UPDATED: NECA 2014 preview!

Our cool pals over at NECA have been sneaking out glimpses of their 2014 figure lines, and are they ever up to some mischief! First off (tentatively March) we get a continuation of the Pacific Rim line, featuring fan-favorite Russian Jaeger "Cherno Alpha," a walking, kaiju-slamming, nuclear cooling tower, as well as Coyote Tango. Totally awesome! 

Then we got our first glimpse of their exciting new Planet of the Apes line, which aims to offer us a comprehensive assortment of figures from the entire history of the Apes franchise... 

But of course, the most eagerly awaited of all is their 35th Anniversary Alien line. NECA has been teasing us with this stuff since last July's Comic Con, and this promises to be their most popular line to date, potentially eclipsing their Predator and Terminator licences - assuming they obtain the widest possible range of likeness rights... Some really eye-popping stuff going on at NECA. We'll keep you posted as more details on these figures see the light of day. 

 

Mama joins the murky rising tide

We're continuing to see a trend in horror that harkens back to revisionist spins on the classic ghost yarn, now that we seem to be out of the J-horror era. One of the latest is Mama, from director-writer Andrés Muschietti, expanded from his short film under the producorial hand of Guillermo del Toro and some screenplay assistance from Luther creator Neil Cross. These newer horror films have been stylistically influenced by films like Ringu (The Ring), but harken back to old school thrillers like The Haunting and The Uninvited. Previous films like The Orphanage and del Toro's own The Devil's Backbone paved the way, and it's only become more pronounced with subsequent films such as The Woman In Black, Don 't Be Afraid of the Dark and The Conjuring.


Spiritual visitations upon childhood are a major del Toro theme, so it makes perfect sense that he'd be a voice behind bringing Mama to a wider audience. The film shares many common elements with The Conuring, but it's also very difficult to talk about without giving too much away. I saw the film knowing next to nothing about the plot, and I'm glad that's the case.

The film involves events of the past, plaguing visitations upon the present. Jessica Chastain (in a change of pace role) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones' Jaime Lannister) play the adults trying to navigate things from a real world perspective, despite the upper hand of those with stronger connections to other realms. Coster-Waldau is particularly good. Yes, I'm being as vague as I possibly can.

If you enjoy these types of horror pictures like I do, and if this trend towards supernatural classicism gives you hope for the genre, then you should definitely give Mama a spin. It's extremely inventive and suspenseful and Muschietti does a great job of tickling the ivories here. I'd be raving a lot more enthusiastically if it weren't for my reactions to the film's final act. Some substantial plot conveniences are taken in the name of hastening the climax along, and I had a pretty strong reaction to the direction the filmmakers leaned to at the very end. But, strong reactions are good - at least it means the creators were taking some chances and following their sense of story. I just wish the outcome hadn't left me feeling so detached from the emotions I'd invested along the way, and so vexed at forces that don't play by the rules we'd been told to believe. 

"They are inclined to be fat in the stomach..." The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

This is a hard one to write, make no mistake! I felt a bit off on my own with An Unexpected Journey, as I seemed to be part of a small minority that tried to embrace that film on its own terms, despite its imperfections. If anything it was a heartfelt love letter to Middle Earth, say what you will. 

Advance word on The Desolation of Smaug was extremely positive, so I was giddy with anticipation and chomping at the bit for more of the adventures of Bilbo and company - and if you have any fondness for Peter Jackson's first Hobbit installment, you're likely to enjoy this one even more - there's no question it's worth seeing theatrically. But my overall reaction to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a very mixed one. 

There is so much to admire in this film! The work of countless artisans and design wizards - special effects that boggle the mind. Much of the magic previously conjured-up in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy certainly makes an appearance here. This is a gorgeous production. But seeing The Desolation of Smaug is a bit like being served a seventy-five pound lobster. The excessiveness and elephantine expansion of beloved sequences has been allowed to over-inflate with unchecked abandon. If ever there was a film that could have benefited from the objective input of a concerned producer or editor, it's The Desolation of Smaug. Virtually no scene unfolds with the mantra of less-is-more. 

