12 monkeys Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cinematical Seven: Apocalyptic Science Fiction Films
Filed under: Classics », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Cinematical Seven »
Apocalypse you say? Then armageddon outta here. Whether it's war, pestilence or one of the other Four Horsemen, the end of civilization as we know it has been a recurring theme since the beginning of science fiction cinema. This Friday sees the release of Knowing, a film in which a looming global cataclysm plays a major role -- so let's take a look back at seven films with different versions of how it will all end.
I Am Legend (2007)
Let's start with one that's still fresh in everyone's mind. In this film based on the Richard Matheson novel, Will Smith plays Robert Neville who, at the start of the film anyway, appears to be the last man on Earth thanks to his immunity to the virus that has stricken everyone else. The majority of the population has died from the disease, while the remainder have been mutated into animalistic rage-driven creatures who fear the daylight. Neville is a virologist and spends his days looking for a cure and his nights locked away in the safety of his Manhattan home.
It's interesting that this is one of the few such films where the end of civilization is not brought on by an act of aggression, but by a noble cause: a man-made virus intended to cure cancer that goes horribly wrong. The film is entertaining, but personally I find the CGI Darkseekers distractingly unconvincing. They leap around as if they have no weight and when they shriek their jaws distend like an anaconda swallowing a pig. Also, the film's original ending, which you can see on the DVD, made a lot more sense to me. Of the previous adaptations of the novel, The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price remains my favorite. Charlton Heston's The Omega Man has its moments but hasn't aged well and starts to run out of steam early on.
Cinematical Seven: The Best Sci-Fi Remakes
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Cinematical Seven », Remakes and Sequels »
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With this weekend's The Day the Earth Stood Still, Hollywood continues its attempt to remake every remotely viable classic property it can get its hands on. (It also conjures up the perfect role for Keanu Reeves, but that's another post.) The science-fiction genre has been a particularly inviting target, which makes sense since the ability to use modern effects makes filmmakers think that they are improving on their source material regardless of whether that's actually true. But it hasn't been all bad. Hollywood still churns out some good sci-fi from time to time, and some of the remakes have hit their mark. Here's a list of seven that worked for me -- though I warn you that my tastes in genre films are somewhat idiosyncratic. I'm fond of some black sheep.
1. War of the Worlds (2005) - Some of you may want to get off the train right here. But I saw Spielberg's War of the Worlds before the bad buzz, and I found the first ninety minutes just ridiculously intense -- the realest alien invasion ever put on screen. This was Spielberg the wizard, the technician, in top form. Sure, he chose to play out his daddy issues instead of giving us a believable ending; everyone is right about that. But to me, that's barely a smudge on this movie's accomplishments.
The Exhibitionist: Repeat Business
Filed under: Action », Magnolia », Warner Brothers », Box Office », Fandom », Exhibition », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Columns »
Behold my 1000-plus words way of asking you this simple question: how many times have you seen The Dark Knight?
Here's a little story I probably tell too often (it's even in my "Meet the Team" bio): Long ago, at an art school that should remain nameless (I hated the place too much to give it any kind of credit), I studied film production, with the crazy notion that I would be the one to bridge the gap between Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino (this was in the mid-90s, when all film students just wanted to be the latter). And while I wasn't any good at being the kind of leader necessary to be a great director, I thought I was on track to (at the very least) become an Oscar-winning screenwriter.
Then, in the middle of my freshman year, I went to see 12 Monkeys. And when it was over, I stayed in the theater and I watched it again. I believe this to be the moment when I decided that I no longer wanted to be a filmmaker and wanted to be a film watcher. But it would take me another year of school -- during which I changed the names in my dream from Spielberg and Tarantino to Gilliam and Hartley -- to realize that I could be a ... professional movie theater employee!
Years more would go by before I actually realized that I was better off writing about the movies than attempting to write for the movies, and fortunately all that time managing multiplexes gave me an extra niche to write about, as well. This week's column, however, despite its long-winded introduction, is not about how I came to write "The Exhibitionist." It's actually more specifically about that repeat screening of 12 Monkeys 12 years ago. Because thanks to The Dark Knight's box office success reportedly linked in part to repeat business, I've been thinking about the few movies that I've actually seen in the theater more than once.
Brad Pitt: The Good, the Bad, but What are the Ugly?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Lists »
Ah, Brad Pitt. While some ladies have loved him since they first laid eyes on him, I was not one of them. Thelma & Louise never made me gaga, and his relationship with Juliette Lewis creeped me out. Then the little bugger started to grow on me. There was A River Runs Through It, True Romance, and then Interview with the Vampire. I begrudgingly gave up my dislike, but it wasn't until Fight Club that I ever thought: "Ohhh, Brad!" It's just something about those pelvic muscles. Anyhow, Moviefone has just put up a list of what they consider to be his best and worst movies, and if you're a fan of all things Pitt, you might want to check it out.Of course, the best includes cult classics like 12 Monkeys, as well as his most recent -- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It's funny how that movie is getting tons of raves, yet had one heck of a time getting released. On the worst side of things, well, I'm there with them for the most part, although I have a particular fondness for Meet Joe Black. Perhaps it stems from my love of Death Takes a Holiday, or from that irresistible car accident scene that has him flopping around like a mannequin. Whatever the case, it's far from great, but still off my worst list. Check out Moviefone for the full list and then let us know -- there's the good, the bad, but what are the ugly? Are there any that made you cringe so much you can't believe his career survived? And did they miss the boat with any of the good or bad?
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