Daily Variety reviews THE CLONE RETURNS HOME, an arthouse science fiction effort from Japan:
Eerie twins and wayward clones provide double trouble, to enigmatic, haunting effect, in “The Clone Returns Home,” a Japanese oddity that should please arthouse auds and sci-fi cultists alike. Bewitchingly intense low-budgeter has few special effects but achieves a glossy sheen, thanks to excellent lensing and well-chosen architectural backdrops. Attachment of Wim Wenders as exec producer will act as pic’s passport to fests. Deliberate pace may deter those not already discouraged by the bland title, but careful handling may reap commercial prospects, especially from Asia buffs.
John Lasseter – the man behind Pixar Entertainment, creators of WALL-E – made it to #35 on Newsweek’s list of “The Global Elite.” The accompanying profile proclaims, “Pixar’s animation guru dominates the global box office, even in tough times.”
Network World explains “How 30 Years of STAR WARS Technology Changed Lives Forever.” The article is based on an exhibition at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, featuring a collection of STAR WARS memorabilia contrasted with real-life technology that covers similar terrain.
Inspired by the disappointing new version of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, Brian Trent of Examiner.com offers a list of “Three Sci-Fi Remakes Actually Worth Seeing.” The list includes John Carpenter’s THE THING, David Cronenberg’s THE FLY, and Philip Kaufman’s INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.
IGN.com offers up an interview with Howard Berger of KNB effects, who offers up some opinions on the current state of the horror genre:
Horror films have changed drastically. I consider films that are scary to be horror films, not this torture, mutilation garbage. To me, that’s not horror. It’s just offensive. I know that horror fans will get upset at me for saying that. … Horror needs to be redefined. … We’ve worked on a fair amount of stuff and I just can’t watch any of it. … But Greg has other sensibilities that are different from mine. He’s not as big a fan of the fantasy stuff. If we could do zombie movies all the time, he’d be happy. He loves getting bloody. … The Spanish have it covered now. Those movies are the best horror movies being made. They’re artistically and technically perfect. They’re beautiful movies. It doesn’t need to be all that convoluted, crazy crap. It’s not about murder; it’s not about rape; it’s not about mutilation. It’s about an awesome, scary kid in a mask, and I love that.
The Times-Picayune offers a series of articles that take you behind the scenes of filming THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Begin with Day One.
Matt Paprocki of Blogcritics magazine reviews the DVD release of LATITUDE ZERO, the rarely seen Japanese-American sci-fi co-production starring Cesar Romero, Joseph Cotton, Akihiko Hirata, and Akira Takarada. The double-disc presents both the English-language version and the Japanese dub of the film, of which Paprocki opines:
Latitude Zerois an odd, weird, cartoonish international production that’s almost too bizarre to explain. Shot in Japan yet entirely in English with both American and Japanese actors, this is supposed to be a spectacle. Instead, it’s a strange fantasy film that is amongst the weirdest to ever come from the usual team that handled the Godzilla series.