I've got an awesome retro sci-fi short film for you to check out. It's called R.U.R.: Genesis, and it combines past, present, and future in the style of an alternate 1969 history. This is kind of a cheesy film, but it's all part of the playful vibe. I had a lot of fun watching this, I especially loved the visual style and setting. The short was written and directed by James Kerwin, and it stars Chase Masterson who played Leeta in Deep Space Nine. Here's a little information on the story and how it came about thanks to TrekMovie:
R.U.R.: Genesis is an indie sci-fi thriller based on some very early sci-fi stories and themes. In 1919, Czech playwright Karel Capek began work on what would become a seminal science fiction story, R.U.R.. The film was set 50 years into the future (well, 50 years into the future from the perspective of...
R.U.R.: Genesis is an indie sci-fi thriller based on some very early sci-fi stories and themes. In 1919, Czech playwright Karel Capek began work on what would become a seminal science fiction story, R.U.R.. The film was set 50 years into the future (well, 50 years into the future from the perspective of...
- 4/28/2014
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Last September, independent filmmaker James Kerwin criticized Peter Jackson's announcement that he would film and display "The Hobbit" at 48 frames per second, far faster than the standard 24 frames per second that we see in nearly all films. "This is a foolish path," Kerwin, who wrote and directed the 2008 indie feature "Yesterday Was a Lie," told his Facebook followers last September. "The films will look like videotaped news broadcasts -- too real -- and audiences will lose their suspension of disbelief (called the "uncanny valley" concept). It's happened every time directors have tried going over 40 fps." Jackson wants to create a more realistic experience, he has said in the past, and the faster the film speed, the more real it will look, and he charged forward despite some of ...
- 5/1/2012
- GeekNation.com
Comic-Con International has unleashed the full schedule for Wednesday and Thursday for the San Diego Comic-Con 2011, and there is going to be a ton of stuff to keep you incredibly busy and entertained.
Like I've been saying it's never to early to start planning, and there is a ton of stuff here that we are looking forward to checking out. I've gone through the list and put exclamation points next to all of the events that we are looking forward to attending. What panels and events are you looking forward to?
We will be at Comic-Con in full force this year, bringing you everything you need and want to know about. We will also be having a GeekTyrant meet-up this year, which we announce soon.
See you at the con!
Wednesday July 20th
!!! 6:00-9:00 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings: Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural...
Like I've been saying it's never to early to start planning, and there is a ton of stuff here that we are looking forward to checking out. I've gone through the list and put exclamation points next to all of the events that we are looking forward to attending. What panels and events are you looking forward to?
We will be at Comic-Con in full force this year, bringing you everything you need and want to know about. We will also be having a GeekTyrant meet-up this year, which we announce soon.
See you at the con!
Wednesday July 20th
!!! 6:00-9:00 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings: Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural...
- 7/7/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Perhaps I'm wrong in this assumption, but I've always felt that Joel and Ethan Coen's debut film, Blood Simple (1984), has a tendency to fall under the shadow of their later neo-noir accomplishments, most notably Fargo (1996) and No Country for Old Men (2007). While the film has popped back up into popular consciousness during the past decade thanks to the theatrical release of a Director's Cut (one that was shockingly shorter and leaner than the original theatrical version...make a note Judd Apatow) and Zhang Yimou's incredibly loose remake A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop (2009, unreleased in the Us), it still feels neglected, stranded somewhere in the mid-1980s. This feeling of neglect struck me when teaching American Film History in fall 2009 to a class of undergraduates. My traditional discussion icebreaker (which consists of asking the student for their name, major, and favorite film) yielded many students to throw...
- 8/11/2010
- by Drew Morton
First off, a note to all the readers expecting my promised review of Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974): it simply isn't going to happen because Tk reviewed it a few years back. For the most part, it has been the editorial stance of Pajiba not to publish two separate reviews of the same film. My apologies to you all, Dustin, and Tk; I didn't realize the film had been reviewed when I promised to do so. I simply do not wish to infringe on Tk's piece. Having put Chinatown aside, I went to review Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential (1997), only to discover that Dan Carlson reviewed it a few years back. Honestly, I was rather relieved at not having to deal with those two flicks; I love them to death, but this retrospective has been wearing out its welcome. I'm ready to go watch some different films. That said,...
