Hi-Sci-Fi

This image was uploaded with the post Fighting Avatar With 3D .

by Irma ARkus

It is obvious that 3D technology has captured the imaginations of many theatre viewers. But recent announcements indicate that the success of Avatar in 3D is about to quickly translate to numerous productions offering their films in the three-dimensional format.

From the ticket sales viewpoint, selling $15 dollar tickets instead of $12 tickets may be enough of a differential to gain an edge in the market and introduce something novel to the audiences.

Avatar’s ticket-box success also translates to lower, or inconsequential rates of piracy, as most flock to see Avatar in 3D rather than in conventional 2D mode.

But latest announcements, such as the recent question on IMDB “Right at this moment, Warner Bros. is considering whether to release the upcoming Clash of the Titans remake in 3D; do you think they should do so?” implies that many films are not offering the same kind of experience that James Cameron has provided for his fans.

Or for that matter, what does releasing a film in 3D mean anyways?

For one, Cameron invested in CG that would make the use of the technology highly sophisticated and realistic, resulting in some remarkable after-effects, including recently reported creation of false memories, and in some cases even depression on the part of the viewers who suffer after the realization that the world of Pandora is but a fantasy.

In a thorough examination of Avatar’s production, Cameron admits to millions of dollars spent in preparation specifically for this
unique, and novel format.

In an interview with Popular Mechanics, for example, Cameron admits to delaying the release of the film, awaiting for more theaters to install 3D equipment. Moreover, Vince Pace and James Cameron experimented with 3D relatively recently when capturing “Ghosts of Abyss” in 2003, and their experimentation with the format led to a creation of a specialty High-Definition 3D camera system, that allowed for multiple cameras to be fused 2 1/2” apart in order to create an image that would be captured by our two eyes.

The very definition of a 3D movie is “a motion picture that provides the illusion of depth perception. Derived from stereoscopic photography, a special motion picture camera is used to record the images as seen from two perspectives” [wikipedia: 3D films].

In Avatar’s case, the 2D releases of the film would simply eliminate the second “eye,” but that begs the question: are all films shot in 3D technology and we simply never get to see them?

This image was uploaded with the post Avatar Threatening to End All Movies.

by Irma Arkus

“We all knew that James Cameron, is a Canadian, and a total jerk, threatening the film industry,” explains a concerned 36-year old executive, James Smith. What Smith is referring to is the latest concern of major film studios: “Theaters play all kinds of films. The Tooth Fairy, Legion, Extraordinary Measures, Alving and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, and my favorite, The Book of Eli, a film about a supernatural bible that kicks the asses of all unbelievers. But all people wanna watch is Avatar!”

The treatment of these mediocre productions by the public, executives say, is unfair. And they see Cameron as a major threat to the film industry overall.

“We thought we had an agreement,” says Roger Browne, a major film investor. “We made concerted efforts to make Avatar dumb, and resemble Dancing with the Wolves as much as possible. But the public is just eating it up.”

The executives and the investors agree that Cameron’s Avatar is something that should never happen again, as it represents a security threat to the entire film industry. Rumours are, the film industry has gone as far as Pentagon to ask for assistance: “We are talking with some very important and powerful people. More powerful than Spielberg.”

First “real” look at the A-Team film remake.

by Irma Arkus

It was hard compiling the list of what we loved and didn’t this year. First I tried the top 10 list. 10 of what? Quite honestly, when I realized that I didn’t even love 10 films this year, I gave up and decided to just list off what I loved, hated, enjoyed…

So this is our 2009 list.

MOVIES WE LOVED

This year marks a new chapter in sci-fi cinematography. One in which Duncan Jones and Neil Blomkamp successfully carved out a place for science fiction in theaters, something that came from a left field, and left us truly excited.

Moon (2009) has been a great film to watch. Smart, dramatic, inspired by classic science fiction films such as Odyssey 2000, Moon manages to propel hard science fiction elements and tell a human story of Sam Bell, a mining worker stuck with a solitary 3-year contract on our moon. After an accident, Sam finds out that neither the corporation he works for nor himself may be what he initially assumed.

Fans of the film were so rabid in their support that they actively pursued Oscar noms from audiences in form of general pestering and petitions. Sam Rockwell’s performance can be only admired and the film does seem to have gained an Oscar push.

District 9 (2009) has been a smart action film with bold political overtones. Delivered by Neil Blomkamp, the film takes us to a parallel world in which aliens live in South African apartheid conditions. Stranded on earth, the alien species struggles with corporate and political interests. Wikus, a mid-level bureaucrat becomes affected by a compound that transforms him into an alien, having to fight for his own survival. A must-see, the film has done remarkably well in theatres, ensuring that Blomkamp’s next project will receive millions of audience members.

