Ok, I am not usually the person who writes posts like this.  I try to keep a cool head, and many of you know, I don't always succeed.  I've watched the first two episodes of the Syfy travesty, Being Human, and I am ready for it to go the way of the Dodo.

The show is beyond horrible.  The writing is bad.  The direction is bad which makes the acting bad.  The camera work is annoying.

There are only two nice things I can say about the show:

1. The FX are better than the original.


2. The scene of Sally floating down the stairs in episode 2 is breathtaking.

That's it.

From Goth to Emo

My main beef with the remake is that the Syfy series trades in the Gothic Horror of the original for a self-pitying emo cry fest filled with weak-willed, shallow people who do not deserve my time or attention.

That might sound harsh, but I don't know how else to say it.  Syfy robbed the characters any dignity they originally had.

Josh is a werewolf.  He is an asshole who apparently thinks that the character that Shia LaBouf always plays in every movie he has ever been in, is a role model for how to live and act.  WRONG!  Two episodes and they have not given me a single reason to care about him.  He is a jerk to his family, a bastard to his friends, and terrible to Sally.  I agree with his self-hatred.  He should hate himself.  I hate to break it to him, but he was a monster before be became a werewolf.

 

Aiden is a weak-willed Vampire who just needs a stake through the heart.  He had no backbone, no charisma, and no conscience.  He is a character from the golden age of Soviet Cinema who has given up on life, embraced the grayness of his life, and doesn't have the courage to look himself in the mirror.  The actor was cast because he is occasionally cute and has a hot body.  I feel like he is just in the show to appear naked from time to time to distract us from the wreck of the story around him.

 

Sally, portrayed by Meaghan Rath (the only main actor whose name deserves to be repeated), is one of the only hopes the show has.  Rath magically brings empathy and warmth to a poorly written character.  As much as I want to savage Sally like I did Josh and Aiden, Rath's performance has earned a reprieve for the character.

Where is the tension?

I knew when I first heart this remake was coming, there would be some changes.  I never imagined the main thing they would change would be to take the tension out of the show.  From episode 1 of the original series, I was on the edge of my seat afraid, concerned, and hopeful about various things, and desperate to find out what was going to happen next.

The Syfy show feels like going to a movie with a friend who has already seen the film, and tells you what it going to happen before it does.  They spoiled their own show too often.  Even when they went off script from the original and did something new.  That let me down more than anything.

Will I continue to watch?

Well...  Yes.  I have a 5 episode rule.  Shows I want to be interested in, I always give them 5 episodes to hook me, and there are a few reasons to hope for improvement:

• Meaghan Rath's Sally is vaguely interesting.


• Rebecca is played well and makes me want to know what they are going to do with her.


• Emily is a good addition to the show.  I think she is going to be the new Nina, and maybe she will accidentally kill her brother (I can only wish).

Now, I am voting for cancellation, but the rating have been good (sigh).

Get your copy of the original British series, Being Human

Felicia Day will star in Red a Syfy original movie as a werewolf-hunting descendant of Little Red Riding Hood.

Story:

“Red brings her fiancé home, where he meets the family and learns about their business - hunting werewolves. Red' fiancé is skeptical until he is bitten by a werewolf. When her family insists he must be killed, Red tries saving him."

The story line sounds horrible and it is a Syfy original which does not bode well for the project.  I’m also confused why Red isn’t the descendent of the woodsman.

Making her the descendent of little red riding hood sends mythological mixed messages about the film.  Will she be naive and unprepared not heading the wisdom of her elders.  Are we to expect after a scarring experience with her fiancé she will be saved by some axe wielding woodsman. I would be upset if they put Felicia into such a weak role especially if they want us to believe she is a successful werewolf hunter.

Felicia Day is in it so I will have to watch.  Red is scheduled to premiere in 2011.

(via fantasy sf blog )

Theater or Renter: February 2010 includes four SF movies The Wolfman,Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, The Crazies, Cop Out.  Will we watch? Will we rent? or do we even care?

Rules of the Game: Watch the trailers. Rate the Trailer. Then share with us your comments: does the movie, it’s trailer and buzz make you want to watch it in the theater, rent it, or not interested at all, and why?