- 8/3/2010
- by Drew Morton
First off, to those of you expecting a review of Chinatown (1974) as promised in the hint that was contained in the Blue Velvet (1986) piece, I apologize. Chinatown will be the next film covered in the retrospective. I simply got sidetracked in the wake of Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010) by the auteur completest in me, demanding that I actually sit down and watch Following (1998). While it didn't reach the heights of Memento (2000) or Insomnia (2002), the latter of which is perhaps Nolan's most overlooked and underestimated film due to its remake status, I very much enjoyed his rough and ragged debut (which is allegedly up for both the Criterion treatment and a theatrical re-release thanks to his most recent success---in the meantime you can catch it on Netflix Watch Instantly).
The film is bare, cut and dry almost to the point of The Limey (1999), beginning with a young struggling writer (Jeremy Theobald...
The film is bare, cut and dry almost to the point of The Limey (1999), beginning with a young struggling writer (Jeremy Theobald...
- 7/22/2010
- by Drew Morton
When I originally put together the list of the neo-noirs I was planning on including in this retrospective, I had put down two David Lynch titles: Lost Highway (1997) and Mulholland Dr. (2001). Unfortunately, Mulholland Dr., one of my favorite films of the aughts, had already been covered by the site when we attempted the film club, so I didn't want to whip a dead horse by covering it again. Having promised I'd watch Lost Highway with a friend, I was at a loss as to what to watch. I scanned my DVD shelf, my eyes momentarily meeting with Blue Velvet (1986), and I began to mentally scratch my head. I hadn't watched the film in nearly a decade, not since being forced onto a David Lynch kick brought on by the theatrical release of Mulholland Dr. in high school. For some reason, I never had the urge to return to it, not...
- 7/20/2010
- by Drew Morton
This Week in Reviews
Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Session 9
TiMER
Yesterday Was a Lie
What a Girl Wants
Restrepo
The Leopard
The Week's Most Popular Posts
The 100 Greatest Movie Insults of All Time: The Video
The 20 Biggest Financial Failures of All Time
Ten Movies You Wish You Could Unsee
The 7 Most Likely Candidates to Replace Steve Carell in "The Office"
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer
Exclusive: Brad Pitt and Shia Labeouf Offered Roles in Peter Morgan-Scripted Riptide
$200 Million International Box Office Hits That Did It With the Least Amount of Help From America
Tom Cruise's Career Is Completely Over Forever and Until the End of Time
12 Terrible Actors Who Make Fantastic Movie Villains
Percentage-Wise, The 20 Most Profitable Movies of All Time...
Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Session 9
TiMER
Yesterday Was a Lie
What a Girl Wants
Restrepo
The Leopard
The Week's Most Popular Posts
The 100 Greatest Movie Insults of All Time: The Video
The 20 Biggest Financial Failures of All Time
Ten Movies You Wish You Could Unsee
The 7 Most Likely Candidates to Replace Steve Carell in "The Office"
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer
Exclusive: Brad Pitt and Shia Labeouf Offered Roles in Peter Morgan-Scripted Riptide
$200 Million International Box Office Hits That Did It With the Least Amount of Help From America
Tom Cruise's Career Is Completely Over Forever and Until the End of Time
12 Terrible Actors Who Make Fantastic Movie Villains
Percentage-Wise, The 20 Most Profitable Movies of All Time...
- 7/3/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
At a loss on what to review this week for the neo-noir retrospective, I solicited suggestions from Pajiba readers via my Facebook page. My colleague, Brian Prisco, suggested writer-director James Kerwin's Yesterday Was a Lie (2008). At the time, having not read his post on Netflix Watch Instantly until after finishing the film, I took the recommendation seriously. I looked up the film, saw it was classified as a hybrid of neo-noir and sci-fi with some positive reviews, and started getting my hopes up. You see, a decade ago, an indie neo-noir entitled Memento (2000) forced me on a path towards filmmaking and criticism, so I have a bit of a weak spot for them. Hoping that lightning would strike twice, I roped in a noir-loving friend (and fellow colleague in the Cinema and Media Studies Ph.D. program) to watch the film with me. After about twenty minutes, my potentially...
