Cinematic Art Ruined by Thieves; The World Says Goodbye to “The Giant Spider Invasion” Spider

September 4, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

Now this reviewer is a huge fan of films which some people may call B movies. I have never thought of them that way, they are just as valid a form of cinematic entertainment as any other and if they bring joy to a select amount of people then they should be championed because of this. So it is with a sad heart that we have to report (via IO9) that a piece of cinema has been taken from us. That piece of cinema is the huge frikking spider from The Giant Spider Invasion.

The rusty framework of the spider (which had resided at the director’s home) has been stolen from its home in Merrill Wisconsin which was also where the film was made. Below is the video of the crime with comments from director Bill Rebane.

http://v9.anv.bz/scripts/anv_mcp_9.jsvar p = new anv_pl_def();p.loadVideoWithKey(“eyJtIjoiR1JUViIsInAiOiI1MyIsInYiOiIyNjY2MDE3In0=”);

For those that do not know, The Giant Spider Invasion is a cheesy little movie from 1975 which actually feels more like something made in the atomic obsessed 1950s. It is, for the most part, hilariously bad but part of its charm is the lead: a giant spider with red eyes. A lot of people have seen this from the amazing guys of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, who have pretty much been instrumental in keeping awful movies like this alive (even if it is through their ridicule).

It was actually made from a parade float that went on top of a Volkswagen. If you look at the photo below it becomes pretty apparent that it has car lights for eyes. People in the car would hold the spider legs out the window. It may have been ranked in the top 25 worst movies ever made but who cares? It was loads of fun and to be honest, looks a damn slight more realistic than some of the CGI rubbish I have seen going direct to DVD.

This film had heart even if it did not have a budget and this is what makes it kind of sad. Sure it is not a crime on the scale of someone stealing a frame model of The Terminator but to the director and a lot of fans around the world, this piece of cinematic history meant a lot and to hear of its theft for the purposes of scrap is very sad. If nothing else we will always have the movie to keep us entertained even if the spider has gone to the big scrap heap in the sky.

Movie News & Opinions

Will Loki Be Present For Avengers: Age of Ultron? Tom Hiddleston Might Be Hint-Dropping…

September 3, 2013 Anna Coffman Leave a comment

We already know that Joss Whedon has stated Loki isn’t part of his plan for the highly anticipated Avengers sequel, but does that rule out an appearance by the God of Mischief entirely? A recent interview via MTV.com with Tom Hiddleston hints at the possibility. “I do feel like there’s some unfinished business between Loki and the Hulk,” Hiddleston said. “I feel like he didn’t get a fair fight.” The Hulk’s brutal bruising of Loki is one of the most memorable scenes from The Avengers and a fan favorite. And surely even Joss Whedon can’t deny a god’s demand for a rematch.

With or without an appearance in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, we are going to see plenty of Hiddleston’s Loki soon. In Thor: The Dark World, a movie that Hiddleston says is “a sequel to Avengers as much as it is to Thor,” Loki has a prominent role in the story alongside Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. “Loki has a very complicated relationship with Thor. He is an agent of chaos without equal in the world he inhabits. He knows his true nature. He knows he doesn’t belong in the family of Asgard, and he’s locked away in the beginning of the film in the deepest, darkest recesses of the dungeon as public enemy number one.” Loki doesn’t stay locked up for long, however. Hiddleston playfully joked, “Lo and behold, Asgard needs his help. That’s going to be a very complicated allegiance.”

Once Thor: The Dark World is released on November 8, we may know more about Loki’s future in the Marvel Universe. When asked about when we can expect the trickster’s next appearance, Hiddleston answered, “Who knows. You’ll have to see what happens in The Dark World to find out where Loki finishes up.”

I think we’re ready for a Loki-centric movie, don’t you?

The Untimely Passing of Some of Television’s Stars And The Impact On Their Shows

September 3, 2013 Michelle L. Mattock Leave a comment

With the recent tragic death of Cory Monteith, many Glee fans are wondering how his character will be dealt with in the soon to air 5th season. According to recent news stories, the third episode of season 5 will be the memorial episode for Cory Monteith’s character Finn Hudson. Monteith was found in his hotel room after passing away from a combination of heroin and alcohol on July 13th.

