WE, THE GUARDIANS OF THE GENRE, DO VOW TO ABSTAIN FROM ALL THAT IS MUNDANE AND REVEL IN AND GLORIFY ALL OF THE MANY WONDERS THAT COME WITH THE
ACCEPTANCE OF THE GREAT AND GOOD GENRES!
SCIENCE FICTION! FANTASY! HORROR!
The BBC finally announced a few days ago that the first
episode of the seventh season of Doctor Who will air on September 1 at 9pm in
the USA on BBC America. This announcement came out on August 22 – just ten days
before the air date! The titles for the first five episodes were also recently
released, as well as descriptions for the first three. I’ll leave out the descriptions,
as they are somewhat spoilerific.
The titles of the Season 7 episodes are:
Season 7, episode 1 - Asylum of the Daleks, written by
Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran
Season 7, episode 2 - Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, written by
Chris Chibnall, directed by Saul Metzstein
Season 7, episode 3 - A Town called Mercy, written by Toby
Whithouse, directed by Saul Metzstein
Season 7, episode 4 - The Power of Three, written by Chris
Chibnall, directed by Douglas Mackinnon
Season 7, episode 5 - The Angels take Manhattan, written by
Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran
Enjoy the Doctor Who Season 7, first five episodes full
trailer!
I read so many comics now, both on traditional paper and now
digitally via ComiXology on my iPad (more on that in a future post); I don’t
have time to keep up with all the fantastic web comics that have been cropping
up the past several years. Thanks to the podcaster Stephanie Cooke at TALKING
COMICS!, I relented to her continued support of Mike Norton’s web comic
Battlepug and read the first few storylines. It was well worth the time it took
to read it!
According to Mike, “Battlepug: The Web Comic was born out of
desperate scramble to appease iFanboy. They contacted Mike to create a
signature t-shirt for a new line of merch. However, Mike had been working
exclusively with DC Comics for 4 years and had no original properties that he
could reveal to the world yet. He drew the image you see above and had Allen
color it. And lo, a BATTLEPUG was born!”
In case you’re like me and are unfamiliar with writer/artist
Mike Norton, his web comic blub describes him thus:
Mike Norton has been working in comics for over 10 years
now, gaining recognition for projects such as The Waiting Place and Jason and
the Argobots. He’s made a name for himself working on books like Queen and
Country, Gravity, Runaways, All-New Atom and Green Arrow/Black Canary, Billy
Batson & The Magic of Shazam, and Young Justice. He is currently drawing
Marvel’s Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt, and his own weekly webcomic, Battlepug.
He is also very, very tall.
Battlepug starts out with Moll and her dogs Mingo and
Colfax, as she narrates the tale of "The Warrior and the Battlepug”. The saga
is a tale of a fearless barbarian, his trusty and freakishly large pug, and his
adventures as he battles a giant seal and many other assorted giant creatures! The
story begins with the barbarian as a young child and his village is attacked, wiping
out everyone. He is captured by the Kinmundy Northern Elves and forced to work
as their slave until he grows into a man. The giant seal that killed his family
years before attacks the Kinmundy and our hero is given his freedom after
saving their village. To say more would spoil the surprises that await you on
the web pages of Battlepug!
Read the preview pages below and you’ll see how Mike Norton’s
cartoonish style is able to not only convey the unique humor of the story, but
also the human drama and quirky pathos of the characters.
For more information – or to start reading Battlepug right
away – go to: http://battlepug.com/
In the sixth part of Zombzany and the Missing Maniac --
which I've titled "Zombeatnik’s Psychic Zone" -- Zombzany gives a
less-than-flattering introduction to another modern zombie movie in the
marathon, bemoaning the fact that he can’t just run White Zombie again.
Zombzany shows the last of his rare video tapes from his
Archives Vault during this marathon. This video is another of his failed TV
programs, utilizing a character he created in his early Television days.
