What's New?

Looking forward for the next couple of weeks at Ye Olde Movie House.  Avatar and Sherlock Holmes hit the big screen in time for Christmas.  I hope to post some reviews and look back at 2009.

Stay tuned...

Teaser Trailer....

Here it is!  Months in the making....  A cast of several....

Recession Proof

Recession Proof  Teaser Trailer

Recession Proof Film | MySpace Video

Let me know what you think my media minions!

I'm Baaack...

Hello, Minions.  Long time, no blog.  Oh, well.  A Media Menace’s work is never done.  How have you been? 

The new TV season has been rearing it’s ugly head.  Just more of the same  stuff, different day.  Still, there are a few standouts.  The successor to the LOST throne, Flash Forward is off to a roaring start.  There is even talk of a possible LOST tie-in.  We’ll see.  Stargate Universe is quite good.  Different in tone and attitude than the previous incarnations.  More dramatic and dark.  Check it out.  Fringe is back for season 2 and is better than ever.  Keep it coming…

A bona fide Dracula sequel novel has been released by none other than Dacre Stoker,  descendant of Bram, and Ian Holt, noted Dracula historian.  Dracula The Un-Dead picks up twenty-five years after the original events and is based on Bram’s own hand-written notes, plot threads and characters.  Should be interesting…

In the “blood from a stone” category, Robert Jordan’s supposed final Wheel of Time book had to be completed by author, Brandon Sanderson due to Jordan’s untimely death.  In the hands  of Sanderson and Jordan’s widow (and editor), they have taken what he fully intended on being THE final chapter and turned it into, not two, but three books.  “The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book” is the official statement when, in reality, they want to make a ton more money, of course.  I hope its worth it to the fans.

This fall has been a dead zone at the theaters so far with only a few exceptions.

    The Amelia Earhart  biopic, Amelia, which looked to be a very good A-List movie with top actors, failed to break the top ten at the box office  in it’s opening weekend.  On the other hand, Paranormal Activity , the surprise hit of the season, has only grown immensely in popularity since it’s initial release.  Produced for a reported fifteen thousand dollars (that’s right, only a five digit budget) it has raked in over 63 million.  The movie going audience is so fickle.


And speaking of low budget, Recession Proof nears completion.  Our Hollywood talent has come and gone and I think we might have a decent little movie on our hands.  Two short scenes to shoot, then off to the editing suite.  Here’s a few pics for you to peruse.

Bon appétit….

Martian Media

In the Courts of the Crimson Kings by S.M. Stirling


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Much better than the first book, The Sky People, the action takes place entirely on an inhabited Mars. We gain more insight into "The Lords of Creation" and the ending is wide open. Hoping to see Stirling wrap up this story but he has nothing listed yet as far as a third book is concerned.

View all my reviews >>

Dinosaurs on Venus.....

The Sky People by S.M. Stirling


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting 'alternate reality' story where life is found on Venus and Mars, and the space race became a competition to lay claim to the territory. First half moves slowly but picks up. The author tends to get carried away with too much detail. This story concentrates on Venus, which resembles a prehistoric Earth. The follow-up book, focusing on Mars, looks to be pretty good.

View all my reviews >>

Movies and TV and books...Oh My!

It appears as though the guest vocal spot in the other band is not going to happen. Schedules did not match up. Oh, well.

Should get a new Recession Proof shooting schedule any day now. Trying to wrap this month but will probably go in to September at this point. We'll see....

Saw the chick flick, New in Town and the Kevin Spacey film, 21.

New in Town starred Rene Zelwegger and Harry Konick Jr. It was a romantic comedy about a corporate executive (Zelwegger) sent to a small Minnesota town to lay-off workers at a factory. It was kind of Fargo meets Gung Ho (Michael Keaton, look it up). Predictable, but entertaining.

21 was about smart college kids going to Vegas and counting cards in Black Jack. Good acting, decent story but too long. Question: If you were an MIT mega-genius with an IQ off the chart, would you keep $300 thousand dollars cash in the tile ceiling above you dorm room bed? I think maybe not. Again, predictable, but entertaining.

Read the final (?) Dean Koontz Frankenstein book. Disappointed.... Two good books building it up with the third book coming to a screeching halt with a very short and very convenient resolution. Character development kind of dwindled away, and the Frankenstein monster, prominent early on, became a small side story. He barely showed up until the end and then just kind of stood around with nothing to do. Koontz had co-authors on the first two books. Think he could've needed some help on this one.

