2nd Disaster Movie Blogathon: The Core

 Aaron Eckhart & Hilary Swank

Disaster movies flourished during the 1970s, when The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake and the the Airport series found success at the box office. Despite the popularity of these films, there were also some box-office failures, including Avalanche, Hurricane and The Swarm. The genre ran out of steam in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but it has been revived throughout the ensuing decades, with movies like Dante’s Peak, Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow and San Andreas continuing the genre’s tradition of placing all-star casts in jeopardy, as they face a variety of special-effects laden doomsday scenarios. 

One of the more entertaining films in the disaster cycle is 2003’s The Core. The story begins when a series of strange and deadly events occur around the world, which leads a group of scientists, led by Dr. Joshua Keyes, to theorize that the earth’s core is no longer rotating. This will eventually cause the Earth’s magnetic field to collapse, and leave the planet’s surface exposed to a powerful dose of solar radiation. Of course, this will lead to (what else?) the end of the world! What can we do to stop it?
 
A secret mission is initiated to re-start the rotation of the core, by journeying there and detonating nuclear weapons inside it. The Virgil, a vessel that can withstand the extreme heat inside the core, is constructed, using a material called “unobtanium,” which can convert heat into energy. The crew, in addition to Dr. Keyes, includes a pair of NASA astronauts, Bob Iverson and Rebecca Childs, who are recruited to pilot the ship, and Dr. Edward “Braz” Brazzelton, the creator of unobtanium. Also on hand are Dr. Serge Levesque, a nuclear weapons specialist, and Dr. Conrad Zimsky, an egotistical scientist who may know more than he’s telling about the real cause of these devastating events. Can the heroic crew of the Virgil succeed in their mission, and avert worldwide destruction?
 
The Core is improbable, over the top, and a whole lot of fun. Some of the science in the film is a bit wonky, and has been roundly criticized by real-life experts. However, since when did you watch this kind of popcorn movie for its scientific accuracy? The screenplay by Cooper Layne and John Rogers features all of the time-honored disaster flick cliches, including a hero (or heroine) with something to prove, the noble sacrifices of supporting characters, and a whole lot of pseudo-scientific dialogue. Check your logic at the door, folks. Any movie featuring an element called “unobtanium” can’t be all bad, can it?

The cast (in the fine tradition of producer-director Irwin Allen’s 1970s disaster epics) is full of familiar faces, including Oscar winner Hilary Swank, Stanley Tucci, Aaron Eckhart, Delroy Lindo, Bruce Greenwood, Richard Jenkins, and Alfre Woodard. DJ Qualls plays “Rat,” a hacker who figures prominently in the proceedings. Everyone seems to be having a good time with their roles, and Tucci and Lindo, in particular, chew the scenery in grand style. Jon Amiel’s assured direction keeps things moving at a brisk pace, so that you don’t linger too long pondering the inconsistencies in the plot, or the wonky science.
 
There may be better films in the disaster genre, but I have a soft spot for the amiable silliness of films like The Core. One of my other guilty pleasures of the genre is 1979’s Meteor, another “end of the world” tale about a super-size meteor that’s on a collision course with Earth, and the joint US-Russian team which tries to avert disaster. The cast features Sean Connery, Brian Keith, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden and Martin Landau. Like The Core, Meteor is gloriously melodramatic and absurd, but it’s also very entertaining. If you haven’t seen either of these films, I recommend pairing them as an awesome disaster movie double feature. Here’s the trailer for The Core: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVkocdkcmAc, and as a bonus, the trailer for Meteor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW6jS9bJ5bo.
 
This post is part of the 2nd Disaster Blogathon, hosted by the folks over at Dubsism and Pale Writer. I’d like to thank them for including me in the cinematic catastrophe-inspired fun. Please check out the other entries in the Blogathon from my very talented fellow bloggers by following this link: https://palewriter2.home.blog/2022/03/25/its-a-disaster-warning-announcing-the-second-disaster-blogathon/.

