I Am Legend's Recent Activity - Spout

Film:I Am Legend

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:57:11 GMT

Title: I Am Legend
Year: 2007
Director: Francis Lawrence
Plot: Adapted from acclaimed author Richard Matheson's influential novelette of the same name, Constantine director Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend follows the last man on Earth as he struggles to survive while fending off the infected survivors of a devastating vampiric plague. A brilliant scientist who raced to discover a cure for the man-made virus as humanity came crumbling down all around him, Robert Neville (Will Smith) was inexplicably immune to the highly contagious superbug. Now the entire population of New York City -- and perhaps the world -- has been transformed into carnivorous bloodsuckers that fear the light and live solely to spread their contagion to any remaining living creature that crosses their path. It's been three years since civilization came to an end, and the loneliness has taken a devastating toll on Neville. By day he scours the city for food and supplies while sending out desperate radio messages in hopes that someone might respond, and by night he attempts to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus by experimenting with his own blood. But time is running out for Neville as the legions of infected watch his every move from the safety of the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They, too, long to learn the secret that lurks in Neville's blood, though they will have to take caution while attempting to procure it because Neville will sooner die attempting to slay every last one of them than willingly giving up a single drop. Previously adapted for the screen in the 1964 Vincent Price frightener The Last Man on Earth and the 1971 Charlton Heston action film The Omega Man, Matheson's novelette also served as the inspiration for George A. Romero's groundbreaking zombie classic Night of the Living Dead. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 80
Number of Lists: 38
Number of blog posts: 41
Number of discussion threads: 15
SpoutRating: 3

Spout Post: Re:Weekly Theme for June 22: The Plague

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:08:49 GMT

Post By: Dr_Gor
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 6/24/2009 9:08:49 PM
Body: [quote user="mciocco"] Every example I'm coming up with seems to be a borderline case. Most are not about a plague proper, but have elements of plague type stories. The best example I can think of is the original The Andromeda Strain. (Incidentally, the 2008 miniseries sucks!) Serenity references many elements of plague, even though it probably wouldn't be considered a plague movie. I'm a big fan of the novel, but the I Am Legend movie isn't nearly as good... Still, some of those scenes of an empty NY hit home... 12 Monkeys is another that doesn't really hit the plague head on, but plague features in the story... The Stand mini-series isn't that great overall (another movie overshadowed by the book), but the first 2 hour episode is pretty great, and that's the part when the plague spreads... There are probably a million zombie movies that would qualify, but I'll leave that open for others:) ~Mark [/quote] Thanks, Mark! Your comments are pretty close to my actual thoughts while I was reading the original post. The Andromeda Strain is a great movie and a perfect example of the genre. Pretty scary, too... I, too, am a big fan of Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend" and I have enjoyed every screen version I have seen. I have not yet seen the new Will Smith version but I will. In any case it will never live up to the "mega-classic" The Omega Man (1971) in which Charleton Heston gives his life to save humanity... There was also an earlier film version of this story called The Last Man on Earth (1964) starring Vincent Price. Although I don't have any proof, I SERIOUSLY think that the latter movie was a HUGE inspiration for George Romero and NOTLD. The Stand is Stephen King's best novel and one of the best books I have ever read. The TV miniseries, directed by Mick Garris, is incredibly true to the book and is one of the best movies I have ever seen.... And yeah, you are right about the Zombie Movies... there are about a million of them... < GOR >

Spout Post: Re:Weekly Theme for June 22: The Plague

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:01:02 GMT

Post By: mciocco
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 6/22/2009 4:01:02 PM
Body: Every example I'm coming up with seems to be a borderline case. Most are not about a plague proper, but have elements of plague type stories. The best example I can think of is the original The Andromeda Strain. (Incidentally, the 2008 miniseries sucks!) Serenity references many elements of plague, even though it probably wouldn't be considered a plague movie. I'm a big fan of the novel, but the I Am Legend movie isn't nearly as good... Still, some of those scenes of an empty NY hit home... 12 Monkeys is another that doesn't really hit the plague head on, but plague features in the story... The Stand mini-series isn't that great overall (another movie overshadowed by the book), but the first 2 hour episode is pretty great, and that's the part when the plague spreads... There are probably a million zombie movies that would qualify, but I'll leave that open for others:) ~Mark

