Posted by
Anonymous
- Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Sci-Fi fans and readers. I like variety in my genres as much as the next guy—Dark Sci-Fi, Dark Fantasy and Sci-Fi Fantasy mixes being my favorite. Such tastes are the reason these genres were invented, I'd like to think, rather than strictly for the purposes of classification.
Why it matters is because The Universe VS series seems operate within a constantly evolving genre as it moves along. It's a quality I can definitely appreciate in a book.
The Beast of Harmala
The first short story in The Universe VS series takes an outside-looking-in approach to story telling. Instead of focusing on any main character heroes, it follows the entire universe in their battle to defeat a single enemy, Osiriz, whom they call The Beast of Harmala. Osiriz is a man from a planet that was destroyed by a black hole without warning and who suspects the Federation, a united universe alliance of planetary nations responsible for universe legislation and military policing, is responsible.
When you are the sole survivor of your kind in the universe, the common consensus might be that you should give up and die, but Osiriz does exactly the opposite. Instead, the newly nurtured hater of all life doubles down and takes on all intelligent universe inhabitants. He just might be the kind of enemy that's motivated enough to do it.
This story is totally without dialogue, it's very short and relies solely on the quick action between the navies of The Federation and The Beast to keep your mind occupied with it.
Pirates of the Multiverse
This story (number two in order) picks up just a couple of years down the road. The Federation, finally set in their scientific minds that a multiverse does in fact exist, has developed a technology to finally investigate. Clearly, like all things involving moving information from one nuclear plane to another, there is a great deal of danger. The team could parish; the two universes could eternally be open to one another, creating any number of problems, specifically if the second universe is particularly dangerous; or maybe something could get through the portal that might be dangerous.
In Pirates of the Multiverse, the latter is exactly what happens. During the entry from one plane to the next, as the federation presents themselves to the unknown universe, so too does a space pirate ship make itself known to our own. Perhaps that wouldn't be an issue if we were technologically in line, or had an easy way to communicate, but that wouldn't make much of a story either, would it? This book quickly turns into a tale of multiverse diplomacy.
Exploring the Multiverse
Beyond the discovery of the multiverse and the formation of the multiverse empire, the next step quickly becomes obvious: if we suddenly know that there is a multiverse, is it something we should further investigate?
In the next short story in the series, Exploringthe Multiverse, our heroes and scientists are determined to find out what's out there. When an entity—one not so mortal—stumbles across them and promoting himself as something of a god, there is unrest about what exactly it is that he might be and, especially, what his intentions might be.
The being facetiously attempts to gain a friendly relationship with the multiverse leaders for his own gain. The attempt leads to an immense war of ten times greater proportions than that with The Beast of Harmala. It becomes a battle against robots which the two new multiverse-traveling universe nations can't possibly win.
Rise of Lord Vadik
Rise of Lord Vadik takes a quick turn from the normal Sci-Fi shenanigans. Suddenly, in a very Ancient Aliens-esque flip-flop, the story becomes a tale of gods and demi-gods. The hero from the previous tale rises as a dark emperor of the multiverse and, somewhere along the line, the story picks up an Anakin vs. Luke Skywalker family spat.
At this point in the story, everything seems a bit off the cuff. There are constant failed attempts by leaders to oust the dark emperor via assassination. Time travel is discussed and an entire people are on the verge of annihilation. It all stems from our new hero, a demi-god and son of the dark emperor, making a decision to oblige the rebel faction in their coup d'état, thus taking the reigns of government for himself.
These combined works by Robert Howle are hard to rate. It isn't a simple yay or nay, because the story is there and it has perfect potential to explode into something big. I suppose the issue, then, is that, for me, it didn't. The writing had the bones for structure, which drew up a concept and an overall story, but the meat and the guts were skimpy and the dialogue was atrocious. I found that the story rambled on with repetitive re-mentioning of established ideas, but when it came to detail and the authors job of transporting me to his world, it was an utter fail. Like I said before, it's a skeleton book series—quick to read and makes its points, but I never hung onto its words.
