Your news and opinion source for all things related to the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. I cover all mediums, including movies, TV shows, books, comic books, and video games. Whether it is new movies coming out, showings of a classic film, or film festivals, you can find it all right here. Lastly, don't think that I will miss a Renaissance Fair if I can help it!
Recently I was wandering the shelves of Barnes and Noble with glee, when I noticed something that made my film-nerd heart nearly jump out of my throat. There it was; the box set I had always wanted-The Ray Harryhausen Monster Collection! If you are a special effects guru and longtime fantasy film fan, you probably know who I am talking about. In case you don't, let me fill in you hideously normal people. Ray Harryhausen created special effects for films from about the late forties until his last film, The Original Clash of the Titans, in 1981. His claim to fame was his amazing stop motion animated monsters. Many of his films were a huge success in his time, and lived on for subsequent generations when they were shown on television. A laundry list of A list special effects people in Hollywood, and other creative professionals list his work as an inspiration.
His films were known for their unique storybook fantasy quality that drew one into a world that was clearly not real, yet somehow believable. Watching one of his movies is almost like listening to someone read a fairytale when you were a child. Some of his most famous and endearing works include Jason and the Argonauts, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, One Million Years BC, Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, and most notably the Original Clash of the Titans. You can see some more clips from his movies below.
Harryhausen made his monsters by hand with some help, then animated them painstakingly frame by frame to achieve the illusion of movement on screen. A born special effects genius, Harryhausen experimented with the process after seeing the original King Kong. That film employed the same stop motion animation process Harryhausen would master, but was done by the pioneer of the art, Willis O Brien. O Brien meet with a young enthusiastic Harryhausen when he was just starting out, and critiqued his early experiments. O Brien encouraged the young man to attend art school and pursue his dream. Later, Harryhausen would work on his first feature film with O Brien, Mighhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifty Joe Young.
The box set I purchased is available once in a while retail stores, but easier to find online. It can be purchased from Amazon.com, and features some of Harryhausen's best work. This set includes Jason and the Argonauts, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, the Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Sinbad and the eye of the Tiger and The Three Worlds of Gulliver. My personal favorite is Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, but the set is worth it for the combination of any of the Sinbad films and the adventure classic Jason and the Argonauts. Gulliver's Travels is perhaps the weakest film in the set, but amusing and an added bonus for your purchase. If you are a fan of Harryhausen, fantasy films, or classic monster movies, the Sinbad films and Jason and the Argonauts make this purchase well worth your money. All of the DVD's include special features and documentaries which include interviews with Harryhausen and rare footage of his early work. This is a must have for fans of fantasy films.
Wow, I've been Missing in Action from my blog for a while. That's what happens when you have a day job; you don't write as much thus skewing your identity as a writer. Yet, I must buy my Romen Noodles somehow. So without further ado, here are my brief reviews on theatrically released movies thus far. I'm currently also reading Anne Rice's outstanding new novel, The Wolf Gift. It's one of her best so far, and I'll go more into that later. Without further ado, what have I seen at the box office recently?
Girl With The Dragon Tattoo American remake of the Swedish film of the same name, based on a Swedish novel of the same name. It's overly graphic at times, but it's an engaging dark mystery surrounding a wealthy and powerful family, and the deranged desires of some members of it. I want to see the other film versions and read the novel eventually, but I have to take time away from this material as I enjoy it. Dragon Tattoo is challenging and disturbing stuff with a lot to say about the abuse of power and manipulation of the weak and marginalized in society. The film suggests a very dismal view of human nature that may seriously offend some, but Dragon Tattoo challenges audiences as great art does.
Underworld: Awakening Okay, I saw this on the same day as Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I went from challenging but entertaining material with dark reflections on human nature to cheese-puff eye candy cinema. I liked Awakening and would like to give it another chance when I was in a less thoughtful mood, preferably with a beer or two in me. This enjoyable fourth installment of the Underworld franchise has a lot to love, and a lot to criticize. Awakening is painfully short, and nowhere near the usual two hour running time of movies. It glosses over the major plot development in the series such as the discovery of lycans and vampires by humans, and most of all Michael Corvinus is absent through out the whole film. I felt he should have been there for the film's finale. It's fun to see Selene's daughter in this one, there is plenty of werewolf and vampire brawling and sexy shots of Kate Beckensale. We even get a giant werewolf in this one, so that's fun. The overall disappointment of The Underworld series for me remains they did not approach the material as something that could have a more meaty story, like The Godfather with monsters. Oh well, maybe Hollywood knows how to make money.
