Feature articles from Issue 222. May 2012.
The Cabin In the Woods - Mark's take
01/05/2012. Drew Goddard directs a film he wrote with Joss Whedon and takes the viewer over a lot of very strange territory even for horror films. While the film is funny and frequently at the same time scary, it also looks at what makes horror films work before it dumps the viewer on the doorstep to one of the great master horror writers (who shall remain nameless). Spoiler warning: I do not think I gave away anything that should bother a viewer, but this is a film that it is best to see knowing as little as possible of what is to come.
The Fabulous World Of Jules Verne (Mark's take)
01/05/2012. Czech animator Karel Zeman, nearly forgotten now, was a genius of the animated film. Here, as his masterwork, he adapts a lesser novel by Jules Verne into a highly creative screen adventure. Showing great imagination on a tiny budget Zeman emulates the look of the lithographs of Verne's early editions and makes his film a pioneer in the style that since has been dubbed "steampunk".
Plausible monkey theory
01/05/2012. As I’ve discussed in the past, we take things like faster-than-light and time travel as a statutory requirement of means in Science Fiction that we take as a given without too much elaboration in stories. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to visit distant stars and planets in a lifetime or conduct adventures in different time periods using people we might recognise and do things other genres can’t do.
Let The Crime Fit The Punishment
01/05/2012. A story by GF Willmetts. The art of true justice going slightly wrong.
The Moth Diaries (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. One thing is for sure…Hollywood certainly knows how to milk a cash cow. Serving up yet another vapid vampire entry to suck in (no pun intended) the ‘tween crowd, the low-budget gothic horror show The Moth Diaries tepidly arrives on the scene. A banal bloodsucking soap opera looking to shamelessly capitalise on the Twilight sensationalism, The Moth Diaries drains any remnants left of guilty pleasure goosebumps or recycled romantic regurgitation from the fidgety teen scream genre.
21 Jump Street (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. Somehow the warning signs did not look very promising for 21 Jump Street. The regurgitation of bringing back another nostalgic television show from yesteryear would understandably have eyes rolling in back of one’s head. In all fairness the prospect of introducing old television programs that get the big screen treatment for today’s younger audience is not always a bust (witness successful entries such as The Brady Bunch, Star Trek and The Addams Family for example).
Mirror, Mirror (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. Reinventing a familiar and favourite fairy tale that has been told over and over in many various generational television and movie adaptations is taking on a tall order of high expectations. After all, the gamble is a fifty/fifty proposition—either your latest version is considered ambitious and challenging or foolishly recycled and futile. Well, the latter option is probably the more apt selection in this case.
Wrath of the Titans (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. Greek mythology has never been more mangled than the 3-D tepid tale that is Wrath of the Titans. This overwrought and flimsy fantasy is the fragmented follow-up to 2010’s delirious dud Clash of the Titans. Anyhow, Wrath of the Titans is basically wasted energy bogged down in butchered CGI imagery, drab suspense, sleeping pill-induced performances and a dull-minded, manufactured fury that would not challenge the potency of a warm glass of milk as sipped from Apollo’s lips.
ATM (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. The USA-Canadian claustrophobic caper ATM is a little confining thriller that derives its psychological kicks from the logistical intimacy of an ATM kiosk where entrapment and nervous twitches should equal instant chills—at the expense of an unknown hooded winter coat-wearing psycho prancing about the vicinity with a sickened agenda in mind.
The Assault (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. French filmmaker Julien Leclercq’s intense-driven thriller The Assault recalls the horrific 1994 hijacking of Air France Flight 8969 at the hasty hands of four Islamic terrorists. The Paris-bound plane was to depart Algiers as the diabolical hijackers had other perverse plans in mind—mainly to crash the plane into France’s world famous symbolic architectural structure The Eiffel Tower.
