Posted by Jesse in Home Page Top Story, Latest News, Movies, Reviews on March 10th, 2010
The art that stays with us, that moves us, that captivates, beguiles and enthralls us, is the kind that goes to extremes.
No comedy is as funny as when the action therein is taken to extremes of the farcical and absurd. Film noir depicts human beings in their most extreme states of moral decay, asking questions of us as to whether we can be decent people in an indecent world. Superheroes inspire by operating on the extreme side of nobility. Horror films thrive by confronting the extremes of evil, pain and death and forcing us to confront terrors deep and even instinctual within our conscious as well as our subconscious.
The cinematic phenomenons of late – whether one would evaluate these pictures as “good” or “bad” – are no exception. The extravagance of Avatar’s fantasy is matched by the outrageousness of the financial and technical resources required to create it. The obsessive devotion of the Twi-Hards have made unlikely blockbusters of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series.
There’s something compelling about extremes, perhaps because we tend to look at our world in terms of the day-to-day normalcy that drives so many of us to genre films in the first place. For a moments escape from the rational, the trade-off is suspension of disbelief; it is in the talent of gifted filmmakers that they can make us — even if only for two hours — accept that a man can fly, or the dead can walk the earth, or that the full moon can turn a man into a monster.
When this exchange pays off, we remember it for the rest of our lives, and great movies are made of these moments.
And yet, there’s another side to this extreme, a cackling, raving Mr. Hyde to quality’s Dr. Jekyll. The phrase most often used to describe this extreme is “So bad, it’s good.” However, that oft-used phrase is a gross over-simplification – not all “bad movies” are in some antithetical way, enjoyable. Films where little fun is derived from the experience of viewing them and where - instead of being glued to the screen, disbelieving at what is unfolding - you are numbed and pained by the senselessness the filmmaker is subjecting their audience to. Films like Monster A-Go-Go, Hobgoblins and the infamous Manos: The Hands of Fate, are films acceptable only with the blessed chaser of Mystery Science Theater.
More happily, “So bad it’s good,” that beloved contradiction in terms, applies to a unique few films that, either despite of or because of their obvious flaws, have become cult classics in their own regard.
Since his death in the late-1970’s, filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr. has become a legend for films whose earnestness and ambitions were woefully undeserved by incompetent execution. In films like 1955’s Bride of the Monster, and the immortal Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959), the very laws of time and space do not apply. Day and night exist within one scene. Graveyards are constructed of cardboard, and paper plates from another world buzz Los Angeles on fishing wire. Lines such as “Future events such as these will effect you in the future…” are spoken stiffly, but with utter sincerity.
Wood has since been canonized as the “worst filmmaker who ever lived,” but what qualifies a film as “bad?” Wood’s films are surreal for being so shoddily conceived and produced, and in terms of objective film technique, truly do qualify as awful. Yet, who isn’t entertained by watching Plan 9 From Outer Space? And doesn’t that count for something?
Other films, such as Phil Tucker’s 1953 3-D opus Robot Monster, or Tom Graeff’s heartfelt and bizarre Teenagers from Outer Space (1959), don’t just flirt with the irrational, they embody it. These are films where plot coherence, believable performances, and technical craft don’t apply, and yet they’re defiantly entertaining. Perhaps because they were made by filmmakers who so believed in what they were doing, it didn’t matter that they were utterly unequipped to execute their visions.
Enter, Birdemic: Shock and Terror.
The interweb has been abuzz for almost a year about this one; whispers here and there of a phantom in the pop culture ether, something special waiting and lurking to pounce on an unsuspecting public. And the trailer! Subject of countless links and forwards, it’s the piece of film the prompt most, upon seeing it, to ask: “Is this a joke?”
People are clamoring for this show, but this is no Paranormal Activity style phenomenon. This might be something much more meaningful, as Birdemic is a bird of an entirely different feather. And the “why” of this story is as fascinating as the “how.”
Written, produced and directed by software salesman James Nguyen over a period of four years, shot and set in Northern California, and being described, officially, as “a romantic thriller partly inspired by Hitchcock’s The Birds,” Birdemic is getting a lot of attention and hype, with many keen on calling the film the new Worst Film of All Time. Famously, Nguyen generated hype for the film by crashing Park City during Sundance (which denied admission to his film), and driving up and down the street for a week in a van covered in fake dead birds, dried blood, and signs asking provocative questions like “Why did the eagles and vultures attacked?” [sic]. Pointedly, Entertainment Weekly recently described it as “the film which answers the question of what Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds would have looked like if it had been made not by Hollywood’s legendary Master of Suspense, but by a mid-level Silicon Valley software salesman.”
