Monthly Archives: June 2014

‘Lifeforce’ an oddball futuristic throwback

lifeforce alien vampire

I still remember seeing “Lifeforce” in a theater in June 1985 and thinking, “What just happened?”

The movie – which opened the same weekend as sci-fi hit “Cocoon” and was quickly overshadowed by the triple threat of warm and fuzzy feelings, Steve Guttenberg and Wilford Brimley – was one of the most offbeat big-screen releases of the year.

As I rewatched it again 29 years later, I was struck by a number of thoughts. Chief among them was what an oddball resume director Tobe Hooper had: “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” the Steven Spielberg-produced “Poltergeist” and this.

I was also struck by how few movies featured a character who was frequently nude throughout. Casual nudity in movies, presented like an aside in the 1970s, was already on its way out by the 1980s. These days you’re more likely to see someone cutting someone’s head off than see a naked woman.

“Lifeforce” was based on a book called “The Space Vampires” and is exactly that. The screenplay, co-written by “Alien” Dan O’Bannon, reminds me greatly of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” A ship – in this case, a long-range space shuttle, manned by an American and British crew – returns with all on board dead. A half-crazed escapee from the shuttle (Steve Railsback, bringing some of his Charles Manson subtlety from “Helter Skelter” and “The Stunt Man”) talks about a trio of irresistible vampires the crew found in a spacecraft hidden in the tail of a comet.

lifeforce may

Meanwhile, the surviving vampire aliens – led by Mathilda May as a mostly-nude seductress – roam around London, infecting strangers and inhabiting bodies.

To continue the “Dracula” parallels, there’s even an insane asylum scene featuring Patrick Stewart, later to achieve fame as Captain Picard and Professor X.

There’s so much to love about “Lifeforce” if you enjoy the offbeat and oddly humorous:

Stewart says “naughty” as no one else possibly could.

Besides Railsback, the two male leads are right out of a “Doctor Who” adventure: Peter Firth is a no-nonsense British government agent and Frank Finlay is an eccentric, white-haired scientist.

aubrey morris lifeforce

Aubrey Morris plays the Brit home secretary. Morris, best known for “A Clockwork Orange,” cracks me up with his reaction shots, looking from one odd person or event to another and wincing a bit every time. Like in the picture above.

Henry Mancini did the score. Henry Mancini.

The Essential Geek Library: Stephen King’s ‘Danse Macabre’

stephen king's danse macabre

Here’s another in my series of reviews of books that every geek needs to read. Check tags below for earlier entries.

And, as usual, these reviews are framed in the reality that most of them came out before the Internet, when fans bought books if they wanted to find out who played the second male lead behind Kevin McCarthy in the 1956 classic “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” (It was King Donovan.)

Stephen King was my favorite writer when his non-fiction book “Danse Macabre” came out in 1981.

King classics like “The Stand,” “The Shining” and “Salem’s Lot” had helped King surpass even favorites like Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein in my estimation. So I was so ready for what King thought about horror and science fiction in books, movies and TV.

And I was not disappointed.

“Danse Macabre” mixed a little bit of autobiography and a whole lot of intelligent, thoughtful criticism between its covers. In densely-packed chapters, King skipped from a TV favorite like “Thriller” to a memorable short story with a few stops in between, but it all made sense.

“Danse Macabre” is like sitting down over a few beers with the most clever and amiable geek you could imagine and letting him entertain you with his opinions.

Like any book, “Danse Macabre” is a moment in time, a slice of history. It’s strange, after all these years, to read King talking seriously about now-nearly-forgotten horror flicks like “The Prophecy.” It shows that the genre wasn’t all made up of the milestones like “Bride of Frankenstein” that have withstood the test of time.

The Internets tell me that the book was reprinted in 2010 with an addendum. I haven’t read it, but it’s not surprising that more than 30 years later – via occasional columns in Entertainment Weekly and his Twitter account – King is still sharing his insight and love of the horror genre with us.

 

RIP Eli Wallach

eli wallach mr. freeze

We all remember Eli Wallach, who died this week, for his roles in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “The Magnificent Seven” and mourned his passing at age 98.

But I had forgotten, until I had MeTV on tonight, that Wallach had played the frosty villain Mr. Freeze in the 1960s “Batman” TV series.

Wallach was the third actor to play the role, following George Sanders and Otto Preminger.

eli wallach mr. freeze seal

Thanks for entertaining us, Mr. Wallach.

 

Comic book odd: Superman is a …

superman jimmy olsen

Oh, Superman.

We’ve said it before – and another blog, Superdickery, specialized in this – but Superman is a dick.

Here’s the cover of “Jimmy Olsen” 30, which came out in August 1958. Cover art by the great Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.

In this issue, Superman adopts the cub reporter but is inexplicably mean to him, culminating in the cover scene.

