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scifi squad Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Five Ways to Save Joss Whedon

by Monika Bartyzel Nov 15th 2009 // 4:04PM

Filed under: Action », Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fan Rant »



As much as we all fervently and loyally love Joss Whedon, it's time to face facts: His mojo is off. It's not gone -- I'd never suggest such a thing. One look at Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and the better episodes of Dollhouse prove that the magic is still there. However, it has lost its focus, writhing in the ether, struggling to gain the fame of his earlier television work -- fame that while never massive, was solid, loyal, and passionate.

With Dollhouse canceled, the question on everyone's mind is how can he get back to the success of Buffy? How can he shrug off the pain of two battles for ratings and second seasons, and present a show that ushers in a fandom rivaling what came before with Buffy, Giles, Willow, and Xander?

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Announcing Our October Theme: Villains

by Erik Davis Oct 1st 2009 // 1:15PM

Filed under: Site Announcements », Fandom »



This past summer we decided to introduce a 'Summer Appreciation' theme to Cinematical, which included features like Our Favorite Summers and a summer-related interview series with the directors who had films coming out. Since we all (and you all) had so much fun with that, we decided to re-introduce a theme this month to not just Cinematical, but Horror Squad and SciFi Squad, too -- and that theme is ... villains!

So, beginning today and lasting all month long, we'll be shoveling out a number of villain-centric pieces across all three sites. You'll see features like Villains We Love, October's Biggest Villains, Villains with Really Stupid Plans, Villains That Wore Out Their Welcome and so much more. Over on Horror Squad we'll be launching our 31 Fates Worse Than Death series, where each day we'll be taking a look at a movie character's fate that was worse than death. Over on SciFi Squad, we'll be showing you how to make your very own Darth Vader cake, and so on and so forth.

All of this fantastic October-themed coverage will lead up to our Fifth Annual Halloween Costume Contest, which we'll unveil (in all its awesome prize-giving glory) in just a short time from now. So get pumped, get excited and definitely get your freak on -- it's October baby, and we're gonna have some fun.

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Two New 'Top 100' Lists to Get Angry At!

by Scott Weinberg Aug 26th 2009 // 12:02PM

Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Lists »

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I had the audacity to put together a "Top 100 Horror Movies" list, mainly because I get numerous emails, tweets, and random requests for "a few good horror movies to rent." It's awesome that people turn to me for an opinion, and so I put a lot of time and thought (about two good hours) into this list right here at Horror Squad. It's been so popular that three separate people on the Twitter have called me a moron this week.

But then I realized that I was ignoring my other baby ... the one called Sci-Fi Squad. (And I further realized that I haven't been called a moron enough this week.) And since sci-fi runs a close second to horror in my favorite genre department, well, let's just say I've seen a whole freaking lot of science fiction films. Less than some, more than most, but a whole stinking lot. This list took a bit longer than the horror one, mainly because I didn't want to omit anything that was worthy, but also because I insist on including personal favorites like Species. Yes, the hot naked horny alien movie. I dig it. And here are the remaining 99 ... over at Sci-Fi Squad.

I eagerly await your incredulous gasps and challenges upon my sanity. One last time: Here's The Top 100 Horror Films of All Time, and The Top 100 Sci-Fi Films of All Time ... according to me, of course. Both crafted with love. And caffeine.

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Del Toro Updates 'Hobbit' and 'Frankenstein' Casting and More!

by Cinematical staff Jun 11th 2009 // 3:02PM

Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Fandom », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »

Now that we've launched these two new genre sites -- Horror Squad and ScFi Squad -- there's going to be a good amount of content over there that's not over here. Like this post from SciFi Squad about Guillermo Del Toro, who just updated (and cast) a couple of his new projects.

Don't ask me how Guillermo del Toro works on four hundred projects at once, because it always amazes me to see how much he's got going on, and it's also inspiring to see a filmmaker that passionate about creating and conceptualizing and coming up with awesome new things for the world and his fans. Guillermo del Toro is exactly the kind of guy we want handling some of these more fanboy-ish properties because he's a true geek -- and while other filmmakers are using their celebrity status to attend parties at the Playboy mansion, this mofo is designing creatures and drawing in his sketchbook and working hard to please us.

Round of applause before we move on ...

In a new interview on BBC Radio, Del Toro let loose that he's already cast friend (and collaborator) Doug Jones as Frankenstein in his planned adaptation of the classic tale, and will begin testing things like make-up within the next few weeks -- though he admits (to Digital Spy) that he's "not in a hurry" and is perfectly fine shooting the film five or six years from now. "You have one shot in your lifetime at these things and I don't want to do it the wrong way." Next up: Del Toro reveals who he's already cast in The Hobbit.

Read the rest at SciFi Squad

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