In part two of Jackson's Hobbit trilogy we meet shape-changing bear-man Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt), depicted here as Middle Earth's own Wolverine, right down to the haircut. Beorn helps our travelers elude pursuing Orcs, still Captained by the fearsome Azog. Burglar and dwarves cut through Mirkwood forest, only to be set upon by battalions of hideous spiders. Escape only lands them in the hands of the Mirkwood elves, where we learn Rings heartthrob Legolas hails from. This Legolas is a much darker, warrior-type than we previously knew, beholden to his dour and sardonic father, elf-King Thranduil. Bilbo's company gains an ally in elven warrior Tauriel - a Jackson creation not out of Tolkien, but a welcome addition. Evangeline Lilly is strong and engaging here, practically the only female character on view, somewhat similar to the Eowyn role in The Two Towers. She's a breath of fresh air after the long slog with umpteen bearded dwarves. Eventually, the party arrives at Lake Town and from there, Erebor - The Lonely Mountain, and Bilbo's face-to-face encounter with the titular fire drake.

When we finally do meet Smaug, he doesn't disappoint. Smaug himself is wonderfully rendered (once you get past a long section seen through Bilbo's twilight "ring-vision"). Benedict Cumberbatch gives Smaug tremendous personality, malice, and vanity - he makes Smaug a character, first and foremost - all ego and armor-plated scales. But the dragon scenes in Erebor just go on and on, ultimately wringing every last drop of suspense from things by over familiarity and too many chases and contraptions. Similarly, the barrel escape from Mirkwood has been turned into a Six Flags Great Adventure attraction. It's an endless sequence and Jackson conjures up memories of similarly unchecked directorial excess in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, reminiscent of the eye-rolling sight gags involving one unrealistic waterfall plummet or jungle vine-swing after another. The dragon Smaug has an Achilles' Heel, and so does Jackson - he's way too hung-up on elaborate Rube Goldberg mechanics that try so hard to be clever and kinetic that all credibility is strained beyond belief, with the barrel scenes and Smaug finale being the most oppressive offenders. The film easily feels over thirty-minutes too long, thanks to the indulgences of these scenes, which feel more like video game sequences than cinema. Likewise, there's way too much convoluted business going on in Lake Town, with Stephen Fry's Falstaffian turn and an assistant named Alfrid, who seems to be a complete clone of Brad Dourif's superior Grima Wormtongue in Rings.

There are excellent scenes in between all this excess, however. Sequences with Gandalf exploring the ruins of Dol Guldur are splendid and evoke the same thrills one remembers from Lord of the Rings. Lake Town hero Bard (Luke Evans) shows promise, and should be the focus of plenty of action in the third film, There and Back Again.

The Desolation of Smaug is challenging. I've found that subsequent viewings of An Unexpected Journey have only increased my affection for the film, and I hope that same thing happens here. It's a rousing epic made with only the biggest helpings of love for the source material on the part of the filmmakers. Caveats now said, I do recommend seeing it in a theater, but if I had my druthers, I'd definitely skip the unnecessary 3D. The movie's color palate is so gray and so much of it consists of indoor sequences, it feels like a black and white film - so 3D only serves to deliver a dimmer image, when things are already far too dim enough.

The reviews and box office for Smaug seem more energized than the first film, so I hope my enthusiasm only grows over time. I'm certainly in awe of the craftsmanship and design prowess on display here - I just wish there was a much firmer hand in the editing - with both the dailies and the screenplay.

Tolkien said it himself - Hobbits tend to be a bit over-stuffed in their mid-sections. This mid-section is certainly faithful to the author on that score.

Kurt Sutter: The Executioner's Song

Being a Sons of Anarchy fan, I'm still reeling and trying to recover after this week's sixth season finale - fear not, no spoilers lurk here. But let's just say there have been some major, major events on the show this year, stuff I would have never imagined creator Kurt Sutter dishing out until next years' seventh and final season. But Sutter doesn't shy away from anything, and this year he's written nearly every episode of Sons and whenever I see his name in the writing credits, I feel I ought to swallow and brace myself for what's coming. He's given us a riveting, brutal and anything but safe season, probably the series' best to date, and that's saying a lot. A lot of gasping and shouting at the TV set in our house.


