I saw the Sam Raimi Oz film this weekend and I must say that I was truly impressed. I really liked the way Raimi brought the world of L Frank Baum to life on the screen, with all the visual mastery that we have come to expect from him. But I used to be in love with a different land of Oz... that of the Oswald State Correctional Facility, or OZ from the HBO hit series. That Oz was a bit different... you know, all the raping Aryans and killer inmates kind of make those witches seem a bit passe. I came across this really cool infographic over at Vulture that compares the two lands of Oz and found it quite funny. Hope you guys enjoy it...
I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the plentiful amount of Wizrad of Oz based projects that are due to hit in the next couple of months. As a huge fan of the Skottie Young drawn comic (that header photo is from that series) from marvel, the original novels by L Frank Baum, and the Wicked novels... well, lets just say I love me some stories from the mystical land of Oz. But the classic film changed a bunch of stuff from the books and most of these newer projects planned on showing another side to the source material. The one that stands out the most has to be the Sam Raimi helmed 'Oz the Great And Powerful'. This one gives us James Franco in the titular role of the Wizard (does this guy ever stop working?) and tells us the part of the epic tale of when the Wizard first came to Oz. But it also gives us a glimpse at the wonderful witches of Oz, the ones made all the books & film versions of the land of Oz exciting. The three witches that plan to play a prominent role in this film are played by three killer actresses, and I am sure the they are going to do a great job. Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, and Rachel Weisz are on deck to play the spell casters... and I can't possibly think of a better group of talented and beautiful actresses to fill the role. The movie hits theaters on March 8th, and I am sure we are going to get blitzed in the press over Super Bowl weekend, but you can meet the witches and take a look at the wonderful world that Sam Raimi has created in a small featurette after the jump....
I have been tracking the remake of Evil Dead for quite a while and have always found the prospect of it quite encouraging. It had one thing going for it that most of the horror remakes that have been coming out lack, and that is the involvement of key people from the first one. In this instance it's director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell, who are both returning as overseers in the executive producer chairs. Raimi got a chance to make a bigger, badder movie with Evil Dead 2, which is essentially the same movie as Evil Dead 1 with a bigger budget and a few additional cast members. But both films have a certain slapstick quality to them, and that is what makes them so great. It is also what has made Bruce Campbell's career. And also made the film series one of my favorites of all time. So when they decided to go remake, it seems Raimi decided to just take the dark turn all the way to the bank. The demonic possession and invulnerability of the Deadites is played up to a 10 in this version of the story, and the red band trailer is driving that point home more and more. God damn, that razor!!!! This movie looks more violent and creepy then ever before... and I have to say that I think it is exactly what it needed to remake a classic like this! Make it original, even if it is not an original premise. Check out the red band trailer after the jump and let me know what you guys think about this one. I think any real horror fan worth his weight in bath salts has to love this....
The Evil Dead Trilogy is by far my favorite film franchise. Ever. I am not kidding... I rank it higher than Star Wars, Alien, or the Potter movies (fuck you guys, those 7 movies are awesome!). It's not that I think that the Evil Dead films are BETTER than those I just mentioned (or any other films for that matter), it is just that the trilogy is so awesome and holds a special place in my heart since I was a little guy. Sam Raimi has become a titan in the movie industry based on his work on these three films and Bruce Campbell has made a career based on his role as Ash... to me it is just unapproachable. So when news of a remake started circling a few years back, my dismay began instantly. It's not that I hate all horror remakes... that is not the case at all. I liked both The Hills Have Eyes remakes, Rob Zombies 1st Halloween, Last House on the Left, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake films, and I love the goofiness that is the 13 Ghosts remake (again, fuck you guys!). There are good ones out there. But most are pure shit. So the last thing I wanted was them to take liberties with my favorite films. But then it was revealed that Raimi & Campbell would be executive producing the film (aka keeping motherfuckers in line), so they would have mucho input into the new film. At last weeks NY Comic Con we got a look at the first trailer, and now it looks insane in all it's official (not taped on a cell phone camera) red band glory! Looks like Raimi did a good job picking Fede Alavrez to head this one up. Check out the trailer for yourself after the jump...
