WEDNESDAY WHIMSY

By @hmsbeefnuts

Hello, welcome back. This week I am going to focus on books, comic books and the normal type. I don’t usually have a lot of time for reading, but recently, I have found myself reaching for a few books, and even finishing them! I know, how exciting. It is true, the majority of these books have been graphic novels, but still, they count, they definitely count. So without too much fuss, lets just get on with this blog shall we?

BATMAN THE BLACK MIRROR

This was the first time I had read a Batman story that didn’t involve Bruce Wayne, apart from the Knightfall saga. Dick Grayson is our Batman in this tale of serial murder, crime bosses, dead whales, villain auctions and sons gone bad. I would not want to spoil anything for you, it really is that good. At first I wasn’t sure if Batman would be as compelling without Bruce Wayne, but I needn’t have worried. Dick Grayson is a different kind of character, but no less compelling as the Dark Knight. His past as Robin, Nightwing and a police officer in Bludhaven all come in to play in some sublime story telling by Scott Snyder. In many ways this is the first comic since Batman: Year One that features the Gordon character in such a brilliant way. His story is just as compelling as Batman’s and sometimes even more so. This is one of the best Batman graphic novels I have ever read, and I really didn’t think I would be saying that about a Batman comic that didn’t have Bruce Wayne in it. I urge everyone with an interest in Batman to seek this out, it really is rather special.

OLD MAN LOGAN

In the world of the future, there are no heroes anymore. Most of them have died, and the few who are left aren’t in the hero business anymore. Logan AKA Wolverine, is older, has a family, and hasn’t popped his claws since the supervillains took over. He works a farm that is under the control of The Hulks, and he owes them a lot of rent money. When Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye comes to him with a proposition, Logan takes the seemingly easy job, so he can get the Hulks off his back. Basically a futuristic western, this has The Man With No Name flavour all over it. It is a fantastic tale, which I will not spoil here, that shows us the end of the Marvel heroes as we know them, and an adventure with Logan and Hawkeye. the first of which refuses to release his anger and claws, but you just know that at some point, someone is going to push him too far, he is Wolverine after all. I loved this book, and I would recommend it to anyone. As it doesn’t take place in comic continuity, you don’t need to know loads about the Marvel Universe but a basic knowledge will serve you well.

THE INFINITY GAUNTLET

As soon as I saw The Avengers (I refuse to call it Marvel’s Avengers Assemble), I knew I had to find out who that purple dude with a massive jaw line was. Well turns out he is Thanos, the Mad God, and this was the most recognisable Thanos book out there. Basic story is, after collecting all the Infinity Gems, and placing them in the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos tries to impress his lady love Death. The gauntlet and gems give him ultimate power over everything and everyone in the universe and beyond, a power he uses to try to get the attention of the afore-mentioned Death. Of course this causes many problems for the heroes of Earth and beyond, so it’s time for a huge super hero smack down to stop Thanos before he destroys everything. This was my first proper taste of intergalactic Marvelness, and I have to say, it was pretty amazing. I love a good hero team up, and when all of Earths mightiest heroes team up with the galaxies strongest, fun is sure to be had. I will admit to not knowing a few of the characters back stories, but as I have been reading some classic Marvel recently, I knew most of the characters featured. I think that sometimes, diving in to a graphic novel fresh, can be a bit daunting, but it pays off often, and leads you on to discover more amazing adventures featuring characters you may never have thought about before. The Infinity Gauntlet is well worth checking out, particularly if you have an interest in the possible future direction of Marvel Phase Two movies.

That’s just about it for this week, I’ll see you again next week for more Whimsy of a Wednesday variety.

THE TOTALLY AVERAGE SPIDER-MAN: WEDNESDAY WHIMSY

By @hmsbeefnuts

SPOILERS! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!!!

On Sunday afternoon, I saw The Amazing Spider-Man, in IMAX 3D. If you haven’t seen it yet, perhaps you should avoid this blog until you have, for I have much to say on the subject, and much of it will be spoiler filled.

First of all, let me say that there are two great Spider-Man movies, made by Sam Raimi, and it is impossible to talk about The Amazing Spider-Man without referencing these two great films. I loved Raimi’s take on the web slinger and I’m saddened to say, Tim Webb’s attempt doesn’t live up to the first two films, and is more in line with the poor third instalment of the Original Trilogy.

