MTV to Make TEEN WOLF Remake!?

Not sure if this is news most people will want to hear, but apparently MTV is planning to remake the 1980’s classic TEEN WOLF! Which I already know many people (Me included) are sick and tired of having to stomach news of remake after remake thrown at them by Hollywood, and that not including the so-called “Re-Imagining” that so many producers like to claim aren’t a remake. Though word about it being remade have circulated the net for years, many (Also including me) thought it wasn’t going to happen due to a mixture of rumors and creative conflict on how’d modernized version would be handled.

But apparently it appears that MTV is finally moving forward with productions with some very interesting news, now hold on just a minute before jumping to any conclusions about the remake coming to a theater near you, reports show that MTV has decided to go a different rout with the remake and instead will be turning the classic teen comedy that once starred Michael J. Fox as the loveable basketball dribbling werewolf into a series! YEP, you read it right, it’s going to be a series, the show is set to star Tyler Posey, Tyler Hoechlin, Crystal Reed and Dylan O'Brien and the story will follow closely to the original movie with one exception being there will be villainous werewolves in the town who our heroic Wolf will do battle with throughout the show. However as it stands right now the project is only set as a pilot and MTV hasn't given it full commitment just yet, and with hopes of the bed publicity they’ve been getting lately with their bad choices in programming we can only hope this show will never see past it’s pilot.

On a side Note: is it just me or wasn't MTV a fantastic past time when the M stood for Music and not Moron?

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON IN 2011?

There are so many different types of sub-genres within the horror genre that makes staying up late for a little midnight madness (Oh how I can relate) but the one that truly stands out for me is none other than the classic monster mash genre (Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolf-Man, ect.) most of which have either been remade or re-Imagined as how the many studio execs like to put it.

But it seems yet another famous monster is about to join the ranks of remakes and get his own makeover, Yep you’ve guessed it, it’s none other than the Gill Man from the famous 1954 horror classic Creature from the Black Lagoon! Universal is in talks with Carl Erik Rinsch to re-launch the Gill Man films onto the big screen as soon as 2011 (release date is still a rumer and not finalized), though nothing is set in stone just yet Rinsch has indicated that things are moving forward as planed and we should see things happening very soon. With the new WOLFMAN movie on it’s way to the big screen next year could this be a sign that Universal is serious about re-launching the classic Universal Monsters? As you know The "Universal Monsters Legacy" played a huge part in forming the Universal Pictures we’ve all come to love, though I won't say you should be jumping up and down with glee over the news just yet as there is no reall offical word on productions starting at the moment, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds over time.

Where the original Creature from the Black Lagoon was released in 3D it’s highly likely that the remake will follow suit. More news on this will be reported as we hear it.

G LOVE Wins Award at Accolade Film Awards!

I know news articles pertaining to everything in the entertainment field haven’t exactly been on par with movie reviews over the year, but I’m hoping to turn that around with the new year on it’s way, and what better why than by starting with this article right? Recently I got word through the grape vine that a certain up and coming director has just been recognized by "The Accolade Film Awards" and was awarded an "Award of Merit" for his new film G Love, which from what I‘ve heard has left quite an impression among certain followings and even received a few nods by the awards committee. If you still haven’t s clue as to who the heck I’m talking about than let it be known that it’s only a matter of time before Director P.B. Floyd and Actor/Producer Seth Donavan make their mark. Read on below for more details.

LOS ANGELES Oct. 29, 2009 --- Youth in their teens and early twenties
get the insider's view of the actions some people will take for love
in Director P.B. Floyd's film, G Love which has won a prestigious Award of Merit from The Accolade Film Awards Competition.

Floyd took time from working on his new teen dance family film, "I
Wanna Dance," to work on "G Love." The short romantic comedy, starring
Seth Donavan as Steven Dork, presents the idea that there is love for everybody, if they can just be themselves.

Since winning the award, Floyd is making plans to produce "G Love"
into a feature-length film to share more of the humor and imagination
Donavan's Dork character brings to a wide-theatrical release.

"With the comedic talent of Jim Carrey, and the looks of a young Tom
Hanks, Seth Donavan is making his mark to ensure his spot at the top
of the motion picture industry," Floyd said.

"Seth really stood out as Steven Dork," Floyd said. "His quirky
reactions and cool responses made this movie more intense. He did a
great job of feeding off the other actors' energy to help deliver the
story with a lot of finesse."

"The entire production team, including editor Devon V. Collins and
sound designer Mike Snugg, created an exceptional product," said
Donavan, who also produced the film. "This extraordinary team was able
to put together a final product that surprised even us with its polish
and sparkle. By the ending of the script's deliverance, I recognized
that this could be something special."

The Accolade Competition recognizes film, television and videography
professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and
creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute
to profound social change. Entries are judged by professionals in the
film and television industry. Information about The Accolade and a
list of recent winners can be found at TheAccolade.net

"The goal of The Accolade is to help winners achieve the recognition
they so deserve, but it is not an easy award to win," said Thomas
Baker, Ph.D., who chairs The Accolade Competition. "Entries are
received from around the world, so this award helps set the standard
for craft and creativity. The judges were pleased with the
exceptionally high quality of entries for this particular
competition."