Almost immediately after the finale aired, official word came of Sutter's post Sons plans, once he wraps up the series in 2014 - and are they ever exciting plans. With his work on The Shield and Sons, Sutter clearly has Keys to the Kingdom status over at FX Network. So when Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer brought his idea of a Medieval knight turned executioner in the era of Edward III, FX immediately thought of Sutter as the man to bring The Bastard Executioner to life. Bastard Executioner tells the story of a warrior knight in the service of King Edward III who is broken by the ravages of war and vows to lay down his sword. But when violence finds him again he is forced to pick up the bloodiest sword of all. “I love the network. I love the world. I love the blood,” Sutter said. The pilot is expected to film late next year after wrapping the final episodes of SOA.

“For 13 years at FX, starting as a writer and working his way up to an executive producer on The Shield, then as Creator/Executive Producer of Sons Of Anarchy, Kurt has interwoven literary and pulp storytelling within two of the most successful series in cable history,” said FX Networks CEO John Landgraf. “Now he has conceived a deep, provocative and historically precise narrative journey into our medieval past — and I have no doubt Bastard Executioner will be another remarkably original and gripping series. We’re also thrilled to be in business with Brian Grazer, one of the most gifted film and TV producers in the business.” Clearly visions of Game of Thrones audience addiction are dancing in their heads at FX, after all - aren't SAMCRO bikers just outlaw knights of a different era?

“I find the executioner to be an incredibly fascinating and provocative character,” said Grazer. “He deals with the highest order and the lowest order in the culture. It’s about as morally complex a profession as you can imagine, and it is going to make for a spellbinding series.” Grazer pitched the concept to 20th Century Fox co-chairs Dana Walden and Gary Newman, then Sutter created a whole canvas around the idea and they took it to FX, who bought it instantly. “It was our great pleasure to introduce Kurt to Brian Grazer, who is a powerful force in our industry and a great champion of breakthrough films and television shows like Imagine’s own 24 and Arrested Development,” Walden and Newman said. “Kurt and Brian together will be unstoppable.”

Christmas trailer mania!

The holiday box office is in full swing, but Hollywood has its gaze focused on next Summer, and beyond.
There have been some very interesting trailers out over the last couple of days...

First up is Jupiter Ascending, a far-flung sci-fi flick from Lana and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix, Cloud Atlas), with Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum as some kind of satyr-looking super soldier. Moments inspire a Fifth Element trepidation, but this is undeniably fascinating and could work - the Wachowskis have a vision, make no mistake...



Then, for my money, the big winner - Godzilla, the long anticipated follow-up to director Gareth Edwards' Monsters - probably the best movie per-budget-dollar I've seen in years. If you've never seen it, seek it out. I just hope he can deliver as much inventiveness now that he has a completely unhinged budget. But friends, based on this trailer, it appears he's taken full advantage of the opportunity. This sprawling canvas (with Bryan Cranston!)  looks like it will forever make us forget both Roland Emmerich's effort as well as Cloverfield - this Godzilla looks like the behemoth to beat in a post Pacific Rim universe - bring on next May!

GREAT news: A rave for Smaug! UPDATED!!!

Consider this huge and excellent news! Thanks to the lovely folk at theonering.net for the news that while there is a review embargo and nondisclosure agreement in effect for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, TIME magazine has declared it to be one of the year's best films!

"Who could guess, after the meandering first feature in a seemingly unnecessary eight-hour trilogy of films based on a novel of less than 300 pages, that Peter Jackson had such a vigorous and thrilling middle episode in store? With Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the dwarves finally done with introductory dawdling, they dive into a nonstop adventure among the noble Elves, the rough-hewn humans of Laketown and the ferocious dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

This time, Andy Serkis has not lent his presence to Gollum, but his work as second-unit director is spectacular. Each complex encounter, especially a flume-ride escape of the dwarves, boasts a teeming ingenuity of action and character. A bonus: the budding romance of the warrior Elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and the dwarf hunk Kili (Aidan Turner). In all, this is a splendid achievement, close to the grandeur of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films."

If that doesn't light a fire in your pipe, nothing will! Very exciting!
Here's the complete list of TIME's Top 10 films, for your perusal.

UPDATE: Revered Empire Magazine has published their Desolation of Smaug review, now that the embargo is over - a whopping FIVE STAR (unmissable) review - their highest rating!

"Middle-earth's got its mojo back. A huge improvement on the previous installment, this takes our adventurers into uncharted territory and delivers spectacle by the ton."

Sounds like we have one heck of a movie on our hands in just a few short days!

You listening, perp? Dredd is the law!

