NECA pops the egg sack - Long Live The Queen!

Yep, they're doing it. We already knew that NECA has a Powerloader in the works, and now we'll be able to stage some mighty insane tableaus on a big scale - but you're going to need a bigger shelf. The Xenomorph Queen from James Cameron's Aliens measures a whopping 30 inches long and 15 inches tall. It's sized to scale with NECA's awesome new Aliens figures. Check her out!

Reviews for Snowpiercer - Apes, Blowing the Doors Off

At long last! Two summer releases are about to capture our full attention, both garnering some of the best reviews of the year.

First up, in limited release, we have Snowpiercer, from director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) which is being described as one of the most boldly original and striking films of the year - a post-apocalyptic saga of a survivor society contained within a massive high-speed train, hurtling around the globe. Sounds like the breakaway sci-fi film of the year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Variety threw up a very early review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, that was awash with superlatives:

"An altogether smashing sequel to 2011′s better-than-expected Rise of the Planet of the Apes, this vivid, violent extension of humanoid ape Caesar’s troubled quest for independence bests its predecessor in nearly every technical and conceptual department, with incoming helmer Matt Reeves conducting the proceedings with more assertive genre elan than Rise journeyman Rupert Wyatt."

Sounds like Reeves has delivered a true Apes film and that these two movies are going to send audiences racing for a glimpse of the apocalypse. Both of these films are now at the top of the list.

Is Rian Johnson Irvin Kershner?

That galaxy far, far away is feeling closer every day - and it's becoming more populous my the minute. It's not enough that the geek-osphere is vibrating with excitement over J.J. Abrams' grasping the lightsaber hilt of Disney's super Phoenix resurrection of the Star Wars franchise - but even as we fret over Harrison Ford's ankle, each day brings news of a new filmmaker attached to a new Star Wars project  - it sounds like the Mouse House is standing by their promise to release one new Star Wars film every year. While we've had plenty of action on the spinoff front, Friday's news was sit-up-and-take-notice worthy: Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) will be stepping in after J.J. to write and direct episode VIII - what you can't help but think of as the Empire Strikes Back slot. A heady proposition. Whether or not Johnson will be involved with episode IX is still sketchy, but this is pretty exciting. I thought Looper was fantastic, but what's especially worth noting is that Johnson also directed several of the very best episodes of Breaking Bad, which certainly makes one think there's a certain vibe to part 2 of this new trilogy that his skill set must fit like a glove. This is all incredibly cool, but then we also have Josh Trank (Chronicle, The Fantastic Four) and Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) lined up to helm stand-alone spinoff features (Han Solo or Yoda origin stories?), apart from the ongoing new trilogy. 

Johnson had no official statement, but tweeted this scene from The Right Stuff, with Scott Glenn muttering his classic pre-launch prayer: “Dear Lord, please don’t let me f–k up…”

http://youtu.be/o9iP2WEvq2s

That kind of humility is refreshing. 

It's pretty wild having so many new young voices running amuk in this cinematic universe. One thing's for sure - our kids are in for one heck of a childhood with this many Star Wars pictures on the way. Here's hoping the toy companies can keep up. No doubt about it - Disney is open for business.

 

Paramount's Star Trek Plans For 2016

In a presentation at the recent CineEurope convention, Paramount officially confirmed they will be aiming to release the third Star Trek film in 2016, the 50th Anniversary of the franchise.

We also now know just a bit more about the story. With J.J. Abrams busy in a galaxy far, far away, it's been all but officially announced that screenwriter Robert Orci will be sitting in the director's chair - for the very first time.

Orci has brought on two new writers, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. In an interview with Mormon Artist and in an interview at the LDS film festival, Payne revealed some nuggets about where Trek 3 will boldy go:

"The sense we have is, that it's really been teed up to really do the boldly going. We had the origin story, we had the darker grittier man-hunt Star Trek, but this one we really want to get back to the sense of exploration and wonder, that optimistic sense of the future that Star Trek has always had at its core

We're trying to set up a kind of situation where you really could -- and not in just an everything's relative sort of moral relativism - you could be a good person of any creed or philosophical background and come down on both sides of how you should respond to this opportunity that the crew has.... that also has some pitfalls to it. Where you could argue very, very, very compellingly that this is what you should do, and if you're advocating this then it's actually evil.

