Entries Tagged 'sci-fi' ↓
May 9th, 2009 — From The Feeds, movies, sci-fi
Wow -- movie’s not bad either. Brilliant way to reboot the franchise and not raise the ire of Trekkie purists. I enjoy shows/movies set in the Trek universe, but I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore fan -- don‘t own a lick of Star Trek related merchandise. I didn’t have huge expectations/fears for this. More than anything, I was curious if Abrams could pull it off… he does.. mostly.
Some interesting choices: a surprise romance, Kirk with daddy issues and now the weight of great expectations -- kind of Luke Skywalkerish if you ask me. Not a lot of going boldly where no man has gone before -- major nitpick. More action oriented than previous films. Are we talking great storytelling here? No. The villain is a forgettable moron and some of the classic references feel forced. But non-Trekkies seem to dig it, so I guess it’s a mission accomplished.
Nowhere near amazing as some reviews are making it out to be, but “New Trek” is far more entertaining than recent event flicks *cough* Wolverine *cough*. A promising start -- the reboot method is a frickin’ master stroke. We’ll see what happens in the future.
April 21st, 2009 — From The Feeds, movies, sci-fi
Maybe I was too hard on the “Knowing”. At least it kept me entertained for a pretty decent stretch. This "Day the Earth Stood Still" remake is a straight yawner. I’m a fan of the original -- still holds up -- maybe that shaded my opinion just a bit. Nothing new here, except overblown CGI and a hokey, “save the earth” message. Don’t think I bought into any of the characters. Everyone acted so weird, I half expected them to pull off rubber masks and go, ‘Joke's on you, buddy! We’re aliens too!’
April 19th, 2009 — From The Feeds, sci-fi
Entertaining sci-fi action flick. Spaceman Jim Caviezel crashes to earth and teams up with some Vikings in order to catch the “dragon” that killed his family. Kind of Predatorish, but fun. They milk the “monster in the shadows” for the first hour, then the pace picks up. Ron Perlman pops in briefly from a rival clan to bash heads. Love interest Sophia Myles has some cool girl power moments and is instrumental in the final action sequence. Overall, the action was fine -- not “300“ level, but acceptable. Certain parts of the story were more than a bit predictable. Wish they had shot the earlier version, where the creature talks.
With a wider release, I think “Outlander” could have pulled in numbers close to what “Pathfinder” did in 2007, 30 million. Doesn’t quite break even when you have a 50 million dollar budget, but heck of a lot better than $166,003 from 81 theaters. Maybe it’s one of those tax write offs that were once popular with German investors. Oh well, there’s always life on DVD and cable.
BTW, I'm on
Twitter... well, because... everyone's doing it!
April 17th, 2009 — From The Feeds, sci-fi, trailer
This looks Matrixy but intriguing...
April 16th, 2009 — From The Feeds, movies, sci-fi
I could've saved myself a lot of time by copying my rant about “Jumper” and pasting it here. Another case of “cart before the horse” syndrome. Overly complicated story, too many characters, lots of exposition and the futile tease of a sequel. We’ve seen this premise countless times: the big, bad government chasing average folk with special abilities -- someone ought to try that as a TV series. Wait…
The Hong Kong setting makes for a fresh backdrop and Chris Evans is fine as the lead, but the effects were kinda cheesy -- you can't do "X-Men" on a 35 million dollar budget. Not a bad film, just too ambitious.
I blame “The Matrix”. Before that came along and made a bajillion dollars, sci-fi thrillers were much simpler. Nothing wrong with an ending that leaves the door open for a sequel, but not to the point where the script references characters we barely see or fully understand their motivations. Bigger isn’t always better. Neither is denser. Something to keep in mind when writing. Gonna read the script over the weekend.
A remake of “Firestarter” with Dakota Fanning probably would have gotten more bang for its buck.
April 3rd, 2009 — From The Feeds, sci-fi, Story Starters
This has the "most dangerous night on television" written all over it...
(link)
March 24th, 2009 — From The Feeds, movies, sci-fi
I was intrigued by the premise ever since hearing about the script a couple years back. Spooky kid puts a bunch of predictions in a time capsule. Years later, it’s dug up and they all turn out to be true… except for the ones that haven’t happened yet!
Better than “I, Robot“, but nowhere near “Dark City”. “The Knowing” is the kind of film that falls apart if you think about it too much -- or even a little bit. Great concept that falters somewhere in the middle -- under the weight of all the heavy handedness. Seems to have polarized a lot of folks -- on the imdb anyway. I thought it was an average sci-fi flick. Okay acting. Cool special effects. Cage is Cage. Lots of stuff here to pick at -- especially the last 10-15 minutes, but I’ll wait a week or two...
