The Time of the Doctor Trailer: All Good Things Must End (But Time Never Ceases), Indeed…

Posted on December 11, 2013 by geelw

Yes, it’s been a nice long run for Matt Smith as the Doctor, but that’s all coming to an end soon and of course, he’ll be missed by many. That said, the beauty of Doctor Who is seeing who regenerates into the character and how they portray the time lord once he’s back on his two feet. Given the ending of that 50th anniversary show a few weeks back, things are coming to quite a finale that’s bound to get new and old viewers assorted cases of the chills, shakes, whines and other afflictions the way only this series can. Peter Capaldi has some big and interesting shoes to fill, but I’m not worried one bit. Fifty years and still going strong means I’d say this show has no plans of slumping or sleeping on its many laurels. Granted, not every Doctor or episode has been everyone’s cup of tea. But you have to admire anything that’s around for so long and still getting people to stop, drop and roll in front of their televisions on a regular basis (and bring a few friends along in the process)…

Your Doctor Who Infographic Of The Moment Is A Very Handy Doozy…

Posted on November 27, 2013 by geelw

Well, now – this is pretty darn cool. Thanks to the folks over at HalloweenCostumes.com for putting together an awesome infographic that you can use to get that person who’s not a Doctor Who fan either into the show and up to speed on a few fronts or at least understanding what keeps YOU watching year after year. You can check the whole thing out below the jump, as it’s really too long to post without taking up the entire page!
Continue reading →

A Timely Reminder From The Beeb…

Posted on November 23, 2013 by geelw

NO, not THAT one. The RIGHT one. In case you’re missing it, that worldwide telecast of Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary episode will indeed be rebroadcast a few more times today and tonight before it most likely pops up on your Free On Demand channel if your cable box has that service. That is all you need to know in case you forgot the episode is on NOW (and is about to end shortly)…

What Type of Doctor Who Fan Are You? Dorkly Knows You All Too Well…

Posted on November 22, 2013 by geelw

Okay, this new Dorkly strip made me chuckle a bit because I think I’m not on that list, but have been a few of those types over the years. Of course, if you’re not yet sucked into the surprisingly cool vortex that is Doctor Who, you still have time (see what I did there?) before tomorrow’s big event episode rolls in to shake things up on a worldwide level. It’s quite cool that BBC is running that episode simultaneously around the globe so everyone watching can have their eyeballs pop out of their skulls and roll around the floor at the same time. Of course, the sound of all those toilets flushing will make some people go deaf temporarily while the resulting pressure drop in water supplies around the globe may have drastic consequences (such as a TARDIS materializing inside someone’s living room), so make sure you have enough space for an extra visitor, I say…

Random Film of the Week: The Man in the White Suit

Posted on November 20, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, thecinelady!)

I recall seeing Alexander Mackendrick’s 1951 film The Man in the White Suit listed as both a comedy and a science fiction film in two separate movie books and as I hadn’t seen it at that time, I was a bit perplexed. Of course, I think I was also about twelve years old, so I was perplexed about a great many things. And in a constant state of perplexed about those great many things believe you me.

Thankfully, once I finally saw this classic a few years later, all my questions were answered – it’s a comedy AND a science fiction film (and a bit of social commentary, to boot). And of course, it’s an Ealing Studios film so it’s just about perfect in every aspect and yes indeed, comes very highly recommended…
Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): War of the Worlds

Posted on November 16, 2013 by geelw

These days, I’m not much of a loyal Tom Cruise fan, but I happen to like some films he’s in when the cast around him gets to do some decent work around his not so silent takeover method of acting. That said, 2005’s War of the Worlds is pretty much Stephen Spielberg’s film to win or lose as he puts Cruise, the rest of the cast, some stellar visual effects and a mostly tensely coiled John Williams score to work in this updated version of the classic H.G. Wells science fiction story.

