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Deadline Extension—T-shirt Art Design Contest!

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Because of the issues with the release of this month's newsletter, we have decided to extend the deadline for the t-shirt contest to Friday May 25, 2012. 

Information about the contest can be found in the Contest area of the website. Have fun designing!

Correction to May VCONversation

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Uh-oh... There was a mistake in the May VCONversation!

We're sorry to say that the link to the online version of the newsletter released on Monday, May 7th 2012 was wrong. The link has been corrected, and anyone looking for the online edition can find it in the May Newsletter Archive.

VCONversation Newsletter #3, May 2012

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Issue #3 of the VCONversation Newsletter (May 2012) is available now! 

The Avengers: Worth the wait and hype?

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By Victor Schwartzman

Short answer?

No.

Of course, that depends on how long you’ve been waiting. Since the seventies, when the comics first came out? Since a few years ago, when Iron Man hit the theatres? Or since last summer, when the commercially transparent build-up started to become annoying with Thor and Captain America?

Expectations were high for The Avengers. It had stars, Joss Whedon, and state-of-the-art special effects. What could go wrong?

Nothing. But neither did anything go dramatically different. We do know that Whedon has stuff to say, yet you can walk out of this film and have nothing at all to think about.

The hype machine was in overdrive for this one... and it worked. The movie made a tad over $200 million in its first weekend. What we were promised were a few things. For starters, getting several Marvel superheroes, some of whom had been in successful films, some not, into one film. Then we were promised 3D and CGI, and assumed the film would look fabulous, which it does. Then we were promised, or thought we were promised, a different take on superheroes.

Oops.

The film succeeds in looking good. It also succeeds with some well-placed humour. But story and character remain strictly been there, done that.

SPOILER ALERT (BUT IT WON’T MATTER)

The plot device is the “Tesserac,” which was cleverly introduced in Captain America last year. First the Nazis use it. It has a whole lot of power, although how it has all that power in a tiny cube is never quite explained. Now Loki wants this MacGuffin, as Hitchcock called it, to start some kind of interdimensional war (also never quite explained). The Avengers fight him and—surprise!—save the Earth. Thank Goodness!!! For a long while during the movie, I thought that the Earth was a goner.

Fortunately, all that’s a goner is our mass culture.

The rest is comic book plotting. As happens in almost every comic where superheroes are brought together, there is an initial misunderstand leading to a pointless battle. This also happened with Iron Man and Thor. All either hero had to do was stop and ask a question.

But nope. First gotta slug it out. Why? Because that’s what comic book superheroes do!

Then we go on SHIELD’s nifty airborne aircraft carrier, and it almost crashes in an attack, but doesn’t. Then, for about forty minutes, there is a big battle where the enemy is defeated and the Earth saved.

There are certainly funny points that play with the genre. The script has some funny lines. The Hulk has a lot of fun with Loki, flopping him around like a doll. But just before that, when told he should smash things, the Hulk grins. Pardon me, but in the movie version of the Hulk, he is a dimwitted angry beast who just wants to be let alone. When did he get intelligence? When did he become a team player? Is he in line for corporate Vice President?

The Hulk’s sudden turnaround doesn’t make much sense, but thankfully, we’re given little time to think about it. And that’s about it for character development—or anything vaguely interesting. There were by-the-numbers speeches from Captain America about working together. That worked for him as a character, as he is the one Avenger used to following orders. That doesn’t explain how he becomes so good at giving orders: his character is a seasoned soldier, yet he only had very limited battle experience (and not much of it as a team player). Remember? He went into battle and got frozen pretty quick into a Captainsicle.

Yes, the film is very well acted. All the leads come off well. But they have little to work with that isn’t smashing stuff or banter. A few of the exchanges are downright dull. Perhaps the long chat Loki has with his inter-dimensional bad-guy friends contained an explanation, but it’s hard to say because my mind kept drifting.

In the end, The Avengers is a clever blockbuster and nothing more. It lacks the heart of, say, Spider-man 2, which had two tragic stories at its core. Let’s hope the next superhero offering has more heart—but I won’t hold my breath.


The 2nd Annual Cookie Contest!

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VCON's 2nd Annual Cookie Taste-Off will take place on Saturday afternoon in the Hospitality Suite. Depending on the submissions, we might even try for TWO categories: Best In Show and Best SF/F Theme. I know we have creative bakers in our midst: let's see what you can do!

More information will appear on the Hospitality page of VCON 37's website. Meanwhile, enjoy the good weather, but don't forget to bake something delicious every so often!

T-Shirt Art Design Contest!

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A Call to All Artistic VCON Fans and Members!
How would you like to see YOUR t-shirt design on OUR t-shirts?

We have just learned that the VCON 37 Artist Guest of Honour, James Ng, won't be able to provide art for this year's t-shirt. We are, of course, saddened by this, but life must go on and we do need a design... and so we're opening it up to all of you!

