Posted on July 16, 2010 by Darren
Does the dreamer dream the dream, or the dream dream the dreamer? Nolan’s Inception somehow finds a way to cram a year’s worth of philosophical questions and big ideas into a two-and-a-half-hour epic which seems fleeting even with that runtime. Indeed there’s so much on offer at this cinematic banquet that I feel I need a second helping to fully savour the flavour. I can see Inception being divisive film – between those who feel it somehow is somewhat conceited and not as clever as it would have you think (many of whom, for example, may focus on the movie’s ending – some may even have honestly claimed to call it) and those who favour a movie which intelligently poses all manner of questions for it’s audience, believing answers – like dreams – are subjective and personal, and to offer or share them is a recipe for disaster. I am firmly in the latter camp.
Mind- (and corridor-) bending...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: blockbuster, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, dream heist, dreams, Ellen Page, fantasy, films, Inception, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, ken watanabe, ken watanbe, Leonardo diCaprio, marion collitard, marion cotillard, Michael Caine, Movie, non-review review, review, science fiction, tom berenger, tom hardy | 14 Comments »
Posted on July 6, 2010 by Darren
Terminator 2 is a pop culture classic, a film that single-handedly made Arnold loveable despite films like Junior and Jingle All the Way, typecast Robert Patrick as a distinctly unpleasant individual and reminded us that not all teenage protagonists had to be eye-roll inducingly bad. Spielberg’s Jaws is frequently regarded as “the first blockbuster”, but I think the case can be made that Terminator 2 redefined the kind of summer movie we saw – for better or worse, it laid down a blueprint which has been followed countless times since.
Prepare to be blown away...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: actions, Arnold Schwarzenegger, blockbuster, blockbusters, classic, edward furlong, film, james comeron, linda hamilton, Movies, non-review review, review, sci-fi, science fiction, terminator 2, terminator 2: judgement day, terminator 2: judgment day | 7 Comments »
Posted on May 31, 2010 by Darren
It’s a lie. For the first few years, Battlestar Galactica sold itself as a grand mythology. Every episode, in a narration repeated at the start of this film, we were reintroduced to the Cylons and reassured that “They have plan”. Except they didn’t. The show was written year-to-year, with no overarching scheme behind it all. This isn’t a criticism, but an observation. For most of its four year run, the show was the best thing on television. The series finale was a major disappointment but – for the most part – the design worked. So labelling this spin-off as Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is at best a little bit cheeky. At worst it’s a downright lie.
Relax, it's not the end of the world...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: battlestar galactica, battlestar galactica: the plan, cavils, cylons, dean stockwell, film, humans, Movie, non-review review, ones, review, science fiction, the plan, tv, twos | 8 Comments »
Posted on April 16, 2010 by Darren
Alternative histories have long been a staple of science fiction. The basic idea is simple enough: take a key moment in history and play it out just a little bit differently (or a lot differently). The Man in the High Castle, the story of how America lost the Second World War, may be the most famous example, but there’s literally a whole subgenre of literary science-fiction based around the idea of playing things out in a way different from how they did. However, this fascination with alternative history never really spilled over into cinema. However, there are slowly emerging signs that audiences may be gradually adjusting to the genre and the potential it offers.
Twenty more years!
Note: This is not to be confused with the historical school of alternative histories, which are all based on perfectly reasonable assumptions, like if a courier who really existed was late or if a wound to a historical figure had been fatal. It seems in mainstream sci-fi these are more likely to involve pepperpot-shaped aliens or glowing blue supermen. So, some historians out there may object to the term – maybe I should use ‘speculative history’ instead. But it’s all semantics.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alternate histories, alternate history, alternative histories, books, Movies, possible history, science fiction, speculative history, Television, the man in the high castle, watchmen, what could have been | 6 Comments »
Posted on April 12, 2010 by Darren
Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction.
We live in a spaceship, dear.
So?
– Wash and Zoe, Objects in Space
Joss Whedon writing a science fiction show – a science fiction western, to be precise. Doesn’t that excite you? Just a bit? Well, it should, because they’re just so… very… pretty. Huh? Look at that chiselled jaw!
And yes, I am already quoting it. It’s going to be a fun review.
Male bonding... Or bondage, I'm not sure...
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: firefly, joss whedon, nathan fillon, review, science fiction, serenity, Television, western | 13 Comments »
Posted on April 9, 2010 by Darren
I love Demolition Man. I know I shouldn’t, but I do.
