Dead Snow (Død snø)

Dead Snow is a Norwegian horror-comedy featuring Nazi Zombies. Now there is more to it than that but if you fail to think "Wow, Nazi Zombies!" after reading that sentence then this is probably not the movie for you. 

But if Third Reich zombies do it for you, this movie is actually much better than I thought. There is no toned down gore here, no pulled punches, but there are a few laughs in the Evil Dead vein. The acting is alright and despite being set up as a somewhat cliched group of young people in a cabin horror movie, it manages to break out of this with some tremendous fight back scenes. This is no "last girl standing" movie, nor a typical zombie movie (these are more Undead Nazi's than zombie ones) and it's all the better for that. 

I really didn't have high hopes, but was pleasantly surprised. This is no high minded masterpiece, but it is enjoyable.

Megapiranha!

From the studio that brought us Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, comes Megapiranha, a movie released just in time for the Piranha 3-D remake.

Not only that but it's got Tiffany in it! Yes... Tiffany! Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus was amusing but not quite bad enough to be "so bad it's good". Hopefully Mega Piranha can avoid mediocrity and go for gold and make a B-movie for which we can all be proud!

Stephen King's Under The Dome

So... this week I have been mainly reading Under The Dome by Stephen King. Full disclosure: I am an unreformed Stephen King fan. So take my review with a pinch of salt!

This book is no quick read. It's over 800 pages long. Now some reviewers have moaned about this as if length is an indication of quality. Well it's not. You can't moan about the length of a book unless it's bad. And this is certainly not a bad book.

I'm going to put Under The Dome up there with It and The Stand, as an example of Stephen King at is best. Now, although I think what I'm about to say might be sacrilegious, I believe this book is better paced than either of those two with much tighter, neater writing and a clearer story. I don't want to diminish the other two books, whose charms are obvious, but Under The Dome involves far less "Oh get to the point" and more "What the hell is coming next???"

The characters are Stephen King archetypes... strong women, trailer trash, truly evil bastards who don't even know they are evil, and the ever present strong but loving good guy. Again there has been some complaints about that from a few reviewers but I have to say I find it... cosy. As a seasoned Stephen King reader I feel like I'm settling in with welcoming relatives of well loved friends.

The story is compelling (putting me in mind a little of a post-September 11th The Tommyknockers) and keeps you  reading in order to see where it goes next. Even though that tends not to be a happy place, the book isn't totally grim with enough hope and humour to keep you going.

Pick it up, this is one of his classics.

Primeval - Should We Give It One More Chance?

I gave up on Primeval mid-way through Series 3 and vowed never to watch it again given the pitiful state of acting and writing.

Well, it was cancelled at the end of the series and I was only slightly sad when I found out. This show has sooooo much potential. It could be the ITV rival to Doctor Who. But they bodged that last season so badly that they completely squandered the possibilities inherent in the show's premise.

But now new, international, funding has been found and the shows about to receive a big shake up for series 4. They will be focussing more on future based stories... with some more complicated storylines.

I'm willing to give it one more go. It better not disappoint!

Walking Dead TV Series Greenlit!

There's no way of pretending otherwise: I'm a comic book geek. Sure, due to monetary constraints, I'm a repressed comic book geek but nevertheless I still get to read some awesome books from time to time. One of those is Walking Dead. 

A zombie apocalypse story may have been done time and again across all forms of media but it works particularly well in Image's Walking Dead comic series and thus I was excited to hear that finally a Walking Dead was getting a pilot. Not only that but it is partly the brainchild of Frank Darabont, director of such wonderful Stephen King adaptations (did I not mention I'm also a Stephen King geek!) as The Mist and Shawshank Redemption.

Am I eager to see this? You bet your cotton socks I am!!! *jumps up and down with childlike glee*

Erm... There's A Scream IV???

According to Bloody-Disgusting.com

Ok, I thought this was already reported 90 times, but maybe I'm wrong. In an interview with MTV, star David Arquette confirmed that Wes Craven will in fact be getting behind the camera for Scream IV, assuming it actually happens (I don't have a lot of faith in Dimension Films these days). "Yes, Wes [Craven] is in, Neve [Campbell] is in, everyone is in," Arquette said. The lovely Cox didn't sound as sure however. "I know they're trying to make that work," she said, referring to bringing the "Nightmare on Elm Street" creator back on to direct. "They'll make it work," she said, quickly adding "I hope." There you go, back at square one. I'd love to interview someone and talk in circles.

I don't know whether to smile... or to scream...

And in a Jurassic Park IV-esqe twist, it might be the start of another trilogy! *joy* *groan*

Conflicting emotions, much?

Jurassic Park IV News

Hold on to your hats people! It's yet more drip-drip news of Jurassic Park IV...

Last year Joe Johnston stated yet again there might still be hope of a new Jurassic Park movie. Well we've heard this before (way back in 2005!) so I just dismissed it as just more hot air. But now Joe Johnston has told BoxOffice a bit more about his plans, more firmly confirmed it is happening (sure...) and given us some hope it might actually not suck (I'm not saying the others films sucked, I'm a huge JP fan!).

The internet is freaking out that there might be a Jurassic Park IV.

Wow, when did that happen?

November—you mentioned to Ain't It Cool that there might be a good script.

Did I tell him? Was it me?

You said that there was no way to get people back on the island for a fourth time and have it make sense, but that 2001 was the last installment and we're due.

Well, there is going to be a Jurassic Park IV. And it's going to be unlike anything you've seen. It breaks away from the first three—it's essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It's going to be done in a completely different way. That's pretty much all I can tell you.

A second trilogy?

If you think of the first three as a trilogy, number four would be the beginning of a second trilogy.

That's big. So not to lock you in, but there's a possibility there might be a total of six films?

Well, you never know. If they keep working—and if audiences keep going to them—there's no reason why there wouldn't be. We just want to make them justified in their own right. We don't want to make sequel after sequel just because there's a market for it. We want to tell different, interesting stories. You don't want to just sell hamburger.

I think a new trilogy, a new start, would be an excellent idea as the previous trilogy has truly screwed writers by making it nearly impossible to find a sensible way to create a plot involving dinosaurs!

No doubt news will come out in 3 or 4 months saying the plans have been shelved. Again. *sigh*

If you feel benevolent and particularly generous, this writer always appreciates things bought for him from his wishlist

Welcome To Jae Kay's Pop Culture!

After nine years of blogging about myself, politics and the paranormal I thought it was time to start a blog for that other passion of mine: movies. With a little music. And books. Simples! Expect reviews, news and over excitable  speculation.

Enjoy!