Arrested Development
Be sure to check out tonight's marathon of network TV's best new sitcom "Arrested
Development" on Fox. The marathon starts at 8:00 P.M. and runs until 10:00
P.M. It's four episodes back to back to back. Your brain will thank you!
By Bert Ehrmann
12/31/2003
What's Happening to Network Television?
After watching the DVD containing all the episodes that were ever made for the ex-Fox series "Firefly, I am amazed that the series got canceled. Everything works. The series was well written, the acting was great, and the visual effects were top notch.
What more can you ask for in a television series? What does a series have to do to make it? Maybe if the series had been titled "Law and Order: Firefly" it would have done better.
If quality can't make it on network television what can? Is reality television the only thing that works?
It's an odd state that television seems to be in these days. Television execs are wondering why ratings for the big three networks are down. I think I know why. Most television shows today are either really bad or based off of overused ideas that we've seen a million times before. Worst of all is the combination of "really bad" and "overused ideas" in a show. How many times can "Friends" or "The Cosby Show" be remade with subtle variations? These shows aren't hard to spot.
Plus there's the fact that there's a million other things on TV any given night. If "Happy Family," "Less than Perfect," or "The Simple Life" don't float your boat, there's always something else on one of the two hundred or so cable/satellite channels in competition for viewers. I you're not into what's on those stations then there's always the Internet or DVDs to name one of the million other things there is to do.
Then there's the commercials that constantly interrupt the broadcast. A half hour sitcom might only contain 19 minutes of entertainment but 11 minutes of commercials. 36% of a show could be commercials. Lately, I've been recording the shows to my computer via EyeTV, editing out the commercials, burning to a VCD, and then watching it on my DVD player. (I don't tune in for commercials, I tune in for the show.) A show without commercials flows better and is more interesting to watch. Try imagining "The Sopranos" with commercials. It isn't a nice thought, is it?
I'm serious that the only sitcoms I watch on television these days is "Scrubs" on NBC and "Arrested Development" on FOX. (I used to watch "Malcolm in the Middle" but it jumped the shark early last season and "The Simpsons" is really more animated than sitcom.) These two shows are just about the only thing worth watching on network television. But these two shows are good. Really good. Watch over and over again good. Drool over good.
Network television is defiantly NOT where it's at. For the most part, network television is NOT hip or happening. All the best things on television seem to be on stations other than ABC, CBS, NBC, or even FOX. The best things are on Trio, or HBO, or even The Discovery Channel.
It's not as if the people's tastes have changed that much over the years about television, it's just that they're sick of watching the same old dreck over and over again. And it's mostly dreck that's on television these days.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/30/2003
The Line of Fire
I finally got around to watching the pilot episode to "The Line of Fire" the other day (thank you EyeTV) and found it enjoyable. The show's not great but it's enjoyable to watch.
The series follows a regional FBI office investigating organized crime, and other crimes, in Virginia. The twist here is that we see the investigation from several different perspectives. That of the "higher-ups" in each organization as well as that of some new recruits.
The show starts with an FBI agent and mafia man gunning each other down simultaneously on a cold and rainy dock. We then follow the ramifications of this act throughout the FBI office and organized crime family. This part of the story works.
What doesn't work is the character of Paige Van Doran, as played by Leslie Bibb. (The acting's fine it's the character that's the problem.) She's annoying in that she can't seem to follow orders, any orders. At one point she has to take a swimming test at the FBI Academy. It turns out that she doesn't know how to swim which generally can be considered a problem in that it leads to the life threatening problem of death by drowning. She then disobeys an order by diving back into the water to give the drowning thing one more chance.
A little later in the show she disobeys another order when at her first post as an FBI agent, the same that's doing battle with the organized crime division, she gets suspended in her first 45 minutes of work for not listening to orders. What an exciting character trait!
What I found bazaar about her character is her reasoning for joining the FBI. She tells us again and again about her husband dying on 9/11 and her wanting to do her part in the war on crime/terror (would this "crime/terror" beast be called "Crerror"?). I found this aspect to her character VERY unbelievable. Doesn't it take longer to get through the FBI Academy than two years? (Assuming that she joined up the fall of 2001, right after 9/11 which I doubt very much happening.)
If you just ignore the Van Doran character The Line of Fire is enjoyable. Not
enjoyable on the level of "The Sopranos" or "The Wire," but enjoyable on the networked
"Edited for Television" level.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/27/2003
Santa Claus
I've been missing MTV's old pseudo Christmas commercial "Santa Claus: The
Man, The Myth, The Slam-Dancer." The "commercial" starts off with
a line of Santa's ringing bells. There's a voice-over with an announcer saying,
"Santa Claus. The man. The myth…" The commercial then cuts to
a scene of a proto-mosh pit with a badly drawn Santa Claus slam-dancing around
with the rest of the people. The announcer follows, "…the slam-dancer."
I remember seeing it back in the mid 80's. Finally, once again,
I saw it last night. I think the last time MTV played this commercial was back
in the early to mid 90's.
That commercial was the cool sign that Christmas was here. This was back
when MTV was cool, hip, and on the edge. (Now MTV's really the definition of what's
now and hip. It's really lost it's edge.)
Welcome back Santa the slam-dancer!
By Bert Ehrmann
12/25/2003
Two New Trailers
Two very cool movie trailers have hit the Internet this week.
The First is "Sky
Captain and The World Of Tomorrow" which mixes elements from
1930's movie serials along with 21st century computing power to form a very
interesting look. Seeing this trailer gave me flashes of "Indiana Jones"
(not in story but the idea of the reinventing the classic movie serial for a
modern day audience) meets the old 1940's Superman cartoons. Very, very, very
cool and exciting!
The second trailer is for M. Night Shyamalan's follow-up to last year's "Signs"
titled "The Village."
The trailer doesn't give too much away here, other than the fact that a people
who's village is surrounded by a woods might also be surrounded by the creatures
that inhabit that woods. Expect moving shadows as well as a few good (genuine)
scares next year.
(For some reason the trailer for this movie was released yesterday (12/22),
pulled, and is supposed to go online tomorrow (12/24.) Be sure to check it out
then, it's very good!)
By Bert Ehrmann
12/23/2003
Mo's Return of the King Review
After thinking that I was going to actually see ROTK before the year let out, I embarked this past Sunday with my Lady out into the seething underbelly known as the "EVIL Christmas Shopping Atmosphere" in hopes to actually see the film. After 2 stops, we finally found a theater that had it playing, with barely anyone in attendance. One word would describe the shear undertaking of this film: EPIC. Since the days of such films as "Sparticus" and "The Battle of the Bulge" have I seen such effort put into a film. Special effects were superb, the acting was excellent, and the drama was enough to make you realize that yes indeed, Middle Earth was on the brink of destruction.
That being said, a little part of the "Why's?" : WHY didn't Gandalf use some kick ass spells to thwart the bad dudes outside the castle walls? WHY did it always seem like no matter HOW much closer Frodo and Sam got to Mt. Doom, it was STILL 90 damn miles away? WHY did Frodo get stabbed by the spider, when he wears armor that doesnt allow him to be hurt? WHY was there a evil character reminiscent of "Sloth" from the Goonies?
My only disappointment was the fact that Saruman won't be seen until the DVD release sometime next year. In fact apparently a LOT of extra footage was dropped from the Theatrical release so they could keep it in a 3 hour sitting.
High points of the movie: The Rohan riders, the entire battle sequence outside the city of Minas Tirith (Go Catapults!!), the "Cursed Undead", Gimli and Legolas, and of course that kick ass sword that Aragorn gets half way into the flick.
All in all, Return of the King is a movie well worth seeing in the theater. I look forward to the future DVD release to see what else was missed... Lord of the Rings
By Mo Alexander
12/23/2003
Decatur Daily Democrat gets FARKED
I happened to be browsing one of my favorite news/sports/whatever sites today and noticed for the first time that Decatur, Indiana is now officially on the World Wide Web Map of news! Check it out here. FARK!
By Mo Alexander
12/23/2003
The Day After
It's been 20 years since the television movie that freaked out millions of impressionable
children (me included) aired. No, I'm not talking about "A-Team: The Missing
Years" but "The Day After."
On Nov. 20, 1983, Lawrence endured fallout from the blasts of nuclear missiles
that struck neighboring Kansas City. The area was scorched by firestorms, citizens
were vaporized, and those lucky enough to survive suffered the slower effects
of radiation poisoning.
At least that is what was portrayed in an ABC television movie that became one
of the most watched and most controversial events of the decade.
Read the whole
story here.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/22/2003
Homicide: Life in The Jury
Good news, Fox is producing a show that's being created by a large chunk of the
creative team that brought "
From The Futon Critic:
THE JURY (A.K.A. THE CIRCUIT) (FOX) - Shalom Harlow ("How to Lose
a Guy in 10 Days") has signed on to star in the drama pilot, which now features
the title "The Jury." Harlow will play Melissa Greenfield, an ex-public
defender turned private practice defense attorney in the series, which details
a circuit court case each week through the eyes of the jury. Barry Levinson, Tom
Fontana, Jim Finnerty and James Yoshimura are the executive producers of the 20th
Century Fox Television project, which is set to begin production shortly. Levinson
will direct the pilot from a script by Fontana and Yoshimura.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/22/2003
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
I'm not a big fan of the whole "Lord of the Rings" series of movies.
If you've never seen the first movie, "The Fellowship of the Ring," then there's
no way that you're going to understand the second or third for that matter. I
also know that the movies are based off of a series of books but I've never read
them as I suspect the majority of people going to see the movie haven't either.
I truly believe that you need to have read the books to fully understand the movie(s).
I don't think that homework should be a prerequisite for enjoying a movie.
Still, if the second movie was a letdown, the third mostly made up for it. The story was interesting and the visual effects were an A+. Most of the story around the third movie centers on the humans battling for survival and the hobbit's journey around and up Mount Doom to destroy the ring. The battles are awe-inspiring. (There's an ode to the AT-AT battle snuck into the movie if you watch carefully enough.)
The Lord of the Rings movie series isn't great but is worth a watch or two.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/22/2003
Dark Blue
I've been interested in seeing "Dark Blue," out on DVD, for some time
now. Ever since I heard that James Ellroy, "L.A. Confidential," wrote
the original script for the movie way back when it was titled "The Plague
Season." (Isn't the original title loads better than the one they wound up
using?) I even bought the script to the movie last year when the movie was supposed
to come out last fall.
Dark Blue follows dirty cop Edlon Perry dealing out his own brand of corrupt justice
in the days just before the L.A. riots in the early 1990's. The story follows
Perry investigating the mass murder of customers inside a convenience store. Perry
discovers that there are links with the murders within the police department and
that he may be expendable after learning these facts.
The story sounds good. (IMHO, anything written by Ellroy would be good.) However,
Ellroy only gets the story credit whereas David Ayer gets the screenplay credit.
This means that Ellroy was paid of the story and then everything else was changed
after the fact. The basic overall story (Ellroy) is good while the overall product
(Avery) is just so-so.
The movie isn't horrible, It's an interesting watch on a Saturday afternoon. The
movie wants to be dark and gritty but falls short. Both Kurt Russell, Perry, and
Scott "Don't Call Me Felicity" Speedman, his partner, are a bit too
good looking to play convincing seasoned detectives. A much more interesting gritty
look at police work can be found in last year's "Narc."
Still, bits and pieces of Ellroy shine through at moments in the movie. (Characters
use the Ellroy word "Shit-Bird" once or twice.) Any movie that Ellroy's
associated with can't be that bad!
By Bert Ehrmann
12/19/2003
Spider-Man 2
Check out the
trailer for the upcoming sequel to one of the best comic-book movies ever;
"Spider-Man." The trailer looks pretty cool with Doc Ock throwing
cars with his robotic arms. It's a lot better than the original teaser for Spider-Man.
Though a trailer with a monkey grating cheese would have been more interesting
than that!
By Bert Ehrmann
12/18/2003
The Chronicles of Riddick
The trailer for "The
Chronicles of Riddick", aka "Pitch Black 2," has hit the net.