Jimmy sad.

But it all works out.

Clone dance party: ‘Orphan Black’ closes season on a high note

orphan black clone dance party

If you’re like me, you couldn’t fully enjoy the clone dance party that broke out near the end of the second season finale of “Orphan Black.”

I was on edge during the otherwise sweet, joyous outpouring of sisterly togetherness by Sarah, Allison, Cosima and even “seestra Helena” because I thought something horrible would happen.

And – spoilers here – no mistake, there were some dramatic twists here that followed even the dance party. Helena left Felix’s apartment and got kidnapped. And Sarah met with a new potential ally (played by Michelle Forbes) who revealed that while female clones were the goal of Dyad, the shadowy corporation that’s been dogging the Clone Club, male clones – specifically for soldiering – were the product of an offshoot organization.

Sarah even met one of the male clones, an appropriately looney-looking variation on Mark, the young man from the creepy religious sect that had earlier kidnapped Helena.

Before those twists – which we’ll have to wait until next year to see elaborated upon – there was plenty to like. With help from her friends and clones, Sarah managed to escape from Dyad and take her daughter, Kira, with her. In the process, the clones left proto-clone Rachel with a grievous injury.

If you don’t watch the show, all this must seem horribly complicated. And I guess the story is pretty twisty. But if you’re thinking about catching up before the third season starts next year – and I can’t recommend this too highly, because it’s a really good show – you only need to know a few things to prompt you to seek out those episodes:

There are more clones every few episodes, and this is a good thing. The story is fun and full of twists. And it gives star Tatiana Maslany a chance to act with – and dance with – herself, several times over, seamlessly integrated into the same scene.

Maslany is wonderful but the whole cast is great, especially Jordan Gavaris as Felix, Sarah’s non-clone brother.

But the show never feels bogged down in its over-arching mystery. Little revelations are seeded along the way, but the episodes have an urgency and immediacy like the best episodic TV.

The producers of the BBC America show aren’t afraid to be dramatic but also have fun, wowing us with surprises like the transgender clone, also played by Maslany, who showed up a few episodes ago.

Most of all, “Orphan Black” is fun. There’s action and suspense and out-there science fiction and great performances. And, best of all, real heartfelt human character drama.

 

Comic book odd: Superman, you’ve got a point there

lois lane 63

How amazing is this?

How many of us have joked that it seemed unlikely that Lois Lane – not to mention Lex Luthor and everybody else in the world – wouldn’t recognize Superman just because he wore a pair of glasses as Clark Kent?

I vaguely remember a Superman comic that explained that Superman’s super-vision, when filtered through Clark’s glasses – produced a kind of Super-hypnosis that made everyone see Clark as a little old man.

Yeah, I didn’t believe that one, even as a kid.

But I had no idea that DC addressed the problem – and even early on, in February 1966 with “Lois Lane” 63.

I don’t know if the story inside is the Super-hypnosis one I’m thinking of.

Wonderful cover. And what an attitude Supes has.

Astronauts on the make: ‘World Without End’

world without end horiz poster

A 1956 B-movie, “World Without End” is what I like to think of as a typical sci-fi thriller from the time.

Astronauts return to Earth after a mission only to find 500 years have passed and atomic war has wiped out civilization. The population is divided between one-eyed mutated humans roaming the surface and pale, effete, skull-cap wearing old men living below ground.

Oh yeah. Also underground: Fabulous babes.

The four astronauts – led by Rod Taylor (“The Time Machine”) and Hugh Marlowe (“The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers”) quickly wear out their welcome among the underground dwellers with their suggestion that the race is dying without exposure to sunlight and fresh air aboveground.

The astronauts irritate their Mr. Burns-style hosts even further by suggesting they’ll help build houses on the surface, which is by now radiation-free.

Not to mention the “hubba hubba” interest the astronauts pay to the women and the immediate mutual attraction from the futuristic babes.

world-without-end-babes

The movie’s advertising played up the female cast.

“World Without End” isn’t, for a low-budget film, an outright cheapie. It looks pretty good, with good sets, location filming in some of Southern California’s nicer parks and CinemaScope Technicolor.

But its “Brave New World” story is dated and silly.

Random observations:

World Without End spaceship

The spaceship was one of those cool 50s models with fins. Big fins.

World_Without_End_spider_attack

The movie has one of the worst giant spiders ever in the movies. Seriously, it looks like somebody put a silly spider costume on an ottoman, which gets tossed onto one of our heroes.

Five hundred years have passed, but the woman still wear mini-dresses, high heels and serve the meals. No to mention fall in love with the astronauts almost immediately and get upset if they’re not favorably compared with women from the astronauts’ time.

world without end mutate

So close but yet so far: The one-eyed radiation-scarred creatures are called mutates, not mutants.