Chronicle My favorite film in a while. A group of teenage boys enters an underground cave, and come out afterwords with amazing telekinetic powers. The boys struggle on how to use their powers responsibly, and soon one young man with a dark home life becomes the victim of his own abilities. Chronicle can be dark at times, but not to much to enjoy. The cinematography is fresh and inventive, as it's also told well through footage of a home video camera or surveillance video. I know this has been done before, but it really worked well in this case. See this one first next time you go to the movies.
I did recently get a chance to see the new Conan the Barbarian. Yup, I saw it. I’ve been busy, and unable to completely surmise my thoughts, which are a strange mixture of amusement and total disappointment. So, I shall start by saying that my worst fears were confirmed. I previously commented on this blog that it would be a mistake to try and remake the original Conan the Barbarian film. This film, though it does not follow the original’s plot closely was to close for comfort for me, and I suspect many fans. This film is another origins story; it begins with Conan’s childhood, takes us into his adulthood, and gives us a big adventure. This immediately created an enormous psychological hurdle for me and the fans that have grown up with Arnold as Conan. It’s a hurdle that the best actors and script could not jump with much ease. The film starts from the beginning of Conan’s life, and as I watched it images of the 1984 movie immediately and helplessly came to my mind. I remember vividly the parts with young Conan and his father as he explains to him the riddle of steel, of the sword being forged during the credits, the horrific sacking of his village, and the brutal beheading of his mother as Conan is holding her hand. The opening scenes of that film were disturbing yet artfully done. This film begins instead with two terribly unbelievable scenes, one in which an eight year old Conan kills five armed men with his bare hands. The moment Khalar Sing shows up, I was groaning, rolling my eyes, and missing Thulsa Doom. Stephen Lang was’nt bad as Khalar Sing, he just was such a typical “bad guy.” He’s scary looking, fights well, has henchmen and, big surprise, wants to rule the world. Thulsa Doom’s powers were mystical and psychological, he could explain the philosophy behind riddle of steel, then tell a young maiden to kill herself and she would-all to demonstrate that the greatest power is the power to manipulate and control others. I almost missed Jones more than I did Schwarzenegger.
In fact, nobody’s performance was bad, they just weren’t great and had huge shoes to fill. Jason Mamoa plays the part of Conan well, but for most people makes a mistake that is totally out of his control-he’s not Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold’s persona and interpretation of John Milius’ script is still irrevocably Conan. I think Mamoa did a great job, I even would argue his portrayal is closer to Howard’s work than Arnold’s was. I place much of the blame for this film’s mediocrity outside of his control. I enjoyed Mamoa as Conan, and Rachel Nichols was like able in her role as a nun of some kind. Rose Mcgowan steals the show at times as a perfectly evil witch with steal claws. Mcgowan’s character is one of those that you love to hate, and she clearly stands out as the best actor in the film.
I will say with a lot of boldness that had I made a Conan film now, I would have approached everything differently. I argued previously it would be possible to accept a new Conan in the same way people have accepted several actors as James Bond. Connery was great as Bond, it’s even shocking to think someone could have replaced him. Then Rodger Moore did become Bond, and was great as the 007. The character Conan hypothetically can have adventures forever in his world, and we can follow the best of them as the audience. I would have changed the actor but kept some continuity with the old films. I would have retained the distinctive musical score by Basil Poledoris that was so important to the old films . The gritty, realistic look of the old films should have been retained, instead of so much green screen computer graphics work. In this case, the updated special effects added nothing to the film. Although Mako has passed away, the same opening should have been used. “Between the times when the oceans drank Atlantis……” It is classic stuff. I would not have shown Conan’s origins again. I just would have had a new adventure, and cast a very physically fit actor in his late thirties to early forties as Conan. This Conan would be more mature Conan…we saw him as a child, saw him become a warrior, and witnessed him as a young man. The next Conan is in a new stage of his life, as a more battle worn and wiser fighter. I would picture an actor like Nicholas Cage or Hugh Jackman as Conan. Don’t try to erase the old Conan, just continue the myth in the characteristic style of the other two. Arguably, this is what the James Bond franchise did with great success.
