An Even Dangerouser Game: Adrien Brody (right) and Alice Braga (center) take point in PREDATORS.

This week, the Cinefantastique Podcast sets its sights on PREDATORS, produced by Robert Rodriguez and directed by Nimrod Antal, from a screenplay by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch. Is this sequel to PREDATOR (1987) a brilliant pop culture mediation on the ability of the human spirit to triumph in dire circumstances, or is it merely a crushing disappointment that fails to deliver on the promise of its trailer? Listen in to find the answers to these and other intriguing questions, along with the usual roundup of news, events, and home video releases in the world of science fiction, fantasy, and horror film.

Bent Elements and Straight Love: THE LAST AIRBENDER (left) and THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.

It’s a double-dose of photodramatic discussion, disputation, and dissention on this week’s episode of the the Cinefantastique Podcast, as Dan Persons, Steve Biodrowski, and Lawrence French take on romantic vampires, macho werewolves, and elemental airbenders. Does THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE deliver? Can the post-production 3-D conversion process add depth to M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon’s THE LAST AIRBENDER? Plus: an interview with director Nimrod Antal about his work on the upcoming PREDATORS, and other news from the worlds of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, all delivered with lightning rounds of rapier wit and incisive analysis.

Clowntime is Over: Dany Boon confronts the enemy in MICMACS.

The premiere audio review of science fiction, fantasy, and horror is back with another exciting episode! This time, Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski eschew the big-time summer blockbusters in favor of the French comedy-fantasy MICMACS (Micmacs a tire-lairgot, or “Non-stop Madness”), latest surreal confectionery from supreme stylist Jean-Pierre Jeunet (who charmed audience with AMELIE). Also this week, we bring you the latest news, the Cinefantastique Calendar of upcoming events, and previews of the week’s home video releases. All in all, it’s more fun than a Jerry Lewis festival!

Tougher than You: Doctors at work in LIVING IN EMERGENCY

It’s getting to be that my fortitude is being tested on a weekly basis. I’ve witnessed the psychotic outrages of THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (and liked it), the moral confrontation that is THE KILLER INSIDE ME (liked it), and the let’s-put-The-Rock-in-a-tutu TOOTH FAIRY (you’re kidding, right?). But all that was make-believe stuff. LIVING IN EMERGENCY is very real, a documentary, and at points can be rough going. But if you can work up the nerve to tough it out, your courage will be greatly rewarded.

‘Course, if you want to talk about courage, you have to talk about the subjects of the film: four doctors who have volunteered to work for Doctors without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières) in two, war-ravaged countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Director Mark Hopkins — making his feature documentary debut having previously produced numerous docs — takes his cameras into the exam, operating, and break rooms, and doesn’t flinch from showing both the staggering challenges the volunteers face, and the effect those challenges sometimes have on them (one doctor compares the attitude of another to Heart of Darkness — that’s never a good thing). The film winds up an unwavering, credible evaluation of why the organization has justly received a Nobel Peace Prize — one of the best docs I’ve seen so far this year. It also reminded me why I need to stop whining when I have to watch movies like TOOTH FAIRY.

Click on the player to hear the interview.

This Episode is Brought to You by
EXAM

LIVING IN EMERGENCY
Trailer

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

www.livinginemergency.com

IMDB Listing

Subscribe to MMP on iTunes

Sign Up for E-Mail Updates

Your email:

 

No connection, but a great doc.

Why Do They Laugh at My Mighty Sword? - Jake Gyllenhaal in PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME

In the sixteenth episode of Cinefantastique’s weekly Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Podcast, Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski sift through the Sands of Time as they search PRINCE OF PERSIA for hidden political metaphors and/or weapons of mass destruction. The big screen film version of the popular video game stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, and Gemma Arterton – but, strangely enough, no Persians. Also in this episode: a fond farewell to Dennis Hopper; a preview of the WOLF MAN unrated director’s cut DVD; and the usual news and previews.

In MICMACS, Jeunet gives us a cockeyed protagonist in the person of Bazil (Dany Boon), a man who quite by chance winds up at the precipice of the eternal when a stray bullet gets lodged in his brain. This makes him not so charitably inclined towards the manufacturer of said bullet, a matter only exacerbated when he discovers that the land mine that killed his father in the Middle East was created by a neighboring company. His only recourse: Take down both corporations, with the help of a ragtag assortment of unusually talented junkyard misfits. For such a dire theme, the film turns out to be quite a lighthearted adventure, with Jeunet deploying all his powers of visual invention into the narrative, while also making copious nods to film history, particularly to the works of silent comedians and Sergio Leone.

George Romero is also taking a few pages from cinema history, most specifically from classic westerns. In SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, the group of renegade guardsmen we met in DIARY OF THE DEAD — led by Alan Van Sprang — decides they’ve had enough of zombies, and aim themselves for a respite on an island off the coast of Delaware. Problem is: Not only is the place already infested with the walking dead, but they’ve become a rather peculiar stake in a kind-of range war between waged between two feuding clans. As always, Romero mixes zombie assaults with some particularly vivid death scenes — for both living and dead — along with some trenchant observations of our current, fractious times. Turns out the departed still have something to say to their survivors, and it has nothing to do with moving into the light.

Click on the player to hear the show.

This Episode is Brought to You by:
HALO: REACH – Autumn 2010

MICMACS
Trailer

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

www.sonyclassics.com/micmacs

IMDB Listing

====================================

SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD
Trailer

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

www.magnetreleasing.com/survivalofthedead

IMDB Listing

Subscribe to MMP on iTunes

Sign Up for E-Mail Updates

Your email:

 

It’ll make you smile.

