Photos from Comic Con

Pre-Comic Con Geekerati Radio Show

Your friendly panelists at Geekerati will be attending the San Diego Comic Con this week. Listen as we discuss the conference events we plan to attend and who we hope to recruit as future guests on the show.

While the name Comic Con immediately brings to mind DC, Marvel, and various independent comic book companies, the convention has become a broad popular culture experience in recent years. Yes, the comic powerhouses are all present, but so are the SciFi Channel and numerous film and television companies who use the con as a place to promote their movies and shows. This year that list includes the BBC's Torchwood series, Zack Snyder's upcoming Watchmen movie, a screening of the new TV show Chuck and a lot more.

Listen in tonight at 7pm to hear what panels we plan on attending and call in to let us know if you will be attending. Is there an interview you would like us to attempt to attain? A particular "exclusive" you would like us to acquire as a give-away on a future episode of Geekerati Radio? Let us know.

William Shatner is Getting His Own Interview Show on Biography

For those fans who where told by William Shatner to "get a life," it might not surprise them that Bill has a "Raw Nerve" or two. But I bet they never would have guessed that "Shatner's Raw Nerve" would be the title of a celebrity interview show on the Biography channel.

As everyone who reads this knows, I am a big William Shatner fan. One of the reasons I am such a big fan is that Shatner is willing to try anything once to entertain his fans. He has "written" books, "sung" on cds, starred in movies and tv shows, done streaming online videos for his myspace "friends." He'll even make fun of himself like he did in Free Enterprise.

It looks like Bill has found a new way to entertain his fans, an interview show. According to Variety (hat tip to Kate at Fishbowl LA), the show will be 30 minutes long and "producers will make an effort to book guests separately from their movie and other junkets." When was the last time that happened? I would love to see conversations with actors and politicians during a time when they aren't promoting a product or running for office. If anyone can pull that one off, it will be the Shatner.

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My Thoughts on 1982: Geek Monthly's Greatest Geek Movie Year Ever

In the most recent issue of Geek Monthly the editors and staff present 1982 as the "Greatest Geek Movie Year Ever." Whether or not that is true the crew that brought you Free Enterprise, possibly the "Greatest Geek Movie Ever," have certainly shown that 1982 was a year filled with many geek movies. I have seen most of them, and thought that now would be an ideal time to give my thoughts on their list.

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan --
   

   I went to see this film, as was true of many SF films I saw as a lad, with my father. My dad enjoyed it, but this film solidified my place as a William Shatner fan. As I will say to anyone who will tolerate me long enough to listen, "I am not a Star Trek fan, I am a Shatner fan!" I have read all of his novels, own both his cds, and will wax poetic on the virtues of TJ Hooker. I know that there are many actors out there who are "better" at their craft than Shatner, but no one has entertained me so consistently.
   
   
   
   If you don't like this movie...you are not a geek. KHAN!




2. Blade Runner --
   

   When my father took me to see this movie, I was expecting Han Solo in action. I was bored to tears. The weird soundtrack, the slow pace, the moodiness. Yawn. What can I say? I was eleven years old! It wasn't until I watched this film again when they first released it on video that I came to see the folly of my youthful analysis of the film. I have come to think of this film as one of the best SF films made to date.
   As I mentioned during the most recent episode of my online radio show (the DVD extras episode), I am particularly fond of the theatrical release. I understand that it is "interesting" to think about the ramifications of Deckard as replicant, but I find leaving Deckard human to be more compelling. If Deckard is a replicant, then his "sacrifice" at the end of the movie is meaningless (though the allowed escape retains meaning). A replicant fleeing oppression to save another replicant, that's realistic but not heroic because there is no real sacrifice or overcoming of cultural biases. If Deckard is human, on the other hand, the sacrifice of a human abandoning his own society for the love of the "other" has a great deal of resonance with me. That is a moral message worth sharing.
   Just my two cents. All versions of this film are great, I just prefer the theatrical.