It has some cool moments but isn't that interesting. (Teaser trailers aren't usually
any good. IMHO they aren't a good indicator of the quality of the finial movie.
Just look at how bad the first trailer was for the "Spider-Man" movie
and how good the finished movie turned out.) The original "Pitch Black"
is one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time.
The movie is described as:
Vin Diesel reprises his star-making Pitch Black role of enigmatic anti-hero
Richard B. Riddick in the new science fiction action-adventure epic, The Chronicles
of Riddick.
Riddick has spent the last five years on the move among the forgotten worlds on
the outskirts of the galaxy, eluding mercenaries bent on collecting the price
on his head. Now, the fugitive finds himself on planet Helion, home to a progressive
multicultural society that has been invaded by the Lord Marshal, a despot who
targets humans for subjugation with his army of warriors known as Necromongers.
Exiled to a subterranean prison where extremes of temperature range from arctic
nights to volcanic days, Riddick encounters Kyra, the lone survivor from an earlier
chapter in his life. His efforts to free himself and Kyra lead him to the Necromonger
command ship, where he is pitted against the Lord Marshal in an apocalyptic battle
with possibly the fate of all beings-both living and dead-hanging in the balance.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/17/2003
Dawn of the Dead
"Dawn of the Dead" has a release date. It looks like the remake will
stumble and moan into theaters March 19, 2004.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/16/2003
The Last Samurai
"The Last Samurai's" a good movie. It's story doesn't fall into stereotypes
and the plot avoids cliches. What I found most interesting about the movie was
how I could see how modern day Japan could have evolved from the Samurai belief
and the Japanese customs of 125 years ago.
I suppose this is possible because I'm seeing Japan through virtually alien eyes.
I've never lived there and only know the country and people through scarce meetings
or the media. (Then again maybe I'm only familiar with the stereotypical Japan…)
I found myself wanting to know more about the Samurai belief and the transfer
from the "ancient" Japanese ways to the "modern" ones. (And
if the facts presented in the movie really were facts.)
Still, The Last Samurai is more than just another "Braveheart" clone.
It's a well done movie that deserves accolades.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/15/2003
Homicide: Life on the Street
I've been watching "Homicide: Life on the Street" lately. What got me
interested in the show was a marathon running of the creator's most favorite shows
of the series on Court TV a few weeks back. I got so interested in the show that
I went out and bought the first
two seasons on DVD. Now I see that the third
season's also out. Ugh, I smell another large purchase in my future.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/10/2003
21 Jump Street: The Next Generation
In a stunning move to develop NEW and INNOVATIVE shows, both Fox and ABC are
rehashing tired and old concepts by resurrecting the "21 Jump Street"
formula of featuring youth oriented crime. One can only hope for a cast of gorgeous looking cops battling crime. From The
Futon Critic:
YOUTH CRIME UNIT (ABC) - Feature writers Tag Mendillo and Ric Roman Waugh
have landed a script commitment at the network for a new drama which revolves
around a New York undercover police squadron devoted to catching criminals under
the age of 25.
HOLLYWOOD DIVISION (FOX) - FOX has given the go-head to Universal Network Television
to begin production on a new youth-oriented cop drama pilot. The project revolves
around young detectives who infiltrate a Hollywood high school as well as go
undercover inside the seedy side of young show business.
The best line from the stories has to be; "…hopes to differentiate
itself from the recent uptick in youth cop dramas by not limiting the action
to just high school."
That sounds a lot different to me! I'm sure that actor Michael DeLuise will
be auditioning for any roles in these new series.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/9/2003
"How my beloved SciFi Series got torn a new Black Hole"
Okay, so I have to give you the shake down of the new BattleStar rendition by SciFi. Does this picture say enough? I dont think so...
Okay, aside from the fact that Starbuck and Boomer were replaced by women, this show starts out showing the Cylons (yeah the bad ass toaster ovens) coming to a armistice in the company of a Victoria Secret Model. Say What? Yup, you heard right. They then promptly blow up the station and proceed on their conquest to destroy humanity. Sex sells? You betcha!
Meanwhile, the Battlestar Galactica is in for retirement (and mothballs), and enjoying the horrible acting by a cast Helen Kellar must have picked. *Commander Adama, you have upset "Stands with a Fist" by not allowing Networked computers on your Battlestar* Yeah, if that didn't say "Watch out for that Computer Virus coming soon", i dont know what does..
After watching an hour of babble and what I guess SciFi calls "drama", we finally see the Cylons start blowing some stuff up. Only problem is, its the planets you get to see, NOT the other Battlestars (Shame on you SciFi! NO Brownie points here!!) Granted the Nukes were cool though..
At the same time, Galatica's "Viper Squadron" gets attacked by 2 Cylon "stealth" ships (with laser Eyeballs included). Here we see another crappy representation from Scifi. The Cylons' attack craft look like a cross between the Batwing and a Romulan warbird. COME ON!!! LAME!!!!!!!!!! Of course they wipe the floor with the vipers, and proceed on to attack the star liners surrounding the 12 colonies.
This is where I finally got tired of the show. Of course, in the original series, they did indeed get suckered (not sold out) by Baltar to the Cylons, and the Cylons promptly kicked ass. However ,after having a WAR with the Cylons 40 years before, then just forgetting about them.. You decide to DISARM?!?!?! HUH?? I dont think humanity is quite that stupid...
One good thing about the show: The Mark II Vipers. Very nice, very sleek. Attention to detail was PAID to these bad boys (unlike most of the rest of the show.) The attitude thrusters, and so forth worked out really well.
Things I REALLY didnt like: StarBuck, Boomer, the urge to OVER act, the urge to under act, the BLATANT rip off of Seven of Nine from Voyager for the Cylon's "6", the attack on a "weaponless" Battlestar(?), the over dramatised use of "throw in a romance scene here", the f-ing pussy that Colonel Tigh turned out to be, the archaic instrument panels and buttons the vipers and Battlestar had (EVEN IN THE NEW VIPERS TOO!) What did they pull those out of the old show? COME ON!
But I Digress, I think the world has enough pain and suffering in the world. Scifi, next time you think about redoing a CLASSIC TV Series, skip it and just send me the money. We will both profit BETTER from it.
By Mo Alexander
12/9/2003
Firefly
Don't forget, tomorrow (12/9) the DVD set containing all episodes for the ill
fated series "Firefly" is released. Best of all, three episodes contained
on the DVD that were never shown are included in this set!
I still can't believe that Fox canceled this show. I guess the best shows on television
don't always survive while creative duds like "Friends" goes on and
on like some zombified Energizer-Bunny. Ugh.
If you have any taste you'll run out and pick
up a copy of this set.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/8/2003
Battlestar Galactica
I've seen an early screener for the "Battlestar
Galactica" mini-series premiering on the Sci Fi channel this Monday (Dec.,
8) at 9:00 P.M. I must say that the new version of Battlestar Galactica is good.
Very good. Almost too good for words. The best example of sci fi on television
in many, many years…
Read the whole review of the
series here.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/4/2003
Calvin & Hobbes
Interesting story on the (best-ever) comic-strip "Calvin & Hobbes" and the whereabouts of it's creator Bill Watterson. I've read in places before that he's painting landscapes in oils -- good for him!
Although Calvin & Hobbes was, is, and always will be my favorite comic strip, I can understand why someone would need to back off of life in the rat-race and do something different for a change. I just pray that people realize what Calvin & Hobbes really was rather than the image on the back of so many pickup trucks.
From the article:
But Watterson apparently has no immediate plans to bring Calvin back. In fact, it seems that he has no immediate plans to do much of anything. He lives a quiet life in Chagrin Falls. He paints landscapes with his father in the woods, but produces nothing for those who once embraced his comic strip. He won't do conventions anymore. He won't sign autographs. And he certainly won't sit for interviews. (He cleared Salem to answer questions for this article, but refused to do so himself.) He is content simply being Ohio's most famous recluse, our own J.D. Salinger.
The pressure on Watterson must have been enormous, but he steadfastly refused to sell out, even a little bit. "I look at cartoons as an art, as a form of personal expression. That's why I don't hire assistants . . . and why I refuse to dilute or corrupt the strip's message with merchandising," he said in his Festival of Cartoon Art speech. "Characters lose their believability as they start endorsing major companies and lend their faces to bedsheets and boxer shorts."
An industry source who wishes to remain anonymous says Watterson paints oil-on-canvas landscapes, but sets fire to each as soon as it's finished. Supposedly, he was told that the first 500 paintings an artist creates are just practice.
Some say he's finished, burned out, washed up. Others think that he might just be waiting for the perfect opportunity -- that maybe, when he's not painting landscapes of Ohio with his father, he's working on a strip again.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/3/2003
Traffic: The Mini-Series
Information about the mini-series spun-off of my one of my favorite movies; “Traffic.” The series starts late January 2004.
By Bert Ehrmann
12/2/2003
The Alien Quadrilogy
The immense boxed set including all three films from the "Alien" franchise each in a theatrical and extended versions as well as over 50 hours of additional material from the films has been released today. (That's a lot of stuff. It makes an "Alien" fan like myself drool.)
Forget about "The Pirates of the Caribbean" on DVD, pick up this set instead!
By Bert Ehrmann
12/2/2003
Cop Shows
Would someone please pass this information along to those in charge on new television shows on the various networks; the traditional cop show is now dead. I think this point is proven when it turns out that Fox is working on a new show that's different in that it "show(s) the end of a case first, then working backward to show events leading up to it."
All that Fox can come up with is to spin the show around, showing it end to first "Memento" style!? What's next, a hospital show that focuses on the patients right up to the moment that they enter the hospital?
By Bert Ehrmann
12/1/2003
Alien
I had forgotten how good the movie "Alien" (1979) was. Not that I had any doubt in my mind that it wasn't a fine movie. Just that it was a good movie that kicked off a great franchise. I can't tell you how long the movie "Aliens", second in the franchise, was my favorite or how many of the comic books spun off of the Alien concept that I bought and still own. (I think while I was in high school I even tried coming up with an Alien comic of my own. Unfortunately the concept must have been too advanced for the time since the idea went nowhere.)
I remember first seeing Alien when I was a wee lad on network TV as the Sunday movie of the week. (Sunday movies of the week made it tolerable that the next day you'd have to return to the boredom that was school.) I must had seen it before on television since my mom told me "remember, you like that one." This was probably 1983 or '84 a few years before the sequel hit theaters. As an eight or nine year old I remember liking the scenes of the alien but getting lost in the middle parts when the alien was absent.
I'd guess that I've probably seen the original movie at least ten times in my life. Whenever it would come on TV I'd be sure to watch it. At one point, I taped the movie off of the "A&E" channel late one night on VHS and finally got a real copy of it a year or two later for Christmas.
Luckily for me I've had the chance to relive my childhood as the movie was recently re-released into theaters as a revised "director's cut" a few weeks back. The movie's finally found it's way into my town almost a month after it's initial release. It was neat to see the movie, finally, on the big screen free from the tyranny that is the small television screen. I can finally agree with people who say that some movies just work better at this larger format.
As a "mature" adult, I have to say that "Alien" is a very fine movie. Those transitions that lost me as a kid really hit home as a "grown-up" now that I know what I'm watching. Hell, some of those scenes scared the socks off me watching them now and I KNOW what's going to happen.
The movie has a sort of quiet terror, the sound track filled with little more than heartbeats from time to time. We know that the characters are in danger. THEY know that they are in danger. But they're stuck on this ship and there's nothing much that they can do about it.
What's hard to imagine is what is was like to have seen the movie when it was first released WITHOUT knowing how it turns out in the end. Once you know that Ripley appears in each and every sequel, for better or worse, it kind'a takes all the fun out of the movie. You know she doesn't die so there's no worry with her.
Still, I was surprised as how the director Ridley Scott (Ridley - Ripley. They're only one letter apart) played with Hollywood conventions tricking the viewer into believing one thing's going to happen when really something else is lurking around the corner. There's one scene where Ripley's separated herself from the group in search of the ship's cat. In any other movie she'd be the one picked off since she's all by herself. Instead the alien attacks the group. Leaving Ripley to hear it all over the radio.
