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Dwayne Johnson “The Rock” vs. Lou Ferrigno/Arnold Schwarzenegger as Biggest Hercules Ever

July 17, 2014 / / 19 Comments

For you fantasy fans you probably know the movie “Hercules” is being released next week (July 25th). Dwayne Johnson is playing the titular character, and I for one am quite pleased.

Dwayne-Johnson-Hercules

No offense to Kevin Sorbo (who stood a respectable six feet three inches but weighed a somewhat lean 235 pounds)….

Kevin Sorbo as Herculesjpg

….but Dwayne Johnson’s six foot five inch 260 pound frame is the most imposing to play Hercules in quite some time.

D Johnson as Hercules

In spite of Johnson’s freakish size the great Lou Ferrigno (at an equally imposing six foot five inch height but a weight of anywhere between 275 and 325 pounds during his competitive bodybuilding career and a weight of around 275 plus pounds when he played Hercules in the 1983 film) is still the biggest baddest dude to ever play the Greek hero.

Ferrigno Hercules

Now, as fit as Johnson is at this time  compare him to Ferrigno (perhaps the biggest bodybuilder ever and quite likely a man who would have won multiple Mr. Olympia’s had not Hollywood beckoned in 1976).

M8DHERC EC004

You can also compare Johnson to Schwarzenegger….

Schwarzennegger Hercules 2

….(who might have been the greatest bodybuilder ever and packed 240 pounds of pure muscle on his six foot two inch frame) when Arnold played Hercules in 1969.

Schwarzenegger Hercules

For that matter 1950’s bodybuilder Steve Reeves was no slouch either (at 215 pounds on a six foot one inch frame) when he played Hercules….

Steve Reeves as Hercules

….but as the smallest of the most famous Hercules stars we have to give the edge to Johnson here over Reeves.

In addition, we can’t forget Reg Park (at six foot one inch and 220 to 250 pounds) who would also give Johnson a run for his money….

reg park hercules 2

So as you look over the accompanying images you decide: does Johnson meet the standard created by Reeves, Park, Schwarzenegger and Ferrigno?

Kevin Smith Visits Star Wars Set Plus Cool Pics From Peter Mayhew

July 8, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Star Wars fans got some good news just prior to the July 4th holiday. Apparently J.J. Abrams invited Kevin Smith (director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, etc… and a notorious Star Wars fan) to the U.K. Pinewood Studios Star Wars set. There Smith was allowed to see what was going on, and since his June 30th visit to the set he has provided further evidence that J.J. Abrams is on the right track with the latest episode in the Star Wars universe.

For instance, Smith hasn’t held back and enthusiastically described walking the set as a “f–king magical” experience. Smith went on to single out not just our old favorite’s wandering around the set but, and just as importantly, the overwhelming lack of CGI usage evident on set:

“What I saw, I absolutely loved. It was tactile — it was real. It wasn’t a series of f–king green screens and blue screens in which later a bunch of digital characters would be added. IT was there, it was happening…. I saw uniforms, I saw artillery I haven’t seen since I was a kid. I saw them shooting an actual sequence in a set that was real. I walked across the set, there were explosions. And it looked like a shot right out of a ‘Star Wars’ movie.”

Sounds very good to me. Keep it up J.J. I have high hopes you will produce something light years better than the wreckage of Episodes I and II (which were dreadful and only marginally redeemed by a slightly better Episode III). In the meantime, here are some oldie but goodie candid shots tweeted out earlier this year from the one and only Peter Mayhew, whom I met at Comic Con a few years back. By the way, other than the first pic (including Carrie Fisher’s stunt double) you should know everyone in these pics (okay I will give you Stuart Freeborn in the Yoda pic) otherwise if you don’t then you should ask yourself; Star Wars fan are you?

Carrie Fisher and Stunt Double Lucas and Star Destroyer Carrie Fisher Star Wars Set Stuart Freeborn and Yoda Harrison Ford Anthony Daniels Partial 3PO Lucas and Obi Wan Star Wars Set Irvin Kirshner and Mark Empire Set Production Meeting Taking a Break on Star Wars Set Carrie and Warwick Davis Anthony Daniels Carrie and Peter Harrison Peter Carrie and Anthony Billie Dee Harrison and Carrie Empire Set Lucas directing on Star Wars Set Harrison and Hammel Carrie and Harrison Empire Set Carrie Fisher Napping Empire Set Vadar and Luke Empire Set Fisher and Hammel

July 1, 2014

For those of you mourning the end of the latest season of Game of Thrones we have a treat. You Tube user Mikolaj Birek posted 90’s style Game of Thrones intro’s with music courtesy of Steve Duzz and video from You Tube user’s the hunterlsanders. Please enjoy:

And for those of you jonesing for the 90’s even more. Here is Game of Thrones Seinfeld style:

Finally, and for you World War II fans, here is Hitler’s reaction to the news Ned Stark had been beheaded:

H.R. Giger and The Xenomorph

June 25, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Last month H.R. Giger died at age 74. The Swiss painter, sculptor and set designer is best known for his haunting surrealist imagery. Perhaps the most iconic of his works being of course the Xenomorph featured so prominently in the 1979 classic Alien and that film’s sequels. What many don’t know however is that this design actually went through a long gestation of its own.