I will admit that I didn’t go into the film with an overly positive attitude, however, in recent weeks I had changed my mind about the look of the film, the action sequences looked awesome, even though the overall tone of the trailers seemed a bit dark and dismal. Well, the trailers perfectly captured the mood of the film, it was dark and dismal, but before we get into that, lets talk about some of the good things about the film.

Every time Spider-Man was on screen, in his full suit, the film becomes a joy to watch. The fight scenes with the Lizard are inventive, action packed and a match for anything a super human fight scene has yet given us, up there with the likes of Spider-Man 2, X-Men 2, and not too far from The Avengers. Equally, when Spider-Man is swinging through New York, the effect is breath taking, especially in IMAX 3D. Gwen Stacy is adorable, Spider-Man quips and flips his way through the film in a very enjoyable way, and that’s really where my praise of the film ends. Because true believers, I found The Amazing Spider-Man to be very average, and even unnecessary.

First things first, the tone of the film is very dull and dower. So much so that I get the impression that Sony wanted to buy into the dark and brooding success of The Dark Knight. Well, what works for Batman, does not work for the Wall Crawler. Spider-man has had his tragedies, but he always maintains an upbeat attitude, one which Raimi captured to a T. TASM is dark and depressing at times, from the colour palette to the tone of the film, it needs cheering up.

I disliked the costume. It is no where near as good as Toby Maguire’s. I hated Aunt May. Sally Fields is a good actress, but she isn’t Aunt May, she just isn’t. Martin Sheen is good as Uncle Ben, but not as good as the previous incarnation. I feel really bad for the original trilogy’s Dr Curt Connors, Dylan Baker, who is a better pick than Rhys Ifans as the Lizard. Ifans had a really dodgy accent at times, going really Welshy for a few words, something that made me laugh, it’s OK though, I’m Welsh. The look of the Lizard himself was great, until we get to his head. His head looks like a Goomba from the Super Mario Movie. Not good.

The plot is hackneyed beyond belief. OK so the Stan Lee Spider-Man isn’t exactly the best written story ever, but that was the 60’s, times were different, and to be honest, I’ve been reading a fair few classic comics, including Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four, from the 1960’s and yes they are of their time, but there is a magnificent charm about them, a charm that hasn’t translated to this film. Spider-Man seems to be without some of his powers. His Spider-sense in particular seems to go in and out. Also at the end, his wall sticking ability seems not to be working. Mechanical web shooters are closer to the comics, but I always preferred organic ones anyway, so that’s more of a personal choice.  At one point Spider-Man sets a camera trap for the Lizard, and the Lizard looks at the camera, where Peter Parker has handily stuck ‘Property of Peter Parker’ on to it. Thus the Lizard knows who Spider-Man is. Erghh.

 

Uncle Ben’s death is also no where near as impactful as in the first movie. Peter Parker decides that he will hunt down the criminal who killed Ben, but this becomes a crusade against one man, and it then becomes accidental that Spider-Man stops crime at all. It takes a meeting with Captain Stacy to make Peter realise that Spider-Man can help people. It makes Pete come across as selfish, not what Spider-Man is all about really.

The major problem I had with the film however is that every 20 mins, Peter is taking his mask off, or telling someone he is Spider-Man. I couldn’t believe he told Gwen. What is the point of wearing a mask to protect your identity, if you don’t wear it. Stupid. Also there is no ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ speech. How did that happen? Oh and the after credits scene is stupid too. I presume it’s Norman Osborne who is talking to Curt Connors, but how did he get into a max security prison cell, and how did he get out? Is he magic? Also, Spider-Man gets bitten by a genetically modified spider, that comes from a room full of genetically modified spiders, meaning there are thousands of chances for more spider men to be made. Also, why change police officers into Lizards, when nothing happens with it? The more I write about this film, the more I realise I really didn’t like it.

However, my favourite bit, and it was rather great, was the Stan Lee cameo. Perhaps the best one yet. No spoilers, I almost cheered when I saw it. I didn’t like The Amazing Spider-Man, but everyone I went with did enjoy it. Maybe you will like it too, it just didn’t work for me. By now everyone should know how Spider-Man came to be. We didn’t need another origin story, I would have much preferred a Spider-Man 4, than a new take on the franchise. Such a shame.