Still, in the void, there glimmers a shimmering spectacle of hope. Deep down, the story is a gem. The entire time as I was reading, I kept thinking, "This feels like a quick comic proposal". I didn't immediately know when I started reading this work what I would quickly find out when I researched Howle a little. He's an artist. Check it out.
That fact alone left me speechless, because I knew immediately that Howle had the potential to bring his work to life in one of my favorite mediums on the planet: within the arena of Sci-Fi comics. He's an amazing artist holding a written diagram in which to base his comic story. Who could ask for more? This sounds like a recipe for success if you ask me; but as the work stands, my opinion, firmly, is that it was underwhelming at best.
Comic Creators, Filmmakers & Authors
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
There's been a clear divide between fans of the Alien franchise since as far back as the cinematic release of James Cameron's big budget sequel, Aliens, in 1986. Never mind which film was your favorite, out of Ridley Scott's terrifying odyssey and James Cameron's epic bug stomper, which made you fill your pants? Or, more accurately, which made you fill your pants the most?
Alien, made in 1979, remains one of the most spine-chilling sci-fi horrors of all time, even in comparison to its sequel. Much like Cameron's Terminator in comparison to its own sequel, its emphasis was on the horror and suspense of the moment and not the science-fiction element that provided its theatrical stage. So the difference for fans is: if you prefer being shit scared rather than watching stuff blow up lots, you have a preference for the original.
As a fan of the franchise, and specifically the very first film, I'm excited to announce that Sega has been producing a new video game that actually goes back to its roots rather than offer the sour milk of yet another colonial marines-based shoot 'em up (seriously, guys, your cow needs some fresh grass—or shooting). From Creative Assembly, the studio that brought you Total War, and set for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, comes Alien: Isolation, a survival horror experience that aims to make you wet the bed rather than just shoot at stuff.
Set between Alien and Aliens, its plot is actually taken from a moment in Cameron's sequel where Ellen Ripley learns of the fate of her daughter Amanda. Fifteen years after the events of the original movie, Amanda goes in search of clues as to what happened to her missing mother, which brings her on board an abandoned space station, where she herself encounters a Xenomorph.
So, just like in the original film, our character is facing off against one deadly alien foe, as opposed to having an armory at her disposal and an entire hive as cannon fodder, which will make for a more unpredictable, atmospheric, and ultimately frightening experience.
Granted exclusive access to Fox's extensive Alien archives, Creative Assembly has been busy re-assembling, from scratch, everything about the designs aboard the Nostromo of the original 1979 movie that gave it its dark, dank and suffocatingly claustrophobic atmosphere—from the sterile retro sci-fi deco of the officers' quarters right down to the nightmarish industrial underbelly that provided the terrifying Xenomorph its endless shadows to scurry around in.
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| "Dang I say, you sneaky blighter." |
The sense of dread I'm sure the player would feel may also be ridiculously amplified by the fact that Creative Assembly aren't adding any fancy new gadgets to the game, just to make it appeal to tech geeks and the likes. No, you're going to make do with comparatively outdated junk straight from the 1979 Alien, and you'll like it or die.
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| "This spaceship's so big, I need to Google Street View my bathroom!" |
So, I don't know about you. I don't even have an Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, or PS3, but it looks like I might have to go fork out for one, or borrow one, just for this when it's released. Sound off, Fanboys and Fangirls, are we wet yet? Comments below and thanks for reading.
Posted by
Eddie Siqueira
- Monday, January 6, 2014
About two weeks ago, I saw a news article that referred to Marilyn Manson as a model for Yves-Saint Laurent. A bit insignificant, but I was slightly amused by the contrast, so I read it and scrolled down to browse commentaries that were sure to give me a few seconds of joy. I came upon one comment that stood out for its subliminal truth. It went something along the lines of, "He (Manson) had his fifteen minutes of fame."
