As an admirer of classic Animes and Mangas David is now working on his new project called Captain Future (Live Action Anime) inspired by the SCI-FI Classic created by Edmond Hamilton and the Japanese Anime from the 70′s. The main character is Curtis Newton, a brilliant scientist and adventurer who roams the solar system solving problems, righting wrongs, and vanquishing futuristic supervillains.

The hero himself had many incarnations and different features, depending on various artist’s impressions, my project takes places 5 years after the events described in the Novels and the Anime.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As an extra special scoop, while David is finishing post-production of Captain Future he’s also started pre-production on a live version of Mobile Armored Strike Kommand or what every 80’s youth knows as to be M.A.S.K. Principal photography will begin in two months time. We’ll keep you updated on his progress.

This is a fan made trailer of a Cobra adaptation, inspired by the upcoming movie and the original manga.
It follows Jane Royal, the bounty hunter, who is looking for Cobra in order to help her. It was made by french filmmaker Michael Paris and stars Johanna Genet as Jane Royal.

WEBSITE: http://www.cobra-trailer.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

WEBSITE: http://filmumentaries.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Some independent productions are so well made that they can bypass several contemporary film-making techniques and still create a great series.

One example of this concept is The Mercury Men, which was released in 10 black-and-white six- to nine-minute Webisodes reminiscent of the serials shown in theaters during the 1930s and 1940s.

Normally, I put in a Spoiler Alert toward the end of the project I’m reviewing, but because of the format The Mercury Men uses, I’ll put an alert at the end of the first segment, and you can skip down to the end of this column and watch all 10 episodes if you want to.

The story takes place in Pittsburgh in 1975 and begins with a meek office worker named Edward Borman (played by Mark Tierno).

As Borman enters an elevator to leave work, he hears an odd sound and, curiously enough, decides to investigate. To his horror, he finds tall luminous aliens firing bolts of crackling energy as they attempt to kill everyone in their way.

When one of the aliens corners the terrified Borman, he’s saved at the last moment by a shot from a ray gun used by Jack Yaeger (Curt Wootton), who’s dressed in an old-style pilot uniform.

Spoiler Alert: If you want to watch the entire story, skip down to the link at the bottom of this review. If not, keep reading.

Edward helps Jack move to a safer spot, where they watch two other aliens absorb the body of their dead comrade into themselves.

“What are they?” Edward asks.

“Dangerous,” Jack replies. “Very dangerous.”

The two men make it to the parking garage, where they see a pair of Mercury Engineers (aliens wearing eerie outfits, especially their face masks) putting the finishing touches on an ominous device.

“They going to blow up the building?” Borman asks.

“It’s not a bomb,” Yaeger states. “It’s a gravity engine. It creates a focused pool of gravity, like a magnet. They’d have to have steel to magnify it.”

“The whole building is made of steel,” Edward says.

“They’re not trying to destroy the building,” Yaeger notes. “They’re trying to use it.”

“Who are they?” Borman asks.

“The first men. The men of Mercury,” Yaeger replies. “Made of a light so dense it became solid. And there’s only one thing on this planet that can harm them,” he says as he pulls out his ray gun.

“You’re a pilot?” Borman asks after noticing the goggles on the agent’s head.

“An engineer,” Yaeger responds. “An engineer with a gun?” Borman asks.

After a brief pause, Yaeger walks to a window and pulls up the blinds to reveal the enemy’s real target. “They’re going to pull the Moon into the Earth,” he states.

Jack then radios for reinforcements from a secretive group known as “The League,” but the soonest any help could arrive would be in several hours.

Suddenly, the whole structure begins to shake, and rocks and dust begin flying from the Moon toward the Earth.

“They’ve turned on the engine,” Yaeger says.

The duo then encounters what the office worker calls “a brain in a jar” that’s controlling the operation.

When Yaeger attempts to shut down the device, the human brain becomes active and threatens to kill him.

“That’s pretty bold words from a jar on a desk,” the agent replies.

The brain states that the moment Yaeger approached him, he called for assistance from the glowing aliens.

After a struggle, the agent is able to capture the device and exterminate the brain inside it.

Borman asks why the Mercury Men want to destroy Earth, and Yaeger states that humans left their planet and landed on the Moon in 1969, a fraction of the time that alien race existed without being able to do the same.

