Tag: movies

Eli Roth Confirms That ‘Thanksgiving’ IS Happening!

by Shawn Madden

Who remembers that fake trailer for Thanksgiving that Eli Roth directed back  in 2007 for Grindhouse? Well, it appears that the talk that Roth would be turning that trailer into a full-length movie are true! In a recent interview with Behind The Thrills, discussing The Goretoreum, Roth let out some details regarding the movie. Already the fake trailers for Machete and Hobo With A Shotgun have been turned into full-length films and Roth is now letting us know that Thanksgiving is next in line. Roth will team up with Jon Watts and Christopher D. Ford (Robot And Frank) to get a screenplay going for this project. He has recently worked with the two on the movie Clown, a horror film that Roth is producing.

“Dude, it’s gonna happen. I’m working with the CLOWN writers on it. We have a call scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Jeff Rundell, my co-writer and I have a very extensive treatment. We finally cracked the story and how to make it really really scary, and the reason to do it, and I’m really excited about it. So the CLOWN script was one of the best scripts I’ve ever read, and we’re like ‘before Jon [Watts] shoots CLOWN, he has a window.’ Chris Ford, who’s movie ROBOT & FRANK just opened… Chris and John are going to write the screenplay with me and my partner Jeff, so we’ll have a screenplay soon.”

Roth expects to have a draft soon, but at the moment it is unclear who will direct, if not Roth. Now, all we need is some news on Don’t being made into a movie right? Maybe it’s just me on that one.

Source: Behind The Thrills [via Bloody Disgusting]

Watch The First Trailer For ‘Bullet To The Head’ Starring Sylvester Stallone!

by Shawn Madden

Thanks to the folks over at IGN we have the first look at the upcoming Bullet To The Head starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hours)! Based on the graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tete, Bullet To The Head tells the story of a New Orleans hitman (Stallone) and a New York City cop who form an alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners.

The film  also stars Jason Momoa, Christian Slater, Sarah Shahi, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Sung Kang!

Bullet To The Head is in theaters February 1st, 2013!

Geekscape Roundtable: Geekscape’s Favourite Action Movies!

by GeekscapeStaff

The Expendables 2 is out this Friday and we are already getting details about a third installment in the franchise. So, right now we here at Geekscape are on an adrenaline high and what better time than now to tell you guys what our favorite action flicks are. So lets get into it!

Andy Breeding – I cannot resist Rush Hour 2. The comedic chemistry between Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan is amazing on how well it works. Every joke is well delivered and makes me laugh every time. With Jackie Chan, you know you are getting awesome fight choreography right from the start. For someone in his condition, he still took the risks that most people would make a stunt person do while they would sit off in their trailer eating a ham sandwich.

 

Thrill Murray – I considered abstaining from this activity because the parameters are obscenely vague. IMDB lists 23,103 films as residing within the action genre. Fortunately, 23,102 of those movies are irrelevant because DIE HARD.

 

Allisonnnnn – Chronicles Of Riddick. We have an underground jail on a planet whose sunrise is akin to a nuclear explosion inside an EZ-Bake Oven, a cult of ass-kicking fanatics in H.R. Giger inspired armor, and Vin Diesel constantly flexing those manly arms of his as he lays waste to his enemies. Oh, and Karl Urban: Sex God Extraordinaire, being hotter than any mortal man has a right to be. Seriously, in the Director’s Cut, the things he gets up to with Thandie Newton… I’ll be fanning myself for weeks.

 

UncannyShawnMadden – This is a hard one to decide on. I narrowed it down to a list of five movies (three of which starred Jean-Claude Van Damme) but when it came down to it I had to join Jack Burton on the Pork Chop Express. Big Trouble In Little China had everything you could possibly want out of an action flick. Okay. You people sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires burning. And if we’re not back by dawn… call the president.

 

Shane O’Hare – My favorite action movie has to be Shoot ‘Em Up. Not only is the entire plot given to you in the title it can easily describe half the movies out there in the Action genre! From the very beginning it is in your face crazy fun. The term “creative kills” is perfect for this film, when one of the first deaths is caused by a carrot!

 

Scott Alminiana – My favorite action movie has got to be Lethal Weapon 2. It took everything great about the first one and cranked it to 11. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have perfect chemistry as Riggs and Murtaugh. The addition of Joe Pesci’s Leo Getz is fantastic. He’s got some of the best lines in the entire movie “They FUCK YOU at the drive-thru, okay? They FUCK YOU at the drive-thru!” and he steals every scene he’s in. Anytime Lethal Weapon 2 is on I will sit and watch it waiting for bad guy Arjen Rudd (Joss Ackland) to say “diplomatic immunity” so that I can crack my neck along with Murtaugh and say “it’s just been revoked!”

Molly Mahan – Kill Bill, to me, is the greatest love story of my generation, and a truly amazing action film that happens to be led by a woman (hell yeah!). Tarantino—love him or hate him—knows how to make a film. It’s a classic revenge story, which I am a sucker for, with amazing fight sequences—the 30-minute ballet between the Bride and the Crazy 88s at the climax of volume 1 and the battle between the two blonde assassins in volume 2 shine particularly bright in my mind—and the characters have depth, not just of purpose but emotional awareness that isn’t always apparent in the genre. When we come to the end of The Bride’s journey and see her interact with Bill, there is always a part of me that wishes they can get back together and work it out (no matter how foolish or big of a let down it would be after four hours of watching her roaring rampage of revenge). But despite the basic premise, their relationship isn’t the only one that we see on display. The love she has for her daughter, the disdain and respect each of her opponents and former colleagues have for her are all evident. The layers that every character has is pretty remarkable. You could see each of them headlining their own film if they had to, or a comic book run. In the end, Kill Bill doesn’t force me to change my knickers as often as the trailer for Expendables 2 does, but it makes my heart sing. And that is something remarkable.

