From Changeling to Forbidden Planet

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Changeling scribe and Babylon 5’s creator J. Michael Stracynski has been hired by Joel Silver and Warner Bros. to pen the long in-developing Forbidden Planet remake.

Forbidden Planet was originally released in 1956, featured an expedition from Earth to a far-off planet, in which they discover a scientist, Dr. Morbius, who has gained superior alien intellect. With his daughter, they have managed to survive while an unseen monster roams the planet. Noted as a sci-fi classic, it’ll be interesting to see if they can match the original films smarts and fun.

Ready for a Forbidden Planet remeake? Sound off below!

Source: Ain’t It Cool News

100 Feet Clip!

The awesome people over at Arrow in the Head posted a new clip from Eric Red’s 100 Feet.   The film synopsis reads like this: “After Marnie Watson kills her abusive husband in self-defense, she is condemned to house arrest… only to discover that the house is possessed by the enraged and violent spirit of her dead husband.” The clip is introduced by Red himself and is frickin awesome!  Click here for the clip.

Remembering Clerks II

 

If you’ve been reading this series of features on Kevin Smith’s films your probably aware of the impact that Clerks had on my life.  It opened my eyes to a new world of independent cinema that I didn’t know existed, and changed the my view of filmmaking completely.  So needless to say, when I heard that Kevin Smith was going to be making a sequel to his masterpiece I was both elated and terrified.  On one hand the flick might rock, in which case I’d have yet another reason to love Smith’s films, but on the other hand, what if it was only mediocre?  Then I’d be forced into the same category as those forum junkies that bitch about their heroes instead of praising them.  

Thankfully Clerks 2 was more than mediocre.  It was by far the best comedy of 2006, and gave me bragging rights for years to come.  Smith had done it again, he took characters that everyday people could relate to, gave them some room to grow, added water, and flowered one hell of a movie.  I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into that theatre.  Would Smith keep Dante and Randal locked in a time warp with no desire to expand their horizons? Or would he give them some ambition and move them into a new chapter of their lives?  The good news is that Smith did give my favorite slackers some ambition, but he also gave them heart.  Clerks 2, besides being ridiculously funny, was a very touching movie.  I was surprised after the credits rolled that I had just seen a kick ass comedy that came complete with a donkey show, and had more heart than most dramas that hit the silver screen that year.  

Kevin Smith doesn’t claim to be the best director in the world, and he definitely doesn’t act like most Hollywood royalty, but the man is a phenomenal writer with a keen since of character and dialogue.  He makes it easy for his audience to put themselves into his picture, and never sugarcoats his comedy.  He genuinely seems to care about his fans, and he’s not shelling out remakes for a quick buck.  So this weekend do yourself a favor and go see Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and help bring this kick ass filmmaker up a notch on the success meter.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead - DVD Review

 

The Flick (by: Charlie Brown)

I like to laugh, I love boobies, and I really dig the gory stuff. So if you’re like me then you’ll probably find “Poultrygeist” to be your cup of tea.

I was fortunate to get ahold of a screener of “Poultrygeist” and invited a few friends over to check out what kind of sick and twisted stuff Lloyd Kaufman and company had in store for us. Admittedly, I am a Troma fan. I think their brand of gore-and-gags is a lot of fun and they have delivered some truly sick flicks and developed an army of fans in their long history. But I’m also fully aware that there are some folks out there who either hate Troma with a passion or just haven’t ever been exposed to their films. So with that in mind I made sure that I had a mixed audience so that I could accurately gauge how the film would be received. The results are in: “Poultrygeist” is a winner.

The story follows Arbie, a nerdy young man who decides to work in a fast food restaurant after discovering his girlfriend, Wendy, is now a lesbian. The restaurant in question is the newly built American Chicken Bunker, a fried chicken joint with a military theme. Outside the establishment is an army of protesters who are angry that the franchise has gone up on ancient Indian burial grounds. Leading the protest is Wendy and her new lover Micki. After confronting the CEO of American Chicken Bunker, the aptly named General Lee Roy, about the murder of little baby chickens, as well as the outrage at having built the establishment on sacred burial grounds, Wendy and Micki take their protest inside. Arbie, still madly in love with Wendy, tries to impress her with his having found gainful employment within the fast food industry, but she is non too thrilled. But it seems the protesters aren’t the only ones angry about the franchise.

