Saturday, August 29, 2009

And Now the News: One Dino-Flick; Hold the Grudge

Michael Crichton pirate movie



I didn't know that Michael Crichton finished a pirate novel before he died. I guess it takes Steven Spielberg's making a movie out of it for me to learn these things.

The He-Lion's Lair



Pappy's got the story.

The Asylum's The Land That Time Forgot



I've quit paying attention to new Asylum releases, no matter how awesome they sound on paper. That's because I know that even if there's a great story to the movie (unlikely), they'll ruin it with cheap (if any) special effects.

So, Robert Hood's talking about me (however indirectly) when he says that The Land That Time Forgot "will not be forgiven by many net-critics for being made by the notorious Asylum — but at the risk of sounding like an apologist for the company, I don’t think such an attitude is fair."

He goes on to point out that the Asylum's crappy effects are still better than the goofy puppets in the Doug McClure version and similar B-movies. And of course he's absolutely right. My big beef with the Asylum is that they tend to market themselves as something better than they are, but really once you know what they are you can't say anymore that they tricked you. The question then is: taken for what you know Asylum films are, is it possible to still enjoy them on their own merits?

Hood obviously thinks so. He recommends the movie for people who "like dino-flicks — and don’t carry grudges." I certainly like dinosaur movies; I'm curious to see if I can get past my grudge. I think I'll try The Land That Time Forgot with a more open mind and see how it goes.

Pixar's Dinosaur movie?



/Film speculates that Pixar is probably working on a dinosaur-themed short film. They have to connect a lot of dots to come up with that, but it's some really strong dot-connecting. I wouldn't bet against them.

Diamond Bomb



Sleestak's having a lot of fun creating his own pulp heroine called Diamond Bomb. I love the world he's building for her and the art he's collected to support the illusion is fantastic.

The Anchor interview



My fellow Robot 6 member Tim O'Shea talks to Phil Hester about his new immortal-Viking demon-hunter series.

Sword of Shannara newspaper strip



Like Tom Spurgeon, I had no idea that there'd ever been a Sword of Shannara newspaper strip. Fortunately, Steven Thompson's got them all and is willing to share.

The Unauthorized but True Story of Adventures of Superman



If you pay constant attention to my sidebar (and why wouldn't you?) you've maybe noticed that I've been watching the old Adventures of Superman series off and on for a while. It's mostly cheesy and formulaic, but there's such love in it from everyone involved that you can't help but feel good while watching it. And some of the episodes are actually quite entertaining even from an objective point-of-view.

So it's cool that Tim O'Shea had another interview this week with Michael J. Hayde, author of a book about not only the George Reeves TV show, but also the radio program that preceded it. I want to know more about the TV show and I know nothing about the radio version, so I'll be needing this book.

No more Milestone at DC?



This is really, really disappointing.

I've been resisting talking about this.



I mean, a) it's hardly an adventure comic, and b) it's nothing more than a publicity stunt that - because it's set in the future - doesn't actually affect the status quo of Archie's never-changing world at all.

So, why am I discussing it now? Mainly because Glen Weldon's article about Imaginary Stories in general has helped me put the "event" in perspective. Since Archie's world really is never going to change - and he's never going to pick between Betty and Veronica - why not do a speculative story about what would happen if he did? This one happens to be about what would happen if he picked Veronica. I'd be shocked if they aren't already planning a second mini-series about what happens if he picks Betty. I'd rather read the Betty one, but since an in-continuity decision is impossible, I'm actually kind of pleased that they've come up with an alternative way of telling that story.

2 comments:

Christopher Mills said...

My review of The Asylim's The Land That Time Forgot should be posted on Tuesday at ForcesOfGeek.com.

In brief: not good, but not as bad as I expected... and damned little Burroughs.

Michael May said...

Excellent. I'll look forward to reading it and getting another perspective.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails