Jesus Take The Wheel (But Keep it Under 88 MPH)

October 21, 2015, 10:30 am

≫ Next: A Slacker Across Multiple Timelines

≪ Previous: Back to the Future #1 (comic book review)

$

0

0

By Vito Delsante Artwork by Julien Croyal

I have a strange relationship with Back to The Future, in that I saw it in a theater, but not on a big screen. And, in it’s own way, it reminds me of Jesus.

See, I saw it in church. On VHS. On portable projector screen.

That doesn’t make the movie odd for me. Why would it? Nor does it make Jesus or my religious beliefs odd. It’s just a setting for the story.

When I was 11 or 12 (or rather, that school year, seventh grade), I moved with my grandmother and grandfather to a small town in Pennsylvania called Ford City. I had visited at least once before, but no more than twice, and the prevailing impression I had of the place was that the movie Footloose was based on someone’s life story from this town. The thing you have to understand about this move was that, at 10 years old, it was the first mature, adult, decision I was ever asked to make. Choose between moving to a small town in Pennsylvania with my grandparents, or stay in New York with my mom.

No slight to my mom, but she was young and was enjoying her youth. I was old enough to see that. It didn’t take me long to make a decision. The decision was probably harder for my older sister to make because, being two years older than me, she was already in junior high. She had graduated from Catholic school and had moved on with the same friends she’d always known. Me? I didn’t really have any friends. The old man that lived to the right of us. The hippie biker that lived to the left of us. Do cousins count? I was picked on from kindergarten on. Did I want to move? You bet. Anything would be better than being around those jerks.

In Pennsylvania, things were immediately different.

Read more »

---

A Slacker Across Multiple Timelines

October 21, 2015, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Bob and Bob: Architects of the Past, Present and Future

≪ Previous: Jesus Take The Wheel (But Keep it Under 88 MPH)

$

0

0

Written by Clay N Ferno

"What, did you sleep in your clothes again last night?"

— Dave McFly, 1985

As far as inspiring quotes, this doesn't immediately go into the meme bank for everyone, but it's something I can relate to.

I sleep in my clothes, sort of more than I should. Perhaps it's the late nights at my job or that I stay up so late I don't want to ever go to bed. Recently, domestic life has steered me into the bed sans jeans more often than not, but hey, it still happens.

Was I a ten year old looking up to Marty and subconsciously aping his sleep hygiene habits? Maybe I thought I'd have a hot girlfriend when I got to high school and I could take her to the lake like Marty did in a shiny new Toyota Hilux 4X4.

Marty McFly was one of my first movie heroes. And damn, I loved that DeLorean. In fact, I still think about the plutonium and fusion powered, hover-converted bird-winged time machine nearly every day of my life. Here's what I can remember of the movie and the car, in my sleep deprived old age.

Let's take this to 88 miles per hour!

Read more »

Bob and Bob: Architects of the Past, Present and Future

October 21, 2015, 11:30 am

≫ Next: FOG! Chats With CASEEN GAINES, Author of WE DON'T NEED ROADS: THE MAKING OF THE 'BACK TO THE FUTURE' TRILOGY

≪ Previous: A Slacker Across Multiple Timelines

$

0

0

Written by Lily and Generoso Fierro

Before Stefan Blitz asked the collaborators on Forces of Geek to write a piece to celebrate Back to the Future Day and the 30th anniversary of the film’s release, we had screened Time After Time, the last significant time traveling film before Zemeckis’s 1985 masterpiece.

In Time After Time, we have Malcolm McDowell portraying write H.G. Wells, whose time machine gets compromised when Jack the Ripper steals it to avoid capture and to subsequently build a body count in 1979 San Francisco. Though the film’s narrative engine uses time travel as its fuel, the film becomes more about the romance between H.G. Wells and a bank teller named Amy, played by Mary Steenburgen.

We reviewed the film as a charming, romantic piece but as one that lacks a mastery of the time travel plot device.

There are many moments of frustration in this film that mire the plot, but it is still eminently watchable for the three leads of McDowell, Steenburgen, and David Warner. Time After Time is a good film for romantics but one that will send most sci-fi fans screaming into the night.