WEDNESDAY WHIMSY

By @hmsbeefnuts

Hello Wednesday Fans, and welcome to another hastily put together blog about some geeky stuff that I did, or have thought about doing, in the last week. I have not had a great deal of time in recent weeks. Work has been pretty non stop, and I have had to go on a Paediatric First Aid Course two Saturdays in a row. Needless to say, no matter how essential First Aid is, doing it on your only day off fucking sucks, especially since Saturday is usually the day I get out to the cinema. However, I did manage a few cool things this week.

 

Friday night a friend (hey Lucy), and I caught Chernobyl Diaries after a bite to eat. I have to say we both enjoyed it quite a bit, for what it was. I imagine that a sequel will be on the way in the not too distant future, something I’m not averse to. It was cool to see the town that starred in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on the big screen, and the film had an interesting premise.  It wasn’t a DVD or Blu-ray purchase, but it was enjoyable for the running time.

 Saturday I had a day of First Aid ahead of me, although by 3pm we had all passed the course. Straight home to put on Spider-Man on blu-ray, a great transfer which looked beautiful. Whilst watching the film, I began to feel the need to swing around New York City, very much in the style of a radioactive spider bitten teenager. As soon as the film finished I was back out, to my nearest Gamestation and had purchased the new Amazing Spider-Man game and 4,200 Microsoft points, because, Dawngaurd. Obviously must have been possessed by some sort of spending spirit, because I didn’t stop there. On to a cheap little book shop where I picked up Alan Partridge’s Auto biography, and three pocket sized graphic novels, two Fantastic Four Stan Lee and Jack Kirby classics, and a Spider-Man one. But I wasn’t done yet. I walked to WHSmiths, luckily only a few hundred yards away, in order to check out their graphic novel selection. Five minutes later, I was back at the car with two huge graphic novels, Wolverine and The Avengers. As I sat in the car looking over my rash group of purchases, I didn’t feel buyers remorse, but slight apprehension. I didn’t really need to add anything else to my reading queue, which is already getting very very long indeed.

 

I have to say I am enjoying The Amazing Spider-Man very much. It isn’t by any stretch of the imagination a great game, certainly not essential, but is a whole lot of fun. I can’t wait for the movie now, even though, early reports suggest that it may be more in-line with Spider-Man 3, rather than the excellent Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. I’ve written about the dark nature of the trailers and the whole feel of the production, seemed to me like something might be off, but I’m not going to prejudge something. I hope it will be good. I am yet to play Dawnguard, but it is downloaded, ready to go, as soon as I get some serious time off.

 

I am still no further into A Storm of Swords, and I’m not sure why, I love A Song of Ice and Fire, but maybe I’m just not in the mood for it right now. I have however, been reading books on ‘real life’ monster hunting. I devoured Nick Redfern’s There’s Something In The Woods, and am currently stalking my way through Linda S. Godfrey’s Hunting The American Werewolf. Many rational people seem to be seeing something in the woods and rural areas of America, and I find it fascinating.

 

Finally, just another reminder that this month here at All Geek To Me, we are extremely excited for The Dark Knight Rises, as I’m sure you all are too. As such, starting ummm, yesterday I believe, Geeky Gem and I are going Batman and Knights in general crazy, with a little event (ha check out the hyperbole!) called Summer Knights. Batman is just about our favourite person around these parts, and so what better way to see him off on his last Nolanverse adventure, than to write lots and lots of articles all about him? Of course, as Batman is the Dark Knight, we thought we would extend the event (there’s that word again!) to include knights in general. Geeky Gem and I hope you will stick around for these articles/blogs etc. and hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoyed writing them. Anyway, so much for this weeks less whimsical Wednesday Whimsy, I’ll catch you next week for some more, just have to think of something to write first.

Hollywood Must Stop Spoiling Movies

By @hmsbeefnuts

I’m not quite sure what to make of The Amazing Spider-man. It looks both good and bad, but mainly very, very unnecessary. The fact that it is far too early to reboot Spider-man is beside the point, at least of this blog. What is really annoying me about The Amazing Spider-man, and to be fair, a lot of recent Hollywood output, is the raft of scene’s and trailers that we are now subjected too. TASM (The Amazing Spider-man) just seems to be the worst proponent of this trend at the moment.

