5 Films We've been waiting way too long for...

The Six Billion Dollar Man

Not sure if Mark Whahlberg is the right fit but we'll see I guess, I liked Lone Survivor and weirdly enough Spenser Confidential was okay. Many people will no doubt automatically assume this is based off the 70's TV show starring Lee Majors but its worth noting that this could be much closer in style and theme to the Martin Caidin novels, Cyborg.In the original novels Steve Austin is more Terminator than he is a tracksuit wearing, treadmill running hero. In the books the process of Steve Austin becoming a cyborg means a large degree of his humanity ceases to exist. This will probably give the film a much darker tone for modern times rather than the family friendly heroic traits presented in the much loved 70's TV show.

For those of us waiting for a new, bolder and fresher take on the Terminator franchise, this could be just the ticket while we wait, check out my previous post on the movie Upgrade if cyborgs and sci-fi are your bag.

Cyborg by Martin Caidin

What's the update

Last update from Wahlberg was that a script was very close to completion, all that's really needed is a firm greenlight to start production once the planets have aligned and everyone is happy, oh and the fact the world needs to get Covid-19 under control for cinemas to open again. This will probably mean a good few months of delay still. Failing that, could be another one destined to streaming if the film doesn't fit but would Walhburg sign up for that, who knows?

The Dambusters remake

After the epic Lord of the Rings franchise Peter Jackson surprised many with the announcement that he'd like to remake the 1955 Michael Anderson movie, The Dambusters about the daring WW2 night raids on the Dams in Germany to cripple Germanys manufacturing capability. Jackson it turns out is a huge ‘military aviation buff’ who just so happens to possess a fine collection of antique aircraft. The Dambusters remake was to be helmed by Christian Rivers from a script by Stephen Fry (yes that Stephen Fry).Trouble was afoot when initial financing for the proposed movie hit a brick wall and the film failed in its bid to secure funding.

Jackson was so keen on the project he invested a good chunk of change by first commissioning a script from Stephen Fry, then getting full size models of Lancaster aircraft cockpits built in China, not to mention investing in props and other WW2 artifacts including the original wooden bomb sight used by Plt Off John Fort on the Dams Raid of which he paid more than £40,000 for at auction. 

Closeup model of one of Jacksons replica Lancs built in China (check out Dambustersblog.com)

What's the update?

Not much unfortunately, for now it looks like Jackson will continue to mothball the replica Lancaster cockpits and full size builds for a while longer since the failed funding effectively killed the project, however, if anyone had any doubts about the project itself and its relevance they only need to look at the success of Dunkirk, which, lets face it, hardly had a huge script and did stellar business. The Dambusters could find a home on one of the streaming networks either as a film or as a mini series. The Tom Hanks WW2 movie 'Greyhound' which was primarily CGi driven in scope actually did good business on Apple TV, the 91 minute film was made for a budget of $50Million with Apple snapping up distribution rights for $70 Million. Greyhound became the largest opening-weekend release ever for Apple TV+.

The Man of Steel sequel 

Henry Cavill wasn't just bracing red fabric across his broad shoulders when he undertook the role of Superman, he was taking the weight of a franchise and much beloved character too. The sheer pressure on him must have been insane, but it turns out we had no reason to fear, Cavill proved to us all that he was more than cut out for the job at hand.

While Brandon Routh had a decent stab at the role prior to Cavill, the sheer physicality of Cavill and the efforts he put into transforming into Superman were incredible. An origin and Superman II rolled into one movie. More of Superman arrived in the form of Justice League, which as everyone knows was effectively destroyed by a simple moustache and Warner Bros dropping the ball on the FX work. It's no secret that Zack Snyders second bash at getting Justice in League into shape via HBO Max will give us a whole new creative vison on Justice League and the long awaited 'Snyder cut' with a better delivery of Superman. Beyond that we're still waiting for the official Man of Steel sequel which Warner Bros teased would see Cavill play Superman again.

What's the update?