“They’re afraid of us,” he adds.

In order to reverse the gravity engine, Yaeger dons the uniform of a Mercury Engineer as a means to get close to the device, while Borman has to adjust three breaker switches.

The plan goes well until Edward helps a hidden woman flee the scene, and that move raises the suspicion of another Engineer and other Mercury Men.

Yaeger gives Borman his ray gun to hold off the enemy creatures while he reverses the gravity machine so the Moon will return to its proper orbit instead of continuing to head toward Earth.

“I got one!” Borman exclaims after he took out one of the aliens. “Only one?” Yaeger asks.

Suddenly, the gravity engine shuts down, and lighting bolts from a Mercury Man knock Jack out. When Edward tries to fire Yaeger’s ray gun, he discovers that it’s out of power just as the Moon enters Earth’s atmosphere!

Super Spoiler Alert: If you want to see how the series ends, click on the link at the bottom of the article. If not, keep reading.

The aliens charge Borman, who’s hiding behind a metal pole, and they fire bolt after bolt at the human. However, they don’t realize that Edward has connected jumper cables to the gravity engine, and their energy activates the device, sending the Moon back into space.

The Mercury Men then turn their fury on Edward, but he’s rescued by five men dressed and armed like Jack and who came from the League.

After the situation returns to normal, Jack turns to leave, but first he gives Borman a ray gun and states: “This isn’t over. Godspeed.”

When the exhausted and disheveled Edward returns to his cubicle, the clock hits 7:00 a.m. The office lights come on, and Borman’s co-workers arrive with no idea what had happened there during the previous 12 hours.

I’ve got my black-and-white Clint Eastwood hat on, so let’s get reviewing!

The Good: While many fan productions are broken down into several brief sections on sites like YouTube, The Mercury Men uses that format to its advantage by ending each part with a cliff-hanger. It’s also interesting to see a series in black and white, which adds to the program’s dark mood.

Also, both of the lead characters are well played. Teaming a timid office worker with a brave trained agent may have led to some friction between them, but in the end Borman learns something about heroism from the experience.

The Bad: Every good story needs worthy baddies, and the men from Mercury are scary folks indeed. I had to laugh when I learned that writer/director Christopher Preksta decided to use a “reverse silhouette” by filming myself (because he’s tall and thin) in all-black spandex on an all-white background.” The result of that hard labor was a unique set of villains that gave me chills throughout the series.

The Ugly: Back at the top of the review, I stated that there are 10 episodes of The Mercury Men, but I only covered nine. This isn’t an oversight on my part. The 10th segment features an awesome cliff-hanger, but I hear more episodes are in the works, so I’ll add that to the rest of the story when it’s released. Or you can watch it yourself and be on the edge of your seat for a while.

If you want to learn about the group behind The Mercury Men, point your Web browser here. And if you want to watch this excellent series, just go here, but be careful because the episodes are in the opposite order so you’ll need to scroll right to see the first one and go left from there.

This year the convention will be held over Memorial Day weekend (May 24th through the 27th) at the Phoenix Convention Center and Hyatt Regency. Last year approximately 25,000 people were in attendance and this year the organizers are predicting that number to double.

Part of the content of the convention is the film festival itself. They do not charge admission to the films. There is only a membership fee for folks who attend the convention. Convention attendees can view the films on a first come first served basis.

The deadline for submissions is March 31st, 2012. This gives the film staff the months of April and May to screen the films and set the festival’s schedule.

You can find out more information about the festival and to download your entry form here CLICK HERE.

WEBSITE: http://www.helljumper.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fan films (or independent productions, if you prefer) run the gamut from space battles over the fate of the universe to intimate, personal stories that focus on characters and the relationships between them.

An excellent example of that second type of story is the newly released “Revelations & Anomalies” from the Mariner animated series.

The episode begins with Flight Controller Veranis Nik (a Bajoran voiced by Avai D’Amico) enjoying “some time to myself” in Engineering when Captain Jenan Gage (a joined Trill whose voice is provided by Ed Khoo) tells him he’s needed on the bridge.

“Long-range sensors are picking up some sort of nebula that isn’t in our database,” the captain explains.