9 (2009)
The animated feature by Starz Animation has been received relatively well, but not spectacularly so. The feature does deserve your attention though, if for nothing else then for the endearing character of 9, a humanoid creation that fights for a new vision of the world devastated by environmental hazards.

More successful than Terminator Salvation, 9 depicts the post-apocalyptic world with a tangible, emotional story, of a devastated world in which this new creation is grasping for a life beyond war.

Yesterday Was A Lie (2009)
James Kerwin’s project that introduces a smart mix of genres bringing us a thinking sci-fi noir. Quantum physics meets film noir, the film oozes with beautiful characters and female lead Hoyle, who delivers us a non-linear storyline and fantastic performances by Kipleigh Brown and Chase Masterson.

This independently produced gem was struggling to find its feet, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you get a copy, stat.

I also suggest you keep an eye on Kerwin and this bunch. They mean trouble, and many exciting sci-fi projects are in planning stages.

Avatar (2009)
Cameron’s baby has been touted to have such magical powers that it will literally change the world as we know it. That may have been an overstatement, as the screenplay written by Cameron revealed a more of a Lucas-angle than we ever thought possible. But the technology and the animation are so amazing that the film is worth viewing, even if you hate the smurfs.

Watchmen (2009)
When Zach Snyder announced that he’ll attempt to cramp the entirety of Watchmen into a single feature, we knew that many, many would be leaving the theatres unhappy, no matter how brilliant the film would be. And truly, the film has left a lot of anguish and disappointment amongst fans, but at the same time, Snyder’s filmmaking abilities are undeniable and Watchmen, for what it is, gets to the heart of Moore’s story: if superheroes would exist, ours would be a sad world, full of fascism. Then again, we may be getting there anyways. Watch the Watchmen.

Pandorum (2009)
While reviled for its nudge towards horror, this sci-fi film does offer an intersting storyline, good acting and plenty of boohs. Resemblance to Event Horizon is touted to be accidental, yet it is inescapable to compare the two. Still, it has been a while since we’ve seen such a stylish Event Horizon.

Coraline (2009)
I secretly (alright, maybe it’s not such a big secret) believe that all Neil Gaiman books should be made into films. Coraline is just such an example of story of a girl who walks off into a better, more attentive universe, one in which mom and dad are quite a lot of fun. The downside is they are a little bit different, sporting buttons for eyes. Not all that starts well, ends well, learns little Coraline who must fight the dark forces to retain her lovely peepers.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Lovely interpretation of what I hope will rise into a franchise of fun, X-Men based films, Wolverine’s story includes, and successfully so, some major X-Men characters that most have been hankering after - Gambit, Deadpool and more. I refuse to wax poetics about Wolverine, considering that it is an exploitation of well true, tried techniques, and that it is based on a rather extensive comic book line. But for what it is, it is good.

Land of the Lost (2009)
What’s a Will Ferrell movie doing on my list? Well, you should watch this then. Not only is this most loosely-based film on popular Jules Verne story, but it contains a great deal to glamor sci-fi of the 60s and 70s. Ferrell plays a professor who…oh, what does it matter…he is a great, fluffy scientician, and they end up fighting off dinosaurs as well as the Sleestack race intent on conquering the universe and time as we know it. Also stars the most excellent Danny McBride. I laughed a lot.

Zombieland (2009)
This film taps into the recent trend of combining comedy with horror, and does very well as such. Gun-toting Woody Harrelson meets a survivalist Jesse Eisenberg, who gives us his list of techniques on how to survive a zombie-ridden world. But Eisenberg is also going through adolescent growing pains, and the list must be forsaken if he is to fight for his new love. It’s about friendship, twinkies, and most importantly, Bill Murray.

MOVIES WE HATED

Star Trek (2009)
I get it. It was a fun romp. An adventure through the stars. Like watching the old faces but new and young. And I still hated it. Why? Because somewhere down the line, I was cheering for Nero. Replacing decades of Star Trek morality tales that made fans look to a better, fairer future, was replaced by something akin to popcorn action in which the good guys are actually not that good. I already live in a world like that thank you very much, and I don’t need you to rub it in.

In other words, go Nero!

