Hi-Sci-Fi

This image was uploaded with the post Best and Worst of SciFi Movies.

by Irma Arkus

You are looking at a newly *unsubscribed* New Scientist reader. Why? The publication simply did not have enough “science” for my inner scientist. And then they do this…

New Scientist staff compiled the list of favorites and most hated science fiction films. According to their nerds, Dune and Matrix are both hated and loved by all, making them contentious as expected.

That, and Blade Runner always comes up on top beating all opponents for best film. So, in other words, no surprises there.

But this begs the question - what are some of your favorite science fiction films? Best of? Worst of? Any small films you just loved?

Give me your lists people!!!

This image was uploaded with the post Rumours: “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” TV Show May be Cancelled.

by Irma Arkus

Current ratings of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the television show based on James Cameron’s Terminator series of films, are not living up to expectations, and the show may be canceled.

Starring Summer Glau as the “cutest Terminator ever,” Thomas Dekker as John Connor a la teen years of growing pains, and Lena Headey as Sarah Connor, has thus far exceeded my expectations.

While the franchise of films, based on groundbreaking action cinema, declined in quality with its third installment, the television show focusing on Machiavellian plots by machines from future to eliminate humanity’s last hope and leader, John Connor, in his teen years, has successfully melded drama and science fiction elements.

It brought mystery back into fold with Summer Glau’s terminator character, Cameron, and generally provided me with much needed action bit to an already chock-full TV line-up of bratty high-school kids who earn more money, both in real and fake lives, than I ever will.

I would definitely find the loss of this show regrettable. Especially since it serves as a reintroduction to mythos of James Cameron’s initial concept, and a jumping point to a new franchise of films starring Christian Bale. Release date for Terminator 4: Salvation is now scheduled for May of 2009.

This image was uploaded with the post Second Sighting of “Watchmen” Confirms Film is “Wow”.

by Irma Arkus

First Kevin Smith, now Frosty of Collider - both have fallen for Snyder’s “Watchmen” after seeing excerpts of film.

After viewing 25 minutes of the film the jaw-dropping impression combined with audio excerpts of Snyder’s commentary can be found here.

This image was uploaded with the post Aww History: Nicolas Cage and Ghost Rider.

by Irma Arkus

Recent years have not been too kind to Nicolas Cage. Of all cringe inducing experiences, the least forgivable one would be none other than Ghost Rider.

Ironically, Cage is an honest fan of the world of comics, and was heavily fighting for years to be cast in it. I remember years ago, when HiSciFi was in its infancy, Andrew snorted next to me as rumours of Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider, and (wait for it!) Superman started to trickle.

Our responses to Cage as Superman were cruel and childish, and perhaps appropriate at the time, as aging Cage had a growing pot belly, Botox was still not wiping the brows off market, and the top of his head was still “unrestored.” Andrew had a tough time imagining a Super-Hick substitute for a tightly wound Christopher Reeves wrapped in lycra.

A live-action Ghost Rider film was unimaginably complicated to make a few years ago. The closest thing to it was a rendition of Spawn, which, even though made for an entertaining introduction of CG on film, still did not provide for the kind of film quality that would leave us breathless. But things changed quickly, and the concept grew.

The first renderings of Ghost Rider were swiftly turned away as computer animation technology kept on improving, and speedily. Once the aesthetics of depicting a dude with a flaming skull on a motorcycle got one step closer to reality, the work began.

Of course, by the time 2007 came about, and Cage’s face was literally run through photoshop grind, the idea and the look still seemed dated, the storyline fell short, and all together as viewers, we all felt cheated.

Ghost Rider was truly an abominable cinematic experience. Cage’s altered face resembled a playdough pancake with too much addition of Hair-For-Men, and excessive Botox, and not just the regular Nicole Kidman brand, but CG Botox too.

The storyline was equally bad, as incoherent romance between Ghost Rider and his long lost girlfriend, played by delicious Eva Mendes, only served as a reminder that Hollywood sucks and that these actors are making too much dough to play pretend.

