It seems like every single year there is always someone paying tribute to Superman. Last year a slew of animators created an amazing life-like model of Christopher Reeve as Superman taking off in to the sky. This year we have “Superman Classic,” a 2011 treat that’s all too brief, but goes down so well nonetheless. In lieu of the upcoming reboot from Zack Snyder, I think this is an apt variation that presents what could be and not what should be, as most fan boys are prone to insisting upon with their fan films.
Tag Archives: Adventure
The Jetsons: Season 2, Volume 1 (DVD)
Orbitty is a lot like the green kangaroo Hoppy from “The Flintstones.” He was around, he was on the show, but people often pretend they never existed. When people think of The Jetsons they never think of Orbitty, and when they think of Bam Bam, Hoppy is the last thing that comes to mind. If ever. Around the time the show jumped the shark by adding Orbitty, “The Jetsons” was pretty much on its way to losing its relevance and momentum that it had.
And Orbitty became the Cousin Oliver of the series. Though he wasn’t as annoying as Scrappy Doo, he was still fairly unnecessary to the show. In fact the writers only chose to acknowledge him when he had to deliver a cutesy line of dialogue, or had a rare episode revolving around him.
Astroboy (2009)
So this “Astroboy” may not be the most loyal and faithful adaptation to its source material, but that doesn’t automatically make it bad. Deep down it has an undertone of sadness and tragedy with some thoughts about afterlife and the meaning of life that we all ponder. Sure, the target audience for “Astroboy” won’t even understand or care about where writers Tim Harris and David Bowers take the story, but at least “Astroboy” seems to try to have something for everyone. I vaguely recall watching “Astroboy” as a kid but I loved the direction David Bowers took the animated movie where Astroboy becomes a hero who just refuses to adhere to the norms of the robot world, especially when pushed in to a corner. As a robot he’s expected to act like a clunky stupid machine, and when he finds that he garners an attachment and new sense of purpose with both man and machine, he decides that he just can’t harm anyone who isn’t posing a danger to the world.
Hunter Prey (2010)
Director Sandy Collora is known around the country for being one of the most, if not the most talented fan filmmaker of the modern era. Collora is a skilled artist and a man capable of creating his own visions of a mythos that are nothing short of brilliant and dazzling. Not surprising, Collora eventually took time out to create his own world with his own characters and it happens to be a pure work of science fiction excellence that channels the likes of “Hell in the Pacific” to convey a wide scope of a grander story that is scaled down to the personal battle of two soldiers in the middle of a inter-galactic war. Collora paints the picture of two soldiers stranded on an island during a great war that eventually becomes their own personal battle.
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008)
I really don’t care that Ed Neumeier is behind this. I applaud his history with science fiction cinema and Robocop, but as a sequel and standalone film “Starship Troopers 3” is a terrible film. The satire I can often stomach since it was so much apart of the original film, but the fact that the satire is much too obvious to even call it respectable satire is just much too clumsy at times. “Marauder” is that film in the series many fans were anxious to watch mainly because it’s much more loyal to the novel, but that doesn’t entirely promise entertainment.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
“The Lost World” is one of the very few movies I’ve seen more than once in theaters, and gladly it was a rich experience every time. “The Lost World” doesn’t hold up as well as the original film since the 1993 film ventured in to the realms of gene splicing, DNA research, and the philosophy of man vs. nature, and natural selection. When natural selection chooses to snuff out the most primal animals of nature, we stand no chance when they’ve been revived and refined with modern predators. “The Lost World” however is a much less sophisticated and much more raucous sequel.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Eighteen years ago, Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” was nearly the movie of the decade. It was a film that sparked the imaginations of millions and garnered one of the more fascinating and exciting films of all time that re-defined CGI for the twentieth century and started a trend among filmmakers. “Jurassic Park” remains one of the most memorable movie going experiences of my life, and paved the way for Spielberg as my favorite filmmaker of all time, and it fueled my interest in dinosaurs. The sight of the halos of water still sends chills up my spine. As a plot device it’s one of most simplistic yet ingenious signs of doom ever created, and as a calling card for the infamous T-Rex, it’s still damn effective.
But is it still dynamic eighteen years later?