Doctor Who: New Companion & the Series 7 Trailer!!!
Filming on the new series of Doctor Who got under way on the 20th of February, and they recently finished filming on location in Spain. This will be Matt Smith’s third year as ‘the Doctor’, but also Karen Gillian & Arthur Darvill‘s last as companions Amy and Rory. They will be leaving in episode 5.
It, of course, means that a new companion will be joining the Doctor in the TARDIS. The actress to play this – so far unnamed – role has been recently announced: Jenna-Louise Coleman!
Jenna is 25 and comes from Blackpool. She has previously played ‘Jasmine Thomas’ in the ITV soap Emmerdale, and ‘Lindsay James’ in the BBC drama Waterloo Road. She also appeared, last Sunday, on new ITV drama Titanic, as ‘Annie Desmond’. All of which probably means nothing to anyone not from the UK. She was also the voice of Melia in Xenoblade on the Wii and had a small (very small – two lines small) part in the Captain America film.
When she found out she had got the part she was, apparently, in Marks & Spencers holding an avocado. Steven Moffat has said of her ” I think she’s possibly the only person I’ve ever heard [talk] faster than Matt.” He also said that when Jenna’s character meets the doctor it will be “one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters” and that “even by the Doctor’s standard this isn’t your usual boy meets girl.” She will be introduced in the Christmas special.
And so on to the new series (number 7 if you must, or number 33 as I – and lots of other fans – like to think of it). The BBC press release says:
Nazis on the Moon! – The First 4 Minutes of IRON SKY
If you haven’t heard of Iron Sky, you’re about to cause how could you not hear about this Sci-Fi ‘Nazis on the Moon’ comedy!?! We’ve posted it before, but since people rarely pay attention to anything, here is the trailer again…
Looks over the top awesome.
And now what we have here is the first 4 minutes…
Kris Grape’s ‘Space Geography’
Who is Kris Grape? He’s a man obsessed by caps lock and bad spelling; a man who has sent a vaguely threatening e-mail to Filmdrunk; a man who is making a low-budget, indie SF film entitled ‘Space Geography’. And it looks crap.
Here is Grape’s description of his film – from his crazed e-mail to Filmdrunk (and this is a direct quote – spelling mistakes and all – go to Filmdrunk to read all of the craziness) :
“MY MOVIE IS A SCI-FI EPIC WITH ROMANCE, THRILLS, AVCTION, AND HORROR.”
If the film does indeed contain any of these things it fails to show in the trailer. Especially the “AVCTION”. Words can not do the trailer justice. You should watch it. watch it and hope it never escapes, never mind gets released…take a look. (more…)
#12 – Countdown to Christmas: SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS
We’ve had a wide variety of films in the Christmas countdown so far (some of which I’d never even heard of, never mind seen) but none of them are as craptastic as 1964′s Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.
I have a love of weird and ‘bad’ films so I’m biased to how good this is. Some people say it’s the worst Christmas film ever. It’s not and the people who think this have clearly never had to sit through the drivel that is The Littlest Light on The Christmas Tree.
The basic plot – at its simplest – can be described in one short sentence: Mars doesn’t have a Santa Claus so they kidnap Earth’s.
No really, that’s it. Okay, so it may be a little more complicated: there’s a comedy relief Martian; they Kidnap two children so that they don’t report them to the Earth authorities; there’s a villainous Martian who doesn’t want joy and happiness brought to Mars; and Santa wins the day by showing every one the true meaning of Christmas (peace, joy and love, not Jesus’ birthday).
If this was all done with decent acting and special effects this film would have been just crap, but with hammy acting and shoddy effects this is a true craptastic cult classic.
The film starts and ends with the sort of cheesy pop-style songs that gets into your head and wont leave you alone - Hooray For Santy Claus indeed! The color is the lurid type that can only be found in 1960′s American cheap films and TV. It feels like it was made for television and then escaped.
