If you are a fan of non-sparkly vampires then this one may be for you. It features Welsh actor Luke Evans, as Dracula and Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) as a very Nosferatu-esque elder vampire. Strikes me as a meshing of the Romanian nationalist version of the tale with a mixture of Stoker’s Dracula. Out in October apparently.
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I don’t care for the fanfare surrounding American politics, the song and dance goes on for far too long. I am interested in the end result – being that it has such an effect internationally.
I am also more liberal and favour the democrats at least in theory. So when you get one of my fave directors, making a campaign add spoof (it is a spoof right?) taking the mickey out of the Republicans with an added dash of pop culture reference, I just had to share this with you.
A very clever and that incorporates the pop culture Zombie ccraze and a very simple health message. Enjoy.
H/T @Cacotopos
The folks from Honest trailers have done it again. Now if you have had the misfortune of watching Prometheus, none of this will be new.
I think this trailer does a damn good job of highlighting the plot holes big enough to fly a spaceship through.
Not sure if taking the piss out of actors names works though.
I can’t quite believe that I know the director of this film1. Congratulations to Paul Seetachitt for getting all famous and directing his first feature film.
You might recognise some famous faces like Felicia Day, Jason Mewes (Jay from Jay and Silent Bob), Robert Picardo (Star Trek) and Doug Jones (Abe from Hellboy)
Checkout the official website here.
1. Paul and I used to train together in Tae Kwon do during his previous job as [redacted]
So I am reading Total Recall, the movie tie-in collection of Phillip K Dick’s short stories. Included in that volume is the story that gave birth to that cheesy 90’s film Total Recall staring Mr Scwartznegger.
In case you haven’t seen it in a while:
I watched it recently and it’s aged quite a bit, the cinematography and the special effects. But I have a soft spot for Arnie.
I had never read the short story that inspired this movie. It was, after all published in 1966.
It was interesting reading- a weird mix of futuristic ideas that don’t seem out too out of place in current sci-fi, some sexual objectification masquerading as edgy futuristic sexual freedom, and some downright funny juxtapositions like typewriters and handwritten cheques in a business that is manipulating/implanting memories and a world in which travel to Mars is regular.
Mind you we went to the moon in 1969 in a glorified tin can so…
We can remember it for you wholesale was nominated for a Nebula, but I find it a fairly ordinary piece of writing stylistically and the ending, well …hokey/trite ?
This year sees the release of a redux of Total Recall, which I suspect might be closer to the original story in its execution. I haven’t seen it but Grant and Sonya at Bad Film diaries have and they offer a review here.
Out of the 1990’s version and the short story I still favour the Austrian juggernaut.
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…and didn’t tell me?
Have you ever watched a trailer and thought, “Hey cool movie. I’ll go see that” only to walk out of the cinema scratching your head and thinking WTF? Or perhaps feeling duped into handing over hard earned cash for a convoluted mish-mash or discordant ideas *cough* Prometheus *cough*. Well take a gander at these Honest Trailers.
Hat tip to Tansy for the first of these:
The Hunger Games
Twilight
The Phantom Menace
I had heard the name, but not made any connection to Speculative Fiction (the problem for writers of the future is not getting published it’s getting noticed). No it took a movie trailer to clue me in.
The film looks gorgeous and features a stellar cast. Cloud Atlas is directed the Wachowski’s of Matrix fame and, Tom Tykwer. It’s been adapted from David Mitchell’s multi award winning science fiction novel of the same name.
Have a gander:
I am not sure if it will hit my taste buds. It has an underlying, stripped down, nebulous, buddhist-lite feel to it. Where the audience will nod their head and go “it’s like Karma man".
But its genesis is in a good sci-fi novel so we’ll see.
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Maeve Binchy passed away on the 31st of July. Which was around the time Mrs Bookonaut picked up Circle of Friends. We had both enjoyed the movie years ago and listening to Mrs Bookonaut read some choice lines out loud, I came to appreciate her style.
Here’s Maeve on those Writing Secrets
H/t Jonathan Gunson
It’s nearly time again for more Pond, Dr Who and my favourite - River Song
H/t to @cityoftongues
It’s with some melancholy that I post this trailer. I remember going to see the original at the cinema. I have watched the old version recently and its dated (the 80’s do have a lot to answer for) but there’s a certain charm to Arnie’s poor acting and his one liners.
But the production looks slick on this one and maybe, just maybe, the studios might be taking a sci-fi story a little seriously? And I am sure Damon Lindelof hasn’t been near this one.
I give you Total Recall
Apparently there’s no Mars in this story so it diverges from both the original movie and the Phillip K Dick story its based upon. Though there’s some suggestion that it sticks closer to the original story? Ho they do that without going to Mars I am not sure.
Oh and it won’t be in 3D (woot!)
Thoughts?
