Sometimes an idea comes along that is so outrageous that it begs to be made in whatever format best suits it, be it comic book, novel, or film. Iron Sky is unusual, in that rather than a major Hollywood studio or an established independent house instigating the project, the origins of the production, from inception through financing to filming, are firmly in fandom. This genesis is perhaps hinted at in the suitably fannish premise of space Nazis attacking from their secret moonbase, armed with a serum that will convert all humanity to Aryan perfection.
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Sometimes disappointment is the result of expectation being set to high, and certainly it cannot be denied that Prometheus, the return of Ridley Scott to science fiction after a thirty year absence and the universe of his masterpiece, in a work hubristically named after the titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, could have been the most important film of the year. Unfortunately, in this instance the disappointment is the result of a film that genuinely should have been considerably better than what has been released, with the frustration that the required improvements could easily have been made.
This June sees the release of Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s return to the realm of science fiction. Only twice before in his career he has turned his camera to the genre that is so rarely well represented in cinema, but both those works are regarded as genuine masterpieces. It is thirty years since Rick Deckard fled his apartment, the replicant Rachael in his care, and Scott has indicated that he may be prepared to return to the world of Blade Runner as early as next year if he is satisfied with the script, but this summer he returns to the earlier work that established his reputation.
Zombies have been a theme in horror movies since the 1930’s, from White Zombie through I Walked with a Zombie to Plan 9 From Outer Space, but it wasn’t until 1968 that George Romero made the subgenre relevant with Night of the Living Dead and its sequels, Dawn, Day and Land, using the mindless hordes to comment on racism, consumerism and modern war, pushing deeper than any other director had. In recent years, perhaps reflecting the overwhelming population pressure and demands from the media to conform, zombies have enjoyed a resurgence; The Walking Dead in comics and on television, the infected of [REC] and 28 Days Later, the forthcoming World War Z. So how does a director find something new to say? Simple. Say it in Spanish.
Considering the controversy sparked by the novel The Monk upon publication in 1796 by Matthew Gregory Lewis, newly appointed to the House of Commons at that time, this latest adaptation has arrived with little brouhaha; perhaps times have changed such that the themes of corruption, cruelty and abuse within the church are no longer shocking, or perhaps those of us who watch foreign language films are already considered irredeemable.
Back in 2008, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) got home after his first bout of super-heroics and outing himself as Iron Man to find Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) in his house talking about something called The Avenger Initiative. And fans went justifiably wild. Four years and five films later and here we are with the highly anticipated release of Marvel Avengers Assemble.
Johnny Depp is often looked on as the Tim Burton’s muse, the actor who has inspired many of his works and allowed himself to be moulded into the embodiment of Burton’s imaginings: Edward Scissorhands, his interpretation of the life and career of Ed Wood, his conception of Ichabod Crane and the Hatter from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Yet on this occasion the roles are reversed, and it is Depp, acting as producer and instigator, who has brought Burton to his own dream project, an update of the gothic American show Dark Shadows.
In 2011, Glen Duncan introduced us to Jacob Marlowe, who believed himself to be the last werewolf. Through diaries he shared wisdom accumulated over two centuries of walking the earth as a man always possessed by beast, driving and guiding him even outwith its monthly manifestation, his perspective on life skewed by his compulsion to bloody violence and the inherited memories of the consumed dead within him. 
The quality of a film can be gauged from how well the director, or in this case directors, care for their audience. Do they pay attention to details, or do they hope that any production and narrative corners they have cut can be hidden if the fill the screen with explosions and lens flare? Is it clear that they have made something they wish to be proud of, pushing for the best from themselves and their collaborators, or does it feel rushed and permeated with indifference? Unfortunately, it is too often the case that as long as the lowest common denominator of the audience is satisfied, there is no desire to achieve anything further.
Best know for presenting the shows Atom, Science and Islam and Shock and Awe: The History of Electricity, Professor Jim Al-Khalili, OBE, has been awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize for science communication and is an Honorary Fellow of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. On Thursday 12th April he was kind enough to spend some time with us after the Edinburgh International Science Festival event Paradox: The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Science where he was launching his book of the same name.