 

Jonathan – I think anyone who reads this site is expecting me to put a Van Damme movie here but I’m going to take the opportunity to share my love for another action film, probably one of the most revered in the genre: John Woo’s 1989 film The Killer, starring Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh. This was the only movie poster that I had in my room all 4 years of college and not a week went by that I didn’t watch at least a few scenes from it. I could still watch it every week today. The plot is simple and has been done before. A conscientious hitman (Chow Yun Fat), pained by a hit gone wrong and blinding an innocent woman (Sally Yeh), swears to retire. But he takes one last job in order to pay to make things right. And in a classic modern-noir fashion, that was one job too many. Not only are his ex-employers on his tail to wipe him out but so is a driven cop (Danny Lee), intent on bringing him to justice. Some prefer Woo’s Hollywood calling cards of Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow 2 or the more gray area’d A Better Tomorrow but The Killer is where Woo really put his stamp on the genre, complete with slow motion doves, antagonists finding a common respect in a ballet of bloodshed and a dangerous men with moral codes. This movie influenced a wave of 90s action filmmakers, from Rodriguez to Tarantino, and forever reinvigorated a genre that had been exhausted by the end of the 80s. Throw any action film you want at it, The Killer still stands towards the top. And if it’s any consolation, John Woo did end up making a Van Damme film, 1993’s Hard Target.

Joe Carnahan Discusses Why We Won’t See His Vision Of ‘Daredevil’ Hit The Big Screen

by Shawn Madden

Joe Carnahan sat down and talked to The Radio Dan Show about his plans for a Daredevil movie that was supposed to happen until Fox pulled the cord. We also find out why he wanted to make the movie a period piece rather than set it in the present. Collider has hooked us up with a transcription on what was discussed.

On why there wasn’t enough time to bring his version to the screen:

I was brought in pretty late in the game, and my take probably didn’t help matters since they had an existing script. But I just thought that if you were going to do it, this was the way to go. This is the way that intrigued me…It was initially something I passed on because Christopher Nolan had done such a lovely job with Batman and unless you’re going to go after that trilogy, then that’s how you have to think. You can’t out-hurdle that, then what’s the point of trying? So it set the bar extraordinarily high, and I thought ‘Well, if we’re going to do this, let’s have a discussion about Hell’s Kitchen, and how it was really Hell’s Kitchen in the 70s,” so that got me really excited. But as I mentioned, the clock ticking and this kind of October drop-dead date, it wasn’t tenable. And having gone down this road in the past when you’re trying to write something and shoot it at the same time is disastrous, and I think you’d need an adequate amount of time to put that script together in the right way. My brother [Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom)] was interested in writing it with me, so we’ll see.

On why he thought a period piece for Daredevil would have been a good choice:

As I’m finishing my kind of reimagining of Death Wish, I think the 70s is figuring into my conscious and subconscious mind right now. I think it was the last time music and movies were just tremendous. We just cranked out some great stuff. I think that’s why the sizzle reel is able to be kind of abstract because people have such great fondness in their hearts for that decade, particularly the early part of that decade. I’m excited; you know the idea of having Daredevil on top of a building somewhere with the Serpico marquee in the background was enough, that image was enough, for me to want to make the movie.

Many fans weren’t too fond of the idea of another Daredevil film being brought to us by Fox until they found out about Carnahan’s attachment to the project. And after his sizzle reels were shown to us last night, giving us an idea on what the project would have been like, some of us are actually let down that it isn’t happening. Now, the big questions is…what will Marvel do with the man without fear?

It’s Not Looking Too Great For The ‘Daredevil’ Reboot

by Shawn Madden

Last week reports hit the internet that there would be an exchange between Fox and Marvel Studios to allow Fox time to get their planned Daredevil reboot into production. Then reports came in that Fox would rather lose the rights to the character than give up the characters that Marvel was asking for. Well, it’s not looking too good for the movie in general because in order to hold on to the rights they need to get it into production by October 10th. Earlier today director Joe Carnahan (The Grey) who was set to direct the upcoming reboot made some very discouraging tweets about the project.

Think my idea for a certain retro, red-suited, Serpico-styled superhero went up in smoke today kids.

We shall see. Time is NOT on anyone’s side.

This could either mean one of two things. Either Fox is giving up the rights on Daredevil and letting them revert back to Marvel or  they are going to go with another filmmaker who could get this movie going faster than Carnahan. Either way it doesn’t look good for the man without fear right now. We’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Source: IGN

Video Games Given Some Awesome Movie Style Posters!

by Shawn Madden

These days some video games out there have budgets larger than some of the Hollywood blockbusters that hit the big screen. So why not give the games posters to match the budgets? Graphic designer Ron Guyatt who is based out of Toronto has gone and done that! Check out the posters below and more of his awesome work here.

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We May Actually See A ‘Hellraiser’ Reboot After All

by Shawn Madden

Horror reboots are quite popular these days and a few years ago there as  talks of Hellraiser getting one Pascal Laugier set to direct. But since then the project has had quite a bit of bad luck. The director left the project, the company owning the rights was forced to develop a direct-to-video sequel in order to keep the rights, and that was not well received at all thus leading up to the project being cancelled. Well, fans that were for seeing the reboot (trust me…this series needs it after all of the awful sequels we saw) have some reason to hope! Artist Paul Gerrard and director Mike Le Han have teamed up to produce a teaser trailer for their version of a Hellraiser reboot, and plan on  pitching it to the studio in hopes of having it made. And they have even released some concept art for us to see what their vision would look like!

Source: JoBlo

Christopher Eccelston Comments On ‘Thor: The Dark World’!

by Shawn Madden

Following yesterdays big news that Christopher Eccelston (Dr. Who, GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra) would be playing Malekith The Accursed in Thor: The Dark World the actor has briefly commented on the upcoming project.

“’Thor 2′? Yeah I start shooting in August. I haven’t seen a script yet which makes me nervous but yeah! Alan Taylor is directing who has done ‘Game of Thrones’ so it should be good.”

Exploring Thor’s relationship with the Asgardian all-father Odin, as well earthbound companion Jane Foster, “Thor: The Dark World” follows the God of Thunder to The Nine Realms beyond Asgard and earth. And as his evil half-brother, Loki, returns for Asgardian justice, a new threat rises. Also rejoining Thor are his fellow Asgardians, Lady Sif, gatekeeper Heimdall and Warriors Three, as they encounter mythical Norse creatures among evildoers.

Thor: The Dark World is set for release on November 8, 2013.

Source: Bang Showbiz

This Geek in Netflix: The Legend of Lucy Keyes

by Allisonnnnn

Kids, you’re going to have to forgive me for this review, as I’m still coming down off the high of Comic-Con.  And by “high”, I mean total lack of sleep.

“I’m done with your imaginary friend horseshit, Lucy.”

While digging through the horde of Netflix Instant movies, I discovered The Legend of Lucy Keyes, which had a fairly decent rating from its users and claimed to be about the haunting of a farm or some such nonsense.  What occurred, however, I would not exactly call a “haunting” as much as random vaguely spooky occurrences that really didn’t impact anyone among the living in any significant way.

