Cinefantastique Online

Born in the small northern California town of Oroville and raised on a farm, John grew up loving film and film music -- fantasy & science fiction have always been favorites, with the original Star Trek series and original Star Wars films being huge influences. He wound up going to film school at San Francisco State University, then transferred to and graduated from California State University, Northridge with a degree in film production. After graduation he worked in various aspects of the film industry for several years (his last stint was as Assistant Visual Effects Editor on the 1999 film version of MY FAVORITE MARTIAN) before moving to Colorado Springs, CO. He and his wife currently own a Coffee & Tea house called Pikes Perk (named after Colorado's famous Pikes Peak mountain) and John contributes film-related articles to the Colorado chapter of YourHub.com, the Colorado Springs newspaper insert for YourHub, Cinefantastiqueonline.com and Geek Monthly magazine. He also now posts tiny reviews of films (and other things that may strike his fancy) at Twitter.com/PocketReviews.

ASTRO BOY – the brainchild of respected artist and animator Osamu Tezuka – first appeared in Japanese manga (comic books) way back in 1951. Later, he found his way onto the television screens of at least forty different countries, in both black & white and color incarnations. It was these cartoons that helped lead the way for [...]

It is with sorrow that we note the passing of Erich Kunzel at the age seventy-four. On September 1, 2009 the celebrated conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for well over thirty years was struck down by “cancer of the pancreas, liver and colon,” according to Chris Pinelo, a spokesman for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, [...]

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is Quentin Tarantino’s grim and gruesome fairy tale version of WWII.
“Once upon a time.”
Four fun little words that are intended to let us know that we’re being led into a tale of fakery and many times sheer magical fantasy. You know, with talking animals or mystical creatures or such. Yet I’ve seen many [...]

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, PONYO (“Gake no ue no Ponyo” or “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea”), could be nicely summed up as charmingly innocent. I wasn’t even sure they still made films like it. It’s just a simple slice of pleasant storytelling. And you know what – audiences very much enjoy it. You [...]

Something new and unexpected has landed in theaters this summer – a film dealing with apartheid, internment camps, abortion, cruel experimentation, and empathy for those completely different from us. It’s called DISTRICT 9. But none of that’s so new, you say? Well, that’s true as far as it goes, but here’s the kicker: the party [...]

All right, G-FORCE is getting crucified by critics, but let’s try to look at it with a bit more objectivity, if we can. It’s true that it’s not a good film, but neither is it quite as tragic as you may have heard. Still, it should be pointed out that its releasing studio, Walt Disney [...]

INKHEART is a film you may not have heard much about because it was rather unceremoniously released into theaters in January, 2009.  Even if you’ve heard about it, the odds are mighty high that you missed its brief theatrical engagement—which managed to eke out only $17,303,424 at the domestic box-office.  Well, you wouldn’t be alone; [...]

Huh, imagine that: I actually discovered a certain amount of charm within IMAGINE THAT. Not a lot, but some. It’s not getting stellar reviews, to say the least, but I can say that for the most part the filmmakers involved knew what it was they were making — a simple, light-hearted children’s film — and [...]

ANGELS & DEMONS is a film that we originally thought was meant to be a mystery tale, a who-done-it. However, the picture involves a science fiction aspect in the form of ‘antimatter’ experiments, thus opening the door to that which is Cinefantastique. So, we decided that we should give it a look-see. And having done [...]

Okay, boys & girls, this little look at the 2009 STAR TREK movie is gonna get a tiny bit nit-picky and point out a few details that some other folks are letting slide. It also assumes that you’ve seen the film. So if you’re one of those viewers who thinks the new picture is ‘totally [...]

Adam Sandler is no Prnce Charming in this sleep-Inducing tall tale.
Once upon a time a little $80,000,000 Adam Sandler movie called BEDTIME STORIES yanked in a decent $110,000,000 at the domestic box-office and $209,000,000 world wide during the 2008 Christmas season. And in April of 2009 the loveable and cuddly folks at Disney Studios—not to [...]

An affection tribute to one-half of the team that brought some of the movies’ most memorable monsters to life
Jason and the Argonauts
“Some people say Casablanca or Citizen Kane. I say Jason and the Argonauts is the greatest film ever made.”
Tom Hanks affectionately spoke these words while on stage at the 1992 Academy Awards ceremony for [...]

There is a foreboding, even hellish, and opaque side to human nature that is no more explainable than the ludicrousness behind the 2008 remake of genre classic THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. (Sorry, I’m still flabbergasted over that utter mess.) And writer-director Bryan Bertino doesn’t even try to offer answers in his feature debut, [...]