The Surrogates (2009)
We have been thirsting for a film that would combine action and science fiction. We watched District 9 and it was good. The Surrogates on the other hand, did very little of that, settling for an execution of a mediocre, Hollywood-polished production telling a tale of a world occupied by avatars, except with very little action, and even less story. We wanted to see Bruce Willis suffer, and instead, we just got to see him walking around. Dull.

Gamer (2009)
This horrible attempt at giving us a world full of people, poor or convicted used as avatars for play of the rich and…rich, is actually one film that left me on the sidelines. The reason why I hated it is not the lack of action, which it has plenty of, or acting, that too is fine, but for this crude depiction of…yes, gamers. It crossed a line by insulting and caricaturing its very own audience. Still, I would catch it on DVD.

Knowing (2009)
While the cinematography of Knowing is surprisingly good, this Nicholas Cage film is one film I loved to hate this year. Heavy Christian overtones are threwn around the film in which a time capsule reveals the date of the end of the world. Cage, a single father, realizes that his son is “chosen.” In other words, we get to see the Rapture with a sci-fi twist.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
We already got to see this version of Romeo and Juliet as the story of doomed lovers is glimpsed by the viewers in the previous, second film in the Underworld franchise. Why for the life of me this deserved a full feature, I don’t know. The film isn’t any worse or better than its predecessors, and it does make for a light piece of entertainment, but I cringed at the thought that the makers of the popular vampire-action films could not dedicate their time to a new story that would actually capture our attention, rather than just retell what they already successfully did in the previous film.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
Instead of cheeky characters, bad lines, and a guy with a funny Cobra head, we got this sleek, fast, heartless monstrosity, aimed only at 13 year-old-boys who have an hour to spare. G.I. Joe was supposed to appeal to our inner nostalgia, and instead it just ended up disappointing multiple generations. Do not, under any circumstance, bother wasting your eyes on this.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
I think that Michael Bay is a very, very ill man, who has some kind of hyper-HDD condition. He lack the ability to focus so very much that he created two full hours of non-stop commercial in which cars transform, die, and rise again. Unless you are on drugs, or watch this in tiny, 5-minute incremental snippets, you will suffer the consequences of the atrocity that is the sequel to Transformers. Watching is like having your brain on fire with stupidity.

This image was uploaded with the post Damn Nation Going to Silver Screen.

by Irma Arkus

Paramount has hired Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz, better known for their work on Thor, to work on the adaptation of Damn Nation for the silver screen.

Damn Nation is a Dark Horse comic book mini-series, a trilogy written by Andrew Cosby, on the subject of a vampire-creating disease outbreak. A combo between zombies and vampires. US is attacked by creatures of the night to such an extent that most population has been entirely evacuated.

A la Omega Man, but with a lot more fangs. In fact, now that I think about it, Damn Nation may be more Richard Matheson than “I Am Legend.”

Once the infection takes place on a large scale, a group of scientists returns to US, trying to find a cure. And you know what happens then.

This image was uploaded with the post The Usual Suspects: Special Effects Academy Award Nominees.

by Irma Arkus

Oh sure, District 9 may not be in the running for the best film this year, but it sure is named in the special effects category, where all the sci-fi productions go to die.

The special effects Academy Awards have always held a dear, warm spot in my heart, because this would be the only category where my favorite films would somehow end up.

Consider this: the critically beloved, and endlessly mysterious Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” won the special effects award in 1968. It may have been nominated for the best director, art direction and set design, and even best screenplay, but it ONLY won the special effects Oscar. Years later, we are still toiling in academia, writing endless papers on what Kubrick attempted to show, and what Arthur C. Clarke meant to write.

So, this year’s nominees are a parade of pride and shame, as ever before, and here are this year’s “suspects:”

- Angels & Demons
- Avatar
- Coraline
- Disney’s A Christmas Carol
- District 9
- G-Force
- G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Sherlock Holmes
- Star Trek
- Terminator Salvation
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- 2012
- Watchmen
- Where the Wild Things Are

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by Irma Arkus

I haven’t doubted the fact that James Cameron can and will produce a smashing hit with Avatar. What I did not know is how unanimously pronounced the critical support is for the new film, and across the board too.

Reading Roger Ebert’s review, Cameron has spent his $300m “wisely” and delivered “an extraordinary film.” More importantly, the combination of technology, new species, language, and likeable heroes is what Ebert acknowledges as an “Event,” and with a capital ‘E.’]

And Ebert is only the beginning of a long line-up of praises for a film that LA Times touts as a serious Oscar contender. While it makes a deadly mistake in failing to draw a distinction between fantasy and sci-fi genres, it does question the draw for Academy Awards, asking whether this one will break the mold.
The Hollywood Reporter called it a “jaw-dropping wonder” and even Simon Pegg tweeted “an extraordinary piece of cinema.”

