Tag Archives: comic

Judge Dredd (1995)

Director: Danny Cannon.

Starring. Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, Rob Schneider, Jurgen Prochnow, Max Von Sydow, Diana Lane, Joan Chen. USA/UK. 1h 36m.

Long ago in a not so mega city a wee girl used to spend most of her pocket money  on her comic addiction.. 2000AD used to be the regular poison of choice, and maybe a few things by Dark Horse on special occasions.. The weekly dedication soon turned into two and three magazines a week and specials for Christmas and birthdays at at the height of this the comic boosted that fans were finally going to get a movie! the intensity of this new chapter of comics was a big matter, fan art and letters features in specials, speculations hung alongside with wishes and dreams of the Mega cities coming alive with our most amazing (anti)hero. I was too young to see the film but I saw it anyway, hell it was the Odeon, everyone goes in there under aged.. it’s part of its charm.. as for the film it was a bit of a charmless adventure. Continue reading Judge Dredd (1995)

Crumb (1994)

 

crumb

Director Terry Zwigoff
Starring Robert Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Charles Crumb, Maxon Crumb. USA. 2h

Crumb is a tragically funny and deeply insightful documentary about one man’s ability to turn his innermost feelings into art which spoke for an entire generation.

This incredibly personal glimpse into the life of a genius accompanied by a very fitting ragtime soundtrack as this documentary aims to dig deep under the skin of the illustrator to the point of him actually being psychologically affected by the filming. Continue reading Crumb (1994)

Upcoming movie nonsense: Ant-man

Ant-man (2015)

Antman

Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas to star in Ant-man! Biochemist Hank Pym obtains the ability to communicate and control insects!! Director Edgar Wright and producer Joe Cornish are aiming to roll this one out next July.

Edgar is well known for Shawn of the dead (2004), Hot fuzz (2007) and World’s end (2013) etc, all films I’ll never bother watching… Joe had a level of success with Attack the block (2011) but I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to see this one but I think it will do well, with a level of comedy,  big names, being another hero movie and out around the summer holidays it’s gonna do ok!

I can’t think of many clichés I’d expect to see..to be brutally honest I would like the movie to be like the Tick I’m live action, oh wait that’s been done… This one is hard to.predict as I’ve not read the comics, I’m just thankful Simon Smeg isn’t in it… Yet!

I’ll await to see what unfolds! Then probably avoid it 😦

 

2000AD strips that should make it to the big screen

Right here is a run down of my favourite 2000AD strips/characters that I feel could make great movies. To see details of what has already been made into films check out this post.

Durham Red

Part of the Stontium Dogs, Durham Red eventually got her own strip, as a solo vampire bounty hunter bad ass kinda lass. There was an awesome strip based on a hunter killer game, similar to the tournament and obviously used Michael Wincott’s character from the Crow (1995) as the overlord who organised the tournament. This could be an interesting start to Durham in the Cinema. Sadly I think it would just turn into Underworld (2010). Although I think if there was ever a match, my girl Durham would kick ass.

Button Man

Harry Exton, ex-mercenary, is a “Button Man”, a hired killer pitted against other killers in an underground sport. Each works for a mysterious “Voice”, a rich man of unknown identity. The object of the game is to kill your opponent, or capture him and take his marker – the first two joints of a finger. Button Men who lose three fingers are shot anyway. The “voices” profit from the game by gambling on the outcome, and a ruthless killer like Harry Exton can make a modestly wealthy man extremely rich. Exton decides to quit, only to discover that leaving the Button Man game isn’t so easy. What more needs to be said, it’s another tournament movie and probably a great one for Liam Neeson.

ABC Warriors

The A.B.C. Warriors are a team of war robots designed to withstand ‘Atomic’, ‘Bacterial’ and ‘Chemical’ warfare. They were built to take part in the long-running Volgan War,  Each robot has a distinctive personality – often one programmed by its human creators – but each is more or less able to act with free will. The team is made up of Hammerstein, Deadlock, Joe Pineapples, Blackblood, Mongrel, Steelhorn/the Mess, Mek Quake and Ro Jaws. There have been other members join up now and again over time. But with all of the Transformers movie technology this could be a marvelous film.

Nemesis

Nemesis the warlock was in the very first 2000AD comic I ever brought, drawn by Clint Langley (my all time favourite artist). I guess it was love at first sight. Nemesis is a a fire-breathing demonic alien, fights against the fanatical Torquemada, Grand Master of the Terran Empire in Earth’s distant future, and his attempts to exterminate all alien life. Grotesque, hyperbolic and violent, the series possesses a dark wit and biting satirical intent.

Slaine

Sláine is a barbarian fantasy adventure series based on Celtic myths and storieswhich first appeared in 1983. Sláine’s favourite weapon is an axe called “Brainbiter”. He has the power of the “warp spasm”, based on the ríastrad or body-distorting battle frenzy of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn, in which earth power “warps” through his body, turning him into a terrifying, monstrous figure who knows neither friend nor foe. He is a devotee of the earthgoddess Danu.

Obviously it would be hard for this not to turn into Conan (1984) but is there any hard of having an Irish Conan? NO! It would be amazing to see it embrace the old Celtic myths and I have to admit Ireland/Celtic myths tend to get forgotten by Hollywood, the only recent references I’ve seen to them would be from Hellboy 2 (2008 ) but Del Toro does like a good fable. I’m sure they would like to give the part to Michael Fassbender but I’d pefer to see someone more meaty in the role, is it really time for the New arnie??

