Category: Announcement

In 1972, NASA supposedly ended manned moon missions with Apollo 17, but one year later, a covert mission was set up by the Department of Defense for one more trip to the moon.  Chosen to make this mission were astronauts Nathan Walker, Ben Anderson and John Grey, all very enthusiastic to continue NASA’s work, but that enthusiasm fades as the real details of their mission slowly come to light.

That’s the opening premise to Apollo 18, the latest entry in the horror sub-genre of “found footage” movies, and personally, I thought this was a lot of fun, though from what I’m seeing so far, I’m a minority with that.

As I’ve stated in other reviews about films in this sub-genre (Paranormal Activity 2, TrollHunter), I’m a big fan of this type of film.  I like their sense of immediacy and urgency and I really like how they make you watch the little things that you might not normally pay much attention to.  Right from the start, Apollo 18 gives you a pretty logical explanation about why they have so many cameras at work and thanks to director Gonzalo López-Gallego’s attention to set detail, it all looks extremely authentic.

The only real gripe that I have about the film is that I think the effect of the technical deficiencies used in the “found” stock is a little bit over-used, but it’s a small gripe.  That effect is certainly overcome by the above-mentioned attention to detail, some pretty effective “jump scare” scenes and a very nice sense of dread that’s pretty much there right from the start of the film.  In addition, I thought the amplified use of ambient sound was a great touch in punctuating that sense of dread.

Apollo 18 is a short movie, but it’s effectively paced as a slow-burn tension builder.  The real discovery for the astronauts is shown in little glimpses which furthers the tension, and frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Showing too much would’ve shown more visible seams, so I think a right balance was found.

Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen and Ryan Robbins play our trio of astronauts and I think they’re all terrific.  Christie and Owen get the majority of the screen time as they’re the two astronauts (Walker and Anderson) who actually make the landing on the moon.  Robbins (as Grey) remains in the command craft, and at least offers some hope of salvation to his comrades.  No they don’t go into any real depth of character, they just hit things in the broadest of strokes, but that’s not the point of the movie.  They look and sound authentic and that certainly adds to the credibility of the situation.

I thought Apollo 18 was a lot of fun.  It’s very well made, it’s short enough that it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome and it’s setting and premise is a nice twist on the “found footage” sub-genre.  Of course, that sub-genre is what will be the bone of contention to many viewers.  For the detractors, this won’t offer enough; you won’t get an explanation of events, you won’t get obvious set pieces and you won’t get real depth of character simply due to the immediacy of the situation as it’s presented.  If you don’t care for this type of film, well, I seriously doubt my review will change anyone’s mind. I had a great time with it, and if you’re a fan of this type of film, I’d certainly recommend giving Apollo 18 a chance.

Charley Brewster is a teenager who seems to have things going on for him right now.  He’s got a very attractive girlfriend in Amy and he looks to be climbing the social strata at school.  He formerly saw himself as a classic geek, and he’s trying to put that image of himself behind him by not hanging out with his childhood buddies, Adam and “Evil” Ed Lee.  But, Adam has disappeared and now Ed is desperate to get back in touch with Charley because he believes that Adam was killed by a vampire and now that very vampire is moving in next door to Charley.

Fright Night is a re-make of a 1985 film of the same title.  The original is fondly remembered by those of us who saw it back in the day, thanks to skillful direction and a witty script from director/writer Tom Holland, along with some great visual effects for the time, and some engaging performances from Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys and Roddy McDowall.  This new version comes to us thanks to director Craig Gillespie, known for two past movies, Mr. Woodcock and Lars and the Real Girl and writer Marti Noxon, who’s best known for her work on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel television series, and I’m pleased to say, it’s a pretty entertaining film.

Gillespie and Noxon have managed to take the basic structure of the original film and the original character names and give us a few new twists to everything that makes it more palatable to a current audience.  Some of these changes include a change of background for our story’s location, a nicely thought-out background change for the vampire, Jerry and an entirely different set-up for Peter Vincent, the “professional” that Charley seeks out to aid him in killing Jerry.  This all makes for a pretty entertaining re-make that can certainly stand on it’s own, but doesn’t tarnish the original in the slightest.

Now it’s not all perfect, there’s a few plot holes and a little too much over-reliance on digital effects, but I was able to get past that thanks to the film’s quick pacing, the changes mentioned above and a very capable cast.