It's sort of the Adam and Eve thing, where should we eat the fruit or not eat the fruit? Well, there are some very compelling reasons why they should and why they shouldn't. So, similar kinds of things here that really give the whole movie and opportunity to sort of play with that, and have people come down on different side and wrestle with it; then come to an ending where you can walk out and say, "You know, I don't know what I would do."

Klaatu and Gort about to land!

Check these out: while much ink has been spilled about the newer trend in retro-scale 3 & 3/4" figures, many of them fail to excite. Not so the case 

here...

The folks at Amok Time have unveiled a new set of the space travelers from the 1951 classic film The Day The Earth Stood Still. These figures look pretty spot-on perfect. They've captured Gort's spiral-galaxy energy pulse and done a super job with actor Michael Rennie's likeness and hair. The paint even captures the metallic sheen of his suit fabric. These are Amok Time exclusives, up for pre-order with an August arrival. Amok Time made a large 12"/14" set of Klaatu and Gort years ago (sigh...back when Starlog was still in print), so here's a second chance to add these figures to your collection, this time at 4"/5" scale. Available at www.amoktime.com. "Klaatu, Barada, Nikto!"

Yes, Edge of Tomorrow Really IS the Best Movie of the Summer!

Finally! A real movie! Don't let that title deter you - Edge of Tomorrow is a whiplash-inducingly awesome science fiction war film that is a bastion of quality in the "Summer of the B-minus."

You probably know the Groundhog Day premise - in a future war against invading aliens, Tom Cruise's character keeps getting killed, coming back and trying to make progress and learn more with each incarnation - not unlike a video game reset.

What you may not know is that Edge of Tomorrow is easily the best movie of the summer so far, and the best science fiction film in ages. Director Doug Liman (Swingers, Go) delivers his best work to date here, easily surpassing the action chops he demonstrated in The Bourne Identity. Working from a tremendous script by Christopher McQuarrie and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, Edge of Tomorrow is adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka's All You Need Is Kill (the original title). Liman brings an insane amount of engaging energy to the premise. This is one of the best fusions of writing, directing, editing and cinematography I've seen in a long time. The potentially repetitive nature of the structure is anything but - each new iteration Cruise endures is different than the last - and while the action is relentless with some of the most gripping beachhead combat  scenes put on film - make no mistake...this is a serious action film - but it's often hilarious. Cruise is cast as a shallow coward who's terrified of even remote proximity to combat. Liman and company don't shy away from the inherent humor of the surprises and twists that reliving past experiences can offer. You'll be gripping your seats in suspense, but you'll also be laughing like mad - it's a giddy combination. Porting over a little DNA from Aliens, Bill Paxton steals every frame of the movie as relucatant Cruise's Drill Sergeant, adding an avalanche of quotable dialogue every bit as memorable as his work for James Cameron.

The rest of the characters are great, too, particularly Emily Blunt as "The Angel of Verdun," a Valkyrie savior of the war effort who joins Cruise to try and out-think the alien menace. It's incredibly refreshing to position a female character as the most capable hero in a world ripped asunder by war. Edge of Tomorrow is full of clever little bits and inventive moments (characters wear uniform patches prominently identifying their blood type) and has much of the same visceral realism we saw in last year's Elysium. 

Liman has hit such a home run here, he's knocked the cover off the ball. It's a shame the grandstands aren't full. Edge of Tomorrow cost upwards in the neighborhood of $178 million and has made less than $60 million so far. Granted, I haven't seen X-Men: Days of Future Past yet, but the movie mops the floor with Godzilla - it's easily the best action movie since Captain America: The Winter Soldier, probably since Gravity. The title change and some confusion over how exactly to market this picture appears to have caused some slow traction at the box office. Do yourself a favor - DON'T WAIT! See this movie in a theater NOW! Don't let June get away from you and see Transformers Ad Nauseum take up all the big screens. This is intelligent and thrilling sci-fi the likes of which we seldom see. Edge of Tomorrow is the best Tom Cruise movie in ages, relentlessly entertaining and overflowing with an audience fun factor we were starting to wonder if we'd ever see again. Very, very highly recommended!

Fault in our Stars Director's Kingly Next Project: The Stand!

Don't be too quick to dismiss The Fault in our Stars. Despite the Young Adult trappings, this story of two young people who meet and fall in love at a cancer support group is adapted from a highly regarded novel, and the movie is well-positioned between summer tentpoles to have a massive breakthrough opening. But perhaps even more noteworthy, the film's director, Josh Boone, is preparing to undertake a monumental work of long-anticipate genre filmmaking - Stephen King's The Stand.