The first rendition of what would become the “Alien” or “Xenomorph” appeared in Giger’s lithograph entitled Necronom IV as seen below:

H.R._Giger_-_Necronom_IV

In this image one can easily see the core elements that would lead to the eventual “Alien” (as encapsulated by a unique aesthetic Giger had created and termed biomechanical, meant to describe a fusion of the organic and the mechanic). One of the key elements of the Alien’s design was that after it was implanted in its host it would develop in part by mimicking the host’s own physical features. This progression can be seen in the following drawing as Giger began adapting his original lithograph to the concept that would become the titular character of the movie “Alien”.

Hrgigeralien

In the image above we can also also see extending from the Alien’s mouth the second inner set of jaws extended at the end of an elongated tongue-like appendage. In viewing this image one can understand why Fox Studios was so hesitant to initially approve Giger’s role in designing the Alien; as they feared that his work was so disturbing it would turn people off. However, the final rendition of the adult Alien, as seen below, is so strikingly horrific one cannot look away.

gigersalien

The visceral reaction produced by Giger’s designs, and how the creature developed from “face hugger”, to cannibalistic parasite, to an extraordinarily lethal predator, are the core reasons the film was able to achieve such a striking and enduring reaction that leaves it to this day perhaps the pre-eminent horror film of all time (though the movie was a science-fiction film one cannot deny the centrality of the horror aspect).

Alien_vs._Predator_(2004)_-_Alien

To say H.R. Giger was influential is an understatement. His creation’s if nothing else truly do make you think, and the images he birthed do what any great artist would hope; they evoke strong emotions that demand a response from their viewers. He will not be forgotten.

June 24, 2014

T.R. Witcher has a thoughtful new piece up on The Atlantic offering a number of key metrics for a good movie showdown. In particular he keys in upon elements he defines as “Anticipation, The Weight of the Moment, Vulnerability,  Tangibility, and The Iconic”. Witcher singles out as especially notable in conveying these elements several great showdowns. These include the light saber fight between Luke and Vader in Empire Strikes Back:

And the first fight between Bane and Batman in the Dark Knight Rises:

In both of the above instances he is most certainly correct. To that end he also offers up several other salient examples, and even contrasts where one fight did well in a particular franchise (for instance Neo’s climactic battle with Agent Smith during the Matrix) against others that missed the mark (Neo’s overdrawn fight against Agent Smith in Matrix Revolutions). Witcher ranges back into the 1960’s and work done by Sergio Leone in his superb Once Upon a Time in the West, or in terms of 2001 A Space Odyssey’s fight between the homicidal computer HAL and astronaut Dave Bowman. And as Witcher continues on, offering up example after example of great fight scenes (Ripley vs. the Xenomorph Queen in Aliens, Paris vs. Menelaus in Troy) he regrettably undermines a key component of his arguments. That being that such exemplary fight scenes are rare.

In point of fact classic showdowns are something that Hollywood actually and regularly does a good job of manufacturing. And yes there are the occasional bombs as rightly pointed out by Witcher vis a vis the final Harry Potter battle against Lord Voldemort,  or the lamentable final battle in the Avengers Movie. But overall there are so many more that actually work. Right off the top of my head, and staying within the genres identified by Witcher (i.e. avoiding boxing movies like the classic Rocky I and Rocky II showdowns between Rocky and Apollo Creed), one can single out numerous other examples such as the following:

Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace (just to be clear I despised this movie, but the final light saber fight is one of the best of any Star Wars film):

Sarah Connor/Kyle Reese vs. The Terminator:

Riggs vs. Joshua Lethal Weapon:

Maximus vs. Commodus Gladiator:

William Munny vs. Little Bill Unforgiven:

Brody vs. The Shark in Jaws

Frank Dux vs. Chong Li Bloodsport

And I can go on and on….I could add at least twenty more clips if I did nothing but Clint Eastwood Westerns and Martial Arts films no less 1980’s action films, modern Science Fiction/Fantasy, or even Television such as The Game of Thrones  (Brienne vs. The Hound to name just one) Thus, in conclusion I will say Witcher wrote a fun article with some sound metrics for measuring a great movie showdown, but to say that such things are rare….well that is another story.

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