So, did I hate the film? No. I just think it was a typical silly modern action movie trying to “update” an eighties classic in an overdone modern style that ultimately failed. It was not as terrible as the Clash of the Titans remake, but that’s not much of a complement. Classics don’t get old, that’s why their classics. People don’t stop loving Star Wars because Chewbaca looks fake now, he somehow still works. Yeah, the giant snake in the original Conan looks horribly fake now, and the vampire-which wasn’t computer animated but so what. The niche that loves this movie did not need or want it updated. For us, you cannot remake Conan the Barbarian anymore than you can remake Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Casablanca, or the Godfather. A wildly new creative take on Conan would have been appreciated; somehow this film still feels like a shallow, silly remake of a classic.
In preparation for the new Conan film that will open in theaters this Friday, let’s take a look at the history of the character thus far. Conan is best known through two popular adventure films from the eighties, but there’s a wider history to the character.
Robert E Howard.
Robert E. Howard created the Conan character on a vacation in southern Texas. Howard began to dream up the mythical “Hyborian age” during his vacation, a time period that lies just before recorded history. Howard did loosely base his writings on some knowledge of ancient history to a degree; the picts show up in his short story Beyond the Black River for instance. The stories also seem to take place in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Conan’s world is intended to be a shadowy forgotten era of our own world, not a distant planet or a concrete historical period.
The first Conan story was The Phoenix on the Sword and it appeared in Weird Tales magazine in December of 1932. Weird Tales was a popular magazine that featured short stories which broadly spanned the horror, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Magazines such as these are often called pulp magazines and famous for outlandish, and then scandalous, pictures of monsters, muscular heroes, and scantily clad women. The heyday of the cover art for dime novels and pulp magazines came a little later, and inspired a genre of art called fantasy art to this day.
Other Conan stories followed in weird tales, and Howard eventually made a carrier from his writing. He was responsible for other heroic characters as well, such as Red Sonja, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn. Howard also wrote westerns and horror stories in addition to the fantasy work that he is most known and loved for. Unfortunately, his life came to a tragic end. Howard committed suicide upon the knowledge that his mother would die of cancer, and his mother died the next day. Howards’ work has been made available in several collections of short stories after his death. A film had been made about Howard entitled The Whole Wide World.
Other Conan Literature
Other writers used the Conan character after Howard’s death, including some huge names in Fantasy such as Robert Jordan and R.A.Salvatore. Several series of novels have been published about the character, including a popular Tor books series.
Comic Books
There have been several popular Conan comics Conan the Barbaraian (1970) and Savage Sword of Conan (1974-1995) were published by Marvel. Dark Horse also published the comic Conan beginning in 2003.
The Art of Frank Frazetta
An enormously talented artist, Frank Frazetta became famous for creating the cover art for books; as well as doing movie posters and comics. His depictions of Conan for book covers are legendary amongst fans of fantasy art. His vivid depictions of Conan and Howard’s Hyborian Age are still remembered today, and inspired the work of great talents such as Boris Vallejo and Louis Royo. The entire genre of Fantasy art owes a great deal to Frazetta. Frazetta worked on the film Fire and Ice with Ralph Bakshi, and it’s probably one of the best sword and sandal movies of the eighties.
Conan the Barbarian
Conan is best known from the 1982 Blockbuster hit and cult phenomenon, Conan the Barbarian. The film was directed by John Milius, and the original script was written by Oliver Stone. Milius made several major revisions to the script that Stone was not happy with. Ultimately, Milius used his version of the script, and gave both himself and Stone credit as the films writers. Of course, the real star of the film is obvious. Conan the Barbarian launched the carrier of a charismatic young Bodybuilding champion from Austria, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In this version of the story, young Conan’s village is destroyed and plundered by the sorcerer Thulsa-Doom, and his cult of snake worshiping fanatics. The child see’s his parents murdered before him in an incredibly well done and disturbing scene. He is sold into slavery, where he builds a great physical strength, and a desire for revenge. Conan eventually becomes a gladiator, and then a mercenary before being freed mysteriously one day by his owner. He then begins a quest for revenge against Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) and an epic adventure full of action, love, and vengeance ensues.
