Sci Fi Jungle

10 Best Scary Sci Fi Horror that I deem Not Icky

This weeks 10 on Tuesday is 10 Things that Scare You/Freak You Out.   In honor of the Month of October and Halloween we are going to talk about Scary Movies.

For this one I am going to do 10 Sci Fi Freaky Movies that I like.    Keep in mind that I am a wimp and I don't like Horror movies as a general rule, and don't like icky gross stuff too much.   I have to have a slight level of freaky scary that I can handle without getting too grossed out.

1.   Snakes on a Plane.  Ok, maybe not really Sci Fi, but just Horror/Comedy. AWESOMELY funny. I'm tired of these mother F*^%ing snakes on this mother f@cking plane!

2.   Poltergeist. The best ghost story movie EVAH.

3.   The Abyss - James Cameron's undersea thriller made me gasp for air in the theater.

4.   Pitch Black - Riddick is introduced...the creepy factor of the creatures that come out in the dark - very scary.  Good film.

5.   Jurassic Park.  I'm rooting for the dinosaurs!

6.   The Stepford Wives.  The original.  Creepiest of all time.  Penfield, NY = Stepford.   More fun than a housewife with a steam cleaner.

7.   Sleepy Hollow - Really well done and worth watching. Not too creepy for me to handle at all.

8.   The Brothers Grimm - Terry Gilliam's project injects some humor, some horror, and some swash into the "real story" of the fairy tale authors.  A fun take on things.

9.   The Village from director M. Night Shyamalan managed to just skim the creepy line for me.

10.   Terminator 2.  Fun, great special effects, scary enough but more of a glossy Hollywood piece.

Fringe 2nd Episode Viewership Up from Pilot

According to http://www.ibabuzz.com JJ Abrams might be able to check out  Vegas vacations after all.

“Fringe” captured the ratings crown Tuesday night, averaging a 5.3 rating/14 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic. Overall, 13.4 million watched the episode. That’s a 63 percent increase in ratings and a 47 percent increase in viewership.

I think the strong lead in from House is the real reason, but if people liked the show and the episode could stand alone without the pilot, then they are in the money.

Personally, I thought this episode was too gross, but I am probably not their target demographic.  And House is usually pretty darn gross too, so that gets the audience all warmed up for you.  I am usually totally skeeved out by both medical dramas and gross out horror stuff.  LOL.  I little goes a long way for me.

Don't Miss Fringe Episode 2 Tonight

Set you're Tivos and DVR's for Fringe tonight.  (Tuesday, Fox, 9 Eastern)  The new second episode comes on right after the new season opener of House.  Great lead in for JJ Abrams new Sci Fi show about "fringe science."

I watched the pilot last week and really enjoyed it.  (See my Review of the Fringe Pilot)  If you missed the pilot never fear because you can watch the first episode of fringe free on Fox's website.  Also, the shows creators have vowed that they will make each episode stand alone so you are not going to get lost in totally confusing plot complications like some other shows we could mention.  (cough cough lost)

Fringe Episode 2, titled "The Same Old Story" Our unlikely trio’s strange partnership begins as they investigate the mysterious death of a woman who conceives, carries to full-term and births a baby in the span of hours, and her baby who ages 80 years in a matter of minutes. As the bizarre and seemingly unexplainable occurrences are explored, quirky Dr. Bishop runs extensive testing in the lab; his reluctant son Peter endures his new role as his father’s keeper; and Olivia turns to Massive Dynamic Chief Operating Officer Nina Sharp for assistance. Written by JJ. Abrams, Jeff Pinkner & Roberto Orci

Tokyo Dance Trooper - Danny Choo

Because sometimes you just need a laugh. This is Danny Choo (son of Jimmy Choo of the shoe fame) who is a geeky hero in world of Cosplay.

Taking over the world

Last April, I got on this wild tear and decided that I wanted to take over the world.  It all started out with the t-shirt shop.  (See upper right hand corner of site above)

Please note, that I have not yet sold a single t-shirt except to myself!  My family however is all outfitted in some awesome Cafepress alien t-shirts.  The kids have Dragons, Jin has the Alien throwing the Peace sign, and I have the "I'm from the Irish Galaxy" St Patrick's Day Alien t-shirt which I plan to bust out on St. Paddy's day again this year.

Be that as it may, despite not having taken over the world with t-shirt sales, I have actiually been quite successful with a new set of job descriptions such as webmaster, reviewer of sci fi shows, seller of used books, and general Internet nutcase. 

Its been a lot of fun learning about search engines, blogging, finding like minded people out in the wide world, and even just plain old talking to myself some days.

Review of J.J. Abrams new TV show Fringe

I very much enjoyed the premiere of J.J. Abrams new TV show "Fringe" Tuesday night. The new Sci Fi series from the creator of "Alias" and "Lost" will be shown on Tuesdays from 9-10 PM on Fox. The show centers around an FBI agent, played by Anna Torv, who is forced by circumstances to assemble a very odd team to try to save her co-worker from turning into translucent goo from coming into contact with unknown chemicals in a secret lab. Her team will consist of a mad scientist (literally they had to release him from a psychiatric hospital, and his next of kin, a genius if slightly unstable son with an interesting history. And then there is "the pattern." Something odd seems to be going on around the world and the FBI wants her to investigate "Fringe Science." Thus the series is set up. Nice!

