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failures of cinema
It's happened to all of us. We read a novel that blows us away, and a few years later its title appears on posters underneath the face of Harrison Ford or Natalie Portman. But at some inevitable point in that darkened theater, the movie takes a turn we didn't expect. Our eyebrows go up, our lips turn down, and the disappointment begins. Maybe the wrong director or writer can curse an otherwise excellent project — or maybe some things were just never meant to be filmed. Here are 10 books that we think should never have been committed to celluloid.
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10 Books That Were Better Off on Paper
It's happened to all of us. We read a novel that blows us away, and a few years later its title appears on posters underneath the face of Harrison Ford or Natalie Portman. But at some inevitable point in that darkened theater, the movie takes a turn we didn't expect. Our eyebrows go up, our lips turn down, and the disappointment begins. Maybe the wrong director or writer can curse an otherwise excellent project — or maybe some things were just never meant to be filmed. Here are 10 books that we think should never have been committed to celluloid.
More »
indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull review
It's not necessarily a good sign when you can only describe the latest entry in one summer franchise, Indiana Jones, by reference to another franchise, X-Files. that is also pumping out a summer movie. And yet the whole time I was watching Steven Spielberg's serviceable little action flick, full of Harrison Ford's trademark lopsided smile (still cute) and jungle chases (still pulptastic), all I could think about was how this was the movie X-Files: I Want to Believe should be. It had exotic locales, new agey aliens, marvelously bad pseudo-science, and a plucky male-female team at its heart. I mean, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is X-Files with monkey jokes instead of paraphilias. But is that a good thing? Weirdly, yes.
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Indiana Jones Delivers the Best X-Files Movie of Summer
It's not necessarily a good sign when you can only describe the latest entry in one summer franchise, Indiana Jones, by reference to another franchise, X-Files. that is also pumping out a summer movie. And yet the whole time I was watching Steven Spielberg's serviceable little action flick, full of Harrison Ford's trademark lopsided smile (still cute) and jungle chases (still pulptastic), all I could think about was how this was the movie X-Files: I Want to Believe should be. It had exotic locales, new agey aliens, marvelously bad pseudo-science, and a plucky male-female team at its heart. I mean, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is X-Files with monkey jokes instead of paraphilias. But is that a good thing? Weirdly, yes.
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the rising
Spielberg To Make Facebook For UFO Abductees
Steven Spielberg is taking his fixation with aliens and ghosts to a whole new level of mania. The mega-director is creating a new social networking site called "The Rising." The site will be dedicated to those who have had paranormal experiences, and users will be encouraged to share their own extraterrestrial encounters. According to Tech Crunch, Spielberg has already bought the domain names relating to "The Rising" and "Rising," and we should see this site up and running this summer. The Rising will also have it's own original video content that will investigate ghost and alien sightings. There will be a permanent host on hand, no word yet who. See The Rising's logo after the jump. More ».jpg){kind=tracking}
jurassic park iv
Dr. Stattler Goes Back To Jurassic Park, World Wonders Why
Jurassic Park IV will not go quietly into the night. TV Guide confirms that Laura Dern will be taking on a much bigger role in Jurassic Park IV as Dr. Ellie Sattler. Which would be substantially more than her screaming-into-the-phone role in Jurassic Park III. Dern told the magazine, "It's a while away but my understanding is it's happening and my character is very involved. I know Steven Spielberg is looking forward [to working on] it over the next year." But let's hope the new Jurassic doesn't follow the storyline that leaked last year. More »
rant
Nine Reasons Why I Hate E.T.
With Speed Racer coming out this evening, it's a time to remember cool kid-friendly scifi of the past — like The Incredibles and the Power Puff Girls. But it's also time to excoriate hideous kids' scifi of the past, just to remind ourselves what to avoid when we go looking for flicks to share with our small pals who haven't spent that much time on Earth yet. That's why I want to invite you to my personal E.T. the Extraterrestrial hate-fest. Hated it as a kid, hate it now. But . . . but why? How could I despise something so cute?! I'll give you nine big fat reasons why. More »
ufos
UFO Sightings in Arizona Can Be Traced Back to "Close Encounters" Footage
Arizonans are buzzing today about a series of floaty lights that hovered over Phoenix last night for about 15 minutes. One guy captured them on film (you can see it here), and the news covered it to death, wondering how people could have seen a bunch of lights that the Federal Aviation Administration and local air traffic controllers couldn't explain. Apparently they are similar to lights that were seen over Phoenix in 1997 too. The really weird thing? The lights also look exactly like a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. See below to compare. More »
ghost in the shell
Ghost in the Shell, a classic anime cyberpunk flick from the 1990s, has mesmerized fans for years with its brutal-but-philosophical story of what happens to a woman's identity when she merges with technology on physical and psychological levels. Set in 2029, the movie starts out as a pure actioner with our cybercop hero Motoko sleuthing to stop terrorists in New Port City. But as Motoko's fate becomes intertwined with an anomalous, self-defining A.I., the movie veers into 2001-ish surrealism. At last, this brainfarm flick is getting an English remake, but unfortunately it's care of Steven Spielberg.
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Will Steven Spielberg Eviscerate "Ghost in the Shell"?