That’s not even the half of it.
Our story (let’s go with that term) begins with Rod (Alan Bagh), a mid-level salesman (of some kind…), who we meet as he drives through the opening credits. And then keeps driving. Ten minutes of driving under his belt, Rod stops into a small-town diner and spies Nathalie (lovely Whitney Moore), a former school mate whose modeling career (operating out of a photomat in a strip-mall) is just taking off. Intrigued, they exchange numbers (I think: their conversation moves outside and with the traffic and non-existent sound recording, it would be easier to hear their conversation in deep space) and begin a courtship (their first date is at a restaurant in a strip mall – is there some kind of theme here?).
Rod gets advice from his jocular friend (in one scene he plays basketball, and later can be counted on to make a humping gesture with little prompting), makes a killer $10 million sale at work, watches the news (apparently global warming is breaking up “sea ice” and really messing with the polar bears…) and gets a fairly aggressive sales pitch for solar panels. This scene alone counts for nine and half hours of screen time. Nathalie, meanwhile, models, gets advice from her “unsupportive” mom (who thrusts her hips much less often than Rod’s friend, thankfully) and goes dancing with Rod. (The dancing scene is a highlight – they’re the only ones in the club!)
Consummating their new found love in a nearby motel room (wait, they both have their own homes! Why in a hotel room?! I guess it’s just supposed to be kinda kinky), the two go to sleep, completely unprepared for what awaits them the next morning…
40 minutes into the film, the titular Birdemic begins. And… words fail to describe. Anyone who has seen the trailer has had a taste of this, but that doesn’t prepare one for the full visceral magnitude of the sequence. Static background plates are suddenly molested by CGI eagles and vultures who hover in place, before dive-bombing the landscape and, I kid you not, exploding on impact. Superimposed CGI fire and smoke out of a first generation PC game illustrate nature’s wrath, and our heroes are forced to arm themselves with coat hangers (!) and flee their motel to find sanctuary out on the road.
Along the way, Ron and Nathalie pick up couple Ramsey (Adam Sessa, who inexplicably has a machine gun with unlimited ammo stowed away in his mini van) and Becky (Catherine Batcha), as well as kids Tony and Susan (Colton Osborne and Janae Caster), and hit the road in search of… a place free of marauding, CGI birds, one supposes.
Their travels take them up the coast, and their adventures along the way have to be seen to be believed. A masked “bird expert” is on hand during a roadside picnic (!) to explain that the birds are attacking because their rather put-out by global warming. A “tree hugging” backwoods hippie too, blames mankind’s presumption and increasingly large carbon footprint on our feathered friends turning on us, in what is perhaps the film’s oddest aside (and, as one may gather, that’s really saying something in this picture). Stopping for supplies at a fully operational gas station (the effects of the Birdemic are scattershot, to say the least), our heroes bemoan that the current ecological crisis has caused gas prices to shoot up to $100 a gallon (one has to commend the attendant on his vigilance: in the event of a mass bird attack, I’d be the first to abandon my minimum wage job at a gas station!).
Oh, friends… the joys of Birdemic are many.
The nonsensical plot would make Luis Bunuel yearn for a little literalness. The first half of the film offers a pointless “love story” between two characters so ill-defined and without chemistry, that it makes it hard to complain that there’s no pay off to it, as once the bird attack begins, we’re off like lightning.
The camera work is scattered, as every attempt to juice up the proceedings with an interesting angle or some camera movement is bungled by trembling operating or blindingly bright lighting.
The sound design warbles between inaudible and deafening: dialogue anywhere but an interior is almost completely washed out by traffic, water, wind, etc., while the bird attacks are greeted with a cacophony of ambient screeching that literally had the entire screening holding their ears, like poor James Franciscus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. “ONE AT A TIME!!!”
Then, of course, there’s the special effects, and man are they special. The CGI used to create both the birds and the effects of their attacks are so odd, so statically one-dimensional and false, that – coupled with the film’s time-and-space-defying editing – the entire film comes off as a surreal, fever-dream of Lynch-ian proportions. One cannot be sure one has actually seen what has just happened.