Read more »

FOG! Chats With CASEEN GAINES, Author of WE DON'T NEED ROADS: THE MAKING OF THE 'BACK TO THE FUTURE' TRILOGY

October 21, 2015, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Not Quite Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise Casino & Hotel

≪ Previous: Bob and Bob: Architects of the Past, Present and Future

$

0

0

Interview conducted by Stefan Blitz

Caseen Gaines might be the coolest high school English teacher around.  Having already written books on A Christmas Story and Pee Wee's Playhouse, his third book, We Don't Need Roads, focusing on the making of the Back to The Future trilogy arrived was released this past summer.  The writer and fellow pop-culturalist wrote his senior thesis on race relations in the original Planet of the Apes film series.

With today officially representing "the future", Caseen took some time to answer some questions about the book and his density.

I mean destiny...


Read more »

Not Quite Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise Casino & Hotel

October 21, 2015, 12:30 pm

≫ Next: The Future is Unwritten

≪ Previous: FOG! Chats With CASEEN GAINES, Author of WE DON'T NEED ROADS: THE MAKING OF THE 'BACK TO THE FUTURE' TRILOGY

$

0

0

Written by Elizabeth Weitz

There are many things I could write about Back to the Future, like how, when I saw it for the first time I was overcome with a deeply seductive feeling that I later learned was called awesomeness, or how I began having weirdly erotic dreams about Crispin Glover that would kick in anytime I saw him in the film.

But the most important tale didn’t occur when I was sitting in the theater, nope, it happened decades later when a close friend, about to walk down the aisle, explained that the only Bachelor Party he was interested in was the kind where the Back to the Future trilogy was playing on a big screen TV and food was laid out on a table as far as the eye could see.

We even had cake!

No strippers, no limo, no drunken night of debauchery…just him, the movies that he loved more than life itself and his closest friends (including me, a girl) surrounded by finger foods.

Read more »

The Future is Unwritten

October 21, 2015, 1:00 pm

≫ Next: Why Did My Six-Year-Old Self Like BACK TO THE FUTURE’?

≪ Previous: Not Quite Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise Casino & Hotel

$

0

0

Written by Mark Wensel

Back to The Future is not the greatest film ever made. I still firmly believe that is Citizen Kane.

Back to The Future is not my favorite film ever. That particular award goes to a little film you might have heard of, Stand By Me.

Back to The Future is not the funniest film ever made. For me, that might be a toss up between Duck Soup and Ghostbusters.
Back to The Future is not the greatest sci-fi film ever made. That’s probably still 2001: A Space Odyssey.

So…why are we so enamored with it? Why, 30 years later, are we still so charmed by Marty McFly, Doc Brown and their adventures?

What resonates so much with all of us?

I’m not a big researcher, so I can only tell you how I feel.

Read more »

Why Did My Six-Year-Old Self Like BACK TO THE FUTURE’?

October 21, 2015, 1:30 pm

≫ Next: 2015? You Mean We're in The Future?

≪ Previous: The Future is Unwritten

$

0

0

Written by Seth Levi

Growing up in the 1980s my three favorite movies were:

1. Return of the Jedi
2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
3. Back to the Future. 

It’s pretty clear why the first two rated so high for me: Rancor, Ewoks, chilled monkey brains, and a beating heart being pulled out of a man’s chest.

I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone on 1 and 2, and for those reasons. George Lucas knew exactly what little kids wanted to see in movies. But with Back to the Future it’s a lot less clear what was so appealing about the film.

I watched Back to the Future so many times on VHS that to this day I can still recite the movie line-by-line, but it wasn’t until I was a teenager that most of the jokes made sense.

Read more »

2015? You Mean We're in The Future?

October 21, 2015, 2:10 pm

≫ Next: We've Finally Gone Back to the Future, Doc

≪ Previous: Why Did My Six-Year-Old Self Like BACK TO THE FUTURE’?

$

0

0

Written by Ray Harrington

Back To The Future Part II is my favorite movie of all time. (I’ve already resisted the urge for a time-based pun, but I think the first sentence is too early for that.) I adore the movie to a degree that, deep down in my movie geek smugness, makes me mutter with self satisfaction at the fake Facebook posts and the Hoverboard hoaxes.

I adore the movie so much that I just want to list off all the fanboy things I’ve done for Back To The Future, from going to the Lone Pine Mall, to finding the only privately owned DeLorean from the films. Even working with Tom Wilson for a weekend as I quietly geeked out in my head as I performed stand up and tried to figure out the best way to go in for a hug at the end of the shows. (We did hug.) I want to list all of those things and more, but I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging. My dog’s name is Marty.

I’m a fan is what I’m saying, and while I’m thrilled that the day Marty arrived in future Hill Valley is finally here, I worry that we’re focusing on the wrong thing.

