X-FILES 2 FOOTAGE LEAKED

The exclusive X-Files 2 teaser that was screened at Wondercon has, surprise surprise, leaked all over the internet. How does it look? Well from the grainy, tiny, phone-cam shot version I saw, it probably isn’t an actual teaser. I’m guessing this is just a selection of completed scenes, cut together into a teaser trailer. Well, it does exactly what it says on the tin- it teases.

From the intriguing shots of Billy Connolly flanked by FBI agents as he strides across a snowy wasteland crying out ‘It’s here, it’s here!’, to the tantalising glimpses of action scenes, and of course our first look at Mulder and Scully in years, it looks, well, like the X-Files. I am very happy about this. It only runs to about 35 seconds, but it looks very interesting indeed. Who is the man with the scratches on his face? Why are Billy Connolly’s eye bleeding? Who (or what) is being dragged across the ice?

Where the first film (Fight The Future- remember that?) may have been close to the series in spirit, it lost a little something by giving the story such a massive scale onscreen. This new X-Files movie is billed a standalone story, and is rumoured to be of a supernatural nature. Chris Carter has gone record at Wondercon to say that while the mythos of the show- i.e. the conspiracy aspect- will be mentioned and dealt with, it isn’t the crux of the story. This is a very good sign. The show got too boged down with its own continuity and lost a bunch of viewers along the way. The standalone stories were generally superb, and also the most memorable (Tooms!).

It is wonderful to know there’s a new story on the way, and great to see Mulder and Scully on the big screen again. Early word is that the chemistry between the two main characters is as good as ever, just the right side of flirtatious, and the interplay is back how it was in the early years of the show.

Judging from the reaction at Wondercon in the video (the screams an applause are deafening) it would seem that all the old X-Philes are hungry for more. Just you wait and see come this summer- the X-Files are open again, and by the look of it, all hell is about to break loose.

Cloverfield: The Starstore review

The ingenious viral marketing campaign for Cloverfield, great as it was, really doesn’t prepare you for the assault on the senses you get when watching the movie. The film itself is a superb reimagining of the monster movie genre, and while its detractors may describe it as little more than ‘The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla’, but it is so much more. It is an excellent piece of modern film terror, and more than aptly fits the ‘Godzilla for the Youtube generation’ moniker its producer, JJ Abrams, gave it.

The basic premise, that of a monster invading Manhattan, told from the viewpoint of a handheld digital camcorder, is a great way of keeping the story at a very human level, as opposed to the usual predictable spectacle of the monster movie genre. Cloverfield is a film that takes hold of the standard elements of the genre and rips them to pieces. The monster, when you see it, is absolutely horrific, and is thankfully far from the usual ‘Giant Dinosaur’ design these kind of films tend to lean towards. I won’t describe it here, you really should see it for yourself.

I loved the fact that the main characters don’t just get the odd cut and bruise- these people really do suffer in their fight for survival, and what a fight it is. The military are terrified, the public even more so. What the monster does to the city is chilling and has you on the edge of your seat for its duration. The set up may feel like it goes on too long, but there is a reason, and the inclusion of what was originally on the tape between the attack footage is a stroke of genius and plays out a plot point to a perfect conclusion. Watch it and see what I mean. The editing, while intended to look like it hasn’t been edited at all, is also incredibly effective.

The fact that you don’t actually see the monster that much adds so much by way of drama and intensity. The glimpses are tantalizing, and its trail of destruction is insane.

There are some shots that echo the 9/11 footage in tone and content, but that was to be expected really. One scene in particular, once the monster attacks, is a frame for frame recreation of a certain piece of 9/11 footage. It may sound a little crass, but it fits with the film. The tension is through the roof.

While there is the odd ‘Hollywood’ moment in there, it comes across as gritty, frightening and utterly compelling. It isn’t a film for the faint of heart, and the shaky camera work may make your eyes ache a little, but I implore you to see this on the big screen. The sound design is inspired, the script mostly comes across as natural, and the use of editing and background to fill in the plot is a great thing to see. Far from being another dumb big monster movie, this is an incredibly intelligent and, scarily, believable film.

