FEATURED POST
J.J. Abrams, 'Star Trek' and a fan's last wish
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Jan 7, 2013 12:11PM
By Don Kaye
Special to MSN Movies
We've taken issue with the work of J.J. Abrams on this site, and we don't always agree with his creative or artistic choices. More recently, his obsessive secrecy over his projects -- while well-intentioned to a degree -- has become less playful and more irritating. But let's put all that aside and proclaim here and now that the man has shown, with one gesture, more compassion, decency and sensitivity than you could probably find in the rest of Hollywood all year.
Bing: More on J.J. Abrams | More on 'Star Trek Into Darkness'
That last line is a bit facetious. Just a few nights ago, we happened to be with someone whose loathing of Hollywood celebrities who use their power and recognition to champion certain issues was oozing off him. But there have been many, many examples of that power being used for acts of supreme kindness, and those are the ones that are usually not widely disseminated to the public (two recent examples: Christian Bale visiting victims in the hospital after the Aurora, Colo., shootings and Ron Perlman spending time in full Hellboy makeup with a sick little boy).
In the case of Abrams, this story did make its way across the Internet -- a powerful tool in itself that actually played its own role in the way events unfolded.
Daniel Craft, a 41-year-old New York-based film buff and co-founder of that city's Asian Film Festival, found out six weeks ago that he had terminal cancer. His last wish was to see Abrams' upcoming "Star Trek Into Darkness," the sequel to the 2009 reboot that is not due out until May. Daniel's wife, Paige, posted his wish online; his friend Doug got it onto the Reddit message board, and a short time later, Paige got a voice-mail message from Abrams and "Trek" screenwriter Damon Lindelof that a producer of the film would be coming to their apartment the next day to show them a rough cut of the film on DVD.
Daniel had rested the previous day so he could watch the movie, which he by all accounts loved. And then this past Friday (Jan. 4), he died at 10:15 p.m., his wife and brother by his side. His friend Grady Hendrix wrote at Reddit:
"At a time when he didn't have a whole lot to look forward to, r/StarTrek, JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Bad Robot performed a simple act of kindness for a total stranger and gave Dan something to be excited about for a couple of days. The movie did exactly what movies are supposed to do, it helped him forget about his problems for a couple of hours. It doesn't sound like much, but in this case it was."
The generosity of what Abrams did cannot really be overstated. This is a man who does not like to reveal much of anything about his projects until they are officially released, and yet he allowed this man, Daniel Craft, and his wife to see his upcoming summer blockbuster in unfinished form nearly five months before any other member of the public will see it. Abrams gave some excitement, some comfort and some inspiration to a fellow human being who was literally staring into darkness, and made his final wish a reality.
As a number of people on the Reddit board noted, this gesture was very much in the spirit of the original "Star Trek," which was about optimism, compassion and courage in the face of the unknown. And the entire story says something about the power of film itself, and the way the most imaginative movies can take us away from the often dismal reality of everyday life, a reality that in the case of Daniel Craft was almost too terrible to contemplate.
We all have our favorites. For Daniel it was "Star Trek." When we've needed cinematic comfort, we've turned to "Trek" ourselves or James Bond. For others, it's "Star Wars" or a romantic comedy or a Pixar film. For us and many others we know, the pure escape of genre films -- which often take us to other worlds -- give us the most solace in times of personal tribulation. For Daniel Craft, a filmmaker and a single film helped make his final days in this life just a little more bearable. And for that, we give J.J. Abrams the highest commendation we can.
As for the power of cinema itself, no such accolades are needed. May it always be there for us, on our brightest days and in our darkest moments.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" is out in theaters on Friday, May 17.
Despite some damage, bidding for issue up to $137,000 in online auction
By Parallel Universe on MSN 11 hours ago
A Minneapolis man renovating his home recently found what is considered to be the Holy Grail of comic books: "Action Comics No. 1" from 1938, the issue that Superman makes his debut in.Bing: More about 'Action Comics No. 1'
The AP reports David Gonzales found the comic book mixed in with old newspapers insulating the ceiling of a house.
After doing some research, he confirmed the comic was valuable. Unfortunately, Gonzales got into a heated discussion with a relative about its value and the back cover was ripped.
New York-based online auctioneer ComicConnect.com graded the book a 1.5 on a 10-point scale because of the damage. By comparison, an "Action Comics No. 1" that was graded a 9 recently fetched $2.16 million.
The comic book's auction price reached $137,000 as of Friday afternoon. Bidding closes June 11.