Zombeatnik’s Psychic Zone was to be a psychic hotline call-in program, where
people could call in to Zombeatnik the Hip Psychic to get answers to questions
about their problems. Zombeatnik would enter into the Psychic Plane and rap
with various dead celebrities to confer with them on his caller’s difficulties.
In this this particular episode, Zombeatnik receives a call from an alleged regular
client, who Zombeatnik refers to as “Big Daddy” Bill.
Following the Psychic Zone, Zombzany introduces the last
zombie film of the marathon. It is without a doubt the worst film of the
evening and Zombzany doesn’t even try to hide his contempt of it.
Enjoy Part Six of Zombzany and the Missing Maniac -- Zombeatnik’s
Psychic Zone!
"If you like your sci-fi light on science and heavy on fiction, Lockout makes for a diverting ninety-five minutes of escapist entertainment."
Science fiction, Action and Thriller
Starring - Guy Pearce/Snow, Maggie Grace/Emilie Warnock, Vincent Regan/Alex,
Joseph Gilgun/Hydell, Lennie James/Harry Shaw, Peter Stormare/Scott Langral, Jacky
Ido/Hock and Tim Plester/John James Mace
Director(s) - James Mather and Stephen St. Leger
Writer(s) - Stephen St. Leger, James Mather and Luc Besson (original
idea)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action,
and language including some sexual references.
Runtime - 95 min.
Despite the ham-fisted acting by most of the cast, the inconsistent
futuristic tech and the sheer implausibility of the concept – I loved Lockout!
Lockout is one of those sci-fi films that as you’re watching it you are quietly
criticizing its considerable improbabilities, all the while laughing at the bad
jokes and enjoying the sheer audacity of the paper-thin characters and plot! If
that doesn’t qualify Lockout as a bonafide guilty pleasure – well I don’t know
the definition of the term.
The previously mentioned “paper-thin plot” begins with CIA agent
Snow being interrogated by Secret Service director Scott Langral. Snow has been
arrested for the murder of undercover agent Frank Armstrong who was part of a
CIA operation to uncover evidence of an agent selling state secrets about the
space program. Snow answers every question with a smart-alecky comment, which
is promptly followed by a punch to his face by a thug assisting Langral.
[Side note] A sample of this exchange sets the tone of Lockout
perfectly:
Langral: Again, what happened in that hotel room? Snow: Oh,
it was coupon night and I was trampolining your wife. [Snow is punched in the
face] Langral: You're a real comedian aren't you, Snow? Snow: Well I guess
that's why they call it the punch line. [Snow is punched again] Langral: You
don't like me, do you? Snow: Don't flatter yourself. I don't like anybody. Langral:
With that attitude, I can see why nobody likes you. Snow: Oh, come on. People
love me. Just ask your wife. [Snow is punched again]
Back to the “paper-thin plot”: The daughter of US President
Warnock arrives at the maximum security space penitentiary - MS One - to
investigate claims that stasis might affect prisoners' minds, which she believes
is leading to psychopathy and dementia. Emilie Warnock is interviewing Hydell,
a psychotic murderer-rapist, who steals Emilie’s bodyguard’s hidden gun and
uses it to escape to the control room, where he forces the operator to release
the rest of the prisoners from stasis. The prisoners take control of the space station,
capture the remaining crew of the MS One, and threaten to kill the hostages if
they aren’t released.
Snow's agent friend Harry Shaw offers him a chance at
clemency if he will go to the MS One and rescue the President’s daughter. Snow
agrees, but only if Shaw tells him where Snow's contact Mace is, as he knows
where Frank's briefcase containing the stolen secrets is hidden. Shaw informs
Snow that Mace has already been incarcerated in MS One and that if he wants the
information, he could do it during his mission. Arrangements are made and Snow
is shuttled to the station, where he enters in a space suit in free-fall via a
secret access panel.
