The Conjuring - poised to petrify

James Wan is on fire. The director of Saw (the original) and Insidious is set to carve up the box office this weekend, dethroning blockbusters left and right with The Conjuring, one of the best-reviewed horror films in ages, the buzz is that Wan has himself a genuine classic.

85% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, The Conjuring should knock the stuffing out of the loathesome looking R.I.P.D. and could do Evil Dead numbers ($54 million?) - the feeling is this could be the best audience shocker since the original Poltergeist, and that's saying something. Lily Taylor and Patrick Wilson star. It's always nice to see a little movie with a modest budget that no one was expecting charge ahead of the tentpoles to become a sleeper hit purely on the strength of it connecting with audiences. This is what memories of summer at the movies are all about.

UPDATE: Comic Con - Friday

Close-ups of The Walking Dead series 4 Andrea and The Governor...

UPDATE: Comic Con - Thursday

Lots more news out of San Diego today in the figure world.

I guess it was inevitable, but Dark Horse revealed new 7" Game of Thrones figures - opting for a more statuesque approach without articulated joints - behold Jon Snow and Daenerys...

 

These two are slated for January, with Ned Stark, Khal Drogo and Tyrion Lannister set to follow in May.

We also got a look at the second wave of NECA's Aliens line - two new Aliens and Sergent Windrix...

 

Now before you get all snarky with, "Hey, where's Apone? Who the #@! is Windrix?" know that this is a special figure from NECA. Sculptor Kyle Windrix created this figure as a tribute to his brother, Craig Windrix, who is battling stage 4 stomach cancer (Aliens is Craig's favorite movie). That NECA supported the idea of this tribute from one of their artists is pretty compelling. I know I'll be supporting it...



























Oh, we got a look at a Colonial Marine two-pack, with a "screaming Hicks" alternate head, with helmet and exploding alien warrior...

Okay, that's it for now - more news can break at any moment, so check back. If any 1979 Alien prototype figures emerge, you'll be able to hear me scream...

Comic Con begins to tantalize!

For me, certainly the most exciting thing glimpsed at SDCC's preview night was the little sign at the NECA booth that read, "ALIEN 35th Anniversary figure collection 2014" WOW! They are doing it! Figures from the original 1979 Ridley Scott film - and as they're depicting Jones the cat, we have to assume that previous likeness issues with Sigourney Weaver have been resolved - because why would you show Jones if you weren't going to make Ripley?

Super exciting - hopefully more details will emerge by the end of Comic Con but this looks to be spectacular news! Comic Con has begun!

Jaeger Meister! Pacific Rim!

The weather just keeps getting worse - time was a "Category 4" meant a bad tornado was coming. In Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro's eye-rupturing 'bots-against-beasts extravaganza, the Category system is used to gauge the severity of attack from the bestiary of Lovecraftian behemoths that have taken to breaching a dimensional portal and laying siege to the cities of Earth.

Pacific Rim is clearly Guillermo del Toro's love letter to the Japanese monster movies of his youth, and as someone who remembers all too well gaping up at afternoon airings of War of the Gargantuas, I can tell you it's extremely successful and ridiculously entertaining. Pairs of human pilots operate the gigantic mecha robot vehicles (Jaegers) that mankind has banded together to create to fight off and kill the horrific monsters (Kaiju). I'm a big fan of Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy - still can't believe he's British), and he does a great job as the wounded Jaeger pilot out for some payback. Idris Elba is the man in charge of it all, trying to galvanize the remnants of the fading Jaeger program. Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) is the untested pilot candidate with her own score to settle. Just wait for the scenes depicting the memories of her childhood terror during the first Kaiju attacks.

Each Jaeger is more spectacular than the last. The design and look of Pacific Rim is pretty jaw-dropping. It's the biggest assemblage of steel and hydraulics I can remember seeing and it's spectacularly well shot. All that plus you get a dynamite Ron Perlman part, Charlie Day and the superb Burn Gorman. It truly cries out to be experienced on the biggest screen you can find - with an audience. The novelty of the picture reminded me of films like Independence Day, The Matrix and Blade Runner - movies that showed us a universe we'd never really seen on film before, while involving and connecting with the audience. If the film has a weakness, it's that the second act battle sequence is so spectacular and awesome, the third act sequence seems a little mild in comparison. Still - I loved it and while the characterizations are pulpy and thin, so were the films Pacific Rim tips its helmet to. The bottom line on Guillermo's vision here is fun.

del Toro took a hard one to the chin last weekend, coming in 3rd on opening weekend behind Grown Ups 2. The naysayers are carping that fans can't turn out to support a visionary genre picture - let's help prove them the hell wrong. Pacific Rim is easily one of the two best films of the summer (along with Star Trek Into Darkness) and you should really experience it at the Shatterdome while you can. Just don't leave too early, as the end credits may have a little treat for you.

Thanks, Guillermo - this movie came at a time when I really needed an escape and it was great to be ten again, gazing back up at the enormity of man versus monster.

This Bridge delivers!

There's a gem emerging in the summer TV sock drawer - our pals over at FX continue to deliver some creative, hard-edged alternatives to network. Following in the footsteps of The Shield, Sons of Anarchy and The Americans, their new series - The Bridge - looks to be a gripping new addition.

Like The Killing, The Bridge is inspired by a Scandinavian TV series of the same name, with the action moving to the U.S./Mexico border crossing between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, the titular bridge being where a murder victim is found that will involve law enforcement from both sides of the border. Demian Bichir is the detective from Chihuahua, holding onto the last vestiges of honor in the midst of a corrupt polic force. Bichir's eyes have the narrowing size-up of Robert De Niro in his prime. Diane Kruger (Inglorious Basterds) as his American counterpart is trying to function despite what appears to be Asperger's syndrome, and redefines blunt in moments that would normally call for extreme empathy. Forget National Treasure - Kruger is amazing here, with a haunted, self-conscious stare that reminded me of Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salendar. Both performances aren't showy - they - and pretty much everything about the pilot - are anchored in solid realism, with near feature film production values and a unique atmosphere, beautifully shot. Genre vet Ted Levine rounds out the cast as Kruger's weary boss. Based on the 90-minute initial episode, The Bridge stands a good shot of becoming the show that The Killing should have been.

The networks are flooded with serial killers lately - The Following, The Killing, Hannibal, Dexter - I hope The Bridge doesn't get lost in the Visqueen. I know I'll definitely be tuning in next week - you should definitely check it out, Wednesday's at 10 on FX. What I want to know is, what the hell is in Anabeth Gish's husband's secret room?!?





"You only live twice, Mr. Mendes..."

You can finish your drink, Double-O-Seven - stop worrying. EON, MGM and SONY have reached a deal with Skyfall director Sam Mendes to return to the helm for another outing with Daniel Criag and screenwriter John Logan in the as yet untitled Bond 24. Skyfall made over a billion dollars, Mr. Powers, and was a critical favorite to boot, so getting Mendes back is a phenomenal move. So much for those Christopher Nolan fantasies. I wouldn't expect much in the way of plot for a while, but we do have a release date - November 6th, 2015.

WATCH THIS SPACE - San Diego Comic Con is about to explode, and all manner of amazing movie and toy news is bound to come crash-landing on our brain pans in just a few short days. So check back with a cup of coffee and look out for those Bronies...