Results tagged “film”

Have you seen Heat Vision yet? The recently launched blog is one that any and every science fiction, fantasy, and/or comics movie fan should have bookmarked. I’ll give you a few seconds to bookmark it now. Or subscribe to their RSS feed.

See, here’s the deal: we here on Suvudu attempt to give you news about great science fiction and fantasy books, comics and graphic novels, and related media. But we also try to lift the curtain a bit to give you some behind-the-scenes access to stuff and a chance to meet some of our authors as well. And we all have a fun time. Well, if you take that philosophy and apply it to the world of science fiction, fantasy, and comics-related television and films, then you’ll get Heat Vision.

Here’s the site’s brief about information:

Heat Vision sets its sights on what’s hot in the world of fanboy entertainment, from blockbuster films to the comic books that inspire them. Its author is Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter.

So, you’re probably wondering if Heat Vision is related to Suvudu. Nope, it’s not. We heard about it through the grapevine and I liked it so much, I’m passing it along to you. Heat Vision endeavors to bring the worlds of film insider-information and fanboys & fangirls together under one digital roof. It’s put together by a group of reporters who have worked in film and entertainment reporting for years. These people have what we in publishing call a “strong platform” (which means, for those of you who don’t already know, that they know their stuff and are on top of their game).

Anyway, I’ll let you click over and discover them for yourself - and you should do so if you’re into film entertainment news. Just because they’re new doesn’t mean you have to wait for the content to flow either, already up on their site is an overview of who is in negotiations to join Bruce Willis in the coming adaptation of Red, Wildstorm/DC Comics miniseries, a run-down of relevant Oscar candidates, news on Quentin Tarantino quirky “White Family” commercials (they feature a talking dog, apparently), and details on the team behind 1995’s Seven coming together again for a new project, among other things.

So there you are, one more must-read (or subscribe) insider blogs to keep up with. Enjoy!

Finally, Summer is ending. My apologies to those of you who relish and enjoy the season, but I’m excited for it to be over. There’s just too much to be excited about for the Fall.

Now, I’m jaded. I’ll admit I prefer Fall to Summer in every way. The weather, the colors, the smells*, the food (sure, you can make chili in summertime, but why would you?), the ability to wear sweaters. And Fall is when everything picks up again. Books, movies, television, events, we’re about to face another flood of them. Here’s some of what I’m looking forward to as we hike into the last few months of 2009.

Books

Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber (October)
(Click here for more details)

I’ll come clean. I’m a horror fan from nearly as far back as I can remember. To clarify, I’m a fan of horror fiction (I can’t do the movies though). Back in my high school days** as I was being barraged by reading assignments covering the Romantic poetry movement, or and endless array of long drawn out works, I nearly lost my interest in reading. Then I found Stephen King. It didn’t take long until I was raiding the county library and buying up paperbacks from genre racks near and far. But it was that first book, Tommyknockers that really gripped me. It intertwined horror and science fiction to make the story, equal parts Eureka and They Live, if you’re interested.

Well, Joe Schreiber will be taking horror to the Star Wars universe this fall and I’m excited to return to that particular part of the genre melting pot again. Schreiber is a writer who can turn a terse phrase and scare you with things happening on this world. I wonder (oh, how I do wonder), what he’s thought up for Death Troopers. We know there’s zombies. We know there’s Storm Troopers. But what happens when the two get together in deep space? Like you, I’ll find out next month. I can’t wait.

The Devil’s Alphabet by Daryl Gregory (November)
(Click here for more details)

His debut novel, Pandemonium, is the type of book you read and think, “Horsefeathers! This isn’t his first book!” Well, here he is again and I’m hoping for a similar ride. The brilliance of that first book, and what has me excited in the set up for this book, is that Gregory creates a world that is so very, very similar to ours. He just tweaks one thing here or there to set the stage and then his characters come forward and it isn’t long before you’re sucked in to the story, all sense of time gone, all hope of sleep abandoned as you push on for just one more page, just one more chapter.

That’s the kind of writer Daryl Gregory is. In this book, we come to a town that has been decimated by a mysterious virus. The virus has killed off a substantial portion of the population, mutated others, and occasionally left some residents alone. Or so it seems. Returning to this town is Paxton Abel Martin, who fled when he was 14 and the virus was raging at full tilt and fled town shortly thereafter. Paxton appears to be fine, but is he?

