The Time Masters: the weird, beautiful French sci-fi I’m finally revisiting

I first saw Time Masters (Les Maîtres du temps) in my early teen years, and it grabbed my attention immediately.

Not simply because of the visuals, or the title, but because it was different. Very different...

It looked nothing like the cartoons I’d grown up with on TV or in theaters. This was before I’d even stumbled into Akira, Nausicaä or Robotech—back when “animation” mostly meant one familiar lane: Disney, Warner Bros. or Hanna-Barbera. And then this showed up, looking like it came from a completely different universe.

So this past Christmas, I did what any reasonable middle-aged guy does when nostalgia starts tugging at his sleeve: I put it on my wish list. A few days ago, it finally landed in my hands. I wasn’t sure what I’d find. Was the magic just nostalgia doing its thing? Or was the film really as special as I remembered?

Either way, I hit play.

I wasn’t disappointed.

Friday Video (Belated Edition): Cowboys and Aliens [HD VIDEO]

Cowboys & Aliens hits theaters on July 29th, 2011.

Cast: Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, Noah Ringer, Sam Rockwell, Ana de la Reguera, Clancy Brown, Heavy D, Jon Favreau, Paul Dano, Abigail Spencer, Keith Carradine, Adam Beach

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents-townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors-all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Cowboys & Aliens trailer courtesy Dreamworks Pictures.

Friday Video: Iron Sky Teasers - Space Nazis attack!

It's not everyday that you get to see Space Nazis! But these two teasers sure got me interested in learning more about Iron Sky [Official Site].

From Wikipedia we learn that "Iron Sky" is [...] a dark science fiction comedy that plays with Finland's history of being oppressed by Sweden and Russia, Iron Sky is a deliberate thematic throwback, a modern implementation of once-popular science fiction tropes that have fallen into disuse, such as Nazis in space.

In addition, from the summary we know that [...] as World War II comes to an end in 1945, Hans Kammler and other German scientists make a breakthrough in anti-gravity research. From a secret base in the Antarctic, Nazi spaceships are sent to the "dark side" of the Moon to establish the military base "Schwarze Sonne" (Black Sun). Their plan is to build a powerful fleet and return to conquer Earth. The film is set in the year 2018 when their descendants finally return.

Here are the 2 teasers:







Pretty cool n'est-ce pas?

Friday Video: Behind the Scenes Featurette on Avatar

The more footage of this movie I see, the more excited I become. I'm almost tempted to get the game as well. Yeah, I know, that's very fanboy! Then again, who the hell am I kidding EVE Fanboy! :p

Behind the Scenes Featurette on Avatar! - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Friday Video: James Cameron's Avatar Trailer

So we're Monday, and though I usually post these sorts of videos on Fridays, with Halloween and a Birthday Party over the week-end, I missed my window of opportunity to post this on Friday. Nevertheless I still wanted to share this amazing trailer. The video isn't embedded since that feature was disabled on YouTube, so just click on the screenshot below and make sure to watch it in HD!


Watch the trailer, then let me know your thoughts!