In a December 2019 Mens Health article Cavill had this to say “The cape is still in the closet,” he said. “It’s still mine. I’m not going to sit quietly in the dark as all the stuff is going on. I’ve not given up the role. There’s a lot I have to give for Superman yet. A lot of storytelling to do. A lot of real, true depths to the honesty of the character I want to get into. I want to reflect the comic books. That’s important to me. There’s a lot of justice to be done for Superman. The status is: You’ll see.”

*UPDATE: As of March 2021 it's not set in stone if Cavill will don the cape again although he remains very interested, he has Mass Effect and the Witcher projects on simmer and Warner Bros handling of the DC franchise where Superman is concerned is abysmal.

The Last of Us

Traditionally, videogames converted into movies to tell either the same or similar 'inspired by' stories as their videogame counterpart on the silver screen have had a spotty track record at best, Tomb Raider was average at best, Doom was...meh and Assassins Creed was, well, never mind. So far its a rare occurrence for a game-to-film conversion to be worthy of viewing. Naughty Dog's post apocalyptic 3rd person survival game launched to huge acclaim in June 2013 on PS4, but here we are in 2021 waiting for one of the best told videogame stories to make its cinematic debut.

In terms of the games subject matter there's plenty already jamming up streaming platforms for your post apocalyptic fix, given that we've had a good fill of great storytelling with shows like The Walking Dead, and its spinoff as well as ZNation, Black Summer, and yes, while I realise these are all zombie shows they do still convey post-apocalyptic environments devoid of human life which is sort of my point - The story for the Last of Us has to be good in order to differentiate itself from this band of shows and avoid a 'genre tag'. In the game a A Cordyceps fungus has infected mankind turning them into aggressive creatures (oh god not Clickers!) that Joel and Ellie have to evade but also survive the brutal world they now find themselves in.

What's the Update?

Well for starters no movie, instead Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin is teaming up with Naughty Dog’s own Neil Druckmann to deliver the adaptation for the small screen for HBO as a series instead. This is good in that the series will have enough stories and characters to build out a schedule of episodes to deliver some great narrative - with a Craig Mazin involved this could give it the gravitas it so richly deserves since Chernobyl had some of the highest ratings for a tv show and The Last of Us videogame won over 200 Game of The Year awards.

UPGRADE - A Sci-fi Film on NETFLIX You Should be Watching

 

You know how it is, you've signed your life away to Amazon Prime,Netflix and Disney+ but yet there you are, sitting on your couch scrolling and scrolling and scrolling, "nope, nope, nope, nope, seen it, nope, looks shit, iMDB 4.5.....nope'. Then you remember somebody mentioning a movie to check out, but the screenshot doesn't do it justice, but the trailer actually looks half decent.

This was the scenario when I took a leap of faith on Upgrade, a little know Sci-fi movie written and directed by Leigh Whannell and starring Logan Marshall-Green. The film was produced by Jason Blum, he of Blum House productions (Saw series, Get Out, The Purge).

Wrapped up in a sentence that best describes it, and to mirror the best possible positioning I've read elsewhere it is indeed 'The Six Million Dollar Man meets Deathwish'. It's very much a Cyberpunk revenge flick but a really well told and visualized one at that.

Whannell spent his incredibly low budget very wisely, choosing to invest in very minimal areas of effects that would deliver bigger impact for its sci-fi tone as well as in practical effects that also helped support the narrative and setting. Above all that, Upgrade is, at its core just a really well told story, and its the narrative that keeps you hooked. When protagonist Grey Trace played by Logan Marshall Green is left paralysed after a brutal car jacking he's given a second chance at life with STEM, a new nanotech chip implant attached to his spine that can take control of his limbs thus helping him walk and function again. This implant comes with some interesting side effects which I won't spoil here, and this is where Upgrade sets itself apart from the myriad of sci-fi junk populating Netflix and other streaming platforms.

The action in the movie is unflinchingly visceral at times, again, it underscores Whannels investment into practical and digital effects where he knows he's going to get bang for his buck and not just for the sake of propping up its sci-fi cyberpunk roots. Fight choreography is also a highlight as shown in an awesome knife fight in a kitchen.