I do agree that the peak of Marilyn Manson's mainstream spotlight has faded, but I disagree that he hasn't rooted himself deeply enough into showbiz to allow for lifelong red carpet privileges. Now let us adhere to the purpose of this article, which I find necessary to write because I haven't seen another artist like this in the music world and am unsure I will again. Mind you that I will be writing in the past tense—not because Marilyn Manson has called it quits, but because the thesis that the band brought us has come full circle. Also, I will refer to the band as Marilyn Manson and the vocalist simply as Manson.
Marilyn Manson isn't just a pseudonym for Brian Warner's intelligent, albeit frustrated American mind. It is not just a band that stood out in the Florida scene of the early '90s and accidentally found its way onto MTV via their brilliant cover of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams." They (for it was a collective effort) were far more than the intentionally-performed vulgarities of their live shows. Much more. In fact, Marilyn Manson was an idea.
An idea so simple it was genius. I'm not referring to the dark satire of opposites in American culture, hence the names Marilyn (Monroe) and (Charles) Manson. Sure, it was a great gimmick, but Alice Cooper beat them to it, even if at a more superficial level. Was it the stage antics? The self-mutilation? Perhaps it was all about the lyrics, or the affiliation with the Church of Satan? Let's not dismiss the music itself, as well as the striking visual imagery that came with the videos in bile-coated candy, cynicism, and disgust. Are all of these together the reason the band deserves recognition? No, none of these are it.
I'm referring to the real message that Manson, both man and band, only realized they were delivering several years into their careers. Only when shit, or rather bullets, hit the fan did they truly rise. There will be more on this as we progress.
Over the years, the band has received an avalanche of worship and praise from its fans, for Marilyn Manson were the champions of the underground. But which fans? Against all odds, Marilyn Manson completely redesigned themselves with each album, from demented Halloween childhood to downright Nietzsche-esque nihilism and misanthropic hate, and onward to a Ziggy Stardust allusion. This caused the alienation of their earliest fans, and not too many followed the band from its beginning to its mainstream success.
In a defiant act of pure, unrefined "balls," Marilyn Manson won over many new fans with 1998's Mechanical Animals, the successor of goth's arguable paramount Antichrist Superstar (1996). A mere two years apart, these two absolute musical opposites still had plenty in common. They were concept albums that held a mirror up to society and showed the unfortunate truths that were hidden in contradictions accepted as laws, beliefs, and cultural following. Manson himself would say that if your kid listens to Marilyn Manson, take that as a warning sign. Inevitably, someone drawn toward anything that screams "society is wrong" could possibly feel frustrated and/or neglected. They say Nirvana best represented the gloom of Generation X, but that's just a cute story for the media to sell. Marilyn Manson truly proved the gloom of that generation, and that depression would not be forgiving of the next. Kids were growing in a damaged world—change it or else.
This was Marilyn Manson, the band that scraped off the unwanted goo of youth frustration from the back pages and put it on the headlines for all to see. They managed to do so because they were making too much money to be shut down once and for all. No conservative parent could convince enough senators to bring Manson to a halt in light of record sales and sold out concerts. Showbiz wouldn't hear a word of it.
It was no surprise that eventually something did happen. "Columbine" can mean two things: if you are a botanist, it is a flower. If you were of age, then you know this is the infamous high school shooting location of 1999. Although there was plenty of mindless blame to throw around, Marilyn Manson quickly became a target simply because it was later found that the shooters had the band's albums on their shelves. No hard facts, no evidence, no goodbye message from the two stating their love for the band was left, yet the media jumped like the usual hyena onto this "Marilyn Manson told them to" hypothesis and crucified the singer and the music. The band cancelled the last remaining tour dates and went into hibernation for a period. Manson himself wrote one brilliant and straight-to-the-point column in Rolling Stone magazine and went AWOL for a bit. A big chunk of celebrities backed him, although not too openly.
