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InMovie News

Awesome story of presumed lost all-Indian cast silent film recovered and shown again

October 8, 2012By

The discovery of a rare lost film with an All-Indian cast has become a great story of film preservation and history. The Daughter of Dawn is the earliest and probably only silent film with an all-Indian cast. Long thought lost after the film’s 1920 premiere, the film disappeared from the public’s consciousness until in 2003 a collector paid a private investigator with reels of the film instead of cash. The film then was sold to the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS), and film restoration began to protect the rapidly-decaying print. The reason the film survived was this was a “Paper Print Collection” copy made for the Library of Congress’s Copyright Office, as films were required to make copies there to get copyright protection.

It took only a few months to restore the film and after the intertitles [dialogue text pages inserted into the film between cuts] were added, the footage expanded out to the full movie and the original six canisters.” The completed film has a four-way love story and includes two buffalo hunt scenes, a battle scene between the Kiowa and the Comanche, scenes of village life, tribal dances, hand-to-hand combat and a happy ending.

Gee, way to spoil that 90 year old film!

The all-Native cast was mostly made up of Kiowa and Comanche, who lived on nearby reservations. Former Vaudeville performer Norbert A. Myles was hired to direct for Richard Banks’s Texas Film Company. The film then disappeared after the premiere, despite good reviews.

Blackburn, clearly thrilled with the interest the film is drawing from audiences and historians, describes its appeal this way, “The Daughter of Dawn is all Oklahoma. Acted by Oklahoma Indians, filmed entirely in Oklahoma, in a story of Oklahoma’s Kiowa and Comanche nations, scored by a Comanche and played by the Oklahoma City University Philharmonic students, even the film was restored by an Oklahoman working in Hollywood for the Film Technology Lab.”

Much more information at Indian Country Today Media Network

The Daughter of Dawn

InBad, Movie Reviews

Pegasus vs. Chimera (Review)

October 6, 2012By

Pegasus vs. Chimera

aka The Blood of Pegasus

2012
Written by Jeremy Levy, Angela Mancuso, and Kevin Commins
Directed by John Bradshaw

Mom! My toys broke again!

Pegasus vs. Chimera actually has the Pegasus and Chimera fight, and not just for three seconds at the end of the film. Sure, the fighting isn’t really spectacular, and is rather irregular, but it exists enough to justify the renaming of The Blood of Pegasus into Pegasus vs. Chimera. The SyFy name change designed to get the ratings juices flowing is not the only thing Pegasus vs. Chimera has going for it. Nazneen Contractor is a great standout as the tough Princess Philony, while Carlo Rota and James Kidnie have a contest to see who can be the most scene-chewingly evil.

The CGI for the Chimera is actually pretty good, the only drawback is I don’t like the red scars in the face as it distracts from the realism. The cat models they used for the movement are far more polished than I’ve seen in similar films, Chimera moved like a real cat would. Pegasus spent much of the film as an actual horse, which was also a smart move as the horse becomes one of the actors. CGI wings are added when the creature flies, otherwise it is “in disguise” as a normal horse, as that frees up money to pay for more extras to get wasted. There is even a bonus monster in the beginning of the film, the Dracanine! It’s a crocodile/dog mix with a name straight out of a SyFy flick. So if we ever needed a spinoff film….

This dagger will be perfect on my quest to buy homemade leather clothes at the Ren Faire!

The evil king sends the Chimera out to kill off his rivals. What’s a ragtag band of rebels to do? Tet their own monster! Thus, the Pegasus comes. Pegasus as a white horse allows us to bond with the creature more as a real being. You even feel for Pegasus later when the pure white horse has a bloody wound thanks to his capture.

Pegasus vs. Chimera is a pretty fun SyFy flick, it kept me entertained and wasn’t awful. The strengths outweigh the weaknesses, and for free entertainment that follows a strict formula, Pegasus vs. Chimera tried to have some fun. While not my favorite SyFy flicks, it is in the top 20% easily. If you are a fan of the creature features, then you shouldn’t miss Pegasus vs. Chimera.

Horse vs. Cat, the movie!