]]> http://mightymoviepodcast.com/blog/2010/05/21/survival-of-the-dead-and-micmacs/feed/ 0 Activism,Art,Comedy,Death,Emotion,Explosions,Fantasy,Gore,Horror,Indie,Justice,Love Y'know, people probably shouldn't be this gleeful about issues of mortality, but in the cases of the movies being discussed in this episode, we're kinda glad they are. This episode features interviews with Jean-Pierre Jeunet and George A. Romero, Y'know, people probably shouldn't be this gleeful about issues of mortality, but in the cases of the movies being discussed in this episode, we're kinda glad they are. This episode features interviews with Jean-Pierre Jeunet and George A. Romero, both of whom have previously addressed matters of life-and-death in their own, unique ways, and have decided that there's still more sport to be had from the subject. Twisted Love: Dany Boon (left) and Julie Ferrier meet peculiar in MICMACS. In MICMACS, Jeunet gives us a cockeyed protagonist in the person of Bazil (Dany Boon), a man who quite by chance winds up at the precipice of the eternal when a stray bullet gets lodged in his brain. This makes him not so charitably inclined towards the manufacturer of said bullet, a matter only exacerbated when he discovers that the land mine that killed his father in the Middle East was created by a neighboring company. His only recourse: Take down both corporations, with the help of a ragtag assortment of unusually talented junkyard misfits. For such a dire theme, the film turns out to be quite a lighthearted adventure, with Jeunet deploying all his powers of visual invention into the narrative, while also making copious nods to film history, particularly to the works of silent comedians and Sergio Leone. Home on Deranged (Sorry): Joris Jarsky (left) wrangles Kathleen Munroe in SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD. George Romero is also taking a few pages from cinema history, most specifically from classic westerns. In SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, the group of renegade guardsmen we met in DIARY OF THE DEAD -- led by Alan Van Sprang -- decides they've had enough of zombies, and aim themselves for a respite on an island off the coast of Delaware. Problem is: Not only is the place already infested with the walking dead, but they've become a rather peculiar stake in a kind-of range war between waged between two feuding clans. As always, Romero mixes zombie assaults with some particularly vivid death scenes -- for both living and dead -- along with some trenchant observations of our current, fractious times. Turns out the departed still have something to say to their survivors, and it has nothing to do with moving into the light. Click on the player to hear the show. This Episode is Brought to You by: HALO: REACH - Autumn 2010 MICMACS Trailer [youtube TjKW0tG7I8s nolink] www.sonyclassics.com/micmacs IMDB Listing ==================================== SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD Trailer [youtube aFqUbY-pWqQ nolink] www.magnetreleasing.com/survivalofthedead IMDB Listing Subscribe to MMP on iTunes Sign Up for E-Mail Updates [amazonify]B0000640VO[/amazonify] It'll make you smile. Dan Persons no 38:48 http://mightymoviepodcast.com/blog/2010/05/10/the-cinefantastique-horror-fantasy-science-fiction-podcast-v1n12-iron-man-2/ http://mightymoviepodcast.com/blog/2010/05/10/the-cinefantastique-horror-fantasy-science-fiction-podcast-v1n12-iron-man-2/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 12:33:02 +0000 Dan Persons http://mightymoviepodcast.com/blog/?p=1809

A Heightened Sense of Irony: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) comes to terms with a lethal personal generator and a rampaging ego in IRON MAN 2.

This time, Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski take a can opener to IRON MAN 2, the successful sequel to the 2008 blockbuster, starring Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark. Does it live up to the original? Do the special effects give more bang for the buck? Can Tony Stark’s ego grow any bigger? And what’s up with Ivan Vanko’s teeth?

Also on this week’s agenda: A brief discussion of the trailer for J.J. Abrams super-secret SUPER EIGHT, observations on audience anticipation for both the upcoming THOR feature and the next installment of the TWILIGHT franchise, plus all the new releases on home video and the usual roundup of the week’s most newsworthy items.

Click on the player to hear the show.

Rudolf Klein-Rogge's haunting presence in THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE.

In anticipation of the release of the almost-fully-restored silent science-fiction classic, METROPOLIS, the Cinefantastique Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Podcast presents Langarama!, an episode focusing  back on two classics of yesteryear from renowned German master filmmaker Fritz Lang:  WOMAN IN THE MOON (1929) and THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933). The first is an ambitious early example of serious cinematic science fiction; the latter is a masterful crime thriller with overtones of the supernatural. Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski also delve into the week’s news and home video releases.

Click on the player to hear the episode.

Which is a pity, because, of the films I’ve seen in the past few years about Tibet’s struggle for independence from China, SUN — in focusing on the tumultuous year of 2008 and the numerous protests that took place both within and without Tibet– provides the most comprehensive explanation of the issues involved, including an exploration of the rifts occurring within the independence movement itself. Instead of focusing purely on the spiritual side of this struggle — a narrative gambit I’ve noted in other docs, and not always the most compelling argument for non-spiritual guys like me — Sarin and Tenzing acknowledge the politics of this issue, and show political realities are occasionally competing against religious ideals. It’s a worthwhile film if you’re interested in better understanding this fight, or even if you’re just interested in political documentaries in general.

Right now, I’m looking to Monday to finally have the episode up. Meantime, please check out the trailer and visit the website.

Trailer

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

www.thesunbehindtheclouds.com