Here in the States, it can be hard to find a Judge Dredd fan. Too many moviegoers merely roll their eyes (rightfully so) and try and suppress the memory of the woefully misguided Sylvester Stallone misfire from the summer of 1995. Coming on the heels of films like Braveheart and Apollo 13, Stallone's Judge Dredd was off on nearly every level - Dredd even removed his helmet, for cryin' out loud! That's like Dirty Harry wearing a corset and stockings to work vice.

I missed 2012's Dredd in theaters, but over the last year it's been building some sizable word of mouth. So when I saw it in Amazon's Black Friday sale for the ridiculous price of eight bucks, I had to satisfy my curiosity. Money well spent! This lean and faithful Dredd is to its lame precursor what Daniel Craig's Casino Royale is to David Niven's.

Karl Urban (aka Leonard McCoy 2.0) plays futuristic lawman Judge Dredd as though he stepped right out of the pages of UK comic 2000 A.D. Beneath the helmet, all you see is the sneering mouth and lantern jaw of Mega City One's sternest enforcer - and what a downturned sneer it is! Urban and director Pete Travis get the tone just right and deliver a lean and particularly mean dose dystopia. If Dredd has a soulmate predecessor, it's Paul Verhoeven's Robocop - which is perfect, as Robo's "Your move, creep," persona reminded many viewers of Judge Dredd the comic when it can out. This Dredd is equally programmed and single-minded, poised on the edge of outright satire. But Dredd is also wildly, enthusiastically violent in a way that we haven't really seen since Verhoeven's heyday. Heads explode and bodies come apart with unhinged abandon.

Dredd's tasked with assessing a rookie partner - Judge Anderson, straight out of the comics - a female Judge with unique psychic abilities. Their training day takes a bad turn when they become locked in the siege of a gigantic apartment block (think Cabrini Green on steroids), ruled by unflinchingly violent drug lord Ma-Ma, wonderful depicted by Game of Thrones' Lena Headey, adding another despicable villainess to her resume.

Ma-Ma's drug of choice is a sci-fi brain popper called Slo-Mo, that gives the user a surreal, ultra slow-motion perception of the world which Travis has great fun with.

Think of all the times you pop in a sci-fi action flick hoping for something that really delivers only to be dismally disappointed. Dredd had me immediately primed for a sequel. It's a superior action movie that remembers how they used to make 'em and actually bothers to be fun. Dredd is a blast and that helmet is never coming off!

Thor: The Dark World - Mjölnir Kicks Asgard!

You can put the hammer down - Thor: The Dark World continues Marvel Studios’ conquest of the known universe and delivers a satisfying sequel that surpasses the original. Some fans tend to pooh-pooh poor old Thor, quick to dismiss his somewhat frothier canvas of adventures. Thor has always lived in a much more far-flung and cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe, which this sequel makes good use of. Director Alan Taylor is a veteran of HBO and AMC, with credits on everything from The Sopranos to Game of Thrones. He brings a great sensibility to Thor and marshals a look to the film that’s dark but never dreary. Thor and his pals are trying to save the nine realms from the evil Dark Elves, who would fit right in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. If Angry Elf Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) gets a hold of an ancient weapon known as The Aether, darkness will descend across all that is known.


Thor: The Dark World is ridiculously entertaining – far lighter and much more pure fun than either Iron Man 3 or The Wolverine. As the plot moves forward, things only get better. Tom Hiddleston steals the film as Cain to Thor’s Abel. He’s dynamite and really keeps things interesting. Of course Natalie Portman’s astrophysicist is a goofy conceit, but you can’t help but root for the mortal in love with a God of the astral plane – and that mythos gives the story freedom to creatively wreak havoc with a far-flung sense of jeopardy – Portman and Hemsworth have a nice chemistry and directory Taylor makes sure that she and all of the other minor characters from the first Thor enjoy more opportunities to shine as individuals here. Sif, Frigga and Heimdall all get their turn in the spotlight in fun and engaging ways.

The effects are pretty spectacular and we’re given a rip-roaring pulp story with plenty of laughs and a lot of heart. Thor: The Dark World is just the ticket for a satisfying pre-holiday romp through the cosmos. If you haven’t already heard, there are two extra scenes in the credits, so be sure to stay until the very end. Great stuff!

The Conjuring - maybe buy the new house...

