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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.

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Kids Strike Back: The cast of ATTACK THE BLOCK faces down an alien incursion.

You gotta love an alien invasion film where the aliens make the serious mistake of trying to invade some council estates (read, “projects”) in London and discover that the street-tough kids there are not going to yield the territory without racking up a body count. That’s the idea behind ATTACK THE BLOCK, Joe Cornish’s directorial debut that was exec produced by SHAUN OF THE DEAD’s Edgar Wright. It’s neatly pulled off with a surprising bit of depth, and worth checking out when it’s released on homevid on October 25th.

So a bunch of us were gathered in a room in New York Comic Con’s press warren, and got to throw questions indiscriminately (but incisively) at Joe. I managed to capture the session for this podcast.

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Hearts and Minds are the First Casualties: Joel Torre at the hands of the invading forces in AMIGO.

Director John Sayles is delving into history again, and this time it’s a little bit of American adventurism in the early twentieth century that’s frequently glossed over in the history books: the Philippine-American War. In AMIGO, Filipino actor Joel Torre plays Rafael, the mayor of a small village who’s forced to accommodate a troop of American soldiers, an act that puts him into deadly opposition with his brother (Ronnie Lazaro), the leader of a local guerrilla group fighting the invasion. As the Americans – prime amongst them an open-minded lieutenant (Garret Dillahunt) and a gung-ho colonel (Chris Cooper) – struggle both to attain tactical advantage in their battles while winning the civilian population over to their side, there are no few parallels to recent U.S. overseas history. In this case, though, we get to see the conflict through the eyes of the invaded, and learn how people trying just to live their lives can wind up in the center of a no-win situation.

Click on the player to hear my interview with John Sayles.

AMIGO
Trailer

amigomovie.com

Continue reading »]]> A post-show conversation between theofantastique.com’s John W. Morehead and Cinefantastique Online’s Lawrence French and Dan Persons about the PLANET OF THE APESfranchise in general, and RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES in specific.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
MoCap Comparison: “Revolution Begins”

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Meet the New Ape, Not at All Like the Old Ape: A MoCapped Andy Serkis takes command in RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.

Startling the studios, startling the critics, and startling its delighted audiences, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES has arrived to prove that a reboot — in the hands of a skilled director and inspired writers, actors and effects artists — does not necessarily need to serve as Exhibit One in the case for the film industry’s creative bankruptcy. Join theofantastique.com’s John W. Morehead and Cinefantastique Online’s Lawrence French and Dan Persons as they explore how the latest retooling of a moribund franchise has become the most bracing film of the summer, discuss some emotional nuances director Rupert Wyatt uses to bring depth to the fantasy, celebrate Andy Serkis’ work as our new simian overlord, and sift over some notable glitches in the scenario.

Also: Some thoughts on the revelation that Steven Sodherbergh is directing second unit sequences for THE HUNGER GAMES; and what’s coming to theaters and home video.

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Perils of Ambition: Patsha Bay Mukuna in VIVA RIVA!

Sex, violence and… gasoline? Yeah, that’s the blend you get when your setting is Kinshasa and limited fuel supplies make the stuff as good as gold. Riva (Patsha Bay Mukuna) knows: He’s just snuck into the Congo with a healthy supply of the stuff and plans to leverage it into a handsome payday. The problems: He’s being pursued by the Angolan crime lord (Hoji Fortuna) he stole the gas from; and he’s fallen hard for the sexy Nora (Manie Malone), who’s already been claimed by the local crime boss.
 
VIVA RIVA! is the first film out of the Congo to get U.S. distribution, and director Djo Tunda Wa Munga has made it a hell of an intro: an electric noir with graphic violence, a compulsive soundtrack, and no shortage of startling bouts of sex (however you feel about SCARFACE, you can’t argue that there’s nothing about that film that couldn’t have been improved with a lesbian hook-up between a hooker and the local commander of the military police). It’s a gripping glimpse into a world — and its underworld — we’re still getting to know.

Click on the player to hear my interview with Munga.

Trailer
VIVA RIVA!

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vivariva.com

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A Subtle Attraction?: Magneto (Michael Fassbender, left) and Professor X (James McAvoy) join forces in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS.

