Sci Fi takes technical awards (again)

In another year, INCEPTION probably would have swept the board at the Oscars, but this year it was up against the exceptional double act of THE KING'S SPEECH and THE SOCIAL NETWORK. As a result, the film had to settle for taking the technical awards, walking off with the golden baldie statuettes for Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing (not the same as mixing apparently) and Visual Effects.

The only other genre entry to win anything significant was ALICE IN WONDERLAND's double win for Costumes and Art Direction.

The Razzies, however, were once again dominated by a genre entry. In this case for the truly terrible movie THE LAST AIRBENDER. Taking Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and the special category of Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse Of  3D.

The latter is supposed to be a one-off for this year, but it''s the kind of thing that might be around for some time yet to come.

15 Genre Gems You Probaby Missed #1 MR WRONG

Meg, a young woman, buys an old Jaguar car for a ridiculously low price when she moves out of her parents' house and into the big city for the very first time. Strange things start to happen. She sees strange figures. The car seems to have a life of its own. Something bad once happened in it and the person responsible might not be happy about Meg stirring up the past.

This 1986 supernatural thriller from New Zealand taps into that part of the world's obssession with cars (The Cars That Ate Paris, Goodbye Pork Pie, Mad Max and The Road Warrior) and delivers a slow burn, but atmospheric thriller that uses suggestion and those 'out of the corner of your eye' moments to build suspense rather than resorting to blood and gore and stupid jump moments.

The no-name cast guarantees that anyone is expendable and you're never quite sure what's going to happen next.

If you like your horror gory or obvious, then this just won't do for you, especially in terms of the blood spillage, but if you want something spooky and off the beaten track then keep and eye for it.

Nicholas Courtney Dies

We could not let the news of the passing of Nicholas Courtney go past without adding our appreciation of the man to the many that will be made on fan sites all over the world.

As someone who grew up with the third and fourth Doctors, Courtney's role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in DOCTOR WHO has a place of fondness in my heart. His was a difficult job as the character was often used as someone for the Doctor to ridicule and belittle for his faith in superior firepower, and yet Courtney managed to make his underwritten military commander into a fan favourite and gave the character a sense of honour and nobility.

Be honest, would UNIT have ever become such a major part of the show without him?

Aliens Invade the Horror Channel

 We like the Horror Channel and not just because it's one of the few movie channels that we can get on our Sky box thingy. The channel regularly screens TV shows that we missed the first time around (or just ignored) and which have only a tenuous link at best with the word 'horror'.

Anyway, March sees aliens invade the channel as a series of straight to TV, DVD, video or bargain bucket productions for your delight and delectation. Watch out, watch the skies and watch what you're doing with that lighted blowtorch.

The invasion begins on Friday 5 March with ALIEN FURY: COUNTDOWN TO INVASION (2000), directed by Rob Hedden (writer, director of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan). This sci-fi drama pits aliens against a covert US defence agency and a surveillance satellite retrofitted with a nuclear warhead. Starring Dale Midkiff (Pet Sematary), Dondre Whitfield (Ghost Whisperer) and Stephen Tobolowsky (Deadwood, Glee).

  Next up is INTRUDERS. Directed in 1992 by the original Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, this alien abduction mini-series features our very own Stephen Berkoff, alongside Richard Crenna (Colonel Trautman in the Rambo movies) and award-winning actress Mare Winningham. Centering on two cases, where both women have experienced similar nightmares involving aliens, a psychiatrist decides to investigate. This will be split into two parts, with Part 1 on Sat 12 March and Part 2 on Sunday 13 March

THE INVADERS (1995), which will broadcast on Saturday 19^th March and Sunday 20^th March, was originally a television series created by Larry Cohen in 1967. This welcome reprise stars Scott Bakula (of Quantum Leap and Star Trek: Enterprise fame) as Nolan Wood, who discovers an alien conspiracy and tries to stop an invasion of the earth by aliens disguised as humans. Roy Thinnes reprises his role of David Vincent, now an old man handing the burden over to Wood.

In ROSWELL: THE ALIENS ATTACK (1999) a cheesy slice of sci-fi on Sat 26 March, two aliens intend on blowing us all to smithereens. John, a male alien and Eve a female alien escape from Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 with intentions to blow up the earth. Eve finds she enjoys sex and likes to seduce soldiers. However, John falls in love with an Earthling and decides to stop Eve from setting off a nuclear weapon the two had developed.

Finally, on Sunday 27 March, the channel brings you ALIEN TERMINATOR (1995). Five miles below the Earth's surface, a group of scientists is working in self-imposed isolation, perfecting a series of DNA experiments that could literally change the world. But when one of those experiments goes awry, it unleashes a nearly immortal organism - one capable of instant regeneration, and with an insatiable appetite for living flesh. Soon, nothing can contain the creature and the scientists grimly prepare for their final battle. Directed by Dave (Reeker) Payne.

We're back

There's been an extended hiatus here and on the Sci Fi Freak Site following tumultuous events in our personal lives, but now we're back and looking to make up for our absence with posts about the wacky world of science fiction. This week will see a review of PAUL going up on the main site and we have a plan for a major series of posts for the blog, so watch out, watch the skies and watch what you're doing with that needle.

Genre Movies Top UK Box Office Moneymakers

The biggest movies in the UK in 2010 were almost all genre films of some kind according to the list produced by Screen International.

Topping the list was TOY STORY 3, which some wouldn't call genre because it's a kids' movie, but it features toys that come to life when there aren't any humans around and how much more fantasy-related can you get than that?

AVATAR came next followed by the latest HARRY POTTER, Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, INCEPTION, SHREK FOREVER AFTER, TWILIGHT:ECLIPSE, IRON MAN 2 and CLASH OF THE TITANS.

The only film in the list that you couldn't make a case for being either sci fi or fantasy was SEX AND THE CITY 2 at number 8.

If ever there was more proof needed that, in the cinema at least, genre IS the mainstream then this is it. When people are spending their money then they are going for the fantastical.

Admittedly, five out of the nine were sequels and two were remakes with only AVATAR and INCEPTION as being really new.

This is at a time when budgets are being squeezed everywhere and Hollywood will no doubt take note that ticket buyers are still expecting good visual and big movies for their money. What that means for the future of big screen genre outings is uncertain, but it can only be to the good.

Dr Who Still Hates My Dad

In January last year I blogged a bit about the fact that Dr Who under Russell T Davis had a serious anti-father bias. Well, Stephen Moffat has taken over and it's nice to see that things haven't changed an iota.

This year's Christmas special, A Christmas Carol, revolved around a man who was the worst sort of person ever. He revelled in taking hostages against debts and was willing to let a whole spaceliner of people die when he could save them without too much effort.

And why was he like this? He was like this because of his abusive father!

Once again, Dr Who comes up with a bad dad as the root of all evil.

Still, at least in last year's series we saw that Amy Pond's father was a good and kind man - Oh hang on a minute we didn't because he wasn't anywhere to be seen and when he could have appeared quite easily we get some sort of aunt or friend of the family.

It seems like the anti-father agenda is set to stay.