But before you can raise a drink and proclaim “It’s the end of the world!” the movie ends, on a shot that seemingly does notend. The entirety of the end credits play across one definingly silly shot of the birds in flight and our survivors (who will they be?) contemplating an uncertain future. The ending answers little, but does confirm for the viewer that they may have just experienced a miracle.
Congratulations must go to Severin Films, Birdemic’s distributor, who should be very genuinely proud of their judgment; Birdemic: Shock and Terror could easily become a camp classic on par with the above mentioned Plan 9 From Outer Space.
I cannot recommend the experience of this picture enough; if the above films qualify as desirable viewing, than Birdemic: Shock and Terror is a cinematic milestone you won’t want to miss, as a new chapter in Z-movie ineptitude is written on the screen before your tear-filled eyes. Lovers of the bizarre, of the unaccountably senseless (like me!) will have a blast, as this is one picture very deserving of the growing phenomenon surrounding it.
Is Birdemic art? That depends on your definition. But it is as extreme as one can get.
Click here to visit the official site!
Posted by Ashleigh in Latest News, Movies on March 10th, 2010
Anyone who so much as had a pulse during the ’80s probably remembers teen heartthrob Corey Haim — half of the famous duo known as the “two Coreys.” Sadly, the actor died early Wednesday morning at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Los Angeles at the age of 38.
It is too soon to know for certain what killed Haim as of the time of this writing. It was noted that Haim had been dealing with an illness and was taking both prescription and over-the-counter medication. Haim has had drug problems in the past, but only an autopsy can determine the official cause of death.
Haim was born on Dec. 23, 1971 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Julia and Bernie Haim. He is known for his work in many ’80s classics, including Lucas, License to Drive and director Joel Schumacher’s classic The Lost Boys in which he played Sam Emerson, a boy trying to prevent his older brother from becoming a vampire by tracking down and killing the leader of a vampire group.
More recent work includes starring in A&E’s reality show The Two Coreys with Corey Feldman. The show ran for two seasons before being canceled in 2008.
For more information, read USAToday’s coverage here.
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Movies on March 9th, 2010
It’s been a long wait for fans of the original TRON, proud and embarrassed alike, to revisit the familiar computer-enhanced world. Since the announcement of the sequel, every scrap of information has proven more enticing, from the early teaser trailer that gave us our first glimpse at the modernized light cycles, to the ongoing viral marketing taking place over the last several weeks.
All this anticipation has been slowly bubbling up towards a release that is still nine long months away, so Disney finally decided to dole out the thing that’s sure to really get us talking — the trailer. And, oh, what a trailer it is.
Not only does it further confirm what the original’s proponents have been clambering about all along, that the digital world of the film is perfectly suited to today’s modern advancements in digital technology (and 3D), but we get our first real introduction to where things are headed story-wise.
We’re immediately introduced to newcomer Garrett Hedlund, a.k.a. Sam Flynn, the son of computer programmer Kevin Flynn, the protagonist from the first film and a role that is reprised here by the great (recent Oscar winner) Jeff Bridges. Sam gets told by “Tron” professional Alan Bradley that some new information about his father, who’s been missing for 25 years, has surfaced. He hops on his motorbike and jets over to Flynn’s arcade, whose game systems are now covered by dusty cobwebs and tarps.
There he is thrust into TRON, an ominously-lit world filled with neon lights and racing light-cycles. Color us more than simply optimistic, we’re pumped. Really digging the way it combines the simple designs of the original with more bells and whistles (while retaining the spirit of the old effects). While many may rag on the elemental look of those effects, they hold up surprisingly well as a wild and original aesthetic, wholly independent of the separate strides made by Lucas and Spielberg in the intervening decades. The result is an interesting and bizarre story told with great expression within a world that still looks unique and nearly flawless — and this trailer promises more of the same.
Take a look for yourself, and tell us what you think:
Posted by Bryan in Books, Comics, Home Page Top Story, Latest News on March 9th, 2010
Legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta and acclaimed publisher Vanguard Productions have announced a new publishing relationship.
Frazetta said, “We’ve known Vanguard publisher J. David Spurlock for many years. Vanguard publishes the very best! I’ve enjoyed their books on Hal Foster, Al Williamson, Jeffrey Jones, Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Basil Gogos, Carmine Infantino and more. David helped on our Painting with Fire documentary and we helped him on Vanguard’s Roy G. Krenkel, Wally Wood, and J. Allen St.John books. It’s natural that we should work together. I’m looking forward to seeing the quality job they do on the new Frazetta books.”