I cried a little when watching Ghost Rider. I cried myself asleep, during the middle of the film. The girl sitting next to me sat in awe, mouth half-open drifting with popcorn, only to turn around and say “this is a real trailer trash gem here! My folks at St. John are gonna love this stuff.” Then I cried some more.

Since then, Cage has made some really bad acting choices. His recent work has been predicated on earnings rather than quality. What started with Ghost Rider, quickly degenerated into a string of heart-breakers: Next, National Treasure, National Treasure II: Book of Secrets, Bangkok Dangerous, and now Knowing.

Even though “Knowing” is directed by Alex Proyas, who is responsible for directing some great and imaginative productions, including “Dark City,” “The Crow,” and the less likeable “I, Robot,” I still hesitate. Why? Because for one, it stars Nicolas Cage.

You need more? Knowing also has a really bad poster. And a really cheesy trailer.

Who knows, maybe the story of Nicolas Cage as Ted Myles, a teacher who turns into a defender of Rose Byrne, as he deciphers a detailed doomsday prophecy is great. I can’t really vouch for its quality until I finally watch it.

But in my defense, I would also like to present you with following fact: there is a plan to make “Ghost Rider 2.” Nuff said.

This image was uploaded with the post Update: Witchblade, The Movie.

by Irma Arkus

BD Horror News leaked news that Witchblade, currently in pre-production for 2010 release, directed by Michael Rymer, is not only planned as a feature film, but one that will quickly experience a sequel.

Apparently, Top Cow and Arclight are working on an immediate sequel. One that may be simultaneously shot, a la Lord of the Rings.

I am excited. Not only does Witchblade provide for some jolly good times, but may give us that extra dose of estrogen I’ve been craving on the big screen. Now we just need to wait for casting….

This image was uploaded with the post Oh Shatner, Where Art Thou?.

by Irma Arkus

SciFi Scanner released an interview with J.J.Abrams revealing the reasons for obvious lack of William Shatner in the new Star Trek film.

Abrams politely and rather diplomatically explains that Shatner has initially been very much a part of the creative process as they “actually had written a scene with him in it that was a flashback kind of thing.” The idea though was dropped as the scene “didn’t quite feel right.”

Why didn’t it feel right? Because, suprise, suprise, Shatner was “very vocal that he didn’t want to do a cameo. We tried desperately to put him in the movie, but he was making it very clear that he wanted the movie to focus on him significantly.”

As far as appeasement of Trek fans goes, J.J. Abrams explains that dealing with fans is kind of crazy and inconsistent. One segment of fans demanded some face time from their favorite man-diva, Shatner. But then again, “a lot of the people who were proclaiming that he must be in this movie were the same people saying it must adhere to canon.” To which he asks “Well, his character died on screen. Maybe a smarter group of filmmakers could have figured out how to resolve that.”

So there. No Shatner in the movie. I will really miss him, because Shatner is fun on screen. Then again, I really look forward to seeing an entirely different version of Enterprise gracing the screen.

by Irma Arkus

“What will Nolan do?” is the newest obsession amongst fans of The Dark Knight. Who will inherit the burden of being the new villain to plague Batman? The most brilliant rumours indicate that none other than Phillip Seymour Hoffman will appear in role of the Penguin.

I loooove it!

This image was uploaded with the post Catwoman Returns To Silver Screen, In A More Mature Way.

by Irma Arkus

One of the more intriguing rumours to hit the web are the current considerations of bringing Catwoman back to city of Gotham in the next Christopher Nolan’s production of the Big Bad Bat. The usual suspects that infuse me with that familiar bloodcurling sensation seem to be missing, and rumour is that Nolan is eager for someone more gothic, darker and mature, and he is considering Cher as Catwoman for his next production.

I’ve been a vocal proponent of simply ignoring existence of previous attempt by Pitof at Catwoman, featuring Halle Berry, and encouraging we “move on,” so to speak.

Allowing Catwoman to grace the silver screen yet again, is not only desired, but needed, as overwhelming amount of male-centered super-heroes have been gracing our screens during last few years, while their female counterparts are either entirely missing, or are supplemented by those damsels in distress cowering in darkness.