Conan the Destroyer
Conan the Destroyer followed this film’s popularity in 1984, and faced stiff competition at the box office from eighties classics such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Therefore, the film was less economically successful than Barbarian. While I defend Barbarian as a good, perhaps even great film, Destroyer was guilty of a lot of the sins Barbarian was accused of. Conan the Destroyer is significantly less complex and a lot more comic-bookish than Barbarian. It’s still an enjoyable film to fans of the genre, and has it’s lovable moments.
In this film, Conan must escort a princess with mystical powers to steal the horn of Dagoth, a jeweled horn that is part of a sacred statue. Unfortunately, the evil queen Taramis has plans to sacrifice the girl to her god after she returns so she can inherit the god’s powers, and assassinate Conan once he steals the horn. Of course, on the quest Conan must face monsters, warriors, cannibals, and the like to get the horn in the first place. This film was just fun to those who love sword and sorcery, as opposed to a critically unappreciated great film like Barbarian. However, fans did notice the drop in quality and substance from the first film. Interesting note; the official trailer below was actually not completely true to the actual film's plot.
Conan the Adventurer (animated TV series).
This show was a well done animated series that was essentially a toned down version of Conan the Barbarian. In this series, Conan’s family is turned to stone by the wizard Raphimon, who is basically a reinterpretation of Thulsa Doom. Raphimon controls a cult of snake people who worship set, an evil snake god also referenced in Conan the Barbarian. In this version, Conan has a “star metal” sword that vanquishes the snake people to another dimension when it hits them( so, no need for animated snake guts). The genius of this series was that it successfully turned Conan into a G rated adventure; something hard to do, and never done since.
Conan and Friends (animated TV series). This show was a continuation of Conan the Adventurer which I never had the chance to enjoy.
Conan. (live action TV Series).
A live action TV series that was sadly not very good. In the early nineties, action adventure shows abounded including Highlander, Hercules: The legendary Journey, Walker Texas Ranger, La Femme Nikita, and Renegade. A distinct genre of fantasy adventure series followed the success of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. These shows included the spin off Xena: Warrior Pricness, Beastmaster, Sinbad, Tarzan, Jack of All Trades, and eventually Conan.
It’s disappointing, since Highlander had been translated into an outstanding TV series, and with the right talent Conan could have been pulled off as a well produced adult action series. This series seemed to be targeted toward teenagers or young children, which was a mistake. It’s hard to really “tame” the story of a barbarian whose parents were murdered, and hacks up bad guys with a giant board sword for revenge. The series looked rather cheaply produced, and trudged along like a dull combined rip off of Masters of the Universe, Conan the Destroyer, and Hercules, the Legendary Journeys. The computer animation was not very good, the acting cheesy, and the plot a rip off once again of Conan the Barbarian.
In this version, Conan’s parents are killed by the wizard Hissazul, and he is then enslaved, gets out of slavery, finds a magical “Atlantean” sword and seeks revenge against Hissazul (whom is a ruling tyrant instead of a cult leader in this version). This series has it’s enjoyable moments to hard core fans and small children only; otherwise it’s laughable. I still think it’s a tragedy that the writers and producers behind the Highlander series did not make a Conan series. Maybe there is hope for that after the latest version is released in theaters.
Conan (XBOX and XBOX 360). A pair of enjoyable a Conan games were released for the Xbox and Xbox 360. They used the music of Basil Poledoris from the eighties version, but drew more from the dark horse comics and the novels than the Arnold movies. I think a video game version of the Arnold film could have been done; since they did develop video games of Ghostbusters and From Russia with Love. Perhaps the world was already getting ready for an Arnold-less Conan.
Age of Conan (Online Role Playing Game).
An enormously popular role playing game online, in which one becomes a character in Howard’s Hyborian age. One can easily guess that the popularity of this game led Hollywood to produce another Conan film.
Conan the Barbarian (2011) The most recent version of the Conan story stars Jason Mamoa as a leaner version of the Barbarian, and sports the latest special effects. The film’s producers claim they returned to the original Robert. E Howard stories for inspiration. Director Marcus Nipsel is known for getting remakes right-he has previously directed a successful remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the latest film in the Friday the 13th series. While remakes are unoriginal there is an art to reinterpreting a good story to be enjoyable for a new generation. Perhaps Niepsel can work his magic on this version. Although this film does not claim to be a remake, they interestingly did not bother to change the name of the film which would not have been a hard task (Conan the Mighty, Conan the Conquer, etc), and they went to Hollywood’s number one “remake guy” for this one. Hmmm, we shall see.
