Vacation Update

There's been a couple of things to happen since last post.  So I'll just mention them quick.  I'm not on island, so I don't have many details, but here are a couple of interesting stories you can read.  The first one is a news story about the Delta 747 heading for Japan that had to make an emergency landing on Midway a few days ago.  Here's a link:  http://www.kitv.com/r/28277670/detail.html

Also, the short_tailed albatross chick fledged!  Here's the link for that story:
http://www.fws.gov/refuges/news/TheFlightAlbatross_06212011.html

I hope it shows up in a few years and makes Midway its home.

Guillermo del Toro's PACIFIC RIM!

For any of you that follow film news religiously, you probably were saddened to hear that Guillermo del Toro will NOT be directing an R-rated "At the Mountains of Madness." This is because Universal (who was recently hemming and hawing over the budget of Ron Howard's proposed "Dark Tower" series) refused to budge on the rating; they feel that they are taking a huge financial chance on a Lovecraft-themed film and didn't want to lose out on the teenage crowd. (And as we all know... today's youth just loves H.P. Lovecraft. That was sarcasm by the way. 90% of kids today have no idea who Lovecraft is... unless they managed to see Cthulhu's appearance on South Park.)

"Universal.... you are forcing my hand. Give me an R-rating or else...."

In any case, Guillermo hopped from his dream project to something infinitely cooler (in my eyes): A little film called "Pacific Rim." Set to start filming at the end of this year (for a Summer 2013 release), the film already has Idris Elba (Heimdall from "THOR") and Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) attached (with Charlie Day interested in a role as well), and features one of the coolest storylines ever. From Slashfilm's latest news article:

Set in a future in which malevolent creatures threaten the earth, the planet must band together and use highly advanced technology to eradicate the growing menace. This project will give the Hellboy filmmaker the opportunity to create two worlds. The first is an alternate version of Earth in the near future, decades after a historic date in November 2012 when the first kaiju, a towering Godzilla-like beast, emerged from a hole in the Pacific Ocean and attacked the city of Osaka, Japan. The second is “The Anteverse,” another universe on the other side of that gaping portal, 5 miles below our ocean’s surface. Since the first attack, the rim has been “spitting out” a variety of gigantic monsters at an increasing rate, which then stride out of the ocean and begin destroying sea-bordering cities, like Tokyo and Los Angeles. In order to combat these monstrous, otherworldly menaces, the military developed the “Jaeger” program, which trains teams of two pilots to jointly operate massive, building-sized mechanized suits of armor and high-tech weaponry.

Yes, you read that correctly folks, a portal to another dimension opens beneath the Pacific and spits out GIANT MONSTERS! To protect ourselves, humanity builds GIANT ROBOTS (mecha to be more precise) to combat these invading kaiju! This is kind of a shocker as giant mech/robot films (and TV shows) are almost primarily an export of Japan. Actually, the only real shock about this is that American film companies haven't jumped on an idea like this before; the only real mecha-moments we've had in our movies hail from the films of James Cameron (e.g. Aliens, Avatar) and the Wachowski brothers (e.g. "Matrix Revolutions").

Once again, "Pacific Rim" begins production later this year (shooting starts in September/November) and for some reasons will be held up until NEXT Summer. I'll be posting more news on this as it happens. In the meantime, enjoy the opening of "Evangelion: Neon Genesis," one of the most well known mecha vs. monster anime shows of all time:

"Living Bread & Bread Life-Bringing"

“The immeasurable blessings of divine favor, which have been showered upon the people of God, confer on them an inestimable dignity. What great nation is there, or ever was, that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us! For the only-begotten Son of God, willing that we should share in his divinity, assumed our nature. He was made man, that he might make man divine. And what is more, he gave back to us for our salvation, all that he had assumed belonging to us. For he offered to God the Father, for our reconciliation, his own body as a victim on the altar of the cross. He shed his blood, at one and the same time, a ransom and a purification, that being redeemed from wretched slavery we might be washed clean of all sins.


But that the remembrance of so great a favor might remain with us, he left to be taken by the faithful, under the appearance of bread and wine, his body for food and his blood for drink. O precious and wonderful banquet, health-giving and full of all delight! For what can be more precious than this banquet, in which not the flesh of calves and goats, as in the old law, but Christ true God, is set before us to eat? What is more wonderful than this Sacrament? For in it the substance of the bread and wine is changed into the body and blood of Christ, and therefore Christ, perfect God and man, is contained under the appearance of a little bread and wine.