Anton Yelchin plays Charley and doesn’t quite start out being the same likable character that William Ragsdale was.  He’s quite a bit more self-absorbed, but that changes as events escalate. Imogen Poots plays Amy and she’s quite a bit more sophisticated than Amanda Bearse’s original starting off that might seem a little off-putting, but as things develop, so does her charm.  Toni Collette plays Charley’s mom, Jane, and it’s the least “showy” of all the parts here, but certainly serviceable and she looks terrific.

The real standouts though are Colin Farrell, David Tennant and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.  Farrell plays the role of Jerry and he really attacks the part, heightening the danger factor just a touch higher than what Chris Sarandon did in the original.  David Tennant plays Peter Vincent and of course Tenant is best known for his terrific version of the Doctor in Doctor Who. His Vincent is quite a different change from Roddy McDowall’s more genial version, being a much more self-absorbed and acerbic character, but still highly watchable and he just looks like he’s eating up the part.  I didn’t much care for Christopher Mintz-Plasse in Kick-Ass but really like what he did here as “Evil” Ed Lee.  It’s a completely different take than what Stephen Geoffreys did in the original film with Mintz-Plasse playing a total geek/nerd.  Now that in itself doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch, but his pain of falling from grace as Charley’s friend certainly does come through and he gets the chance to do some really “showy” stuff later in the film.  For fans of the original, there’s a really nice little bit of extra-casting mid-way through the movie, but I don’t want to spoil that here.

I saw this in 3D and compared to my recent viewings of Final Destination 5 and Conan The Barbarian this 3D is a little lackluster and actually falls flat in a few of the darker scenes, though it does have it’s moments thanks to a few scenes designed to have some “in your face” effects.  Now I don’t necessarily put the blame for less effective 3D viewing here at the filmmakers’ hands.  I saw this in a different theatre than the other two movies and this just didn’t seem to be projected as brightly as it could’ve been.  I certainly think could be a very real factor for a lot of disenchantment with 3D right now.  The 3D isn’t essential for your viewing of this film, though if your theatre projects it bright enough that could make all the difference.

I had a fun time with Fright Night.  It’s heart is certainly in the right place and it’s updating doesn’t do anything to tarnish the original film.  Even though there are a few plot holes, it doesn’t really suffer thanks to some nice pacing and a terrific cast, with stand-outs being Colin Farrell, David Tennant and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.  I’m a week behind with this review, just thanks to some unfortunate timing.  The thing is, I think it’s some unfortunate timing on the release of this as well as it doesn’t seem to be that embraced by audiences right now (though I’d certainly account that to the 3D “backlash” going on now as well).  Had this been released in mid-fall or early in 2012, it might’ve stood a better chance.  Regardless, Fright Night is a good time at the movies and certainly worth seeing.

A few employees of the Presage Paper Company are getting ready to hop on board a bus for a company retreat.  In short order, we’re given quick introductions to our key players, with the main focus being on a young man named Sam and his girlfriend, Molly.  Right before the trip is getting ready to start, Molly tells Sam that she’s leaving him and it’s primarily because Molly doesn’t think she can compete with Sam’s other main passion, which is cooking.  Sam is waffling about going to Paris for some specialized training and Molly just doesn’t think she has much to offer compared to that.  Still, they proceed on their trip.  The bus is midway across a crowded bridge and is stopped thanks to a construction project going on.  Then, epic disaster strikes, as the bridge begins to collapse with Sam and our cast meeting grisly ends until… Sam realizes that he’s just had a vision of something that’s about to happen.  He quickly gets his friends off the bus, even though they think he’s a little off his nut.  Disaster does strike, and Sam and his friends narrowly avoid the ends that he foresaw.

Welcome to Final Destination 5. For fans of this series (like me), this set-up is pretty much by the numbers and right in line with the previous films.  As these movies go, when people cheat death, death then finds a way of catching up and restoring it’s original intentions in some pretty inventive ways.  The Final Destination movies are definitely B-movie, exploitation thrill rides, and while there are varying degrees of satisfaction over the series, I still tend to think that they’re all a lot of fun for horror movie fans.  The biggest part of the fun being all of the Rube Goldberg-esque ways in which death does catch up to those that cheated it.

Like the fourth film in the series, The Final Destination, Final Destination 5 has been totally shot in 3D.  I thought the 3D in the fourth movie was terrific, so that was how I chose to see this one, and I’m certainly glad I did.  This is a spectacular use of the gimmick, even better than the fourth movie.  This excels with some truly eye-popping experiences, but it just doesn’t end there, the immersive depth of scenes are just as compelling and both effects are certainly shown off in tremendous form right at the start of the film.  Final Destination 5 is also being shown in 2D, and I can certainly understand if people chose to see it that way.  But, if you do, you’re cheating yourself of something that’s really a lot of fun.