February 4th, 2009 — From The Feeds, movies, sci-fi
Don’t know what to make of this one. Intriguing idea with a solid cast, but the trailer screams cheesy, low budget effects. Flying guns? Government baddies after folks with special powers. Reminds me a little bit of “Firestarter” -- which didn’t have a lot of fancy effects either, but was still very effective. Also reminds me of a certain lame TV series that I now refuse to mention by name. Like that "series", "Push" has a comic book that helps fill in the gaps. Curious to see how it performs this weekend.
January 22nd, 2009 — Aliens, From The Feeds, sci-fi
After sitting on the shelf for quite some time, "Outlander" is finally getting a
limited release in the States -- surprising when you consider that the budget is close to 50 million dollars and the cast includes some recognizable names. Badass Vikings battling an alien creature. Plus, it's rated R! You would think the marketing folks wouldn't have had a hard time selling this one. Came across an insightful
article on how the idea/script was developed. Eighteen years in the making? Talk about perseverance.
December 13th, 2008 — From The Feeds, movies, sci-fi
Everyone involved must have thought “Jumper” was going to be a can’t miss franchise, how else do you explain the underdeveloped story and characters? Jumpers are bad. Palladins are good. We’re in the middle of a war. Who? Huh? What!? There’s a much larger story here, but the film decides to focus on an uninteresting and selfish protagonist -- maybe the good stuff was teleported into the sequel that we’ll never see...
Hayden Christensen’s character is more realistic than the typical comic-book hero, he uses his newfound teleportation ability to rob banks instead of “doing good”, but I dare you to care about anyone in the story. I expected a lot more from Doug Liman and David Goyer.
November 10th, 2008 — Aliens, From The Feeds, sci-fi
Dear Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig,
You’re both talented and accomplished actors, but please stop making movies together. You're like some bizarro Wonder Twins couple, canceling each other out. I gave you a pass after the average “Golden Compass”, but this stinker is just plain indefensible. “The Invasion” makes Lindsay Lohan’s “I Know Who Killed Me” look like “Silence of the Lambs”. You've moved on to bigger and better projects, but if you ever get the inkling to hook up on screen again... don't!
Your pal,
Screamwriter
Okay, so I’m being a bit facetious, but it’s still an awful movie. How do you screw up a concept that’s been done a million times over? Maybe that’s the problem. A Hail Mary pass to be bold and daring, instead turns into a flat, uninteresting film. And don’t get me started on that ending. I honestly expected the “real” ending to pop up after the closing credits.
October 19th, 2008 — From The Feeds, sci-fi, television
Old news by now, but the thought of a new “V” series brings back a lot of memories --mostly of the hot alien leader, Diana. After “Invasion” and “Threshold” flopped, I’m not exactly sure how they can pull this off. The revamped “Battlestar Galactica” is a “hit” for the Sci-Fi Channel, but it would get killed on one of the big three networks. There’d probably be a major attempt to make things more “realistic”, but cheese was a major part of the show’s charm. Who could forget the hybrid birth? Twins!
August 29th, 2008 — From The Feeds, sci-fi
Might as well be in a foreign language because the trailer is downright incomprehensible. I have no clue what this film is about -- Well I do, but that was after extensive googling. Was the movie trailer guy with the deep voice unavailable to say, “In a world where...”? Some serious exposition was needed.
Vin Diesel, part robot, has to protect some girl who can stop bullets with her mind, Michelle Yeoh does some kung-fu and Charlotte Rampling says something profound.... right? I can’t even get a handle on the cast. Seems thrown together. And who in their right mind is making “Blade Runner” comparisons?
Not too long ago, the director went public about his nasty squabble with Fox. Looks like a project that everyone just wants to go away. Really getting very little promotion and the late August release date is clearly a dump. A 60 million dollar dump.
I kinda wish it would do well enough to generate interest in another Riddick flick -- yes, deeply flawed, but pretty to watch. What happens to the new ruler of the Necromongers? Guess we’ll never know...
August 24th, 2008 — From The Feeds, sci-fi
????????????????????!
Nothing else to say about this one...
May 24th, 2008 — anime, From The Feeds, sci-fi, ultraviolet, vampires
Looks like our prayers have been answered. That sexy hemophage rebel with the change-color-at-will-wig-and-outfit is coming back in a twelve episode anime! Seriously, who saw that one coming? Even though Kurt Wimmer’s vampire/sci-fi/action flick tanked in the States, it had a pretty decent run in Japan -- grossing around 2.8 million, more than “Underworld” (1.6 mil), “Underworld: Evolution” (1.9 mil), or “Hellboy” (586k). I’m guessing that life on DVD eventually put the 30 million dollar production in the black. What if the series drums up enough interest for a sequel? Hey, stranger things have happened.
