Consider Your Franchise…Terminated - Terminator: Salvation (2009)
Terminator: Salvation opened this weekend stateside, but won’t be hitting cinemas in the UK and Ireland (and Australia too) until the first week of June.
The Terminator franchise wasn’t necessarily something that needed such a drastic reboot: Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines wasn’t a great film, but it wasn’t exactly the nail in the coffin that, say, Star Trek: Nemesis was to that franchise.
On the other hand, Terminator: Salvation just might be that last straw that it takes for the Terminator franchise to rust and turn to scrap metal. The most forgiving of fanboys and girls might be able to see past its flaws, but if the general reaction of the audience at the screening I attended is anything to go by, the rest of the cinema-going public might not be so forgiving.
Flashback Feature: Masters Of The Universe (1987)
Nostalgia, retro, a refusal (and perhaps inability) to grow up: call it what you will, but we all have fond memories of movies, TV shows and games from our youth. If you’re honest, you probably find yourself watching/playing them occasionally, or at the very least, wishing you could.
To that end, welcome to a new (and hopefully recurring) feature on BurnAllZombies: the Flashback Feature is a look back at some of the games, movies and shows that hold a special place in my heart, jogging some memories, getting those subtexts you never quite got as a kid, and wondering what’s happened to the stars and the franchises since.
Suggestions for future Flashback Features are welcome, but for this, the inaugural entry, let’s take a look at Dolph Lundgren and 2009 Academy Award Nominee Frank Langella in 1987’s Masters Of The Universe.
Sin-kh-du-kee - Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Embarrassing confession time: I’ve never watched Being John Malkovich and only saw Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind for the first time within the last six months. That’s quite disgraceful, I know.
That said, I enjoyed Eternal Sunshine immensely: as far as narratives go, I usually like them somewhat fragmented and not quite making sense until the end, so that ticked most of my boxes when it came to it, and I found Jim Carrey much less annoying than I usually do (possibly even less-so if “he Truman Show weren’t on heavy rotation on TV…not that it’s a bad film, but doesn’t anyone else just think that there’s something wrong with his face?)
Maximum Warp…Punch It - Star Trek (2009)
It’s been seven years since there was last a Star Trek movie on the big-screen: if you’re a fan of the franchise, that’s a wait you might be grateful for, since Star Trek: Nemesis wasn’t the finest outing for the Enterprise and her crew. J.J. Abrams’ take on the series marks the eleventh movie, and a return to the original characters and ship best known from the classic 1960s series. Chronologically, it may be a step backwards, but Star Trek marks a massive leap forward for the franchise, perhaps lending more credence to the “Star Trek” name than it’s had in a long time.
A Song About Coraline - Coraline (2009)
“Coraline” has been a long time in the making, understandably so: an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 2002 novel (the man also responsible for “Stardust” and the “Sandman” comics series) the movie began production before the book was published, the latest stop-motion animation movie from Henry Selick, whose previous directing credits include “James and The Giant Peach” and the Tim Burton-scripted “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Sweden, Land Of Subtitled Vampires - Let The Right One In (2008)
On paper, “Let The Right One In” sounds a lot like the recent tween-pleasing “Twilight”: young Oskar (Hedebrant) keeps to himself and has few friends at school, living in an apartment with his mother. When Eli (Leandersson) moves into the building, he becomes enthralled with the young girl, with the eventual revelation that she is a vampire, incapable of escaping her hunger for blood.
Therein ends the similarities, as “Let The Right One In” acknowledges the darkness of its topic in a way “Twilight” never would
It’s Oh So Quiet - Hush (2008)
For first-time director Mark Tonderai, “Hush” is a film to be proud of, a low-budget British film that walks a fine line between horror and thriller that will get to you in a way a million American-teen-gets-slashed films never could.
Who Watches The Blog-men? - Watchmen (2009)
If you believe the trailers and the hype, Watchmen is a movie twenty years in the making, and adapted from ‘the greatest graphic novel of our time.’ Writer Alan Moore has previously given us V For Vendetta, From Hell and The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but don’t expect that to be any indication of what you’ll see on the big-screen, as Moore’s distaste for Hollywood and the adaptations of his own comics has been well-documented. A far change from From Hell or V, Watchmen has much more in common with the Batman movies of the 80s and 90s, with camp costumes and shades of Bond shining through in a way that is both parody and highly reverent.
Friday The 13th (2009)
Jensen Ackles has already graced our screens this year in horror re-make My Bloody Valentine: now, it’s screen brother Jared Padalecki’s chance to shine in Friday the 13th, a re-make/reboot of the popular series that made Jason Voorhees (and his mother) a cult icon. Strictly speaking, the film is the twelfth in the franchise (just one short, dammit, and yes, we’re including the unspeakable horrors of Jason X and Freddy vs. Jason in there.
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