It started off promising with my preferred generic opener: scene setters placed alongside really nondescript music.  Here’s a farmhouse.  Oh, here’s another farmhouse.  Here’s some leaves.  Here’s a cemetery.  Here’s a quaint town.  OH, FUCK, IT’S A MOVING VAN ATTACHED TO A STATION WAGON/MINI-VAN/OTHER FAMILY-ORIENTED VEHICLE.

“I’m never getting laid again.”

I like the classic clichédness of it all, as it reminds me of 70s horror films (i.e. a favorite of mine, Burnt Offerings) and it seems like it might have some promise at this point.  In pursuit of contract that would enable him to build eight windmills on some countryside acreage, Guy Cooley (Justin Theroux) moves his wife (Julie Delpy, who I know from a brief period in my life where all I would watch was Disney’s Three Musketeers—don’t judge) and their two little girls move to an old farm deep in the middle of nowhere.

What I will give this movie points for is actually attempting to try to establish the characters before launching into the… hrm.  It’s not exactly horror, as there isn’t anything really resembling a scary moment.  Huh.  Wait, I know!  Launching into the brief interactions with the not-so-recently deceased who don’t really seem all too unpleasant, honestly.  Sure, they’re a little loud at night and cause flashbacks, but other than that… very few unpleasant side effects.

Stays up at night wishing he had got the Comic-Con Derpy pony.

However, when you bring in the crazy neighbor, Judd Jonas (Mark Boone Junior – Robert Munson from Sons of Anarchy), and his Cruella deVille-like cousin, Samantha Porter, (Brooke Adams), suddenly ghosts aren’t needed for the horror factor anymore, as Porter does her best to keep the audience’s something-ain’t-right-here-sense tingling.

This film felt lacking for me.  Delpy was the workhorse of this film, pulling it with all her might (and a sexy accent), and Theroux definitely pitched in at times, but the overall effect was still somewhat lacking.  For a little over an hour and a half, I kept waiting for this movie to hit its stride and it never really did—all the pieces were there, they just weren’t assembled quite properly.

Geekscape Reviews: ‘Ted’

by Shawn Madden

So, let me start off by saying I was in a packed theater with no more than ten females present. I guess they were all off seeing Channing Tatum’s bare ass while I was seeing Mark Wahlberg’s bare ass. There was the one spoiler I am giving you. I know ladies…you are now trading in your tickets for tonight to see ‘Ted’ instead.

Earlier this year I made the statement that ’21 Jump Street’ would be the funniest movie to come out this year. I now retract said statement. ‘Ted’ brought me to tears due to laughter more times than I could count. If you had any fears that Seth MacFarlane’s humor wouldn’t translate to the big screen…have them no more. It translates and it translates oh so well.

‘Ted’ tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish…and has refused to leave his side ever since. John’s girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) wants to move on with their lives together and feels Ted (Seth MacFarlane) is in the way of that happening.

If you’re looking for “smart funny” go somewhere else. Why the fuck would you be expecting that? This movie is exactly what you think it’s going to be and that’s a great thing. While this movie can appeal to everyone it’s definitely aimed at the products of the 80’s and 90’s. There are some jokes that may be lost on the younger crowd. But even if you you’ve never seen them you will probably still laugh and sort of get the numerous ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Flash Gordon’ references. And how would it be a Seth MacFarlane movie without the cameos? As stated I am keeping this review 99% spoiler free but there are moments you are not going to expect in this movie and they are great.

One worry I had about this movie was how believable was it going to be seeing Ted throughout the movie. The CG is great and there are times when I honestly forgot that it was CG. There’s a scene in the opening when Ted meets a certain late night talk show host that left me wondering “How did they pull that off?”

Overall ‘Ted’ is a hilarious and fun movie. If you don’t laugh at all within the first five minutes of the film…go get your money back and go see something else. But then again if you’re on this site I honestly expect you to laugh multiple times within the first five minutes and the entire duration of the movie. ‘Ted’ is one of those comedies that you will be able to watch over and over again and still laugh at the jokes.

Score: 4/5

UPDATE: ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Confirmed For 2014 – Release Date Set

by Shawn Madden

Earlier today the internet exploded with excitement (trust me…check Twitter) when it hit that Marvel Studios would be announcing ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ at their San Diego Comic-Con panel.

Well now it seems that Variety has confirmed this report and even announced that the release date would be set at May 16, 2014. It’s also being reported that Nicole Perlman (who previously worked on ‘Thor’) has already written two drafts for the film and Marvel is very happy with her work. Marvel has not officially commented yet.

With a new ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ series as well as a new ‘Nova’ series on the way as well as Guardians appearing in a recent episode of ‘Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes’ and Nova having a recurring role in ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’…this announcement comes at no shock to me. But definitely has me excited more than some of the previously rumored movies that we would be seeing next. We better see some Star-Lord though or I fear Scott Alminiana may stab someone.

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Robot and Frank

by Molly Mahan

aka The Los Angeles Film Festival and What Molly Saw There, pt. 3

Now that you geek plebeians have had a chance to watch the trailer, let me give you my review of Robot & Frank, which was the last movie I saw at The Los Angeles Film Festival this year. I will do my best to stay spoiler free, and I will warn you if I cannot keep to it.

Now, the way I saw it was pretty cool, because before hand there was a short called “Robot” which actually showed the current state of robotics in our country and what we were using the AI for (typically as an educational aid) and what was being done to get people to treat robots as if they were real people. This was done typically cheating in a game of rock-paper-scissors would do the trick. Rather than reacting to the person observing them,  they’d say, “You cheated!” to the robot. As if the robot knows what it means to cheat. It was rather interesting and cool, and it definitely got you in the mood to feature to follow. You can watch the short here.

Robot & Frank is set in a very believable near future. Technology is familiar yet more advanced–Skype calls answer to your voice, the latest edition of the smart phone is  thin and practically transparent until in use, and cars still look like cars (though the director admits if they had the time and money for hovercrafts, they would of course have gone that route)–and the paper medium is a novelty of the past. It is both beautiful and terrifying; and a plot point surrounds the fate of the local library (where Susan Sarandon plays the lovely Librarian). It’s about the library environment as an experience rather than the books themselves, as everything is now settled into the cloud.

Susan Sarandon and Frank Langella with the archaic technology known as the book.