The Wolfman:

Release Date:  February 12

Listed as: SF, Remake, Classic Horror

Studio:  Universal Pictures

Director:  Joe Johnston

Produced by:  Scott Stuber, Rick Yorn, Sean Daniel, Benicio del Toro

Written by:  Andrew Kevin Walker, David Self

Music by:     Danny Elfman

Stars:  Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin

The Plot / Story: This remake keeps the plot line of the original.  Lawrence Talbot returns to his ancestral homeland to find his missing brother.  Villagers are being killed by a nightmarish beast and the search reunites him with his estranged father .  Talbot's lager concern is the discovery of a side to himself which he never could have imagined existed  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Release Date:  February 12

Listed as: SF, Fantasy Adventure

Studio:  Fox 2000 Pictures

Director:  Chris Columbus

Produced by:  Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, Karen Rosenfelt

Written by:  Craig Titley, Joe Stillman

Stars:  Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener, Uma Thurman, Sean Bean

The Plot / Story: An adaptation of The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1).  A teenager named Percy Jackson discovers that he's the demigod son of the Greek god, Poseidon. He embarks on a journey across modern-day America with his friends Annabeth Chase, the demigod daughter of Athena, and Grover Underwood, a satyr.  They are on a quest to save his mother, return Zeus' stolen lightning bolt and prevent a war between the gods. (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

The Crazies:

Release Date:  February 26

Listed as:  SF, Horror, Zombie Style

Studio:  Overture Films

Director:  Breck Eisner

Produced by:  Michael Aguilar, Rob Cowan, Dean Georgaris

Written by:  Scott Kosar, Ray Wright

Stars:  Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker

The Plot / Story: Remake of the 1973 film of the same name.  The inhabitants of a small Iowa town suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply. One man, his wife, a nurse, and the sheriff try to survive this plague, but when the military are killing everyone on sight, they're going to have to fight their way out, or die by either the plague or the military.(Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

Cop Out:

Release Date:  February 26

Listed as:  Buddy Comedy

Studio:  Warner Bros.

Director:  Kevin Smith

Produced by:  Marc E. Platt, Polly Johnsen, Michael Tadross

Written by:  Mark Cullen, Robb Cullen

Stars:  Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Adam Brody, Kevin Pollak, Guillermo Diaz, Seann William Scott

The Plot / Story: Two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)  This used to be named A Couple Of Dicks but was renamed to Cop Out.  The slogan is "rock out with your glock out

---

[reus name="Fandango"]

[reus name="Netflix"]

Looks like we will get a remake of The Howling.  I would love another good werewolf movie but why a remake.  The tale of the werewolf in the woods could just as well be made in it’s own right.

This is Joe Nimziki’s first film.  The movie will be called The Howling: Reborn.  Part of me is holding out hope that it might just be another Howling movie for the franchise instead of an attempt to reboot the whole thing.

The production is planed to begin in February with a Halloween release date.

(via /Film)

Season two of Sanctuary brings a return of many of the cast and crew we know and have fallen in love with plus some new faces and guest appearances.

Helen Magnus

Played by Amanda Tapping.  Head of the Sanctuary in Old City Helen is 157 years old doctor.  She and John Druitt have a relationship which produces Ashley Magnus though her embryo is frozen in stasis for many years before being born.  I love hos Amanda portrays her character Helen.  She comes across as genuinely caring, inquisitive, and open minded about the weird world she lives in.  She is the third from the left in the picture.

Will Zimmerman

Played by Robin Dunne.  He works for the Sanctuary now after serving as a police forensic psychiatrist.  Will possesses a creative and open mind looking beyond the surface of a situation.  He also has natural empathic abilities.  His talents serves him well in the world of the Abnormals where nothing is.  In season two we will get to look into the darkness that is in Will's past.  Will is a fun character.  If comparing Sanctuary to Stargate he kind of fills the role of Daniel Jackson when looking at the model but he is different enough to not be a carbon copy.  What they share in common are an endearing quality, a curiosity, and a boldness to fight for what is right regardless of weather that might buck the chain of command.  Will though has adapted to his new environment much faster then Daniel by the end of season one he is fully adjusted to the Sanctuary.  I expect to see more of Will in his own right in season 2.  He is second from the left in the picture above.

Henry Foss

Played by Ryan Robbins.  He is the Sanctuary's weaponsmith and tech guy.  He started going through a transformation in season one revealing that Henry is an abnormal who can change into a werewolf.  I'm glad that his character has been promoted to main character status for season two.  This means that we will get to see more of Henry and where the show will go with his werewolf condition.  I expect that they will go in a fun creative direction with it giving a twist on the classic monsters.  He is on the right in the picture above.