The Conjuring is without a doubt one of the best horror films in a long while - it's also one of the most familiar. If you didn't know better, you could be excused for thinking you'd caught a remake of Poltergeist. Director James Wan (Saw, Dead Silence, Insidious) knows the genre inside and out. With The Conjuring, he's found the real-life story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga) and delivers a period picture of the Warren's most infamous case at a Rhode Island farm house in 1971.

The great Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston are the family with five daughters (now that's scary...) who move into the farm house and quickly realize they are in way over their heads. This is the kind of horror film about a dark presence and the Warrens have had so much experience with demons and ghosts that they treat it as just a different kind of science. Until they get to this house.

The seventies mood is pulpy, but really fits and Wan does a sensational job of making you really feel for the characters - for the Warrens, for the Perron family - you're always on their side, terrified that something awful will happen to one of them.

There's a very effective and refreshing simplicity to The Conjuring, which probably helps explain why it connected so well with audiences. The cinematography by John R. Leonetti employs lots of close-quarters atmosphere and a wide range of shadows.

Wan shows no restraint when it comes to referencing predecessors. The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, The Haunting, The Birds and Poltergeist all make telling references here. Wan turns the screws on the audience to strong effect - and he's not shy about tossing in the genre kitchen sink. The family dog, the evil doll, the creepy music box, the derelict cellar - if The Conjuring has a weakness, it's that much of it is very familiar.

That said, it's so lean and effective you're not likely to care. The freshest elements of the film are the Warrens - these two earnest and committed night stalkers hint at a rich mythology - and plenty of franchise potential. I'd love to read up on them and learn more about what they've dealt with. If you're looking for a great modern descendant to the films mentioned above, definitely make a date with The Conjuring - but not if you're moving into a new house...

Love Letter to the late great Don LaFontaine

Do yourself a favor and start your day to this sensational mashup of Don LaFontaine expressions you'll be using whenever possible - hilarious! Volume definitely required...

Sunday, Bloody Sunday: The Walking Dead: Season 4

Grab your shovels and crossbows and watch your back, because this Sunday the dead return!

Season 4 of AMC's ratings juggernaut The Walking Dead has us wondering just what to expect - and the unknown is always scary, right? We had quite the body count last season that's bound to find our surviving characters in a shattered state of recovery.

The series has another new showrunner - Scott Gimple, who's written some of the show's strongest episodes, a good sign. We don't have a clearly recognizable setting initially that compares with the farm of season 2 or Woodbury of season 3 - though it looks like we're going to be returning to the prison as season 4 begins. Michonne appears to have a horse, which gives her a nifty Samurai vibe!

There are bound to me new characters and new threats this year, and potentially more casualties, as The Walking Dead has come to rival Game of Thrones or Sons of Anarchy as a series where cast members read their scripts nervously. But one thing's for sure, The Walking Dead has always put character front and center, never letting us forget that the survivors of this horrific outbreak are people - good, bad and ugly - all the while serving up extreme doses of suspense and terror. When someone is lost it moves us - we care. The Walking Dead is a show that refuses to play it safe, and that unpredictable depiction of society's aftermath has struck a nerve with viewers in a major way.

At my house, we're more than ready for Sunday, whatever it may bring...

Hanging by a thread: the awe of Gravity

Once in great while a film captures the imagination of the public and ascends to the lofty sphere of a bona fide phenomenon – films like Titanic, Avatar or The Exorcist, to name a few. Gravity now joins that list of particularly rare films that don’t just serve up entertainment, they give the audience an experience like they’ve never had before. At turns both epic and intimate, Gravity is an incredible breath of fresh air. Director Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá Tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men) has given us something new and utterly compelling – yes, something new.

When I first heard the plot of Gravity, I was a little underwhelmed. Sandra Bullock, floating for her life, just her? Isn’t there a Thor sequel about to come out? I could not have been more wrong. Gravity begins with a 17 minute uninterrupted shot. I went in knowing this, but was never conscious of it. After about ten minutes, it suddenly occurred to me: Oh, my God – they haven’t cut yet! – because I was completely spellbound. When that part of my brain began trying to process how what I was seeing had been achieved, it basically short-circuited. The camera placement, the movement of the characters around the orbiting structure, Clooney in his jet pack, circling the shuttle, the overwhelming sense of reality, of hanging miles above the Earth – the feeling of each point of existence being a complete precipice – everything looked so completely real and convincing with no sense of artifice. These must be visual effects – but how the heck did they do it? You feel completely immersed and there. Then you immediately stop trying to analyze because the movie pulls you back into the moment – into “reality” – as things begin to unwind.