The winning artist will receive one of "their" t-shirts in the size and the colour (if multiple colours are offered) of their choosing AND a $50 cash prize.

Full details and submission rules for the contest can be found on our Contests! page.

Cabin in the Woods - Michael Walsh Reviews

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Friday, April 13, 2012
By MICHAEL WALSH
VCON Film Critic

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. Music by David Julyan. Co-written and produced by Joss Whedon. Co-written and directed by Drew Goddard. Running time: 95 minutes. B.C. rating: 18A.

Dana Polk Kristen Connolly
Curt Vaughan Chris Hemsworth
Jules Louden Anna Hutchison
Marty Mikalski Fran Kranz
Holden McCrea Jesse Williams
Richard Sitterson Richard Jenkins
Steve Hadley Bradley Whitford
Daniel Truman Brian White
Wendy Lin Amy Acker
Mordecai Tim De Zarn
Ronald the Intern Tom Lenk
Mathew Buckner Dan Payne
Anna Patience Buckner Jodelle Ferland
Father Buckner Dan Shea
Mother Buckner Maya Masser
Judah Buckner Matt Drake
The Director Sigourney Weaver
"If you give away the plot of this film to someone who hasn't seen it, I will personally come to your house and make fun of you in front of people you respect."


The man has a way with words. Joss Whedon, the third-generation television writer who gave the world Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has a genuine love of genre and a talent for mockery.

Joss Whedon (Co-writer/Producer, left) and Drew Goddard (Co-writer/Director, right) on the set of THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. Photo credit: Diyah Pera Joss Whedon (Co-writer/Producer, left) and Drew Goddard (Co-writer/Director, right) on the set of THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. Photo credit: Diyah Pera
Both are on display in The Cabin in the Woods, the see-worthy feature film he co-wrote with debuting director Drew Goddard. In Whedon's own words, the picture is "a serious critique of what we love and what we don’t about horror movies.

"I love being scared," he said in a recent interview. "I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be all right but at the same time hoping they’ll go somewhere dark and face something awful.

"The things that I don’t like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into 'torture porn' and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction."

"Torture porn," a phrase coined by New York Magazine critic David Edelstein to describe the 2005 gore-fest Hostel, is often applied to the Saw series (2004-2010). Cabin, the Whedon/Goddard critique, invites moviegoers into a funhouse film that pays tribute to some 40 years of horror history, a program brought to you by the letter C.

Cabin’s opening shot is an homage to the American (International) shockmaster Roger Corman. A surface alive with psychedelic shapes, the screen throbs with blood-red blobs adorned with bits of artwork: a pen-and-ink sketch that just might be Abraham sacrificing Isaac, another that could be an Aztec ritual murder and yet another offering what appears to be a full-colour detail from a Bosch image of hell.

The action begins with a scene set in an office lunchroom. Standing by a vending machine, a pair of older white-collar workers are bantering about personal health issues. It's not really clear, but Richard Sitterson (Richard Jenkins), the senior supervisor, seems to be twitting his colleague Steve Hadley (Bradley Whitford) about visiting a fertility clinic.

As it turns out, the actual issue is of no importance to the plot, serving only to establish the men's camaraderie and their physical setting, a modern building that could be anything from a corporate headquarters to a government bunker. The nod is to the 1970s, Michael Crichton and the science-fictional horrors of his Westworld, Coma and Looker.

From left to right: Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Holden (Jesse Williams), Jules (Anna Hutchison), Marty (Fran Kranz) and Dana (Kristen Connolly) in THE CABIN IN THE WOODS From left to right: Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Holden (Jesse Williams), Jules (Anna Hutchison), Marty (Fran Kranz) and Dana (Kristen Connolly) in THE CABIN IN THE WOODS.
A quick cut (by editor Lisa Lassek, VCON 36 media guest of honour) sends us into another movie entirely, one in which the camera is hovering outside the window of a cozy apartment building on a tree-lined street. In a voyeuristic moment reminiscent of 1980s slasher films, our attention is focused on coed Dana Polk (Kristen Connolly), a redheaded beauty bustling about her room in a blouse and panties.

Films such as John Carpenter's Halloween, Sean S. Cunningham's Friday the 13th and Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street all morphed into franchises in which erring teens faced off against indestructible serial killers.

The Cabin in the Woods appears headed in the same direction, as Dana is joined by saucy blonde Jules Louden (Anna Hutchison), bespectacled Holden McCrea (Jesse Williams), jock Curt Vaughan (Chris Hemsworth) and stoner Marty Mikalski (Fran Kranz).

Together, they're off for a weekend "off the grid" at the cabin of the title. As their RV disappears up the street, the camera pans up to the apartment block’s roof, where a lurking observer reports "the nest is empty. We're right on schedule."

