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'Star Trek' Blu-ray Review

By Sci-Fi Squad Staff (Subscribe to Sci-Fi Squad Staff's posts), Posted Nov 17th 2009 12:32PM
Filed under: DVDs, DVD Reviews, DVD News, Sci-Fi
By: Todd Gilchrist

The franchise comeback story of the year, if not the decade, is Star Trek, which arrived in theaters with an amount of buzz that could only be matched by a metric ton of tribbles, and eventually grossed almost $400 million worldwide. This week Trek debuts on Blu-ray in a 3-Disc Special Edition, and the set includes enough extras and special features that one can expect the series to continue on successfully for the foreseeable future – even if it's only because you can't get it out of your head.

Though it's unnecessary to revisit the merits of the movie itself – by now you're either with J.J. Abrams' reinvention of the series mythology or you aren't – it looks absolutely wonderful in high definition, emphasizing every last lens flare and visual flourish injected into its agile, lyrical cinematography. The color quality itself is just positively luminous, but augmented by the sound design, which offers a muscular 5.1 TrueHD mix, you're completely immersed in the film; in fact, so great is the sound on Disc One that even the menu screens rumble with house-shaking bass.

As for the encyclopedia of bonus materials.....
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Review: The Fourth Kind

By Sci-Fi Squad Staff (Subscribe to Sci-Fi Squad Staff's posts), Posted Nov 6th 2009 9:45AM
Filed under: Movie Reviews, Reviews, Sci-Fi

By Todd Gilchrist (reprint from 10/28/09 -- L.A. Screamfest)

I'm not sure exactly what quality it is that real people possess and actors lack, but any time a film pretends to document real behavior, either literally or as a reenactment, something is almost always missing. Sometimes the problem is a deliberate decision to enhance events with artificial emphasis or drama, and sometimes it's simply too great a sense of self-awareness in the actor, who knows he or she is performing. But while there are a precious few movies that nail that authenticity, notably the recent underdog-blockbuster Paranormal Activity, such is certainly the case in The Fourth Kind, a film that purports to build an argument for alien abductions using "actual" footage from case studies.

While much of the movie's so-called source material carries the convincing roughness and deficiencies of homemade, handheld recording, too much of it seems far too calculated, both in its technical proficiency and the performances contributed by its "real" people. Further, its accompanying reenactments by recognizable actors undermine the possibility that audiences can take its case seriously, all of which adds up to thriller that unravels easily even if it nevertheless occasionally qualifies as a scary good time.
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'The Prince of Persia' Finally Gets a Trailer

By Sci-Fi Squad Staff (Subscribe to Sci-Fi Squad Staff's posts), Posted Nov 3rd 2009 9:02AM
Filed under: Trailers/Clips, Sci-Fi
By: Elisabeth Rappe

After so much hype surrounding the casting and a handful of beefy stills, the trailer for Disney's The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is finally here, and we have it courtesy of IGN. From the comments left on Todd's preview of the trailer, I know you've been as eager to see its swashbuckling as we have.

It really looks like Jerry Bruckheimer and Mike Newell have taken the best of Pirates of the Caribbean, and employing it here. The costumes and sets are lush and exotic, the cast is gorgeous, there's plenty of crazy action sequences, and the special effects look as solid as golden sands of time can look. My only issue with it is that we only see a few glimpses of wit and fun. Part of what made Pirates so enjoyable was the chemistry and dialogue, and a cast that seemed to be relishing every moment it spent swashbuckling. There was a healthy sense of the ridiculous inherent in it. Everyone in Persia seems to be taking magical daggers, destines, and demons very, very seriously and such earnestness can be offputting for an audience who wants to be transported. Luckily, there's some promising flickers of humor at the end of the trailer (Do jokes about body searches ever get old? Not if they're delivered with the right twinkle in the eye.), and I hope it's a sign that it's not going to be grim and humorless stuff.

Check out the trailer below the jump, and let us know what you think. Thanks again to IGN for the embed.
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'Thor' Casting: Anthony Hopkins Will Play Odin!

By Sci-Fi Squad Staff (Subscribe to Sci-Fi Squad Staff's posts), Posted Oct 30th 2009 10:05AM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
By: Elisabeth Rappe

There's big news from Asgard tonight! According to The Hollywood Reporter, the legendary Sir Anthony Hopkins has joined the cast of Thor. This isn't one of these tightly kept casting announcements either, as THR reports that he and no one else is playing Odin. (Incidentally, there's no mention of Robert DeNiro and Jude Law among the confirmed cast members, so I'm guessing that was just a fever dream of a rumor.)

If you're not up on your Thor or Nordic mythology, Odin is the father of Thor and the ruler of Asgard. He's your typical white-bearded god sort, fond of wine, women, and wisdom. He's not immortal (none of the gods of Asgard are), but ages slowly, and possesses amazing powers of strength and wisdom. He famously sacrifices his eye for the foresight to prevent Ragnarok, a sadly futile act, but you can't blame a god for trying.