This has got us thinking here at Grizzly Bomb because while rare, there have been several moments like this in television history. On more than a couple of occasions, actors have passed on during production. Here, we look at a few of the most famous of the last quarter century or so, and how the television shows have coped and moved on (whether successfully or not).

Continue reading The Untimely Passing of Some of Television’s Stars And The Impact On Their Shows →

MOVIES

DVD Catastrophe – Mock Buster Round Up – What’s Up: Balloon to the Rescue! (2009)

September 2, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

Since the dawn of cinema, studios have always managed to milk the next best thing until it is bone dry. Genres that come back in vogue again are quickly reused and tons of very similar products instantly hit the market. For the best example, just look at the zombie movie genre now. Since its resurgence (roughly around when Land of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead came out) we are constantly bombarded with new zombie titles every few months with varying degrees of entertainment value. However, some companies are a lot more blatant than just copying a genre; they go one step further and actual copy everything. This is what I want to look at with this section, the cheeky chappies who put out movies copying the entire plot lines and even the cover art too. So welcome to Mock Buster Round Up where it is with much pride that we promote these movies (good or bad) so you know what you are getting yourselves in for the next time you look up a movie on Netflix!

Look familiar? It should, as it looks pretty much like a small, teeny-tiny Pixar movie from 2009 titled Up (as if you did not know). Even having a title as long as What’s Up: Balloon to the Rescue barely disguises that the word ‘Up’ takes up a third of the cover box. Look at the description below from Amazon for even more shameful re-using of plot devices.

[quote]Packed with magic and eye-popping animation, What’s Up Balloon to the Rescue! takes off with a bang when the brilliant, but befuddled Dr. Crumb discovers a magical stone that turns his house into a hot air balloon. The discovery allows Crumb and his trusted brainiac companions to pursue a heroic career of monster-chasing. But soon, the criminal-minded Jean-Pierre hatches a particularly diabolical plan which sends this airborne voyage into a new level of turbulence!
Without the magic stone, will the scientists crash land, or will they be able to save the world by using their own ingenuity? What s Up Balloon to the Rescue! is a gravity-defying adventure for the entire family. [/quote]

So we have a house that floats (only one balloon this time), a quirky old man (this time a doctor) and a balloon having trouble flying. Looks like all bases are covered then. Amazon reviews for this are as you would expect and it seems that some serious borrowing has been going on here. You will no doubt be seeing a lot of Disney and Pixar copy cats in this section just because they can knock out the animation pretty quickly. Just so you can see how bad this is here is a collection of the (so called) best bits some off which come of as slightly racist.

For comparison purposes I leave you with this, the actual cover for Up, one of the most tear jerking Pixar movies ever created. Enjoy.

Movie News & Opinions

Marvel Phase 2: Avengers 2 Has Found Its Ultron & Guardians Has Its Raccoon

August 30, 2013 Chris Tansuche Leave a comment

There have been some major Marvel news coming out in the past few days that will greatly impact Phase 2 movie slate so let us get to it. First off, according to The Hollywood Reporter and several other news outlets, The Avengers sequel has found its main baddie. James Spader has been tapped to take on the all-star cast as the supervillain Ultron for the major Marvel movie of 2015.

James Spader has been seen recently in Lincoln, the Spielberg movie for which he got a ton of critical praise for. He’s also most known for his work on television, with the most recent gig being Blacklist on NBC. Granted, he was also on that one forgettable season of The Office as Robert California but we won’t let that get in the way of the excitement. I think he definitely has the gravitas and the acting chops to keep up with Robert Downey Jr. and his superhero squad so it’ll be interesting to see the chemistry between the heroes and villain and their back and forth.Ultron does hate the Avengers with the passion of a thousand burning suns so there should be some great back and forths on screen.

In the other big news, Marvel.com has officially named the voice actor for Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy. That happens to be recent Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper. Yep, that same dude from the Hangover movies and Silver Linings Playbook. He joins the ensemble cast that already boasts Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista to name a few.

It’s an interesting choice because Cooper has not done any voice acting before and there has been mixed reactions in the fanboy community as to whether he can pull it off. I like the choice because I do like Bradley Cooper and I think he should be able to pull off playing a military leader behind Star Lord and dish out some damage with his affinity for weapons. Again, it’s all contingent on how the movie looks, as well as his character, but I have faith in Marvel. Phase 2 should make for some interesting fun and their recent casting, for the most part, seems inspired. Recent actor choices have ranges from Ben Kingsley in Iron Man 3, to Captain America: Winter Soldier getting Robert Redford to now Spader and Cooper joining the Marvel cinematic universe. Time will tell but I think it’s safe to say they know what they are doing at this point.