3. Poltergeist --
   

   This is really two movies for me. The first half, the creepy Tobe Hooperesque half, is amazing. As an 11-year-old, the scene where the guy is pulling off his face was really disturbing. I liked the classic ghost tale parts of this film. When the film suddenly became a special effects extravaganza, I was lost. "What happened? Why does this look so much like Close Encounters of the Third Kind all of a sudden?"
   I still like the overall effect of telling a ghost story in suburbia rather than in a Lovecraftian Gothic mansion. Those parts of the film really work. I am still afraid of clown dolls.



4. Tron --
   
   
   
   

   Remember when I wrote that Free Enterprise was the "greatest geek film ever?" No? Look at the top of the page. I was wrong. Tron is without a doubt the greatest geek film ever. I adore this story of a game designer who gets sucked into the world of computer programs. This film is so before its time, it is ridiculous. William Gibson may have invented the term "cyberpunk," but whenever I visualized the virtual reality within his books I was visualizing Tron. Where else could you see accounting programs being forced into deadly gladiatorial games? The representation of the interconnectedness of all computers was really groundbreaking. The special effects still rock. Light Cycles, anyone?
   
   After writing this, I am going home to watch this movie. I might even put a bid on a coin op on ebay if there are any available.




5. Cat People --
   

   Believe it or not, I have never seen this. Minus 15 geek points for me. I am now adding it to my Netflix cue as I type. It stars Malcolm McDowell, which makes it all the more unforgivable that I haven't seen this film.




6. The Dark Crystal --
   
   

   This was the first film I have ever seen where the "innocents" freaked me out more than the villains. I still have nightmares of the milky eyed Gelfling who horrified me as at the age of eleven. This film freaked me out even more than the homicidal clown doll from Poltergeist.




7. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial --
   
   

   This film made me cry every time I watched it, until 1989. Then I watched it, on VHS, with my girlfriend at the time Rachel. She laughed hysterically at some of the most emotionally powerful moments. She found them utterly ridiculous. That experience has forever tainted my viewing of this film. That and the fact that Spielberg changed the film to take place in a world where police don't have guns in the recent re-release. At least it still has a D&D reference at the beginning of the film, which truly qualifies it as a geek film. Forget that it is about an alien. Forget that it is SF, or that it has a bicycle chase scene. What makes this film a truly geek film, is the inclusion of D&D in the opening scene.




8. Conan the Barbarian --
   
   

   I have never been able to buy Schwarzenegger as the brooding Cimmerian, but other than that this film is a pretty good adaptation of the stories. For those who complain that Thulsa Doom isn't a Conan villain, I would remind you that he is a Kull villain. Since Conan's first story, "The Phoenix in the Sword," was a rewrite of the first Kull story "By This Axe I Rule!" one should allow some creative license in the adaptation. The film is well written, well directed, and has the ultimate score for D&D gaming sessions.
   
   Contemplate this upon the tree of woe!




9. The Road Warrior --
   
   

   When George Miller took his Mad Max character and overlayed Joseph Campbell's "Heroic Journey" over the universe design, he created a post-apocalyptic masterpiece. It is true that close scrutiny of this film makes it seem absurd, but how can you apply close scrutiny to a film with a villain named "Humungous?" You can't. You have to be crazy to try. Save your scrutiny for Patrick Swayze's Steel Dawn, that deserves your disdain. The Road Warrior is a work of high art.




10. The Thing --
    
    

    Unlike Quentin Tarantino, where I grew up there weren't any Grindhouses. There were, however, discount after market movie theaters who didn't enforce ratings. Where Grindhouses were filled with crowds who reacted to the latest actioner or exploitation film, the discount theater showed films that had been out for a couple of months for a mere $1.50 and they let 11-year-olds walk into rated R films regardless of any adults. The floors were sticky and the theater was empty on an August afternoon when I watched a horribly scratched print of this film. It was the singularly most terrifying film I had ever seen. I became an instant John Carpenter fan and have forgiven many lesser films because of the brilliance of this one.