The story centers around the character Frank (Frank Langella). An aging ex-thief who in recent years has begun to have spurts of Alzheimer’s. Some days he’s good, others not so much. His son (James Marsden), no longer wanting to drive 10 hours roundtrip to make sure he is eating okay, decides to give him a robot helper. Although Frank is initially against it, the mechanical bundle of wires and AI eventually warms up to him.

Robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) is tasked to do one thing: make certain Frank takes care of himself. As a robot, he has no sense of morality, but he does have an understanding of risk. Believing a project will keep Frank’s mind active, Robot suggests they create a garden, but after seeing Robot’s ability to pick a lock, Frank gets his own idea about what kind of project they should undertake.

Better to pick a lock than to pick your nose, right Frank?

Grounded in a highly plausible reality, Robot & Frank grapples with some serious issues, in addition to being sweet, funny, and all around entertaining. Divorce, senility, and many more issues anyone with a family can share and relate to. Robot & Frank is one of those movies that should be remembered. It is also one of those rare movies that actually makes me feel sympathy for a robot, technology that I typically refuse to trust thanks to Skynet and Asimov (sorry, Wall-E). I believe it is Robot’s recognition that he has no morality that allows for me to trust him, but it may just be Peter Sarsgaard’s voice (sorry, Alan Tudyk). It’s hard to say.

Needless to say, this is a movie I would definitely recommend to anyone, though I do think it is geared to a somewhat older (35+) crowd. I look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts come August 24, 2012, when it receives a wider release.

Geekscape Movie Reviews: The History of Future Folk

by Molly Mahan

aka The Los Angeles Film Festival and What Molly Saw There pt. 2

Unlike Dead Man’s Burden, which I saw with a definite idea of what I was going to see, when I walked into the theatre to see The History of Future Folk I had no idea what to expect. Based on the title, I had assumed it was going to be a documentary about some kind of early millennial music scene (it was in the “Beyond” category, so it could have literally been anything), but once the opening credits began with child-like drawings of crimson clad astronauts from another appeared, I knew I was wrong and that I was going to be in for a treat.

The History of Future Folk is nothing short of a delight. It tells the story of a humanoid alien named General Trius (Nils d’Aulaire) who comes from the Earth-like planet Hondo, who have been sent to earth to eradicate the human population so that the Hondonians may come and populate it, as their planet is pending destruction by a meteor. When he arrives to Earth, he is ready to set off his Doomsday device when suddenly he hears music for the first time! Enraptured by the sounds, he decides to assimilate with the earthlings and find a way to save his planet without having to kill off a species that created the beautiful gift of music.

Flash forward about 10 years. General Trias has settled in Brooklyn and now goes by the Earth name “Bill”. He is married with a daughter (Onata Aprile), and works as a at an aerospace museum that sits on top of a deactivated warhead, while moonlighting as a bluegrass musician at a bar owned and operated by Larry (Dee Snider), where he uses his backstory as an alien for his stage persona. Each night he tells the audience the story of his life, and no-one is the wiser that he is actually telling the truth. He is still trying to find a way to save his home planet, but his new life has taken the front seat. That is, until another alien from Honda, Kevin (Jay Klaitz) comes to assassinate him. Fortunately, Kevin is a terrible assassin, so Bill is able to subdue him easily enough and he opens his mind to music, and shortly thereafter Kevin learns to play guitar and the two become a bluegrass duo.

From there, the film comprises of a series of wild antics, getting in trouble with the law, which for Kevin leads to falling in love with a lady of the law, giving us a sweet, almost-tender-if-the-circumstances-weren’t-so-damn-creepy love ballad–in Spanish!–, and having to fight a serious alien assassin, while trying to save both Hondo and Earth from certain destruction. It’s a brilliant, fun mix, and with a running time of 86 minutes, every second counts.

The film is co-directed by John Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker, based on Mitchell’s script which is in turn based on the actual band known as Future Folk (which d’Aulair and Klaitz are the members). It is truly a film that “dares to be different”–which is what the Beyond category for the festival is all about–and it’s as much fun as you can have without causing any trouble yourself.  The story is fitting for children of all ages and will have you screaming, “Hondo!” by the end. If you like music (even marginally), you’ll enjoy this fantastic ride. I know I did. Hondo!

If you’re still not convinced, here’s a little clip.

Geekscape Movie Review: Dead Man’s Burden

by Molly Mahan

aka “The Los Angeles Film Festival and What Molly Saw There, Part 1”

This past week, I was lucky enough to spend some time at the Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by Film Independent. As such, I decided to play it smart and prepare for it by watching two or three movies I had carefully selected from the line up, so as to not suffer from film fatigue. Of the films I saw, Dead Man’s Burden, was my first.


I was drawn to watch this particular film, because it was touted as “traditional western”. Yes, I realize not everyone is so easily swayed, but as a lover of American myth and legend, Westerns will always be my all time favorite genre (and since they are, in part, a subgenre of action, I don’t have to sacrifice my love of bullets!). Additionally, given that it is so rare to see a new western, in the classical sense, on the big screen, I knew I had to muscle my way in to get a seat. And I was not disappointed. Written and directed by Jared Moshe, Dead Man’s Burden is a labor of love by a true western aficionado. A tale layered with moral ambiguity in a time where people truly could make themselves out to be who they wanted to be. Dead Man’s Burden delivers the goods and reminds everyone why the Western is such an important part of film history.

Like all tradtional westerns, Dead Man’s Burden takes place some time after the Civil War, where some Southern families have decided to move West to may a new name for themselves, where there is less baggage of losing the war. And like many westerns, the topic of land ownership and acquisition comes into play.: After the sudden death of Joe McCurry, his daughter Martha (Clare Bowen), his only known living progeny, after all his sons died fighting for the South. . The land is desirable, because it contains the largest underground water source in a town ripe for mining copper ore. Her father did not wish to sell the land, but Martha finds the property to be hold too many bad memories and to be too much for her and her husband Heck (David Heck), so she decides to sell it and move to California.

At the funeral for her father, it is a closed casket ceremony, which leads Three Penny Hank (Richard Riehl) to believe that there may have been some foul play–i.e., that the buyers must have killed him. A few weeks after the funeral, a man named Wade McCurry (Barlow Jacobs) shows up on the scene, with a letter from Joe who he claims is his father.

The reunion between sibilings is bittersweet. Wade was Martha’s favorite brother (whom she claims raised her more than their father ever did) whom she was led to believe had died on his way to fight for the South. In truth, he moved North to fight for the Union, and was thereby banished from ever returning home. “If you come home, I will shoot you myself,” their is quoted to have said to Wade when he left. It is only the mysterious letter from their father that causes him to return, and fight for the land rights which his sister is eager to get rid of for the right price.

