With the announcement of Rampage Jackson being cast as B.A. Baracus for the remake of The A-Team last week, the four-man soldiers of fortune team came one man closer to completion, the only key character missing being ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock, played by Dwight Schultz in the series. Now it is being reported that one of the breakout stars of this past summer may be close to landing the role as well as a pretty face to accompany them. Read the rest of this entry »
Did we mention that September is a sucky time for movies? How else could The Final Destination be the first movie to take the top spot two weeks in a row since Transformers 2? Though it didn’t place, check out our review of Extract later today. Your three-day-weekend top five after the jump.
Director Neill Blomkamp in an interview with Scifimoviepage shed some light on what ideas he’s working on to capitalize on his well deserved success. With the ending of this summer’s hit District 9 setting up perfectly for a follow-up, Blomkamp suggested that he might be interested in a prequel as well as a sequel. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve come a long way, baby. In recent weeks we have gotten to see some huge leaps in special effects, be it the extreme realism of the prawns in District 9 or the incredible Avatar preview in IMAX 3D, filming technology has come a long way since a hat could pop out of an easel in 1900. In fact, its hard to believe how incredible special effects were in the late 1960s and 1970s, when 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars amazed audiences nationwide.
To celebrate the feats of the film industry, YouTube user “bengraphics” put together a montage of 26 films from 1900 to 2008 that demonstrate how far visual effects have come, from The Enchanted Drawing to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The video not only shows the finished clips, but also shows the work behind the camera to demonstrate how it was done. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »
As we predicted on Friday, Avatar Day pushed Inglourious Basterds to a $14 million opening night and an opening weekend that more than doubled the money received by its competitors. Check out the rest of the top five after the jump
According to the folks over at Martketsaw there are all sorts of big rumors coming from The Hobbit set to be directed by Guillermo del Toro and produced by Peter Jackson fresh off the success of District 9. Read the rest of this entry »
We here at Geek on Film are still reeling from how terrific District 9 really was (check out our review here) and to celebrate, we have dug up the Neill Blomkamp short film “Alive in Joburg” which provided the base for District 9‘s story about aliens landing in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The 6:25 short film, in its documentary style, is similar to the first 15 minutes of District 9, and those concerned about spoilers need not be. While the graphics are not nearly as sharp (Blomkamp didn’t have $30 million to make the short) , “Alive in Joburg” has the same basic story and even an appearance from the film’s star, Sharto Copley, as a sniper. It is certainly worth a look whether you have seen District 9 or not, and if you haven’t, it may even provide a nice introduction to the world. Check it out after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
There are four progressions through which every genre must go.
First, there is building stage. This is where something new is introduced to the audience that they have never seen before. There are still some issues and kinks that need to be worked out, but a base audience is created that is hungry for more.
The second stage is the classics stage. Directors and writers take on material from the building stage and, using original stories and deep characters, morph it to their own vision. It is during this stage that most of the best material is made.
The third stage is a depression stage. Attempting to capture the same successes that were done during the classics period, there becomes a lack of creativity that stunts the genre and prevents it from moving forward. Be it through exhausted series, overuse of underdeveloped technologies or simply a lack of creativity, the material cannot surpass that which was made before it and audiences begin to feel exhausted by the genre and demand begins to fade.
But then there is the fourth stage: resurrection. A director or writer steps forward with a new idea as to how to treat material that people grew tired of and make it new again. New stories to tell are discovered and ideas begin to be mined, allowing the cycle to begin again.
Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 is the resurrection of the science fiction genre. Read the rest of this entry »
Just like in the movies, the good guys always triumph over the bad guys at the end. Check back later for our review of District 9, but in the mean time, your top five at the box office this weekend is after the jump:
The secrets of District 9 can finally be revealed after months and months of secrecy. Expect a review on Monday. With that, your new releases this weekend are after the jump:
Eric Eisenberg
Amani
Geek on Film 