05-30-09

Moonlight: Well this really sucks…

Pardon the vampire pun, but there’s nothing worse than getting sucked into an awesome new TV show only to find out it has already been canceled.  My latest letdown was over the CBS series Moonlight, a show about a vampire P.I.  living in modern-day Los Angeles who struggles with life, love and his oft-challeneged quest for redemption.  Sounds cheesy, I know, and there’s no shortage of awful vampire shows—even some with strikingly similar premises—but Moonlight was one of the best I’ve ever seen.  I typically don’t watch many TV shows (at least not while they’re still airing), I guess because I hate commercials, waiting a week to find out what happens next, and spoiler-happy assclowns online.  So most of my TV show consumption is done all at once in the form of downloads, DVD, or Hulu, even though watching shows all at once usually means I’m unfashionably late to most fandoms.  Which brings me back to Moonlight…

Forget for a moment that the name of the show is Moonlight, which is a bad idea for several reasons, the most obvious being confusion with Stephenie Meyer’s much lamer Twilight.  Also look past the fact that main character Mick St. John (Alex O’Loughlin) is brutally hot, which much of this show’s popularity with a rabid female fanbase can be attributed to.  Underneath you’ll find an intelligent, action-packed, funny, and yes, romantic supernatural drama with high production value, great direction, and a kickass soundtrack.  As far as vampire lore goes, Moonlight doesn’t deviate too much from conventional mythology, but does throw a few unique and interesting twists into the mix, like silver as a lethal substance, sunlight causing progressive degeneration, and my personal favorite, sleeping in freezers. For the geeks, there’s even a geek vampire with plenty of video game and World of Warcraft references—even a full-blown Leeroy Jenkins battle charge.

Critically it seems Moonlight didn’t fare too well, with many having dismissed the show as silly, or perhaps more detrimental, comparing it to Angel. But it was an obvious hit with fans, having won a People’s Choice Award for Best New Drama, and its ratings were nothing to scoff at. So it’s beyond me why CBS would choose to cancel a good show, especially after claiming there were plans for a second season.  I’m just bitter I started watching it without knowing it was already over.

Fans of the show can sign the online petition to save Moonlight, even though most online petitions are like pisisng into the wind.  As for me, I’ll just have to be content with re-watching the first and only season and mourning the loss of yet another good show that’s gone too soon.

05-03-09

LOTR Fan Film: $3,000 of Awesome

What can you do with $3,000 and a group of dedicated LOTR fans?  Make a kick-ass fan movie, that’s what.  The Hunt for Gollum is a 40-minute fan-made film based on the Lord of the Rings books and movies.  And more importantly, it’s good.  Surprisingly so.

Based on Tolkien’s appendices, The Hunt for Gollum remains true to its source material and fits in nicely with the three official Peter Jackson films.  The story is a prequel of sorts that follows Aragorn on his quest from Gandalf to track down and capture the creature Gollum, who knows the whereabouts of the One Ring.  It takes place before Gandalf returns to The Shire, to warn Frodo of the dangers of his burden.

Everything from the costumes and make-up to the film’s score and acting is well done, and closely mimics Jackson’s style of direction and visual effects.  The fight scenes were epic and well choreographed.  

Even Gollum looks and sounds great:

It’s an impressive accomplishment for such a limited budget (the entire cast and crew worked for free).  Huge props to the filmmakers, who are as talented as they are dedicated.  The film was released today, May 3rd, and is available to watch free online.  You can also check out the making of this epic undertaking here.  Visit www.TheHuntForGollum.com, or click  the banner below.  If you’re a LOTR fan, I highly recommend you go watch it—NOW!