It sounds like Boone has the combination of fondness for the material and genuine caring that could make him the perfect man for the job. He sure makes it sound so: “We’re gonna do one three-hour, R-rated version with an amazing A-list cast across the board. Every single one of those characters will be somebody you recognize and somebody you relate to. And it’s gonna be awesome. I’m really excited. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever got to do in my entire life. If 12-year-old me had ever known that one day I’d be doing this, to even just go back and look at that kid, I’d be like, Keep doing what you’re doing! It’s just crazy. I’ve met so many actors over the years, and like, when I met Stephen King, I hugged him with tears in my eyes. He meant that much to me when I was young. I still say everything I learned about writing I learned from Stephen King. I don’t read screenplays. I don’t read screenplay how-to books. It’s always just, establish the character. Establish the character.”

The Stand’s journey to film has been a long one, and it’s hard not to cheer for Boone to pull it off, given how big a part King played in his youth:

“The short of it is that my parents were born-again Baptists and I wasn’t allowed to read Stephen King. I had to rip the covers off of Christian books and glue them to Stephen King books, so that I could read them. I remember reading The Stand under my bed when I was 12, and I hid the book in the box springs under my bed, and my mom found it and burned it in the fireplace. I wrote him a letter when I was 12, just to tell him how much I loved his books and how much I wanted to be a writer when I grew up and that he was my idol. I sent him a couple books, hoping that he’d sign them. I came home from school one day and my dad said, ‘There’s a box here from Stephen King.’ He had written me this beautiful letter in the front covers of each of the books. My parents were just so moved by the generosity, that he was willing to take the time to do that, that they lifted the Stephen King ban. So, to be able to go back to him, all these years later, and just hug him and thank him so much for being such a big part of my childhood, meant so much to me. To have him be part of the movie meant so much. I was just trying to honor him and what he meant to me, when I was that age.”

I have a feeling Boone’s about to have a massive opening weekend, which can only provide that much more support and studio confidence to let him fully do justice to King’s vision.

   

Two Good Bets

These both sound like winners to me...

While Edge of Tomorrow is a tepid title that sounds like a soap opera (the original All You Need Is Kill was far cooler), this new sci-fi battle flick from director Doug Liman is scoring some great reviews! Sounds like the Memento-meets-Starship Troopers vibe is making this one of the best Tom Cruise pictures in a while. Definitely sounds worthy.

Then for a good read, Stephen King's new Mr. Mercedes is really getting high marks. Evidently a little leaner than some of his doorstops, but every bit as lethal. Sounds like a killer summer read.

The Estrogen Strikes Back - and more!

It's only Tuesday, but there's a lot going on this week!

First, Doctor Strange has landed a director - Scott Derrickson, whose previous films have a definite horror bent. I haven't seen Sinister, but now I plan to. His new film Deliver Us From Evil comes out this July, so that's now a definite attention-getter, because otherwise why would Marvel have snapped him up? Here's hoping they keep Doctor Strange a full-on supernatural horror-fest, and stay true to the character.

The Wachowskis got bumped - Jupiter Ascending was all set to open in its daffy glory on July 18th, just over a month from now. They'll be relegated to February 6th, 2015. This may be good news, as Jupiter is such a zany sounding hodgepodge, it could easily become this year's John Carter. At least this gives them (and Warner Brothers) more time to finesse the effects (there have been rumors that it's not ready) and to find the right angle to market the film properly. It's interesting to remember that their breakthrough picture The Matrix opened on March 31st, so sometimes coming out between the big seasons can work for you.

Don't stage the intervention just yet - there were rumblings after a recent fan Q&A with Anne Groell, the patient Saint who edits George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books, that the series might end up with eight books instead of seven. Martin himself has since come out and asserted that his plan continues to be for seven books, though he leaves things wide open, especially when the original notion was for three books. The most disturbing quote of Groell's reveals that "I currently have 168 pages that he submitted back in Feb 2013 in order to receive a contracted payment, but I know more exists." Given the size of these books, let's hope old George is a lot deeper into book six than that!

The Estrogen Strikes Back! While there have been a surprising amount of revealing pics leaked from the new Star Wars film on TMZ this week, what's really got me excited is the casting. Both 12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth herself!) have joined the cast of J.J. Abrams' Episode VII. That's more great news for what's sounding increasingly like a truly promising resurrection of one very beloved franchise.