Frank Frazetta is considered by many to be the greatest heroic-fantasy artist of all time. His work has influenced generations of artists, fans, designers, and movie directors. From his 1950s comics; to his breathtaking book covers featuring Tarzan, King Kong, and John Carter of Mars; to his 1960s monster magazines Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella; to his major movie posters, including After the Fox, The Night They Raided Minsky’s and What’s New Pussycat?; and, of course, his revolutionary Conan paintings.
Active since October 1990, Vanguard has published pop culture books, graphic novels, mystery, science fiction, and more. Vanguard is best known as the world’s leading producer of art book biographies on illustrators and cartoonists and has garnered acclaim from The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, The IPPY Awards, Starlog, National Public Radio, Video Watchdog, The Eisner Awards, Entertainment Weekly, Fangoria, Publishers Weekly, The Society of Illustrators, Variety, The Hugo Awards, Library Journal, The Rondo Awards, Locus Science Fiction Awards, and more.
Vanguard’s publications have been distributed through Diamond Distributors since 1993 with expanded trade distribution since 2000, through nearly every major distributor including Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and Continental Sales Inc. Vanguard’s presence at tradeshows include San Diego Comic-Con International (2010 marks Vanguard’s 17th consecutive year at Comic-Con), Book Expo America (often with their longtime associates, Watson-Guptill), New York Comic-Con, Wizard World, etc. Vanguard represents many top creators. Numerous Vanguard-related talents including Neal Adams, Carmine Infantino, Jim Steranko, and Vanguard publisher, J. David Spurlock are featured on the recent STARZ network documentary, Comic Books Unbound.
Vanguard founder J. David Spurlock said, “We are very excited about launching a line of Frazetta books under the new Vanguard Frazetta Classics brand. The line will include a series of volumes collecting Frazetta’s comics work in top quality book format. Other Vanguard Frazetta Classics will include a new edition of the 2008 hit, Frazetta – The Definitive Reference, a richly illustrated index of every Frazetta work ever published; a Frank Frazetta Sketchbook; and more—all in library-quality collections fully authorized by Frank Frazetta.”
For more Vanguard news, check out their Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vanguard-Productions/127661820833
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Movies on March 9th, 2010
Fresh off his turn as the villainous Colonel Quaritch in Avatar, veteran stage actor Stephen Lang has been tasked to don his menacing eyebrow furrow once again, this time for Marcus Nispel’s Conan. MTV confirmed the story that the thesp will portray villain Khalar Singh.
“I’ve accepted the role of Khalar Singh,” said Lang. “I have no idea how I’m going to do it. First I’m going to find out how I’m going to sound. I’m going to get back on a Mongolian pony and ride like the wind. I’m going to flash my scimitar. I’m going to cut the nuts off Conan and his father.”
Although Lang has just recently gained wider recognition for the aforementioned role in Avatar, as well as smaller parts in last year’s Public Enemies and The Men Who Stare At Goats, he’s been acting regularly since the mid-eighties. When not acting, Lang doesn’t quite match the evil stereotype he sometimes represents — he’s not only a playwright, but is also co-artistic director of the Actor’s Studio in New York.
The role, as it was described in a leaked press release last year, is as follows:
“Khalar Singh is in his 40s to 50s, Asian or Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mongol, Turkish, or Persian, open to all ethnicities; commanding in size and manner, a warlord and formidable warrior, brilliant, cruel, weathered and tanned by the many campaigns he has waged and won. He is driven in his quest to find the Queen of Acheron and has been building an empire to do so.
“His goal is to find the Queen whose blood will bring life to the demonic minions of Acheron while making himself king of this hellish power. With this power, Khalar will protect his legacy against the onslaught of master sorcerer, Thoth-Amon, so that his weak son, Fariq, may rule after his death. While riding into a Cimmerian village to recruit his old comrade, Corin, his large collection of mercenaries slaughters them to the last soul when Corin refuses to join them. The village’s only survivor was young Conan. When Khalar’s search has finally narrowed to the likely discovery of the queen at a monastery of female monks, he also learns Conan is older and hungry for revenge…”
Lang is precisely the kind of demanding screen presence that can anchor this reimagining of Conan the Barbarian for Nispel, who himself has had some experience in reinvigorating old franchises (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th).