James Bond is Back for Round 23 – ‘Skyfall’ Casting News
Filming began on November the 7th for the 23rd Bond film entitled Skyfall – quite frankly, a ridiculous title in my opinion, but eminently better than Quantum of Solace (Which despite terrible reviews, wasn’t that bad). This is a little round up of the facts…
In case you missed our last casting update, here is an overview of what we know so far. Daniel Craig is returning as Bond – his 3rd time – as is Dame Judi Dench – her 7th time as M. They are joined by director Sam Mendes (American Beauty). All three of these things are good news as they are all excellent.
Ben Whishaw will be playing master of gadgets Q. Skyfall will be Whishaws 4th film with Daniel Craig, appearing as he does in The Trench, Enduring Love and Layer Cake. This will be the first time the character has appeared since 2002′s Die Another Day – where he was played by John Cleese. It will also be the first time Q has been younger than Bond. Whishaw is an accomplished actor and I’m sure he’ll be great.
This will be French actress and model Berenice Marlohe‘s first international film. She will play Severine, who will be – according to the actress – “glamorous” and “enigmatic”. How good an actor she is I don’t know, but she certainly looks ever inch the Bond girl. Naomie Harris (perhaps most famous for her role in the Pirates of The Caribbean movies, and has also appeared in 28 Days Later and A Cock & Bull story) is to play a character called Eve. Early reports speculated that the character would be Miss Moneypenny, though this is looking less likely now.
Vintage Reviews: Nosferatu
F.W. Murnau‘s film is a true classic of not just horror films, but of films in general. Made in 1922 it is the first film version of Dracula. This fact also means we are very lucky to be able to watch it at all. Neither Murnau nor the production company had acquired the rights to ‘Dracula’. They did change names – Dracula to Orlok and Harker to Hutter, for instance – and locations, but it was still far too close to the book. Bram Stokers widow sued the German production company, and a judge ordered the film destroyed. Thankfully, at least one copy survived.
And so to the plot: Thomas Hutter is an Estate Agents clerk in the German city of Wisbourg. His employer – the strange Knock – sends him to the Carpathian Mountains – Transylvania! – to sell a house – the one opposite Hutters house – to the mysterious Count Orlok.
The nearer he travels to the Counts castle the more terrified the locals are. The sinister edifice he finally reaches is deserted, apart from the nefarious Count. As the Count heads off to Wisbourg to claim his new home – slowly killing off the crew of the ship one by one – Hutter tries to make it back to warn everyone.
The cities inhabitants succumb to ‘the plague’, causing wide-spread panic.
Only when Hutter’s young wife sacrifices herself – tricking Orlok into being caught by the sun’s rays – does the terror stop.
Incidentally, it is from this film that the myth that vampires can be killed by sunlight starts.
Nosferatu is one of those movies that everyone should see. It maybe silent – and I know that some people will hold that against it – but this is a cinematic icon. (more…)
#9 – Countdown to Halloween: WHITE ZOMBIE
White Zombie was produced in 1932. It stars horror legend Bela Lugosi as ‘Murder’ Legrande, an evil voodoo master. It is considered the first feature-length zombie film. And these are proper voodoo zombies, not the flesh-eating modern varieties – which aren’t really zombies at all.
The film is set in Haiti, where Madeleine Short (Madge Bellamy) has arrived to marry her fiancée, Neil Parker (John Harron). But a wealthy plantation owner, Charles Beaumont (Robert Frazer), has also fallen in love with her.
He turns to ‘Murder’ Legrande – who runs a sugar cane mill operated entirely by zombies – for help to persuade her to marry him instead. Legrande agrees, but tells Beaumont that the only way is to turn her into a zombie, and gives him a potion to give her.
Parker is distraught at Madeleine’s death, and even more so when he finds her tomb empty. He seeks assistance from Dr. Bruner (Joseph Cawthorn) – a local missionary.
Together they set out to rescue Madeleine from Legrande’s cliff top castle.
#11 – Countdown to Halloween: THE STUFF
The Stuff is a wonderful B-movie-esque film. It was directed by Larry Cohen – who wrote and/or directed such films as Q: the Winged Serpent, Maniac Cop and the It’s Alive films – and stars Michael Moriarty (Troll).