Spout Post: Oops: Five Movies That Failed to Predict the Future, Part 2

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:01:19 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 2/4/2009 6:01:19 PM
Body: Last week I offered a list of movies that made ambitious predictions about the near future, only to lose credibility when their dark futures didn’t become a reality. As meaningful as this exercise is, it’s also very limited, I can only debunk movies whose futures have already failed come true, or can I? Using FutureMe.org, I sent my future self an e-mail, asking how movies which predict what the next ten years have fared. Luckily, PastMe.org must be up and running in 2019, because I received a prompt and courteous response from my future self. Here is the response, which I will write in ten years: Past Self, Got your e-mail about failed movie predictions. I knew it was coming Here’s what I’ve got for you: 2012 I realize this Roland Emmerich mega-budget doomsday picture hasn’t come out yet in your time. I don’t recommend seeing it when it does, unless you were so impressed with Emmerich’s filmmaking in Godzilla and 10,000 BC that you actually want to see more. The film predicts that multiple apocalyptic catastrophes befall the world in 2012, in accordance with an ancient Mayan calendar which stops on December 21 of that year. What we know now is that the Mayans simply ran out of room on the rock they were carving, and were not trying to warn future generations of anything. Promoters of New Age Mayan mysticism did make a big deal about what they said would be the end of the world, making several appearances on popular talk shows. Of course, nothing happened on December 21, 2012, except that the special edition Blu-Ray of 2012 went on sale, hoping to make up for poor sales by becoming the ironic Christmas gift of choice. I Am Legend This 2007 Will Smith vehicle is another example of revisionist futurism, when a story’s prediction doesn’t come true, the story is retold and the date is moved further into the future. This is the third film adaptation of Robert Matheson’s original novel. Published in 1954, the book follows a scientist named Robert Neville from 1976 to 1979. Neville is apparently the sole survivor of a pandemic which resembles vampirism. The Will Smith version takes place in 2012, clearly a favorite year for doomsday prophets. While the prediction of a virus that turns everyone into rabid beasts didn’t exactly come true, that year’s American Idol competition was particularly brutal, inspiring an outbreak of backyard gladiatorial battles, similar to those now used to choose the winner of the show. The Postman This 1997 film, directed by and starring Kevin Costner, was generally regarded as a flop when it was released. It grew in popularity, however, as its prophetic vision of 2013 began to look more like reality. In the film, society is in ruins after a nuclear war. Costner’s character inadvertently brings hope to the destitute survivors when he starts delivering mail. While there was no global nuclear war in 2013 (that doesn’t happen until 2015), the film did accurately predict the return of pony express style mail delivery. Due to the ongoing financial crisis, the US government shut down the Postal Service, assuming that private carriers and e-mail would fill in. It worked for a few months, until bad loans and $300-per-barrel oil drove the private delivery firms out of business right during the Great Broadband Crash of ‘13. It was a bad year. But letters from loved ones did seem that much more meaningful when they were hand delivered by a disheveled vigilante fighting off dysentery. Back to the Future Part II The 1989 film Back to the Future Part II made several predictions about what the world of 2015 would look like. Having lived through that memorable year, I can tell you things didn’t turn out as shown in the film. In reality, flying cars were not released commercially until 2036, but never became widely available due to the market domination of flying Segways. Hoverboards, on the other hand, were widely available by 2015, but were pulled off the market following the unfortunate death of Tony Hawk during the 2016 X-Games. Many blamed the incident on Hawk’s malfunctioning cybernetic legs, rather than the Hoverboard, but the toy was still unable to recover from legal trouble. One prediction Back to the Future Part II did get right was Marty McFly’s futuristic Nike shoes. Nike released the Air McFly, in July 2008. While they were a limited edition, there’s no reason you couldn’t wear them in 2015. Blade Runner In Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction noir, Harrison Ford plays Deckard, a hard boiled detective hired to assassinate several illegal androids known as replicants. The film’s predictions about what a gritty futuristic Los Angeles would look like were pretty accurate. Genetically engineered pets are also available, but you need to go to some rather unsavory neighborhoods to find people who produce them. Super realistic androids, similar to replicants, also exist in 2019. Which brings me to a rather important point. This e-mail is not actually from your future self. I am a replicant. Your memories were transferred to me shortly before your grisly death. Thanks for writing. If you have any more questions about the future of movies, let me know! Best, Future Kevin Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

