Cinefantastique Online

You are browsing the archives of 2008 September.

[ September 24, 2008; ] Check out the trailer for writer-director Gareth Edwards’ MONSTERS, which arrives on VOD from Magnet releasing, with a platform theatrical release to follow on October 29.

Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore in BLINDNESS
The world is going blind, and, yes, I realize you’ve just flashed on DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, but get that out of your head right now. There’re no meteors, no killer plants, in fact, no definitive explanation for why this disaster is happening, save for that it’s some kind [...]

Having seen Dragonwyck several times over the years in rather battered prints, the picture quality on Fox’s new DVD release of the film is quite a revelation. I’ve certainly never seen the film look as good as it does here. What is even more astonishing, is how prescient the film was, especially in terms of [...]

With little excitment  in terms of new cinefantastique this weekend, we are taking this opportunity to dig through our archives a present a retrospective series of reviews and interviews regarding the work of stop-motion animator Nick Park, in particular his plasticine pals Wallace and Gromit. The characters first reached the screen in the Oscar-nominated short A [...]

This is a great introduction for audiences unfamiliar with the wonderful work of Aardman Animation. It has all the familiar elements (the quirky British humor, the amusingly wide-mouthed stop-motion characters, the outlandish action escapades) that mark the best of Aardman’s short films, but the storytelling has been expanded and broadened to appeal to a broad [...]

Stop-motion stars Wallace and Gromit have their roots in Park’s early sketchbook, and they first took shape in A GRAND DAY OUT, the Oscar‑nominated short that Park began as a school project and completed at Aardman Animation. After directing the Oscar-winner CREATURE COMFORTS, Park brought Wallace and Gromit back to even greater acclaim with THE [...]

Ardman Animation, the British producer of stop-motion commercials and short subjects has numerous entertaining films to its credit, including PIB AND POG, NOT WITHOUT MY HANDBAG, and THE INFINITE VARIETY SHOW, but the compa­ny’s crown jewels have to be the delightful duo of Wallace and Gromit. Their first film, A GRAND DAY OUT, was nominated [...]

After winning two Academy Awards in the short animated category, Wallace and Gromit’s feature film debut in THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT is, frankly, disappointing. It’s not as good as THE WRONG TROUSERS; it’s not as good as A CLOSE SHAVE. But at least it is good.
One suspects that DreamWorks (which has had blockbuster success [...]

Before starring in their first feature film, plasticine pals Wallace and Gromit shot to stop-motion stardom in three short subjects: A GRAND DAY OUT, THE WRONG TROUSERS, and A CLOSE SHAVE. Produced by Aardman Animations (which also produced the Oscar-winning animated short CREATURE COMFORTS, plus numerous stop-motion commercials, including the Serta Sheep and the Chevron [...]

Knott’s Berry Farm’s annual Halloween Haunt sometimes features attractions inspired by (read: intended to promote) current and upcoming horror films. 2008 is no exception, with a new walk-through maze based on QUARANTINE, which is scheduled for release on October 10. Based on the Spanish film [REC], QUARANTINE follows a camera crew assigned to the fire [...]

BLINDNESS, which Miramax releases on October 3, sounds like an intriguing piece of speculative fiction, a thriller about what happens when society goes blind, leaving only one woman (Julianne Moore) able to see. Mark Ruffalo co-stars for director Fernando Meirelles, adapting the novel by Jose Saramago.

Set to open on October 3, this Disney film tells the fantasy story of a pampered Beverly Hills pet (voiced by Drew Barrymore) who gets lost on vacation in Mexico. Fortunately, she finds assistance in the form of a macho Chihuahua named Papi (George Lopez) and a spirited guide (Salma Hayek). The ad campaign is [...]

Dwight Frye as Fritz the hunchback assistant in FRANKENSTEIN
The very title of the new computer-animated film IGOR represents a sort of final proof – as if any were needed – that the most mysterious example of mistaken identity in the history of horror cinema is firmly embedded in the public consciousness beyond any hope of repair. [...]