Tobar

Uh...that's Weird Science not Real Genius.

The Man of Bronze by Lester Dent

Man, what an awesome book. I had no idea how much Doc Savage was ripped off by others. No wonder he's called the first superhero. I can't recommend this enough.

Drive (2011)

Originally I had intended to watch The Conspirator because I thought it'd make a nice sequel to AL:VH. =P But my brother came over so we ended up watching this. I'd heard good things about it. I was a little skeptical because of Ryan Gosling but I gave it a chance. It turned out really well. Good film, odd title design and soundtrack though. =P

My friend Stacy launched the kickstarter for his game Jack Houston and the Necronauts yesterday. It sounds really exciting and is doing well so far. Click here to check it out.

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Just got back from seeing this. What a wonderful film.

I haven't read the book and I had no problem following it. Of course if you're talking during the movie you're going to miss things...

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Just got back from this. Wow. That was one awesome movie. Going in I thought this was probably going to be low budget and corny. I hadn't watched a trailer for it beforehand, just saw the poster. This movie was off the rails. It was a huge film that balanced everything almost perfectly. It captured the time period perfectly, the actor they got to play Abe was great. I really can't think of anything to complain about. It had its corny elements of course but they're easily forgiven. Fun flick.

Man, that looks awesome!

@emanswfan can we please avoid the term prequelish? It just sticks in my craw. The updated displays do look great though.

walking_carpet said:

i dunno 'bout bryce.  she looks too much like her dad!

Collider said:

How did the advances in technology in the past few years possibly help or shift the telling of this story?

McCallum: Well I wouldn’t say there was anything revolutionary in terms of technology except for the cost per shot ratio. Had we done this 10 or 15 years ago, we would’ve been locked into ILM only being able to do this. What happened at this point is, by serendipity happening not until 2010-2011, what we were able to see were a number of visual effects houses, a number of a new generation of artists that had entered the workplace all around the world. While we were shooting the Czech Republic we met a company called UPP, they have about 100-120 artists, and they were starting to do astonishing work for television and some major breakthrough in 3D matte paintings. They had never done a film of this size, and they couldn’t do a film of our size—cause we have over 1600 visual effects shots—but we felt confident that they could do somewhere between 400 and 550 shots.

There was another company called Pixomondo in Germany and they had done a World War I German film called The Red Baron. They had done a huge experimentation in cloud manipulation—all digital—that we thought was really, really interesting and unbelievably cheap, so they came onboard. They hit another benchmark altogether, they did more shots than anybody; they ended up doing about 575 shots. There’s a wonderful company in Mexico and Canada and a company we’ve always wanted to work with in Austria called Rising Sun when we were doing Star Wars. They had all, during the last four or five years, found a level of talent and manage their companies well enough that they’re starting to be major players. It’s like when you saw Inception, that was done by a relatively small house in London at the time, but [it was] astonishing work. Normally if you had seen that you’d have said, “No, there’s only three companies that could’ve done that. Weta, Sony ImageWorks, or Industrial Light and Magic.”

That’s what happening now, there’s a worldwide group of people—still limited, because it’s such a particularly difficult thing that you’re asking, you’re asking for an engineer to be an artist. You’re dealing with a guy who understands physics, science, and math at a level that’s incompatible with a normal person, but at the same time who’s gotta be an artist. He’s gotta have a sense of painting, of history and what things do, of images. It’s very hard to find that kind of person, but now there’s so many different schools, there’s so many people that are interested in film and especially in terms of the technology side of film, that suddenly the fruits of everybody’s labor is really starting to manifest itself all across the planet. I mean China, we had about 35 full shots done out of Pixomondo’s offices in China. Very, very promising. They’re probably five, seven years behind but they’re gonna get there and it’s gonna happen unbelievably quickly.

The reason for all of that is how do you drive the cost down? How do you get a writer to be able to sit down with a producer and director and write anything that’s in his imagination? Or a director to allow him to be unlimited in the size and scope of what he wants to do, and find a way in which you can utilize the resources around the world to make it happen in a more cost efficient way. That’s the whole game plan. And one of the problems we had too at the particular time—which forced us into this position—was ILM was completely filled up. It was booked for two and a half years. They were doing Pirates and Transformers and every big film, so we had no other choice but to look around the rest world.

Source

Beyond the Sea (2004)

What a conflicted film. There are parts that are great and then parts that are just so contrived... It's a shame.

Nice. Can't wait to see her finished. Stinks I can't make it out there this time.

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Just got back from seeing this. It kind of had an Explorers (1985) vibe but not exactly. Great movie with a great cast.

Yeah the new actors are what prevented me from watching any of their episodes before. I always felt if you love the TOS era than create your own ship to have adventures on. As the Bourne Legacy posters say: "There was never just one."

But once I pushed past that and accepted it on its terms it was good stuff. Can't vouch for any of their other episodes though...

Having followed Space Command since it was announced. I decided to watch the episode Marc Scott Zicree wrote and directed of Star Trek: New Voyages. He says that experience is what inspired him to take on the challenge of making Space Command. It...is really good. I thought I'd enjoy it but I wasn't expecting to actually be touched by it.

Here it is if you want to check it out.

To get us back on topic:

Move over Star Trek – Space Command is ready to boldly go
where no sci-fi series has gone before

A new and original feature film series produced, directed and starring some of the genre’s top visionaries has launched a grassroots effort that’s now gaining momentum with Hollywood’s most respected producers.