 

JOSHUA JACKSON AND ANNA TORV
Photo Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg

It seems to be a sort of next generation X-Files.  I really enjoyed the pilot and immediately set my Tivo to season pass.  Yay!

According to a quote by Abrams in this article on blogs.courant.com there will be a conscious effort to keep the plotlines more direct in this series and avoid some of the confusion of Alias, Lost, etc.

"After "Lost" gained what he called "a certain reputation for being a very complicated show and one you have to watch every episode," "Fringe" is, by contrast, a little more direct and easier digest in individual stories."

Personally I am really glad to hear that!  I got "lost" after the first season of Lost, and I am a huge fan of Heroes but I do sometimes get annoyed by story lines that seem to go nowhere fast.  I like it when an over-arching storyline seems to be well planned out and actually goes somewhere.  If you are going to bring up a lot of questions and hint at things, at least try to resolve some of them - OK?  Please!  Mystery is fine but don't confuse me so much that I tune out and start knitting.

Monster Sized Creature Movie Fun - MGM's Midnight Movies

Mega Fauna - those over sized man eating creatures of B-Movie fame that we love so much to watch on film.  Grab some popcorn and moth traps and let's delve into the world of creepy giant movie monsters, mad scientists, and creepy camp classics.

Yes, I am talking about MGM's Midnight Movies.  I have really mixed feelings about these flicks, the first time I ever watched one was at a sleepover at my friend Tammy Brook's house.  I was petrified!  It was a mad scientist film and I think it might have involved someone turning into a giant moth.  I remember it had a lot of Michelob beer ads during the commercials.

Here are a list of some fun ones you can buy on DVD and get a little nostalgia and maybe a chill or two:

Midnight Movie Monster Movie Double Features

Gorilla at Large/Mystery on Monster Island
The Monster That Challenged the World/It! The Terror From Beyond Space
Empire of the Ants/Tentacles
Gorilla at Large/Mystery on Monster Island

Midnight Movie Monster Movie Singles

Kingdom Of The Spiders
The Food of the Gods

Other Fun Stuff to check out:

The Biology of B-Movie Monsters
http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/2/21701757/

Animals That Need to Have Horror Movies Made About Them
http://www.film.com/movies/story/animals-need-have-horror-movies/20725937

Sci Fi Story Podcasts

Fiction podcasts are a wonderful way to get a daily dose of great sci fi, while away time spent in traffic, and use your imagination.

 There are a number of really good ones being put out now in the sci fi genre, some even with Hollywood quality sound effects.

My buddy Amanda has become a connoisseur of  podcasts and has some recommendations for free sci fi podcasts.

7^th son

About 7 clones “John Michael Smiths” who have been gathered to catch the man who murdered the president. Their target? The man they were cloned from; the original John Michael Smith, code-named John Alpha.

Infected, Bloodcast, etc.  Creepy but cool fiction from Scott Sigler.  His fans are called Junkies.

 

Playing for Keeps

Amanda just started downloading this one…its about superheroes by Murr Lafferty.

 

Leviathan Chronicles.

Amanda says: "the best podcast in the universe"

 

 

Wizard 101

Looking for something nice for the kids to play online cooler than Webkinz but more little kid  friendly than Magic the Gathering, or even Pokemon?  Wizard 101.com is a new website offering a sort of three way cross of Pokemon, Harry Potter, and Webkinz. 

It looks really cute, fun and easy to navigate.  I am going to let my 5 year old have a go at it tonight.  He has his own laptop (heck, even my 3 year old has his own laptop) and I really like the idea of teaching strategy games at this age.  TV is brain draining.  Strategy games are brain building.

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On a completely unrelated note, I am so glad hurricane Gustav was not as bad as it could have been.  It really shows that we have become used to more and more extreme weather fluctuations that this terrible destructive storm is being described as "not as bad as it could have been."  Had Katrina not been what it was, this would have been a major disaster story - having to evacuate New Orleans for days on end?  But we all have a different perspective now.  The Mississippi "Delta faucets" have been opened, the levees broken, and its a different place now.

Happy Tuesday

SciFi is playing a mini marathon of Eureka episodes tonight starting at 5:00 EST to catch us up on season 4 getting ready for season 5.

I need a big cup of Starbucks coffee  before I can face this post-holiday Tuesday that feels like a Monday. Blech.

DragonCon went on over the weekend here in the ATL but the closest I got was Ikea.  Don't ask.  That place is a zoo and should not be attempted with 3 year old, 5 year old, and husband.  I will let YOU guess who behaved worst.  Yeah, you guessed right - are you a psychic or do you know my husband?

We watched StarGate Continum over the weekend too.  It was...  interesting.  Quite a bit darker than most of the other StarGate stuff.  I liked the latter part but the begining was really quite depressing.  It made you think though.