Lockout (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. The sci-fi futuristic fable Lockout is a sluggish slapdish of a space thriller that sputters about without an original bone in its bloated body. Bogged down by shoddy writing, weak-kneed acting, recycled special effects, choppy editing, indistinguishable lighting, a cascade of clichés and a familiar blueprint borrowed from a number of past movies catering to the genre, Lockout is an uninvolving actioner that wallows in its derivative dribble.
The Cabin in the Woods (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. The ultra-cheeky frightfest The Cabin in the Woods finally does justice to its overexposed genre by instilling a sci-fi/horror vibe that resonates with fresh thrills, fun-oriented freakiness and a genuine outlandishness that never seems recycled or stale. Simultaneously chilling, introspective and funny, The Cabin in the Woods is joyously off-kilter and vibrantly wicked in its cunning goose-bump gumption.
Chimpanzee
01/05/2012. Earth Day is celebrated in the spirit as it is intended—to observe and appreciate the wonderment of our exquisite ecosystem. Well, Disney Nature has astutely made its notable tribute to our planet’s environmental cause courtesy of its affectionate nature documentary Chimpanzee, a gloriously quaint and affecting family-friendly movie that shines a touching spotlight on primates both in playful and periled predicaments.
The Raven (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. It is one thing to paint iconic poet Edgar Allan Poe as a mysterious and macabre personality. After all, the conflicted famed writer was burdened with demons that far outweighed his penchant for alcoholism. Poe was admittedly intense yet his written work was inspired by sheer brilliant madness.
Sound of My Voice (Frank's take)
01/05/2012. The haunting and provocative psychological melodrama Sound of My Voice is a stirring venture into the realm of indoctrination. Spellbinding in its provocation, filmmaker Zal Batmanglij’s low-key thriller is quietly disturbing in its fixating mode. Persuasive and probing, Sound of My Voice has a hypnotic-like edginess that feels refreshingly original.
Book, Comic, Magazine & Film Reviews from Issue 222. May 2012.
The Elixir by Jason Chiu, Alex De-Gruchy and Ada Zhu
Snap: Seizing Your AHA! MOMENTS by Katherine Ramsland
Stargate: Universe: The Complete First Season boxset
Poe & Phillips by Jaime Roman Collado and Miguel Hdez
The Naked God by Peter F. Hamiliton
The View From The Bridge: Memories Of Star Trek And A Life In Hollywood by Nicholas Meyer
Chicks Dig Comics edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Sigrid Ellis
Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles: Binary by Eddie Robson
Doctor Who: Paradise Towers by Stephen Wyatt
Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Perfidious Mariner by Jonathan Barnes
Out Of This World: Atmospheric Sound And Effects From The BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Kade Mourning Sun by Sean Patrick O' Reilly and Robert Gill
25 Things You Need To Know About The Future by Christopher Barnatt
Torchwood: Army Of One by Ian Edginton
Doctor Who: Darkstar Academy (11th Doctor Original) by Mark Morris
Cindy The Demon Hunter by Mathias Mann and Ash Jackson
The Captain Star Omnibus by Steven Appleby
Outrageous Fortune by Tim Scott
Ordermaster (The Saga Of Recluse 13th novel) by L.E. Modesitt Jr
Doctor Who: Shada by Douglas Adams with Gareth Roberts
Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles - The Anachronauts by Simon Guerrier
Doctor Who: The Wrath Of The Iceni by Daniel Hawksford
War of the Worlds Season 1 [DVD]
British Science Fiction Film And Television edited by Tobias Hochscherf and James Leggott
Team M.O.B.I.L.E. #1 by Jonathan Kendrick
The Galahad Legacy (A Galahad Book book 6) by Dom Testa
A Brief Guide To Star Trek by Brian J. Robb
Black Static # 17 - June-July 2010
Wellspring Of Chaos (The Recluce series book 12) by L.E. Modesitt, Jr
Cosmic Storm (A Galahad Book book 5) by Dom Testa
Cube Route (27th novel in the Xanth series) by Piers Anthony
Daily news.
