Transcendence: Johnny on the Spot Or The Yawnmower Man? We Shall See…

Posted on March 25, 2014 by geelw

You know, when I saw this trailer to Transcendence I actually laughed out loud because it reminded me of all those “cyberpunk” themed TV shows and films from the 90’s that for the most part didn’t so anything right other than be expensive and really weird unintentional sci-fi comedies. Sure, I know these movies have their followings and fans who groove on the cornball digital effects and “futuristic” scenarios (some by popular authors!), but come on, now. They just haven’t held up all that well even if you DO like them so much you gloss over their obvious flaws. Anyway, this flick seems to be going for a mix of The Lawnmower Man and War Games with a few other bits wired in for good measure and yeah, a “bald” Johnny Depp with wires sticking out of his head makes for a funky future Frankenstein’s monster for sure. Will it be a hit, a miss or a camp classic cable flick? We shall see, people… we shall see…

Random Film of the Week(end): Zardoz

Posted on March 22, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, tubesoda!)

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 →

Godzilla International Trailer: All You Need From Me On A Tuedsay Is A Big, Mad Lizard…

Posted on March 18, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, I’m kind of taking the day off to rest because my overtaxed brain has needed it for a bit and I didn’t listen to the signals for a few weeks, so here you go. Of course, after that toy reveal yesterday, I figured we’d HAVE to see a new trailer that shows the big radioactive lug doing his stuff. Nice, huh? I’m tempted to break my travel almost 24 miles both ways boycott to check this out, but we shall see. At this point, seeing new movies when they land in theaters is low on the totem pole unless I get preview passes. I’m not at all averse to holding out for the soon to be released home video version (which as I’ve noted previously, takes less than eight months for most films these days).

Godzilla Toy Reveal: MTV Makes Itself Relevant Again!

Posted on March 17, 2014 by geelw

Image: MTV

“Raaaar! Hi Kids!” is what this new Godzilla seems to be saying with a grin on his mug. Thanks to the fine folks at MTV News, here’s a long and loving first look at the 2014 version of this classic beastie from the upcoming film by director Gareth Edwards.

The figure (coming to you from Jakks Pacific) stands a whooping 23 inches tall and with the added tail length, measures a very respectable 43 inches long. Yikes, there goes the neighborhood indeed in terms of finding a shelf at home to put this hefty plastic monster on. Other than his weird feet and manly-muscly arms, I like the new look of the big guy a lot.

Image: MTV

It’s also got twelve points of articulation including a mouth that opens and closes (important when pretending to chow down on citizens and scenery) and a tail that swings back and forth (also important for keeping away helicopter-sized bugs and other flying things). This massive monster might seem too scary for the wee ones (it’s made for ages 3+, parents), but we all know that boys (and girls) just ADORE dinosaurs of any size, correct?

Besides, it still can’t top the KING of inappropriate movie licensed toys geared for the wrong age group, Kenner’s 18″ ALIEN figure from 1979. I had one of those babies, boxed and all, but it got swiped by my younger brother and wrecked/tossed out eventually while I was away and I’ve been kicking myself since for not buying a few when Gimbels was closing them out at a song. Ah well… you can’t change the past, people… but you CAN get started on the room-sized diorama you’re going to fit this new HUGE Godzilla in. Good luck on that project!

Random Film of the Week: The Colossus of New York

Posted on March 10, 2014 by geelw

The first time I saw Eugène Lourié’s The Colossus of New York, I think I was about ten or eleven and stayed up all night on a Friday or Saturday just because it came on at something like 2 or 3am. I recall falling asleep somewhere in the middle and waking up for the ending, disappointed that I missed whatever robot rampage the cloaked metal man went on. It turns out that I didn’t miss much of a “rampage” at all, although the thing did wreak some havoc on some poor important folks down at the United Nations before getting shut down for good without the military blowing it to scrap metal with a bunch of rockets.