Pepsi is releasing a limited “Pepsi Perfect,” a trailer has been released for Jaws 19. I’m sure Nike will taunt us some more with another shoe that seems like it’s sort of, not quite, I-guess-it’s-kind-of-like-the-ones-from-the-movie-but-you-and-I-both-know-they’re-not, sneakers with powerlaces. We may hear more about hoverboards than even I want to hear about.

We’ll all compare our 2015 to the 2015 in the movie. But I don’t think we’re in the 2015 of Back To The Future.

I think we’ve stumbled into the alternate Hill Valley of 1985.

Hear me out.

Read more »

---

We've Finally Gone Back to the Future, Doc

October 21, 2015, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: Relevance Not Rememberance

≪ Previous: 2015? You Mean We're in The Future?

$

0

0

Written by Rich Handley

As teenagers in the 1980s, we had our fill of great comedies. Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer, Weird Science, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Vacation, Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off—the list was endless. But few movies define a generation like Back to the Future did. When you think about music from that era, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson and Culture Club come to mind—they are the '80s scene. And when it comes to movies, Back to the Future is at the top of the list.

I was in high school when Back to the Future debuted in 1985—and it had me at "Hello, McFly." That first film blew me away. The concept, the cast, the humor, the recurring gags, the costumes, the stunts, Claudia Wells (hey, I was a male teen)—I was hooked.

This sucker was electrical.

Read more »

Relevance Not Rememberance

October 21, 2015, 4:00 pm

≫ Next: The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be

≪ Previous: We've Finally Gone Back to the Future, Doc

$

0

0

Written by Christopher Irving

It’s August, 2012. My father had died just a month before and, between grieving and trying to be close to him in the only way he and I could be, I backtracked and watched the movies and TV shows we both loved. Leave It to Beaver. Rocky. The Munsters.

But Back to the Future?

We hadn’t spoken for years. Not since I was a kid.

It isn’t that my memories of it were bad. Quite the opposite: I remembered it as one of my favorite movies, ever. But that was the problem: What if it had actually aged, and poorly?

Perhaps it had gained a paunch in the twenty years since last we spoke, or somehow become less funny or even more dated.

What if it was like rewatching Porky’s, which is not half as funny as my teenage self remembered it being?

Damnedest thing, though: through some chronal trickery, Back to the Future was actually a better movie than I’d ever remembered it. Then I realized, it wasn’t remembrance, but a newfound relevance to me as an adult for, when I had last seen it in my early teens, I didn’t know my father was human.

Read more »

The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be

October 21, 2015, 5:00 pm

≫ Next: BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL HISTORY (Book Review)

≪ Previous: Relevance Not Rememberance

$

0

0

Written by Jonathan Ryder

As we have reached the time when Marty McFly arrived in 2015, there is much ink and pixel being spilled about the assorted “predictions” (quotations deliberate…this was a lighthearted comedy, people!)  that said movie made.

And while we will be amused at the fact that our teenagers are mercifully not flying around on hoverboards (can you imagine the chaos in the high school hallways?), I think it would behoove us to remember that predictions of the future are, at best, a murky glimpse into what might become.

In fact, as the recently departed Yogi Berra is alleged to have said, “The Future ain’t what it used to be.”

Read more »

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL HISTORY (Book Review)

October 21, 2015, 6:00 pm

≫ Next: THE LAST WITCH HUNTER (review)

≪ Previous: The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be

$

0

0

Review by Stefan Blitz

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Ultimate Visual History

by Michael Klastorin with Randal Atamaniuk

Foreword by Michael J. Fox

Preface by Christopher Lloyd

Introduction by Bob Gale

Afterword by Robert Zemeckis

Published by Harper Design/HarperCollins

Hardcover; $50.00; 224 pp.

ISBN 13: 9780062419149

On Sale: October 20, 2015

With today's Back to The Future anniversary approaching, there have been several documentaries and books out delving into the making of and legacy of the trilogy, and I've been fortunate enough to check out most of them.

Instead of even mentioning how they compare, I'm going to simply make a statement: Back To The Future: The Ultimate Visual History (BTTF:TUVH) is both the best and most comprehensive book on the subject ever created and a must have for any fan of the series.

Written by Michael Klastorin, the production publicist on Back to the Future Parts II and III with BTTF expert Randal Atamaniuk, BTTF:TUVH benefits first by having the most pivotal members of the creative team aboard including Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Neil Canton.