Let’s face it, we are in dire need of some female super-heroes. And they better bring them fast.

The choice of Cher seems an odd one at first, but then again, we need to consider the full impact of Heath Ledger’s cinematic performance as Joker. Until Nolan, there has been no depiction of a fantasy world so harsh, and strangely realistic, and populated with Oscar-deserving actors. Whoever inherits the task of being the Big Bad will be compared to now legendary Heath Ledger, which is why the choices of next villains must consist of ripened actors, expressive human beings, and not the usual eye-candy excuses we are “meant to enjoy” on screen.

Heath Ledger, Robert Downey Jr., Christian Bale, Edward Norton - these are some of the exceptional actors that have graced our screens in form of super-villains and super-heroes and not by accident. The act of turning comic-books to live-action performances has not only increased in popularity, but has also gained a sort of maturity in the eyes of its critics and audiences alike.

It no longer entertaining to make a super-hero fight, or fly, or have any extraordinary abilities. The amazing and unreal has been reproduced by computer-generated graphics many times over, and we are no longer satisfied by special effects alone. A semblance of a storyline with phoned-in performances by yesterdays soap-stars will just not do, because our tastes have matured. Now we want, and expect more.

This is why I am eager to think about the next Big Bad in Christopher Nolan’s films. And it is why we are to applaud the more unusual choices. In other words: Cher as Catwoman? That is interesting.

This image was uploaded with the post TIFF ‘08: *Control Alt Delete*, Mamoru Oshii’s *The Sky Crawlers*.

by Irma Arkus

Let’s explore TIFF /08 for some additional sparkly cinema gems that you may or may not want to check out when your home town turns into a crazy Hollywood celebrity stomping ground.

“Control Alt Delete” brings us back to the .com bubble days of 1999, when Lewis Henderson, an average geek and hardware junkie moves from loving his PC to “loving” his PC.

I recall a strange statistic regarding 15% of geeks who take that one step further when glancing at the sexy hardware, and start to “looove” their little machines.

Lewis Henderson of course begins with all that freely available pornography, however, after the breakup, he moves into a dark territory of hardware loving. What stars with the home hardware, quickly turns into a set of affairs with computers at work, and other people’s laptops. Ewwwww.

Also, Mamoru Oshii’s newest animated film, “The Sky Crawlers,” is premiering at TIFF. Hopefully, the rest of us will also get to see its release in the following few months.

This image was uploaded with the post Review: Eden Log.

by Irma Arkus

On the heels of an entire summer of blockbusters, there are few films worthy of attention, for their elegance as well as their small budgets.

One of these is Eden Log, a French science fiction film, shot, strangely enough, in English, which I am guessing, is an attempt to garner a greater audience for this modest production.

Directed by Franck Vestiel, Eden Log is a unique mix of mystery, adventure, and science-fiction. Curiously, it reads as a cinematic interpretation of your favorite game-play session such as System Shock II, or Quake.

The opening sequence is perhaps the most discouraging and flawed introduction of any film I have ever seen, as flickering lights, heavy breaths and heartbeats introduce a muddied survivor of an attack, Tolbiac. The flickering introduction is frustratingly lengthy, and possibly even dangerous to any epileptic in the audience. I urge you to resist walking away from it, as Tolbiac’s adventure quickly turns into a stylish and immersing adventure.

Tolbiac, played by Clovis Cornillac, has no memory of his identity or prior events. As he finds his way through levels of a mining operation , infested by mutations and security forces, the story of his surroundings is slowly pieced together revealing a curious plant, a society hungry for energy as well as the function and origin of mine labourers.

Eden Log is featured at TIFF 2008, and represents a welcome change of perspective from the current luke-warm US stabs at science fiction films, or for that matter, of those standardized UK low-budget dramas with a promise of a supernatural twist. Eden Log brings something new, a sense of aesthetic, or change in how we interpret games on to the large screen perhaps. Either way, it is a fascinating experience, worthy of your attention.

This image was uploaded with the post Prince of Persia, The Movie.