Meanwhile, Emilie has escaped from the rest of the hostages
with her bodyguard, but they are soon trapped in a room hiding from the
prisoners and the oxygen is running out. Snow locates Emilie and attempts to
bring her to the emergency escape pod, but first he wants to find Mace before
he escapes himself. Emilie demands to tag along and the two brave massive odds
against them in their gambit to find Mace, elude the convicts and escape the
space station.
The silly premise of Lockout, which deliberately pays homage
to action films like Die Hard and Escape from New York, works for one reason: Guy
Pearce’s performance as Agent Snow! Guy Pierce channels the clipped speech of
Willis’ John McClane perfectly! Pierce’s dry, droll delivery of the constant barrage
of sarcastic dialogue that he is given in Lockout makes it work. Snow recites the
entire plot of the film in this speech: “Don't get me wrong. It's a dream
vacation. I mean, I load up. I go into space. I get inside the maximum-security
nuthouse. Save the President's daughter, if she's not dead already. Get past all
the psychos who've just woken up. I'm thrilled that you would think of me.” It
shouldn’t work, but it does! Guy is also quite believable in the many action
sequences he performs in. In one of the more exciting, yet silly fight scenes,
Snow has to jump over a huge chamber, which is producing an artificial field.
Just as Snow makes his push, he is grabbed by an inmate and they proceed to
exchange blows while fighting against the turning blades of the
anti-gravitational devise. This scene is both simultaneously rousing and preposterous;
which sums up the entire film in a nutshell.
It is somewhat unfair to criticize the production values of
Lockout, as for a film made on a purported budget of $20,000,000 dollars; it
looks as if it had a much larger budget. The interiors of the space station
look large and are crammed with many dirty details that give it a real feeling of
being used and lived in. The CGI is adequate in most areas. The only sequence
that didn’t work for me was the early scene where Snow is attempting to escape
on a futuristic motor bike. The blurring of the CGI background looked
unrealistic and took me out of the scene. Fortunately, the film doesn’t rely on
CGI as heavily as more expensive science fiction films for the action sequences
and this gives it a slightly more genuine feeling. The designs of the future
tech are quite imaginative: particularly the design of the MS One itself. Because
of this, one fault that stands out is the shuttle ships. Lockout takes place in
the year 2079, yet the shuttles look like slightly modified NASA space shuttles,
which first launched on April 12, 1981!
If you like your sci-fi light on science and heavy on
fiction, Lockout makes for a diverting ninety-five minutes of escapist entertainment.
I listen to several different comic book podcasts every
week. I enjoy listening to these – for the most part – comic book fans discuss
the latest comic book news and- more
importantly – their latest favorite comic books from that week. The Comic Book
Podcast posted weekly by the folks at Talking Comics is not the oldest of comic
book podcasts. In fact, they have only been podcasting since October 12th
of 2011. However, they very quickly found their format, their niche, and most
importantly their personality and for me that makes them one of the best comic book podcasts.
The podcast is made up of four comic book fans:
Bobby Shortle is the Editor-In-Chief of the Talking Comics
website and is the Podcast Host. Bobby describes himself as having “had plenty
of podcasting experience and one might even consider him a podcast guru (like
the rest of the Talking Comics podcast crew).” In addition to founding and
contributing to the Talking Comics web site and podcast, Bobby works on Fanboy
Remix, Doctor Whocast and The Man Cave Podcast.
Stephanie Cooke is the Associate Editor/Community Manager of
the Talking Comics website and is a Podcast Co-Host. Stephanie describes herself
as “a lover of video games armed with a PS3, Xbox360, Nintendo Wii, PSP, and a
DS as my weapons of choice. Additionally, she is an avid reader and lover of
all things relating to comic books and books in general. While being a fan of
so many of the platforms within the geek culture, she also loves to kick it old
school with her rad collection of board games. You can always find her rocking
out to her favorite music or devouring movies by the handful. Should you be
lucky enough, you can also choose to marvel at her epic collections of comic
book figures, movie memorabilia and more.”
Steve Seigh is the Executive Editor and is a Podcast Co-Host.
