General Discussion

Well we are sitting back waiting patiently for the two Equilibrium series to show up in Oz.....well at least one. good SciFis are getting a little thin on the ground and we're having to widen the definition to get some new ones in the mix.

Those dudes who did Smallville for 10 seasons have been desperately looking for a new fantasy to take us into the 2020s. So they've come up with the new series ARROW which is really a series take on The Green Arrow. Have seen the short on it...not as cheezy as Smallville. A little more serious and the lead character has obviously been to the gym a little lately. But not sure how far they can take the premise. Same studio are also doing a remake of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

Moffit's success with SHERLOCK as well as Richie's success with the movie versions of the character, have got the yanks in a spin. They cant help but make an American version can they. So coming up very soon is ELEMENTARY. And they needed a spin on the Sherlock character so not only is it contemporary with Johnny Lee Miller in the lead role, but they've gone for an Asian Female Watson. At least they've chosen a pretty good actress for the role, with Lucy Liu. But is there no shame with such sacrilege. Next they'll have Superman as a cross dresser...oh he already is?

Hmmm, I liked Green Arrow in Smallville.

And I think Superman is just confused..wearing his underpants on the outside... :)

OBLIVION (Due for release overseas to theatres April 2013)

Synopsis sounds a little odd but basically set in distant Earth future following war with aliens called Scavs. Earth is used mainly for resources and our hero lives hovering thousands of feet in the skies operating as a drone repairman. A woman crash lands in a spacecraft setting off a chain of events that affect future of humanity (Where's Wall-E).

Based on a graphic novel written and produced by Joseph Kosinski who previously produced Tron: Legacy.

Stars: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylanko ( from Quantum of Solace), Andrea Riseborough (Brighton Rock, Margaret Thatcher) and Morgan Freeman

Production cost: $130 million so its expected to be a top of the line SciFi

Well Tom Cruise, despite his crazy religious bent and peculiar personal issues, seems to usually associate himself with entertaining, well made productions. Based on that alone, I'll be giving it a look see. I'm also a big fan of Morgan Freeman and wish he would get that Rendezvous with Rama project started, that he has been trying to get off the ground for the past decade, and is tentatively set to appear on screens in about two years.

Some of these movies based on graphic novels can be quite good; much better than the ones that are based on popular board games. Of course I'm thinking of From Hell, V for Vendetta and Watchmen, in particular.

Is that the 'From Hell' with Johnny Depp. Though he picks some turkeys of movies I consider him one of the two best male actors in the US at present (Tom Hanks being the other one). His horror films like 'The Ninth Gate' are superb.

'Fraid I'm a bit of a closet Smallville watcher ZV. Mainly because I love the growing Superman mythos.

Look, I know its adolescent drivel at times. I was going to slap CK and his long term love Lana Lang about the head and get their heads straight about each other and her gooey looks were driving me crazy by the end....but then I thought about what I was like in romances at that age and I was pretty dorky as well. The Lana Lang actress is very pretty and cute, but she annoyed me by the end, and I felt like giving her a good boot up the derriere, but I guess that had to happen to get Lois Lane in the picture. That character fortunately was much more mature.

Also drove me crazy that he was for most of the series just a younger version of The Flash. I wanted the nifty flying scenes, and I wanted them NOW. But hey I enjoyed a number of the unusual characters young Superdude had to confront or form alliances with.

Still have watched only about 4 of the ten seasons but if you can overlook the soapy parts, it gets quite interesting. Lex Luther is a hoot of a mischievous bad guy as is his father.

How come nobody at Channel 7 thought to mention the strange, interdimensional space/time portal that seemed to be opening up right next to the lost ship?

CLOUD ATLAS

Been mentioned once or twice on these forums but the closer to its release date on 26 October at theatres, the more intrigued I'm becoming and suspect this could be a very good film. Well it has some great actors in Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Halle Berry and an intriguing premise about the effects of individual lives generation by generation and that our actions influence and change the future for others. Also some quite spectacular visuals both CGI and real which you can see shorts of.

Looks to have enough potential for me to open the piggy bank to go for a look see.