Belleros (Sebastian Roché) – A blacksmith who’s getting his Liam Neeson on, using that veteran acting style to guide his character. Belleros’s father was killed while they were out hunting together and Belleros was young. He spent the next twenty years keeping a low profile and waiting for it to finally be time to rebel against the evil king for justice.
Princess Philony (Nazneen Contractor) – A Tieran Princess, her father is killed and her kingdom sacked when they refuse to join King Orthos’ quest to become an Emperor. She’s tough as nails and wants revenge.
King Orthos (Carlo Rota) – Evil king and would be emperor of Argus, kept alive and young for decades thanks to the magic of General Actae. Is seeking immortality both via power and via actual immortality.
General Actae (James Kidnie) – Evil magician who uses spells to extend Orthos’ life and is second in command of the kingdom, but he desires his own realm. Conducts the magic spell that brings the Chimera to this world, and killed Belleros’ father.
Mayda (Rae Dawn Chong) – A witch who hides in the forest and summons the Pegasus after Queen Caria and Philony as for her help.
Chimera (CGI) – A beast from the underworld that agrees to come to Earth to kill and devour souls.
Pegasus (a real horse and occasionally CGI) – A constellation brought to life to fight against the Chimera. It’s blood grants immortality, it heals its riders, and if the Pegasus dies, the world ends. No pressure, but there is no room for failure.
Chimera has Sith tattoos all over his face!
Godzilla Marvel issue 4
InMovie News

Baywatch will soon be running down the beach in slow motion to a theater near you!

October 5, 2012By

Spamela Hamderson

Once upon a time, there was an announcement of a Baywatch movie that then seemed to go nowhere, and the world rejoiced. But that cheer was too much, too soon, as our hopes and dreams became crushed upon the announcement that the Baywatch film is still going forward and has hit the point where a script is written and a director has been are being hired! Luck may be on our side, because the director hired is Robert Ben Garant, who is actually pretty good at giving us entertaining Hollywood fun. The script is written by Peter Tolan, but as Garant is a good writer himself, things might get polished up a bit. In any case, we should be having people in red swimsuits jiggling up and down the beach sooner than later! I can only hope that this film does well enough that we get a Baywatch Nights movie. Now that is a show that needs an ongoing film series!

If you haven’t read Garant and Thomas Lennon’s book Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at The Box Office and You Can Too!, you need to, as it hilariously exposes and skewers how Hollywood writing is done.

via Vulture

InMovie News, RiffTrax

The Guy From Harlem – RiffTrax VOD

October 5, 2012By

RiffTrax is back with yet another VOD title that I wish I had time to view, but I’m already several titles of theirs behind! Not that I’m complaining, I’d rather have too much than to be starving. The Guy From Harlem is the first blaxploitation riff, though Cinematic Titanic followers know they did East Meets Watts, which was both blaxploitation and kung fu!

There is a sample video at the link, and the description makes this sound like another classic!

The Guy from Harlem is the first blaxploitation film we’ve ever riffed. Why? To quote the temperamental yet ultimately quite sensitive gangster Harry De Bauld, a character you will grow to love as much as we do – “well, it’s…it’s kinda personal.” Okay it’s not actually personal at all, it’s just that the movie is really, really funny. It trades most of the sleaze, grime, and, well, exploitation that you expect from the genre for dopiness, sexual situations that fail to lead to actual sex, a clumsy confused sweetness, and more botched lines per minute than anything we’ve ever seen.

As you’d expect from the title, The Guy from Harlem is set entirely in Miami. The makers of Casablanca almost used the same approach, with early drafts titled The Dude from Somewhere Other Than Casablanca. It’s the story of private eye and titular Guy, Al Connors. Al’s a man with such a reputation that when it’s time to protect an African queen/princess/wife of a chief of state (her title changes pretty much every time it comes up) the CIA goes straight to his dingy shag-carpeted office and begs for help. Later, when gangster Harry De Bauld’s daughter is kidnapped by the sinister Big Daddy, and his own criminal organization is just “too upset!” about the whole thing to deal with the situation, where do you think he goes? That’s right. To the guy who’s the best at being from Harlem there is, baby.

