Create a Kaiju contest ends next week! ENTER NOW!

Hey all, the CREATE A KAIJU CONTEST is still going on. Once again, to enter all you need do is create your own giant monster. Design it, name it, come up with its strengths and weaknesses, then send it in to me to win some fabulous GODZILLA PRIZES.... prizes..... prizes..... prizes....

Up for grabs is nearly $100.00 worth of Godzilla goodness including: Classic Media's Godzilla Collection, which includes: Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla Raids Again, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Invasion of the Astro Monsters, Ghidrah: The Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla's Revenge, and Terror of Mechagodzilla. Each disc has two versions of each film and cool extras! Also included in the prize pack are a t-shirt of your choice (send in your shirt size with your entry), a cool Godzilla action figure, and a trade paperback of IDW's amazing mini-series, GODZILLA: GANGSTERS AND GOLIATHS!

As for the creation of you monster, it must be an original concept you came up with and you can bring it to life in any way possible. Draw it, paint it, animate it, use legos, modeling clay, or even design a costume. I've extended the contest until the end of the month, and thus far I only have TWO ENTRIES. So if you like to wait until the last minute, now is the time folks! Don't be shy and certainly don't think you won't have a chance to win! Some folks may be better artists than others, but it will be sheer creativity that wins the day here.

The CREATE A KAIJU CONTEST ends on Wednesday, May 30th at midnight (EST) and the winner(s) will be announced the following day! So get to work fellow monster movie fans; show me what you can come up with and do it fast, because May 30th will be here before you know it! E-mail your entry (or a link to your entry) to vault_master@bmoviefilmvault.com and cross your fingers! There's no age limit here, kids and adults are all welcome to enter, and I WILL ship internationally!

Note: I know coming up with an original creature is tough so... here's a bit of help. Supposedly, (this is more urban legend than fact) Gojira (Godzilla's ahm... birth name haha) is not only the result of slapping the Japanese words for Gorilla and Whale together, but was also the nickname for an obese stagehand on the Toho lot. This has been "myth busted" in recent years, but my point is, if you're stuck trying to come up with a creature, slap two different animals together OR use a person (preferably someone you don't like I guess? Hahaha) to serve as the base for your giant monster. Not get going and WOW ME with your awesome creature creations!

GO GO GODZILLA FANS!

'Men in Black 3' reviews

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Image credit: ComingSoon.net

A selection of early critics’ reviews for Men in Black 3 is now viewable over at RottenTomatoes.com. At the time of writing, the movie has a “fresh” rating of 67% on the Tomatometer, but this will almost certainly change as more reviews pour in. 

Here’s a snapshot of the decidedly mixed reviews so far... 

"Few things in life are worth waiting a decade for, and this isn't one of them, but after witnessing so many big-screen sci-fi comebacks go so hideously wrong in recent years, Men In Black 3 emerges as something of a triumph."

Jordan Farley

SFX

"There’s a disheartening lack of wit throughout... despite some good moments, Agents J, O and K are missing an E."

William Thomas

   Empire 

"Although it still remains the threequel nobody was demanding to see, Men in Black III works as a solid creature feature filled with memorable performances and remarkable visual effects."

Matthew Pejkovik

  Matt’s Movie Reviews

"In a summer hardly starved of comic-book properties, this redundant extension of a series that ran out of gas a decade ago doesn't need a neuralyzer to be forgettable."

Neil Smith

 Total Film

"There is genuine heart in the reteaming of J and K, certainly sufficient to warrant MIB3's existence; enough, perhaps, to even trumpet it."

Simon Foster

Screen-Space

Men in Black 3 hits cinemas May 25.

Alien movies battle for box-office top spot

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Alien invasion movie Battleship has been torpedoed at the US box-office in its opening weekend by alien invasion movie The Avengers – still sitting pretty at the #1 spot after three weeks on release. Deadline has compared Battleship’s US opening to that of the disastrous John Carter, noting that the star of both movies – Taylor Kitsch – might soon be asking: “You want fries with that?”

Battleship’s weekend box-office estimate is just $25 million (that’s 5 million short of John Carter’s opening weekend!), compared to The Avengers’ $55 million. Luckily for director Peter Berg, Battleship has already hauled in $230 million internationally, thus making a profit – albeit a measly one – on Universal’s $209 million investment. Less fortunate for studio and director are Battleship’s wince-inducing international critics’ reviews, which reached the US well in advance of the movie’s stateside docking this weekend and are now causing American cinemagoers to abandon ship.

As for The Avengers, Joss Whedon’s superhero extravaganza is set to become the highest grossing domestic release in Disney’s history. It is already the studio’s highest grossing movie of all time globally, and, with $1.1 billion to its name at the worldwide box office, is currently the fourth highest grossing movie of all time. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Battleship!

Related:

John Carter gives Disney boss the boot

Battleship: Silver Screen Saucers Review

Life on Venus in ‘Beyond Apollo’?

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Barry Malzberg's award-winning sci-fi thriller novel Beyond Apollo is being adapted for the big screen by writer/director Michael Grodner and executive producer Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In).

Here’s the synopsis for Beyond Apollo as presented on the movie’s official website:

“The first two-man mission to Venus is aborted in mid-flight and abruptly returns back to Earth. When rescue crews go to retrieve the space capsule, they make a startling discovery: The Captain is missing – there is no sign of his body whatsoever – and strangely enough, the lone surviving astronaut has no clue about what took place.

Beyond Apollo tells the riveting story of when that astronaut, Harry Evans, returns to earth and must answer to the authorities about what really happened on board the doomed flight to Venus. His mind-bending struggle to figure that out is a harrowing journey through the possibilities: Was the Captain murdered? Did he commit suicide? Or were alien beings responsible for his demise? The answer, as Evans will eventually discover, is far more terrifying than anything he could possibly imagine.

Based on the award winning book by Barry N. Malzberg, Beyond Apollo captures the eerie isolation of delving into the unknown, begs us to ask the unanswerable, and marks the separation between the real, unreal and surreal.”

Pre-production artwork for Beyond Apollo. Image credit: BeyondApollo.com

First published in 1972, Beyond Apollo is Malzberg’s most famous novel and in 1973 became the first recipient of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

The cast list for Beyond Apollo is still developing, but so far includes Scott Speedman (Underworld), Bill Pullman (Independence Day) and Ali Larter (Heroes). The movie has been in development for several years but has lacked sufficient funding. Now, with the backing of sales company Stealth Media Group, principal photography is due to begin this fall. Expect a 2014 release.

'Prometheus': new poster & viral video

Silver Screen Saucers

New viral video for Ridley Scott's Prometheus, featuring Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw...

And a new international poster for the movie leaves little to the imagination...

SETI astronomer discusses 'Battleship'

Silver Screen Saucers

SETI astronomer Seth Shostak spoke to Space.com recently about his involvement in Hollywood's newest alien invasion movie, Battleship, and discussed the problems inherent in our making contact with extraterrestrials.

Read the interview here...

When Aliens Attack: 'Battleship' Strategy with SETI Astronomer Seth Shostak

Related:

'Battleship' director: "You gotta join the army, motherf**ker!"

'Battleship': Silver Screen Saucers Review

'Men in Black 3' aliens featurette

Silver Screen Saucers

New MIB 3 featurette goes behind the scenes with legendary Hollywood 'monster maker' Rick Baker and gets up close and personal with the movie's aliens...

Related:

President Obama tells Will Smith's son: "I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of extraterrestrials"!