District 9 movie review and poll - best sci-fi ever?

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com

  

Last night I saw the incredible sci-fi movie "District 9" at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland (and the line for it was out of the door and around the building). Without giving too much away (and that's a matter of opinion) for those who've not seen it, the movie produced by Peter Jackson (of Lord of The Rings and King Kong) and directed by Neil Blomkamp, concerns a giant alien spaceship that has parked itself over Johannesburg, South Africa.

Over the course of the last 28 years - over a generation - over one million aliens, called the derogatory name "Prawns", were placed in an area of the city called "District 9", and that zone became a giant slum.

Some say District 9 is the best science fiction movie of 2009 if not the best one ever made. That question will be the focus of my poll below, but let's focus on the movie more before we get to the survey.

The story concerns what happens to a common human (Wilkus Van De Merwe played by Sharito Copley) who works for a government organization that is directed to evict the aliens and move them to a new location said to be better than District 9 and called- in an obvious set up for a sequel - "District 10".

During the eviction process, Wilkus finds a harmless-looking metal vial that when he turns it sprays a "fluid" into his face that causes him to go through a gradual transformation from human to human / alien. That, and how the World reacts to his change, is the central story of the movie.

The movie has two incredible story archs, the first one is how Wilkus changes from kind but bumbling government worker to awakened activist for the aliens in the process of trying to find a "cure" for his problem. The other is how humans go from being the one's putting up with the weird and threatening habits of the aliens, to the ones who are actually being weird and threatening to the aliens. As we learn more about them in the movie, we find they are just like us: concerned with family and wanting to just go home.

What I love about this movie is it shows front and center man's inhumanity not only to man but to other life forms and throws it right in one's face. I came away with the idea that the United Nations needs to craft an international plan for alien visitor protocol just to make sure we don't allow the violation of alien life forms.

District 9 Best Picture?

Julian Scanton of Vanity Fair thinks District 9 is best picture material, and I have to agree with him, especially now that we will have ten movies to pick from at the 2010 Oscars. But is it the best science fiction movie ever?

That's a tall order of a question as their are so many to chose from. Here's one comprehensive "Top 10" list posted in Popular Mechanics in 2008:

10. 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. Short Circuit
8. Soylent Green
7. Blade Runner
6. The Running Man
5. Destination Moon
4. The Truman Show
3. The Road Warrior
2. Minority Report
1. Gattaca

Cick here for the poll results and to vote: POLL (or vote below)

Megan Fox is right, Michael Bey: "Transformers" is a special effects movie!

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget!



Today it was reported that Megan Fox is in "hot water" for her statements regarding the movie "Transformers." Director / Producer Michael Bey was even quoted as saying Megan "Has a lot of growing up to do." ABC News agreed with Bey and said Fox "put her foot in her mouth again." Well, folks, Megan Fox, one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood in more ways than one, didn't put her foot in her mouth and Michael Bey and ABC News should appologize to Fox for their statements.

Megan Fox

What did she say? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fox said this:

Question: What percentage of your (acting) range have people seen so far?
Megan Fox: Seven percent. On the new one, I tried. But unless you're a seasoned veteran, working with Michael Bay is not about an acting experience.

And later...

Question: You're a bigger star now than when you did the first Transformers. Did they beef up your role in the sequel?
Fox: The humans are still secondary to the robots because it's a movie about robots. I feel like the part is adequate. I feel like we do something that's watchable on our end and then ILM makes it phenomenal.

Question: You don't sound convinced that this is the greatest movie on earth.
Fox: It's not trying to be the greatest movie on earth. It's going to be the best action movie of the summer. Hands down, it will win that. But it's not trying to be a Golden Globe-nominated film. It's a badass popcorn summer movie.

Question: You up for a third Transformers?
Fox: Sure. I mean, I can't s--- on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me. But I don't want to blow smoke up people's ass. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting. And once you realize that, it becomes almost fun because you can be in the moment and go, ''All right, I know that when he calls Action! I'm either going to be running or screaming, or both.''

Michael Bey's response was less than diplomatic:

Michael Bey

Well, that’s Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, “Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it.” But I 100% disagree with her. Nick Cage wasn’t a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in “Armageddon.” Shia LaBeouf wasn’t a big movie star before he did “Transformers”—and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from “Bad Boys.” Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in “Transformers.” I like to think that I’ve had some luck in building actors’ careers with my films.