Soon, strange happenings begin occurring at the American Chicken Bunker. It seems the spirits of the dead native americans whose sacred burial grounds have been bulldozed and paved over for the restaurant are pissed. The food begins taking on a life of its own. The employees begin to fall victim to weird kitchen mishaps. And before long the place is overrun by chicken zombies. Yep. Chicken. Zombies.

Let me back up for a moment and touch on a few things.

One, this IS a Troma flick so you can guarantee it’s going to be filled with some outrageous material. Excessive gore and nudity are a staple of these pictures and “Poultrygeist” doesn’t skimp on either of them. Believe me when I say there is enough skin and blood to make any fan of the genre very happy.

Two, this film features several hilarious musical numbers. That’s right. Musical. And here’s the kicker…..the songs are actually good. I found myself humming a couple of them days after viewing the movie. This ain’t “The Sound of Music”, folks……with lyrics like “I really miss getting my salad tossed” the music is definitely geared towards a specific audience, i.e. sick bastards that are into twisted medleys with disgusting lyrics! Hey, that’s ME!

And thirdly, and this is for those die-hard fans of Troma, there are a few familiar faces that pop up in the flick. While the main cast is made up of newcomers, the cameos from our favorite Troma alumni make watching the movie a veritable who’s-who of Troma history. There’s Debbie Rochon! And look there, it’s Joe Fleishaker! Is that Ron Jeremy? Yep! Although not all of your faves pop in for a visit (I’d love to have seen Trent Haaga make an appearance) it’s still nice to see some Troma veterans in the mix.

While Kaufman had a little bit of money to play with the lack of a huge budget still shows in some places. It doesn’t distract from the film though. The effects are, uh, effective, while a bit cheesy, but that just adds to the films charm. The acting is good, and in parts memorable. The zombie chicken makeup cracked me up. The feathers on the arms and legs were a great choice. Corny? Yep. But somehow it just works.

Kaufman had a dual role as both director and an actor. I think he nailed it on both counts. The movie looks really good…as good as, if not better than, any other Troma film. The musical numbers were great and the choreography was on point. Plus, Kaufman had me in stitches in his role. That guy sure has a lot of energy.

So suffice it to say that I dug “Poultrygeist”. It is what it is and doesn’t pretend to be anything more. It’s goofy. It’s sick. It’s funny as hell. And while I liked it and the audience that watched it with me enjoyed it, it’s still not for everyone. I do, however, think it will win over some people and the Troma fanbase will continue to grow. Hell, we might even see a few converts thanks to this flick. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear someone say, “I used to hate Troma, but ya know, that chicken zombie movie was actually pretty groovy! I might have to rethink my stance on Troma after all.” When it works, “Poultrygeist” hits all the right notes. When the occasional stumbling block comes up, Kaufman and Co. hit it with stride and keep going. There are numerous gags that hit so fast and so often that by the time one misses, the next one has you ripping a gut laughing so hard.

It’s not Troma’s best (I still reserve that place of honor for “Tromeo And Juliet”), but it’s up there. I applaud Kaufman and the folks at Troma for delivering a fun, nasty, funny sing-a-long that I can sink my teeth into.

DVD

 

The Video: Looked great for an interlaced DVD

Audio: Loud and Clear

Disc 1

Lloyd Kaufman and Gabe Friedman Cluck Off: This audio commentary track is extremely cool, and informative.

Lovely Scenes From Bergman’s ‘Virgin Spring’, and various music videos and easter eggs round out this disc.

 

Disc 2

Poultry In Motion: Truth Is Stranger Than Chicken: This is by far one of the best feature length behind the scenes documentaries that I’ve ever seen.  Kaufman is not afraid to get down and dirty, and doesn’t trim the fat off to make it look more glamorous than it is.  Making a film with very little money is difficult, and Kaufman doesn’t sugar coat those difficulties.  Kaufman is a true indie superhero!

Tromahawk Nuggets: Shows the cast and crew introducing the flick at it’s premiere.