 (Hollywood, CA – June 15, 2012) - “Space Command,” a new and original feature film series from award-winning writer/producer Marc Scott Zicree, Academy Award and Emmy Award winner Doug Drexler and digital film pioneer Neil Johnson is poised to enter new territory in the field of science fiction film making.  A grassroots financing effort – coordinated exclusively through the crowd-funding site Kickstarter – has generated more than twice the initial budget required to produce the two-hour maiden voyage of the new series.  All accomplished in under a month.

“It all started with an experience I had writing and collaborating on a fan-produced Star Trek episode called World Enough and Time,” explained Mr. Zicree.  “That episode was nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards – the first independent project ever nominated for those awards.”

“Our production costs on that episode were just around $100,000 and I realized that we had the tools we needed to go up against larger, studio-produced shows – and that we could succeed,” said Mr. Zicree.  “If we had the right friends, the right heart and the right talent, we could make something that could stand the test of time.”

Kickstarting the Adventure
Mr. Zicree and his producing partners turned to crowd-funding website Kickstarter.com to generate the funds necessary to bring their idea for a new sci-fi television series to life.  This grassroots effort met the $75,000 goal set to fund the pilot episode in just over three days.  Backers have now raised over $150,000 and Mr. Zicree promises every penny will be seen on the screen.

“Every dollar we raise goes right into the production to make Space Command that much bigger, better and delivered faster,” claims Mr. Zicree on the project’s Kickstarter page.  “It’s a big, epic story and we have many great surprises for you.”

In fact, Space Command’s nearly 2,000 backers have been pleasantly surprised over the past month with daily updates on the project’s progress, special rewards for providing support and a nearly constant stream of encouragement from Mr. Zicree and Mr. Drexler.

“Our goal now is to reach a half million dollars and beyond,” writes Mr. Zicree.  With over a month to go before the social media-driven campaign ends, its clear the production team at Space Command thinks they have a chance of reaching their new, ambitious target.  If they do, it will be one of the most successful film and video projects funded through Kickstarter.com.

Industry Support Engenders Enthusiasm
The credibility Mr. Zicree, Mr. Drexler and Mr. Johnson bring to the project has helped attract an array of interest and support from Hollywood’s most talented directors, producers and on-screen personalities.  Endorsements for Space Command have been collected from the likes of Damon Lindelof (Prometheus, Lost), Neil Gaiman (Sandman, American Gods, Dr. Who, Coraline), Glen Mazzara (Walking Dead), Jane Espenson (Game of Thrones), Hugo Award-winning author David Brin and Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy).

“We’re thrilled to have support from so many of our Hollywood friends,” said Mr. Zicree.  “A number of leading writers, producers and directors in the sci-fi world are working on the project, along with actors, special effects artists, and designers from some of the biggest movies and TV shows of the last twenty years, including STAR WARS, HARRY POTTER and THE AVENGERS.”

Space Command’s Kickstarter campaign closes on July 14^th.

About Space Command:  Space Command is a unique foray into the world of film-making.  Financed entirely by fans and backers via Kickstarter, the program represents a new approach to science fiction – one that brings back the optimistic outlook of humankind’s future and the thrill and adventure of space travel and exploration.

You can learn more about Space Command by visiting www.spacecommandmovie.com

Win Win (2011)

Another that slipped me by when it hit theaters. It was pretty decent. Though the end was a little.....eh.

Everything Must Go (2010)

Another film I decided to watch on a whim. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was filmed here! Though unfortunately pretty much only in the ritzier part of town. Not bad but not great either. Seems like there was a bit of lost potential but in the end an okay film.

DuracellEnergizer said:

 

Star Wars Purist said:

Kids and Junior novels are in the same boat.

Galaxy of Fear continues to get no respect =(

 

Tell me about it! I love Galaxy of Fear!

xhonzi said:

Are you reading the Halo books at all? Fall of Reach, First Contact, and Ghosts of Onyx are the good ones... I'd steer clear of The Flood and The Cole Protocol for sure... but the three I mentioned do a good job of deepening the Halo story/world/mythos.

 

I've suddenly stumbled into too many things I wanna read! Right now I'm reading the first Doc Savage novel and loving it. I had wanted to dive into the Martian Chronicles but have found myself listening to Fall of Reach while working on stuff throughout the day. I'm about 11 chapters in so far.

You wouldn't steal a hand bag

Total Recall (1990)

Been a while since I'd seen it last. There is no doubt that this is a Paul Verhoeven film. =P I hope they don't royally screw up the remake but the fact that there's no Mars already has my head shaking.

A little off topic but interesting: Alien 3: The Lost Tale of the Wooden Planet

While I've toyed with experiencing media according to its in-universe chronology. I've found that I enjoy things more when I go by publication order. Lets me get an insight into the creators changing sensibilities over the years.

The only current exception to that is I plan to start reading TOS novels according to in-universe chronology and that's just because there are so many different individuals involved. There's not much point in going by publication order.

I think I'll try to pick up ODST tomorrow but I plan to put off playing it. There's so much time between now and November. I think instead I'll start playing SWTOR more and maybe jump into Gemini Rue.

Welp. Just finished Halo 3. It all makes sense now that I've played the previous entries. =P Up next is Halo 3: ODST. I'm actually kind of shocked how cheap it's going for. Probably has to do with the fact that it had no multiplayer of its own but piggybacked off of Halo 3.