The dynamic between the siblings is amazing. They act as foils to each other, rather than opposites, in a way that is in line with the modern western. Both are proud, strong willed, with their own sense of justice and what must be done. Neither is truly good, nor truly bad; their motives and desires are understood by the audience, even if their choices aren’t ones we must (or should) necessarily agree with. A story that allows you to empathize with characters you do not typically identify yourself with is one worthy of note, and Dead Man’s Burden is filled with such characters.



Not to mention, the acting is remarkable as well. I could definitely sense Jacobs’ performance channeling Clint Eastwood’s Blondie/Man With No Name, down to his speech patterns and the timbre of his voice. David Call is likewise exceptional;  showing the range and depth of Heck’s love for Martha that can be completely startling–if not disturbing–at times, and he sells it to the last drop. But the true show stopper is new comer Clare Bowen. Playing a woman of the time with the kind of subdued strength, nearly brimming with an inner-ferocity and pride that audiences don’t get to see too often from women. Not to mention she is a hell of a shot. The supporting actors are likewise enjoyable in their respective roles, with each actor  giving a solid performance, but the dynamic of the main three is what makes or breaks this story. Lucky for us, they give it out in spades.

Finally, I cannot get by with writing this article without mentioning the landscapes and visual tone. Shot on 35mm film rather than digital, the all encompassing, panoramic views and wide shots show the kind of difference celluloid truly makes. Granted, the great outdoors shots caused for a few more lens flares than I would have liked, but they were soft and not garish, working with the aesthetic rather than distracting from it. The film itself is beautiful and enjoyable to look at even without the emotionally heavy content and plot.

This is how light naturally reflects off a lens.

The film premiered Saturday, June 16th, as part of the Official Selection of the Los Angeles Film Festival, nominated in the Narrative category. Please stay posted for more on my trip to LAFF, including more film reviews and an interview with Dead Man’s Burden writer/director Jared Moshe later this week!

The Netflix Instant You Might Have Missed: ‘Boy Wonder’

by Shawn Madden

So I chose this week to do a recommendation for the fellow Netflix junkies. I had seen this film awhile back myself but it recently just popped up on Netflix and I figured I would share it with the rest of you.

About Boy Wonder:

A young Brooklyn boy witnesses the brutal murder of his mother and grows up obsessed with finding her killer. Thus begins his life as a quiet, straight-A student by day and a self-appointed hero at night. As the boundaries blur, Sean’s dual life wears on his psyche and his two worlds careen dangerously close to colliding. Boy Wonder challenges morality, distorting perceptions of what is right and what is justified, as it races to its shocking conclusion.

Like I said above I am not going to give much about this movie away because I really want you to check it out. This is no visual blockbuster but a movie really driven by the plot and the acting. It does suffer from some weak points but I believe the strong points outweight them.

I recently recommended it to Scott Alminiana and we both gave the film a solid 3.5/5.

Five Comic Book Movies That Desperately Need Remakes

by Shawn Madden

So, with us getting reboots to a number of franchises I decided to look at five properties that could really use a reboot (as well as the status of each property). Alright, lets start it off!

5. Fantastic Four (2005)

That trailer started off so good looking. And then we hit the 30 second mark and it is all downhill from there. This movie could have been great but turned into a giant joke. I don’t blame the actors because they tried their best and weren’t horrible (with Chris Evans being the best of the bunch playing a great Johnny Storm) It was just the cheesiness of this movie and the constant bad humor that really ruined it. Well…that and just not being interesting at all. A pretty “meh” movie that led up and impressive fight against a far from intimidating Dr. Doom led fans to toss this on their “worst” lists. But worry not true believers…a reboot is already in the works (after Fox apparently learned how to do a comic movie right from ‘X:Men First Class’ ) with ‘Chronicle’ director Josh Tranks name (yes please) linked to it.

4. Spawn (1997)

Let me start off by saying by no means do I consider ‘Spawn’ one of the worst comic movies. Quite the contrary! For its time it was pretty damn good. It had a cast that pulled off their roles well and a sweet soundtrack. People criticized it for being “overwhelmingly brutal, dark and cynical.” Aka what we love to see these days. So, if it wasn’t a bad movie then why is it on the list? Because of the advancements in movie making technology in the past 15 years since its release. Just imagine how much cooler a ‘Spawn’ movie would be coming out nowadays? And they could definitely go darker like the comics versus the “lightened dark” that the ’97 movie did. Now while McFarlane has been talking about making a new movie for awhile…McFarlane has been talking about making a new movie for AWHILE. We will see if it ever actually gets into production.

Side note: you could bring Michael Jai White back to reprise the role and i’d be okay with that.

3. Witchblade (2000)

Man…was this bad. I watched this and walked out of the room half way through. So, i’m thinking some of you may not be familiar with the Image title that this is based on so let me give you some info on it.

The series follows Sara Pezzini, a tough-as-nails NYPD homicide detective who comes into possession of the Witchblade, a supernatural, sentient artifact with immense destructive and protective powers. The weapon has bonded with various other women throughout history, the most recent being the series’ former co-lead, Danielle Baptiste. Others who have come into contact with the Witchblade include Cleopatra and Joan of Arc. Sara struggles to hone the awesome powers of the Witchblade and fend off those with a nefarious interest in it, especially entrepreneur Kenneth Irons. She also struggles to maintain a personal life.

Thanks Wikipedia. But for real…this TV movie/series sucked in comparison to the comics. I’m just going to leave it simple like that. And it looked nothing like the comics or even really attempted to. A remake has been in development ever since 2009 when a teaser poster popped up on the internet. However there hasn’t been much development since then minus IMDB having a Witchblade movie listed as coming out in 2013. We’ll see on that one.

However this teaser poster does look to be more true to the comics and Michael Rymer (Queen Of The Damned, Battlestar Galactica) has had his name attached to direct.

2. Swamp Thing (1982)

This fan-favorite film is one of DC’s titles that is rumored to be getting a reboot that desperately needs it. I saw the movie as a kid and thought it was cool. Then I saw it years later and wanted to slap younger me for ever thinking that. No disrespect to Mr. Craven because he did the best he could at the time but just like ‘Spawn’ this movie truly needed the current technology and can be a great film if done right. Aka follow current Snyder Swamp Thing…thanks. This film is currently on the backburner with Joel Silver (way too man films) producing, Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code) writing and Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) set to direct. The film got put on hold as of May so Natali can pursue other projects.