Been watching Warehouse 13 on Syfy channel. Not bad. Check it out if you get the chance. First episodes are online and Syfy repeats them every other day...
Also watching Defying Gravity on ABC. It's LOST in space (get it?). Weird LOST-formula storyline about a crew of astronauts on a six year mission around the solar system. Underlying mystery about some entity called "Beta" that's calling all the shots telepathically. Is it me or does their mission boss look like young James Cameron? It's moving reeeaally slow so far.....

That's all for now minions.....

Manic Media.....

It's been a while, but things are happenin'. Work continues on the independent film, Recession Proof. We're well over half-way through production. Things are looking pretty good. Probably a couple more days to schedule for some studio shoots, then we bring in the big talent for two full days and wrap.

On the music front, I have been approached to fill in on vocals for a band that is in-between lead singers. I'll post more on this as new information becomes available. Suffice it to say, August is starting to look pretty busy....

Most recent movies viewed on video, Knowing and Fanboys. Knowing was different than I had anticipated and I wasn't sure how to take it at first, but the more I think about it, the better I like it. It's worth checking out. Fanboys was funny, but then I can relate to it. I got a lot of the in-jokes and recognized some cameos that most people won't catch. I haven't had time to get to the theater, so I'm missing some of the summer blockbusters. Oh, well....




Finished up a James Rollins book, Deep Fathom. I like his stuff. Good , fun Action/Adventure. Looking forward to Dean Koontz' third, and final installment of his modern Frankenstein series that will be released this Tuesday, July, 28th. Been waiting for a few years on this one. It was delayed due to the fact that it takes place in New Orleans and Mr. Koontz basically re-wrote it to incorporate the hurricane.

Looking in to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy sub-genre known as Steampunk. It's been around for a while. Think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as a reference. Any thoughts on this my minions? Let me know. Until next time.....

Books and Movies...

What's going on? Well, James Rollins' new book, The Doomsday Key, hit the shelves today, June 23rd. He writes good adventure/thriller stuff. Very cinematic. I'd like to see a movie based on one of his books. Also, saw a new title at the bookstore I'm just going to have to check out:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen (Author), Seth Grahame-Smith (Author)

This has just got to be one of the craziest ideas I've seen. It just might work....




I saw two movies over the weekend. The first was Punisher: War Zone. Much more violent than previous incarnations, Ray Stevenson's portrayal of the gritty vigilante is probably the best. Not a bad action flick, but they couldn't seem to decide on whether to go for realism or comic book style. The harsh action and drama supported the realism, the Joker-like villian, Jigsaw (not to be confused with the Saw movies), came right out of the comic book. All-in-all not too bad.

Next up was The Reader. This is so completely at the other end of the spectrum from Punisher it's almost funny. I couldn't have picked more of an opposite. Nominated for several awards this past year, though I think Slumdog Millionaire won most if not all of them, it stars Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. This was an odd story that moved from a romance in the 50's to a court case about Nazi war crimes in the 60's culminating in a lot of depression and guilt by the ending time frame of 1995. Wow, not the lighter drivel I normally prefer. This is what I consider an Art-House flick. Great acting and cinematography, worthy of award nominations, just kind of heavy for my tastes. Oh, and despite what the cover of the box says, this is by no means a "thriller". It is a flat-out drama.

Anyway, the clock on the wall is telling me to wrap it up. I must rest and be refreshed so that I may be ready for another day. Rest well my media minions.....

Mixed Media

Watched The Spirit last night. The simple review; it was a very uneven movie. Some scenes worked, some...not so much. Samuel L. Jackson, as The Octopuss, was purposefully over-the-top, and that was cool. The rest of the cast was decent considering some of the material they had to work with. The exception, Eva Mendes. While she is eye-candy, she can't act. I'm not sure who told her she could. I have not seen her in a role yet where she could keep up with the other talent on screen. The movie was a decent rental. If you liked Sin City then you will be able to forgive the shortcomings of this flick and waste away a couple of hours. Note: this film did tank at the box office, so don't look for a sequel any time soon.

A few discoveries over the past couple of weeks... First, Pandora.com. A cool streaming music web site that you can customize virtual "radio stations" to fit your tastes. Great concept. I've been listening to it quite a bit lately. Second, Goodreads.com. For the book enthusiast, this is a social website, book club, personal library tracker and book review. Quite cool.