11. Creepshow --
    
    

    What's not to love about a filmic homage to EC Comics? Nothing. This movie roxxors. When I saw this film, I had read old EC Comics and some of the DC and Marvel horror comics. I had yet to see Tales from the Darkside so my only reference was the comics. I loved this film, especially the Stephen King story that reminded me of my favorite (at the time) Steve McQueen film, The Blob




12. The Sword and the Sorcerer --
    
    

    When I was a preteen, I used to get irritated when my friend Sean wouldn't plop this film into the VCR every time I went over to his house after school, or to spend the night. I thought that this movie, with a shooting sword, was the greatest fantasy film ever made. It had a shooting sword for goodness sake! A SHOOTING SWORD! It also starred Lee Horsley. What's not to like. I waited for years for the sequel hinted at in the closing credits.
    After rewatching this recently with my wife, I now understand why Sean didn't really want to watch it everyday. The film just isn't that well made. In fact, it's kind of dull. The shooting sword still rules, but isn't quite as cool as the Glaive from Krull.
    When I hear how Eragon was lame, it reminds me how desperate I was as a kid for good fantasy. Who am I kidding, I'm still waiting for the sequel.
    Did I point out that the sword has THREE BLADES and they shoot! Time to add a magic item to my D&D campaign.

The article covers a couple of the "lesser" geek films of the year as well, but I'll cover those in another entry.

If you haven't seen any of the above films, immediately add them to your Netflix queue. Or buy them. Yes, buy them.

Listen to the Geeks talk DVDs

Have you ever wondered, "what's so special about DVD special editions?" Well the geeks at Geekerati Radio will be discussing that very question tonight at 7pm Pacific. Joining the Geeks will be film critic David Chute who will be discussing his commentary tracks on KING BOXER and ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN. Chute was joined by Quentin Tarantino in his commentary on KING BOXER.

Come and join in on the conversation, you might even walk away with a free copy of a movie.

Reuters Bizarrely Associates "28 Days Later" with "torture porn"

For decades people have been decrying the end of civilization and the jading effects of entertainment. Horror films have always loomed large in the eyes of these social critics.

Roger Ebert lamented that the original The Hitcher was a film that preached nihilism and wrote an elegant review criticizing the film as completely devoid of any moral value. He gave the film zero stars, a rating he once reserved for films he thought were morally repugnant.

Joe Bob Briggs has written a wonderful book which discusses the effect that Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the true "Saw," has had on popular culture and its filmic legacy. Briggs analysis is less fear-monger, and more fan, but he highlights many of the criticisms laid out against "shock value" horror.

In 2006, David Edelstein referred to Eli Roth's Hostel as "torture porn," a label that has been retroactively applied to other splatter-based horror films.

But like when Pauline Kael used the word fascist to describe Sam Peckinpah's The Straw Dogs, a use that trivialized the horror of the consequences of actual fascism by broadening the word beyond usefulness, it appears that critics are now expanding the use of the term "torture porn" to the point of making it meaningless.

I will be the first to agree with a critic who says that a film representing the torture of women for the supposed enjoyment of an audiences is misogynistic and likely debases the audience viewing it. But when one applies the pejorative term "torture porn," with all its baggage (as Reuters did today}, to a film like Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later the term has lost all useful critical meaning.

Calling the bi frication of Jennifer Jason Leigh's character in The Hitcher excessive and immoral is one thing, though it should be noted that the bi frication by Semi takes place off screen. Calling 28 Days Later, a film which stresses the centrality of FAMILY and compassion to the continuation of society, "torture porn" is quite another thing.

The first, I consider worth discussing. Is there any "moral" value to a film like The Hitcher or Hostel? Does Wolf Creek teach us anything other than we need to kill any random stranger who stops by our campfire at Ayer's Rock? Those things I am willing to discuss, and even concede a lot to critics. But to criticize Danny Boyle's film in the same way is so stupid as to be beneath consideration.

Let's have some specificity in our criticism please, otherwise it is useless to those to whom it is supposed to be useful.