Hi-Sci-Fi

This image was uploaded with the post Iron Man 2: Whiplash.

This image was uploaded with the post Iron Man2: Whiplash.

Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in Iron Man 2 has been unveiled, so to speak. Feast your eyes on this red menace.

note to self: must buy whips.

This image was uploaded with the post Drag Me To Hell: Sam Raimi Is Brilliant.

by Irma Arkus

So, I wasn’t crazy about the last Spiderman installment. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but after the agony of listening over and over again about the sophisticated technology used to create sand: wet sand, dry sand, drippy sand, moving sand, sand that looks like giant Sandman; I was quite frankly fed up.

But there is always a place for Raimi in my heart. The dude was responsible for both Xena and Evil Dead. Nuff said?

The latest Raimi’s release is “Drag Me to Hell” and it is a brilliant, rich, effective, smart, yet charmingly old-fashioned horror film.

The lackluster roster of teen horror drama has been empty, hollow, mediocre, repetitive and also, boring. But Raimi successfuly infuses his film with old fashioned story-telling and comes up with something that will keep you stuck to your seat.

Infused with comic genious, and chills of terror, Drag Me To Hell seems to have just about everything that makes a good film. Raimi crafts a fabulous story with Alison Lohman in the lead, as a bank employee whose only hope to climb the management hierarchy is to piss all over every human, moral fibre she has. In order to get the promotion, as it’s either her, or the new guy who can be only described as “dumb as a pile of bricks” yet ruthless, Alison decides to deny funds to an elderly lady. The lady in question isn’t exactly what she seems, and what could be an ordinary exchange of mutual “go-to-hells” yells, turns out to be far more serious.

The old bat is actually, you’ll love this, a gypsy. A witch. A witch with powers and abilities to produce actual curses. And so she does.

Alison experiences such terrifying horrors that it will make you truly take pause. After the pause, you will wish these upon all the guys on Wall Street. (I know. We’re so financially aggravated lately!)

Blood-curdling terrors. That’s the phrase describing Alison’s fight to stay in this place, rather than experience actual hell.

Funny, yes. But also very cool. The movie delivers, despite its PG-13 rating, a great deal of fun and horror, and successfully so.

This image was uploaded with the post Total Recall: Da Remake.

This image was uploaded with the post ReMaKE: Short Circuit.

by Irma Arkus

I had to pinch myself, and you will probably not believe it either, but Short Circuit, the story of Johnny 5, a self-aware robot who gains consciounsness and an endearing personality due to an accidental electrocution, is going to be remade.

Yup. JOHNNY 5 will be remade. Remade. Remade. Remade.

While the remake was something that the studios have been toying with since 2008, Dan Milano, known for his regular contribution to Robot Chicken, is tapped for writing the screenplay, according to Hollywood Reporter.

So, there you have it.

Since we are hurtling towards destruction of our planet, seemingly doing nothing but either suffering pangs of hunger (if you live in South Asia) or writing our blogs (yours truly), we have nothing better to do than ruin everything that made our childhoods pleasant, hence, the remakes of your favorite action/sci-fi films.

Total Recall is being remade, and according to the Hollywood Reporter, none other than Kurt Wimmer is given the task to write the script for the reimagining of the instant classic that made Arnold Schwarzenegger’s guttural noises immortal.

Total Recall is based on Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” novelette, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1966). The protagonist is Douglas Quail, a simple construction worker who wishes for a vacation to Mars, but unable to afford the real thing, ventures to Rekal, a corporation specializing in implanting false memories. During the procedure, Rekal staff discovers that Quail is a real spy, who had his memories altered.

Now, Kurt Wimmer is to do justice to Philip K. Dick’s novelette, which should be relatively interesting, as the 1990 version of the film had a staff of some four writers who worked out details such as the three-boobed lady.

Wimmer is known for his work on The Thomas Crown Affair, Equilibrium, Ultraviolet and Street Kings, which exemplify him as a screenwriter who is versatile and can attack variety of genres.

All in all, I would not be entirely certain why Paul Verhoeven’s film of the 90’s is already prime remake property, if not for the fact that I am keenly aware of the “nostalgia” factor. Studios love this stuff. Because they can sell it to us over and over again and we are hitting our mid 20ties, even 30ties.

Maybe this time however, we’ll actually get something to rival the science fiction classics such as Blade Runner, rather than having another bad revision of Philip K. Dick storytelling, as was the case of Next, featuring Nicholas Cage.

Now as for the boobies….

This image was uploaded with the post Thor: Can’t Believe It’s That Guy.

This image was uploaded with the post Thor: Can’t Believe It’s That Guy.