The book includes hundreds of images (many of them that I've never seen before), including concept art, storyboards, and photographs; interviews with cast and crew and an plethora of facts and anecdotes. Another appealing addition are various pieces of reproduced ephemera including reproductions of Marty's warning letter to Doc Brown, Doc's sketch of the Flux Capacitor, a "Save The Clock" flyer, a Jaws 19 poster, a Biff Tannen dollar bill and my favorite item, a lenticular reproduction of Marty's photograph with fading images of Dave, Linda and Marty McFly.

This book is a must have for any BTTF fan's library and a perfect gift for this holiday season.

After the jump, check out several pages of excerpts courtesy of our friends from Harper Design.

Read more »

THE LAST WITCH HUNTER (review)

October 23, 2015, 6:00 am

≫ Next: STEVE JOBS (review)

≪ Previous: BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL HISTORY (Book Review)

$

0

0

Review by Elizabeth Robbins

Produced by Mark Canton, Bernie Goldmann

Written by Cory Goodman, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless

Directed by Breck Eisner

Starring Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood,

Michael Caine, Julie Engelbrecht, Rena Owen,
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Isaach De Bankolé,

Lotte Verbeek, Bex Taylor-Klaus

Remember when it was okay for fantasy films to be fun and campy in a non-ironic way?

The Last Witch Hunter reminds me of a 50’s B movie with better effects.

Vin Diesel is Kauldar, a warrior from another time who battles an evil witch who is bent on destroying the world.

He is then cursed by the witch with immortality. Flash forward 800 years to present day, Kauldar is the lone soldier for a mysterious order of the church. His mission is to protect the truce that now exists between humans and witches.

Kaulder hunts the renegade witches that would harm humanity. Sidekicks Michael Caine and Elijah Wood are priests acting as Kauldar’s handlers and chroniclers. No fantasy film is complete without the fiery damsel that the hero cannot succeed without. Rose Leslie plays Chloe, the witch turned assistant witch hunter that pulls Kaulder out of the fire on several occasions.

Sounds ridiculous?

Read more »

STEVE JOBS (review)

October 23, 2015, 7:00 am

≫ Next: MARSHALL AT THE MOVIES - SPECTRE

≪ Previous: THE LAST WITCH HUNTER (review)

$

0

0

Review by Elizabeth Robbins

Produced by Danny Boyle, Guymon Casady,

Christian Colson, Mark Gordon, Scott Rudin

Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

Based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Directed by Danny Boyle

Starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, 

Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels

When I heard there was another biopic film coming out about Apple’s greatest captain my first reaction was, “Another one?  Why?”

Didn’t Hollywood just do one with Ashton Kutcher? 

Wasn’t there one in the 90’s that followed the rivalry between Jobs and Gates. 

I know he was an influential figure in the tech world, but how many movies about Steve Jobs do we really need.

Then, I saw Michael Fassbender was playing Jobs.  Okay, that could be interesting. 

Oh, Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay. Well, that’s a good sign. 

Wait, Danny Boyle is directing.  Done. Sign me up.

So, how many Steve Jobs movies do we need? 

Just this one.    

Steve Jobs is brilliant. 

Read more »

MARSHALL AT THE MOVIES - SPECTRE

October 23, 2015, 8:00 am

≫ Next: BEYOND FEST Wrap-Up: LEGEND, THE INVITATION, THE DEVILS

≪ Previous: STEVE JOBS (review)

$

0

0

By Marshall Julius

With a license to review Sam Mendes’ second swipe at 007, Marshall at the Movies explores Bond’s London while aiming its Walthers squarely at SPECTRE, or in this case, SPecial Executive for Cutting, Terrible Reviews and Expectation-dashing.

If you like the video, or at least see promise in the idea, do please subscribe to Marshall at the Movies on YouTube. You can also subscribe by clicking on the specs in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Now, on with the show!

Read more »

---

BEYOND FEST Wrap-Up: LEGEND, THE INVITATION, THE DEVILS

October 23, 2015, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Jodorowsky and Giménez' THE METABARONS Gets a Sequel

≪ Previous: MARSHALL AT THE MOVIES - SPECTRE

$

0

0

Last year, I caught exactly one movie at Beyond Fest, the fascinating Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth.

But the endless loop of trailers playing beforehand made me want to see several other movies that were part of the fest, including Nightcrawler, The House of the Devil and Horns, which were all terrific.