In 1992, Joss Whedon's screenplay for Buffy the Vampire Slayer combined humour and horror. The final result, directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui, seriously disappointed its writer, who went on to reimagine it as a television series. The show went to air in 1996, the same year that Wes Craven successfully combined horror and humour in the first film of the Scream series.

Twenty years on, Whedon has become famous for capturing the pop-cultural moment, an ability he's nurtured in such Buffy writers as Marti Noxon (Mad Men; Glee), Jane Espenson (Warehouse 13; Once Upon a Time), David Fury (Lost; Fringe), David Greenwalt (Eureka; Grimm) and Drew Goddard (Alias; Lost).

Goddard, of course, wrote 2008’s Cloverfield, the Godzilla-inspired monster movie in which the monster is more McGuffin than principal player. Who better then, to help Whedon connect the dots between eldritch abominations and our surveillance society, make book on a zombie redneck torture family and realize the deadly possibility inherent in unicorn horns?

With The Cabin in the Woods, they create a vision of today that makes it a must-see for all (Post Apocalypse) VCON 37 members. And, if that's too much of a plot spoiler, I'll look forward to Mr. Whedon's verbally abusive visit.

* * * *


The Cabin in the Woods was shot here in Vancouver from March to May, 2009. Its release date was postponed because producer MGM wanted to convert it to 3D, plans abandoned when MGM went bankrupt in 2010. There is a touch of irony, then, in that fact that rights to Whedon's "loving hate letter" to torture porn were picked up by Lionsgate, the distributor of the Saw series.

By MICHAEL WALSH

VCON Film Critic

VCONversation Newsletter #2, April 2012

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Issue #2 of the VCONversation Newsletter (April 2012) is available now! 

Volunteer needed: Newsletter coordinator

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Job Overview

The Newsletter Coordinator ensures that the VCON community remains connected to each other, by overseeing the creation and distribution of the VCONversation, VCON’s monthly newsletter.

Duties & Responsibilities

  • Send out a call for submissions every month to Convention Committee and community members
  • Suggest and seek out topics, news, events, and interesting tidbits related to the SciFi/Fantasy/gaming/nerd community
  • Remind people of and enforce deadlines
  • Communicate and discuss article ideas with writers
  • Proofread and copy-edit articles for clarity and consistency
  • Upload articles to VCON website
  • Compile articles and events and input into HTML template
  • Perform edits to the HTML newsletter template as necessary
  • Work with mailing software to manage subscription and distribution
  • Write introductory article to the VCONversation monthly

Skills & Abilities

  • History of liaising positively and awesomely with people
  • Ability to contribute effectively within a diverse team
  • Ability to set and enforce deadlines

Education, Training & Experience

  • Experience writing, editing, proofreading
  • Comfortable with a computer, in particular internet and email capabilities
  • Love for science fiction/fantasy/conventions/gaming/geekdom
  • Familiarity with Google Docs, Dropbox, Drupal, and/or Trello an asset
  • Familiarity with HTML an asset
  • Previous newsletter experience an asset

Experience and Skills Gained

  • Increased familiarity with HTML
  • Get more comfortable with productivity tools Drupal, Google Docs, Dropbox, and Trello

How to Apply

  • Send resume with your reasons for applying via email to sayata.gabriel@vcon.ca with “Newsletter Editor” in the subject line
  • For more information about the Vancouver Convention of Science Fiction and Fantasy, visit our website.

Additional Information

  • This position will require a time commitment of about 8 hrs/month (mostly via email), including a monthly in-person ConCom meeting (there may even be snacks!)
  • This is a volunteer position. VCON offers letters of recommendation, references, lavish praise, and undying devotion upon those who help us.

VCON 37 Programming announcements!

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The VCON Programming Department, hidden away in its cave, has begun the planning process for this year... and can finally reveal a few secrets.

We have confirmation that we will be joined this year by the beauty and grace of Academie Duello. Academie Duello's International Centre for Swordplay is North America's foremost destination for the study of European Swordplay and Martial Arts. Based in Vancouver, seminars, workshops, and ongoing programs are available for the arts of the rapier, longsword, sidesword, grappling, knife, pole weapons, and more. If you haven't had a chance to see these people dance with their swords, we recommend you find time this year!

The boys responsible for Caustic Soda will be back this year with another live recording of their popular podcast. Caustic Soda is a weekly podcast about science, horrible news and humor hosted by Toren Atkinson, Kevin Leeson and Joe Fulgham. Each episode of Caustic Soda takes a gruesome, gory or otherwise horrible topic, such as shark attacks, parasites and radiation, and breaks it down into an easily-digestible bubbling paste of funny! Their topic for VCON 37’s podcast is still to be determined, but they've got time.

By popular demand, the Frankenstuffies workshop will return. We have already started a stockpile of stuffed animals to be chopped up and stitched back together to suit your whims. Just don't use too many monkeys.

We have many other wonderful things we're trying to get confirmation on, and will keep everyone updated as things develop. Stay tuned!