This snapshot takes a look at veteran character actor Brad Dourif. Probably best known for his work in horror, most notably as the voice of Chucky-the-very-evil-doll in the Child's Play series, he's done a little bit of everything since he started making movies in 1975. His second role, as Billy Bibbit in Milos Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, shot him to notoriety and garnered several awards nominations.
I had a crush on Dourif for a terribly long time, and then I met him at a con. He was pleasant enough and I was certainly happy to be meeting him, but his hair style & facial hair made him look just like my father about a decade ago and suddenly he was a lot less attractive to me. On top of that, I reverted to a bumbling fangirl, practically unable to string together two words without giggling. *sheesh* Ah well. I still appreciate his work and enjoy watching him play what is often the slimiest character in a picture.
This list is limited to his scifi/fantasy work. Some things are missing, but I think I covered the big ones.
Dune (1984) I made the mistake of seeing this movie as soon as it came out, within days of reading the book. I've had better cinematic experiences, and after more than 20 years I haven't seen it again and I remember almost nothing about it.
The X-Files - "Beyond the Sea" (1994) Easily one of the best characters Dourif has played, and one of the best bad guys X-Files saw, Luther Lee Boggs was frightening and pathetic and manipulative, while somehow being endearing.
Babylon 5 - "Passing through Gethsemane" (1995) Though the writing & directing make this not one of the best episodes [JMS really did need an editor], I enjoyed seeing Dourif on my favourite show.
ST: Voyager - multiple eps (1996) I guess it's time I admit I never caught more than a handful of Voyager eps.
Alien: Resurrection (1997) I hardly know what to say, this was such a bad movie. Dourif's character outdid slimy, though, so that's something. Incidentally, this was written by Joss Whedon [creator of Firefly].
Myst III: Exile (2001) This was a video game in the Myst series with live action characters, featuring Dourif as - you guessed - the bad guy. In his defense, he was seeking revenge for something awful. I enjoyed the game and it was a real treat to see one of my favourite actors show up every so often.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers & Return of the King (2002, '03) Though it's best if I don't go into my opinion of these movies in this post [see my upcoming feature "Why Peter Jackson is on my shitlist"], I can unreservedly say I enjoyed Dourif's performance as Grima Wormtongue. He was slimy, sniveling, manipulative, and grotesque. Yay!
If I've missed anything significant, let me know; also, tell me if you know of any Brad Dourif porn I should be aware of.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
The chicks in your scifi
If you're into lengthy analyses of social constructs and how they might relate to your scifi, check out
"It's Not Easy Being a Cast Iron Bitch": Sexual Difference and the Female Action Hero.
From the abstract: "Lt. Ellen Ripley of the Alien series of films, Sarah Connor of the Terminator series, and Lindsey Brigman of The Abyss are examples of a special category of female role in Hollywood – the female action hero. To varying degrees of success, the three characters mentioned above defy the principal dilemma filmmakers seem to have in creating a character that can reconcile the presumably mutually exclusive aspects of 'cast iron bitch' and traditional patriarchal societal views of femininity."
"It's Not Easy Being a Cast Iron Bitch": Sexual Difference and the Female Action Hero.
From the abstract: "Lt. Ellen Ripley of the Alien series of films, Sarah Connor of the Terminator series, and Lindsey Brigman of The Abyss are examples of a special category of female role in Hollywood – the female action hero. To varying degrees of success, the three characters mentioned above defy the principal dilemma filmmakers seem to have in creating a character that can reconcile the presumably mutually exclusive aspects of 'cast iron bitch' and traditional patriarchal societal views of femininity."
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
Who watches the watchmen?
So here's another facet of my geek nature - I really get off on the very particular thrill derived from encountering source material. For instance, aside from just being an amazing movie, Fritz Lang's Metropolis [1927] ushered scifi into an extraordinary era. This is where the movies I love today began, and 80 years later the genre continues to reflect the unique stamp of this seminal work. It's the same with fantasy; while it isn't a genre I'm all that hot for, reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time was quite an experience. There are so many things I love about the story, but a concurrent thrill while reading it was the enjoyment of recognizing it as the template for so much fantasy written in the past half dozen decades.
All this is tangential prelude to a little chatter about my recent re-reading of Watchmen, by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, and a few thoughts about the impending live-action movie. It's hard to talk about the modern age of comics without referring to Watchmen's influence. While I'm not inclined to delve too deeply into that arena - it's a thesis unto itself - I must stop and appreciate it.
So, I'm not going to try for any kind of in-depth analysis & critique of Watchmen; rather, I just want to talk about a handful of the many things I enjoyed about it.