The Conan’s that almost where:
King Conan: Crown of Iron (unfinished)
Arnold had planned to play Conan several times in his carrier, and since Barbarian, the films were intended to be a series where Conan finally becomes “king by his own hand.” Unfortunately, Arnold never finished the series. John Milius wrote a script for a third film King Conan: Crown of Iron that was going to be produced by the Wachowski brothers, known for The Matrix. This project fell through the cracks as Arnold chose to do a third Terminator instead, and then became governor of California. This may have been a better business decision due to the popularity of the Terminator films however, Arnold left the story of the character that made him famous incomplete in favor of a sequel that did not have to be made, and was not very good. I guess this was to be the first of some bad and disappointing decisions that he would make in his late carrier. If the new version fails, maybe he’ll be forced to do this one for money (more speculation on that later).
Conan: Red Nails (unreleased). A computer animated film based upon one of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories.
A clip from the new Conan film is available online from Lionsgate films. It features the young Conan in his first battle. You can watch the clip right here on Next Dimension Over. Stay tuned for more information on the movie in the upcoming weeks.
So, recently I've been able to take in two summer blockbusters: Captain America and Cowboys and Aliens. I enjoyed both, but I might be getting bored of blockbusters for a while, since both seemed a little silly and even dull at times. I'll begin in order with Captain America: The First Avenger.
Captain Americahas been featured in some TV series and one live action film before in 1990, but this version boasts the latest special effects, great action scenes, and some really outstanding acting. The storyline is fairly engaging if it's not familiar to you. Young Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) is a small asthmatic young man whom is determined to join the army out of patriotic duty in mid world War II. Despite the army's continued rejection, he keeps trying to join it. Rodgers eventually is allowed to join if he participates in a secret experiment to become a super solider, and he of course is transformed into Captain America. The patriotic hero eventually is set on special mission to defeat a high tech group of Nazi's lead by the super villian Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). This version of he film has some clever moments to it, and is really enjoyable to watch because the acting talents of Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, and Hayley Atwell. The fight scenes are intense and edge of your seat, and should please any action fan. However, the film strangely becomes a little tedious as all of the film's combat is almost void of any military strategy. In the oddest way, the film becomes action packed yet dull as it progresses into one simple minded action scene after another, and culminates in a somewhat unsatisfying ending. It's also hard to take some of the weapons that HYDRA, Red Skulls special band of Nazi's has in the mid forties, some of which include lazer guns and high tech submarines. I know it's a comic book/science fiction film, but when you set a film in such a concrete historic period, It's awkward to break the realistic setting with such anachronisms. Overall, not a bad super hero flick, and I can't wait to see next summer’s Avengers movie. Oh, special hint, make sure you stay till the end of the previews for this one.
Now, we move on to the cheesier and much more fun Cowboys and Aliens. How do I describe Cowboys and Aliens ? The charm of it is that it's "B" grade movie already, and the film just doesn’t care and revels in it. Other reviews called it simple minded and well, the movie just delivers on every level that it promises: Great action scenes of cowboys and aliens, attractive stars, scary monsters, special effects, and a good show. Daniel Craig (of recent James Bond Fame) plays a lone gun slinger with amnesia, a troubled past and a weird alien weapon strapped to his arm. Craig attempts to play the strong silent type in this film, but most of the time comes across a little dull. Harrison Ford plays a complex and corrupt cattle rancher with a military background, whom is honestly the only interesting character in the film. Olivia Wilde plays a mysterious and gorgeous female character, but sadly displays little acting talent in this role. Honestly, I don't hold it against her though; I hope she keeps making movies for twenty years. She’d probably be a sexy old lady; I’m not joking.
Ah, perhaps that is how Cowboys and Aliens can be summed up-pure blockbuster cinema, an action packed feast for the eyes that aspires to be little else. The film seeks to entertain, and does so with such abandon that it leaves the viewer feeling a little dumb downed, yet somehow giddy and pleased all the same.