Steve describes himself as “a master of video games and an avid concertgoer. He
is quite possibly the male equivalent to a crazy cat lady and lives in a
magical world called New York. Steve also enjoys long walks on the beach (with
his cat, Moo Moo), cooking exotic pancakes and watching movies. When he’s not
writing for Talking Comics, you can find him over at JoBlo.com where Steve
writes a bi-weekly column all about animation called Ink & Pixel.
Bob Ryer is the resident Comic Book Historian and a Podcast
Co-Host. Bob may not contribute to the web site, or participate in the
other social media sites for Talking Comics. However, his comic book reading
experiences go back to the early days of Marvel and DC and his ready knowledge of
the history of comics is a valuable asset to the podcast.
The format for The Comic Book Podcast|Talking Comics is
simple: They begin each cast with each podcaster giving their Comic Book Pick
of the Week. Most times these picks consist of the latest superhero releases
from Marvel or DC, but they do occasionally delve into comics published by Image,
Dark Horse, IDW and comic book companies that publish non-superhero comics. Stephanie
Cooke is the most ardent supporter of the “Independent” publishers and also recommends
web comics from time to time.
Most often they follow this with Comic Book News, where they
discus what the latest comic book stories could mean to their fellow comic book
fans. In their latest podcast “Issue #43: Marvel Movie News, Marvel Now Teams
and July Sales” they spent over forty-five minutes discussing the writer and
artists teams that were announced for the forthcoming Marvel Now books!
They then spend time on the podcast by answering questions
from listeners who send in various comics related queries via email, Facebook
or Twitter. This often reveals more about the tastes of the podcasters than any
other segment on the podcast.
Every podcast ends with Bobby reading all the comic book
titles released during that week and his fellow podcasters are encouraged to
join in with ayeah or nay!
They also occasionally veer from their weekly format and do
entire shows dedicated to specific topics or feature shows dedicated to
interviews with comic book creators. On a special podcast titled “Women in
Comics Podcast: Trina Robbins” from July 20, they did both. In fact, during the
week of July 16 through July 20, they did four separate podcasts featuring Women
in Comics and did interviews with Kelly Sue DeConnick, Fiona Staples, as well
as the afore mentioned Trina Robbins.
I like this podcast because like my other favorite podcasts it
feels like you are getting together with your fellow comic book fans and
discussing what your latest favorite comic books are. They definitely focus on
the positive side of the hobby and don’t tend to hate on things they don’t like
for too long. If you are a comic book reader like me, you should definitely try
The Comic Book Podcast|Talking Comics!
In the fifth part of Zombzany and the Missing Maniac --
which I've titled "Mission Improba-bill" -- Zombzany gives a brief
introduction to yet another zombie movie in the marathon, apologizing for the
lack of the quality of the films thus far.
Zombzany, apparently still in a sharing mood, shows another
rare video tape from his Archives Vault. This video is a comedy sketch from one
of his previous hosting gigs entitled “Mission Improba-bill”. In this sketch,
Bill E. Bones plots to eliminate Zombzany so that he and his fellow zombie
slaves will be free once and for all from Zombzany’s tyranny. The sketch is an obvious
parody of the TV show Mission Impossible, but unlike that program, Bill’s
mission is anything but a success.
After the sketch, Zombzany introduces another zombie film.
Unlike the others, this one he gives reverent treatment to, as it is Zombzany’s
favorite film of all time: White Zombie!
Enjoy Part Five of Zombzany and the Missing Maniac -- Mission
Improba-bill!
“While Total Recall isn’t the deepest or most complex of
science fiction films, it is full of enough exciting action and captivating
characters to hold your interest until its spectacular climax!”
Science Fiction, Action and Espionage
Starring - Colin Farrell/Douglas Quaid & Hauser, Kate
Beckinsale/Lori Quaid, Jessica Biel/Melina, Bryan Cranston/Cohaagen, Bokeem
Woodbine/Harry and Bill Nighy/Matthias
Director – Len Wiseman
Writer(s) - Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback screenplay based on
the Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale"
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and
action, some sexual content, brief nudity and language.