Upgrade is visualized with some great cinematography from Stefan Duscio (The Invisible Man, Audi Q8 advert) and I'm looking forward to seeing more from this guy because there are some, dare I say it Blade Runner 2047 visuals in this film with interiors that really sell the sci-fi vibe.

I'm a sucker for revenge movies, and Upgrade will sit alongside some of the best revenge stories including movies on Netflix like Prisoners, John Wick, Man on Fire, Law Abiding Citizen and Jackie Chans, The Foreigner (another Netflix gem you're missing). 

If you're still on the fence just check out some of the reviews, it currently has a respectable Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%.

Leigh Whannell is currently tackling the proposed remake of sci-fi classic Escape from New York and rumour has it Kurt Russell's son Wyatt might be taking on his fathers iconic role.

Anyway, do yourself a favour and check out Upgrade on Netflix.

5 Films that should become a TV series

John Carpenter's: They Live

A cult sci-fi classic from the master himself, They Live remains a firm favourite and much loved sci-fi movie even by today's standards. Sure it's got that cheesy dialogue in places, its low budget effects (the film was made for $4 Million)  still manage to do the job (just), and while we could sit here and pick holes in various aspects of the film (assault rifles with endless rounds of ammunition that never get reloaded) it oozes some great sci-fi storytelling with a real kicker of a story. They Live is actually an adaptation of Ray Nelson’s science fiction short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning,” Carpenter saw a deeper metaphor ripe for turning into a film, and one that could that tie the aliens to Reagan-era Republican politicians, and it's this undertone that brought together alien invasion and its Orwellian themes to give us a true classic.

Carpenter had once commented that the movie was his 'primal scream against Reaganomics' but that aside I think the movie could say the same about most governments anywhere in the world. Starring the late "Rowdy"Roddy Piper, a wrestler turned actor and Keith David  (Platoon), it created not only some superb comedy,  it also delivered one of the longest fight scenes ever shot on film, it lasts for 5 minutes and the actors choreographed it for a full month before shooting.

The film also gave us one of the all time greats in movie one liners too as Piper's character goes into a bank and identifies several aliens among the staff and customers with his special sun glasses and armed with a shotgun, “I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I’m all out of bubble gum.”

Chew gum kick ass pin badge over at Beastwreck

Okay so why a series? As  TV show I think its a perfect fit, even for a short run series which could either be another origin story or pick up the insurgency against the embedded aliens that have infiltrated planet Earth. Previous sci-fi shows like V and Falling Skies have both used the premise of alien invasion as part of a story arc but I think They Live could be great since it could really play with character arcs, as in characters you love actually turn out to be aliens in a shock Season one finale type reveal, this could be great at setting up an explosive season two opener. Beyond that though it's got huge potential as a series made for TV with Carpenter as exec producer.

Assassins Creed (Update!)

The video game series from Ubisoft went from strength to strength if not for maybe a minor hiccup here and there and has spanned several different eras from the crusades through to 17th Century pirates and the French revolution and more recently, Vikings!.

While the Michael Fassbender film didn't really deliver the same grandeur (18% Rotten Tomatoes rating) that the game series has managed to, it did have a decent shot at putting across some rather impressive visuals and a small number of cool stunts and fight scenes featuring the assassins and their capabilities.

With Disney scooping up 21st Century Fox's assets, a planned sequel was shelved, the films scathing reception at review pretty much killed its cinematic aspirations.

Rotten Tomatoes commented "Assassin's Creed is arguably better made (and certainly better cast) than most video game adaptations; unfortunately, the CGI-fueled end result is still a joylessly over plotted slog"

However, Assassins Creed is so stuffed full of lore and historical events it's pretty rich for storytelling material, hence why there are more than 10 novels based on the franchise. The series actually covers around 2,500 years dating back all the way to 1191 up to modern day so it has the potential to feed off major events throughout time to define aspects of its setting and story.

