Secret Cinema's epic GHOSTBUSTERS event

Recently the original Ghostbusters has been in heavy rotation on cable, and from what I've seen of it I'm afraid it doesn't quite live up to my childhood memories. (I love Bill Murray as much as any right-thinking person, but Peter Venkman now strikes me as kind of a jerk. That stuff at the beginning, where he's trying to impress a blonde coed by using electric shocks to torture a dorky college kid? That is just nasty.)

But all that being said, I will go to my grave regretting that I never made it to London to see Secret Cinema's truly epic Ghostbusters screening event in November. Not only did the screening feature a live (er, undead?) appearance from Slimer, complete with a squad of proton-pack sporting Ghostbusters to catch him right there in the theater, but there was also a rare appearance by Gozer and his/her hellhounds, and even a visit from a great big Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Click on over to their gallery to see some of this madness, then join me in sorrow that we missed this thing.

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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Peter Capaldi's FRANZ KAFKA'S IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Following the news that Peter Capaldi will take over the role of the titular Doctor on Doctor Who, the Scottish actor suddenly finds himself an object of intense fascination for nerds around the globe. That's led to the unearthing of Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, a dark yet daffy and kind of delightful short-ish film that Capaldi wrote and directed in 1994. Richard E. Grant is spectacular as Kafka, making this famously tormented writer both comical and affecting.

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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Miniature models of classic artists at work in their studios

Courtesy of the folks at Juxtapoz magazine, check out this amazing gallery of miniature model portraits of classic artists at work in their studios.


Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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A very Betamax Christmas to you!

If you need a little retro Christmas TV, right this very minute, Betamax Christmas will put the jolly back in your holly. The site recreates a full evening of Christmas TV programming circa 1989 or so, complete with rabbit ears on the TV that you have to fiddle with to get a better picture. (You change the channel by flipping the remote floating over on the right. It seems obvious once you notice it, but it took me a while to spot it.)


Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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But do you recall... the most obscure Rankin/Bass specials of all?

Much as I love the classic Rankin/Bass holiday specials, at this point I've seen 'em and seen 'em and seen 'em all again. But it turns out that there are a few that aren't familiar to me, and maybe they're just as new to you.

Does Pinocchio's Christmas sound even slightly familiar to you? How about Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey? Or The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold?)

(I get that feeling that as time passed Rankin and Bass started getting kind of desperate for new Christmas special ideas. I mean, Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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"I'm Dreaming of a Blue Sunset"

Enjoy this Doctor Manhattan-esque footage of a sunset as seen from the surface of Mars.

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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FREAKS AND GEEKS: THE INTERACTIVE YOUTUBE GAME

Courtesy of the Fine Bros. Unofficial, but awesome.

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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The alien designs Stanley Kubrick rejected for 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Here's a fascinating article about some of the alien designs that Stanley Kubrick rejected while shooting 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's full of surprising revelations, like the little factoid about Carl Sagan being the one who suggested not showing the aliens at all. Apparently there's some controversy about whether it was Sagan's suggestion or not, but Sagan and Arthur C. Clarke both thought it was, and that's good enough for me. (Also, Sagan and Kubrick apparently didn't get along well at all. What would you give to listen in on those arguments?)

Some of these designs are kind of funky, but some of them look decades ahead of their time. The little beauty pictured above, for instance, could easily pass as a Wayne Barlow design.

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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THE LAST OF US: THE MUSICAL!

If you've played the award-winning video game The Last of Us, you know it's got what may well be the most gut-wrenching ending in game history. In this bizarre and hilarious video, we see the actors who did the game's voice acting and motion capture improvise a very different take on the conclusion: an epic, Broadway musical of the angsty Les Miz variety.

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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8 Weird Catchphrases From Old Warner Bros. Cartoons Explained

Today I've got what I hope will be the first of many articles posted on the nifty website Topless Robot: 8 Weird Catchphrases From Old Warner Bros. Cartoons Explained!

Read more by Greg Stacy at GregStacy.com. Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

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