Posted by Ashleigh in Books, Home Page Top Story, Latest News, Reviews on March 9th, 2010
“As this hilariously horrifying prequel begins, the Bennet sisters are enjoying a peaceful life in the English countryside. They idle away the days reading, sewing, practicing instruments, and daydreaming about future husbands—until, suddenly, corpses are springing from the earth. As bodies pile up, Elizabeth Bennet takes charge and transforms into the zombie-slaying machine readers know and love from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.“
Anyone who has spent some time on the Internet is probably familiar with the phenomenon of fanfiction. If you’re not, allow me to explain: fanfiction are works of fiction written by fans of a particular book, movie, video game, etc. Honestly, if it exists in some form of media, there’s probably a fanfiction about it – there’s even I Love Lucy fanfiction (if you value your sanity at all, then please, in the name of all that is good in this world, do not look it up).
These fan-derived works may or may not contain characters from the original but they almost always take place in the same world of the original. Some are good, most are awful. Like, forcing-you-to-lose-faith-in-humanity awful.
Make no mistake: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a work of fanfiction, but the good kind — one that can suck you in with relative ease if you’re willing to turn logic off during a few key moments.
Allow me to just say that the entire book is a loving-crafted tribute to both the work of Jane Austen and horror in general. From the dedication (“To Jane. We kid because we love.”) to the settings, author Steve Hockensmith obviously took great pains to create an original tale that’s set in a world that’s recognizably Austen’s.
The characters are also familiar. Whether you’re a fan of Austen’s original works, or a fan of Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies you’ll recognize each character’s subtle quirks and personalities that were established by the older works.
Despite Hockensmith’s amazing attention to detail, it doesn’t match its predecessor from a comedic standpoint. This is mostly because the prequel doesn’t have the same luxury of the original, in that it didn’t have an already-established and beloved work of fiction to take liberties with.
It’s a shame because I truly believe that if this was a stand-alone book with the character’s names changed and didn’t carry the Pride and Prejudice tag, no one would even notice that the absurd humor found in the original is lacking.
In fact, it could be said that the book’s pedigree is also its biggest drawback. I’ve read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I felt myself continuously comparing the original to the prequel. Hockensmith writes in a more modern style whereas Grahame-Smith had Austen’s original prose to fall back on; the prequel places more of an emphasis on action and gore than the original.
But overall, those complaints don’t detract from the book’s overall experience.
Dreadfuls is a damn fun read. If you’re a zombie fan with a healthy sense of humor, I guarantee that this book will latch onto your brain with rotting hands and refuse to let go. Read it, if only for the quirkiness of it all.
Posted by Earl Roesel in A Walk Through the Forrest with Earl Roesel, Books, Home Page Top Story, Latest News on March 8th, 2010
A couple of days ago I went to see Alice In Wonderland with my friend and Famous Monsters contributor Dave Marchant. It was a fairly okay film, one that won’t make me forget about the Disney masterwork anytime soon. It did, however, sport at least one feature notable to horror fans: the vocal presence of Christopher Lee as the fearsome Jabberwocky.
Forry, of course, knew Lee well when the actor was living in America during the latter part of the 1970s. The two attended many a Count Dracula Society meeting together and enjoyed a friendship based upon mutual esteem…at least until one fateful day in 1979. Forry related the following anecdote to me, which details the breakdown between the two.
Forry and Lee were attending a function of some sort when the latter took the podium. He proceeded to announce, totally without prior warning, the following: “Forry Ackerman, I have a bit of a bone to pick with you. You’ve given out my address and telephone number without my knowledge.” Lee then went out to indicate that he’d received some umpteen thousand calls from Germany alone, and that he’d been forced to change his number.
Christopher Lee, Wendayne and Forry enjoy happier times. During this period Lee had moved to the United States in a bid for more diverse film roles. Circa late 1970s.
Forry, for his part, was totally astonished, as he most certainly hadn’t given out any such information and indeed kept his rolodex written in a code known only to himself. The Ackermonster could only respond with “what has become known as righteous indignation.”
Lee though would have none of it. He finished by saying, “Well, you’d better do something about it.” Forry, having no idea how to rectify a situation he did not cause, simply stood with his jaw agape.
Lee would no longer provide his address information to Forry in the wake of this unfortunate business. Thereafter, birthday announcements in the Nate L. Daye section of Famous Monsters carried the proviso that no such greetings could be forwarded to the actor.