But Megan Fox is correct, moreover, Bey's own comments defend her, as well as the fact that Bey poses not with Fox or the other Transformers stars, but with a robot.

 

The real star of Transformers with Bey

What Fox is saying is what everyone knows: Transformers is a special effects-driven movie. If Bey were to make an actors movie, this would not have been it, and he would have not plucked the unknown Fox for the role. That's essentially what Fox is saying. But what's so bad is Bey's reach for ageism: Fox's being "23-years old" has nothing at all to do with her statements; anyone could have made them of any age and have been totally correct.

Making comments on someone's age is more often than not inappropriate in a society where 40-year old women look like they're in their 20s, 25-year-olds marry 45-year-olds, and rockers are still hard at it in their late 60s, some dating women in their 20s. On top of that, we have 20-year olds establishing companies that reach billions in value.

And to add sauce to the goose, digital media has slammed decades of music and television together, such that today, Michael Jackson's songs of 30 years ago top the Billboard charts in the wake of his death.

Slowly, technology is making age passe, but even with that I must observe that Michael Bey's a bit behind the times. Perhaps he should pay less attention to age and to insulting his stars and more to the substance of his movies.

New Moon | Why Is Twillight / New Moon So Popular?

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget!




YouTube, MySpace, Metacafe, Blip.tv, Sclipo and Viddler

Maybe you all can help me with this. Ok? Here goes. Why is the Twillight Saga so popular? The official trailer for the movie "New Moon" is out and it looks interesting this Trekker's just not feeling it. Especially since the one person who appears to be the baddy is a rastafarian black guy who's about to get it by a guy, "Jake" who turns into a wolf in mid run.

What's that you say? I've got to read the book series Twillight? I guess so; there's four of em. Look, I've seen the book all over the place: on the BART Train, at the gym, in the hand of a passer by. Almost always a woman between the age of 20 and 50; mostly white or Asian in the Bay Area - seldom black. Just an observation. I've only once seen a guy reading the book. Just an observation.

I have to admit I became more interested in this because the author of the Twillight Saga, Stephanie Meyer, came up with this four-book marvel of success out of a crazy dream she had in 2003 about a 17-year-old girl and a studly vampire who loves her but wants to kill her and suck her blood. Moreover, Meyer, reportedly expecting a $10,000 book advance just to pay off her minivan, got a $750,000 deal, and the book series has sold 17 million copies worldwide, has made her a new millionaire, and...wow.

That's great. For that alone, I'm proud of Stephanie. Hugely so.

But why the heck is it so popular?

Last year, Gawker's Alex Carnevale explained that Vanity Fair's James Wolcott "pulled out the stops" in trying to pull together all of the pop-culture referrences that seem to have found their way into Twillight:

"Here's the full list of cultural references from Wolcott's piece: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dracula, Vampire Academy, Gossip Girl, The Morganville Vampires, Vampire Kisses, The Vampire Diaries, Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, Into the Wild, Mary-Louise Parker, Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries, Six Feet Under, Harry Potter, Debussy, Rudolf Nureyev, Chris Isaak, Michelangelo, Chopin, Superman, the gays, Sarah Palin, James Dean, David Lynch, Bob Dylan, Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction, and Brideshead Revisited. An impressive array, to say the least."

Ok. But that's not necessarily a receipe for success as the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. So I'm using new media to take the question to you: why is the Twillight Saga so popular? Also, when I look at the Vanity Fair photo here:

All I see is the common picture of white American youth plus one African American and one other person of color out of 12 people. Interesting. It's a photo so common it implies anyone who's not "that" need not be at the party for the most part, except as a token. And therein lies the problem for me, specifically.

Why does the Twillight Saga have to be an almost totally white picture of a fantasy? Because Meyer's Mormon and it's her dream? I'm not comfortable with that notion only because I don't know Meyer and admire what she's done. Since I want to like her, I'm afraid to go that route of thinking.

I'm just being honest. I'm just thinking, which I do too much of perhaps. But I just can't accept what's tossed at me chapter and verse. Sorry.