I only spotted one new scene in the movie and didn't think it detracted from the overall effect of the movie. In fact it added to some of the horror. One of the new scenes shows that there can be worse things than being killed by the alien.
All in all Alien is a GREAT movie. It's more than just the start of a franchise. It's a practically a perfect movie all by itself. I can't imagine the reaction of the audience sitting in the theater and seeing this movie for the first time. It must have been magic. A horrible sort of bloody oozing magic, but magic none-the-less!
By Bert Ehrmann
11/29/2003
Deep Impact Actor
A pretty interesting first person take as to what is was like to be on the set of the movie "Deep Impact" (1998)
from actor John Ducey. The scene that John's in is something like three or four
minutes in length on screen and TOOK FOUR DAYS TO SHOOT! I know why movies take
so long to make – one minute of screen time can take a whole heck of
a lot of time to shoot.
(Did I mention that I really like the movie Deep Impact? In the past I built a
fan-site around the movie that's lost to all but me. I remember that the trailer
for the movie was one of the first that was available for download on the net
studio approved. I think I may still have that trailer somewhere on an old CD
archive. At the time it was a large download for the trailer weighing in at something
like ten megs in size!)
By Bert Ehrmann
11/26/2003
Hellboy
The long awaited trailer for the comic book turned movie, "Hellboy",
has hit the net in (finally) Quicktime format. The trailer's not horrible, but
it's not the best I've ever seen either. It doesn't make me want to jump up
and go see the movie; the ultimate goal of all movie trailers. Still, it's a
whole heck of a lot better than the first "Spider-Man" trailer and
look how good that movie turned out.
See the trailer
for yourself.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/25/2003
Gothika (or) We See Dead People Too
"Gothika" is what happens when a writer gets a good idea for a sequel to a hit movie, in this case "The Sixth Sense", but can't get the rights to make that sequel themselves. Instead of making this sequel they instead change the characters a bit, no one wants to get sued, and then makes a new movie.
Gothika is The Sixth Sense 2 in that the character Halle Berry plays could be that of Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense only set a few years in the future. (If you've seen the movie tell me if I'm wrong.) Halle plays a psychiatrist (wouldn't it make sense that the Haley Joel character would become a psychiatrist after seeing a dead one as a kid?) who "sees dead people" after experiencing an car accident. She wakes up in her own mental institution a few days later unable to remember her murdering her husband but is haunted by this dead woman's spirit. (Again, the Sixth Sense 2.)
The movie has several plot holes that a truck could be driven through. The ghost girl that Halle sees attacks her at every turn; throwing her around in a cell and slashing her arm with a razor. But oddly enough that ghost IS LOOKING FOR HELP FROM HALLE!? How does that make sense? You attack the only one who can see you? The only one who can provide any assistance at all?
There's also a whole bit where another character finds his way into an inmate's cell when there's no real way that this character could EVER get into the mental institution unnoticed let alone into a locked and secured cell.
I can see why Gothika never became The Sixth Sense 2. (Or "SS2" in our movie culture of naming everything with acronyms; "X2", "LXG", "LOTR"...) It's not a strong movie. There's a few "boo" scares in Gothika but that's about it. Gothika is a definite must-miss.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/24/2003
DVDs
I was trying to figure out the reasoning behind the pricing of DVD sets these
days. What I mean specifically is the price discrepancy between the first season
of a DVD set and a second. For example; the first season of "Coupling"
is priced at something like $25 retail. The second is $35. The series "Homicide:
Life on the Street's" first two seasons come together in one set and retail
for $70. The third season comes alone but costs $100.
On the surface it looks like the sets are designed to lure customers in with a
lower price, hook them, and then charge more for further viewings.
Then I looked at the episode counts.
The first season of Coupling had six episodes, the second nine. That means that
on the first DVD set you're paying something like $4.10 per episode while you're
paying $3.88 per episode on the second. The same goes for Homicide: Life on the
Street. It's $5.38 per episode for the first and $5 for the second. (And if you
can find the DVDs on sale you're paying even less.)
It's nice to know that once in my life I'm NOT being ripped off.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/20/2003
I Am Legend
Back in the early 1990's there was a comic book published based on the book "I
Am Legend." At the end of this month IDW
Publishing is planning on re-releasing the series collected in new hardcover
form. Cool!
Richard Matheson's classic novel of fear and vampirism - the tale of the last
human on an Earth overrun by the undead - returns to graphic novel format in a
single volume collection of four long out-of-print books. Steve Niles, the hottest
horror writer in contemporary comics, adapts Matheson's brilliant book with chilling
art by Elman Brown.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/19/2003
Dr. Who
Interesting stuff on the goings on with 'Dr. Who.' From BBC:
Buffy man tops 'next Dr Who' poll
Anthony Head, Giles in Buffy: Could he be the next Doctor?
Buffy star Anthony Head has said he is "flattered" to be voted as
favourite to play the next Dr Who in a Radio Times readers' poll.
Head, who played Giles in the cult US TV hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, beat
actor Alan Rickman into second place.
Comic stars Stephen Fry and Alan Davies were in third and fourth place, with
actor Ian Richardson in fifth.
Hit BBC sci-fi series Dr Who is coming back to TV after a 14-year absence and
is in the early stages of development.
Head told the Radio Times: "I'm in very good company - good God, I beat
Alan Rickman."
"I suppose I would be a logical choice to play the Doctor just because
Giles, my character in Buffy, has the same light and dark sides and quirkiness
as Doctor Who," he added.
"My own favourite was Patrick Troughton because you never knew what was
going on inside his Doctor," he said.
No clues as to who will play the latest incarnation of the Doctor have been
given.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/18/2003
Blood Shot
I recently had the opportunity to watch the short film 'Blood
Shot.' Blood Shot deals with a vampire working for the CIA sent on a mission
to rid a city of a terrorist cell. Unfortunately for the vampire, a cop's on his
trail unaware that the vampire's really working for the greater good.
Blood Shot wants to be 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' meets 'Heat Vision and Jack.'
There are some geniuinely funny jokes in the show; like the terrorist's various
costumes one more humorous than the next reminding me of the movie 'Airplane,'
or the vampire deciding on how best to take out the terrorists by the flip of
a coin. "Heads, I like heads."
However, Blood Shot's just a little too extreme. In what should be a bit goofy
is presented in a sometimes too serious manner. I think the idea of the show is
very strong, the idea of a vampire working for the government. But sometimes the
show takes some pretty unique angles. One moment it's like we're watching the
'X-Files.' The next it's like Buffy.
Either way the creators decide to take this show it seems to me that the show
will work. They just need to decide on which way to take it – comedy
or drama.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/17/2003
The Apocalypse
The best line in the history of man;"… a physicist and a nun…racing
against the clock to see if the apocalypse can be averted." Did the Monty
Python write this!? Sounds like GOLD to me! From Sci
Fi.com.
NBC Readies Apocalypse Series
NBC is partnering with writer David Seltzer (The Omen) and producer Gavin Polone
to develop a six-to-eight-hour limited series based on the apocalypse as foretold
in the Book of Revelation, Variety reported. NBC hopes to roll out the series
right after its broadcast of the Athens Olympics in late August, airing an hour
a week as an event designed to create momentum for the fall season, the trade
paper reported.
Set just before the start of Armageddon, the series will follow two central
characters, a physicist and a nun, who are racing against the clock to see if
the apocalypse can be averted. It's possible the limited series could include
an Antichrist character, sources told the trade paper. The series is as yet
untitled.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/13/2003
Alive
The movie 'Alive' comes out today (11/11) on DVD. I usually wouldn't mention it
since the movie blows. One thing caught my eye while looking at the DVD cover
is that it's the "30th Anniversary Edition." 30th Anniversary!? The
movie only came out ten years ago. Why isn't it the "10th Anniversary Edition?"
I figured that it was the 30th anniversary of the real events that inspired the
movie. No dice. Those events happened back in 1972, 31 years ago.
I'm sure it's the 30th anniversary of something for the movie Alive, I'm just
not sure what.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/11/2003
The Matrix
Something's been lost in 'The Matrix' series of movies. The first was interesting,
innovative, and exciting. The second and now third was none of these. Watching
the third movie, my major complaints were; all the characters speech patterns
were exactly alike – no one had their own voice. The computer program Matrix
must really be dumb – why else when they attacked Zion wouldn't they
shower the city with bombs first before attacking? (Did anyone else notice that
the machines didn't possess any weapons other than those used in hand to hand
combat?) Finally, I never got the sense that there was anyone in the Matrix other
than the resistance and the machines. It seemed to me that the film-makers glossed
over perhaps the most interesting story of all – what happens when
billions of people suddenly become aware that their whole lives have been a sham
and that they're really living batteries for some computer? (Where were these
people during the movie? We don't see them at all in the third installment.)
Thinking about the set of movies what really happened was there was the first
Matrix and then a second story, told over two movies, that lasted four hours.
If you sit and think about it for a while, we've only been exposed to two stories from The Matrix excluding the comic books. Hell, even with Star Wars there
was three movie stories, dozens of television shows (cartoon and live action),
and a multitude of books and magazines.
We haven't even really begun to explore The Matrix and I've already lost interest
in it.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/10/2003
Alien
I'll be buying this. Drool. From
IMDB:
Today's (11/3) USA Today is reporting that (the movie 'Alien') will be included
in an enormous nine-DVD "Alien Quadrilogy" box set to be released
on Dec. 2 that will retail for $99.98. The set will include some 45 hours of
previously unseen material, the newspaper said.
By Bert Ehrmann
11/5/2003
Tenacious D
Proving once again that 'Tenacious D' is the funniest duo on the planet. From
Yahoo:
With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the members of Tenacious D announced
Monday that they would begin a 45-day hunger strike at 5 p.m.
In a satirical move to promote the DVD "The Complete Masterworks,"
due Tuesday via Epic, members Jack Black (news) and Kyle Gass said they will
climb into a seven-foot by three-foot by seven-foot glass box 50 yards above
Times Square at the intersection of 45th Street and Broadway, where they will
remain for the length of the strike.
Actor/singer/guitarist Black said the strike would end early one three conditions:
if "The Complete Masterworks" goes platinum, if "hunger is solved"
or if there is peace in Middle East.
The duo made the announcement dressed in silver and white superhero costumes,
with the letter "D" covering their barrel-shaped chests, white gloves
on their hands and white capes tied around their necks. In addition to water
and one red cell phone, Black quipped that they would bring one guitar into
the glass box with them. "If we need extra nourishment, we will live off
each others' rock."
When the pair was asked the longest duration either had gone without sustenance,
Gass replied that one time he had gone eight hours between meals. Black said
that once he slept for 12 hours, effectively spending 13 hours in-between meals.
"It's gonna test our will, but I feel confident we're gonna make it,"
said Gass.
After the hunger strike, Black said the group will continue working on the long-awaited
Tenacious D movie, "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny."
By Bert Ehrmann
11/4/2003
Alien
I was all jazzed to see the movie 'Alien' on the big-screen at my local cineplex.
No dice. It appears as if you don't live in a really big city then you're theater's
not going to get a print of the movie. Lucky me. Ugh.
.jpg)
By Bert Ehrmann
11/3/2003
Aliens vs Predator
Very cool trailer/mini-documentary on the upcoming movie 'Aliens vs Predator'. The only cons are that the same guy
who directed such stinkers as 'Soldier' and 'Event Horizon' will be directing.
Plus THE MOVIE DOESN'T COME OUT UNTIL AUGUST OF 2004! The trailer
doesn't feature any footage from the movie but has some nice cuts of people in
the costumes as well as re-used footage from the first 'Predator' movie.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/31/2003
Alien
The movie that spawned a thousand imitators, 'Alien,' is being re-released into
selected cinemas this Friday (10/31). Though I can't say that I agree with some of the
additions being made by the director Ridley Scott into the movie, still I see this re-release
as something that all movie fans, especially ones who like the Alien genera, must
see.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/28/2003
Texas Chainsaw Massacare
I am ashamed to admit that I sat through a screening of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
(2003) the other night. It has to be one of the worst movies to come out in a
long time. There is virtually no plot and there is a seemingly endless chase between
Leatherface and Jessica Beil.