The Most Amazing Sci-Fi Film Never Made

Dune is one of the most beloved and celebrated science-fiction novels of all time. David Lynch directed the first big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic story in 1984. There have also been a pair of TV mini-series versions of Dune and Children of Dune, which were produced for the SyFY channel in the early 2000s, and of course, the recent big-budget adaptation by Denis Villenueve, featuring an all-star cast and impressive visuals. That film covered the first part of the novel, and a sequel is currently in production. But did you know that there was another adaptation of Dune that was set to be released in the 1970s, which never made it past the planning stages? The story of that unrealized film project is a fascinating and intriguing tale, and it's covered in the engrossing documentary, 2013's Jodorowsky’s Dune.

Jodorowsky’s Dune is the story of an ambitious attempt to produce a sweeping film version of author Frank Herbert’s classic science-fiction epic during the mid 1970s. Alejandro Jodorowsky, who directed the cult films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), wanted to make a fantastic, mind-expanding adaptation of the novel that would push the boundaries of film, and take the viewer’s cinematic experience to the next level. This absorbing documentary tells the story of Jodorowsky’s quest to put together the perfect team to make his dream project. That journey led him to enlist such talented artists as H.R. Giger, Moebius and Chris Foss, who worked on the design and look of the film. Dan O’Bannon (who later wrote the screenplay for Alien) was slated do the special effects.

Jodorowsky envisioned an eclectic all star cast that would include David Carradine, Orson Welles Mick Jagger and Salvador Dali. He wanted to feature music by Pink Floyd and other rock bands in the film, with different artists writing music for the different characters and planets featured in the story. The film features interviews with Jodorowsky, as well as some of the other crew members who worked on the project. You also get to view concept drawings, production art and costume designs for the movie. It’s clear that Jodorowsky was deeply passionate about the project, and what he hoped to achieve with it. He inspired that same dedication in the people who worked on the pre-production process with him. This movie would have been an out of this world, truly visionary piece of work, unlike any other science-fiction film produced up to that time.

Jodorowsky also came up with a massive book that featured the storyboards and designs for the film, along with its screenplay. He and his partners went to all the major studios to pitch the film. Sadly, no one wanted to co-produce or co-finance the film at the time. Most people who listened to his proposal lauded his unique vision, but thought the film would be impossible to make the way Jodorowsky envisioned it. Maybe the world just wasn’t ready for such a unique movie back then. As you know, Dune was eventually adapted for the big-screen in 1984, in a version directed by David Lynch. That movie was lambasted by critics and ended up a box office failure. Jodorowsky briefly touches upon his reaction to seeing Lynch's movie during his interview in the film.

 

While Jodorowsky’s version of Herbert's novel was never produced, you can tell that the experience of working on it left a lasting impression on his colleagues. The final portion of the movie details some of the amazing work that artists like Giger, Foss, O’Bannon and others worked so hard to create. There are also clips from some of the classic films that were later made by some of these talented people, or influenced by them and their unique visions of the future. Those memorable movies include Alien, Blade Runner and the original Star Wars. This is an engrossing story about the creative process, and the enthusiasm that true artists have for their work.  Jodorowsky’s Dune is now available on Blu-ray, DVD and various download/streaming sites. Here’s a link to the film’s trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg4OCeSTL08.

"Strange New Worlds" Evokes Classic Trek

It may be hard for a younger generation of Star Trek fans to understand, but there was a time in the pre-cable and pre-internet streaming days when the only episodes of Trek that you could see were syndicated reruns of the original 1966-69 series. I grew up watching those rebroadcasts of the show on New York's WPIX, and quickly became a fan of the show. The original series built a devoted following around the world via those reruns, and a legion of fans clamored for more Star Trek. An animated version of the show aired on NBC from 1973-75, and in 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a big screen adventure reuniting the original cast, was released, leading to a string of follow-ups. Then in 1987, Trek returned to television with Star Trek: The Next Generation, a sequel set 100 years after the original show. The Next Generation was followed by a number of other new series, including the most recent addition to the Star Trek universe, Strange New Worlds, which currently airs on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a prequel to the original Star Trek, featuring the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike and his crew. In Trek lore, Pike commanded the USS Enterprise just prior to Captain James T. Kirk. The character was first featured in "The Cage," the pilot for the original series, where he was played by Jeffery Hunter. When NBC passed on "The Cage," a second pilot. "Where No Man Has Gone Before," was produced, this time starring William Shatner as Captain Kirk, and, of course, the rest is history. Footage from "The Cage" was later incorporated into the two-part Star Trek episode entitled "The Menagerie." The character of Captain Pike, along with a younger version of Mr. Spock, recently appeared in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, a show that was initially set in the time just before the original Star Trek. The response to the new versions of these characters was extremely positive, so they were spun off into their own series.

