At the Champion City Comic Con, the Best Continuing Independent Series Award went to Mr.Jigsaw – Man of a Thousand Parts, by Ron Fortier and artist Gary Kato. As one of All Pulp’s Spectacled Seven, Ron’s a beloved member of the All Pulp team and we’d like to give him a major shout out for the well-deserved honor. Full details can be found on our News page!
Some days I think I can still see it there in the night sky…
What’s really horrible is the entire controversy over people wanting to replace it with a giant crescent moon, but some yo-yos think that’s too Islamic.
Actor Kevin McCarthy, made famous by his role of Dr. Miles Bennell in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, passed away this past Saturday in Cape Cod; he was 96 years old.
McCarthy, who has been acting since 1938, has had an amazingly long career, acting even to this year, with many roles under his belt in the 90’s as well. A look at his IMDB page includes roles in movies, television, and even some voice-over work. His notable roles included Uncle Walt in the Twilight Zone movie, roles in Innerspace, Dark Tower, The Howling, and even a role as Marilyn Monroe’s husband in the 1961 film “The Misfits”.
And while some in the later generations may recognize him as the evil R. J. Fletcher of Weird Al’s cinematic opus, UHF, it would be his role in Body Snatchers that would prove to be his most memorable. McCarthy would end up lending his memorable “You’re next!” performance in numerous spoofs and sci-fi projects… he even made a cameo as Dr. Bennell in the ’78 Body Snatchers remake, starring Donald Sutherland. Topping the list of off cameos though, McCarthy ended up appearing as Dr. Bennell in the 2003 Looney Toons: Back in Action movie– still in glorious black and white.
Kevin was married twice, once to Augusta Dabney, and then to Kate Crane. He had five children. Our condolences to his family.
We begin our look at the new ABC super hero series, NO ORDINARY FAMILY, by talking with JULIE BENZ – straight from being a victim on DEXTER to a much more powerful role here. Plus Ryan Reynolds lands in R.I.P.D. and a quiet weekend at the box office.
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I wrote this a year ago last Friday. Amazing how time flies, doesn’t it?
“Greed is good” and “Lunch is for wimps” became the two catch phrases that helped turn Oliver Stone’s [[[Wall Street]]] into a smash hit. The feature film also debuted at just the perfect moment as Wall Street blazed across the headlines with a serious financial collapse. The film cemented Michael Douglas as the leading man of the decade and gave us a stellar cast of newcomers, most of who have gone on to do other good work.
In time for the unexpected sequel [[[Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps]]], 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has released [[[Wall Street: Insider Trading Edition]]] and it’s a greedy cash grab without delivering the ultimate edition for fans. Several features found on the standard DVD, 20th anniversary edition, and the Blu-ray release are absent, which is a shame since “Greed is Good”, the nearly one hour documentary is worth seeing.
On this standard DVD set, you get the complete film on the first disc (with Stone’s so-so commentary track) while the second has the Fact Exchange, which is the entire film with a bonus trivia track. There is a constant running commentary placing musical cue and cultural references into perspective. After all, newcomers today may not recognize the early reference to former baseball slugger Dave Winfield. So, this is a nice, welcome addition.
We don’t get the deleted scenes or “Money Never Sleeps: The Making of Wall Street” but do get a trailer for the new film, [[[Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps]]] – A Conversation and “Fox Movie Channel Presents: Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman”. These are fine but are aimed at the new film so the featurettes that help explain why the original is so well-regarded should have been here.
Wall Street depicts an energetic New York City, filled with rich and fashionable and those desiring to be rich and fashionable. The offices of Gordon Gecko are sleek and scream money as does his home and suits. He is knowledgeable, charismatic, and cut-throat, typical of a class of businessmen Tom Wolfe called “Masters of the Universe”. His stratospheric career is enticing to young account exec Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) who allows himself to compromise his morals and principles just to breathe the same air as Gecko. In so doing, he uses insider information from his dad (Martin Sheen), a 24 year veteran mechanic for a small airline. Dad is centered and content with his place in the world, always having a few bucks to lend his constantly strapped son, who is never content. Gecko and Fox the Elder are competing father figures with Bud lost between them.
Gecko has his own rival in a fellow ruthless wheeler and dealer, coolly played by Terence Stamp. Their enmity plays out across the film and while they say its just business, it’s also clearly personal. Stone plays with the characters and the Wall Street business world with verve, drawing from his experience of watching his father survive in the financial sector. The film is filled with actors such as James Spader, John C. McGinley, Saul Rubinek and others who have gone on to their own fame and fortune. On the other hand, this was one of the final strong roles for Daryl Hannah before she withdrew from an active acting career.
While the film is well-worth watching, owning yet another version is not called for. The $14.98 list price, though, makes this worth investing to fill the void in your library.
Hey there, kids! Remember when Star Wars was awesome? Yeah, we do too. Then ole’ George fired up his bank of super computers, “wrote” a script, and here we are years later still trying to figure out what happened to the Star Wars of our youth. But, prequels be damned! Give the credit to the YouTube viral nation, for spawning an amazing creation that’ll melt that polar ice cap you have in your heart when you hear the word… midichlorian.
Well, the video vanguards have put together a mix-up of Star Wars saga of one troubled youth, and married it with “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Blend it well, add an umbrella and slice of pineapple and you get Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff’s masterpiece, the Midichlorian Rhapsody.
Welcome once again to MOONSTONE MONDAY, a spotlight on one of the most prolific modern publishers in the Pulp genre! Interviews abound today from writers and staff involved in Moonstone’s comic line RETURN OF THE ORIGINALS!!! Our Featured Interview is Moonstone’s Main Man, JOE GENTILE!!! Click on the Interview tab and read words from Win Scott Eckert, Tim Lasiuta, Howard Hopkins, Eric Fein, and Aaron Shaps! Also check out Barry Reese’s latest column for a tip of the hat to Moonstone on its handling of a classic character! And check back in this evening for Reviews, Reviews, Reviews!!! All on ALL PULP and MOONSTONE MONDAYS!!