Here is the entire movie condensed;
Several teens run across a lone girl walking along the road. The offer assistance
but she kills herself before they can offer aid. When the sheriff is called things
fall apart. The teens disappear and are terrorized by various sharp instruments
and a chainsaw. (Plus the little boy from the film 'The Ring' who has found a
nitch playing freaky little boys in horror movies shows up with really huge teeth.)
Then...
Run chase run. Chainsaw scream run. Run run chainsaw. Get stuck in basement kill
legless friend. Run Run chainsaw scream. Rescue other friend. Run run run. Hide.
Rats. Chainsaw scream dead friend. Run scream run. Chainsaw slaughterhouse, hide.
Hide get wet run. Hide cut off Leatherface's arm run. Flag down semi driver hide.
Rescue baby hot-wire car rundown sheriff. One last scare with armless Leatherface.
Then (thank God) the end. But not soon enough to not leave any lasting marks.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/27/2003
The Office
Americanizing the most-excellent Brit-Com 'The Office' just won't work. The
Office is the most funny show on television at the moment hands down. Those
laughs heard around the country Sunday nights are because season two of the
shote is currently airing on BBC America that night.
The last sitcom that was successfully transferred from the UK to the USA was
'All in the Family' some thirty plus years ago. The last sitcom that tried to
jump the pond, '
Ben Silverman, the Universal TV producer who was assigned to turn the British
import Coupling into an American show for NBC, may have the toughest job in
TV right now: He has to turn the other BBC America hit, The Office, into a successful
American show for NBC. As NYTV sees it, Mr. Silverman has one great big challenge:
finding an American Ricky Gervais, the driving force behind the British version,
who writes and directs the show and plays the central character, David Brent.
You need a Christopher Guest or a Eugene Levy—someone with an edge, who
can be funny and mean, and who can improvise. So who does Mr. Silverman have
in mind for the gig?
"Philip Seymour Hoffman or Paul Giamatti," he said. "They’re
not really so famous they’d get stopped in the supermarket. Robin Williams,
you couldn’t do. That whole Paul Thomas Anderson school of actors—John
C. Reilly. A huge American comic would throw off the chemistry."
Sounds interesting—if they’d actually do it.
"I think it would be fantastic," he said. "Absolutely three actors
that we love who we think could do it. They’re funny and sympathetic and
can also be kind of obnoxious. This character, he’s kind of like Archie
Bunker, which was a British adaptation also."
By Bert Ehrmann
10/23/2003
Global Frequency
According to the Sci
Fi Channel, "Global Frequency,"
perhaps the best comic being produced to date, is being turned into a television
show. However, the fact that Mark Burnett's aka "lowest-common-denominator"
is attached to this project makes me cringe a bit.
WB Buys Frequency
Producer Mark Burnett (Survivor) has sold The WB a pilot script for Global Frequency, an hourlong superhero show based on the DC Comics series by Warren Ellis, Variety reported. Frequency deals with a shadowy figure named Miranda Zero who starts a top-secret worldwide independent defense intelligence organization, the trade paper reported.
John Rogers (The Core) has been tapped to write Global Frequency.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/22/2003
The Undead
I almost picked up a copy of "Day
of the Dead" last week after seeing the trailer to "
By Bert Ehrmann
10/21/2003
Itunes Released for Mac and PC
I took the liberty of checking out the new music software that Apple has out, and its pretty darn good. Purchasing songs is 99 cents a pop, but well worth it to be legit. Check it out here. Itunes
By Mo Alexander
10/20/2003
Dawn of the Dead
See the teaser trailer to the upcoming movie "Dawn of the Dead." Some
may say that running zombies just aren't scary. I say take a look at this trailer
and form a new opinion!
See the trailer
for yourself here.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/17/2003
Scrubs
Interesting to note that tonight's episode of Scrubs will be a repeat. (Yes, I
realize that there's only been three new episodes this season but in NBC's ultimate
wisdom they've decided to pull the show tonight.) Apparently NBC is pulling new
episodes of all their shows that are airing opposite to Baseball tonight
on Fox.
Doesn't NBC realize that not everyone's going to watch baseball tonight?
By Bert Ehrmann
10/16/2003
Christopher McQuarrie
It looks like my favorite screenwriter's ("The Usual Suspects," "The
Way of the Gun") going to be writing for television.
From The Futon Critic:
THE MIDDLEMAN (ABC, New!) - Oscar-winning writer Chris McQuarrie ("The Usual
Suspects") has landed a premium script commitment at ABC for a new drama
about a man who straddles the line between good and evil. The project, which has
a substantial penalty attached should it not go to pilot, is described a 21st
century take on "The Equalizer" in which the lead is viewed as a crook
by the cops and a cop by the crooks. McQuarrie and wife Heather will executive
produce the series with Oscar-nominated producer Matthew Gross for Touchstone
Television.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/15/2003
Dawn of the Dead
Slowly, little by little, the "Dawn of the Dead" remake is looking more
and more cool. The synopsis of the movie reads:
As the United States is turned upside-down by a strange plague-like event in which
millions of corpses walk the earth as blood-thirsty zombies, a small group of
survivors of the onslaught, which include a nurse (Sarah Polley) and a police
officer (Ving Rhames), try to find shelter and protection within a massive shopping
mall in the mid-sized city of Everett, WA. What they don't reckon on is that the
zombies still have some sort of residual memory, and *everyone* loves going to
the mall, right? Realizing that their time is running out, they decide to make
another attempt at flight, to a presumably un-zombie-infested island, but to do
so, they'll have to get past thousands of zombies in-between…
See photos from
the set of the movie here.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/14/2003
A Billion
Adapted from the Urban
Legends Reference Pages.
This is pretty interesting attempt that someone did to put the number billion
into perspective:
A billion seconds ago it was 1972.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
A billion dollars ago was only 4 hours and 10 minutes, at the rate Washington
spends it.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/13/2003
Kill Bill
The movie "Kill Bill" is great. It's pure Quentin Tarantino; cursing,
violence, story… Nothing about this movie was bad.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/13/2003
Scrubs
On this weeks Scrubs when Carla (Judy Reyes) and Turk (Donald Faison) set the
date for the wedding, JD (Zach Braff) realizes this is the end of an era in their
friendship, but his efforts to celebrate this milestone are rebuffed by Turk.
Elliot (Sarah Chalke) is determined to win back her old boyfriend Sean (guest
star Scott Foley, "Felicity"), but is again faced with tough choices
between a relationship and her career.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/9/2003
Desktop Accessories
I've added a new desktop background to the site; SolarWind.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/8/2003
Forever War
It looks like the cover art for the book "The Forever War" has changed
from the clock/galaxy
design to the face of a soldier. Pretty cool if you ask me.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/7/2003
The Office
For those who love the Brit-Com "The Office," including me, this week
is truly great. For starters the entire first season comes out on DVD
tomorrow (10/7) with extras such as an Exclusive documentary, "How I
Made The Office, " Deleted scenes, Wernham Hogg News, Slough slang glossary
and Wernham Hogg personnel file. Best of all NEW episodes start airing on BBC
America this Sunday (10/12.)
Relax and take in that foul smelling David Brent air and enjoy!
By Bert Ehrmann
10/6/2003
Coupling
Last night's "Coupling" was a measly 19 minutes in length, 19 minutes.
I've seen health class films that were longer than 19 minutes. What's the deal
with NBC placing 11 minutes of commercials into every half hour of their television
shows? Do they really think that people like watching more commercials?
I harp because an entire joke/storyline that was featured in the original, and
superior, British Coupling about what happens when people's fantasy dates get
together in real life, was cut from the American version. Gone, disappeared, nada.
When I watch "The Sopranos" on HBO I see an hour long show and I watch
K-Street on HBO I see a half-hour long show as advertised. I guess you get what
you pay for.
Coupling on NBC seems to be commercials interspersed with story. That doesn't
seem to be the way to keep people with a show. That seems to be the way to kill
a show.
By Bert Ehrmann
10/3/2003
Scrubs
Season three of the best-damn-show-on-network-tv aka "Scrubs" airs tonight
on NBC. I can't recommend this series enough. It is one of the few network sitcoms
that I watch. NBC describes the first show as;
A run in with her old flame Sean (guest star Scott Foley) and an accident
in her new car leads Elliot (Sarah Chalke) to the realization that nothing good
has happened to her in the three years that she has been at Sacred Heart, driving
her to take drastic measures, including a complete makeover, both inside and out
in an attempt to change her luck. Meanwhile, JD (Zach Braff) gets stuck with a
patient whose diagnosis he can't quite pin down and when Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley)
denies him any assistance, he looks to Carla (Judy Reyes) and Turk (Donald Faison)
to help him out. While Dr. Cox is busy not helping J.D., he takes the time to
make amends with Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins). Neil Flynn also stars.
.jpg)
By Bert Ehrmann
10/2/2003
"Halo - Combat Evolved"
Finally released for the PC (Sorry all you Mac fans... not this time!) Even though its a Microsoft product, i'll still be picking it up. Check it out here Halo
By Mo Alexander
10/2/2003
Equilibrium - DVD Review
I told Bert and Jay to check out this DVD with Christian Bale and Taye Diggs a while ago. Wonder if they paid attention yet??
*In a futuristic world, a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Bale) is a top-ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist these rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-alterering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it.*
At first I was hesitant at seeing it.. now that I've been shown the light, I'll never stop watching it..
Check out the trailer here!Equilibrium
By Mo Alexander
10/2/2003
Night of the Living Dead
The movie "Night of the Living" dead was released 35 years ago today.
The modern zombie is 35 years old!
By Bert Ehrmann
10/1/2003
BattleStar Galactica Trailer
I just checked out the new teaser trailer up on Sci-Fi's remake of Battle Star Galactica. I'll probably still wind up watching it, however, after seeing some of the trailer.. my already dwindled hopes for a promising mini-series have dwindled even further...(Lousy Budgets!!!!!!) Its almost like Sci-Fi picked up these "series" just to make em worse!!
Check out Battlestar Galactica
for the trailer.
By Mo Alexander
9/30/2003
Cold Creek Manor and Buffalo Soldiers
I saw two movies over the weekend. One great and one not so great.
The not so great movie was "Cold Creek Manor" (or, proving once again
that it's dangerous to trust country locals.) It's one of those movies that
takes up two hours of your time and doesn't deliver anything in the end. The
main problems with this movie is; the story's not very good, the actors in it
don't deliver any sort of believable performances, and nothing much happens
during most of the movie. Most of the two hours that this movie takes up is
filled with a family moving into their new home and the previous home's owner
signing on to help out with the reconstruction. (And I thought this movie was
supposed to be suspenseful.) If you must see the movie the one bit that's any
good is a hilarious over acting scene from all the performers when snakes invade
the home, you'll laugh at one time bad-boy Dennis Quaid screaming like a little
girl and Sharon Stone yelling like a gay man at the snakes.
The great movie was "Buffalo Soldiers." You've probably never heard
about this movie since it was released in something like six theaters before
lighting a firestorm of controversy. The basic premise here is that the ills
that plague the rest of society; drugs, gangs, and murder to name a few, might
also plague the United States Army. The storytellers ask some very valid questions
about our ideas of what it means to be in the armed forces. I may never look
at an army base in the same way. The movie was due to be released just before
9/11 but was shelved because it wasn't pro-milatary. (I don't think the movie's
anti-military but in these sensitive "don't ask questions" time that
we live in, anything that isn't for the military is against it.)
Joaquin Phoenix delivers one heck of a performance as an drug dealer/arms broker
operating on an American base located in Germany during the closing act of the
Cold War. The movie, in the vein of 1999's "Election", follows Phoenix
as he tells us that "If war is hell then peace is boring."