Strange New Worlds features self-contained adventures in each episode, rather than the season long stories that have been the norm for recent spinoffs such as Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. There are arcs for the main characters, however, and it will be interesting to see them developed as the series goes on, especially Pike's knowledge of his ultimate fate, which he learned in a Discovery episode. Based on the two episodes of Strange New Worlds aired so far, the writers, directors and cast are making a concerted effort to capture the essence of Classic Trek. In the pilot episode, Captain Pike gets to make a speech that wouldn't have sounded out of place in an original series tale. The writers are deftly using science-fiction as a platform to explore themes that reflect current issues, just as Gene Roddenberry and his writers did on the original series, while also having a blast playing in the sandbox of the Classic Trek era. In a way, the writers (including series co-creator Akiva Goldsman) have to perform a difficult balancing act, paying homage to the show's history, while telling exciting and interesting stories that aren't fully shackled by many years of Star Trek continuity. The weight of such a vast canon can be a daunting prospect, but thus far the writers have done an excellent job capturing the vibe of classic Trek, while also telling compelling new stories.

This is an enjoyably retro series with a terrific cast, including Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock and Rebecca Romjin as Number One. Mount is fantastic as Pike, capturing the essence of classic era captains like Kirk, while giving the character added nuance, and a welcome sense of humor. Peck and Romjin are also excellent in their roles, and Peck in particular has a tough job, given the iconic nature of Mr. Spock. There are also new versions of other familiar characters, including a younger iteration of Uhura, portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding, in the role played by Nichelle Nichols on the original series. The show is filled with Easter eggs, call-backs and visual references for long-time fans. In the two episodes that have been aired so far, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has managed to capture the sense of fun, adventure and thoughtful drama that are the hallmarks of the best Trek stories. This could turn out to be the best Trek series since Deep Space Nine, one of my favorites. If you're a fan, it's absolutely worth checking out. Check out the trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL4iCAB6MFo.

Nick Piunti's Got a Lot of "Heart"

When I reviewed Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men’s 2020 release, Downtime, for the music blog CultureSonar, I indicated he just might be power pop’s best kept secret. I hope a whole new group of fans discovered Nick’s music after checking out that terrific album, because he and the band are back with a superb new record, Heart Inside Your Head. This fabulous disc is a must listen for fans of well-crafted, melodic rock and roll. Heart Inside Your Head is an outstanding collection of songs that will have strong appeal for fans of 1980s style pop, rock and roll and old school power pop. 

Do you dig The Outfield, Dwight Twilley, Tom Petty, or Bryan Adams? You’ll hear echoes of these artists in Piunti’s splendid songs, which are hook-filled confections that will absolutely get stuck in your head. From the propulsive opening track “My Mind (Plays Tricks On Me)" to the guitar-propelled “Trying Too Hard,” and “One of The Boyz,” the tunes on Heart Inside Your Head are perfect examples of first-class pop/rock songwriting. In addition to the more rocking selections, the album also features some introspective ballads, including the superlative “Nothing New” and “Gloves Come Off” as well as one of my favorites, the lovely “Keys To Your Heart."

Piunti’s terrific lead vocals and guitar and synth work are backed up by the supremely-talented Complicated Men: Jeff Hupp on bass, Kevin Darnall on keyboards, Jeff Daksiewicz on guitar and Ron Vensko on drums and percussion. Piunti and the band are all longtime veterans of the Detroit rock and roll scene, and their top notch musical chops shine through on every track. Heart Inside Your Head was produced by Geoff Michael, along with Nick Piunti and the band, and their fine work behind the boards provides the album with that classic 1980s pop/rock sound, while also imbuing with a modern sensibility.