10/10

Incidentally, there is a large scale action figure of the monster on the way, and it looks incredible. The promo photos looks superb, and give you a great look at the monster that you never really see all of in the movie itself.

GAMBIT CAST IN WOLVERINE MOVIE

Sam and Rich have already shouted their opinions over my shoulder regarding the breaking news of taylor Kitsch being cast as Gambit in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (hey guys, can you think of an even clunkier title please? jeez...), but I'm undecided yet- mainly because I have no idea who the guy is. Maybe he'll be great. Who knows? Now, he was in teen warlock cheapie THE COVENANT, so at least he's somewhat familiar with making genre films, but I'm yet to see if he can bring anything to the part other than a sculpted chin.

Here's his IMDB page.

Gambit has been a fan favourite character ever since his first appearence in the comics and subsequently the 1990s cartoons. With his wisecracking personality and constant flirting, it was his character more than his mutant abilities that made him star, even if the charged-up playing cards were cool. This Wolverine movie is a strange thing though- it is being billed as an origin tale, and features a young Sabretooth, the Blob, Gambit and apparently Deadpool as well. There's a distinct risk that the thing could become too overcrowded, but I'm hoping for the best. What I would really like is for the title to be changed, as it just sounds like a TV movie with the current monicker, which, of course, will be repeated with X-Men Origins: Magneto.

Once we have some pics and maybe a scene or two, I maight get excited. For now I'm sceptical.

DOCTOR WHO: Series four is coming...

The trailer currently playing in cinemas across the country for series four of Doctor Who's new era is a beautiful thing. Edited just like a movie trailer, it teases, tantalises and raises all manner fo questions. The biggest thing in the trailer, naturally, is the single shot of Billie Piper, back in the role of Rose Tyler. This may well only be for one episode, but it is something the fans are goiung to lap up. Also, what the hell is Martha covered in at the end of the trailer? The goo makes her looks like she's just come out of the Matrix! A clone maybe? Even Donna (Catherine Tate) looks okay- she doesn't seem anywhere near as annoying as in The Runaway Bride, which can only be a good thing. I'm yet to be sold on season four really... The three big villains are all back now, Daleks, Cybermen and The Master have all come and gone, which leaves... Davros. Think about it. Dalek Caan escaped at the End of S3's Evolution of the Daleks. He is the last surviuving Dalek in existence, and where else would he go but back to their creator? I do hope this happens, as a new-era version of Davros would be an awesome thing to see on the screen. Davros was always one of the more convincing villains of the classic era, and also a good old fashioned bad guy in that he was absolutely and totaly evil in every way. Newer fans may not be familiar with stories such as 'Revelation of the Daleks', but that stands as a great example of the nastiness he is capable of. In one of the most unnerving scenes of 80s Doctor Who, we are privy to a severed human head, trapped inside a clear Dalek casing, begging to be killed by its own daughter. Davros was harvesting humans and building Daleks from the parts. This was supposedly kids TV! I do feel a new incarnation of him would go down a treat.

Then there are the Sontarans, which do pop up a couple of times in the new series. I'm not convinced yet that the new audience won't think of them as a knock-off Judoon, and their short stature and modified (almost cute) makeup doesn't help much either.

Something that did strike me when watching the trailer (check it out on Youtube while it lasts!) is the overwhelmingly bleak atmosphere. The music and Donna's monologue are rather downbeat, and the way it is edited suggests that this series is going to be quite harrowing in tone. Could this be the tenth Doctor's swansong? Will the wisecracking Time Lord finally be bettered by an enemy and be forced into regenerating into his eleventh incarnation? personally I'm looking foirward to finding out. Bring on series four, and lets hope the BBC continue to trounce everyone else in the originality stakes.

WGA WRITER'S STRIKE ENDS!