I can't recommend Buffalo Soldiers enough. It's a shame that this movie didn't
get a chance to do better at the box office and it would be a greater shame
if it isn't released on DVD. I suspect that this movie will earn a well deserved
cult following but really earned an Oscar nomination.
By Bert Ehrmann
9/29/2003
Firefly
Thank the lord! According to DVDAnswers,
via Dark Horizons, the "Firefly"
DVD will hit store shelves December 9th. Talk about an early Christmas present!
The four disk set is expected to run around $50. Check out the link to DVDAnswers
for an image of the set.
Firefly (DVD) : Fox Television have now released all of the details on the
upcoming home DVD version of the short-lived "Firefly" sci-fi series
from "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon. The package is four discs and here's
the official list of contents, courtesy of DVD Answers : 4:3 Fullframe Presentations,
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Tracks, Commentary for Eight Episodes, "Here's
How It Was" Featurette, "Serenity: Tenth Character" Feature, Joss'
Tour of the Set Feature, Alan Tudyk's Audition, Joss Sings the Firefly Theme,
Deleted Scenes & Gag Reel, Adam Baldwin Sings "Hero of Canton" Easter
Egg. The disc is set for release in the US on December 9th, 2003.
Dangerous Universe has covered Firefly
By Bert Ehrmann
9/25/2003
The Emmys
Is "The West Wing" Really better than "The Sopranos" since
it has never lost an Emmy for the best dramatic series and The Sopranos has never
won? Let that sink in; The Sopranos HAS NEVER WON AN EMMY FOR BEST DRAMATIC
SERIES. The show that people will still be talking about in twenty years
time has yet to get it's due.
It's too bad really. Maybe it's an age thing. No one I know watches or discusses
The West Wing. Everyone I know watches and discusses The Sopranos.
By Bert Ehrmann
9/22/2003
History
To go along with the launch of the new design to Dangerous Universe, I've written
a history piece about the site.
By Bert Ehrmann
9/22/2003
28 Days Later
The extremely good "28
Days Later" is released on DVD October, 21st just in time for Halloween.
Extras include; 3 alternate endings, Deleted/extended scenes, "Pure Rage:
The Making of 28 Days Later," Music video, and Animated storyboards.
By Bert Ehrmann
9/17/2003
Matchstick Men
I can't say that I've met too many Ridley Scott film's that I liked. I know
that I should like some of his films like "Blade Runner" and
"Alien" since they are all considered "classics" by just
about every other film critic out there. But I've never been able to get into
them. The same goes for the more recent "Gladiator." I just didn't
like it all that much.
However, after seeing "Matchstick Men" I must say that I've fiunally
a Scott film that I enjoy. I enjoyed it very much so. A whole heck of a lot.
In fact, Matchstick Men is the best movie I've seen in quite some time.
Matchstick Men followes a phobic ridden con "artist", Nicolas Cage,
on the eve of a huge con when he discovers that his fourteen year old daughter
wants to meet him. It sounds, and is, complicated. But the movie starts out
good and keeps up the pace the whole way throughout. That was the biggest surprise
– the movie at no point let me down.
By Bert Ehrmann
9/15/2003
L.A. Confidential Pilot
Trio is airing unsold pilots this month. One of these pilots is for a television
version to the book/movie "L.A. Confidential."
The plot of this pilot is more book centric than movie. It starts off with Jack
Vincennes, Kiefer Sutherland, shooting and killing an innocent bystander during
a drug bust. He then sets up this bystander to make it seem that he shot at
Vincennes so that Jack can keep his job. We then jump a few years into the future
where he's been demoted from Narc to Vice and is racked with guilt over the
shooting and is discretely funneling money to the dead man's family.
Sutherland's portrayal of Vincennes is what he would eventuall use for the Jack
Bauer character on 24. The two acting styles are virtually indistinguishable.
L.A. Confidential the series would have been is Jack Vincennes centric. We catch
glimpses of patrolman Bud White and his first meeting with Dudley Smith, a movie
starlet hopeful Lynn Brackin arriving from Arizona meeting Pearce Patchett at
a party, and of E.J. Exley being disliked by the other police officers as a
sort of "policeman policing policeman." These characters, while not
minor in nature, are on the sides of this pilot episode.
We see this seedy side of L.A. but also the glitz when Exley is called out to
Marilyn Monroe's mansion when someone tries to blackmail her with a porn movie
she did years ago.
The main story is of Vincennes trying to get back into Narc by tracking a deadly
strain of Chinese heroin. All the while being trailed by Sid Hudgens who is
amassing a blackmail file on him. Sid knows about the previous shooting and
wants to use Jack to make big busts that will be featured in his paper.
Jack tracks the herion from a dead prostitute to Patchett's party. At the party,
Brackin meets Bud White, who's at the party as a bouncer, for the first time.
All in all this first story was very satisfying. My only complaint was of the
actor who played Bud White who was not nearly hulking or dangerous enough for
my taste. He plays the White character as someone damaged by his past but also
just "one of the guys" on the force. In fact, the only time we see
his inner rage is when he's beating up a suspect, C. Thomas Howell in a hilarious
"you'll never get me copper" cameo. He plays the role more along the
lines of "damaged goods" rather than of a man on a knife-edge.
The only other bit I disliked was of the Hudgens narration. It shifted around
in focus and was annoying stating things that were plainly obvious on screen.
Most of the narration was not needed.
By Bert Ehrmann
9/3/2003
What has happened to Sci Fi?
Sci Fi on television has fallen into three categories of late:
1) Re-Runs of "Star Trek" on TNN, errrrr, I mean SpikeTV*.
2) "Andromeda" and Andromeda type shows in syndication. (And Andromeda is no good.)
3) The Sci-Fi Channel which doesn't produce much original series anymore and has an annoying tendency of showing non sci-fi themed shows of late.
What a sad state of affairs!
*What ever happened to "Deep Space Nine" on SpikeTV? I know they have the broadcast
rights to all three of the new series, but they keep showing episodes of "The
Next Generation" again, and again, and again. I want Captain Sisco back!
By Bert Ehrmann
9/2/2003
Batmobile
Swear to God, the 1960's version of the Batmobile was parked on a trailer right next to my apartment this morning. I guess it helps
living ten miles from the worlds largest car auction!
By Bert Ehrmann
8/28/2003
Star Wars News
"News from the set of Episode III*
By Michael Summers
Title, Further Details Revealed
August 28, 2003 - Producer Rick McCallum has
revealed more details about the upcoming Star Wars
prequel, including the title! The third (and final)
installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy will be
called "Ani the Sith."
McCallum also mentioned a few more details about the
much-talked about birthing scene. "Lucas is going for
extreme realism," McCallum said. "It's more like
something you'd expect to see on ER than a Star Wars
film. But there's some humor during the scene, too."
McCallum confirmed that Chewbacca plays midwife to
Padme, with a little help from another series
stalwart: "R2 cuts the umbilical cord with one of his
gizmos. It's a very touching scene."
When asked about rumors that Padme dies during
childbirth, McCallum shrugs. "It seems to me that a
civilization that has perfected robotics, laser
technology, cloning, and the anti-gravity device would
have found a way to prevent women dying during
childbirth, but a plot point is a plot point. Whaddaya
gonna do?"
* Of course, this is NOT true.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/27/2003
Mars
Over the
next few nights the planet Mars will be closer to the Earth than it has been in
some 60,000 years. To put this date into perspective, the last time Mars was this
close to the Earth our Cave-Man ancestors were doing battle with Neanderthals
and Wooly Mammoths.
To spot Mars just look for the brightest "star" in the east around 10:00
p.m. That "star" is really the planet Mars.
The above graphic really looks like what I see when I look at Mars in my telescope.
It was stolen with great glee from the really neat Howard
C. Anderson's Mars page. You can also check out the Sky
and Telescope page on Mars for even more information.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/26/2003
HBO
Both "The Wire" and "Project Greenlight" ended last night.
I'm not sure what I'll be spending my nights watching until mid-September when
"K-Street" and "Carnival" start airing. Maybe I'll go back
to "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Simpsons" for a while.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/25/2003
The Forever War
Back in the early 1980's the book "The Forever War" was almost turned
into a four part mini-series for PBS. Some of the concept art from this proposed
series has turned up online and Dangerous Universe has it. It's
too cool for words.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/21/2003
2003 "Blockbuster" Movies
A pretty interesting article about this summer's "blockbusters" not
being able to hold onto that title for very long. Basically, in the Internet
age people are able to more quickly warn their friends when a movie blows. From Independent:
In Hollywood, 2003 is rapidly becoming known as the year of the failed
blockbuster, and the industry now thinks it knows why.
No, the executives are not blaming such bombs as The Hulk, Charlie's Angels:
Full Throttle or Gigli on poor quality, lack of originality, or general failure
to entertain. There's absolutely nothing new about that.
The problem, they say, is teenagers who instant message their friends with their
verdict on new films - sometimes while they are still in the cinema watching
- and so scuppering carefully crafted marketing campaigns designed to lure audiences
out to a big movie on its opening weekend.
"In the old days, there used to be a term, 'buying your gross,' " Rick Sands,
chief operating officer at Miramax, told the Los Angeles Times. "You could buy
your gross for the weekend and overcome bad word of mouth, because it took time
to filter out into the general audience."
But those days are over, because the technology of hand-held text-message devices
has drastically cut down the time it takes for movie-goers to tell their friends
that a heavily promoted summer action movie is a waste of time and money.
Five years ago, when summer movies were arguably just as bad as they are now,
the average audience drop-off between a film's opening weekend and its second
weekend was 40 per cent. This summer, it has been 51 per cent. In some cases,
the drop-off has started between the film's opening on a Friday night and the
main screenings on Saturday. The upshot: unsuccessful films disappearing from
cinemas so fast that there is no time for second opinions.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/20/2003
Ghostwatch
Unless you lived in Great Britain in the early 1990's or own a region free DVD
player you've probably never seen this docu-drama titled "Ghostwatch" focusing
on a "live" news program at a haunted house.
When the show originally aired in Great Britian people didn't know that they were
watching a scripted show. They thought that they were watching a variation on
the Geraldo opening Al Capone's tomb only this time focusing on a haunted house.
What follows is a show that slowly builds in fear when the haunted house turns out more haunted than anyone expected. Things are caught on tape that shouldn't happen.
Imagine if "The Blair Witch Project" was shown live as if the events were taking
place in real time. That's what Ghostwatch is like.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/19/2003
Open Range
"Open Range" is an almost great movie though it is in no way shape
or form the best western ever. The story follows a group of free grazers (cattlemen)
on the western frontier doing battle with a "villainous" rancher bent
on stopping all free grazing.
Oddly enough I've heard that this story which features said "villainous"
rancher, cowboys, six-shooters, shoot-outs, and the lot as a non-western. I'm
more than happy to say that this movie is definitely a western with a 21st century
flair.
Although the bulk of the movie works on this level I was left cold with the
romance elements seemingly injected into the movie at random intervals. This
simply did not work.
Still, all in all Open Range is a delight featuring perhaps one of the most
accurate, people miss, Old West gunfights in recent memory.
Open Range is no "Wild Bunch" but definitely a winner.
Open Range
Buy This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
8/18/2003
Grind
The movie "Grind" really, really reminds me of the slew of the late 1980's skater movies that hit. Remember "Thrashin'" and "Gleaming the Cube?" Neither was that good though I suspect that Grind won't be either.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/13/2003
Animated Action
Entertainment Weekly has declared that "animated action films are dead…"
Thank God. Now some creative genius can come down the line in a few years and
revive the genera for a new generation. Remember how the fantasy movie genera
was dead after the late 1980's movie "Willow?" Genera's tend to be
born anew with the release of a single hit movie. Think what "Lord of the Rings" did for the "dead" fantasy genera.
Titan A.E.
