Alien in 2014

Toy company NECA shared this work in progress image of a Nostromo spacesuit - part of their 35th Anniversary tribute to Alien in 2014!

Elysium: visionary design, gripping action

If you’ve seen the original series Star Trek episode The Cloud Minders, you know the setup for Elysium – the aristocratic elite live high above the Earth in pristine utopia while the great unwashed live in impoverished squalor below, toiling away on the planet’s surface. Director Neill Blomkamp has envisioned a spectacular follow-up to his 2009 debut, District 9. Elysium is definitely a companion piece that belongs on the same shelf, as both films make ample use of bleak shantytowns as the catalyst for stories of class struggle.

The titular Elysium is a vast space station of the future, always visible in the skies above the industrial ghetto of dystopian Los Angeles. Science Fiction fans, if you’ve longed to see Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama depicted as a film, the visual effects technology is ready to go, as Elysium is a giant wheel-like environment that’s absolutely photorealistic and convincing. Across the board, the effects depicted in Elysium are a marvel and stunningly well executed.

Matt Damon is an Earthbound laborer, grinding out a living in the industrial slums, building the droids that help maintain Elysium’s status quo. It’s a Bruce Willis role – a Korben Dallas (The Fifth Element) type. When events conspire to make getting to Elysium a matter of urgency, Damon’s character will have to transform himself to have even a chance at getting there. Blomkamp (who also wrote the script) must have a strong affection for Paul Verhoeven. Becoming part machine while struggling to retain your humanity is handled with a pathos and ferocity similar to Robocop. An automated parole officer recalls the “Johnny Cab” of Total Recall. Order on Elysium is maintained by the icy Jodie Foster, whose work I normally love. But Foster seems to be impersonating Cate Blanchett here, with an odd Franco-British accent that’s all over the place. Her lethal weapon of choice is deranged field agent Sharlto Copley, who steals the movie with a wildly unpredictable and unhinged performance. He’s the villain of the summer and makes one of the most physical and impulsive antagonists you’re likely to see anywhere.

Elysium is a pretty spectacular science fiction movie that never skimps on the action. Blomkamp’s films have a strong dose of social undercurrent in them. Where District 9 deftly addressed immigration, Elysium references the widening gulf between haves and have-nots; our mad dash to incorporate tech; surveillance drones and health care for all. While the messaging may be a little heavy-handed, Blomkamp’s uses sci-fi to comment on the here and now, while keeping the plot moving at a breakneck pace. It’s refreshing to see a summer sci-fi film with an actual R-rating for a change. The violence and gore are in your face and sometimes wince-inducing. William Fichtner is particularly terrific as an aristocratic citizen repulsed by the workers he has to supervise. I have to single out the design work on this film by Philip Ivey, TyRuben Ellingson and the legendary futurist Syd Mead (Blade Runner) for the highest praise. The flying vehicles on display not only look absolutely credible, but they’re some of the most striking designs I’ve seen in ages. Wait ‘til you see the “Bugatti” Fichtner’s executive uses.

There are parts of Elysium that will definitely give some viewers plenty of nits to pick. But any shortcuts or just-go-with-it moments are minor, given the suspense of the plot and the staggeringly good effects on display. This is fast-moving, action-packed sci-fi on a big scale and absolutely worth seeing in the theater. It’s wildly entertaining and Blomkamp moves up to the James Cameron/Ridley Scott league here. He’s a visionary and Elysium is absolutely eye-popping.

Breaking Bad fans: "It accelerates absorption"

Yes, that's Bryan Cranston...

Thanks, Dutch - The Legendary Elmore Leonard

The sun has gone down on legendary writer Elmore Leonard, who has died at 87 after complications following a stroke.

A former advertising man, Leonard's crime novels have been adapted into countless movies such as Out of Sight, Jackie Brown, 3:10 to Yuma, Hombre, Mr. Majestyk, Get Shorty and the TV series Justified.

Leonard's dozens of novels were inhabited by realistic conmen, killers, lawmen and dark humor - he knew the rhythms of the Western better than anyone. After writing several pulp Westerns in the 1950s and '60s, his first crime novel The Big Bounce was rejected 84 times before it was published as a paperback in 1969. Modern TV audiences have been devouring Justified, featuring Timothy Olyphant as cool under fire U.S. marshall Raylan Givens, on which Leonard also served as executive producer.

I can think of no better tip of the hat to Elmore Leonard than to share his all too wise Ten Rules of Writing - which anyone even remotely interested in crafting fiction would do well to take to heart:

1. Never open a book with weather.

2. Avoid prologues.

3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.

4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely.

5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.

6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."

7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.

8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.

9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.

10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

My most important rule is one that sums up the 10...

"If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”

Iron Throne of the mind's eye

Nervous about sitting on the Iron Throne? You ought to be! But if you think the throne depicted on HBO's Game of Thrones would give your posterior pause, George R.R. Martin recently revealed on his blog that it's a mere cheese grater, compared to what he actually envisions - and he points towards the work of illustrator Marc Simonetti.

Here's Martin, from his blog:

The HBO throne has become iconic. And well it might. It's a terrific design, and it has served the show very well. There are replicas and paperweights of it in three different sizes. Everyone knows it. I love it. I have all those replicas right here, sitting on my shelves.


And yet, and yet... it's still not right. It's not the Iron Throne I see when I'm working on THE WINDS OF WINTER. It's not the Iron Throne I want my readers to see. The way the throne is described in the books... HUGE, hulking, black and twisted, with the steep iron stairs in front, the high seat from which the king looks DOWN on everyone in the court... my throne is a hunched beast looming over the throne room, ugly and assymetric...

The HBO throne is none of those things. It's big, yes, but not nearly as big as the one described in the novels. And for good reason. We have a huge throne room set in Belfast, but not nearly huge enough to hold the Iron Throne as I painted it. For that we'd need something much bigger, more like the interior of St. Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, and no set has that much room. The Book Version of the Iron Throne would not even fit through the doors of the Paint Hall.
 

Hooray for The Hollywood!

No, giant Kaiju did not attack the Hollywood Theater – that demolished look is evidence that the old marquee has been removed and a brand new marquee is about to be installed! Thanks to a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign, a new marquee based on the theater’s historic past is about to take the stage.


Over the last year the Hollywood has been busy – they’ve installed new seats in auditoriums, added tables to some, put in a new screen and sound system, plus you can cover all the food groups at once with pizza and beer. This is all great, but the core of the Hollywood is their widely expansive film series – Cinema Classics, Kung Fu Theater, B-Movie Bingo and Grindhouse are just a few of the Hollywood’s many offerings.

Then there’s Hecklevision, coming at you on August 23rd – in a truly inspired stroke, the Hollywood will screen (shudder) Star Trek V – The Final Frontier (bring your own Mylanta), with audience jokes, heckling and commentary encouraged as Texts (!), appearing instantly on screen! Guest hecklers will include the cast of Portland’s own Trek in the Park! Where else are you gonna find that kind of experience?



The old marquee, recently removed


Built in 1926, the Hollywood is constantly renovating and improving, while fulfilling their mission as a not-for-profit engine of entertainment and education, showcasing modern and vintage independent and classic films that might otherwise never see the light of day. Watch this space for an update when the new marquee makes its public debut – in the meantime, go support this theater – they deserve it!

Favorite comic book cover of the day