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The Week In Geek: A Chat with 'My Sucky Teen Romance' Director Emily Hagins

By John Gholson (Subscribe to John Gholson's posts), Posted Mar 15th 2011 8:00PM
Filed under: SXSW Film Festival, Horror, Cinematical, Festivals

[The Week in Geek is a weekly Tuesday column that plunges headfirst into a deep pool of genre geekiness without ever coming up for air.]

Inspired by both the 'Twilight' craze and her own personal experiences at Minnesota's annual geekfest CONvergence, writer-director Emily Hagins has created one of the most anticipated features of SXSW 2011, 'My Sucky Teen Romance.' It's Emily's third feature film, a rom-com with a vampiric horror slant, and her most ambitious project yet. If your only exposure to Hagins is as the soft-spoken subject of the documentary 'Zombie Girl,' you might be surprised to see that the little girl has grown up into a confident adult director.

I've seen the transformation first-hand; 'My Sucky Teen Romance' is my third film as an actor for Emily. It's a one-line part this time out, but our working relationship made it easy to nab a relaxed interview with her, away from the craziness of downtown Austin during its busiest week of the year.
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The Week In Geek: Five Marvel Movie Villains That Look the Part (And One That Doesn't At All!)

By John Gholson (Subscribe to John Gholson's posts), Posted Mar 8th 2011 9:00PM
Filed under: Columns, Sci-Fi, Cinematical

[The Week in Geek is a weekly Tuesday column that plunges headfirst into a deep pool of genre geekiness without ever coming up for air.]

That squealing sound you heard last week? That was me. When Entertainment Weekly unveiled the first full-on image of Hugo Weaving in the Red Skull make-up (from 'Captain America: The First Avenger'), I became a little baby fanboy. I still need someone to change my diaper. Those full-on 100% geek-out moments are more rare than they used to be for me, but I can't think of a Marvel villain who looks as wonderfully spot-on as The Red Skull -- the moment deserved every decibel of my squealing.

Sure, that image doesn't really reveal anything about the quality of the film itself; I just appreciate the fact that they didn't attempt to "movie" him up. He even has the Jack Kirby-style lips, as opposed to later versions of the Red Skull, drawn with a rictus grin. There may not be any Nazi symbols on him (they do have to sell his action figure after all), but seeing a Hydra belt buckle is enough for me to make mine Marvel on July 22.

Let's take a look at four more Marvel movie super-villains that got their look down just right (and some that blew it big time)...
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'Captain America' Villain Red Skull -- Check Out the New Image

By John Gholson (Subscribe to John Gholson's posts), Posted Mar 3rd 2011 3:35PM
Filed under: Movie Photos, Hot Topic, Sci-Fi, Cinematical

We saw a glimpse of the character in the latest trailer for 'Captain America: The First Avenger,' but now Marvel and Entertainment Weekly have teamed up to debut a proper image of Hugo Weaving in the full Red Skull makeup, and he looks sensational. Truly menacing. The makeup wizards over at Marvel have done an incredible job of adapting Captain America's classic arch-enemy, porting him straight from of Jack Kirby's comic book panels into the film.

Even more impressive is that you can still see Hugo Weaving behind all of that latex. Creating these types of applications are a true work of art -- appliances that still allow the performance to come through loud and clear. Suddenly, we cannot wait until July 22 to see 'Captain America: The First Avenger.'

See Entertainment Weekly's full image after the jump, and click over to EW to read their interview with director Joe Johnston. What do you think of the Red Skull look?
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The Week In Geek: The Likeliest Genre Academy Award Bait of 2011

By John Gholson (Subscribe to John Gholson's posts), Posted Mar 1st 2011 11:40PM
Filed under: Columns, Sci-Fi, Cinematical

[The Week in Geek is a weekly Tuesday column that plunges headfirst into a deep pool of genre geekiness without ever coming up for air.]

One of the coolest things about ten nominees for Best Picture means you get to see films like 'District 9' and 'Inception' rub shoulders with artsier "prestige" pictures. It's like the cool kids crashed the party! I can only guess what upcoming genre releases might earn their spot as future Best Picture nominees, but here are a few that seem, on paper at least, like they could be Oscar front-runners in 2011.

'Now'

Andrew Niccol has spent most of his career looking like a guy right on the very cusp of great things. As a writer, he won critics over early on, with 'Gattaca' and 'The Truman Show,' but his red-hot career cooled down with 'S1m0ne' and 'The Terminal.' He seems picky with projects, only directing films that he's written, and rarely taking a break from high-brow science-fiction concepts.