Hey all, I'm in the middle of a bunch of deliveries and stuff right now so I'll keep this brief. The writer's strike is over! This was announced officially last night, with 3,492 votes to 283 in favour of ending it. All the WGA workers can officially get back to their keybords now. All good news, but bear in mind the Screen Actor's Guild contract expires in June. More trouble on the way?

Quick, make stuff!!!

The WGA strike… Words are indeed a powerful thing.

I’m going to talk about something a bit different today. I’m going to take a step back from checking out the latest merchandise and whatnot, and talk about an issue that affects all of us here in fandom, and which holds a special significance to me, for reasons which will become apparent in the next paragraph. We’re here to prove we are an authority on what we talk about, and thus I am fully qualified to write a few words on the Writer’s strike in the US.

Today, the WGA (Writers Guild of America) have finally been in talks to hopefully come to an agreement with studio bosses and bring the strike to an end. The strike itself has affected shows such as LOST, 24, and many, many other favourites. Not just that, movie studios have suffered too, with schedules being thrown into chaos across the board. Now, I have worked as a screenwriter (albeit on zero-budget horror/vampire movies). That is what I am trained to do, and as such I have been keeping a keen eye on developments with the strike. I have also kept an eye on the endless, repetitive, tiresome tirades from seething fans all over the internet. Thankfully, there have also been a large amount of actual intelligent comments on the matter from other areas of online geekdom.

My tuppence worth? Chill out, all of you. Mainly the flamers. While the common opinion is ‘I could write better than that’, the simple fact is, most of you really couldn’t. Create a coherent story with believable, fully rounded characters with convincing progression and perpetually interesting situations. Go on. Add to this insane deadlines, immeasurably annoying rewrites and tinkering (from people with little or no idea of plot or construction), and the pressure of delivering 120 pages that will become the basis of a multimillion dollar feature film with ridiculous amounts of backing at stake.

Can’t really blame the writers for wanting a fair share of the obscene amount of cash involved in these things, can you? After all, it is the writer that gives the flavour-of-the-week celebrities the actual lines to spout, and also to give the demented warblings of directors and producers some form and direction.

There have been some interesting developments such as regular talk shows resorting to other means of getting scripts written, and thus coming out with their most original stuff in a long time. A little shake-up couldn’t hurt. It does pay to remember that you have to make the effort to make things worth watching in the first place, otherwise stop complaining about a decline in ratings for your beloved shows that never seem to go anywhere, or even end in a satisfactory manner.

There have been various reports of progress being made of late, either from execs desperate to reassure their audience or misinformed outsiders. After many, many drafts of the deal there does appear to be something emerging. What concerns me is whether or not the rest of the WGA members will agree to abide by the deal, should it come about, and return to their keyboards. I do hope so. In an age where we place so much value on the people who go in and preen in front of the cameras for a while, we neglect those that give us the stories in the first place.

The moral of this sorry tale? Respect the writers, for they are the ones that provide the plate that the stars and executives feast from. A little appreciation wouldn’t go amiss.

KOTOBUKIYA TO PRODUCE IRON MAN AND HULK GOODIES!

Oh yes indeedy. As if the Iron man stuff wasn't looking cool enough as it is, it has now been revealed that none less than Kotobukiya are to be producing items based on the movie. Hell yes! Not only that, they'll also be doing some stuff for THE INCREDIBLE HULK. There's seven categories of merchandise that are going to be made for the new projects, including, oh sweet mama, the ARTFX statues, aka Kotobukiya's revered signature line. This is very good news indeed, as Kotobukiya are masters at what they do.

As an aside, a snap of a toy package from the INCREDIBLE HULK movie has given fans their first glimpse of the ABOMINATION's new look in the anticipated sequel. I'll not post a pic here as that just wouldn;t be cricket (or fair). The thing looks fantastic, even from a simple little picture on the back of a blister pack. Everything is pointing to a much more satisfying film than the Ang Lee misfire. We can but hope!