Spout Post: Holiday Gift Guide: Presents For Surviving The Apocalypse

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:00:38 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/16/2008 12:00:38 PM
Body: As the financial markets pull the entire economy into utter despair, it’s difficult to think about Christmas shopping. It’s tempting to shove your life savings into your mattress and ride this thing out in a homemade bunker, but holiday shopping is more important now than ever before. I’m not saying this with the hope that a boost in retail sales will jolt the sinking markets, that will never work. Think about it, they’re racking up trillions in debt and you’re going to help by buying an iPod? Nice try. No, the reason you need to stuff stockings like crazy is because this will be the last Christmas on Earth, at least as we know it. A trifecta of economic, nuclear, and environmental apocalypses will surely befall our poor planet in the coming year, leaving a small band of survivors to fend off death in the savage wastes of our once great world. But don’t worry! You and yours will be prepared for this dark tomorrow, if you follow our handy Post-Apocalyptic Gift Guide: Puppy This is a classic Christmas gift, and it’s surprising useful in a post-apocalyptic environment. While watching post-apocalyptic movies in preparation for a life wandering the ruins civilization (cf. I Am Legend, The Road Warrior, and A Boy And His Dog), you’ll notice that many heroes keep a trusty K-9. The obvious reason is companionship, as going months without seeing another human can be maddening. While dogs do need to be fed, a tough breed can eat trash and carrion that you wouldn’t go near. The right kind of dog (larger breeds are best) can also offer protection and help with hunting, assuming natural flora and fauna still exist. Lastly, and I hate to say this, Fido can even become a meal if the situation gets desperate enough. Solar Gadget Charger Second only to clean water, a key to survival in a post-apocalyptic environment is the ability to watch movies. Classics like Tank Girl, Six String Samurai, and The Postman offer invaluable tips for survival in the wastelands. Luckily, portable solar-power devices have become more affordable. The 30 Watt Mono-crystalline Portable Briefcase Solar Panel 12V Charger is a bit pricey, but with it’s 25+ year life-span and ability to charge not only laptops but also any other gadget that can be plugged into a car cigarette lighter, it’s a must-have. Portable game systems, rechargeable flashlights, even GPS units (assuming the satellites haven’t been shot down by invading aliens), could be used for years after the collapse of the power grid. Towel This one might seem odd, or even frivolous, but hear me out. The idea comes from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which was a BBC radio show, then a series of books, and finally a film in 2005. The film was tragically brief considering the amount of source material, so I’d recommend downloading the audio of the radio show to your solar-powered laptop while you still can. One piece of advice the book gives adventurers traversing the cosmos after the annihilation of Earth, is to always carry a towel. While it’s unlikely that you’ll ever get off of our doomed planet, the towel can be just as useful in the terrestrial wastes. From the book: …[The towel] has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon… The list of uses, including self defense and the psychological effect of seeming with-it enough to know where your towel is, goes on and on. A Good Pair of Shoes Shoes are a tricky gift, because the fit is so important. But if you’re planning on treading through the shattered remains of cities, you’ll want to think about arch support, ankle protection, and warmth. Hiking boots are probably a good choice, which can be expensive, but remember, these will need to last. Your next pair of shoes will probably be pulled off of a dead body, and they may not be the right size. If you’re still not convinced that navigating armageddon requires proper footwear, re-watch the final sequence from Children of Men, where Clive Owen struggles across broken glass and re-bar in bare feet. Ouch. Hazmat Suit This snappy Commander EX™ Brigade Level A Suit from DuPont runs about $1,900, but when it comes to avoiding the virus that wiped out the rest of humanity, you can’t put a price on safety. I tried to find the clear plastic variety that would expose your naked body and your vulnerability as a human in an unforgiving world, like the one worn by Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys, but they seem to be unavailable. Mailbag/Postal Uniform In the much-maligned post-apocalyptic classic The Postman, Kevin Costner’s character finds a bag of mail and a postal uniform. When he assumes the identity of the letter-carrier, he spreads his sense of purpose and patriotism across the shattered land. The key here is really the uniform, not necessarily that it’s a mail carrier. It’s been proven that uniforms can have a profound psychological effect, both for the wearer and for those interacting with them. It’s no coincidence that General Bethlehem’s sinister Holnists have uniforms of their own, a key element to building their fledgling fascist regime. It may seem impractical, but uniforms will nevertheless be key to re-establishing order in the midst of anarchy, for better or worse. BBC’s Planet Earth Once you have your solar-powered laptop, you’re free to horde whatever sort of DVD collection you choose. Certainly titles that preserve a sense of the former grandeur of the world would be the jewels of any such collection. I’ve picked BBC’s stellar nature documentary series Planet Earth. This series depicts the stunning beauty and mind-boggling bio-diversity of our planet better than anything I’ve seen. While you hunker down in an abandoned meat locker to avoid the latest fallout-laden dust storm, you can watch amazing footage of the thousands of species that no longer exist, and cry yourself to sleep. Happy Holidays! Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

Spout Post: Superheroes and Sex in the City: new DVDs (12/9)