He is therefore eaten by the faithful, but in no way is he mangled. Indeed when the Sacrament is divided, he remains whole under each particle. The accidents, however, remain here without any subject. And this, in order that faith may be exercised when what is visible is invisibly received, hidden under another appearance; furthermore, that the senses, which judge of the accidents according to appearances, may be preserved from error. No sacrament is more health-giving than this one, in which sins are cleansed, virtues increased, and the mind enriched with abundance of all spiritual gifts. It is offered in the Church for the living and the dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all, may profit all.


Finally, no one can adequately express the sweetness of this sacrament, in which spiritual sweetness is tasted in its source, and the memory is recalled of that most excellent love that Christ showed in his passion. Therefore, to impress the immensity of this love more deeply on the hearts of the faithful, at the Last Supper, after celebrating the Passover with his disciples, and about to leave this world and go to the Father, he instituted this sacrament as a lasting memorial of his passion. It fulfilled the foreshadowing of ancient rites, and was the greatest of the miracles he worked, which he left as a unique comfort to his disciples saddened by his absence.”

(Sermon of St. Thomas Aquinas, the 57th of his Lesser Works, used in

the 2nd Nocturn at Matins for the feast of Corpus Christi)

+ + + + + +

For the devotion of the faithful, it is good solemnly to recall the institution of such a saving and wonderful sacrament, so that we may venerate the ineffable divine presence in a visible sacrament, and praise God's power which works so many miracles in the same sacrament, and give God due thanks for such a medicinal and tasty benefit. Even though on Holy Thursday, when this sacrament was instituted, there is special mention of it in the solemn celebration of the Mass, the whole remaining part of the day's office is about the passion of Christ, which the Church is busy venerating at that time.


Therefore, to let the faithful people solemnly recall the institution of such a great sacrament with a whole Office of celebration, Pope Urban IV, out of devotion to this sacrament, decreed that the memory of this institution be celebrated by all the faithful on the first Thursday after the Octave of Pentecost. For, even though we used this sacrament for our salvation throughout the year, we can specially call to mind its institution at that time when the Holy Spirit taught the hearts of the disciples fully to understand the mysteries of this sacrament. For at that time this sacrament came into use among the faithful. For we read in the Acts of the Apostles that "they devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and communing in the breaking of bread and in prayer" right after the sending of the Holy Spirit.

(Taken from the Breviary of the Order of Preachers, Dublin, 1967)

New Fright-Rags tees; New Underbelly videos; Closed For the Season coming to DVD; 15 Movies that Can Also be Watched Backwards!

Good afternoon b-movie fans! It is a gorgeous day in the neighborhood (well... sort of) and I have plenty of cool things for you to check out today. First up, the gang at FRIGHT-RAGS dropped me a line to let me know that they have three new shirts available PLUS a rockin' "Friday the 13th" poster. The new shirts feature ye olde logos of several horror magazine publications and came about as a result of the popularity of their recent Rue Morgue t-shirt release. Check this stuff out!

3D! AHHHHH!

Next up: NEW UNDERBELLY VIDEOS! The first has the Underbelly team visiting the New Jersey Renaissance Faire (wow, these LARPers are verily tripping over their tongues while talking to the hostess of this episode) while the second is an attempt at vindicating "The Man of Steel." Watch and subscribe!

This morning I also got word from director Jay Woelfel that "Closed for the Season" (read my review of the rough cut HERE) is done and finally being released on DVD on AUGUST 26TH. I've been eager to see the final product, so I shall definitely be picking up a copy and you should too. (Support independent cinema!) The DVD will have an audio commentary by writer/director Jay Woelfel, deleted scenes with (optional?) audio commentary, multi-part behind-the-scenes featurette, two tour videos of Chippewa Lake from 1993 and 2008, and Webisodes. The film will be featured in 2.35:1 widescreen, with Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound audio. This is a lot of love for a small film like this (kudos to MTI Home Video) and I'm excited to check out all the special features but... did they really have to use that generic photoshopped cover? The original poster art, in my opinion, is far superior.

Finally, I found something rather fun over at Unreality Magazine. They posted an article recently called "15 Movies that Can Also be Watched Backwards." CLICK HERE to check it out and prepare to laugh; make sure you're not drinking or eating anything while reading this stuff.

Well that's it folks; I gotta get my butt to work. When I get home tonight, I'll be doing a bit more writing and should at the very least, have a new Genre Watch up for you! Enjoy the rest of this whimsical(?) Wednesday!