****Spoiler Alert****
However, some parts of this enjoyable film honestly do need to be ridiculed. I understand a lot of professional film and video editors believe audiences are all at least a little stupid, easily distracted, and easily confused. Someone editing this film had that theory with a vengeance. The movie rushes from action scene to action scene, from character to character, without any real build up of characters or storyline. The pace of the film makes the viewer feel something like this: “Bam, here’s aliens, Bam, here’s outlaws, Bam here’s Indians, oh there’re fighting, oh that person dies that sucks they were cool, oh there’s Daniel Crag I wish I was sexy like him, dam there’s Oliva Wilde she so hot, o man, more people dying, Bam kill the aliens, oh cool it blew up….awww…that dog is cute…wait, why do I care about what happens in this movie again? ”
Now on to the dog. There are numerous shots of a cute dog in this film. It has no purpose; it is a character without any meaning that does not advance the narrative to any degree. Therefore, this cuddly, lovable creature is loathsome to me. Clearly, the cinematographers won over the writers on this. To a writer, no matter how adorable this beast is to the simple pedestrian masses, when numerous shots of a character are included in a film of a character, that character must have a point. The dog does not have a point, and therefore is annoying to me. I can’t help it. Then again, the dog’s purpose is not entirely unlike that of Daniel Craig or Olivia Wilde in this film. They are so hot though. I do wish I was sexy like Daniel Craig though (sigh).
Go see this movie; it’s fun. Just read the encyclopedia a little bit after to retrieve IQ points afterwords. There’s a scene where Daniel Craig has to drink some magic Indian whiskey, and that’s how they find out where the aliens are hiding. Yeah, it’s that brilliant of a movie.
Yes, as August rolls around the corner a new film starring Conan the Barbarian will come to the big screen. The new film will be released on August 19, and star Jason Momoa as Conan the Barbarian. As the film moves towards it opening day, I'll be posting all I the information about the Barbarian that I can to get you in the mood, and sharing all of my concerns about this recent film. One thing is for certain-I don't think this is just a way to exploit a popular eighties movie. Sure, they will be drawing on the original film's fan base. I've criticized a lot of remakes for that, but this film may really have something to offer, and I would never want a remake of the Arnold film.
As an utterly shameless fan of the original Conan film, I will start with the obvious question- is Jason Momoa the right actor for the job? Mamoa is the third actor to play Conan, a character created by the short story writer Robert E. Howard in the thirties. More on him later, but who is the first person that comes to mind when one hears Conan the Barbarian (and that person is not confused or rolling their eyes)? It is of course Arnold Schwarzenegger; now a famous (and infamous) actor, businessperson, and politician. The original 1982 Conan the Barbarian is a cult classic of the eighties that fans of the sword and sorcery genre, or bodybuilding, can't resist loving. It's an action packed film that is wildly entertaining and engaging; it draws one into a far off world and leaves one begging for more. The film's success had a lot to do with the other people as well; the direction of John Milius, the joint writing talents of John Milius and Oliver Stone, the great set and costume design, the outstanding musical score by Basil Poledouris, and lastly the outstanding performance of James Earl Jones as Arnold's nemesis, the evil wizard Thulsa-Doom made the film the cult classic that it is. However, the original first two Conan films (it was followed by a less successful sequel straight after) where really all about Arnold. Conan was Arnold's first major role as a lead actor in a big budget Hollywood film. He had been introduced to the world in the documentary Pumping Iron as a charismatic young bodybuilder, but Conan was his first real notable role (even before Terminator) and the role propelled him to fame. To make another Conan Film, the film makers would have a very difficult choice; try to replicate Arnold and replicate the script with bigger effects, something that would likely be a disaster, or offer a different interpretation of the Character based upon a host of other source material, especially the original work of Robert E. Howard. These films creators did the later, and are offering a new Conan for a new generation. I don't know if Momoa will play the role well, but from what I have seen of the trailers (If a trailer can say anything) his performance looks promising. It's the only smart way to do Conan without Arnold.