I love the very broken nature of all these characters, how sincerely, deeply damaged they all are. Dr. Manhattan, the only character with extraordinary powers, doesn't even know what it's like to be human anymore. Of their romantic entanglements, even the healthier ones seem tinged with desperation. They're heroes, but very much at the whims of their humanity.
If I would level any real criticism as far as characters go, it's a comment on the imbalance caused by the strength of Rorschach's presence, which probably has a lot more to do with my reading of it than with the story itself. I read Watchmen as Rorschach's story, and somehow everyone else's situations pale in comparison. Maybe I'm just impressed by what a powerful character he is.
The parallel story in the comic being read by the young guy loitering at the newsstand makes me squirm. Like so much of Watchmen, it's laden with beautiful, grotesque irony. That sequence also contains some of the coolest artwork in Watchmen, wonderfully blending the subtly disturbing with the graphically horrific.
In a previous post, I mentioned enjoying some of the themes shared by Watchmen and Heroes, and talked specifically about the generational parallels. What originally brought any similarities between the two to my attention was a reference somewhere to the "blowing up half of new york to bring the world together" storylines. Linderman is Ozymandias without the costume; I wonder if Tim Kring [Heroes' creator] knew he was giving Linderman so many of Ozymandias' qualities, including his motivation. Unfortunately, I liked the ending of Watchmen so much better than the Heroes season finale. So, so much.
I have a few dozen other random thoughts, but I've spewed just about enough for the moment. At this point, there's not much to say about the upcoming movie. There have been lots of rumours, very little confirmation of anything, and innumerable fan exhortations not to fuck it up. It's being directed by Zack Snyder, the same guy who directed Dawn of the Dead a few years ago, as well as 300. This hurts to even repeat, but I am sickly driven - IMDB lists Keanu Reeves as rumoured to play Dr. Manhattan. Once I stopped laughing, I got a little sad. Frankly, it boggles the mind.
On that note, I'll bring this to a close with a quote from Alan Moore, responding in an interview a couple years ago to questions about the film adaptation: "I shan't be going to see it. My book is a comic book. Not a movie, not a novel. A comic book. It's been made in a certain way, and designed to be read a certain way: in an armchair, nice and cozy next to a fire, with a steaming cup of coffee."
So here's another facet of my geek nature - I really get off on the very particular thrill derived from encountering source material. For instance, aside from just being an amazing movie, Fritz Lang's Metropolis [1927] ushered scifi into an extraordinary era. This is where the movies I love today began, and 80 years later the genre continues to reflect the unique stamp of this seminal work. It's the same with fantasy; while it isn't a genre I'm all that hot for, reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time was quite an experience. There are so many things I love about the story, but a concurrent thrill while reading it was the enjoyment of recognizing it as the template for so much fantasy written in the past half dozen decades.
All this is tangential prelude to a little chatter about my recent re-reading of Watchmen, by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, and a few thoughts about the impending live-action movie. It's hard to talk about the modern age of comics without referring to Watchmen's influence. While I'm not inclined to delve too deeply into that arena - it's a thesis unto itself - I must stop and appreciate it.
So, I'm not going to try for any kind of in-depth analysis & critique of Watchmen; rather, I just want to talk about a handful of the many things I enjoyed about it.
I love the very broken nature of all these characters, how sincerely, deeply damaged they all are. Dr. Manhattan, the only character with extraordinary powers, doesn't even know what it's like to be human anymore. Of their romantic entanglements, even the healthier ones seem tinged with desperation. They're heroes, but very much at the whims of their humanity.
If I would level any real criticism as far as characters go, it's a comment on the imbalance caused by the strength of Rorschach's presence, which probably has a lot more to do with my reading of it than with the story itself. I read Watchmen as Rorschach's story, and somehow everyone else's situations pale in comparison. Maybe I'm just impressed by what a powerful character he is.
The parallel story in the comic being read by the young guy loitering at the newsstand makes me squirm. Like so much of Watchmen, it's laden with beautiful, grotesque irony. That sequence also contains some of the coolest artwork in Watchmen, wonderfully blending the subtly disturbing with the graphically horrific.
In a previous post, I mentioned enjoying some of the themes shared by Watchmen and Heroes, and talked specifically about the generational parallels. What originally brought any similarities between the two to my attention was a reference somewhere to the "blowing up half of new york to bring the world together" storylines. Linderman is Ozymandias without the costume; I wonder if Tim Kring [Heroes' creator] knew he was giving Linderman so many of Ozymandias' qualities, including his motivation. Unfortunately, I liked the ending of Watchmen so much better than the Heroes season finale. So, so much.