I highly doubt Lee, a highly cultured gentleman of the old school, continues to bear any ill will about this, especially in the wake of Forry’s death. It is nevertheless regrettable that, according to Forry, no “burying of the hatchet” apparently took place between the pair. Nor that the real culprit, whomever that may’ve been, bore the deserving brunt of Lee’s wrath.
After FJA related this story, it became my habit to pull the Ackermonster’s leg by sneaking up behind his chair and declaring, in a low sepulchral tone, “Forry Ackerman, I have a bit of a bone to pick with you.” And to my eternal astonishment, he’d always respond, “You sound exactly like Christopher Lee!”
Posted by Natasia in Events, Latest News, Movies, Press on March 8th, 2010
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences paid tribute to the horror film genre last Sunday at the 82nd Academy Awards.
The tribute included a four-minute montage of clips from various Hollywood horror and monster films both old and new, including such frightful, bloody, spine-tingling, and chilling suspense films as Jaws, The Exorcist, The Birds, The Shining, The Sixth Sense, Twilight and (to the surprise and confusion of some horror fans)…Marathon Man.
The two show hosts, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, began the tribute with a spoof of the film Paranormal Activity.
Afterwards, Twilight: New Moon actors Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner presented the historic montage, which was accompanied by a live orchestra.
Lautner, who plays the hunky werewolf Jacob in the Twilight series, began with a short speech, saying that horror is the most popular film genre that started the careers of many Hollywood greats. Despite this, it never seemed to command the respect it deserves.
Stewart, who plays mortal Bella in the Twilight series, continued the speech, saying that the Academy will “give horror films their due” after 37 long years. According to Stewart, the Academy last recognized a horror film in 1973, when The Exorcist won two statuettes (however, some argue that 1991’s Silence of the Lambs falls under the horror category).
With such nods to the horror genre, let us hope that the Academy will continue to recognize the contributions of horror and monster films in the history of cinema.
Photo Credit: Erik Ovanespour / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Reviews, Television & Web Series on March 8th, 2010
Now things are really starting to cook. While Caprica has done a good job of mining the dramatic fallout of events from the pilot, charting the separate and collective grief of the main characters, it was only a matter of time before the writers needed to make a concerted move forward in plotting. This week’s episode, “Know Thy Enemy,” represented that first step forward, but it was also a slightly ginger one.
Most of my admiration of the series thusfar has stemmed from its emphasis on character and world-building. Plot wasn’t forestalled so much as secondary to fleshing out this odd world and its inhabitants. Although the story in “Enemy” focused on an event that occurred within the Pilot (Daniel’s hiring of the Tauron mob to steal a part from his competitor), it also introduced new characters and new developments that provide us with an idea of where the show is heading.
The first of these new characters is Daniel’s aforementioned rival, Tomas Vergis. Much of the episode is dedicated to Vergis’s arrival on Caprica, and his declaration to Daniel that he will have revenge for the slaying of his two co-workers/godchildren. At first he claims he wants to help Daniel by buying the Caprica City Buccaneers so that Graystone Industries can get the money they need to perfect the MCP. Daniel doesn’t believe it, though, and finally comes to the decision that Vergis is merely trying to ingratiate himself into Caprican society to steal military contracts from Graystone. In a pivotal scene, Vergis reveals that Daniel’s barking up the right tree, but there’s more to it. He wants to own the C-Bucs because he knows how much Daniel loves them. “My dream is to tear up your dream,” he says with a smile.
This plotline unfortunately had to do so much heavy lifting to both introduce Vergis, and then tie him into the proceedings that there wasn’t much room for nuance. The same could be said for the subplot involving the other new character introduction this week, genre favorite James Marsters as STO fringe leader Barnabus. We get a sufficiently creepy introduction to the man, with a strip of barbed-wire strapped around his arm, opining about the necessity of pain. But at this point, Marsters is merely being set up as a dangerous ally for Lacey — unwilling to advance further in their coalition until he understands more about her motives.
Thankfully, the pair of other subplots were given the room to breathe that has characterized the series’ strength so far. First was Sister Clarice’s desperate attempt to infiltrate the Graystone household in order to poach technological data from Daniel’s database. Though the other members of her pluralistic marriage harbor doubts, she exhibits some unforeseen cunning in tricking Amanda by getting her drunk and then accepting an invitation into the laboratory to get a good luck at the Zoebot.
