Archive for Fantasy
SXSW TV: ‘American Gods’ Debuts to an Overflow House
Two years ago, SXSW premiered Mr. Robot. Last year, Preacher wowed conference audiences. This year’s earthshaking TV preview was American Gods from STARZ. American Gods debuted on STARZ on April 30, but if you were lucky enough to have attended the SXSW Conference in Austin, you could have seen it back in March with hundreds of Neil Gaiman fans.
‘A Monster Calls’ with Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson
“A Monster Calls” is not just a movie, it is an emotionally and visually stunning experience.
SXSW: Fire, Rodriguez, and Frazetta
t’s a rare moment when two artistic talents you have admired for decades intersect in your presence. Robert Rodriguez has been one of my favorite directors since I saw ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’. Frank Frazetta has been my favorite artist since his paintings began appearing on the covers of Tarzan and Conan books in the 1960s. At SXSW, I participated in a tour of the Robert Rodriguez Museum, conducted by Rodriguez. He explained how, like many others, he found the paintings of Frank Frazetta amazing and inspirational for his own art. He recalled how when he first met Frazetta, and saw his original paintings up close, he was amazed at the depth and detail that never appeared in any of the prints or book covers.
Making ‘The Vineyard’ for the Los Angeles 48 Hour Film Project: Lessons Learned
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) I was always told that the promulgator of Murphy’s Law worked in an Information Services department, but, now I know better – he was a filmmaker. In August of last year, I decided to enter the 48-hour Film Project – Los Angeles. The contest organizers give you a genre and a […]
Family Film Festival: ‘Centurion AD’ and ‘Leaving Limbo’
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) Two films at the International Family Film Festival, Centurion AD and Leaving Limbo took two radically different paths to get you in touch with things spiritual, although they both involved a character out of their normal place in time. Centurion AD is billed as a sci-fi action adventure, set in current […]
Wrong
Having viewed Wrong, written and directed by Quentin Dupieux, I suspect his motto might be “Weird for Weird’s Sake.”
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
(First published on blogcritics.org) Everyone agrees this is a failure of a movie. Spoilers (if it were possible to spoil this movie any more than it already is) follow. As writers and filmmakers, what lessons can we learn? Plot problems: The plot follows the formula “Hotshot FBI Agents come into town and bump heads with […]
The Making of ‘Effigy’
(First published on blogcritics.org) Opening e-mail is usually pretty uneventful, but that day in August was different. I saw an ad for the “The 2nd Annual Debra Hill Fellowship presents Producers Guild Weekend Shorts Contest”. Heck of a long name for a shorts contest. I’d heard of competitions like this before and they intrigued me. The goal […]
PopConLA: Sybil Danning Shows you a Road to Movie Success
(First published on blogcritics.org) How do you make a movie? According to horror and fantasy queen Sybil Danning, the rules have changed. Danning, whose acting credits include Hercules, Howling II, Grindhouse, and Halloween has added producer, writer, and director to her resume. I spoke with Danning at PopConLA. PopConLA debuted this year, running July 5 – 8 as a new convention for fans of […]
PopConLA: New Nerd Nirvana Debuts in LA
(First published on blogcritics.org) A new convention for fans of popular culture, PopConLA, debuted in Los Angeles, July 5-8. The new event describes itself as the “Popular Culture Convention, about ‘All Things Pop Culture’, including Art, Design, Fashion, Music, Xtreme Sports, and of course, Movies & TV.” The new fandom conclave ran concurrently with the International Television Festival, […]
‘Black Death’ – Painfully Realistic Fantasy
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) The first line of Black Death, which opens in New York and Los Angeles March 11, “The fumes of the dead hung in the air like poison…,” sets the tone for an action flick that tries to delve much deeper into the soul than most sword and sorcery fare. This ScreamFest 2010 […]