That image... changed my life forever. When Evil Dead 2 came out in 1987 I was just 8 years old. I had seen a few scary movies, and my loove for them had begun to grow. But when I walked into the video store and saw that image in the sticker machine, I went bonkers. That skull head was just so spooky, yet so appealing. I HAD to see that movie. I settled for Evil Dead part I, which was on VHS already. Thus began my love affair with Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and horror movies in general. I made my father take me to see the second one in Manhattan a few weeks later, and I had a new favorite movie. Raimi had made his first movie into the masterpiece it could have been if he had the right amount of funding. Evil Dead 2 is a sequel, but is also a reboot in some senses... no matter how you want to classify it, there is one thing almost everyone agrees on: It's a classic!
Flash forward to the winter of 2007. 20 years later... 20 years of watching what how now became a trilogy (Army of Darkness came out in 1992) over and over, laughing hysterically at Ashley's crazy antics against the Candarian Demons of the Necronomicon. Chainsaw hands, boomsticks, pencils in the ankle, trap doors, creepy moose heads talking on walls, rouge hands, re-animated dancing corpses, a cabin in the woods, tree rape, Candarian chants.... yup, those are some great memories. Then I saw this ad for Evil Dead: The Musical playing off Broadway, and I almost shit my pants. How could they make a musical out of these films?
I ordered tickets immediately, right in the splatter zone. A fucking splatter zone... blood all over the audience. Amazing.
And the songs... oh god, the songs were amazing!!! My all time faves are "All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons" & "What the F@#k Was That". I laughed my way through the whole entire show... it was wonderful. Check out these two videos:
Look Whose Evil Now & What the F@#K Was That?
All The Men In My Life Keep Getting Killed By Candarian Demons!
So cheesy, yet so great. I even got this awesome mug the night of the show... and my son Mikey uses it all the time when he has chocolate milk.
He is a huge fan of Army of Darkness, and I can not wait till this show rotates back to NYC or somewhere close in the future. You can click here to get tons of info on the show from the official website. The show tours the world (for real... check the list) and is a must see for any fan of the movie series. I have also seen bootleg copies of the show being sold at various Comic-Cons and Horror-Cons... and I have never bought it. I am going to change that mistake soon. Check this one out... its well worth it!
Goodnes gracious, Sony is pulling out the big guns for their upcoming Spiderman reboot... and they are aiming high for the supporting cast!!! Word has hit the interwebs (thanks Den of Geek & /Film for the tips!) that Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker will be taught life lessons by Martin Sheen & Sally Field as Uncle Ben & Aunt May. This is wonderful news. Think about this cast so far. Garfield is a great young actor... he really has chops. Will that make for a good wallcrawler? Lets hope so. Then you got the lovely Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy & former CCD Obscure Hot Chick of the day Elena Satine as Mary Jane Watson providing the sex appeal. Factor in Rhys Ifans as Curt Conners/ The Lizard, and you got yourself a pretty solid cast for Marc Webb's new take on everyones favorite neighborhood webhead.
I like some of the stuff they are doing, like the fact that Peter won't be with Mary Jane & the fact that they are using a villian in The Lizard that was teased but did not appear in the original trilogy. A lot of people (Um... JEFF BOND!!!) are a little concerned with the fact that they are already rebooting a franchise that is still barely a decade old, and that point is extremely valid. With so much adaptable material out there, why re-tread this story... especially after Sam Raimi did it so well (um, well... 2 outta 3 aint bad, right?) But Marc Webb is a talented director, I am a huge fan of Garfield after The Red Riding Trilogy (watch this if you haven't seen it... Netflix Instant son!!!), and the supporting cast just keeps getting better and better.... I am starting to get more excited for this project. Let's see who the cast as J. Jonah Jameson. Nobody has ever given a more perfect depiction of a previously played character in history as J.K Simmons did... thats gonna be some tough shoes to fill. What are your thoughts on the Spiderman reboot? Tell us in the comment section below. We want to know what you think!!!
This one of my childhood favorites.... a true classic. These are the kind of results that you get when you give a genius like Sam Raimi enough money to fund his vision. I love Evil Dead I, but Evil Dead 2 is better because they had better funding to get it done. Enjoy!!!