1. Daredevil (2003)

Well…here is another one where i’m definitely not blaming the actors at all. Affleck was pretty good. Farrel played a great head case. Garner was useless. The real problems here were the piss-poor costumes, romantic sub-plot that wasn’t really needed in a first film and the god-awful need to include some alt-rock soundtrack versus a score. Daredevil is definitely a movie that needs a score being that he’s a blind man using sound/sonar. Sorry but I would be pissed if I was Matt Murdock and you threw on Nickleback. Facepalm one.

The movie did capture some of his conflict with his Catholicism and I thought that was great and the action wasn’t horrible. But this movie (and especially with current series success) really needs a remake. While the Directors Cut was better than the one we got in theaters, by no means was it a great enough improvement to make me ignore the bad parts of this flick. Currently David Slade (30 Days Of Night) is attached to direct but we’ve really heard no news on it in awhile and it could end up in film limbo like many other projects. Hopefully we will get some news on this one soon.

Runner up: Generation X (1996 – Made for TV movie)

Until today I never knew this was made. I wish I still didn’t. Scratch that. Let’s forget this thing exists and just wait for the sequel to ‘First Class’ and the rumored ‘New Mutants’ movie instead. Face palm two.

‘Black Panther’ Coming To Theatres 2014?

by Shawn Madden

So, there’s big news coming at this years Comic-Con regarding their next standalone movie. News site Latino Review is apparently reporting this news early:

“THE BLACK PANTHER is going to headline his own film! How do I know? Let’s say I got it from FOUR different trusted sources. Last year, it was reported that Marvel hired Mark Bailey to pen the script and I hear the script is fantastic.”

For those unfamiliar with the character:

The title “Black Panther” is a rank of office, chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan. As chieftain, the Panther is entitled to eat a special heart-shaped herb, as well as his mystical connection with the Wakandan Panther god, that grants him superhumanly acute senses and increases his strength, speed, stamina, and agility to the peak of human development. He has since lost this connection and forged a new one with another unknown Panther deity, granting him augmented physical attributes as well as a resistance to magic.

His senses are so powerful that he can pick up a prey’s scent and memorize tens of thousands of individual ones. T’Challa is a rigorously trained gymnast and acrobat, showing mastery in various African martial arts as well as contemporary ones and fighting styles that belong to no known disciplines.

Lation Review does have a history of being reliable with their scoops. And earlier today one of their staff tweeted BIG CLUE: This unseen Marvel character has been alluded to in the phase one Marvel films! Let speculation begin!”

The Black Panther would definitely make sense as far as this statement being that we have vibranium (Cap’s shield) and the map from ‘Iron Man 2’ which had a marking above Wakanda.

Many actors have already expressed interest in the role including including Michael Jai White, Djimon Hounsou & Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.

Whats your thoughts on ‘The Black Panther’ coming to the big screen? Personally I was hoping it to be ‘Iron Fist’ or ‘Ant-man’ (though we still COULD get those) Fingers crossed!

 

Check Out The New Full-length Trailer For ‘The Bourne Legacy’

by Shawn Madden

A new full-length trailer for ‘The Bourne Legacy’ has hit the web. If that teaser didn’t get you excited enough…this for sure will.

“The writer/director expands the Bourne universe created by Robert Ludlum with an original story that introduces us to a new hero (Jeremy Renner) whose life-or-death stakes have been triggered by the events of the first three films”

The Bourne Legacy’ hits theatres August 3rd, 2012.

Source: movieclipsTRAILERS

Simon Pegg Talks “Star Trek 2” Villain

by Scott Alminiana

In a new interview with The Telegraph, Geekscape friend Simon Pegg briefly spoke about “Star Trek 2,” and while he couldn’t say much, he did touch upon one very interesting topic. For months now, there have been plenty of rumors and internet speculation as to whom “Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch is playing in the sequel.

Last month, TrekMovie claimed that Cumberbatch would be playing Khan in the movie but Simon Pegg had this to say on the subject:

“[Benedict Cumberbatch’s character is] not just another disgruntled alien. It’s a really interesting… sort of… thing. Obviously I can’t talk about it… It’s not Khan. That’s a myth. Everyone’s saying it is, but it’s not… I think people just want to have a scoop. It annoys me – it’s beyond the point to just ferret around for spoilers all the time to try to be the first to break them. It masquerades as interest in the movie but really it’s just nosiness and impatience. You just want to say, ‘Oh f— off! Wait for the film!’”

Well there ya go, straight from the mouth of Scotty himself. Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t playing Khan after all. So who will he be playing? Don’t ask us, Geekscape doesn’t ferret around for spoilers!

Simon Pegg’s new book “Nerd Do Well: A Small Boy’s Journey to Becoming a Big Kid” comes out in paperback on June 5th and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

 

First Look at Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix in “All Is By My Side”

by Shane O'Hare

This photo was snapped today of musician now actor Andrew 3000 (André Lauren Benjamin) in the role of guitar LEGEND Jimi Hendrix, on the set of the biopic “All Is By My Side”

Not much is out there on the film. It takes place in 1966 right as Hendrix moved back to London, before his fame. According to reports the film has been in production for quite some time now and they do not know if the Hendrix estate will allow the film to use any of his music! If you ask me, and you just did, there is no point in making a Jimi Hendrix biopic if you cannot secure any of his original tunes!

All Is By My Side is directed by John Ridley

Even More “Iron Man 3” Casting Updates!

by Shawn Madden

Shooting has started on “Iron Man 3” and we are getting more and more interesting additions to the cast.

First up. According to Latino Review:

“Yesterday, Guy Pearce (who will be playing Aldrich Killian) graced Wilmington for a costume fitting along with a familiar face that is as-yet-unreported. Who was that blond man wandering around the ‘Iron Man 3′ stages?”

That man was William Sadler. Most of us will best remember William Sadler from ‘Die Hard 2’.

Next up. Variety is reporting that Ashley Hamilton is in talks to play the villain Firepower. So that adds yet another villain to the cast. However if we actually see him suit up… is another story. But the addition of this character has led to speculation that they will incorporate elements of Armor Wars into the plot.

And finally. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Jon Favreau will be returning as Happy Hogan. Which is good news for anyone that was worried about there being any bad blood between Marvel and Favreau after the mixed response to ‘Iron Man 2’.

