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We Blame Slytherin: Daniel Radcliffe unearths the secret of a hostile spirit in THE WOMAN IN BLACK.

The balmy days of February have triggered an uncommon sense of renewal, nowhere more so than in the cinema, where, after a customarily dismal January (we’re looking at you, THE DEVIL INSIDE), there now come glimmers of hope in the entertaining and atmospheric THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Featuring a post-Potter Daniel Radcliffe as an emotionally ravaged lawyer trying to redeem his career in the British countryside, instead discovering a village where children spontaneously take their lives and an isolated mansion houses a malign spirit and a terrible secret, the film’s a refreshing invocation of the classic ghost story, all the better for coming from British horror-home Hammer.

beabetterbooktalker.com’s Andrea Lipinski joins Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons to stir up the spirits and measure the film’s ability to generate scares and creeps. Plus: The gang delivers capsule reviews of CHRONICLE, THE INNKEEPERS, and KILL LIST. Also: What’s coming in theaters and home video.

GOING TO STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE THIS WEEKEND?
TWEET YOUR #WalkAwayReview TO @cfqspotlight
(Please don’t tweet during the movie!)

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You May Feel a Burning Sensation: Brittania Nicol discovers the secrets of THE WICKER TREE.

A story as relevant as yesterday’s headlines, or too late a tale? Some thirty years ago, Cinefantastique hailed Robin Hardy’s THE WICKER MAN as “the CITIZEN KANE of horror,” lauding the Anthony Shaffer-scripted story of a god-fearing police detective trying  to solve a mystery within a community of Scottish pagans for its bold eroticism and cunning narrative. Now, Hardy has taken his own novel, Cowboys for Christ, and brought it to the screen as THE WICKER TREE, billing it as a “reimagining” of his original triumph.

Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski and Dan Persons take a look at this tale of a couple of present-day evangelical missionaries who find they may have bitten off more than can chew in trying to convert the “heathens” of a Scottish village, and discuss how the film fares in its three-plus decade transition. Plus: Oscar 2012 nominations, and what’s coming to theaters and home video.

SEEING THE WOMAN IN BLACK THIS WEEKEND?
TWEET YOUR #WalkAwayReview TO @cfqspotlight
(Please don’t tweet during the movie!)

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Deal Me Some Death, Baby: Kate Beckinsale does even more of what she does in UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING.

The UNDERWORLD franchise’s relentless, death-dealing vampire, Selene (Kate Beckinsale), goes under ice at the beginning of UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING, and so does most of the series’ political intrigue, swapping out the power struggles from the previous entries in favor of even more chases, gunplay, and explosions — lots and lots of explosions. Awakened into a (nominally) future world where humanity has decimated the vampire covens and their natural enemy, the werewolf-like lycans, Selene finds herself protecting the fate of the young vamp/lycan hybrid Eve (India Eisley), and on the run from a sinister pharmaceutical corporation, all in glorious 3D. You will believe a metal-barbed whip can poke your eye out.

Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski and Dan Persons set their logic centers to neutral and debate what’s fun (i.e. Kate Beckinsale in skin-tight leather) and what’s not (plot) in this fourth installment, and whether there’s any future to UNDERWORLD’s future. They also discuss their gut-reactions to the latest crop of genre trailers, and Steve talks a little about a safe-driving film with a surprising production credit. Plus: What’s coming in theaters.

GOING TO SEE THE WICKER TREE THIS WEEKEND?
TWEET YOUR #WalkAwayReview TO @cfqspotlight
(Please don’t tweet during the movie!)

Continue reading »]]> In the spirit of international cooperation comes INTRUDERS, a new film that kicks it old school in its tale about two children — a boy and a girl — in two, different countries who find themselves menaced by… ssssssomething… that visits them in the middle of the night with intentions that extend well beyond just tucking them in.

Clive Owen and Carice Van Houten star as the girl’s parents, Pilar Lopez De Ayala as the boy’s, and the project was helmed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, whose previous efforts include the well-regarded zombie sequel 28 WEEKS LATER. Hey, we’re just glad this isn’t another entry in the well-worn “found footage” genre — we’re so sick of wildly shaking cameras that we’ve started popping Dramamine before entering the theater.

The film’s opening in UK on the 27th and will be getting to the US in April. Meantime, get your creep on with the trailer below.

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The Romance Will Poke Yer Eyes Out!: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is now enhanced with 3D.

Does Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST need to undergo digital conversion to the 3D format in order to lure audiences back into the theater? It shouldn’t, not really. BEAUTY is a certified classic, the first animated film to net a “Best Picture” Oscar nom and the one that re-energized the Disney animation division. To think that it has to go through a “It’s the film you’ve known and loved, back on the big screen where it belongs… now with candy,” process in order to get butts into seats says more about the current theories of film marketing than it does about what was lacking in the movie itself.

Nevertheless, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is back, and Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons have strapped on the 3D goggles to determine whether the film prospers or suffers from the tweaking, as well as discussing whether the film’s stature still holds some twenty years later, and examining how the contributions of the songwriting team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken permanently transformed animated storytelling.