Okay so why a series? - well creatively there's more time to tell more of a story with a series, again, even a short series of 6 or 8 episodes could work with each series depicting a different time era, in the same kind of way everyone who watched Westworld was hoping for a quicker jump to other worlds and stories to explore. While a series could be expensive a solid writing team could help embrace a viewership that isn't wholly reliant on being overly familiar with the video game series to be drawn to it. As mentioned above, 10 novels and over a dozen games in the series there's more than enough to define a series that can create great characters and thrilling story arcs.

(Update) Streaming Service Netflix will be developing an Assassin's Creed live-action series. @Ubisofts's Jason Altman and Danielle Kreinik will serve as Executive Producers.

Bladerunner

Another defining moment in sci-fi cinema was the original Bladerunner from 1982, Starring Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a Bladerunner who hunts down rogue Nexus 6 replicants. Even by today's standards the original Bladerunner is a timeless classic, it doesn't really age. Director Ridley Scott's stunning visuals helped by cinematographer Jordan Croneweth gave us a highly crafted detective sci-fi film noir that not only drives a narrative that questions the moral compass of humanity and mortality, but also the ethics of genetic engineering.

Character wise, Bladerunner has the legs to spin off a well crafted series since the film could bring in new Bladerunners and replicants to build out the story, a notable mention must go to the late great Rutger Hauer of course whose portrayal of Roy Batty, leader of the replicants in the original Bladerunner was a showstopping performance to drive characterisation in the 1982 film. Hauer actually rewrote his character's "tears in rain" speech himself and presented the draft to Scott on set prior to filming the climatic scene, it remains a beautiful epic vision of chaos and turmoil told with a romanticism that will never age.

There are lots of films of rogue replicants, cyborg hybrids, Universal Soldier, The Terminator etc but Bladerunner has a crime story element where a story told over the course of a series could really carry it.

While Bladerunner 2047 is one of those films that divided many sci-fi fans, notably because Harrison Fords screen time was pretty light, it actually stands up pretty well all things considered. Ryan Gosling brought a brooding and complex character who also questioned the underlying themes of humanity and genetics that were seeded throughout the film.

Okay so why a series? Well, for a start its got an awesome backstory, Bladerunners hunting down rogue replicants. If we take the underlying story from the 1982 film we could either tell this from the Nexus-6 point of view, the replicant's backgrounds as combat operators giving them more of a backstory and building a narrative about their origins and story arc, the battles they fought in. This could create an interesting viewer dynamic whereby the protagonist is skewed from the Nexus-6 replicants perspective bringing the viewer more into the backstory. The perception of Bladerunners could be flipped so that they almost become the bad guys, thus creating empathy for the Nexus -6 replicants for the viewer, which could then be crafted by a talented set of writers to turn that on its head as the lifespan of the replicant's deteriorate and drives them to more erratic questionable actions and behaviour that then sees the Bladerunners as the heroes and entirely necessary to humanity rather than just replicant killers. 

The Crazies

Hugely underrated movie which could at first glance be mistaken for a zombie movie, the fact that it isn't helps it stands out as a well constructed horror thriller instead, and thus helps it move away from a clichéd zombie label. The film is in fact a remake of the 1973 film of the same name from none other than George A. Romero. The 2010 version directed by Breck Eisner (Sahara) tells the story of a fictional Iowa town infected by a military virus that has infected the towns water supply from a crashed military plane. Those in the know will recognize Timothy Olyphant, him from the superbly funny Netflix horror Santa Clarita Diet starring opposite Drew Barrymoore and as sheriff Bullock in HBO's Deadwood, and more recently Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The Crazies was shot for $20 Million and took a modest $55 Million at the Box Office, not a huge film by any imagination but certainly a solid sci-fi horror thriller none-the-less. With the virus slowly taking hold of the town's otherwise placid and friendly residents the infection turns them into crazed violent killers.
The films themes of military suppression and cover up conspiracy underpin the paranoia and very real threat from the deranged residents who are on the rampage killing others in the community. The military hospital scene being a particular stand out moment as Olyphant's wife Judy played by Radha Mitchell is strapped to a hospital bed as a lunatic with a gardening fork makes his way from bed to bed stabbing other strapped down patients one by one.