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:47:20 GMT

Post By: SkyPilot
Post To: Coming Soon
Post Date: 12/8/2008 4:47:20 PM
Body: New DVDs on 12/9 -- Highlights The Dark Knight -- Watch trailer. We're giving away some Dark Knight DVDs, check it out. Hellboy II: The Golden Army -- Watch the trailer. I liked it a lot more than the first (and I liked that one!). When it comes to fun and surprises, I think the scene in the Troll Market surpasses the Mos Eisley cantina scene from Star Wars. I Am Legend (The Ultimate Collector's Edition, 3 Discs) -- Watch the trailer. The Resident Evil series 3-pack. Sex and the City (4 discs) Some Frank Capra classics are getting reissued by Sony pictures: It Happened One Night Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Mr. Smith Goes to Washington You Can't Take it With You

Spout Post: Doesn't live up to "Legend" status

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 07:35:59 GMT

Post By: dj4our
Post To: dj4our Blog
Post Date: 10/19/2008 3:35:59 AM
Body: I AM LEGEND: The IMAX Experience (2007) *** PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence. 1 hr. 40 min. written by: Akiva Goldsman & Mark Protosevich with source material from John William & Joyce Hopper Corrington("The Omega Man") and Richard B. Matheson (novel: I Am Legend) produced by: David Heyman, Neal H.Moritz, Akiva Goldsman & James Lassiter directed by: Francis Lawrence I had just finished a Christmas show performance on December 23rd at church (you can check out the pics here) which required a set of tedious rehearsals and I knew I needed some kinda outlet. For me, this outlet usually involves gettin' out and seein' a movie. I wanted some kinda escape, so I planned one which consisted of some of the usual suspects. The plan was to take in a 9pm showing of "I Am Legend" at the IMAX at Navy Pier. It would turn out to be one of the coldest, windiest nights yet. On the way there I started doubting my sanity which is exactly what I would see Will Smith do on a gigantic screen. But first.... I chose to see this film in IMAX for two reasons: 1.) it would be cool on the big-big screen 2.) it had a prologue for "The Dark Knight" playing before it. All the non-IMAX showings of this film just had the new trailer for "The Dark Knight" but this was the actual beginning of the movie....and it was awesome! Filmed in IMAX, the intense prologue showed The Joker (Heath Ledger) and his masked goons robbing the Gotham National Bank. The way this is implemented is pretty twisted and ingenious (just like the comic book Joker) and in one particular scene where the goons are swinging to the roof of the bank from an adjacent skyscraper (clearly Chicago, yes!)....quite dizzying (yay for IMAX)! It was great to see the bank manager (the great William Fichtner) go up against the goons and Joker with a shotgun in the bank. It was also great to see how Joker deals with him and flees the bank (onto what looks like Jackson Blvd!) Something tells me this sequel will surpass the previous one in greatness. Heck, just the sheer joy of noticing all the Chicago locations will be worth it. Plus, it would be nice to spot myself as well but that may be wishful thinking. After seeing that, I was all excited and looking forward to seeing Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith) go at it alone in a desolate Manhattan of the near future. By now, you're likely aware of the story....he's the Last Man on Earth! Whoa. How'd that happen? Well, it's 2012 and it turns out back in 2009 there was this virile outbreak that wiped out 90% of civilization by years end.The film starts out with some news recordings that reveal a genetically engineered measles virus that had been created by a Dr. Alice Krippin (an uncredited cameo by Emma Thompson-how'd they get her?) as a cure for cancer. Little did she know it would mutate into a lethal strain which would rapidly infect humans and animals. So, of the 10% left of civilization 9% were infected, but did not die. These survivors spiraled into a primal state of aggression and began to react painfully to UV rays, forcing them to hide in buildings and other dark places during the day. Less than 1% remained completely immune to the virus, but were hunted and killed by the infected. That's how US Army virologist Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville is left as the supposed last healthy human in NYC and quite possibly the entire world. We're shown in some well-done flashbacks that when the breakout went live, Neville being the army doc he is was able to get his wife Zoe (Chicago's own Salli Richardson) and daughter Marley (Smith's own Willow Smith) on a helicopter off Manhattan to hopeful safety. That was more than three years ago and now Neville's daily routine is trying to find a cure for cure for cancer. He feels it's his responsibility to see if their is a way to reverse the infected. Of course he and his daughter's German Shephard Sam (short for Samantha, played by Kona) need to stay away from the infected at night and do so in the safety of his fortified home. Slowly drained of his sanity and growing weary of battling the vampire-like infected that attack during the night, Neville is losing hope that his nightmare will end. By far, the finest moments of the picture are easily the sequences of the him and Sam driving around the city streets, interacting with a frozen world. Hunting deer or shooting golf balls into