Ghost in the Shell, a classic anime cyberpunk flick from the 1990s, has mesmerized fans for years with its brutal-but-philosophical story of what happens to a woman's identity when she merges with technology on physical and psychological levels. Set in 2029, the movie starts out as a pure actioner with our cybercop hero Motoko sleuthing to stop terrorists in New Port City. But as Motoko's fate becomes intertwined with an anomalous, self-defining A.I., the movie veers into 2001-ish surrealism. At last, this brainfarm flick is getting an English remake, but unfortunately it's care of Steven Spielberg.
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interstellar
Spielberg Gets His "2001" On With Wormhole Saga
We've critiqued science fiction movies with bad science, but one project in development is supposed to have immaculate science, thanks to a script treatment by Caltech physics professor Kip S. Thorne. Interstellar, produced (and maybe directed) by Steven Spielberg, will deal with travel through a wormhole into an alternate dimension. Thorne insists the film won't violate any laws of physics, but will it ever actually get made? Click through for the latest info. More »
schlockmeister showdown
Boll to Spielberg: I Will Crush You Like The Hack You Are
It had to happen - Uwe Boll has finally gone completely insane. After spending years directing such classics as Bloodrayne, Bloodrayne II and the forthcoming Bloodrayne 3, Boll has laid down the ultimate challenge with new movie Postal: It's going to open head to head with Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull... and beat it at the box office. Wild claims and smack talking await under the jump. More »
indiana jones
Indiana Jones And The Roswell Alien Coverup
A government facility in Roswell, NM plays a big role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, judging from a leaked bootleg of the movie's first official trailer. So it looks like the rumors about Indy getting involved with some extraterrestrials are true. The trailer also shows a fight sequence in the massive government secrets crate warehouse from Raiders of the Lost Ark. More »
cj7
Stephen Chow Admits CJ7 Is An ET Clone
We've been saying for ages that Stephen Chow's CJ7 is a quasi-remake of ET, and now Chow is sort of admitting it. Says Chow: "I watched [ET] many times... I was amazed that science fiction could be filmed like that. I knew then I wanted to make a movie like that. Spielberg's work inspired me to become a director." CJ7 even mirrors Spielberg's daddy issues, with its story of a boy whose relationship with his alien dog affects his relationship with his father. [Xinhua]
scifi artwork
Science Fiction Will Rule the Oscars This Year
The Oscars will be all about science fiction this year — at least, if you look at the Awards ceremony poster. It was painted by celebrated poster artist Drew Struzan, who also created posters for The Phantom Menace, designed the ILM Logo, and was designated by Spielberg as "the only artist who was allowed to paint E.T." Recently he painted artwork for the new Blade Runner: The Final Cut DVD, based on his original artwork from 1982 when the film came out. It's not surprising that his Oscar poster depicts the golden guy in a sea of stars. Check out some of Struzan's amazing work in our gallery and find out more below. More »
sneak peek
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has a new photograph out today, all packed with cobwebs and spiders. It also looks like Shia LaBeouf's uniform throughout the film will be his greaser biker jacket, helping hammer home the whole "Hey, I'm a teenaged rebel, man!" attitude. If he picks up the whip once and swings it, we're calling shenanigans. We've got the full story on what's happening in this photo.
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First Look at Indiana Jones in the Cobwebby Alien Dungeon
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has a new photograph out today, all packed with cobwebs and spiders. It also looks like Shia LaBeouf's uniform throughout the film will be his greaser biker jacket, helping hammer home the whole "Hey, I'm a teenaged rebel, man!" attitude. If he picks up the whip once and swings it, we're calling shenanigans. We've got the full story on what's happening in this photo.
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indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull
George Lucas Explains Why You'll Hate Indy IV
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be hitting theater screens on May 22nd, marking nineteen years since we've seen the whip-swinging archeaologist going after mysterious antiquities and occasionally teaching school. However, George Lucas thinks that both critics and fans alike will hate the movie. Find out why he told Vanity Fair (that glossy scifi rag) you'll be scowling at Indy this summer. More »
national film registry
Two films that Steven Spielberg had a hand in, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Back to the Future, were both selected alongside 23 other films to be shelved forever in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. They'll get locked up inside a hermetically sealed vault, and preserved in mason jars with really tight steel lids, to keep the freshness in. What other scifi films were deemed by the government to be worthy of preservation forever?
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Spielberg Gets Locked Into Underground Vault
Two films that Steven Spielberg had a hand in, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Back to the Future, were both selected alongside 23 other films to be shelved forever in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. They'll get locked up inside a hermetically sealed vault, and preserved in mason jars with really tight steel lids, to keep the freshness in. What other scifi films were deemed by the government to be worthy of preservation forever?
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morning spoilers
One-Breasted Man-Killers Get An Origin Story
- We'll learn the origins of those one-breasted psycho killers, the Daughters of the Amazon, in the movie version of Y: The Last Man movie. [Comics 2 Film]
- Steven Spielberg's Interstellar, about explorers who travel through a wormhole to another dimension, will come out in 2009 and won't violate any laws of physics. [Not Even Wrong]
Deadlier spoilers for Sarah Connor Chronicles and Smallville follow, so be warned... More »
holiday shopping dvd blitz
Top Six SciFi DVD Sets of the Season
Like a mutant virus that wipes out most of humanity, the holidays are upon us once again. If you've been slipping into the Grinch-like ease of just picking up gift cards for everyone at your local supermarket instead of putting real thought into your gift giving, then you need to buck up and give some quality items this year. In fact, we'll make it easy for you. Whether you're picking something up for the scifi fan in your life, or you're spreading your own geeky love, these brand-new DVDs are well worth getting, or giving. More »