Next up, you knew it was coming.... The return of Captain America! For the uninitiated, the good Captain was a long running character in the Marvel Comics universe and he was recently...killed. You heard it, just like the current B.S. going on in the DC Comics arena where they have now killed off Batman! (What a load of crap!!!) Oh well, they've got a big name writer working on it and circulation is up, so who cares, right. Anyway, just in time to start the wheels moving on the media machine for the 2011 release of the big-screen Captain America movie that was recently announced, they appear to be resurrecting the original stars and stripes crusader himself. I'm sure Batman will be back in the comics as soon as Bale is ready to do another movie. See how this marketing thing works. I'll make a prediction... Angels and Demons will be released on DVD and Blue-Ray within two weeks of Dan Brown's new book due in September. Watch and wait my minions......

The Movie Title Is....

Here's an updated production schedule for the new movie, Recession Proof, from MSW Films and Artistic Vision Productions. As posted previously, the first day of shooting was on May 3rd. The cast is now scheduled for rehearsals in June as set construction/prep continues. All principal photography is due to be completed by the end of July. Post production is to be finished for an early fall release date. You can visit the official site at http://www.myspace.com/recessionprooffilm

Later minions....

Here's Johnny......Connor that is!

I just saw Terminator Salvation and I must have seen a different film than some of the critics. I read that you don't see John Connor until 20 minutes into the movie...WRONG. I heard a review that stated it didn't have much action....WAY WRONG. I really can't understand where they get this stuff. Do they even watch or do they send text messages to their dogs or something while the movie is playing?

Anyway, Christian Bale shows up as John Connor, right away, and the almost non-stop action begins (don't let the PG-13 rating throw you off. There's plenty of violence and mayhem for everyone). This is the future that the first 3 movies talked about. Skynet has taken over and the human resistance fights to reclaim the planet. Keep in mind that this storyline is consistent with the movies...It does not recognize the Sarah Connor Chronicles tv show as part of the mythology.

Along the way, there are a few surprises with the plot, but the biggest one for me is the fact that John Connor is not the focus of this movie. Yes, Christian Bale is the star, but this film really concentrates on the character of Marcus Wright, played by Sam Worthington. This is Marcus Wright's story. Also, Anton Yelchin plays young Kyle Reese. You may remember Anton as Chekov in a little movie called Star Trek that opened a couple of weeks ago. I hope he's paying his agent well!! The story is solid, the action and effects are great and I look forward to the next installment.

On a side note: Don't get sucked in to this whole 'Christian Bale is a hothead' thing that's going on. I've heard that people aren't going to see this movie because of his little tantrum he through on the set. Listen, this kind of thing goes on all the time. This one just got made public. They're actors, they tend to have ass-like tendancies from time to time. Move on.

Until next time minions.....I'll Be Baaaack!!!

Lights, camera.....Action!!!

Principal photography began on May 3rd for the new independent movie I'm involved with from MSW Productions. We had 2 locations and several scenes to shoot that day. The weather cooperated so we were able to get the outdoor shots we wanted. The rest of the day progressed pretty much on schedule. We're off to a good start. The next shoot date is TBA. The production schedule is spread out due to the fact that we all have "day jobs".

More to come my media minions......

Boldly Go....See This Movie

I saw the new Star Trek on it's opening weekend. Despite the apprehension of what this film might render, It turned out to be one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. They just did everything right. The story was clever and handled the balance of drama and humor very well. The directing and acting were superb. The young talent they picked to re-create these iconic characters was perfect, and they all actually had their time to shine on screen.

The story opens with a singularity event (which in Trek Speak means it involves time travel). Don't worry, this is handled much better than in the past (trying to incorporate time travel in Star Trek eventually contributed to it's near demise, in my opinion). Anywho, a Romulan with revenge on his mind comes back from a future where something has gone terribly wrong and he blames The Federation and Spock in particular. Unfortunately, there just happens to be an early Federation starship waiting for them on this side. In the first five minutes of the movie there is a flurry of action and some real dramatic moments so unlike what you've seen in Star Trek before, that you know right away this is going to be a fresh take on the mythology.

Flash forward a few years and we are introduced to a young, rebelious James T. Kirk as well as young Spock back on Vulcan. Flash forward again and we see a slightly older, slightly more rebelious Kirk, and Spock with some life changing decisions before him. Finally, we get up to speed with Starfleet Academy and are introduced to most of the rest of the major players. Hats off to these actors for being able to take the characters that we have known for 40 years and making them their own.

Soon the Romulan resurfaces to cause some major trouble and the Enterprise is off to try to save the day. Keep in mind that the course of events have changed from what we know. Things are unfolding differently due to the Romulan's appearance in this timeline. So.....all bets are off. This was an ingenious way to manipulate the story so that the writers now have the freedom to move around in an established universe without stepping on any toes or creating any inconsistancies. It is almost a blank canvas now. And, judging by the box office reports, is sure to have a sequel on the way at warp speed (sorry, had to do it).

