Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Films
Each week, Cinefantastique spotlights a particular horror, fantasy, or science fiction film for an in-depth podcast review. Most Spotlight Podcasts focus on current theatrical releases, but sometimes classic films are included.
It would be hard to overstate the excellence of DOCTOR STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB. Stanley Kubrick’s masterful dark comedy took the grimmest of concepts — the world on the brink of the apocalypse as a rogue American general (Sterling Hayden) orders a nuclear strike on Russia — …
So…. I, FRANKENSTEIN. What can you say? Is it a bad movie or a bad videogame? We report; you decide! Dan Persons and Steve Biodrowski analyze this patchwork of plot elements that is every bit as much a stitched-together abomination as the titular monster, played by Aaron Eckhart. Stuart Beattie (COLLATERAL) wrote and directed, from …
Thyurl Varpenshield shouldered the mighty broadsword, NapeSplitter, and double-checked his provisions bag. “Old man!” he cried good-naturedly into the depths of the household. From out of the kitchen, a gnarled, ancient figure emerged, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “What be on with ye now, yon whippersnapper?” he snarled cantankerously. “Father, I am off!” …
Read More “PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 5:1.1”
All things considered, there are definitely worse ways to see out the year. 47 RONIN, the historical fantasy mash-up that sees Keanu Reeves inserted — along with witches, dragons, and mystical warriors — into the legendary tale of a samurai revolt, may not be the high-water-mark in fantastic film for 2013. But in its gripping …
And, after all the paranormal activities and interstellar warfare and superhero histrionics and marooned astronauts and rampaging monsters and quasi-mythical heroes and super-powered teens (soooooo many super-powered teens…), it comes down to this: One man, broken but beautiful, who in the near future finds himself falling in love with his computer’s surprisingly human operating system. …
A Disney princess movie with a vengeance, the cg animated FROZEN offers up no less than two princesses for the marketing department to turn into ancillary merchandise: one sweet and plucky (voiced by Kristen Bell); the other (Idina Menzel) cursed with the ability to freeze whatever she touches, with no Professor X around to whisk …
So it’s back to the arena, where life is cheap but the production values sure as hell are not. In THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE, defiant champions Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) discover how costly their rebellion actually is, both in terms of human toll as the government moves to crush …
Read More “THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 4:45”
Okay, admittedly that’s an inaccurate title — we’re still a few weeks out from the festive family get-together, none of the films we’re discussing in this ep are holiday-themed, and none could fairly be called a turkey (and for that last we are truly thankful). This is just our way of saying that there wasn’t …
Read More “Thanksgiving Showcase!: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 4:44”
It’s two steps forward and one step back for the custodians of the Marvel Universe. If THE AVENGERS took a rudimentary storyline — bad guy wants to rule the universe — and created something fleet, exciting, and witty, THOR: THE DARK WORLD takes the same outline — with Chris Hemsworth as the hammer swinging god …
Read More “THOR: THE DARK WORLD: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 4:43”
Hard enough bringing a science fiction novel as beloved, respected, and influential as ENDER’S GAME to the screen — the scenario in which a young boy is groomed for leadership in an interstellar war through a psychological process that both isolates him and nurtures his proclivity for violence would be a challenge for the finest …