Cellu-Lloyd Closet

Make Your Own Damn Omelette: A promotion piece for Kaufman’s Make Your Own Damn Movie DVD

Blow Me… Away - Shooting The ACB Explosion Sequence: A look at how they achieved the explosion sequence.

Make Your Own Damn Movie Sound Design: A look at the films sound design.

Designing The Monsters: A look at the visual effects from the movie.  This is a pretty cool feature that I enjoyed quite a bit, although not nearly as much as Poultry in Motion.

Recording The Songs: Showed the cast recording the music used in the flick.  Pretty cool!

The Poultrygeist Rooftop Re-Shoots: Chronicles the reshoots done a year after the initial shoot.

The Meat Grinder: Shows them shooting the super messy Meat Grinder scene.

Joe Fleishaker Gets A Head Mold: A cool and funny look at making a head mold for a death scene.

Deleted Scenes: These should be self explanatory.

Ron Jeremy’s Happy Ending: This is the original ending, and is actually kinda cool.

Finishing up the disc are Charlotte Kaufman Death Scene, and  Humas S-U-I-C-I-D-E Song .

Disc 3

Kara-Yolk-E: Here you can watch the songs from the flick with the lyrics over it so you too can sing along.

Also included are trailers for Poultrygeist, The Complete Toxic Avenger, Special Needs, Blood Spit, Coons and Crazy Animal.

This disc is film school on a DVD!

The Strangers - Blu-Ray Review

The Flick

I’d read a an interview with director Bryan Bertino and I was extremely impressed with how smart and together he seemed for such a young guy.  He loved movies, went to school to study cinematography, worked in the trenches, and spent time writing because he had stories to tell. Needless to say that interview peaked my interest in the film and made it a must see for me. And even after all the negative press I’d read on the internet I really dug the flick. 

The Strangers started off by introducing two characters that are extremely easy to relate to, who are soon scared silly by three strangers that show up at their door, and I have to say that from the first knock at the door and the wicked sound effects I was hooked. Once the film kicked into high gear I felt like I was watching a new horror classic unfold before my eyes, but then the ending was thrust upon me.  I’m not going to give away what happens because I’m hoping that horror fans that haven’t seen the flick will make their way into the theater, but I will say that the ending, while not terrible, left me wanting more.  

On the production side I was extremely impressed with Bertino’s directing chops and amazed that this was his first flick.  The boy has skills, and the fact that he didn’t take the easy road by throwing in flash cuts and a pop metal soundtrack put a huge smile on my face.  The film has flaws, but overall was a kick ass time at the movies.  I’m going to keep my eye on this director because he definitely made a killer film!

Blu-Ray

Audio: Came in loud and clear.  The surround sound really adds to the experience of this movie, it just sound better and has a more brutal impact when played at a high volume.  

 

Video: Looks Amazing!  

Special Features

Elements of Terror: A short mini-documentary that talks about the script, the difficulties of the shoot, and touches briefly on the make-up effects.  

Deleted Scenes: There is a scene with the couple in happy times, but overall this is pretty slim deleted scenes section. 

Conclusion

I dug the this flick, but I didn’t love it upon first viewing.  But after seeing it on Blu-Ray I actually enjoyed it more than I did in the theatre.  It’s one of those movies that plays better the second time around.  Although this disc isn’t packed with features it is definitely worth the price for the killer sound and picture alone.

Martyrs on DVD

Dread Central is reporting that Pasal Laugier’s film Martyrs will be heading to DVD on Feb 24th 2009. so we will be able to see if he’s the right man to direct Hellraiser as we reported yesterday! Interesting or not? Decide below!

Sherlock Holmes pics!

Thanks to TheBadandTheUgly for these pics! Guy Richtie directs this new version of the classic character, with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role and Jude Law as Watson. Could be badass! Tell us what you think!

New Valkyrie photos

Hate Tom Cruise all you want, diss Bryan Singer’s take on Superman, I’m digging their new flick Valkyrie about the assassination attempt on Hitler. Here’s a new photo; follow here to see more! Valkyrie is opening December 26th!

Digging it or not? Tell us below!

Source: United Artists

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