Heart Inside Your Head, which will be officially released by JEM Records on May 20th, is an exceptional record that deserves the attention of rock and roll and power pop fans everywhere. It’s obvious from the unbridled enthusiasm displayed by the band on this disc that Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men enjoy playing together, and that joy is truly infectious. This album has a lot of emotion embedded in its grooves, and its fully evident on these heartfelt songs.  Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this marvelous record. To find out more about Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men, please check out: www.jemrecordings.com or www.nickpiunti.com.

Marc Platt's Insightful "That Midlife Thing"

Marc Platt is a California based singer, songwriter and producer. He’s been making memorable music since his days as a member of the power pop group The Real Impossibles. His latest release, That Midlife Thing, is an insightful and reflective collection of songs which views life and relationships from the perspective of middle age. Like his previous discs Beat on the Street, Colors of the Universe and Dis Time It’s Poisonal, the record is filled with excellent songs whose sound is imbued with a 1960s vibe. That Midlife Thing is a terrific album that will touch your heart, inspire your mind, and move your soul. It's an outstanding record whose songs will continue to resonate with you long after you've listened to them. Marc recently took some time out to talk with me about That Midlife Thing, and the experiences that inspired him to create this superb record. 

Q: That Midlife Thing is an emotionally driven collection of songs. Your music has always had a heartfelt aspect to it, which is evident on previous releases like Colors of the Universe and Dis Time It’s Poisonal, and going all the way back to your work with The Real Impossibles. It feels like you’ve taken things to the next level on That Midlife Thing. These songs come from a very personal place. Did you have a sense of that while you were working on the album?

A: I have so many friends and family members who have been through issues like divorces, family breakdowns, and have dealt with the loss of their parents and other members of their family. My own mother died when I was 12. I just decided to get it all out in one record.

Q: Tracks like "Daisy's Lies' and "Lie To Each Other' examine the darker side of relationships, but there are also songs with a hopeful and positive tone, such as “Love of My Life” and “More Than I Can Say.”  I think the songs on That Midlife Thing will really resonate with listeners. For example, most of us have been in relationships with someone which didn't end well, then later found a partner we were more compatible with. Do you find that writing about the positive aspects of romantic relationships is easier? Is it more difficult to reflect on negative experiences when you're writing songs?

A: It is necessary to examine all facets of my emotional IQ as I get older. 'Daisy's Lies' is a song about an old girlfriend who virtually became unrecognizable to me and I to her all these years later. The way we feel about lovers evolves with the passage of time. A song like "We Lie To Each Other" resonates to me, so I imagine other people have similar feelings about truth, on a level where it can be hard to wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. "Love of My Life" and "More Than I Can Say" are a more romanticized view of reality. It took me decades to find the right partner after a lot of heartache resulting from decisions I had made previously, because I was emotionally asleep at the wheel.

Q: Your music has a strong 1960s vibe, and features elements of rock, pop, folk, and even a bit of jazz. I hear echoes of the 1970s and 80s as well. Your work brilliantly combines your influences into songs that have a classic aesthetic, but also sound fresh and up to date. You clearly have a strong affinity for the music of the 1960s, which is really evident in the your production on the album. Is that your favorite era of rock and roll?

A: I was literally raised on The Beatles. For Christmas in 1965, I received Rubber Soul as a present, and I fell in love with all of the music of that era. My mom would quiz me when a song came on the radio. She would say “Who is that?” I’d answer “Dionne Warwick,” etc. I was like a savant at age 8. I loved it all, but The Beatles were and still are the North Star for me.

Q: Other than The Beatles, what bands and artists influenced you as a performer and songwriter?

A:  Neil Young, Miles Davis, Kenny Rankin, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Peter Case, Billy Joel, Karla Bonoff, Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Dan Fogelberg and Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

Q: In addition to releasing your own your music, you host a Beatles radio show called We Love You Beatles, and work on promoting new artists and bands, as part of a project called Radio Candy. Can tell us a little about that?