buildings off an aircraft carrier, Neville has the world to himself in the daytime, employing careful street geography sharpened over three years of seclusion. In this game of boredom and survival there appears to be no winner, just survival. The balance between the two is where "Legend" finds the strongest dramatic flavor, carefully studying Neville's fragile sanity while upping the tension with the menacing "Dark Seekers" and their escalating aggression toward the viral survivors. Neville's daily routine includes experimentation on the infected he manages to capture in order to find a cure for the virus as well as trips through a Manhattan devoid of humanity to hunt for food and supplies. He even goes through the local video store starting from A to Z, he's got the time (something I would do). He also makes friends with mannequins he's positioned in the store, he knows their names and back stories. Waiting each day for a response to his continuous transmission broadcasts, which instruct any survivors to meet him at midday at the South Street Seaport. When other survivors finally do start to surface, the revelation stuns Neville, who finds his struggle to remain optimistic is in constant battle with his knowledge that humanity has likely been snuffed out for good. Smith handles their appearance in a very real way. It's still hard to comprehend that he's not alone, that there are others out there beside these metropolitan night creatures. Francis Lawrence (who also directed "Constantine") is a skilled enough director to pull off the visual apocalypse of a deteriorated New York City and he also successfully sets up an environment for Smith to allow you to feel what it would be like to live in this world. The reason some of the scenes I mentioned work is due to the total silence Lawrence uses during the opening acts. He does this not just to amp suspense, but to have you feel the unnerving stillness in the air. One of the best, nail-biting scenes has Sam wander off in daylight into a building. A big no-no cuz we and Neville know that those insatiable creatures are lurking in there. It really draws out the horror, fear and dependence he has with his only companion. So, Lawrence succeeds in making the first three fourths of this film an excellent look at isolation, loneliness and aloneness. But (there had to be one) the final half hour just seem rushed. Once Anna (Alice Braga) and her son Ethan (Charlie Tahan), the two survivors who find him come into the story everything speeds up into an adrenalized action picture. The slow, tense build-up Lawrence gave us is replaced with a video game feel with the CGI-heavy creatures swarming all three of them. It had to come, I knew the action would kick up a notch as I watched it but I though it woulda been a notch, not full throttle. Ah well. Some viewers have commented on how lame the infected creatures were in the film. They're saying they felt too similar to something you'd find in a video game, not life-like enough. At first, I didn't mind them (maybe cuz I saw less of them) but I have to admit something about them after awhile felt....goofy. This could be some of the worst CGI creatures put to film, making them look more like crude animation tests. What ever happened to the magic of makeup?Maybe it's cuz we don't know any of them to begin with, I mean supposedly all of those infected were once averages people, right? Yet, they all are skinny, half-naked and veiny, resembling Johnsonville brats. They all look the same! Why aren't they all different sizes? Average people are short and tall and fat and skinny so how'd they get this way? I know that Lawrence started out using real actors for these creatures but later opted for CGI. That's too bad. Obviously not just any actor can handle a role where the majority of the film you're hanging either by yourself or with a German Shephard. Tom Hanks could only do it for so long and then he needed (or rather the movie needed) a volleyball. But Smith has the charisma and talent to take on the character, putting in his best sci-fi acting work to date. He effectively portrays a man pushed to the brink of madness dealing with great loss and feeling burdened with trying to cure those infected. Smith offers up fantastic work here, from singing Bob Marley to Sam to his thickening depression. It's a dark and desperate performance that feels real but "Legend" is a dark and desperate film. Anyone stereotyping Smith's talent and expecting something similar to his previous work, will be surprised. Honestly, I woulda preferred watching an entire film of Neville confronting his despondent life, but Lawrence doesn't have the patience to see his mounting despair all the way through to the end. Instead, the third act is rushed and the ending a tad too tidy for me. I know the films overall look does benefit from 2007 technology but it is also ruined by it. As for the benefit of seeing it in IMAX, maybe I'm getting old but the IMAX films I see the more I seem to miss especially in action films. I tend to lose a lotta detail when a screen five stories tall is giving me dizzying visuals. So, unless it's filmed in IMAX, it's kinda hard to make everything out. In the end, the film slumps to the finish line, failing to find a pathway to a stimulating, satisfying finale. While there are some great things going on for the majority of the film, it's just too bad it runs out of gas as it speeds it's way to mediocrity.

