Based on the true story of an agent who dared to…try to make money by capitalizing on an untapped far east market, Million Dollar Arm finds Jon Hammsome recruiting cricket players as potential MLB pitchers.
Given the sportsological nature of Million Dollar Arm, Brian gathered his Inside the Locker crew (Adam, Elliott, and J.C.) for another at bat with Highly Suspect Reviews. Was the film a home run or a swing-and-a-miss?
Take a lap around the bases with the Unusual Suspects.
Hans Rudolf “H.R.” Giger, the controversial Swiss artist and designer, who used his nightmares to fuel his passion for art, passed away on Monday in his home in Zurich after suffering from a fall. He was 74.
If people are unfamiliar with the name, I’m willing to bet everyone is familiar with the man’s work. Giger is probably best known for the design of the alien creature in Alien (1979).
Refusing to join his father in the family pharmaceutical business, Giger went to study art at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich, Switzerland. It was as a young man that Giger met surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, who inspired him design more “unusual” work.
Giger’s highly controversial artwork was ahead of its time. His paintings and sculptures were filled with depictions of sex and death. It’s hard not to see it when you call one of your paintings Penis Landscape (1973). Still, it’s this artwork that laid the groundwork for what would many consider one of the scariest science-fiction/horror films of all time. Giger would give “birth” to the creature that made audiences scream, even though no one could hear them in space.
“I admire its purity.”
Ash, the deceptive android played by the remarkable Ian Holm, complimented the creature’s ability to survive while it methodically hunted down the handful of crew members aboard the Nostromo in Ridley Scott’s Alien.
The Alien, or Xenomorph is horrific as it is iconic, and has earned its place as cinema’s most terrifying extraterrestrial creature. With its acid blood and incredibly distorted human anatomy, it was a nightmare to behold on-screen. On a psychological level, it played on people’s fears of sex, pregnancy and rape. It was something audiences had never seen before. It was “pure” in its design. This walking abomination was inspired by Giger’s own painting, The Necronom IV (1976).
Giger created the life cycle of the Alien for Scott, the director of the film. After reading Necronomicon, Giger’s first published book, Scott immediately requested a meeting with the artist to talk about ideas for the Xenomorph. The rest is history.
Everything, including the egg, facehugger, newborn and the eight-foot tall monstrosity that stalked the halls of the decrepit space ship in the film, was imagined by Giger. The Space Jockey, the ancient mummified pilot, and its ship were also created by the Swiss artist.
Even the Nostromo itself was heavily influenced by Giger’s work. The human space-freighter wasn’t beautiful or clean like something out of Star Trek. The Nostromo was ugly, dark and falling apart at the seams. Water and oil dripped down its stained walls from places unknown. In some ways, it was just as scary as the Alien itself.
Giger went on to win the Academy-Award for Best Visual Effect in 1980 for Alien.
Outside of his work on the original Alien, Giger published 20 books of his artwork throughout his career. He worked on production design for Poltergeist II (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Species (1995) and Prometheus (2012). His most recent works can still be viewed in the Museum H.R. Giger in the medieval walled city of Gruyères, Switzerland. The museum houses the majority of Giger’s set-designs, sculptures, furniture and paintings.
Giger’s dreams, as terrifying as they must have been, gave film-goers something truly special in 1979. It gave them something to be afraid of in the theater. It wasn’t a crazed lunatic in a hockey mask, or a man running after half-naked girls in the woods with a chainsaw.
It was something that is purely distilled from a thousand nightmares. I’d like to thank Giger for keeping a 12-year-old me up for three straight nights in utter terror of being attacked by the monster he helped create.
May your visions no longer make you afraid, Mr. Giger.
I am sorry. I am truly, truly sorry for your loss, especially since it is, in part, my fault.
I am the person who keeps thinking that I just don’t have the time for anything else, let alone a weekly commitment to something that I know I’ll be hooked on. So again, I’m sorry I never watched Community.
Now, because of me, it’s gone.
I’m so sorry, Abed. Let me try to explain.
Joni Mitchell was really onto something when she said you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. I always knew I’d enjoy Community as a show, but like many other shows, I took for granted that it would make its run, and I’d be able to enjoy it in marathon DVD or Netflix sessions. I never thought that one of the most acclaimed comedies would see such an early death, and I’d be left thinking what ifs.
Forgive me, Troy!
Notice that I’m the one who has to make this apology. Fern has been a Community supporter from the beginning. It was from her that I first heard how amazingly funny and witty it was. It was her who kept talking about about this Abed person who was her new favorite person. Fern is the right one, I am the wrong one in this situation, but I want you to understand that I really, really am very repentant over here. I plan on looking for absolution by watching the first few episodes this weekend.
P.S. Let me know if there’s another thing I should be watching so that I won’t feel guilty if it’s cancelled. I promise to try and work it into my schedule.