'Now' sounds very much like a modern spin on 'Logan's Run,' taking place in a world in which only the richest citizens can buy the privilege of life past the age of twenty-five. While brainy sci-fi doesn't always nab Academy voters' attention (it didn't help 'Never Let Me Go'), there's still a chance that the subject matter will strike a chord with viewers outside of the usual sci-fi fans.

Academy Award Bait: Andrew Niccol (1-time Oscar nominee), Cinematographer Roger Deakins (9-time Oscar nominee)
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'Hall Pass' Review: One Weak Break From Marriage

By John Gholson (Subscribe to John Gholson's posts), Posted Feb 25th 2011 1:00PM
Filed under: Reviews, Cinematical


For being such an accomplished screenwriter, Owen Wilson sure has a bad nose for scripts. 'Hall Pass' is as phony as they come -- a plasticine, high-concept sex comedy so far removed from human reason that you go beyond feeling sorry for the cast and start to hold them in open contempt. In a mere 105 minutes, the Farrelly Brothers work very hard to extinguish Owen Wilson's star power, kill Jason Sudeikis's movie career before it even starts, and paint the lovely Jenna Fischer an ungodly shade of Hulk Hogan orange. If 'Hall Pass' is even remotely indicative of modern sexual politics, a lifelong vow of chastity looks incredibly appealing right about now.

Take, for example, a scene in which Wilson's character verbally dresses down a barista. Family man Wilson's been given a "hall pass" by his frustrated wife (Fischer) -- a one-week break from all the commitments of marriage, including sexual fidelity. Because no one in this film behaves like an actual person, Wilson immediately starts chasing tail, specifically an Australian bombshell (Nicky Whelan) who works at his local coffee shop. This enrages her intensely jealous co-worker to the point where he finally speaks up when Wilson's ogling goes too far. Wilson gives him a verbal beatdown in return, meant to be hilarious, all about Wilson's superior social station in life (un-ironically delivered while wearing a Harvard T-shirt), but the scene only comes across as ugly and cruel.
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The Week In Geek: 'Prometheus'; Too Little, Too Late to Help the 'Alien' Legacy?

By John Gholson (Subscribe to John Gholson's posts), Posted Feb 22nd 2011 10:00PM
Filed under: Columns, Sci-Fi, Cinematical

[The Week in Geek is a weekly Tuesday column that plunges headfirst into a deep pool of genre geekiness without ever coming up for air.]

I'll never see 'Alien' with the eyes of someone who saw it theatrically in 1979. I've seen beautiful repertory prints and flawless digital transfers, but I didn't see 'Alien' until 'Aliens' was hitting home video. By the time I saw the film, sometime in early 1987, I'd already seen it imitated (and sometimes parodied) elsewhere. The film made an impact on me, because it's a great film, but I've always wondered how much more I might have loved it if I would've been a movie-goer in 1979 and not a four-year old.

In that way, movies can be "of-the-moment" just like live theater. Sure, they last and live on, but the fact that they do means that would-be imitators don't have to rely on their memories alone -- they can watch and re-watch until they're completely saturated with their "influence." It's been 32 years since 'Alien' was released, and we're still seeing films that riff (or rip-off) what director Ridley Scott accomplished decades ago.
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The Week In Geek: Dracula Rises From the Grave For Three New Movies

By John Gholson (Subscribe to John Gholson's posts), Posted Feb 15th 2011 10:00PM
Filed under: Columns, Horror, Cinematical

[The Week in Geek is a weekly Tuesday column that plunges headfirst into a deep pool of genre geekiness without ever coming up for air.]

Dracula has risen from the grave! No, seriously! Yesterday celebrated the 80th anniversary of the release of Tod Browning's classic monster movie, but there's an all-new race going on right now between three filmmakers to bring Bram Stoker's bloodsucker back to the multiplex masses. Part of this is just cyclical -- Dracula, like Robin Hood and Peter Pan, is one of those literary characters who gets dusted off every couple of years for the silver screen, to varying degrees of success ('Dracula 2000,' anyone?).

Another obvious part of this would-be revival is a cash-in on the vampire fad. While it's not as red hot as it was a year ago, the trend is still going strong. Studios are still looking for vampire projects, and, let's face it, there's really no better vampire than the original. While no one has supplanted Bela Lugosi's iconic visage, there are at least three upcoming projects that will try to put their own face on the vampiric count.
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