Save for some overuse of the “Hollywood escape” and still not yet patented Cruise running style in scenes where plenty of extras get vaporized or otherwise killed as the actor and his movie kids make a few too many narrow escapes (at least for the first part of the film) and a wee bit too much allegory on the director’s part, this is a solid little movie that still packs a bit of a punch… Continue reading →

A WHOLE Week of Doctor Who? Apple Sales Will DROP Drastically!

Posted on November 16, 2013 by geelw

EDIT: Edited!

No, not those popular (but slipping in sales as of late) fruit-named hi-tech devices of many uses, but the more popular (and slipping off a tree branch, so get with the dodging, Newton!) fruit that makes some great pies, sauce, leather and other stuff you might not enjoy if other things were labeled as such. Crow pie is terrible, Kudzu sauce? Nasty! Llama leather? Awful AND it makes you seriously gassy! Anyway, next week should be pretty hard on Whovians who haven’t yet invested in that digital delay device or happen to have BBC America on their Free on Demand service in case they miss anything thanks to actual work or play activities. My own schedule suggests I’ll be playing catch up unless I go and “EXTERMINATE!” a few tasks early. I probably won’t break my routine all that much, as that tends to do nothing but make time holes in a few areas where I don’t need them (or have had to do a simple patch job that doesn’t need any further fiddling.

Random Film of the Week: “X”- The Man With The X-Ray Eyes

Posted on November 11, 2013 by geelw

Ohhhh-kay... I’m having a SERIOUS case of déjà vu here. I know for a fact that I’d written up a review of this great 1963 Roger Corman “B” flick a few years back and posted it either on the old blog, here or somewhere else, but it’s nowhere to be found as far as I’ve checked. Crazy! Or perhaps I had such a vivid dream about writing this up that I merely THOUGHT that I’d run a review. Hey, it happens. But only to me, it seems…

Anyway, I despise rewriting stuff, so it could be that I did a draft that was close to completion but somehow was deleted or accidentally overwritten thanks to that oddball WordPress flaw where if you have two “Add New Post” tabs open and make the mistake of using them for new posts, you overwrite the first post with the second. Anyway, this is one of those really surprising low-budget films that, thanks to some great casting and some genuinely tight direction, manages to be much better than it should be… Continue reading →

A Doctor A Day Keeps You Guessing (In A Good Way)…

Posted on November 9, 2013 by geelw

So, not only are we getting what looks like the ultimate Doctor Who episode on November 23 in a very special simultaneous broadcast, but an actual TV movie (and DVD, at least in the UK) about the show’s beginnings. Okay, so I’m a bit behind on this news, but hey – I’m a busy man more than an obsessed fan so I need to time my excitement properly or else it’s a permanent state of bug-eyed wild postings and potentially doing what every other overexcited fan does (posting crazy YouTube videos that make me look like a total nut). Anyway, An Adventure in Space and Time looks like it’ll be a nice history lesson for Who fans and hopefully it’s more fact-based than the crap Hollywood biopics that always follow the same predictable plot patterns and lose any sense of veracity in favor of hitting the audience over the noggin with the requisite schmaltzy elements that focus test better than the actual truth.

Eh, we’ll see soon enough, right?

Random Film of the Week(end): Somewhere In Time

Posted on November 6, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, famousmichigan!)

As much fun as it was and still is, frankly speaking, Superman: the Movie had a really TERRIBLE time travel sequence that breaks the film and manages to always get a tiny bit under my skin each time I see it. Fortunately, Somewhere In Time is a much better film overall about time travel, love, loss and quite probably the worst long distance relationship ever. I saw this upon its initial release back in 1980 and it’s stuck with me since.

Now, I’m not deep into the romantic fantasy genre at all, but SoT has a compelling pull to it that makes it one of my favorite science fiction films, bittersweet finale and all. It’s not for every taste, but if you decide to give this one a shot, you’ll find Jeannot Szwarc’s fine direction, the lovely John Barry score, intentionally languid pacing and solid performances from the cast (I think it’s Reeve’s best film work, period) make this one truly memorable… Continue reading →