Here’s a bit from the book’s description that hooked me and vaulted this book to one of the highest spots on my Must Read list for 2009:

Having fled shortly after the pandemic, Pax now returns to Switchcreek fifteen years later, following the suicide of Jo Lynn. What he finds is a town seething with secrets, among which murder may well be numbered. But there are even darker-and far weirder-mysteries hiding below the surface that will threaten not only Pax’s future but the future of the whole human race.

Mmmmm…a town with mutants and deep-dark secrets. Sign. Me. Up!

Read on for a few TV shows worth watching (or Hulu-ing) this Fall as well as a couple movies I’m looking forward to.

Short Films, they’re pretty sweet right? I’ve always been a fan of short stories, so perhaps my love of short films is a natural extension of my admiration for concise storytelling*. After finding the Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival, it got me thinking about some of my favorite shorts. I have far too many to list here and, like my reading habits, they flow across nearly ever genre you can imagine. But, I thought it might be fun to give you a glimpse at a few of them.

One of the best things about all the video sites out there is the ability for independent filmmakers to present their work in a venue where hundreds and possibly thousands of eyes can find it. The films you’ll find below are produced by independent filmmakers (which means that I resisted my urge to throw a few Pixar shorts at you).

If you’re hungry for more later, then I strongly suggest you head over to Indy Mogul. You can view their webshow, which provides previews of various short films grouped around a particular theme, and then head over to their blog page where you can view each featured short film in its entirety. If you enjoy short films, then prepare to lose a lot of time and productivity to that site.

Want to see a few of my favorite short films floating around the internet?

Some shorts I love

The Aviatrix

A story about a woman coping with a cancer diagnosis and escaping into a world of comic book super heroes of her own creation. Anne draws The Aviatrix and we’re treated to scenes of the character in action as she imagines them. The Aviatrix hero scenes are stylized-reminiscences of 50’s and 60’s hero movies and provide a brilliant counter-weight to the drama of Anne’s very real sickness and struggle. This is also an incredibly well shot short.

But wait, there’s more, including a few comedies and a zombie-infested love story. Follow me after the jump and bring your popcorn.

Er…short films, that is. Okay, here’s a video to give you a better idea of what I’m yammering about, followed by some details.

Sweet, eh? So here’s a little more detail. For the fifth year running, Experience Music Project | Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (that’s the full name of the entity, and it sounds like the kind of place to which I must visit lest I be accused of being Bizzaro Kyle) is partnering with the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) to present the Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival.

This is one of those instances where Seattle trumps New York, I’m afraid. Sure, we have lots of other film festivals in this tiny hamlet by the seaside, but, like a cranky kid lusting after the top shelf in a toy story, I WANT THIS ONE!

Of course, the festival doesn’t open until January 30, 2010, so I have time (and so do you) to buy my tickets and devise a way for my hindquarters to be squarely planted in Seattle seats come festival time. But that’s for us attendees. You filmmakers out there are probably wondering about submitting entries to the festival, right? Well, below is what I found.

From Science Fiction Museum:

From June 1 through September 15, 2009, the Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival (SFFSFF) will accept short film submissions, up to 15 minutes in length, that have been produced after 2005 for entry into the competition. Multiple submissions will be accepted according to the rules and regulations. Submissions will be judged based on originality, quality, artistic merit, innovation, voice, style and narrative.

SFFSFF is accepting animated or live-action submissions in science fiction (examples: futuristic stories, space adventure, technological speculation, social experiments, utopia and dystopia) and fantasy (examples: sword and sorcery, folklore, urban fantasy, magic, mythic adventure). The festival welcomes submissions that step outside the boundaries of reality and inspire a sense of wonder. The festival will not accept horror submissions. Submissions are accepted through Without a Box.

There are more detail on the event over at the Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame’s website: Film Festival Details. Be sure to check out that site. And not just for this festival, but for all the other cool things going on there as well.

We interrupt our normal Suvudu feed to bring you a piece of shameless self-promotion that’s all about me, me, me. Well, not entirely about me. But mostly.

In addition to my Suvuduesque duties, I run a monthly film series in New York City called the Shocklines Film Series which gives New Yorkers a shot to see excellent horror films on the big screen that never got wide theatrical distribution.

This Saturday night, we’re showing 7 short horror films. They’re not on cable. They’re not on DVD. They’re not on YouTube. So if you want to see them, this is your shot. And four of them are based on outstanding horror short stories by critically acclaimed authors, including Joe Hill (of Heart Shaped Box fame), Ed Gorman, and Peter Crowther.

So come check it out. You can get further film details and ticket info at http://www.shocklinesfilms.com. Hope to see you and many other Suvuduers there!