It is about a strange white substance that some miners find bubbling from the ground. It tastes delicious and is subsequently marketed as a dessert, like ice cream. But it isn’t. It’s a living thing that takes over the minds of those that eat it, making then addicted to it, until it controls them completely – zombie like.
Moriarty plays David ‘Mo’ Rutherford, a corporate spy – who used to be in the F.B.I. until he was kicked out. He is hired by the ice cream industry to find out all about this new dessert and the company behind it. When he finds out the truth he sets out to stop The Stuff at all costs.
He is helped in his quest by Nicole (Andrea Marcovicci) – the woman who came up with the marketing campaign, adverts and even the name for The Stuff – and Jason (Scott Bloom) – a young boy who realises that The Stuff is evil early on, but loses his family to it.
The Stuff, in simple terms, is ‘Invasion of The Bodysnatchers’ mixed with ‘The Blob’. It does have an anti-big-corporation undertone and definite anti-drugs leanings.
#24 – Countdown to Halloween: TROLL 2
Do you know what connects the films Troll and Troll 2? (Other than the fact that I bought them packaged onto one DVD). The word ‘troll’ in the title. That’s it. They share no characters, no cast, no locations, not even a single plot element. In fact there isn’t even a troll in Troll 2. There are however, lots of goblins.
Joshua (Michael Stephenson) was told stories about goblins by his Grandpa Seth. However, Seth died 6 months ago and Joshua’s Mother is worried about him imagining that his Grandpa is still reading him the stories. The whole family – Joshua, his Mum and Dad, and his older sister, Holly – are off on vacation to try to recover from the loss of Grandpa Seth. Holly’s boyfriend Elliot – and his friends – follow after them in a camper van. And where are they going? Why to the small town of Nilbog (do you see what they did there?) – population 26 – where they are house swapping with a farmer and his family.
But Joshua keeps seeing his Grandpa, who keeps telling him the place is evil and he mustn’t eat any of the food, because if you eat the goblin potion you turn into vegetable matter. Then the goblins eat you, because, obviously, they’re vegetarians. Which all makes perfect sense.
#31 – Countdown to Halloween: TROLL
Troll - directed by John Carl Buechler (Friday the 13th Part VII) – was released in 1986. It actually featured a relatively accomplished cast: Noah Hathaway (Battlestar Galactica & The NeverEnding Story) and Michael Moriarty (The Stuff) play father and son – ‘Harry Potter Sr.’ and ‘Harry Potter Jr.’
Also living in their building are Sonny Bono, Phil Fondacaro (Willow), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld), Brad Hall (SNL), and June Lockhart (Lost In Space). Not bad for a B movie…
The story starts with a new family moving in to an apartment building in San Fransisco. Shortly thereafter Wendy – the young daughter – is kidnapped by a Troll. He then uses a magic ring to disguise himself as Wendy. (It’s surprising to see the monster of the piece revealed and seen so clearly so early in the film.) Wendy begins to act very strangely – obviously because it’s not Wendy, but the Troll.
Due to Wendy running riot the family – we get to meet (most of) the other residents of the building. There is the creepy, bachelor, swinger (played by Sonny Bono) who lives directly above them; the testosterone filled ex-marine, who thinks intellectual pursuits lead to communism; the actress (Julia Louis-Dreyfus; Right) who lives up stairs and gets no real character development beyond nice (there is also her boyfriend, played by her husband Brad Hall, but he doesn’t live in the building); The slightly grumpy older lady who lives right at the top of the building (June Lockhart); and the English Professor (Phil Fondacro) – who isn’t introduced until later in the film, and who happens to be a dwarf.
The Troll starts to go from apartment to apartment scaring the unpleasant inhabitants and transforming them into mythological beings. Bono gets attacked first. The Troll stabs each of them with a needle like protuberance from his ring. This makes them swell up and turn into ‘pods’, which open to release large amounts of plants and the creatures – little trolls in the cases of Bono’s character and the ex-marine.