Spout Post: The Zombie Next Door: The Science of the Walking Dead

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:01:06 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/14/2008 1:01:06 PM
Body: Two weeks ago I wrote a list of five doomsday films ranked by plausibility. The response to this piece made me realize that I overlooked the most pressing apocalyptic threat of all: zombies. The onslaught of the living dead has been a mainstay of horror cinema for decades, beginning with the Bela Lugosi vehicle White Zombie in 1932. Over the following years zombies popped up in movies as one of many monstrous villains, often filling the minion role. It wasn’t until George Romero’s groundbreaking 1968 film Night of the Living Dead that the idea of a zombie apocalypse was introduced. Romero’s cannibalistic zombies have since become the archetype used in countless films, books, and video games. The cause of the virulent plague of the walking dead varies, however. Everything from spiritual curses, viruses, chemical weapons, and alien microorganisms have been used to explain the origin of zombies. Below the jump we examine the real-world evidence behind some of these threats, and which ones you should be most worried about. Much of the popular lore surrounding zombies can be traced back to Haitian Voodoo. Sorcerers, known as bokors, are said to be able to animate the dead, forcing them to work as their slaves or warriors. This is more or less what Bela Lugosi was up to in White Zombie, except that he was a wealthy white plantation owner who used zombie slaves to work his sugar mill. It was all just business until he tried to use his power to improve his ailing love life; then things got wacky. In the 1980s, Harvard ethnobiologist Wade Davis went to Haiti to try to track down a physiological basis for Voodoo zombification. He discovered that the bokors used a special “zombie powder” to induce trances in victims, which could apparently last for years. The powder contains a poison known as tetrodotoxin, or TTX. Davis wrote a best-selling book about his research adventure, The Serpent and the Rainbow. The problem with Davis’ theory is that the powder, while it does contain decaying human flesh and God knows what else, has only a very small amount of tetrodotoxin. Even if it did contain more, it would only slur your speech, stifle your breathing, and possibly kill you, but it wouldn’t turn you into a sugar plantation zombie slave. If the bokors get technical and decide to weaponize zombie powder, then we could have a real apocalyptic threat on our hands. But it would be more like an old-fashioned chemical weapons attack, not a true zombie plague. For the walking dead to go from being a mere nuisance to a force capable of ending humanity, the affliction really needs to be contagious. In Night of the Living Dead, those killed by zombies soon rise to join their ranks, thereby growing the undead horde at an exponential rate. This model has been used in countless films since, with varying explanations about the nature of the zombie plague. In Romero’s classic, a reporter says something about a probe returning from Venus having exploded in Earth’s atmosphere. While it’s possible to imagine that a virus from an alien world could do just about anything, including raising the dead, other zombie movies have searched for terrestrial origins for zombification. One idea is that rather than zombies being reanimated corpses, they’re living people afflicted by a really nasty form of rabies. I Am Legend and 28 Days Later can both be read in this way. While the rabies model does account for altered behavior, and transmission through biting, there’s something about the voracity and speed of a rabid being that just isn’t quite zombie-like. The afflicted hordes in both films move much faster than Romero’s zombies, which would serve to spread the infection at an accelerated rate. As much as I love 28 Days Later, slow moving zombies are scarier, even if they’re a little easier to fend off. Either way, if scientists were ever to alter the rabies virus to have an extremely short incubation period and heightened symptoms, we could have a whole lot of very crazy people with the ability to infect more. The Return of the Living Dead, released in 1985, added a key element to zombie mythology: brains. Where Romero’s ghouls wanted to eat all human flesh, Dan O’Bannon’s zombies hungered specifically for human brains. In Return the cause of zombification was a bungled military experiment involving a poison called trioxin, which is a real chemical, but thankfully it does not cause people to become nearly indestructible walking corpses. Eating the brains of the dead, however, can have some horrifying real-world consequences. In the 1950s an American physician and researcher discovered a troubling disease affecting the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea. They called it kuru, which means “trembling with fear.” The neurological disease caused patients to shake uncontrollably and burst out in maniacal laughter before dropping dead. On a cellular level, the condition is not unlike Mad Cow Disease, and if you know anything about how that is spread, you probably know where this is going. It turns out the Fore people had rather strange funeral practices, which involved eating the bodies of the deceased. Kuru was more prevalent among women and children, because they ate the brains of the dead, while the men dined on the rest of the body. The disease itself does not make people more likely to hunger for brains, but the story does drive home a disturbing point: Not only will people eat one another if their wagon train gets stranded in a mountain pass, they will also consume their kin due to cultural forces alone. In other words, peer pressure. Combine a global food shortage with some charismatic and insane leaders, you’ve got yourself a zombie apocalypse. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

