BTDT DVD REVIEW: STAR WRECK

STAR WRECK is a Finnish amateur/fan film made as a spoof to the Star Trek saga. The cast of this film includes a variety of characters who resemble many of the famous faces you might recognize from both classic TREK and TNG stardom. We even find some Star Wars plugs out there (ie the DVD reviewed is labeled the "Imperial" edition).

Fan films hold a special place in our hearts here at BTDT, for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, any person (or group of people) who takes on a project like this, and is able to see it through to a complete production status, must be truly commended. These people have to be innovative when it comes to planning EVERYTHING from costumes, to effects, to CGI (if they can find someone to even do it for them)- any movie fan who has ever dressed in costume for a "Con" knows how involved of a process that is just in itself. And that is only one small piece of the puzzle, when it comes to putting together a full-blown fan film.

Even if you manage to bring all of the effects, costumes, and even shooting locations all together, there is still one significant factor remaining: your CAST. With a fan film, more often than not, the cast are all working for free. And you know the age-old adage: "you get what you pay for". During the shooting of the film, cast members can bail at any point, leaving the remaining crew to have to find a way to fill the void (if it's even possible).

In the case of STAR WRECK however, the creators managed to overcome not only all of the aforementioned movie-making blunders, but they even managed to secure a production company here in the U.S. to get their movie out there. In the very near future, copies of STAR WRECK will be spinning in DVD players all across the States. Our hats go off to them!

From a big picture perspective, the creators of STAR WRECK have done an excellent job bringing the film to life. The effects used are creative, and their CGI is way above par.

The plot and characters have their share of cheese, but again: this is a FAN FILM. If we'd seen James Cameron's name out there in the credits as the director, we'd definitely have expected more. But knowing a dedicated group with a small budget and a big dream put this together, we definitely think the folks on the set of STAR WRECK didn't do half-bad.

The only thing beforethedarktimes would have liked to have seen done differently was in regard to the editing of the subtitles. It was followable, but definitely could have used a final review by an American editor. However, we'll say this one more time: not only is this a FAN FILM, it's an INTERNATIONAL FAN FILM! For any hardcore critics out there, think before firing.. How hard might it be for someone born in Detroit to do a fan film going to Tokyo, Japan?? We rest our case!

STAR WRECK will be available the week of November 10th, one week before the release of the 2nd generation STAR TREK on DVD. Buy BOTH and go GLOBAL!

Thanks goes out to Revolver Entertainment for allowing us to be a part of this review.

BTDT Review Of FAST AND FURIOUS

This review may be a bit biased coming from a bonafide car lover- but we have to say that for a fourth installment of a series that began in 2001, this film really managed to pull through. Were some of the car scenes exaggerated? Yes. Were some of the stunts/fights lacking in logic? Yes. But hey people, this is Hollywood. If you're looking at everything through a "realism" eyepiece, stay at your house and watch TV, listen to your kids fight with each other, and talk to telemarketers on your phone. THAT's reality. 8^]

One of the true strengths of this film is the re-joining of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. They really brought the feel back from the first movie. Did it probably cost the director a little more of his personal slice of the profit margin? No doubt. BUT, that definitely made the profit margin a little bigger than had they not included both actors in the film.

It was also great to see a total of 4 of the original cast members returning to the series from the first movie. We get a little "surprise" early on in the film (will not mention due to spoilers), however what leads up to the event seems to take place rather quickly and unexplained. That was really the thing that jumped out with a WTF Factor of 9 out of 10 on the scale. Nevertheless, the event was key to the plot of the film, so although it wasn't really mapped out as well as it could have been, its existence was required.

The movie had the required amounts of hot cars (both older and new), fine looking females, and alot of action. It was great to see a larger variety of classic American muscle in the movie as well, with the inclusion of around 10 classic Detroit beauties blended in with the Import flash.

Even though this movie had a PG-13 rating, I personally felt there were some scenes present which really should not have been there for young adults of that age bracket. However, an R rating would have missed the whole target audience for this type of film. That being said, the movie was a fun movie to see on a Friday night, and it definitely had the theatre packed. And, as always, the ending left room for yet another sequel. Should they do it? Only if they bring back the Vin-Paul combo.. Thanks for another wild ride guys.

CD REVIEW - Mastodon's CRACK THE SKYE

The latest Mastodon CD hit store shelves yesterday, and the wait has been worth the while.

The singer, in many instances throughout the CD, sounds like he could take a job tomorrow filling in for Ozzy Ozbourne. The CD’s artwork has a Lord of the Rings/Medieval feel to it, which gives the band’s presence a nice aged feeling. Almost like one takes away from looking at the album sleeve of Zep’s fourth album.

In the CD you will hear echoes of the following artists: Godsmack, Rush, Rob Zombie, Metallica, Led Zep (heard this most at the beginning of Track 4, “The Czar”. In the pipe organ you can almost hear the dogs of doom a howlin’ more), and Alice in Chains.

The majority of the Godsmack-in’ that I heard was in regard to the music itself, more than the sound of the singer or vocals. The keys and changes used just seemed to have been touched by Godsmack in places. Please keep in mind that I’m not saying “they sound just like Godsmack” because they DON’T. It’s almost as if a little Godsmack essence became airborne and found its way to Mastodon’s realm.. Nothing more! NO plagiarizing is found in this CD from any other artists (at least not that I could find).