An event of this magnitude is enough to put a severe dent on an artist's career, or to jeopardize the rise or maintaining of status in the entertainment world. Despite this obstacle, the real twist of fate was another. In late 2000, enter Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death). The fourth release in their discography was perhaps one of the most triumphant and unique musical epistles that any band has ever conceived. The lyrical content alone was highly significant to the Columbine incident, guns, Christian fanatic hypocrisy, and teenage angst, and coherently linked them all together. Lines such as "This is evolution / The monkey, the man, then the gun," and "the death of one is a tragedy, the death of millions is just a statistic" told anyone who heard them that there was a pattern in America's cultural reality and it has been repeating itself since the dawn of time. It also rebutted the senseless blame the band had received with a glove slap.
The cherry on top for the album was the song "The Nobodies," which deliberately sung of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's fate. The song condemned the killers' actions whilst lamenting their eventual postmortem realization that they were "forever dirt."
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This gun crucifix implied that violence
dominates American culture; used as
logo for the band's website in 2000. |
Manson had always spoken eloquently and even with class, if I may say so, regarding the purpose of the band's message. Any time the controversial vocalist would make an appearance on TV or some form of debate, he would always win over the audience (minus the biased) with simple, clear logic. Yet after taking the blame he did, to release a phenomenal record is just plain majestic, especially since it proved to be musically good enough to garner even more fans and do great in the charts.
I remember this well, because I was (and still am) a Marilyn Manson fan. Then, thankfully, Michael Moore and his Bowling For Columbine documentary came along in 2002. Manson was interviewed right before the Denver show, and in a brief few minutes of movie time, using his same old discourse, he convinced millions of viewers around the world that Marilyn Manson was not a perverse band trying to profit off of satanism but instead, a literate, intelligent shit-stirrer. Even though he received numerous death threats mere minutes prior to the interview, Manson still took the stage and delivered.
They were not about satanism. They were not an attack against particular institutions, despite the numerous calling-outs toward bad parenting and church, and not about the drugs with which they were openly and admittedly friendly.
Marilyn Manson was about the duality within ourselves and the power that we have to use it. We can create or destroy, be peaceful or violent. This is the domineering factor in our civilization. We build, then destroy and build again. The band seems to celebrate this factor in humanity and yet, in snobbish fashion, society fails to acknowledge its instincts and flaws and condemns those who point it out. What's even more unnerving is that the media and mainstream seem to be tightening the rope ever more in the music world. Or perhaps artists aren't doing too good a job at relevant content.
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| Caricature painting of Harris and Klebold by Manson |
Very few artists have released concept albums that put them dangerously close to unemployment. Marilyn Manson is definitely one of them and likely the most underrated in recognition, because they were the most in-your-face, up-your-ass, and go-read-a-book of all mainstream bands. Though the primary focus was America, a big part of the planet related as well, bringing worldwide success that perhaps even the band didn't count on.
In the aftermath of the first few years of the 2000 decade, Marilyn Manson have indeed released albums and still perform successful tours around the globe, but not with the same shocking impact as before. Perhaps they helped push the threshold of censorship a bit, or maybe they came full circle. Yet for a band that came out of Florida's strange underground goth scene of the '90s alongside peers like Jack Off Jill, Amboog-a-Lard, and Genitorturers, they sure went in through the backdoor and were puked up to the top in rock star fashion. To close off with a lyric of this unique band, "I was made in America and America hates me for what I am / I am your shit. You should be ashamed of what you have eaten."
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| Marilyn Manson in its Spooky Kids era, circa 1992. |
I challenge anyone to name a band that fought such a battle. I cannot think of one. Oh wait, Rage… maybe for the next article.
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
This year is going to be pretty damned exciting for movie fans everywhere, with the early winter months being no exception. Just think about it: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Robocop, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Arnie stepping up his game again with Sabotage, Godzilla in an acting deathmatch with Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, Tom Cruise getting repeatedly killed in Edge of Tomorrow, and more!
This month we get the grueling war film Lone Survivor, starring Mark Wahlberg and Ben Foster. It will be awesome, kickass, emotional, the mutt's nuts, the kitty's titties. To coincide with its release, I wanted to run a feature—not on its actors, but on its director, who will want none of the credit but deserves lots.