In winning an Accolade, "G Love" joins the ranks of other high-profile
winners of this internationally respected award.

For more information about the film "G Love" or it’s cast head on over to studiomatrix.com and contact Wendy Shepherd and/or visit the official "G Love" Website at glovemovie.com

Review: Carter (2009) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Ryan Andrew Balas
Written by: Ryan Andrew Balas (writer) & Richard Buonagurio (co-writer) & Deirdre Herlihy (co-writer) & Julia Porter Howe (co-writer) & Mark Robert Ryan (co-writer)
Genre: Drama
MPAA: Not Rated
Released: 24 November 2009 (USA)
Starring: Julia Porter Howe, Mark Robert Ryan, Deirdre Herlihy, Ryan Andrew Balas, Joe Berardi, Richard Buonagurio.

Plot: After vowing he’d kill himself at the age of 25 if he was not married by 23. Jebadiah Sminch is in love with Carter the only woman who completes him; however he is only three days away from his 25th birthday and still unmarried. Will Jebadiah stick to vow or not?

Review: 6/10

The Story is about: When Jebadiah was 17 he vowed to kill himself when he turned 25 if he wasn't married by the time he was 23. This film takes place three days before his 25th birthday. Jeb is in love with Carter, but unmarried. Now he must make the hardest decision of his life; be with the woman he loves or carry forward with his pact.

My Thoughts: While young at heart, most people are so egger to grow up that they allow their childhood to past them by. How sad it is to see people, who spent so much time trying to grow up that they never enjoyed their childhood to the fullest. Such regrets live on with most individuals for years to come.

Have you ever made a pact? Sure you have, we’ve all made a pact of some sort in our lives, may it be a pact to lost some of that belly fat we gained over the holidays, or one at the beginning of the new year to change something about your lifestyle. Pacts are more common than most would think. But what if someone were to make a pact with themselves that would ultimately result in their own demise? That’s where the film Carter comes into play. The film is widely scaled with the overall premise of wanting to re-live that spark of the past, and feeling the awful regret of losing the dream. The film Carter centralizes itself around Jebadiah Sminch (Played by Mark Robert Ryan) a man who made a pact with himself as a teenager that if he didn’t get married by the age of 23 he was going to kill himself on his 25 birthday, the only problem is he has found someone who makes him happy. So now he’s torn between either following through with the pact or stick with the good thing he’s got going with the woman he loves. Now I know what you’re thinking; if the main character the film is surrounded around is called “Jebadiah” than where the heck did the title name “Carter” come from? Well that’s a simple question to answer, because Carter (Played by Julia Porter Howe) is the name of Jebadiah’s girlfriend who loves him so much that it’s killing her deep down inside knowing that though he loves her, he’s too honor bound to his own pact that he’s willing to throw away the love they have just so he can remain true to himself. The question is though, what will he decide in the end, will it be a happen ending or a bitter sweet one?

What can I say? For a lack of better words, the film is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Though I liked some of the aspects the film presented, there were a lot of problems there as well. As a pro, the film presented this fantastic opening which introduced the female lead in a silent, yet forth telling scene where though she had no verbal lines, her overall body language communicated her intentions very well. The relationship between the two main characters on screen works well at times but also hurts the storyline too; their unconditional love on screen definitely does not go unnoticed. However, while their unconditional love proves to be atmospheric at times and gives the viewers a sense of realism, it lacks intimacy on a grand scale. I waited and waited for something intimate to happen between the two of them to convince me that they were believably in love, but upon waiting for this to happen throughout the film’s course I was left unsold on the idea and instead keep getting the overwhelming “just friends” vibe from them. Even as I watched them kiss each other on screen it felt, in my opinion, forced. The other problem I had often at times was the dialogue. Nothing personal against the dialogue in the film, but the way it’s projected on screen comes off rather weak at times. I really wanted to enjoy this film as much as I did the last two installments in the One Way or Another Productions “Naked Series”, and to some extent I did enjoy a part of it. But in my opinion the film just didn’t quite live up to the hype I felt from the previous films.

As for the acting: Julia Porter Howe was great, I loved her take on the opening very much. The opening scene with her was fantastic because she managed to express so much in her emotions and body language without so much as saying a single word, which is a great talent to have believe it or not. However, there were moments throughout the film where her performance in general was how should I say, rocky? It’s not that her performance was bad after the beginning of the, it‘s just that there were times where I felt that her potential was being held back for some reason. Mark Robert Ryan was not that impressive to me, in fact I had the hardest time following his performance in the film due to the mustache. Yep you read right, that mustache of his was just one big distraction for me. So much that I had to re-watch a few scenes over just to focus better [Laughs] but it’s because of this that I honestly could not find the compassion in me to feel for his character in his most darkest hour. Deirdre Herlihy was pretty okay, her performance was slightly better in this than when I last caught a glimpse of her acting style in the film “Uptown” earlier this year. Perhaps this means she’s making great improvements? Either way she stands to be adequate in this. Aside from directing this film Ryan Andrew Balas does a pretty decent job in his performance, though I will admit that I have yet to see any of his other works to really place a true judgment.