This CD is a nice change from mainstream rock, so if you aren’t already familiar with the band, check them out!

www.mastodonrocks.com

BTDT REVIEW - Chris Cornell's SCREAM

I feel like I had to wear 2 different hats while doing this review, providing feedback from an overall musical/creative perspective, as well as from a biased-SG-AS fan’s perspective. So, here goes:



From the musical/creative side:

-Teeny boppers are going to love this CD, very hip-hop

-It will get Top 40 play

-It will bring a new audience to Cornell’s talents

-There is some well-thought-out synthesizer creativity found within the new tracks

-Influences/Echoes heard:

Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise
Stereo MC’s - Get Yourself Connected
Michael Jackson – the BAD album




From a SG-AS perspective:

-Dedicated fans of the above bands WILL NOT BE happy with this CD (there, I said it); it would be like seeing Ronnie James Dio showing up on the Doodlebops kids show and doing a duet with Deedee.

-When one has listened to Chris sing for almost 20 years as I have, and has watched him lead some incredible bands, singing songs with not only built-in-rage but awesome lyrics to boot (ie Set It Off, Cochise, Outshined, Spoonman, Shape of Things To Come, should I keep going?), it’s really hard to listen to this new CD enjoyably.

-I can’t tell if Chris picked this project for a change of pace, if it’s because he’s getting older and wanted something more mellow, or if his agent simply told him he’d be great with it.. Whatever the case may be, it’s a much quieter Chris than many of us have come to know and love. In his defense, lead singers of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock bands are no longer typecast into doing JUST ball-crushin’ head-bangin’ rock themes. For example, Robert Plant just recently won awards for his efforts with a country singer! Who would have seen that coming??!!


Overall, do I still like the guy’s music? YES. Will I still be going to see him on this tour? YES. Am I glad I got this album for free with my ticket purchase? YES. Again, it’s just a change, and change always impacts people differently. However, when this reviewer’s favorite Cornell jam is Rusty Cage, it’s hard to hear Chris singing something hip-hop and be overwhelmingly receptive to it..

Keep ‘em coming Chris, just don’t forget the old school!

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beforethedarktimes.com reviews IRON MAN

Wondering if this one's gonna be worth seeing? Read for yourself what beforethedarktimes.com has to say about this new release (caution spoilers)

beforethedarktimes.com had a special opportunity to review this film before its official debut (5/2/08).  The commentary below contains SPOILERS but is definitely worth a read, especially if you're on the fence about seeing this early Summer blockbuster.  But first, some answers to some highly-anticipated concerns:

 

For anyone who didn't think making this movie was a good idea...

*you're dead wrong*

For anyone who thinks the trailers have given away the best parts of the movie...

*rapidly shaking head NO*

For anyone who didn't think Robert Downey Jr. could pull off the part of Tony Stark...

*print a copy of this and take it with you to the movie theatre*

 

This movie is the coolest one made in a long time..  For any person who has ever appreciated any of the following, this movie is a MUST-SEE for you:

-cars, old, new, exotic

-motorcycles, old, new, exotic

-airplanes, old, new

-any comic book

-old jukeboxes

Everywhere you look in this movie, it SCREAMS both mechanical and electrical eye candy.

It's pretty obvious to know that most men will want to stand up and chant HOO-YAH for Tony for the first half of the film, while most women will probably sum up their thoughts on him in one word: "PIG".  But for anyone who has half a clue what the character of Tony Stark is supposed to be like, this will come as no surprise.  The guy truly has it all (at least from a materialistic sense).

The film runs 2 hours 6 minutes, and does very well in keeping the audience from finding any lulls.  There are some HILARIOUS moments in this film, especially when Robert Downey Jr. first dons the suit.  Again, as mentioned above, the trailers do NOT show it all- and we here at beforethedarktimes.com are going to keep that level of respect in this area, so you can see the best moments for yourself..

The acting in this film is very well done by ALL cast members- it is actually surprising to see Jeff Bridges portraying the role of a hidden bad guy, but it's great to see a new side of his acting finesse.  The only other character we could think of off-hand where he portrayed a masked bad-guy was his role in The Vanishing with Sandra Bullock and Kiefer Sutherland.  Aside from that, most of his roles are always on the "good" side of things.  It was an interesting switch.

Gwyneth Paltrow pulled off a good job as Pepper Potts (OK... we do have to ask: WHAT kind of flippin' name is Pepper Potts??? anyway-).  Her role is relatively thin in the grand scheme of things, but her performance is believable, and we're just thankful that she is in this movie and not Kirsten Dunst (cough*HAG*cough).

Robert Downey Jr. has been a funny guy since his appearances all the way back to movies of the 80s (anyone remember him in Weird Science?).  But the beauty of his performance in this film is, his antics are done at the perfect times, and it doesn't appear that he tried to steal the show with any moments of idiocy or over-acting.  Two thumbs up for Robert's portrayal of Tony Stark..

The effects found in this movie are simply incredible.  It is absolutely amazing to see the achievements that have been made using this new technology in modern films.  If you were impressed by what you witnessed in Transformers or War of the Worlds, you will be right at home with Iron Man.  Some of the best moments in the movie from a cgi perspective, believe it or not, are all of the HUD-oriented scenes that are found throughout the film.  They include but aren't limited to:

-shots/angles from INSIDE the suit with Tony Stark
-displays that come up on various glass panels within Tony's home
-the wide variety of equipment used in Tony's garage/lab area

It is astounding to see how many different types of functions the suit possesses.  One of the funniest is early on in the film, when you actually hear Tony receiving a call on his cell during flight.  There, we gave you that one-  But one thing that impressed us the most is, Downey was able to make us believe that there really WAS a way to get that suit on and off of a human being- and believe it or not, it does show how DIFFICULT it is to fit into that suit!  Any previous attempts to fool an audience on this PRE-cgi would have been disastrous.  This feat was VERY well done by the special effects crew.  Hats (and helmets) off to ya!

You can tell that there is room for a sequel, and from the perspective of what we saw tonight, a sequel could come out just as strong as this first film.  We invite you to check out the film for yourself, and report your findings here or in our Forums!

(review has been migrated from prior server location as of September 2012)

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