Shorts But Sweet

Short films can really pack a punch, if done well.

With little to no budget these mini-movies can deliver the goods.

Sometimes the directors of these shorts hit the big time and the material is adapted for the big screen. Two such lucky filmmakers are David F. Sandberg with Lights Out, which plays so well with our fear of the dark. His 2013 short film below was adapted into a successful big screen version in 2016, also called Lights Out. Sandberg has Annabelle: Creation out in theaters August 11.

Director Andres "Andy" Muschietti and his sister producer Barbara Muschietti created their extremely chilling short film Mama in 2008. It caught the eye of visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro who produced the 2013 big screen version also titled Mama. Andy Muschietti has the highly anticipated movie version of Stephen King's It coming September 8.

It's not just horror movies that work in the short film realm. Neill Blomkamp adapted his now-classic sci fi short Alive In Joburg (2005) into his acclaimed big screen District 9 (2009).

Someone Had To Ask: Why, Japan, Why?

I believe that title says it all. Check out 20 sec to 45 sec.

You can watch the rest, the most bizarre thing might be the cup noodles/Tabasco/kabuki-

diapered-demons vignette which would have David Lynch scratching his head in a wtf manner.

What's on TV Today?

I got up at my normal time of oh-dark-thirty, but since it's Saturday, I'm off. So I tuned into over the air station Heroes & Icons, and The Green Hornet TV series was on.  GH and Kato were in the Black Beauty chasing some bad guys in an armored car down dusty studio back lot roads.

When they cut to Green Hornet and Kato inside Black Beauty, and you see Kato driving and GH in the backseat, it really hit me hard for some reason: the Green Hornet is a superhero who has a chauffeur. A. Chauffeur.   What. An. Asshole. Batman didn't sit in the backseat and have Alfred or Robin drive him around Gotham looking for supervillains and all-night Krispy Kreme stores. Green Arrow (while he was still a Batman ripoff in his early years) always had Speedy, his Robin-esque sidekick, sit beside him in the Arrow Car.  Hell, Hutch never sat in the back of the Grand Torino while Starsky tore down Bay City's mean streets chasing after the crooks and vampires (the John Saxon episode).  

But the Green fucking Hornet has got to have a dude chauffeur his wealthy crime-fighting buns around town. And an Asian dude at that.

I also now wonder if Kato was from Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump's "Djhina."

Great Minds Kill Alike

John Wick: Chapter 2, the sequel to the killtastic John Wick, has a brand new poster, which is reminiscent of a piece of business we did here at Bad News From Outer Space when we re-watched the Star Trek: TOS episode "Bread and Circuses". See for yourself what we're talking about.

Here's the ad for Keanu Reeves latest kill-shot-to-the-head movie.

Star Trek is a Registered Trademark and Copyright 2016 by CBS, Inc. No infringement of their rights is intended with this parody post.  John Wick 2 is Copyright 2016 by Summit Entertainment.

Hanging With Spider-Man

Teaser poster for 2017's Spidey reboot, done under the successful creative leadership of Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige.

A Song to Combat The "Heat Wave "

This has NOTHING to do with science fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars, comic books, or anything like that.

But it's hot in Los Angeles. Damn hot.

So, here is the classic song "Heat Wave" as sung by the incredible Joan Osborne. She kills it. (For extra fun, the original poster WestLAGuy included the 1960s version by Martha and The Vandellas immediately following Joan's version.)

Copyright 2016 the Respective Rights Owners. No infringement of those rights or the original YouTube poster's rights is intended.

Robots Got Talent - Dancing Robots Prove It

I like robots.

You like robots.

Who doesn't like robots?

Well, how about 1,007 tiny robots. All dancing in unison. (originally found on Gizmodo)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Going Into Major Reshooting

Oh, my. What is going on with Rogue One: A Star Wars story?

You get a promising up and coming director in Gareth Edwards to helm your Star Wars story, which is written by top established writers in Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz. Going into it, Lucasfilm and Disney executives knew that this was an offbeat tale - it was a one off story about the group of rebels that managed to steal the Death Star plans that they then deliver to Princess Leia, which opens the tale of the original 1977 Star Wars film. There was not going to be a Rogue One: Part II, or anything like that; it was a standalone film set in the Star Wars Universe.