Clara Griffin

played by Christine Chatelain.  Granddaughter of Nigel Griffin, one of "The Five" who had the power of invisibility which Clara inherited.  She joined up with the Sanctuary late in season one helping them in their struggle with the Cabal.  We expect to see her and will have a growingrelationship this season.

Kate Freelander

Played by Agam Darshi.  One of the new faces to season two, Kate is a witty and sarcastic swindler with a gift for persuasion.

She finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Dr. Magnus after her business relationship with the Cabal goes sour.

Kate should be a fun character this year.  Her comments in the trailer have been witty and sarcastic.  She should also adds some needed info on the Cabal along with being, I have enjoyed her comments in the trailers.

John Druitt

Played by Christopher Heyerdahl.  A member of "The Five" during the Victorian era and Helen's former lover.  John has the ability to teleport through time and space but at a cost.  Each time he does so it furthers his brain damage which drives him to homicidal tendencies.  This is what drove him to become Jack the Ripper for a period of time murdering prostitutes in London.

After being tortured by electric shock at the hands of Nikola Tesla John was cured of his murderous urges.  He has now joined up with the Sanctuary helping them in their fight against the Cabal.

Christopher Heyerdahl is brilliant in his role as John Druitt.  I love how this character gives a fun spin to the Jack the Ripper story yet it still takes time to explain why Jack murdered and why he vanished suddenly.  The most memorable and slightly chilling part about John is Christopher's laugh.  He plays his character so well that in the minds of the fans he becomes Jack the Ripper a figure to be feared and John a caring troubled person who just wants to bring his family back together.

At a convention this past summer, in a crowded hall Christopher was deep in conversation and broke out in laughter.  A Sanctuary fan jumped, letting out an instinctual shriek because somewhere in the crowded hallway was Jack the Ripper.  After being openly amused and proud to meet another Sanctuary fan I admitted that my skin also crawled instinctually, just brilliant.

Nikola Tesla

Played by Jonathan Young.  Tesla is half human and half vampire.  A member of "The Five" who despises humanity for killing off the pure-blood vampires centuries ago.  He has an on again off again relationship with Helen, John and the Sanctuary.  He is definitely for himself no matter who's side he is currently fighting for making him a dangerous character.

Ashley Magnus

Played by Emilie Ullerup.  She is the daughter of Helen Magnus and John Druitt after Helen kept the frozen embryo for over a century.  She was working for her mother at the Sanctuary but after her abduction by the Cabal she has become unstable and her loyalties have been brought into question by the end of season one.

There is a part of me that still believes that this is her attempt to gain the confidence of the Cabal to help bring them down from the inside.  Though with her inheriting her fathers ability there is the possibility that she too has suffered brain damage and is currently in a psycocitic killer state.  When John became Jack the Ripper he killed hookers to clean up the streets of a corrupting immoral influence.  Having Ashley become Amber the Abnormal Slayer on a puritanical crusade to purge the their corrupting influence on humanity would poetically parallel her fathers plight.  If that is the case then we can have hope that she will overcome her derangement but we can only hope that she does so before she does things that will leave her with a century of regrets.

Special Appearance From

• Paul McGillion bringing Wexford back from the original web series but re-imagined.


• Michael Shanks who will play Jimmy who shares similar backgrounds with Kate.

For more read Sanctuary Season 2 Cast

Poor Tsuknune. He’s a C student whose sent off to a monster school in the boondocks by his ignorant parents.

Rosario+Vampire starts out great, with a spooky bus ride complete with freaky bus driver spouting out inside jokes and warnings. Tsukune is let off in a desolate area where the leave-less trees are full of crows. As he follows the bone lined path towards the spooky looking haunted castle, a girl on a bike slams into him. Moka is a vampire girl who happens to feed on him five minutes after they meet. Once Tsukune makes it to school grounds, he learns Moka is not the only vampire.

Yokai academy is a school for monsters, but there’s not a goth in sight. These monsters are all pretty preps with hidden powers and vicious tempers. Tsukune must hide the fact that he is a mortal if he wants to stay alive.