- 6/29/2010
- by Drew Morton
The Vicious Kind
I prefer to mainline my indie films in sets of two or three just because I hope that even if one's gonna be painful I can wash away the taint with something somewhat decent. One night, I had planned a three-for, and I was kneecapped by Yesterday Was a Lie. An award-winning neo-noir that was so painfully excruciating to watch I literally could not stomach another movie. I went home, put a wet towel over my forehead, lamented my choice to become a film student, and refused to turn on anything electric for 50 hours. I never reviewed that film, and subsequently missed out on catching what was to be the follow up, Lee Toland Krieger's The Vicious Kind. So now, I loathe Yesterday Was a Lie even more for forcing me to fail you in not bringing it to your attention sooner. It's one of those...
I prefer to mainline my indie films in sets of two or three just because I hope that even if one's gonna be painful I can wash away the taint with something somewhat decent. One night, I had planned a three-for, and I was kneecapped by Yesterday Was a Lie. An award-winning neo-noir that was so painfully excruciating to watch I literally could not stomach another movie. I went home, put a wet towel over my forehead, lamented my choice to become a film student, and refused to turn on anything electric for 50 hours. I never reviewed that film, and subsequently missed out on catching what was to be the follow up, Lee Toland Krieger's The Vicious Kind. So now, I loathe Yesterday Was a Lie even more for forcing me to fail you in not bringing it to your attention sooner. It's one of those...
- 6/25/2010
- by Brian Prisco
Writer/director James Kerwin creates a cinematic masterpiece with Yesterday was a Lie. The film follows Hoyle (played by Kipleigh Brown), a detective searching for a notebook that hasn’t been seen since World War II. The only clues she has are a lounge singer (Chase Masterson, who also produced this film) who speaks in riddles and a professor, John Dudas (John Newton), currently in hiding. As Hoyle pursues every lead, she uncovers philosophical truths, alternative realities and secrets that will change her life, and possibly the world, forever.
The making of this film can be described in one word: intentionality. Every decision is made to impact the audience’s experience, which is exactly how it should be. While I was originally put off by the fact that the film is in black and white, it actually adds to the noir aspects and reaffirms the point that Hoyle expects everything to be clear cut,...
The making of this film can be described in one word: intentionality. Every decision is made to impact the audience’s experience, which is exactly how it should be. While I was originally put off by the fact that the film is in black and white, it actually adds to the noir aspects and reaffirms the point that Hoyle expects everything to be clear cut,...
- 5/24/2010
- by Jessica Guerrasio
- JustPressPlay.net
By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my new column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
The Messenger - DVD Review
Woody Harrelson is a human litmus test for what the ravages of war can do to an individual.
The Messenger is a movie that defies a conventional critique as the movie unspools in a manner that feels more real than it does made up, more visceral than it does imagined. While Kevin Bacon’s turn in Taking Chance was a heartfelt swan song to one human’s life who died for his country, The Messenger is grittier in its portrayal of a man tasked with delivering the news no family member wants to get about their fallen soldier.
It’s grittier and more immediate thanks to the liberating decisions made by first time director Oren Moverman. The...
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my new column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
The Messenger - DVD Review
Woody Harrelson is a human litmus test for what the ravages of war can do to an individual.
The Messenger is a movie that defies a conventional critique as the movie unspools in a manner that feels more real than it does made up, more visceral than it does imagined. While Kevin Bacon’s turn in Taking Chance was a heartfelt swan song to one human’s life who died for his country, The Messenger is grittier in its portrayal of a man tasked with delivering the news no family member wants to get about their fallen soldier.
It’s grittier and more immediate thanks to the liberating decisions made by first time director Oren Moverman. The...
- 5/21/2010
- by Christopher Stipp
DVD Playhouse—May 2010
By
Allen Gardner
Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron beat his own title as box office champ, set with Titanic over a decade ago, with this eye-popping sci-fi epic about a paraplegic Marine name Sully (Sam Worthington), who takes the form of an “avatar,” or virtual being, to go undercover on the planet Pandora, attempting to infiltrate the native Na’vi to gather intelligence that will aid a joint corporate and military operation to rape the planet of its natural resources, destroying its indigenous population in the process. When Sully suddenly “goes native,” he locks horns with the company CEO (Giovanni Ribisi) and his gung-ho commanding officer (Stephen Lang, in a wonderful, scenery-chewing turn from a long-underrated actor). Thought of by many scholars and film buffs as a “game-changer” as much as the first Star Wars film was—and they may be right. While Cameron’s politically-correct...