The Apex Book of World SF 2
28/04/2012. Readers who preorder The Apex Book of World SF 2 will get extra fiction and nonfiction, as well as a chance to read the book four months before it goes on sale through major retailers.
JJLA now represents Ramsey Campbell translation rights.
28/04/2012. The John Jarrold Literary Agency now represents all international translation rights fro the Grand Master of British horror fiction, Ramsey Campbell. The agency already represented UK and Commonwealth rights.
Philippine Speculative Fiction
28/04/2012. The first volume of the anthology? ?Philippine Speculative Fiction,? ?which was first released in? ?2005? ,? ?is now available as an eBook on Amazon and Flipreads.?
Ultimate Adventure Magazine
28/04/2012. Ultimate Adventure Magazine Issue 2 is now available to download or read online.
Ghostwriting
28/04/2012. The latest books from infinity plus include Eric Brown's collection of gothic and psychological horror, Ghostwriting and Iain Rowan's Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger-shortlisted novel, One of Us.
Stephen Hunt's Far-called trilogy
17/04/2012. Gillian Redfearn, Editorial Director of Gollancz, has acquired world rights in a three-book fantasy series by Stephen Hunt. The first novel is titled ‘In Dark Service’, while the trilogy is the Far-Called sequence. The agent was John Jarrold and the first volume will be published in 2013.
The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag
11/04/2012. Proyas (of Dark City, I, Robot, and Knowing fame) is to direct Heinlein's “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag.” The film will shoot in Australia where Proyas is a resident and operates his production company, Mystery Clock Cinema. Producers are eyeing a fall 2012 start date.
Copper (CSI goes Victorian)
02/04/2012. BBC America has announced the channel’s first original drama, Copper, a new Victorian crime drama set in 1860s New York City.
James Cameron's Avatar sequel to be silent AND black & white!
01/04/2012. Filmmaker James Cameron's sequel to the science fiction hit movie Avatar, Avatar II: The Oceans of Deepness, is to use a revolutionary film technology to strip out all sound and colour from his next scifi epic.
Being Human moves to series 5
27/03/2012. Being Human, BBC Three’s horror series, will return for a fifth series. The unconventional trio of a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost will live on as six more episodes, commissioned for BBC Three next year.
China Mieville vs Charles Stross smackdown for Arthur C. Clarke Award?
26/03/2012. Greg Bear, Drew Magary, China Miéville, Jane Rogers, Charles Stross and Sheri S. Tepper are the six authors shortlisted for this year’s Arthur C. Clarke Award, the UK’s premier prize for science fiction literature.
The Walking Dead (playing dead)
21/03/2012. Did you know there's a computer game coming out for The Walking Dead? Nope, neither did we... until now. Pass me the baseball bat, Zack, I've got me some walkers to skull.
A Jar of Wasps
21/03/2012. Here's a new novel by Luis Villazon called A Jar of Wasps. The book, we are told, is about aliens that come to Earth, but not to see us.
Jenna-Louise Coleman is new Dr Who companion
21/03/2012. Twenty-five year old Jenna from Blackpool will star alongside the 11th Time Lord, Matt Smith, to mark the biggest year in the show’s history. Best known for her roles in Emmerdale (Jasmine Thomas) and Waterloo Road (Lindsay James), Jenna will replace Karen Gillan when she and Arthur Darvill bow out of the show in a heartbreaking departure after one final series of rollercoaster voyages later this year on BBC One.
BBC America making a new Victorian crime series, Ripper Street
19/03/2012. Filming has started on location in Dublin from March 12th 2012. The eight part series, created by Richard Warlow, set in and around Whitechapel in London's East End in 1889, during the aftermath of the Jack The Ripper murders. Ripper Street will star Matthew Macfadyen (MI-5, Pride and Prejudice), Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones), Adam Rothenberg (Alcatraz), Myanna Buring (The Twilight Saga, White Heat) and David Dawson (Luther, Secret Diary of a Call Girl).
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