Bad buzz, rewrites and reshoots may not have killed zombie epic
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Thu 5:00 PM
"World War Z," the upcoming globe-spanning zombie epic starring Brad Pitt, has been the subject of intense speculation and bad buzz ever since it was revealed that the entire third act of the movie was junked, rewritten and reshot last year. But guess what? All that extra work might just have been worth it.
Pitt was on hand at two screenings of the film last night (May 22nd) -- one in Manhattan for friends and media, the other in Hoboken, New Jersey for fans -- and initial reactions posted on Twitter to the movie indicate that he, director Marc Forster and the producers may have made the right decision in going forward with the costly reshoots (which were written by Damon Lindelof).
Scott Collura of IGN tweeted: "World War Z: a big, solid zombie movie. Makes up for in scope what it lacks in blood."
Latino Review's Kellvin Chavez wrote: "World War Z will probably be the most intense movie you will see this summer...I was shocked it was that good. So much for those re-shoots."
Screencrush's Mike Sampson said: "So after all that fuss, 'World War Z' turned out to be a surprisingly effective zombie thriller."
Novelist Kurt Andersen wrote: "Saw World War Z. Not at all the disaster it's been made out to be. It's entertaining and will do fine. So there, negative buzz."
We're sure that more reactions will be coming and that there will be some negative ones as well. But if these responses are any indication, "World War Z" is not the catastrophe that everyone assumed it would turn out to be, and may in fact be something we rarely see these days: a bona fide horror epic.
"World War Z" is out in theaters Friday, June 21.
J.J. Abrams defends film by showing 'deleted' villain shower scene
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Thu 4:17 PM
"Star Trek Into Darkness" director J.J. Abrams has countered charges that a scene of actress Alice Eve in her underwear is sexist -- by offering up a "deleted" scene of the villain played by Benedict Cumberbatch taking a shower.Ever since it first showed up in a "Star Trek Into Darkness" trailer, a shot of British actress Alice Eve -- who plays Dr. Carol Marcus in the movie -- in her underwear has been a lightning rod for criticism. The shot was added to the trailer, critics said, purely as bait for teen males.
Related: Who's who in 'Star Trek Into Darkness'
Related: Who's who in 'Star Trek Into Darkness'
Seeing the shot in the context of the movie itself doesn't dispel that accusation at all, and in fact, strengthens it. Whether you think the flash of Eve's flesh is sexist or not, the truth is that it is completely gratuitous -- there is literally no reason for Marcus, who is having a conversation with Kirk inside a smaller ship, to begin shedding her clothes, except as a pathetic attempt on the part of the filmmakers to throw some eye candy to male viewers.
Screenwriter Damon Lindelof has already offered a half-hearted apology for the scene, and while Abrams didn't apologize, he semi-defended it on "Conan" by pointing to a scene earlier in the film in which Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) appears shirtless. He also provided a clip of an allegedly "deleted" scene showing villain Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) shirtless and in the shower (via Slashfilm):
There's two things wrong with this: first, Kirk is shirtless for a reason -- he's getting out of bed after romping with a couple of women, which is totally in character for everyone's favorite space womanizer. Second, the Cumberbatch scene -- which, if you ask us, looks like it was created solely for "Conan" -- was left out of the movie, while the Eve scene wasn't.
So an unnecessary scene of a bare-chested male actor was removed, but one of a scantily clad young actress wasn't?
Here's the thing: we don't for a minute actually think that J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof or co-screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are sexist. But the scene of Eve stripping, which feels so awkward even as you're watching it, comes across as just another ill-advised attempt to cater to a specific section of the audience in a movie riddled with them.
Yes, the original "Star Trek" series had more than its share of women in skimpy costumes -- but that was the '60s, the women didn't start stripping for no apparent reason, and even then the show was doing it best to be more forward-thinking than most of the fare of its time (Badass Digest has posted a terrific piece with more on this).
So what do you think? Is the Eve underwear scene gratuitous and sexist? If it does nothing to advance the plot or her character, should it have been left out? Would the inclusion of the Khan shower scene have balanced things out? Tell us at MSN Movies on Facebook and Twitter.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" is out in theaters now.
Mutant named Quicksilver will appear in both movies
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Thu 3:01 PM
Two upcoming films based on Marvel comics -- "The Avengers 2" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" -- will feature the same character despite being made by two separate studios. How is this possible?
The character in question is Quicksilver, a mutant who, with his sister Scarlet Witch, is the offspring of evil mutant leader Magneto in the Marvel Comics universe. Both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch originated in the "X-Men" comics, yet also crossed over and spent time as members of the Avengers, which is how Joss Whedon recently confirmed that the "brother/sister act," as he called them, would appear in "The Avengers 2," made by Marvel Studios/Disney.
