80's TV shows and movies that could be re-made.

You know, I grew into maturity during the 80's. My TV tastes developed during that time as well. Here are a few shows from the 80's that should probably get a re-visit, or at least a movie of the week of SyFy.

1. Airwolf.  Hi-tech helicopter, villian of the week, vehicular destruction.  It's quite easy to see why this was one of my favorite shows during the 80's.

2. Automan.  Computer generated crime fighter that drove a neon covered Lamborghini Countach.

3. Street Hawk.  More vehicular fun.  Super bike that could go hundreds of miles an hour.  Sensing the trend here?

4. The Highwayman. 18-wheeler that is a transformer that can also cloak. 

5. M.A.S.K..  More transforming vehicles as well as powered masks.  That works for me.

6.  Megaforce.  Hi-tech mercenary force full of 80's camp and spandex. 

7. Buckaroo Banzai.  Peter Weller before Robocop.  In the vein of Ice Pirates and Spacehunter.
8. Krull.  Epic fantasy.  Interesting premise.  Very cool weapon in the Glaive.

Now, there have already been some less-than-successful remakes.  Knight Rider and GI Joe come to mind.  However, if Hollywood is truly out of ideas, the 80's are ripe for the picking.

Battle: Los Angeles

World War Z is coming

Just when you thought you were full up on zombie films, a piece of art comes along to make you say, "Damn, I'd like to see that come to life." Case in point: The below image you see from artist Daniel LuVisi. He created the piece, entitled "The Battle of Yonkers," in an attempt to land a job on World War Z, Paramount Pictures' big-budget zombie epic based on the Max Brooks novel. Writer J. Michael Straczynski adapted the story for the screen.

Website io9 received the following message from LuVisi:

This is the image I did, to get on the film World War Z with Marc Forster, director of Quantum of Solace. Can't say whats going on or what the outcome is right now, but it's not in the negative zone :)

This was one of the most difficult images I've ever done. Incredibly challenging to the point where I wanted to quit. But through thick and thin I forced myself to complete it.

Old news, I know. However, JMS (of Babylon 5 and Spiderman fame) can pen some awesome stuff. I hope this lives up to the hype. Remember your carbine and machete.

Rockband: Bloodsport edition

Drums no hit back.

Hollywood death trifecta in play

First there was Bernie Mac:

Bernie Mac, the actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday at age 50.

"Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.

She said no other details were available and asked that his family's privacy be respected.

The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.

Then there was Isaac Hayes:

American funk-soul legend and Academy Award-award winning musician Isaac Hayes was found dead Sunday at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, officials said. He was 65.

The talented singer, songwriter and composer, who won the Oscar in 1972 for best original song for the theme from "Shaft," was found unresponsive at his house by family members, Shelby county sheriff's spokesman Steve Shular told AFP.

Hayes was discovered at about 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) collapsed on the floor of a bedroom in his home next to a treadmill that was still running, he said.

"We don't believe there was any foul play," Shular said. "Based on the statements by family members that Mr. Hayes had been treated of late for a number of medical issues, we believe that led to his death today. There are no plans for an autopsy."

Hayes suffered a stroke in early 2006.

And the two were linked....

In a tragic twist of fate, Hayes most recently filmed a small role playing himself in the upcoming movie Soul Man, starring Bernie Mac, who died yesterday at the age of 50 from pneumonia.

Police confront white rabbit

From Germany:

Mysterious tapping noises late on Tuesday night caused residents in an apartment building in Wetter in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia to alarm police, who broke into the empty apartment only to find an albino rabbit amusing himself in his cage, police reported on Wednesday.

The inhabitants of the flat were out of town, so neighbours were concerned when they heard thumping noises and alerted the authorities, fearing an intruder. Police said they heard the noises upon arrival, and were particularly alarmed when the enigmatic being behind the door reacted to their verbal inquiries with angry thumping.