While the 3D is the real star of Final Destination 5, it doesn’t stop there.  For fans of the series, you get a very nice twist of events at the very end, which I really can’t go into further without spoiling what happens.  Still, it’s a very nice way to further tie this in to the series, beyond it’s initial premise.

The previous films in the series were headed by either the team of Glen Morgan and James Wong (the first and third movies) or Snakes On A Plane director David Ellis (the second and fourth movies- back in theatres soon with another 3D exploitation film, Shark Night 3D).  Steven Quale, who was a second unit director on Avatar and a regular part of James Cameron’s team in other movies, takes on the reins with Final Destination 5 and I think he’s got a terrific eye for this stuff.  Beyond it’s 3D,  this is really well shot and paced.  I certainly look forward to what Quale does next.

Final Destination 5 won’t win any big awards for acting, but still it’s cast does a serviceable job.  Nicholas D’Agosto and Emma Bell play Sam and Molly and they’re certainly likable characters.  Miles Fisher is channelling Tom Cruise through his performance as Sam’s supervisor and friend, Peter, and again, it’s serviceable for the film.  The most recognizable faces are veteran character actor David Koechner, who plays the a-hole boss at Presage, Courtney B. Vance, who plays an agent who’s investigating the disaster, and Tony Todd, who reprises his role of coroner William Bludworth from the first three films in the series.

Final Destination 5 was just a lot of fun.  Still, I’d only recommend this if you’re a fan of the series.  I think if you’ve already got a bias against the series or just plain don’t like horror films, Final Destination 5 isn’t going to do anything to really change your mind.  But if you’re a fan, you’re in for a fun ride with a terrific twist ending, and a ride that I’d very much recommend seeing in 3D.

Dr. Will Rodman is developing a super-drug call ALZ-112 with the hopes of being able to cure Alzheimer’s Disease.  He’s driven by the fact that his father, Charles Rodman, a once brilliant man, is now suffering from the disease.  Will Rodman tests his drug on a chimpanzee that has been named Bright Eyes and the results are remarkable,  The chimp’s intellect and understanding have increased dramatically.  Steven Jacobs, the head of the company that Rodman works , GenSys, is convinced of the huge profit potential of the drug and wants Rodman to proceed further, with Rodman now suggesting that they move on to human tests.

As the drug is being presented to the executive board of GenSys, Bright Eyes starts to display very aggressive tendencies, eventually running amok through the company.  It’s believed that this was a dramatic side effect of ALZ-112, but in the aftermath and unbeknownst to Jacobs, Bright Eyes was protecting her offspring.  Jacobs has ordered that all of the apes who have been treated with ALZ-112 be put down, but Rodman manages to get the baby chimp out of the company.

The intelligence that Bright Eyes displayed has been passed to her son and now the chimp, who has been named Caesar, is secretly being raised by Rodman in his home…

That’s the opening premise to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Fox’s latest attempt to rebuild it’s classic franchise from the late 60s and the early 70s.  This film attempts to take aspects of Planet of the Apes, Escape From the Planet of the Apes and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and build a new cohesive whole.  I’ve heard some describe this as a prequel, when really it’s more of a re-imaging.  When the original Planet of the Apes first came out, the studios weren’t as pre-occupied with turning films into continuing franchises as they are now.  The huge success of the original movie took everyone by surprise and so long-turn plans weren’t even a part of it’s initial release.

Now, I’m a huge fan of the series.  I remember being 7 years old and being taken by my parents to see a drive-in theatre double feature of both Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes and just loving both films to death (even though at that age, I was scared to death by the unveiling of the mutants in Beneath)  I eagerly watched the entire series of movies when CBS showed them to epic ratings numbers back in the 70s. I watched the subsequent live-action and animated TV series.  I used to regularly draw comic books for some smaller publishers and one of my career highlights was getting to draw a Planet of the Apes mini-series for Malibu Graphics (Blood of the Apes) back in the early 90s, so believe when I say I was very much looking forward to this, but with some trepidation.  While I tend to like what director Tim Burton did with his remake of Planet of the Apes, I’ll also be the first to tell you that’s it’s nowhere in the same league as the original film (but then the whole series, looked back on with perspective, certainly has it’s highs and lows as well).

I’m pleased to say that I enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes way more than I ever anticipated, though it does have a couple of issues.  We’ll get into that shortly, but for the most part, I think that director Rupert Wyatt has done something very cool here and I hope that it gets the chance to bloom further.