But now director Bryan Singer, who is making "X-Men: Days of Future Past" for 20th Century Fox (which owns the "X-Men" film rights), has thrown a potential wrench in the works with this tweet: "Before he was an Avenger, he was just a REALLY fast kid. Thrilled to say Evan Peters is joining 'X-Men: Days Of Future Past' as Quicksilver."
Peters, in case you don't know, is one of the stars of "American Horror Story" and is a solid enough actor. But how can the two movies use the same character without getting into all kinds of legal issues?
Somehow, because they're involved with the X-Men and are also part of the Avengers, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch can legally be used by both. Here's what Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige told Superhero Hype: "There's a specific arrangement with those two characters that would allow us to use them with 'Avengers,' but not discuss or reference their mutant or Magneto-related lineage. They can use them as mutants and as Magneto's relatives, but cannot have anything to do with 'The Avengers.'"
So while it does make sense that the siblings could show up in both stories, Singer's tweet -- especially the part about "Before he was an Avenger" -- feels a little like provocation, especially coming so soon after Whedon's revelation.
Is this an attempt on his and Fox's part to get under Marvel/Disney's skin a bit by using this character (and getting him to the screen a year earlier)? Was he just written in now to accomplish this? After all, why didn't we hear about him being in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" before? The thing's been in production for a little while now.
The other question is now whether Whedon will rewrite "The Avengers 2" and drop Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch from his story, or just ignore the Fox version of the character.
This is the problem facing Marvel: while the studio owns literally thousands of characters, three of its biggest names -- the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man -- belong to other studios, who certainly have no intention of giving them back at this stage. The fact that these two characters also belong to Marvel Studios as well is an anomaly.
Here's an idea: could the two studios come to some sort of agreement and allow Peters to play the role in both movies? Would that be a cool, fan-centric way of acknowleding the entire scope of the Marvel Universe on film? It's a nice thing to think about, but we won't hold our breath.
"X-Men: Days Of Future Past" is out in theaters Friday, July 18, 2014.
'Scream 4' star signs on for more terror
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Wed 6:11 PM
The third season of "American Horror Story" has added Emma Roberts to its ever-expanding cast. Roberts is set to play what TV Line called "a self-involved party girl by the name of Madison."
Roberts is no stranger to the horror genre, having appeared in "Scream 4" for director Wes Craven. That movie's lack of success didn't exactly lead to "Scream 5" getting off the ground, but Roberts must have a feel for the genre since she's joining creator Ryan Murphy's nightmarish FX program.
The actual title for season 3 is "American Horror Story: Coven" and the cast now includes series regulars Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Taissa Farmiga and Evan Peters (Roberts' real-life boyfriend), along with newcomers Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Patti LuPone and Gabourey Sidibe.
As you might guess from that title, the new season will almost certainly have something to do with witches, and reports say that the show will begin shooting in New Orleans this summer.
"American Horror Story: Coven" premieres in October on FX.
What do you think of Emma Roberts joining the cast of "American Horror Story"? Tell us on our MSN TV Facebook page and on Twitter.
Follow Don Kaye on Twitter @donkaye.
Find out how human pilots drive those massive robots
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Wed 2:49 PM
A new "Pacific Rim" featurette has been posted online in which director Guillermo Del Toro and members of the cast lay out the meaning of what the movie calls "The Drift."
Basically, the towering robots known as Jaegers, constructed to defend the Earth against the equally gigantic kaiju monsters from another dimension, are driven by human pilots whose minds and bodies are linked directly to the machines. But because the sheer size and power of the Jaegers can essentially burn out someone's brain, each robot requires two pilots.
Those two pilots, however, must also be mentally linked as well. The space in which their two minds meld -- where one cannot hide anything from the other, including memories -- is called "The Drift."
We'll let Del Toro and his cast elaborate further in the video below, which also contains plenty of epic footage from this jumbo-sized sci-fi epic.
"Pacific Rim" is out in theaters Friday, July 12.
In honor of 'Fast & Furious 6,' horror/sci-fi on the road
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Wed 2:28 PM
Somewhat improbably, "Fast & Furious 6" comes out later this week and is sure to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer, if not the year. But why is this improbable? Because after "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" in 2006, the street-racing franchise seemed to be veering off the road and into the ditch. But it began to reinvent itself with "Fast & Furious" in 2009 and "Fast Five" in 2011, evolving into a high-octane crime-action series with an escalating series of stunts involving speed, vehicles and explosions, not always in that order.
