Sometimes an early performance can define a career. If you’re lucky its Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs., Bruce Willis in Die Hard, or Sandra Bullock in Speed. If you’re not so lucky, you’re Sofia Coppola in The Godfather Part III or Hayden Christensen in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Thankfully, Ms. Coppola has found her niche as a writer-director will acclaimed titles like The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, and Marie Antoinette. As for Mr. Christensen, his career has continued including box office success with Jumper but I think many will always associate him with his awkward and whiny work as a teenage Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel. What you may have missed is his
SPLASH PAGE (noun) - Often the first page of a comic, it is generally a full page image designed to introduce the story and draw readers in. SDCC 2018 COMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS! As a poor, Midwestern grad student, popping into the San Diego Comic-Con wasn't really an option this year. In lieu of first-hand reporting, I did want to point readers in the direction of some of the bigger comic book news to come out of the event (and just prior). DC Comics Grant Morrison and Liam Sharpe relaunch Green Lantern (The Beat) G. Willow Wilson and Cary Nord take over Wonder Woman (Newsarama) Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha on Aquaman (Comic Book Resources) Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke on Batman (plus n
Welcome to Sci-Fi Saturday, a new column that is devoted to all things science fiction: film, television, comics, novels, video games, and local Metro Detroit events. If there is a topic you'd like to see covered in an upcoming column, email us at kinoclub313wsu@gmail.com! I'm taking a brief hiatus from Star Trek this week while I get caught up with a million other things. Instead I'll be sharing my thoughts on Sorry to Bother You, a dystopia/satire/comedy/science fiction film now playing at Cinema Detroit (and elsewhere). I saw Sorry to Bother You right after it came out at the beginning of this month, and have been trying to write something cohesive on it since then. If you've seen the fil
Check out the week's newest film releases and find out what our staff can't wait to see (or, in some cases, would choose to see if we absolutely had to). Click the posters for more info about each film. Matt and Ian pick... "My pick this week is Mission Impossible: Fallout. I couldn't tell you a single plot detail of MI: III, Ghost Protocol, or Rogue Nation, but I still remember having a blast at all of them. The trailer for Fallout is more exciting than 80% of the movies (ever), so I have high hopes for the film." - Matt "This week I am going with the newest installment of the Mission Impossible franchise. I haven't even seen any of the newer installments, but I will say, I'm always kind of
Title: Cabaret (1972) Genre: Musical Director: Bob Fosse Stars: Liza Minelli, Joel Grey, Michael York, Marisa Berenson Initial Thoughts: Before Liza Minelli became more of a punchline, she offered up some of the most heart-shattering pathos one could find from a respectable character actress in Bob Fosse’s Cabaret. A renowned classic, and one of Minelli’s only critically acclaimed movies, Cabaret 100% holds up in a 2018 context. In fact, it’s never been more relevant. In a Nutshell: The movie takes place in 1930s Berlin, where a young academic from Britain, Brian Roberts (Michael York) moves into a boarding house and meets the incomparable Sally Bowles, a relentlessly affable free spirit who
We all have that one film that shaped our childhood. It’s a film that spoke to us in such a way that we knew our lives would never be same. The kind of film that we knew would be a part of our lives forever, like meeting a lifelong friend or discovery a cherished relative. For me, that film was Die Hard. It may be hard to believe but it has been thirty years since John McTiernan’s action masterpiece debuted in movie theaters. It’s also hard to imagine the world of film without it considering its vast admirers and the countless movies that it inspired. Often imitated, never equaled, the original Die Hard remains timeless. So, what better time than now to look back at this classic action adven
SPLASH PAGE (noun) - Often the first page of a comic, it is generally a full page image designed to introduce the story and draw readers in. Welcome back! SDCC and the 2018 Eisner Award Winners This weekend the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) - the industry's largest convention, albeit one with an increasingly heavy focus on nerd-related media as a whole, rather than just comics - was held. Along with the trailer premieres, which included first looks at 2018's Aquaman and 2019's Shazam, new comics and creative team announcements (which I'll try to tackle next weekend), and the like, the event also included the prestigious Eisner Awards - arguably the top award given in the field. Past winners inc
Welcome to Sci-Fi Saturday, a new column that is devoted to all things science fiction: film, television, comics, novels, video games, and local Metro Detroit events. If there is a topic you'd like to see covered in an upcoming column, email us at kinoclub313wsu@gmail.com! This week I watched episodes 9 and 10 of Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, "Dagger of the Mind" and "The Corbomite Maneuver." In "Dagger of the Mind," the Enterprise is infiltrated by an escapee from a prison colony (Tantalus V) for the criminally insane. The stowaway, Dr. Simon Van Gelder (Morgan Woodward), seeks asylum on the USS Enterprise. Van Gelder's panicked and paranoid appeals to not be returned to Tantalus
Check out the week's newest film releases and find out what our staff can't wait to see (or, in some cases, would choose to see if we absolutely had to). Click the posters for more info about each film. Matt and Shelby both recommend... Matt: My pick for the week is Blindspotting. I caught the trailer a few weeks ago and was immediately intrigued by the tonal shifts from broad stoner comedy to tense socially-conscious drama. Plus, like Sorry to Bother You, this looks like it lines up well with my academic interests. Shelby: My pick for the week is also Blindspotting. I will watch virtually anything with Daveed Diggs in it, plus I've heard good things from folks who were able to catch this fi