I'm talking, of course, about Peter Berg—a familiar face in acting since the '80s and now writer, director, and producer of some great films and TV shows, with a few guilty pleasures in the mix.
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| "Fucking tell me how to drink my soup!" |
The Lone Survivor director, who turns 50 this March, marks his ninth movie as a director since Very Bad Things in 1998, with a tenth in pre-production. You could call that lazy by some standards, but then you'd be discounting the fact that he's also directed six TV series, written seven movie and television screenplays, and then made some forty-one acting appearances since his debut in 1988's 21 Jump Street.
Berg, middle name Winkler (true story), apparently never wanted to be an actor. Moving to LA in 1985, he was a dock worker and pizza delivery man before his big break, because let's face it: say for instance you never wanted to write comic books for a living, and instead you cleaned toilets. If you had the opportunity to tell stories rather than smell bleach and arse, you'd take it and see where it went.
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| "I don't wanna play pro football anymore, I wanna grow a crazy old man beard..." |
Well, not only did Winkleberg get his break quickly, he was very soon a leading man in popular film and working with some pretty stellar actors before the mid-'90s. You may or may not remember that Berg was the lead protagonist in Wes Craven's 1989 film Shocker, co-starring X-Files and Sons of Anarchy actor Mitch Pileggi.
Bearing in mind that the 90s were possibly the worst decade in Hollywood film history—lack of money, crap CGI, action heroes were getting old—Berg worked hard to do fewer films like Aspen Extreme ("Top Gun on the Ski Slopes") and tried to apply himself to more serious work like A Midnight Clear and Fire in the Sky.
It was his role as Dr. Billy Kronk on smash hit TV show Chicago Hope (the role he is still best known for) between 1995 and 1999, however, that marked his change in fortune and his directorial debut. That same year he directed his first movie, Very Bad Things.
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| "Who switched off the football to watch The Notebook?!!" |
If anything, his debut promised great things to come for reasons other than the fact that he found a greater passion in directing. Some positive film experiences had clearly helped him to see what makes a good production, whereas some terrible ones had no doubt shown him all the schoolboy errors a director should never make.
While still making frequent film and television appearances as an actor, with the likes of Cop Land, Alias, and King of Queens, Berg continued to write and direct for television before his next movie, The Rundown aka Welcome to the Jungle, arguably Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's most credible and enjoyable film to date (at the time).
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| AKA Welcome to the Jungle |
You might not have seen what came next after his appearance as "Pistol" Pete Deeks in Smokin' Aces…
…but Berg would quickly go on to prove that he was no small-time director, even if his ease and competence had already proved what he could do with a small budget. From 2009 up until 2012, Berg would apply himself vigorously to working in television, but first, he released two of his most successful movies yet: 2007's suspenseful Middle Eastern terrorist thriller The Kingdom…
…and 2008's superhero drama Hancock, which was (in my opinion), Will Smith's last decent film.
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| Well, that car isn't covered for superhero damage. |
From those two features, you can get a great idea of not only Berg's dramatic style of direction but also his flair for timing between drama, suspense, and comic relief. Not that there is a lack of that in cinema today, but Berg is a standout director, one that delivers on what he promises. Lone Survivor, for this reason, will be a film you can bet on.
Of course, the man has also made his mistakes, namely in the hefty-budgeted Battleship, which was based on the Hasbro board game of legend. The film was made for an estimated $209 million and made just over $100 million in profits on top of its money back worldwide, but cinema goers seemed hardly impressed. Why the hell did a board game about sinking battleships have a film about an alien invasion?
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| Taylor Kitch is our only hope? Hahahaaa let's surrender! |
Regardless, time will tell whether Berg will ever make that same mistake again. Outside of film and television, he's co-owner of the famous Wild Card West boxing gym with legendary boxer Freddie Roach, and doesn't rely on the fame or fortune of Hollywood. Boxing and movies are both lifetime passions of his from which he will never walk away, especially since his client bases consist of his idols and those who idolize him.
Not bad for a kid who came out west to LA from New York City to be a dock worker!