There isn’t just one catastrophe in Gravity – things go horribly wrong more than once. There are sequences in the film where my heart was in my throat and the anxiety level was uncomfortably high. Highest possible praise must to go to Sandra Bullock here, who’s a revelation. She anchors the emotional reality of this film with phenomenal heart. When disaster strikes, her character isn't just adrift in space – she’s struggled to just continue existing in life after coping with horrible grief – she’s also adrift psychologically, and that feeling of hanging by a literal and figurative thread connect her to the audience in a powerfully compelling way. Gravity is full of awe and terror – but it never loses sight of emotion – despite the icy cruelty of the environment, and I suspect that this, combined with the novelty of a “being there” experience is why this picture is resonating so strongly. Despite the fact that you’re seeing a whole new level of what’s possible with effects technology, it never feels like visual effects – and perhaps that’s the real breakthrough.

Lately I’ve avoided most 3D presentations as gimmicks – not here. Gravity was designed to make maximum use of the format in ways the serve to further immerse you, evoke the grandeur of scale and the terror of simple physics. If you can find IMAX 3D, all the better.

Space has always been a source of inspiration – a canvas of awe and fear. Gravity gives us that same sense of wonder we had in the Apollo era – of men and machines – of the engineer as superhero – but puts us there in a way we've never experienced before. Gravity unflinchingly shows us how exploration can quickly turn to survival – but never lets us forget that the same spark ignites both impulses. A new era of filmmaking possibilities appears to have arrived – Cuarón has taken his own giant leap here. Highest possible recommendation.

Thor hits the shelves!

First (and supposedly rarest) of Hasbro's new figures from Thor: The Dark World - a Dark Elf, formidable enemies of Asgard!

Getting ready for season four...

Finally installing my Walking Dead figures. New wave with Carl should be arriving any day!

Zombie Dark Thirty: World War Z

World War Z was a mighty troubled production. Extensive re-shoots, last minute rewrites, creative conflicts, release date bumps and a budget north of $190 million had pundits thinking this adaptation of Max Brooks’ zombie apocalypse saga would be an outright box office apocalypse of its own. The surprise is that producer/star Brad Pitt and director Marc Forster (The Kite Runner, Quantum of Solace) have delivered a pretty spectacularly entertaining movie. Like the hungry ghouls it depicts, World War Z came back from the dead.

The novel has less of a narrative through-line (there is no main character, per se) and reads more like a mosaic. Pitt was drawn to the project intent on using a genre picture “…as a Trojan horse for sociopolitical problems, and what would the effect on the world be if everything we knew was upside-down and pulled out from under us?” World War Z begins with an almost comedic succession of production company logos that threaten to go on forever – but the team that cut this movie knew what the hell they were doing. From almost the first shot, World War Z is a relentless exercise in tension.

The “Zekes” of World War Z are more reminiscent of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later than the rotting ratings champs of The Walking Dead. These undead are infected with super-charged rabies, often moving in ferocious swarms. Pitt is a retired United Nations investigator who’s just trying to take care of his family when the zom-pocalypse busts loose – and bust loose it does, in spectacular fashion, as Pitt and his family are stuck in gridlock, quickly realizing that something very wrong is happening around them. His unique skill set gives him little choice but to join the team tasked with tracking down the original source of the pandemic, in the hope of finding a cure. The bulk of the film is an Outbreak-style virus thriller, globe-trotting to locations like South Korea and Israel like some kind of catastrophic Bond movie.

The film is full of incredible action sequences, stress and anxiety. Pitt’s in just about every scene and his resourcefulness carries the movie. Look for new Doctor Who Peter Capaldi as a W.H.O. Doctor, oddly enough. Original cinematographer Robert Richardson left the film near the end of principal photography to begin shooting Django Unchained – he later had his name removed from the film, unhappy at the conversion to 3-D against his wishes. By all accounts the third-act rewrite work by Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard very likely saved the picture and helped turn things around. The score by Marco Beltrami drives the feeling of chaos and combines with the editing of Roger Barton (The Grey) and Matt Chesse to deliver a mood of palpable dread and unease.