To begin with, I think we can all agree that Arnold is hard to replace as an action hero, and James Earl Jones is a darn good actor. Any performance based on their interpretations of the character would be found wanting and seem like a caricature of an already loved and well done performance. We also need not look any further than the late nineties TV series Conan. O yes, it existed. Conan starred Raplh Moller as Conan in a live action TV series that spanned a few seasons. Ralph Moller dully played Conan with a slightly foney sounding German accent and battled an evil wizard in leather under-oos and horribly done computer animated monsters throughout the short lived series. It was bad-bad by my standards; please take a moment to take that one in. I'd go for an episode of Masters of the Universe before I would watch this one. The two hour TV pilot was a virtual remake of the 1982 film. Conan and his nemesis, the wizard "Hissazul" (I don't know if that's how you spell his name and I don't care), where rip offs from the characters in the Arnold films, and it follows almost the same plot with a few modifications and extra monsters. In the series, Hissazul kills Conan's family and enslaves him, he escapes, he falls in love, he kills his love, he finds a similar sword to the eighties film in an ancient crypt, and goes after Hissazul). Conan is now available on Hulu for free, if you watch a car commercial or two. I would check it out if you have nothing better to do, or are deathly ill. A half assed remake with some nice new special effects would be another disaster, comparable to this terrible series or that Clash of the Titans remake from last year that nobody liked. So, I am more than willing to give a new interpretation of the source material a chance. What do I mean by that?
Conan was created by Robert E. Howard, a writer whom is legendary among fans of fantasy and science fiction literature. He began to publish Conan short stories in the mid thirties, primarily through the pulp magazine Weird Tales. The character was later used in novels by multiple writers, and adapted into a comic book several times as well. Howard was also responsible for the Characters King Kull, Red Sonja, and Solomon Kane among others. Howard's work is still known and followed by fans of fantasy literature to this day. In fact, fantasy scholars sometimes sort all fantasy work into two categories: Howard-esue (stories resembling Conan and Howard's work) and Tolkien-esque (Stores resembling the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and Lord of the Rings).
Personally, I've been re-reading some of the original Conan stories recently released in paperback collections, and will buy a few of the comics. Would I have loved to see Arnold finish what he started? Heck yeah, but it's not likely to happen. There's only one way that I can imagine that would happen, and I'll address it in further posts. It should be briefly noted that sadly, due to the recent news concerning Arnold, I'm almost glad to see a fresh face on the character. Even as a lifelong fan, I would not be happy to see Arnold in a cameo now. It would not be right for him to still be a star at this moment. I believe in forgiveness, but for a while Arnold needs to be out of the public’s admiration, and reconcile as much as he can with his family. I don’t know if there will ever be another Conan, and there honestly won’t be another Terminator. If there ever where a time to try either of these things; it’s now. The James Bond character has been played successfully by several actors, with each one giving a unique interpretation to the character. To some degree, so has Batman (I would count West, Keaton, and Bale as successful Batmans'). It's possible to have several actors "be" a character for the fans, as Sean Connery, Rodger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan are all somehow Bond for us. This phenomenon is rare but possible.
So henceforth, from now on check back here for a Conan posting every week. I'll be introducing you to the original mythology of the character until August 19. Let's approach this with the understanding that the Arnold movies where great, but that the character and his world, the Hyborian age, are rich and vast, and I'm going to embrace the new interpretation with enthusiasm.
Lastly, please forgive some of the bad spacing on this post if you can. As I added little treats for you in the post, such as videos and links, it messed up some of the spacing. My apologies.
is available on Amazon.com, as well as the original Clash of the Titans (Keep Case Packaging)
has been featured in some TV series and one live action film before in 1990, but this version boasts the latest special effects, great action scenes, and some really outstanding acting. The storyline is fairly engaging if it's not familiar to you. Young Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) is a small asthmatic young man whom is determined to join the army out of patriotic duty in mid world War II. Despite the army's continued rejection, he keeps trying to join it. Rodgers eventually is allowed to join if he participates in a secret experiment to become a super solider, and he of course is transformed into Captain America. The patriotic hero eventually is set on special mission to defeat a high tech group of Nazi's lead by the super villian Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). This version of he film has some clever moments to it, and is really enjoyable to watch because the acting talents of Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, and Hayley Atwell. The fight scenes are intense and edge of your seat, and should please any action fan. However, the film strangely becomes a little tedious as all of the film's combat is almost void of any military strategy. In the oddest way, the film becomes action packed yet dull as it progresses into one simple minded action scene after another, and culminates in a somewhat unsatisfying ending. It's also hard to take some of the weapons that HYDRA, Red Skulls special band of Nazi's has in the mid forties, some of which include lazer guns and high tech submarines. I know it's a comic book/science fiction film, but when you set a film in such a concrete historic period, It's awkward to break the realistic setting with such anachronisms. Overall, not a bad super hero flick, and I can't wait to see next summer’s Avengers movie. Oh, special hint, make sure you stay till the end of the previews for this one.
, 
, and 
, 
, 
, and 