Welcome to a very special episode of Digital Noise. Yes, we’re talking about home releases. In fact, we’re just discussing 7 blu-rays (with 11 movies) that came out. They just happen to be ALL Godzilla movies. So what’s a Digital Noise critic to do? Well, you get the hugest Godzilla fans you know…and as it turns out, we know the hugest.
Matt Frank (no duh) leads the discussion of these older Kaiju films and along for the ride is Chris, Quinn, and Brandon. Tune in for almost two hours of what turned out to be one of the most fun podcasts we’ve done in awhile, as Matt bravely tries to synopsizes these titles, and then hilarity ensues.
But that’s not all! We’re also giving away a prize package of THREE Godzilla blu-rays. Gotta listen to win!
In the world of deck-building card games, there exists two camps: the collectible card games (CCGs) and the living card games (LCGs). Both require dedication and disposable income. Both demand more time and attention than your average board game. Both have plenty to offer gamers who want to really sink their teeth into a game that never stops evolving or growing.
Jacob and Daniel are joined by special guests Brian Salisbury, Luke Mullen, Toni Salisbury and Paul Gandersman to talk about the likes of Magic: The Gathering and the Game of Thrones card game. In between bouts of card game talk, there’s a little too much swearing and plenty of suggested nudity. Viewer discretion is advised.
Everyone has had some time to let the announcement about the new Star Wars cast sink in and by now everyone has had equal time to ponder what roles these actors will embody in the new film. I stand here with the intent to tell you unverified, unsubstantiated, and mostly biased views on who these actors will be in the latest Star Wars. Basically, what I’m telling you, before we get ahead of ourselves here, is that I have no clue who these people will play and I have no inside knowledge to help rock you to sleep tonight. In fact, I may not even tell you who I think they’ll play, but I will talk about some of the casting and my relationship with the series in general, so buckle in.
I’ve had some experience with the projects of some of the new cast members, but my main focus and excitement falls on the shoulders of John Boyega. This young man is for all intents and purposes an unknown to a vast majority of the people planning to see the new Star Wars. However, I know him as the immensely enjoyable star of Joe Cornish’s incredible debut film, Attack the Block. Granted, Boyega’s role in that film isn’t all that flashy, but the youngster carries himself well from beginning to end and brings complexity to an initially one-dimensional character.
Go, Johnny, go!
Since that “breakthrough,” Boyega hasn’t quite struck a lot of mainstream success. Evidently, he can be seen in four episodes of 24‘s return to the boob tube- but I’ve never seen a single episode of that series so I can’t really comment on that. In any event, you might be asking, “If he was so good in Attack the Block why has it taken so long for him to get another significant role?” I can’t answer that with any certainty, but I can say that as much as I like Attack the Block, it’s not as if it was some blockbuster success seen by hordes of people around the globe. In fact, it’s still unknown as to just how significant Boyega’s role will even be in the new Star Wars. With that said, he was mentioned in the first big cast announcement, I’d say it’s a safe bet he has a somewhat prominent role.
In the picture released of the main cast at the script read Boyega is pictured sitting between Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, but leaning more toward Isaac. If you are one to take body language from this picture, you might say that Boyega and Isaac are acting a bit “buddy buddy” which you could then assume means that perhaps their characters are friends in the film, perhaps Jedis in training. Driver has been rumored as the potential villain in the film, which something I can kind of see based on his moody character on the HBO series, Girls. I for one though, find trying to judge relationships based on a seating arrangement to be a little too grade school-ish and therefore take the rumors based on the photo with a massive grain of salt. Go ahead and check out the seating chart that folks have examined with a magnifying glass down to the pixel.
With so much still unknown about the project to sit and try to go in depth to reveal who is playing what (aside from returning cast members) would prove to be fruitless, at least from my perspective. As a big fan of the original Star Wars trilogy, but without the intimate knowledge of the entire canon, I cannot even begin to fathom who these actors are playing or where the story will go. However, the lack of knowledge is not stopping others from speaking out against the casting and making assumptions of J.J. Abrams intentions.
When the casting was announced, the news spread like wildfire with a number of positive reactions. As the dust began to settle though, there were those who were none to pleased with the lack of a certain demographic. There was only one woman announced, which spawned ridicule from a number of angry geeks speaking of gender inequality, even as Abrams announced his intention to hire another female role in the near future. I personally did not have these incensed feelings at the announcement and I still don’t. I am certain that there will be plenty of female characters in the film. However, let’s just hope Abrams learned that some people take offense to women being presented in their skivvies for no apparent reason in the middle of a scene.
The interesting matter for me is that it was rumored that Boyega would possibly be taking on a lead role. This means that not only are they putting a relative unknown in the lead, but a black actor in the lead as well. While J.J. Abrams (and the Star Wars films) may have some catching up to do in terms of gender equality, this is a step in the right direction for racial equality in film. Given the track record of the most recent Star Wars films, I’m doubtful if any cast would have really pleased every fan on the planet. It may go without saying that it is the nature of the business that not everyone is destined to be in love with all the news surrounding a beloved property being revived.