I have a few dozen other random thoughts, but I've spewed just about enough for the moment. At this point, there's not much to say about the upcoming movie. There have been lots of rumours, very little confirmation of anything, and innumerable fan exhortations not to fuck it up. It's being directed by Zack Snyder, the same guy who directed Dawn of the Dead a few years ago, as well as 300. This hurts to even repeat, but I am sickly driven - IMDB lists Keanu Reeves as rumoured to play Dr. Manhattan. Once I stopped laughing, I got a little sad. Frankly, it boggles the mind.
On that note, I'll bring this to a close with a quote from Alan Moore, responding in an interview a couple years ago to questions about the film adaptation: "I shan't be going to see it. My book is a comic book. Not a movie, not a novel. A comic book. It's been made in a certain way, and designed to be read a certain way: in an armchair, nice and cozy next to a fire, with a steaming cup of coffee."
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
DragonCon pictures, take two
My DC pictures weren't publicly viewable because my interweb skillz are weak, but I fixed the problem and now everyone can see them! DragonCon pictures, take two
Good things come to those who wait
As much as I really enjoy watching my scifi with friends, I think I'm a bit more contained than when I'm alone. The presence of others restrains me, but by myself I can transform into a squeeing fangirl, without humiliating myself and without subjecting anyone I like to such a distasteful display. I only mention this because I watched the final episode of SG-1 with a close friend with whom I can comfortably cut loose, and before the episode even started I'm sure my excitement was already irritating. I'm lucky she loves me.
Stargate SG-1, the longest running scifi series ever, is finally over after ten seasons. Though I don't think it's a tragedy and it really could have ended a couple seasons ago, I still can't help getting a little emotional.
Considering "Unending" was the last episode of the series, it wrapped up virtually nothing. While the passing of the Asgard is kind of a drag, the massive download of Asgard tech opens a pretty big door for the humans. Of course, that's providing they can find a way to use it before the Ori army whomps the galaxy. Adria's ascension bought them some time, but they're looking at a serious face-off soon.
And speaking of buying time, man, what a headtrip! Fifty years trapped in a bubble. I don't know what else to say about that.
Wow, Daniel sure had a major league asshole moment. I can understand maybe being a little stunned by the forward nature of Vala's proposition, but he didn't have to pile hurtful and insulting on top of it. What a jerk. I almost cried with Vala. Well, even if they arrived at it via a painful cliche, their coming together had me bouncing excitedly. While I wouldn't say I've been much of a Daniel/Vala shipper, their romance is sweet and I'd definitely watch them get naked together. Also, I thought Daniel's "You better not be messin' with me!" line was cute.
CCR's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" was an interesting & wonderful choice of music. Comforting, while still a little discordant, which was the general feeling I got from the entire episode.
As I mentioned, this was an emotional episode for me. On the second viewing, I started getting teary eyed near the end of the passage-of-time montage and just kept it up through the rest of the ep. It reminded me of watching the last episode of Babylon 5, which has me turning on the water works every time. I am a scifi sap. Tears aside, I walked away from "Unending" feeling that I'd seen a great episode and that the series ended on an excellent note. Plus, I'm sure it was the same emotion that drew the tears which also prompted giddy laughter at the occasional joke. This just felt all around good to watch. The biggest gripe I can muster is that Richard Dean Anderson wasn't in it. Ah well.
The series has ended, but the story goes on in two movies, the first of which is due out sometime next year.
Stargate SG-1, the longest running scifi series ever, is finally over after ten seasons. Though I don't think it's a tragedy and it really could have ended a couple seasons ago, I still can't help getting a little emotional.
Considering "Unending" was the last episode of the series, it wrapped up virtually nothing. While the passing of the Asgard is kind of a drag, the massive download of Asgard tech opens a pretty big door for the humans. Of course, that's providing they can find a way to use it before the Ori army whomps the galaxy. Adria's ascension bought them some time, but they're looking at a serious face-off soon.
And speaking of buying time, man, what a headtrip! Fifty years trapped in a bubble. I don't know what else to say about that.
Wow, Daniel sure had a major league asshole moment. I can understand maybe being a little stunned by the forward nature of Vala's proposition, but he didn't have to pile hurtful and insulting on top of it. What a jerk. I almost cried with Vala. Well, even if they arrived at it via a painful cliche, their coming together had me bouncing excitedly. While I wouldn't say I've been much of a Daniel/Vala shipper, their romance is sweet and I'd definitely watch them get naked together. Also, I thought Daniel's "You better not be messin' with me!" line was cute.