However, after the massive success of the JJ Abrams-directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII), the powers that be want Edwards flick to appeal to a "four quadrant" audience (that's males and females, viewers aged 25 years and under, and over 25 years old).  In other words instead of getting a cool, dark, serious combat movie that was likely to appeal to most Star Wars fans and much of the public, they are reshooting a large chuck of the movie to appeal to EVERYONE. 

According to sites like The Hollywood Reporter, Academy Award-nominated writer Tony Gilroy is reworking the script and possibly overseeing some reshoots. Also, noted 2nd Unit director and stunt maestro Simon Crane is working his action magic as well.

Hopefully Gareth Edwards' movie is still in there once all the reshoots and reediting are done. I guess we will see this December.

May the Force be with them.

The Billion Dollar Movie Club

I have yet to see Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice.  The movie opened HUGE in March, breaking/setting records.

But then word of mouth spread, and week two, week three, and more came and the movie's fortunes dwindled. Oh, it made money for Warner Bros. studio and the producers (to the tune of $863 million worldwide).

But we live in a cinematic world where $863 million is a disappointment.  We live in a moviegoing world where there are - to date - 24 films that have grossed more than $1 BILLION each (that's domestic + foreign grosses).  That's BILLION, with a "B",

Batman and Superman are the oldest known superheros around today, having first been published in comic books in 1939 and 1938 respectively.  They both have had successful turns in theaters.

But finally putting them TOGETHER in one blockbuster movie, oh, this should have been another Billion Dollar Baby.  But only if the movie was good.

When it was announced that WB was releasing a movie featuring Batmand AND Superman, not only were the rapid fanboys interested, but it got the general public's attention.  They WANTED to see a movie which, for the first time, featured these two legendary, mythical, American heroes.

But WB fumbled that ball and made a grim, dark joyless movie.  And the public told those closet to them to sit this one out.  Go see Zootopia or see Deadpool again.

In comparision, Sony recently revealed that in next year's reboot of their Spider-Man movie series, titled Spider-Man: Homecoming, Robert Downey Jr will appear as Tony Stark (and likely in his Iron Man getup too).  That sentence got not only the fanboys' attention, but the public's as well.

Mark my words, that sentence is worth at least $500 million in movie tickets worldwide.  And since this new Spidey movie is being produced for/with Sony by Marvel Studios head-honcho Kevin Feige and his brain-trust, it should be as enjoyable as the best Marvel movies.  If it's good, there's the other $500 million, and you have another Billion Dollar Baby.

Evolution Of Spacecraft Control Panels

Gizmodo has a neat look at the evolution of control panels on real spacecraft.

Here's the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2011.

Image: Ken Thornsley/NASA via Gizmodo.

Scully, It's Me - Bond. James Bond.

So the much anticipated 10th Season of The X-Files came and went (it was only six episodes).  And just a few months ago the latest James Bond adventure SPECTRE was out in theaters.

If you still need an X-Fix - shaken not stirred - what if David Duchovny played James Bond?  This was posed to me by friend of the blog David O.  Here is my answer.

The X-Files is copyright 2016 by 20th Century Fox. James Bond is copyright 2016 by Danjaq LLC, MGM, Columbia. No infringement of thoee rights is intended with this parody.

Happy Back To The Future Day

Happy Back To The Future Day, everyone.

Though don't you think it's time to update that analog Flux Capacitor for a digital model? Just a thought.

(pic from AlienRobotZombies.com)

Goodnight Mommy - Horror Movie Trailer Delivers The Creeps

Science fiction movies are my bread and butter, but horror movies can still totally fascinate me.

This movie, called "Goodnight Mommy," from Austrian filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, looks creepy as all get out.  It centers on a woman recovering from facial reconstructive surgery and her two young boys. The kids start to question if the woman behind the bandages is truly their mother or someone - or something - else.

I found the movie at The Playlist. It opens in theaters September 11.

Two words: bug eating! Ewwww.