A: My http://www.RadioCandy.Media company specializes in getting Indie Artists airplay all over the world. We also own the http://www.radioradio.com network of 4 stations that airs presenters from all over the world (United Kingdom, Japan, Dublin, USA). One other future project is called Click Rock Go, which is a phone app that will help connect artists to new fans and expose music fans to a growing community of artists. 

Q: You’re always writing songs and working on new music. Any other releases coming up in the future?

A: I have 30 more new songs written and recorded. I will decide what the next record will be like in the fall of this year. I am really digging my Bossa Nova vibe on several of these new songs. Maybe it will be a Bossa Nova record.

Many thanks to Marc for taking the time to talk with me about his latest release. That Midlife Thing is currently available at bandcamp. You can get more information about Marc, listen to the tracks, and order the album, by following this link: https://marcplatt.bandcamp.com.

A Cosmology of Monsters: A Haunted Family

Cover blurbs on novels are often a form of hyperbole. They're sourced from best-selling authors like Janet Evanovich or Stephen King, as a shortcut to getting readers to plunk down their hard earned dollars for a book by a new writer. In the case of Shaun Hamill's A Cosmology of Monsters, King is quoted on the cover as saying "If John Irving ever wrote a horror novel, it would be something like this. I loved it." That description turns out to be perfectly accurate. Hamill's novel is a masterful blend of Irving's quirky stories with the unsettling horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. It's a terrific novel that is an atmospheric, haunting and emotional tale which both embraces and subverts the genres of family drama and horror.

A Cosmology of Monsters is narrated by Noah Turner, the youngest of three siblings. He and his sisters Eunice and Sydney, along with their parents Harry and Margaret, run a Halloween haunted house attraction that is one of the central metaphors of the novel. Part of Harry's courtship with Margaret involved the work of H.P. Lovecraft, and she cast aside another suitor to marry the somewhat ramshackle Harry. Much to Margaret's chagrin, his compulsion to continually expand their haunted house experience, eventually christened The Wandering Dark, becomes an obsession, and a source of conflict in their marriage. The portrayal and characterization of Harry and Margaret and their three children is very John Irving-esque. The Turner family could easily fit right into Irving's The Hotel New Hampshire, except for the fact that these quirky characters are dealing with emotions and experiences that will eventually become entwined with the supernatural.

Eunice is a budding writer, struggling with personal issues, whose "suicide notes" Noah relates to us throughout the novel. The other Turner sibling, Sydney, mysteriously disappears, and that event puts permanent cracks in the already shaky foundations of the family. Like his father Harry, who died when he was a toddler, Noah obsesses over making The Wandering Dark bigger and better, which brings him into conflict with his mother. He then quite literally meets a monster, who he discovers scratching at his window one night. The creature continues to visit, and the pair begin to take night-time jaunts around the neighborhood. The monster seems to be harmless, but there are sinister forces at work in the area. Other children are disappearing, just like Sydney. Noah begins to wonder if his shaggy friend may know more about the missing children, just as their relationship takes a surprising turn. 

A Cosmology of Monsters is a compelling, powerful story of the things that haunt the Turner family, literally and figuratively. The characters struggle with problems that are quite relatable to us as readers, including the loss of a parent or sibling, making the wrong choice in a romantic partner, and dealing with depression and mental health issues. In a way, we're all haunted, but the Turners are literally tormented by their personal demons, which become intertwined with a powerful supernatural threat inspired by the otherworldly horror of H.P. Lovecraft. The dark and eerie forces in the novel are able to manipulate the Turners for their own ends, essentially turning their own troubled psyches against them. Were the Turners chosen at random by these evil forces, or was it their family's fate to be cursed? Someone will need to break the cycle of darkness that has long haunted the family. Will it be Noah?

