SciFifty

Life happens.

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 04:07:24 +0000

Sometimes life gets in the way of your blog. See you in San Diego.

Quote of the week - 2/3/09

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:15:49 +0000

Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito.
Yield not to adversity, but press on the more bravely.
-- Virgil

March 6, 2009

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:48:39 +0000

Mark your calender with a big yellow circle. March 6th is Watchmen Day. According to an article on the Number 1 Film Site Jan. 13th, and reported in the Hollywood Reporter three days later, an agreement has been reached between Warner Bros. and Fox.

The movie will be released with WB's vision with no editing or revisions. This is great news as it was beginning to look as if we might never see the film. I will be buying my tickets as soon as possible.

Quote of the week - 1/9/09

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:38:13 +0000

"One day I was able to get up, after gathering all my strength. I wanted to see myself in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. I had not see myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me, the look in his eyes as they stared into mine has never left me."

-- Elie Wiesel, Night

Mickey Rourke

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:20:45 +0000

The tag line for Rumble Fish is "The Motorcycle Boy's never coming back." Given the trajectory of the career of the actor who inhabited Motorcycle Boy, it sounds as though S.E. Hinton was into prophecy.

Born Philip Andre Rourke in 1956, Mick had an undistinguished career in high school opting for sports: baseball and boxing. He had great success as an amateur boxer but once venturing into the professional arena he had to quit after receiving serious facial and head wounds.

The beginning of his acting career was remarkable, including the aforementioned Rumble Fish and Diner in 1982, which netted him a nomination for a Golden Globe.

He was a case-book tough guy: tattoos, motorcycles and lots of trouble. He always followed his own muse, unfortunately his particular muse thought the road to success had many washouts and roadblocks, culminating in his receiving a Razzie nomination for worst actor for his role in Desperate Hours.

Mickey made some very strange career choices over the years, turning down some star-making roles. Conversly, he also had roles in some extraordinary films including Barfly, The Pope of Greenwich Village and Sin City. (Sin City 2 is currently in pre-production.)

And now The Motorcycle is back! His latest effort is in Darren Affronsky's The Wrestler, in which he plays the role of a broken-down former wrestler trying to reconnect with himself and his family. The film is receiving rave reviews and Mr. Rourke has already been nominated for best actor awards by The Golden Globes, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Screen Actors Guild and the buzz is looking good for an Oscar nom.

America loves the story of a has-been battling against all odds and reaching the top again, especially when the person involved really deserves it. Good luck Mr. Rourke.

Quote of the week - 12/24/08

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:10:21 +0000

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light,
From now on,
Our troubles will be out of sight."
-- Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin

The Day the Earth Went out with a Whimper

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:59:06 +0000

Well, I really was is no hurry to write this review of The Day the Earth Stood Still, because my mother always said that if you can't cay something good, don't say anything. Well that little homily held me at bay for a week and then the anger took over.

This remake, or whatever they want to call it, was an abomination. The movie was perfect for Keanu's acting style because it called for unemotioonal and laconic, and Keanu has those in spades. OK, so they omitted one of the most iconic tag lines in movie history, but then to turn Gort into a swarm of annoying super-bugs and the ending into a bore fest?? I actually got up and left before the credits.

When they remake Casablanca, I want the director to forget all about beautifull friendships, and have Rick Blaine and Captain Renault grab their surf boards and head off to catch a wave.

Christmas Day brings us The Spirit and the reviews are already bad on sites which should know.

The best hope in our chosen genre is The Watchman. There is a great new trailer on the web site, and I for one, can't wait for the movie.

Rewrites, remakes and Whoa!

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:29:48 +0000

I am one of those people who think it is almost impossible to make an accurate movie from a book. Witness everything Stephen King ever wrote, even with the classics you can almost count on a stray love interest or ambient amnesia cropping up. Peter Jackson broke all the rules and bad karma with his magnificent trilogy of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings".

Other source materials such as comics seem to fare better; what Christopher Nolan did with both Batman movies was genius. I personally enjoyed Constantine. Although it required the ability to pretend that it was new material, with fallen angels and a chain-smoking Keanu, how could you go wrong. Seriously though folks, Constantine would never quit the coffin nails.

Re-makes have the same curse on them, movie making is supposed to be a creative medium so go out there and create writers and directors. No one needs to see a word for word "re-imaging" of Psycho. In this one I was on the mothers side. Now comes the reason for this mini-rant, I like most people live in hope and die is despair.

I am at the moment, clutching in my hot little hand, tickets for the ten-thirty premiere showing of the new "The Day the Earth Stood Still" in IMAX. Be still my beating heart. Now, I understand this could be a total disaster, Klaatu could have amnesia, or the professor could run off with Maryann.This is where the "live in hope" part kicks in. The special effects look terrific and the cast is more than adequate.

The original "Day" is one of my all time favorite sci-fi movies, after I see it and the cd comes out, will I hide it behind Casablanca with Constantine or put it right out front with Blade runner? I will let you know on Sunday.