Runtime - 118 min
Let’s get this out of the way immediately: Total Recall - despite
the title – is not a remake of the 1990 film of the same name. If you were a
fan of the original film, also very loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short
story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale", than nothing I can say
will convince you that this new movie is worth spending your time and money to
see at the theater. Conversely, if you disliked the 1990 film, there is a
chance you will like this film, but still be confused as to why they bothered
to make another film with the same title, but with a completely different
setting and plot. I don’t have an answer to the later question, but I will
attempt to explain why I think Total Recall is a good, if somewhat flawed,
science fiction film.
The setting for Total Recall is 2084 in which most of the
surface of Earth has been made uninhabitable by a global nuclear war. Two areas
are left inhabitable: The former British Isles now run by the United Federation
of Britain and the continent of Australia, now dubbed The Colony. Workers
commute daily between the two nations via a massive underground gravity
elevator which travels through the Earth’s core.
Douglas Quaid is one of those commuters. He travels from his
small apartment in the crowded capital of the UFB to a manufacturing complex in
The Colony, to work on an assembly line manufacturing armored police robots. Tiring
of this life and his recurring nightmares, Quaid visits Rekall, a company that
promises to implant memories to help him escape his mundane existence. Instead,
before the Rekall procedure even begins, they discover Quaid has already been
implanted with memories and accuse him of being a UFB spy. This sets off a
series of alarms and Quaid is surrounded by security officers before he can
escape. Quaid kills all the officers with unknown skill and escapes home to his
wife Lori. When Quaid confesses to Lori what has happened, she reveals the
truth about their relationship and Quaid finds himself on the run from his past
life that he knows little about.
Total Recall is essentially a futuristic spy story. The
memory implantation technology devise is used only to set up the true narrative
of Quaid’s previous life [SPOILER] as an agent for the USB and how he was used
to infiltrate a resistance movement that is attempting to free The Colony from the
USB’s influence. I am not adverse to using futuristic technology as a devise
to hang a more conventional plot on and Total Recall does make use of one very important
piece of future tech to implement an important plot point on. Unfortunately for
me, this bit of technology did not seem plausible to me. The idea that you
could boar a hole large enough to fit a “gravity elevator” large enough to
transport hundreds of people doesn’t seem feasible to me. The Earth’s core is theorized
to be made up of solid iron–nickel alloy under millions of pounds of pressure
and has an estimated temperature of 9,800 ° Fahrenheit! Let’s say materials
could be made to withstand these significant obstacles, common sense tells you
that England is not the geological antipode of Australia. A quick search on an antipodal
map shows that the antipode of England is about 1000 km southeast of New
Zealand and the antipode of Australia is several 1000s of km west of Spain in
the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! While this works well as a metaphor for the
opposition between the UFB and The Colony, it would have been nice if the
writers could have done a bit more research to work around these physical
improbabilities.
My scientific quibbles notwithstanding, I did enjoy Total
Recall overall. The complex relationships between Quaid, his wife and his other
love interest make for some fantastic physical confrontations. The plot of
Quaid’s past is reveled quickly enough so that the majority of the film is
taken over by his conflict with his former and current alliances. The film
rushes along at a fantastic rate and culminates with a very satisfying visceral
conclusion.
Colin Farrell as our hero Douglas Quaid is serviceable, if somewhat
uninspiring. Jessica Biel is believable and fairly complex as Melinda the
resistance agent. Kate Beckinsale as Lori Quaid really steals the show! She is terrifying
and gorgeous at the same time! The many fight scenes between her and Farrell
are both disturbing and realistic at the same time. Another nice character
twist is played by Bokeem Woodbine, who plays Quaid’s friend and co-worker at
the beginning of the film, but transforms into a completely different character
lateR in the film.