"How YOU doing?"
Meanwhile, Wendy’s older brother, Atreyu Harry, becomes convinced – rightly, of course – that Wendy isn’t Wendy. He confides in Eunice St Clair (June Lockhart) who is expecting trouble as she’s a witch. Something she admits (rather too quickly, to my mind) only on the second meeting between Harry and herself.
(Somewhat) Breaking Troll News! “Troll 3″ Imminent!
Michael Stephenson is the director of Best Worst Movie, a documentary film about the making of the film Troll 2, which he was also the star of.
In a recent interview with Collider he talked a little about the oft rumored Troll 3 - or ‘Troll 2: 2′ as it should probably be called, seeing as how ‘Troll 2′ has no real connection with Troll, beyond the name.
Claudio Fragasso – the original Troll 2 director – has a script and is working with Italian producers in getting it financed. Plus they want all the original cast. This has apparently put Stephenson in a dilemma, as he says…
If someone writes a check and says, “Make this movie”, it’ll happen. If Claudio was able to get Troll 2 made, I have every reason to believe he can make this happen, too. I can absolutely understand why someone would be like, “Naturally! Let’s make a sequel!” But two, do I think it’s right to make a sequel? No. My feeling right now is, anything in addition to what he made is unnecessary. I just don’t see…I guess my question is, why?
In other Troll news: John Carl Buechler – director of the original 1986 ‘Troll’ film – is set to remake Troll with a planned 2012 release date. It’s rumored it will star Harrison Bliss and Ali Lohan.
‘Logan’s Run’ Joining the Remake Train
Nicolas Winding Refn – the Danish director responsible for the Pusher Trilogy, Bronson, Valhalla Rising and the recent crime thriller Drive – is set to remake the 1976 SF film Logan’s Run. It will star Ryan Gosling – who was also the star of Drive – as the titular Logan.
For those of you who haven’t seen the orignal film: it is set in a future city where everyone lives a life of pleasure, untill they reach the age of 30 when they are terminated. Logan is a member of the enforcers of this law, but ends up rebelling against the system.
The original film won an Oscar for its visual effects – they look quite dated now though. Winding Refn is hoping to use less CGI and rely more on sets and designs.
The film is to be scored by (the ridiculously monikered) Johnny Jewel. He was a collaborator on the Drive soundtrack. He, apparently, didn’t take much persuading, he was already a fan of the orignal – at his 30th birthday party he had a replica blinking gem in his hand, like in the film.
Doctor Who: New Series 32.5 Trailer!
The Doctor is returning to BBC One and BBC America for the second half of the latest series. We told you in April about the start of the 32nd series, and now there is a trailer for the 2nd half to fill you full of glee and excitement! First though, here’s a rundown on what’s ahead…
- The first episode – Episode 8 will be Let’s Kill Hitler by Steven Moffat. According to the BBC website: ‘In the desperate search for Melody Pond, the TARDIS crash lands in 1930s Berlin, bringing the Doctor face to face with the greatest war criminal in the Universe. And Hitler. The Doctor must teach his adversaries that time travel has responsibilities – and in so doing, learns a harsh lesson in the cruellest warfare of all.’
Judge Dredd Returns to the Silver Screen – Led By Karl Urban & Lena Headey
Judge Dredd – Old Stoneyface; the law man of the future – is coming back to the silver screen. For those of you who don’t know who Dredd is (do you live on the moon or something?) here is a quick history lesson:
Judge Joseph Dredd first appeared in the second issue of the British SF anthology comic 2000AD – dated the 5th of March 1977. He was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra – with some input from then editor Pat Mills.
Dredd is a law enforcement officer in a massive, violent city – Mega City One – in the distant future. The government of the city is the Judges. Judges are police, judge and jury. And, in the overpopulated city – where city ‘blocks’ are enormous sky scrapers housing thousands of, mostly unemployed, citizens – are all that stands between order and outright chaos. Dredd is – as he puts it – The Law.