Plus: Steve delivers his capsule judgement on the apocalyptic thriller THE DIVIDE, and the CFQ team discuss their reactions to the animated short TANGLED EVER AFTER. Plus: What’s coming in theaters.

GOING TO SEE UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING THIS WEEK?
TWEET YOUR “WALK-AWAY REVIEW” TO @cfqspotlight.
(Please don’t tweet during the film!)

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Mother and Child Reunion?: Fernanda Andrade (top) learns the risks of reconnecting with Suzan Crowley in THE DEVIL INSIDE.

What kind of film is worthy of the sacrificial lamb slot that is the first release of January? What sort of slipshod storytelling does it take for audience members to start hurling epithets at the screen as the credits crawl? How disposable is the project when the host of a podcast devoted to genre film repeatedly gets the title wrong? Why, that would be THE DEVIL WITHI… ’scuse us… THE DEVIL INSIDE, yet another attempt to recast horror through the blurry lens of the mockumentary.

Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski and Dan Persons ring in the New Year by exploring DEVIL’s flawed theology, shallow characterizations, and ambiguous narrative gambits. And, with the help of input from theofantastique.com’s John W. Morehead, they discuss whether the recent rebirth of the exorcism genre is an accurate reflection of these anxious times. What’s revealed in discussion may surprise you — maybe even more than the film itself.

Also: Steve gives his capsule thoughts on the alien-invasion-in-Moscow flick, THE DARKEST HOUR, and Dan provides takes on THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN and the imaginative fantasy short,  A GOBLIN’S TALE. Plus: What’s coming in theaters.

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Ghost Protocol in the Machine: Tom Cruise (falling) shows Michael Nyqvist (demonstrating the wrong way to order at the McDonald's drive-thru) how to keep things moving in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL.

What says Christmas Spirit more than nuclear holocaust, life-or-death chases in an automated car park, and scaling the world’s tallest building? Maybe that’s why Paramount scheduled the release of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL for this most festive of seasons. Or maybe it’s that it’s just plain fun. Stripping the IM force down to leader Tom Cruise — aided and abetted by Paula Patton, Simon Pegg and new recruit Jeremy Renner — and paring the story down to a struggle to prevent a megalomaniacal terrorist from triggering WWIII,  the film (under the direction of animation vet Brad Bird, here making his live-action debut) unpacks some of the baggage accrued in the previous installments to become a lighter, wittier exercise in epic action.

Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons discuss their reaction to all the chaos, exploring how director Bird fares in his first foray in the tangible world, considering Tom Cruise’s future in the franchise and evaluating whether the IMAX format makes the Impossible Missions seem even… uh… impossibler.

Also: Larry delivers his verdict on THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and Steve gives his reaction to the THE DARK KNIGHT RISES prologue screened at MI’s IMAX venues.

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A Justified War: Robert Downey Jr. (right) faces down Jared Harris in SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS.

Abandon all propriety, ye who enter here. Once again, under the direction of Guy Ritchie and as embodied by Robert Downey Jr, the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes shakes off his tweedy cobwebs and gets down, dirty, and flat-out physical in SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS. Centered around the inevitable confrontation between Holmes and the formidable criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) — with world-wide stakes — the film takes the consulting detective and his steadfast friend Dr. Watson (Jude Law), plus Noomi Rapace as a self-reliant gypsy, on an epic tale of murder, conspiracy, and life-or-death chess games.

Come join Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons as they weigh the merits and demerits of this further retooling of a literary classic. Also: Dan delivers his opinion on the new documentary, CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL. Plus: What’s coming in theaters.

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The Great Bird Has Landed: Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett in a candid moment from TREK NATION.

A son goes in search of the father he never quite knew, and the CFQ crew gets introspective enough to take a nostalgic trip back to explore one of the formative influences on their sense of wonder, Gene Roddenberry’s STAR TREK.

Come join our special guest, theofantastique.com’s John W. Morehead, as he joins Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons as they discuss TREK NATION, the documentary by Roddenberry’s son, Eugene, that delves not only into the landmark show, its follow-ups, and its eternal fandom, but also the man behind the trek, his strengths and his flaws. Lasting influences will be identified, favorite episodes will be discussed, lives will be lived long, and prosperity will be… uh… prospered.

Also: What’s coming in theaters.

Guaranteed: 100% “Keep on Trekkin’” Free.

Continue reading »]]> 2011: Definitely a good year for aliens. They waylaid a couple of fanboys, staged a showdown with cowboys, wrecked a tween’s film project, invaded LA, twice (must be the universal lure of In-N-Out Burger) — yessir, if you had more than four limbs and a palate for human flesh, you had a home in theaters over the past twelve months.

But the extraterrestrial infestation wasn’t really the big news in genre film for 2011. With an open couple of weeks before the final onslaught of major science-fiction, fantasy, and horror releases, Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons decided to look back over the year and pick out their favorites in ten categories*, including Best Performance, Best Use of 3D, and Best Film, among others. The selection they’ve come up with may well surprise you. (Hint: A certain film featuring big-ass robots does better than expected.)

Click on the player to hear the show.

*And yes, we acknowledge that this is a provisional list, given that such titles as TINTIN, THE DARKEST HOUR, AND MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL have yet to screen.