I found myself interested in seeing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
entirely based on the trailer, and the engaging banter between Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton. Not being a game player, I had no frame of reference and therefore no preconceived notions when I sat down to watch the Disney production. The visuals, largely CGI-generated, are enticing, with enough period costuming and countless extras to make it feel like a timeless Persia of story and legend.
The movie was considered a disappointment, opening weakly and garnering mixed reviews. Now, Disney Home Entertainment is releasing the film Tuesday as a single-disc Blu-ray or a combo pack. Gyllenhaal’s acrobatics makes it clear he would have been an excellent replacement for Toby Maguire in the second [[[Spider-Man]]] film, as he leaps, jumps, and acrobatically performs as Prince Dastan. While he does not at all look Persian, he also is the most empathic member of the cast, constantly looking at people with gentle eyes.
An orphan whose bravery impressed the King, he was taken into the palace and made a brother to the King’s sons. As we open the film, they have been manipulated to attack Alamut to end their treachery. Dastan, though, discovers Princess Tamnia (Arterton), attempting to hide a special dagger. From that point on, the story becomes a standard high-octane adventure story mixed with the Princess’ spiritual responsibilities. Of course, the twin themes mesh into a noisy climax set at the Hourglass of the world, or whatever it’s called.
The film is populated with stock types, the wise father, treacherous Uncle (Ben Kingsley, phoning it in), cannon fodder brothers — Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell) — and comic relief in the form of a gambler (Alfred Molina) who rails against taxes. Dastan’s greatest obstacle seems to be surviving the central casting figures to defeat the leader of the Hassansins in an overly drawn out set piece.
All the banter that appealed in the trailer was never expanded upon or deepened in the actual film and Tamina rarely acts like a princess or the keeper of a legendary trust. She certainly cowers well, though.
Director Mike Newell seemed to go out of his way to give us anything fresh and original, so scenes were reminiscent of many other genre features or even other video games. None of the characters rise above their roles so the end result is a mediocre popcorn experience.
On blu-ray, the film looks lovely, especially the exterior settings of the various kingdoms. This is one of the strongest video transfers I‘ve seen in a while. The single blu-ray contains one extra: a 1:30 deleted scene while the version in the combo pack also comes with the CineExplore feature. The Sands of Time offers up about two hours of extra material, some 40 behind-the-scenes tidbits about how the film was constructed. The annoying aspect, though, is that you have to literally sit through the film and look for a dagger icon, which triggers that moment’s video tidbit. There’s no other way to access it as there should be which makes it quite vexing. The standard DVD in the combo pack contains the obligatory Making Of featurette, which reuses much of the same material.
Star Trek: The Original Series 365
By Paula M. Block with Terry J. Erdmann
744 Pages, Abrams, $29.95
Just in time for the television icon’s 44th birthday and your Christmas list, Abrams adds to their delightful 365 library with [[[Star Trek]]] the Original Series. Let me state upfront that co-authors Paula Block and Terry Erdmann are friends and colleagues of mine but I cannot imagine any duo better suited to select the images and write the accompanying text for this volume.
Every episode and the original pilot are covered in this book with a nice design element with the page numbers colored to denote each season. The paper stock allows for strong color photography reproduction and even if you’ve seen many of these pictures before, you have not seen them this sharp.
Star Trek may be the most exhaustively covered prime time television series in history so the question immediately becomes, do I need this book? Well, completists certainly need it, but trust me, you want this. The authors take the best known stories regarding the series’ creation and production and cover them here, plus additional tidbits even we grizzled veterans might not have known. Visually, there are some personal pictures people involved in the series provided the book along with rare production drawings and images. One of the new images is one of Spock and Carol Burnett from [[[The Carol Burnett Show]]], an appearance I never knew about.
Each episode is recapped along with a few pages discussing stories regarding its creation or filming. Obviously, we can quibble over which ones got short-shrift (“[[[Whom Gods Destroy]]]” needed a picture of Yvonne Craig, for example) but the information brings some fresh perspectives. Threads from episodes that played out in the features or subsequent series or even novels are covered.
Paula and Terry do an admirable job admitting which episodes worked and which ones didn’t (and why) while only giving you a flash of the dirty laundry that some the books covered in greater detail. If anything, alluding to but not naming Fred Freiberger as the producer who let Star Trek deteriorate in its final season was an oversight.
Throughout, we learn biographical material on much of the cast but better, the spotlight is shared with the production crew from production designer Matt Jeffries to prop genius Wah Chang,
The book also embraces the fan base that kept the show alive for a third season and beyond. Bjo Trimble gets her due her along with the earliest of the fanzines and the final pages are devoted to the birth of the conventions and merchandise surrounding the series. Its cultural impact is also covered with the first space shuttle and the restoration of the 11-foot long model now on display at the Smithsonian.
Given Paula’s 19 year tenure working as publishing director for the consumer products department at Paramount/CBS, she certainly knew where to look for graphics. After combing through the licensing department’s archives for stock shots (a library she helped create!), she cast a wider net which gives the book a nice visual variety. Given the show was produced at a time extensive graphics were not maintained and licensing was usually an afterthought, the fact that she found over 365 good images is a testament. The book even went to the expense of original photography, shooting collector Gerald Gurian’s original series props.
This all-in-one volume is the only book you need in a newcomer’s Star Trek library and it is a most welcome addition to our groaning shelves of Star Trek memorabilia.
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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