What do you guys think? Make sure you leave comments either down below or on the Facebook page and if you want, offer up some suggestions who you think it should be for these movies if you don’t agree with the choices. For those that don’t know yet, Guardians of the Galaxy will hit theaters August 1st, 2014 while Avengers: Age of Ultron hits on May 1st, 2015.

Uncategorized

The Order of X: A Game of Thrones and X-Men Mashup You Need to See

August 30, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

The X-Men have certainly had their share of makeovers in their illustrious career. Whether it is the yellow and black look of the Jim Lee era, the iconic retro look from the X-Men’s first appearance or even the much talked about leather clad look from the movies, they have all managed to have an impact on fans around the world. This is not even including the multiple alternative Earths that the characters have appeared in. With all these costume changes it is refreshing to see that an artist can still put their own spin on these well traveled mutants. Which is where Nate Hallinan comes into the picture (thanks to Newsarama for the information).

His take on mutants comes from a much more fantastical view point and his character designs certainly have a Game of Thrones feel to them. Here is a quote directly from Nate’s web site to show you exactly the direction he is taking.

[box_light]The Order of X is a group of ‘gifted’ individuals in the service of Lord Charles Xavier. The Order provides sanctuary and protection to individuals outcast by society due to their innate abnormalities. These people are often misidentified as monsters, demons, warlocks and witches. Only those who are accepting of the ‘gifted’ are welcome in the realm of Lord Xavier.[/box_light]

Now that has peaked your interest, have a look at the gallery of newly designed X-Men with an abridged run down of their new origins.

Beast – Hendrick McCoy

[box_dark]Henrick’s mind is as fierce as his appearance. Henrick was given the name “Beast” as an ironic term of endearment. He is loved by his peers and is one of most wise and trusted members of Xavier’s council. He is well educated and continues to be a scholar of many disciplines.[/box_dark]

Colossus – Peter Rasputin

[box_dark]The mountain of metal; Colossus. His father was a blacksmith and eventually apprenticed him in the family trade. Hard labor made Peter strong but he was always larger than the other kids. His size and strength even made certain people nervous. Others even rumored that it was ‘unnatural.’[/box_dark]

Cyclops – Scott Summers

[box_dark]Scott and his younger brother were both orphans who grew up fending for themselves on the streets. The day Scott’s ability manifested he accidentally destroyed several buildings and set fire to half the village. In the chaos of everything Scott lost sight of his brother for he couldn’t open his eye without causing more destruction. Xavier, perceiving the trouble, quickly dispatched members from his order to rescue Scott.[/box_dark]

Lady Grey – Phoenix

[box_dark]Jean comes from the noble family of Grey. She was a bit of a tomboy growing up. Her parents despised and discouraged her unladylike behavior, but once she developed unnatural abilities, her family feared the worse. Lord Xavier offered her parents an opportunity to provide her with guidance and protection; they reluctantly accepted.[/box_dark]

Night Crawler – Kyrt V’wagnyr

[box_dark](Kyrt V’wagnyr roughly translates from elven as Nightcrawler.) Kyrt never knew his real parents. He was found by a band of elves as an infant. They were on a twilight march, celebrating the new moon, when they found him crawling next to his basket on a riverbank. They happily adopted him seeing that he was part elf. His enchanting midnight appearance and mysterious abilities makes him highly regarded among elves. Magic runs deep in the race of elves but Kyrt’s abilities are more potent than most.[/box_dark]

Stormbringer – Ororo

[box_dark]As a young adult, Xavier met Ororo as a child on one of his quests. He caught her trying to steal his coin purse with his mind, but when he did, he saw her potential. He offered her a home where she would never have to steal again. Henrick McCoy took her in as one of his apprentices.[/box_dark]

If you liked these superb pieces of art and want to read more on how the characters were created and their full history then check out Nate’s website here, where he will be putting more character designs up in the near future. Here is hoping that he does not leave us waiting to long for them. Just to give you a taste of what is to come here is Nate’s take on Wolverine. He makes one kick ass dwarf!

Grizzly Bomb

Yearly Archives: 2013