God, I love The Monster Squad. So much, in fact, that the old VHS copy bought for me from a ramshackle jumble sale many years ago still has its place in my film collection, the cover worn and tattered, visible signs of the many house moves the damn thing has survived. Odd this obsession may be, but this almost forgotten "dud" from 1994 still has a plethora of fan sites loaded with petitions screaming for a sequel, with its director Fred Dekker at the helm. It's not total madness when you really think about it: that childlike, wide-eyed admiration for the truly old school cinematic macabre, the passion behind the article that you now see before you... Dekker's film is dripping with it. Who better to put together a love letter to old school horror than a storyteller who cut his fangs on the classics? After concocting the idea for the Steve Miner's 1986 film House,...
- 10/11/2013
- by Aaron Williams
- FEARnet
Whether they’re male or female, old or young, they’ve illuminated some classic movies. Here’s our top 50 list of sci-fi heroes and heroines…
On the face of it, compiling a list of truly great sci-fi protagonists should be easy. Pick a load of familiar names from a hat, write some breathlessly adoring drivel beneath them, and head off to the pub to reward a job well done.
Except it was never going to be as simple as that – and compiling lists seldom is. For every character making an appearance in the list below, there were at least two other possible candidates who didn't quite make the cut. Some sci-fi heroes were removed, then quickly reinstated. The order was jiggled around, then reordered again.
At one point, your humble writer realised there were more than 50 entries, and then had the unenviable task of hunting back through to decide which poor soul to eliminate.
On the face of it, compiling a list of truly great sci-fi protagonists should be easy. Pick a load of familiar names from a hat, write some breathlessly adoring drivel beneath them, and head off to the pub to reward a job well done.
Except it was never going to be as simple as that – and compiling lists seldom is. For every character making an appearance in the list below, there were at least two other possible candidates who didn't quite make the cut. Some sci-fi heroes were removed, then quickly reinstated. The order was jiggled around, then reordered again.
At one point, your humble writer realised there were more than 50 entries, and then had the unenviable task of hunting back through to decide which poor soul to eliminate.
- 4/19/2012
- Den of Geek
To mark the release of classic movie based on the Charles Dickens novel The Old Curiosity Shop on DVD 14th May, we’ve been given three copies to give away. The film adaptation is directed by Thomas Bentley and stars Hay Petrie, Ben Webster and Elaine Benson.
Hay Petrie ingests the scenery as the demonic, hunchbacked Mr. Quilp in this 1935 British adaptation of Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop. Quilp is the wicked landlord who dominates and later ruins the lives of shopkeeper Trent (Ben Webster) and his resourceful granddaughter Little Nell (Elaine Benson). The death of the heroine, which created quite a brouhaha when the book was first published, is here handled with discretion and taste. Scenarists Margaret Kennedy and Ralph Neale successfully tackle the challenge of whittling Dickens’ massive novel into a playable 90 minutes. The Old Curiosity Shop would be remade three times, once as a musical with Anthony Newley as Quilp.
Hay Petrie ingests the scenery as the demonic, hunchbacked Mr. Quilp in this 1935 British adaptation of Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop. Quilp is the wicked landlord who dominates and later ruins the lives of shopkeeper Trent (Ben Webster) and his resourceful granddaughter Little Nell (Elaine Benson). The death of the heroine, which created quite a brouhaha when the book was first published, is here handled with discretion and taste. Scenarists Margaret Kennedy and Ralph Neale successfully tackle the challenge of whittling Dickens’ massive novel into a playable 90 minutes. The Old Curiosity Shop would be remade three times, once as a musical with Anthony Newley as Quilp.
- 4/13/2012
- by Competitons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
I've got this idea, see? It'll cock that jaunty fedora pretty sweet, see? I'm gonna make a movie about a detective, a shylock, a gumshoe, and I'm gonna call him Malone. A real man's man's name, honest, blue collar, salt of the earth, see? And then I'm gonna surround Malone with a bunch of dames and broads, saddle them with names something like a Dick Tracy character would have only it's not a descriptor. Tough guy names like Matchstick and Boulder and Mauler and Frankie the Crooner, see? And I'm gonna frame it real nice like, like it's a gritty hyper-stylized Frank Miller version of a Jim Thompson novel, only I'm not actually gonna set it during the 1940s. Scratch that, I'll just give the lead guy a smooth 1940's looking ride, and have him mutter and grumble like Rain Man playing Sam Spade. Oh, this puppy's cooking with gas,...