Go see this movie on the big screen!!! It is a big, glorious, sci-fi, adventure, drama with plenty of humor and it deserves a viewing in the theater. In a summer full of blockbusters this year, this one will definitely be one of the best.

So go...go now....Sit Long and Prosper.....

It's a Movie, Bub!

Okay, so I'm way behind on my posts. I'll start back up here with a movie review for Wolverine. Saw it opening weekend after reading several unfavorable things about it. The recurring theme was, "The studio is trying to milk the franchise", or something like that. My response is, what's your point. Of course the studio is going to try to get every last dime out of a property...that's what studios do. And for some reviewer to suggest that no one wants an origin story for Wolverine just goes to show how the critics are uneducated about what they are reviewing (not naming names but one can be found somewhere with the initials CNN). What I'm talking about here is the Weapon X comics that told some of Wolverine's background. This series was one of the best selling at the time. So yes, Virginia, people do want to see this. The question should really be, is the creative team trying to make a good movie despite the studio's marketing machine. In this case I would say yes. I know they've altered the origin story a bit and changed up some of the characters, but the fanboys need to quit crying about it. How many times must it be explained how stories don't play the same across different types of media. Accept it and move on.

And now, the review. The movie opens with the Wolverine character as a child. It gives a year and we actually get a sense of how old he is (this was always a question since his regenerative powers would, presumably, slow his aging). Then through a montage, ala Watchmen, we see time progress to a latter 20th Century time period where he has joined up with a paramilitary group conducting some covert operations over seas. He decides he wants to live a normal life and walks away. Flash forward a few years and we find that his past just won't leave him alone. He gets dragged back in to all of it and ,driven mostly by revenge, decides he needs to go kick some major butt so that he can finally find some peace. Along the way he agrees to an experiment that alters him in a way that makes him virtually indestructable and the afore mentioned butt kicking ensues.

Going in to the movie I was concerned how they were going to fit all the characters into the story that they had been showing in the previews. They did this well and it actually fit in the context of the plot. He is pitted against several other mutants along the way such as Sabertooth, Gambit and Deadpool. The latter seems to be the source of the most controversy, primarily because they changed him quite a bit for the movie. I think, though, they may get a chance to redeem themselves in a proposed sequel to the prequel. That's right, a Wolverine 2 is already in the works, and seeing how Hugh Jackman's production company is involved again, and how this first film is making some major cash, I don't see why it wouldn't happen.
I say bring it on... The story, characters, acting and effects are all done well. I'd love to see another one, Bub!

Next up, I'll boldy go where this blog hasn't gone before....

Come Sail Away....

So I went to see classic rockers Styx this past weekend, well at least the current incarnation anyway. They only have one full-time member that is from the original band and one that has been with them since their fifth album tour in 1975. Their original bass player still sits in when he can and was there for this show.
At any rate, they still got it. After about 38 years, 15 studio albums, several live albums and numerous line-up changes, they still put on a great show. Lots of energy, and always fan-friendly. Of course the length of their set has gone from well over 2 hours down to about 90 minutes. I guess they're starting to show their age a little bit.
I could go on for quite a while as this is my favorite band and I know way to many trivial factoids about them. However, I will keep it brief. Suffice it to say, we had a good time. They played most of the hits, we were hooked up with great seats (courtesy of their PR guy and Road Manager...Thank You), and we made it back home before midnight. I'll throw some grainy camera phone pics on here for your perusal.
It is a shame that I have to find these classic bands that are still touring just so I can see a great show with talented performers who can write good music. We're missing that in this current generation. I doubt anyone will be going to see many of today's bands in concert 30 years from now, but that is a discussion for another time.....

Joss Whedon Is Not God

(Warning: The following opinons are not favorable to Mr. Joss Whedon. Read at your own Risk)

Ok, I'm not a fan, so sue me. I've tried to get into his work, but cannot seem to find the appeal. Mr. Whedon became a television writer on the coattails of his father and grandfather. Both wrote for credible shows over the years. He has managed to gain a ridiculously large fan-base due mostly to what can be summed up in one word, Buffy.

Writing the screenplay to the original movie, Mr. Whedon was not satisfied with the finished product. One has to wonder if this was before or after it was not well-received by the critics and movie-goers. Somehow, though, he was able to convince someone at Warner Brothers to pick it up as a TV series. Over seven seasons and a network change, he managed to win awards and an almost religious following. When Angel and Firefly came along, nobody cared whether or not the shows were any good, just that they had his name on it.