When the Mariner approaches the phenomenon, Science Officer Lauren Reese (a Human played by “Jack” Doyle) says the nebula is “unlike anything we’ve encountered before” and “has a surprisingly high concentration of polerium. I’d like to collect some samples.”

In response, Gage tells Veranis to “prep a shuttle for an up-close visit.”

When the shuttlecraft Fontana arrives at the phenomenon, Reese observes that the nebula is “so beautiful.”

Before leaving the shuttle, Reese asks Veranis to take a holophoto of her when she’s outside so she can send it to her younger sister on Earth “to show her all the beautiful things out here.”

“She’s the only one in the quadrant who gets me,” the science officer continues. “She wanted to join Starfleet after I had, but … she contracted Tuvin Syndrome. Now, no one in my family leaves the planet anymore.”

“Everything will be fine,” Veranis replies. “You and Charlotte will be feeding ducks on the Thames before you know it, and you can show her this holophoto in person.”

After putting on her space suit and leaving the shuttle, the science officer poses for a photo that Veranis says “looks great,” and then she collects a sample of the mist before returning to the Fontana.

But just as the Mariner officers get ready to leave, the other segments of the yellow mist surround the shuttle, then disappear from view.

When Veranis and Reese return to the Mariner, Chief Engineer Ravek (a Vulcan played by Ryan Webber) tells them that all systems “are functioning within their defined parameters.”

“I”ll know more after I’ve had time to analyze the samples we collected,” the science officer states.

With the action apparently over for the moment, the Bajoran returns to the Engineering station on Deck 31 for some more “time to myself” and unexpectedly finds a Bajoran engineer in the chamber.

“You must be wondering what I’m doing down here,” Veranis states. “I couldn’t sleep. I come down here to get away from everything and clear my head.”

”“I’ve been alone a long time,” the engineer replies.

Veranis then asks the other Bajoran some questions. “How about you? What do you do here?”

“I am very tired,” the mysterious figure responds.

“I won’t take that too personally,” Veranis states. “I should probably get back to my quarters as well.”

But when Veranis turns to say goodbye, the figure has disappeared.

Later, the Bajoran joins Operations Officer Dirzah (a Saurian portrayed by David Erlenbusch) and Reese and tells them of his odd experience.

Just then, the captain summons all senior officers to the Bridge because the mists have returned, but the nebula no longer exists.

“Captain, I’m sensing something from the mist,” Executive Officer Tara Leilani (a Napean played by Eleiece Krawiac) says. “Curiosity, pain.”

“You’re telling me this mist is … sentient?” Gage asks.

“I believe it is,” Leilani replies.

Veranis then reports that the mist is “following us. With very course change I enter, the mist matches our speed and heading.”

“I think it’s feeding off our plasma exhaust,” Dirzah states.

While Reese leaves the Bridge to take a closer look at the sample she collected, Veranis again finds himself face-to-face with the “imaginary Bajoran” in a corridor.

“I am not a hallucination,” the figure states before reverting to a yellow mist and enveloping Veranis. The Bajoran then says: “I understand.”

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Amelia Chou (a Human voiced by Dana Shuey D’Amico) tells the captain and Reese that the mist has some healing properties and may cure several neurological conditions, including Tuvin Syndrome.

After hearing of the Bajoran’s encounter with the mist, Gage summons his senior staff to hear what Veranis learned from the creature, which he states is “a non-corporeal life form composed of coherent gas” that sent messages into the Mariner crewman’s mind.

“It absorbs and utilizes energy directly from its environment,” he continues. “The mist exists in multiple galaxies. It can travel any distance through nearly any conditions for any length of time, provided it absorbs enough energy from its environment.”

However, this mist has already encountered the Romulans, who responded to its presence by poisoning their plasma torpedoes with trace amounts of deadly theron radiation. That caused the being to start losing cohesion. “The entity is dying,” Veranis notes.

Spoiler Alert: If you’d rather watch the fan film’s ending yourself, skip down to the link at the end of this article. If not, just continue reading.

Still, because the memories of the Bajoran’s mind and the mist’s intelligence were combined, Veranis has learned useful tactical data regarding Romulan weapon stockpiles in the Guintara Sector.

The discussion then turns into a debate about whether the Marinercrew should try to keep the mist alive since its energy only has healing properties after it has died.