Production woes may have ruled the day, but this is a great looking and enthralling epic that seldom drags and is infinitely better than one might have expected. World War Z does a great job of considering the frayed tether of society and disease and letting us freak out at the prospect of it all coming unraveled. A must-rent.

Sorcerer: The greatest thriller you haven't seen

When William Friedkin's Sorcerer came out in 1977, it had some challenges finding an audience. It was released right around the same time as Star Wars, which became a global pop cultural phenomenon. Sorcerer - starring Roy Scheider - was a gritty existential thriller about four outcasts driving truckloads of explosive nitroglycerin over treacherous South American terrain. Loosely inspired by The Wages of Fear, Sorcerer was considered a disappointment. But like another failed picture of a similar vintage - Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate - Sorcerer has found a resurgence of critical acclaim, and is now considered an overlooked gem - if not an outright masterpiece. Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) considers the film his favorite, as well as the most challenging and personal film he ever made.The haunting electronic score by Tangerine Dream is remarkable. Co-produced by Paramount and Universal, Sorcerer was held up in lengthy legal disputes which have finally been resolved.

Friedkin has supervised a complete digital restoration of the film, premiering the new print last month at the Venice Film Festival. At long last, Sorcerer will arrive on blu-ray from Warner Brothers on April 14th, 2014, following a limited theatrical release. The disc will have audio commentary as well as extras.

Originally intended as a vehicle for Steve McQueen, Sorcerer is one of the last of the seventies classics, a victim of changing eras. The restoration and rediscovery of one of the most tense and suspenseful films of all time is going to be an incredible thrill.

"It's a Chopper, baby..."

How awesome is this?!? Those crazy cats at McFarlane Toys have gone and done it and will be releasing a 5" scale figure of badass icon Daryl Dixon with his beloved chopper. The vest has his stiched angel wings and the crossbow to boot! That's what I call a deluxe box set. This baby hits the road in March 2014.  

Hollywood lights up the night!

Have been dying to check out the Hollywood's new marquee at night, so on the way home from guitar class this evening, I finally got the chance - is that one heck of a double-feature or what? 

But if that's not enough for you, in vintage 1920s fashion, those lights move...hey, after all - they're moving pictures! Here's to The Hollywood lighting up the night for many years to come! Great work, gang!

Sons sixth season shocks - satisfies

Sons of Anarchy came blazing back last night in a 90-minute sixth season premiere that blew all the doors off. Creator Kurt Sutter is not a man who's afraid of shaking things up and rattling the cage. We were nearly 20 minutes into the mayhem before he even rolled the opening credits. Based on this first episode, we're in for a hell of a ride. The great Donal Logue is back and he's just killing it, messing with everybody. New addition Peter Weller promises to be a great new character - an ex cop turned gang boss who could either turn out to be an awesome ally or your worst nightmare. I'll try and stay a little vague for the benefit of those who've yet to see season five, but this looks to be a showcase year for Maggie Siff's Tara. Likewise, things aren't getting any easier for Tig. I lost count of "holy $hit" moments where something genuinely shocking happened - much of which I would be stunned by on HBO - FX has let Sutter off the chain, evidently the perk for delivering massive ratings and the most desirable of fan bases. If at some point you bailed on Sons (as I was tempted to) after their ham-fisted third season in Ireland, you owe it to yourself to get caught up, because they haven't had a misstep since. Can't wait to see where things go this year for the Charming lads - with talent like Logue and Weller in the mix, our beloved MC is in for one rough ride.

This batch blue enough for you?

Check out the awesome packaging that will deliver Breaking Bad - the complete series - when it comes out on blu-ray later this year. Plus you get a Hermanos Pollos apron?!? Light my fire, bitches!

A Marquee Rises! The Hollywood Part II

As we mentioned just a couple of weeks ago, The Hollywood Theater is in the midst of an historic installation of a brand new marquee - the proof is in the pudding! Pretty dazzling. I have not seen the marquee lit at night yet, though that should be happening very soon.

I wonder what the first movie will be to get its name in these magnificent new lights? Stay tuned!

Last call: The World's End

“You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” Truer words were never spoken – because sometimes the bars are ready to close, despite the fact that we’re still game for another round.