CCR's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" was an interesting & wonderful choice of music. Comforting, while still a little discordant, which was the general feeling I got from the entire episode.
As I mentioned, this was an emotional episode for me. On the second viewing, I started getting teary eyed near the end of the passage-of-time montage and just kept it up through the rest of the ep. It reminded me of watching the last episode of Babylon 5, which has me turning on the water works every time. I am a scifi sap. Tears aside, I walked away from "Unending" feeling that I'd seen a great episode and that the series ended on an excellent note. Plus, I'm sure it was the same emotion that drew the tears which also prompted giddy laughter at the occasional joke. This just felt all around good to watch. The biggest gripe I can muster is that Richard Dean Anderson wasn't in it. Ah well.
The series has ended, but the story goes on in two movies, the first of which is due out sometime next year.
Monday, June 25, 2007
New media
I haven't had much time for posting recently, but exciting new acquisitions should inspire me to share my joy. My mail this morning brought me the first three seasons of Stargate SG-1, as well as the complete Odyssey 5, and the Indiana Jones trilogy. I'm especially excited about Odyssey 5, a one-season scifi show from 2002 starring Peter Weller [Buckaroo Banzai, Robocop, Naked Lunch].
Let the marathons begin!
Let the marathons begin!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Holy ascended cliffhangers, batman!
Ahh, now this was some good SG-1. It had the feeling of driving fast down a twisty, turny road, with lots of bright flashes thrown in. Vala's implanted memory business also fondly reminded me of Total Recall, so I liked that. Something I particularly enjoyed was that through the bulk of the episode, Adria was basically powerless. It was nice to see her scared & uncertain, even if things did ultimately end well in her favour.
I hooted a little when Baal showed up. He's a good bad guy, and I'm not just sayin' that because he's hot. I like that he's been active this season, particularly as a strong third element in the human-Ori conflict. I wish his plan had worked, because Baal with the powers of a Prior would take evil to a wonderful new level. Also, Morena Baccarin is a little more tolerable as Baal than as that damned irritating Orici. Of course, now that she's ascended, who knows what she'll be like next time we see her.
Next week is the final episode, ever. *sigh*
I hooted a little when Baal showed up. He's a good bad guy, and I'm not just sayin' that because he's hot. I like that he's been active this season, particularly as a strong third element in the human-Ori conflict. I wish his plan had worked, because Baal with the powers of a Prior would take evil to a wonderful new level. Also, Morena Baccarin is a little more tolerable as Baal than as that damned irritating Orici. Of course, now that she's ascended, who knows what she'll be like next time we see her.
Next week is the final episode, ever. *sigh*
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Sanctuary for All
If you like your scifi creepy & dark [which I definitely do], I recommend the online series "Sanctuary," from the same folks who came up with Stargate SG-1 & Stargate Atlantis. "There are monsters loose in the world," the tagline tells us, and some of those monsters are pretty extraordinary. Amanda Tapping [SG-1's Sam Carter] stars as a doctor specializing in xenobiology & cryptozoology, with a patient list that would unsettle Lovecraft.
There are only three episodes thus far [each about 18 minutes], and while we've gotten the gist of the premise, we're very much in the dark about a lot of the details. But, I like what I've seen so far. The usually blonde Tapping is a brunette with a subtle & engaging Brit accent, and her nemesis is played by an exceptionally creepy Christopher Heyerdahl.
The official website, Sanctuary for All, has been experiencing some technical difficulties, so it might or might not be available when you check it out. However, the available episodes can be viewed at YouTube in low-res, or high-res versions can be purchased from the official site for two bucks each. A cool thing to note about "Sanctuary": it's the first scifi series made exclusively for the interweb.
There are only three episodes thus far [each about 18 minutes], and while we've gotten the gist of the premise, we're very much in the dark about a lot of the details. But, I like what I've seen so far. The usually blonde Tapping is a brunette with a subtle & engaging Brit accent, and her nemesis is played by an exceptionally creepy Christopher Heyerdahl.
The official website, Sanctuary for All, has been experiencing some technical difficulties, so it might or might not be available when you check it out. However, the available episodes can be viewed at YouTube in low-res, or high-res versions can be purchased from the official site for two bucks each. A cool thing to note about "Sanctuary": it's the first scifi series made exclusively for the interweb.
Friday, June 8, 2007
"Honey, the butlerth dead!"
