Good morning, gentle readers, and welcome to ... Hump Day! That's right, folks: it's midweek once again, and that also means that the weekend is in sight once more! Look for those silver linings whenever they're out there, and find the strength to push onward again!
Ahhhh ... what's up, friends?
Not a lot to report casually this morning. I have some volunteer work later this morning, so I'll be away from the blog for some time. (Apologies, but it is what it is.) And the news desk is a bit slim today -- at least, thus far, it is -- so I've nada new to report on that front. I can tell you that last night I enjoyed the International Cut of 1982's Conan The Barbarian compliments of Arrow Films. It's an all-new 4K restoration slated for release at the end of this month (January), and I received a complimentary copy via a distributor. I'll be penning a review shortly -- likely not today -- but it looks grand, folks. It probably hasn't looked this good since its first airing on the big screen. Watch this space, and you'll see my comments up in the lights soon.
Now, I did get an email question wondering on my two cents regarding yesterday's announcement of a forthcoming Star Wars movie regarding the Mandolorian; and -- no, no, and no -- I'll not be penning a column on that.
Honestly, folks, it seems like the Mouse House and Lucasfilm are trying to distract a wee bit from the catastrophies of their own making. Didn't we hear not all that long ago the rumors that Mando Season 4 was being reworked into a motion picture? Seems to me that was the chitchat on the Information Superhighway. Well, why not hold on making that announcement official until they needed some potentially positive press? The whole Sharmeen whatever her name is comes along, upsets fandom, and boom! Let's distract the masses with a little something different, eh? No, folks: so long as Kathleen Kennedy is at the helm, I'm not really looking for a Mando movie. Remember how she pretty much tanked the series? Why do we think a big screen outing could be any different? Have we already forgotten how awful Season 3 was? Geesh. No. I'm not really all that interested in announcements: Lucasfilm have announced plenty of new Star Wars films that haven't seen the light of day, so I'll wait to buy my popcorn at the theater.
Today, there's also a lot of web chitchat focused on an interview Daisy Ridley did wherein she confessed to a media pundit that she cried over how bad she personally thought her work was in The Force Awakens. I've politely pointed out that this is a kinda/sorta surprising confession as she and John Boyega and Oscar Isaac are all on record as being pretty pleased with what they did in Star Wars on previous press tours, so 'color me cynical' if I question why Ms. Ridley's saying this now. (No, no, no: I'm not implying she's lying.) Self doubt goes hand-in-hand with the acting profession. Some might argue it's what helps push talent to greater heights, even. I'm just suspicious as to how and why this is permeating the World Wide Web the very day AFTER an announcement about a Star Wars film she'll likely be no part of.
Strange timing, don't you think? Almost like Kathleen Kennedy wants you to know that she's still out there, and that Rey movie -- the one that's been greeted with some controversy over Sharmeen's comments -- is still getting made?
Well, what do I know? I'm just a blogger.
Ahhhh ... what's up, friends?
Not a lot to report casually this morning. I have some volunteer work later this morning, so I'll be away from the blog for some time. (Apologies, but it is what it is.) And the news desk is a bit slim today -- at least, thus far, it is -- so I've nada new to report on that front. I can tell you that last night I enjoyed the International Cut of 1982's Conan The Barbarian compliments of Arrow Films. It's an all-new 4K restoration slated for release at the end of this month (January), and I received a complimentary copy via a distributor. I'll be penning a review shortly -- likely not today -- but it looks grand, folks. It probably hasn't looked this good since its first airing on the big screen. Watch this space, and you'll see my comments up in the lights soon.
Now, I did get an email question wondering on my two cents regarding yesterday's announcement of a forthcoming Star Wars movie regarding the Mandolorian; and -- no, no, and no -- I'll not be penning a column on that.
Honestly, folks, it seems like the Mouse House and Lucasfilm are trying to distract a wee bit from the catastrophies of their own making. Didn't we hear not all that long ago the rumors that Mando Season 4 was being reworked into a motion picture? Seems to me that was the chitchat on the Information Superhighway. Well, why not hold on making that announcement official until they needed some potentially positive press? The whole Sharmeen whatever her name is comes along, upsets fandom, and boom! Let's distract the masses with a little something different, eh? No, folks: so long as Kathleen Kennedy is at the helm, I'm not really looking for a Mando movie. Remember how she pretty much tanked the series? Why do we think a big screen outing could be any different? Have we already forgotten how awful Season 3 was? Geesh. No. I'm not really all that interested in announcements: Lucasfilm have announced plenty of new Star Wars films that haven't seen the light of day, so I'll wait to buy my popcorn at the theater.