Sony must have released around 5 scenes from this film already, and there is still around 3 weeks until release. Then there are the trailers. We now have around 2 teaser trailers, and 4 or 5 ‘proper’ trailers for some films, these can be added to if the specific film decides to release international trailers etc. It just seems like far too much is being given away before an audience has even sat in the theatre. I don’t know about you, but I’m rather fond of finding out what happens in a film, when I’m actually sat there watching it for the first time.

I can see why studios pump out the trailers and scenes. In these days of 24/7 news and constant internet speculation, it is important to make sure your movie is out there, that it is ‘trending’, that the most people possible are talking about it, looking at it, arguing about it. I get all that, and especially in the case of TASM, people need to be reassured that this film is worth the reboot, that this film tells a story that the very recent Sam Raimi film did not. It needs to set out it’s stall and shout at the fan boys; ‘Look at me, I’m different. I’m better. You want to see me’. I get all that. I just think that sometimes less, is more.

I haven’t chosen to watch any of the released scenes from TASM. It has been tempting, I won’t lie, but I want to go in fresh, and hopefully be surprised, in a good way, by what I see. I don’t want to have seen even one scene from the film, and hopefully, it will pay off. However, the fact that I choose not to watch a released scene, does not stop people who have from talking about it. It makes certain websites a no go area, I’m looking at you Ain’t it Cool News. Now obvioulsy, the majority of the comments are going to be negative, that is the nature of comments, people feel far more motivated to complain, than to praise, I know, I’ve done it myself, but this only provides me with negative vibes for the film. I have decided then to keep away from a lot of talkbacks and comment threads, at least until I have seen the film.

I have decided to make a pact with myself. For any film I have a real interest in seeing, I will watch only 3 trailers max. I have managed to do this with the July’s other huge superhero film, The Dark Knight Rises. I won’t watch any scenes, I have not watched any scenes. I watched the teaser, and 2 trailers, it looks great, but I am done now, until the film. It’s going to be hard, I really want to watch this film, but I think that from now on, the less I see, the more excited I will be, and the more I will get out of the film, when I sit down to watch it on 20^th July.

I have also begun an experiment. I have not watched anything from Brave, not one trailer, not one scene. I am sort of aware of what it is about, I like the posters I have seen a lot. But I want to go in fresh, I want to know nothing about the film, and just let it hit me, and see what I think. So that will be interesting, hopefully.

For me at least, I would prefer for movies to keep their cards closer to their chests.

How Bigfoot Can Save Hollywood

By Hmsbeefnuts

Hollywood loves the reboot, the re-imagining, the sequel. In recent years almost every blockbuster that has emerged has been one of these, or has been seen as the start of a franchise. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with this. I love sequels, as long as they are worthwhile, and I love reboots, Batman Begins was a fantastic fresh start for the Bat franchise and everything has since gone swimmingly. However, there is a trend that Hollywood seems to repeat, and this is, the unnecessary reboot or sexual. Step forward Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and especially you Amazing Spider-man, its time someone put a stop to you.

Now this is a very personal beef that I have with these two films, and I can understand if you don’t feel the same way, understand, but never forgive. Lets start with crystal skull, I’m not putting the title in upper case, it doesn’t deserve it. Now I will admit to being very excited for the new Indy adventure, but little did I know that it was as no more than a cash grab, the story was terrible and it almost tarnished three perfect films from my childhood, but it didn’t, Lucas and Spielberg didn’t rape my childhood, but they did waste a shit load of money, something we will return to later. Lets take the worst offender, the object of my geek rage, The Amazing Spider-man. In 2002, Sam Raimi directed a very good film Spider-man, the story of a boy who once bitten by a radioactive, or genetically modified spider, gain the super human ability of said arachnid. He followed this origin tale with two further films, one very good sequel, and a poor third entry that still made killer box office.

Due to critical reviews, Sony pictures decided to reboot the Spider-man franchise, and so in just under 10 years, the cinema going public will get to see two origin stories for Spider-man. This is uncalled for. By now everyone who cares knows how Spider-man became Spider-man, we get it, we know, stop wasting time re-telling the story and get on with a good film. But no, we get to see a slightly different take on Spider-man’s origin. Now don’t get me wrong, the film might be great, but the trailer looks a bit dark and depressing, but what I’m trying to get over is that the $100 odd million spent on this new film could have gone to something else, something new, or at least, something that hasn’t been tried in more than 20 years. Step forward Sasquatch…