Buy This Original Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
8/11/2003
Dead Pilots
Trio is airing
unsold pilots on their station beginning next month. I'm dying to see just what
"L.A. Confidential" turned into and what "Sick in the Head,"
from "Freaks and Geaks" and "Undeclared" creator Judd Apatow,
is all about:
BEAT COPS (2002): Filmed in a cinema-vérité style and without a laugh track, this
low-budget half-hour comedy stars Sam Seder and Jon Benjamin as two NYPD desk
cops sent out on the holiday beat. The two clueless policemen are oblivious to
the city and the volatile citizens around them. Seder co-wrote the pilot with
Charles Fisher. The pilot's world premiere is on Monday, September 1 at 8:30 p.m.-9:00
p.m., ET/PT.
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (2000): Starring Kiefer Sutherland as embattled police detective
Jack Vincennes, this dramatic pilot is based on the critically acclaimed film
of the same name and follows the glamour and seediness of 1950's Los Angeles.
Eric Roberts is also featured. The pilot's cable premiere is on Monday, September
1 at 10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m., ET/PT.
FARGO (1997): Based on the 1996 Academy Award winning film by Joel and Ethan Coen
and starring pre-Sopranos Edie Falco, this pilot brings the very pregnant chief
of police, Marge Gunderson, to the small screen. Developed by Bruce Paltrow and
Robert Palm, and directed by Kathy Bates, the series features the quirky characters
of a small Midwestern town and the investigative prowess of Chief Gunderson. The
pilot's world premiere is on Tuesday, September 2 at 9:00 p.m.Ðøø10:00
p.m., ET/PT.
DEAR DIARY (1996): A sort of love letter to New York City, the pilot chronicles
a day in the life of a married New Yorker, played by Bebe Neuwirth. A reworked
version of the show won the Oscar for best short film. The pilot's U.S. premiere
is on Tuesday, September 2 at 10:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m., ET/PT.
SICK IN THE HEAD (1999): In this screwball comedy, a newbie shrink gets a suicide
case as one of his first patients. Starring Kevin Corrigan, Andrea Martin, David
Krumholtz as a new psychiatrist and Amy Poehler as his patient. The pilot's world
premiere is on Tuesday, September 2 at 10:30 p.m.-11:00 p.m., ET/PT.
REWRITE FOR MURDER (1991): Pam Dawber stars as a prim female mystery writer who
clashes with ex-con George Clooney both on and off screen when they are forced
together to help revitalize her television show. The pilot's world premiere is
on Wednesday, September 3 at 10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m., ET/PT.
SAVAGE (1973): Steven Spielberg directs this pilot about a television news magazine
show. Starring Martin Landau and Barbara Bain (real-life husband and wife) as
an investigative journalist and a television producer for the politically charged
television show. The pilot also guest stars Dabney Coleman and Will Geer. The
pilot's cable premiere is on Thursday, September 4 at 9:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m., ET/PT.
DINER (1983): Based on Barry Levinson's 1982 hit movie set in 1960 Baltimore,
the pilot focuses on 5 men who are making an awkward transition into adulthood
and who gather nightly at the local diner to hash out problems and grapple with
responsibilities. Starring James Spader, Michael Madsen, Paul Reiser, and Michael
Binder. The pilot's world premiere is on Friday, September 5 at 9:00 p.m.-9:30
p.m., ET/PT.
BLACK BART (1975): Based on Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles, Louis Gossett, Jr. and
Steve Landesberg star in this pilot that chronicles the adventures of a black
sheriff and his quick-draw deputy working in a small, bigoted Arizona town in
the Old West. The pilot's world premiere is on Friday, September 5 at 9:30 p.m.-10:00
p.m., ET/PT.
New "Brilliant, But Cancelled" series on TR!O:
BAKERSFIELD P.D. (1993) When successful D.C. detective Paul Gigante moves to the
small town of Bakersfield, he joins the madcap adventures of the quirky police
squad. From a Captain that can't make any decisions to a partner that is a little
too obsessed with TV cop shows, this squad of misfits and imbeciles provides plenty
of sitcom fodder. Ron Eldard, Giancarlo Esposito, Chris Mulkey and Brian Doyle
Murray star. The series makes its cable premiere on Monday, September 8, with
a new episode airing each night during the week at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT.
TR!O's regularly scheduled Brilliant, But Cancelled strip begins Monday, September
8 at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT leading the channel's primetime programming block. (TR!O's
Sessions At West 54th series, which is currently in the 8:00 p.m., ET/PT timeslot,
will move to 7:00 p.m., ET/PT.) At 9:00 p.m., ET/PT TR!O will continue to air
its 9 Sharp documentary block, which presents world and U.S. film premieres (e.g.
Cinemania; Farang Ba and Secret Rulers of the World) and, the ever popular Late
Night with David Letterman episodes will continue at 10:00 p.m., ET/ PT.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/8/2003
You Am I
The rest of America's about to find out what I already know; You Am I is the world's
greatest rock and roll band.
From spinART records, check
out the link since there's a downloadable MP3 from the band free for the download:
You Am I releases "Deliverance" on August 19
SpinART is proud to be releasing the new You Am I record, "Deliverance",
in the US, complete with two bonus videos (including some pretty rockin' live
footage!) If you've never heard this band before, listen up - here's the scoop:
They've put out five full-length albums, becoming the first Australian band to
have three consecutive albums debut at #1 on the Aussie charts. They've toured
with the Rolling Stones, Oasis, The Lemonheads, Soundgarden, and the Strokes.
They've played festivals like Big Day Out, Reading, and Lollapalooza, as well
as headlined their own Australian tours, playing to as many as 100,000 people
a night. Their first two albums, 1994's Sound As Ever and 1995's Hi Fi Way, were
produced by Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo. Their third, 1996's Hourly, Daily, won
eight national ARIA awards in Australia. Rock's latest sensations like the Vines
and the Datsuns credit the band as one of their most important influences.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/7/2003
Coupling
There's a story of a very good British sitcom that some feel is their version
of "Friends" but is really more along the lines of "Seinfeld."
It's not a remake of Seinfeld but more "inspired by."
This story goes that this show, "Coupling" is good enough that it
does reasonably well for a station, BBC America, that American television executives
for NBC decide to redo the show for American audiences. You know, new cast,
new stories, new writers, new producers… The works. A guaranteed hit,
just like the Americanized version of the British vampire hit "Ultraviolet."
Remember that one? No one does, it was supposed to air on Fox the fall of 2001
but was bad enough that it never saw the light of day. It was worse than the
original, not better.
I say leave the show as it is. If NBC wants to air Coupling they should do it
with the original cast and creators, heck, it would be preferable if they'd
air the original episodes. Meddling with a successful show never, if rarely,
works.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/6/2003
The O.C.
Taking a page out of the location for the movie "Orange County," Fox
television has launched their new show titled "The O.C.," or, The
Orange County. Fox is billing it as "the best new show of the fall"
except they're premiering the show a few months before the start of the fall
television season starting tonight, 8/5. I suppose they're launching the show
early to keep it away from the slew of other shows also premiering this fall
on Fox and other networks. A double whammy for Fox really, the World Series
will air later this Fall effectively cutting some of Fox's new shows off just
a few weeks after they've premiered. (Which is always good since I know I like
to see a few episodes of a show before it's put on hiatus for baseball. Firefly
comes to mind.)
My guess is that this is a test show. If premiering The O.C. early in the season
is a success for Fox look for other shows on other networks to start airing
their shows early too.
Orange County
Buy This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
8/5/2003
When Ideas Meet Reality
It only took about sixteen years for an idea in a small, canceled after one season,
sci-fi show entitled "Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future"
to make it to real life.
Learn more here.
By Bert Ehrmann
8/4/2003
The Tick
The underrated and very good Fox series "The Tick" is being released
on DVD September 30th. If you've never seen the series then you're in for a treat.
If you've already seen the series, like me, then you'll enjoy it even more since
there are several episodes on the DVD that never aired on Fox. That's right, fresh
episodes of The Tick are on the way!
By Bert Ehrmann
8/1/2003
Spun
The movie Spun wants to be the "Trainspotting"/"Pulb Fiction" of the 21st Century. It wants people to quote it line for line, to be in love with it. Unfortunately, Spun is no Trainspotting or Pulp Fiction, it's a weak pretender to the thrown at best.
Spun follows the exploits of characters either strung out on or making money off of crank (Meth.)
What would be an interesting, and starts out interestingly enough, as a dramatic movie somewhat looses it's punch when presented as a dramety. Spun tries hard to be "out-there" and "on-the-edge." Movies either are "out-there" or "on-the-edge," they can't be made that way!
By Bert Ehrmann
7/31/2003
Foo Fighters
A pretty cool concept from the rock band Foo Fighters; a DVD/EP containing four
music videos from the band one of which, "Low", was banned by MTV and
another, "Times Like These" is a British only version. All this for
a mear six bucks. You heard that right, a professionally produced DVD for six
bucks.
Why can't other bands/television shows/commercials do this? Is there a market
for a low priced DVD full of funny and creative commercials aka "2003 Superbowl
Commercials?" I bet so. How much media is out there that gets lost every
year? Just think of all the commercials that made you laugh that no longer aire.
Can't some of this media be put on DVD's and sold to the general public? Why don't
television shows get released a few episodes at a time this way? There would be
less chance of loosing money on the DVD if you're releasing a series of six to
ten dollar DVD's rather than a set costing upwards of one hundred dollars.
Foo Fighters
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/31/2003
Solaris
"Solaris" is a movie about questions not answers. You will not walk away
from this movie satisfied that you have a complete understanding of it.
Solaris asks; Is there a god? What is the nature of the universe? Is there a life
after death? Is there a life before death? What is the nature of god?
In it's nebulous nature, Solaris is truly a very interesting and good movie. You
know how you don't get "2001: A Space Odyssey" but like it anyway? Solaris fits
this mold. The performances are good especially Jeremy Davies who channels a nuevo-nervous-hippy
scientist barely holding onto reality in a stuck in a situation that boggles the
mind.
As long as you're not expecting a "hard science-fiction" movie and a solid/completely
understandable storyline you will enjoy, maybe even like Solaris. It's one of
the best films I've seen in a long while.
George Clooney
Buy This Photo At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/30/2003
The Thing from Another World
Next week, August 5, the "The
Thing from Another World - 50th Anniversary Edition" DVD hits store shelves.
In a crime against humanity, there are no extras or special features other than
"theatrical trailers" for possibly the best movie to emerge out of Hollywood
from the 1950's.
"Watch the skies, everyone, keep watching the skies!"
By Bert Ehrmann
7/29/2003
Seabiscuit
"Seabiscuit" is an okay movie. It's not great, as everyone seems to
be reporting, but it's not horrible either. Seabiscuit follows the rise, and fall,
and rise again of the racehorse Seabiscuit and it's owners and jockeys who gave
a depression sacked America something to look for, even hope for.
The audience in the theater I saw the movie in broke out in cheers when Seabiscuit
wins a major race. I can't remember the last time an audience at a movie actually
clapped so I suppose the majority of the audience was really into the movie.
My main contention with the movie was that the filmmakers kept shoving the main
theme of the movie down the viewers throats; that even though something is old
and damaged doesn't mean that it needs to be discarded.Again and again characters
would deliver their speeches to each other with this theme.
I found myself thinking "enough already, I get it."
Seabiscuit
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/28/2003
Batman – Dead End
The more I think about "Batman – Dead End" the more I remember
"Troops,"
does anyone else remember Troops? Troops was a fan made movie dealing with Storm
Troopers stationed on Tatooine. Think "Star Wars" meets "Cops"
meets "Monty Python." Troops was the second* really cool fan made movie
I saw on the net. I remember sitting in college downloading all of the segments
to Troops one night and then watching them late into the evening. Troops was inspiring.
I wanted to make my own version of Troops. I wished I was the first one to think
up this concept. I wanted my movie to be sold on the black market at comic book
conventions.
What's weird is that it's been over six years since Troops hit the net before
the next cool movie, Batman – Dead End, did. Six years. You'd think
that with the advent of all this high tech movie making technology (shot on digital
video, edited on a computer, and distributed online) that there would be great
fan made movies coming out every few months, but there aren't. Sure, there's a
glut of mediocre fan made Star Wars movies out there but nothing that I've seen
that's inspiring.
Maybe there's got to be something more in the mix than technology. Maybe creativity
should take a front seat to technology?