Today, there's also a lot of web chitchat focused on an interview Daisy Ridley did wherein she confessed to a media pundit that she cried over how bad she personally thought her work was in The Force Awakens. I've politely pointed out that this is a kinda/sorta surprising confession as she and John Boyega and Oscar Isaac are all on record as being pretty pleased with what they did in Star Wars on previous press tours, so 'color me cynical' if I question why Ms. Ridley's saying this now. (No, no, no: I'm not implying she's lying.) Self doubt goes hand-in-hand with the acting profession. Some might argue it's what helps push talent to greater heights, even. I'm just suspicious as to how and why this is permeating the World Wide Web the very day AFTER an announcement about a Star Wars film she'll likely be no part of.
Strange timing, don't you think? Almost like Kathleen Kennedy wants you to know that she's still out there, and that Rey movie -- the one that's been greeted with some controversy over Sharmeen's comments -- is still getting made?
Well, what do I know? I'm just a blogger.
Folks, I've always been fascinated with the topic of where Science Fiction truly began.
Don't get me wrong: this isn't some 'life's mission' pursuit of mine. My point in bringing it up is that some very smart people have put a lot of thought (and ink) into their respective ideas about what spurred our genre into existence. Not all that long ago, I pointed out that a great many of them credit the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as the authentic start to SciFi; but I'm here today to remind you that another great many cast their finger in the direction of this film -- 1927's Metropolis -- as being the true cinematic beginnings to the realms of the Fantastic.
Have you seen it?
If yes, then good on you.
If not, then why not?
I know, I know, I know. "It's old!" "It's black-and-white!" "It's silent!" Trust me when I say that I've heard any and all of the excuses folks offer to defend not watching a true theatrical gem -- which it is -- but that just doesn't hold water for me. In life, there are hundreds if not thousands if not millions of things we do just because, and watching Metropolis is something that true genre fans ought to complete once in a lifetime. Seriously. It's culture, peeps. It's fine art. Of course, you may hate it. That's to each his own. But this is my annual opportunity to encourage folks to reach back into the annals of film history and try something different. My lifelong appreciation of 'what's come before' is why I do what I do on SciFiHistory.Net. And features like Metropolis tickle my fancy. Maybe not as much as other older projects. But they still do, nonetheless.
So if you sit down to watch one old, silent, black-and-white Science Fiction classic today, then make it Metropolis ... which, incidentally, celebrates its 97th birthday today.
Don't get me wrong: this isn't some 'life's mission' pursuit of mine. My point in bringing it up is that some very smart people have put a lot of thought (and ink) into their respective ideas about what spurred our genre into existence. Not all that long ago, I pointed out that a great many of them credit the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as the authentic start to SciFi; but I'm here today to remind you that another great many cast their finger in the direction of this film -- 1927's Metropolis -- as being the true cinematic beginnings to the realms of the Fantastic.
Have you seen it?
If yes, then good on you.
If not, then why not?
I know, I know, I know. "It's old!" "It's black-and-white!" "It's silent!" Trust me when I say that I've heard any and all of the excuses folks offer to defend not watching a true theatrical gem -- which it is -- but that just doesn't hold water for me. In life, there are hundreds if not thousands if not millions of things we do just because, and watching Metropolis is something that true genre fans ought to complete once in a lifetime. Seriously. It's culture, peeps. It's fine art. Of course, you may hate it. That's to each his own. But this is my annual opportunity to encourage folks to reach back into the annals of film history and try something different. My lifelong appreciation of 'what's come before' is why I do what I do on SciFiHistory.Net. And features like Metropolis tickle my fancy. Maybe not as much as other older projects. But they still do, nonetheless.
So if you sit down to watch one old, silent, black-and-white Science Fiction classic today, then make it Metropolis ... which, incidentally, celebrates its 97th birthday today.
Of course, there's a whole lot more to celebrate today than just Metropolis. There are some big birthday, some other big movie releases, and even some great episodes of genre television. In fact, there are 82 great reasons that I know of today that makes being a fan of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror the unique experience that it is.
You want proof?
Then here you are ...
As always, thanks for reading ... thanks for sharing (site hits have been through the roof as of late, so thank you thank you thank you and keep it up) ... thanks for being a fan ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
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