There have been many Bigfoot and Yeti films over the years, but all bar one share a commonality, they are all low-budget B movies that are never really satisfying. The suits are awful, the acting sub-par and the whole thing comes across as disappointing. The exception obviously is our friend Harry above. Harry and the Hendersons is a fantastic film. I loved it when I was young and I think it is down to it and a few books on unexplained mysteries, that I love Bigfoot to this day. The film s high budget, the suit looks amazing, unequalled to this day, and the acting is great, because great actors were in it. However, there is something about it that doesn’t quite sit right with an older me. Harry is adorable and the film is a funtastic ride to jolly town, but guess what? I want a companion piece. I want a scary fall into the horror ravine, and I want to be pushed over the edge by a big budget, scary ass Bigfoot. The world is crying out for a great scary Bigfoot movie. How do I know this? Well I bet I’ve seen more films about Bigfoot than most people knew existed, and I don’t say this to boast, only an idiot would boast about that when he had to endure some of the shit I’ve sat through. I say this because, there is clearly a market for scary films about Bigfoot, so now, someone needs to stop making shitty reboots and sequels, and front up the money for a great Sasquatch movie. Lets look at some of the films that have come before…

Sasquatch Films that are Rubbish…

I have seen many bad Sasquatch films, these include, but are not limited to;

The Snow Creature (W Lee Wilder, 1954)

Shriek of the Mutilated (Michael Findlay, 1974)

The Capture of Bigfoot (Bill Rebane, 1979)

I will not review these films but they are all terrible, acting, beast suit everything a complete waste of time.

Sasquatch Films that are OK…

Snowbeast (Herb Wallerstein, 1977, TV movie)

The Legend of Boggy Creek (Charles B Pierce, 1973)

Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch (2005)

Savage (2009)

These films are OK if you’re in the mood and like shitty horror films, maybe.

Sasquatch Films that are Decent to Good…

Harry and the Hendersons/Bigfoot and the Hendersons (William Dear, 1987)

The Abominable Snowman/The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas (Val Guest, 1957, UK)

Abominable (2006)

These films are worth seeing and are actually quite good.

OK so we have established that Bigfoot films are popular with some sort of audience and that there is room for a high budget take on the Sasquatch legend that isn’t a cute comedy, and will scare the bejeezus out of people. Some more evidence? Horror is big business, look at Paranormal Activity and Saw, audiences lap up horror movies. Also, Bigfoot is a recognisable character in pop culture, that no one actually owns the rights to, this means anyone can make a film about him, and it has the potential to be successful. OK, how though? How is a Bigfoot film going to make it worthwhile for an audience and a studio? Well it just so happens that I have come up with three solid gold concepts. Ready children? Then I shall begin…

Concept 1) Bigfoot the slasher, or Scream for Bigfoot

OK simple enough premise. Sexy teens go into the woods for summer camp/spring break, and disturb something in the woods they shouldn’t. Get Kevin Williamson to write the script, known good-looking actors and spend money on the creature, a post modern Bigfoot hit is likely to follow. Easy.

Concept 2) Bigfoot the found footage film.

This will take the style and story of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity films, and feature a documentary crew who venture out into the woods making a documentary on a logging company. A year later their footage is found, but they are not, guess who they pissed off?

Concept 3) The Historical Bigfoot epic

I must admit this is a bit of a favourite of mine and I’ve had this idea in mind for a few years now. Colonial America. As the French and British fight over who controls the new world a small settlement is set up on the boarders of a dense forest. Indian Legends say that something they fear to name lives in these dense woods, they so fear it that they dare not live within miles of the forest. The settlement grows and builds a fort, in preparation for the winter months and everything seems normal, except a few members of hunting parties never return. The leaders put this down to desertion or Indian War parties, that is until winter draws in and the real culprits are revealed. Can the Fort hold out until the early spring when the mountain passes open and fresh troops can arrive with supplies? Or will the Sasquatch get their terrible revenge for the disturbance of their habitat?

So there we are. That’s how Bigfoot can save Hollywood from an endless stream of reboots and shitty sequels. Right, who’s gona stump up $300 million so I can do concept three justice? Anyone…

Unsung Geek Heroes

By Hmsbeefnuts

Now we all know who Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and James Cameron are. Likewise, we have all heard of Christian Bale, Harrison Ford and Jason Statham. Over the years, these people have provided us geeks with hundreds of hours of quality geek entertainment, and as a result, they are rightly rewarded with being known by the general populace, and of course, huge pay cheques. However, the films they are in are usually special effect extravaganzas, or based on characters that have a long standing in the geek community.