Dumbest scene: Marlowe’s character is attacked by “mutates” and his three fellow astronauts, standing at some distance, start firing their pistols at the grappling pair. Keep your head down while you’re fighting those mutates, buddy.

Director Edward Bernds, who died in 2000, had an interesting career. He directed Three Stooges shorts as well as Bowery Boys movies and the infamous “Queen of Outer Space” starring Zsa Zsa Gabor.

 

Comic book odd: Everybody loves Lois Lane

Lois_Lane_29 kissing

Holy Moly, Miss Lane!

Here’s another in our series of odd and inappropriate comic book moments.

This one is the cover of issue 29 of “Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane,” from November 1961, and as you can see, Lois is locking lips with all of Superman’s one-time buds in the Justice League. Well, except for Wonder Woman. The world wasn’t ready for that.

The art is by Curt Swan, a classic “Superman” artist.

And what’s the story behind this cover?

According to the DC Comics Database:

Aliens capture Superman in a Kryptonite trap, and Lois Lane smuggles Red Kryptonite to him by kissing Aquaman, Batman, and Green Arrow with Red K-imprinted lipstick. The heroes smear the lipstick from their face to handkerchiefs, which Batman takes to Superman. The Man of Steel smears himself with the Red K, which makes him impervious to Kryptonite poisoning, and allows him to recover and defeat the aliens.

Well, that explains everything, huh?

Okay, which of the superheroes on the make came up with this convoluted plan?

DC comics film slate: I’ll believe it when I see them

justice league alex ross

Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.

Hollywood reporter Nikki Finke recently scooped the rest of the entertainment press with a list purporting to detail Warner Bros. and DC’s plans for big-screen superhero movies in the near future.

Here’s the list:

• May 2016 – Batman v Superman

• July 2016 – Shazam

• Xmas 2016 – Sandman

• May 2017 – Justice League

• July 2017 – Wonder Woman

• Xmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up

• May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2

Nope. Not happening.

I mean, in many ways, I wish it would. As satisfying as Marvel’s big-screen universe is, I’d like to see DC comics heroes – the most accessible and familiar heroes in the world, in many ways – finally achieve lift off on screen.

Last year’s “Man of Steel” had so many things wrong with it, and with writer David Goyer and others behind the scenes who are plainly ashamed of superhero names, colorful costumes, origins and storylines, I don’t have much hope for future movies in the series.

And in particular I doubt that the studio can pull this off.

Lookit: WB and DC have only just gotten rolling on “BvsS.” How quickly can they turn around “Shazam,” which is supposed to follow the May 2016 release of “BvsS” by a couple of months?

And if they haven’t been able to figure out a big-screen “Wonder Woman” or “Green Lantern,” how can they pull off an oddity like “Sandman?”

Not to mention the whole “seven movies released within two years” thing. That’s a feat that I’m not sure even Marvel, with its assembly-line methods, could pull off.

I’ll go see whatever DC movies get released in the coming years, no doubt. But I’m afraid I’ll find them as lacking as “Green Lantern” and “Man of Steel.”

And I sure don’t think we’ll see one every few months.

‘Fargo’ building to season’s end

fargo-tv-show-fx

One of the most pleasant surprises on TV right now is “Fargo,” the quirky FX crime drama/dark comedy that wraps up its first season with its 10th episode next Tuesday.

Although it’s only loosely connected to the 1996 Coen brothers movie, the series created by Noah Hawley has the same sensibility in its funny/horrifying look at small town Minnesota and the lives thrown into chaos when drifter/hit man/troublemaker Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) comes to town.

Spoilers ahead if you haven’t been following or caught up with the first nine episodes so far.

Malvo’s arrival and the complicated blackmail plot he kicked off and manipulated has sparked big changes in the lives of everyone from stalwart deputy Molly (Allison Tolman) to hapless insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman).

With a little push from Malvo, the at-first-sympathetic Lester has become downright despicable, killing his wife and causing the death of his rebound wife, the latter walking into a trap set by Malvo.

Malvo’s menace so unnerved mild-mannered cop Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) that he quit the force and went back to his first love, delivering the mail. The good part: Gus and Molly, who initially tracked Malvo together, are married, a plot turn enabled by a one-year jump ahead in time the series took a couple of episodes ago.

The forward jump in time brought us to a Lester who is bolder after getting away with murder and eluding Malvo – at least for a while. But with next week’s season finale looming, I think we can assume that Malvo, Lester, Molly and Gus are on a collision course.

“Fargo” is twisty but always keeps track of its storylines and characters, who lately have included comedians Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key as two FBI agents looking to settle a score with Malvo. They’ll no doubt play into the showdown next week too.

With its frosty locales, offbeat characters and harsh violence, “Fargo” is a standout series.