That feeling of racial isolation is a bit bothersome to me, especially as our society becomes ever more integrated. I don't think for a moment most readers of Twillight think about the story in this way as presented in the book. But the movies -- the movies give a different take because they paint the picture for us.

See? Our ability to create a fantasy and install ourselves within it, skin color and all, is taken away. Then here comes Vanity Fair to cement the deal.

The real wildly popular story of an interracial set of as President Obama would say "folks" has yet to be told. But I have the feeling one can't achieve success by setting out to write that story. I suppose some guy, somewhere, will have a dream about a 20-year old African American boy and a space alien in the form of a hot-for-teacher, 40-year old hardbody Asian woman who wants to kill him and take his bones back to some home planet in Orion's Belt, but is so in love with him she winds up...

You get the idea.

Hmmm....

Star Trek Movie Review With Bill and Lars

 

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter!



YouTube, Yahoo, Metacafe, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, StupidVideos, Sclipo and Viddler


Today, I saw Star Trek with my longtime friends Bill Boyd and Lars Frykman at matinee showing at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, thus following through on a plan we formed almost a month ago and I wrote about a few days ago. It was a cool reunion as I'd not seen Lars for just over 30 years and Bill and I get together for lunch maybe twice a year. Regardless of how little you see of each other, there's something about the friends you had when you were a teenager, especially when they last as long as ours has. Star Trek was always a rallying point for us, so today's meetup was a perfect way for the originators of the Bret Harte Star Trek Club to reconnect.

We're all fans of the original series, and consider ourselves experts on it. What we liked about J.J. Abrams version was the attention to detail in referencing certain episodes and music themes.

The scene where Kirk and Spock (Nimoy) enter the outpost on Delta Vega has music that recalls entering the hatchery of the Horta in "The Devil in The Dark" or the discovery of the real "Balok" in "The Corbomite Manuever". And as in the series Captain Pike was alive and bound to a wheel chair before being disfigured in a reactor accident. To kill him would have not been according to Star Trek history.

In fact, that's where we were confused in the loss of Spock's mother. She didn't pass on in the series, so her death here was not understood by us. Also the Enterprise was constructed in Hunter's Point Naval Shipyards in San Francisco, not Riverside, Iowa as in the movie.

The matter of the shipyards leads us to the Enterprise. What a terrific job Industrial Light and Magic did in making the ship look real, especially the daylight scene where Kirk reports for duty. That's the first time we see the giant vessel as if it were really in drydock on Earth. An excellent achievement.

Bill made the observation that because we're from an older generation this movie didn't have enough dialog. I agree but I don't say the movie wasn't well done. Still we're concerned that a society that wants stimulus over substance can be easily duped in a number of ways and this problem is something I will explore more of.

But even with that issue of style, Star Trek was a good, tight, entertaining film. Did it live up to our Trekker seal of approval?

Yes!

Fox News' Roger Friedman's Leaked "Wolverine" Review Gets Him In Trouble With Fox News, News Corp

More at HuffPost: “FoxNews.com entertainment columnist Roger Friedman has drawn the ire of News Corp bosses after writing a review of a leaked version of the upcoming 20th Century Fox blockbuster "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" — and he'll have to answer to Fox News executives in a meeting Monday morning.

Friedman's FoxNews.com column Thursday — since deleted — was a review of "Wolverine" that studio bosses viewed as an implicit endorsement of movie piracy, according to Deadline Hollywood Daily's Nikki Finke.”

Star Trek Trailer Reveals Hit Star Trek Movie For J.J. Abrams

 Well four days ago I had this music in a dream then in my head I could not figure out how it got there. It was sci-fi like and could either be in a horror movie or a sci-fi flim. Then I saw the second Star Trek trailer, and it was that music.

I kid you not.

The second Star Trek trailer reveals a movie that will be a sure-fire hit. J.J. Abrams, who directed the movie and co-produced it, and his staff aimed for a mix of realism and Star Trek and hit it right on the money.

I do hope we can see William Shatner in it, but I understand why he made this difficult -- he'll be sorry. But I hope he's in it with Leonard Nimoy.