 In many cases, the thing you most like about a film etc, has been the work of a team of people who have worked for months and years on making the film/game look as good as it does, or working on the character, or even acting in the film, but being under heavy make up or CGI. Here I will discuss my personal unsung heroes, and even as I do so, I realise that thousands of people are being left out, so next time you enjoy a film etc., stay for the credits, and look at how many people were involved in making that film, game, or TV show.

Shigeru Miyamoto

 

If I told you that one man practically saved video games at a time when people thought they would be a passing fad, and helped turn them in to a world wide phenomenon that makes more money per year than Hollywood, you would be confused that most people don’t know his name. The fact that this man invented Mario, a character more well known globally than Mickey Mouse, but not only Mario, but The Legend of Zelda, and had a hand in Metroid, Poke’mon, Star Fox, Pikmin, Pilot Wings, F-Zero, Donkey Kong and a hundred more, is testament both to his creative talent, and the shame that the world should bare for not erecting a colossal statue to the man. Miyamoto is the dictionary definition of legend. He has given more children more hours of fun than any man on this planet, and lets be honest, more than a few adults too.

 

The Super Mario games alone would be enough to secure this man legendary status, but when added to his other accomplishments, especially The Legend of Zelda, have produced what many people agree are the greatest video games ever created. My personal favourite of his games include, The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Super Mario World, and Star Fox 64, (Lylat Wars in the UK). The figure head of Nintendo, every time Miyamato appears at a press conference or trade show fun and hijinks are sure to follow. Please people, remember the name, he may not have had anything physical to do with Call of Duty or Halo, but in his own way, it is because of the trail blazing role he played as the creator of the modern video game, that video games were such a large part of all our childhoods. I challenge you not to smile whilst playing Mario or Zelda, or when beating a friend at Mario Kart Battle Mode.

Jack Pierce

 

Universal Horror make up master, and creator of the iconic looks of many of our beloved movie monsters. Ask a child to describe Frankenstein, Dracula or the wolfman, and inevitably they will describe a creature incredibly similar to Jack Pierces’ work. This guy is such a legend that other people on this list think he is legend, yeah he’s that good. Working in the early days of film, Pierce had to use all his gifts to create these wonderful effects. The Wolfman for example must have taken hours each day to apply to actor Lon Chaney Jnr. Each yack hair glued individually and painstakingly to the actors face, it’s no wonder that the two argued frequently.

 

The Frankenstein monster make up is now the established look of the monster, in reality an eerie green, in black and white, the fearsome creature, with it’s scars, square head and electric nodes on his neck (not bolts as is commonly assumed) the creature is a marvellous combination of actor and make up. Now I understand that the technicalities of the make up technician probably do not interest the average man, or woman on the street, but in my mind, Pierces’ make up kit should be placed in a museum and treated with as high esteem as any Renaissance era scrawling.

Richard Taylor

 

I don’t know if you have watched the special features on the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition DVD’s or Blu-rays, but you should. If you have, you can’t have failed to notice the squeaky voiced bespectacled geek genius that is Richard Taylor. Creative powerhouse of the greatest effects company working today, WETA Workshop, this Kiwi man marvel has, with Peter Jackson, and hundreds of their underlings, created the impossible. LOTR was a book that most people assumed would be un-filmable, and whilst it is due to Jacksons tight direction and vision that the film was completed, it was thanks to Taylor and the fine people at WETA that the film looked so damn good, authentic and lived in, every prop, miniature, creature and weapon were created from scratch with loving care and attention to detail. It all looks so good because it all makes sense, items have a common inception and a story behind them, really watch the documentaries on the DVD’s, it’s like a few years in film school, but far more entertaining.

 

Taylor has also been heavily involved in King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Avatar, films that I think you will agree were stunning, at least visually, and in my opinion, stunning all round. Taylor is a major reason that WETA is now seen as the premier effects company in the world, and when you look at their innovations in the world of mo-cap, or their stunning work with their so called bigatures and their pioneering mass army programme MASSIVE, Taylor has helped shape the modern cinematic experience, and from humble beginnings, working in a shed on Jacksons early films Braindead, Meet The Feebles and Bad Taste. The guy deserves a haka.