It seems time I oughta yack about Farscape, it being a great scifi show & among my top...well, at least top 10.
So...how can you go wrong with a bosom-heaving Aeryn Sun in full fairy tale princess regalia, replete with big blond hair, fluttering eyelashes & a delicious lispy southern twang? You can't. I just watched the season 4 ep "John Quixote." Seen it a dozen times and it never gets old. Aeryn is always my favourite part. While I definitely think she's hotter in Peacekeeper leather than in princess tafetta, seeing her play the polar opposite of her usual character certainly has its appeal.
What makes this episode stand out is that it's more than just non-arc. Crichton & Chiana get trapped in a VR game by a twisted version of Stark and a good part of the ep takes place inside the game, where the usual cast of characters take on delightfully warped new roles. Aeryn's princess is joined by Scorpius' butler, Crais' bloodthirsty ogre, Rygel's blazingly flatulant black knight, even Crichton's version of Max Headroom as elevator attendant. Though the dialogues Crichton & Chiana have with Stark entertain with their riddles & poetry, Crichton's exchanges with Aeryn, Harvey & the Ogre are priceless in their charm. Aeryn demonstrates her princess persona divinely as she drawls, "So, can I help you find someplace to sheath that sword?" And through all the tricks, traps, antics & weirdness, Crichton is the dedicated straightman.
In the scenes outside the game, I really appreciated the flirty little moments between Scorpius & Sikozu. As revolting as he is, he's my favourite bad guy on the show and I very much like the character. Also, I'm pretty sure he & Sikozu would be hot together.
Maybe I'm sappy because it's spring, or maybe I just remember how I reacted when this ep originally aired and my utter joy at the return of Zhaan [who died in season 3], but I cried at the scene where John finally kisses Stark's princess and is released from the game. Only Zhaan could actually be comforting while telling John to stop being an ass :)
Maybe next I'll rewatch "Revenging Angel," the season 3 ep wherein Farscape meets Warner Bros., and wackiness ensues.
So...how can you go wrong with a bosom-heaving Aeryn Sun in full fairy tale princess regalia, replete with big blond hair, fluttering eyelashes & a delicious lispy southern twang? You can't. I just watched the season 4 ep "John Quixote." Seen it a dozen times and it never gets old. Aeryn is always my favourite part. While I definitely think she's hotter in Peacekeeper leather than in princess tafetta, seeing her play the polar opposite of her usual character certainly has its appeal.
What makes this episode stand out is that it's more than just non-arc. Crichton & Chiana get trapped in a VR game by a twisted version of Stark and a good part of the ep takes place inside the game, where the usual cast of characters take on delightfully warped new roles. Aeryn's princess is joined by Scorpius' butler, Crais' bloodthirsty ogre, Rygel's blazingly flatulant black knight, even Crichton's version of Max Headroom as elevator attendant. Though the dialogues Crichton & Chiana have with Stark entertain with their riddles & poetry, Crichton's exchanges with Aeryn, Harvey & the Ogre are priceless in their charm. Aeryn demonstrates her princess persona divinely as she drawls, "So, can I help you find someplace to sheath that sword?" And through all the tricks, traps, antics & weirdness, Crichton is the dedicated straightman.
In the scenes outside the game, I really appreciated the flirty little moments between Scorpius & Sikozu. As revolting as he is, he's my favourite bad guy on the show and I very much like the character. Also, I'm pretty sure he & Sikozu would be hot together.
Maybe I'm sappy because it's spring, or maybe I just remember how I reacted when this ep originally aired and my utter joy at the return of Zhaan [who died in season 3], but I cried at the scene where John finally kisses Stark's princess and is released from the game. Only Zhaan could actually be comforting while telling John to stop being an ass :)
Maybe next I'll rewatch "Revenging Angel," the season 3 ep wherein Farscape meets Warner Bros., and wackiness ensues.
Friday, June 1, 2007
The End is Nigh!
Battlestar Galactica exec producers David Eick & Ron Moore announced yesterday that BSG will be ending its run after its upcoming fourth season. From the press statement: "This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and, finally, an end...and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms." Sounds good to me!
I got no gripes with this announcement. In fact, I hope it means we won't get a bunch of non-arc eps next season, and that they'll stick to the story they're trying to tell.
The two-hour episode "Razor" is slated to air in November, and the regular season will begin early next year.
I got no gripes with this announcement. In fact, I hope it means we won't get a bunch of non-arc eps next season, and that they'll stick to the story they're trying to tell.
The two-hour episode "Razor" is slated to air in November, and the regular season will begin early next year.
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