Spout Post: I Am Home Alone. Clip of the Day

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:00:53 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/27/2008 1:00:53 PM
Body: It’s been awhile since I put the spotlight on a trailer mash-up, but I haven’t seen too many good ones lately. Have they gone out of fashion? Are internerds tired of watching such and such drama made to look like a comedy and such and such comedy made to look like a thriller? I don’t know, but this fake promo for Home Alone, recut to ape the I Am Legend trailer, is a evidence that the art of the mash-up should not be lost just yet. I have one problem with it, though. While it’s as good an idea as the Kill Yoda spot from earlier this year, and it’s initially executed rather successfully with the captions and voice-over, it kinda loses me when Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern show up. And the shot of Kevin where there’s a bunch of people in the background completely ruins the whole idea. Some of the image/audio match-ups are perfect, at least, like the iconic aftershave gag. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

Spout Post: Validation

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:08:13 GMT

Post By: Zularian
Post To: Zularian Blog
Post Date: 8/5/2008 12:08:13 PM
Body: So I should start by saying I have no idea if what I am about to reference is actually "true". That is, my information comes from the Internet, which we all know is full of utter nonsense and lies. That being said I came across a link today that brought a smile to my face. Of all places it is on the Cracked website. Here is the link: http://www.cracked.com/article_16258_5-awesome-movies-ruined-by-last-minute-changes.html What I found interesting has to do with the first film mentioned, I Am Legend. Quite honestly I was more than just a little appalled when I finally got around to seeing this movie. I tend not to go to the theaters anymore unless a film really demands to be seen on the big screen. This is certainly a big screen kind of movie but it just did not look all that good to me. So I waited. About a month ago I finally rented the movie and when I saw it I was simply amazed at how terrible it was. I do not put much stock into critics or how much movies gross at the box office, but usually when a film sets records (which I believe this movie did) or receives largely positive reviews I take it to mean that it cannot be all bad. In the case of I Am Legend this was not the case. I fumed for a day or two after watching this movie by and large because I felt betrayed. I complained to my wife, I had unkind thoughts towards Will Smith and the filmmakers involved with this projects. Then I read this article. I don't want to defeat the point of reading this short little piece so I won't try and summarize it all. Basically the purpose of this article is to explain how movies that could have been good were changed at the last minute and made into the garbage we know them as. Where the people at cracked get the information from I do not know and perhaps they are fabricating all of it. I do not know. I do know that in the case of I Am Legend they hit upon each of the major sticking points I have with this movie which makes me a little bit happy. So this is my attempt to try and share this true or untrue information with others. Why do I do this? Because in some small way I find it validating to read that I am not the only viewer out here finding these movies to be without point, purpose or message.

Spout Post: 10 Ways ‘Man on Wire’ Is Like “The Dark Knight’ — Only Better!