Reese claims that helping the creature would mean breaking the Prime Directive of non-interference, but Ravek says it’s “logical” to try to save what may be the last of its kind. When the captain decides to help the mist, the science officer feels Veranis betrayed her, but he replies that she’ll “never be alone.”

When the Mariner crew scans the entity, the creature follows the sensor beam into the main deflector array while Leilani senses loneliness and a feeling of sacrifice from the mist.

On its own, the creature converts itself into its base elements, which can be used to develop cures for many diseases, including Tuvin Syndrome.

“It looks like you’ll have good news for Charlotte after all,” Veranis tells Reese, who admits she’s baffled why the entity would sacrifice itself for others. “It had been alone for a long time,” the Bajoran responds. “Maybe it wanted to be part of something again.”

“The final sense I picked up felt like joy,” Leilani says. “The mist will live on through the lives it will help to save.”

“Lieutenant Veranis, set a course for Starbase 39-Sierra,” the captain states. “We have a medical breakthrough to deliver.”

Now that I’ve found my animated Clint Eastwood hat, it’s time to start reviewing.

The Good: “Revelations” was enjoyable on many levels. For one thing, the episode focused on “Lower Decks” characters in the crew who don’t usually get much time in the spotlight.

Also, the “first contact” aspect was handled in an interesting manner. The episode’s focus on the relationship between Veranis and Reese was enjoyable and got the story’s message across without any unnecessary space shootouts.

The Bad: Every now and then, the dialogue felt a bit stiff, as if the lines were being “read instead of said.” Still, that didn’t happen often, and I expect the voice acting to improve as the series goes along, which has happened with other fan productions.

The Ugly: I usually prefer reviewing fan films in consecutive story order, but I made an exception in this case since this fifth episode of Mariner has been released so soon after the series’ debut, with the first segment of a three-parter awaiting the conclusion of “A New Threat.”

If you’d like to learn more about the group creating these independent productions, go here. And if you’d like to see this week’s fan film, click on the link below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

SWU has been featured in documentaries, news features and conferences around the world for its unique appeal. In 2010 it won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media.

WEBSITE: http://www.starwarsuncut.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Set before The Hobbit (coming soon to a theater near you) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (which has already been in a theater near you), this 71-minute project was directed by Kate Madison and written by Paula DiSante.

The story begins with the Orcs (goblin-like creatures under the command of the evil wizard Sauron) killing humans apparently at random, but they have a goal that’s a mystery to everyone else on Middle Earth.

One group fleeing the destruction the creatures are causing is a family consisting of father Dirhael (Andrew McDonald), his wife Ivorwen (Philippa Hammond) and their daughter Gilraen (Beth Aynsley) carting the body of their dead son away from the Orcs who are gaining on them with every step.

Dirhael tells his wife and daughter to take the cart while he remains behind to delay the goblins’ attack. However, both Ivorwen and Gilraen arm themselves and choose to face the onslaught together.

But just as the family is on the verge of being overwhelmed, the Orcs are struck by arrows and swords wielded by a group of humans who call themselves Rangers under their leader, Arathorn (Christopher Dane).

During the battle, an Orc wielding an ax tries to sneak up behind the swordsman until he receives a warning from Elgarain (Kate Madison), a fellow Ranger who is secretly in love with Arathorn.

But before he can move to fend off the attack, the creature stops in his tracks and falls to the ground after being stabbed by Gilrean. At that moment, the humans’ eyes meet, and the seed of love is planted.

After the humans win the battle, Dirhael tells Arathorn that “we owe you our lives.” The swordsman responds by looking at Gilrean and stating: “As I owe you mine. I thank you, Lady.”

Elgarain calls for Arathorn to look at what she found. It appears that the creatures are taking rings and other jewelry from their victims for no apparent reason.

Not having anywhere safe to go, the family follows the Rangers to Taurdal, the village led by Arathorn’s father, Arador, who also serves as the chieftain of the tribe.

It isn’t long after her brother’s funeral that Gilraen and Arathorn fall in love, despite the ever-present danger posed by the Orcs. In response to the attacks, Arador leads his forces on a campaign against the monsters in an attempt to restore peace in the area.