Anyway, featuring some fine performances and an brilliant (and sometimes unsettling) piano score by Nathan Van Cleave, this is an interesting albeit flawed sci-fi film with a more human side to its fantastic bits thanks to the internal conflict of Jeremy Spensser (Ross Martin) who finds his brain in that bulky cyborg after he dies in an auto accident and his genius dad (Otto Kruger) and second genius (but somewhat devious) son (John Baragrey) decide to keep him living in that metal shell… Continue reading →

Godzilla Official Trailer: Now THAT’S More Like It (Times Ten Or So)…

Posted on February 25, 2014 by geelw

BOOM. Okay, I’ll take two tickets, please. Any doubts that a decent Godzilla can be made outside of Japan get squashed here and now. Toho is probably pretty happy with the results, I’m gathering. I can’t say anything more because I despise the usual speculation and trailer trawling that goes on as soon as something like this goes up. Slowing it down to poke and peck at individual frames is meaningless because the final film will be structured differently and may not even have everything seen in the trailer. But you can’t stop people who should be happy and move onto more productive stuff from getting all over-geeky and picky and foolish with their opinions, so I won’t even try. Eh, whatever. I just file the good trailers away into my Must See mental pile while the rest go into the Catch it on Cable stack where most films end up because they’re not worth traveling money and the ticket price to pay for. Godzilla, on the other hand? He’s worth the 11-mile or so trip I now need to take since there are NO theaters near me at all these days. Bleh.

Godzilla “ROAR” Teaser: What’s Coming Is Far Larger Than You’re Thinking…

Posted on February 24, 2014 by geelw

Soooooo, tomorrow is the big day, huh? 10AM, hmmmmm? Well, it’s a date then. And I do hope this trailer coming shuts up the people wailing like a stomped on Bambi that Legendary Pictures hasn’t been promoting their big movie as much as the more vocal fans wish. Trust me, kids… like a real giant monster attack (well, if giant monsters did exist), you won’t be escaping from this new Godzilla any time soon once he gets walking in your general direction. I’ll bet that in some cities, no form of transportation, billboard or other large free spaces will be safe! Well, from an ad plastered all over those things, that is. You’ll see…

Random Film of the Week: Master of the World

Posted on February 24, 2014 by geelw

Ah, Master of the World… you’re so well intentioned but when all is said and done you’re just not as good a film as you wanted to be… and that’s too bad. Even the great Vincent Price reading the words of the great Richard Matheson (who reworked elements from two of the great Jules Verne’s books into a screenplay) can’t save you from your crushing mediocrity. Nope, those barrel bottom visual effects work and an unfunny comic relief chef character tossed into the rather serious story can’t keep this Albatross afloat at all. That said, it’s an OK flick if you don’t mind it reminding you of a few better ones it tries so hard to template.

Now, call me crazy… but I think the idea of a war-hating kind of madman flying around the world and waging war against people who wage wars is both nuts and necessary in this day and age. However, this film fails to excite on a few levels other than giving Price his juicy lead role and Charles Bronson a chance to play a rugged-looking 19th century good guy for a change. For all its explosions and shouting, it makes the idea of Price’s bomb-dropping anti-war antihero Robur a pretty dull one and the film wears out its welcome around the halfway point… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): Planet of the Apes (2001)

Posted on January 25, 2014 by geelw

Thanks to reports from around the internet and a few periodicals about all sorts of problems during the pre-production phase and more issues during the rather speedy shooting schedule to meet a July release imposed by 20th Century Fox, I certainly didn’t want to see the otherwise reliable Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake, but my mother sure did.

I was camping out at her place during that summer after a breakup and on the day the film opened, she pretty much rolled up on me and said we were going to the movies, so off we went. The funny thing was 33 years earlier, she took me, my older brother and sister to see the original film (my first movie experience), so I guess she was trying to jog my memory a bit out of the funk mode it was in. Well, that worked to a point as we both ended up not liking this remake much at all.

Of course, I ended up heading back to that theater a few days later to make sure I was sure I didn’t like the film… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: THE DARK

Posted on January 17, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, AussieRoadshow!)

John “Bud” Cardos’ one hundred and ten percent wretched sci-fi horror flick The Dark is one of the best reasons for better movie theater security guards and well-caffeinated ticket booth clerks. I paid to see this R-rated waste of time when I was 15 and it was four bucks I still want back. This is one of those “so bad it’s worse” “cult” films that boggles the mind as to not only how it got made, but how it got into theaters. And this is coming from someone who loves crappy movies to death.

Allegedly, Tobe Hooper was in on this mess as the initial director before being replaced by Cardos, but I’d gather he split or was canned because whatever script was presented to him scared him off. Or he was merely killing time before *not* directing Poltergeist a few years later (*ziiiing!*). This won’t be a long and loving look back at this dopey flick, so don’t get too comfortable. In every way possible, this film reeks of people showing up to work just to collect whatever paycheck was promised them (and probably some drugs as well), and that’s a shame…

Continue reading →