Zennie On CNN  

007 Quantum Of Solace: Featuring Ben Radatz and Tim Fisher

CloverField Movie Called A Landmark Genre Film

Ok. After months that seemed like years of anticipation and speculation, all caused by a terrific Alternative Reality Game marketing strategy, the pet movie J.J. Abrams has produced through his "Bad Robot" production company, Cloverfield has been seen and under tight security, by Harry Knowles of "Ain't It Cool News."

Now Harry seldom gives a bad review, but in this case he wrote a review that makes me think this flick's going to be an instant classic.

I'm not going to give away Harry's review, I'm just going to link to it here and post the video I made a while back that said Cloverfield was going to be the best movie ever.



..And this, the newest trailer that gives you a great idea of what this movie's all about.

D.O.A. - Dead Or Alive - Movie Trailer

Sopranos Fans Expect Hollywood Ending; Don't Get One

At the risk of being lazy, I'm going to copy what was presented on the Premium Hollywood Blog here. It is a perfect example of how we want everything neat and packaged. But the people who want this forget that there's nothing "neat and packaged" about the Sopranos at all.

Here it is:

I don’t even know what to fucking say right now. I really don’t. Maybe I missed something. Maybe I just didn’t appreciate what David Chase was trying to accomplish. Or maybe my expectations were simply too high. I don’t know.

People have been saying for years that “The Sopranos” peaked too early. I’m not sure if I agree with that or not, but I will say that this final season peaked too early. Last week’s episode was brilliant, maybe one of the finest hours of television you’ll ever see. Seemed the stage was set for a fantastic finale for a series so many of us have been following for so many years.

Instead, we got this. Look, I wasn’t expecting a 65-minute bloodbath tonight. That’s not even what I was hoping for. But I sure as shit wanted some resolution, and I wanted some conflict. Instead, we get AJ telling his parents he wants to go into the Army so he can fulfill his dream of being a private helicopter pilot for Donald Trump, Meadow trying to parallel park her car for 20 freaking minutes, Carm starting the plans for her next spec house, Janice trying to swindle Junior by telling him he was her daughter, Paulie bitching about a stray cat, and Tony shuffling through a tabletop jukebox.

What, the, fuck?


Anyone who’s read this blog knows that I’ve been a patient fan of the show. People griped about the slow episodes and I said that Chase was building to something big. People called for more bloodshed and I said it was coming. Well, I guess those things did happen, but they happened last week, when Tony made a move on Phil and the NY family capped Bobby and Sil. What do we get this week? Onion rings and horrible Billy Baldwin screenplays. Well, Phil was whacked too, but I hope you’ll forgive me for mentioning that key bit of information in passing since that’s just about how Chase treated it tonight: one second Phil’s saying goodbye to his grandkids, the next he’s shot in the head, and the next he has a car roll over his head (which reminded me of a “Six Feet Under” episode, by the way). And just like that, the primary conflict of this entire season is gone. Done. It was like Christopher’s death all over again: I felt robbed.

The thing is, I understand – or I think I understand, anyway – Chase’s intention with the final scene. The suspense builds as Tony walks into a crowded restaurant and starts skimming the jukebox, scanning past such cryptically placed tunes as “This Magic Moment” and “I’ve Gotta Be Me” before settling for Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” Every time the bell over the door rings, Tony glances up to see who’s walking in. Who is he waiting for? Finally, Carm enters and takes a seat. They scan their menus. The bell jingles again and AJ walks in behind an ominous looking dude who sits at the counter and glances over at Tony’s table a few times. Surely, this guy has bad intentions. Meanwhile Meadow proves that she may be the only person on the entire planet who actually needs that new Lexus that parallel parks for you by failing in her first three attempts to guide her car into the biggest parking space you’ll ever find in front of a crowded restaurant. AJ bitches about his new job before reminding Tony that he once told him, “Try and remember the times that were good.” The suspicious man at the counter glances over at Tony again and then stands up. Tony looks up…and watches the guy head toward the bathroom. The waiter brings a plate of onion rings and all three Sopranos at the table pop one into their mouths as Steve Perry belts out, “Hold on to that feel-ay-eee-aying!” Meadow finally gets her head out of her ass and parks her car before dashing across the street – is she going to get hit by a bus? The bell over the door rings and Tony looks up expectantly.

And that’s it.