After seeing the initial trailer to the movie, I was certainly intrigued enough to really want to see this.  Of course, what followed from that trailer was the outcry against the apes themselves being CGI creations, but I was certainly willing to give them their chance.  To me anyway, the CGI apes are the most successful part of the film, doing things that you just couldn’t do with live actors, but also being true to what the animals themselves can do, given the fact that these apes are all chemically enhanced.  Sequences with the apes in action are certainly obvious effects, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not enjoyable.  In fact, they’re a lot of fun, and one of the climactic scenes, with the apes in battle with police and the military across San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is very thrilling.

Wyatt’s movie is briskly edited and has an overall terrific look.  That brisk editing though also contributes to what I see as being the biggest issue of the film from a story perspective and that’s the passage of time in the early portions of the film.  After Caesar has been revealed to us, we’re shown a series of scenes that basically cover an 8-year period which is shown in the broadest of strokes.  Once three years have passed, we’re soon introduced to a new character, Caroline Aranha, a zoologist who treats Caesar after a certain incident.  Caroline quickly becomes a love interest for Will Rodman.  Five years pass and then Rodman reveals to both Caroline and Caesar, Caesar’s true origin.  Caroline thinks it’s just wrong, but that’s it.  She still stays with Rodman despite her statement and is basically there to just move this forward.  One can’t help but wonder how Rodman kept this from Caroline for five years and given her background, you’d think that she’d be seen as more than just a romantic interest.  It’s a blown opportunity, but not necessarily damning to the movie on the whole.  Instead of breezing through this period, a few more scenes could’ve been added to help make this an even fuller story, but then that probably was seen as detrimental to the film’s pace.  It’s not as bad as the use of the passage of time in something like The Adjustment Bureau which deals entirely with a relationship with two characters through a four-year period without any real advancement or change in character over that period.  Of course, the point of the passage of time in Rise is to get us into scenes with Caesar interacting with other apes more quickly, but I don’t think it would’ve hurt the film in the slightest to have played with this 8-year period a little bit more fully than what it does.

Another aspect that bothers me a bit is the one-dimensionality of the character of Jacobs, the head of GenSys.  With the exception of one scene, he’s played with just one note and that’s just to be singularly filled with greed.  Now again, I get that, I understand why it’s being done, but Rise could’ve played with it more and maybe attempted something further with him that might’ve made him a more interesting human parallel to a character like Dr. Zaius from the original film.

I’m willing to forgive this though due to other cool aspects of the movie.  Throughout, Wyatt and the screenwriters give us some cool easter eggs (beyond the name of Bright Eyes) for fans of the series.  They also do a reasonably good job of planting the seeds for what could potentially come down the road if this new series manages to go on.  As I said above, I was very much taken with the CGI apes in the film.  These scenes are often the best parts of the movie, but there’s more to it than just being in CGI, and I’ll get into that in a moment.

The human cast is headed by James Franco playing Will Rodman.  Now personally, I was really pulling for Franco to win an Oscar for 127 Hours, I thought it was one of last year’s single best performances.  Then, his hosting of The Oscars came along and he was considered one of the roots of that debacle.  Recently, Franco has had an interview with Playboy in which he answered many questions about that, and at the same time tried to cover himself from what he (in my opinion) was seeing could be a potential panning of Rise. Some of which he’s not necessarily wrong about and I describe that above.  He delivers a serviceable performance and is certainly a sympathetic character, even with consideration for what he’s unleashed by the film’s end, but at it’s core, Rise isn’t Franco’s movie…

… it’s Andy Serkis’ film.  Serkis plays Caesar and it’s (at least from what I gather) done very much in the same way as how Serkis played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies.  His performance combined with the CGI is absolutely magnetic and whenever Caesar is on screen, he takes command of the scene.  One of the scenes in the film that pays homage to a classic line from the original, is just as huge for Rise and it’s largely due to just how strong Serkis’ performance is. His Caesar is caring, cunning and vicious when needs be and it all is part of a fully realized character.  Serkis has certainly set the bar high with his previous performances in this fashion, and with Rise he raises the bar a little higher.

Freida Pinto plays Caroline and most will remember her from Slumdog Millionaire and while she’s certainly a beautiful woman, she doesn’t get that much to do here other than being “the girl” of the movie.  Again, if the passage of time had been better dealt with, she might’ve had more that she could’ve contributed, and she might have more if this continues down the road, but for Rise anyway, she’s simply a plot device and nothing more.  David Oyelowo plays Jacobs and certainly eats up the part.  I can’t really complain about what he does with the part, but as I said above, it’s a one-note character.  The cast is filled  with John Lithgow playing Will’s father, Charles and Brian Cox playing the head of a primate shelter.  Lithgow fares the better of the two, certainly getting more meat to chew on.

But really, it is Andy Serkis’ film.  Even with the problems that I have with the film, Serkis’ performance combined with the visual effects just make Rise of the Planet of the Apes a very engaging ride.  The seeds have certainly been planted to continue this beyond, and the suggestion is there that what could come next could be more in line with the original movie.  Part of me would really love to see that, but the other part really wants to see what happens in the almost immediate wake of the ending of Rise. There is huge potential in this franchise’s re-birth if given the chance, we’ll just have to see.

Hey Guys.  Check out the video.  Read the comments below.  The first comment will have an invite code for Shwaag.com.

Their current featured Schwaag item is an iPad!!!
I was skeptical too, but it does work, people do win!

more cat pictures

So, after making some changes over to the Back Seat Producers and extending the feed to pull more files into the feed than it had previously, I was reminded of a report I got from a fan that some of the old episodes weren’t downloading properly.

Specifically, these were the “On the Lot” episodes. Most of them had one problem or another that prevented them from being successfully downloaded.

After some trial and error, I have re-uploaded each of the offending files and fixed some of the links within the feed, so if you have tried unsuccessfully to pull these episodes down in the past and are really interested in listening, (Seriously, it was a reality TV show that lasted only one season, I won’t be offended if you skip them.) they are out there.

Thanks for your patience in this. And to make up for it, in just a few hours (tomorrow morning sometime, cause, dude, do you see what time this is posted?) our next episode will be released… early!

Thanks for those that pointed out the issues, and if you have any further problems with downloads, or problems downloading old episodes drop me a note.

A&E ORIGINAL TWO-NIGHT TELEVISION EVENT “THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN” PREMIERES MONDAY, MAY 26 AND TUESDAY, MAY 27 FROM 9-11 PM ET/PT

FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS RIDLEY AND TONY SCOTT

STARRING BENJAMIN BRATT, ERIC MCCORMACK, RICKY SCHRODER,
ANDRE BRAUGHER, CHRISTA MILLER, DANIEL DAE KIM & VIOLA DAVIS

NEW YORK, NY – April 1, 2008 –It’s a bad day to be human this Memorial Day when THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN infects the airwaves. The four-hour original A&E television event will premiere in High Definition on Monday, May 26 from 9-11 PM ET/PT and Tuesday, May 27 from 9-11 PM ET/PT.

Based on the best-selling novel from Michael Crichton, the miniseries stars Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, Ricky Schroder, Andre Braugher, Christa Miller, Daniel Dae Kim and Viola Davis.

In THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, a U.S. military satellite crashes in a small town and unleashes a deadly plague killing all but two survivors. As the military quarantines the area, a team of highly specialized scientists is assembled to find a cure to the pathogen code-named “Andromeda,” and a reporter investigates a government conspiracy only to discover what he is chasing wants him silenced.

THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN is produced by Scott Free Productions and Traveler’s Rest Films in association with Universal Pictures for A&E Network. Executive producers are Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and David W. Zucker for Scott Free and Tom Thayer for Traveler’s Rest Films. Mikael Salomon is director and co-executive producer and the screenplay is written by Robert Schenkkan.

About A&E Network

Now reaching more than 96 million homes, A&E Network offers a diverse mix of high quality entertainment; ranging from the network’s signature Real-Life Series franchise, including the hit series “Intervention,” “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” “The First 48” and “Criss Angel Mindfreak,” to critically acclaimed original movies, dramatic series and the most successful justice shows on cable. A&E is the official basic cable home to the high-profile series “The Sopranos” and “CSI: Miami.” The A&E Network website is located at www.aetv.com. The A&E Insider is located at www.aetv.com/insider. For more information and photography please visit us on the web at www.aetvpress.com.

Andromeda Strain Contest Details Here!

We did it before and we are doing it again.

Scott Sigler’s new print version of Infected gets released on April 1st, 2008. Over the next few days, his publisher has allowed him to give away copies of the PDF version of the book for free.

We are helping him do just that.

For more information on Scott and Infected, visit www.scottsigler.com

If you want share the file with friends, get them to download it from this page or from:

http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/infected/downloads/infected_novel.pdf

By getting the file from that link, it’s proving to the big publishers that we podcasters have a clue about what we are doing.

This file will only be active for a few days, at which time the link will become inactive and you’ll have to go to the bookstore to read the story. Which you should do anyway.

(Note:  If you didn’t get the file, you missed out.  Now get your ass out there and pick up a copy of INFECTED!)