The Call Of Cthulhu

This weekend, while at the Monstermania convention, I got a copy of the new movie The Call of Cthulhu.

This film is done right, it's done as a black and white silent film (which is fitting, seeing as the story was published before "talkies" became all the rage). It is excellent for what it is, a horror story told in a true homage to silent pictures. The effects are cheesy (cloth used to simulate the sea, models of the ship and of the sunken city of R'lyeh, a claymation Great Old One), but are exactly what you'd expect of a film shot in the 1920s. Oddly enough, every time I looked at R'lyeh it reminded me of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Ghost Rider

Last night I watched Ghost Rider. This is definitely a must-see on the big screen, the effects are very cool and most home theatres won't do the audio justice. The story is also faithful to the original comic books by Marvel, at least in spirit. And Nicholas Cage does an outstanding job as Johnny Blaze.

Team America World Police

I've been hearing so much about Team America World Police on the radio (the Preston and Steve show on 93.3 WMMR, to be exact), that last night after work I got a copy for myself. I then spent the next several hours, until 3:30 AM to be exact, watching the entire movie twice and selected scenes multiple times.

This movie is freakin' hilarious, Trey Parker and Matt Stone really nailed this one. I've seen their other movies (South Park, Cannibal The Musical, Orgazmo), but this one really takes the cake and is worth watching more than once. The puppets are actually well done, their "acting" is drop dead funny. It's worth seeing just for the comical/terrifying Kim Jong-Il, plenty of things getting blown up, great dialogue, plus a puppet sex scene that's just retarded. You'll laugh and you'll cry because you're laughing so hard.

The Doomsday Machine

Last weekend Paramount finally aired the digitally retouched Doomsday Machine episode of the original series.

Let me tell you, this episode was worth the wait. Seeing the Enterprise and the battered Constellation take on the stellar menace was breathtaking. Especially now, where the size difference is better stressed.

Best of all, the effects scenes were pretty much done shot-for-shot, true to the original episode. The planet killer still has the same shape (even it's oddly shaped maw), yet now it looks more like something made out of a high tech "pure Nutronium", rather than a bad paper mache model.

After seeing this, I can't wait for episodes like The Immunity Syndrome or The Enterprise Incident.

The Venture Bros.

Lately I've found a new favorite cartoon, The Venture Bros.

For those of you not in the know, it's about Dr. Venture (a not-so-great mad scientist), his two sons (who remind me of nothing so much as the Hardy Boys), the Doctor's bodyguard Brock (a tough guy), and their droid Helper.

Each episode focuses on their latest adventure, usually they're trying to make some money or cash in on an old invention of Dr. Venture's dad.

The series has some cool bad guys, such as Underbite (a "second rate Dr. Doom") and the often maligned Monarch (much like Batman, except he's based off a butterfly.)