*Does anyone else remember scenes from the movie "Aliens" set to the
tune "O' Fortuna?" That was the first.
Batman
Buy This Photo At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/24/2003
Batman – Dead End
I have seen
the light at the end of the tunnel for the train wreck that has become the Batman
movie franchise. The light at the end of the tunnel is the mini-fan-made movie
titled "Batman – Dead End" and the train conductor is Sandy Collora.
"Batman – Dead End" is fan-made in scope alone, everything else
about it screams greatness. Whether it's the costumes inspired by the designs
of Alex Ross or some of the poses pulled from the comic books of Steve Rude (both
art gods in my opinion) "Batman – Dead End" is literally the closest
anyone's ever gotten to translating the comic book to movie form. Batman actually
spits blood and bleeds. Did the Clooney or Kilmer version of Batman bleed? Did
they spit? I kept getting the feeling that this version of Batman inhabited a
version of Gotham City more akin to Detroit Michigan in the late 80's, on Devil's
Night, in the middle of a gang war, during a full Moon… There was no guarantee
with this version of Batman that he was going to get out of this fight. In fact,
the end of the movie sort of suggests that he loses.
I'll admit that the movie takes a weird turn about half-way through. However,
I'll also say that both of the characters who show up at the end have been in
the comics before, so these characters might actually appear in the movie version.
(I'll also say that I thought these characters appearing were really cool.)
This movie restors my faith that the character of Batman can be cool again.
To see this five minute movie you don't need to visit a movie theater. Start searching
the net for the title "Batman
– Dead End," it's available for download various places around
the Internet.
Batman
Alex Ross
Buy This Door Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/23/2003
Band of Brothers
Great news from HBO, "Band of Brothers 2," from Yahoo.
"Band of Brothers" -- are mounting a new 10-part World War II mini-series
centered on battles in the Pacific theater.
DreamWorks confirmed that the project, being referred to as the "Untitled
World War II Pacific Theater Project," is in the early stages of development,
with a deal being finalized for HBO to serve as a partner in the mini-series.
The production is expected to require a "Brothers"-type budget of
more than $100 million.
Screenwriter Bruce McKenna, who penned several installments of the first miniseries
and picked up a Writers Guild of America Award for his work, already has held
numerous creative meetings with Spielberg and Goetzman and is expected to become
the head writer.
There is no deal for McKenna, and negotiations haven't started for
the scribe to board the project, but sources said the principals are discussing
scheduling and how much it would cost to hire McKenna for what would be a long-term
assignment.
Currently a hot writer on the film front, McKenna is adapting Marvel Comics'
"Hands of Shang Chi" for DreamWorks and recently closed a deal to
adapt the upcoming nonfiction book "The Perfect Mile" for Universal
Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment and Kennedy/Marshall.
|
The "Pacific Theater Project" is not based on any existing source
material but is expected to follow a company of soldiers through the island
campaign, just as "Brothers" viewed the European campaign from D-Day
forward through the eyes of Easy Company of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division.
The multiepisode "Brothers," based on the book by historian Stephen
E. Ambrose, proved to be an awards circuit favorite after it aired on HBO in
2001. It was nominated for 19 Emmys and earned six, including a trophy for outstanding miniseries.
Band of Brothers
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
Band Of Brothers
Buy This Photo At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/22/2003
Pirates of The Caribbean -The Curse of the Black Pearl
I saw "Pirates of The Caribbean -The Curse of the Black Pearl" over
the weekend. It's not a bad movie and it's not a good movie, it's lukewarm at
best. I don't think the movie could decide what it wanted to be – a
serious action piece (people are attacked, throats are cut) or a goofball dramety
(a pirate has a wooden eye, Johnny Depp rides a sinking boat into port) in the
vein of the ride that was the inspiration of the movie.
The movie looked wonderful. The costumes looked great. The scenery looked great. The CGI looked great. There was just something missing
between the complex, and sometimes very long, swordplay and bits of story along
the way.
If you've got nothing to do over an evening or afternoon it might be enjoyable
to watch "Pirates of The Caribbean -The Curse of the Black Pearl",
otherwise wait for it to come out on DVD and video.
*I'm still wondering how they managed to meld the skeleton pirates with the
human pirates together in one shot. In my opinion this work, the melding, was
as good and groundbreaking as Gollum was on The Two Towers.
Pirates of The Caribbean -The Curse of the Black Pearl
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/21/2003
28 Days Later
In the grand tradition of "Toy Story" where the filmmakers inserted
NEW out takes over the credits and "Lord of the Rings" that aired a
trailer for "The Two Towers" over the credits months after the movie
opened to lure people back into theaters…
According to Fox Searchlight,
"moviegoers who stay after the credits of "28 Days Later" beginning
July 25th will see the alternate original ending." If you haven't yet seen
"28 Days Later" now's the perfect time. Otherwise I'll bet that this
is included on the DVD release which I am anticipating with much excitement since
the DVD's already been released overseas.
According to IMDB, there are two
alternate endings. Swipe over the below text to read what these endings are:
One of Jim dying in hospital with Selena and Hannah trying
to save him, intercut with Jim's dream of the crash that put him in a coma. The
other is the same as the normal one but with only Selena and Hannah hailing the
aircraft, leading us to assume that Jim died.
Buy
This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/18/2003
Movies this week
Hopefully, the genius that is Rowan Atkinson, aka "Mr. Bean", will
score big with the opening this week of "Johnny English." A "spoof
spy-thriller" set in Great Britain. If you liked "Mr. Bean" my
guess is that you're going to like this movie.
In the summer of sequels, opening this week is "Bad Boys II." I can't
imagine that many people were waiting for a sequel since the original hit theaters
a whopping EIGHT YEARS AGO. That's a long time between movies! So long
that when the original "Bad Boys" was released Wil Smith was a rapper
known for crossing over to TV stardom and then movies. This was before the movie
"Independence Day" made Smith a mega-star but after "Wild Wild
West" took him down a few notches on the ladder of stardom.
Also opening this week is Mandy Moore's movie "How to Deal" described
as; "A teenager (Moore), disillusioned by too many examples of love gone
wrong, refuses to believe that true love exists." This movie will defiantly
be a hit with the teenage boy crowd looking to explore their inner sensitivity.
Bad Boys II
Buy This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
Rowan Atkinson
Buy This Photo At AllPosters.com
How To Deal
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/17/2003
Space Art
Two
very cool science fiction designs by Tim Baron. I present "The
Space Nemesis" and "The Time Traveler."
By Bert Ehrmann
7/16/2003
Shyamalan's Next
M. Night Shyamalan, director of "The Sixth Sense", (the highly underrated)
"Unbreakable", and last year's summer smash "Signs",
has begun work on his next feature entitled "The Woods." According
to IMDB; Set in 1897, "The Woods"
tells the story of a close-knit community with a mythical race of creatures
residing in the woods around them.
"The Woods" is set to star Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, and Joaquin
Phoenix. Hopefully, this will be the movie to see for the Summer of '04.
Signs
Buy This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
Sixth Sense
Buy This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/15/2003
Sci Fi Channel Movies
Some of the better Sci Fi Channel original movie's we can expect for next year.
Is it just me or does "Chupacabra" and "Raptor Island" sound
the same and "Mansquito" and "Hammerhead" sound like the
same basic story? I've
got one word for these shows, "Ugggh."
From Zap2It:
"Chupacabra": Smugglers capture the mythical, winged creature that
feeds on livestock and place it aboard a cruise ship bound for the United States.
When the creature escapes and begins killing passengers, a team of Navy SEALs
is called in to stop it.
"Raptor Island": A hostage-rescue team searching for a kidnapped
scientist discovers that raptors are far from extinct on a remote island.
"Mansquito": While trying to find a cure for the West Nile virus,
a scientist accidentally turns herself and a junkie into mutant mosquito creatures.
After the male escapes, the scientist has to track him down and destroy him.
"Larva": Contaminated meat causes a lot more than a few upset
stomachs when the larvae inside the product begin to grow -- inside of the people
that ate them.
"Hammerhead": A rogue scientist working on stem-cell research
transforms his subject into a mutant man-shark. He uses the creature to exact
revenge on his former colleagues, who expelled him from a secret society.
Battlestar Galactica
Buy This Photo At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/14/2003
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
I was wrong,
The only real problems are that the characters are toned down, much more heroic
than in the book, and the laws of physics are mostly ignored. Other than that,
and a pretty bad last two minutes that sets everything up for the sequel, the
movie is great. Much, much, better than
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Buy This Original Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/12/2003
Spider-Man the Animated Series
A new animated Spider-Man cartoon, titled appropriately enough "Spider-Man",
premiers tonight (7/11) on MTV.
The story looks pretty much like the inspiration for it came from the movie,
the Harry Osborn/Peter Parker/MJ "Don't call me Mary Jane" Watson
triangle is present. The weirdest thing about the whole project is that the
voice talent features such people as Doogie Howser, M.D.'s Neil Patrick Harris
and "singer-songwriter" Lisa Loeb.
How the mighty have fallen!
Spider-Man
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
Spider-Man
Buy This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/11/2003
The Office
I can't believe how much I like my DirecTV system. The best part about it is
that I get to see the best show on television; "The
Office" currently airing on BBC America. "The Office" follows
the exploits of a paper company office set in England. From the official site:
Welcome to The Office , a place of petty rivalry, bad flirting, and easily-bruised
egos. Filmed in documentary-style, this sharply observed and highly acclaimed
comedy exposes the excruciating truth about the world of nine-to-five.
Meet David Brent (Ricky Gervais) , a petty and pompous middle manager who winds
up his staff almost to the point of hysteria. His assistant manager is Gareth
(Mackenzie Crook) , the office brown-noser who is a pedantic, army-obsessed
control freak. He is heartily despised by Tim (Martin Freeman) who is stuck
in a job he detests and whose days are alleviated by Dawn (Lucy Davis) , a pretty
receptionist he would love to date if she were not already engaged.
Set in a paper supply company in a bedroom community outside London, their lives
are alarmingly familiar to anyone employed in the modern workplace: ' management
speak ' and the people who speak it, petty squabbles over staplers and desk
space, endless training days and health and safety seminars; stifled ambition
and frustrated lives.
Whether you're a temp spending your day filing and making coffee or a CEO making
millions, you will undoubtedly recognize The Office as YOUR office.
The Office is undescribably funny. Everyone who has seen The Office loves The Office.
By Bert Ehrmann
7/11/2003
Olmos to fans --- "Piss Off"
Edward James Olmos, the star of the new ``Battlestar Galactica,'' has some advice
for devoted fans of the 1970s sci-fi series: Don't watch the remake.
As executives of the Sci Fi channel cringed, Olmos told reporters during the
Television Critics Association summer tour that he ``would not advise them to
watch this program. It will hurt them. . . .
``The intent and the way we've built the reality is very different from the
reality of the original.''
Read
the original story here.
By Bert Ehrmann
7/10/2003
Deliver Us from the Sequel
In a brief reprieve from the constant barrage of sequels inundating cinemas
this Summer, two non-sequel movies are being released this week in the US; "The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and "Pirates of The Caribbean -The
Curse of the Black Pearl." If I had to bet on which of these two movies
would be the winner at the box office I'd have to go with "Pirates of The
Caribbean -The Curse of the Black Pearl" just because the trailers for
"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" have been pretty bad.
The only real problem I have with "Pirates of The Caribbean -The Curse
of the Black Pearl" is that it's a Disney movie based, at least in part,
on a Disney ride. That's too weird for me. What's next, a Paramount movie based
in the hit ride "The Beast" featured at Paramount's Kings Island!?
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Buy This Original Poster At AllPosters.com
Pirates of The Caribbean -The Curse of the Black Pearl
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/10/2003
The Flood of '03
Flooding has gripped the entire Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio regions these
past few days burying towns under a torrent of water. My hometown of Decatur,
Indiana is experiencing the worst flooding there since 1913. People are calling
this the "Hundred Year Flood." The flooding is incredible, multiple
times worse than the worst flooding I've seen in the area. Several of my friends
homes are threatened by the water, surrounded really, and many people's homes
are now under the water.