"Duel" (1971): This early Steven Spielberg thriller was made for television but was later expanded for theatrical release in Europe. Dennis Weaver plays a traveling salesman who is caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a massive tanker and its unseen driver, who seems intent on running Weaver to his death. Based on a story by Richard Matheson, this gripping and lean shocker will keep you watching the rear view mirror the next time you're on a lonely road.
"Horror Express" (1972): We're going to jump briefly from cars and trucks to trains for this Spanish-British production that put Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Telly Savalas on the Trans-Siberian Express with an ancient frozen ape creature that is actually the hiding place of an alien entity from another galaxy. By the time it starts turning everyone on the speeding locomotive into zombies, you'll be hooked by this wild, over-the-top horror/sci-fi/runaway train mashup.
"Death Race 2000" (1975): Roger Corman produced this now-classic sci-fi satire, set in a future fascist America where the annual Transcontinental Road Race provides the ultimate in violent reality TV to keep the masses distracted. The more pedestrians you kill, the more points you acquire. Crashes and chases ensue -- and all of it seems eerily plausible these days.
"Race With the Devil" (1975): Two couples accidentally stumble upon a satanic ritual and are pursued in their RV across Texas by the cult. Peter Fonda and Warren Oates are the menfolk, Loretta Swit and Lara Parker are the ladies, and the movie builds a decent amount of tension while also delivering some knockout chase scenes.
"The Car" (1977): Notice how a lot of these movies are from the '70s, when films based around autos were very popular? "The Car" is as simple as it gets: A black Lincoln Continental begins laying waste to the citizens of a small Utah town. Why? It's possessed by a demon, silly. James Brolin plays the lawman tasked with stopping the infernal machine. Look for future "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" sisters Kyle and Kim Richards as his daughters.
"Damnation Alley" (1977): This cheesy post-apocalyptic film was based loosely on a novel by sci-fi great Roger Zelazny and follows four men as they travel in 12-wheeled Landmasters across "Damnation Alley," the devastated heartland of what was once America that is now populated by freakish weather and giant mutated insects. The Landmasters almost outshine the actors -- Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Paul Winfield and others -- in one of two sci-fi films released in 1977 by 20th Century Fox. This one was supposed to be the hit. The other? "Star Wars."
"Mad Max" (1979) and "The Road Warrior" (1981): Australian director George Miller delivered some of the finest action sequences of their time in these brilliant first two entries in the "Mad Max" trilogy, starring a young Mel Gibson as a cop who lives through the collapse of society to become a near-mythic hero. The slamming automobile action in "Mad Max" paved the way for the climactic extended chase in the second film, surely one of the greatest in modern cinema.
"Maximum Overdrive" (1986): When the director -- who happened to be Stephen King -- calls his own picture a "moron movie," you know you're in for either a painful sit or an enjoyably bad time. Sadly, "Maximum Overdrive," which first-time (and only-time) director King based on his short story "Trucks," leans closer to the former. The idea of trucks, cars and other vehicles and machines coming to life and coming for us is a fun one, but King just sends it all into the ditch.
"Drive Angry" (2011): Car-chase movies with a supernatural or sci-fi slant dropped off the pop culture radar for a long time, but director Patrick Lussier and star Nicolas Cage tried to bring them back with this 3-D exercise, which does feature some well-staged automobile action but an ultimately dull story. Cage does the same loony schtick he's been doing for the past decade, while William Fichtner races off with the picture as the demonic Accountant.
"Fast and Furious 6" is out in theaters Friday, May 24.
Be prepared for moments between Plutarch and President Snow
By Myriam Gabriel-Pollock Wed 12:09 PM
During a Stella Artois-sponsored media event at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, "Catching Fire" director Francis Lawrence revealed that the film, while keeping very faithful to the book, will also feature some entirely new scenes:
"Lots of new stuff—new cast members, new action, a new arena and a fantastic story. There's very little that's been taken out—there's some additional scenes with some of the characters," says Lawrence, who specifically mentions new moments between Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and President Snow (Donald Sutherland).Could the still image shown above be from one of the scenes?
Bing: More about 'Catching Fire' | More about Francis Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence has revealed, when asked about how "Catching Fire" compares to "The Hunger Games," that, "Visually, it's a lot bigger this time. We get a little deeper into The Capitol as Katniss is trying to get her life back together."
As the book is written from Katniss' perspective, we only see The Capitol as she does. We'd definitely be fascinated to see more of what goes on behind President Snow's closed doors.
"Catching Fire" is out in theaters Friday, November 22.
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