Major motion picture adaptations of Young Adult (YA) novels are all the rage in Hollywood, and why shouldn't they be?  Why, just last week, news broke on the web that the third installment in the Katniss Everdeen story more commonly known as The Hunger Games beat Marvel's uber-popular Guardians of the Galaxy for the title of best 2014 box office performance.  If you're an investor, then you certainly know a good bet when you see one.  If you're a storyteller, then you're likely inclined to start weaving your very own tale that might do the same.

But as often happens when trends are clearly established, imitators are never far behind, and RPG (aka Real Playing Game) is most definitely an imitator.

Largely, it lacks a serious budget.  Most of the action takes place in what appears to be essentially little more than an abandoned building, and most of its young cast will probably be chewed up and spit out by an industry that's only hungry for 'the next big thing.'  Also, it only flirts with science and politics that get front-and-center treatment in other YA-inspired franchises, so it lacks any significant creative depth beyond its vicarious thrills.

Still, one could do a lot worse by spending time with this while waiting for Katniss's eventual return.

If you'd like to know more, then just follow the link.

     RPG Stole Only The Best Bits From Other Films

Each and every one of us has a B-movie we've been meaning (for ages) to sit down and watch from start-to-finish; and one of them from my Bucket List was Dolph Lundgren's singular Dark Angel.  In fact, it popped up so many times on my Bucket List one could argue that I was deliberately snubbing it.  Let me assure you that's far from the case as I remain a fan of Lundgren; having seen him in several promotional interviews as well as some behind-the-scenes fodder, the man is nothing but charming.  In fact, if he had a weekly TV series -- some tired, down-on-his-luck detective or aging gumshoe -- I'd be the first to sign up.  His off-screen charm convinces me he'd make a great regular to any action-packed serial.

In any event, I finally made the time to sit down and enjoy Shout Factory's relatively recent Blu ray release of the film formerly known as I Come In Peace.

   A Hidden Lundgren Gem!

Because I'm a die-hard lover of most things pulp, I suspect I'm one of the few who enjoyed Walt Disney's John Carter film, though I could see it as flawed like so many.  I've even been a supporter of Dynamite Entertainment's recent take on the seminal character from Science Fiction mythology, though in some respects I think they could lighten up a little bit on the skin.

Still, I appreciated the news late last year that Dynamite was looking to kinda/sorta relaunch the Carter comic's line with an all-new take on John Carter, Warlord of Mars.  I've tried and tried to get on their advance distribution list as a critic, but Dynamite so far refuses my inquiries; so I generally wait until the individual issues are either bargain priced through a physical vendor or I picked up the discounted digital copy via either Amazon or Comixology.  Recently, I picked up the first issue, and I thought I'd pen a review for those interested.

     John Carter: An Eye On The Future, Though It Looks Curiously Like The Past

Well, I hate to start a whole new week with something so touchingly depressing as the following short film -- The Story of R32 -- but it is what it is.  I saw it earlier this morning featured over at Geeks Are Sexy's website, and I thought I'd share it here for those who follow SciFiHistory.Net.  It's a great little flick that deserves your time, especially given the fact that it's a crisp and clean two minutes and twenty-eight second runtime.  Can't go wrong with that!

Enjoy ... and Happy Monday!

Be honest: which of us doesn't appreciate a good knock-off of Ridley Scott's seminal Alien film?  I know that I do, and that's about the best that can be said for Noel Clarke's Storage 24, a motion picture he conceived and starred in and maybe would've done a better job directing than did Johannes Roberts.  I watched it last night after much procrastination, and I penned my thoughts in a review right here.  Check it out, if you have the time, and have yourself a terrific weekend!

For anyone who missed it yesterday, news broke that apparently Paramount Pictures has tasked Simon Pegg with the task of writing the next installment in their rebooted Star Trek franchise.  Now that I've had some time to -- ahem -- digest it, I thought I'd sound off on it.

Most of the web seemed to greet the news favorably.  After all, Pegg is clearly a fan of the franchise (or, at the very least, he's certainly a die-hard fan of this reboot).  Also, Pegg has an impressive record of writing and co-writing features and television projects like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End.  While those are all good, I'm particular impressed with his writing and acting from his Spaced television show.  (If you haven't seen it, pick it up on home video DVD, and methinks you'll be equally surprised.)  Lastly, one could argue that Pegg has served as the most vocal cheerleader of these current Star Trek movies; thus, why not give him a chance to see what he can do with a silver screen story?

Besides, I've always said that things like casting news and/or director announcements really don't have a whole lot of interest for me at this stage in my life.  All too often, I've been disappointed by far too many projects to list here, and that's taught me that what really matters less the star power is what Shakespeare I think it was said (I'll paraphrasing): "The story's the thing."  A good story can usually salvage a bad acting choice, whereas I've rarely (if ever) seen a great actor save a bad story.

As to who can write a good story?