Here are some photos I've taken of the flood.
From
Yahoo:
The St. Marys River in northeastern Indiana was at record levels, and several
hundred homes around Decatur had been flooded or were threatened by high water.
Streams from Fort Wayne to Lafayette and farther south were overflowing their
banks at levels not seen in decades, and more storms were forecast
Farther north, in Decatur, hundreds of people worked around the community filling
and stacking sandbags. In one neighborhood, a line of about 50 friends, neighbors
and National Guardsmen passed sandbags to people working in chest-deep water to
rebuild a dike around the back of a house.
The St. Marys River at Decatur was at 26.9 feet Wednesday, the National Weather
Service ( news -web sites ) said. Flood stage is 17 feet.
Thousands of homes and businesses across the Midwest have lost electrical service
during nearly a week of rough weather.
By Bert Ehrmann
7/9/2003
Gangs of New York
I watched "Gangs of New York" (GoNY) the other night on DVD and was
pleasantly surprised. I was expecting something long, drawn out, and boring,
but found the movie very good and the history behind 19th century New York City
interesting. An good story mixed with a great cast and, even better, excellent
performances make GoNY one to watch.
In fact, the only negitive point about the movie I could see is the length,
somewhere just south of three hours. However, this is only a negative if you're
seeing the movie in a theater, the length isn't really an issue at home where
you can pause the movie and take a break.
Buy
This Original Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/9/2003
The Hulk
It's not that the movie's all that bad, it's just not all that good. Part of
the movie is an exploration of what turns Bruce Banner into the Hulk; the gamma
rays and the experaments his father did before he was born. The other part,
too small in my opionion, is the Hulk on a rampage tearing things apart. The
movie constantly takes leaps of logic like people INTENTIONALLY TRY TO TURN
BRUCE BANNER INTO THE HULK!? Wouldn't that be the last thing you'd want to do?
I found myself constantly going "What? That makes no sense at all."
The movie's titled "The Hulk" yet is Hulk-less for the first hour
of a very long movie. In fact, the Hulk's in the movie so little the true title
of the movie should be "Bruce Banner." Wait until the movie comes
out on DVD if only to see the scenes of the Hulk.
Buy
This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/4/2003
Sci Fi's Twilight Zone Marathon
Unless you've been living under a rock or don't have the channel, Sci Fi is airing
two days straight of The Twilight
Zone starting today (July 3) and ending late tomorrow night. You can't beat
two days of the greatest television series of all time!
Chicago Sun Times has a great
article up on the classic series too.
By Bert Ehrmann
7/3/2003
Jackass returns (sort-of) to MTV
I'll admit that I loved the show, and movie, Jackass and was sorry to see it
go. Now it seems as if some of the Jackass alumnus now have show's of their
own premiering on MTV later this year. Will they be any good? Probably not.
From Yahoo.
'Jackass' Vets Power MTV Slate
By Andrew Wallenstein
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The MTV series "Jackass" is no longer
on the air, but its legacy will be alive and well on the cable channel in the
fall.
Two series featuring former cast members from the music channel's stunt showcase
are among the eight series greenlighted Wednesday.
Steve-O and Chris Pontius (news), two of "Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville
(news)'s sidekicks, will co-host "The Nature Show," a twisted take
on Discovery Channel-style wildlife documentaries. The oddball duo will travel
to destinations such as Africa, New Zealand and Australia to swim with sharks,
cavort with crocodiles and have other close encounters with the animal kingdom.
Another "Jackass" alum, Bam Margera (news), also will get his own
reality series after an August test run yielded positive results. The untitled
series features Margera torturing his parents and friends with assorted "Jackass"-style
pranks.
"We didn't want to do 'Jackass' again," said Brian Graden, president
of entertainment at MTV and VH1. "We thought there was enough distinction
to their ideas that we would avoid repeating ourselves."
Ten episodes of both series have been ordered for Sunday nights. Debut dates
have yet to be determined.
By Bert Ehrmann
7/3/2003
The Blob Strikes
Apparently, a "giant sea creature" has washed ashore in Chile. Pretty
interesting stuff if you ask me even if it turns out to be something not out
of the ordinary. Thanks to Michael Summers for the heads up. From Yahoo,
check the link out for a photo of the "beast":
SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Chilean scientists were baffled on Tuesday by a
huge, gelatinous sea creature found washed up on the southern Pacific coast
and were seeking international help identifying the mystery specimen.
The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported about
a week ago, but experts who went to see it said the 40-foot-long mass of decomposing
lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate.
"We'd never before seen such a strange specimen, We don't know if it might be
a giant squid that is missing some of its parts or maybe it's a new species,"
said Elsa Cabrera, a marine biologist and director of the Center for Cetacean
Conservation in Santiago.
Photographs showed a round leathery substance like a mammoth jelly fish, about
as long as a school bus.
Giant squid live at a depth of 9,500 feet and only rise to the surface when
they die. Specimens have been known to be as long as 60 feet.
There was speculation that the mass might be a whale skin, but Cabrera said
it was too big and did not have the right texture or smell.
Cabrera said she was contacting Chilean and international organizations in the
hope that they could help shed some light on the find.
The Chilean Navy first spotted the mystery specimen along with another large
mass, but the other dead animal turned out to be a dead humpback whale.
By Bert Ehrmann
7/2/2003
Rise of the Sequels
The two major releases this week into theaters is Terminator 3 and Legally Blond
2. In a summer of sequels, these along with Matrix 2 and X-Men 2 to name a few,
it seems as if this is the weekend of sequels. I can't say that I'm looking
forward to either Terminator (other than Arnie, is there anyone left from the
original two movies?) or Legally Blond.
Buy This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
7/1/2003
28 Days Later…
"28 Days Later…" is, simply put, a great, scary movie
that inserts certain images into your head that won't go away. Like the church
full of corpses who aren't all dead, the fish tank three fourths of the way
drained of water with fish still inside, London with the lights off (except
for one), an entire city on fire, etc. Visually the movie is excellent shot
entirely on video giving the movie a "you're there kind of feel."
It's more than a simple zombie movie, "28 Days Later…" feels genuine.
Buy
This Double-sided poster At AllPosters.com
By Bert Ehrmann
6/29/2003
Starship Troopers 2
Y.A.B.C.M.P. (Or) Yet-Another-Bert-Created-Movie-Poster. This time for the upcoming
movie "Starship Troopers
2."
By Bert Ehrmann
6/15/2003
Twilight Zone the Radio Show
First there was Twilight Zone the television series, then a movie, another television
series followed on CBS in the mid 1980's, and finally a series on UPN last season.
Now there's "The Twilight Zone
Radio Dramas" for your listening pleasure. These are old scripts remade
with modern day (mostly B-list) actors and voice talent.
Of course the series is broadcast nowhere near where I live, and I don't have
satellite radio, so I suppose I might just have to pick up some of the CD's.
By Bert Ehrmann
6/13/2003
Tales of Tomorrow
I was reading today about the classic series "Twilight Zone" (Tz) when I came across a passage describing how the series "Tales of Tomorrow" (ToT) was one of the first anthology series that dealt with sci fi and fantasy themes in an adult manner. ToT aired some eight years before Tz dealing with much of the same themes.
The big difference between the series is that ToT was preformed LIVE whereas Tz was shot on film, edited, then broadcast. Still, I'm interested in learning more about ToT since I've NEVER heard of this show before.
By Bert Ehrmann
6/11/2003
Solaris
I never actually saw the movie "Solaris" when it came out in theaters
last fall. I'm not quite sure why since I was looking forward to it and generally
like the Clooney/Soderbergh connection. (It doesn't hurt that "Traffic,"
also directed by Soderbergh is one of my favorite films!) Solaris
is due to be released on DVD July 29 with a few extras; commentary, making
of, etc. (BTW, it has a very nice cover somewhat harkening back to the movie "2001:
A Space Odyssey.")
I'm planning on picking the DVD up when it comes out but am a little afraid that
if I do there will be a "deluxe" edition hitting store shelves a year
or so down the road. I bought "Traffic" when it first came out on DVD
and a better edition hit the shelves a few months down the road. Same goes with
"Memento" and "Black Hawk Down." Why aren't there two releases
WHEN THE DVD COMES OUT – a general edition DVD for the people who don't
know the difference between wide and fullscreen and a deluxe edition for the people
who actually watch the commentary? Every time I see a "deluxe" edition
come out when I've already spent money on the "standard" edition I get
the feeling that I'm being reamed and feel less and less that programs like Kazzaa
or Limewire are wrong.
By Bert Ehrmann
6/5/2003
Movie Title Screens
Pretty cool concept: "shilPages,"
a site that collects movie title screens. Everything from classic movie title
screens to new ones and just about everything in between. I'm always interested
in seeing just how the type treatment of a movie differs from poster to movie.
For example, this
is how the type is handled for the movie "Starship Troopers" while this is how it's
handled for the poster. Quite a difference!
By Bert Ehrmann
5/14/2003
Punch-Drunk Love
The ever so good P.T. Anderson flick "Punch-Drunk
Love" will be released on June 24 as a "Superbit Special Edition"
with such features as alternate takes, deleted scenes, and the "Mattress
Man commercial." If you enjoy quality films then I can't recommend Punch-Drunk
enough. It's got to be one of the best films of 2002.
By Bert Ehrmann
5/6/2003
Trail of the Dead
If you have any interest in good music, I highly recommend the new "…And
You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead" EP entitled "The
Secret of Elena's Tomb." Although it's only five songs long, all five
are great, superb, and stupendous. The whole CD's outstanding. Oddly enough,
I found the CD via iTunes Music Store searching for "Trail of the Dead"
to see just how inclusive the music service is. Apparently, their music service
is very good.
I've been a fan of the group for a year now since I saw their video for "Another
Morning Stoner" (my song of the year for 2002) on MTV2 at a friends house.
In fact, both videos for "Stoner" and "Relative Ways" are
included in QuickTime format on the EP as well as live concert footage. Unfortunately,
the CD's enhanced features aren't included on download and are only available
via CD. However, if you were only going to buy one track from the CD off of
iTunes Music Store I'd recommend "All Saints Day."
By Bert Ehrmann
4/30/2003
Jurassic Park
It's hard to believe that it's been TEN years since the first Jurassic Park movie
came out virtually revolutionizing the visual effects industry over night. An entire decade
has passed since I first saw that movie.
By Bert Ehrmann
4/22/2003
Animate your favorite movies
So, you've heard about the never-produced "Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The
Animated Series," but what about "Austin Powers, The Animated Series"
or "Terminator 3, Animated?" See what could have been, heck, what might
be, over at the extremely cool, abet very slow loading, portfolio
of Eric Wright, "professional animator and illustrator." Eric has
one heck-of-a nice visual style.
By Bert Ehrmann
4/11/2003
Posters
When I first saw the poster for the movie "Underworld" I could have
sworn that I had seen it before. Turns out
I had.
By Bert Ehrmann
4/9/2003
Scare Tactics
Is Sci Fi Channel's new show "Scare
Tactics" perhaps the BEST concept for a new reality show of late? Heck,
I've been sneaking up behind people for years for the purpose of scaring them.
If I'd only have known I'd have developed my "talent" into a series!
By Bert Ehrmann
4/3/2003
Human Defense Corps
DC Comics new "Human
Defense Corps" looks like a cross between Starship Troopers and The X-Files.
(At least the characters in the book look like they're wearing left-over
equipment from the movie Starship Troopers.) The comic's due to be released early
May.
By Bert Ehrmann
4/2/2003
War Stories
Last's year's (2002-2003) television pilot featuring Jeff Goldblum as a war correspondent
called "War Stories" will air as a movie of the week Wednesday, January
29th on NBC. It'll
be interesting to see just how this concept might have panned out into a series.
By Bert Ehrmann
1/23/2003
Television Pilots
I've started my list of television pilots for
the 2003-2004 television season. I can say that, so far, there are no real
stand out shows. Nothing that I'm immediately excited about.
By Bert Ehrmann
1/19/2003