extravaganza. As a fan of the original story arc this comes from but not of all the movies, my feeling are mixed even though this does look quite thrilling. I’m probably jaded thanks to all these CG effects taking up so much screen time and real estate in films such as this that with few exceptions, these films start to all look alike. That said, somehow Marvel has yet to find how to make ALL its special effects packed films equally worthy of a trip to the theater as they’ve been hit and miss the last few years. Although it seems they’ll be getting plenty of opportunities to flood cinemas, TV, and any other device that can get a program up and running with caped and non-caped heroes galore 24 hours a day, so I guess that trend will continue for a while. Is this a good thing? Hmmmmm… for me, the jury’s out (way out). But remember kids… man cannot live by end of the world scenarios and last minute super rescues alone, as you’ll soon find out. Hell, the newspapers are chock full of REAL life doom and gloom as it is!
“Whichever way you turn, fate sticks out a foot to trip you.”
I’ve seen Detour so many times since I first discovered it back in 1992 that I sometimes have dreams about it that stick to the plot but play from different viewpoints. If you thank that’s loopy, guess what? I’ve actually dreamed numerous times about writing a review of this and posting it here to the point that I even wrote a post last year saying I thought I did. Yeah, I got it bad for this one. Sure, it’s got its technical issues and every print I’ve seen from film to tape to DVD over about thirty years looks as if it’s been dragged under a bus going cross country on four flat tires. But the combined efforts of writer/screenwriter Martin Goldsmith, director Edgar G. Ulmer, actors Tom Neal, (the aptly named) Ann Savage, Edmund MacDonald, Claudia Drake along with composer Leo Erdody, editor George McGuire and cinematographer Ben Kline all add up to what I think is one of the greatest American film noir movies ever made (warts and all).
Granted, if you’re picky or looking for perfection and haven’t see this before, as an exercise in Moviemaking 101 this may not wow you much thanks to its numerous technical flaws and what could be called a one-note performance by the lead actor. On the other hand, the film’s simple story and how it’s told hits that sweet spot in the brain as it delivers its karmic blows to its principals and leaves the residue of cheap diner food, cheaper booze, cigarettes and bile swirling around in your skull. “Poverty Row” budget and short shooting schedule aside, the film’s impact is immediate and lasting thanks to the short run time and every shot meaning something (yes, even the bad ones). I bet you’ll get it bad when you see this for the first time, too… Continue reading →
So, today I was bad, bad, bad. Well, just bad, but I think I tend to over-magnify stuff for excess emphasis. Anyway, I needed to go over some older posts and start the process of re-writing or re-rewriting them so some can be used as parts of a few upcoming blogathons I’m participating in. Some of the older posts are a wee bit on the short side and need a bit of expanding, so that’s what’s going on. Or WAS supposed to be going on.
Anyway, I was going over a few posts and then got distracted with a movie I’d wanted to see, so that was that for productivity for most of the afternoon. Yeah, it happens. NO, it wasn’t Star Crash, I was sidetracked by (Oh, hell nope!). That’s just to show my desire to stop time for long enough to do all the crap I need to do and feel HAPPY at the end of each day. Eh, I’ll figure this all out eventually. I still want a damn time machine, though.
As I update the older posts, I guess I’ll tweet them out (which means they’ll pop up on facebook as well). Keep an eye peeled…
How amusing that I had a dream about Zardoz and TCM (Turner Classic Movies) just so happens to be showing it this evening (EDIT: Okay, at 2am Sunday). John Boorman’s wonderfully gorgeous and somewhat, okay, EXTREMELY bizarre follow up to the 1972 smash Deliverance was and is a weird mix of science fiction, black comedy and violence that baffled many critics and moviegoers of the time and while it’s a more popular cult film today with a loyal following, still has a polarizing effect on a few fronts. If anything, the film’s oddball mix of impressive and cheap visual effects and some stunning cinematography go a long way in holding one’s interest as the plot zooms all over the landscape.
From the killer opening sequence with a floating stone head issuing marching orders (“The GUN is GOOD! The PENIS is EVIL!”) to some well-armed men (well, the stone head is the one arming them with PILES of firearms), to one of those well-armed men (Sean Connery!) sneaking aboard that head to do a bit of surprising disposal work (how do you kill a “god”? Here’s one way if you need a hint!), Zardoz continually surprises, even when it’s getting too meta for its own good. Then again, that seems to be what Boorman wanted to do with this film. This is one of those experimental flicks that does an excellent job of making you pay attention right from the start and slowly draws you deeper into its odd characters and world. Granted, your suspension of disbelief is being kidney punched the entire way through, but such is art and films such as this one… Continue reading →
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 