Stan Lee

You might think that Stan Lee gets enough recognition for his work on Marvel comics, after all he has a cameo in basically every marvel film there has ever been, and I can understand this, but we have to remember people, we are geeks. We delight in the now standard Stan Lee cameo, whether being saved from an automotive death by a young Matt Murdoch, being confused for Hugh Heffner by Tony Stark, drinking a bottle of soft drink infused with Bruce Banners’ blood or trying to move Moljnir with a pick up truck, Stan Lee it would seem gets enough geek recognition. But I wonder, does the average person who just goes to see these films know who the hell the crazy old man is in these films? Well they should, for this man has had a hand in more modern myths than almost any other, the man deserves an Oscar for most important cameo in superhero films for a man who actually created the character, except that he would be the only nominee, and would win every year.

 

Stan the Man has had a hand in Spider-man, The X Men, Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk, The Avengers, Daredevil and many many more characters, the guy is Marvel. OK so in recent years, his creative output has been, well, not so good Stripperella anyone? But the guy deserves a break, and should get one. So the next time your in a Cinema, or at home with friends watching a Marvel movie, and Stan Lee shows up, cheer, and whisper (at the cinema) or shout (if at home) the name of the great man, and spread the word, Excelsior!!

Andy Serkis

The worlds most underrated actor in my opinion, Andy Serkis has given birth to some of modern cinemas most remarkable characters. Caesar the chimpanzee from the latest instalment of the Planet of the Apes franchise will no doubt be over looked come awards season, but the performance, mo-capped by Serkis and WETA, is outstanding. The subtlety of Serkis’ work helps create a living breathing character that holds his own with the human characters. Serkis himself has described the mo-cap process as basically digital make up, the actor is still very much acting, and emoting, but instead of make up, a CG character mirrors the actors motions and emotions. His work as Kong in King Kong was again a work of genius. Playing the character as very much a gorilla, not some monster, Kong exhibited a wide range of emotions and character traits, and it is a cold heart indeed who does not shed a tear when the big ape hits the pavement, after that horrendous fall.

 

It is however, Serkis’ work as Gollum, the evil Hobbit ring bearer in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, that will always be his master work. Quite simply CG characters could be described as living in B.G. (Before Gollum) and A.G. (Anno Gollumai). B.G. Characters, hello Jar Jar Binks, are quite simply, the Homo Erectus cousins to Gollums Homo Sapien. The performance on Serkis is infused in every asset of Gollum, not just the voice. Gollum was one of the most complicated characters put on screen in the last few years, and thanks to Serkis, was 100% believable. Deserving of numerous Oscar credits, Serkis’ work in the advancement of acting is unparalleled.

Rick Baker

 

Our second make up man on the list, and another veteran of the mighty werewolf. Baker is a master of his craft. His practical special effects and make ups are really unrivalled in the cinematic world. He has worked on Hellboy, The Howling, An American Werewolf in London and even Cursed!! But every genius has the odd misstep. His work on the werewolf transformation in An American Werewolf in London alone is worthy of his inclusion in any list of geek heroes. The scene is an amazing example of what practical effects can achieve, worth watching on its own even if you have no desire to watch the movie, you should though its really good. His work on other werewolf movies is equally as good, and this guy has worked on a fair few in his time.

 

The variety in his work shows the man’s range and depth. The werewolves of The Howling, are very different to the American werewolf, which in turn is very different to my favourite make up/effect of his, in the remake of The Wolfman. This film got a lot of hate, but I loved it, and most of all, I loved the design of The Wolfman. Big, hairy, be-fanged and be-clawed, a killing machine and a superb movie monster. I know he got stiffed during the filming as he had designed a practical transformation that by all accounts was going to outmatch the one in American Werewolf, and it is a shame that the film makers decided to go with CGI effects in the end, but never the less, his work in the movie is still outstanding. A master of a sadly slowly disappearing art, the practical effect is being steam rolled by the CGI effect, and people of Hollywood, I implore you, there is room for both!

So there we have it, a small selection of people who need more recognition for the amazing work they do, or have done, in the geek realm. Of course, I would also like the thank all the stunt men, fight choreographers, design teams, sfx teams, writers, best boys, camera operators, concept designers, weapon specialists, miniature departments, practical effects teams….