Ok so why a series? more-so why not?, it's got a pandemic story that can develop over the course of a series, even a limited one, maybe the comparisons of having a town sheriff is a little close to Walking Dead but I think you'd need that authoritarian figurehead to spearhead a clear head of thinking in a crisis. A sinister government role could give you that ,black SUV driving NSA character to give us a villain to despise'  - bring in the military for a cover up with maybe a defecting soldier thrown into the survivor group and it could be a great premise. Opening episode could have the President killed at his desk with a letter opener by his press secretary who drank some funky water in a brutal scene with plenty of gore to wake up the audience. If The Walking Dead can string it out over a decade I'm sure someone could squeeze 3 short seasons out of this horror gem.

Halloween

Despite the fact I've chosen another John Carpenter project it goes without saying that this franchise has given us one of the all time horror villains in Michael Myers, the psychopathic slasher maniac / demonic force that terrorizes Haddonfield.

While some would agree that later films in the series including the daft Halloween III: 'Season of the Witch' film about killer masks and Rob Zombies poorly received version lost traction for the franchise, it was 2018's masterful return to the screen that gave Halloween its mojo back. Written by non other than Danny McBride (yes, the pyro man in Tropic Thunder!),Jeff Fradley and David Gordon Green, it brought Halloween back from the dead with a near enough refreshed reboot story with some truly no holds barred brutal kills and Jamie Lee Curtis back as Laurie Strode.

The 2018 film continued the legacy and mythology of the previous films, Blumhouse productions also came on board to help handle production duties which I think really helped steer this in the right direction, they handle the horror genre extremely well if films like The Purge,Insidious, Get Out and Split are anything to go by.

Halloween's appeal has always been the kill count, as characters go, having a silent villain that is just a total bad ass at dealing out death and destruction to Haddonfield residents has carried the series pretty well. 'The shape' as Michael is known in the script and book is a dark force, an evil energy that simply does not stop, can't be stopped, he's been shot, stabbed,sliced, run over and thrown down wells but bounces back again and again much to the audiences delight.

Ok so why a series?

I'd probably say a series would be good to consider after two more films, once Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends come out I think it would be time to call it quits as a strong trilogy of films and look at options for TV and build this as a series. The decent films in the series have all been driven with a strong character for Michael Myers to go against, in this case Laurie Strode played by Jamie Lee Curtis who provides an anchor point. With a TV series this would be harder to do since I don't think it works with Jamie Lee reprising her role, it would need another character to drive that balance in the show. However since Friday 13th tuned into a show there's no reason why Halloween can't either.

I'd still play this with the high school providing the slaughter meat, maybe Laurie's daughter or grandaughter is the backstory with something else thrown in for good measure such as cop who's career is on the wane and ends up being a show favourite when he saves the day, tempered with some good occasional laughs I think this should look to retain the sheer brutal horror of Michael's capabilities as a killer to lift the audience and then crush them back down to earth with some good strong kills of key characters in the series.

What other films could become TV shows, got other suggestions? comment below!

The Hautningly Atmospheric Art of Rostyslav Zagornov

Art Station is a creative hub packed with some truly talented individuals, some of which work in film,TV and videogames to bring fantastical concepts of sci-fi,fantasy and imaginative art to life.

Be sure to check out the gallery of illustrator and concept artist Rostyslav Zagornov here

Rostyslav has 28,653 followers with a vast gallery covering fantasy, sci-fi and movie concepts art.

Rostyslav Zagornov

Boundary - New Combat Gameplay Trailer Revealed

Boundary, the sci-fi multiplayer FPS game from indie developer Surgical Scalpels dropped a brand new game-play video today over at Sony's YouTube channel.

The new game-play shows off the new tactical shield that astronaut operators can utilise for tactical cover, in-game destructibility with floating shards of the giant solar reflectors from the solar farm map and the trailer also gives us a glimpse of the new re-forged AK.