I have been able to sit through the train wreck that was Ishtar, and the critically acclaimed, but most boring movie ever made, Passage to India. However, as hard as I tried, I was never able to sit through an entire episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I felt my IQ, as well as my will to live, being drained by the minute. The plots were boring and predictable (except when they didn't make any sense at all) and the characters were written completely with no depth at all. The tongue-in-cheek dialogue was stupid and rarely funny. I had high hopes for the episode in which she finally came up against Dracula. I thought, cool, she's going to fight the king of all vampires. Instead, they portrayed him as a bumbling fool and Buffy was able to take care of him easily in a final showdown that lasted all of 3 minutes. After that, I really lost interest. I know she returned from the dead, gained a sister that never existed before, blah, blah, blah. This show was just written for fan-boys who wanted to watch Sarah Michelle Gellar every week and for the girls who wanted to be her. At least I hope that's it. Because if someone was watching this for story content…….

Next was Angel, a superior show to Buffy with a campier feel. However, this was not the sole creation of Mr. Whedon. Established TV writers David Greenwalt and Tim Minear helped. Still, the show was mediocre at best. This idea had been done before, with Rick Springfield no less (Forever Knight), and has been done since (Moonlight) by David Greenwalt, go figure. Still, the show managed to limp through five seasons, mostly on the momentum and fan-base of Buffy.

Then came Firefly. What can I say. I had high hopes for this one. A change of pace for the writer, trying to tackle a purely sci-fi premise. Unfortunately, it was ill-conceived. Set in a solar system with hundreds of habitable worlds (what?), it told the boring story of a boring captain whose boring resistance fighters lost some boring war. He became a boring freighter pilot with a boring crew. Did I mention the show was boring? The only bright spots were Adam Baldwin's character, and the mystery surrounding Summer Glau's character's past. It was nice to see Ron Glass again, too. Once again, most of the characters were completely one-dimensional. Suddenly, though, the religious zealots of the Church of Whedon, could not keep the show on the air. Fourteen episodes were filmed before the show was canceled, only eleven of which were aired until syndication.

But, miraculously, Mr. Whedon and his fun-bunch found a way to resurrect this bore-fest from the ashes like the legendary Phoenix, and turn it into a major motion picture entitled Serenity. I couldn't believe it! I did watch this big budget stinker once it made it to video (I borrowed a copy from someone. I couldn't bring myself to pay money for a rental.). Let me say that it was fun watching Miss Glau kick butt (even though this was the scene that aired in every preview) and I'm glad she's continued the tradition in the new Terminator series (which, in contrast, is really well written). Mr. Whedon directed this and tried to bring some closure to the ill-fated series for the fans. In doing so, he managed to kill off Ron Glass' character and fan-favorite, Serenity pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburne played by Alan Tudyk (the latter for no apparent reason other than for the supposed "drama").

Mr. Whedon is currently working on several other projects, such as Dollhouse, and recently walked away from the Wonder Woman movie after eighteen months of work and several rewrites. He cited the reason as being that he and the studio had different ideas of where to take the story. Yeah, the studio actually wanted a story and that's not Mr. Whedon's strong suit. In the midst of all this is the one bright spot, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. This online show was done as a “video blog” with music and singing, and starred Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion (I won’t hold Firefly against him). This show is actually kind of funny. I have to give a lot of the credit to Joss’ brothers, however, who helped write and produce the story and the songs.

But, finally, I heard an interview with Joss Whedon on NPR about his stint as a comic book writer and received the quote that made all of this fall into place. He said (paraphrased slightly)"No one wants a 3 dimensional character anymore". That explains a lot if this is his writing philosophy. It does not explain, however, why so many people like his stuff. Maybe he's right. Either way, I'll take my chances with the crowd who expects a good story and characters you can feel something for.

At this point, some may ask why I know so much about Mr. Whedon if I am so loathsome of his body of work. My answer is simple. I like to know what I'm talking about if I'm going to criticize something. Most critics today could take a lesson from that. Too many times I've read reviews that miss the mark so completely because they didn't take the time to learn anything about what their criticizing. I'll admit my lack of knowledge of the entire Buffy mythology, but I bet someone could write me up a summary in less than a paragraph. That's probably the amount of good story telling content seven years of episodes amount to.

Note: I posted this a while back on MySpace and it appears that an Admin somewhere deleted it. I think I may have offended a Whedon disciple at MySpace.com