There are werewolves, succubus, and different types of vampires in this tale, but the most terrifying monsters at the school are the mermaids. Yes, you heard me right. Normally beautiful buxom blonds and redheads with alluring eyes and undeniable beauty, the mermaids in this manga are devils in disguise. The seemingly innocent girls sprout fins from their ears and their months expand to cover almost their entire face with two rows of shark teeth intent on sucking the life force from whatever they latch onto in the water.

Vampire lore in this manga states that water (even swimming pool water) makes vampires weak because of its purifying quality. To take a bath, vampires must add an herb mix to neutralize the purifying effects. The vampire Moka also wears a “Rosario” necklace which when removed, unlocks her vampire powers and she turns into a mega hot super bitch.

Favorite moments:

• Tsukune: “Where did you get this (school) flyer?”
  Mom: “Well, there was this scary looking monk and…”
  Tsukune: “I don’t want to go to some bizarre monk school!”
  (But a school with hot vamp girls is alright?)


• A kid in class pipes up and asks his cat woman teacher a smart alack question. She in turn, scratches his eyes out, giggles, and then continues with her class.

True horror fans will adore this manga for its artistic detail in the haunted house-like school, raven filled trees, and elaborate monsters. There is an awful lot of chibi content. Luckily most of it makes you laugh, not groan. Rosario + Vampire is rated older teen, I suppose because of its panty shots and big chests rather than for violence.

Get your copy from Amazon here:  Rosario+Vampire

Out this week we have five DVDs to feature:  Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7, Pt. 1, Season 7, Pt. 2, Season 7, Pt. 3 and Season 7, Pt. 4.

• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans:  I really enjoyed this movie and will proudly add it to my underworld collection.  This is a great film for any fan of vampire action films.  Get more about Rise of the Lycans here:
  Review of: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
  Exploring: Underworld Rise of the Lycans


• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: I loved this show growing up.  The camp, one liners, and karate fighting turtles.  For the 7th season and in honor of their 25 year celebration they split it up into 4 slices of pizza, each slice representing one of the four turtles.  In addition to that they are including an original Ninja turtles toy from Playmates to accompany the DVD.
  
  
  
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7, Pt. 1 - The Leonardo Slice:  Join the shellebration as the superhero turtles save the Eiffel Tower, stop a glacier meltdown, ride a wild tidal wave.  Running time: 132 minutes for 6 episodes.  EXTRA: A Shellebration with Points of Articulation: A Look Back at the Most Turtletastic Toys.
  
  
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7, Pt. 2 - The Michelangelo Slice:   It's radical! Battling monster sheep, sleuthing with Sherlock Holmes, or putting the freeze on a deadly heat ray.  Running time: 154 minutes for 7 episodes.  EXTRA: A Shellebration of the Turtles Creation: New Interviews with TMNT Creators.
  
  
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7, Pt. 3 - The Donatello Slice:  Cowabunga! Can the Turtles stop a dangerous threat from Dimension X? Will Shredder and Krang activate the dreaded Technodrome? Has Donatello lost his senses - for good?  Running time: 154 minutes for 7 episodes. EXTRA: A Shellebration of the TV Sensation: New Interviews with the Hit Show's Creative Team.
  
  
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7, Pt. 4 - The Raphael Slice:  Bodacious!  a vengeful fly who wants to change all humans into insects; a Mutant Hunter who's target the Turtles; an army of explosive robots and more.  Running time: 154 minutes for 7 episodes.  EXTRA: A Shellebration of a Fan-Nomenon Sensation: Devoted and Die-Hard TMNT Fans Speak!
  
  
  
  

---

Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home - Try free for 2 weeks

The Millennium Snow series is on my list of most enjoyable manga series.

Chiyuki is a seventeen-year-old girl who's dying from a heart problem she was born with.  Toya, a vampire who hates the taste of blood, saves her by biting her, which allows them both to live.  Against his will, Toya slowly falls for her happy nature and constant positive attitude.

Toya has a cute little bat companion named Yami-maru who helps the girl pull his master out of the comfortable isolation he has come accustomed to.  Somehow Yami-maru adds that chibi element that manga's love to have without making things too silly.  Yami-maru couldn't be any cuter if you put him on a Sanrio stationery set.

The fun really begins when a werewolf boy named Satsuki falls in love with Chiyuki.  He professes his undying love to her and thus begins the love triangle.  Toya grumbles and calls Satsuki "Dog", but it seems as though he knows Chiyuki needs the werewolf around.  The ultimate in teen girl fantasy, these two guys fight over Chiyuki at every turn.

