The recent mantra of many people is that Hollywood needs to stop remaking movies, especially ones that are held near and dear in our hearts. After all, there are currently nearly 40 remakes in the works, which angers many people. As part of the backlash, some have pointed out that recent remakes have not done well at the box office. However, it would surprise many people to know that some of the most beloved films of all time were actually remakes themselves. Continue Reading »
Starfleet is Clueless About the Military
Updated 11/11/11, original article published 10/3/11
It’s stated in every Star Trek episode that the Enterprise’s mission is “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man/one has gone before.” Yeah, what they left out, though, is the amazing firepower on the ship. We all know that Starfleet gives good lip service to being a “science and exploration” organization, but everyone knows that it’s really the Federation of Planets’ military branch. Even General Chang considers Captain Kirk to be a warrior. Starfleet organizes itself in a military manner, adopting militaristic uniforms and ranks that are lifted right out of the Navy. But what’s amazing is that Starfleet seems to have no concept of what being a military organization is all about. For example: Continue Reading »
Hell On Wheels – AMC’s New Vehicle
Hell On Wheels sounds like a subtitle for a Ghost Rider movie or something about bikers like Sons of Anarchy, but it’s really a new western TV series on American Movie Classics (as much of an oxymoron as live action shows on Cartoon Network). It’s paired on Sunday nights with AMC’s biggest hit, the terrific zombie show The Walking Dead. At first glance, it doesn’t make much sense to team up a horror story with a horse opera, but both shows are similar in nature–sprawling, ultra-violent epics with an ensemble cast. Despite the clash of genre, they fit together surprisingly well. AMC is getting known for cutting-edge original entertainment as it’s also home for the award-winning series Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Killing. Hell On Wheels does not disappoint as its newest member in this exclusive club. Continue Reading »
Musical Sequences in Movies That Aren’t Musicals
The movie musical has had a long tradition in Hollywood. Ever since “talkies” were invented, motion picture producers have capitalized on mixing the moving image with song. Many musicals were showcases for song-and-dance types like Gene Kelly, Fred Astair, or Bing Crosby while others were adaptations of stage musicals. In the ’80’s, when audiences outright rejected the fantasy of people breaking into song with choreographed dance numbers, the musical became pseudo-musicals with movies like Footloose, Flashdance, and Dirty Dancing where there was a logical (no matter how dumb) reason for people to be singing and dancing (mostly dancing). Of course, this type of movie is a direct descendent from Saturday Night Fever, which used pop songs on the soundtrack rather than characters providing their own singing. In older movies, you also might find a single song for some odd reason–even the original Pink Panther came to a complete stop in order for a rendition of the torch song “It Had Better Be Tonight.” What’s inexplicable is that some of the most entertaining scenes in mainstream (i.e. non-musical) films feature a song and dance number (not counting movies specifically about musical performers). Musical sequences seem to find their way into the most unexpected movies with wonderful results. Continue Reading »
Worst Treehouse of Horror Episode Ever
Every year, Halloween brings something to look forward to–the annual “Treehouse of Horror” episode of The Simpsons. The show’s creators are able to throw out continuity of the typical storyline (what there is of it) of the dysfunctional animated family in order to have fun with stories that are horrific (blood and gore abound) and satirize genre movies. Regular characters are regularly disposed of in gruesome ways. It’s bloody fun. Except for this year’s episode. Continue Reading »
Rob Zombie Should Have Stuck with a Prequel to Halloween
It seems everyone nowadays wants to remake John Carpenter films. We’ve had remakes of Assault on Precinct 13 and The Fog, a prequel to The Thing (itself a remake), and talks of a remake of Escape from New York. When will we get new versions of Prince of Darkness or Starman? In 2007, rock musician-turned-filmmaker Rob Zombie decided to do his own version of the film that put Carpenter on the map–Halloween. Of course, this was the movie that introduced the world to the silent, slow-walking, Shatner-masked serial killer Michael Myers. For two movies (the second was co-written and produced by Carpenter), the seemingly unstoppable Myers stalked Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode. He took off the third movie only to return for five more sequels (with the last two featuring Curtis once again). The series ran itself into the ground, so Zombie felt it was time for a reboot. Continue Reading »
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