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:00:42 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/31/2008 1:00:42 PM
Body: Both The Dark Knight and Man on Wire were phenomenally successful at the box office this past weekend. The former, a huge Hollywood blockbuster based on a comic book, broke the record for greatest second weekend ever and the record for quickest movie to break the $300 million mark. The latter, an award-winning documentary about a man who walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers, had the best non-IMAX per-screen average and the best opening for a documentary so far this year. But the two films have more in common than their box office achievements, and I detail ten similarities between them below. My reason for the comparisons––some of which are, I admit, a bit of a stretch––is not just for the amusement of highlighting parallels between a blockbuster and a documentary. Rather, I hope that this list will encourage the millions of people who saw The Dark Knight to also seek out and watch Man on Wire, which is by far my favorite film of the year, so far, and is quite possibly the best doc I’ve seen in years. Man on Wire certainly features everything that’s entertaining about The Dark Knight — save for a posthumous performance from Heath Ledger — though it does have a terrific posthumous performance by the World Trade Center. And it also appeals to moviegoers who aren’t into comic book movies (even those as non-comic-book-movie-like as TDK), too. Criminal Clowns - Man on Wire’s Philippe Petit and The Dark Knight’s Joker (Heath Ledger) are each a form of jester jailed for unlawful acts. Petit doesn’t kill anyone, of course, and The Joker exhibits no ability to juggle, perform magic tricks or ride on a unicycle. Yet the two clowns share a common bond: neither can really answer the question of why they do what they do. Sure, their respective motives may be labeled — Petit acts out of pure passion; The Joker is an agent for chaos — but not in any way that satisfies the police or media. Man on Wire’s inclusion of a hilarious press conference held by the NYPD wins points over The Dark Knight’s cliché use of anger-filled interrogation scene. Height-Induced Thrills - It may not seem in theory that Petit’s tightrope walks would compare to Batman’s IMAX-friendly skyscraper scaling, rooftop emoting, Skyhook airlifting and building-plunging Rachel rescuing, but I definitely felt more thrill watching the sequences in Man on Wire of Petit conquering the air between the towers of Notre Dame, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and especially the World Trade Center. Maybe it’s the reality of these events and the fact that there were no special effects used in the footage atop the Twin Towers that make them more exciting than anything in The Dark Knight. Heist Opening - The first six minutes of The Dark Knight is an incredible little heist film on its own — enough that it worked separately when previewed ahead of I Am Legend back in December. Similarly, Man on Wire details what seems like a bank robbery — or a terrorist attack — in its first few minutes before the opening credits. It’s hard to say which sequence is better, either on its own or as part of the big picture. I guess as a consolation prize, I should let The Dark Knight win this one, but after considering the continuation of the “heist” in Man on Wire, particularly the moments involving Petit and one of his accomplice’s lengthy dealings with a security guard on the top floor of the South Tower, it’s the documentary hands down (and 415 meters high). Response to 9/11 - One of the celebrated elements of The Dark Knight is the way it utilizes post-9/11 topics like surveillance, torture and other anti-terrorist measures. On the other end of the spectrum, Man on Wire appears to have been made because of the loss of the World Trade Center. The film is as much a love letter to the Twin Towers as it is a portrait of Petit and his high wire passion. Also, as noted above, some of the “heist” sequences parallel the Towers’ terrorist attacks, including the 1993 bombing. One thing that amazed me, though, was Man on Wire’s lack of direct acknowledgment of even the fact that the Towers no longer exist. A number of other documentarians would have surely put in a shot of Ground Zero or, worse, exploited the footage of the planes hitting the buildings for the millionth time. Filmmaker James Marsh, on the other hand, avoids even asking Petit about his reaction to 9/11 (such a question is almost as pointless as asking Petit why he performed his incredible feats). British Filmmaker - The Dark Knight was co-written and directed by London-born Christopher Nolan, while Man on Wire was helmed by James Marsh, originally from Cornwall. This is a rather insignificant connection between the films, and one birthplace doesn’t seem to have any benefit over the other. In my opinion, though, looking at just these two films, Marsh is the better cinematic storyteller. Medical-Related Fraud - One of the favorite parts of The Dark Knight is when The Joker is dressed in a nurse’s uniform, a masquerade used to gain access to a hospital room. One of the most amusing parts of Man on Wire is comparable: after Petit injures his foot and is forced to get around on crutches, he discovers that having a medical handicap gives him easier access through security. The fraud comes when he continues to take advantage of his injury and crutches even after he’s sufficiently healed. Disguises and Hiding Places - More generally, both films include a lot of disguises and fake-outs. The Dark Knight has obvious costumes like the Batsuit and the Joker face paint and other acts of deception and hiding that I won’t spoil. Meanwhile, Man on Wire has that crutches trickery, undercover schemes in which Petit and friends masquerade as journalists and one of the greatest scenes involving two guys hiding under a tarp that you’ll ever see. Girlfriend Who Has Difficulty Supporting the Decisions of the Hero - In The Dark Knight, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) continue the discussion of how she can’t be with him as long as Gotham City (or Wayne) still needs Batman. In Man on Wire, we learn of the struggle that Petit’s girlfriend, Annie, goes through in dealing with the tightrope walker’s dangerous endeavors and, later, with the fame that comes with it. Due to the fact that Gyllenhaal is extremely lame in The Dark Knight, Annie easily wins this round. Characters - The Dark Knight employs one of the greatest living character actors, Gary Oldman, and allows him to be as normal and real a guy as Oldman can possibly be. In fact, as many characters there are inhabiting the film, The Dark Knight grounds them, portraying them as more realistic than comic book movies tend to do. In contrast, Man on Wire features some real people that are such characters, it’s hard to believe they really truly exist. One look at Barry Greenhouse, and you’d believe it if I told you he just walked off the set of the ’60s Batman TV series. And he’s not the only oddball in the documentary. It’s as if the two movies switched ensembles. The City as a Character - I don’t need to go too much into the way Gotham City is the real heroine of The Dark Knight, because our own Kevin Buist already did that quite nicely. But I will reiterate that Man on Wire is as much about the World Trade Center as it is about Petit — the WTC can be seen as the film’s heroine, I guess — and thanks to all the beautiful shots of New York from atop the Towers, you could say that in the documentary the city is also represented as a separate character. Maybe not as upfront as Gotham, but the Big Apple steals any movie she appears in. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

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