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| "Yeah whatever, not bad for a... just shut up..." |
So, who'll be going to see Lone Survivor this month? I'll bet on you getting your money's worth. If I lose, though, I hope you don't mind Monopoly money. I'm broke-ass poor. Comments below and thanks for reading.
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
Who knew they were actually going to remake Starship Troopers? I mean, for sure? Film studios and producers always bang on about how they'd like to do a remake, how they own the rights to a remake, or how it's most definitely happening now… for a decade!
Well, for those of you who, like me, didn't know they have been planning this since 2012, Starship Troopers is now in pre-production. I don't know how you feel about that. Personally, I could get behind it if I knew who was directing and producing. I don't really care who's starring.
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| "The only good bug is a dead... oooh fuck me, run away!" |
You could put Bert and Ernie in the lead and I'd be happy, because I loved the original, and that's because Michael Ironside was a boss!
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| Hardest Canadian Ever! |
After he and Dizzy died I was like, "Casper Van Whooo? Denise Whaaaa? Son of Gary Busey?" I'm kidding, of course. That film rocked. It was like an unofficial Aliens sequel, and it was Paul Verhoeven's best film since Total Recall and Robocop. Speaking of which, what is it about Verhoeven remakes? All that's left to dismiss the freaky Dutchman now is Showgirls, Basic Instinct, and Black Book, and I don't think we'll be seeing those until there isn't a brain cell left in Hollywood.
In a recent statement, one half of the upcoming film's writing team, Zack Stentz (Thor and X-Men: First Class) put out some reassurance by stating that they were doing less of a parody like Verhoeven's version and sticking closer to the source material of Robert Heinlein's original novel.
Then adding: "An Officer and a Gentleman in Power Armour!"
Oh wait... I get it!
Sound off Fanboys and Fangirls. Do you think he just means they'll wear tight white pants instead of tight black pants? Maybe he just means it'll be ultraviolent but with romance instead of comedy and senseless shagging? Comments below and thanks for reading.
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Saturday, January 4, 2014
TorrentFreak has given their list of the top 10 most pirated movies of the year according to their downloads tracking.
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (8,400,000 estimated downloads)
2. Django Unchained (8,100,000 estimated downloads)
3. Fast and Furious 6 (7,900,000 estimated downloads)
4. Iron Man 3 (7,600,000 estimated downloads)
5. Silver Linings Playbook (7,500,000 estimated downloads)
6. Star Trek Into Darkness (7,400,000 estimated downloads)
7. Gangster Squad (7,200,000 estimated downloads)
8. Now You See Me (7,000,000 estimated downloads)
9. The Hangover Part 3 (6,900,000 estimated downloads)
10. World War Z (6,700,000 estimated downloads)
For the record, my predictions at the beginning of the year only included half of these (#3, #4, #6, #9 and #10)
I really expected The Hunger Games to potentially be on the list as well as a few others like Jack the Giant Slayer, Kick-Ass 2, This is the End, Thor: The Dark World and The Wolverine. By far, the biggest surprises to me are that Man of Steel and Pacific Rim aren't on the list.
What does this list tell us?
First and foremost, it reiterates that action movies are where people put a lot of their attention. Nearly everything on this list is an action film and many of them are in the Comic-Con type of fandom genre.
Also, what's interesting is the differences in grosses for the films. The two that grossed the most worldwide earnings were The Hobbit and Iron Man 3, both breaking the $1 billion mark. It's expected that so many downloads were a result of people wanting to watch the popular movies.
However, something like Gangster Squad made only 1/10th that, capping off at around the $100 million mark. This must have been a film that people were interested in seeing, but not interested in actually spending their money on. For good reason, too, as I personally thought it wasn't that good. This probably applied to Now You See Me as well, though that did much better with $350+ million at the box office (not too much more than The Hangover Part 3, showing that people just weren't as into the third film in that trilogy as they were the first).
What do you think about this list? Are there any things that surprise you? Did you download any of these movies? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Pirates of the Multiverse
Exploring the Multiverse
Rise of Lord Vadik