…Wait, that’s it? Okay, fine, this is how we’re to assume Tony will live out the rest of his days – constantly wondering if someone is out to get him, looking up every time a bell over a door jingles, worried that someone like Carlo (who apparently flipped this week after his son was picked up for selling ecstasy) is going to rat him out to the Feds, all while balancing his rather mundane family life. I get that. I appreciate it. But couldn’t we have been given more to sink our teeth into? Couldn’t something of significance – I mean, besides AJ’s car blowing up because of his freaking catalytic converter, of course – happen tonight?

Instead, one of the few memories I’ll take from tonight’s episode is the way agent Harris put his neck on the line to help Tony out by giving him info on Phil’s whereabouts. The best part, of course, is when he finds out about Phil’s killing and excitedly says, “Damn, we’re going to win this thing!” Sweet.

But sadly, that’s one of the very few highlights. We didn’t even get any real resolution with Paulie’s storyline, which I suppose could mean that he never betrayed Tony. Then again, maybe that means he did betray him and, like Tony, we’re never going to know about it. Or maybe it doesn’t mean shit. What do I know? Oh, and Sil is still alive, but does he survive? Again, who the hell knows?

I wasn’t looking for Chase to put a pretty little bow on the series tonight. I wasn’t looking for The Shocker of the Century. I wasn’t even really looking for closure, as the women like to say. But I wanted something more than this. I wanted an ending befitting of one of the most entertaining shows in TV history. Instead, we got stray cats, The Donald and Steve Fucking Perry. Oh well; remember the times that were good, right?

Spiderman 3 - Toby McGuire, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Rami Talk About Spiderman 3

Spiderman 3's set for a May 4th release and already the buzz is starting to build for the movie. Of course, most of this buzz is being generated by Sony, the film's producers. Take this great video for example. It contains interviews with stars Toby McGuire, Kirsten Dunst, and director Sam Rami talking about the storyline of the film.

Is Sophia Bush The Next "Wonder Woman"?

Joss Whedon, in the seemingly eternal process of writing and casting the Wonder Woman Movie, has reportedly made an offer to Sophia Bush.

Who's she?

This is Sophia Bush's resume:

Actress - filmography

"One Tree Hill" .... Brooke Davis (81 episodes, 2003-2007)
- Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (2007) TV Episode .... Brooke Davis
- Pictures of You (2007) TV Episode .... Brooke Davis
- Resolve (2007) TV Episode .... Brooke Davis
- Everything in it's Right Place (2007) TV Episode .... Brooke Davis
- Songs to Love and Die By (2006) TV Episode .... Brooke Davis
(76 more)
The Hitcher (2007) .... Grace Andrews
John Tucker Must Die (2006) .... Beth
Stay Alive (2006) .... October
Supercross (2005) .... Zoe Lang
"Nip/Tuck" .... Ridley (3 episodes, 2003)
- Cliff Mantegna (2003) TV Episode .... Ridley
- Megan O'Hara (2003) TV Episode .... Ridley
- Nanette Babcock (2003) TV Episode .... Ridley
Learning Curves (2003) .... Beth
"Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" .... Fate Mackenzie (1 episode, 2003)
... aka Sabrina (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Sabrina Goes to College (USA: promotional title)
- Romance Looming (2003) TV Episode .... Fate Mackenzie
The Flannerys (2003) (TV)
Point of Origin (2002) (TV) .... Carrie Orr
... aka In the Heat of Fire (Europe: English title: DVD title)
Van Wilder (2002) .... Sally
... aka Van Wilder: Party Liaison (Australia) (Philippines: English title) (UK) (USA: working title)
... aka National Lampoon's Van Wilder (USA: complete title)
... aka Party Animals - ... wilder geht's nicht! (Germany)

Filmography as: Actress, Self

Self - filmography

Grrrl Power (2006) (V) .... Herself
"Punk'd" .... Herself (1 episode, 2005)
- Episode #6.2 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
"Late Show with David Letterman" .... Herself (1 episode, 2005)
... aka Late Show Backstage (USA: title for episodes with guest hosts)
... aka The Late Show (USA: informal short title)
- Episode dated 21 January 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
"Total Request Live" .... Herself (1 episode, 2004)
... aka TRL (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Total Request with Carson Daly (USA)
- Episode dated 1 November 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Herself

For me, she lacks the Wonder Woman well-muscled body, so I remain skeptical.