Tag Archives: movie reviews

Skull Island Explored at Simian Saturdays

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kong-skull-island-japanOver at the StarWarp Concepts blog, you’ll find the latest installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’ve been doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of SWC’s celebration of King Kong, the latest addition to its Illustrated Classics library that’s now on sale.

Today I’m reviewing Kong: Skull Island, the latest movie reboot of the king’s story. This one stars Tom Hiddleston (Loki of the Thor movies), Academy Award winner Brie Larson (Room, and star of Marvel’s upcoming Captain Marvel), Samuel L. Jackson (Marvel’s The Avengers), John C. Reilly (Guardians of the Galaxy), and John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane). I liked it a lot, so if giant monsters, building-size monkeys, and a tease for the upcoming crossover Godzilla vs. Kong are your thing, head over to the SWC blog and check out my review!

King-Kong-Final-FrontCvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that reintroduces monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong is on sale right now, so visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.

Simian Saturdays Hobbits Along with King Kong 2005

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king-kong2005Over at the StarWarp Concepts blog, you’ll find the third installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’ve been doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of the SWC countdown to the March 7 (tomorrow!) release of King Kong, the next addition to its Illustrated Classics library.

In week one, I reviewed the original King Kong, from 1933. Last week, it was the 1976 remake of King Kong. Now it’s the 2005 remake of King Kong by director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), starring Naomi Watts (The Ring), Adrien Brody (Predators), Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda), and motion-capture artist Andy Serkis (Avengers: Age of Ultron) as the giant monkey who likes climbing New York skyscrapers. Go check it out!

King-Kong-Final-FrontCvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that will reintroduce monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong goes on sale tomorrow, March 7, 2017. In the meantime, visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for further information.

Carmilla the Nightmare Classic

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Carmilla-ShowtimeTo celebrate this year’s 145th anniversary of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic vampire classic, Carmilla, Pan’s publisher, over at the StarWarp Concepts blog I’m doing a series of blog posts in which I’m reviewing various adaptations (comics, films, TV) of this strange and creepy paranormal romance.

Today’s entry is Nightmare Classics: Carmilla, a 1989 version done for Showtime that stars Meg Tilly as Carmilla and Ione Skye as her victim/intended lover, Marie. The setting moves from Styria to post–Civil War America, but it remains the tale of a vampire in search of love­—and blood. Head over to today’s post at the SWC blog and check it out!

If you’re unfamiliar with what is probably Le Fanu’s most famous work, here’s the back-cover copy from the StarWarp Concepts edition:

Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the vampiric tale of Carmilla and Laura.

Carmilla_CoverLiving with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.

Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything that Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.

Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….

Carmilla—the SWC edition, featuring six original illustrations by artist Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1)—is available in print and digital formats, so visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.

Watching Carmilla Become One of The Vampire Lovers

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Vampire_lovers_posterTo celebrate this year’s 145th anniversary of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic vampire classic, Carmilla, Pan’s publisher, over at the StarWarp Concepts blog I’ve started a series of blog posts in which I’m reviewing various adaptations (comics, films, TV) of this strange and creepy paranormal romance.

Today I’m taking a look at The Vampire Lovers, the 1970 Hammer Films version starring Ingrid Pitt as Carmilla and veteran actor Peter Cushing (whom you younger Panatics might recognize as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope and—in CG form—in the recent Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Head over to today’s post at the SWC blog and check it out!

If you’re unfamiliar with what is probably Le Fanu’s most famous work, here’s the back-cover copy from the StarWarp Concepts edition:

Carmilla_CoverBefore Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the vampiric tale of Carmilla and Laura.

Living with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.

Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything that Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.

Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….

Carmilla—the SWC edition, featuring six original illustrations by artist Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1)—is available in print and digital formats, so visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.

Simian Saturdays Climbs the World Trade Center with King Kong 1976

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KingKong-1976Over at the StarWarp Concepts blog, it’s the second installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’m doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of the SWC countdown to the March 7 release of King Kong, the next addition to its Illustrated Classics library.

Last week, I reviewed the original King Kong, from 1933. Today, it’s the 1976 remake of King Kong, starring Jessica Lange (American Horror Story), Jeff Bridges (Iron Man), Charles Grodin (Midnight Run), and effects master Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London) as the big ape with the deadly obsession for blond-haired actresses. Go give it a read!

king-kong-cvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that will reintroduce monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong goes on sale on March 7, 2017. In the meantime, visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for further information.

This Weekend, Get Ready for Simian Saturdays!

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Simian-Saturdays-logoSimian Saturdays? “What kind of alliterative title is that?” you ask. “I bet it’s got something to do with monkeys!”

And you’d be right, although it doesn’t have anything to do with the kind of mythological orang pendek that Pan ran into in the pages of her first novel, Blood Feud (although she’d probably continue mispronouncing it as “orange pendant” if it did).

No, Simian Saturdays is a series of posts that start this weekend at the StarWarp Concepts blog in which I’ll be examining the movies (and other media) that’s focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts (like yours and mine) over the past eighty-plus years.

It’s part of the countdown that Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, is hosting that leads to their March 7th release of King Kong, the next addition to the Illustrated Classics library (the other titles being Edgar Rice Burroughs’s sci-fi adventure A Princess of Mars, J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampire romance Carmilla, and the Brothers Grimm’s Snow White).

king-kong-cvrKing Kong is an e-book-only release that will reintroduce monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

As a monster fan, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the beauty-and-the-beast story of Kong and his “love interest,” Ann Darrow (who was played in the 1933 original by the queen of the scream queens, Fay Wray). But for those who aren’t, here’s the back-cover copy to bring you up-to-date:

Ann Darrow was a down-on-her-luck actress struggling to survive in Depression-era New York when she met moviemaker Carl Denham. He offered her the starring role in his latest film: a documentary about a long-lost island—and the godlike ape named Kong rumored to live there. Denham needed a beauty as a counterpart to the beast he hoped to find, and Ann was the answer to his prayers.

Mystery, romance, a chance to turn her life around, even the possibility of stardom—to Ann, it sounded like the adventure of a lifetime! But what she didn’t count on were the horrific dangers that awaited her on Skull Island—including the affections of a love-struck monster . . .

To kick off Simian Saturdays, I figured what would be better than a look at the movie that launched a monster legend: the original King Kong. So head over to the StarWarp Concepts blog this Saturday and check out my review, and then drop by it every Saturday to see what else Kong-related material I’ve dug up—the list keeps growing!

King Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) goes on sale on March 7, 2017. In the meantime, visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for further information.