Eye see you...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: action, be well, comedy, demolition man, dennis leary, fascism, films, future, huxley, jack black, john spartan, los angeles, Movie, murder death kill, mvoies, non-review review, review, san angeles, science fiction, simon phoenix, simon says, sly stallone, sylvester stallone, the demolition man, the three seashells, three seashells | 3 Comments »
Posted on February 8, 2010 by Darren
This is nonsense.
That’s one word for it.
Complete and utter wonderful nonsense. Very very silly.
– The “Doctors”
The Doctor Who Christmas special is an annual institution on this side of the Atlantic. Every Christmas Day for the last five years, Christmas dinner has been followed by a sit down to catch up with David Tennant’s time-travelling hero in the yuletide season. These episodes are generally well-constructed popcorn fodder with huge setpieces, great performances, some clever ideas and fairly straightforward plotting – they generally can’t compare to some of the more adventurous episodes of the series. The Next Doctor continues this trend – while it lacks the blockbuster feel of The Voyage of the Damned or the intimacy of The Christmas Invasion, it benefits from added pathos. It isn’t the best episode the show has given us (it isn’t even the best of the season of ‘specials’ produced), but it is a solidly entertaining hour-long programme.
Do too many Doctors spoil a special?
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: christmas, christmas special, david morrissey, david tenannt, doctor who, review, science fiction, Television, the next doctor | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 8, 2010 by Darren
Part of me wonders how a prequel television show is supposed to work. It’s worrying that the only other example which springs to mind is Star Trek: Enterprise, which suffered from failing to explore its premise for three years before finally engaging with the mythos in time to be resoundingly cancelled. I wonder whether I can sit down and watch a prequel day-in and day-out. In a way, no matter how good the show is, it has been spoiled for you. No matter how sharp a left turn the writers may stick into a particular episode, you just know they’ll have to straighten it out down the line. The very premise for Battlestar Galactica is a spoiler for Caprica: mankind is wiped out by the robotic Cylons, former soldiers and slaves who rose up and rebelled. As a result, there’s no suspense when Daniel Grayson finds himself up for a government contract or attempts to crack A.I. – unless the series is a gigantic red herring (and, though I wouldn’t put it past the creators, it is far too early to show their hand if it is), we know that his actions will create robotic killing machines made just a little too perfect.
Oh, the lawyer and the computer genius should be friends... oh, the lawyer and the computer genius should be friends...
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: adama, Alessandra Torresani, battlestar galactica, BSG, caprica, caprica pilot, caprica series, Eric Stoltz, joseph adama, prequel, review, sci-fi, science fiction, Television | 3 Comments »
Posted on January 18, 2010 by Darren
Surrogates is a solid actioner with some great ideas, a recycled plot and an above-average director. In short, it’s quite satisfying for what it is. Perhaps beating Avatar to the punch (and certainly dealing with its core ideas in a much more interesting fashion), it imagines a future where human beings can interact in the real-world much as they interact on line at the moment. Denying genetics or lifestyle, they are able to craft a robotic body double to their own design (skin-colour, age, sex, weight, height) to send out into the world, allowing them to live via uplink. You could live your entire life without ever leaving your bedroom. It isn’t exactly a new idea in science-fiction, but it’s certainly a big idea for an action movie to tackle. Thankfully, it manages very well.
You know it's a messed up future because Bruce Willis has hair...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: avatra, bruce willis, james cromwell, jonathon mostow, non-review review, review, science fiction, surrogates, ving rhames | Leave a comment »
Posted on December 17, 2009 by Darren
It’s strange what we carry with us past the end of the world. In The Road, it’s hope for our children carted around inside an old shopping trolley; in 28 Days Later, it’s whatever humanity we can find hiding amid the ruins. For Admiral Helena Cain, what she carries with her after the destruction of her home is what she’s carried with her her whole life: a razor she picked up as a small child to defend herself after the loss of her younger sister. She carries that until she can’t – then she passes it on to her surrogate daughter, who carries it until she can’t. The razor itself is lost with Kendra Shaw, and maybe that’s a good thing. The last member of Cain’s inner circle dies taking all that hatred and aggression and lust for validation and vengeance with her. It’s an important transition. It’s also particularly insightful – given how Battlestar Galactica has generally focused on rebuilding after the fall of society – establishing a functioning democracy, a legal system and even rebuilding Caprica in a form – that this television movie focuses on the flipside of the coin: what humanity takes with it after the fall.
Talk about retro chic...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: battlestar galactica, battlestar galactica: razor, galactica in name only, gino, helena cain, jamie bamber, michelle forbes, pegasus, razor, science fiction, stephanie jacobson, Television, television movie | Leave a comment »
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