So, that’s three more additions to what is shaping up to be an awesome cast including Robert Downey Jr, Gwentyth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, Andy Lau, James Badge Dale and Rebecca Hall.

‘Iron Man 3’ suits up May 3, 2013.

Chronicle Director Josh Trank Tasked To Bring Shadow of The Colossus To The Big Screen

by MoreLikeAndy

After Chronicle became a huge success, Sony Pictures has taken notice in the talents of director Josh Trank and signed him on to try to do the impossible, make a video game movie that doesn’t suck.

That is going to be a hard task since Shadow of the Colossus is a cult favorite among gamers and they will be sure to point out any little mistake Trank makes. Even being a fan of the game himself, Josh Trank has a daunting project on his hands.

At least he will get a new writer since the one that was hired back in 2009 didn’t do so well with Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, the failed Voltron movie, and Masters of the Universe.

Class Nuke’em High Is Getting a New Sequel – JOIN THE CAST!

by Saintmort

Troma is mostly known for it’s mascot the Toxic Avenger. However Class Nuke ’em High was actually their most successful film in the world of VHS. The original is a fun horror/teen flick about the affects of nuclear waste on high school students. The Sequels however are garbage, at least in part due to Lloyd Kafuman’s lack of involvement.

Well Lloyd is back in the director’s chair for the 4th installment RETURN TO NUKE ‘EM HIGH and they are looking for the next Troma star (this will likely involve being underpaid and underworked, but gaining a place in Troma’s cult following). Casting Starts tomorrow and if you want to be involve email the troma team at nukeemhighcasting@gmail.com

Here’s Lloyd begging you for support from the cardboard box he calls home

The New Dark Knight Rises Poster… And Our Hearts Sink

by Matt Landsman

The new poster for The Dark Knight Rises is here and it’s…underwhelming?

Within five minutes of the release of the poster by WB, the internet has collectively flown into outrage over the lazy design of the new poster utilizing a pre-existing image of  batman against a recolored version of the first teaser poster. Amateur photoshop work for sure, and many fans have called WB’s marketing into question.

What do you guys think of this poster? Love it? Hate it? Framing it on your wall? Share your opinions with Geekscape!

 

Watch The Trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Next Masterpiece: “The Master”

by Matt Landsman

It’s trailer day apparently between this and Skyfall. You might be surprised to be seeing a trailer for a cinematic and profound film (and dare I say pretentious) movie such as The Master appearing on Geekscape. But here at Geekscape, we honor all types of geeks, from video games to film fanboys.  As a film fanboy, I think this movie looks stellar. You might remember Paul Thomas Anderson as the guy who did a little movie called There Will Be Blood in 2007. Oh… and Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, Boogie Nights and Hard Eight.

Can we just give him some Oscar nominations now?

Geekscape Roundtable: Reasons For Living in a Post-Avengers World

by GeekscapeStaff

The Avengers has come and gone, having assembled close to a billion dollars worldwide. What’s your reason for living now? Geekscape’s writers have a few reasons to survive at least through the end of the summer. Spoiler alert: It’s Prometheus.

Matt Blackwood: Indies and Gingers

After The Avengers, I am most looking forward to a couple indies. I know that sounds pretentious, and I certainly don’t want to impugn the inherent buzz of this summer’s blockbusters, but these two particular films each have something about which I’m even more excited. The first is God Bless America, Bobcat Goldthwait’s bloody indictment of reality TV’s subjects. Goldthwait’s previous two comedies, Sleeping Dogs Lie and World’s Greatest Dad, began with sick, over-the-top premises and ended up transcending their genre trappings and becoming beautiful messages of hope. The other film is Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz. I’m not proud of the reason I’m excited about this one, but I’ll show up for Sarah Silverman’s rumored full frontal and stay for the nuanced drama Polley has become known for.

I’m also pretty hopeful about Prometheus. I love Alien; hell, I even love Alien Resurrection! A new horror/sci-fi set in that universe, with Damon Lindelof involved? I’m intrigued. Plus, according to the Gambler’s Fallacy, Ridley Scott is due to make the greatest movie of all time by now.

Finally, there’s Pixar’s Brave. Pixar probably has a better critical batting average than any studio in history, the sad bunt that was Cars 2 notwithstanding, but I usually don’t make an effort to see them. If you have ANY children in your life- cousins, students, illegitimate offspring- you WILL see them whether you want to or not. They are inevitable. I haven’t tried to see one since The Incredibles, and yet I’ve caught them all. But Brave, the tale of a young Scottish girl following her dream of being a highland warrior, is a story I’ll make a trip to the theater to see.

Haterz Gonna Hate

Jae Renfrow: Aliens Resurrected 

So now you’re aimless wandering around, wondering what you’ll do now that you’ve finally gotten to see Thor and Hulk square off on the big screen. Why don’t you come hop aboard the Prometheus train with me? We’re invited(….or are we?) to a far off planet where we’ll get to witness Ridley Scott direct a sort-of prequel to one of the greatest horror films of all time, Alien.

Prometheus has had one of the best ad-campaigns in a long time. Instead of over exposing you with TV spots, 10 minute scene clips and Japanese trailers, they’re dropping wacked out viral clips of futuristic TED talks, and Michael Fassbender showing more range as a soulless robot than Jeremy Renner did as Hawkeye. I’m just sayin’… he didn’t have much to do, did he?

I still don’t know what the hell is gonna happen in this movie, but what I can guarantee is that whatever aliens are in this movie, they’ll be 100% more menacing then those wussy Chitauri and their Jet Motos.

Scott Alminiana: Cock Push Ups

Now that The Avengers has decimated the box office I can now look forward to a few other things. The first thing that I’m looking forward to is the new album from Tenacious D: The Rize of The Fenix. It’s the first album from Tenacious D since The Pick of Destiny movie and album crashed and burned six years ago. To promote the album The D has released two videos so far that prove that Tenacious D is back in fine form and ready to rock our socks off. They will also be touring in concert to coincide with the album release and you can bet I’ve got my tickets already!

The other thing I’m looking forward to is Prometheus, the long awaited return to sci-fi from Ridley Scott. What isn’t there to look forward to from this flick?! From Ridley’s return to the genre that he helped to redefine, to a script from Damon Lindelof that looks to explore some very big unanswered questions from Alien. If the trailers that have been released are any indication of what’s in store for us, then it looks like Prometheus could be one hell of a movie. I’ll be waiting in line opening night for sure.

