In space no one can hear you scream. [easyazon_link identifier=”B00GQ4RUP2″ locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Alien[/easyazon_link] (I watched The Director’s Cut) is a 1979 science-fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. Spoilers We start off with scenes of an empty spaceship. There are odd sounds and bits of paper rustling and small perpetual motion toys in perpetual motion. As we watch a number of lights start to flash, a dot matrix printer starts it’s ratta tat tat, and we hear beeps and blops as the ship…
Author: Jon Herrera
Writer, Photographer, Blogger.
Jodorowsky’s Dune
The saddest of these are What Might Have Been… We open up with a bit of history about the very odd films of Alejandro Jodorowsky, such as [easyazon_link identifier=”B00LCT48HE” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]El Topo[/easyazon_link]. He’s not a formally trained film maker and he liked to make movies starring himself and his young son, who we see in a bit of full frontal nudity. In 1975 it seems that no one really wanted to make a film version of Dune, so when Alejandro asked if he could do it, they said sure, knock yourself out. The bulk of [easyazon_link identifier=”B00J5LXMTG” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Jodorowsky’s Dune[/easyazon_link] is…
Ghost in the Shell
Cyberpunk at its 1995 best. spoilers We open up with a blood and gore splattering murder, a naked woman, and a lot of tall buildings and a lot of men wearing black sunglasses. The opening credits are clearly the inspiration for the opening credits of The Matrix, and several shots of things like falling rain and the fight scenes look like The Matrix as well. But stylistic ticks aside, the anime masterpiece is nothing like The Matrix. They may have the same skin, but they don’t have the same bones-their plots are substantially different. I’m not really a fan of…
It Doesn’t Suck. Showgirls
A book that explores the deeper meaning of Showgirls. [easyazon_link identifier=”1770411747″ locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]It Doesn’t Suck[/easyazon_link] is what the hero of [easyazon_link identifier=”B004TJ1GVK” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Showgirls[/easyazon_link] says whenever she likes something, such as a sports car or a bottle of champagne. The title should not be taken to mean that Showgirls doesn’t suck. In fact, the book is a balancing act between calling the Showgirls a work of art and a piece of shit. He makes a case for both arguments. Adam Nayman gives us a bit of background about director Paul Verhoeven, writer Joe Eszterhas, and actress Elizabeth Berkley. There is a…
A Walk in the Woods
Old guys go for a hike. A Walk in The Woods sees Robert Redford playing famed author Bill Bryson, who seems to be having a late onset midlife crisis. After attending a funeral he didn’t want to attend, he decides to hike the [easyazon_link identifier=”188938691X” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Appalachian Trail[/easyazon_link]. This trail runs a bit over 2,000 miles. Bill would pipe in at this point to correct me by saying The Trail is 2,180 miles. That’s the kind of guy Bill is. A know-it-all’s know-it-all who likes to rattle off random facts and statistics. But that’s fine, it’s the knowing detail that…
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Anyone remember the Chevy Chase Show? That’s what I kept flashing back to while watching Stephen Colbert channel a sleazy used car salesman as his new TV persona. That first episode of The Chevy Chase Show was packed with fans who laughed at every gag the [easyazon_link identifier=”B000JLQPYK” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]SNL[/easyazon_link] alum tossed out, much as the crowd here hooted and hollered and chanted Stephen Stephen Stephen! This was the first episode, so I can cut Stephen some slack, but not much. The Late Show set has been remodeled to resemble the set for [easyazon_link identifier=”B007JVM69Q” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]The Dean Martin Show[/easyazon_link],…
Showgirls
Before there was Fant4stick, there was Showgirls. And [easyazon_link identifier=”1479881066″ locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Heaven’s Gate[/easyazon_link] and [easyazon_link identifier=”B000ICZCQW” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Waterworld[/easyazon_link] and [easyazon_link identifier=”B0037QGRVK” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Ishtar[/easyazon_link] and my own personal choice for Worst Movie of All Time: Peter Jackson’s King Kong. What sets these movies apart from, oh say, Battlefield Earth and The Phantom Menace and Matrix Revolutions? These were supposed to be serious films. They have real directors and real actors and real screenwriters, and yet, they are really bad. I found a cool little book called It Doesn’t Suck, which tells the tale of Showgirls. So I decided to give to…
Mr Robot and the New World Order
A couple of years ago the Stock Market crashed. The Big Boys of the banking world, Citibank, Chase, Bank of America, etc were all trading for around a quarter a share. The reason for this was they were, and mostly still are, run by greedy, selfish, cheating bastards. Our fine Government stepped forward and said these Institutions were [easyazon_link identifier=”0143118242″ locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Too Big Too Fail[/easyazon_link]. Everyone who owed them money was more than happy to see them fail. No more bank, no more debt. Which brings us to [easyazon_link identifier=”B00YCVCBRS” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Mr Robot[/easyazon_link], an often brilliant show from the USA…
Star Trek Continues
Boldly Going, More or Less Fans of [easyazon_link identifier=”B002PQ7JQK” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Star Trek[/easyazon_link] have never really been happy with the newer editions of Star Trek. We all have these fantasies where NBC doesn’t cancel Star Trek and we get another season or two of the Original Series. Star Trek Continues is a group of those kinds of fans that are imagining a fourth season of Star Trek. There are four episodes so far and I have to admit that I like them a lot. They are very much in the meladrama format that Star Trek did so well. Tear jerking episodes that…
Blindspot
Prison Break with a woman. [easyazon_link identifier=”B000FKO3GW” locale=”US” tag=”londonthoug-20″]Prison Break[/easyazon_link] was a great one season show about a guy who had his entire body covered with tattoos. These would help him break his brother out of prison. It was a prefect gimmick for one season. That show lost its way as soon as the heroes escaped. Blindspot also looks like a great one season show. The opening bit of a naked woman being found in a gym bag is fun and creative. Soon enough we find out that the woman has no memory and that her body is covered with tattoos…