The films:

• Pop Art, written and directed by Amanda Boyle, based on the short story by New York Times bestseller Joe Hill. Winner of the the audience award for narrative short at the Austin Film Festival.
  
• Treevenge, directed by Jason Eisener and produced by Rob Cotterill. Winner of the audience award at the New York City Horror Film Fest, and the audience award at the Fantasia Film Festival.
  
• Eater, written and directed by Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, based on the short story by Peter Crowther.
  
• Abraham’s Boys written and directed by Dorothy Street, based on the short story by New York Times bestseller Joe Hill.
  
• Side Effect, written and directed by Liz Adams. Winner of Best Screenplay award at the Chicago Horror Film Festival and Best Short.
  
• The Ugly File, written by Rick Hautala, directed by Mark Steensland, based on the short story by Ed Gorman. U.S. Premiere!
  
• Storm, written by Ron McGillvray, directed by Jeff Radbourne.

Lately, all chat around the Suvudu watercooler has been about Watchmen-the movie, the graphic novel , the books based on the film,the Saturday morning cartoon etc etc. It’s endless and it seems like it’s on everyone else’s mind (and blogs) too!

That said here is my list of favorite Watchmen posts this week.

Scifiwire.com
Watch our Watchmen red-carpet interviews with the cast
http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/watch-our-watchmen-red-carpet-inteviews-with-the-cast.php

The Book Smugglers: Smuggling Since 2007 | Reviewing Romance & SF Since 2008
Watchmen Weekend: She Said/She Said by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge
http://thebooksmugglers.com/2009/03/watchmen-weekend-she-said-she-said-jackie-kessler-caitlin-kittredge.html

tor.com
Lights, Camera, Action Figures
http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=16479

i09.com
From The Mouth Of Watchmen’s Blue Man
http://io9.com/5165682/from-the-mouth-of-watchmens-blue-man

Creative Loafing
A geek’s guide to understanding Watchmen
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/the941/2009/03/02/a-geeks-guide-to-understanding-watchmen/

Can we talk about Halloween for a second? The film, not the holiday. Seeing this John Carpenter film was a major moment for me growing up.

Finished suburban basements (think Ice Storm) plus early cable TV and VCRs conspired with parental lack of understanding of same to find yours truly watching this genre classic when I was, oh, I think about 11 years old. Twice. In a dark basement. With my closest friend who was as tiny and petrified as me.

Um…yeah, kind of freaked me out. Actually, completely freaked me out. If Jamie Lee Curtis hadn’t managed to stir up “other feelings,” I would have been SOLELY and COMPLETELY and PERMANENTLY freaked out.

Thing is, despite its visceral visual execution, creepy, resonant storyline, and enough YIKES! moments to keep one jumping an inch or two off the sofa, what do I really remember?

That piano line (which Carpenter penned). Here it is. Enjoy.

Shiver.

Wishing you a Happy Halloween tomorrow…

Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk is set to play the main character, Chun-Li, in the upcoming film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. It will release in theaters on February 27th, 2009. I came across this poster after reading some reviews.

You can click here to see some photos from the set. Now I’m curious about the trailer.

One thing I love about living in YouTubeworld is that it gives aspiring filmmakers a sweet outlet for putting out short projects and getting feedback on them. While you undoubtedly have to regularly wade through some pretty awful stuff to get to the fun ones, it’s worth it.

So I thought I’d take you through 3 ways to kill five minutes on YouTube while satisfying your undeniable craving for horror.

First up — a music video by French electronica band Zombie Zombie that remakes John Carpenter’s “The Thing” using G.I. Joe figures. Sah-weeeeeet!

Two more to check out….

(A quick heads-up — no spoilers in here).

For months, I’ve been eagerly anticipating Alexandre Aja’s Mirrors, a remake of the K-horror film Into the Mirror. Not just because Aja is one of the more interesting new voices of horror out there (High Tension was a sick, twisted roller coaster up until an ill-advised late-in-the-game plot twist, and The Hills Have Eyes breathed some new life into one of Wes Craven’s lesser works). But primarily it was because it looked like this was going to be a horror movie for grownups.

First of all, this was an R-rated U.S. remake of an Asian horror film (the first ever? Correct me if I’m wrong — The Ring, The Grudge, Pulse, Dark Water, One Missed Call, Shutter, The Eye — all PG-13.) Secondly, with one secondary-character exception, there’s nary a person on-screen throughout Mirrors between the ages of 15 and 32. Take that, Gossip-Girl-crowd.

So did Aja succeed in actually making a good movie? The answer is…kinda.