Heidi Hilliker: It’ll end better than The Dark Tower

Locke & Key Clockworks #6 (of 6)! This last story arc of my beloved series has been epic… And epic might even be an understatement! There’s been so much back story revealed about the drowning caves, the Omega Key, the Black Door, how keys are made, Rendell Locke and the mysteriously evil Dodge. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez never cease to surprise me with inventive and fascinating information. I can’t wait to see how this chapter concludes and how they set up for the final story arc of the series.

I’m having such a double edge sword of emotions about this titles conclusion. I hate to see this book come to a close but I love the nervous excitement of finding out how it ends! The release date for issue #6 is June 27th. I hope that is pretty spot on. IDW has been known to come in late on Locke & Key’s release dates. I’ll be biting my nails until I get to visually devour this issue so it better be released on time or else I’m going to end up with hobbit fingers.

Molly Mahan: Queen of the Browncoats

The next flick I’m looking forward to is Snow White & The Huntsman. Though I’m not a big fan of K-Stew, I do love me some deconstructionist fairy tales! Also, I am hoping to see Chris Hemsworth be interesting in a movie again. After two weeks of his performances boring me to tears, I am hoping he’ll return to his Star Trek roots and give an emotional performance that I know he’s more than capable of. Or at least hack some Wicked Queen’s men to pieces with an axe. Either way, I’ll be satisfied.

Matt  Kelly: King of Logic

Look, I know everyone has been excited for Avengers and Spiderman and Batman. And with good reason- they look like great movies. They’re everything a geek has dreamed of one day seeing on the silver screen. But I’m not one of those people. Sure I’m going to see all three of those films in theater, but the movie this summer that I can not wait to experience is the sequel to the best 3D film in the last decade. I’m talking about Piranha 3DD. This movie is promising plenty of gore, boobage, laugh out loud comedy and over the top in your face 3D action… Sign me the fuck up.

The Chitauri are coming!

‘The Avengers’ Smashes More Box Office Records

by Matt Blackwood

The Avengers continued to destroy box office records this weekend. According to Disney’s estimates, the Marvel blockbuster took in $103.2 million in its second weekend, surpassing Avatar‘s previously held record of $75.6 million.

This brings Joss Whedon’s juggernaut to $373.2 million in US earnings; worldwide, the film has now crossed the billion dollar mark in just 19 days, another record. Tim Burton’s soap opera adaptation Dark Shadows opened in second place, pulling in just under $29 million.

Shawarma sales are up by 80 percent, according to TMZ.

Watch The Final Trailer For The Dark Knight Rises In Full HD!

by Matt Landsman

The new trailer has just dropped for The Dark Knight Rises and wow…it’s awesome!

The Dark Knight Rises starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine opens in the US July 20th 2012.

Guilty Pleasures: Comic Book The Movie

by Saintmort

This weekend we will see the release of The Avengers. It’s a great time to be a geek right now. Just ten years ago no one would have guessed we’d live in a world where superhero films were acceptable to the point that not only was there an Avengers film but Thor, Iron Man and discussions on Dr. Strange and Antman.

Bizarrely enough, Mark Hamill predicted these changes back in 2004. In his direct-to-DVD mockumentry Comic Book: The Movie Mark plays Donald Swan, a history teacher/comic shop owner and in charge of the official fan club for Commander Courage. Due to the popularity of the Spider-Man movie a major studio is making a film on Commander Courage (inspired obviously by Captain America) and have hired Donald as a creative consultant.

However since September 11th they’ve decided to update Commander Courage from a Nazi fighting patriot into a Terrorist killing soldier named Codename Courage. Donald hates this change where they’ve made Courage more modern, edgy, took away his secret Identity and changed his sidekick Liberty Lad into the sexy Liberty Lass.

The studio gives Donald an opportunity to film a documentary about the Codename: Commander announcement at Comic Con, while Donald tries to use this opportunity to prove to the studio that they should make a Commander Courage film that’s a period piece with him fighting nazis.

The film is amusing enough to kill an hour and a half but what’s far more impressive is how Hamill nailed the future of Comic Con before it occurred. The movie executive going with Donald to the Con could careless about the comics or the fans of the character. He just wants to show up, make an announcement and leave.

Mark also takes this opportunity to write a true love letter to fandom. He captures the entire comic con experience with plenty of cos-players, screaming Troma characters, lots of free stuff and the parents keeping their kids awake to ensure they don’t miss any panels. Donald gives a passionate speech about how his favorite aspect of fandom is the passionate arguments between trivial things like “How’s better Gray or Green Hulk”.

The film doesn’t always hit but it does have it’s moments. The cast is basically made up of voice actors and celebrity cameos (including Stan Lee, Hugh Hefner and Kevin Smith). Kevin Smith parodies his infamous Superman Script incident discussing how his first draft of Commander Courage the studio demanded a Giant Mechanical Spider and also has the line “Nazis are better than terrorists, they have an easier to make fun of accent”.

Donald Swan even discusses how much better Pearl Harbor would be had it been a Commander Courage film. But the funniest character in the film and scene stealer is Ricky the Camera Guy played by Jess Harnell (Animaniacs). Ricky is a rocker/stoner who just wants to meet the Hulk while at comic con. Donald takes him under his wing to try to teach him how beautiful the world of Comic Con truly is.

The film didn’t get much critical review due to being a Direct-To-DVD film, however the fan ratings on rottentomatoes averaged out to a pitiful 38%. The fact is the film is made for a very specific person (a comic book fan), you need to understand this world to appreciate this world. With that in mind, watch this before seeing the Avengers.

Comic Book: The Movie is currently available on Netflix Instant Watch

When he’s not watching straight to DVD movies Matt can be found tweeting, writing in his blog Pure Mattitude and hosting is podcast The Saint Mort Show.

Is Francis Lawrence Catching Fire?!

by Scott Alminiana

Variety is reporting that “I Am Legend” director Francis Lawrence has been offered the directing job for “Catching Fire.” As millions of geeks already know, “Catching Fire” is the second book in “The Hunger Games” trilogy and continues the story of Katniss Everdeen following her victory during ‘The Hunger Games.”

The announcement that Lionsgate has chosen Francis Lawrence comes less than two weeks since “The Hunger Games” director Gary Ross bowed out of directing the sequel which is set to start shooting in late summer for a Nov. 22, 2013 release date. Lawrence’s other films include “I Am Legend,” “Water for Elephants” and “Constantine.” So, geeks, what do you think of Lionsgate’s choice? Will Lawrence do more justice to this source material than he did with “Constantine”? Only time will tell.