IHSFFF - Opening Night: Starship Troopers with Casper Van Dien

The International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival kicked off with a major bang this year. The opening film of Starship Troopers was an amazing pick to start the festivities, but it got even better when Casper Van Dien, better known as Johnny Rico, stepped in front of the screen and showed everyone just what a character he is. Very down to earth, Van Dien is a smorgasbord of talent, and pulled no punches when demonstrating just how humorous he can be when a camera isn't rolling. A prime example of this came when someone asked him what it was like to work with Paul Verhoeven, the director of Starship Troopers. Van Dien, not a person to sit idly by and just answer questions, jumped out of his chair, donned a makeshift German accent and proceeded to do a hysterical, yet intense impersonation of the director.

"Ze bugs, killz ze bugs! Gah! Killz them all! Killz all ze bugs!", was just one of many phrases Van Dien yelled in order to get his point across. Needless to say, the crowd was impressed and laughed their CENSORED off.

After the film, Casper Van Dien was inducted into the IHSFFF Hall of Fame and even received an award for his work on Starship Troopers. Following that, he was found in another theater signing autographs and taking pictures with the crowd, almost all of whom agree that Starship Troopers 2 would've been better if he'd been in it. With a bowed head, Van Dien solemnly said that Sony didn't want him in it, but he completely agreed with the crowd. Luckily, he came back in Starship Troopers 3, and even expressed an interest in doing more Starship Troopers films. Have we seen the last of Johnny Rico? I highly doubt it, but I do get the feeling it'll be a couple more years before we see him return once more. Until then, "Kill 'em all!"

Starship Troopers (1997)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Screenplay: Edward Neumeier, based on the book by
Rober A. Heinlein
Starring: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.....

It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet."

Oh, sorry, wrong movie. Hehe.... Changing reels now!

It is the not too distant future and the world is at war with Klendathu, a planet whose population is that of gigantic insects known as Arachnids. Johnny Rico, a high school student in Buenos Aires, signs up to serve in the mobile infantry so he can impress his girlfriend. After an error in judgment during a live-fire exercise and his girlfriend leaves him, Rico decides that the army life just isn't for him. However, upon his departure, Buenos Aires is attacked by an Arachnid asteroid, causing Rico to rethink his decision. From there on out, Johnny Rico places all of his efforts towards the eradication of the Arachnid race from the galaxy.

An anti-war satire, Starship Troopers pulls no punches in showing us exactly how the government tries to glorify war, while giving us the behind-the-scenes feel of their CENSORED. The acting is phenominal, the CGI holds up really well for being from 1997 and the overall film itself is a masterpiece of Science Fiction. A movie which has spawned two sequels, Starship Troopers holds up quite well to the test of time and definitely doesn't fail in comparing itself to today's warmongering society. We're not fighting 8-foot tall insects that can rip you apart in 2.3 seconds though. What? I'm just stating the obvious.

Zombieland

Have you ever found yourself thinking about what it would be like to exist in a world overrun with zombies? Do you often daydream about the glorious moment that you get to beat someone in the face with a banjo ? Are your thoughts constantly revolving around raiding your local supermarket for that last box of Twinkies? If all of these things sound like you, don't worry, you are not alone. Welcome to Zombieland.

Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and directed by Ruben Fleischer, Zombieland is a film that takes us on a thrill ride through a post-apocalyptic world crawling with mad cow disease infected zombies. The film's unlikely hero goes by the name of Columbus (played by Jesse Eisneberg), a man in his early twenties that has a phobia of just about everything. He soon hooks up with the banjo-wielding, Twinkie-eating, Hummer-driving badass known as Tallahassee (great casting choice of Woody Harrelson) and off they go together. The twosome set out on an adventure to head east where the zombie virus hasn't reached certain areas. However, Tallahassee soon begins to crave a spongy cream cake, so they make a pit stop. After luring a few zombies to come running to their untimely "redeath", the duo runs into another pair of survivors, Wichita and Little Rock (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin respectively). Of course the two groups have a few disagreements, but they ultimatley join together to trek through the zombie infested planet.

In itself, Zombieland is a laugh out loud comedy that doesn't pull any punches, but it gets even better when Bill Murray shows up to do a cameo appearance as Bill Murray?! The pacing is great, the gore is never gratuitous, and the entire cast works together beautifully to bring together a story of death, fun and Rule #32 - Enjoying the little things. A movie that will definitely spawn multiple sequels, Zombieland is not one to miss if you're a zombie fan, a comedy fan, or a fan of Deliverence.

Zombieland - playing in a theater near you and most likely will be for quite some time.

The First Friday Zombie Scavenger Hunt

So last Friday was the Second Annual Zombie Scavenger Hunt downtown. Last year my team and I participated in the first hunt and came in 3rd place. The people who won decided to bypass all of the actual challenges and just take pictures with passers-by with flyers. Although each picture is only worth five points, it really racks up when you nearly have four hundred photos of that crap. Needless to say, we lost last year.

This year was different though. This year we lost spectacularly! We dropped to 6th place and we didn't even get to hear what our total amount of points was. Wanna take a guess at how we lost? Yup, you guessed it! The pricks that took 1st didn't even bother to actually do the scavenger hunt. The winners decided to just do that stupid flyer thing and that's what gave them the VIP passes to the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival.

Here's the sitch, next year I'm going there with a camera that can hold about a MILLION photos and then I'm taking a machete. Anyone who doesn't pose with me for a photo with a flyer or anyone that somehow takes the lead is going to meet with the sharp end of Mr. Slicey!

Grr, seething anger.