Volume 2 delves deeper into the relationship between all three characters and how the vamp and werewolf put up with each other's presence for Chiyuki's sake.  The cover of this manga has a great shot of Toya with his arm around Chiyuki.  Trusted bat companion, Yami-Maru, is perched on his hand and Satsuki stands behind them.

As always, I look for the extras in manga's as a plus.  In volume one, there is a female to female love story called A Romance Of One Moment though short, it's rather good and shows potential for a manga of it's own.

This was one of the first manga's I ever read and therefore they are a set of books that have held a standard for other manga's to follow.  My only complaint is that there doesn't seem to be any plans for more volumes despite the last one coming out in 2007.

If you'd like to purchase these items, they are available at Amazon.com

Millennium Snow, Volume 1

Millennium Snow, Volume 2

This is not going to be one of those warm fuzzy reviews that has you skipping down to the manga store eager to spend your hard earned cash.  Those of you experiencing a budget crunch can now take that sigh of relief. 

Until The Full Moon promised to be an excellent male to male love story with vampires and werewolves in it.  Instead, it was a disappointing read  ruined by chibi jokes and silliness.

Marlo is a half-werewolf half-vampire guy who changes into a woman on the night of the full moon.  David is a full-blood vampire who loves Marlo in both his forms (male and female).  I had high hopes for this formula!

This book is entertaining, but for all the wrong reasons.  It’s corny jokes draw more of a moan from the reader than a laugh.  It’s funny the rating on this book is 16+ because the jokes and situations seem to fit more into the 10-12 year old boy philosophy.  Is it rated 16+ only because it deals with a same sex relationship?  You have to wonder.

Although created in 1998, the  art style is completely 1980’s.  All the clothes and hairstyles look to be pulled from watching the first MTV VJ's.  The guys have long feathered hair.  The chicks have big hairsprayed bitch-do’s.  This 1980’s feel is strengthened by the appearance of Marlo’s ex-girlfriend from America.  The stereotypical Jersey girl tries everything to win Marlo back until she finds out he turns into a girl at full moon.  Then, she’s on the next plane back to Jersey with her blown-out hair and dangly earrings.

It bothered me that when Marlo is in his guy form, he makes fun of David being gay.  Yet, when Marlo is a woman, he loves David passionately.  There is no explanation for this.  It’s not like he has two people in his body.  He remembers everything that happens to him in both forms.  So, wouldn’t you have a bit of lingering feelings, even if you changed form?

There’s also a strange folk tale in the middle of the manga that starts to explain why werewolves can turn into women during full moon, but then you learn this is just a story the mom made up.  This manga left too many questions.

I found the two vampire father’s meeting rather comical.  The mother can throw out a few quips that made me laugh such as:  “Our son becomes a woman at full moon?  How do I buy him clothes?”

The artwork irritated me because the characters had plain Charlie Brown-like mouths sometimes.  The way the artist draws ears is disturbing.  They look like lemon slices on either side of the character’s head.

Overall, I was disappointed in this manga.  It showed so much promise, but did not deliver.

If you'd still like to check this manga out, it's available at Amazon

Stigma of Fandom | Felicia Day at Wondercon | Spidey Musical | Dollhouse: The Target | Out on DVD: Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder, Cyclops, Haunting of Molly Hartley, The Lair : Season 2, The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice, and Earth’s Blood |and Community Comments Today on the Project: Shadow Informant.

Culture

• The Stigma of Fandom (dashPunk)


• I'll be at Wondercon in SF ... (via Felicia Day)


• That Spidey musical swings onto Broadway in 2010 (via SCI FI Wire)

TV / Series

• Review: Dollhouse The Target (dashPunk)
  
  
  
  • WTF: SCI FI Wire Dollhouse fail to improve premiere ratings (via SCI FI Wire)
  
  
  
  


• DVD Releases: February 24th, 2009 (dashPunk)

Subscribe

Subscribe to Project: Shadow Informant Subscribe in a reader

---

Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home - Try free for 2 weeks

Don't wait. Guarantee your seat before you go and  avoid a sold out show. Skip the box office lines and buy movie tickets at Fandango.com.

GameFly delivers the best video games to your door! Start for only $8.95 or Try for free