Join Mike (what you say?), Kevin (that cat’s a bad duuuude), and Bill (get on down!) for The Guy from Harlem!

RiffTrax page

Guy From Harlem

InGood, Movie Reviews

Argo

October 5, 2012By

Argo


2012
Written by Chris Terrio (screenplay) and Joshuah Bearman (article)
Directed by Ben Affleck

Worst. Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Ever.

The story of how the CIA created a fake science fiction movie as a cover in order to rescue Iranian hostages is a story that has become legend in the world of internet movie discussions. Over the years, the story became repeated and linked to again and again, building as articles and books sprang up to be linked to, blowing the minds of movie fans new to the tale each time it appeared. It’s one of those true life things that is impossible to make up, as it sounds too far fetched to be real. But it is real, and it’s so real it has passed on to legend. Like all good legends, someone made a movie about it!

Argo is both the name of the fake CIA movie and the name of this film. History comes alive as we enter the world of 1979-1980. From the old school three bar Warners production logo to the final scene of thousands of dollars of vintage toys, we are in the past. There is a very quick comic book history lesson of Iran’s history up to 1979, followed by vintage news reports of US/Iranian tensions that will be sprinkled throughout the film to show the building tension between both sides. It is interesting how the US/Iranian tensions are still relevant now over 30 years later, the same basic issues and anger are present.

Too busy being awesome to listen to the haters

Cast members become unrecognizable beneath their period haircuts and clothing, make up applied to best ape their real world counterparts. The fashions, the cars, Tom Brokaw with black hair, typewriters, everyone smoking everywhere, the Hollywood sign in ruins, it’s all there. Events I only have the faintest recall of due to my other priorities of being in the terrible twos.

But the film is more than a picture of the past. The cast is solid. Affleck put together a powerhouse ensemble of great actors. They blend into the roles.

We open just as the Shah has been overthrown, people are rioting in the streets as revolution runs rampant. The US embassy is besieged both inside from people wanting visas out, to the mob outside yelling at the gates. But they come over the top, storming the compound and capturing everyone. Six US employees manage to escape and hide out, eventually settling at the home of the Canadian ambassador. The Iranians don’t know anyone is missing, yet. But there is no easy way to get them out. So it’s time to come up with some plans.

Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) – CIA agent and expert in disguise. Comes up with the crazy plan that’s just so out there it might work. Sadly this is also a case of white-washing, as Tony Mendez is Latino.
Jack O’Donnell (Bryan Cranston) – Mendez’s boss and supporter, helps deal with the levels of bureaucracy in Washington. Can think fast on his feet while stuff is hitting the fan.
John Chambers (John Goodman) – Academy Award winner John Chambers is one of the best makeup artists in the world. He also does some jobs on the side for the CIA. Which is the connection they need to bring him on for the most important job of his life.
Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) – Hollywood producer brought in to help set up the fake movie and production company. I don’t think he is a real person, as Robert Sidell was the main person helping John Chambers, but Arkin is great as the washed up producer even if it is fantasy.
This is how Hollywood really works.
InMovie News

Giants sounds like good fun from the Twilight Zone!

October 4, 2012By

With a plot that reminds one of being straight out of the Twilight Zone, Giants sounds like it will be pretty cool:

In Giants, an alien race known as Giants on planet Gigantus are attacked by a foreign spacecraft, which prompts a team of soldiers to embark on a mission to Earth in order to wage war. The aggressors are taken aback when they realize they were giants on their home planet, they are 1/4 inch tall compared to earthlings, and the foreign spacecraft that attacked them was actually a loose screw from the Hubble telescope. The giants land in a nerdy kid’s yard, and through a series of events bond to save the world.

What’s even cooler is Giants is being rewritten and directed by Tom Jenkins and Simon Sharp. They are the minds behind the viral hit Address is Approximate, which is awesome and I suggest you watch it now if you haven’t! I have high hopes they will do something great with Giants, and I support this trend of giving talented shorts filmmakers chances of producing full length flicks.

Andre the Giant

Anyone makes a “My Giant” joke, I kill them!


via Deadline

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