Man-Thing and Monster Energy Drinks - What they have in common

It used to be that when you wanted a quick buzz in the morning or a pick me up to get you through the end of your work day, you'd hit up the old coffee pot for that caffeine buzz.

Nowadays, energy drinks are - to borrow a phrase from Bounty paper towels - the "quicker-picker-upper."

Monster Energy Drinks seem to be a big deal out there, but ever notice something funny about the stylized "M"?  I think it looks just like the face of Marvel's Man-Thing swamp bog monster (tagline, "Whatever knows fear, burns at the Man-Thing's touch!").

Judge for yourself below.

 "Whatever knows thirst, quenches at the Monster's sips!"

 Images copyright their respective rights holders.

Beware...WASPATULA!

In the tradition of weird/silly/stupid shit like Sharknado, Dinocroc, Piranhaconda and Mega Python vs Gatoroid (basically 99% of the flix The Asylum craps out), we present WASPATULA.

Yes, it is only a matter of time before some unthinking scientists - blinded by their own hubris and marginal cooking skills - tamper with Mother Nature to create GIANT WASPS WITH SPATULAS IN PLACE OF THEIR STINGERS.  (Suggested by friend of the blog Greg G.)

Mad Max: Fury Road Legacy Trailer

You know his name.

Max.

Mad Max.

The Road Warrior.

He's fueled up his V-8 Interceptor and is heading our way.

If you're up to no good, I feel sorry for you.

Mad Max: Fury Road opens May 15.

The X-Files and Breaking Bad - The Vince Gilligan Connection

Everything old is new again.

Fox is set on testing that adage by reviving the beloved once-cult-then-mainstream-hit series The X-Files by bringing it back to television as a limited event series in 2016.

Before we see if creator Chris Carter can capture magic in a bottle (the last X-Files movie simply wasn't very good) next year, decider.com put together a fun list of X-episodes that were written by Vince Gilligan, of Breaking Bad fame. Yes, before he got Walter White hooked on the meth business, Gilligan was putting the screws to Mulder and Scully in inventive and often funny ways.

So join me in boning up on some great X-Files episodes in anticipation of discovering that "The Truth Is (Still) Out There."

Kubrickian Homages in Star Trek: TNG

Friend of the blog David O. has been catching up on Star Trek: The Next Generation while hitting the gym (who says all Trekkies are couch potatoes) and he noticed something that he passed on to me to pass on to you.

In Season 4, the episode "The Mind's Eye" Geordi LaForge is kidnapped and brainwashed by Romulans to assassinate a Klingon official visiting the Enterprise.

David noticed some homages to Stanley Kubrick's work in a few areas. One is when the brainwashed Geordi is walking down the Enterprise corridors; the tracking shot echoes similar shots in Kubrick's The Shining, with a similar creepy feel.

Also, the contraption the Romulans strap LaForge into to conduct the brainwashing looks like nothing so much as a 24th century Ludovico device used by the authorities to brainwash Malcolm McDowell's character in Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.

Television productions, by their nature, are often rushed and chaotic, but anytime you can pay homage to a master filmmaker like Stanley Kubrick, as Martha Stewart was fond of saying, "That's a good thing."

Screencaps from Trekcore.com Star Trek: TNG is a Registered Trademark and Copyright 2015 by CBS Studios, Inc.  No infringement is implied with this review.

Now He's Voiced EVERYTHING

The movie Virtuosity just ended.  That's the flick where a pre-Training Day Denzel Washington plays a cop who has to take down a virtual reality program which is a composite of notorious serial killers ( played by Russell Crowe) that has escaped into the real world (don't ask).

I spied in the end credits "Special Vocal Effects by Frank Welker."  Frank Welker, the voice of Freddie in Scooby Doo, the source of "Spock screams" in Star Trek III, and the voice of billions (okay, millions) of cartoon characters over the last 40+years.

Frank Welker: the John (he's been in every movie ever made) Carradine of voice over actors.

It's Gun Fu Time - Equilibrium's Gun Kata Fight Scenes

The movie: Equilibrium.

The stuff: the Gun Kata fights. (You know you love 'em.)