So there. Now we all have to watch it.

Speculations fly on what Cameron will do post-Avatar, and rumours are that Shane Salerno, the very same man who hasn’t updated his imdb photo since the 1980s, the one responsible for the AVP2 film production, has a science fiction script that Cameron will immediately start working on.

Could this be the “Doomsday Protocol” announced in pre-production on Salerno’s work page?

Right now, Doomsday Protocol is described by SciFi cool, as a whiff of the Seven Samurai in Space, but the summary of the film is maintained as “a group of humans and aliens with unique abilities who are brought together to save Earth,” which at this point could mean anything.

While Salerno is touted as a big blockbuster gift to humanity, in terms of writing, his recent films were less than successful. Not that I am pointing any fingers, but Shaft, AVP 1, and Armageddon do not inspire me with a great deal of confidence, no matter what his grandiose wiki entry may say.

Fantastic Mr. Fox offers not only an imaginative, new animation style, but superb hat and excellent writing. And it is in theaters…now!

This image was uploaded with the post Avatar’s Poster .

James Cameron’s final poster for Avatar has been released, and let’s just say it bears no surprises, yet pree-tee

This image was uploaded with the post Petition For Sam Rockwell’s Performance in Moon: Audiences Demand Oscar Nom .

by Irma Arkus

One of the strangest and most delightful petitions to come up as of latest is that of Moon fans. The film, a directorial first by Duncan (Zoowey) Jones, has been one of the best received films this year. Along with District 9, Blomkamp and Jones are touted to have revitalized the almost always denigrated genre.

Sam Rockwell’s performance in Moon can only be called masterful and poignant and if you haven’t seen the film yet, I highly urge you to do so.

Meanwhile fans have coalesced around the idea that Rockwell should receive the Oscar nom this year, organizing a petition:

http://samrockwelloscar.org

by Irma Arkus

One of the biggest, and yet, strangely uncelebrated production jumps from video games to the silver screens, is Prince of Persia.

The uber-successful franchise of video games that started during the era of Commodore 64, has transitioned nicely onto contemporary consoles. Prince of Persia is one of those games that had enough magic, substance and anxiety to keep generations of gamers interested.

Now, the film version of the game is coming out, with Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince Dastan, and he is joined by Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, and Gemma Arterton.

This image was uploaded with the post The Romans and The Greeks Are Back!.

by Irma Arkus

The Greeks (and Romans, countrymen) are back! For one, while not sci-fi related, but a definite personal favorite, “Rome” the series, is finally approved for a film treatment. I did a little dance around the living room, celebrating the return of Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo. Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of the buddy-cop comedies, but when you turn them into raucus Greco-Roman stories, it seems I can’t get enough of them!

This also bodes well for Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson who, by all accounts, should have experienced a kind of stardom after the wrap-up of the series.

Stevenson did a fantastic job as “The Punisher” and is generally an actor that I am eager to see more of. But watching “Outpost,” a zombie-nazi-sci-fi action thriller, was one of the longest and most painful experiences of my life. And “Babylon Fields,” a pilot for another, more intriguing television show about zombies, was excellent, but never took off.

McKidd similarly had his try at “Journeyman,” a soft-drama with a supernatural, time-travelling twists, that ended with a whimper after a season.

But that is only the begining of the Greco-Roman revival.

The legendary “Clash of the Titans” (1981) is revived with a remake. Perseus has to save the love of his life, Andromeda. In the midst of this “Operation Save Andromeda,” Zeus of course, interferes continuously, forcing Perseus to face numerous challenges.

Sam Worthington, newly minted from his success as the nicer, heartfelt Terminator, in “Terminator: Salvation,” and “Avatar” is starring as Perseus. The film is overloaded with familiar faces and special effects, a kind of “2012” with a Greek myth edge, including Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Mads Mikkelsen, and Jason Flemyng.

And then, surprisingly, there is “Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.”

The film is obviously aimed at family adventure crowd, and even I tend to watch an occasional stab at the genre, even if it has been Nicholas Cage-d as of lately.

Kevin McKidd is starring as the angry Poseidon. Percy Jackson is Logan Lerman, a fresh faced, pretty teen who will assuredly be the next big thing that most of us will never understand or care about, and there are also Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan and Sean Bean.

So there we are. Lots of deities, Greek gods, angry Romans, and an occassional appearance by Zeus and Poseidon.