Pacific Rim “Drift Space” Featurette: “Can I Have A Giant Robot Too, Ma?”

Posted on May 22, 2013 by geelw

You know, if we DID have big ol’ clanky fight-bots stomping around like in Pacific Rim, you know you’d see far too many kids dolling themselves up with cardboard boxes, paint and tinfoil so they could look like their favorite heavy metal heroes. Of course, these days, it’s a bunch of middle-aged men and aging hipsters with access to 3D printers and far too much time on their hands trying to relive those Gigantor fantasies. Of course, Guillermo Del Toro gets a major pass because he can afford to build a real robot if he wanted to.. or at least have a CG effects team make it LOOK as if he’s kicking station wagons around in that mall parking lot making room so he can pick up a quart of organic goat milk. Yeah, I laugh at them (and quite a lot)… but that’s because I’m just too darn busy to make my own big cardboard robot suit. One day… one day…

Man of Steel “Fate of Your Planet” Trailer: (Even More) Seriously, Now…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by geelw

Well, well, well… THAT’S how you blow an audience away. Taking Superman’s former camp value from those old films away and giving fans a serious to the point of “yeah, I need to see this twice on the first day” status is a damn good thing. I was thinking we wouldn’t see a more dynamic trailer like this one for a few more weeks closer to the film’s launch, but the gloves have come off (as in Warner Bros. and DC yelling “Take that, Marvel!” POW!!) and it looks like this one will be the Superman flick that gets remembered this generation. Well, provided it has a solid finale that sets up something without leaving a ton of plot holes open or feeling like it needed ten more minutes to make a scene or five better. As usual… we shall see…

Pacific Rim TV Spot 1: Maybe Mayhem Isn’t Such A Good Thing In Some Cases…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

Can you imagine the insanely higher insurance premiums in the future if we DO end up with giant robots, big sea monsters and all sorts of unplanned property damage that comes from them duking it out on the streets of any major (or minor) city? Well, considering that we probably don’t have flying cars because of the potential for humans causing MORE damage than any giant monster (although, all that texting/doing makeup/eating/et cetera while flying will clean up the gene pool rather quickly), this is probably a blessing in disguise or something.

Yes, ladies and gents… just forget about applying ANY rules of reality or actual science to these films (I mean, who in their right minds goes to a science FICTION film to complain about the SCIENCE afterwards anyway?). In reality, unless those robots were made of super-light materials (yet could still back a punch) your heroes and those monsters would go tumbling into the huge hole they created when they tried to walk on some of those tunnel-filled streets certain cities have. Well, maybe they’d do better in Vegas, what with that desert nearby and no big sewer system or subway to worry about crushing tourists and citizens in…

Anyway, just sit back, try not to go into a sugar and salt-induced coma from that half-gallon of soda and way too salty and greasy popcorn (that’s NOT butter on it, by the way – butter isn’t highly combustible or that overly golden orange in color, last I checked) and enjoy the show. Or not, if you’re worried about some big wet foot stomping on the theater while you’re watching this epic… eek.

Pacific Rim Official Trailer: Rise of the Robots, Too…

Posted on May 16, 2013 by geelw

OK, I’m tired from only getting about three hours of sleep before the Capcom event I came from not too long ago, so my I left my Giant Robot Pun Drive (Model 2.5!) in the freezer next to some ground bison. Oops. Anyway, Guiilermo Del Toro’s upcoming sci-fi flick, Pacific Rim is making fans of some anime robots cranky because his live action and CGI blend is making them want to see their favorite shows get this treatment. Granted, the director is paying homage to all those old to recent shows while carving his own path in giant robot history, so I say take this in and enjoy it on its merits as opposed to knocking it for “copying” other works. I think some of the naysayers will be surprised and impressed at this one once they clam up and enjoy the ride…

Man of Steel TV Spot #5: He’s Earning That Merit Badge, That’s For Sure…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

Well, the nice thing about these Man of Steel trailers and now, TV spots as they go on is you can see the quality in them from the very beginning. That initially vague first reveal is slowly but surely giving way to a film that’s looking to be a bit more mature than the previous Superman flicks and will hopefully be remembered for taking its subject matter outside the borders of the comics and making the character one people remember as less of a caricature and more of an actual person. Hey, as long as the comic relief is minimal and restricted to a handful of tossed off lines of dialogue (and not all from the lead). As usual, we shall see, but on their merits so far, the film is looking to do for Supes what Chris Nolan’s films did for the Batman (which is a good thing at the end of the day)…

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 Day*: The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms

Posted on May 11, 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…

B2KF For some fans of giant monster movies, Godzilla is their gold standard, but I’m a Rhedosaurus man, myself. 1953’s The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms is a smaller-scale picture when compared to Toho’s epic genre entry and it’s also not as sprawling and dynamic as King Kong in terms of impact. On the other hand, Ray Harryhausen’s work here is superb and at a mere 80 minutes, this one goes down easy and doesn’t wear out its welcome one bit.

With its giant lizard (OK, fake, but pretty scary and really huge dinosaur) awakened from the Arctic ice by a nuclear bomb, some interesting plot twists and yes, plenty of wonderful stop-motion mayhem (and some great crowd scenes), this one’s yet another memorable classic for genre fans… Continue reading →

Gravity Trailer: Some Very Weighty Issues In This Sci-Fi Deep Thinker…

Posted on May 9, 2013 by geelw

As soon as I heard this was directed by Alfonso Cuarón (the beautifully gloomy future flick Children of Men), Gravity went onto my “Well, THIS should be interesting…” list of movies to catch at some point. Granted, it will probably be depressing as hell and have a few of its bid deal cast members not survive until the finale, but hey – that’s the way the ball bounces. Or floats away, as I don’t think anything bounces in space. And no one can hear you scream, by the way (yeah, yeah, wrong movie!). Anyway, keep an eyeball peeled for this one, folks. It’ll at least look spectacular…

Random Film of the Week: The Window

Posted on May 6, 2013 by geelw

I remember seeing The Window as a kid on TV and probably laughing a wee bit too much because the lying wolf-crying brat who no one believed about the murder he finally DID see was getting his just desserts when all those chickens came home to roost. Seeing it a few times more as I got older (and thankfully, wiser) revealed a pretty sinister film noir thriller with probably the best child performance I’d ever seen in a film that old.

Granted, I’m not advocating the already generally creepy “Child in Danger!” flick or that entire sub-genre of flicks made throughout cinematic history as a “must-see” collection of films if you’ve got a very soft spot for your own brood of lovable lamp-breaking, cookie stealing ankle-biters. However, as a chilling little classic film that’s never been remade properly (at least in my humble opinion), it’s a total spine-shaker right from the beginning…

Continue reading →

Man of Steel TV Spot 3: The Face That Launched A Thousand Slips…

Posted on May 6, 2013 by geelw

I actually overheard a conversation over the weekend between a few Beiber age girls where one said the new Superman is TOO handsome, and that made me chuckle a bit. Well, you can’t please everyone, I suppose, but I guess a tattooed and pierced Supes would get more of that tween crowd rolling in and squealing at the screen. Granted, that’s not going to happen anytime soon (well, it sure as hell better not), so I guess that’s one slice of a potential audience I don’t need to worry about yapping away while I’m trying to enjoy the show. Of course, if the older ladies in the audience are tossing Spanx girdles and granny panties at the screen, so much for my enjoying anything at all…

Eww, now I’ll be seeing granny panties all damn day (thanks, me!)…