The look of Total Recall is deep, rich and very immersive! The
digital mat work is seamless and I kept looking at the cityscapes trying to
figure out what was a real set and what was digital and I could not. I loved the
sleek look of the flying cars, the detailed cacophony of massive infrastructure
supporting the towering buildings and the details in the crowded roadways and
sidewalks. It did have quite a few similarities to the look of Blade Runner,
but there were enough differences to keep it from being a complete knock off.
While Total Recall isn’t the deepest or most complex of science
fiction films, it is full of enough exciting action and captivating characters
to hold your interest until its spectacular climax!
Thank you for voting in the - Which of these films do you
plan on seeing in July of 2012 – poll! The results to this month’s poll were
slightly less enthusiastic than last month’s; still most of you were excited by
at least two of July’s blockbuster movie releases. Of the twelve people who
voted, the overwhelming majority voted for one film. The top vote getter for July was The Dark Knight
Rises which received 10 votes (83%)! Coming in at a not-too- distant second
place was The Amazing Spiderman with 6 votes (50%). Falling way behind in third
place was The Watch with only 2 votes (16%). In last place was Ice Age: The
Continental Drift with only one vote (8%).
I didn’t see any of the July genre films at the theater. Of
the four films, I was most interested in see The Amazing Spiderman and had
every intention of seeing it, but just never found the time. From the many written
reviews I read and the several podcast reviews I listened to, I think I might
have liked it better than the three previous Raimi Spiderman films, but I think
I’d still have some quibbles with it too. The Dark Knight Rises was both a
financial and (mostly) critical success. I’m pleased that Christopher Nolan was
allowed to complete his vision of The Batman, but I’m hopeful that when
DC/Warner reboots the character, they will make Batman a part of a larger DC
superhero cinematic universe that will eventually lead to a Justice League
film. The Watch was both a financial disappointment and a critical failure. I
can only hope that the film goers are finally tiring of these raunchy R-rated
comedies, but I have a feeling that the people who like this type of humor did
not like it mixed with sci-fi. Ice Age: The Continental Drift topped $100
million in just two weeks, so it’s safe to say that most CGI-animated films
will continue to do well at the box office. Based on recent polls on GotG!, it’s
also safe to say that readers of this blog are in general not interested in CGI-animated
films, so I don’t feel to guilty about not watching or reviewing the vast
majority of them.
Thank you all for voting on this month’s poll! There are now
twelve of you who may consider yourselves Genre Guardian Generals! Anyone who
has seen The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spiderman, The Watch or Ice Age:
The Continental Drift at the theater, please leave a quick comment here and let
me know what you thought of it.
THE AUGUST POLL!
Once again on the right column of this page, you will see at
the top of the column the next poll that I’ve posted. As always, this poll
includes the titles and release dates of all the major SF, Fantasy or Horror
films that are being distributed to movie theaters in the month of August for
2012. They are: Total Recall (August 3), ParaNorman (August 17), The Apparition
(August 24) and The Possession (August 31). As always, I’d appreciate anyone
who reads GUARDIANS OF THE GENRE! to place a vote for any of these films that
you plan on seeing at the theater.
The only film of these four that I definitely plan on seeing
at the theater is Total Recall. For reasons that I stated in my TRAILERTUESDAY! TOTAL RECALL: TOO SOON TO REMAKE? post, I am really looking forward to
this film. While the concept and the animation are suitably creepy, ParaNorman
just doesn’t interest me. Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell, who were responsible
for Corpse Bride and Coraline – both of which I still haven’t seen, nor will I
likely ever see – I’m fairly certain that ParaNorman is a film I can safely
pass on as well. The Apparition is the type of slick horror film from Dark
Castle that I love to watch around Halloween. Hopefully, the blu-ray disc of The
Apparition will be available for rent by then, because that is how I will be
watching it. I’m not sure The Possession is worth a rental, as it seems like so
many other toothless PG-13-rated horror films that have been pumped out in the
last decade or so.
Let me know what films you’ll be seeing on the big screen by
participating in this month’s new poll!
