Tagged: science fiction
The Signal: Totally Tense Cerebral Sci-Fi!
If anyone out there likes their sci-fi with a side of brains and heart like I do then look no further! “The Signal” delivers and then some! Not to be mistaken for the zombie type “The Signal” flick from 2007, which was actually pretty decent. This is a completely different movie that only recently came out on dvd, Itunes ect. I’ve seen quite a bit of dumb ass sci-fi making it’s way to the masses over the years, so it’s great to see movies that actually challenge the brain like “Moon”, “Looper” or “The Europa Report” to name a few. The Signal, starring Brenton Thwaites and Laurence Fishburne is quite an adventure that will have you scratching your head in confusion and wonder all the way to the films incredibly tense climax.
The films premise starts out simple enough,On a road trip, Nic and two friends are drawn to an isolated area by a computer hacker, who’s been toying with them online all school year. Upon investigating an old seemingly abandoned house where the traced the hacker’s signal, one of them disappears. When everything suddenly goes dark, Nic regains consciousness – only to find himself alone & confused, in an odd medical facility. To give away anything would be a crime, but this one is indeed filled with some great twists and turns that will have you guessing all the way.
The Signal has top notch acting, incredible special effects and a ton of thrills that will have you on the edge of your seat. I’m excited to check out what else the film’s director William Eubank has done and what he’s got planned next. He’s certainly a director to watch in the future. I’m hoping that we can get more serious sci-fi elements into the next installments of something like Star Trek on the big screen, as even with the old episodes from the 1960’s they often had some really great plots that really made you think. An element that is often missing from modern sci-fi, instead we often end up with sci-fi for people with A.D.D.! So I say waste no time and check this one out right away if you want something truly unique, original and totally exciting!!
Automata: Antonio Banderas Shows The Fresh Prince How to do The Robot!!!
Been really digging what I have seen lately on the the upcoming “Automata” trailer starring Antonio Banderas! Can you believe it? I have a bit of a soft spot now for Antonio after seeing him in the latest Expendables movie, where he totally stole the show. Now we all can officially forget about the terrible pile of robotic bull shit that was I, Robot from 2004, you know the one with The Fresh Prince prancin’ around like a wise ass dipshit?! Here we have something that really looks quite a bit closer to Isaac Asimov’s vision, at least by the trailer, which is quite impressive.
It for starters blends some amazing special fx both digital and practical the way that it should have been done in the first place. Second it looks like it’s got a bit more heart and mind to it as well and even reminds me a bit of Blade Runner in the best ways possible. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet for this check it out, this looks like Sci-Fi done just the way I like it…
Fan-Made AKIRA Trailer Should Not Be Missed!!
Akira was an amazing comic book and one of the best animated feature films of all time hands down. If you have never seen the movie or read the book you’re missing out big time and maybe have been living in a cave for your entire life! So we’ve been hearing for years that a live action Akira movie is on the plate for Hollywood and we all know there’s a fifty fifty chance that the movie could be totally butchered in this day and age, paying little attention to fans or the source material.
What we have got today is a completed fan made trailer made by The Akira Project. Here’s a little more info on how this came to be and what this really is:
“The Akira Project is a crowd-sourced, non-profit project meant to create a live action fan trailer of AKIRA, the renowned manga-turned-anime film from the late 1980′s; a stunning example of both mediums as art forms. While Hollywood has been working on a live-action Akira movie for a few years now, we, as fans, wanted to take a shot at making our own adaptation. A chance to stick as close to the source material as possible. A chance to do Akira Justice.
We launched an Indiegogo campaign in July 2012 as part of a crowd sourcing effort to make this project come to life. Many people contributed not just financially but offered their time and talent to help the production that was shot in Montreal, Quebec from November 2-5th 2012. What started out as a simple idea between two guys having a beer (Hey! It’d be cool to see Kaneda ride his bike around Neo-Tokyo!), became a global endeavour, filled with adventures and hurdles, involving more than 40 artists in 12 different countries.
After a year and a half in post-production, we are proud to present the project to Akira fans the world over. We hope to have done justice to the timeless work of Katsuhiro Otomo and look forward to, someday, seeing the full scope of the Akira story translated to the big screen as a live-action.”
I say these guys should do the real movie! Check out the trailer!