When we announced that film version of popular comic, Thor, is about to enter production, I was deliriously happy. Thor was one of my favorites, simply because he was a deity who hung around superheroes. And he was handsome, blond, tall and Scandinavian, all of which I find to be relative qualities of hotness.

Kenneth Branagh, the man who did so much Shakespeare that he was easily confused with Henry this and that for decades, will be directing.

Now, the casting has begun, and I am slightly taken aback by the choice of actor who will portray Thor himself: Chris Hemsworth has been confirmed as the lead for the film.

You may remember him as the jowly, all American, beefy dad of Captain Kirk in the new Abrams version of Star Trek. As in, not wildly Scandianvian, but merely blond and muscular, as if imported straight from a McDonalds or Manwich commercial.

I am thoroughly disappointed. And the filming hasn’t begun yet.

When I say Scandinavian, I mean Dolph Lundgren, or members of the Europe doing the Final Countdown. I do not, I repeat, not expect someone like Chris Hemsworth to come along for the ride.

My hopes that the film will dip into other than all-American social pools for casting have diminished greatly.

Release date for Thor has been set for May 20, 2011.

This image was uploaded with the post Wolverine.

by Irma Arkus

Reviews are showering the newly released Wolverine with some kind words, and announced already is a planned sequel to adventures of the fab mankitten (is it me, or have we been cat-obsessed lately?).

Wolverine is a popular X-Men character who had a comic book series of its own, simply because the healing powers, cool hair and retractable claws ooozed with cool. Most fans however, had very little knowledge of Wolverine’s past and origins, and even though fans of X-Men feel slightly cheated, as the X-Men movies featured Wolverine prominently and were partially focused on his past, the film was meant to elaborate in-depth on the humble origins of one of world’s best known comic book characters.

The major focal point of the film is Wolverine’s tie to Sabretooth, and the evolution of their complicated relationship.

While the film boasts the meager PG-13 rating (*yawn* “Has anyone seen Will Smith?!”) the screenplay did treat the film subject in a mediocre yet acceptable fashion. Oh, sure, this is no Dark Knight, but it does provide for a well-designed superhero experience, once again confirming that the comic book film franchises have matured to an acceptable, if slightly predictable, level of filmmaking. Best of all, Wolverine made up for the lackluster X-Men film finale.

As a fan of X-Men, my ire had no bounds. The last film in the X-Men franchise left me cold, and disinterested, but watching the mankitty do his thing on the silver screen, made up for that initial waste of time.

The comic book superheroes have all grown up. Now we just have to muster enjoying their on-screen feuds. With pleasure, I say.

This image was uploaded with the post Spock and Spock.

Image via Getty.

This image was uploaded with the post Sam Rockwell’s “Moon” Is The Film to Watch Out For.

by Irma Arkus

Despite the fact that sci-fi offerings seem relatively prodigious this year, comparatively to that of previous few, I have been left relatively unsatisfied in my anticipation.

Worst of all, with my brain scalded numerous times with misleading coolness (read = lies, all lies) of trailers, touting the film to somehow be THE last film we will need to watch, I have been progressively staying clear of their beauty, preferring instead to watch them first, and then declare my delight.

Many of you have appreciated this fact over the years. But this year, there is a film that has actually captured my attention. And it isn’t just me - the Internets are abuzz with new Sam Rockwell film, “Moon.”

“Moon” is promising to both tickle the brain and the eyes, as Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an employee working the moon-mines for solid, lonely, three years.

He talks to his family, recalling memories of the happier, less solitary days. His contract is about to end, when strange events occur. In fact, the trailer shamelessly shows a second Sam Bell appearing in the base. And a wiley computer, convincing Sam that he is the sole, and only person on board the base.

The lick is two-fold. On the one hand, visually, the film possess the kind of beauty that we expect from Tarkovsky or Kubrick. The sets clearly imitate the “2001: A Space Odyssey,” an homage to the great visual aspects of the film that has captivated us for decades.

On the other hand, the original story penned by Duncan Jones, whose credits are far shorter than this blog, allows for some speculation - mainly that Jones is mixing his science and fiction rather well, by introducing good corporate schemes, cloning, and psychological warfare against the employee, Sam.

Even if I am entirely correct, the film, also directed by Duncan Jones, is still promising to bring a hard sci-fi story to the silver screens. One that we have not seen probably since “Solaris.” Looking forward to it.

See trailer here.

This image was uploaded with the post 2001 Space Odyssey: Kubrick Behind The Lens.

by Irma Arkus

Life’s release of its archive photos has thus far proven to be a work of genious. The one that is worth stumbling onto is the latest 15 images of Stanley Kubrick’s behind-the-scenes of “2001: Space Odyssey.” Me thinks of getting this one in a larger size.

Check it out here.