Boundary will be announcing a Beta for the game soon and is currently in development for PS4 and PC, furthermore the studio is setting it sights potential versions for PS5 and Series X based on the success of the PS4 and PC version launching this year.

Boundary will provide a 5v5, 3v3 and 2v2 team set up with various classes of astronaut to choose from and several multiplayer maps all set within a zero gravity environment.

3 Star Wars Prop Builder Instagram Accounts you should be following

3 Star wars Prop Builder Instagram Accounts you should be following.

It's no secret that the Star Wars franchise has brought out the creative side of fans around the world and cosplayers and collectors factor into this in a big way.
The 501st legion have some strict guidelines for costuming under the Star Wars banner and attention to detail is key. Anovos recently entered the collectables market with screen accurate replicas of various costumes and armour from the saga, all of which is 501st certified.

On the slightly more cheaper 'unofficial' side is the home grown prop makers and creative souls that devote their creative skills into creating some of the best Star Wars replica props you can buy without the hefty price tag or waiting times through traditional storefronts like Anovos. You can message these guys through their Insta channels, main website or via Etsy.

Even if you're not looking to buy anything in the form of helmets or armour, these guys are well worth adding to the channels you follow on Instagram.

Jsin_Props

Currently knocking it way out of the ballpark with his latest run of superb looking Mando helmets, Jsin Props delivers some of the most sought after Star Wars props money can buy. If the Anovos wait times and high prices are something you don't want to endure as a collector and you still want that high quality finish and screen accuracy then consider buying your lid or armour from Jsin Props instead because this is his passion and how he earns a living.
Regular posts on his Insta feed really emphasize the sheer dedication and work he puts into the casting and finished products too.

RS Propmasters

There's a real passion behind this UK based team who produce screen accurate replica props, prices are in the higher end but there is at least some flexibility to either have armour in kit form or fully commissioned. Check out the Sandtrooper armour they have, it might set you back some serious cash but if you're looking for fully certified 501st approval then RS Propmasters are the go to guys. Not only do they build a wide variety of Star Wars lids but full armour, they also facilitate repairs and screen used restoration projects as well. Check out their YouTube channel for updates and regular vid blogs.

Armoryshop_official

Based in Russia these guys also produce some of the best looking Star Wars props money can buy, A Death Trooper Mk4 helmet will set you back $300 and a raw cast version will set you back $170. These guys are on the pulse too and even have the red Sith Trooper armour up for grabs at a cool $1200. All of the armor and helmets are 501st 'accepted' which means membership and trooping your armour are easily obtainable. Again, quality here really shines through and they have a well laid out shop in English with some great photos of the kits and casts they sell.

501st members pose for a photograph at the Star Wars Celebration event.

How Vidoegame Tech Helped Make The Mandalorian

Unless you've been living under a rock and haven't played video games, or seen the Mandalorian this article is going to miss big time. If however you've accomplished either of those things then we're all good.
Disney+ has of course been talk of the town of late with its stunning rendition of the expanded Star Wars universe with The Mandalorian, the Fett-esque mysterious bounty hunter sci-fi western that has reinvigorated the era of the original Star Wars trilogy in the same way Rogue One did.

Usually, sci-fi shows like this are effects heavy affairs, requiring large sound stages draped in green screen to pull off the post produced backdrops to the weird and wonderful settings and diverse universe of the Star Wars galaxy. For Mandalorian a different and more flexible approach allowed FX artists to adapt the effects work required in The Mandalorian by utilising modern video game technology. In a way this technique is very much like back projection which has been used in movies for decades, except with this particular tech it allows a very high resolution version of it. This is possible thanks to a 20-foot high, 270-degree semicircular LED video wall, which displayed various locations in the Mandalorian from the ice world of Maldo Kreis to the sinister hideout of The Client. These environments were edited in real time projected on a giant LED wall and all powered by Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4.

This technique allows the actors to act in real time within a physical space but more than that allows FX artists to manipulate different elements in the background in real time, they can instantly change elements on the background from time of day, move environments and add other dramatic setting elements all in real time rather than in post production saving time but also providing instant results.

Check out the video below.