It isn’t particularly well known, but mutants were with Washington when he crossed the Delaware, with Einstein when he developed the theory of relativity, and with Sarah Palin while she was waiting for Russia to raise its head above Alaska. Most specifically, they were directly engaged in the Cuban Missile Crisis — the world-changing historical event that is the backdrop for the first meeting of the psychic Professor X a.k.a. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and the magnetically-charged Erik Lehnsherr, otherwise known as Magneto (Michael Fassbender). Come join special guest Orenthal V. Hawkins as he sits in with Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons to discuss X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, the latest installment of the Marvel film franchise that uses comic book action to address some potent social issues. Does this chapter live up to the standard established by Bryan Singer? Is the first team-up of mutants — which includes Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), and Darwin (Edi Gathegi) — as impressive as the more famous ensemble of the previous films? And is Moria MacTaggert’s (Rose Byrne) choice of lingerie government-issued, or does Victoria’s Secret sell bullet-proof brassieres? Listen to the show and find out!

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The Sins of the Mother: Manjinder Virk as Lorraine Dunbar in THE ARBOR.

Director Clio Barnard uses what was originally a theatrical technique in her hybrid documentary/drama THE ARBOR: She interviewed the friends, family, and acquaintances of the late playwright Andrea Dunbar and her troubled daughter Lorraine, then brought in actors to lip-synch to the resulting soundtrack. The process, shot partly in the working-class housing project that Dunbar both grew up in and chronicled in such plays as THE ARBOR and RITA SUE AND BOB TOO, surprisingly results in a singularly filmic experience — intimate, intense, thoughtful, and at times disturbing. That the lives of these two women contain no shortage of drama — despite her success, Andrea never moved out of her neighborhood and, after having born three children out of wedlock and lapsed into alcoholism, died at 29 of a brain hemorrhage, while Lorraine eventually became a heroin addict and prostitute before bearing three children herself — only helps to make THE ARBOR a stunningly unique look into the both the potential and limits of art to redeem a life.

Click on the player to hear my interview with Barnard.

THE ARBOR
Trailer

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THE ARBOR Over at filmforum.org

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A Roll in the... Hey!: Carla Gugino and Tim Olyphant sweat up the sheets in ELECTRA LUXX.

Should a movie about a pregnant porn star fleeing her past and questioning her future be this much fun? If it’s Sebastian Gutierrez’s gleefully frisky ELECTRA LUXX, yeah, sure. As he did with this film’s predecessor, Gutierrez has gathered a talented, largely female cast, including Carla Gugino as the titular Electra, Adrianne Palicki and Emmanuelle Chriqui as a couple of colleagues trying to suss out the depth of their friendship, Marley Shelton as a desperate stewardess, and Kathleen Quinlan as an ambitious author. To add to the fun, he also fortifies the cast with some notable male participants, including Tim Olyphant as a charming detective, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Electra’s video-blogging chronicler, and Justin Kirk as a melodramatically righteous husband. What with Levitt’s frequent, Greek chorus interjections, sexy musical fantasy numbers, and even a side-trip into South American melodrama, the narrative through-line is, shall we say, a little eccentric, but no less fun for all its tagents.

Click on the player to hear my interview with Gutierrez.

This Episode is Brought to You by:
RANGE ROVER
Feel the Pulse of the City!

ELECTRA LUXX
Trailer
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www.elektraluxx-movie.com

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History Repeats: Gael Garcia Bernal faces a conflict between art and politics in EVEN THE RAIN.

Columbus did not land in Bolivia. But a Spanish film crew has chosen that country to shoot their historic recreation of that event — and how some priests fought against the subsequent enslavement of the natives — because, well, it’s cheaper. That initial bit of convenient exploitation is only the start of the parallels in EVEN THE RAIN, a film in which the 2000 Bolivian “Water War” — in which the citizenry fought against the privatization of their water supplies — coincides with the filming of an historical epic, forcing everyone involved, including the driven director played by Gael Garcia Bernal and a cynical producer played by Luis Tosar, to confront how far a dedication to one’s art applies in the face of genuine, human turmoil.

The complex scenario mixes reenactments of 15th century conquest, behind-the-scenes drama of the film’s cast and crew, and a gritty envisioning of the battle over a prime element of life. It was written by Scottish author Paul Laverty (Ken Loach’s BREAD AND ROSES and THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY), and directed by Spanish director Iciar Bollain (TAKE MY EYES, MATAHARIS). I was lucky enough to speak to both of them for this episode — click on the player to hear the interviews.

EVEN THE RAIN
Trailer
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eventherainmovie.com