While a lot of people were hoping that the Brian Blessed would be Odin (and my own money was on the recently signed Stellan Skarsgard), you can't really get much better than Sir Hopkins. He'll add just the right amount of gravitas, but he's an actor who can still have fun in a role. I can't wait to see him go up against Loki, and watching him smack down Thor for his arrogance is going to be pure theater. Cheers, Kenneth Branagh!

This post originally appeared at Cinematical

Movie Review: The Fourth Kind

By Sci-Fi Squad Staff (Subscribe to Sci-Fi Squad Staff's posts), Posted Oct 28th 2009 5:02PM
Filed under: Movie Reviews, Reviews, Sci-Fi
By: Todd Gilchrist

I'm not sure exactly what quality it is that real people possess and actors lack, but any time a film pretends to document real behavior, either literally or as a reenactment, something is almost always missing. Sometimes the problem is a deliberate decision to enhance events with artificial emphasis or drama, and sometimes it's simply too great a sense of self-awareness in the actor, who knows he or she is performing. But while there are a precious few movies that nail that authenticity, notably the recent underdog-blockbuster Paranormal Activity, such is certainly the case in The Fourth Kind, a film that purports to build an argument for alien abductions using "actual" footage from case studies.

While much of the movie's so-called source material carries the convincing roughness and deficiencies of homemade, handheld recording, too much of it seems far too calculated, both in its technical proficiency and the performances contributed by its "real" people. Further, its accompanying reenactments by recognizable actors undermine the possibility that audiences can take its case seriously, all of which adds up to thriller that unravels easily even if it nevertheless occasionally qualifies as a scary good time.

Read the rest over at Cinematical

Have A 'Star Wars' Halloween with A Death Star Jack O'Lantern!

By Sci-Fi Squad Staff (Subscribe to Sci-Fi Squad Staff's posts), Posted Oct 27th 2009 9:32AM
Filed under: Fan Made, Sci-Fi
By: Jen Yamato

If you're still on the lookout for the perfect movie-themed jack o' lantern patterns for Halloween, look no further because we've dug up something for everyone. Are you a stickler for the rules of Halloween (i.e. don't blow out the jack o' lanterns til after midnight...)? Try the bag-headed Sam from Trick 'R Treat. Jedi in training? Carve the Death Star so you can practice infiltrating it. Bonus: you and Lego Luke Skywalker can even blow it up once Halloween's over!

Personally, I always went for the grotesque or ironic celebrity pumpkins. One of my best Halloween creations was a glowing, sultry J. Lo pumpkin. (The best part was watching her wither and decay the next week. So evil!) I've always sworn by the patterns over at Zombie Pumpkins, where you can find just about every movie icon you can imagine. Download SUPER easy patterns like Freddy Krueger, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, the Joker, Jigsaw's puppet, Gremlins, and even assorted characters from the Harry Potterverse. (An Albus Dumbledore to protect your porch!) And yes, folks - they've even got new patterns from Twilight, Zombieland, and Michael Jackson, circa Thriller. Too soon?

Read on for more -- and the Death Star jack o' lantern -- after the jump.
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Rebooted Predators, Meet 'Psy-Ops'

By Sci-Fi Squad Staff (Subscribe to Sci-Fi Squad Staff's posts), Posted Oct 14th 2009 9:02AM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
By: Elisabeth Rappe

Robert Rodriguez's Predators reboot has left us all with mixed feelings, particularly after the offbeat casting choices that were announced last week. If you read that and said "Man, you know what I really want instead? A movie that's like Predators, but original!", then you might be in luck. The Hollywood Reporter tells of an action thriller called Psy-Ops that was penned by Scott Stewart and Gus Krieger, and might just introduce some new terror into the jungle.* It was just optioned by Bold Films, and will be directed by Stuart Maschwitz as his feature film debut.

Psy-Ops centers on that usual gang of suspects: a U.S. military team sent on a routine mission to the Amazon Basin. Instead of being the typical black-ops bunch, these guys are psychological operatives who specialize in exploiting the deepest and darkest fears of their enemies. But on this trip to the Basin, the tables will be turned, and blood will be spilled as they "discover something more terrifying than they could have imagined." And these guys have imagined a lot.

The script is said to be a mix of Predators, Aliens, Black Hawk Down, and the Bourne films. Bold Films is hoping to mix the good of the 1980s with the psychological grittiness of our current action crop. I'm not about to judge on just a few lines of plot (and don't think I'm tearing Rodriguez down to elevate this), but wouldn't it be nice if this generation had an original alien slasher to call their own?

*Apologies for the hideous graphic on your right. That's my attempt at portraying a scary jungle. Color it red and it looks scary, right?


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