June 6, 2004
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As all of you probably know, Ronald Reagan died yesterday. It’s sad, even though I disagree with a lot of his politics and ideologies. I was born during the Reagan era, but I don’t remember anything about him as president. It was also kind of ironic, because at the time I found out that he died I was watching a REALLY old episode of MST3K and they were making jokes about Ronald Reagan. Anyways, even though he was nearly my polar opposite in terms of political standpoints, I wish him God bless and all that other good stuff.
I don’t know why, but I just REALLY wanted to watch sports last night, and I was willing to watch just about any sport that was on. I ended up watching the Belmont Stakes (the first time I’ve ever watched a horse race), and I rooted for Smarty Jones, but he lost, which sucks (My mom feels bad for him because he was from a small stable and was kind of a “rags to riches” horse). What’s really dumb is that the horse that did win was 36-1 or some incredible odds like that. Then I wanted to watch more sports, but ESPN had a dog show and ESPN 2 had the spelling bee (which I already saw a few days ago). Oh well. At least the Tigers won.
It’s the final day of Tiger’s Summer Movie Guide, and today we’ll highlight what is usually my favorite category. On a related note, I recently learned that Warner Brothers just bought the film rights to Piers Anthony’s Xanth series. No word on when they’ll start filming, but it makes me happy nonetheless (It’ll make me happier if they’re really successful and I get the chance to direct a few somewhere down the road. If not, there’s always the Incarnations of Immortality Series). But enough stalling…
Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror
Movie: I, Robot
Release Date: July 16
Summary: Set in a future Earth (2035 A.D.) where robots are common assistants and workers for their human owners, this is the story of "robotophobic" Chicago Police Detective Del Spooner's (Smith) investigation into the murder of Dr. Miles Hogenmiller, who works at U.S. Robotics (run by Greenwood), in which a robot, Sonny (Tudyk), appears to be implicated, even though that would mean the robot had violated the Laws of Robotics, which is apparently impossible. It seems impossible because.. if robots can break those laws, there's nothing to stop them from taking over the world, as humans have grown to become completely dependent upon their robots. Or maybe... they already have? Aiding Spooner in his investigation is a psychologist, Dr. Susan Calvin (Moynahan), who specializes in the psyches of robots...
My Take: I read the book several years back, and I went on a small Isaac Asimov spree because of it (I always meant to finish the Foundation series, but I stopped a book and a half shy), but I liked how p.c. the book was, even though most of it was written in the forties. From the looks of things, the movie is only taking one character that’s in the book (Dr. Susan Calvin, the expert on robots in both book and movie), but I’ll probably check it out because I’m curious, and I usually like Will Smith movies.
How Likely I Am To See It: Probably
Movie: Van Helsing
Release Date: May 7
Summary: In the 19th century, mysterious monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman), easily identifiable by his stalwart nature and flowing locks, hunts down Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein's square-headed creation. Aiding his fight is the beautiful vampire hunter Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale, spouting a Transylvanian accent that puts Gary Oldman to shame).
My Take: It could be interesting. It’d be the perfect movie to see with Stephanie, but I have a hunch she’s already seen it. Too bad, because lately the only thing she wants to do is hang out at my grandma’s house and watch movies with me (and it’s really hard to find movies that both of us will like that she hasn’t seen, because she doesn’t really like seeing movies more than once).
How Likely I Am To See It: If Stephanie hasn’t seen it, definitely. If she has, then maybe.
Movie: The Chronicles of Riddick
Release Date: June 11
Summary: Fugitive antihero Richard Riddick (Vin Diesel, who earned $11 million to do that monosyllabic thing he does so well) arrives on the planet Helion, gets banished to a subterranean prison, hooks up with hot babe Kyra (Alexa Davalos), and battles some baddies called Necromongers with the help of Ambassador Aereon (Dame Judi Dench).
My Take: Um, Pitch Black sucked. I have no reason to believe that this will be any better (Hell, I only saw Pitch Black because Chris wanted to see it, and he hated it more than I did). I do want to ask Judi Dench what the hell she was on when she agreed to do this movie. She’s a very well-respected actress. She doesn’t need to be in unpromising sequels to already bad movies.
How Likely I Am To See It: Hell No
Movie: Alien vs. Predator
Release Date: August 23
Summary: When wealthy industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen, as his "Alien" android's creator) discovers an ancient pyramid buried in
My Take: I haven’t seen any movie in either franchise, so I would be totally lost anyways.
How Likely I Am To See It: Very unlikely
Movie: Exorcist: The Beginning
Release Date: August 20
Summary: Young Father Merrin (Skarsgård) encounters the demon Pazuzu for the first time while doing missionary work in post-WWII
My Take: I heard this one had numerous production problems, but as I’ve only seen the first movie (which was very good), I’m not interested.
How Likely I Am To See It: Unlikely
Movie: Thunderbirds
Release Date: July 30
Summary: Bill Paxton stars as ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, who, with the help of four of his sons, some dedicated friends, and a fleet of totally rad rocket ships, helps those in need through the mysterious International Rescue organization. But it's Jeff's fifth and youngest son, Alan (Brady Corbet), who is forced to go mano a mano with criminal mastermind The Hood (Ben Kingsley). "Star Trek" vet Jonathan "No. 1" Frakes directs.
My Take: I’ve only seen one episode of the old puppet TV show, and all I can say is that it’s weird and a little creepy. I do wonder if this movie is going to go for campy (like the show) or serious.
How Likely I Am To See It: Maybe
Movie: Code 46
Release Date: August 6
Summary: "Brief Encounter" meets "Double Indemnity" with a splash of "Blade Runner." Set in a travel-restricted world of the near future, this $7.5 million sci-fi production from BBC Films stars Tim Robbins as a married insurance investigator whose life is irrevocably changed after he has a whirlwind affair with forger Samantha Morton.
My Take: I’m not sure, but I think it’s that independent film that did really well at Sundance or one of those other high-profile film festivals. If it is, then I’m curious.
How Likely I Am To See It: Maybe
Movie: Anacondas: The Hunt For the Blood Orchid
Release Date: August 27
Summary: What separates this slithery chiller from the surprise 1997 hit "Anaconda" starring Jennifer Lopez? More snakes, all bigger, scarier, and hungrier than the original. Oh, and no J. Lo, although there is an actress who looks just like her. In this outing, the cold-blooded crawlers target a group of scientists searching the jungles of
My Take: This sounds like something that should be a Sci-Fi Channel original movie (although they were trying to bill Beyond Re-Animator as their own, when I know for a fact it wasn’t).
How Likely I Am To See It: Very Unlikely
Comments (2)
I loved Van Helsing! but then again, I'm a huge Vampire fan. Hugh Jackman is worth the ticket price alone. I don't think I'll be seeing I, Robot. It didn't grab me and it seems like for Will Smith, been there done it movie. Hadn't heard about Thunderbirds, but like Bill Paxton, might have to check it out. The one I'm waiting for now is.......Dodgeball. It looks hilarious!
Cool site you have here. Thanks for dropping by my site. Don't be a stranger, the Café is always open.
Hey...to answer your question on my xanga, I am indeed majoring in Cinema...and by the way your previews rock. Fine work, m'lady.
GO BIG RED!
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