The Woods #1: One of the Best Debut Comic Books of Recent Times!
As far as debut issues of comic books go these days I’d say the Boom! Studios debut issue of ‘The Woods” is one of the best! It’s a great little sci-fi/horror story that involves an entire High School (yes the building and all of the students and faculty) being transported to a strange forest seemingly on another planet. That’s the least of their worries though as they soon find out they are not alone there. With no idea how or why this happened students and faculty go head to head with each other trying to figure out the best plan of survival. This is a great start to hopefully a great series, the first issue has a little bit of a “LOST” which I adore, being a giant fan of that tv series. It also reminds me a bit of the tv show because of the mysterious situation, which for the time being there is no explanation for that they have found themselves having to deal with. It leaves me wondering what’s next and longing to read the next issue. It’s a lot of fun, with fair parts of horror, gore and comedy mixed in at just the right amounts.
The artwork done by Michael Dialynas is also alot of fun here and adds to the strength of this debut. It’s a really great to find a good solid first issue and a new series to look forward too. I’m finding it harder and harder to find books I want to stick with by Marvel or DC. I actually realized that at the moment I am not reading ANY tltles by the big two. Now that could easily change at any moment, but it’s a bit shocking that I’m not absorbed into any title right now that they are offering and at four or even five bucks a pop now a comic book better be good!I am open to suggestions also because at that price it’s not exactly easy to sample the platter, as comic books can easily add up every week at these prices. So here’s a little comic I think is a safe bet, The Woods was a damn fine fun ride-check it out!
Star Trek: Less Action Please!!
I’ve been thinking about for it for quite some time now and I’ve just GOT to say it: Current Star Trek has way too much damn action! After watching the most recent “Star Trek: Into Darkness” I realized that the franchise is going in the wrong direction. No, I won’t deny that JJ nailed it on the first Star Trek he directed, it was fun, action packed and nostalgic. However the lackluster sequel where he tried to recreate the whole Khan storyline was not necessary to us Trekkers! We had two previous installments (Space Seed and The Wrath of Khan) which simply cannot be touched. It was a loud mess of story with a decent villain but who unfortunately just wasn’t seen as the legendary Khan in the eyes of Star Trek fans. I felt it was such a disappointment that I am actually glad that Abrams is leaving the franchise.
Yep, I realized that this current “Star Trek” doesn’t really represent real spirit of Star Trek. It’s so jam packed with wild explosions, glitter and insane action sequences that it is missing what really made Trek so intriguing in the first place. A good solid story. Nope we didn’t get crazy effects heavy action, we got good sci-fi about traveling the universe looking for new alien civilizations, beaming down to unknown planets, exploration and strong bonds that slowly grew within the crew in the process. it wasn’t about being flashy, it was the perfect blend of action, story and adventure. I’d like to see the next movie be a more intelligent plot driven adventure of discovering new worlds and the the unknown threats or challenges that are waiting on the planet’s surface.You know like a star trek should be…
Let’s not try and modernize an old story or try to redesign an old villain with a “cool factor”. Give us a good story without all the pointless hyperactive action- this is Star Trek not The Fast and the Furious! “Into Darkness” really made me miss the spirit of the old shows and movies. I think Abrams did a great job of kick starting a franchise and making it “cool again” for the kids but as we continue this journey let’s remember that all that glitters is not necessarily gold, let’s remember what made Star Trek great in the first place. Star Trek was never broken, its crew just got old and eventually retired, let’s remember even in their younger days they were never concerned about being hip and cool for the kids, they were there to explore the final frontier! Give us some good ol’ fashioned science fiction dammit! You remember episodes like “City on the Edge of Forever”? “Mirror Mirror”? “Arena”? “The Naked Time”?! The Savage Curtain”? Well if not maybe all you Trek fans should go back and revisit the classics, the foundation of it all. Who do you think would be a good choice to helm the next movie?! Do you think Star Trek is on the right path?
Indiana Jones is Expendable?!
This is pretty crazy news, that by now everyone knows, but really Harrison Ford joining the Expendables 3 is quite a surprise! This clearly is going to add a different dimension to the movie and give it some serious star power. It certainly seems as if Sly is going for it again with his casting but what does this mean for Ford’s character? Is he a villain? Part of the team? I’m hoping that injecting him into the movie will perhaps bring on a more “adventurous” vibe to the movie, maybe having him play slightly off his Indiana Jones role and taking the team to some truly amazing remote places! How cool would it be if they had to hire him as a guide for the team in search of some strange artifact of some sort.