Comedic conspirators Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright began their giddy assault on our sensibilities with 2004’s undead opus, Shaun of the Dead. In 2007 they skewered the buddy-cop genre with Hot Fuzz and now they bring their “Cornetto” trilogy to a close with the daftly inspired sci-fi saga, The World’s End – it’s an intoxicating concept: Ne’er-do-well aging bad boy Gary King is determined to reunite the chums of his youth together to finally complete The Golden Mile – an epic pub crawl with a dozen stops – 12 pubs, 12 pints, culminating at a pub called “The World’s End.” Gary (Pegg, also cowriter with Wright) is stuck in the past and a raging alcoholic to boot – his friends have grown up, married, and taken respectable jobs at law firms, while Gary is still playing the loser-rebel. It’s shocking at first to see Nick Frost as the respectable, more humorless one, determined to stick to water for the evening. “A man of your legendary prowess? It’s like a lion eating hummus!”

After a slow start, the film picks up and dives into science fiction – surprisingly with not as many direct cinematic riffs as we’d previously seen in Shaun and Fuzz. Pegg and Wright deserve credit for changing the rhythms and expectations from the previous two outings, but the Pegg/Frost role-reversal lets some of the wind out of the sails. There’s a melancholy to Pegg’s boozy Peter Pan desperation to return to the glory days of the past. Not everything works, but the dialogue and jokes and exasperation of the characters more than makes up for it. I enjoyed the heck out of the movie, but I’m still not sure if it ranks as high as Shaun or Fuzz for me. I suspect it may benefit greatly from subsequent viewings. There’s no shortage of gags and I think I missed my fair share due to laughing so hard at others. There’s no question though that The World’s End is a fitting companion piece to Pegg and Wright’s previous films, all of which make use of genre conventions to satirize.

If you’re a fan of Pegg, Frost or Wright – or pubs, for that matter – you’re probably as presold as I was! You’re probably going to love The World’s End – and want to revisit it again. My hope is that this is in fact not the end of this fantastic team, and that this trio continues tapping fresh kegs for many years to come. Another round, if you please!

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

Go figure: Hasbro sneaks Thor: The Dark World

Loki

We still have a ways to wait until November 8th, but our pals at Hasbro have already revealed what some of the figures in Thor: The Dark World will look like - feast your eyes! Clearly Kurse is the must-find, as his embodiment by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Oz, Lost) destines this bad boy for greatness!

I'm excited for this Thor sequel, as director Alan Taylor is a veteran of both Game of Thrones and The Sopranos, and it's nice to know we don't have to wait for spring to enjoy a new Marvel movie.

With any luck, these will start to appear on shelves next month! Plan to celebrate their arrival accordingly!

Thor

Kurse

                                                                            

Wife-beater Thor

Dark Elf

Trek in the Park's Five Year Mission Warps Out!

With temperatures a little milder today, we decided to grab our tricorders and head out to the farewell season of Trek in the Park, the uniquely Portland pop-culture phenom - Portland's version of Shakespeare in the Park and the brainchild of Adam Rosko's Atomic Arts (Rosko also plays Kirk). Beginning with Amok Time in 2009, Atomic Arts has presented Space Seed, Mirror, Mirror, Journey to Babel and now they conclude their 5-year mission with crowd-pleaser The Trouble With Tribbles. 

Trek became so popular after its third year (and appearance on Portlandia) that they had to move to a larger park - which in many ways has lessened the fun factor a bit. Now enormous crowds fill the park and unless you're willing to get there hours early, you're going to be pretty far back and strain to hear most of the dialogue. People, can you please leave your pit bulls at home?!? 

Still, Trek in the Park is undeniable. The cast is a joy (though I think we had a new McCoy this year) and the fealty to old school Original Series Trek is a pleasure to behold. I'll miss Augusts with this crew, but they've earned a break and its exciting to consider what they'll undertake next - as they've made it clear that after five years, their mission is over. If you haven't seen Trek in the park, warp over to Cathedral Park weekends through August - as a wonderful slice of Portland history is about to beam out of here.

FREE TO THE PUBLIC. ALL AGES WELCOME.

Saturdays and Sundays at 5:00pm

AUGUST 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25
Cathedral Park Amphitheater

Kirk under an avalanche of tribbles!

Take a bow, crew - you've been awesome!