By
Allen Gardner
Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron beat his own title as box office champ, set with Titanic over a decade ago, with this eye-popping sci-fi epic about a paraplegic Marine name Sully (Sam Worthington), who takes the form of an “avatar,” or virtual being, to go undercover on the planet Pandora, attempting to infiltrate the native Na’vi to gather intelligence that will aid a joint corporate and military operation to rape the planet of its natural resources, destroying its indigenous population in the process. When Sully suddenly “goes native,” he locks horns with the company CEO (Giovanni Ribisi) and his gung-ho commanding officer (Stephen Lang, in a wonderful, scenery-chewing turn from a long-underrated actor). Thought of by many scholars and film buffs as a “game-changer” as much as the first Star Wars film was—and they may be right. While Cameron’s politically-correct...
- 5/18/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
This week sees an impressive list of heavy-hitters make a late December showing as Clint Eastwood and Peter Jackson deliver their latest, Werner Herzog assembles the unlikely pairing of Udo Kier and Verne Troyer, and Tom Ford unveils his directorial debut.
"According to Greta"
Hilary Duff adds the title of executive producer to her résumé by backing the feature debut of veteran music video director Nancy Bardawil. After demonstrating a dark side on "Gossip Girl" this season, Duff continues to shed her good girl image as a rebellious 17-year-old who proves to be too much of a handful for her mother (Melissa Leo) and is sent off to spend the summer on Jersey Shore with her grandparents (Ellen Burstyn and Michael Murphy), to whom she promises she will kill herself by her 18th birthday. In the midst of plotting her suicide, she begins a romance with a troubled short-order cook...
"According to Greta"
Hilary Duff adds the title of executive producer to her résumé by backing the feature debut of veteran music video director Nancy Bardawil. After demonstrating a dark side on "Gossip Girl" this season, Duff continues to shed her good girl image as a rebellious 17-year-old who proves to be too much of a handful for her mother (Melissa Leo) and is sent off to spend the summer on Jersey Shore with her grandparents (Ellen Burstyn and Michael Murphy), to whom she promises she will kill herself by her 18th birthday. In the midst of plotting her suicide, she begins a romance with a troubled short-order cook...
- 12/7/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
Here are the new MPAA ratings from Bulletin No: 2089. Across The Hall Rated R For language throughout. All Good Things Rated R For drug use, violence, language and some sexuality. Release Date: Tba 2010 Black Crescent Moon Rated R For language. The Blind Side Rated PG-13 For one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references. Release Date: November 20, 2009 Ghost Machine Rated R For violence, language, some drug use and sexual material. Housebroken Rated R For crude and sexual content and language throughout. Humble Pie Rated PG-13 For some thematic elements and violence. Lost City Raiders Rated PG-13 For some violence and brief language. Shank Rated R For strong sexual content and violence including a brutal rape, pervasive drug use and language. The Slammin' Salmon Rated R For pervasive language and sexual references. Release Date: Tba 2010 The Spy Next Door Rated PG For sequences of action violence and some mild rude humor.
- 9/30/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
It was the Closing Night of The Beverly Hills Hi-Def Film Festival and producer/star Chase Masterson ( http://www.chasemasterson.com/Chase.html ) along with her fiance writer/director James Kerwin had invited me and played host to a number of my celeb friends. I met my buddy Valerie Perez there and we waited until the rest of the guests arrived from a pre-cocktail party just down the street. Joining me for the screening was Camden Toy, Lisa Cash, DeeDee Bigelow, Katie Lohmann, Jeff Rector and Joannie Laurer as well as cast and crew from the film, producer Sarah Nean Bruce, stars John Newton, Mik Scriba and Warren Davis. The film was followed by a Q&A and was well received by the audience. The film actually won the top prize of the festival, a well done film noir with a dash of Sci-Fi. The film is currently making the...
- 2/7/2009
- by Albert L. Ortega
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