- 1/28/2010
- by Brian Prisco
Paramount's Sahara kicked up some dust at the boxoffice this weekend as the action-adventure film from Bristol Bay Prods., while not a blockbuster, did much better than expected and excavated an estimated $18.5 million to easily claim the top spot. The opening for the PG-13 film, starring Matthew McConaughey, marked the third consecutive No. 1 opening for Paramount. Industry observers thought Sahara would debut in the $10 million to $14 million area. After a solid bow of nearly $30 million the previous weekend, Dimension's Sin City held up well on its sophomore frame, reaping an estimated $14.1 million to place second, falling off 52% from its debut -- a strong hold considering the genre. The Bruce Willis starrer, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, has amassed about $50.7 million in 10 days. 20th Century Fox's Fever Pitch didn't quite hit it out of the park but had a respectable debut on its first at-bat in theaters and landed in the third spot with an estimated $13 million. The sports-themed romantic comedy, starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon and helmed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly, did particularly well in the Northeast.
- 4/10/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paramount's Sahara kicked up some dust at the boxoffice this weekend as the action-adventure film from Bristol Bay Prods., while not a blockbuster, did much better than expected and excavated an estimated $18.5 million to easily claim the top spot. The opening for the PG-13 film, starring Matthew McConaughey, marked the third consecutive No. 1 opening for Paramount. Industry observers thought Sahara would debut in the $10 million to $14 million area. After a solid bow of nearly $30 million the previous weekend, Dimension's Sin City held up well on its sophomore frame, reaping an estimated $14.1 million to place second, falling off 52% from its debut -- a strong hold considering the genre. The Bruce Willis starrer, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, has amassed about $50.7 million in 10 days. 20th Century Fox's Fever Pitch didn't quite hit it out of the park but had a respectable debut on its first at-bat in theaters and landed in the third spot with an estimated $13 million. The sports-themed romantic comedy, starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon and helmed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly, did particularly well in the Northeast.
- 4/10/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dimension's Sin City was reaping a whirlwind of cash at the boxoffice this weekend as the R-rated action-thriller dominated the frame with $29.1 million. The final tally was $1 million higher than where early projections put the gross, thanks to a stronger than expected Sunday. The highly stylized feature, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, proved to be the second-biggest opening for Rodriguez and the third-highest ever in April. Sin City, based on the comic book series by Frank Miller, features an ensemble cast that includes Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Benicio Del Toro and Michael Madsen. But Sin City may have a tough time in the weeks ahead. In exit polls moviegoers gave the film a lackluster 83% favorable grade, according to CinemaScore. The audience skewed male with 64% comprising that group, and slightly older, with 58% in the 25 and up category. The biggest portion of the audience was between 18 and 34, with 64% between them. The subject matter was the biggest draw, as noted by 60% of respondents.
Dimension's highly stylized Sin City, from co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, painted the top spot red with $29.1 million on its debut this weekend, according to Monday's final figures. The strong opening for the R-rated film noir was in the area anticipated and was the second highest for Rodriguez, after Dimension's Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, which scored $33.4 million, and was the third biggest ever in April. While the weekend's top film drew the males, the No. 2 film attracted the females but not quite in the numbers hoped for. MGM's Beauty Shop, a PG-13 comedy starring Queen Latifah and helmed by Bille Woodruff, opened in the second spot with $12.8 million, narrowly besting the sophomore frame of Sony's Guess Who, which was aimed at a similar audience and placed a close third with $12.7 million.
It's ultraviolent and rated R, but that shouldn't stop Dimension Films' Sin City from reaching $30 million this weekend. While the male audience heads for Sin City, though, MGM is doing a bit of counterprogramming, looking to attract females with its comedy Beauty Shop. The Weinstein brothers might be leaving Walt Disney Studios -- their formal divorce agreement was announced this week, though they will continue working with Miramax Films on a nonexclusive basis until their contracts expire at the end of September -- but they're ending the partnership with a bang. Sin City, the stylized, highly anticipated Frank Miller comic book adaptation from the Weinsteins' Dimension label, looks to be one of the hottest films to hit the big screen so far this year. Co-director Robert Rodriguez's film noir should draw not only comic book fans but also audiences interested in seeing Rodriguez's marvel in moviemaking. Entirely greenscreened and shot digitally at the filmmaker's Troublemaker Studios in Austin, Sin City features an all-star cast that includes Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Benicio Del Toro and Clive Owen.
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