Final Say: Carter was a very interesting concept of a film. Something you don’t see too often in movies now days. However the concept of the film may have intrigued me, I still had a hard time following this film close to heart. I really wanted to like this film, I really did because the overall concept is very alluring and yet, the film is not. If only it had a few changes done to it perhaps this film could have lived up to the promise it presented.

Copyright 2009 TCWreviews.com
All Rights Reserved

Review: Ex Occultus: Badge of Langavat (one-shot)

Written by: Robert James Russell & Jesse Young
Art Work: Sandra Lanz
Colors: Tim McDonley
Publisher: Saint James Comics
Released: Jul 21, 2009

Plot: 1864, Scotland - Francis Wakefield and fellow occult hunter Fergus Duff find themselves investigating the disappearance of children from nearby villages. Their hunt leads them to a forgotten castle belonging to a family of undead, cursed werewolves who have nefarious plans for the taken.

Review: B+

My Thoughts: It’s a well known fact that I’m a hug fan of the graphic arts (Sophisticated Slang for Comic Book Nerd!) and have been one for as long as I could remember . Like most readers I indulged into the many timeless classic adventures of the many popular superhero titles like: SPIDER-MAN, BATMAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, THORE, and the beloved Uncanny X-MEN and so forth on a weekly bases. Many of which have become the typical starter guide for any reader willing to dive into the comic realm, and in some cases these simple titles are considered by some as the holy bible of comics. But over the last few years I have come to love the not so well known, a genre of comics that’s set for a more mature reading audience like: THE BOYS, FABLES, and THE WALKING DEAD, titles like these are not for young readers and should never ever be recommended for such.

This turn in taste of genre has also given me the aired taste for the indie side of comics, which evidently lead me to Ex Occultus: The Badge of Langavat, which is written by Robert James Russell & Jesse Young of Saint James Comics and art work by Sandra Lanz. This comic is on it’s own level of dark storytelling that proves to be breathtaking and very entertaining in it‘s own unique way to say the least. The plot is based on a real legend from Scotland and follows two Victorian era investigators, Fergus Duff and Francis Wakefield traveling to the Island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides to find out if the legendary werewolves are responsible for the kidnapping of children in the local area. As the story goes on the pair finds the werewolves’ hideout, hoping to have the upper hand over them by catching them off their guard Fergus and Wakefield is quickly mistaken and falls into a trap which immediately thrown into the fight head on against an entire clan of blood thirsty werewolves looking to both Fergus and Wakefield as their next meal. armed to the teeth with pistils filed with silver bullets, a pair of silver chainmail and the usage of a couple of fairy-like creatures. Have the werewolves finally met their match, or could this easily become the last adventure that both Fergus and Wakefield will have?

I at first didn’t hold much stock in the comic, mainly because the story is told as a one shot issue, and usually one shots mostly work only after the readers have learned a little bit about the characters in question (I mean you wouldn’t dive into a Fantastic Four one shot issue without having some basic knowledge of Victor Von Doom’s hatred for Reed Richards right?) most tales like this are usually set in a mini series event with the story unfolding over the course of multiple issues so that the individual characters are given room for development so that there‘s a more three dimensional sense to them, with that said I was a little worried at first that the story would be cut short due to it’s length, however this was not the case as the story was fairly decent which clearly shows that Robert James Russell & Jesse Young did their home work which I commend them for, for bringing their own original uniqueness, and for deciding to write about one of the less popular folklores.

Upon doing my own little research on such before writing this review I barely could find any literature at my disposal online except for a few mentions here and there, meaning some heavy research was done on their part while trading nether action over story and viscera. Though I will say that the story doesn’t go without problems, the biggest problem I had laid with the development of the main character’s Fergus and Wakefield, because the story is 100% devoted to the comic’s plot there simply isn’t much background for the readers to appreciate the main characters, which I blame on the length of the comic, but to an extent this is in fact forgivable on the motion that it‘s better to have one problem with any story than to have two or three problems, am I right or what? The art work which is done by Sandra Lanz was pretty decent from where I‘m standing. The lovely blend of gray-tones in black and white which gives it this noir setting that works beautifully. Though there are some rough edges to some of her art work, but all that can easily be forgiven and forgotten when you stand back for a moment and see that her art work really does paint this story into a visual reality that is satisfactory.

Final Say: Ex Occultus: The Badge of Langavat is defiantly something worth checking out even if you’re not all that into comics, and though it has it‘s rough edges here and there, there’s a lot of promise here and room for improvement in the near future that shows this is a comic that’s here to stay.

Copyright 2009 TCWreviews.com
All Rights Reserved