Also, Arathorn is sent out in secret to learn why the Orcs continue their assault, and he discovers that their killing is part of a plot by Sauron to capture the Ring of Barahir—a symbol of friendship between the people of Middle Earth—which Arador wears.

When Arathorn asks his father to take off the ring and hide it somewhere safe, Arador replies angrily: “I will not hide from who I am while I have a breath in my body and a sword in my hand.”

Sometime later, Arathorn and Gilraen tell Arador that they plan to be married, and the chieftain gives the union his blessing.

However, Dirhael isn’t happy to learn about his daughter’s wedding plans, demanding that Arathorn protect her at all costs.

A year later, Arador is killed by a hill troll in the forest, making Arathorn the new chieftain of the group. Before long, Gilraen becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son named Aragorn after his grandfather, and everyone in the village celebrates the good fortune and peace they’ve enjoyed.

Everything continues to go well until twin elves Elladan (Matt Kennard) and Elrohir (Sam Kennard) arrive with terrible news: The Orcs are on the move again and are headed toward the encampment.

At the same time, Elgarain has given up on her dream of marrying Arathorn and attempts to leave the village. She’s stopped by Dirhaborn (Howard Corlett), who reveals that he has been in love with her and looking forward to the day when she’d move on and come to love him.

Suddenly, a horde of Orcs attacks the couple, and Halbaron sends Elgarain to warn the other villagers while he holds them off as long as he can.

Spoiler Alert: If you’d rather watch the fan film’s ending yourself, skip down to the link at the end of this article. If not, just continue reading.

Before Arathorn and his family can move to a safer location, the creatures attack the village, and though the monsters are beaten back, both Elgarain and Halbaron pay the ultimate price for securing the encampment’s freedom.

Enraged at the loss of several friends and family members, Arathorn gathers the remaining Rangers and pursues the stragglers into the forest.

While this effort is successful, Arathorn is mortally wounded and is carried back to the encampment, where his death breaks Gilraen’s heart and leaves the Rangers without a chieftain capable of leading the group.

Since the Rangers are now vulnerable to extermination, the villagers go into hiding in small secret settlements in the forest. However, the greatest tragedy is the fact that no one can call her son by his rightful name for fear of losing a future leader.

So where did I leave my Clint Eastwood hat? Ah, there it is! Time to get reviewing.

The Good: Not all fan films have happy endings, and “Born to Hope” is one of those (which I consider a good thing; the heroes shouldn’t always win, and the bad guys shouldn’t always lose.). In addition, the quality of the production is excellent in writing, acting, directing, costumes and props that this film leaves little to quibble about.

The Bad: I do have one quibble, but that’s easily explained. When the humans skewer the Orcs with their swords, no blood is left on their weapons. Still, Orcs could simply have transparent blood, so that’s a very minor thing

The Ugly: I’ve been reviewing independent productions for more than two years now, and I hadn’t heard of “Born of Hope” until I saw it in the Fan Film Follies Links page.

Many people ask me how I come up with more than 50 columns a year, and I reply that I scan the Internet regularly and can find not only Star Trek productions, but also films made in the Star Wars, Quantum Leap and other universes.

It also helps that I enjoy watching fan films. It’s as simple as that.

If you’d like to learn more about the group that produced “Born of Hope,” just click here. And if you want to watch the film, point your Web browser here.

The film is an original Batman story — 12 minutes long — written in a way that pays homage to the Animated Series, and shot to stylistically resemble a combination of the Joel Schumacher Batman movies and the Batman comics of the mid-90s. The plot synopsis, director’s note, production stills, and preview videos can be found at http://www.batmandeathwish.com.

The film is directed by Matthew Hiscox, who previously wrote and directed an “Army of Two: 40th Day” fan film that was selected from hundreds of entrants for a videogame filmmaking award ceremony hosted by G4TV and featured on “Attack of the Show”. Matt produced “Batman: Death Wish” with Jennifer Zhang, writer/producer of the feature film “Dead Inside” (world premiering in February 2012) and creator of the viral “Street Fighter High” web series that was featured on Capcom.com. And we’re happy to say the film features the cinematography of Andrew Ceperley, a director of photography whose staggering body of work is best grasped here on his imdb page.

WEBSITE: http://www.batmandeathwish.com

Click here to view the embedded video.