Title: Manhunt (2017) Genre: Action, Thriller Director: John Woo Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama and Zhang Hanyu Grade: C- In a Nutshell: Du Qiu (Zhang Hanyu) is a brilliant Chinese lawyer who works for the Japanese company Tenjin Pharmaceuticals . After attending a party thrown by his employers in Osaka, Du Qiu wakes up the next morning with a dead woman in his hotel room. Baffled, Du Qiu calls the police for help, but they doubt his innocence and arrest him. While being led away outside, Du Qiu escapes from the police and hides in a subway station. Two other Japanese cops, Yamura (Masaharu Fukuyama) and his rookie partner Rika (Nanami Sakuraba), head to the station and find Du Qiu disguised as a
Growing up Hispanic in the predominantly Caucasian suburbs of Long Island was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I was given an opportunity that most minorities missed out on and was able to make the best of my surroundings on my way to an Ivy League education. On the other hand, there were times when I lost my identity and had to be cruelly reminded that I was a Hispanic in a mostly white world. I was consumed with some of these thoughts the first time I saw 2002’s Better Luck Tomorrow, Justin Lin’s debut feature film. Justin Lin would go on to blockbuster success with the Fast & Furious franchise (films 3 thru 6) and Star Trek Beyond (my choice for the best of the recent series)
SPLASH PAGE (noun) - Often the first page of a comic, it is generally a full page image designed to introduce the story and draw readers in. Hi everyone! Welcome to what will hopefully be the first in a weekly column looking at what's going on in the world of comics. The plan is to feature significant news, mini-reviews of comics-adjacent content (such as this week's look at the latest offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe), spotlights on new comics, and features on comic creators. I'll also be trying to include info about where you can get comics, including in-depth spotlights on local shops, how to find shops near you, upcoming events, and more! STEVE DITKO (November 2, 1927 – June 2
Welcome to Sci-Fi Saturday, a new column that is devoted to all things science fiction: film, television, comics, novels, video games, and local Metro Detroit events. If there is a topic you'd like to see covered in an upcoming column, email us at kinoclub313wsu@gmail.com! This week I watched episodes 6 through 8 of the 1st season of ST:TOS - "Mudd's Women," "What Are Little Girls Made Of?," and "Miri." In "Mudd's Women" the Enterprise intercepts a rogue spacecraft that flies into an asteroid field and is destroyed, but not before the "crew" are beamed to safety. Said crew includes Harcourt Fenton Mudd, a gregarious space pimp, and his three lovely ladies, Ruth, Magda, and Eve. It is reveal
Shelby's Top 5 Annihilation – I've been a fan of Alex Garland since I read The Beach, many years ago now. Given Garland's directorial role and the all-star, female driven cast I was on board with Annihilation from jump. I'm glad to say that the film did not disappoint. The science fiction premise allows for some interesting rumination on hybridity and evolution, and the film isn't afraid to lean into SF/horror territory. There is a particular scene with a bear that will probably haunt me until I die. You know the one. Anyway, I liked Annihilation so much that I'm using it this semester to teach my Intro to Film students about sound design. So, yes, definitely one of the best of 2018 so far.
There are many who believe that 2015’s It Follows reinvigorated the horror genre and is an instant classic. I am not one of those people. While it had an intriguing idea (an evil spirit that is passed via sexual intercourse) and was stylistically directed by David Robert Mitchell, I took umbrage with a horror film that establishes rules and then doesn’t follow them. And don’t even get me started on the racial implications of a group of white suburban Michiganders who are afraid to go to Detroit – until they need a prostitute. A month after I saw It Follows, I luckily happened upon Unfriended. I went into the screening with low expectations, it seemed like another entry into what Roger Ebert
Welcome to Sci-Fi Saturday, a new column that is devoted to all things science fiction: film, television, comics, novels, video games, and local Metro Detroit events. If there is a topic you'd like to see covered in an upcoming column, email us at kinoclub313wsu@gmail.com! This week I watched episodes 2 through 5 of Star Trek: The Original Series season 1. I also watched "The City on the Edge of Forever" (the penultimate episode of season 1), but more on that below. After my realization last week that at an episode per week I wouldn't finish watching the various Star Trek series for another 14 years, I've stepped up my game a bit. Maybe at my current rate I'll finish this little side project
Title: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) Genre: Sci Fi/Horror Director: J.A. Bayona Stars (primary actors): Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, Ken Levine, Isabella Sermon, and James Cromwell Bias: I really did not like the first Jurassic World. Grade: B+ In A Nutshell: Three years after the events of the last film a volcano at the heart of Isla Nublar is about to erupt, threatening a new extinction of the remaining dinosaurs. Claire (Howard) and Owen (Pratt) are sent back to the island by Benjamin Lockwood (Cromwell), the former partner of Jurassic Park’s John Hammond, to help rescue eleven species and remove them to a new island called Sanctuar
Title: Incredibles 2 (2018) Genre: Animated/Superhero/Sci Fi/Action/Comedy Director: Brad Bird Stars (primary actors): Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell, Huck Millner, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Wise, Bob Odenkirk, and Catherine Keener Bias: I don’t know if it’d be considered a bias, but despite being a massive superhero nerd, I’ve somehow only seen the first Incredibles film twice. Grade: A+ In A Nutshell: Picking up from the cliffhanger ending of The Incredibles, the team faces off in a public showdown with the Underminer. After massive property damage ensues, and the team fails to capture the bad guy, the promise of a return to the spotlight for superheroes seems to vanish, leaving
I love a good horror film, who doesn’t? The problem being that to find the valuable films in the genre you have to wade through a lot of misfires. For every Halloween, The Exorcist and The Silence of the Lambs there are two to three dozen rip-offs and wannabes. There has been hope in the last two years with instant classics like Get Out and A Quiet Place. And yet, in the last decade and a half the field of horror has been monopolized by the Saw series and its descendants aka “Torture Porn.” So when a film like 2005’s The Descent comes along, you’d better take notice. From director Neil Marshall (best known for his recent TV work on Westworld and Game of Thrones) comes a tale of six women who