Regardless of the corners of the internet rubbing their knuckles together planning their next wordy assault on a message board against J.J. Abrams and his upcoming Star Wars sequel, I’m still pretty damn excited. It’s been several years since I’ve revisited the series, which How I Met Your Mother fans will tell you is long overdue. Of course, I’ve never outted myself as a die hard fan or even a “true” fan as I know without a doubt I’d probably get schooled in any kind of Star Wars trivia challenge. I simply enjoy the films quite a bit and am not inclined to change the channel when I hear the unmistakeable buzz and clash of two lightsabers crashing together.
I’ve removed myself so far from deep fandom of the series that sometimes I question just how excited I should be. However, I still get excited when I see memorabilia and I browse the Amazon pages with my finger over the purchase button on the Blu-Rays of the original trilogy. Little things like this prove the old school fan is still in me somewhere and he really wants the new film to succeed and wants to defend the franchise when the vultures come out to prey.
Will J.J. Abrams blow us out of the water? I don’t know. I have faith though that he will adequately tickle everyone’s nostalgia and will inevitably let a batch of fans down. It’s just how geek properties work. Even if you aren’t all that thrilled about the cast, you cannot deny that it’s an exciting time. When the prequels were still new to the world, there was an undeniable sense of excitement that the universe was in people’s minds again and bringing people to theaters. We are witnessing it again first hand, but in the hands of new filmmakers that are more than capable of bringing the world back to us in a way that hits the G-spot for most fans.
Time will tell as Star Wars Episode VII hits theaters next year. What were your thoughts on the cast? Do you think J.J. Abrams has what it takes to renew fans hope in the series? Who else would you like to have seen cast? Sound off below!
Here at OneOfUs.Net, we love to offer giveaways. In fact, if Dr. Malcolm were here right now, he might phrase it as:
OneOfUs…uh…gives a way.
This week, we launched a massive incentive package for our generous subscribers. It’s our way of saying thank you for all the support you have been giving us in the near one year we’ve been in existence. There are plenty of goodies at each level, and if you missed the announcement, click the icon to the left for full information.
In the meantime, we’re of course also hoping that the incentives entice new subscribers to the site, as that is how we will be able to continue to bring you new content. Therefore, we thought we’d put together a special giveaway available only to subscribers to sweeten the deal. Thankfully, the good folks at Austin’s Mondo Gallery have partnered with us to offer something truly incredible.
That’s right, we’re giving away a copy of the spectacular Mondo Jurassic Park soundtrack LP.
The vinyl comes in two distinct versions, the first with artwork by JC Richard (also pictured above)…
The other featuring art by Dan McCarthy…
Which version the winner will receive is a surprise, but we think you’ll agree both versions are tremendous and represent an amazing new way to experience John Williams’ unforgettable score.
So how do you win? The good news there is that if you’re already a subscriber, you’re already entered! If not, you have until the end of the week to subscribe at any level. We will then randomly select a winner from our pool of subscribers. Sadly, we can only ship within the U.S. for the time being. But as we mentioned in our incentive video, that is something that could change in the future if we get enough new subscribers.
All eyes across the world are on Austin, Texas as the inhuman group of movie critics known as The Unusual Suspects are destroying much of Hollywood with their acerbic comments and snide witticisms.
Leading the forefront of destruction currently is Beau, Chris, Brian and JC. But the question on everyone’s minds is, will they leave the new remake of Godzilla unscathed? It’s got an excellent and award-winning cast (Brian Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Aaron-Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn) and is directed by Gareth Edwards, who some say already proved himself monster-worthy with his lauded 2010 indie film Monsters. Our reporter thinks it’s gonna be a tough fight.
This week on Digital Noise, Brian and Chris cut a wide swath through a giant-sized collection of titles, lots of them old classics out for the first time on Blu-ray, like Revenge of the Nerds, I Love Lucy, and The Terminal as well as some primo new releases such as Veronica Mars, Mr. Jones and Son of Batman. Man, these guys have the best job ever. I’d totally do that in a hot secon….wait, they had to watch Weekend at Bernie’s as well? Never mind.
But hey, you want to listen this week for sure, as we’re telling you about how you can win a Blu-ray of the Hammer Horror classic Countess Dracula!
Please do consider using our links below to make all your Amazon purchases! Much appreciated!
Writer/director duo Jen and Sylvia Soska aka the Twisted Twins have gone from unknown underground exploitation revivalists on Dead Hooker in a Trunk, to being lauded as the new Cronenberg(s) for American Mary, and this summer they resurrect a studio slasher with See No Evil 2. Richard caught up with them at Texas Frightmare Weekend, and they talked about role models, wrestling, and why the WWE is putting out a feminist art house horror flick.