Speaking of Zoe, she was allowed to further explore her relationship with the young technician, Philomon. He’s so lovesick that he finds himself awkwardly romanticizing his robot, until Zoe takes matters into her own hands by inviting him on a date in V-world, under the pseudonym of “Rachel.” This is the kind of plot that doesn’t serve any sort of overarching purpose in the show’s trajectory, yet it provides great shades in character that you don’t get in a lot of television.
Now that they’ve established the rivalry between Daniel and Tomas, I’m hopeful that it can continue to be explored with as much nuance as the plots up until now have been dealt with. In some ways, this show is oddly reminding me of HBO’s Deadwood. Like that show, the writers are accumulating a huge collection of characters, each with their own unique quirks and motivations, and then throwing them together in a community to see how they react against each other. Deadwood was pretty brilliant from the outset, but really picked up in season two when the world and characters were well enough established to be left to their own devices, free from excessive plot contrivance. The same could very well hold true for Caprica, but for a season that could be largely about setting the table, it’s been pretty darn engaging so far.
Posted by Ed in Latest News, Movies on March 8th, 2010
From award-winning film/TV/video game composer Tree Adams (Californication, MAG), comes the score for the post-apocalyptic, indie sensation Downstream, written and produced by Famous Monsters own Philip Kim. The excellent piece of work is now available on iTunes-just $.9.99 USD for all 36 tracks.
Click here to get it.
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Television & Web Series on March 8th, 2010
If J.J. Abrams had created Fringe ten years ago, it could have served as a coy little meta-joke about the writer/director/producer’s career to that point. But today, with the news via Entertainment Weekly that Fringe has been picked up for a third season on FOX, the name is a true oxymoron.
Abrams began his career writing assigned scripts for a few big-budget Hollywood productions (Armageddon, Joy Ride), before finding his niche in the realm of network television. He gave Keri Russell minor stardom in the WB college dramedy Felicity, and then made a splash by essentially tweaking a similar premise with the qualifier “what if she was also a spy,” and creating Alias. Despite critical praise for his creations, neither managed to garner huge ratings. Nevertheless, Abrams would gain further critical attention with his next brainchild, Lost, and manage to accumulate enough clout to be hired on to direct a few huge blockbuster franchise films — Mission Impossible III and Star Trek.
In the midst of his rising stardom, Abrams carved out enough time to create his first televised serial since Lost (excluding a string of other short-lived Abrams-produced offerings that bore little more than his stamp of approval), the paranormal detective tale, Fringe.
Since debuting two seasons ago, the series has proved relatively prosperous for the network that is forced to measure all ratings against their one cultural behemoth, American Idol. Although a recent timeslot shift to the more crowded Thursday nights has led to a decrease in overall viewership — estimates are at 7.6 million viewers per episode, enough for just 50th overall in the key 18-49 demographic — FOX clearly still feels kindly enough to keep it around.
J.J. Abrams produces alongside longtime collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown and Jasika Nicole. Currently on a hiatus, Fringe will return with new episodes beginning April 1.
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Movies on March 8th, 2010
Dreamworks Pictures has entered into negotiations with director Craig Gillespie to helm their proposed remake of the 1985 horror comedy, according to the Los Angeles Times. Gillespie is best known for his work on the quirky 2007 Ryan Gosling indie, Lars and the Real Girl. He also serves as a director and producer on the Showtime original series, The United States of Tara.
This may seem like an odd choice seeing as Gillespie has never tried his hand at horror, but it’s key to recall the spirit of the original film. Written and directed by Tom Holland in 1985, the film centers around a teenager who discovers that his neighbors are vampires. Although it was definitively a film about vampires, it opted for a lighter, more comical tone than certain gory horror franchises — think The Lost Boys with better make-up and effects. The film relied more on the playful chemistry between the young leads, making it into a coming-of-age story that happened to include bloodsuckers.
Under this consideration, Gillespie could be an ideal candidate to revive that sense of development — in Lars and the Real Girl he plainly depicted the conventionally odd relationship between a young man and a blow-up doll he finds on the internet. For this project, the characters won’t be so clearly delusional, but if he can bring the same sense of heart and earnestness to them, we’ll be in for a treat.
DreamWorks previously hired Marti Noxon to write and produce the film. Genre fans may remember Noxon from her increasingly prominent role in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. Noxon has been involved with a number of genre television projects in the wake of Buffy, such as the short-lived Point Pleasant, and AMC’s breakthrough series, Mad Men.
No deal has officially been signed by Gillespie, but we’ll follow the story and update you if and when it becomes official.