Horror fiction has flourished in recent years, with writers like Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones and Sara Gran, among others, doing excellent work in the genre, and you can add Hamill's name to the list of talented new voices in the genre. A Cosmology of Monsters is brilliant combination of styles, melding the offbeat characters of a John Irving drama with moments of unsettling Lovecraftian horror, along a dash of Stephen King-esque eerieness. This thoughtful, emotionally driven book which features evocative moments of family drama entwined with harrowing moments of terror, will remain with you long after you close the pages. I highly recommend A Cosmology of Monsters to fans of the horror genre, and to those looking to add something a bit different for their reading list.

Raised By Wolves: Thought-Provoking Sci-Fi

As a genre, science-fiction can astonish, entertain and enlighten us, with a diverse group of stories, including action-adventure epics, and cautionary tales, offering a mirror to our own world and time. One of the more fascinating and intriguing television series to come along in recent years is Raised By Wolves, which just finished airing its second season on HBO Max. The show, created by Aaron Guzikowski, who also wrote Prisoners (2013), is a thought-provoking story of a future Earth which has been devastated by a war between a religious sect called the Mithraic and a science-based group of atheists. After locating Kepler 22-B, a suitable planet to settle on, both groups launch ships into space to assure the future of humanity, but the atheists go one step further. They send two androids, along with some human embryos, to ensure the continuation of the human race. These androids, named Mother and Father, whose mission is to raise and protect these children. The two surrogate parents are tasked with teaching these children the scientific based tenets of the atheists, in order to help ensure the ultimate survival of the human race.

The series focuses on Mother and Father’s attempts to establish a colony on Kepler 22-B, while dealing with some dangerous creatures that inhabit the planet. Only one of the children Mother and Father cultivate, a boy named Campion, survives on the new world. A space ark, sent by the Mithraic order, arrives at Kepler 22-B, and Mother (who reveals herself to be a powerful type of android called a Neuromancer) battles the crew. The ship crash lands, and Mother kidnaps several of their children, intending to raise them with Campion. Meanwhile, a Mithraic man named Marcus, finds some mystical artifacts, believes he’s heard the voice of God, and declares himself a prophet. He assumes leadership of the crash survivors, and goes on a quest to rescue the children and establish a permanent Mithraic settlement on the planet. 

 

Raised By Wolves is thought-provoking, intense and absorbing. It’s a captivating series that uses elements of science-fiction, horror and even a touch of fantasy to tell a fascinating and story that definitely upends the conventions of the genre. In a time when so many movies and television series are remakes, reboots or sequels, it’s nice to see a science-fiction show that tells a truly offbeat story that combines a lot of the genre’s elements in a unique and original way. One of the executive producers of the series is Ridley Scott, of Alien and Blade Runner fame. He helmed the first two episodes, and brings his striking directorial style to the show, helping to establish the look, tone and visual language of this alien world. It’s easy to see what attracted Scott to the project. While it’s an original story, it feels like the series could be set in a world much like the universe established in the three films from the Alien series which he directed. 

The cast for Raised By Wolves is uniformly outstanding, with Amanda Collin giving a superb performance as Mother, the android who’s trying to balance being a caregiver for the children with her other directives, including being a weapon of war. Abubakar Slim is equally strong as Father, who wants to be a true father figure to the children. Both Mother and Father struggle with the fact that they’re androids who are feeling more human all the time, due to the roles they need to fulfill for the children. If you’re a fan of Vikings, Travis Fimmel (who was so good in that series) is terrific as Marcus, the leader of the Mithraic. The rest of the cast is also wonderful, including Niamh Algar as Marcus’ wife Sue, and a fine group of young actors as the children, including Winta McGrath as Campion.

Raised By Wolves is a sharply written, solidly directed and well-acted series. The show is captivating, gripping and often surprising. Just when you think you’ve figured out where the plot is going, the story goes off in an unexpected direction. For this review, I tried to give just a basic outline of the story, so I don't spoil some of the mind-blowing moments and startling plot developments featured in the show. This is a fantastic series that’s definitely worth checking out, and worth viewing without much prior knowledge about it beforehand. Raised By Wolves is highly recommended for fans of thoughtful, mind-blowing and thrilling science-fiction. The show is now streaming on HBO Max. Here’s a look at the trailer for Season 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAg6RTQEfeM.