Starz & the BBC Team Up For “Torchwood: Miracle Day”
This week (in the U.S., next week in the U.K.) sees the return of Torchwood and of Captain Jack – Harkness, not Sparrow – for a fourth series. Now I’ve been told I need to explain what Torchwood is to our mostly North American readership, so here goes with a really brief summary…
Torchwood is a spin-off series from Doctor Who, about a top-secret British organization called the ‘Torchwood Institute’ – which was set up on the instructions of Queen Victoria after she had a run in with an alien werewolf and the 10th Doctor. It’s lead now by the aforementioned Captain Jack (John Barrowman). He is a handsome, charming, heroic, bi-sexual, immortal, ex-time agent. Was that enough adjectives?
The other main character is Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles). She is an ex-cop with the South Wales Police, and is currently the only other member of Torchwood. They are also joined by her husband Rhys (Kai Owen).
Torchwood is aimed much more at an adult audience, unlike Doctor Who which is more family orientated.
The Starz (Spartacus, Camelot) channel is co-producing the new series with the BBC. It’s set mainly in America, and was filmed in Los Angeles – except for two weeks in Wales. The stops have been pulled out, with the budget of each of the 10 episodes being, apparently, over £1 million (roughly 1.6 million in US currency).
The general synopsis of the new series – Miracle Day – is as follows.
One day, all across the world, nobody dies. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day… People age, people get sick, people get hurt, but nobody dies. Births continue though. The population sky rockets overnight. Experts predict that in four months the human race will cease to be viable. CIA agent Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer) investigates and discovers a global conspiracy that leads him to a secret British institution. It also features Alexa Havins as Esther Drummond and Bill Pullman as convicted murderer Oswald Danes.
Here’s the trailer:
Vintage Reviews: The Black Cat
The Black Cat (aka The House of Doom) is one of the Universal horror movies from the 1930′s, and stars two of the greatest names in horror: Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Unlike the more classic horror films that Universal made around this time – such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Invisible Man – The Black Cat is much less known – even though it was Universal’s biggest hit in 1934.
The film’s opening credits name Edgar Allen Poe’s story as the inspiration, but apart from the title, has no other real connection.
Two honeymooning Americans – Joan and Peter Allison (played by Jacqueline Wells and David Manners) – meet Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Lugosi) on a train in Austria. He is on his way to the home of Hjalmar Poelzig (Karloff) after finally being released from a Russian prison, where he has been incarcerated for 15 years since the First World War (although, of course, this film being released in 1934 it isn’t referred to as such).
[Ed. - Tell me you weren't waiting for Karloff to break into "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" in the video above...]
Vintage Reviews: Phantasm
The problem with Phantasm is that on one level it’s rubbish. And that is as far as some people will see, but if you look a little deeper you’ll find a gem – although it is in the rough.
Phantasm is about Jody (Bill Thornbury), his younger brother Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) and their friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister) – who is an ice cream man – and their attempt to stop ‘The Tall Man’ (Angus Scrimm - Femme Fatales) from stealing corpses to turn into an undead, dwarf slave army. It’s that simple.
It is – unsurprisingly – a horror film, but it’s more of an old school horror film. It’s quite low on gruesome horror and gore. Most of the film is blood free – or yellow gloop free, as that passes for monster blood here – and there are only three on-screen deaths. It isn’t low on terror though. It’s the slow building kind.
‘In Case You Missed It’ Review: Rubber
Rubber wont be to everyone’s taste. Words like ‘weird’ and ‘stupid’ will be used against it. Understandable really, considering it is a film about a psychic killer tire, but not an assessment I would necessary agree with. Weird without a doubt – although absurd is better – but definitely not stupid. It’s just that you have to look a little deeper.
Return of The Doctor: Who comes to America
Series 32 of Doctor Who starts on Saturday the 23rd of April, and will be shown on BBC One, BBC One HD and BBC America. And I, for one, am so excited I could wet myself! No, really, I could.
This is all the information I know up to now (no, not just the date, what I am about to impart to you.) There will be a few light spoilers, but not too many as I don’t want to know too much either.