WALL-E

Took my son to see WALL-E over the weekend. I really liked it. There wasn't a lot of dialogue. That made the movie that much better, because the robots had to emote and use physical expressions. It was like a silent movie for the new era. Of course my son loved it, which was the most important thing. As a bonus, I loved it too.

We also liked the opening, slap-stick filled short about a magician and his hungry rabbit. Lots of laughs compressed into six minutes. The only negative about the whole experience was the price tag. I had forgotten why I don't go to the movies anymore. $23 for tickets and snacks. Next time, I'm waiting for On-Demand of DVD.

However, the cuteness of it all, including my sons reaction to his first movie experience more than made up for it. Of course, I'll have to be on the lookout for the action figures or plushies. And I guess I need to get my son one too. :)


EDIT: Found out what kind of WALL-E toys are coming. I so want the transforming plushie!

Stan Winston: 1946-2008

Stan Winston, the Oscar-winning special-effects maestro responsible for bringing the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" and other iconic movie creatures to life, has died. He was 62.

Winston died at his home in Malibu on Sunday evening after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma, according to a representative from Stan Winston Studio.

Working with such directors as Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Tim Burton in a career spanning four decades, Winston created some of the most memorable visual effects in cinematic history. He helped bring the dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park," the extraterrestrials from "Aliens, the robots from "Terminator" and even "Edward Scissorhands" to the big screen, and was a pioneer in merging real-world effects with computer imaging.

Winston won visual effects Oscars for 1986's "Aliens," 1992's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and 1993's "Jurassic Park." He also won a makeup Oscar for 1992's "Batman Returns."

He last worked with director Jon Favreau on "Iron Man."

As a child growing up in Virginia, Winston enjoyed drawing, puppetry and classic horror films. After graduating from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville in 1968, Winston moved to Southern California to become an actor but instead worked behind the scenes and completed a three-year makeup apprenticeship program at Walt Disney Studios in 1972.

A summer of super hero movies...

Gonna need a bigger boat.

Roy Scheider, of 'Jaws' Fame, Dies at 75

Roy Scheider, a one-time boxer whose broken nose and pugnacious acting style made him a star in "The French Connection" and who later uttered one of cinematic history's most memorable roles in "Jaws," has died.

Scheider died Sunday at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock, hospital spokesman David Robinson said. He was 75.

The hospital did not release a cause of death, but Scheider had been treated for multiple myeloma at the hospital's Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy for the past two years.

Scheider earned two Academy Award nominations — a best-supporting nod for 1971's "The French Connection" in which he played the police partner of Oscar winner Gene Hackman, and a best-actor nomination for 1979's "All That Jazz," the semi-autobiographical Bob Fosse film.

But he was perhaps best known for his role as a small-town police chief in Steven Spielberg's 1975 film "Jaws," about a killer shark terrorizing beachgoers — as well as millions of moviegoers.

Born into a working class family in Orange, N.J., he was stricken with rheumatic fever at 6. He spent long periods in bed, becoming a voracious reader. Except for a slight heart murmur, he was pronounced cured at 17. He acquired the distinctive shape of his nose in an amateur boxing match.

After three years in the Air Force, Scheider sought a New York theater career in 1960. His debut came a year later as Mercutio in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of "Romeo and Juliet." He also played minor roles in such films as "Paper Lion" and "Stiletto." Then he made a breakthrough in 1971 as Jane Fonda's pimp in "Klute."

He also appeared in the films "Marathon Man," as Dustin Hoffman's brother, "Klute," with Jane Fonda, and "Naked Lunch," David Cronenberg's adaptation of William S. Burroughs's novel. He starred in "Jaws 2," which turned out not to be as successful as the original.

TV roles included "SeaQuest DSV" and "Third Watch."

More recently, he played the slick CEO of an insurance company that denies coverage to a young man dying of leukemia in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Rainmaker," and appeared in the direct-to-video "Dracula II: Ascension" and "Dracula III: Legacy."

Worse Movie Evah: a trailer review.

Once again proving why video game movies should never, ever be made by Boll, here is a review of the trailer for In The Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Film. Sad thing is that given that title, he plans more...