Outlaw

He used to be a killer. He used to be the best. Now the past is about to catch up with him. How far is he prepared to go to save everything he hold dear? He is about to find out…

After all of the Django Unchained I feel a bit odd suggesting this! (JOKE) we need more positive black male characters in the movie business.

The story isn’t an easy one from what I remember, it’s actually quite similar to the background story in Tournament (2009) (and yes a thousand other movies)  Where the bad ass has his family killed and goes out for revenge so why not just chuck Ving Rhames in for good measure?

 
Rogue Trooper

Rogue, a G.I. (or Genetic Infantryman, a genetically modified, blue-skinned, manufactured elite soldier) and his three comrades’ search for the Traitor General. His comrades are in the form ofbiochips (onto which a G.I.’s entire personality is downloaded at the time of death for later retrieval) and are named Gunnar (mounted on Rogue’s rifle), Bagman (on hisbackpack) and Helm (on his helmet). He is genetically engineered to be immune to almost all known toxins. He can submerge in strong acid unaffected, and is able to withstand a vacuum in his bare skin.

Strontium Dogs

Now this would rock, after a Strontrium (90?) fall out Britian is left with very few people and then the mutations start.. BRILLIANT! But as this is a cool comic, they don’t turn into X men they aren’t pretty but they have a laugh! There are issues like segregation and the mutants are seen as second class citizens, and congriguate in ghettos in places like Milton Keynes. This is begging to me made a black comedy sci fi britflick? I’d like to see it as a proper doomsday film, with a similar cast actually, the boys did well in Dog Soldiers (2002) too (did anyone notice the cast was almost the same?)

Vector 13

Vector 13 was one of my all time favourite strips as it was a full story in each episode and it played out like the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits and I absolutely adore those shows. It would be a bit crap to draw one of these stories out into a full movie like the box (2009) that movie was a hour longer than it needed to be, wait the original was about right, did it really need to be drawn out into a movie? C’mon! Maybe this could be compiled together like Creepshow (1982) into a series of shorts?

We need some proper sinister MIB with some shocking tales to tell. If your into this kinda thing then I can’t help but shout about my favourite podcast, Mysterious Universe. I’ll add their links soon but in the meantime check them out here http://mysteriousuniverse.org/

Sinister Dexter

This strip started when I was about ready to give up on 2000AD due to costs but I did enjoy the first round. it features the exploits of gun sharks (hitmen) Finnigan “Finny” Sinister and Ramone “Ray” Dexter in the city of Downlode, sprawled across Central Europe “like a hit and run victim” I’ve noticed that the characters started out as the hitmen from Pulp Ficition (1994 ) but slowy turned into a dead clown and wesley snipes in appearance, lets face it, Mr Snipes could do with a bit of cash, so lets get this made and help a brotha out! To be honest I’d prefer to see Danny John Jules play the part.

2000 AD On the Big Screen

I used to read 2000AD and Judge Dread Magazine for most of my teenage life. I have a huge pile of comics that I flick through from time to time. Sadly not a lot of  my old time classics made it to the big screen and there were a lot worthy of it. Check out the post 2000AD strips that should make it on the big screen.

To date there have only been three film adaptations and only based on one strip and one other character, they are …

  • Hardware (1990)
  • Judge Dredd (1995)
  • Dredd (2012)

Sad isn’t it.. Well not entirely, lets recap.

Hardware (1990)

Hardware happens to be in my top films of all time. It is based on a 1981 comic strip from 2000 AD called SHOK. Initially slated by the press it did manage to grow a cult following.  It really is the showcase of what the future movement meant to a lot of us teens and young people in the 90’s, it’s got android body parts, machines, a crazy radio host, a bleak future that the hippies warned about, no children, radiation and big guns.  The movie also has a GREAT soundtrack including Minsitry, PIL and some of Simon Boswell’s best work. This is also one of those movies where a lot of musicians played a part,  quite literally and all from a then thriving alternative scene. Such people inclucded Carl MacCoy (Fields of the Nephilim), Lemmy  (Motorhead) and Iggy Pop as the excitable radio host Angry Bob!!!

Judge Dredd (1995)

I was so psyched when I read in 200AD that the Dredd movie was on the make! There had been rumors for so long and with a low comic to movie history, I felt that maybe there was a change for a good film for me to sneek into the cinema to watch.
Then bit by bit information was released about the film including Stallone being Dredd, I was a little shocked but I couldn’t think of anyone else who could play the part. Then I watched the movie, cried a little, it was nice to see mega city 1 and Ian Dury, then took my posters down.. I couldn’t believe it..he took off his helmet! How fucking dare he!

It was nice to know that a local family bike shop had made the vehicles for the movie, and it was brilliant that they killed off some of the immortal characters I had spent years reading about.. and humm.. I’m still a little traumatized by it all.

Now the final installment..  Dredd 3D (enough of the 3D please) it’s just Dredd (2012)

I can’t say much about this as I haven’t actually watched it yet, I don’t actually get a chance to see everything NEW OUT all the time. I’ll explain later..

But if Karl Urban could re do the scene where Dredd fights off the Angel Gang with his law book and back brush while totally naked (apart from the helmet) I might go and rent it now…

Progressively the 2000AD comic to movies have been going down hill for me, Ill have to give a full recap when I’ve watched the final movie but in the mean time there will be more info on what I’d like to see make it to the big screen.