This year I was lucky enough to see Legend, The Invitation, and The Devils and wished I could have seen more.

If you're in LA, don't miss Beyond Fest next year.


Read more »

Jodorowsky and Giménez' THE METABARONS Gets a Sequel

October 23, 2015, 10:00 am

≫ Next: 10 Retro Games To Get You In the Mood For Halloween

≪ Previous: BEYOND FEST Wrap-Up: LEGEND, THE INVITATION, THE DEVILS

$

0

0

Secret Wars 2015 artist Esad Ribić and Mukesh Singh join The Metabaron

Esad Ribić will complete the last four issues of the new 16-part Metabaron comic book series providing covers and interior art. This sequel to The Metabarons starts in October 2016 and is written by Jerry Frissen (The Z Word, Unfabulous Five), based on a story by Alexandro Jodorowsky (The Technopriests, Bouncer). The first four issues will be drawn by young French artist sensation, Valentin Sécher, followed by The Pride of Bagdad’s artist, Niko Henrichon, and Indian comic book superstar, Mukesh Singh.

The Metabaron character was created by legendary artist Jean Giraud, aka Moebius, and writer Alexandro Jodorowsky in The Incal, and later had his own international bestselling spin-off series, The Metabarons, with art by Juan Gimenez (Leo Roa). Writer/director/ producer David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) called The Metabarons: “The greatest work of graphic fiction ever produced,” and it has sold millions of copies globally.

For more details visit Humanoids.com

10 Retro Games To Get You In the Mood For Halloween

October 23, 2015, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Win IMPRACTICAL JOKERS Seasons 1-3 on DVD!

≪ Previous: Jodorowsky and Giménez' THE METABARONS Gets a Sequel

$

0

0

As the nights get darker and the leaves turn hues of golden brown and red, my excitement builds and I find myself indulging in all things spooky in anticipation of Halloween.

It's my favourite time of the year and I like to celebrate it as one might celebrate Christmas. Alongside meticulous costume planning and horror film binges, I enjoy indulging myself with a few scary video games.

Lately, I've taken to replaying The Walking Dead games and listening to the Resident Evil and Silent Hill scores on repeat but the list I have compiled is strictly retro and even includes some lesser known titles that never quite received the critical acclaim they deserved at the time.

Here (in release date order) are my top 10 retro games to get you in the mood for Halloween:


Read more »

Win IMPRACTICAL JOKERS Seasons 1-3 on DVD!

October 23, 2015, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Stream On: Essential Halloween Movies on Netflix

≪ Previous: 10 Retro Games To Get You In the Mood For Halloween

$

0

0

Four comedians and lifelong friends compete to embarrass each other out amongst the general public with a series of hilarious and outrageous dares. When Sal, Joe, Q, and Murr challenge each other to say or do something, they have to do it. And if they refuse, they lose. At the end of every episode, the biggest loser must endure a punishment of epic proportions. This season, the guys pose as hot dog vendors, gymnasts, waiters, clerks at a bridal shop and more. As for the punishments, from skydiving to the rodeo to the body piercing shop, they are bigger, badder, and funnier than ever before.

And to celebrate the release of The Complete Third Season, we're giving away a set of the first three seasons of Impractical Jokers!

Each set includes bonus features such as deleted scenes, commentary, and digital originals!

Read more »

Stream On: Essential Halloween Movies on Netflix

October 23, 2015, 1:00 pm

≫ Next: Three Things I’ve Accomplished Since Becoming a Parent

≪ Previous: Win IMPRACTICAL JOKERS Seasons 1-3 on DVD!

$

0

0

By Erin Maxwell

The spooky season of Halloween is upon us. The time of year when ghosts, ghouls and disgruntled dentists surround the living, who dress up as the living dead (or the sexy living dead) in an effort to blend in and impress at parties.

At theaters and on streaming, the Halloween season is honored with its fair share of scarers. Creepy movies filled with blood and guts to put audiences in the mood for the Witching Hour.

So be it preteen gals gathering for sleepover rituals filled with frights or good buddies congregating with alcoholic spirits to enjoy spirits of a supernatural kind, here is a list of the best horror pics to stream to get you in the mood for All Hallow’s Eve.

(Small note: This list is by far not a full list of all the axe-wielding maniacs available on Netflix. There are many great movies on there. But is a personal list of what would be great for a group of sickos looking to drink Merlot with their bloodfeast.)

Super scary (and fun) movies perfect for private viewing parties now available on Netflix:


Read more »