The BBC is Sorry; Barrowman Apologizes

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:15:37 +0000

The BBC has been having a spot of trouble lately with what is perceived as prurient content.

A few weeks ago Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross went way over the line on their show. They left lewd messages on the phone of 78 year old actor Andrew Sachs. A joke about bestiality caused a ruckus because it was aired in the family hour.

Now we have the case of John Barrowman "exposing" himself on BBC one. Just how do you "expose" yourself on the radio? I listened to the show in question last night. "Switch" with co-hosts Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw, presents itself as the place to go for whats new and exciting. The show was pleasant with little talk, unless a guest was present, and a variety of pop music.

Enter John Barrowman, and almost the first words spoken to him where "We understand you are famous for taking your willy out in public, is this going to happen today?" A more conservative show might have asked about his new single or Torchwood Series3... but when the opening salvo involves the word "willy," I don't think they were expecting anything else.

The studio was maned by adults who seemed to be having a great time. Mr. Barrowman is famous for his love of life and people and fun. Maybe it went a little too far, but he immediately apologized. Subject closed.

The BBC on the other hand gets one or two complaints and issues a public apology. Why? For not backing up their people, creating a tempest in a teapot, or now seeing smut lurking behind every joke?

I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Mr. Barrowman at Comic-Con in San Diego this year and watched him interact with hundreds of fans. He was pleasant, welcoming and charming to one and all, old and young, male and female.

He might still have a lot of the little boy still in his soul, but isn't that a gift from God?

Quote of the Week - 11/30/08

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:34:25 +0000

"'I have done that' says my memory, 'I cannot have done that' says my pride, and remains adamant. At last, memory yields." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

Quote of the week - 11/17/08

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:33:37 +0000

"All our work, our whole life, is a matter of semantics, because words are the tools with which we work, the material out of which laws are made, out of which the Constitution was written. Everything depends on our understanding of them."
-- Felix Frankfurter, Jurist

Catching up

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:39:46 +0000

Well, I finally have reached a point where I feel I can sit down and write something. I wrote that we were moving to Colorado, mission accomplished.

The physical facts of the move were somewhat daunting, two houses, one in Fla. the other Va. packed and shipped and arriving at the new house one on a Thursday, the next two days later on Saturday.

The furniture was a mere bagatelle, the unending horror was the procession of boxes, not one of which offered to unpack itself. It then becomes a game of unpack, stack and the constant unanswered question of, "what the hell did I bring this for??"

I will, in a few months, have to go through all the closets to discover where I shoved everything. It is amazing the things that can get lost in transit, I will ponder for a long time why a collection of teapots that I have been assembling for many years, the kind of thing that is added to by family and friends over the years, didn't make it here. Lost somewhere between there and here, but each and every piece of my sci-fo and movie paraphernalia is already on display.

While I was devoting my life to unpacking boxes, breaking down boxes, and piling the emptys in the garage which of course cant be used for parking my car, things on the Torchwood front are finally in motion.

Judging from the previews I have seen, the miniseries will open with a bang, of the pyrotechnical variety. Torchwood is under attack and the Hub has been blown up. Our stalwarts are on the run and if they wanted to get my attention, they did. There is a new blue meanie in the form of a very forceful woman clad in black.

Continued in this vein and the five days of mini-series will fly by. Also this week we learned that after next years four specials we will have a new Doctor Who. David Tennant has decided that four is enough he was and is great in the role, but half of the excitement of Doctor Who has always been the anticipation of what horrible circumstance has led up to the regeneration, and who will be on the other end of the smoke and mirrors.

More to come...

Quote of the week - 11/10/08

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:23:38 +0000

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -- Albert Einstein

Quote of the week - 10/30/08

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:30:06 +0000

"All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential."
-- Harvey Milk

Ricky Gervais is "Extra Special"

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:06:39 +0000

Ricky Gervais is a clown, and I say this in the ancient sense of Comedy/Tragedy. His blend encompasses fun, shame, sorrow, and all the aspects of human emotion in between.

His seminal show, "The Office" is quite a different animal to the version we see on this side of the Atlantic. We like a little pathos and some snarkiness, but have a hard time laughing at characters that are pathetic and/or reprehensible. The Steve Carell version is mostly very amusing, but I must admit to having adjustment issues. But one should not expect an import to travel verbatim and if it did, why bother watching?

Funnier than The Office (British version) is Extras. Here is the ongoing travails of an ambitious bit-player who aspires to actually say something on camera. Once that happens, his dreams and hopes know no bounds, leading him to terrible choices.

His sidekicks are played by Stephen Merchant {also his writing and directing partner] and Ashley Jensen. They are clueless and unbearably sad, respectively. Unlike other comedies where guest stars are brought in as stunts during sweeps week, the guests on Extras are an integral part of the story because of the show biz setting. Two of the stand-our guests are David Bowie and Daniel Radcliff.

If you haven’t yet caught up with Extras, run don't walk to your local video outlet where you can find both seasons one and two, plus the totally excellent series finale.