Perhaps his involvement means what Stallone mentioned, that the third film might shift genres? I for one hope Ford brings the team into new territory and that the movie does shift into maybe a more sci-fi element, or even better as was predicted, the movie may be based on the discarded “Rambo 5” script “The Savage Hunt”. The ideas for that was that Sly and his team have to hunt down a genetically modified mutant super soldier gone psycho. Now I’d pay to see that! Let’s hope this is the case and that Ford is their guide into the jungles where he or rather it is hiding! Come on Stallone make it happen!!!
Masks: Cool Old School Hand Drawn Animation!
I am always on the search for cool new hand drawn animated films, to be quite honest I miss this genre a lot. I enjoy a lot of the CG animation as well but there’s really a special quality that’s missing from most of those films that just can’t be replicated from hand drawn. To me it feels as if the CG animation is pulled from the same pool meaning that it at times to me looks a bit too similar from one movie to another. So any chance I get to promote a cool old school animated film I take!
So I recently ran across this neat little short film on Youtube. It’s created by a guy named Patrick Smith who if you click the link will bring you to more of his cool short animated films. This one is a cool little sci-fi short! Check it out and keep your eyes peeled for more from this guy!
Live action CG ALF Movie…….LAME!!!
Hey everyone it seems word on the net today is about the possible ALF reboot / remake full length feature film! Sounded good to me when I first heard about it, I mean you have to have no soul to not like ALF! I am certain there are some youngsters out there are like who the shit is ALF? But all of us 1980’s kids need no introduction, his name stands for Alien Life Form. He’s a furry smart ass alien who loves to dine on….Cats!
It was also one of best 80’s sitcoms around & Alf was brought to life entirely by puppetry. This version boasts a CG Alf. Uggh…hey Hollywood did you see the latest installment of The Muppets movie? Do you think that would have been any good if Kermit and Co were CG? It’s no wonder that this is the direction the movie is taking as Jordan Kerner the “genius” behind the latest Smurfs movie is Alf’s producer. This movie could be a completely nostalgic & delightful throwback for all of us. Somehow I have a feeling this new version of Alf will be a bunch of watered down Hollywood Schlock. Only Hollywood could ever be accused of something as atrocious as watering down Alf. But they are already en route to doing so. The good news is that original voice of Alf, Paul Fasco is on board at least! Maybe I am being too hard on Hollywood? But hey Alf was never broken, he doesn’t need to be fixed….in the meantime puppet ALF is saying F’ off to CG Alf via this ALF Metal, this isn’t the first time I posted this here because it’s goddamn amazing!!!
Send Your Dirty Laundry to Vulcan?!!
Who would have ever know that the answers to clean clothing here on Earth was solved by Vulcans?!! Don’t believe me? Need proof?! Well take a look here at this old school Cheer commercial from 1969.
Here you will see how one lone housewife had quite an epic experience one day while pondering one of life’s greatest wonders…..Laundry!!
Baywatch Nights Season 2 Marathon! The Poor Man’s X-Files!
Yes! I just discovered that Baywatch Nights season two is all on Youtube! So I’ve recently been re-watching some of this stuff and it’s awesome! See what some people don’t remember is that when Baywatch Nights started out it was just a spin-off of the original show with Mitch Buchannon (Hasslehoff) continuing his beach front patrol into the late night, BUT when the ratings dropped after the first season the Hoff wanted to jump on the bandwagon of the success of the X-Files!
So what happened in season two? Suddenly the Baywatch universe was jam packed with the ridiculous supernatural creatures with only one man who could get to the bottom of shit-you guessed it The Hoff!
Still playing the same character! A lot of people never even knew this happened, they were too damn busy watching the X-files…so now I figured was as good a time as any to see what the hell I missed back in the day. Well it seems I missed a LOT! If you got some time to kill and brews to drink check out some of these-here’s a good one “Frozen out of Time” where Hasselhoff hunts down two real life vikings who’ve been thawed from the ice and storm the waterfront beating up local fisherman with their catches of the day-CLASSIC!!
Universal Dork 