Youtube-a-palooza: Singing Russians, Leslie Vernon's Return, Troll Hunter Strikes Back, & Troma Taunts us with Toxie!

It's been a long couple of days b-movie fans; my apologies for not making any new posts (or adding new content). Saturday was a marathon of parties, starting with a birthday party for my (now) four year old niece Lily, where I was taken down by a vicious pack of children, as a pride of lions would bring down a caribou. Following a short visit to my buddy Adam's graduation party, I ended my Saturday at an engagement party (Congrats to Josh and Lorraine!) where I got SLOSHED.

In any case, it has been back to the ole grindstone for yours truly since that busy weekend, but tonight I've managed to reserve a bit of energy in order to bring you a dose of awesome. Here are some cool videos that are bouncing around Youtube at the moment that will most assuredly bring a smile to your face.

First up, how about a little music to brighten our spirits? Ever hear of that catchy song "Istanbul (not Constantinople)?" Well here's a new version of it as sung by THE BAD ASS RUSSIAN:



Wait... did I see a "Baseball Fury" from "The Warriors" sitting at the bar? I did! I did!

Next up is a video featuring actor Nathan Baesel (in character as Leslie Vernon) asking fans to help him raise funds for the prequel/sequel/remake of "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" (one of my favorite genre films). If you've failed to see it, definitely check it out. It does a wonderful job at deconstructing slasher films, then uses those same cliches to create a completely satisfying slasher movie climax! Here's hoping this new film comes to pass; check out the video below then CLICK HERE to donate to this worthy cause:



This next video is a fun little parody created by the special effects guru behind the creatures in Norway's awesome mockumentary TROLL HUNTER. This "explains" why one of the creatures in the film has only one arm and it is just so monumentally awesome. Check it out; then get your paws on a copy of TROLL HUNTER and watch it!



Finally, here's something that truly blew my mind tonight. I discovered the first ever teaser trailer for Troma's upcoming TOXIC AVENGER 5: THE TOXIC TWINS. While I was immediately jumping for joy, I was saddened to learn that they haven't even written the damn movie yet. Still, its a nice way to let us fans know that it is eventually going to happen, and... HEY! They used Toxie's original voice from the first movie! COOL!



Hope you enjoyed all of those videos folks. Stay tuned for more posts (and hopefully new reviews and whatnot at the Vault) and... oh wait, I have one more thing to say....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO UWE BOLL!

100% funded by Nazi Gold.

Hidden power in Hollywood

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

My frequent writing partner, Dr. Matthew Alford, discussed his ongoing research into the Hollywood/Washington machine earlier today in an interview for Achieve Radio.

In a 50-minute discussion with host James Martinez, Matthew looked at CIA and DoD involvement in Hollywood and the industry's pivotal role in catapulting pro-U.S. establishment propaganda across the world.

Also discussed was the subject of government involvement in Hollywood's UFO movies.

Matthew Alford's book, Reel Power: Hollywood Cinema and American Supremacy is available for purchase through the publisher's website and through Amazon.com.

Matthew is currently working on a follow-up to Reel Power entitled: Puppet Masters of Hollywood, which will feature a chapter on UFO movies co-authored by myself.

'Falling Skies' reviews and 'Transformers' TV spots

Steven Spielberg's alien-invasion series Falling Skies premiered yesterday on U.S. television and has received generally favourable reviews from critics. Among the show's fans is Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times, who writes:

"Serious without being grim, uplifting without being saccharine, Falling Skies dares to image what feature films will not - a world in which Will Smith or Aaron Eckhart did not bring down the mother ship in time."

Meanwhile, at the other end of the critical spectrum, The New York Times' Mike Hale opines that the highly-anticipated show falls considerably short of Spielberg's own directorial projects in terms of emotional impact:

"As a director, of course, Mr. Spielberg can work magic with this kind of material. But "Falling Skies" lacks his personal touch — there’s no wonder, nor is there the blunt terror and grim plausibility of his own alien-invasion film, War of the Worlds Despite the high stakes of the story and the frequent violence, the tone is placid and slightly monotonous, as if we were watching the Walton family at the end of the world."

In other Spielberg/alien-related news, six new TV spots for Transformers: Dark of the Moon are now online and feature new footage from the movie. This third instalment of the Transformers franchise opens at 9pm on June 28 in 3D and IMAX theatres before moving to 2D theaters the following day.

Silver Screen Saucers