Well, as one who practices a fair amount of writing on a daily basis, I've always contended to friends and family that anyone -- and I do mean anyone -- can be a storyteller.  Granted, I don't necessarily believe that anyone can be a masterful storyteller all of the time but -- every now and then -- I think the sky parts and the clouds fall away, leaving truly great things to come through on the horizon.  I think given the right circumstances everyone can rise to the occasion and do some of their best work regardless of how many big or small ideas are bouncing around like rabbits in their heads.

That said, 2016 will serve as Star Trek's fiftieth anniversary, so I can understand why Paramount wants this picture in-the-can and on its way to the megaplexes by then.  A deadline looming can often times help serve as an inspiration to those of us who try to work off of them.  Writers tend to be pragmatic people more often than not -- I say this based entirely on my own experiences with them -- and I suspect more of us try to draw inspiration from a due date as opposed to look on them as a curse.

So ... the end result of all of this digestion is that I'm going to stay cautiously optimistic about the decision to put this project in Pegg's hands.  He's certainly written enough to know what elements make for a successful story, and audiences seem to embrace what he's done even if those particular visions may not exactly look like Star Trek stories.

If anything, he's definitely got the weight of the franchise on his shoulders at present, and -- loving Trek as much as I do -- I'm going to wish him well.

Keep boldly going, my friends ...

Golly gee, Batman, it's been years since I've seen the original The Blob -- the film that basically featured a giant ball of man-eating slime making a movie star out of Steve McQueen.  I did get the chance to see the 1988 remake when it played theatrically, and I really wasn't all that impressed.

Well, it looks like that lumbering dome of phlegm will be making another bid for the Academy Award as this morning Deadline reports that Goldcrest Films are going back to the well for another take on the seminal story of alien invasion.  I suspect today's special effects will make for a greater thrill ride than what's been done previously, but otherwise this seems like the kind of flick that'll come and go quickly from the marketplace.

     Deadline's article

For the record, Eaglemoss Publications have been doing some terrific work with their current run on the Star Trek merchandising license, and I wanted to bring it to your attention.

Sometime in the last year or two or three, they started this monthly subscription service aimed at die-hard Trek enthusiasts.  For a monthly fee, you can receive these terrific replicas of various ships featured across all incarnations of the popular SciFi program and movies.  (Being perfectly honest, I never subscribed, but that's only because I thought it was far too costly and I'd really only be looking for specific ships.)  And each ship comes with an associated magazine that serves kinda/sorta as a 'user's guide' to that vessel, highlighting its various strengths, weaknesses, and technical specifications.

The two featured in the above photo are available this month, and -- if you're interested in ordering them separately from the subscriber service via Things From Another Planet -- I'll post their links (and one more) below, along with the general link for Eaglemoss's website.

Dare I say ... ENGAGE!

     Star Trek Starships: The Valdore
     Star Trek Starships: Cardassian Hideki Class
     Star Trek Starships: USS Vengeance

     Eaglemoss Publishing

Despite how much it helps us, I think everyone has some deep rooted fear of technology.  (Here's looking at you, Skynet.)  Some would say that our advancing technology truly robs us of our respective identities, but I'd argue that's not quite the case.  After all, if we didn't have this thing called the internet, then we wouldn't have this thing called blogging.  And if we didn't have this thing called blogging, then you wouldn't be here right now reading what I've written.  And if you weren't here right now reading this thing I've written, then wouldn't that be my own real loss of identity?

On one level, it's always been (and always will be) a 'chicken and the egg' argument.  Let's just leave it there.

Still, that deep rooted fear remains, and it's clever little theatrical ditties like APP that strips away the layers and shows us our fears up close and personal.  No, it isn't any grand spectacle of a film, but methinks it's definitely worth a single viewing ... especially for those of us who like our movies with a healthy dose of Science Fiction in them.

I recently had the good fortune to watch this film.  It stars the young (and delicious!) Hannah Hoekstra, a real star-in-the-making.  There's a link below, and you know what to do about it ... if you're not so afraid ...

     SciFiHistory.Net's Review of APP

Oh, you kids today, with your role models.  You can have your Tiger Woods.  You can have your Justin Bieber.  You can have your Robert Downey Jr.  For when I was a kid -- well, a big kid -- we had a real hero, and his name was Snake Plissken.

Perhaps you've heard of him?  Perhaps you've heard he was dead.

I read online last week that John Carpenter was now actively involved in this so-called reboot of the entire Escape from New York franchise, and -- as much as I can appreciate a good reboot -- I really don't want to have anything to do with it.  Sure, maybe with Carpenter's involvement and blessing it'll be less of a toot and more of a hoot, but I'll take the old flick for good measure.  And you can leave that sequel -- Escape from L.A. -- on the trash heap where it belongs, thank you very much.

However, what I wouldn't give to have an extra couple hundred dollars sitting around because I now know without great certainty what I'd be spending it on: Sideshow Collectibles 1/6 scale action figure / national monument is due to be shipping this January / February.  The low, low price of $159.99 (gasp) is all you need to have this bad boy on display in your home.  On the couch.  As a dining table centerpiece.  Wherever.  It's Snake, so it's completely usable in any fashion.

     Link to Sideshow Collectibles

And -- in the words of the best action hero ever -- "Get a new President."